How your baby’s growing: Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don’t be surprised if your baby’s hair isn’t the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
The suitcase is packed, the car seat is installed, and the nursery is ready. The only thing left is our childbirth class next Saturday. We’ve been watching a lot of NFL channel lately. Wouldn’t it be funny if she came on Superbowl Sunday? Her first word could be, “Playoffs?!”