Efface This!

For those of you following the progression of my cervix (and really, what better things do you have to do with your time?), you will be pleased (but not one-millionth as pleased as me) to know that it's about 50% effaced and a teeny tiny bit—read: more than "not at all!"—dilated. For those of you who haven't had children ever or recently and those of you without a cervix of your own or any prior reason to pay attention to cervixes (cervixi?), what this means is: I probably won't still be pregnant ten days after my due date this time (April 21, for those keeping track at home).

At this rate, I could even go—gasp—early.

The baby is even at "+1 station," which the first kid didn't hit until I was checked into the hospital hooked up to an IV pumping me full of drugs to get the party started. What "+1 station" means exactly is unclear to me, too, but -3 is nowhere near the cervix and +3 is crowning, so +1 is good news for those of us who are antsy to go ahead and have this baby already.

I'll confess I'm not as tired and miserable and uncomfortable and enormous-feeling as I was the last time I was nearly 38 weeks pregnant, but still. Enough is enough. I'm ready to move on. The indigestion alone...

Plus, boy or girl? I don't know about you, but the suspense is killing me.


photo courtesy cohdra, morgueFile