Birth from a Grandparent's View

Working toward our goals as a couple the past couple of days has really gone by the wayside. At least in the formulaic sense we laid out for ourselves. For very good reason, certainly. And in truth, part of our goal quest was to draw us closer to each other and to being the people we know we were meant to be, so I feel as if our goal reaching was exceeded rather than stunted.

I have an amazing husband. Those of you who know me have heard me say that many times, I know. What you may not know is that he chose to stay with me at the hospital all night long, wide awake, worrying, rejoicing, laughing and allowing me to be the emotional wreck I had to be throughout my son and daughter-in-law's birthing ordeal. And then, when morning arrived, rather than call in sick he hugged and kissed me goodbye and went to work. As exhausted as we both were, when he got home from work tonight, he drove to the hospital to visit the new family and hold Alakai as I snapped picture after picture. I am blessed, and loved. As he is greatly loved in return.

Alakai took his sweet time in finally arriving. 9 pounds 5 ounces of baby is proof of that! Anna's doctor finally decided it was time to induce her on Tuesday the 17th of March. St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, we were put off till yesterday morning as there were so many walk-ins ready to give birth Tuesday. So we spent one more night resting and waiting. Once again, at 7:30 AM Wednesday morning, we were told there was no room at the inn and to try back at noon. Finally, after a long morning of waiting, Anna was admitted to the Silverton Hospital Birthing Center at 3 PM. Even though I know from four of my own births that birthing can be a very long process, I wanted and needed to be there for the whole experience.

Oh how beautiful Anna looked! Smiling, light-hearted, joyful. And Matthew looked so strong and responsible and full of anticipation. Anna's contractions were light enough to come across as a hug across her belly. I'm sure neither of them fully understood how long the rest of the day or night were going to be! We can only share rather than impart our experiences to our children. I was happy and excited for them, yet scared to death of what would come.

They broke Anna's water in the early evening hours, which did finally bring on stronger contractions. She spent much of her time sitting on a large hippity-hop ball with no handle. How boring is that? If they would just put a handle on those things, the moms-to-be could bounce their way up and down the hospital corridor in childlike glee. Shoot, if they'd had any extras around, that's what I would have been doing!

Around 9 PM the doctor decided it was time for a pitocin drip to kick the contractions into high gear. It did the trick, that's for sure! But Anna was a trooper and a poster-child for laboring women. I'll never forget standing in front of her as she sat in a rocking chair, gently gliding back and forth through a strong contraction watching her calmly breathe deeply with her head laid back and her eyes closed. She brought her baby boy into the world without fighting the pain ravaging her body. I, on the other hand, brought my first child into the world kicking and screaming!

I left the hospital room to allow Matthew and Anna the privacy they so needed to bring Alakai into the world. My husband, children and I spent a lot of time in the waiting room or wandering the corridors to keep ourselves occupied. Matthew would routinely send me a text message to let me know how Anna was doing.

Shortly after midnight, my children all went home to sleep, knowing there was still a long wait for birth to finally happen. I urged my husband to go home and sleep as well, so he would be rested for work in the morning. He stayed.

My husband is funny - in many ways. One of his peculiar "funny ways" is the fact that he can't make up his mind. When I asked if he wanted to go home he responded "oh, I don't know." I knew then that he would stay with me throughout the night. Sometimes I just go ahead and read his "oh, I don't know" to mean, "I'm sticking with you." We lamented the fact that we couldn't get online to play Mafia Wars... couldn't even watch videos on Youtube! We felt quite disconnected! However, in preparation for the long hours to come, I added 10 episodes of Grey's Anatomy to my laptop. So, we scrounged up coffee, commandeered a small waiting room, moved the furniture around so we could put our feet up, and enjoyed hour after hour of my favorite show. What a trooper he is!

At 1:30 AM a booming announcement went out over the PA system: "Life Flight will be landing shortly in our parking lot. Please remove all vehicles parked in front of the Birthing Center to make way for the helicopter." The announcement was repeated in multiple languages. Being the camera happy girl I am, I grabbed the camera while he moved the car. What ensued after we did our part, was something right out of a Saturday Night Live skit.

Two cars remained in the parking lot. A red sedan of some kind on the hospital side of the median, and a white Honda Accord on the other side, overlapping the landing pad. As we stood outside waiting for the arrival of the helicopter, a police sedan pulled up at the end of the landing pad, a ways away from the Accord. The two officers got out of the car, walked to the Accord and used their maglights to shine up and down the sides of the car. The both of them huddled together and began to scratch their heads. Really. Then, back to shining the lights on the car, huddle, scratch heads. Within a few minutes, a firetruck showed up and 5 firemen piled off the truck and walked to the car. There was a civil servant huddle for a moment, someone popped their gum, and more heads were scratched. I, of course, snapped pictures. Firemen look really cool at night when a flashbulb is involved!. I'll have to post a picture to prove it. All of them turned my direction after the flash, and then continued to shine flashlights on the car, huddle and scratch.

Five minutes into this odd situation, a hospital administrator walked out the front door on his cell phone, mumbling about the cars. He marched over to the huddled civil servants, and began to pace from one car to the next, booming commands into his cellphone. And yes, all the while, the policemen and the firemen continued working out the problem huddling, flashlighting, and scratching their heads. An exhausted physician walked out the front door wearing scrubs and demanded to know if he would be able to drive his car out of the parking lot. Once he was assured he could leave, he glanced at the Accord encroaching the landing pad and said testily "The helicopter can't land with that white car parked there." Now, I'm not the most diplomatic person when humor is presented. I snorted out a laugh. The doctor turned to face me, his evil physician's eyes glaring at me, and stomped (yes, one can stomp even while wearing blue booties) back into the hospital in a huff. His huffiness caused YO and I to laugh even harder.

Finally, the helicopter was within sight. One more time an announcement went out over the PA system, and two sheepish men came out and moved their vehicles just in time. Head scratching done, the civil servants wandered out of the way to allow the helicopter to land. We were rudely ushered back into the hospital so as not to be covered by whatever the helicopter would kick up during it's landing.

I will share the last half of our eventful night tomorrow. My husband's snores are beckoning me to join him in blessed sleep.