What a Day

We left the house Friday morning at 7:09 headed to Lexington Medical Center in Columbia, SC for the birth of our first grandchild. The trip took a record 7 hours on account of the fact that A.we stopped for a brunch consisting of Bo Bites and dirty rice at Bojangles and B. Several ridiculous traffic backups of no discernible cause. Nevertheless, we made it unscathed and after navigating the Byzantine hallways, elevators and catacombs of this huge and beautiful hospital we finally found the Labor and Delivery waiting room. Thus began a very long, exhausting and exciting wait for Silas Nathaniel Manchester’s entrance into the world.

By 4:30, the decision was made for Pam and I to run by the house, unpack, rest a bit then grab something to eat at a deli right across the street from the hospital. Soon after we arrived back Kaitlin and Jon’s foxhole friends—Matt and Bailey—showed up to sit with me while Pam went back to be with Kaitlin. In so doing, these two incredible people earned full Dunnevant Family membership rights for the rest of their lives. While their incessant badgering about buying a condo down here so we can visit anytime and often was tiresome, they made up for it by laughing at my jokes and watching my favorite “grandfathers behaving inappropriately” videos.

Around 8:00 pm I was starting to get exceedingly antsy. My backside was sore from all the sitting. Matt and Bailey eventually had to leave. I had at this point still not seen my daughter. Pam would send occasional non-specific text updates like, “K doing great. She’s a rock star.” Then I would hear medial jargon concerning levels of effacement and dilation, all of which was supposed to suggest great progress…yet, the hours wore on.

Right across from where I was sitting was this super cool mural that I kept being drawn to…

This thing contained tiny photographs of 15,000 babies. I would go over and stand in front of it in fascinated wonder, each of them a wonder, each a miracle.

Then, suddenly at 10:39 we get a text from Jon—Okay, we are ready for the final leg! Dr. has been called down, so not long now! Kait is doing GREAT. Seven minutes later and only 35 minutes after she began pushing, Silas was born, the doctor having barely enough time to put on her gloves!! Jon sent us a picture of mother and child. We gawked at it, enlarged it a million times, holding our breath.

Finally, a little after midnight, Jon escorted us into the room and we got to hold him for the first time. It was magical and he is perfect.

Pictures have been taken, some of them incredible, but we are keeping them to ourselves until Mom and Dad are ready to share. This is their time, their miracle.

So far this morning Mother and child are doing great. Kaitlin and Jon are both exhausted right now, but clearly overjoyed.