By February, Jamie looked as if she had swallowed a basketball. She was told by Dr. Julie to take everything easy from now on, so it was up to me to finish the nursery, which wasn't even close to being finished. Jamie had picked out a pattern after we found out we were having a boy that she thought would look adorable in the nursery.
"Jamie, I can't figure this pattern out."
"Hold on. I'll be right there," Jamie yelled from our bedroom. She walked into the nursery, looking as lovely as ever. "Let me see. You had it upside down, honey. There you go," she said, flipping the pattern around.
"I see you got all the furniture put together. Everything is turning out perfect. Just perfect," Jamie said while rubbing her belly and looking at me.
Just then, the small radio I had in the room started playing our wedding song. I looked back at Jamie and walked over to her.
"May I have this dance, Mrs. Carter?"
"Of course," Jamie said with at smile, "Can you believe that in one month we are going to be a family?"
"I know, it's pretty weird. I mean weird in a good way though. I never thought that I would be so happy with anyone."
"Landon," she whispered as she looked up at me, "Do you think I will be alright? I mean while I'm giving birth."
This threw me a little off guard, since Dr. Julie told us we had nothing to worry about.
"I think you're going to be just fine, Jamie. Dr. Julie said everything looked really good."
"I know," Jamie said modestly, "But, what if?"
"You'll be fine, baby. You'll be fine."
We continued dancing for another ten minutes when Jamie heard the timer on the stove go off.
"My pizza!" Jamie said enthusiastically.
I kissed her and she was off. I looked away from her and back at the wall. I still hadn't made any process with the pattern, and I knew that it had to be done soon. As I started to trace the pattern on the wall, it all started coming together, like a great flood in my mind. This was where my son was going to be in a month. I was going to be responsible for another human life. Jamie and I were going to be parents. Soon enough, the emotions were taking over me and I had to stop. As I stood away from the wall, I realized that I had done the whole pattern while I was thinking about the baby.
I looked around the room at all the furniture and walked over to a little lamp that Jamie had bought for the nursery. I turned it on and it started to play 'this little light of mine' in a softer tone. I almost started to cry. I walked over to the door and looked around the room one last time.
"It's perfect," I whispered as I shut off the lights. The little lamp was still playing 'this little light of mine' as I shut the door.
I walked into the kitchen and I saw Jamie sitting at the table crying.
"Jamie, what's the matter?"
"I...hurt..." Jamie said still crying, "It hurts...Landon...call Dr...Julie..."
As I dialed the number to Dr. Julie, Jamie started sobbing even harder.
"Dr. Julie, please. It's my wife, she's going into labor, I think. She says it hurts. I don't know. Okay, we'll be in shortly," I hung up the phone.
"Okay, let's get you to the car," I helped Jamie out of her chair and to the car. Jamie had been afraid she would into labor in the middle of the night, so she packed lots of clothes and tucked them away in the trunk. I couldn't seem to drive fast enough to get her to the hospital. Every few seconds she would let out a loud scream and then started to sob again. I didn't even know what to say to her.
We finally made it to the hospital. I helped her out of the car and into a wheelchair. Dr. Julie's nurse was waiting for us to arrive.
When we met up with her, she started asking me questions that I didn't really know the answer to. But Jamie breathed through them as the nurse wrote everything down. The nurse got us to the room and started helping Jamie out of her clothes and into a robe. She told me that I had to try and make her as comfortable as possible.
I sat down next to the bed and started rubbing her head. She took my hand and looked over at me.
"This is it, Landon. I love you so much," She said as quietly as I had heard her all night.
"I love you too, baby. I'm right here for you."
Just then, Dr. Julie walked in.
"Quite the night to be having a baby, don't you think?" she said jokingly.
I chuckled a little but Jamie didn't find anything funny at that moment.
"Well, here's what's going to happen for now. We are going to monitor your progress and contractions. When you start to get really close to being fully dilated, we'll start to push. But for right now, we think it would be safest and most comfortable to you if we gave you something for these contractions," She finished.
Jamie took to the sedatives right away. She started to fall asleep. I decided that while she was asleep that I would start to call our families.
"Hegbert first, Jamie would want him here," I picked up the phone and dialed his number. I looked at the clock behind me. A quarter past eleven.
"Hello..." Hegbert said groggily as he answered the phone.
"Um...Hegbert? It's Landon."
"Landon. Is something the matter? Is it Jamie?" Hegbert was starting to get worried.
"Well, Jamie went into labor earlier this evening. We're already at the hospital."
