A good day.

Today is a good day. Madeline is doing fantastic....mom and dad aren't doing bad either.

Madeline Elizabeth Maslow

Born August 20th at 8:14pm. She weighed in at 6.15 lbs and 20.5 inches long.

Mom, Dad and baby are doing well....tired, but well. It's wonderful to finally have her here and to get to know her. We're so proud of our little squish.

Today marks her 1 week birthday. In one week she:

• Eats


• Sleeps


• Wets her diapers


• Cries


• Eats


• Sleeps


• Wets her diapers


• Cries


• And sometimes, we get a few smiles and it makes it all worth it.

No baby.

Full moon. No baby.
Spicy Breakfast at Cafe 28. No baby.
Long walk. No baby.

She's still holding on for dear life in there. Frankly, I don't blame her. But, for my sanity, it's time.

Full Moon will rise at 8:16pm on August 16th.

Compulsive gamblers will tell you that to win a baby pool, always pick the date of the full moon closest to the actual due date. It's common knowledge that more babies are born on the full moon, right? Even nurses and doctors in labor and delivery will tell you that. So is there any truth to this ancient belief, or is it just a medical myth? A quick search reveals the answer: there is no correlation between lunar phase and birthrate.

There are two questions that immediately arise. The first is why is this belief still held, including by many well educated people, in the face of a large body of evidence to the contrary? Obviously cultural reinforcement plays a large role - the myth continues to be repeated as fact. The second is where did the belief come from in the first place? Is it some leftover animal instinct where it was easier to deliver and/or protect newborns by the light of the full moon? Is it some cultural remnant from days when we worshiped celestial events like full moons and solar eclipses; some long, lost supersition? Is it simple recall or confirmation bias among mothers and hospital staff? Who knows.

The bottom line is that the full moon has little effect on birth rates, hospital emergencies, stock market prices and (despite the root of the word) lunacy. Unless, of course, you're a werewolf.

We'll test this theory this weekend I guess.

39 Weeks. A watermelon.

"Your baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. The outer layers of her skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath." -BabyCenter.com

According to the doctor, she's guessing the baby is right around 7 lbs right now. So if I go another week, baby will be somewhere between the 7 and 8 lb mark, or less if her estimate is wrong. Good lord, that's a big baby, or is it? With one week left, give or take a day, until my due date, I hope that baby will decide to come on her own. If not, induction will likely occur. That makes me nervous and a little scared. Considering that up until today, when someone asked if I was nervous I would laugh at them and ask them what on earth I could be nervous about- I'm just anxious to meet her. Now, I am nervous. Too much reading on the internet I suppose about the risks involved with induction. I'll have to trust that my safety and most importantly the safety of our baby are in good hands at the hospital.

Stay posted...hopefully we'll have another update soon, of the birthday nature.

Baby's Room.

Baby's room is ready. So are we.....just waiting on her now.

It's a swing, a bouncer AND a carrier!

Who knew that a product could be so innovative. John said last night after he put this together, "why didn't we think to get one of these sooner?". I was happy to see the joy in his face when we saw how useful this item really would be for us. After making 3 (only 3) trips to Babies R'Us with me throughout this pregnancy, I spent multiple times trying to convince him that, at the very least, a bouncer would be such a wonderful addition to our collection of baby items. He didn't believe me. Now, thanks to one of my co-worker's, we have not just a bouncer, but it's also a swing and a carrier.

Now we just have to decide where to put it.

38 Weeks according to the Fruit and Veggie Meter.

I had my 38 week check up yesterday and according to the doc my blood pressure is "beautiful" and baby has made a lot of progress in the last week, the effacement process has begun. She's right there hangin' out. Okay baby...it's time to come out and play because this momma is growing tired of waiting. Bring it on!

According to our friends at Baby Center: "Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)"

Contractions. Not the real thing....again.

2am.
2:30am.
I hoped for at least 3 more.
Nothing.

I continue to hear the theme song to jeopardy playing in my head.

37 and a half weeks....

Well, the baby is taking up a lot of space in my belly, in this our 37th week. I have been getting increasingly uncomfortable, especially with the hot/humid MN summer. I have my feet up as much as possible! My legs look like tree trunks, and my hands continue to feel as though they are asleep. I broke down and purchased myself some wrist guards, which have been recommended to help and....they haven't. What exactly are they supposed to help? As if I'm not already clumsy enough because I'm pregnant, but combine that clumsiness with no feeling of my thumb, pointer and middle fingers and you've got yourself some issues! I don't know if I want to cry or laugh about it! And, the best of all, is when my husband makes fun of the fortress I build each night just to sleep. I think I'm up to about 7 pillows now.

I should offer a poll. How much will baby weigh? Look for that on the side bar shortly.

Here's what our latest email from Baby Center has to say: "Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. She weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long." Ahh, Swiss chard.