Sam & Amelia

Daddy’s Perspective:
You’re here! I’m so happy to meet you.

Your mom woke me up about 6AM and said “I think we need to go to the hospital.” I asked a couple of questions to ascertain if this was get-Sam-up-and-dressed-and-drop-him-off-at-a-friend’s-house-on-our-way “go to the hospital” or turn-on-the-hazard-lights-and-speed-to-the-hospital-hoping-I-didn’t-run-out-of-the-house-without-pants-on-because-we-don’t-have-time-for-pants “go to the hospital.” Thankfully, it was the former. She said she had been up for about an hour, and that she was going to take a shower and start getting ready. Whew.

When she got out of the shower, the contractions had intensified, but they were still manageable. I asked how far apart they were, and she said “about 10 minutes.” Before I got in the shower, I started the stopwatch on my phone and asked her to push the “lap” button each time a new contraction started. She was pressing the button every minute and a half. Things were progressing!

We called the DuPriests and dropped Sam off at their house about 7AM. (THANK YOU!) We headed to the hospital, sneaking in a little over the speed limit driving, since I felt I had a good excuse. When we got to the hospital, we pulled up to the entrance, where a little old lady was being unloaded from her car. HURRY UP LADY! CAN’T YOU SEE THAT MY WIFE’S IN LABOR? WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR? YOUR 100 YEAR CHECKUP!? IF SO, YOU’RE LATE!

Don’t worry. I didn’t yell at her. We politely watched her unload as Kathy got out of the car, and I gathered her overnight bag and other necessities from the car. Once inside, we asked a volunteer the location of Labor and Delivery. The hospital has expanded since Sam was born, and we hadn’t been to L&D yet. While I realize I may be privy to insider information, I felt like it was fairly apparent that my wife was pregnant, and that she was in pain. Putting the two of those together, I didn’t think it very hard to guess where we needed to go. However, when I asked him for directions to Labor and Delivery, he looked at both of us and asked “You want to go to Labor and Delivery?” “Yes,” I responded. He didn’t move or respond. I asked again. He repeated the question, but this time stood up. About that time another patient walked in asking where she should sign in for her appointment. He took his time explaining the process to her. Meanwhile, I walked over to a pile of wheelchairs and picked one out, unfolding it for Kathy. The volunteer finished with the appointment lady, and asked Kathy if she wanted a wheelchair. In her extreme pain, Kathy mumbled an affirmation. The octogenarian then insisted on pushing the wheelchair as I (patiently) followed behind. He led us through the maze of the hospital, studying each sign as we approached a cross hallway. He was panting by the time we got to L&D. (Thank you, sir, for volunteering. Despite my stories, I do appreciate your efforts.)

Once in a room, we waited. No nurse came to check on us.
Kathy got sick, so I hit the call button. “Excuse me. My wife is throwing up, and we would like some assistance.” They sent a nurse who entered the room saying “I’m so glad you found the trash can. I just can’t handle vomit.” I expressed our desire to get Kathy some pain medicine, and declared Kathy’s wishes for an epidural. The nurse said “We’ve got to make sure you’re staying first!” It was apparent that she didn’t know us yet. We’re not idle talkers, and we’re not complainers. If Kathy says she’s in pain, it means that things have progressed way too far to be ignored. (In the spirit of full disclosure, the nurse ended up being extremely good. It just took her a while to realize the gravity of the situation.)

When Kathy’s water broke, the nurse realized that she should probably start fast-tracking this process. She found a Doc to do the epidural, called our doctor (who happened to be the on-call doctor today!), and stopped messing with the paperwork in order to take care of Kathy. I realized she “got it” when she literally tossed me a blood pressure cuff and said “put this on her arm.” I was happy to comply.

Kathy’s doctor came in to check on Kathy about 8:15AM and said he had a surgery that was about to start – that he just wanted to stop in and check on Kathy, then he’d be back in about an hour and a half. After he checked on Kathy, he didn’t leave the room until you arrived. We were very thankful that he prioritized you!

You arrived at 9:33AM, on your due date, 9.0 lbs and 20.5 inches. What a punctual little girl. It seems like the whole process was quicker than typing this out! Once Kathy got the epidural and the pain subsided, things went very smooth. Kathy did so well with the whole process, and you came out healthy and crying. You’ve been so perfect all day! You caught on to eating very easily, and you’ve been eating and sleeping all day. We’re so happy you have arrived. Welcome, Amelia. You are loved.