"Thank the Lord. Is she okay? I mean is she doing alright?" Hegbert asked.
"Yes, she's fine. Dr. Julie gave her a sedative and she's sleeping right now."
"How far along is she?" Hegbert asked.
"About five centimeters. Dr. Julie said she's progressing pretty fast. I knew that Jamie would want you here with her."
"I should be to the hospital in about thirty minutes. What floor are you on?" Hegbert said.
" Fifth floor, room 518."
"Alright, I will be there shortly. Tell Jamie I love her for me, Landon," Hegbert said.
"I will, Sir. See you shortly." I hung up the phone.
Just as I sat back in my chair, I heard Jamie stain to talk.
"Jamie, you're awake."
"Was that daddy?" she whispered.
I nodded, "He'll be here in about a half an hour."
"Okay," she whispered again and nodded off again.
I leaned over her and kissed her forehead. She smiled gently and mouthed 'I love you' before she fell asleep.
I sat there, my hand in hers, with my head resting near her. Dr. Julie's nurse walked in and woke me up.
"Dr. Julie wants to know if you need anything?"
"No, I'm alright for now. Just a little tired."
"Most new daddy's are," she said smiling. "I'll be back in to check on Jamie's progress in about ten minutes, if you want to start waking her up."
I nodded as she walked out of the room. I heard the nurse say, "She's right in there," and Hegbert walked in.
"Landon, how are you?" Hegbert greeted as he walked into the room.
"Just fine, Sir. How was the drive?"
"Long. But I managed. How is she?" Hegbert asked.
"Tired, but Dr. Julie's nurse should be in to check on her soon."
Hegbert nodded and walked over to Jamie, touched her forehead and smiled.
"Jamie...Jamie, honey?" Hegbert whispered.
"...da...daddy?" Jamie said, slowly waking up.
"Hi, honey. How are you feeling?" Hegbert asked.
"Tired and icky," Jamie replied.
Dr. Julie's nurse walked in again.
"Is everybody doing alright?" she asked.
"Well, I don't know about everybody else, but I'm ready to have this baby already," Jamie said. Hegbert and I chuckled. Dr. Julie's nurse put on her gloves and checked Jamie.
"Nine centimeters. I'll have to call Dr. Julie. Jamie, I'm glad you're ready because this baby is coming out shortly," she finished and washed her hands.
Jamie looked up at me and smiled.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. Are you?" Jamie asked.
I nodded and helped her sit up. Dr. Julie walked in and asked us if we were ready to get the party started. Jamie nodded.
Dr. Julie was washing her hands and getting all her things together. Her nurse was prepping Jamie for the birth.
Jamie was ready, Dr. Julie was ready. Everything was ready for our son to come out. Hegbert opted to wait for word from me that she was alright and that our son was healthy.
Dr. Julie walked over to Jamie, "Are we ready?"
Jamie nodded.
"Alright," Dr. Julie started, "We're going to have you push gradually at first. We have to get through a ten count before you can relax. Okay?"
Jamie nodded again.
"Okay, let's push." Dr. Julie said. Her nurse started counting. I watched Jamie and started counting myself. Jamie's face went from red to blue in a matter of seconds. Jamie stopped as soon as she heard 'ten' be called out.
Dr. Julie encouraged Jamie to keep pushing. Jamie pushed for only about ten minutes when Dr. Julie said that the head was out. Jamie pushed one last time and there he was. Our little boy. Our child. He was finally here. Dr. Julie handed him to Jamie. Jamie started crying in joy. I couldn't even believe my eyes. Jamie was holding our son.
"Hello, baby boy. Hello. I'm your mommy and that's your daddy, baby." Jamie said still crying.
"What are we going to call him?"
"How about Matthew? Matthew Rollins Carter?" Jamie asked shyly.
"Matthew. That's a good name for him. Hi, little Matthew."
Dr. Julie's nurse excused herself and took Matthew. She weighed him and did his foot and hand prints. "6 lbs 9 oz, about 23 inches, and a strong healthy baby," she said handing him back to Jamie.
"Go get daddy, please Landon," Jamie asked.
"Okay," I said kissing her forehead.
Hegbert was waiting just down the hall. I walked out to him and he stood up.
"Well?" Hegbert asked.
"Matthew Rollins Carter. 6lbs 9oz, 23 inches, and as healthy as an ox."
"Oh! Thank the Lord! How's Jamie doing?" Hegbert asked worriedly.
"She's perfect. Dr. Julie said she had a clean labor and delivery. She and Matthew should be ready to go home tomorrow."
