We’re off to the hospital. Contractions are coming quite frequently.
It Was Indeed Time!
Nichelle’s contractions started around 11:00 a.m. She phoned me at noon, and said, “I think you’d better head home.†The contractions were already causing her to be in a lot of pain, so I headed out almost immediately. I ran in to the house (discovered our friends Phil Luchon and Shelby Sohmer were already there to help, Phil by watching the kids and Shelby by assisting Nichelle), checked the Naomi mailing list (a good thing—I had never switched it over from test mode to mail to the entire list), updated the BLOG, grabbed some food to take with me and all of Nichelle’s stuff, and headed off to the hospital, expecting the usual long process of labor and delivery.
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We arrived at the hospital at about 1:50 p.m. Nichelle’s contractions had increased in severity and frequency, and she was already dilated about 5 cm. She spent 10 minutes in a pre-labor room, before they moved her to the labor room.
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Things were moving very fast. So fast, in fact, that we weren’t sure a doctor would arrive in time—he almost didn’t—a paramedic was there as a backup. Nichelle’s contractions were so strong and frequent, that there was no way for her to get the epidural she’d planned on—this was going to go “natural,†an issue we managed to deflect. After I think only about 15 minutes of excruciating labor pain (I’ll let Nichelle describe with another time), Naomi joined the outside world. The doctor said, “Congratulations, you have a beautiful boy,†and then quickly corrected his statement.
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So, Naomi Nichelle (“NaNiâ€) Wilcox was with us on the outside, officially born at 3:02 p.m., but I later discovered the room clock was wrong, so it was really 2:55 p.m.
Naomi Nichelle (“NaNiâ€) Wilcox, future Geek goddess, weighed in at 7 pounds, 4.8 ounces, and measured 20 inches. We are thrilled to have our little girl. Friends and family visited. We ate birthday cake and relished the joy of being new parents. Nichelle and Naomi are both fine—no complictions or other problems. We’re all tired. Whew!
[nuke][doug]Every morning Nichelle pushes me out of bed, makes lunches, and makes sure the kids get ready for school while I get ready for work. Today it was my turn. Frankly, IÂ’m amazed at all she has been able to do, right up through the last day the kids went to school (Friday).
I had a list of things to make for lunches. I couldn't find the mayonaise, or the sandwich bags, nor the Go-Gurt, even with Nichelle talking me through the locations. Yikes!
Thank goodness the Isaac and John had gotten their own clothes out last night, or they would have had to go to school naked. As it was, despite getting everyone up on time, we got to school about 30 seconds before classes started.
Now, as I look around the house, I see that in one afternoon, the little monsters have managed to trash everything. There are socks by the computer, the couch cushions are a mess, boxes of snacks and other foods are everywhere, and toys create an obstacle course in nearly every room.
Now I know why God made moms: without them, only one child in 100 would survive to adulthood. (For that matter, IÂ’m as much in need of NichelleÂ’s assistant as the children are.)
No amount of praise is sufficient for the work that my wife does to keep our household running smoothly.
Naomi and Nichelle got to come home today. Yay!