Mexican time? Memphis time?

Certainly not NY time. We're learning a lot from the waiting game. Patience, of course, is first on the list. But we've also been learning a lot about the variability of pregnancy and just how many unknowns there are about the process.

We had another ultrasound today, which once again measured the baby's head, abdomen, femur, heart rate, and breathing as well as my amniotic fluid levels and the health of my placenta. If it worked like clockwork that all pregnancies last 40 weeks, my placenta would definitely have lots of "dead spots" right now and the baby would probably be huge. Instead, those tests suggest that I am at 39 weeks and 3 days -- not even "due." My placenta is still perfect, as are all the other measurements, and they estimate the baby at just over 7 lbs*

According to the standard American medical calendar, we'll hit the 43 week mark tomorrow. (Again, "due dates" are set for everyone at 40 weeks, even though standard 1st pregnancies go about a week and a half past that). We're pretty sure about our conception date, and the early ultrasounds, which are thought to be very accurate, corroborate that. So while we don't doubt that I've been pregnant for 43 weeks, there is now nothing -- except a fairly arbitrary due date prediction -- that suggests that the baby is full term.

So what's this mean? As Amy, one of our midwives explained it, next time she would simply plan on my having a 44 week gestation and we'd spare everyone a whole lot of anguish by appointing a due date consistent with that. Incidentally, my aunt, who is incredibly intuitive, emailed last night to say that according to her vibe, the baby still has another four days and 3 nights before he's ready. That's exactly in sync with what today's ultrasound said. Want to start the betting pool now?

*there's a 2 lb margin of error on this measurement

P.S. I almost forgot the best part: we got a great visual of the baby's face on the ultrasound! He was moving his little mouth like he was talking and waving his little hand. Very cute!