A whole week at home.

October 12, 2012 

Steve and I have been at this parenting thing for a whole week. We came home last Saturday and three loads of baby laundry (do you know how many baby clothes it takes to fill 1 load - 3 loads is a lot!), a box of wipes and who knows how many diapers later we are all three still alive. And as a bonus all three pets have survived too. It's been a crazy week of trying to figure out this little man and attending to his every need. And when I'm not attending to his every need I'm busy watching every little facial expression and move he makes, trying to capture them all on camera.
This week has been made much easier by the help of my mom who has stayed with us this week to help out.  I've gotten to shower, eat, post a million pictures on fb, and even go for walks with Dash - things I've heard are quite difficult when there is only a 1 to 1 ratio of adult and infant. Visits from great friends baring food, treats and good advice has also been vital. Have I ever mentioned how fortunate I am to have the friends and family that I do? If I don't say it enough - I love you guys and hope you know how great you are.
We went for his biliruben test and weigh in on Monday. Luke is down to 6lbs which is a normal amount of weight loss and his biliruben was in a normal range so no more tanning for this little man.  He also got to meet James Harris Martin at this appointment; he was born just 2 days before Luke. All of his tests are normal and he is pooing and peeing like a champ - nothing more comforting than having a healthy baby. I thank God for this every night and pray that he will calm my anxieties of something happening. I'm also recovering really well. Other than still having high blood pressure which I got put on some meds for, I'm almost feeling like my normal pre-pregnancy self.  My swelling is almost all gone, my feet and hands quit hurting and I'm thinking I may even be up for an easy gym trip next week, that is if I can handle leaving Luke for 30+ minutes. I'm thinking a home exercise video may be the way to go.
Not only is Luke a beautiful, healthy baby, we think he may be the Saints good luck charm.  He wore his little Brees jersey this week and they won their 1st game of the season. This was also the week Drew Brees set the record for most consecutive games for making a touchdown pass. Maybe this will work for USM too; we have a little eagle jersey too.

Touch down Saints!

Also noteworthy this week, half of Luke's daycare class was born. That makes 3 babies for one Sunday School class in one week. I'm sure it's been a busy week for Dawn (our teacher) and Eddie (pastor) making the rounds.
And the best part of this post and probably most future posts - a fraction of the many many pictures we've taken.

Luke's wreath made by aunt Jenn

He sleeps like his dad

Luke meets the Crawfords

He looks good in black and gold

Someone is jealous they lost their spot on Steve's lap

Sweetness

Another child starving for attention

I love that monkey bottom and those lanky legs

Yes, we stole a hospital blanket

Lucas Lee Ryder is here!

Our family of Three

Our 6lb 6oz, 20in bundle of joy, Lucas Lee Ryder made his appearance at 10:53 pm on October 4, 2012.  Who knew Steve and I could fall so in love with this little guy so quickly? I know we're biased but seriously, he's beautiful.
The labor was overall not that horrible.  Steve and I checked in on Wed. night (Oct. 3rd) to start preparing for the induction in the morning. When we walked in to the Labor and Delivery unit I heard a woman screaming in pain and immediately wanted to walk out, I wasn't really prepared to deal with that much pain. I got hooked up to IV's, put in my lovely gown, and started on some meds pretty soon after we arrived. Steve and I had some mindless conversations and watched the presidential debate to pass the time.  If the debate didn't put me to sleep, the Ambien did. According to Steve, I slept pretty hard and kept talking about my contractions hurting which is odd because I wasn't feeling the contractions at all in the morning.  
Around 6am I was given the pitocin and labor was started.  At this point I was still only about 1cm dilated.  I was hoping for more. My mom came up later that morning and sat with us in the labor room.  Around 11am I actually started feeling the painful contractions and it didn't feel good.  I wanted to hold off on the epidural in fear it would slow things down and I was still only about 2 or 3 cm at this point. So, I opted for some pain meds which did absolutely nothing for me. Fortunately my sister and Tiff and Jennifer and Lindsey had come to visit by this point so it distracted me from the pain for a while. After a few more hours and only about a cm more of dilation I opted for the epidural around 4 or 5pm. Unfortunately it took about an hour to actually get it so the pain really kicked in.
Once it did kick in, things got rolling much quicker. I highly recommend epidurals, especially if being induced!  The nurse said this can happen because my body will finally relax and allow labor to happen since I'm not feeling the pain. After much sitting around and thinking of how hungry I was while chomping down on ice cubes I finally got to 10cm at about 10:15pm.  It was go time! Steve was the best coach.  He took on more of a personal training approach which worked for me. We decided we're going to trademark Lamaze for Athletes.  I was determined to have this baby as quickly as possible. After about 20-30min of pushing the most beautiful cone headed baby arrived and stole our heart. Steve and I were in love.
Luke was beautiful and healthy. He was having a little trouble breathing so they had to take him to the nursery to make sure everything was alright. Fortunately it was only a bit of fluid on the lungs which was easily resolved. Unfortunately he was in there for about 2 hours and I missed him already. During this time I was also being monitored for blood pressure spikes.  It had gotten pretty high during labor (gestational hypertension was the reason I was induced early).  Around 1am our family was united and about 3am I was released to go to postpartum.
Everything was a whirlwind.  I know I have some wonderful family and friends who came to see us and spend time with us in the hospital, I got no sleep but didn't care because I was on cloud nine. Lucas was healthy, cute as a button and got to go home with us on Saturday. This was the greatest time of mine and Steve's life!
And the best part of this post - the pictures of Luke. I also have some videos of our first meeting and him coming home.

