Here's the story: Part 1: not yet officially in labor

We got up a little late (like 9:30) and Tina noticed a bit of leaking that she thought might have been her water breaking. (Keep in mind this is a first baby and we don't know what any of these experiences are actually like.) So we called the hospital (this was Labor Day, so the doc's office was closed) and they said to come in and they'll see if she's in labor. We called our parents and told them what was going on.

We got to the hospital (or just "to hospital" for the English among us) about 10:30. (By the way, these times are all approximate. The whole week has been a long nonstop day.) They hooked her up to a machine that monitored baby's heartbeat and Tina's contractions. Right away she was showing contractions about 2-3 minutes apart. She couldn't feel them yet but if the expensive machine said they were happening, who are we to argue?

The nurse (who shall remain nameless) checked for amniotic fluid but didn't find any. So she said we'd wait and see what happened. So we stayed there, Tina in an uncomfy bed and me on an uncomfy stool in a "check room." The nurse kept coming in and saing vague things about baby's heartbeat not being reactive and Tina's fluid not being amniotic. As we waited, Tina started feeling the contractions and they were getting pretty strong. Somehow, these contractions weren't a sign of labor -- only amniotic fluid is. Whatever.

Our parents arrived and we had little to tell them. Someone (I guess the doc on call) said the baby wasn't reactive (still didn't know what that meant and couldn't get an answer out of Nurse Stonewall) so we went downstairs for an ultrasound test called a biophysical profile. That turned out OK -- Elizabeth scored a perfect 8 out of 8. (That's my girl!) But Tina's fluid level was 15, which apparently meant that her water had most definitely not broken.

We got some lunch and walked around. Tina lost the Jello she'd had earlier; her graham crackers were soon to follow. We got back to the room and got more vague answers. We walked around some more. Finally, at 7:00 (9 hours after we got there) the nurse said she "got the fluid to fern," meaning she got it to look like amniotic fluid on a slide. So finally, after 9 hours of rapid contractions, Tina's finally officially in labor.