Put another log on the fire for me

Women who give natural birth are flooded with hormones. Some of them help manage pain, some act as chemical runway operators flagging the baby down the birth canal and some of the most important snuggle up next to the woman's ear and whisper "this is worth it."

Men get flooded with hormones after the baby is delivered. After M was delivered, I remember feeling like I couldn't leave his side, as if someone had slipped an electric collar on me in delivery and he was the transponder. Unfortunately, there is no hormone that makes labor not boring.

After all the excitement of packing the bag and rushing to the hospital, we find ourselves spending the next six hours hanging out. L's contractions are tantalizingly far apart at first, they invite thoughts like "would anyone judge me if I crank up my laptop and jot off some work emails?" I decide that, yes, of course they will and try to use my phone instead.

A,
I'm not sure exactly what information you are looking for, but I would be happy to set up a phone call early next week as my wife is delivering our son, and I don't expect to be in the office for the remainder of this week.
Best,
D

I consider hitting send, but then I realize the kind of questions this opens me up to. I click delete draft.

"HNNNMNNN"

"That sounds like a big one. Do you want the racquetball?"

"Yes!"

I push the racquetball deeply into the base of L's spine to help get her through the contraction and call over to the mid-wife.

"How's the tub coming?" One thing we did not consider about the birthing tub was how long it would take to fill. The racquetball is starting to look worn and spent in my hand and I briefly consider that I haven't played in over three weeks.

"About halfway there. Do you want the birthing ropes?"

Birthing ropes. They talked about all of these props at birthing class and we quietly made fun of them as exercise equipment that had the word "birthing" stamped in front of the name. For instance, the only difference between a yoga ball and a birthing ball is that a woman in labor is sitting on a birthing ball. Birthing ropes are Pilates ropes. They are meant to help women squat, which is meant to help with the pain of contractions.

"Do you want the ropes, sweetie?"

"No. Racquetball." I lament the fact that I did not bring two racquetballs.