Carlos Kotkin (9:53)

Thanks.

Dan Kennedy (9:59)

Tracy Rollin is a three time Moth Slam champion and a regular on the Liar Show. She has a day job working in television. She's won Emmy awards. She was part of the creative teams that brought Cartoon Network to Asia and the Al Jazeera Network to America. And she's a firm believer in trade balance. Next is a story from Carlos Kotkin. He told it in 2014 at a main stage with the theme Here There Be Dragons. Here's Carlos live in New York City.

Carlos Kotkin (10:32)

About a year into our marriage, my wife and I decided we were ready for the adventure of having a child. So we officially started trying, as they say. And eight months later, bingo, my wife got pregnant. I was very excited about the idea of becoming a father. I had been well trained. My dad is the best dad I could possibly ask for. If I did half the job my dad did, I would be in good shape. There's only one time where my dad's parenting skills were questionable. When I was 12, we went on a hike and on the side of the trail, we discovered a standing hollow tree stump about my height. My dad looked at it. He looked at me and he said, why don't you see if you can fit in there? So I climbed inside, up to my armpits. I was like a cork in a wine bottle. And I looked at my dad and I said, I do fit in here. So then we were going to continue with the hike, but I couldn't get out, no matter how hard I tried. I could not get out. And my dad couldn't get me out no matter how hard he tried. Eventually, he had to take off and go find some forest rangers. It was terrible, terrible, terrible. So that's the only negative experience I associate with my father, although even that is a positive because I learned not to ask my future kid to climb into a hollow tree stump. So I was very excited about the idea of becoming someone's dad, about being someone's tour guide on their journey through life. The first time we heard the baby's heartbeat was the first time we went to the obstetrician. It was very fast and very loud. I can hear it right now. I asked the doctor when the baby's due date was. She took out her phone and used an app to calculate. And she told us that the baby would arrive October 12th. And from that moment on, October 12th became a date that loomed large. It was kind of like when they show a hurricane on the news, on the weather map, getting bigger and bigger. Only in my case, it was my wife's belly getting bigger and bigger. By the time she looked like she had a basketball under her shirt, the baby was moving around a lot. But I kept missing it. It was so disappointing. I wanted to feel it. And one night, when the baby was particularly active, my wife called me over. Come here, come here. Put your hand. You'll feel it. She took my hand, she put it on her belly. And I waited and waited for something to happen. Nothing. Finally, I commented, this is kind of like whale watching. Something in the tone of my wife's voice when she said, gee, thanks, signaled to me that perhaps I should have phrased things a little differently. I didn't know what I was doing. It was a new experience for me. For my wife, too. My wife didn't want to know anything. As far as she was concerned, the less she knew about being pregnant, the better. She was scared, and I was the opposite. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to understand what she was going through. So I did a lot of reading on pregnancy websites. Every now and then, my wife would let me know about something unusual that was happening with her body. And I would be able to tell her, that's not unusual. It's perfectly normal. It's all over the mommy message boards. Don't worry about it. We got a little more insight when we had dinner with our friends Mark and Ann, who have three kids. Mark was very upset, very upset when he found out I did not have a birth plan. He said, you have to have a birth plan. You need to know where to park. Is she going to get an epidural? Is there going to be a shaman in the room? You need to know these things. He was so upset. I told him to calm down, I promise, promised him I would get a birth plan. A few days after that dinner, my wife and I, we were driving home and we passed the hospital about a mile from where we live. And I casually pointed out to her, I said, that's where we're going to be. We're going to be in one of those delivery rooms. That's where we're going to meet our kid. And my wife responded, I don't want you in the room. This was a big surprise to me. I thought for sure I was going to be in the room. I wanted to be in the room. As far as I was concerned, being in the room was like greeting a relative when they arrive at the airport. You're here. Hooray. But my wife, my wife told me that this was her challenge. She was going to do it on her own. When we got home, we talked about it some more. I asked her if she was sure because I could hold her hand. I could cheer her on. I could say things like, you're doing great, honey. Keep up the good work. She was adamant that this was her challenge to face on her own. I was dismayed. I didn't understand it, but I didn't put up a fight because from everything I had read about delivering a child, it sounded uncomfortable. And I didn't. I didn't want to make her more uncomfortable than she was already going to be by my presence. So I accepted it. It was hard to accept it, but I accepted it. There's a park, a small park on the grounds of the hospital. And I decided that the day that our child arrived, I would sit in that park on a bench, maybe I would have a snack, and at some point I would receive a text saying, come meet your baby. Smiley face. And that would be how I experienced labor and delivery. And I pictured myself sitting on that bench on October 12th. Many, many times. However, on August 12th, two months, exactly two months before October 12th, my wife woke me up around 10:30 at night. And with concern, she told me, something