Meanwhile at the Hospital Cafeteria - March 14, 2021
(This one is a little long – BUT IT’S REALLY FUNNY! And you are always welcome to share!)
Our son Tom was born on Saturday, March 13, 1982. It’s a day I remember well. 😊
The picture of me smiling and hugging daughter Anna, wearing the yellow nightgown, was taken when I was in very early labour the Friday night before. Thankfully, no one took a picture of me the next day in active labour. I was not smiling.
Contractions continued on and off all night, so we figured on Saturday morning we ought to head off to the hospital. Our friend Cathy – two doors down – looked after 2 ½ year old Anna for us. She had a little boy Andy and the two kids were good friends. Plus Cathy had a large colour TV AND stairs! Pure heaven for Anna who lived in a TV-less apartment. Hubs called a cab. I remember looking out the window of the cab – it was a sunny day. And I thought, “Dang! What a nice day to go to market and here I am in labour!”
Got to the hospital and signed in. Got to my room and the nurse set up a monitor to see how the baby and the contractions were doing. The baby was doing great, but the contractions stopped. Gah! False labour? OK, this was two weeks before the due date of March 25th, and I had gone two and a half weeks overdue with Anna.
Around this time, our two nursing students arrived. We had been asked if a nursing student could attend the birth and we said, “Heck yah!” She had a nursing student friend who hadn’t been able to find a willing couple. Would we consider a second nursing student? “The more the merrier.” I did not know how “merry” it would later become.
The OB arrived and suggested that rather than go home, we should go to the hospital cafeteria for a change of scenery. Things might start up again. Perhaps my husband had announced that he hadn’t had breakfast yet. I surely hadn’t. Those were the days that when you went into labour, you weren’t allowed to eat, or drink anything that wasn’t clear.
So Laur and the two nursing students and I trundled off to the hospital cafeteria – me, wearing my stylish hospital apparel. Laur ordered pizza for the nursing students and him, and a ginger ale for me. I was ready to chew on the cafeteria table, I was SO hungry.
And them BOOM! Labour kicked in with no warning at all. Laur thought I was joking – how could I go from zero to a hundred before he’d even had his second bite? I said to Laur, after I finished the first kicker of a contraction, “We need to go back to 4F!” (4F was the Labour and Delivery unit at Jellybean Hospital.) Hubs pleaded, “But Jannie, I’ve only had two bites of my pizza!” And then another contraction hit.
The nursing students knew how to eat in a hurry, and Laur shoveled in the rest of his pizza as I grimaced and groaned and clenched and curled up.
Getting to the elevator was no easy feat. We walked a few steps and then another doozie of a contraction would hit. “Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!” I learned later that there were some nurses sitting not far from us making bets as to whether or not the baby would be born right there in the hospital cafeteria. As it turned out, it might have been more private. But I digress.
We finally got to the elevator door but every time the door opened, another contraction would hit. Finally I got in. I pitied the people on the elevator with us – but only in retrospect. We got to the fourth floor and the door opened - and what seemed to be the mother of all contractions hit and I could not move. Thankfully one of the nursing students had the good sense to hold the “open door” button.
By now I was howling. The clerk at the nursing desk said, “Sounds like somebody’s about to have a baby!” No sh*t, Sherlock! I don’t know how I made it to the labour bed, but I did. The OB took “a look” and “broke my water.” Tom came flying out – face and body facing down onto the bed – all in one shot. Someone lifted one of his legs and said, “It’s a boy!”
I was in a really bad mood by now and said, “Are you sure!?” And that someone said, “See for yourself.” I propped myself up on my elbows and it was then that I noticed there was a crowd of people at the end of my bed. My hubs and the nursing students were there, plus the OB and an intern who didn’t get to do much. And then a whole host of others!
Apparently, there were very few “natural” births at this teaching hospital and a bunch of medical students joined the party with, I’m assuming, the permission of the OB and my hubs (who can’t remember.) Looking back, it was a scene from the Monty Python skit “The Machine that goes Ping!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcHdF1eHhgc
But all was well – Tommy was healthy and I was healthy, and I was about to try to hook him up for his first feeding. The cast of “extras” left. But then things took an unexpected turn and I had to be rushed down to an operating room. Laurence grabbed Tommy from my arms and, along with the two nursing students, followed the OB, the nurse, and the intern who were push-pulling the bed. I was swiftly shunted off my bed and on to an operating table – my legs put in stirrups that reached to the sky. Good grief!
At this point the medical intern passed out. Bad timing because the problem resolved itself quite nicely with some massive injections of pitocin. When he came to, he apologized. He explained, “I never plan to work in surgery. I’m going to be a psychiatrist. I really don’t like ____.” (Swoon.)
