First Doctor Visit

Holley Ryan is worn out after a long afternoon at the pediatrician's office. Dr. Davis said she might have a touch of jaundice so they did a blood test to make sure. We don't know the results yet, but even if she does all we have to do is get her out in the sun some. She weighed in at 6lbs. 15 oz. The doctor noted that most breast fed babies have lost 8oz. on the first doctors visit and Holley Ryan has only lost 2 oz., so she is getting plenty of food.

Saying Her Prayers

I just snapped this picture a few minutes ago. We hope she was praying for a restful night for mom and dad.

Jay Meets Holley Ryan

Holley Ryan got to meet her cousin Jay this morning. Jay wasn't quite ready to hold her but did bring her a couple of rubber ducks for her first bath.

We are on our way to Athens for the game.

Just kidding. Last night was not perfect but we made it. I think Holley Ryan's a little confused between night and day right now. She acted like she didn't want to sleep last night but can't stay awake this morning. We think maybe the problem is that she was hungry since Lori's milk is not really flowing yet. We gave her about an ounce of formula and she slept for about 3 hours straight. Stay tuned!!

Home Sweet Home!!

We finally made it home about 8:15p.m. We were actually finished with the entire discharge process about an hour before that, but the nurses were going into a shift change at 7p.m. and I think we got lost in the chaos. Anyway, we are happy to be home. All three of us are exhausted and ready for some rest tonight (and tomorrow). I just put a sign on the front door to discourage visitors until at least 1p.m. Sat., so Lori can get some rest. She has only slept a total of three hours the last two nights. If anyone rings our door bell in the morning they might get cut.

Holley Ryan's Stats

Length: 20 Inches
Weight: 7 lbs. 2 oz.
Poops: 1 (more forcasted)

I was standing over the nurse when she took her footprints just after she was born and her feet would barely fit in the box on the form. So it looks like she got her mom's big feet.

Pictures and Update (10:45 a.m.)

Here are a few more pictures. Lori and the baby are doing excellent. They took Lori's IV out about 9:30p.m. last night and the baby made good progress as well. The pediatrician checked her out this morning and gave her a clean bill of health. They said she had her first library visit in the nursery last night so we did not have to change that diaper. I guess there are some first in life the parents don't mind missing. Since Lori and Holley Ryan are doing so well they are supposed to release us this evening sometime.

First pic for the Blog

I am having some technical difficulties but will try and get some more up soon.

Holley Ryan Has Arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As you can probably guess by now Holley Ryan has made her grand entrance! Lori reached ten cm and started pushing at 4:30p.m. She was delivered at 5:49p.m. We still don't know the weight but it looks like just under 8 pounds. I will post more and pictures later. Mom is doing well and they are trying Two hours of sleep and the elation of seeing something so beautiful for the first time has left me speechless for probably the first time in my life.
Matt

now at 8 cm (3:45p.m.)

made a 1 cm move in 30 minutes.

Now at 7 cm (3:15p.m.)

Seems to be sticking around the 1 cm per hour movement, which is good.

A Quick Move!! (2:15p.m.)

Lori awoke from a 45 minute power nap and was hurting so the nurse decided to check her progress just to be sure. She is now at 6 cm. They are giving her a redose on the epidural.

Halfway!!! (1:15p.m.)

Lori hit the 5 cm mark about 1p.m. The nurse will check her again at 3:30 or so. They are still happy with the progress at this point.
Matt

Dr. Goldberg makes another visit (11:20am)

Doc checked again and is confirming the nurses call of 4.5 cm. and 70% thinned out. He seems to think she is progressing very well. He now is predicting before dark, but maybe sooner (actually that is the same prediction we got earlier, but I think he was saying that for our benefit this morning).

10:30a.m. update

Not much news really. Dilated to 4.5 cm and cervix is 60% thinned out. We have not seen the Doctor again but we think he went to see his patients at his office. We won't have another report from him until after lunch. The nurse said she will check her every three hours. I will try and post again about lunch if there is anything happening.

Epidural (Hallelujah!) 8:40am

The epidural is in and is starting to take effect. She is at 4cm. Now that Lori is comfortable I am sending her out to get me some breakfast and coffee. I'll update further when she gets back.

Water Break! (7:40am)

Dr. Goldberg just came in and reviewed Lori's progress. She has moved to 2 cm. Since she was over 2 he went ahead and broke her water. The doc said she could go ahead and get the epidural whenever she was ready. SHE IS READY! At this stage he predicts a late afternoon or early evening delivery. I'll update again after the epidural.

Pitocin a Flowing! (6:45a.m. Update)

The nurse started the pitocin about an hour ago and the contractions and coming fast and furious now. They offered pain meds through the IV about 2 hours ago but Lori was able to hold off until just now. Since the pain medication has started Lori has been a little loopy (some would say this is normal for her). Dr. Goldberg should be by to make his rounds in the next hour and will possibly break her water. Lori got maybe 1.5 hours sleep which is more than I expected. I snuck in probably 2.5 hours. I'll give another update after we see the doc.
Matt

Bring on the Pain Meds! (3 a.m. Update)

Contractions are starting to pick up and we are beyond the 1 cm mark. We are still probably two or three hours from the petosin but the nurses seem to be happy with the progress Lori is making. Contractions are currently at about 2-3 minutes apart. Lori has not slept any. I have only slept about an hour (I know everyone is concerned with how I am holding up -LOL). I'll try and give another update around 5a.m.

