Amy's sister Kate is here now and we got our best three pushes yet--these literally went to 11!

Denise is rubbing lotion on ... Breathe in and hold for 15 seconds ... Exhale ... Graph line on bottom shows contraction first with three pushes, and then without--Amy's pinging to top of the chart!

Making progress...pushing every other contraction...baby is still a ways inside...so we could be a while...Nurse Lisa and Doula Denise are a soothing presence...

It was thought for a moment we would go to C-section, but now dilation is at 8cm. We're moving into big labor...

We've been watching a data dance between the top graph line of the heartbeat, and the bottom graph line showing the contractions. In the first photo, the heartbeat was dropping too low during contractions, so they turned off the inducing drug and put Amy on oxygen (mom gets more air, so does baby). The team believes that since the baby is still high up in the pelvis, the contractions are causing the umbilical cord to kink in a way that affects the heartbeat. So the nurse has set up another IV to pump amniotic fluid back into the uterus, which has been drying out since the original water broke and drained. This is all such a wet process! As you can see in the last frame, within minutes of pumping the fluid back in, the kid's heart rate stabilized against the contractions. The bathtub's comfy again.

The doctor got here at 5:30am and has since switched from external heartbeat and contraction sensors to an internal direct monitor kit. Amy also got another dose of anesthesia. The doctor has been watching the paper graph output to plan a strategy for managing the umbilical cord during delivery. The vital signs are steady, Amy is reading a book, and the doc and nurse have stepped out to do some rounds. There's a staff change of shift coming at 8am. The waiting continues.

I'm just staring at the ceiling. The doctors administered petocin at around 3:20am to induce labor. So while the contractions are getting stronger and more frequent, Amy's still able to sleep because of the epidural's masking of the pain. I just heard that we can have a T-day turkey with the hospital staff later today in the cafeteria. Maybe our little butterball will be out to meet a real Butterball.

At around 1:45am, the anesthesiologist came in at Amy's request to administer the epidural, which is essentially a needle embedded partway into the spine to allow an initial drug injection and then a steady saline solution drip. I think they will apply another dose in a couple hours. The contraction pains have gone away, and she's much more comfortable. The last two photos are of the big, bright robo-light that was deployed from the ceiling for catheter insertion, and will be used again for the birth. It's very, very quiet in the room now and Amy's sleeping. Maybe I can snag a nap now too.

We're settled into the birthing room now, and the night shift nurse has finished all the paperwork. The OB wing is virtually deserted. Tonight and tomorrow will be quiet due to the holiday.

Amy and I are just listening to the audio of the baby's heartbeat, and the contractions are gradually getting stronger. Baby's heartbeat (first pic) is normal, and the contractions are arriving at 3-4 minute intervals (third pic). Dilation is only 2cm, so we could be in this early phase for 5-20 hours (!). Then active phase labor for 3-5 hours. Oy.

The baby's still squirming and kicking a little. I imagine baby girl feels like her bathtub has drained. The heat's turned up, and we've dimmed the lights. Time for us to try to take a nap.

- mike lee -