Sunday started off like a usual Sunday for me. My son woke me and my wife up earlier than either of us wanted to roll out of bed. I got up and turned on some TV, gave him a breakfast bar and a sippy cup full of milk and trudged back to bed for a little more sleep. Eventually my lovely wife got up and said she was going to take a bath. She was nine months pregnant at the time, which might have stressed out some people, but my son arrived almost two weeks late and had to be induced. My daughters due date was the following day, and Wednesday of that week was when they were going to induce my wife. She had informed me earlier that she had been having some contractions, but both she and I were of the opinion that they were going to amount to nothing.
Until they became more intense. Not sure who made the decision but we decided we had better head to the hospital, even if they might just send us back home as false labor. It was now around 8:00 AM, and the doctor had told us, labor takes hours. What they neglected to mention was anything over one, is plural. After some calls we dropped my son off at my sister's, and we were off to the hospital which was roughly around fifty miles away. Shortly after departing we realized that this was no drill. I began to drive faster.
Once on the interstate the labor pains became so intense that my wife was quite vocally displeased, a little at first. Not to say she was yelling at me, it was a more general unhappiness. It was about twenty or so miles into our trip when my Wife informed me that she couldn't do this. Which I thought she meant she couldn't have the baby. I told her she could, as she already had done it once, and drove faster. What she meant was much more complex for my addled mind to comprehend at the time.
Thirty miles into the trip was when my wife informed me that we were not going to make it. Her displeasure had become quite loud. I told her, and felt certain at the time that I was lying, that we would make it. I had determination, I wasn't sure I had time. I drove even faster.
It was shortly after this that I rounded a corner and saw two police vehicles sitting on the side of the road. I vocalized my displeasure, and wasn't as polite as my wife, as the speed limit was very much broken. I let my foot off the gas and coasted by them, still in excess of the limit by a good 10 mph. They didn't budge, they will never know how they missed out on delivering a baby that day. As soon as I could no longer see them I accelerated again to my former speed.
My Wife continued to tell me that we were not going to make it, and backed up her point by having her water break. Now for the uninitiated this is the point of no return, and while it happens in every single TV show it rarely happens in real life before the hospital. Faster? You bet.
The rest of the trip was very exciting and frightening, the prospect of giving birth to my daughter was a very front and center thought. I should mention that I did look both ways and run a red light, but we did make it to the hospital safely. and I should also mention it was with an infinite relief. I parked in a handicapped spot closest to the door and ran in, pondering how we were going to get my wife out of the vehicle.
No one was at reception, I know I vocalized my displeasure more. I decided to head right and found a bored hospital employee that assumed my wife was having a false labor for all of their speed and reaction she had. I found a wheelchair and headed outside.
My wife magically got out of the car and politely sat in the wheel chair which had no place to put her feet. The hospital employee raved about my wife's missing sock as she pushed her into the hospital, and we got to triage. My wife's magical demeanor had reverted back to her vocal displeasure and all of triage who had previously looked bored, demanded "Get her to a delivery room!" I felt somewhat justified in my marginally controlled panic.
Off to the delivery room we went. The doctor they found was more concerned about who was my wife's doctor than actually delivering my daughter. He did this within ear shot of both me and my wife it took every bit of self control for both of us to not tell him to shut up and do his expletive job. A quick examination and a nurse told us that my Wife was at 10 centimeters and had done all the hard work at home. My Wife corrected her and informed her it had been done in the car.
Soon the nurses told my wife to quit vocalizing and start pushing, with no drugs and three pushes later and a little over an hour and a half after 8:00 AM, my daughter had arrived. I never sighed harder in my life, and I doubt my wife had either.
Some people will tell you there is no such thing as love at first sight, those people don't have a daughter. Happy First Birthday MegaMeghan!
