26

"Twenty-six years ago and right about now I started to feel uncomfortable and crampy. By this time, I had been peeing every hour through the night so I got up to go to the washroom. I went back to bed but my back was very sore. I rolled over on my other side and went back to sleep for about an hour.

At about 8 or 8:30 I got up to use the washroom again. I shuffled back to bed, all 165 lbs. of me, and, SPLASH, my water broke. I don’t mean I had a little leak, I emptied the entire contents of amniotic fluid from my uterus all over my bed. That’s about a litre of amniotic fluid all over my sheets and mattress. Ah shit, my bed. Oh yeah, it’s time to call somebody.

I phoned the maternity department at Grand River Hospital and told them I lost all my water (they didn’t seem to care about my bed). I was told to come to the hospital immediately because babies often deliver very quickly once the water is all gone. BUT DON’T DRIVE YOURSELF they said to me. Oh, okay, so I called Herbert.

Herbert said he was on his way to a meeting in Guelph and could I wait? I said NO. He made a U-turn and  was visibly nervous when he arrived. We raced off to Grand River.

When we arrived, the team put me in a wheel chair, rushed me upstairs, got me undressed and into hospital garb, smudging my make-up and messing my hair in the process. I was told to lay on the bed in the delivery room and not get up. I was attached to oxygen while they took my vitals. Everything looked good, baby and mom both strong. The birth would be quick. I were very excited. The nurses left the room.

It was  10:00 am and Herbert and I found ourselves in this hospital room all alone with nothing to do. He went out to call Gurney, Kathy, Mark and David, and his brother in Newfoundland and his mom in Germany. He didn’t show it, but he was excited also. I could tell just by looking at him. He brought me ice chips to suck on (I was allowed no water) and he snuck in a popsicle. Good boy!

We waited. Every 15 minutes a nurse would come in and check my vitals and say “all looks good, any time now”.

We waited. Eventually people started to trickle in for a visit. In those days you could have lots of visitors in your delivery room. Gurney brought a camera.

People came and went. Probably for lunch. I wasn’t allowed solid food so they didn’t eat  in front of me.

Twelve hours passed  like this, the only difference being my contractions were continually growing worse. You have no idea! What the fuck. Nobody told me it would hurt that much. Women and amazing creatures.

Anyway, a little after 11:15 pm the best thing in my life happened. You were born, a healthy baby boy, 27 “ long and almost 9 lbs. exactly, with a full head a brown curly hair and the splitting image of Herbert.

Gurney started taking pictures like a mad woman. Click click click all over the room. Later we found out she forgot to take off the lens  cap. Ouch!

It took about an hour of pushing and not pushing and finally pulling and then, presto, one gorgeous baby arrived.

My Baby! And I Love You Forever!

Mom – happy birthday Wooden Horse"