Welcome Caden David Nichols

John arrived safely back in the states on Sunday, July 1st and we visited Dr. Tallent's office first thing Monday morning. He decided to induce me on Thursday, July 5th.

The night before the induction was July 4th. My mom and dad took John and I out to dinner at Logan's and then we got ice cream at Baskin Robins before heading home for the night. At home, Charli was freaking out over the fireworks and I was trying to console her while John packed things up for the hospital. We finally got in bed around 11pm, I think... but neither one of us slept well at all. I think we ended up admitting we were both awake at about 2am and we finally got out of bed around 3:15. We had to be at the hospital at 5:00am after all.

Upon arriving at the hospital we met my high school friend, Laura Beth (Clay) Cole. She brought us to Labor and Delivery Room #7 and went through all the paper work and started my IV.

At 6:45am they started the Pitocin to induce labor, at which time I was measuring about 2cm dilated. At 7:00 Laura Beth went home after working the night shift to sleep for a few hours before she had to back at work again at 7pm. She left me with another sweet nurse named Beth.

At 8:00am Dr. Tallent checked and I had progressed to about 3cm. He broke my water and I waited to start feeling the contractions. After the discomfort of the exams to see how dilated I was, I decided I didn't want to wait to get my epidural!! It was administered at 8:50.

The day drug on from this point. An hour later, at 9:50, I was only measuring 3.5cm. Two hours later (11:40) I had only progressed to 4.5cm so the doctor ordered that internal monitors be placed on both the baby and on the uterus to better monitor the contractions. The monitors showed that my contractions were adequate and that only time would progress things.

The next time they came to check was at 3:40, and I had finally moved up to 6cm. At this point in the day I was starting to get uncomfortable. Not because of the contractions, but because I kept sliding down in my bed and couldn't scoot myself back up. My neck and back really started to ache. As for the contractions, I did start to "feel" them a little. I could feel a tightening sensation in my abdomen, and it was a little difficult to get a good breath in because of them. I was starting to really feel tired due to the lack of sleep the night before and the fact I hadn't had one bite of food all day (the only down side to induction in my opinion)!

At 5:55 Dr. Tallent came to check me again. I wasn't expecting all that much to have happened in two hours because everything else had moved so slowly... but I was at 10cm at last and I had never been more terrified!!! I couldn't hardly talk at all and all I wanted to do was cry when they said it was time to have the baby. John on the other hand was very excited!

My nurse, Beth, called my friend Laura Beth to tell her that if she would head in to work just a bit early, she might get here in time to deliver our baby! In the meantime, all of the family was escorted to the waiting room and John made sure the camcorder was set up on the tripod to record the "PG rated version" of Caden's birth (we recorded from my chest up so that you could see mine and John's faces and hear/see our reactions).

It was just a few minutes and I was ready to start pushing. I was so scared of what I might feel or how it would be... but after the first push I realized this wasn't so bad and I relaxed a lot. A part of me kept waiting for something to hurt, but those epidurals (or atleast mine because I've heard horror stories) are just amazing! In movies they make it look like you just push and push forever without getting a single break until the baby is born. I was surprised to learn that there was a significant break between contractions, sometimes several minutes.

John was a great coach, although because of the epidural he didn't have to do near what he was expecting (and was quite relieved about that). His main job was to count to 10 for me for each push, but I found that I decided to stare at the clock on the wall through each push and I used the second hand on the clock to count to 10 instead. I fussed at John to count with the clock! His other job was to hold my head for me because I was just so tired and sore from laying in that bed all day.

I could feel the contractions, but no pain associated with them. I knew when I was having one and when it was time to push. Laura Beth made it back in time to help me through the rest of the delivery. Toward the end, Dr. Tallent came in and decided I wasn't pushing hard enough (yeah right~ I think he just says that to all his patients to get them motivated because the nurses told me I was pushing perfectly). I was starting to wear down a little and needed to close my eyes more when I pushed and relied on John's counting instead of the clock.

