I’m writing this from a birthing room at West Allis Memorial Hospital, where Kelley and I have been since 4:30 yesterday, when it was confirmed that her water had broken.

It’s now 7AM. Kelley has been on a low dose of pitosin since midnight, and she can feel the contractions beginning. She’ll get a full dose soon, which should really get things moving.

The timing has caught us a little off-guard. Caleb isn’t due until May 8, but as of today, he’s considered full-term. My mom suspects that he didn’t want to share his birth month with all the other May birthdays in our family. Kelley is glad his head will be smaller today than it will be three weeks from now. I’m hopeful that this is an early indication of German punctuality.

Fortunately, we’re pretty well prepared (thanks to a lot of help from her parents). Just two days ago Kelley packed her bag, and I installed the car seat. The nursery is all set up, and we’ve received so much baby clothing that Caleb may never wear the same outfit twice.

It’s time for me to eat some breakfast and get cleaned up. God willing, I’ll be holding my son later this afternoon.