noise to signal

The home stretch

Somehow we've gotten to the point where, one way or another, we're going to have a baby in the house in the next four weeks -- either she'll decide it's time to see the outside world, or the (as is typical these days) if we go two weeks past the due date, the doctors will likely want to induce labor.

This has been, with one exception, about as average a pregnancy as there is. If there's a measure, this baby is at the middle of the range. Heartrate expected to be between 120 and 160? She's 140. When I glanced at Miz Becky's chart a couple of weeks ago, I at first couldn't see where they were marking down her weight, until I realized that she was exactly tracking the pre-printed average weight gain line.

The one exception, unfortunately, is that Miz Becky seems to have won the coveted "slightly nauseated throughout the pregnancy" award. That "totally fine after the first trimester" thing? Not so much.

Aside from that, though, her spirits are good. We've made good progress on our tasks, and now have a shockingly yellow nursery (vaguely post-it note color) filled with most of the things we're going to need. Everything, of course, except a baby.

I must thank our friends and family here -- all of whom have been so generous with hand-me-downs and gifts and help and good advice that we honestly can't imagine having gotten to this stage without them. We are blessed to have this community around us, and our daughter is lucky to be coming into the world surrounded by so much love and support. Thanks to all of you.