The Squeakers' Report: poll

We were glad to see so many participants in our online baby pool. A total of 47 people entered guesses, and many have probably already checked the results. For those who didn't, here's how it worked: the person with the lowest score won, and the score was determined by adding points according to how far off the guess was:

Wrong sex = 400 points
Wrong weight = five points per ounce
Wrong length = 10 points per inch
Wrong date = five points per hour

Thirty-one participants (66%) correctly guessed that the baby would be a boy, but only five guessed that he would weigh eight pounds or more. The date turned out to be a key factor, and entering a guess late worked to some people's advantage. (For anyone's future reference, an entry deadline would make the game more fair.) Thirty-five participants guessed that he would arrive on or before his due date, but he was a little over five days late.

Here are the top guessers:

Overall winner: Rob Lecrone, Tracey's high school classmate, with 109.42 points
Second overall: Michelle Donahue, Brian's sister-in-law, with 254.17 points
Third overall: Bob Donahue, alias Carnac the Magnificent, Brian's brother, with 429.42 points
Birth date and time winner: Rob Lecrone, around eight hours early
Weight winner: Noreen Geary, Brian's cousin in Ireland, under by three ounces
Length winner: a four-way tie among Rob Lecrone (again); two of Tracey's former students, Kris and Chelsea; and her massage therapist, David, all correctly guessing 22 inches

Since we're both very surprised by Declan's length—22 inches is, we're told, "large for gestational age"—we're pretty impressed that four people guessed his length accurately.

It's strangely appropriate that Tracey's high school classmate, class president, and organizer of her 20-year reunion won NipperGuess, since she won't be attending Bartlett High School's Class of 1988 Reunion in a few weeks because of Nipper, now known as Declan. So congrats to Rob, but Tracey is disappointed that she won't be seeing him anytime soon. Oh, and Rob wins an Amazon.com gift certificate. (Nod to Aaron.)