Since it's been nearly 3 weeks since the arrival of our little guy I guess I have a few things to post about!
Our birth story ... not the one we wanted to write, but one we'll never forget!
After waking up around 6am to get ready for a day at the hospital, we were unexpectedly delayed twice on the morning of the 8th. Apparently with the hurricane that hit Brownsville the day before, a barametric change sent many women in Houston into labor which meant inductions were on hold until they got organized at the hospital. Thankfully we weren't delayed too long & were on our way to the hospital by 9am.
I was *a little* apprehensive about being induced as I've always believed in letting little ones determine when they are ready rather than forcing them out early. But alas, the time had come to evict the little guy from his cozy home & finally meet him. Having Sam's parents with us made the whole experience easier on me (& kept me from backing out of the induction from fear).
By 10:30 I was hooked up to the Pitocin drip & they had broken my water (another thing I'm not a fan of but felt I needed to give into b/c "dr. knows best"). Once that water was busted open, it was a free for all for those nasty contractions. When they originally hooked me up to the monitor I was contracting & didn't feel it ... these were TOTALLY different. I thought I was going to die if I didn't get pain meds before Ryder started making his way out.
Needless to say, the induction worked. ;-) I went from 2cm dilated at 9am to 4cm at 1pm then 8cm at 2pm & finally delivered (after waiting 30 mins for the dr. to show up while maintaining a crowning baby) at 4:10pm.
Ryder arrived at 8 pounds 11 ounces and 22 inches long. Sam was quite impressed when he found out that out of 10, Ryder scored a 9.9 on the APGAR scale. :-) Nothing better than being super proud of your kid early, right?!
The following day Summer brought the girls by for a visit while Sam ran home with his parents for a quick shower, etc. It was so amazing to see the difference in the girls vs. Ryder & I started seeing just how quickly these moments will pass & just how quickly it will go by.
After lunch Eryn also came by for a visit to meet our little guy & brought a little stuffed dinosaur that I am still using to keep Ryder's attention during feedings. LOL! Who would have known that a balloon & stuffed animal would be so entertaining?!
We were also lucky enough to see Kristen & Sarah after they got off work. During their visit, one of the nurses introduced Ryder to his first pacifier. I was not a fan, but Sarah assured me that I would be a big fan in no time. Sure enough, Ryder loved it & quieted down immediately & I am completely at a loss when I can't find a paci! What would I have done with him all day without a paci?!
The next day, Friday, wasn't quite as fun. The day started with Sam and I being a bit stressed out about when Ryder's circumcision would be completed b/c we really wanted the nurses to take the off & make sure everything was good before heading home. The OB finally came by at 9am to get Ryder & dropped by after to assure us everything went off without incidence. If only she had been around when it was finally time to go home to reassure us of that!
Ryder got back to our room around 11 & was actually not showing signs of the trauma we know he'd been through. I let him nurse whenever he wanted as a way to hopefully make him feel better after the morning events which ended up bringing in my milk sooner than I expected & helped me get him nearly back to his birth weight by the next day. Yes, I know his exact weight for that Saturday b/c our checkout process didn't go as expected & we ended up at the pediatrician's office the next morning.
Upon removing the bandages we'd been waiting all day for, we were quite concerned b/c he had some slight bleeding from an area that stuck to the bandage. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but we got very concerned when Sam & the nurse saw what they thought were stitches which kicked off a series of calls the OB who did the circ, the OB on call, the pediatrician & of course God himself. Oh yes, I was praying the entire time - especially when Sam started listing all the potential issues that a bad circ could bring to our perfect little guy.
Thankfully everything turned out just fine ... after having the OB on call come give Ryder a thorough check & having to have a CBC done for the pediatrician (since the nurses hadn't told us to keep up with input/output during our visit & they didn't have a wet or dirty diaper on the books since prior to the circ). We finally got home around 10pm on Friday night. Not exactly the coming home we were looking forward to. Sam's mom was so supportive! We can't thank her enough for preparing dinner for us, keeping it warm with hopes we were on our way soon & finally welcoming us home to a nice big hug for everyone (and dinner for Saturday).
The first weeks as parents
So, as I mentioned, our first day home with Ryder started with a trip to the pediatrician (I LOVE that she is open on Saturdays!). We also gave Ryder his first sponge bath at home. Thank goodness for Grandma! She and Sam tackled that adventure for me & allowed me to sit back & learn how to do it while I snapped a few pics of the event (which Ryder did not enjoy in the least!).
During the first week home we got to enjoy watching Ryder try out his new facial expressions & voice. He was making kissy faces (which I love), frowny faces & even tried out a big mouth smile. It's amazing to see how quickly these faces developed!
From birth, Ryder dropped down to 8 pounds 4 ounces on Thurs but was back to 8 pounds 7 ounces on Saturday at the pediatrician's office. By the next Friday, just one short week home with us, he was already up to 9 pounds 9 ounces! He's a fast growing little guy for sure!
My mom came for a visit on the 14th and stayed with us for a week and a half to help out. We
are so blessed to have been able to have both grandma's spend time with us. It made
everything so much easier to have help! We can't thank them both enough! Not only did they
offer experienced arms to help, but Sam and I were both able to get them to fill us up with our
favorite foods =)
In addition to our mom's, my brother & Sam's sister were both able to come stay with us &
meet Ryder. It's such a blessing to have such a wonderful family! Thanks for coming y'all! We
love you all!
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