Our first meeting

Steve's first time to hold him (he's a little teary eyed)

Getting his first check up. Steve made sure to asked if his toes were webbed like his :)

Nana is in love

On our way home! Steve has the best shirt ever.

Week 38 / The final week

The last picture of Lucas on the inside

October 3, 2012

I think the only way to properly express how I feel today is OMG! For the past week I've been saying I'm ready for Lucas to come and sitting around trying to figure out if I'm having any signs of labor. After last week's appointment where I was 80% effaced and 1cm dilated, I was sure he would continue to make progress and decide to come meet his parents a week or so early. After a few days of being unsure if I was ready, Steve and I got the last minute items checked off of our to-do list - installed car seat, packed a bag and went tailgating. (We only lasted for about an hour, it was raining so we decided to watch the game at home. Although we lost, this was probably the most exciting USM game of the season.  I'm hoping Luke will be a good luck charm for USM and the Saints since they both have no wins so far. (I can tell there is a boy inside me because look how much I care about football)). 
My mind has been cluttered with thoughts of how will Lucas look?  Will he have light hair and dark eyes like me, dark hair and light eyes like Steve or some combo? Is he going to be an easy baby who sleeps easily or is he going to challenge me? How big is he going to be (Dr. Kot says between 6.5 and 7lbs)? I'm so excited to get to know this baby who's been kicking my ribs for the last several weeks. I'm also ready to not be pregnant just to have a little more say so in what is happening with my body, not go to the bathroom every 5 minutes, not take 5 minutes just to get off of the couch and have all of this swelling go down.
Then I had my weekly check up. I was not dilated or effaced any more which was disappointing but it looks like he's coming anyways.  My blood pressure was a little high - 141/91 so Dr. Kot ordered a non-stress test.  This consisted of sitting in a recliner for about 20 minutes with a fetal monitor and periodically checking my bp.  When I started this I thought, I'm going to be so bored sitting here for 20 whole minutes. It passed so quickly because I couldn't take my eyes off of that monitor, I was watched every change in his heart beat for 20minutes terrified something may be wrong.  This probably did not help the blood pressure situation. The good news was everything looked great with Lucas but during this time my periodic bp checks didn't go down. Dr. Kot then ordered some blood work for me. If it came back with a problem she wanted to induce me that day, if not I could come in tomorrow night (now tonight).  This was a huge bomb that was just dropped. I thought I was ready but I wanted Luke to be ready too.
I called Steve who also seemed to be in a state of shock.  The poor guy couldn't form complete sentences.  The reality had just hit us of how soon we were going to be parents. I was no longer sure if I was ready and never did I think I would have to be induced. I called our moms and some close friends to share the news and headed to work to get all my loose ends tied up. This was officially my last day at work for a while and when I return my life will be completely different. Fortunately, Dr. Kot called and my blood work was ok so I have an extra day to get my mind wrapped around everything.
Last night Steve spent the last night in our house as a family of 2 (5 if you count our furry children and we usually do). We played with Dash who is not excited about the change, Steve got his stuff packed (including The Avengers which I bought for him during my mindless shopping yesterday), and unsuccessfully tried to sleep. Today Steve went to work and I'm sitting at home (doing as little activity as possible by order of the doc.) and trying not to worry about the things I've read about how induced labor can last much longer and be harder. My emotions are on a roller coaster but ultimately I'm excited to meet our son, no matter how he has to get here.

Dash's reaction to telling him this is his last night with us without Luke

He decided to go ahead and get some quality play time in by bringing his rope

Xanny could care less as long as Luke will love her

Addie just wants us to know that she may nibble on him eventually

My next post will include pictures and stories of Lucas Lee Ryder.  I guess it's time to start thinking of more creative titles than the week of pregnancy I'm in. I'll try not to go with Luke's age.

Week 37

 

week 37. The shirt is officially too short

September 26, 2012
 
Thirty seven weeks. I'm full term! It's time to get in high gear preparation for Lucas mode. This weekend I went to get those last few things we need - crib pads, more diapers, a pack and play and lots of anti bacterial soap.  I had a shower at work last week and got some more great gifts and much appreciated gift cards. I spent the weekend washing and organizing all of his clothes. The plan for this weekend is to get the car seat installed and pack my bag for the hospital.

