The Story of King Sterling Anderson

On the morning of Saturday, November 13th 2010 I woke up from sleeping on the couch at around 6:00 AM (I sleep on the couch because Nicole keeps it 20 below in the bedroom).  I got ready for my Saturday morning shift at work, took the dogs out, and said goodbye to Nicole.  Everything seemed like it would be the start to another typical Saturday, we had plans for thrift store shopping and some mall walking when I would get off work.  Well, things did not go as planned!  We did not get to walk around the mall or explore any thrift stores.  I was barely into my shift when Nicole started texting me, she was mentioning things about contractions and mucus plugs, nothing that seemed to serious.  Then I get a text that states, "Can u call me pls".  Immediately I called Nicole, it was time!  I rushed home, we got things ready, and we were off to the hospital.  Nicole had never had any noticeable contractions before today, so on the drive there we were talking about how we would probably just be sent home after they checked us out.  When we got there we decided that we would only take in the small bag with Nicole's birthing clothes in it, we really thought we wouldn't be staying, and if we were I would have plenty of time to run back out to the car and grab the other stuff.  We got to our room and our nurse, Kristy, checked us in and took a look at Nicole.  Immediately she knew that we were here to stay, Nicole's contractions were only minutes apart and were coming at a steady pace.  At about 10:30 AM, Nicole was dilated to over 5cm and from what Nicole was expressing, the contractions were painful.  We had decided early on that this was going to be natural birth, no pain medication and no epidural.  The nurse checked back every hour, Nicole was doing great!  At about 1:00 PM, Nicole asked to be checked again because the pressure was more than she could bear.  She was even considering giving up on the natural method and taking the epidural.  Well the Nurse checked her out and we were told it was now 9 1/2cm and that we were almost to the pushing stage.  Nicole decided to stick with the natural method since we were so close.  Only a few minutes later (at least it felt like only a few minutes), Nicole was trying her hardest not to push and I was trying my hardest not to pass out (I hadn't eaten anything all day).  The Doctor came in, they prepped the room, and broke Nicole's water.  We were beginning to regret not bringing in the other bag from the car, I never had a chance to go get it!  Nicole progressed so fast and I had decided early on in the pregnancy that I was going to play an active role in the delivery, I was right there with Nicole the whole way, even though I had to sit down a few times and drink some of Nicole's apple juice.  I will not go into detail about the pushing stage, I witnessed things I thought I would never witness.  With how difficult it was for I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it was for Nicole.  She was amazing, Nicole was determined to get that baby out, and out he came! 

At 4:19PM MST on Saturday, November 13, 2010 a 6lb10oz 20 inch long redheaded (nurses said strawberry blonde, and there was lots of it) baby boy was born.

I can't even begin to tell you how I felt when I first saw him, it was one of the best feelings/experiences of my life.  During the pregnancy (and the delivery) Nicole would often say "Why would anyone do this more than once?", well that feeling I felt is why.  I loved him before he was born and that love was bonded the second I laid eyes on him.  He is now part of my life, and will be throughout eternity.

For the past 20 some hours we have been hanging out in the Mother/Baby recovery room.  King is doing great, I've already changed several diapers.  Nicole is doing just as good, although she is in pain and quite sore, she is recovering quickly!  Although King is sleeping a lot, its tiring and busy.  Every little peep, squeal, and yawn he makes I want to jump up and check on him.  And then on top of that I have to run home and check on the dogs, fortunately this hospital has excellent nurses and I can take my time at home with the dogs and rest.  We haven't been able to take many pictures yet, just a few with my phone (the camera was in the bag we left in the car).   I have since gotten the bag with the camera from the car and it is with us now, but we still haven't been able to take any pictures.  We still have plenty of time to snap some shots and as soon as we do we will share the cuteness of King with everyone!  Here are few from my phone:

--Brian