Lesson in Pounds

See that strange baby tape-measure thing up there at the top of my blog? The baby counter that happily informs me that the baby is 19 weeks and 4 days old, and that there are only 315 more days until the baby is due to arrive? Oh joy?

The first thing it gives is the baby's weight, or the average weight of a developing baby-to-be given the time of development... and it says 10.5 ounces. That's less than one pound, right? It's hard to comprehend, because I have REALLY started gaining weight now, my tummy leading the way wherever I go, and it's depressing for me to think that it's less than 1 pound baby, and seven pounds of pop tarts.

Actually, I have several books that give average breakdowns of where the weight IS, and what it is that is supposed to gain weight. Wanna know? Well I'll tell you anyway. The breakdown, for an average weight woman who gains about 30 pounds during her WHOLE pregnancy, is as follows.

Baby: 7.5 lbs. (that's about a quarter of the total weight gain)
Maternal stores of Fat, protein, and nutrients: 7 lbs (hey - that's also a quarter of the weight gain. Which brings us to only about half... where is the rest of the weight?)
Blood (yes, I said BLOOD, because pregnant women actually make and pump more blood which means mosquitoes love you and your heart and lungs have to work harder, and oh yeah, your gums bleed when you brush your teeth) : 4 lbs. of blood.
Body Fluids: 4 pounds (These would be fluids other than...)
Amniotic Fluid (the fluids we do not discuss because grown men pass out): 2 lbs.
Uterus: 2 lbs.
Breasts: 2 lbs. THAT is why my bras no longer fit
Placenta : 1.5 lbs.

There. Now you can't say I never tried to teach you anything. Even if you didn't want to learn it. But seriously, I am always surprised by how much non-baby there is in there, even if I know that my personal weight gain will be 8 pound baby, 20 pounds snickers bars, and 15 pounds everything else.