Here it goes, the tale of James Nicholas....
Nathan and I were expecting a boy, due June 24th, 2005. We were living in Ames, Iowa on Foxley Drive. We got pregnant with James two months into our marriage and were so excited about the addition to our family. James (who wasn't named until we saw his face) was very comfortable in my belly, but on the 22nd, Dr. Lines (at Doran Clinic in Ames) stripped my membranes to try get things started. I had very dull but steady aches in my belly, not really contractions, just a very uncomfortable feeling. Dr. Lines had told me at my appointment that if I feel like I'm haivng contractions, or just want to get admitted to the hospital (Mary Greely Medical Center), then to arrive at 6 p.m. I told Nathan that I wanted to go be admitted, but being the naturalist that he is, wanted me to wait until James was good and ready to make an apperance on his own. I felt guilty not listeining to my husbands desires, but we went to the hospital anyway, pretty much in silence in the car. I was being selfish, but rightly so. I had this being in me, hijacking my body for 9 months, and I wanted him out.
They put me in the triage room, got me comfortable in a smock, and then broke my water. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEW! What a feeling. But what a glorious feeling! Ha. Now there was no turning back... he had to come out sooner or later or they would take him out.
We called family, and they came over to the hospital. Grandpa Gary, Grandma Marilyn, Grandma Kathy, Aunt Beth, Uncle Chris, Harrison (who was 7 mo.), and Chris' brother Ryan and girlfriend Kaylee. Par-tay! Everyone started placing bets on birth time and weight... none of them came close. Ha ha.
Labor started, slow and steady, and then on came the contractions! Nathan ran a warm bath for me, and I tried that for a while, but when the contracitons really started to hurt, I asked for my epidural. AHHHHHH, relief. It is ridiculously strange to not be able to move your legs, even while using all the brain power you have, nothing happens. LOL.
I labored through the night, plus got more medication put in my epidural in the middle of the night (maybe at like 2 AM?) and in the morning (at about 6 or 7 AM?). I didn't get much sleep, but at least got some, the arm cuff testing my blood pressure kept waking me up... of all things.
My doctor, Dr. Joyce Lines, came in to check up on me at around 8 AM and told me that I was getting ready to start pushing. By now I had been in labor for 14 hours. Here was the catch: Dr. Lines had to leave for a medical conference THAT MORNING so she wouldn't be arrond to deliver the baby. Figures. So, I asked for the other most favorite doctor of the group, Dr. Leads, to deliver James. I had never met Dr. Leads before, and I wasn't actually sure I had even seen him before in the office, so this was a strange first impression. Hi Dr. Leads! Here is my V! :) LOL.
When I started pushing, the nurse turned down my epidural so I could feel where to push. Ok, so maybe she turned it OFF, I don't know. All I know is that I felt everything, EVERYTHING. I pushed for two hours, and after an episiotomy and some screaming, out came our beautiful boy. James Nicholas! He weighed in at 9 pounds 4 ounces, was 22 inches long and had a LARGE head. I was shaking, green, and at a loss for words since I felt like I had just been ripped in half, but seeing that baby was the best thing on Earth. Nathan and I both cried tears of joy as our family grew to include this wonderful baby.
I've been hearing the story of his birth from my mother's view, who was standing out in the hall with Aunt Beth and Grandma Marilyn, and when they heard the nurse announce, "How about 9.4?!?" They all burst into tears for me.
What a magical day, and we have been blessed with this amazing child every day since. God is good, we love you James Nicholas.
Side story:
Nathan and I kept names that we liked for our son a secret until he was born and named. I did such a good job I even kept them secret from my Mom. This drove her completely nuts, and for the entire pregnancy, she was suggesting names for our little boy. She'd say, "I like Chase! Or how about the name Matthew?" She'd say this in hopes to get some sort of clue out of me what we were going to name this child. James was always our number one choice, well, for me anyway, not sure what Nathan's first choice was.
Mom came to help out the week before James was born and to be there for the birth and to help afterward. We went to Nathan's softball game one evening when she was there, and she says to me, "James Nathan! That's it! That's the name!" I shrugged and played it out like I did with all the others, then had to WADDLE as fast as I could over to Nathan to tell him that she had guessed the name and not to blow it that she actually had picked it right. Can you believe that? Out of the million and one names that we could have chosen, she landed on the ONE name that was at the top of my list. We didn't Nathan as his middle name, not sure why really, but we didn't want to name him after anyone. After James was born, Nathan went out to the family to announce that he was here, a boy, and his name is James Nicholas, and he looked at my mom and said, "Not because you said, it was the name we liked all along." Crazy.
