Photo shoot - 5 days old

An Update

We've been home for a couple days now - we weren't going to be discharged until Tuesday but since Ryland and I were both doing so well, we got leave late Monday afternoon.  Being home is great.  Ryland is awesome.  He loves to eat and is a pretty good sleeper (although he is a night owl!).  My mom has been a huge help doing all the cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, and even stayed up all last night so I could get some sleep.  Our friends created a meal calendar and someone has signed up to bring us dinner every night for the next couple of weeks.
My recovery is going really well - I didn't know what to expect.  My nurse told me I must have a high pain tolerance as I really haven't been that uncomfortable at all.  I am having a hard time NOT doing things and it's driving me crazy I can't lift anything heavier than Ryland.  I definitely don't enjoy being waited on!  
Anyway, we're all great.  Parenthood seems to be coming pretty naturally and Brent and I are both enjoying it  :)

Birth Story - by Brent

So, Brandi already has written up a real long and detailed birth story, but of course she wanted me to write one from the “mans” point of view. The birth of our baby son is a day that I will never forget.  We had a doctor’s appointment on Friday just to check how things were progressing with Brandi.  Our midwife found that there was not a whole lot of progression going with Brandi (me on the other hand I was progressing just fine).  Because we were already about a week past our due date our midwife thought that it would be a good idea to start induction that night. Of course we did not bring all of our bags to that doctors visit.  So, we headed back home to grab the rest of our bags and tidy our place up a bit.  As soon as we were done we headed on our way to the beginning of a journey that would have us in a whirlwind of emotion.  We arrived to the hospital at 7:15 and got all checked in and settled into our room.  Our room was actually very nice and big, which was perfect because Brandi’s mom was on her way to join us and stay at the hospital.  It was a crazy feeling to actually be at the hospital knowing that we would not be leaving without a baby!  As soon as we were settled in and Brandi changed into her hot hospital gown the night nurse came in and got Brandi and baby hooked up to heart monitors, which she would be on until Ryland was born.  We spent our first couple of hours at the hospital talking and watching TV and just trying to past the time.  We had been there about an hour before the on call midwife Lynda came in and started the first induction procedure.  I remember thinking that we were going to have a baby by morning.  Little did I know I was far from right.  Around 11:00 we attempted to go to sleep, well I attempted Brandi had a little help from Ambien.  It was hard for me to sleep because I kept on listening to the heart monitors and making sure that the baby was still on pace, which he always was but I still liked to worry.  I was also worried about Brandi’s mom traveling over the pass because of course when it was time for her to come over, Snoqualmie Pass had one of the worse snow storms of the year.  Dee finally made it over the pass and arrived around 3:00 in the morning.  Brandi was kind of awake when her mom arrived and we were both glad to see her.  We all eventually got some sleep and I am glad we did because the day ahead was about to be very long both emotionally and physically.  We all woke up pretty early that morning around 8 or so.  I was all excited thinking that Brandi would have a lot of progression and that she would be going into labor any minute and once again I was wrong.  Are you seeing a trend here?  After the midwife checked Brandi’s progression we found that it was very minimal. So, we moved onto the next procedure, which was supposed to get her contractions more intense and hopefully start her into labor.  Once again that failed to bring Brandi any closer to reaching labor on her own.  The last procedure we tried was the dreaded pitocin.  Brandi never wanted to have to use Pitocin but we both knew that it had to happen to try and get things going.  Once she had been on pitocin for a while the contractions started to get really intense especially in Brandi’s back.  The midwife and on call OB both started to notice that during each contraction Ryland’s heart rate would decrease but recover quickly.  Because he was recovering so quickly they were not too alarmed but knew that we needed to get him out ASAP.  They kept on doing pitocin and the contractions kept on getting stronger and the heart decels kept on happening.  The medical staff was very attentive and supportive of both Brandi and I.  The midwife and OB both thought that he was having the decels because of low fluid level and he was probably just laying on his cord, so they wanted to wait and see if they could get the cervix to dilate a bit more and inject some fluid into to help with the decels.  They eventually took Brandi off of pitocin to see if the contractions would continue on her own and to see if little Ryland could handle the contractions.  We soon found out that he could not handle even the littlest of the contractions so the midwife and OB came back in to talk to us once again and we all decided that it was time to do a c-section.  One thing I forgot to mention was this did not happen until about 7:00 at night so Brandi had a long day of going into labor and she was exhausted physically and emotionally and I had, had enough of seeing her in pain and not making any progress.  We were both really worried about our baby too.  The Midwife and OB both agreed with us on the c-section and before we knew it we were in the operating room.  Both Dee and I were able to join Brandi, which made things a lot easier for everyone.  I was so impressed with the care that was given to Brandi during the operation everyone was very calm and it went very smoothly.  Dee was especially excited to watch the surgery and I remember her once saying to the anesthesiologist that “this was much cooler then the TV show House” he laughed and said that “it is a little less dramatic in real life”. Before I knew it my little baby boy was here and I cannot describe the emotions that I felt it was very surreal!  They quickly had Ryland on Brandi’s chest and soon in my arms.  Everyone was very relieved to see Ryland here safe and sound and we soon found out that Ryland had at some point tied a knot in his umbilical cord, which was making the decels happen and proved to everyone that a c-section was the right and only way to have Ryland delivered.  We are both very happy with our baby boy and it was instant love from all of us.  I am grateful we had him delivered at Group Health and I was impressed with everyone on the medical staff both before and after the birth.  I know my version of the story was not as detailed as Brandi’s but I hope you enjoyed it.

