Is it time yet? It DEPENDS!

The long awaited anticipation of labour has finally concluded, and Karen's contractions are coming at approximately 3-5 minutes apart. So, at 8pm on Monday, December 19th, after packing some last minute things into our hospital bag, we set off for St. Paul's hospital to deliver our new baby!

Karen was initially assessed using a fetal heart monitor. Things were looking good but the doctor determined that we were still too early to be admitted. We were to come back if her contractions got any worse or if her water were to break. Somewhat disappointed, we set off for home, knowing full well we'd probably be back before morning.

"At least we'll get some sleep this way", we thought.

In hindsight, we have decided that God, in His providence, surely has a sense of humour, and this next story only begins to describe why we feel this way. One of the things that Karen was particularly worried about with regard to her labour was her water breaking. Doctors had determined earlier in the day that Karen had a substantial amount of amniotic fluid in her uterus (the "water" in the womb), so she was to expect quite a gush when her water broke. Just think of all the things that could happen to our bed sheets and mattress should such an event occur while she is sleeping?

Well, to solve the problem, Karen had the brilliant idea of purchasing some adult diapers, otherwise known as "Depends"! For the diaper-challenged, these are essentially very absorbent pieces of disposable underwear, capable of holding enormous amounts of fluid...generally reserved for those who no longer have control over their bladder.

Needless to say, the diapers did save the day. When Karen's water finally broke at 4:50am, Tuesday December 20th, most of it landed on the diaper. Poor diaper! We reappeared at the hospital, where we were admitted into the labour room at 6:00am.