Sent home

I woke up this morning to realize that I'd had a leak of amniotic fluid. (Yes, the barometric pressure has been dropping steadily, and we have a winter storm headed our way.) We moseyed into the hospital birth center about three hours later, by which time they were unable to confirm that I'd leaked amniotic fluid. Since I wasn't then and still am not in active labor, I'm glad they sent me home. I was definitely having contractions (still am) but nothing regular, and no apparent "progress" was being made. It really is a letdown to go into the hospital excited and nervous just to hear three hours later (they're quite busy today) that they're not going to keep you at the hospital. However, as the nurse was bidding us farewell, she said she hoped we had some shoelaces (to tie off the umbilical cord) in case we get stuck at home because of an ice storm.

How's that for a mixed message? "We're sending you home because we can't confirm that you're close to delivering your baby" and "We hope you're ready to deliver the baby at home by yourself"?