Week 1!

Yesterday at 10 pm, little Holden turned one-week old! There's so much we still have yet to learn about the little guy, but already we've come to know each other pretty well.

So in honor of his first-week birthday, I present 5 fun facts about Holden:

1) Holden will instantly quiet if we turn on the sink faucet. Apparently it sounded like running water in my uterus.

2) His little tush is so tiny he wears preemie diapers.

3) He is already sleeping in his crib. Sort of, anyway...

4) He is dead tired in the late afternoon... but not so much in the late night hours.

5) And...he likes to cross his legs like this, which explains so much about the kicks I felt in-utero:

40 Weeks!

We made it! We've successfuly hit the 40-week mark and the Short Stranger is now officially a Pumpkin Baby! For those of you who took our poll and thought the little guy would arrive early--I'm sorry to tell you that you were wrong. What Mike neglected to mention in his poll-related post is that more than 50% of first time moms go past their estimated due date (EDD) into week 41. And this is why even though I'd hoped we'd have an October baby, I've long had a feeling he'd be a November one.

But when this little guy decides to arrive is not the point of this post...no, this is a post to celebrate this pregnancy. The Short Stranger and I have safely and happily made it through the long hall together, and believe it or not, I've really enjoyed being pregnant. Even at 40 weeks, I still feel healthy and energetic, small discomforts aside. And despite my impatience to meet him, I'm so glad the Short Stranger has stayed exactly where he is until full-term.

Though little has changed since last week, here's what babycenter.com writes about the end of this journey:

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

So what's next? Next we continue to wait, but we also start to monitor Mr. Stranger more closely--first with an ultrasound on Monday, and then with an appointment on Wednesday (that is, if we make it until then). And if it comes down to it, we'll bring the Short Stranger here by force through induction. But before that, Mike and I will enjoy what is finally decent weather in the 'Lou with lots of walking walking walking--because that seems to be the main doctor-recommended advice for helping bring labor on. Beautiful fall foliage, here we come.

NEW POLL: Guess the Short Stranger's arrival date

Over to the right, we've added a Poll to see when everyone thinks the Short Stranger (aka Baby Awesome) will be entering our cold, bright, dry, air-laden world. My instincts are telling me that he'll be here on Tuesday (Oct. 27), but we'd like to hear what you're gut is telling you (or what conventional wisdom tells you). Bryna's mom thinks he'll arrive on the due date (at 6am ... to be specific). Full moon is November 2nd, for all you werewolves and lunar-types out there.

So let's see your votes in the next few days. And remember, this is NOT a reality TV show, so your votes will not help determine the date when this contestant leaves the womb (although if people vote for October dates, I'll let Short Stranger know to provide additional encouragement).

And I also found another great parenting resource (see the "Wheel of Responsibility," which can actually be purchased at WryBaby.com). This should be a huge help for everything except breast-feeding.
Signing out for now ... an anxious father-to be.