Mardi Gras 2009 Dritte’s birthstory part 1

I went to go pick up my mom, so that she would be here to watch the childrens just in case Dritte decided to show up early. (Dritte due date ~March 5th). Our good friends Pablo & Blub stayed with MyBetterHalf, just to hang out, and also, just in case. MyBetterHalf had a scare that morning, but went to the OB, and everything was cool, and she was only 1.5cm dilated.

I went early, so that I could get home and get a good night’s sleep, since I’ld previously put in some long hours at work.

When I got home with my mom, MyBetterHalf was having strong contractions every few minutes. We called. The OB office said, “come on in.”

The drive to the hospital was fine. We both had previously packed our “hospital stay packs” so we were ready with that. I remembered where to park. There was the 50 yard walk from the parking lot to the emergency room entrance, which MyBetterHalf had to stop twice during because of contractions. I never really understood the “park here, and have contracting woman waddle over to entrance”…maybe I got it wrong. I do know that I was not to leave my wife, the emergency load zone was for official vehicals only, there was no valet parking at that hour, and we were parking in the “after-hours” parking lot that the hospital’s guidebook said to use. I guess if she wasn’t good enough to walk 50 yards, then I was to call an ambulance. And I guess I did the right thing with parking.

We walked in, the staff at the counter said, “Pregnancy triage…that way”.

(I have to say, I’m a bit concerned with the lack of security measures, or ID required to get into a hospital when with a laboring woman.)

Pregnancy triage…it had low lighting, blue tint, and the desk was swamped, and there was moaning in several of the off set areas. Naturally, gray linoleum. With our packs, and sense of lost/confused, I felt we were refugees in a scene from DeepSpace9…sci-fi-depressing.

I tried to do my part. When MyBetterHalf was having a contraction, I would remind her to breath, tell her she was doing good & I was proud of her, and she had my hand to squeeze if she needed it. (No harm was inflicted upon my hand during the making of this story.)

Sometime around midnight, MyBetterHalf’s bed was rolled up to the Labor & Delivery ward.

And that was my Mardi Gras, 2009. I know how to party, huh?