Wow, that is looking just gorgeous, vw! I love those windows.

vw, those windows are amazing!!!! Very pretty. And poor, foiled Bastet.

Owen just hooked the handle of his sippy cup on the side of the playpen and was dinking out of it like a hamster bottle.

Pretty living room, vw!

I had one induced labor and one that began all by itself. They sucked equally. I don't think the induced hurt more than the 'natural'. In both cases, I had Nu-Morphan to get me through transition, and episiotomies when it became clear the perineum wasn't stretching.

And now it's a decade later, and I'm NEVER doing that again.

These days, at least at the hospital Susan was in (which is the same one I'll be in), they're very much against episiotomies, and rarely do them. They just let you tear instead. Episiotomies, it turns out, don't heal as well as a natural rip.

I'm hoping that kidlet will be in a good position for the monitors, so that I'm actually able to move around, but I'm prepared for that to not happen.

Pretty living room, vw! It looks like you live in a converted church with those windows, which are gorgeous. (Do you? Because, how cool.)

But in practice, I had to be lying down or seated leaning back for it to work

Ah. I had that with Jake, who was induced. Thing was, that was thirteen years ago, and the epidural they gave me was so total, I couldn't feel *anything* from the waist down. Not my legs, not nothin'. Which didn't help when it came time to push. (Actually, now that I think about it, his birth really did suck, but hey, it's over.) There were no wireless monitors then (at least not where I was) so being in bed was the only option. Poor Susan. An awful birth experience doesn't go away quickly.

I am looking forward to going into labor on my own this time as I think it will feel shorter and less tiring if I get to spend part of it at home.

This was very true for me, with both subsequent births.

Owen just hooked the handle of his sippy cup on the side of the playpen and was dinking out of it like a hamster bottle.

Heh. Sara has one with two handles on each side that are open at the bottom of the handle, and she likes to hang it off her highchair tray.

Offer~ma, Nora! So exciting. Fingers crossed.

You know, you could make a LOT of money with a toddler wheel, on the analogy of a hamster wheel.

Better still, a toddler ball like a hamster ball.

I had a good hospital and good birthing team with Kara. The only reason she didn't nurse is because she refused. I had a lactation consultant right away and everyone tried very hard to get her to nurse. Finally, even the lactation consultant gave up. She was just very stubborn.

Lovely pictures, vw!