Our First Childbirth: Memories and a Few Thoughts

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Photo of Martin A. Couney's Baby Incubator exhibit, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific-Exposition, Seattle, Washington. (1909) University of Washington Libraries. Digital Collections see http://content.lib.washington.edu/ via Wikipedia

When I asked our oldest daughter what she'd like me to write about this week, she suggested "stories about when each of us was born".

Bilboq's cartoon: 'Busy Desk'. (2006) via WikipediaThe birth of each child was an important event, at least for me and my wife, so I figured it'd be a matter of deciding which memories to pick.

Then I started poking around the labyrinthine interior of my mind.

Turns out I've got a few vivid snapshots, but not nearly as many details as I thought there'd be.

I've got a pretty good memory; apart from things like appointment times, anniversaries — fact is, I'll be asking my wife for help with this post. It's been decades since the mental machinery filed away those experiences.

Meanwhile, I'll start talking about our oldest child's birth, and see what happens.

...

More at A Catholic Citizen in America.

(Remembering the birth of our first child. Being a father in the delivery room when it was a new idea. Transition and needles. Baptism and hope. "...mothers may multitask, but not during delivery....")

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