Baby Girl Brown Sweepstake

We’re coming towards the end, and much more quickly than I had been expecting to be honest. I remember the last few weeks with my son dragging on and on and on and…you get the picture. But in a couple of days I will be 33 weeks, and the weeks are ticking over faster than you can say Braxton Hicks.

We’re doing well. Hospital bags are packed, pram and car seat are scrubbed and gleaming, nappies are washed and f0lded. We have a couple of jobs to do (buying little things like a mattress so the poor thing has somewhere to sleep for instance. That should have read “we’re doing well…for us”) but if, say, the baby came this week we’d be fine.

So I thought I might have a little fun.

Having been inspired lately by a couple of Twittering friends who have run competitions on their blogs (@cathryanhoward and @alisonwells – follow them, do, they’re lovely) I fancy doing a little sweepstake. A little prize for the person who guesses the right weight of the baby and the name we choose (only first name, not middle, that would be cruel). Bonus prize for anyone who correctly predicts that the little monkey comes out a boy after all, the due date being April Fool’s Day and all. OK, I take that one back because now some smarty pants will hedge their bets and just say ‘boy’ anyway. A real bonus prize for anyone who says (in advance!) the actual date of birth.

For a little bit of help, I will update this post with any info I get from medical professionals with estimated weights etc – if that is helpful, I don’t know. They were way off with my son. Who, by the way, was 9lb 4oz. I know people often say the second one is bigger – please, unless you want to see a grown woman faint, keep guesses under this weight! I will also update in a couple of weeks a picture of myself (when I can bring myself to do it) so you can see The Bump.

I can give no help on names as we are still making a shortlist, so have fun with that one.

I have no idea as yet what the prize will be, you’ll have to be kept in suspense on that one. My husband suggested an iPad – I think he hopes no-one will get it right. It won’t be an iPad. A notepad, possibly.

Watch this space folks.

UPDATE, 1 MARCH 2010: Nothing scientific, not back for checkup until next week. But for your information, Baby Girl Brown has suddenly seemed to double in size. With a month to go (exactly, eek!) I no longer feel like I’m carrying a baby but a huge, wriggling lump of concrete. So anyone guessing on the big side would seem, at the minute, to be closer to the truth than I would like! I’ll try to be brave and post a photo soon.

UPDATE, 3 MARCH 2010: Ha, knickers to the pessimists who think this will be a big baby! She may feel like a lump of lead, but according to midwife who I saw today, I have a very reasonably-sized bump for how long I have left to go. By which, I mean small. Not too small, just not huge. So there.

UPDATE, 9 MARCH 2010: Ok, bit of stuff happening but also not. I shall explain, but it involves very slightly messy details, so if you’re squeamish or uninterested look away now. Sunday night: waters leaking. Not broken, I hasten to add, in the sense of floods everywhere, husband needing to put waders on to rescue me from deluge, just leaking, but very definitely so. Upon examination in hospital mucus plug has moved. (That was the messiest detail, it’s safe to look again now.) Last night (Monday) I went in with really bad pains (seriously, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being ‘agonising’, I was at least an 8) which were regular contractions that…DIED away. Meh. We stayed in hospital until 2 am as they kept building up but nothing was happening. The only thing that can be said is that upon examination I was found to be 2cm dilated. And the same 4 hours later. And I could be staying the same for the next 4 weeks. So things were happening, but also not. Does that help with the sweepstake?!

Oh, and I’ve decided. Prize for closest to date, weight and name will get £10 (or €10) Amazon.co.uk voucher. Sorry it’s not more artistic and inspired but at least it’s practical!

UPDATE, 5 APRIL 2010: So, yes, we’re currently 4 days overdue, and it turns out that this isn’t so much fun. It also means that as things currently stand, only Rachel can win on date unless people have another guess, which I’m not sure isn’t cheating a little…but also remember the original criteria were date, name and weight. I will accept name and weight. Anyway, there are two bits of news. Firstly, I am going for a membrane sweep tomorrow (6 April), and according to my lovely consultant this often gets things going once you’re past your due date. Let’s hope. Also tomorrow they will book me in for induction just in case, probably for the coming weekend. With this in mind, we have mentally adjusted our countdown so that we are now not expecting anything to happen before 12 April. This is to save our sanity and to field calls from well-meaning relatives and friends. Not sure how effective it’s been so far in that respect,  but it has helped me a great deal as I was close to breaking point. You see, none of this was in the plan. She was supposed to arrive before her due date. I did not count on spending Easter weekend still pregnant, or even considering induction again. So, gentle reader, please keep everything crossed that she stirs herself soon…

UPDATE 01 MAY 2010: Emily Grace was born on 9 April weighing 9lb 5 oz, at 8 days overdue. And of course she is absolutely beautiful! Apologies it’s taken so long to update the post with sweepstake results, but it’s been a little overwhelming!

Anyway, all things considered, we’ve come to a decision on the sweepstake winner. You were all shockingly out with your date predictions, so no-one wins on date. However, there was one person who not only got the name right but was scarily close to the birth weight. So, with a guess of Emily (correct) and 9lb 6oz (only 1oz out), the winner is…..(cue drum roll, and agonisngly long pause in the style of a TV talent show) Jane Travers! Congratulations, your Amazon voucher will be winging its way to you soon.

Thanks everyone for guessing!