Hubs and I had already arranged for me to have a private room for one night – the plan was that I would go home the next day. When we had Anna – also at Jellybean hospital – I was in a four bed ward for four nights. Yes, four mommies and four babies being shunted in and out 24/7. Add to that “open visiting hours” and it truly was a four ring circus. I got virtually no sleep. I was a mess by the time I got home from the hospital, and my real work of 24/7 mothering of a colicky baby hadn’t even started yet. Thankfully, I was only 22 at the time.
I had the option of “rooming in” this time – not being in a ward – so Tom was parked in a bassinette beside my bed. Once everyone left, I managed to pull Tommy out of his bassinette, and put him into bed with me. Not likely the best idea, given how high the hospital bed was. But the both of us slept well and by the next morning, I was ready to go home. Good thing. A second night of a private room was not in our budget. Hubs was a student and I was a stay-at-home Mom, and the cost of a private room stay was almost that of our monthly rent.
The doctor doing rounds in postpartum did not want me to go home. A four to five day hospital stay was the norm them and I’d had a complication. But I convinced him I was OK by bouncing up an down on the bed on my “bottom.”
Laur’s school friend Mike gave us a ride home. I sat in the back holding Tommy in my arms. It really was the “bad old days” of parenting. Not only that, Tom’s crib was a playpen in our apartment sized dining room. When we arrived home, I put Tom into his “bed” tummy first. Tummy-sleeping was “the thing” in those days. A while later, Laur fetched Anna from Cathy’s and introduced Anna to Tommy.
Anna wasn’t fussed in the least. I think she thought he was a temporary thing. And by the time she realized he was staying, she was back to her routine of playschool two mornings a week, and playing with Andy – two mornings a week. Wednesday was a mom and child playgroup. Saturday was market and Sunday was church. In the afternoons she vegged out in her room with zillions of books and enjoyed a nap. Tom as a baby just fit into the routine.
Plus Anna was one of those kids that actually enjoyed going to bed at night. As did we! We simply pulled Tom into bed with us in the wee hours when he woke up in his playpen. Didn’t even change his diaper. How did kids born before 2010 survive at all?
And while getting Tommy into the world was somewhat riotous, his first year was mostly harmonious.
*****
Tom and Julie and 3 ½ year old Jasper are welcoming baby Walter into the world on March 29. I can tell you that 3 ½ Jasper is pretty much the opposite of 2 ½ year old Anna. He is a lovely child but he is go-go-go, doesn’t nap or like going to bed, he is happily noisy, and he wants and needs to be the centre of attention.
I hope for Tom’s and Julie’s sake, Walter is a chill child. But while the name Jasper means treasurer (think accountant) the name Walter means Forest Warrior!
Our son Tom was born on Saturday, March 13, 1982. It’s a day I remember well. 😊
The picture of me smiling and hugging daughter Anna, wearing the yellow nightgown, was taken when I was in very early labour the Friday night before. Thankfully, no one took a picture of me the next day in active labour. I was not smiling.
Contractions continued on and off all night, so we figured on Saturday morning we ought to head off to the hospital. Our friend Cathy – two doors down – looked after 2 ½ year old Anna for us. She had a little boy Andy and the two kids were good friends. Plus Cathy had a large colour TV AND stairs! Pure heaven for Anna who lived in a TV-less apartment. Hubs called a cab. I remember looking out the window of the cab – it was a sunny day. And I thought, “Dang! What a nice day to go to market and here I am in labour!”
Got to the hospital and signed in. Got to my room and the nurse set up a monitor to see how the baby and the contractions were doing. The baby was doing great, but the contractions stopped. Gah! False labour? OK, this was two weeks before the due date of March 25th, and I had gone two and a half weeks overdue with Anna.
Around this time, our two nursing students arrived. We had been asked if a nursing student could attend the birth and we said, “Heck yah!” She had a nursing student friend who hadn’t been able to find a willing couple. Would we consider a second nursing student? “The more the merrier.” I did not know how “merry” it would later become.
The OB arrived and suggested that rather than go home, we should go to the hospital cafeteria for a change of scenery. Things might start up again. Perhaps my husband had announced that he hadn’t had breakfast yet. I surely hadn’t. Those were the days that when you went into labour, you weren’t allowed to eat, or drink anything that wasn’t clear.
So Laur and the two nursing students and I trundled off to the hospital cafeteria – me, wearing my stylish hospital apparel. Laur ordered pizza for the nursing students and him, and a ginger ale for me. I was ready to chew on the cafeteria table, I was SO hungry.
And them BOOM! Labour kicked in with no warning at all. Laur thought I was joking – how could I go from zero to a hundred before he’d even had his second bite? I said to Laur, after I finished the first kicker of a contraction, “We need to go back to 4F!” (4F was the Labour and Delivery unit at Jellybean Hospital.) Hubs pleaded, “But Jannie, I’ve only had two bites of my pizza!” And then another contraction hit.
The nursing students knew how to eat in a hurry, and Laur shoveled in the rest of his pizza as I grimaced and groaned and clenched and curled up.
