A Birthing Tale: From Daddy's Point of View

by Lila Rose's Daddy

At around 9:15 p.m. March 8, I sensed something was going down.

There was a still point and my hair was feeling electric, I could hear a faint hum... Little Lila was on the move.

Barbara had been timing her contractions and they were getting stronger but still occurring at irregular intervals.

She was past her due date and we'd been waiting patiently.

I finished a super set of sit-ups and then placed a call.

No answer. Whoops. Andrew, our go-to guy, wasn't due back until 10 p.m. so all we could do was wait.

I thought about boiling some water just in case but - I decided to clip my fingernails instead.

Andrew arrived about 10:30 p.m. and then we hit the road.

I kept to the speed limit because things weren't too intense yet.

We pulled into a small parking lot and luckily found a parking spot pretty close, which pleased Barbara.

We weren't sure where to enter the hospital because of a lot of construction but Barbara thought we should go in through the Emergency room.

It was the right call and we were escorted to the third floor and given a plush room with all the latest birthing accoutrements.

Barbara changed into her papier mache gown and did a few twirls.

The gown wasn't her size or style and also itched a little bit so she decided to put on an XL T-shirt instead.

The nurse did some preliminary checks and told us Barbara was 3 centimeters.

We walked the halls to try and get things going.

Barbara was wearing white socks and noticed they were getting dirty - we talked about podiatry for awhile - anything to get her mind off of the contractions that were becoming more frequent and intense.

Back at the room Barbara got a hot pack for her back and was swaying in a rocker.

She had a nice chat with Noreen our nurse while I went to find a vending machine.

I was getting woozy and needed to be nourished.

I got back and the pain was starting to get intense.

Things were moving - the wheels were in motion - you get the picture.

I rolled up my sleeves and then paged the nurse but I called Doreen (not realizing until later her name was Noreen) and another nurse showed up.

Her name was Kim, I saw her name tag.

It was now about 1 a.m. and I received a call from my home phone number.

Both Anna and Olivia were awake and not planning on going back to bed any time soon.

I assured the girls everything was just fine and that they should get back to their canasta lesson with Andy.

I'd be home before sun up.

Back in our four-star suite Kim checked Barbara and she was at 6 centimeters now and things were really rolling.

They called the doctor and started to get all the gear in place.

Barbara was having some serious contractions now and she stopped laughing at my jokes.

We did the breathing exercises and finished up some paper work they kept shoving at us between contractions.

Kim checked Barbara again and she was 9 centimeters - things were really flying now.

The doctor finally arrived and the stirrups went up and the spotlight went on and then the bearing down!

The doctor said afterwards Barbara had excellent control and I certainly agree!

The final push lasted about 15 minutes and then she appeared like a perfect flower- beautiful Lila Rose Rainbow.