February 18th 2006

It was a damp morning, but sunny with a briskness in the air. After waiting all night for something to happen we were kind of impatient, like kids waiting for presents to appear under the tree on Christmas day, you know the waking up at 3 in the morning and laying there wondering what might be awaiting you until 5 in the morning and then sneaking out and asking if your parents are awake yet and then they say no, go back to bed for a little while longer. And then around 6:54am your parents give in and let you get into your stocking, to buy them a little bit more shut eye.

So we decided to go for a walk because sometimes that gets things going. So we walked around the neighborhood for about an hour and then Kristy said stuff was happening, but wasn’t sure if this was it. So we went home and I got my Personal Data Assistant (PDA) and started up the contractions timer program I had download because I read that it was good to keep track of those type of things and they would ask us about it at the hospital (which they totally did). They started out about 4 minutes apart but after about five minutes they sped up to 2 minutes or less apart and this went on for about 6 or 7 minutes so we decided it mosey on over to the hospital.

We got a parking place near the birthing center so that was pretty nice. We went inside and got all checked in and went to the waiting and verification area. It’s this closed off place with a bunch of curtains and monitoring equipment sectioning off very small areas. They basically monitor the mom for a bit and make sure she is really in labor before assigning an actual birthing room. After what seemed like forever but probably about 20 minutes they confirmed that Kristy was in labor for real and they started getting our room ready. Maybe 10 minutes later we were in the room.

Kristy’s parents had arrived while we were in the waiting and verification area. So they stayed with Kristy while I brought in all our supplies that had been packed for about a week and a half. Kristy’s pillows and extra clothes, my laptop, my portable HP photo printer, our camera stuff, my North Face hydration pack with the double pack of beef jerky from Costco, our ipod mini and Altec Lansing InMotion (mobile speakers), my book of course and my sleeping bag, all the essentials for having a baby or going camping.

Kristy’s sister came to the hospital too and that about rounds out the family delivery team and of course the excellent hospital staff. Jill wasn’t working today though so we didn’t know who we would get, basically whoever was around when the baby decided to come out, that’s who we got. Kristy’s smooth sailing kind of stalled out a bit and her water had to be broken with a medical instrument that looked suspiciously like a crochet needle. After that, things really started moving; literally the baby was on his way out.

Now at this point something changed, Kristy went from just the tough breathing like athletes do when they tear apart their ACL, to pain with a lot of yelling, screaming and crying. This was “The” toughest part of the day and the whole delivery experience. This may not be true for all men, but it was for me. Why? Because here is my wife who I love dearly and do everything I can every day to keep her out of harms way and far from pain and here I was helpless and I just had to watch her endure this immense pain. It was really a painful time for me, but I knew that it was unavoidable and had to be done. I held her hands, kissed her forehead, kept eye contact and let her know that I was right there with her and hopefully that all did something, but she was still in pain, how do I know this? Because Kristy was gripping my hand so hard that you would have thought if she were to let go that she would fly off the face of the earth or something. Her dad and sister were brining her water, you know, like people do for marathon runners and cold wash clothes to cool her down. Her mom was right there too, massaging and helping reposition her when she needed to stay comfortable. It was a lot of activity for a person lying in bed.

There was a shift change for the medical staff and it turned out that the doctor that would be delivering the baby would actually be the doctor that we had picked like 9 months ago (Joy) but was completely booked and not taking on any additional clientele, which lead to us continuing to look and finally giving the nod to Jill.

Pretty much one hour after the water breaking event, it was finally time. Joy had been in and out checking on Kristy and monitoring progress. Now she was in the room with us and Kristy was all turned sideways in the bed. Joy asked if she wanted to straighten out and Kristy said no way, don’t move me. Joy said “Well, I have never delivered sideways before, but there’s always a first time for everything” and after a few pushes (if you ask Kristy she’ll say a few hundred pushes) our first son was born. It was amazing, he was crying right away so we all new his lung capacity was good. He was put right up on Mom, well after Joy was like, “Where is Dad to cut the cord?” and at that moment I already knew I was busted, I put down the cameras and ran around the bed and then I cut the cord. During all this time Kristy’s Mom was able to call like 30 people or something to announce the successful delivery. I just watched Carter and Mommy and try to savor the moment and take it all in. All the nurses and Joy were all in love with Carter’s lips. Kristy and I were pretty much in love with all of him! Carter passed APGAR and then took a bath in the sink and then went back to Mom (Kristy).

Eventually it got late and Kristy’s parents and Sister went home for the night. And for the first time our new family was all alone with each other. That first night Carter didn’t sleep much in the unfriendly looking hospital crib, we all slept together in Kristy’s bed, well I kind of slept half on the bed and half floating in space. We did use the heater box for warm diapers and clothes and I even got to change a tar diaper, for those of you Dads-to-be reading this, I’ll save that description and let you experience that little joyous and memorable moment for yourself.

The next day Jill was on duty at the hospital and she stopped in to see us and meet carter. We gave her a same day picture printed on that portable HP printer I mentioned earlier. Actually we gave all our visitors same day pictures of our brand spanking new baby. We were also allowed to go home the next day and it was funny, I drove like the back of the Subaru wagon was filled with eggs free to roll around without any protective cartons. I don’t think I have ever driven so carefully before in my life. And so ends this fantastic experience that has led me to write these blogs and I have had a great time writing each and every one. Hopefully it will help out some future Dads and maybe provide a laugh or two for those who have been patient enough to read them all.