Things got a little real for all of us today at my 37 week check up. I'm 80% effaced and 1cm dilated. I do realize I can stay at this level of effacement/dilation for several weeks but it also made us realize this is happening. I've started feeling random contractions too - nothing painful, just uncomfortable.  I think what got to me the most was when Dr. Kot was doing the check and she said "I can feel the head." It made it real that there is actually a little person in there with a head, he is about to make is way out and Steve and I are in charge of him. It's so scary and exciting at the same time.

In addition to the few uncomfortable contractions, I'm still having some swelling, going to the bathroom every 5 minutes, not sleeping, and have carpel tunnel/ trigger finger.  I must say swelling has improved tremendously over the past week though.  I think the drop of temperature has helped.  I can see may ankles again - it's fantastic. At last week's appt. I had gained 4lbs in a week and this week I was down 1lb - I'm pretty sure that was all due to a decrease in swelling.  Thank goodness for the cooler weather! I hope to not be in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy in a Mississippi summer again. In other pregnancy side effects, I think the funniest thing is my off center belly button.  Luke definitely favors my right side.  I can always feel him over there and my belly big outtie of a belly button sits about an inch to the right.  I really think he likes to burrow his feet into my rib cage too. I've had a few jump out of my seat kicks from him.

As promised, the nursery is ready and I have pictures.  All it needs now is Lucas and some pictures of him to put in the frames. Earlier this week I realized we've spent so much time on the nursery that we've neglected the guest bedroom.  Fortunately my mom is coming to stay for a bit then Steve's mom is coming November 1st.  I guess it's time that we get a place for them nice and cozy too.

 

I was trying to capture my off center belly button

My belly is way bigger than dash's

weeks 33-36

Week 36
If you look close you can see my outie

September 17, 2012

 It's hard to believe but at the end of this week I'll officially be full term. Things are getting real.  The past few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions from being so excited to meet our little guy to being terrified of actually becoming a parent.  There has also been the anxiety of getting everything ready and making sure we're prepared for Lucas to be here.  Between our home and work sometimes I feel like I can't catch my breath and then I realize we have the most important things and Walmart is just down the road so it won't be the end of the world if everything isn't perfectly prepared. Also, I think my co-workers will survive and the world won't end if I'm not there and haven't gotten every detail in place.  These are such hard things for a control freak to admit.

There have been many pregnancy symptoms present lately, including the roller coaster of emotions which I feel like I've done a somewhat descent job of controlling.  I've definitely started swelling these past few weeks.  My feet look atrocious! (see picture above) I've been doing every trick in the book to help but no luck so far. I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it. My hands also swell which has caused finger pain and loss of motion in them. And the best is my face is also starting to swell.  You gotta love when people tell you you look pregnant in your face. The hip and pelvis pain is in pretty full force causing my already awkward way of walking to become a complete waddle.

In more exciting news (I realize my pregnancy symptoms aren't that exciting but they should be documented so I can guilt trip Luke once day about what I went through for him) I had my baby shower a few weeks ago on August 25th. I had a great time and got some great stuff.  It reminded me how fortunate I am to have so many great friends in my life. Honestly, I have the greatest friends ever! I feel anyone who has one or two great friends who would do anything for them is lucky but I have about 10 friends that I have made at various stages of my life that have stuck by my side and I know I could count on for anything (a couple of these girls were missing from the shower because they live so far away).  I'm so glad that Lucas will have these people in his life because they are all such special people to me- as long as they don't tell any bad stories about me to him.  Enough mushiness about how great my friends are, here are some pics from the day. I guess I should have included some of the great stuff I got too.

I know I doted on my friends but my family is pretty great too.
I don't know what I'd do without them!

Hopefully, I won't wait another 4 weeks to do an update.  Mainly because Lucas will probably be here by then.  Tomorrow we're going for my 36 week check up and I start the weekly appointments. I'm also getting an ultrasound tomorrow just to make sure Luke is growing ok. So far everything has been healthy but he's measuring a little small.  We're thinking he's just going to be a small baby (no complaints here if I don't have to birth a Steve size baby).  I'm a little nervous but also excited to get a sneak peek at our little guy.
I'm promising nursery pictures for the next post.

Weeks 31-32

This shirt may expose my new "outie" belly button in a few more weeks.

August 24, 2012

Wow it's been a crazy few weeks!  Between moving, school starting at work and growing a baby I am exhausted.

