The morning of October 26, 1970 was so exciting, my contractions had finally started! I was very excited and looking forward to the birth of my first child. We were living in Ashland, Oregon. Brian had been going to school and was student teaching in Medford, Oregon. I called him during his lunch hour to let him know I was in labor. He decided to come home. When the contractions were consistently 3 minutes apart we went to the hospital. I think it was late afternoon around 4 or 5 o’clock. My contractions would be consistent for a while and then they wouldn’t be consistent and then they would stop for awhile. Then they would come back. It was very frustrating. Brian had brought a couple of his stopwatches for timing swimmers to time my contractions. He kept tract of how long the contractions lasted and how much time passed between contractions. It was very handy he’d brought his two stopwatches. He also brought The Hobbit and read to me between contractions, trying to keep my mind off of the pain. I’m afraid it didn’t work too well. I was finally having pretty regular contractions and they gave me something to help me relax and I fell asleep. It was good to sleep for awhile because I was very worn out and the nap gave me some much needed energy. Finally it was time to go to the delivery room. I remember laying on the delivery table with my legs up in stirrups and my hands tied to my sides. Being all by myself for hours and hours. A nurse would come in to check on me from time to time. At one point the nurse called the doctor in because she thought I was close to giving birth. It was the middle of the night and the doctor had been home sleeping. When he finally arrived, he yelled at the nurse for calling him in too early. Finally, after 44 hours of labor Cori Michelle was born. I felt a deep sense of love and protectiveness towards Cori. I was so happy she was here. I was ecstatic! Another feeling that comes to my mind right after Cori was born was relief. I had been in labor for 44 hours and I was exhausted and very hungry and so thankful that Cori was here and that the birthing process was over. It was so nice not to be pregnant anymore! I hadn’t eaten since my contractions had started, on Monday morning, it was now Wednesday morning. I was so hungry and exhausted. I was taking to my Mom on the phone soon after Cori was born. Food finally had arrived and I went to take a bite, but I feel asleep before the fork reached my mouth. Brian took the phone and explained to Mom that I had fallen asleep.
I was also feeling a little overwhelmed. I was 21 years old and never been around many babies. Luckily my Mom came to help. She was there two days later when I came home from the hospital. She stayed for a week and by the time she left I was still tired and sore but had much more confidence taking care of a new baby.
I was very happy and excited that Cori was finally here and that I was now a Mom!!
Mary Lou
The sun was just rising, and it was a brand new day. It was a new beginning. Everything had just changed. I was a different person, but I only caught a glimpse of what that truly meant. My wife had just given birth to the most beautiful and precious gift we could have received. She was the most perfect little baby girl that had just changed the way I looked at life. It was so amazing how I fell so completely in love with this little being!
Mary Lou’s labor and birth was grueling. She was in labor for 44 hours. On top of that, I wasn’t able to be with her when they wheeled her off to the delivery room! I had to go to the waiting room and wait for word. This was the common practice of the day. Fathers were not to be allowed in the delivery room. That had never been done, and the nurses were not about to have their routines disturbed. It’s not like I didn’t try to change things.
We found out I wouldn’t be allowed in the delivery room early in Mary Lou’s pregnancy. We really wanted to be together for the birth experience and lobbied hard for this to happen. Our doctor was sympathetic, and suggested we take the Lamaze classes that were being held at the hospital. We signed up and attended regularly. We felt the classes were useful and helped us to anticipate what was about to happen. However, when the time came for the birth of our first child, our doctor had to explain that the nurses just wouldn’t bend and I wouldn’t be allowed in the delivery room. We were deeply disappointed.
To make it worse, about three months later, there was a big story in the local paper about the first father who got to be in the delivery room for the birth of their child. It was like throwing salt in our wound. As it turned out, we went through the same process with our second child. I even took the Bradley Method classes this different hospital recommended, even though Mary Lou was in Toledo, Oregon, and I was in Ashland. My partner was a woman whose husband couldn’t attend. When it came down to the wire, our doctor explained that he was new to this hospital, and he didn’t want to upset the nurses. Guess what the headline in the local paper was about three months later: First Father Allowed in Delivery Room. It soured us to hospitals so much that the next three births we had were at home.
Cori Michelle Swagerty fundamentally changed the way I looked at life. I was never the same again after she was born. I was no longer a child, but now I had a child for who I was responsible. I took this responsibility seriously, and it changed everything. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was just starting the process of becoming PaPa.
Brian
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 