34 Weeks, 2 Days

So what have you been doing for the past three weeks and two days? Bet you didn't spend it in the hospital! Yep, Allison has spent the last three weeks and two days in a labor and delivery room at the hospital hooked up to a fetal heart rate monitor. When she was first admitted on April 9 (at 31 weeks, 1 day), the doctors hoped to delay delivering the baby for at least 48 hours to give the steroids a chance to help mature the baby's lungs. After we made it 48 hours, the doctors starting aiming for 32 weeks. Once we got past 32 weeks, they starting shooting for 34 weeks. On Monday (at 33 weeks, 6 days), the doctor tentatively scheduled a c-section for Allison for Thursday late afternoon, but this baby has surprised us again. According to this morning's ultrasound, she has continued to grow and has exceeded the doctor's expectations about how cases like this one usually go. So, instead of having a c-section, Allison gets to go home tomorrow! Granted, she will still be on bedrest and will have to return to the hospital three times next week for monitoring, but resting at home with DirecTV seems a lot more appealing to Allison at this point than continuing to count the ceiling tiles in LDR 5. That's not to say that Allison's time in the hospital hasn't been educational. For example,

1. The hospital has one male labor and delivery nurse. He looks like Mario Batali.
2. It is possible to be allergic to ultrasound gel.
3. It is possible to get sick of eating mashed potatoes.
4. Labor and delivery wards really are more active around a full moon.
5. The first weekend of Jazz Fest is not a popular time to deliver a baby.
6. Dr. Chou aggressively banging on Allison's stomach with the ultrasound device will not, in fact, wake up the baby.
7. Some perinatalogists have more personality than others...some have none at all.
8. There is not a single correct clock on the entire labor and delivery ward.
9. When you are walking around the labor and delivery ward in your PJs and you see someone you used to work with, the appropriate strategy is to pretend not to see them.
10. When Allison's mother has a fight with one of the nurses, it will be noted in Allison's chart.

Clearly, it has been an interesting few weeks. If you want the whole story, please feel free to email John or Allison, but be prepared to be impressed by all the new medical terms that they have learned.