Chapter 14

We got there quickly, walked in and got to the front desk. I had expected to be taken directly to a room and examined. Yet there was no sense of urgency to them and the lady had us sign in. She said, “The doctor is very busy tonight, like 20 births already tonight.” I wondered if she was trying to hint that we might want to go home and wait awhile. Oh, I was suffering. Where were the doctors? I needed an epidural before it was too late to get one? When would I be checked in?
Finally, a nurse came to take us to a room. She had me lie on the bed and she placed straps around my belly to detect contractions. After that, she left the room. I had two contractions, the second being so bad I was crying out for help. I called the nurse back in and she checked the charts to read the contractions. “Well,” she said, “looks like you’ve had maybe two.” Ugh, why wasn’t anyone checking me internally? I told her how painful it was and she said, “Well, we can’t give you anything for the pain until you are checked in by the doctor.” I felt the urgency to use the toilet, so she took the straps off, helped me to the bathroom, and then left again. As soon as I sat down and began to push I felt a bowel movement, and to my surprise, I felt the baby coming out. So I stopped and held myself together best I could, trying not to give birth in the toilet! I pulled the emergency chord by the toilet and yelled for Joey to get help.
He ran out and got the doctor and nurses. He said it looked like a scene from a hospital movie with people coming from everywhere to my room. The doctor and nurses came in and stood by the bed and stared in at me. I cried, “Please help me to the bed I don’t want to have the baby in here!” They each held an arm walking with me to the bed. I wish they had carried me because I was so scared the baby would fall out on the floor. Lying there, they spread my legs and the nurse nodded to the doctor. He got on his gloves and told me to “push.” I was in horrible burning pain and just wanted it to be over with. So I pushed two times really hard and the baby was out. I called Joey over to cut the chord as he had done with our other children.