Birth story - by Brandi

Ryland’s Birth Story – Planned Natural Birth turned C-Section

    Ryland’s birth story begins Friday, April 2nd, 2010.  Brent and I went in for my 41-week check-up and discovered my blood pressure was even higher than it normally is (and it’s normally pretty high…) and was not dropping.  The Dr. I was seeing that day strongly suggested I be induced right then and there.  I declined – a natural birth was my plan and going into labor on my own was part of that plan.  I told him I wanted another opinion before I would consent to an induction. I was sent for a non-stress test where my blood pressure remained high and we noticed our baby’s heartrate would drop slightly during my contractions (which were occurring every 5-8 minutes at the time.)  The midwife on call, Lynda, came to talk to me.  She agreed with the doctor and said that the baby appeared to be really strong and healthy right now – she was afraid that might change if we wait for my body to go into labor naturally (I had made hardly any progress towards labor during the week).  I reluctantly agreed to be admitted that night.  Brent and I quickly ran home to grab our bags, made arrangements for the dog, called our families, and checked in to the Family Beginnings Birth Center at 7 pm that night. 
   
    Lynda had reserved us the largest birthing suite with one of the new labor/soaking tubs.  She read over our birthing plan and was prepared to do everything possible to give us our natural birthing experience.  Because I was so opposed to pitocin, we began some more “natural” induction methods that night. (Cervidil)  Our nurse, Amanda, gave me an Ambien and we hoped by the time I woke up, I would be in labor.  My mom arrived at some point during the night and set up the inflatable mattress on the floor. I woke up around 4 with strong contractions but they didn’t seem to be getting closer together.  Lynda came in and checked me and I had dilated slightly more but I was not where they wanted me to be yet.  They decided to give me a dose of Cytotec to see if it helped progress more.  It didn’t – but it did give me stronger contractions where we began to see our baby’s heartrate decelerate again.  The decels were small – Lynda didn’t seem too concerned about them, but they were occurring more frequently.  She decided the induction needed to be sped up – the sooner our baby was out the better.  I was upset that I was already throwing my birthing plan out the window - I started pitocin at 2 pm on Saturday, April 3rd. 

