ultrasounds don't get old

The receptionist this morning at the ultrasound office asked me if I was tired of $50 co-pays for all my many ultrasounds, and I responded that it was the price for more pictures of my little girl. Unfortunately, I do not have any new pictures to post. Yes, they took some, but they are all fuzzy and Baby B isn't cooperating and she still has that hand in front of her face.

Good news! My amniotic fluid is at 11.1 cm - much higher than last week's 8.5 cm, and now I no longer have to go get non-stress tests. I have no idea what made the fluid fluctuate, so admittedly it could go down again, but for now everything is working well. For the first time, Baby B's belly is measuring bigger than her head. It is common before the 36th week for the head to measure larger than the belly, and common after the 36th week for the measurements to sort of "even out." But her head is now measuring 37 weeks, 1 day, and her belly is measuring 39 weeks. I don't know what the implications of this are, and my doctor is out of town until the week I am 38 weeks. So, my appointment tomorrow is with her physician's assistant, who I intend to grill to no end with my "what ifs." Dr. Doeden has always said that the head can be bigger than the belly because the head needs to come out first - if the belly is bigger than the head, you can have issues with her being stuck. Hmmmmm..... She has also gained over a pound and weighs 7 pounds, 11 ounces (average of different weight samples taken). The tech pointed out that the weight can be off by a pound, so perhaps Baby B is not on the road to weighing over 10 pounds at birth. Or maybe she is?

At my appointment on Monday, when I was not effaced or dilated at all, Dr. Doeden asked if I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions, and I told her no. Well, since Monday I have *gross details up ahead* lost a big portion of my mucous plug (which I have been steadily losing for weeks), and I have been having Braxton-Hicks contractions, some lasting for minutes. So, perhaps the tide has turned? Maybe my body really doesn't want to give birth to a 10 pounder?