Labor and Delivery (Better late that never, right?)

I just came across this post that I never posted!  How fun for me!  I love thinking about my delivery experience with Ryder.  I hope baby girl's goes just as smoothly.

October 2008
Here's my story about my baby Ryder...

Sunday, August 31st we went to church and I started to feel a little weird. We left after the first hour because I didn't feel well. I went home and rested for a little bit then headed down to my parents for dinner. I just laid on the couch and snuggled with Taylin as she tried to make me feel better. I didn't feel like eating, but figured I better eat anyway. We left and went home and I still felt bad. Andrew and Ashly came over to see Ryder's nursery and while they were here I definitely started feeling contractions that were more powerful than any I had felt before.

By 8 o'clock I was in the bathtub trying to relax through the contractions. I listened to a Hypnobabies cd and just relaxed in our room for about an hour. I had Steve start timing the contractions and we realized I was having them consistently about 4-5 minutes apart lasting about a minute long. We waited as long as we could and then headed to the hospital at about midnight. By that time my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and I was trying my hardest to stay relaxed.

We checked into triage and they checked me and I was only at a 2! I thought for sure I would have been at least a 4, but no, a 2. I was kind of bummed but what could I do? We decided to walk around the hospital floor for an hour to see if I would dilate anymore. That was rough. I would take a few steps, have a contraction and hold onto Steve, then take a few more steps. It was pretty long hour, and I was starting to lose focus. I kept thinking when I get checked again I will for sure be way more dilated. That's what kept me going. Well, after an hour they checked me again and I was still a 2. We talked about my options and decided to go home with a sleeping pill and come back a few hours later. I couldn't believe it but once again, what could I do?

The nurse went to get my sleeping pill and I threw up everywhere (sorry...TMI). I went to the bathroom to clean up and was shaking like crazy. The nurse decided to keep me there for a little while to monitor me some more. She checked me again after about 30 minutes and I was a 3! Yay! I was so excited, but still a little concerned that I wasn't progressing very fast.

They took me to my room and I was starting to lose focus. My contractions were becoming so strong and I was beyond exhausted. I finally looked at Steve and told him I wanted an epidural. He told the nurse and at about 6am I got my epidural. I was so nervous to get it because of all the work I had done to prepare myself for a natural child birth. I was so tired I couldn't even think straight. The second I got the epidural I immediately calmed down and went to sleep.

The doctor and nurse came in about an hour later because Ryder's heart rate kept dropping. I was so scared. They wanted to monitor him internally so they were going to have to break my water. I didn't want them to and as luck would have it my water broke on it's own when they rolled me over. I was so pleased! They hooked me all up and checked me again and I was a 4. Progress!!

At about 8am my new nurse, Heather came in to see me. She was awesome!!! I really loved her. She wasn't going to check me but decided to at the last minute and I was a 9! Yay for me! She left to go talk to the doctor and came back about 30 minutes later. Dr. May came with her to meet me (Dr. Kaminskas wasn't working because it was Labor Day) and I felt so good about him. He has delivered over 9,000 babies, so he definitely knows what he is doing. He left to go get changed and Heather got the room ready for delivery. I couldn't believe it was happening so fast!

Heather had me do a few practice pushes and realized we didn't need to practice anymore.  We waited for Dr. May and a few minutes later he strolled in.  I pushed for about 25 minutes and out he came.  Our sweet Ryder Brian was born at 9:44am weighing 7lbs. 11oz and 19.5 inches long.

I kept saying to Steve, "We did it!  Look at him!".  I was seriously in shock that he was finally here!

It truly was the best moment of my life to have Steve by my side as we met Ryder.  What an amazing experience.  I am so in love with my little family.  Steve said later in the day that this was the best day of his life.  My mom quickly asked, "Even better than your wedding day?".  Without hesitating Steve said, "Yeah!".  I am so glad he loves Ryder so much!