38 weeks plus infinity...

Another ultrasound picture of the face. In the top center is her lips, and to the right of that you can see her nostrils. Anything above the nostrils is her hand/arm covering her head. She was shy this morning. Basically her face is totally smooshed into the uterine wall. Definitely not her best angle!

Alright, so the update. I am still dilated to a 2, which was quite disappointing considering the amount of contractions and pain I had this week, and I went from 50% effaced to 60% effaced.

I saw Dr. Carter today who was the doctor who was originally concerned that I was measuring small. I did my ultrasound first where they followed the directions of Dr. Ralsten (who I saw last week) to only measure the amniotic fluid. Dr. Carter came in and told me the amniotic fluid was perfect today. Woo hoo! And then she said she was concerned about my ultrasound from last week because although the baby is averaging in the 18th percentile, her leg and head are measuring in the 5th percentile.

She then proceeded to kind of freak me out. She said she wanted me to do another ultrasound that morning to get the baby's measurements, since they didn't do those. She also said she recommends me not letting the pregnancy go beyond my due date because the placenta may become inhospitable and the baby would do better out than in with her small size. Then she also said she might keep me at home from work next week depending on the results of the second ultrasound.

So I was a little freaked out by this point, but most of all I was late for Greg's Surprise Baby Shower that his co-workers were throwing him. I asked if I could come back later this afternoon for the second ultrasound, and she said that was fine. But first she hooked me up to the monitor to watch the baby's heartbeat, and after about 10 minutes she said my baby looks beautiful and perfect and I could go.

More about Greg's shower in the next post.

I went back this afternoon and waited for 30 minutes to see the ultrasound technician who had no patients before me, but was convinced she didn't need to give me an ultrasound because she'd already done one this morning. When I complained after 30 minutes of waiting they finally got it straightened out. I think they would have let me sit there all afternoon though!

So the second ultrasound of the day...it lasted about 2 minutes, and she took no measurements. She did what is called a bio-physical profile, which she said basically measures the movements of the baby. I was so confused. I said, "But Dr. Carter wanted measurements," and she said, "Nope, she told me a bio-physical profile."

5 minutes later Dr. Carter walked in and said the baby looked beautiful and I could go home, but that I need to do a bio-physical profile (BPP) every time I come in until I have the baby. I said, "I thought you wanted measurements," to which she replied, "No, we only do measurements once a month."

I'm sorry, but am I living in a twilight zone? I know I'm tired and maybe a little dumber being pregnant, but I swear I had an entirely different conversation this morning!

Okay, so whatever. The point is, the baby is fine and she passed her BPP with flying colors. And Dr. Carter said it was totally fine for me to go in for one more week of work.

I am doing fine and feeling good, just uncomfortable. Greg and I are still nesting and pretty much have everything in order. We are ready for her to arrive!

So here are the name options:

Malibu Barbie Dahl
Ivy F. Dahl (say it out loud)
Julia Rae Dahl

What do you think? :)