Sweet Baby James is here!

James Robert Buffaloe is here!

He was born quite dramatically at 2:14 am on Saturday, September 15th, weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 19 and 1/4 inches long. 

Crystal's version of the story:

I started having contractions about 9:30 pm, but they were only up front and not lasting very long, so Sam and I stayed up for about an hour timing them. They weren't in a very regular pattern, and it seemed dumb to be up wasting a bunch of energy when this might not be the real thing, and even if it was, we probably had many, many hours to go. We were both able to go to sleep, and I could sleep between contractions with a heating pad. A little after midnight, I couldn't sleep any more, so I decided to get in the tub to see if that helped, and the contractions spaced way out again (about 15 minutes apart). When I got out of the tub around 1am, I  woke Sam up. I felt a little foolish (compared with my labor with Amelie, I still thought we had a long way to go), but I called my doula at 1:28am and told her not to speed over, saying "nothing is imminent." 

Things got imminent really, really soon after that and I yelled "HELP!" from the bathroom at 1:45 am and told Sam to call 911. The ambulance and fire truck arrived with lights flashing, and four big EMTs crowded into the bathroom and somehow got me up onto the gurney and halfway strapped in ("Ma'am -- we need to secure you in order to transport you safely. Ma'am, can you please lie down."). Sam couldn't ride with us in the ambulance (he wouldn't have fit -- there was an EMT for me and one for the baby and it was crowded). We got out onto West Blvd. (about 3 blocks from our house) and I said the baby was coming. They stopped the ambulance so James could be born. They only told me when we got to the hospital that it was the first delivery for both of the EMTs in the back with me -- this was the first baby for one after 19 years on the job and he bragged about it to everyone in the elevator and L&D room. His exuberance was pretty understandable -- I felt fantastic and was also pretty proud of myself!

Sam's version of the story: 

I remember Crystal starting to get something like cramps at about 9:30 on Friday night. Her back hurt around the same time on Thursday night, and that turned out to be nothing. I remember Crystal leaning towards the conclusion that she was not in fact having contractions, but what she was saying seemed to match the descriptions given at WebMD and the Mayo Clinic website. We used the "contraction master" tool on-line for about an hour, and the contractions did not seem to be getting any closer together or longer, so we decided that we should try to get some sleep. We did pack a preliminary bag, and I figured I could easily pack everything else in under a minute before we left for the hospital (this sounds a little like foreshadowing, I guess). I slept until Crystal woke me up, telling me that she wasn't sure what I could do, but that she wanted me up with her. She told me that her contractions weren't any closer together, and in fact, she wasn't sure if she should even call the doula.

After what seems like a very short period of time, Crystal yelled "HELP" from the bathtub. She told me that she thought the baby was coming, and that I should call 9-1-1. I called, hoping that our cheap cell phones were actually capable of calling it. The dispatcher seemed a little doubtful that Crystal was in fact about to have the baby. The conversation seemed to mostly be about what part of the baby I could see coming (I couldn't see anything). It seemed like the EMTs took a long time to come inside the house once they arrived on our street. This might be because I didn't turn the porch light on until after they were already here. They had a very difficult time putting Crystal on the gurney, and I remember thinking that they probably had a requirement to use the straps even though it was clear the straps were doing absolutely no good the way Crystal was positioned. The EMTs told me that I couldn't ride in the ambulance, and I had forgotten that Jana's (borrowed) car was behind mine, so I had to quickly get her keys. I luckily remembered to grab my wife's phone and the bag which we had only roughly packed before leaving.

I pulled behind the emergency vehicles, and was surprised when we stopped at West Blvd., which was just around the corner from our house. I remember getting out of my car to ask what was going on. I also remember thinking that they wouldn't like that I was out of my car, so I made sure to stay on the passenger side of the vehicles. The driver of the ambulance said "Sir, I need for you to return to your vehicle." I asked her if she could tell me what was going on, but she just repeated that I needed to get back into my vehicle. I kept my windshield rolled down, but I couldn't hear anything. After what seemed like just a couple of minutes, the ambulance and an emergency vehicle behind it left with their lights on. The firetruck behind them also left, but it didn't have its lights on. The ambulance quickly sped far ahead of us. The firetruck was going under the speed limit, and it didn't have its lights on, so I assumed it was no longer traveling with us, and I passed it on Stadium. I turned on College to go to Boone hospital (where we had planned to deliver the baby, and where we told the EMTs to take us). I knew that there was a shortcut to the emergency room, so I traveled down University to Williams, which led to the hospital. Unfortunately, I saw the firetruck following behind me on what are very narrow, cobblestone streets. I didn't see an ambulance at the emergency room, and the driver of the firetruck told me that they had gone to Women's and Children's hospital on the other side of town. They told me to follow them there, and as soon as we pulled onto Broadway, I saw flashing lights. I took off my seat belt, assuming it was Crystal, but it turned out to be a sobriety checkpoint. I also realized right before rolling down the window that I didn't have my wallet, was in a borrowed car (which has a radar detector), and was wearing a pair of swim trunks. Luckily, they believed me that my wife was on the way to the emergency room to deliver our baby and let me go without performing the field sobriety tests,

I finally arrived at the hospital, and they asked at the emergency room if I was the father. I told them "maybe" (meaning I didn't know if James had been born or if they were even talking about Crystal), and I asked what had happened. They told me that Crystal had given birth in the ambulance and that James was being examined in the emergency room, and that I could go see him. It took Amelie several minutes after being born to cry and to look healthy and pink, so I didn't want to get in the doctors' way. They told me that James was doing great, though, and that I could accompany him to the nursery. I was sad to have missed his birth, but relieved that he was doing so well.

Three funny thoughts: 1) I remember that several people asked me what the time of birth was, and seemed to be taken aback that no one could tell them; 2) no one asked for either of our IDs or insurance information the entire time we were at the hospital, even though we had pre-registered at the other hospital, and 3) Luke told me that he has no idea how they're going to bill us for the delivery.

Because we left so quickly, the only pictures we have right after James was born came from our doula's phone.