Dybs Arrives - 3/16/09

Riley James Carter was born on Monday, March 16, 2009, at 6:09am. He weighed 7lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches in length.

We spent the weekend with friends from JMU. On Saturday night, Nikki got very little sleep, had numerous contractions, and we were very close to going to the hospital. Ultimately, Nikki got a couple of hours of sleep, and her level of discomfort subsided. We ate a wonderful brunch prepared by Chris and Ashley, said goodbye to our friends, and relaxed much of the day Sunday. After reading online that spicy food is a way to induce labor, we got Chipotle for dinner, and Nikki tried hot sauce on a Chipotle burrito (if you know her, you know this is atypical for her). Later that night, Nikki was experiencing contractions like any other night late in her pregnancy. Around 12:30, she woke up Dennis (slacker) and said she thought it was time. We prepared our things and made our way to the hospital a little after 1:00. Because Nikki was not visibly distressed to the level normally seen by hospital staff, they brought us back to a room for a preliminary examination. After confirming she was 6cm along, they admitted us in Room 10, one room next to where we went through labor with Delaney. With the pain increasing, Nikki got an epidural around 3:30, which made things much easier for her. Christi, Bob, and Jenna arrived after we called them in the early morning, tired but excited for the upcoming birth. Irene showed up shortly thereafter, and each one came back to visit us while Nikki was in labor. Shortly after the epidural, they checked Nikki again, and it was time to start the pushing. With Delaney, it took about 2.5 hours for her to come out. No joke, it took Riley less than 2.5 minutes to come out. Four pushes and he was out.

Because Nikki named Delaney shortly after her birth, Dennis had the difficult task of naming our second child. It came down to a few choices we had picked if Dybs was a boy, and Riley James was the ultimate decision. Riley is a name both of us liked all along, and it was selected partly out of respect for Delaney (both end in "y"). James is a family name - Nikki's brother, Dennis' grandfather, and Nikki's great-grandfather. Also, James is another homage to Delaney, who we nicknamed Jam while she was in Nikki. Lastly, it was selected because Nikki and Dennis both attended and met at James Madison University. It was later pointed out to us by Jacob Levin that March 16 is James Madison's birthday, which only made the decision that much more meaningful. (Thanks for pointing this out, Jacob.)