We sure did get pretty lucky to get such a good little boy. We spent this afternoon just hanging out and catching up on some blogging/uploading pictures/returning emails. Ryder sat on my lap with the Boppy pillow to hold him up and dozed in and out of sleep while we listened to Taylor Swift. It was the perfect time to go through the blur of memories from the past week and a half and record Ryder's birth story.
Ryder was due on February 19th, but last Sunday night (January 29th), I went into labor at 3 weeks early. The Saltzmans had come over for dinner and I had been feeling irregular and painless contractions. I tried timing them, but they were coming every 8-10 minutes for about 2 1/2 hours. The doctor had told us that we didn't need to come in to the hospital until I was feeling painful contractions every 5 minutes for about an hour, so I wrote them off as Braxton-Hicks and we went to bed like any other night. At 11:45 pm, I woke up to the feeling of a pop and a rush of fluid. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom and yelled at Chad to wake up. I yelled at him from the bathroom that I had either wet the bed really bad or my water had just broke. When the fluid wouldn't stop coming, I knew for sure that my water had broke. Unfortunately, I hadn't packed myself a hospital bag yet (I thought I still had 3 weeks to go) so Chad threw a smattering of items in a backpack, grabbed the camera, and we jumped in the car bound for UVRMC.
Chad took my picture as we were walking into the hospital from the parking lot and unfortunately I was unable to stop moving due to the fluid running down my legs that had refused to stop. Hence, the blurry picture.
I waddled to the front desk and the nighttime security guard just smiled and asked, "I'm guessing you're headed to the 5th floor?" Apparently it was quite evident that this baby was coming whether we were ready or not. I felt silly standing at the desk signing paperwork as I felt like I was seriously wetting my pants... it was a good thing it was the middle of the night and there was no one else around. We got checked in to the Labor & Delivery department at 12:30 am, got hooked up to the monitors, and the nurse started me on Pitocin. At this point, my contractions were regular and still not painful. I was feeling good and ready to meet our little boy. We called all our family (those who answered) and let them know we were in the hospital and little man was coming.
When we first got there, I was dilated to a 3 1/2. After about an hour, I had progressed to a 4 and had started to feel the contractions. I decided to ask for my epidural and the anesthesiologist came in to get it all set up. The most painful part of the entire evening was when he had me curl up in a ball as I was having a contraction in order to put the epidural in. However, a couple of minutes later, my legs started to get a little numb and the pain went away altogether. It was magical and worth every penny!
At this point, I was dilated to a 6 and progressing quickly. I had wanted Riley to be there to take pictures of us right after our little boy was born, however we hadn't really anticipated how fast labor would progress. When we got admitted, the nurse recommended that we call her at 6 or 7 in the morning to give her an update... but little man didn't want to wait. Twenty minutes later, I was dilated to a 10 and the nurse said it was time to start pushing. It was 3:50 am. I started pushing and little man got closer and closer to his arrival.
I pushed for an hour while we waited for the doctor to arrive. My OB was out of town, so we waited to meet the on-call doctor. The epidural was awesome, I was still able to move my legs around a little bit, but unable to feel the pain... just pressure and the instinct to push. At one point, the nurse actually had me stop pushing and just wait because the baby was coming but the doctor hadn't gotten there yet. Once everything was set up, the doctor gave me a quick episiotomy (there was a tight band of muscle that hadn't eased up due to how fast the labor had progressed), and then it was time. A few more pushes and little man's head was out, followed quickly by his shoulders, and then he was here. It was amazing. He began to scream immediately and they took him over to the warmer to get him cleaned up.
At that moment, I was a mother. All of the months of having him inside of me had finally added up to the precious baby across the room. It was 4:40 am, a mere 4 hours after checking into the hospital, and with Chad holding my hand, we welcomed Ryder into our family. There weren't many people there, just me, Chad, the doctor, and two nurses. It was a perfect moment that was special for just us. I still can't believe how fast our entire life changed and we became a family of 3.
The nurse took Ryder over to the scale and announced that he weighed 7 lbs even and was 19 1/2 inches long. The doctor continued to do his thing, but all I could focus on was the sweet baby crying in the warmer and the man taking his picture. It seemed like forever until they had him cleaned up and then brought him over for me to hold for the first time. He was absolutely perfect. His feet were a little purple, he was sporting the traditional 'birth cone head', and he was whimpering a bit but he was all ours. I finally got to hold the sweet baby boy I had come to know so well over the last year. It was an indescribable moment, one that I will never forget. I just wanted to snuggle him close and keep him there forever. All of a sudden, I felt so protective of this little infant who had decided that it was time to meet us and came 3 weeks early to do so. We were instantaneously in love with this little boy.
As the morning rolled in, a very exhausted momma and daddy were taken down to the Mother Baby unit. Chad went with the nurse down to the nursery where they gave him his first bath, and I was wheeled into our room where I proceeded to call our parents/siblings to tell them the news. Our perfect baby boy was here and healthy, I was feeling well, and we were finally back together again. Chad went home to get a couple of hours of sleep after having been awake all night and Riley came to visit before she went to her Monday morning classes. After she left, Ryder and I napped on and off throughout the morning, getting to know each other and snuggling close.
It's still kind of crazy to think about how fast our entire family changed. Sunday night, it was just the two of us hanging out with friends, playing games, and making plans for our Superbowl party the following Sunday. Then Monday morning, we were in the hospital holding Ryder and trying to figure out how we had ever lived without him.
Daddy holding his little boy
We brought him home on Tuesday night and are still trying to get used to all of the new adjustments in our life. We are absolutely 100% obsessed/in love with this little man of ours and are loving getting to know his sweet little personality. More fun pictures and stories to come!
After we brought Ryder home from the hospital, his bilirubin levels kind of shot back up. Luckily, his level was at 19.7 which is just a hair shy of 20 (the threshold at which they require hospitalization for treatment) and therefore treatable with at-home bili lights. Although we were glad that we could just treat it at home, this also meant that for 3 straight days, Ryder man had to be just in his diaper on the bili bed or have the bili portable paddle on, 24/7. Let's just say it was a very long 3 days. All we wanted to do was hold and cuddle this little man, but the more time he spent on the lights, the faster the bili would leave his system.
After we brought Ryder home from the hospital, his bilirubin levels kind of shot back up. Luckily, his level was at 19.7 which is just a hair shy of 20 (the threshold at which they require hospitalization for treatment) and therefore treatable with at-home bili lights. Although we were glad that we could just treat it at home, this also meant that for 3 straight days, Ryder man had to be just in his diaper on the bili bed or have the bili portable paddle on, 24/7. Let's just say it was a very long 3 days. All we wanted to do was hold and cuddle this little man, but the more time he spent on the lights, the faster the bili would leave his system.
Even with the ultraviolet lights and the jaundice skin, he is still more adorable than words can say!
