Spring is visibly noticeable in our San Diego known for only one season, eternal summer. Roses are rebirthing, magenta and tangerine plants blanket both sides of routes 52 and 15, and wild mustard grows in the UC canyons. The light of an April day stretches out like a big dog rising from a nap since daylight-saving time kicked in at the beginning of the month. Passover and Easter remind us of rebirth, hope and salvation.
This particular April brought a special awareness of nature’s renaissance as our family waited for a new baby. Rebirth defined itself in a new grandchild. The baby was due April 7. Although it’s a woman’s prerogative to show up fashionably late for social engagements, Lana Lippe decided to arrive nine days early, on Friday, March 30, at Scripps Hospital. Her mother had finished her day teaching school, went to bed that night, and awoke at 1 a.m. Six hours later, this little infant came out listening to the tunes of Jimmy Buffett on a CD in the background at Scripps Hospital. Mozart influenced Lana in utero, but Buffett was there for her entrance into the world.
Like a lot of newborns, Lana continued to assert her will by turning her new parents’ night into day and day into night. Maybe Bufett will record a new tune for his new fan: “Sleepless All Night in a Carmel Valley Condo.” Why is it a lot of babies begin their lives by enjoying the nightlife, hooting and hollering, while sleeping it off during the day? Perhaps it prepares parents for a kid’s adolescence.
Mark Twain said, “A baby is an inestimable blessing and bother.” That statement has some truth to it, but the blessing far outweighs the bother. For grandparents visiting a baby during the day, it’s all a blessing. For a new mother and father, the “bother” is lack of sleep. The gift of sleep is more critical than receiving any baby gift from Tiffany’s, especially for the mommy. Hospitals send parents packing after 48 hours, and doctors aren’t able to write a prescription for sleep.
Scripps Hospital maternity staff made Lana feel welcome and her parents feel secure. Dr. Marshall, the young, female obstetrician, was sensitive to her patient, looked about 16 but had the skill of a veteran ob-gyn. The pediatrician, a wonderful, longtime UC resident, used to treat Lana’s dad. Dr. Victor Lipp, the father of two grown kids, both UCHS grads, and grandfather of two boys, has never lost the wonder of the miracle a baby is. He maintains a calm demeanor when nervous parents begin the conversation on his daily rounds: “What does its mean when the baby”¦(fill in the blank)?” After many years of practice, Dr. Lipp still treats each question as though it is the most important one a parent could ask.
Today’s young parents keep their choices of babies’ names secret many times until the baby arrives, and these parents opt for more unusual names. Mary, Bobby and John have been replaced by names like Kaley, Finlay and Taylor. What happened to Joe, Judy, or Bill? After the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, a certain little toddler I know was given the middle name of Fenway, as in Fenway Park. He was born to be a Red Sox fan.
Today’s dads take on an involved role; they no longer just pace outside the hospital room. They are coaches and cheerleaders for their spouses. Dads do get a cot in the hospital room and bond with their babies night and day. In the long run, however, it is the mom who does the work. They don’t call it labor for nothing.
Newborn babies, like rosebuds in spring, bring such joy and some work, of course. When the headlines get you down and current events keep you questioning this old world, take a walk through UC and look at all the flowers being born again. Then walk to Scripps Hospital, take the elevator to the third floor, go left to the nursery and look at those beautiful babies brimming with hope for the future. “Being a grandparent is the only undervalued role in life,” one of my wise grandma friends told me.
Sandra Lippe, a former high school teacher with a master’s degree in creative writing, was born and raised in Connecticut. She is a 33-year resident of University City with husband Ernie. They have two children and two lovely grandchildren.