False Alarm
Ellen woke me up at 4 a.m. because she thought her water had broken. It's still a bit early, but it had seemed yesterday like she was losing her mucus plug (I told you, TMI) and having a lot of back pain, so I wasn't really surprised. There wasn't a lot of water on her bed, but she'd told me that she couldn't sleep and had just got out of the bathtub, so possibly she lost some of it there. She called the on call doc, who told her that as long as she wasn't having contractions to wait and come into the office this morning.
So I called in to work, Robert called in to work, and he took her over to the doctor while I frantically cleaned house, figuring we were going to be inundated by Tim's relatives within a day or two. Just as I'd called into my evening job, Robert called to say that it was a false alarm. Apparently they analyzed the fluid and found it wasn't amniotic, did a non-stress test, and sent her home. The discharge was probably just more mucus. She has another appointment on Monday, so we'll know more then.
One thing this did is drive home to me that this is happening soon, and we aren't ready. Ellen hadn't packed a bag, didn't even own a nursing bra or nightgown (you should have seen us at Walmart at 5 a.m. Their nightgown selection is not exactly targeted to 19 year olds). The house was still a wreck, though it's not now - it's amazing how much you can accomplish in 3 hours when you're desperate.
It's also amazing how much better I feel about my house when it's clean. Add a few dried flowers and an autumn wreath, a small scented candle and some new curtains in the kitchen (made over from some sheers I got from my MiL's house) and I almost feel like a grownup.