Day 19 -Quick help plz! Is adding a cut up sponge on top of the eggs..

the right way to bring up the humidity? I cut one up into 8 large pieces and wetted it and placed the pieces on top of the eggs.  It was completely dried up this morning.  Since I know I need to be hands off the next two days, I want to make sure that I'm doing the right thing.  This is a 4H thing with no humidity meter.  Does this all sound okay?  There's a water pan under the eggs, but the bator doesn't seem to sweat anywhere but near the pan at the bottom.  With the sponges on top of the eggs, it sweats toward the upper part more, and I think that's what I've read is the correct look for hatching.

Thanks!
Jenny

So do you think since the sponges on top dried out overnight (day 18) and I've removed them that I'm okay?  I keep checking for peeping, but that might not be until tomorrow anyhow.  Surely any interior condensation would be gone by then. 

Thanks for all the responses!

Jenny

Bear with me!  Day 20 today, the window is still sweating, which worries me that its still too humid.  We live in the country and all 3 kids have had the flu, the last one started last night. So I won't be able to retrieve a humidity checker just yet.  No peeping and so since I wanted to try to air out some of the humidity, I candled one being sure to not turn it and replace it in the same position it was in.  I did see movement, but also a large air cell.  So I checked another and again what seems a large air cell.  The homemade bator I have on loan has stuff taped over almost all of the venting holes, I didn't realize that's what they were until I saw some info. The 4H person must not have realized what the holes were there for.  So I am pulling the tape back to be sure it has good ventilation.  Really the humidity has been fine until I put the sponges in, which have been removed. 

So do you think its too humid or since the air cells are large maybe I should go back to adding the sponges but not on the eggs. I suppose it really could be either.  I think they look a little small, they don't look like the picture of a 20 day old chick, maybe one extra day of growing.  Sorry to have such little info on this process, I didn't realize the stress involved in hatching chicks!  Thanks for all the support...

Jenny

Thank you for some quick words of encouragement!  I promise not to open it until the hatch is done!  My husband is getting ready to take the computer to work, thereby ending my internet access, so again thanks for the quick reply to help get me through the day with less worries ; )

Jenny