Our Princess

When Seth was born I told Ashley “Don’t wake me up unless your water breaks. That was 11:30 at night. She woke me up at 1:30 in the morning to tell me her water broke. Not wanting to break tradition, on the evening of October 2, 2017, I was ready for bed at 11 pm. I gave Ash the same advice not to wake me unless her water broke. Not one minute past 1:30 am I was shaken awake by a very sheepish pregnant lady. “My water broke….”
“Are you sure?”
“Mostly.”
“Well, I guess we better get going to the hospital.”
While Ash got dressed, I went to Seth’s room to get him dressed as quickly and quietly as possible. I was hoping the boys would go back to sleep on the nearly one hour drive from Payson, UT to the hospital in American Fork.
It was cold and pitch black, but that didn’t stop Seth from loudly saying “Baby? Baby?” over and over again. Without either of us saying anything, our soon-to-be middle child knew that his little sister was on the way. And boy was he excited!
After a quick but uneventful drive to the hospital, we handed the boys off to the in-laws and checked in with Labor and Delivery. They did the strip test to see if there was any amniotic fluids easily visible. There wasn’t any. So they swabbed. And we waited. And waited.
And waited.
Finally the lab came back and they admitted us. I welcomed the change of scenery. Most importantly I welcomed the small but uncomfortable hospital couch. After swapping into some more comfortable clothes, I used my jacket as a blanket and did what husbands do best: I slept while Ashley did all the work.
If you’ve ever been checked into a hospital for any length of time you know that it is nearly impossible to get any sleeping done while you’re there. Every 15 to 45 minutes someone is coming in to do something. Whether it’s to give medicines, check vitals, or see what the effacement and dilation are at, someone is always poking or prodding the patients with something. We were in good care, and we knew it. This was our third child being born in this hospital with the same doctor (Doctor Sean Haskett, for those wondering. Highly recommended!), so we knew the routine. With the pitocin started and the epidural running full swing, we knew it was just a matter of time until our little Evelyn was going to join our family. But dangit, I was STARVING!
Around 11 am I decided to run down to the cafeteria to get some lunch in me. After waiting in line for a while and being picky, I just grabbed some sushi and crunchy chicken. A fluffy looking chocolate cake caught my eye at the register as I was paying. Somehow it ended up on my tray, too. Don’t ask me how. While the elevator was taking me from the basement to the first floor my phone started ringing. I ignored it because my hands were quite full of food. No sooner did I ring in to enter L&D than the nurse informed me that my timing was impeccable. Ashley was at a 10 and the baby was fully effaced. I was gonna be a daddy! Again. Because I never stopped being one. Whatever.
Once back in our square corner of paradise I asked how long I had until she started pushing. “We’re just waiting on the doctor. It should just be a few minutes.”
“Sweet. I’ll see how much of this I can scarf before he gets here.”
The chicken was very dry, but disappeared in record time. The sushi took a little longer to get down because it was surprisingly spicy. (Honestly, who lays the rolls on an entire bed of wasabi?) I was only two bites into my first roll when the good doctor arrived. At this point I will tell you that I have no idea what the doctor’s name was. If Evie had come 3 hours sooner Dr Haskett would have delivered her. Instead we got a doctor we had never met before. No complaints, though, he did a good job.
I quickly set my food down on the couch/bed and ran over to grab Ashley’s leg. Pulling back tight during the contraction, I did my best to help push the baby into the world. After a couple of minutes of pushing, the contraction ended. I went back to the couch/bed and grabbed another bite of sushi. Gulping down piece number one, I quickly stuffed piece two in my mouth just as I was ordered to grab a leg again. At this point you’re probably wondering if I ever even got to the cake. I know I was. But there were other things to worry about.
Right. A baby.
Three more rounds of pull the leg, push, eat more sushi and the rolls were gone. All that remained was the chocolate cake. The delicious, moist, rich, creamy, decadent chocolate cake. Some cakes you eat just because they are cakes. Other cakes you dream about and crave long after they are gone. It’s like the baker put some special ingredient in the batter and frosting just to endear the eater to that one particular confection, thus spoiling cakes for the consumer from that time forth. In my mind, that was what that cake was going to be. Ambrosia, the nectar of the Gods.
Oh. Baby. Sorry, got distracted for a second there.
By round four of pushing Evelyn was crowning. All thoughts of food or drink were completely cleared from my mind. My whole life was about to change. Again. I mean, I’ve been a dad for 4 years now. This is no biggie. I can handle this. But a daughter? How am I supposed to raise a little girl? Boys are easy! All you need to do is smack em around a bit and teach them to be decent. What do I teach a girl? Man, I am completely unprepared for this.
Then I heard her first little cries and saw her perfect little face.
Lookout Ashley, there’s a new love in my life and her name is Evelyn Monet Lelle.
I knew instantly that I’d do anything for her. I would destroy civilizations just to make sure she was safe and happy. I’d break every bone in my body just to make her smile.
She is perfect.
And my life will never be the same.
I never did get to taste the cake. But in the end, the cake never mattered. Only my family. They are all that matter.