And the Doctor Says...

Our O.B. said this morning that we are looking good: I'm waiting normal weight; Carsen's heartbeat sounds strong and he is head down.

Also I'm already 50% effaced. For those new to the term (which I just learned this weekend), effacement is the process by which the cervix prepares for delivery. After the baby has engaged in the pelvis, it gradually drops closer to the cervix; the cervix gradually softens, shortens and becomes thinner. Effacement is measured in percentages. When you are 100% effaced or completely effaced, your cervix is paper-thin and labor is right around the corner. For first timers, the cervix will usually efface before it dilates.
Our doctor said though this is normal for 35 weeks.

Check out this chart! 10cm is HUGE!

And I'm 1cm dilated. The cervix not only shortens and thins (effacement) but also opens (dilates) to 10cm for birth. Apparently being 1cm dilated is also normal/not uncommon for where we are. Seriously this chart I find shocking though. How exactly is my cervix going to dilate that large?! Doesn't it look HUGE?! Maybe I just have an unrealistic idea of how large my body/hips/etc is but I just keep looking at this thinking "how in the world would it be able to get that big? I can't even envision a circle this large between my legs."

Kinda crazy, our O.B. could actually feel his head... At first I thought she said he was head down because of where she picked up his heartbeat with her monitor. Plus on my left side up by my ribs, you can see a bulge and it looks like it could be his butt. (I've thought he's mainly head down for that reason. I feel what I think are his feet kicking me in the ribs a lot and he seems to usually be head down or sideways/lopsided, but tends to favor the left side. Plus when he hiccups, I feel it hitting my pelvis, really low. But no, she could feel his head with her fingers while checking my cervix. Weird huh?

She also reminded us that the ultrasound technician thought our baby looked big and would've moved his due date up to March 3. They didn't change his due date since it wasn't more than 10 days difference and most babies come within two weeks of their due date. So she said we either are having a baby who is just longer/leaner like us, which is why he looked larger than the technician thought he should be at 19 weeks, or he's actually a week older than we think and he thus might come sooner. Obviously no guarantee either way. Just a guess.

Bottom line in her mind though is that he probably won't be late, or very late (maybe a day or so). It sounded like she doubts we'd make it to our due date. We told her about our Pick'em (the picks that are still in the running for $$) and she's guessing that either the Feb. 25 or the March 3 guesses were possible; she says she really doubts I'd make it to March 14.

Obviously time will tell...