Nate is Here!!

Our baby boy has finally arrived!!




Noah wasn't allowed in the actual labor and delivery area, so his first view of his baby brother was through the nursery window. He was in awe when I told him that (Nate) is what was in my tummy.




We thought that my due date was going to come and go even though my OB was pretty clear that she didn't think I would make it. It was 8:30pm (on the 12th). Jay and I were working on two projects at once. I was sitting in front of the computer while he sat next to me on the telephone on hold. We then decided to switch tasks and chairs. I would wait on hold and take the call while he worked on an upload on the computer. As I stood up only to sit down half a second later, I realized my undies didn't feel like "this" a moment ago. I looked at Jay wide-eyed and said, "I think my water just broke." I said "I think" because it wasn't a gush like they make it out to be in the movies. My water broke with Noah as well, but I just happen to be sitting on the toilet when it happened so I have no idea how much came out then either. After running to the bathroom and confirming that this was the case, our on hold phone call representative decided to take our call. Jay picked up the phone and couldn't get anything accurate out so I ran back down the hall to take the call myself. Jay ran around in circles trying to prioritize his list of duties. By the time I got out of the shower, Jenna and John were here. They were so gracious to offer to watch Noah while we were in the hospital. I was sad to not be able to say "bye" to Noah before we left but it was probably better that way (sometimes it's just easier). We arrived at the hospital around 10:00pm. I was 4cm and 80% effaced. I've never had braxton hicks contractions and I've never had contractions begin until after my water broke, but boy, as soon as my water breaks, everything takes off from there. I knew that I was going to get an epidural and I also know that sometimes there's a line of people waiting before you so it can take a while so I asked immediately when I could get it explaining that my doctor told me I had already progressed enough last week that I could get it at any time. After giving me one bag of IV fluids the anesthesiologist came in. He gave me the epidural and entertained us for a little bit. I could still feel everything but we waited a bit to see if anything would change. I think he didn't turn it up very high because I had explained that I hadn't been able to feel anything when delivering Noah and pushed for over 2 1/2 hours. Nothing changed though so he upped the dose and it worked like a dream. I thought I had a great experience with Noah (overall) but this was nothing short of amazing. I was able to feel when I was contracting (with no pain) and also the pressure of Nate as he moved through the birth canal. After another hour of socializing with our nurse and anesthesiologist, she thought she better check me. I was complete but his head was still a little high. She said we could either start pushing though it may take a little while longer or we could relax and let him come down on his own. I voted for resting. She came back in about an hour later and said that his head was still up there. She was about to leave the room when she instead decided to have me do a test push. I gave one big push and his head came down. She made me stop mid-push to go get the doctor. After a quick break down of the bed, I gave one push and his head was out. I gave another small push for his shoulders and that's it. I almost felt ripped off. I feel like delivering a baby is one of the most exciting and memorable parts of the experience and mine was so short. Nevertheless, this is what I (along with everyone else) has been praying for for me. We've been asking for a short, healthy, and fast delivery and that's exactly what I got. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful. I guess I just wasn't expecting it to be that short. Anyway, at 2:47am on Tuesday, April 13th, our beautiful baby boy officially joined our family.

Nathan Richard Devin Erickson
April 13, 2010
2:47am
7lbs 3oz
19" long

The story behind his names:
Jay and I just really like the name "Nate" so that's how we decided on his first - nothing sentimental about it. Jay really doesn't like the idea of two middle names and though it isn't common, I do because then we can have a name from each side of our family. I've been harassing him throughout my pregnancy and he just caved last week. He deciding on Richard for his choice. Richard is his middle name as well as his dad's. I chose the name Devin because it is a combination of both my parents' names, Deborah and Kevin.