Jackie essay

The day my daughter was born was such an important day for me; it was the day I instantly grew up and became a dad. During the nine months I would hear how special the day is and how amazing it is up close. It was Saturday April 18th 2009 when Madelyn was born; it is then when I witnessed for the first time a child’s birth.
(body 1) It was an unseasonably cold evening on April 17th. Julie and I decided against going out with friends that evening; so we decided to order a pizza. We both joked around that the spicy pizza would induce labor. Julie was not due until May 8th, and because it’s our first child; we never anticipated what would happen that night.
(body 2) It was approximately 2am when I opened my eyes to hear Julie calling my name in the bathroom. I suddenly sprung out of bed and ran across the hall to the bathroom door. “Are you o.k. honey?” I fearfully asked. Julie than told me that she thought her water broke. I immediately developed a knot in my stomach and responded, “No honey, It’s not what you think.” I felt for sure that it was a false alarm. I asked her to call her doctor to see what she says. Julie paged her doctor and immediately the phone rang. The knot in my stomach intensified and my heart rate started to elevate. Julie’s doctor instructed us to go to the hospital to check in. We live approximately a good hour away, so we grabbed Julie’s bag and I helped her into the car.
(body 3) During the ride to the hospital I was still in disbelief. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts, so Julie could get a sandwich to eat. Typically, I usually order a coffee for caffeine, but this time it was decaf. Julie seemed pretty relaxed with minor pain in her back while having minor contractions. I was under the impression that it was a false alarm and we were going to be sent home. Boy I was wrong.
(body 4) We arrived to the hospital, and immediately checked in. It was about 5am and the atmosphere was very relaxed with smooth elevator music playing overhead. We had the room to ourselves and it was very comfortable. The on-call doctor entered the room, did an evaluation, and announced, “She is 3cm dilated, and she will be having the baby today!” I immediately felt proud and accomplished of what was going to happen. Today was going to be a great day!
(body 5) Hours passed, and Julie’s contractions stalled. At 9am the doctor informed us that the Epidural can be given at any time, since she was now 4cm. I encouraged her to get it now, because who knows how long it will take for the Anesthesiologist to be on the floor again. Julie declined the epidural and thought there would be plenty of time. The doctor gave Julie Pitocin which would relax her, speed up the contractions, and dilate.