"Wonderful. Can I...see her?" Hegbert asked slowly.
"Of course."
"Jamie, I can't figure this pattern out."
"Hold on. I'll be right there," Jamie yelled from our bedroom. She walked into the nursery, looking as lovely as ever. "Let me see. You had it upside down, honey. There you go," she said, flipping the pattern around.
"I see you got all the furniture put together. Everything is turning out perfect. Just perfect," Jamie said while rubbing her belly and looking at me.
Just then, the small radio I had in the room started playing our wedding song. I looked back at Jamie and walked over to her.
"May I have this dance, Mrs. Carter?"
"Of course," Jamie said with at smile, "Can you believe that in one month we are going to be a family?"
"I know, it's pretty weird. I mean weird in a good way though. I never thought that I would be so happy with anyone."
"Landon," she whispered as she looked up at me, "Do you think I will be alright? I mean while I'm giving birth."
This threw me a little off guard, since Dr. Julie told us we had nothing to worry about.
"I think you're going to be just fine, Jamie. Dr. Julie said everything looked really good."
"I know," Jamie said modestly, "But, what if?"
"You'll be fine, baby. You'll be fine."
We continued dancing for another ten minutes when Jamie heard the timer on the stove go off.
"My pizza!" Jamie said enthusiastically.
I kissed her and she was off. I looked away from her and back at the wall. I still hadn't made any process with the pattern, and I knew that it had to be done soon. As I started to trace the pattern on the wall, it all started coming together, like a great flood in my mind. This was where my son was going to be in a month. I was going to be responsible for another human life. Jamie and I were going to be parents. Soon enough, the emotions were taking over me and I had to stop. As I stood away from the wall, I realized that I had done the whole pattern while I was thinking about the baby.
I looked around the room at all the furniture and walked over to a little lamp that Jamie had bought for the nursery. I turned it on and it started to play 'this little light of mine' in a softer tone. I almost started to cry. I walked over to the door and looked around the room one last time.
"It's perfect," I whispered as I shut off the lights. The little lamp was still playing 'this little light of mine' as I shut the door.
I walked into the kitchen and I saw Jamie sitting at the table crying.
"Jamie, what's the matter?"
"I...hurt..." Jamie said still crying, "It hurts...Landon...call Dr...Julie..."
As I dialed the number to Dr. Julie, Jamie started sobbing even harder.
"Dr. Julie, please. It's my wife, she's going into labor, I think. She says it hurts. I don't know. Okay, we'll be in shortly," I hung up the phone.
"Okay, let's get you to the car," I helped Jamie out of her chair and to the car. Jamie had been afraid she would into labor in the middle of the night, so she packed lots of clothes and tucked them away in the trunk. I couldn't seem to drive fast enough to get her to the hospital. Every few seconds she would let out a loud scream and then started to sob again. I didn't even know what to say to her.
We finally made it to the hospital. I helped her out of the car and into a wheelchair. Dr. Julie's nurse was waiting for us to arrive.
When we met up with her, she started asking me questions that I didn't really know the answer to. But Jamie breathed through them as the nurse wrote everything down. The nurse got us to the room and started helping Jamie out of her clothes and into a robe. She told me that I had to try and make her as comfortable as possible.
I sat down next to the bed and started rubbing her head. She took my hand and looked over at me.
"This is it, Landon. I love you so much," She said as quietly as I had heard her all night.
"I love you too, baby. I'm right here for you."
Just then, Dr. Julie walked in.
"Quite the night to be having a baby, don't you think?" she said jokingly.
I chuckled a little but Jamie didn't find anything funny at that moment.
"Well, here's what's going to happen for now. We are going to monitor your progress and contractions. When you start to get really close to being fully dilated, we'll start to push. But for right now, we think it would be safest and most comfortable to you if we gave you something for these contractions," She finished.
Jamie took to the sedatives right away. She started to fall asleep. I decided that while she was asleep that I would start to call our families.
"Hegbert first, Jamie would want him here," I picked up the phone and dialed his number. I looked at the clock behind me. A quarter past eleven.
"Hello..." Hegbert said groggily as he answered the phone.
"Um...Hegbert? It's Landon."
"Landon. Is something the matter? Is it Jamie?" Hegbert was starting to get worried.
"Well, Jamie went into labor earlier this evening. We're already at the hospital."
"Thank the Lord. Is she okay? I mean is she doing alright?" Hegbert asked.
