Say hello to James.
This is James Michael Helmers. He is wonderful. He is adorable. He is my son.
His story began two days after I returned from my Annual Training with the Army Reserves, August 31. Kristin and I had a pretty typical Saturday morning. With breakfast consisting of coffee from Michaelangelo’s, and Stella’s Hot & Spicy Cheese Bread while people-watching. The only strange part was the anti-vaxxers that marched through the Dane County Farmers Market. We had to step away before Kristin ripped a throat out.
Otherwise, it was a normal day. It was great to spend time with each other after being away. And after a great dinner at the Taste of Madison and getting ready for bed, James decided he wanted to spend time with us too.
It was around 9:30 PM that Kristin had her first contraction. James was due on 9/12/19, almost two weeks from tonight. I didn’t believe it. But the contractions kept coming, and at shorter and shorter intervals. We decided d to run to the hospital. We both had our go-bags, but everything else was a mess. At this point, it was 11:00 pm and we left Wendy at home and took off. We’re lucky because our hospital, St. Mary’s, is just down the street.
We parked and walked up to the birthing suites. A testament to Kristin’s strength, she managed to walk from the parking garage up to the maternity ward with no issues. She’s a trooper.
Then it was a whirlwind of getting checked in, calling parents, asking our neighbors to watch our dog, and hoping we had everything we would need for the next few days. After a few hours and failed attempts at pain management, she decided to get an epidural. The needle went in fine, but before the medicine kicked in, our nurse announced that the baby was coming. Kristin pushed, failed to get the nurses to pull out our child, and the next thing you knew, James was here. And he was perfect.
Watching my wife give birth was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I can’t imagine going through what she did, and I have so much respect for this powerful woman I married.
Anyways, that’s the story of James, and how he came into this world. He’s healthy. His mom is healthy. And I’m happy.