Soldier, wife welcome first baby of the New Year

On leave from Iraq, Jim Nelson said he spent the toughest 20 minutes of his life in a hospital waiting room early Friday morning.

Then he heard his new son cry for the first time.

Jim and Ashly Nelson, of Cedar Rapids, welcomed home their first child when James Landon Nelson was delivered at 2:35 a.m. at Mercy Medical Center. Ten fingers, ten toes, and one very big New Year's Day blessing.

Jim, 23, and Ashly, 24, met two years ago - on New Year's Eve, of all days. They were married in March, and Jim left with the 445th Transportation Company in July, eventually reaching Iraq in August. By then, Ashly was about four months along.

While overseas, he supervised Iraqi civilian truck drivers. He returned home Sunday.

“It meant the world,” Jim Nelson said. “I missed pretty much the whole pregnancy, and I really didn't want to miss this.”

Thursday morning, Ashly started what would become a 19 hours of labor. She started actively pushing at 11:30 p.m., and doctors decided to deliver the baby via C-section around 2 a.m. Friday. Jim was asked to step out of the room.

“It's the hardest thing I've ever done,” Jim Nelson said.

He heard the cry, and soon saw his son for the first time. At 7 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 inches long, little James Nelson was smaller than his daddy, who was a 10-pound baby.

Neither Jim nor Ashly noticed the clock tick to 12:01 a.m., but it didn't matter. Family and friends visited through the day, and little James slept through most of it. When they go home Monday, lots of fun stuff awaits James in his Winnie the Pooh-themed room.

“He's got more teddy bears at home than he'll know what to do with,” Jim Nelson said. “I brought a bunch back from Iraq with me. I picked one up everywhere I went.”

As Jim spoke, their new son yawned. It had been a long day, for all involved.

Jim Nelson will return to Iraq in about 10 days. He doesn't know when he'll be back home, but it will probably be between four and six months. In the meantime, he'll use an Internet video phone service to talk with his wife and see his new son.

“He's already been a good baby,” Ashly Nelson said. “He's been sleeping most of the time.”

James Nelson was the second baby of the New Year born in the Corridor. A baby girl named Hailey was delivered at 2:27 a.m. at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. She was 7 pounds, 1 1/2 ounces and 21 inches long. Her parents, who live in Cedar Rapids, declined an interview request through a hospital spokeswoman.

At University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, the first baby of the year was born at 3:30 a.m. Nhi Wendy Nguyen, the daughter of Quoc and Tracy Nguyen, of Iowa City, weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces.

Mercy Hospital in Iowa City reported no babies born on Friday as of 11:30 a.m.