As many of you know, in April of 2015, we had a baby! Her name is Amber! Well, here is the story of how she was born into this basketball adventure life and was literally caught by her dad’s biggest fan!
So, here it goes. First, we had to meet with the doctor at the hospital where we were going to have Amber (in Bonn, Germany.) In we went to this beautiful, lavish, and large office, and our soon-to-be doctor jumped up to shake to my husband’s hand… and shake it and shake it and shake it. He smiled from ear to ear, telling us what a huge fan he was, and kept shaking, and smiling, and shaking, and smiling some more. I almost hated to break the love trance, but I was nine months pregnant and bitchy so I stuck out my hand, pushed my gigantic belly between the bromance, and said, “Hi! I’m Stacey… you know, the pregnant one.”
He politely sat us down and tried to have some small talk, which morphed into last night’s game, to my husband’s last shot, how he was hoping for a win next week, and asking if we will make it to the playoffs. He was so excited to talk to Benas, so I was trying super hard to sit still and be nice. On and on the conversation went, as my husband’s head swelled so large I was worried it might POP. Finally, I had to give my husband, who needed a small reality check, a death stare that only a hormonal pregnant woman could (and a swift kick to his ankle bone.) My husband finally jolted back from the love bubble he was in and told the doctor he thought we should talk about his baby being born. It only took a half hour to get around to this convo, but who’s counting?!
The doctor wanted to schedule Amber’s birth around Benas so he wouldn’t miss any games, of course. Basically, the entire appointment was about how we could best accommodate my husband, which is pretty normal in my life. I tried super hard not to throw up in my mouth. The only saving grace was that he let us know that he was going on vacation and would not be there for the birth, but his top guy would be on it. I named our doctor “Dr. Vacation”, and it somehow made me feel better.
As we left, my husband was elated at how well WE were treated and strutted out the hospital like he was freakin’ Brad Pitt. I rolled my eyes wondering how he would ever get that giant head in our car.
Three weeks later, right on the scheduled birth date, between games, we arrived at the hospital. The birth got a bit hairy because our baby was a star gazer and not face down. Just as she was ready to make an appearance, in walks Dr. Vacation! The good doctor had come in just to catch the Veikalas baby. Seriously, buddy?!
Dr. Vacation sat between my legs and out she came. As he starting stitching me up with a BIG metal hook, he looked up at Benas and said, “Hey, how about that buzzer beater last game?! Wow, you were amazing!”
Did he really just say that?!
I just pushed an eight-pound baby out of my body, but HE is amazing?! Benas just looked at him and mumbled something I could not understand; my husband was scared – I still had his arm wrapped up in a death grip.
Then, as Benas took a deep breath and gave me a please-don’t-be-mad smile, Dr. Vacation asks my husband for an autograph! I wanted to “accidentally” kick him in his face. I mean, he was right there and an easy target. No one would blame me, right? Benas hoped the moment would pass (without me losing my mind) and said, “Uh, for sure, but maybe later.” Dr. Vacation responded with a chuckle and casually said, “Oh, it’s not for me. The autograph is for my kids.”
As if asking for his kids, while sewing up my vagina, is somehow better than asking for himself! He handed Benas a piece of paper with his kids’ names on it, to ensure proper spelling for the autographs, before leaving the room. If I had a knife… well, I could not be held responsible for my actions at that moment.
With all of that being said, having fans comes with the territory of being a pro-athlete and we really do embrace it. We let many fans into our lives and share so much of ourselves on social media instead of keeping our lives completely private. Many fans have since become friends and people we love.
If I am being super honest – having a man in the delivery room as educated as Dr. Vacation was definitely a perk. It was nice to have someone with his experience in the room, especially since I was having some complications. It was also nice to know that we were being taken care of and given the best care possible… and I’m sure they treat everyone that way. Okay, I am totally lying right there.
We did, actually, get placed in “the best room” in the hospital. I can also tell you that the hospital we gave birth in was wonderful, and out of our three children, this was the best birthing experience yet. I mean, minus the autograph session. The care was amazing; even the food was good! The doctors were top notch, and all of our nurses were the bomb! Even the woman who delivered breakfast, and had trouble leaving the room, loitering in the corner, so she could ask for my husband’s autograph, was, umm, very nice, too.
If you are preggo in Bonn, Germany, you definitely want to give birth at St. Marien Hospital. After giving birth there, I would recommend it to anyone. And, if you are walking the halls, you will see baby Amber’s photo on the walls of the hospital and our famous Dr. Vacation still running the OBGYN department.
Oh, by the way – my husband did sign autographs for the whole family and we even dropped off a signed jersey. We are very grateful to our amazing OBGYN and his staff for helping us give birth to our amazing rainbow baby, Amber. So, there is the story of how my husband’s biggest fan delivered our baby!
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Although I write on the funny side, I want to say “thank you” to all of you who are fans and have supported my husband and our family on our journey. So, if we write about an interaction with you, please don’t be hurt. It just means our encounter with you was a memorable one and we will forever have a wonderful story to tell.
– Stacey
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