Place ye bets!

Today marks 36 weeks!  Which means that if I go into labor tomorrow, they wouldn't try to stop it.  So this year's new Pickles model provides some extra betting categories: in addition to the date, you also have a chance to bet on weight AND location of birth!

Here are all the previous stats:

Miriam:
born at 37 weeks, 5 days (on a Tuesday)
weight: 7 lbs. 12 oz.
location: hospital, with 3 hrs. to spare


Katie
born at 39 weeks, 5 days (on a Friday)
weight: 7 lbs. 5 oz.
location: hospital, with 5 hrs. to spare


Joseph
born at 39 weeks exactly (on a Friday)
weight: 7 lbs. 10 oz.
location: hospital, with 4 hrs. to spare


Daniel
born at 40 weeks, 4 days (on a Tuesday)
weight: 10 LBS. 7 OZ.
location: home, total labor 1.5 hrs.


The official due date is either Oct. 27 or 28, depending upon whom you ask, which are a Saturday and Sunday.  Note that all the others were born on either a Tuesday or Friday.  Will this one fit the pattern?  I also checked phases of the moon for the other births, but there were no patterns.

My personal prediction is that the baby will be born either right in the middle of me working on the last Halloween costume, or on Halloween itself.  Actually, I take that back.  This pregnancy has been so unobtrusive in general that I have a feeling the birth will be the same.  (please, God!)  It would be awesome if he were born on the weekend so that the sitter wouldn't have to show up at work the next day bleary-eyed from driving to our house at 2 am.

Speaking of the sitter, we actually have a Battle Plan for this birth.  Since we can't afford the home birth I was hoping for, we need to get to the hospital 30+ minutes away, ideally BEFORE the baby comes out.  As soon as I start feeling restless and more cranky than usual, we'll call the sitter and ask her to come over that evening, Just In Case.  Then at the first pair of contractions that are 5 minutes apart (which usually comes around midnight -- why is that?) we'll jump in the car and call the doctor on the way.  The worst thing that can happen is that the hospital would send me back home for a false alarm.

I will still pack a plastic tub and towels in the car.  You know, just in case. :)

The hardest part about waiting for labor is... well, the waiting.  Not knowing when or where.  A homebirth would have removed all the anxiety of Getting There In Time.  Even so, I do have a lot of peace about this birth.  This pregnancy has been such a blessing already (except for the occasional painful jab right in the liver), that I trust the birth will happen exactly the way it's meant to.  God will never be outdone in generosity -- we said yes to Him when we chose to accept this baby with joy, as much of a surprise as he was, and already He's blessed us in little ways that strengthen our trust in Him.  A father of a large family confided to Mr. Pickles once that it's the "unplanned" children that end up bringing the most joy to a family.  So far that's true for us as well!  I look forward to watching this child grow, and seeing what unique gifts he brings to our family.

And I sincerely hope that he's on the smaller side when he's born -- I've got some darling newborn size outfits that I want him to fit into!

Off to make lists of names....