A Maternal Drama

22:00 Friday October 15th

“You know what?” My wife asked me as we were getting ready for bed Friday night.

“No what?” I say.

“We have my bag ready for the hospital but we haven’t packed a bag for Stella. And what if he comes in the middle of the night? We haven’t created a plan with my parents.”

“We’ve got time,” I say. We’ll call your parents tomorrow and get everything straightened out. “It’s too late now anyway.”

“Good night”...and I fall into a deep, deep, sleep.


12:06 Saturday October 16th

It is shortly past midnight, I hear my name being called. I drift slowly towards consciousness.

Wife: “It’s time”

Me: What?

I’m in a gray area.

Between dream and reality.

Wife: “It’s TIME, call the hospital and ask how much time we have!”

Me: “Huh? Do what? Call who? Where’s the number, who?”

I’m mumbling incoherently

Me: “Where are you?”

Wife: “In the bathroom, my water broke!”

Me: “What?”

Wife: “IT’S TIME!”

oh…Oh…OH…What? Really? I’m here, what do we need to do? Shoot we have to call your
parents. Hope they hear the phone, oh, oh, oh.

You think your are ready but your are never really ready.


12:36 Saturday October 16th

Maja’s parents arrive, we exchange greetings in the doorway and speed off to the hospital
How do you drive slowly? The adrenaline is flowing, your in a fog, the excitement.

Stay calm but: Small villages, deer, cobble stones, get out of my way.

It’s dead quiet on the delivery ward.

Everything is okay, Baby’s heart beat is good, little to no contractions however and only 1 cm.

Hmmm…this could take a while.


02:00 Saturday October 16th

They send Maja up to the maternity ward where she can rest until morning.

Score, we’ve got a single room! 1 bed, 1 hard chair, 1 changing table.

Um, no place for Dad.

Well Dad is going to have to suck it up. I’m totally prepared to sleep on the floor. I am going to be here to support my wife.

I WON’T miss this one!

The night nurse looks at me as if I am stupid. “There’s nowhere for you to sleep. Go home until morning.”

I reluctantly take this good advice and head home.


02:20 Saturday October 16th

The dogs Susi & Holly great me at the door. That’s weird I think, they should be up with my in-laws. I try and keep them quiet when I here a faint voice… “did they send you home?”

I peak around the corner to find Benno lying on the couch. Why aren’t you up in the comfy bed?

I’ve got telephone duty he says proudly as he points to phone on the stool next to his head. In case we got a call from you guys.

And Heidi?

She’s in with Stella.

I find out the next morning that while we thought Stella was sleeping during all the commotion, she heard everything and was awake when Oma went to check on her. So she laid down with her in her room.


02:36 Saturday October 16th

I’m supposed to sleep.

But how?

My mind is racing.

The adrenalin is still flowing from a few hours before.

I’m exhausted but I can’t calm down. Thoughts racing through my head. Stupid stuff like My cousin’s ranch house in Ada? Did the boys all have their own rooms or did the two younger brothers share a room? Lets retrace the faded memories you have. Why, I don’t know, it’s what’s going through my head.

My baby is almost here, My wife is in the hospital, I have to finish this and that at work, still need to arrange this and that.

An hour or so later I am able to calm my mind down enough that I fall into a light sleep…


06:29 Saturday October 16th

I hear Stella and movement outside the room. The dogs are prowling.

Stella is so excited. Oma and Opa are here. Yippeee. Where’s mommy? Daddy you coming with me?

No, I’m have to go to mommy but I’ll come later.


09:00 Saturday October 16th

At the hospital. Maja hasn’t gone down for her CTG yet. She was supposed to go down at 7. It’s poppin’ full. No rooms. Once we get in, everything is fine. Still only two centimeters. Come back at 12.


12:00 Saturday October 16th

2 cm we have a way to go. Here’s two antibacterial pills. This is to help since the there is no more water in the womb. If there’s no baby by 8pm then you’ll get too more. (Insert long moan from wife.)


14:30 Saturday October 16th

Laps around the hospital garden. Every two to three minutes contractions. Maja is getting worn out. The strength is still in her, I feel it when she crushes my shoulder or almost rips my head off when a contraction comes.

Pain escalates.


16:30 Saturday October 16th

only 4 cm – extreme pain.

Maja gets her long awaited PDA (epiderral) – two guys, really good anethesiologists, kept the mood light; using a Dräger machine. Wow I finally get to see one of these in action. I’ve only seen them in the Dräger museum.

Relaxation and a bit of shut eye.

She’s cold, turn the heat up.

Dad gets to sit down for a few minutes.


17:30 Saturday October 16th

It’s 35 degrees in here. I’ve stripped down as much as I can. I get the heavy blanket from her room.

7-8 Centimeters.

All is good.

“can’t someone get a drink around here” Uh oh, dragon lady is poking around. She promised to be nicer tomorrow though.

She gets a “get out of jail free card” this time.


17:45 Saturday October 16th

Dr. check. Baby hasn’t turned enough, theres a large fluctionation in baby’s pulse when the
contractions hit, maja isn’t doing to hot. Dr. holtcamp pulls the plug on the normal birth – we’re
doing a C-section.

The doctor leaves to get paper work. Maja tries to turn to her side and we loose the pulse of the baby. The nurse finds it again but it is fluctuating. Maja’s circulation is worsening.

Rush Maja to the operating room.

I’m sitting here alone in the delivery room.

The Heartbeat that has been throbbing in the background for the past 18 hours is gone.

The quiet moans of my wife as she deals with contractions is gone.

I hear footsteps on the cobblestones outside.

I’m left with the ringing in my head.

Lump in throat.

Sitting alone.



18:15 Saturday October 16th

Christina our nurse walks into the room with a bundle, looks at me and says, “everything is okay”

Tears just pour down my face.

She hands me Emmett and I can’t stop Smiling.

We do the measurements and then for the next 2 hours while Maja is in recovery, we get to spend some quality father and son time.

20:00 Saturday October 16th

Everyone is transferred to the hospital room.

Baby feeds.

All is good.

21:20 Saturday October 16th

I arrive at Oma & Opa's.

Stella is still awake.

I show her the pictures of Emmett.

She is all excited and asks where I was and how mommy is.

23:25 Saturday October 16th

Posting Blog post

Daddy - crashing