One ringee-dingee, two ringee-dingee

The telephone can be a pregnant woman's best friend or most tiresome enemy. As Daughter says, one of the benefits of being nearly due to deliver is that everyone answers your phone calls on the first ring. The downside, however, is that every call the almost-mama makes or answers is assumed to be The One.

Way back in 1983 I was still pregnant 13 days past my due date. About 4 days over that pregnancy-expiration date, I just stopped answering the phone or making phone calls. "Still pregnant?" "Have you had the baby?" "When are you going to the hospital?" I got tired of answering: Yes. No. I don't know. Those phone calls were a weary reminder that, dammit, my baby was not adhering to the schedule.

A few days ago Daughter called and the first words out of her mouth were "No, this isn't it, I'm not having the baby." Like she'd forget to let me know if she had? "Oh, yeah, we had him last Thursday. He's fine. Did I forget to call?" I assured her that she didn't have to say that to me. It would be really clear if the call was Big News.

When and if she has to call hubby or me for a ride to the hospital, I think it will be obvious. Either: "It's time, let's go!" or "Heeee-heeee-hoooo-hoooo-heeee-heeee . . . " (the old breathing technique, don't ya' know).

News travels much faster and broader than it did in 1983. Kate's dad called his side of the family. My mother called our side of the family. Whoever got the phone calls was expected to pass the news along the line to everyone else. For other folks, they just had to wait for the birth announcement to come in the mail.

We'll still use the telephone for immediate family. But almost as soon as the phone calls happen, the news will start speading via email, blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Snail-mail birth announcements will go out in a timely fashion, but most folks will have heard the news by then.

The tiresome-telephone phase will stop as soon as GrandBoy makes his grand entrance. But for now, the phone is just another reminder that it hasn't happened yet.

For my part, I'd just like to thank GrandBoy for hanging on until GrandMary can get to Atlanta. I leave early tomorrow morning. Once I land, son, you can come anytime. Then we'll put that telephone to good use.