The Old Townie: Birthing, babies and bliss

McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital has earned a recent award for their obstetrics and maternity department.

Grandsons one and two were born at the hospital, with Grandson one being the first for our family. That Memorial Day weekend, the small waiting room was packed with Son-in-Law, both his parents and one of his sisters. Our side included the mom’s dad and wife, Stepson and his wife along with Wife and me. Listening to the sounds of birth through the wall, I remember being nervous as I had never experienced that before. Eventually, the dad was invited in to meet his son. Then the nurse brought the baby boy (it was obvious) to a portal-sized window for each of us to view for the ooo’s and ahh’s. 

The joy in the room was palpable. 

Six years later the experience was similar, but with dad and all six of us grandparents present.

For both boys, Dr. John Harlen came into the waiting room to tell us all had gone well.

In between the two boys, we’d been in Minneapolis for Granddaughter One, and a year after the second boy in Oxford, we were back to Minneapolis for Granddaughter Two. First girl lay in my arms all night with Stepdaughter’s admonition that I must stay awake to assure breathing. Wife had been at the hospital both times, but I was the babysitter at home while the second was born. The mom was experienced by then, so the overnight vigil did not repeat.

In any case, within hours of the new life emerging, I got to personally meet each of the four.

Each of the boy’s births were marked by a listing of all the recent Mc-Hyde births in the Oxford Press. Within our small town, each of the grandparents were approached by friends and colleagues who expressed their congratulations in person.

The big city Minneapolis experience was far less personalized, with security checks at each hospital visit, special measures and identity rechecks as we all exited the hospital for the first trips home. The next morning each time, a post-birth doula arrived to coach and help mom.

We spent far more time with the boys as they grew due to their proximity. Preschool events; youth soccer and baseball; morning drop-offs at Kramer and pick-ups at the middle school; play dates with their friends at our home; basketball, lacrosse and band concerts. The boys accompanied us on multiple trips to the Lake Michigan shore, St. Louis and the top of the Arch; South Bend and Gatlinburg.

McCullough-Hyde has physically updated the birthing facilities, but the Oxford community continues to enjoy its availability, along with all the other medical services that our small town provides.

Witnessing the arrivals of the next generation has certainly helped me dig my roots more deeply into our community and has helped me become the Old Townie.

Steve Schnabl moved to Oxford in 1985. He retired in 2023 from Oxford Seniors after a 40-year career directing nonprofits.