The Line in The Sand...And some new developments

A challenge has been issued, little buddy:

Apparently the general consensus among non-medical people other than your Mother and I is that you are going to be early!

In fact, on Sunday, Jeremy and Michelle made a wager that your Mom wouldn't "last" 14 days! That would put your birthday on February 21st! Well, your Mom and I are still convinced that you're going to make it to March. I mean, heck we're already 3 days into that 14 day line-in-the-sand and your Mom hasn't even had a contraction.

I think we're going to make it to the finish line without a problem!

Let's take a look at the facts:

• Your Mom is 2 cm dilated
• You will be considered "full term" as of 37 weeks- this coming Saturday
• The doctor didn't say anything about your Mom being "effaced" (the thinning of the cervix)
• Your Mom is acting like a champ...albeit a champ with back pains that cause her to sleep on the couch and sort of flounder around to be able to shift positions
• We haven't packed our bags to go to the hospital yet
• We haven't put your car seat in the car yet (and we're not allowed to take you home with us without your car seat installed)
• Your Mom officially goes on Maternity leave in 2 days
• The doctor said you were right on schedule, as far as growth and weight gain.

And there are some new announcements too, though:

1. ............. After weeks and weeks of waiting, your Mom is now a "). " It's an Outie! Alright, so it's not quite an all-the-time official outie yet, but your Mom's belly button has officially made the switch from a most-of-the-time inny to a most-of-the-time small outie.
2. Your Mom can eat again regular amounts of food again (for a while she couldn't eat a lot...but had to eat a little frequently, because she got full so easily). This may mean that her organs are probably not smushed together anymore, which means that there's not a little you craming all her entrails together. This means you may have "dropped" - which means you may now be engaged in the birthing canal.

So...who knows who is right? Some of these signs may indicate that you won't make it to the 21st of February. Some indicate that we're right on time for a March delivery.

Whenever you do arrive, though, we'll be ready for you. We're putting the car seat together this weekend, and packing the bag tonight and tomorrow. So, let me revise my statement: as long as you arrive after this weekend, we'll be ready for you. Mostly.