"Yes, she's fine. Dr. Julie gave her a sedative and she's sleeping right now."
"How far along is she?" Hegbert asked.
"About five centimeters. Dr. Julie said she's progressing pretty fast. I knew that Jamie would want you here with her."
"I should be to the hospital in about thirty minutes. What floor are you on?" Hegbert said.
" Fifth floor, room 518."
"Alright, I will be there shortly. Tell Jamie I love her for me, Landon," Hegbert said.
"I will, Sir. See you shortly." I hung up the phone.
Just as I sat back in my chair, I heard Jamie stain to talk.
"Jamie, you're awake."
"Was that daddy?" she whispered.
I nodded, "He'll be here in about a half an hour."
"Okay," she whispered again and nodded off again.
I leaned over her and kissed her forehead. She smiled gently and mouthed 'I love you' before she fell asleep.
I sat there, my hand in hers, with my head resting near her. Dr. Julie's nurse walked in and woke me up.
"Dr. Julie wants to know if you need anything?"
"No, I'm alright for now. Just a little tired."
"Most new daddy's are," she said smiling. "I'll be back in to check on Jamie's progress in about ten minutes, if you want to start waking her up."
I nodded as she walked out of the room. I heard the nurse say, "She's right in there," and Hegbert walked in.
"Landon, how are you?" Hegbert greeted as he walked into the room.
"Just fine, Sir. How was the drive?"
"Long. But I managed. How is she?" Hegbert asked.
"Tired, but Dr. Julie's nurse should be in to check on her soon."
Hegbert nodded and walked over to Jamie, touched her forehead and smiled.
"Jamie...Jamie, honey?" Hegbert whispered.
"...da...daddy?" Jamie said, slowly waking up.
"Hi, honey. How are you feeling?" Hegbert asked.
"Tired and icky," Jamie replied.
Dr. Julie's nurse walked in again.
"Is everybody doing alright?" she asked.
"Well, I don't know about everybody else, but I'm ready to have this baby already," Jamie said. Hegbert and I chuckled. Dr. Julie's nurse put on her gloves and checked Jamie.
"Nine centimeters. I'll have to call Dr. Julie. Jamie, I'm glad you're ready because this baby is coming out shortly," she finished and washed her hands.
Jamie looked up at me and smiled.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. Are you?" Jamie asked.
I nodded and helped her sit up. Dr. Julie walked in and asked us if we were ready to get the party started. Jamie nodded.
Dr. Julie was washing her hands and getting all her things together. Her nurse was prepping Jamie for the birth.
Jamie was ready, Dr. Julie was ready. Everything was ready for our son to come out. Hegbert opted to wait for word from me that she was alright and that our son was healthy.
Dr. Julie walked over to Jamie, "Are we ready?"
Jamie nodded.
"Alright," Dr. Julie started, "We're going to have you push gradually at first. We have to get through a ten count before you can relax. Okay?"
Jamie nodded again.
"Okay, let's push." Dr. Julie said. Her nurse started counting. I watched Jamie and started counting myself. Jamie's face went from red to blue in a matter of seconds. Jamie stopped as soon as she heard 'ten' be called out.
Dr. Julie encouraged Jamie to keep pushing. Jamie pushed for only about ten minutes when Dr. Julie said that the head was out. Jamie pushed one last time and there he was. Our little boy. Our child. He was finally here. Dr. Julie handed him to Jamie. Jamie started crying in joy. I couldn't even believe my eyes. Jamie was holding our son.
"Hello, baby boy. Hello. I'm your mommy and that's your daddy, baby." Jamie said still crying.
"What are we going to call him?"
"How about Matthew? Matthew Rollins Carter?" Jamie asked shyly.
"Matthew. That's a good name for him. Hi, little Matthew."
Dr. Julie's nurse excused herself and took Matthew. She weighed him and did his foot and hand prints. "6 lbs 9 oz, about 23 inches, and a strong healthy baby," she said handing him back to Jamie.
"Go get daddy, please Landon," Jamie asked.
"Okay," I said kissing her forehead.
Hegbert was waiting just down the hall. I walked out to him and he stood up.
"Well?" Hegbert asked.
"Matthew Rollins Carter. 6lbs 9oz, 23 inches, and as healthy as an ox."
"Oh! Thank the Lord! How's Jamie doing?" Hegbert asked worriedly.
"She's perfect. Dr. Julie said she had a clean labor and delivery. She and Matthew should be ready to go home tomorrow."
"Wonderful. Can I...see her?" Hegbert asked slowly.
"Of course."