The end. . .or the beginning?

So here I am blogging still waiting for the McNugget to make her grand entrance. I have made peace with the induction although it is kind of weird to think that the McNugget has an expiration date.

I did everything I could to coax her to greet us today. I walked all over Hollywood, Hancock Park and West Hollywood. I drank raspberry tea. I picked up heavy items. I ate Chinese food. I am debating whether to take some castor oil now. It was a method that worked for my grandmother 60 years ago when she was trying to deliver my aunt but I am not sure I want to go through the um, unpleasant experience without the advice of a doctor and when I am not sure it will work anyway.

Things are looking up though. Jonathan and I have arranged a series of "parties" in preparation for the McNugget's arrival. Tonight is our "labor party" and we are putting Tony Blair to shame. If I had gone into labor on my own at home, my plan was to partake in a "labor project." That would be some fun activity to do while I was having early contractions to get my mind off of the discomfort and get myself in a relaxed mood, or at least get something done before heading to the hospital and delivering the McNugget. Since we probably won't get to do a spontaneous one, tonight we are working on a few labor projects. Our ovens were turned on today so we are baking cookies for the labor and delivery nurses. Our kitchen still isn't really ready for use but we have ovens and running water in our sink so that's pretty much all we need for the cookies. We are also putting away a lot of things in our drawers in the kitchen; we are hoping to get as much done in there as possible before bringing the McNugget home.

We also had our last real date tonight and went out to a nice restaurant in Silverlake. We drove there in the convertible with the top down and wondered when we would next get to drive a sporty car with no car seat to a restaurant you'd never dream of taking a baby to. It was a little sad, in some ways it felt like the last day of camp if that means anything to any of you. I know we're in for an incredible adventure and we're excited for it but it's worth noting that we are in some ways losing a way of life we have enjoyed tremendously up until now. You can tell I really am an emotional pregnant lady, I am actually crying as I am typing this out. I should stop with the waterworks, I have a fun labor party to get to!

The other party starts tomorrow -- Jonathan decided that we will have a slumber party in the hospital. For the first twelve hours I will be given Cervidil which is supposed to help me dilate more (I am now almost 3 centimeters!) and efface since I have not done that yet. The Cervidil is not very invasive so we think that after an hour or so of monitoring, we will be pretty bored. Jonathan has decided we will eat slumber party food and play slumber party games. I don't think he is going to put my bra in the freezer or anything but I think he will finally agree to play cards with me (it should be noted that this is a major concession on his part for which I am grateful). Sadly, the cable TV options in the room aren't up to my standards (no Bravo, no TLC, they don't even have MSNBC!) so we'll need to find something to do.

I'm taking my computer to the hospital and if we have time, we will certainly post an update in this space. If not, fear not, this really isn't the end. We plan to keep a blog for the McNugget so you can check in on her progress and be reminded of the good times we had here! More details on that to come.

Think of us tomorrow and Monday and wish us well!!

Love,
Jamie