Hospital Days!

Here is our super long birth story from Sam's perspective (with a little input from me) since I was a little busy at the time.

There are a lot of things about being pregnant and delivering a baby for the first time that can maybe be scary or you just aren’t sure about or you are completely clueless about, but there is one thing that Ginger has always known pretty much since the day she learned about childbirth, she definitely, absolutely, positively, without a doubt wants to have an epidural…

Ginger’s contractions started early in the morning on Wednesday and started pretty mild and only lasted a few seconds.  Throughout the day they started getting more frequent but still not too bad (her words not mine, keep that in mind whenever I say it wasn’t that bad).  She was still over a week from her due date and at this point, we just figured this was one of those pre-labor, false labor thingies.  So we go to Target and Arby’s (Ginger’s one big pregnancy craving, we go at least twice a week, they all know me by name) and Ginger is just breathing through the contractions and still thinking, no big deal.  Ginger called her Dr. earlier and they told her not to worry about it until contractions are “consistently” 2 to 3 minutes apart.  Later that night it starts becoming more frequent and painful and around 1:45 AM its 2-3 minutes apart and we are wondering what the heck “consistently” means and say forget it, it’s consistent, and we take off to the hospital.  “Father of the Bride” and other movies start coming to mind and even though we aren’t panicked I figured, eh, how often do you have a good excuse and hit about 85 mph on the way. 

When we get there, we leave everything in the car because we think we’re in for a long night and I can come out and get everything or they’ll send us home or whatever, we’re just not thinking it’s actually happening.  We get through check-in and during the triage they tell us she’s dilated to 6 cm and she’s definitely having the baby.  Ginger asks if she still has time for the epidural and they say yes and so what can we do but trust them, we don’t have a clue.  They then move us from the ER triage area to the labor area and instead of a wheelchair they have us walk down the 10 mile labyrinth of hallways and I’m thinking, are they dumb or am I, maybe it’s just the movies where they give wheelchairs cause Ginger is stopping every 1-2 min and leaning up against the walls while the nurse is just saying “good for you” and “we can stop as much as you want.”  So I’m thinking the nurse isn’t in any hurry so I guess we’re okay and I don’t want to be freaking out and all hysterical so I let it go.    

We finally get to the labor area and Ginger asks about the epidural again and they tell Ginger that she needs a liter of fluid before and that it’s going to take another 15 min for the IV to work.  Ginger is in a lot more pain at this point and we’re asking them to hurry it up and get this thing going.  While they are putting in her IV another nurse asks if they can take blood samples from the IV so that they don’t have to “stick” Ginger again.  The nurse putting in the IV says no and then says that maybe they could and pauses to ask Ginger if it would be okay.  Ginger looks at them like, “Really?   Does the immense amount of pain on my face give you any sense of urgency?” and asks, “Is it going to delay the epidural?  Because I really don’t care if you stick me again, you can stick me again, just hurry and get me the epidural.”   I couldn’t help but laugh a little to myself, but at the same time I’m getting frustrated because they’re so dang slow and Ginger is in a lot of obvious pain.

One of the other nurses then checks Ginger again and says that she is 9 cm and that her cervix is really flat and that at this point it’s too late for the epidural and when she says the last part, she is practically whispering with this guilty look of “I’m so sorry” on her face.  Ginger is then a little scared and says, “Are you serious?”  I start freaking out a bit and asking them what took them so long and why were they being so slow and casual.  Ginger then says, “I don’t think I can do this.”  At this point I realize I need to stop berating all the nurses and start paying attention to Ginger and encourage her.  I’m telling her that it’s going so fast, that he wants to come out, that she is strong and made to do this, that she can do it and every other dumb halftime, rah rah, speech I can think of, but I’m not even sure that she can hear me or is even paying attention. 

We are now just waiting for the Dr. to show up and you can tell the nurses are panicking a little and we’re asking if there’s another Dr. in the hospital because Ginger is feeling herself push.  They just keep telling her to hold it in and at one point they even tell her to keep her legs together, umm… yeah, that sounds like a perfectly normal medical technique for preventing a birth, who knew that the way to hold your bladder and delay a birth were one in the same, come on, I’m pretty sure that holding your legs together to prevent a birth is about 9 months too late at this point.  So, anyway, Ginger is doing awesome with her breathing, she’s really working the whole “he he he phooo” thing and toughing it out.  I’m thinking that maybe some of that scared adrenaline is kicking in or something, because she’s being really strong.  She later tells me that she would’ve settled for the janitor, it didn’t matter who delivered the baby, she just knew he was coming. 

Every time the door opens, I’m just praying that it’s the Dr. and after about what seems to be the one hundredth disappointing nurse to enter the room, the Dr. finally shows up.  He looks all sleepy and starts putting on his gear and for some reason I’m thinking, “I didn’t see him wash his hands” but whatever, I’m just glad he’s there and they start taking the bed apart and sitting Ginger up.  The Dr. gets into position and I swear I can see the baby’s head and he’s already crowning.  The Dr. says to push and Ginger gives one big push and the kid flies out all at once, the Dr. literally had to catch him like he was getting a football hiked to him.  When the baby came out he still had the sac around his head and parts of his body and I couldn’t help but think it looked like a sausage casing and a lot like how sausage is made, it’s weird some of the thoughts that come to you in these moments.  Then I start thinking that the sac probably shouldn’t be there and the Dr. quickly rips it off his head and suctions out his mouth and nostrils, ties off the cord and hands me the scissors.  I looked at him and said, “That’s all you.”  I just don’t get the appeal, Ginger just spent 9 months carrying and producing a baby and then just pushed it out of her body, without an epidural mind you, and somehow my special contribution and achievement is to cut the cord?  I don’t get it.  Now I know pulling out a tooth and having a baby isn’t the same emotional experience or whatever, but wouldn’t you think it was odd if a dentist was pulling out someone’s third molars and loosened it all up to the point of coming out very easily and then handed the instruments to their spouse and said, “I know it’s a little bloody and frankly kind of weird, but here, why don’t you finish it off.”?  Oh well, I guess it’s just me, since every other father I know has happily cut the cord.

Anyway, we arrived at the hospital at around 2 AM and just over an hour later, Bennett was born on Thursday, Aug 2 at 3:15 AM, 7 lbs 3.3 oz, 18 ¼ inches.  I admit, he looked a little like E.T. to me when he first came out, but believe me, I was just thankful that he was and is healthy and that Ginger did so awesome.  I was just so relieved afterwards that it was so quick and everything went well.  It went so fast I was still kind of amazed and stunned at everything.  In fact, Ginger and I keep talking about how it feels like we’re babysitting and it still doesn’t seem real.  We’ve been waiting a long time for him though and are truly grateful for Bennett and all the new experiences, it’s been a lot of fun.

Bennett just loves his head under the water.  He still gives this same relaxed face at home.  I just love it.

The hospital outfit while we were there, I wish I could have taken it home.  A nurse made these hats for each one of the newborns in the hospital.  It will be fun to break out in the winter again.

Right before we were loaded up and headed home.

He looks so tiny in his carseat for the first time.

 All ready to go home.  When we were walking out to the car we just couldn't believe that they just let us leave with this little baby and it is all our responsibility from now on.  We are ready for the challenges and the fun times with our precious little boy.