Today is the day.  We are supposed to be at the hospital at 6:00 am.  The procedure will start at 7:30 and we will have a baby by 7:45.  We were pre-admitted last night and the nurse aneathestist (?) said they will not strap my arms down.  That is nice to know.  It would be just one more step in making me feel helpless and completely out of the process.  The recommended pain management method is leaving in the epidural for 48 hours and continuing to get medicine that way.  He said I would be mobile.  Hmmm.  Apparently this is the pricier way.  Before telling me the options, he asked what insurance we have.  Obviously, I don’t have a clue about any of this stuff, so I just said that I wanted the most effective method.  I’m no glutton for punishment.