happy birthday to me!

Thirty-five today. OLD. C. and I have the day off, though, and she’s taking me on a kayaking trip. Not sure where yet.

I am feeling much more settled today than I did at my last two birthdays.

Here is a very sweet email my father sent me this morning:

So, today, 35 years ago, your mother went into the hospital — it was a quiet pre-4th of July weekend. Her doctor was on for the weekend, and he had said, if it was quiet, and there were no complications that I could be with her in the delivery room. She was working in the hospital as a social worker, but the hospital hadn’t allowed any fathers in the delivery room up to that time. Other hospitals were allowing fathers in the delivery room. We had been to Lamaze training.

We went in early in the morning. It was quiet in the delivery area, I think there were only 2 other women in labor. Your mother was induced (a series of Petosin (?) tablets — I think — and you were born in the afternoon. When your mother was ready to deliver you, they took her to the delivery room, and that was traditionally when the fathers had to wait. One of the nurses came to me, pointed to the scrubs and told me to get in them then wait by the door to the delivery room. While I was getting dressed, they were prepping your mother. (She needs to tell you what they were doing, besides getting her in the stirrups.)

The nurse came to get me, and I as the first, non-doctor, at St Luke’s Hospital to be in the delivery room. (at least one doctor had been with his wife for the delivery at some point before I was in the delivery room, but I was the first non-medical father. That was the crack in the dam. After that fathers started being allowed into the delivery room.Your mother was the pioneer. She selected her doctor because he was liberal in his attitude. She worked with him to get him to be receptive and had a trouble-free birth so it could all work.

You had a perfect APGAR score, but you had a slightly immature nervous system when you were born and your hands shook a bit, especially when you cried. Doctor wasn’t worried about it.

So that’s a lot of what I remember about 35 years ago. Weather was sunny and warm. After you were born I called my parents, and I called your mothers parents (I think) your mother was in the hospital for a day, and I think you and she came home on the 4th.