I knew things were getting close by the comments of the doctor and nurse. They started having me push 4 times per contraction instead of the standard 3. As I was pushing I suddenly heard a distinct change in John's voice as he was counting for me. I knew something was happening so I pushed really, really hard. When I opened my eyes there he was. It was such a strange feeling. I just stared, open mouthed at him and I have no idea what I was thinking. It seemed like forever passed in that moment as they unwrapped the umbilical chord from his neck (it was loosely wrapped around his neck) and suctioned his nose.

One more small push and he was here. Caden David Nichols arrived at 7:22pm, after about 1 hour and 20 minutes of pushing. The doctor let John cut the chord and they did a good bit of suctioning on him, too. He started to make small little sounds, not a full out cry, but little whimpering sounds and it melted my heart. It was at that point that I started laughing and crying at the same time. I don't even think I looked at Caden anymore, I just randomly started looking around the room, crying and laughing. I know John described his immediate reaction the same way: wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. It's a feeling that is very hard to describe, or even really remember.

The doctor had John snap a picture of him with Caden and then they placed him on my chest and started rubbing him down. Laura Beth told me to rub him hard, but I just couldn't. I just held the blanket I was supposed to use to rub him and gently wiped him instead. Laura Beth checked his fingers and toes for me and announced that they were all there, no extras as we had feared from our 3D ultrasound!! Laura Beth said that Caden had swallowed some fluid and needed to be suctioned so she had to take him to the table to clear his airways out. After a few attempts and nothing coming out she decided to call NICU down to check him. In the meantime she weighed and measured him: 7lbs even and 20 inches long.

John followed the baby over to the table with the camcorder and started video taping. He asked the nurse if something was wrong with Caden because his massive cone head scared John a little! He knew about "cone heads," but boy did Caden ever have a big one!

NICU arrived and they finally determined that Caden had one really stubborn and huge little booger in his nose that was causing the small breathing difficulties. Unfortunately Caden had to stay under the warmer for the 1st hour and a half of his life before John and I were given a chance to hold him. John recorded in our log that at 7:52pm he went to the waiting room to announce to my family that "Cameron" was born. He thought he would try and throw them off a little and make them wonder if we changed his name, or if he had come out a girl!!

The family came in to the room a little while later to see us. My heart swelled with pride as everyone oohed and aahed over him. Laura Beth rolled the table with the heat lamp over closer to my bed so that I could get a better look at him and we took our first family picture with Caden laying under the warmer.

It took a while for them to get us a room on the Mom and Baby floor of the hospital, but when they did I was so tired that all I could think about was sleeping. John went to the nursery with Caden to give him his first bath and have his footprints made. I slept for a little while until they brought him to me to nurse again. Everyone left, and John and I let the nursery keep Caden for us and bring him to me when it was time to nurse. We slept well and I was feeling so much better the next day. I even got up and cleaned the room while John went home to shower!

The next two days at the hospital were amazing! I was able to get a good bit of rest and I had wonderful nurses who took such good care of me. When it was time for us to leave I didn't want to go home! They had to wait until Caden was 48 hours old to test for jaundice. The test came back with levels low enough to allow us to go home. The nurses started packing our room up for us (they needed the beds as they were booked up) trying to hurry us home. We left the hospital at about 9pm on Saturday night. Caden cried most of the way home from the hospital, and so did I because I didn't know what to do for him, but he eventually calmed down watching the fish light up in his mirror.

When we arrived at the house, Carl came outside to get the video camera and informed me that our dog, Charli, had pooped on our bed!! WHAT!?! She knew something was up, I suppose! The first night at home was rough. We slept for roughly two hours. How is it that your baby is so wonderful at the hospital, but then you bring him home and he starts screaming! We went to Babies R Us the next day to get blankets and a sleep positioner for him to hopefully help him sleep a little better the next night.

Caden David shares a birthday with his one year old cousin, Isabella. He was born with John's dark skin and a cute little head of soft dark hair. He had big hands and feet and long toes, too! He is a true miracle and gift from God...