off to the hospital

April 13th, 8am.
We're now 19 days away from the due date, which is why "packing the hospital suitcase" is so high on our priority list for this weekend. So here we are, scrambling to gather up the stuff that we want to have with us for the new parenthood odyssey.

Arrived at triage around 9am and the first order of business is a test to see if what we're seeing is amniotic fluid. Seems like a good idea, but really, what's the alternative? Rain?

Test is positive, so it's off to our "suite". If all goes well, we'll be staying in that room until we're discharged. Two go in, three come out. Pretty neat stuff.

So, we settle into our room, and labor pains are most like back spasms or cramps. So, the water has broken but labor hasn't progressed quite yet. That spells pitocin. Yup, we're going to have to induce labor till things get rolling naturally. The good news is that we're told that regular meal deliveries have been replaced by room service. Neato, so we try it out and order lunch. It wasn't bad, so we ordered another lunch. Hey, labor's going to be difficult and we gotta keep our strength up. With french fries.

Top two quotes of early labor:
Nurse: "They told me your were sitting around playing cards while in labor, and sure enough, there you are"
Comment from mom-to-be to dad-to-be about getting dealt a really lucky rummy hand: "That's right, today's all about you"