Kickoff

We'll be headed to the hospital early tomorrow morning to see what we (meaning other people) can do to help Pip into the world if Pip the journey hasn't begun already.

And waiting

The baby passed its fetal monitor test with flying colors again today, and for the first time, the test also showed a pre-labor contraction--a sign that Carolyn's body has come out for the pre-game shootaraound, as it were. We are now in the home stretch of the race between labor occurring on its own and the calendar dictating further steps to bring baby into the world. Whatever happens, we'll very probably meet Pip by the end of the week. (Yes, we're nervous.)

Waiting

Small baby update: baby continues to look great on the fetal monitor tests, but we're still in an increasingly anxious holding pattern, hoping that things kick in on their own before being helped along next week.

Monitoring

Brief update: still no baby. Thanks again for all the interest and good wishes. Pip put in another fine performance on the fetal monitor this morning, so there's no sign of anything to worry about other than the date. (The fetal monitor tests the baby's movement and heart rate to make sure that the placenta is still intact and keeping the baby healthy. This is important because placentas are not made to last much more than nine months.)

I noticed yesterday that I had been assuming Carolyn and I both faced boatloads of people asking us whether baby has come yet when we leave the house separately. I finally thought about that for a minute and realized that nobody sees Carolyn and then asks that question. Duh.

Overdue

No baby yet. Since the due date has arrived, we are now in the emotional and medical process of worrying about the baby waiting too long--testing the baby's movement and heart responses (no problem) and fretting about induced labor, which is generally seen as a difficult process and has specifically resulted in difficult labors followed by C-sections for two of our close friends recently. On the other hand, as we remind ourselves, everything is perfectly normal now: due dates are always +/- two weeks, the baby seems fine, and everybody says that first children tend to be late, as Carolyn and I (first children both) were. I have begun to lecture baby about the advantages of the outside world and all the good people waiting to greet him or her.