Thanksgiving

Ryan's shirt says "I'm stuffed!"

We had a great Thanksgiving. We spent Wednesday night with my parents. It was great to be out of the house a little. Ryan did not have a good sleep night so that was a little difficult. But we had a great day Thursday and ate our Arceneaux traditional Thanksgiving food. So yummy!

I am so thankful that Ryan slept very well last night. I got 2 hours of sleep in between feedings so I feel good :) We decorated out tree today and Michael put lights outside! What a great day! And we still have two days all together before Michael has to go back to work :)

We have so much to be thankful for!

Growing...

Ryan had his 2 week appointment today. We went last Monday for his 1 week and he weighed 7lbs 2oz. 9 days later he weighs 8lbs 3 oz! I think he is a good eater, don't you?! The outfit I had for him to come home from the hospital was huge on him then. I put it on him today and....it fits! It's amazing how fast things change!

He also lost him umbilical cord yesterday!
Now he has a belly button! So cute :)

We have seen a change in Ryan's alertness too. On Monday, he was awake for several hours several different times and we got to see a little more of his personality. He is a sweet boy.
Last night was a better night as far as sleep for mommy goes. I got 2-1/2 hours and about 2 hours straight which makes a big difference.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! So thankful to be celebrating with our precious boy this year!

Ryan is eating and growing! I can see how quickly things will change with him. I am trying to soak it all in and enjoy. He is 12 days old now and we can tell that his face is getting a little fuller. Also his ears are loosening up a little...they were pancake flat against his head and the top was folded down a little. But they are changing now. He head is getting stronger and so is his cry :) He still has his good skin color...must have gotten that from Michael's side of the family. His eyes are a deep blue. His hair is still black but we think it might be lightening up a little in spots.

My parents went home yesterday but have been here this whole past week. What a blessing. I don't know what I would have done without them. They will be back on Monday :) for a couple days. They are in love like we are! Thank God for people who help to support us.

Amazed

Ryan is doing so well! Remember on a previous post I had a list of 3 things I was praying for about the birth. The Lord answered all three requests! He is so faithful.

I am trying to keep up with Ryan and his developments on this blog so that I can print it out and have a memory book for him. So I thought I would start with the birth story...

Sunday night started "pre-labor". Had a lot of contractions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 min apart but no rhyme or reason to them. Monday afternoon they started again and then stopped. Started again about nine o'clock and went on for hours. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 minutes apart. Was up for a couple hours again in the night with Michael timing them. Then they started again at 5:30 a.m and would not stop again. Went to work that morning because I still has some things to take care of and I had a meeting with the accountant. I was showing my boss a few things on my computer and he was timing my contractions for me :) So funny! After short meeting with the accountant, timing contractions all the while, we had an appointment with Dr. Bost at 2:15. At this point, the contractions were coming about 3 minutes apart and the pain was definitely increasing. But Dr. Bost said I was only dilated to a 2. I said "you have got to be kidding". He said "I don't kid about that". :) He sent me home to get in a hot bath and take tylenol and see if the contractions would stop. At this point I had been having steady contrations for 9 hours so I was pretty sure they weren't gonna stop. Met mom and dad at our house and got in the tub. Needless to say they didn't slow down, only got stronger and harder. They were about 2 to 2-1/2 min apart and lasting 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. I was starting to feel like I was gonna throw up and/or pass out during the height of all this. So we made the executive decision to head back to the hospital. When they checked me out, I was dilated to a 4-5. I had just asked the lady how far along I had to be to get an epidural and she said 4. When I heard where I was I said "Thank you Jesus! Can I get an epidural now?" Miracle drug. Within 45 minutes I was feeling no pain. The rest of the evening went by so fast and before I knew it, they were telling me it was time to push.

So the first prayer was for Ryan to be head down...thank you Lord.

The second prayer was for a good delivery nurse. When we first got there the nurse was wonderful. I don't remember her name but I liked her. Then when the 7 o'clock shift came on, in walked the teacher of our childbirth classes! Michael knew her from Orangefield and we had even said how great it would be if she was our nurse. She works part time and it was her first night back after being off two weeks! We were so excited!!! She was WONDERFUL! Such an answered prayer...thank you Lord for Amanda Goss.

When it was time to push, I couldn't tell because of the epidural :) But thank the Lord again, I only had to push for 3o minutes! I thought the whole process was completely amazing. I am in awe of how the Lord designed us.

Ryan inhaled some mucous on the way out so they wanted to watch him in the nursery for a little bit. We had quite a few people up at the hospital (about 20) but it was our parents and Jenny who stayed late to get to hold him. Can't believe he is here and he is ours!

The third prayer was that breast feeding would go well. It did not go great the first day but having a lot of help at the hospital was really encouraging. I was a little past tired and hormonal on Wednesday night and Ryan wouldn't eat, so Amanda suggested that we let the nursery take him for the night and they would bring him back to me when it was time to eat. They gave him some formula in the nursery but when they brought him back to me at midnight he ate right up...same for then rest of the feedings that night. And every day/night since! Thank you Lord that feeding has not been a problem.

We got to go home on Thursday! It was so strange to be home with him for the first time. Wow! Our life has changed! Mom, Dad and Michael's sister Amy stayed with us for the first night. People from my work have been bringing food since last Saturday which has been an amazing blessing.

We are so in awe of this child that the Lord has blessed us with! I am truly amazed at the love I feel for this precious baby. I can't wait to see what our future holds!

He's here!

Ryan Paul King

born November 10, 2009

8:32 p.m.

7 pounds 6 ounces

Precious baby boy Ryan! He came a little bit early and we couldn't be more thrilled! I will give more details later but just wanted put a picture of him for you to see. Praise the Lord for his blessing!

Ryan's Room---Take 2

I finally got around to taking some pictures of Ryan's room! I still would like a few more things for the walls in a few spots but I am pretty happy with it :)

We have a small bassinet and changing table in our room for when he is a newborn. I'm sure we will be spending some nights upstairs in the guest room when he moves up there!

I had my first weekly doctors appointment last Tuesday. Dr. Bost said that Ryan is head down!! I was surprised because we (including Dr. Bost) thought that his head was over on my right side...turns out it must have been his booty we were feeling :) He said I was dilated to a 1 and 70% effaced. Also, Ryan is in the birth canal between -2 and -1. I am so thankful things are going the way they should! I go back this Tuesday and cannot wait to find out if any more progress has been made. He's almost here!