First, I'll give updates on Lucas.  This little man is doing a great job growing these days. I think I'm a little rounder every day which means he probably is too. I can't wait to squeeze his little cheeks. According to the doc, everything looks good and healthy.  His heart rate was 141 on Tuesday when I went and we're gaining about a pound a week now (ok, he's not gaining quite that much but he counts for a few ounces of my weight gain. I'll blame the rest on fluids and Bops).  He is also wiggling all the time in there.

I'm also starting to feel more pregnant everyday.  My belly button is officially an outie. My latest symptom is finger pain - I know weird.  Who knew carpal tunnel could be a pregnancy symptom?  I wake up with swollen hands and can barely bend my fingers. I've also had to put my wedding rings back in the box for now.  Some days my band still fits but most days my ring finger has to go naked.  My feet still hurt and my lower back/SI are starting to hurt a little more.  Other than that I feel good. I really feel like I've had an easy pregnancy so far and my symptoms haven't been that bad.  However, you may think I feel differently if you are around me when I'm swollen and achy and could only sleep a few hours the night before.

Project find a house for Luke to live in with us so he doesn't have to use the bathroom as a nursery was successful.  We closed on our house last Friday and pretty much hit the ground running moving in and getting settled.  We are so lucky to have family and friends close to help us with the move. It only took about 21/2 hours to get everything over.  Unpacking and settling has taken a little longer.  We absolutely love the house and the neighborhood. I think we made a good choice.

Here's a few house pics:

The living room - in the unpacking process and pre our new furniture.

Dining room. One day we'll paint it and move the boxes out.

Lucas's room with the monkeys

Our mostly done living room with our new furniture. Got to love having a place to sit when you're pregnant!

The front view

Our back yard - it's actually pretty big.  Dash is starting to enjoy it.

Another view of the front.

 

My big project now has been getting the nursery painted. I finally ordered nursery furniture (a gift from my Mom) which should be here next week sometime.  For now I'm trying to paint over the bright yellow and monkeys that were playing on the wall when we moved in.  I know monkeys sounds like a cute nursery decoration but trust me when I say it was a little much and also just not my taste.

Here's a more updated picture (not a quality shot) of Luke's room.  Hopefully it will be done by the next post.

In Steve news, his license FINALLY was approved and came in.  The MS medical board was so slow.  But now he is able to start doing more at work and feel like an actual PA.  We went to Destin, FL 2 weekends ago for him to attend a conference on fractures.  This was great for him because he got to learn a lot and play with expensive power tools.  I had hopes of sitting on the beach catching up on reading but it rained the entire time we were there.

Work is picking up for me now since school started this week. That means programing, planning and teaching are all back in full swing.  My next few weeks are going to be focused on getting everything prepared for my maternity leave.  I can't believe I only have about 7 weeks left.

Weeks 27-30

My mom and Steve were right, this shirt may not fit all 40 weeks. It's getting shorter.

 August 5, 2012

I can't believe I'm in the 3rd trimester already! We still have so much to do to get ready for Luke's arrival.  In the mean time he has been busy growing and wiggling around.  I still have 10 more weeks and I'm not real sure where he's going to fit if he keeps growing at this rate. As of my 28wk check up I'm only up 10lbs but it sure does feel like at least 20. I find myself getting short of breath often and it's harder to get comfortable when sitting and sleeping.  Last week the little booger manged to make his way under my rib cage for a few hours which was unbelievably uncomfortable. Not quite as uncomfortable as my plantar fasciitis though.  I broke down and bought some comfy old lady shoes to wear. I'm also starting to swell at times.  It doesn't help that it's around 100 degrees everyday.
I guess that's enough complaining especially when I look at the bright side and know that Lucas and I are both healthy (I was a little scared about having gestational diabetes but I passed my 2nd test) and that we get to meet him in about 10 weeks. It's so scary and exciting to think about how different our lives are about to be.

In other Ryder family news Steve finally caught up with me and turned 29 a couple of weeks ago.  I baked probably the most awesome cake ever (at least for me who has no culinary skills.) The super chocolatey goodness did not last long at our place. He deserved it since he's been putting in long hours with his new job.

Steve's homemade birthday cake

Speaking of our place, not much longer until we move into our new home.  We spent this weekend packing and realizing how much crap we have. We got rid of our couches since we are getting new furniture to go with the new place. For now we are limited to 2 chairs and our bed for sitting area.  Fortunately Steve's parents bought us a glider for the nursery which arrived yesterday and is super comfy. One plus to being pregnant is that by default I get the comfy seat.

Our 1st piece of nursery furniture.  Luke says, "Thanks Mom Mom!"

I must also add in this post that a large part of our last week has been spent glued to Olympic coverage. It's been so fun cheering for the fab 5, Phelps, Allison Schmitt, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh and the rest of our team USA representatives. Steve and I have also been having fun imaging which sport Luke could excel in.  I'm thinking he has good genetic potential for swimming with the right combination of our genes.

So much fun watching these girls win gold and then Gabby win individual gold a few nights later.