Nicholas' birth story

Friday night, November 20, 2009 – I was 39 1/2 weeks pregnant and I started having mild contractions shortly after dinner. I relaxed on the couch until bedtime and I was pretty sure nothing would happen until at least the next day. However, as I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed I noticed the contractions getting a little stronger. I told Patrick that it may be soon, but I was going to try to at least make it through the night (I went into labor with Lauren a little after midnight so we both really wanted a good night’s sleep at home before heading to the hospital). Unfortunately Baby Nick had other plans because about an hour later I told Patrick we better go.

We live about 25 minutes from Fort Benning and I knew the interstate leading into the installation only had one lane open that week because of construction. Plus we had to call my co-worker Elsie and give her plenty of time to get ready and come over to watch Lauren, so even though I could have stayed home a little longer, I didn't want to take any chances. Patrick is a great lawyer and Soldier, but I'm pretty sure he'd be a crappy doctor.

I called Elsie at about 11:15 p.m. and thankfully she was awake. I also called mom and dad to let them know we were headed to the hospital. The plan was for Elsie to watch Lauren until mom and dad arrived and then for mom, dad and Lauren to come to the hospital the next day. It worked perfectly. Lauren didn’t wake up until the next morning – even though Lil’ Jon barked his head off when Elsie got there (he’s a good guard dog).

Once we got to the hospital we had to wait a bit for a room because they were “busy.” Please note that if a baby boom ever hits Fort Benning then the staff at Martin Army Community Hospital is screwed because only two other babies were born the same day as Nicholas. Anyway, we finally got a room and I asked for my epidural pretty quickly – why should I suffer? The drugs kicked in so Patrick and I got some sleep (it was about 2 a.m. at this point). We actually slept pretty good and the next morning things weren’t progressing fast enough so they started me on Pitocin to speed things up a bit. At about 8:50 a.m. the doctor checked and said the baby would be here before noon. I laughed and said he’ll be here before 10 a.m. – Nicholas Patrick Gordon was born at 9:29 a.m. Saturday, November 21, 2009. He was 6 lbs, 5 oz and 19.5 inches long. He had a full head of dark brown hair and looked NOTHING like Lauren.

Nicholas is two and a half months old now and doing great. He's smiling and cooing and I'll try to keep this thing more updated as he and Lauren get bigger.