Getting to the elevator was no easy feat. We walked a few steps and then another doozie of a contraction would hit. “Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!” I learned later that there were some nurses sitting not far from us making bets as to whether or not the baby would be born right there in the hospital cafeteria. As it turned out, it might have been more private. But I digress.
We finally got to the elevator door but every time the door opened, another contraction would hit. Finally I got in. I pitied the people on the elevator with us – but only in retrospect. We got to the fourth floor and the door opened - and what seemed to be the mother of all contractions hit and I could not move. Thankfully one of the nursing students had the good sense to hold the “open door” button.
By now I was howling. The clerk at the nursing desk said, “Sounds like somebody’s about to have a baby!” No sh*t, Sherlock! I don’t know how I made it to the labour bed, but I did. The OB took “a look” and “broke my water.” Tom came flying out – face and body facing down onto the bed – all in one shot. Someone lifted one of his legs and said, “It’s a boy!”
I was in a really bad mood by now and said, “Are you sure!?” And that someone said, “See for yourself.” I propped myself up on my elbows and it was then that I noticed there was a crowd of people at the end of my bed. My hubs and the nursing students were there, plus the OB and an intern who didn’t get to do much. And then a whole host of others!
Apparently, there were very few “natural” births at this teaching hospital and a bunch of medical students joined the party with, I’m assuming, the permission of the OB and my hubs (who can’t remember.) Looking back, it was a scene from the Monty Python skit “The Machine that goes Ping!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcHdF1eHhgc
But all was well – Tommy was healthy and I was healthy, and I was about to try to hook him up for his first feeding. The cast of “extras” left. But then things took an unexpected turn and I had to be rushed down to an operating room. Laurence grabbed Tommy from my arms and, along with the two nursing students, followed the OB, the nurse, and the intern who were push-pulling the bed. I was swiftly shunted off my bed and on to an operating table – my legs put in stirrups that reached to the sky. Good grief!
At this point the medical intern passed out. Bad timing because the problem resolved itself quite nicely with some massive injections of pitocin. When he came to, he apologized. He explained, “I never plan to work in surgery. I’m going to be a psychiatrist. I really don’t like ____.” (Swoon.)
Hubs and I had already arranged for me to have a private room for one night – the plan was that I would go home the next day. When we had Anna – also at Jellybean hospital – I was in a four bed ward for four nights. Yes, four mommies and four babies being shunted in and out 24/7. Add to that “open visiting hours” and it truly was a four ring circus. I got virtually no sleep. I was a mess by the time I got home from the hospital, and my real work of 24/7 mothering of a colicky baby hadn’t even started yet. Thankfully, I was only 22 at the time.
I had the option of “rooming in” this time – not being in a ward – so Tom was parked in a bassinette beside my bed. Once everyone left, I managed to pull Tommy out of his bassinette, and put him into bed with me. Not likely the best idea, given how high the hospital bed was. But the both of us slept well and by the next morning, I was ready to go home. Good thing. A second night of a private room was not in our budget. Hubs was a student and I was a stay-at-home Mom, and the cost of a private room stay was almost that of our monthly rent.
The doctor doing rounds in postpartum did not want me to go home. A four to five day hospital stay was the norm them and I’d had a complication. But I convinced him I was OK by bouncing up an down on the bed on my “bottom.”
Laur’s school friend Mike gave us a ride home. I sat in the back holding Tommy in my arms. It really was the “bad old days” of parenting. Not only that, Tom’s crib was a playpen in our apartment sized dining room. When we arrived home, I put Tom into his “bed” tummy first. Tummy-sleeping was “the thing” in those days. A while later, Laur fetched Anna from Cathy’s and introduced Anna to Tommy.
Anna wasn’t fussed in the least. I think she thought he was a temporary thing. And by the time she realized he was staying, she was back to her routine of playschool two mornings a week, and playing with Andy – two mornings a week. Wednesday was a mom and child playgroup. Saturday was market and Sunday was church. In the afternoons she vegged out in her room with zillions of books and enjoyed a nap. Tom as a baby just fit into the routine.
Plus Anna was one of those kids that actually enjoyed going to bed at night. As did we! We simply pulled Tom into bed with us in the wee hours when he woke up in his playpen. Didn’t even change his diaper. How did kids born before 2010 survive at all?
And while getting Tommy into the world was somewhat riotous, his first year was mostly harmonious.
*****
Tom and Julie and 3 ½ year old Jasper are welcoming baby Walter into the world on March 29. I can tell you that 3 ½ Jasper is pretty much the opposite of 2 ½ year old Anna. He is a lovely child but he is go-go-go, doesn’t nap or like going to bed, he is happily noisy, and he wants and needs to be the centre of attention.
I hope for Tom’s and Julie’s sake, Walter is a chill child. But while the name Jasper means treasurer (think accountant) the name Walter means Forest Warrior!