Congratulations — your pregnancy has reached full-term, which basically falls anywhere between weeks 38 and 42; your due date is simply the midpoint of this time period. Soon, you’ll be able to hold your baby in your arms, look into her eyes, and welcome her into the world. She’s more than six and one-half pounds now, and all her organ systems are in place. She has shed most of her lanugo and greasy vernix coating, both of which she’ll actually ingest, along with some amniotic fluid; her digestive system will turn this strange concoction into a dark, tarry stool called meconium. Her lungs and vocal chords are ready to wail — a sound you’ll hear once she makes her entrance.

*If you are pregnant, do sign up the pregnancy calendar at www.parenting.com or www.babycenter.com. A lot of good information about pregnancy and baby there.