So I called the bank to talk about refinancing our mortgage, and after the loan officer told me the current rate and all their terms, she told me they didn't have any appointments until August. Hmph. Guess we won't go through our own bank, after all.

The ultrasound went very well. The baby held pretty still this time, and the nurse/technician was able to get all the measurements they hadn't been able to get the first time. It looks like Particle is right on track for growth - according to their computer she's in the 45th percentile for growth (right smack in the "average" range). She's about four pounds now, comfortably nestled head-down (like she's supposed to be) and very definitely a she. (At least, yesterday's view moved us from 85% certain to around 98%. If she turns out to be a he, we're going to be very surprised.)

I'd told the nurse that we were hoping for some better pictures this time, so after she'd taken all the measurements, she went back down to the face to get us some shots. She also got for us the gender confirmation picture, but we're not posting that online. As the nurse said, we wouldn't want to be posting fetal porn.

For those of you unfamiliar with ultrasounds, the picture is oriented so it looks like she's laying on her side. The two dark ovals that are pretty much in the middle of the picture are her eyes. Well, her eye sockets. She looks like a Roswell alien, don't you think? And an unhappy one, at that. But if you look, you can see the bump of her nose and the curve of her cheek.

After the ultrasound, we had lunch with K.T. and Kevin and hung out with them for a bit. Then we went home to do the grocery shopping and go to the hospital tour.

The hospital tour started with a very brief visit from one of the librarians at the Williamsburg Regional Library. She gave everyone a packet with information about the library, a compiled booklet of nursery rhymes and some flyers, a board book for our baby, and - wait for it - our baby's first library card.

The library card is actually really cool. After the baby's born, if we go to the library and register the card, a book will be donated to the children's section in our child's name. I thought that was really neat.

And then the library lady read us a book, which was slightly hokey (especially since she went so far as to kneel on the floor while she was reading, even though the rest of us were sitting in chairs), but cute.

Then she left and one of the nurses came to take us on our actual tour of the maternity ward. She started us about ten minutes late, as they were prepping a woman to go back into the surgery room for a C-section, and she didn't want to get in their way.

But she took us to one of the empty rooms to show it to us - unless I need a C-section, all of labor, delivery, and recovery will happen in the same room. And even if I do need a C-section, they'll take me back to surgery, deliver the baby, and then take me right back to that room after they've sewn me up. I kind of like that. Continuity. I don't have to worry about our stuff getting lost, or not knowing where I am.

(Nor will Matt have to worry about them running over his foot with the bed when they decide it's time to move me from the labor room to the delivery room. This happened to my father when my brother was being born.)

The nurse talked about all the methods they could offer for easing labor - rocking chairs and birthing balls and hot showers (though they don't have a labor tub or jaccuzi, alas). We can bring pretty much whatever we want - books, movies, stereos, laptops, food (though there are restrictions on what I can eat while I'm in labor)... whatever.

I don't think I can get an internet connection, but it might be nice to bring my laptop and some DVDs to watch to take my mind off the whole labor process. (Obviously, they'd need to be DVDs I'm already very familiar with. I understand that concentration gets spread a little thin during contractions.)

The nurse also told us that the standard procedure is that the mother gets two days in the hospital after the birth, or three if she has a C-section. That was good news - I'd thought it was two days total, which really only allows you one day of rest after spending most of the first day in labor. She was quite funny about it. She said, "Usually what happens is that the doctor will come around eight or nine in the morning and do a last exam and sign your discharge papers. But you don't actually have to leave until right before midnight."

After she showed us the room, she took us over to the nursery to show us the sink where they bathe the babies. Just as she was showing us that, the pediatrician came out of surgery, shortly followed by a nurse and a baby and a brand new dad. Which was kind of neat. She took us around to the window so we could watch the nurse take various measurements and vitals and put a couple of security devices on the baby. The new dad was pretty obviously already smitten. It was cute.

Anyway, the tour was a good idea. I've been up to the maternity ward a couple of times in the last few years, but it felt good to get explanations and be able to ask questions. I didn't feel uneasy about it before, but I feel much better about it now.

Now, we just have to get to the actual Event.

Two more months...

--Liz