Maybe it hasn't, but JZ didn't give birth to Emmett.

But of course. It's not like I didn't think it was worth doing - just less interesting for me.

Which turned out to be inacccurate because not only have a lot of procedures changed, but I was able to get a better sense about which things that had happened in Emmett's birth were exceptional and which were more typical.

For example, him being born in distress because he had the cord around his neck usually only happens one in ten times. So I'll take those odds. Also, I got a much better sense about when we might be better off taking a narcotic instead of getting an epidural - which is not something I was really clear on with EM's labor. Also, that EM's labor - which was active for a fairly long time without the cervix opening - is not that common either. Also that while getting pitocin after an epidural is much more likely (3 times), it's not absolutely guaranteed.

Another thing that's changed is that during Emmett's birth they wouldn't let EM use a jacuzzi because her water had already broken. Now it's not an automatic "No," but depends on the doctor.

What else did I learn? The ratio of anesthesiologists is much higher now than 10 years ago. They have three on the floor at all times doing nothing but epidurals (that is - they're not off helping with somebody's back surgery). When Emmett was born we had to wait about 45 minutes for the epidural because there was only one anesthesiologist, and there were four women in labor that night. So that's good to know.

Also since that's pretty much all they do, these anesthesiologists are very, very good at the epidural.

Which JZ thinks she'd rather avoid, and just get through the labor with the narcotic shot. She doesn't like feeling numb, but thinks that being able to possibly nap and get some pain relief would be helpful.

Our instructor was excellent. She was very warm and authoritative. Ple would've liked her ready grasp of percentages and probabilities.

Another key point: the newborn care center will come around and give Mom a massage after the baby's born if you ask for it. That's the kind of stuff you want to know!

TAR: So far I can't tell most of the teams apart. Also squirt guns at the airport? Idiots. And yuck! Fisheyes. I also have difficulty believing that the cabbie hadn't heard of the Forbidden City. I wonder if they have any of this written in Chinese characters anywhere.

Grrr. Arrrgh.

Yeah, I think that cab driver was blowing them off.

TAR: Okay, didn't like the twist.

Also since that's pretty much all they do, these anesthesiologists are very, very good at the epidural.

Which JZ thinks she'd rather avoid, and just get through the labor with the narcotic shot. She doesn't like feeling numb, but thinks that being able to possibly nap and get some pain relief would be helpful.

I wanted an epidural with Sara and it was too late by the time I got to the hospital. So I had the narcotic shot with her (Nubain? Something like that.) and it was lovely. Just enough to take the edge off, and I actually did doze off during contractions. So, yay for narcotic shots as a good way to go.

(I will say also that it made me the slightest bit loopy, in the interest of full disclosure. One of them times I dozed off, I woke talking about windshield wipers, at which point the doctor and Stephen were both, like, "Helloooo? You in there?" It was funny.)

That's another thing that's kind of new. The window for the epidural is a lot longer now. They prefer to give it after you're 4 or 6 cm, but will give it all the way up to about 8 cm of dilation. If it's given too early then it tends to stall or slow down labor. At the the end they like to taper it off so the mom can feel as she's pushing.

I wonder if they'd kept Buffy through S7, and let Angel live another seaon or two, if we'd be seeing this new network.

I'm thinking no. Keeping Buffy might not have saved the WB, but I had the distinct impression that enough independent stations were about to give up on UPN that it would have crashed and burned—until they used the Buffy aquisition to generate press and sign those stations for a few more years. There might not have been a UPN for the WB to merge with this year if things had shaken out differently.

Going away for the weekend really screwed me up, TV-wise. I wish I had taped Angel and Buffy and the Amazing Race! But no. I got like the last 20 minutes of TAR. Is football going to fuck up the scheduling? Anyone know?

Also, going way back, I thought Viagra meant that male porn stars no longer have to have the natural ability to get and keep it up on demand, which would open up the pool considerably.

I haven't slept later than about 7:30 in weeks, but at least I went to be really early this weekend. Did people know that there's the X-Files on TV (TBS, maybe?) wicked early on Saturday mornings? Like, 5 and 6 am or some shit. Are they showing it at other times? Edit: And I see that they do: Tuesday from one to five am, at least.

They prefer to give it after you're 4 or 6 cm, but will give it all the way up to about 8 cm of dilation.

I think I was almost at 7, but I also had to have an antiobiotic run through beforehand for Strep B. At least I think that was the issue.

Anyway, the narcotics rocked.

At the the end they like to taper it off so the mom can feel as she's pushing.

Yeah, with Jake, fifteen years ago now, I had an epidural that made me completely numb from the waist down. So weird, and not in a good way. And then had a C-section, so...