No baby yet

Our baby's identity remains concealed for the time being, not entirely unlike the delicious filling one finds inside homemade Chinese dumplings (jiaozi).

Conny and I checked into the delivery room this morning, which was actually pretty laid back compared to what we'd seen on television. And considering the fact that we've already visited there a number of times, it's not like we're confused with where we need to go. We already know where the the nicest park benches are located in the courtyard and where you can go for a walk or buy an ice cream cone. The pre-birthing room we have is pretty nice -- a double bed and no rooming partners; I can stay the night there without problem.

The birth inducement in and of itself is painless -- Conny has to take some capsules that trigger all the right hormones every four hours or so, and then they hook her up to a cardiogram machine to make sure the baby is not reacting strangely to the medication. Conny's had two doses as of 6:00 p.m., and so far, everything has proceeded normally. If all goes well, the doctors anticipate "birthing worthy" contractions anytime within the next couple of days, although it can take longer.

For me personally, there isn't actually all that much to do. I left for a couple of hours just now to post this update and the make a few phone calls and eat some dinner. This afternoon for example, I took a nap and Conny and I played chess. (I won.) Business as usual.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be posting again here fairly soon with some baby pictures. Thanks for your phonecalls and text messages and whatnot. We'll get back to you all soon.