is happening. Her water broke. I hopped out of bed and immediately thought, I need to get a birth plan. First step in my plan, put some pants on. Which I did. We were ready to leave within minutes. There was just one obstacle in the living room. We needed to get past my in laws. They just happened to be visiting and were sleeping on an air mattress. I looked at my wife, I said, what do you want to do about the people in the other room? And she whispered urgently, just go. So we just went. I didn't look at them. I raced past them. I didn't know if they were awake. We get to the car and I receive a text from my mother in law. Where are you going? I didn't know whether to tell her the truth and freak her out or play it cool and respond something along the lines of, everything's fine, we're just going to a rave, don't worry about it. I decided that I would let her know what was happening when I knew what was happening. So we got to the hospital in record time. We rushed to the security guard and asked him, where do people go when they have babies? These were his exact words. Make a left, take the elevator to the second floor. Make a right and a right and a right, go down the hall, make a right and a left and another right. And then ring the doorbell. And somehow we did that. So my wife got admitted and a nurse examined her. And the nurse told us that the baby wanted to arrive, but they would be able to delay the arrival by about a month. My wife was going to have to stay in the hospital on bed rest. They wheeled in a cot for me. I lied down in it, and next thing I knew, my wife's contractions began. And all of a sudden my cot is being wheeled out and a pit crew of people are racing in, including two nurses carrying a dessert tray. The on call doctor also rushed in, examines my wife, and declares, the baby is coming. Do you have any questions? I asked the doctor if there was anything that we could give my wife because she was in so much pain. And the doctor said, unfortunately, there's no time. I so wanted to ask, is there anything you could give me? Because this is a really stressful environment. I was supposed to be in the park, under a tree. Suddenly I'm in the trenches. I had a second to turn to my wife and ask her if she wanted me to leave. She reached up, grabbed my hand and crushed the bones in it. I took that as a no. So I stayed right by her side. There was a washcloth on top of her head that somebody had placed there for some reason. And every time my wife pushed, the washcloth would slide off her face and cover her eyes. So I picked it up and I wanted to ask somebody if there was anywhere we could. Anywhere else we could put this. But everybody seemed busy, so I. I carefully put it back on top of my wife's head and waited for it to fall. And then I would put it back on her head. And that's what I did for most of the time was I would Just okay. Besides the washcloth, there was more squeezing and breathing and counting and pushing. And then there was our. Our baby. Smallest tiniest human being I had ever seen, crying so loudly. The doctor yelled out right away, that crying is fantastic. They took the baby, they put the baby on the dessert tray and they. They carried the dessert tray and the baby to the neonatal intensive care unit, the nicu. A place I never realized existed until I walked into one. It's a place where professional guardian angels keep premature babies warm and safe and alive. There were five other premature babies. You could see them in their pods, and none of them looked like newborns. All of them looked like they still belonged in the womb, which they did. They definitely needed help, and they were getting it. When my wife and I gazed at our child from both sides of the incubator, I looked at the baby and I said to the baby, where are your parents? And the baby smiled. It was probably gas, but it was a genuine smile at the absolute perfect moment. I called the in laws later that morning and told them the news. As I waited for them to arrive at the hospital, I saw a group of pregnant women with their husbands taking a tour. They were so giddy and chatty, as if they were on a field trip. I looked at them and I couldn't help but think, what a bunch of amateurs. So our child stayed in the NICU for five weeks. And then we brought the baby home healthy. Several months into parenthood, as we carried the baby into the bedroom and put the baby in the crib, as we walked out, I whispered to my wife, isn't it amazing that we made a person? My wife looked at me with hesitance. She asked me, do you look at me differently now that you've seen me deliver a baby? And in that moment, I realized why she didn't want me in the room. I'm slow, but eventually I get things. And I felt very bad that she had the concern I would be less attracted to her. So I took her in my arms and right away I told her, of course I look at you differently. I'm in awe of you. You nourished and nurtured and sheltered a life with your body. And then you brought that life into the world. I did one thing, and it wasn't that difficult. My wife is a superhero. I love her and our 16 month old daughter more than words can express. Thank you.

Dan Kennedy (24:30)

Carlos Kotkin is a regular at our Los Angeles story slams. He's also the author of a book called called please God, let it be. Herpes. That's it for this week. Hope you guys enjoyed the stories. Thanks to all of you for listening and from all of us here at the Moth, we hope you have a story worthy week.

Rosetta Stone Advertiser (24:48)

Dan Kennedy is the author of the books Loser Goes First, Rock On An American Spirit. He's also a regular host and performer.

Dan Kennedy (24:56)

With the Moth Podcast production by Timothy Lou Lee. Moth events are recorded by Argo Studios in New York City, supervised by Paul Rue West. The Moth Podcast is presented by prx, the Public Radio Exchange, helping make public radio more public@prx.org.