It's Finally Gameday!!!! (Actually the Night Before)

We have made it to the hospital and survived the admission process. Lori has her IV hooked up and the nurse has given her the "tablet" that is supposed to prepare her for the petosin which will be started around 5 or 6 a.m. Nothing else to really report right now. I snapped the above picture after the nurses finished hooking her up to all of the machines. I will report back when we get some real action.

Matt

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

We can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. At our doctor's visit this morning, we decided to induce Thursday. We have two days till we'll be able to see our little girl! Matt and I are so excited and relieved. It feels so good to have a plan and to know that she will be here soon! I had no idea I'd feel this way at the end of my pregnancy, but it's been very hard emotionally. I am super ready to see her and to begin our family of three. Matt was relieved too and we are both anticipating the moment when we see her for the first time. It's almost here!

We're in the single digits!

Today we rolled into the single digits...just 9 days to go! It's a constant countdown at our house and I'm pretty sure I'm driving Matt crazy. After a high blood pressure check yesterday, I went back to have it checked again this morning. It was perfectly normal so I've chalked it up to anxiety. We are getting so close and the end and most importantly prize are in sight. I plan to walk and walk a lot this weekend to try to get her moving in the right direction.

10 is our lucky number!

Today, 10 (days) is the lucky number. We are getting so close to the due date that I can hardly stand it. Matt is much more relaxed than I, but still super excited.

We saw the doctor this afternoon. I am 1 cm dilated, but my cervix is still pretty high. He says it's not really "favorable" right now, so we'll be waiting a few more days. I'm scheduled to see him again on Tuesday and we'll reassess the situation. It's possible that if I am making further progress on Tuesday that we'll opt to induce the end of next week. However, if I am about the same, we'll probably wait it out another week (which will put us past our due date.)

The down side is she is in fact going to be as big as we initially thought. She was weighing in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. Our doctor suspects that last week's ultrasound was an anomaly. Her weight this week would be in line with all of the other ultrasounds we've done (and we were on a different machine last week.) Therefore, at a rate of 8 oz. per week, we're looking at over 8 lbs, which is what I was guessing to start with. She still has a Hennesy head, but her abdomen and hopefully chest and shoulders are perfectly normal.

Now it's just a waiting game. I'm mentally exhausted and ready for her arrival. My blood pressure was a little high and I will go in the morning to have it rechecked. That could present a problem, but hopefully it was due to anxiety today. I physically feel well. We have so much to be thankful for and Matt and I are super excited! We cannot wait to meet our little girl!

2 Weeks to Go...

We officially have only 14 days until our due date. Last night we were watching the UGA game with friends and my back was really hurting. I was starting to think that it could be back labor, but after it improved with a dose of Tylenol I chalked it up to regular back pain. We are super anxious and ready for her arrival. We go back to the doctor Thursday for a checkup. He'll do an ultrasound to make sure everything is still ok and check to see if I have dilated. I'm very hopeful that we are progressing in the right direction by then. I'm also excited about the chance to see her...even if it is the ultrasound version. Matt and I are so ready to see and hold our little girl. The anticipation is building and we are waiting on go!

19 Days to Go!

We have only 19 days till our due date! We had a doctor's appointment today. He checked to see if I was starting to dilate and unfortunately, I wasn't. I don't feel like she is going to come early or at least not by much, so I wasn't surprised. He did an ultrasound to check her measurements and weight.

The first time he measured, she was showing just shy of 6 lbs. This was a little alarming because at our 35 week visit she was showing 6 lbs. 3 oz. Our doctor remeasured and she was showing 6 lbs. 1 oz. Again, we were a little alarmed and I must say, I was a little scared. He asked to put me on the fetal heart rate monitor to make sure everything was OK. After about 30 minutes, he came in and verified that everything seemed to be fine.

He jokingly said that the person doing the previous ultrasound must not have known what they were doing (he of course was that person.) I asked if she could have actually lost weight and he responded that it wasn't likely. He figures that either there is a discrepancy in the machines (he used two different machines at 35 weeks and then at this appointment) or the measurements were wrong last time. He felt good about the measurements and weight this week. I am so thankful to have him as my doctor as he always knows exactly how to put me at ease.

Good news is she will probably be a little smaller than we predicted, yet there is a possibility for the machine to be reading a pound or so off. She still had a Hennesy head and her daddy and I are more ready than ever to see and hold her. We go back next week and will be checked again for dilation. We are being patient and know that this is now up to God and Holley Ryan when the time is right. We hope that she's here in about 19 days!

Our First Game Day

Saturday was the first game day for little Holley Ryan. Although Georgia lost, and let's not mention anything about that to her daddy, it was her first chance to cheer on the dawgs! We celebrated opening game day at the home of one of Matt's friends. Pictured with me is my expecting friend Julie (due October 6) and one of Matt's best friends, Brian. Matt cannot wait for his little girl to arrive so he can teach her all about football and especially the Georgia Bulldogs. We already have tiny outfits for this season, but will have much more fun with the Georgia apparel next year. We have an appointment with our doctor Tuesday and will find out if I'm starting to dilate. With only 20 days till due date, we are getting super excited! It's not going to be long now...