    Labor came on fast from there – and I felt it ALL in my back.  The birthing ball was a lifesaver – as were Brent, my mom, and my sister taking turns pressing on my lower back.  My contractions were 5 minutes apart and 1.5 minutes long when our baby had a huge decel.  Before I knew what was happening, I was being lifted onto the bed, flipped from side to side, an oxygen mask was strapped on, and 2 nurses, Lynda, and an OB (who I would soon get to know very well) were hovering over me.  As soon as the contraction subsided, my baby’s heart rate returned to normal.  They decided I needed to stay in bed.  Staying in bed with back labor is not fun- I would not recommend it to anyone.  A couple minutes passed before it happened again.  The baby’s heart rate dropped from 145 bpm to 70 bpm. The OB (Dr. Huang) and Lynda were discussing me in the corner of the room with worried faces.  Another contraction. Another decel.  The anesthesiologist came in to meet me – he explained what would happen if I needed to have a cesarean.  Those are words I wasn’t prepared for – a cesarean.  Another contraction.  Another decel.  They were 2 minutes apart now.  Dr, Huang ordered the pitocin to be turned off.  She explained to me they thought the umbilical cord was being pinched during contractions, that I needed more fluid to cushion the cord.  They were going to manually dilate me to inject more fluid and I would resume the pitocin early in the morning.  This devastated me – I had already been doing this all day, my baby was not doing well, I was afraid we were going to keep up these interventions and end up with a c-section in the end anyway.  I broke down; I told them I wanted the c-section.  I was terrified for my baby at this point.  They explained they wanted to do everything they could to give me a vaginal birth – which is something I really admire about my caretakers.  Even though the pitocin was turned off, the contractions kept coming.   1-½  minutes apart and strong.  3 decels later Lynda came to me and said, “I don’t think your baby is not going to tolerate a vaginal birth and I believe it would be best to do a cesarean now before it becomes an emergency.”  I agreed right on the spot – I needed my baby and I was not going to risk anything when it came to his safety.   I was immediately prepped and Dr. Huang discussed the procedure with me – she said the type of incision she would make would make it possible for me to have vaginal births in the future.  Honestly I wasn’t even thinking about VBACs at the time but now I am glad she discussed it with me. I was wheeled down the hall to the operating room. 

    The C-section was awesome – I never thought I would be so happy with a procedure that had been my worst nightmare for the past 9 months.  The atmosphere was so laid back – everyone was cracking jokes and there was so much excitement in the air (“you get to meet your baby soon!”)  The anesthesiologist was so great and comforting, although receiving the spinal was terrible!  My mom and Brent were both in the room with me – they looked more nervous than I was.  I can’t believe how quick the procedure went.  The anesthesiologist narrated for me what was happening on the other side of the curtain and soon they were taking my baby out.  I first heard, “he’s so tiny!” and then heard “look at that knot!” 

    My baby Ryland was born at 8:22 pm on Saturday, April 3rd.  He weighed only 6 lbs 9 ounces and was 19 inches long.  His umbilical cord was in a true knot – we had no idea until he was born.  True knots are rare (less than 1%) and don’t cause problems if they are loose – Ryland’s apparently was steadily tightening during labor.  I am so thankful we decided to do a c-section early and didn’t push it – we would have most definitely ended up with an emergency on our hands.  They laid him on my chest while they finished sewing me up and everything else is just a blur.  He is perfectly healthy and is the most perfect baby – we are so in love.

1st check-up

our baby had his first check-up today at the pediatrician's office.  He has gained 6 ounces since leaving the hospital - when we left he was 6 pounds even.  Here's the stats:
10th percentile for weight
17th percentile for length
36th percentile for head circumfrence

What a tiny guy we have! 

Ryland Steven Allred

Our baby boy is finally here.

Ryland was born at 8:22 pm on April 3rd.  He surprised us all by his tiny size - only 6 lbs and 9 ounces and 19.5 inches long.  His birth story is a little scary and we ended up with a cesarean.  Birth story to come soon.

We love him so much already. He is perfect.

we're having a baby!

I didn't think this day would turn out like this - but I also was settled to the fact that I would be pregnant forever...

I had an appointment today - my blood pressure was jumping all over the place with a range of 40 points (systolic was anywhere from 118 to 160).  I saw an OB today because my midwives were all booked.  He looked at my blood pressure and suggested induction.  I immediately but politely declined.  After a little more persuading from him I agreed to see how to non stress test went before we made an official decision.  During the non-stress test baby did pretty well but had some decelerations in heart rate which pointed to my fluid levels being low - they were borderline on Tuesday.  I wanted the opinion of the midwife on call.  Her opinion was I'm already a week overdue, baby is ready to come, she was worried about my blood pressure increasing or my fluid levels dropping before I went into labor on my own.  She suggested I come in tonight to "ripen my cervix" since I'm not very dilated yet and we'll see if that starts labor. 
So Brent and I are at the birth center - I've got my prostaglandin gel in place and we're hoping to not have to start pitocin in the morning.  BUT that's the plan if I don't go into labor tonight. 

I was cramping and contracting on my own when I arrived - they were 8 minutes apart and I'm not sure what we're at now.  Hopefully that's a sign that I'm going to respond well to this! 

Next post will be about our baby boy :)