The truth about due dates

OK, so for the first 9 months of this pregnancy, we have been keenly focused on the 15th of September. THE DUE DATE. All arrangements need to be made, things need to be bought, everything needs to be just right because our lives are going to change on the 15th of September. No sooner, no later. And then came week 36. By then, we had been noticing other pregnant couples and keeping our ears open for stories of friends and colleagues who were also expecting or delivering and we were hearing more than our share of early stories. Three weeks early. Two weeks early. Another three weeks. Yikes! We weren't "ready" yet!!

OK, fine, everyone's actually readier than they think...there are very few things that one NEEDS when the baby arrives and we got all of those things together a while ago. It's just interesting that for nine months, the only date in mind is THE DUE DATE and then, almost overnight, you end up making the transition into "any day now" land. As it turns out, I think it's about 8% of people who end up delivering on the due date. And despite the fact that most people have been telling us that first babies tend to come late, I've also read that one of the statistical indicators for pre-term births is "first child". Weird.

So lately, the things we have been wishing for have been small: 1) let Holly at least get to the end of August so that she can feel good about the state in which she leaves her work stuff, and 2) let the baby wait until after Labour Day so that we can at least enjoy our visit with Grandpa in Peterborough. Now that those two wishes have been granted, we're getting a little selfish (oops) and wishing that Holly can enjoy a bit of time off to herself before the baby arrives. We're pretty together now and short of a solid day of shopping tomorrow and some nesting-type things that I'm sure we'll get around to in the coming days, we're a little less focused on the 15th and more focused on just getting to meet the new member of the family.