The First of the First

It is a hot and vivid day in September at the bread factory where I work. A discussion broke out about how we felt when our first child was born. Some people burst with stories and excitement reminiscing about that very special day when their first child was born. Well, I just sat there smiling, wondering about how I would feel since I had not experienced this as of yet, and would I have the same feelings my fellow coworkers were talking about their first encounter with motherhood and fatherhood.

This day is going to be a reality for me soon because my girlfriend of three years Theresa, is nine months pregnant and due in a day now with our first child. As the discussions went on, less work is being done at the factory. Suddenly, the phone at the factory rang about three thirty in the evening; it was my mother telling me to hurry to the hospital because Theresa was in labor. I felt a chill shoot down my spine all the way down to my feet. I had waited on this day for nine months when the time arises I freeze up to the point that I am paralyzed and could not move. One of my coworkers had to end up driving me to the hospital.

As I walked into the huge hospital around four o’ clock, I walked over to the front desk to talk to a volunteer wearing a pink uniform. She asked, “Sir, how may I help you?” I responded, “My girlfriend is about to have a baby, so where am I supposed to go?” She smiled and said congratulations, but I needed to take the elevators on the right to the sixteenth floor to the labor unit. I said, “Thank you,” and proceeded to the elevators. As I arrived at the labor unit, there was a nurse, my mother, and Theresa’s mother waiting for me at the desk. I told the nurse my name, so she directed me and the mother’s to the room my girlfriend was in, and I was instructed, along with my mother and Theresa’s mother, to put on these paper like clothes that consisted of a blue gown and footies. We were told to wash our hands and put on rubber gloves.

There were many nurses in the room, and here we dressed like a surgeon waiting for my first born to be born. Theresa is only dilated four centimeters, and she has to have a C-section performed. She could not have the baby naturally, so the doctor had to make an incision just below her stomach, but they had a special doctor come in first to give her a shot in her back that would help Theresa to deal with the pain. As I am standing here, I couldn’t help but notice the way this tray was laid out with all these different kinds of tools that are used to perform a C-section. Everything has to be sanitized, even the doctor, so as we were waiting on the doctor to show up, the nurses prepped Theresa for the c-section putting all kinds of things on her stomach, like this tape that was clear but looks like Reynolds wrap.

The time has come for the baby to enter into a world of ours. Doctor Smith has arrived to perform the operation. She asked Theresa how she was doing, and Theresa replied, “I’m ready for all this to be over with.” Everything is in order to start with the c-section, but I was not prepared enough to witness what was about to take place. Doctor Smith started the procedure making an incision just below the stomach, and I almost passed out seeing