today could be the day

i am so hoping today is the day.

i am sitting in the hospital right now, just waiting. i was induced this morning around 10:30. it's now almost 7:30 pm. so far, i have had increasingly regular and strong contractions, but that's about it.

being induced is different here. i was induced with bella back in the states and was given an iv line with a pitocin drip. i got it at 7:30am and by 7:30pm, i had a pink little bundle of baby awesomeness.

this morning i was given a tiny little pill that is supposed to induce contractions. i can get one every 4 hours until there is progress. and between there, i just kind of hang out.

it's really not a bad gig. this hospital is very much more like a hotel than anything else. i am sitting in a room with a fantastic view of the city (well, once you look past the cranes and construction equipment....but it's really very pretty), there are no wires constricting me, i am free to roam around and eat and drink whatever i want. there is a restaurant and a cafe on site, and lots of gardens (although it is raining outside, so i haven't gone out). i even got a plush robe on my bed! and no gown to wander around in all day-i am in my comfy clothes.

the delivery ward is full of midwives. that's who will deliver the baby. there is a doctor here just in case, but the midwives pretty much do it all.

after my 2:30 dose, i came back up and went to sleep. i have to admit, it's almost like a mini vacation, minus the contractions, which haven't been bad yet.

in about 15 minutes, i go back down to be checked, so i am hoping by then they will tell me that it's going well. i may also get a 3rd dose at that time.

joel is betting that we will have a baby around 11pm. that would be an alright time table for me! considering bella came in 12 hours after being induced, i am hoping that's about right.

on a less "relaxing spa vacation" note: dinner tonight was an odwalla bar and some beef jerky. someone warned me to bring snacks, and i am so glad they did. when the lady brought dinner in tonight, it was a piece of bologna that looks like a fruit cake, 2 pieces of swiss cheese, and some kind of vienna sausage looking thing in a nasty casing. i am pretty adventurous when it comes to food, i think, but that just isn't going to cut it. and i am not a fan of processed meats, anyway. i'm not sure how people survive on that after having a baby, and i am really glad we only live 5 minutes from the hospital. there isn't really "fast food" around here, except for a mcdonalds. and my experience with german mcdonalds is generally.....don't. well, my experience with american mcdonalds is generally don't as well. but if this is what my meals look like, i may be mc-ing it up for a few meals.

so here's hoping the next update is a picture of my girl! wish me luck!