Ella

I was working at the Salt Palace Convention Center in down town Salt Lake City, Utah, the 2002 Winter Olympics were set to start in just a few weeks and I was going to be working with the Press from all over the world. We had set up several rooms that would be used for major and minor press conferences along with an office area for Olympic personnel and offices for print media and studios for broadcast media. I had also set up a bull pen area where any reporter could sit and watch live feeds from any event happening at that time with four screens set up in the center of the room with tables fanning out around this center piece. NBC who had the rights to cover the Olympics in the US set up their sound stage and editing rooms right on the trade show floor, complete with fake fireplace and rustic furniture. Maggie was pregnant and the due date was February 2nd, 2002, the day the Olympics were to begin. We were hoping that she would make it to her due date as that would have been 02/02/02. While I was working long hours getting things ready for the Olympics Maggie was at home chasing Patrick, our two year old, around the house while trying not to over due it while being pregnant and all. On January 18th, 2002 Maggie woke up just before six in the morning and said that she thought she might be in labor. I asked how far apart were the contractions and she said about fifteen minutes. I looked at her to determine her pain level and she did not seem to be in any kind of pain. She got up and headed downstairs. I got up and headed to the shower. She did not seem to be in any rush so I thought that it might just be Braxton Hicks contractions. Those are contractions that are getting a mothers body ready to deliver but to a guy it just seems like the body is warming up, nothing to get too excited about. While I showered, Maggie went down stairs and got Patrick some breakfast. I came down a short while latter to find Patrick, Mom and my brother-in-law, Shawn, who had been staying with us while he was working at a job just down the street from our house, all eating cereal. Maggie then told Shawn that she thought she was in labor and asked if he could call in late while we got our parents up from Ephraim or Spring City to watch him. He agreed. I sat down and had some cereal while Maggie gathered up the things we needed to take with us to the hospital. She put it all in the car and I then got in the car and we started our journey to the hospital. Now I do not recommend doing what I had done. From my observation of the situation Maggie was not in any physical pain. She did not seem to be in a hurry so I did not show any care. It was a normal morning from everything I saw. Latter I have been brought to the understanding that I was as dense as a rock. I showered, ate, watched and then got in the car as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. I will never hear the end of it. We lived in Kearns, Utah up on the hill close to Kearns High School and the Speed Skating Oval that was to be used during the Olympics. We were about thirty minutes from down town Salt Lake and the LDS Hospital where we were headed was just a few blocks east of down town. We had left the house just before seven in the morning so traffic was not very bad. It had just started snowing when we left the house. Maggie and I had been driving for about fifteen minutes when Maggie looked at me and said that she thought the contractions had stopped. Since we were already headed to the hospital we agreed to continue just to make sure everything was okay. The snow was coming down a little harder and by the time we reached the hospital there was already two inches on the ground. We parked and walked into the hospital. I asked the reception where the birthing center was located and she told us how to get there. We walked to the elevators and went up and then walked down the hall to the maternity ward. We arrived at another desk and Maggie explained that she thought she might be in labor. The nurse asked a few questions about the contractions and the pain level and who her doctor was then with some skepticism, mentioning the Braxton Hicks contractions, escorted Maggie and I to one of the rooms. Maggie was not in any pain and there were no visible signs of discomfort and the contractions had lessened substantially at least that is what I remember Maggie saying to the nurse. The nurse gave Maggie the hospital gown and had her change and then said that she would check to see how far dilated she was. Maggie changed and then got on the bed and the nurse came over and checked. The nurse went pale, said Maggie was dilated to an eight, and quickly left the room. In terms of what that dilation meant in my humble non doctor understanding is that a one is nothing a five is labor will happen some time soon and a ten means that baby is coming out. An eight then means that we should hold on because the baby will be there any moment. The nurse came back moments later and said that our doctor had been contacted and was on her way from the University of Utah Medical Center which was just a few miles away but with the snow coming down she was worried that our doctor would not make it in time and asked if we would mind the doctor currently on shift to deliver if she did not make it in time. We thought that would be fine and the nurse left. When Patrick was born labor lasted a long time, we had spent hours watching TV and reading before the action happened so I naturally assumed that this was going to be the same case. I sat down opposite Maggie and started to read the newspaper figuring that when the doctor arrived I would be ready to do my part. The nurse came in one more time to check and reassure us that our doctor would be there in just a few minutes. Again for all the care and needs that Maggie may have had at the time I was not paying attention and I am still trying to make up for it and will forever. Our doctor arrived and came in to check on Maggie. The doctors cheeks were still red from the cold when she looked underneath the blankets. I watched when the doctor said something that startled me, "Push!" I jumped up to do my little part and Maggie pushed. With just one long push Ella was born. All the doctor had to do was arrive, say push, and catch the baby. I cut the umbilical cord and the baby was cleaned off and handed to mom. Ella came out hungry. She wanted to eat right away. She ate and then the nurses took her away. The actual labor lasted two minutes tops. Once Maggie was cleaned up and Ella whisked away to be bathed and swaddled I sat down to marvel at how quickly it all happened. The nurses and doctors had left the room and Maggie needed the bathroom so she got up and went. The nurse came in while she was in the bathroom and proceeded to yell at me for allowing her to get up out of bed. When Maggie came out she calmly escorted Maggie back to the bed and sweetly told her that she should not get up for a few hours, all while glaring at me. Ella's birth was fast and furious and I am glad that when the contractions stopped halfway to the hospital we didn't turn around and go home. It snowed over eight inches that day.