The Waiting Game

Well, we've just crossed into week 39 today and are still waiting on Tobin to decide that he's ready to join us. Since he's now the size of a watermelon (therefore, I am at least the size of a watermelon), he's feeling pretty cramped. Last night he tried out some dance moves that may have worked for him in the past, but the restricted space caused major interruption. But he sure did keep trying, causing me some big discomfort. When he finally quieted down, we decided he was the cause of my pangs and didn't make a false trip to the hospital. Settle down, little guy, we're gonna get you out soon enough.

My family has put together a collection of guesses for Tobin's birth date, weight, and size. Sad to say, the first date passed uneventfully yesterday. The next two guesses are both for Saturday (mine being one of them), followed by a guess for just about every day until the 26th. The only date left off the poll? The 23rd, the kiddo's actually due date. I've read that about 5% of women actually do give birth on their due dates. My family seems to think Tobin and I just aren't part of that punctual few. The last birth date guess is October 2...which is just plain mean. ^_^ But with my luck (and aforementioned lack of punctuality) it could just happen. Eh, that gives me more days of floating around in the ASU pool and taking lovely baths with my new Bath & Body Works lavender vanilla bubble bath.

I'm a sucker for trivia, so I thought I'd share some of the random baby info I learned from a BabyCenter.com article:

• The most popular day for babies to make their entrance is now Wednesday. (This is the first year since at least 1990 that Tuesday wasn't the biggest birth day.) There were 15.4 percent more births on Wednesday than on the average day. Sunday is the slowest day, with 35.1 fewer births than average. The fact that far fewer babies were born on the weekend may be influenced partly by scheduled labor induction and c-sections, according to the CDC. But vaginal births also occur less often on the weekend.
• More newborns arrive during the late summer and early fall months of July, August, and September than any other time of the year. In 2006 (earliest data year), August hosted the most U.S. baby births.
• Over the last three decades, women have been waiting longer to start having children. In 1970, the average age for a first-time mother was about 21. In 2005, the average age of first-time moms when they gave birth was 25.2. In 2006, it dropped a bit for the first time since this stat was first measured in 1968 – to 25. (OK, now I just feel old)
• Number of stay-at-home moms in 2008: 5.3 million
• First-time moms' work status during and after pregnancy, 2001 to 2003:
  Percentage of first-timers who worked during their pregnancy: 67 percent. By contrast, between 1961 and 1965, 44 percent of first-time moms worked while they were pregnant.
  Percentage who worked during the month before they gave birth: 80 percent. By contrast, between 1961 and 1965, 35 percent of first-time moms worked during the last month of pregnancy.
  Percentage who were working by the sixth month after they gave birth: 55 percent. By contrast, in the early 1960s, the percentage for first-timers was 14 percent.
• In 2006, about one-third of pregnant women were outside the weight guidelines for healthy pregnancy, with 13 percent of moms gaining less than 16 pounds and 21 percent gaining over 40 pounds. (Unless Tobin holds on for another month, I'm in the guidelines - woohoo!)
• With about 1,049 male babies for every 1,000 female babies in 2006, boys are keeping the edge in a ratio that's stayed about the same over the past 60 years

Just thought you'd enjoy those...or at least find a few of them mildly interesting. Check out the article linked above if you want more for your future appearance on Jeopardy.

And now, Tobin and I need some lunch. He's keeping me on a pretty regular eating cycle these days (as in, regularly eating all the time) and, what can I say? Toby needs!

Love in Christ ~ Valerie