Inch by Inch (or CM by CM)

Good news! Dr. Hagood told your Mom yesterday that she has progressed to 1.5 centimeters dilation and still 50% effacement.

What does that mean?

Really, it means nothing!

You could be born tomorrow, or you could be born in 3 weeks!

But, the numbers are going up, so it looks like we're progressing!

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and bigger!

But, believe it or not, your Mom actually lost a pound. So, now she's down to 147-- but the Doctor said that's completely normal.

And, the moment of truth: here is your Mom at 37 weeks!

We can't believe that you're almost here!

Placemat Placement

I don't really buy into all of this stuff, but it's still kind of cool. Unless you're born in the next 2 days, you will be a PISCES on the Zodiac Calendar.

I'm a Capricorn- that means I'm a half goat half fish.

Your Mom is a Libra- that means she's scales.

And apparently goat fish plus scales equals...more fish!

Pisces is the "fish" from the sky, which is a water sign. A bit ironic, since your name means "Little Fire," but what can you do?

Apparently Pisces is two fish trying to eat each other's rear ends, just like Toby and Preston do.

I won't even go into all of the personality pros and cons of your sign, because, like I said before, I think we make our own destinies and that nothing is pre-written. But, you can always Google it anyway, so maybe I'll just put the personality pros up here, as encouragement.

According to Madame Zelda Astroplane, Pisces are...

- Compassionate
- Adaptable
- Accepting
- Devoted
- Imaginative

Those are some good qualities to have! I dont' think anyone born in any month would turn those down!

But, of course, everyone knows that if you're going to talk about birth signs, you have to give credence to the wisdom of the Chinese Zodiac Calendar restaurant placemat as well.

Each year is the year of a rotating assortment of animals and creatures. Your Mom was born in 1981 and she is a Rooster. I was born in 1982, the year of the dog. So, supposedly, me and everyone else born in 1982 have similar aspirations, characteristics, likes and dislikes. I think this is bogus because I know lots of '82ers and we're all different!

But, all that aside, let's see where your Egg Drop Soup will land on the Chinese Restaurant Placemat!

So Dog Plus Rooster Equals TIGER!

According to the placemat, the Chinese Zodiac Tiger is "sensitive, emotional and capable of great love. However, he has a tendency to get carried away and be stubborn about what he thinks is right; often seen as a "Hothead" or rebel. The sign shows he would be excellent as a boss, an explorer, a race car driver, or a matador."

Well, let me just say up front that you can be anything you want to be when you grow up...except a Matador or Race Car Driver. You can explore though, as long as you don't do any Bear Grylls type stuff (if he's not still alive when you read this, let me know and I'll explain).

I hope you're not too rebellious, though, and try to miss your Chinese Zodiac sign by staying in for an extra 9 months. First of all, 2011 is the year of the Rabbit, so that's not worth being rebellious for, and, secondly, the Doctor won't let you rebel for more than a week past your due date.

You're going to be a Tiger no matter what. And, unless you're born in the next two days (which it doesn't look like you're going to be), you're a fish too.

And for some reason, there is a picture of the Tiger/Fish duo online. As you'll find out, the internet is a wealth of information:

And you'd better not be too stubborn either! Apparently "during the journey out of the womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life." So, between your Mom's pain and your stress hormones, you might to wait to be stubborn until your about, say, 18 years old.

But then again, I don't buy into this whole Zodiac stuff anyway (which makes it even more odd that I decided to write about it). Afterall, the Chinese Gender Predictor said you were going to be a girl, and we all know how correct that turned out to be!

Watermelon Waiting

You are now 37 weeks along! And that means you've reached the final stage of your fruit continuum.

That's right, buddy, you are now the size of a watermelon!

And, as a watermelon, that means two things:

1) Watch out for Gallagher.

2) You are "Ready" for birth.

Now, ready is sure a loaded term. But, basically, it means you could be born today with no complications. All you're doing for the next 3 weeks (or for how ever long you decide to remain in utero) is adding on baby fat, refining your blinking, and sucking, inhaling and exhaling (yup, you're still breathing in liquid!).

But, all that's really just practice! You're ready for the big show any day now.

And with that in mind, your Mom and I are trying to get "ready" too.

"Ready or not, here you come." Definitely, we know that's true.

But we still had a few more things to check off our lists to make us feel a little bit more ready.

So this weekend, we put together your stroller and unwrapped your car seat/infant carrier and installed it in the car! Seeing as how they won't let us take you home without the car seat, we thought it was a good thing to get done.

We also got down our big red duffle bag from the attic and started packing for our trip to the hospital. I got my change of socks and boxers and t-shirts all packed up. The toiletries are all ready to go: toothbrushes, toothpaste and (very important) deods. Your Mom is packing all her clothes and other necessities today, including some pretty cool long socks (which may be the first thing you see) and nursing tops.

This bag, of course, is a complete luxury. You can be born with or without it; but since this whole deal is about keeping your Mom as comfortable as possible, so you can be born as comfortably as possible, it's probably a good idea to get this Emergency Bag all packed and ready to go.

So, the bag is ready to go, as are you. And now we're just playing the waiting (until March) game.

And, surprisingly, an odd calm-before-the-storm mentality has settled over our household...as long as that creep with the moustache and the sledgehammer isn't lurking about (Gallagher, not Pops!)