Ryleigh's Birth Story

She is here! After 40 weeks and 5 days of waiting, Ryleigh Rá Gooden made her way into the world on December 17, 2010. The happiest day of my life, so far!

Born December 17, 2010 at 2:49pm, Ryleigh was 8lbs, 2oz and 21 inches.

Dr. Knapp stripped my membranes on Monday during my office visit, so I had off-and-on contractions all week, but labor did not set-in on its own, so I went-in to St. Mary's hospital early on Thursday, Dec 16. We left the house at 10am because there was a snow storm starting, and I didn't want to miss my scheduled induction at 3pm. We waited in the lobby for several hours, just passing time and waiting for the fun to begin :).




At 3pm, LDR gave me a bed, but they were SWAMPED with 20 deliveries the day before (a hospital record), so we were a little late getting started...
I spent the evening trying to sleep while the PG tape (Cervidil) worked its magic! I dilated from 2cm to 3cm and effaced from 50% to 70% overnight, experiencing contractions that made me very uncomfortable. They finally let me up to walk around at 5:30am on Friday, Dec 17th. And that was the best walk I've ever taken!




At 6am on Dec 17th, Dr. Knapp started the Pitocin drip. WOW! I thought I knew what contractions were!!! I was asking about an epidural by 7:30am, but the nurses encouraged me to wait because it could be a long day and they wanted the pain to be worse than the epidural procedure itself, so I waited... Until 8:30am... And then I BEGGED for the pain relief. It came around 9:00, and I was still able to feel the contractions, but the pain was relieved significantly.


At 10am, Dr. Knapp checked me and I was 5cm dilated. We were thinking dinner time for delivery... And then at 11:30am, Dr. Knapp came back in and asked me how I was feeling. I told her about the pressure, and she checked me again. Almost 9cm... At noon, I was complete and started pushing.
That's when things got tricky... I pushed until 2:30pm before Dr. Knapp came-in, and at that point, I was exhausted. I was having trouble because Ryleigh's shoulder was stuck. After a few really violent pushes and an elbow-assist from a nurse, Ryleigh made her appearance at 2:49pm. She was darn-near perfect with APGAR scores of 8 and 9 :). Barry cut her cord and we spent the next hour or so spending time as a new family.



After visits from family and friends, we were able to go home on Sunday mid-day. We have been spending time together bonding as a new family!

While I Wait...

Because this week is a waiting game (and because my husband got an AWESOME Christmas gift from me), Barry bought me something to help pass the time...



That's right, a new iPad!!!! I'm so spoiled :).

She's Officially Late!

What a beautiful Monday morning! I woke up to an unexpected and beautiful blanket of snow. It was just enough to be pretty but not enough to keep me from getting to the doctor...
As of today, Ryleigh is a day late. Apparently, she's comfortable right where she is :). I went to the doctor this morning, and my doctor did an ultrasound and non-stress test to make sure the baby is doing well. All her vitals are pretty darn close to perfect! Can't help but be a proud momma :).
And... I am now 3 cm dilated. Since I've made progress and am overdue, my doctor went ahead and stripped my membranes. Here's to hoping that induces labor! But, if she's stubborn even through that, we are planning to induce Thursday afternoon and have a baby no later than Friday.
Cannot wait to meet my baby girl!!!! :)

0 Days to Go!

That's right!!! Today's Ryleigh's due date!!!! BUT... Where's Ryleigh?! She's obviously comfortable where she is, so we're still waiting :). Any day now... :)

Fake-Out!

Yesterday, I had 5-6 hours of contractions about 8 minutes apart. I was so excited thinking labor was underway!! Turns-out... Ryleigh was playing games with me!!! The contractions stopped... Fingers crossed that she makes her way out into the world soon! I can't wait to meet her and kiss her little fingers and toes :).

The Doctor Didn't Laugh

In my last post, I mentioned the tug-o-war between my scale and the holiday season, and I just KNEW my doctor was going to have a comment. And she did... She told me she was impressed that I was keeping it under such good control over the holidays! WHAT?!?!?! Shocker right?!

In terms of progress... still 1-2cm and 50% effaced. Not too much progress to speak of, so we continue to wait. If she doesn't show-up on her own, we will go through another u/s and non-stress test on Monday, after which, we will set an induction date. Fingers crossed she shows-up on her own this week :).

The Scale is NOT my Friend

WOW! I know with Thanksgiving and the celebratory nature of the season that a few extra pounds are acceptable, but add being EXTREMELY pregnant and incapable of note-worthy exercise to the mix... and WOW!

And it's not going to get better now... It's Hubby's birthday weekend! So of course, there is a lovely dinner out, lunch with his family tomorrow and (of course) CAKE! My doctor is going to laugh at me during my check-up on Monday!