Olive is officially a Full Term Baby now; it's just a waiting game at this point to see when she'll decide it's time to emerge.

The last days of pregnancy seem intentionally designed to make both parents eager to get the kid out. Christina's been having real trouble with pregnancy irritation: constant itching and water retention. It doesn't sound bad, but it's persisted for weeks, slowly and constantly intensifying; it's been pure misery for her. Of course, the last few days' heat and mugginess isn't helping anything either.

I don't have any physical symptoms, but the anticipation is driving me nuts. Feeling Christina's belly these days, whether Olive is active or not, is a revelation: even when she's not moving, you can tell just from the variations in pressure and tone where she's lying, and in what orientation, and where her arms are. Once she does start to move, the mental image becomes startlingly clear: there's a complete little baby in there, moving the same way that babies do once they're born.

Today I took apart the sidecar crib, re-drilled its ikea holes in new places, and put it back together. This adjusted its height so that its mattress is now precisely level with our bed's. Then, I re-packed the hospital bag, ensuring that we have everything that either of us could want there. Our checklist is and has been complete; the only remaining preparations are of the same type, which may improve quality of life but are entirely inessential. Altogether, we're ready to have a baby.

I should say that I'm ready, at least; I can't wait for Olive to make her appearance. Christina is much more reluctant: she's read dozens of descriptions and narratives of the agony and medical complications which can attend a birth, and somehow none of them have made her look forward to the experience. On the contrary, whenever we talk about anticipation, Christina says that despite the increasing issues of late pregnancy, she's happy to keep our girl inside for at least a little while longer. It's a good thing that this girl is coming, but she's glad each night that Olive didn't come that day. It's a better attitude than the utter impatience which seems to be the other characteristic attitude of women in this stage of pregnancy, but it's a little surprising to me: if nothing else, I'd have thought she'd be eager to see the end of the pregnancy symptoms.

Either way, it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things: Olive will show up on her own schedule, whatever the two of us think about it. We just need to come to terms with that with as much grace as we can summon, and then rise to the occasion when she does show up.

But really: I can't wait.