A bedtime story collaboration: The birth of Helen

7:30 p.m.
Any night, every night.
Sayville, NY
Helen’s bedroom

Mommy: “What bedtime story do you want tonight, Helen?”

Helen: “The night I was born!”

Mommy: “On the night you were born three years ago, Daddy and I had been at the hospital ALL day because we knew you were coming. My water broke in the middle of the night the night before, but in the morning, Daddy tried to go to work anyway, telling me to call him when I thought it was time to go to the hospital. Ha! Guess who didn’t go to work and drove me to the hospital instead?”

Helen: “Daddy?”

Mommy: “Exactly! Anyway, later that day, I pushed and pushed for two and a half hours, but you didn’t want to come out because…”

Helen: “I was stuck!”

Mommy: “So, the doctor said, ‘we’ll have to do a…’”

Helen: “’C-section.’”

Mommy: “So, they put me on a special bed with wheels and rolled me into the operating room, and Daddy went and changed his clothes into…”

Helen: “Scrubs!”

Mommy: “Daddy came into the operating room and they cut me open and pulled you out. When they held you up, Daddy looked at you and said…”

Helen: “’It’s a girl!’”

Mommy: “They cleaned you up and put you in a special bed with wheels and took you to the nursery. Daddy went and changed back into his clothes. They finished cleaning me up and took me to my room, then brought you to us and we were all together as a family for the first time. Two hours later, Cha-Cha and Boo-Boo* arrived at the hospital, and we said to them, ‘we’d like you to meet…’”

Helen: “’Helen Rian Hays!’”

Mommy: “And we were all so happy because you were…”

Helen: “The most wonderful, beautiful baby in the whole wide world!”

Mommy: “And that’s the story of the night you were born. I love you.”

Helen: “Can you tell it to me again?”

*Yes, we have weird names for our family members. Cha-Cha is Helen’s maternal grandmother and Boo-Boo is her maternal aunt, Lucy.