Brand new day

We both got a few hours of sleep, or at least 90 minutes of sleep and 90 minutes of good rest in between. This might not sound like much, but compared to late last night, we both feel relieved and even rested. Carolyn rested comfortably through hours of contractions, a real blessing. Those who advocate a fully natural process either don't experience pain of the same severity -- and so early in the process -- or are just nuts. (Possibly, some of them are lying -- the staff confidently told us that practically all patients eventually ask for the epidural, almost without exception, even those who hadn't planned to. And again, induced contractions are more severe, so that too is a factor.)

Anyway, the 9:30 a.m. checkup showed that Carolyn was at 5 cm, and also that her water had broken at some point over the last hour. So basically, after about 11 hours in the hospital, we had finally reached the point in the labor process where it's time to go to the hospital. I kid, but this was a great sign of progress. Of course we're eager to get to the big finish, but we understand that a slow, steady labor is probably the best thing for an induction, and we're happy it's going so smoothly.

It's 12:30 p.m. now. Carolyn has been resting comfortably pretty much the whole time, albeit limited to a diet of ice chips and apple Jolly Ranchers. (I had cafeteria scrambled eggs and cold hash browns -- not recommended -- but at least I got a big cup of Starbucks.) The transition stage could hit at some point in the next hour or two, and after that, it's pushing time. Our nurse-widwife just showed up again for another exam. We're at 8 cm, 90% effacement, +1 position. It won't be long now.