Memory Album

Back in 1985, the doctors I was seeing at the hospital led me to believe that the baby I was carrying could be born soon after Thanksgiving. I was 20 at the time, I had been married almost a year and this was my first experience with babies and childbirth. I had NO CLUE!!!! It didn't help matters that I was seen in a rather old-fashioned hospital (which is surprising given the fact that it was in Long Island, NY)


We were all prepared for this baby. Thanksgiving had come and gone and we were sure that the baby would be there by Christmas. The baby had a stocking, my mom had purchased a neutral "Baby's First Christmas" outifit. Dec. 15, my dad's birthday came and a friend who was pregnant also had her baby on that day. They put MY DAD's name as one of the middle names of their baby. I was SO UPSET!!!!!!! It should have been MY baby born on MY DAD'S birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went back to the doctor that week and left in tears when the stupid doctor said, "Don't worry, you've got a LONG way to go!!!" Yeah, she sure was encouraging!!

Christmas came and went. Still no baby.

FINALLY, on Sunday, December 29, I began to feel a little ache in my back. I felt them all through the day. We made the decision to go to the hospital on Monday morning. Since I was about ready to pop and had finally officially began labor, they decided to admit me. Now, if I had know ANYTHING in those days, I would have waited. I was admitted and put on a stretcher-type thing , plugged into monitors (which they later discovered weren't working very well) and received and IV full of pitocin (which they kept upping because the monitors weren't working very well!!) I was given no drugs other than the ones that make you hallucinate. I about ripped Cliff's shirt off his neck!!!! After 24 hours of laying on that ridiculous stretcher and horrendous pitocin-induced contractions, I was dilated to a full 5!!!!!!!!!! A nurse came and told me they were going to do a c-section. I said, "I DON'T CARE!" Do whatever you have to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From then on, all I remember hearing, "It's a boy." and waking up in the recovery room to a nurse saying to me, "you're so lucky, honey. The cord was around that baby's neck twice." Nice.

Now, in this wonderful, old-fashioned hospital, they brought you the baby 3 times a day for one hour each time. No family or friends could see or hold the baby. Just the parents. 12 hours later I ran a fever (normal after surgery) and they wouldn't bring me the baby at all. I asked a nurse to take me to the nursery and I sat in the wheelchair outside the nursery window and sobbed as I gazed upon my big newborn baby (He was 9 lbs, 5 ozs.) Isn't that awful?? It's a wonder I had anymore children after this harrowing experience.

I can't believe all this took place 22 years ago today. He's turned into such a good man. I'm as in love with him today as I was the first time I saw him. He's still my buddy. He's my comfort. He and I are so much alike and yet so different. He has lofty dreams and grand ambitions. I hope he reaches them all!!! I'm his biggest supporter and cheerleader and the thought of some girl replacing me in his life is a very big pill for me to swallow.

This was one of his songs from his senior concert.