DH again:
Here’s “snuggle” pic of Andy and Jen. 🙂
Things are going great. We’re hoping to be home tomorrow sometime, and Jen will post as soon as she can. I’m printing all your lovely comments to take to her at the horsepital.

DH here, posting for Jen, whose still in the hospital.
We had the baby yesterday at 4:30pm. She wants to tell all the details herself, but here are the stats: He was 9lbs 9oz (!) and 21.5 inches long. He seems to indeed be a champion sucker, so thank goodness for that! Mom and baby are happy and baby has the “10 and 10 and 1” that we were hoping for.
More later when she’s home. That might be Tuesday or Wednesday.

They’re 45 seconds to a bit over a minute, intense and every 2 or so minutes. I’m getting nothing done, lol.
My aunt Cathy is on her way to watch Brendan and the in-laws have been called.
The only thing impeding my joy is that I’m not feeling him move. I’m really scared about that. I didn’t want to go in early but this necessitates it.
Gonna call the dr as soon as my aunt arrives.
I woke Darrell up at 5:00 and he just sat there for a bit with a silly grin on his face… he’s cute. He keeps saying he should’ve laughed a bit less and paid attention a bit more to the labor class.

2:15- 3:15 am… things slowed down a bit…must’ve fallen asleep. Woke up to poo a bit.
3:45-4:05… the big “D”. OMG! Diarrhea wouldn’t have been too bad if it weren’t for the relentless contractions with it. They’re back with a vengence. I rocked on toilet mostly.
Whammo! When a contraction hits… I have to stand up and do a little squatty dance around the room. They hurt!!! And are frequent! And all centered where you get menstrual cramps.
4:16:55- 4:17:55 Dance, dance, dance…
4:19:11- 4:20:06 dance with chin up in air… weird.
4:21:10- ebb a little but no break, 4:22:58- 4:23:37
4:24:55- 4:26:00
Every 2 minutes or so. Is this really happening?!
4:40 now… I’ve been on the toilet again and leaning against the counter in a kind of squat for contractions. Gonna go shower now. I feel yucky.

It’s 1:45 am. I’ve been having contractions for 2 1/2 hours. Some pretty strongish, some not. The crazy thing is they are mostly 2 minutes apart but can be up to about 5 apart. My uterus does not completely relax between them and my back only has a small ache to it. I am feeling them way down low in front with the upper uterus pretty much remaining at least somewhat tight all the time.
The baby is very quiet. I got up 1/2 hour ago to drink some OJ in hopes he’ll start wiggling. I’m about to go back to bed and concentrate on that. If he’d move some I’d be doing the happy dance right now. I hope the contractions continue. It’s scary to be up in the wee hours alone and contracting! I don’t know what the h*ll I’m doing!!!
Oh, and no diarrhea yet. Hahaha.

10:30-11:15. Definitely some abdominal tightness. Not contractions that come and go though- more like what I get when I have walked too long in the grocery store.
11:15- More, though not a whole lot, of normal poo. Afterwards, I feel crampy- the menstrual kind.

9:15- 1 very normalish, ahem… output. Very boring.
Been burping with minerally aftertaste. Yee-uck. DH pointed out that the bottle says this’ll take 6-12 hours to work. Bah.

8:15 pm

Actually wasn’t too bad in 16 ounces of chocolate shake. I wouldn’t do a smaller shake though. Despite the bottle announcing “Tasteless!” it did have a minerally taste to it. Definitely more compatible with ice cream than the juice it recommended on the bottle.
And here’s Brendan from a few nights ago. He swiped a frozen pizza (that was waiting for the oven to preheat) off of the counter and was quite enjoying it.

Stay tuned tonight for the answer….
Altern Ther Health Med. 2000 Jan;6(1):77-9.
Use of castor oil in pregnancies at term.
Garry D, Figueroa R, Guillaume J, Cucco V.
Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, NY, USA.
CONTEXT: Despite wide use of castor oil to initiate labor, the obstetric literature contains few references to this botanical laxative. Derived from the castor plant Ricinus communis, castor oil may possess properties that are useful in post-term pregnancies. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between the use of castor oil and the onset of labor. SETTING: A community hospital in Brooklyn, NY. PATIENTS: A total of 103 singleton pregnancies with intact membranes at 40 to 42 weeks referred for antepartum testing. Inclusion criteria included cervical examination, Bishop score of 4 or less, and no evidence of regular uterine contractions. INTERVENTION: Patients were alternately assigned to 1 of 2 study groups: a single oral dose of castor oil (2 oz.) or no treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Castor oil was considered successful if labor began within 24 hours after dosing. Groups were compared for onset of labor in 24 hours, method of delivery, presence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid, Apgar score, and birth weight. RESULTS: Fifty-two women received castor oil and 48 were assigned no treatment. Following administration of castor oil, 30 of 52 women (57.7%) began active labor compared to 2 of 48 (4.2%) receiving no treatment. When castor oil was successful, 83.3% (25/30) of the women delivered vaginally. CONCLUSIONS: Women who receive castor oil have an increased likelihood of initiation of labor within 24 hours compared to women who receive no treatment. Castor oil use in pregnancy is underreported worldwide. This small series represents the first attempt to evaluate the medication.

This is a test post from the ooooooollllllddddd Pentium 133 laptop that we’ll have in the hospital. It even has a blazing 28.8 modem! Woo Hoo! -DH