There was a 50% chance that EC (the Empirical Child) would come before the 29th. She seized the opportunity. On 9/27, EM (Empirical Mom, of course) spent 9.75 hours in labor, pushing for the last 45 minutes or so of it, and at 13:31 produced what by all accounts is a big baby, at 8.75 pounds and 21 inches.

EC has been adept at keeping me up all night, as expected. Volunteering for the night shift, I got zero sleep the first night, maybe two hours the second. But the third was a breakthrough. Five hours, in two sessions, and EC slept flat in the bassinet which she had so far refused to do.

She’s a strong baby. She already has pretty good rudimentary control of her neck, and as of day three she’ll naturally turn over onto her right shoulder when laid down. Given sufficient motivation, it may not be long before she can roll over. But I understand the average age for that is 5-6 months, so I may have wildly inflated expectations.