Sunday, October 25, 2009

My Son is Born!


My son, William Wallace, was born on the morning of Friday, October 23, very nearly in the car. My wife woke me up at about 5:30AM and told me that she was contracting, but she didn’t think she was in labor. Regardless, I was informed by her that I would not be going to work. After an hour or so, the contractions remained at about four minutes apart, so I called the midwife, and we made plans to arrive at their birth center around 8:00AM.

Now, our former plan was to drop my daughter off with a neighbor, but she’d been sick lately, and we didn’t want to infect anyone else, so we decided to take her with us and let my wife’s mom pick her up from there. Right as we were heading out the door, my wife told me that she pushed a little with her last contraction.

I know you’re not supposed to race to the hospital or birthing center when your wife is in labor, but it’s an entirely different thing when your wife is actually pushing! She had a fast labor with our daughter, but I didn’t think things would progress this quickly. I got on the phone with the midwife once more, very panicked. They were on their way to meet us at the center, but we were driving through rush-hour traffic in the rain. “You need to drive erratic!” my wife shouted. “I have to drive erratic!” I told the midwife.

In the process of arriving, I ran two stoplights and greatly exceeded multiple the speed limits. Honestly, I was hoping for a cop to chase me so that I could get an escort. Unfortunately, my speed was hardly noticeable among other commuters, so I didn’t draw any attention.

When we arrived at the center, we were the only car there. I ran to the door, hoping that someone might have parked in front, but the lights were out, and no one answered. Suddenly, two cars veered into the parking lot, and a couple of women got out of their cars and ran. By the time my wife was inside, it was maybe ten minutes later before William was born. Talk about a close call! The wonderful part of it was that Elora got to witness her brother being born, to which she remarked, “Baby!”

William’s first name is one that my wife and I both like, and it’s a family name (on both sides). When we were thinking up middle names, either my wife or me (I don’t recall who) suggested Wallace, and it seemed like a great match.
Mom and baby (and big sister) are all doing well. We’re home, and at the moment, everyone is asleep except me. And I’m gushing with joy.

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