37 Weeks: the Waiting Game Begins

We made it! The Short Stranger is now "to term," and can safely arrive any old time he likes. The question at this point in the game becomes when...will he be sociably early and arrive in the next week in a half, fashionably late and be a Nov. baby, or right on time? Although there are still things we'd like to do before his arrival, Mike and I are starting to settle into the idea that anytime soon would be nice. Preferably on a day when I'm well rested.

In case you, too, are playing the waiting game and perhaps placing bets on the day, here are some fun facts that might be of interest to you:

First, as far as I can tell, the Short Stranger has not "dropped." Apparently this doesn't always happen, but it usually does with a first baby. Second, all of my mom's children arrived late...but on the other hand, all of my maternal grandmother's children arrived right on time. And if you are a fan of Murphy's law, you should note that I'm supposed to pick up midterms to grade on the 13th, and papers to grade on 20th. But finally, the next full moon is on Monday, Nov. 2, just a couple days after our due date. Seems like as good a date as any.

After an imposing few weeks of melon-sized visuals, babycenter.com has switched gears and decided, rather anti-climatically, to mark this momentous week with swiss chard. Here's what they have to say about the Short Stranger:

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby 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. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.