Tomorrow I go in first thing after breakfast to check how the baby is doing. My official due date is today but at last Saturday's appointment I was having regular contractions for a while and the amniotic fluid was a little low. The doctor said they might have to admit me so Colin made a trip home for the car seat and hospital bag. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the contractions had stopped by the time he returned so the trip was for naught. The doctor said that if I didn't go into labor on my own by my due date that I should come in after breakfast on Thursday and they would start things, the reason being that low amniotic fluid can be a sign that the baby is under stress.

This all sounded rational at the doctor's office on Saturday. Then suddenly this afternoon I started to panic and get nervous. What was I doing? What was really going to happen tomorrow? What drugs were they going to use? Was I going to be able to give birth in the water like I wanted to? Was the doctor just trying to get my delivery out of the way so he could enjoy his holiday this weekend? (This weekend is one of the 2 major Korean holidays - similar to Thanksgiving.) What about all the negative things I had read on the internet about people being induced and having terrible experiences: extremely painful contractions, long labours that stalled leading to C-sections... I know, the people on these bulletin boards are hardly authorities. One movie we saw recently described the Internet as the "sacred sanctuary of nutters and psychos" - probably a fairly accurate description, but still, some of those stories were probably true!

My sister (who arrived very early last Saturday) calmed me down some and we tried to call the hospital. Unfortunately all I got was detailed menu of options to choose from and I didn't know what any of them were. Then I tried the doctor's cell phone but didn't get an answer. That was to be expected, but I thought I would try anyway. My third option was to call Grace, have her talk to the nurses at the hospital and ask them to get the doctor to call me. She gracefully helped me out as she has done so many times before. The doctor called back and after talking to him I felt much better. He answered all my questions and reassured me that we don't have to do anything I am not comfortable with.

So, tomorrow is going to involve a check of the baby, then probably a hormone inserted to get things underway. I'll have to stay at the hospital for 12 hours during which time they will monitor contractions. If regular labour is established they'll remove the hormone and let things progress on their own. I'll still be able to labour in the water. If nothing happens I have the option of trying once more or being discharged to see if nature runs its course in the next few days.