I like to think that I supported Sandy, as a good spouse I took her countless times to the doctor’s office for her prenatal checkups. I must say as I look back upon my support it may not have appeared as selfless and as loving as it could have been.
It didn’t seem very long however before the time came, somewhere between midnight and six am, when it seems that all babies begin to knock. Why it is always after midnight I will never know, but of our three children, at least the girls, followed the same uncaring concern for my need of a good nights sleep. My son on the other hand was custom delivered at a precise hour by a doctor who said he wouldn’t work on the Lord’s Sabbath, so with one whiff of some magic potion he arrived at about 4 o’clock Friday afternoon, so I will never know if he would have been just as uncaring.
I awoke suddenly, as it seemed I was being shaking, and I could hear the faint cries of a women somewhere calling my name. As the sound slowly seeped into my subconscious, I slowly came too and realized it was Sandy calling, “Honey! Honey! Wake up! And I answered, “What’s the matter?” Sandy said, “Honey I think its time.” And my response, “Just go back to sleep, maybe it will go away until morning.” And again, after a few minutes of silence, “Honey I can’t wait, we have to go now.” And them my answer, “Are you really sure?” “Yes, we have to go now.” “Oh, alright, if you insist, I replied.
So it was off to the Auburn Regional Medical Center, where the waiting really began, all 19 hours of intense and not so intense labor. I felt sorry for Sandy as I waited by her bedside reading the Readers Digest and caressing her forehead from time to time and sometimes giving her hand little squeezes. I guess what bothered her was that I sometimes showed impatience as she continued to interrupted my reading by wanting my attention. Blame the Readers Digest for having such interesting stories.
Other then at the early stages of labor the husband was persona non grata. Those were the days when the father of the baby was a thing of distain at the time of childbirth, and considered to be a source of contaminant.
I felt relieved when a nurse finally came and wheeled Sandy into the labor room for the final push. My relief was short lived when the hours kept ticking by and nothing seemed to happen. As I was forbidden to go any further and could not see the action, time dragged on and on for what seemed eternity.
Finally about 7:00 pm that evening a nurse came down to the waiting room and told me I could visit with Sandy and see our new baby girl. What beautiful red hair she had, and to think that she had me to thank for it. It is always amazing to see a newborn baby, and just to think that you had something to do with a new life, it is quite a privilege to be party to such a happening.
I have to be careful what I say next. It is interesting to listen to someone when they see a newborn baby for the first time. You hear expressions of “Isn’t he cute,” or “What a beautiful baby,” but in my book they all look like drowned rats. I will say however after five or six weeks most, but not all, start to look much better and maybe even cute.
After a nurse wheeled Sandy and the baby down for the ride home, we had barely taken off when the car sputtered to a stop. Would you know it, we had run out of gas.
What with the hassle of the baby and all, I had not stopped to check the gas tank. Back in the early days of our marriage we were always on the edge of broke so I usually ran our car on the bottom half of the tank. Boy was I relieved when after the hassle of going after gas; we finally drove into our driveway later that Friday evening.
That first night home was a real shocker to my system. Here I was used to sleeping in on the weekends, now it meant never being able to sleep in again, or should I say sleep again, period. Up at all hours of the night, the baby wanting this and the baby wanting that, and should I go on. What with diapers and feeding schedules it was a nightmare. I immediately went into as yet an undiagnosed shock that manifested itself in a rash, all over the front of my body, which lasted for the next several days. I told Sandy it was what I called, “Baby Shock.” I think Sandy thought that I was crazy. I was just thankful that it left after a few days. So it is my word against hers as to whether I was really in shock or just a bit hallucinatory from all of the stress.
I am happy to tell you that I survived that pregnancy and two more, and as long as Sandy was willing to put up with the pain I could put up with the kids. The best reward hands down is the grandkids.
I felt relieved when a nurse finally came and wheeled Sandy into the labor room for the final push. My relief was short lived when the hours kept ticking by and nothing seemed to happen. As I was forbidden to go any further and could not see the action, time dragged on and on for what seemed eternity.
Finally about 7:00 pm that evening a nurse came down to the waiting room and told me I could visit with Sandy and see our new baby girl. What beautiful red hair she had, and to think that she had me to thank for it. It is always amazing to see a newborn baby, and just to think that you had something to do with a new life, it is quite a privilege to be party to such a happening.
I have to be careful what I say next. It is interesting to listen to someone when they see a newborn baby for the first time. You hear expressions of “Isn’t he cute,” or “What a beautiful baby,” but in my book they all look like drowned rats. I will say however after five or six weeks most, but not all, start to look much better and maybe even cute.
After a nurse wheeled Sandy and the baby down for the ride home, we had barely taken off when the car sputtered to a stop. Would you know it, we had run out of gas.
What with the hassle of the baby and all, I had not stopped to check the gas tank. Back in the early days of our marriage we were always on the edge of broke so I usually ran our car on the bottom half of the tank. Boy was I relieved when after the hassle of going after gas; we finally drove into our driveway later that Friday evening.
That first night home was a real shocker to my system. Here I was used to sleeping in on the weekends, now it meant never being able to sleep in again, or should I say sleep again, period. Up at all hours of the night, the baby wanting this and the baby wanting that, and should I go on. What with diapers and feeding schedules it was a nightmare. I immediately went into as yet an undiagnosed shock that manifested itself in a rash, all over the front of my body, which lasted for the next several days. I told Sandy it was what I called, “Baby Shock.” I think Sandy thought that I was crazy. I was just thankful that it left after a few days. So it is my word against hers as to whether I was really in shock or just a bit hallucinatory from all of the stress.
I am happy to tell you that I survived that pregnancy and two more, and as long as Sandy was willing to put up with the pain I could put up with the kids. The best reward hands down is the grandkids.
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