Meet Baby Nolan!

Yay he is finally here! Nolan Ryan joined our family on 7/14/11 at 10:42 pm weighing in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and 21.5  inches long. He is perfect! Our family is complete now with our 3 little boys and I am the happiest mom ever.

Let me recap how the delivery went. I should probably start with a "TMI" alert! Also, I apologize for the length of the recap. I just want Nolan to know how much trouble he put me through! They say that #3 can be a little unpredictable. Well, this delivery was way different than my others.
I had a doctor appointment on Tuesday and he checked me and really not much had changed besides that I was at 3 cm. They had done an ultrsound and everything looked great. My amniotic fluid was back up and after needing to use the stimulator to wake him up he moved around like crazy.

The next day I went to work and only lasted about 1.5 hours. My contractions started acting up and I just wasn't feeling very well so I went home to rest. I noticed later he wasn't moving much. Heather had her 6 week follow up with her doctor so while she was there I had her ask how long I should go without feeling the 10 movements an hour. With in minutes after she asked, his nurse was calling me telling me to go to the nearest hospital to get checked out. So off I went. They hooked me up and of course he started to move right away. She also noticed my contractions were every 5-7 minutes apart. She checked me before leaving and I was still at a 3 cm so no changes had been made, but the nurse really felt this was the start of something. As if I hadn't heard that before!

My contractions started up again every 3-5 minutes for 3 hours. I called the hospital and they told me to come in. I was dreading going in for fear of getting sent home again. So, at 12:30 am, we packed up the car, got the boys out of bed and headed to the hospital. Grandma and Grandpa met us and took the boys back to their house.

Once I got into the room the nurse checked me and right away told me I wasn't in labor and would most likely be going home. That would be when the tears started. How could I possibly be having this many contractions that were starting to really hurt and not have any change. I also kept thinking how am I supposed to know when I should or shouldn't come in. I was so frustrated. I went back to my parent's and Ryan went home (it was about 3:45 am). I was still contracting to the point that I would fall asleep and they would wake me up. The contractions continued but they were more like every 15 minutes apart so nothing to worry about. As Thursday went on the contractions got closer and stronger. I went from being uncomfortable one contraction to needing to moan / breath through the next. It wasn't long though and I was trying anything to get through a contraction including yelling out. My mom finally said I think it's time to go. I was nervous but deep inside I knew she was right. I just wanted something to make them stop or take the pain away.

By the time I got to the hospital I was afraid to even move or walk. They were about 2 minutes apart. The nurse checked me right away and I was at 7 cm! I looked at her and said epidural! They called the doctor and said it would be a bit before he would get there as he was finishing up in surgery. I looked at the nurse and begged for anything and everything I could have to take the pain away. I did a lot of screaming, swearing and yelling. When a contraction would start I would just yell "no, no, no I'm not ready!" I found out later that Heather and Ryan were texting back and forth because everyone was afraid to say anything for fear of me. One text that Ryan sent Heather read, "this is probably our last kid!" Finally the nurse gave me a medication called fentanyl. At first I thought wow this is going to help then really it just made me dizzy and in pain! I did tell the nurse at one point she might want to check me again because I was feeling like I needed to push. She looked at me and said "if I check you and your at a 10 you can't have the epidural we we'll make you push. But if I don't check, you can have your epidural." I quickly responded with don't check me! Finally the MD showed up to start my epidural. I've never been so happy to feel medication start to work! I quickly apologized to everyone especially the nurse knowing how I acted. I was pretty embarrassed but at the same time that pain just takes you to a whole new level. With the other two boys it just never got to that point so I was expecting this one to go the same way.

Right after I got the epidural the doctor checked me and sure enough I was at 10 cm! I begged not to push yet. I just wanted to rest for a bit before I pushed. I rested for about 15 minutes while they got everything ready. I pushed for about 5 contractions and then while we were waiting for the next contraction to start he basically just slid right out! Thankfully the pushing part didn't last long!

Nolan was perfect! He cried a little but then was wide awake and alert. My mom joined us in the delivery room. We quickly decided on Nolan Ryan for his name. Yes, we know Nolan Ryan is a former baseball player. Heather came up with the name Nolan and we liked it right away. It was the only name we could agree on. Both Spencer and Easton have the middle name Ryan so it's only fitting that Nolan would also.

He came out screaming.

Between Grandma and Auntie he had enough of the pictures.

His head was kind of funny shaped when he was born. The plates were over lapping a little and his forehead was bruised.

Aunite waited outside, thanks for staying with us.

He definitely has the Market hands and long feet.

 

First bottle

Bath time....

The hospital stay went well. We thought we were going home on Saturday but his bilirubin came back at 9.8 putting him at high risk so they wanted him to have photo therapy for 24 hours. Basically Nolan and I hung out in the room all day. I watched TV while he baked under the light.

We had a lot of friends and family come and visit us. The boys are lucky to have so many people who love them. Here are a few pictures from our stay......

Spencer and Easton meeting Nolan for the first time.

Spencer LOVES holding Nolan and is such a good big brother. He talks about all the things he wants to teach and show him. He's such a good helper.

The big bed was a hit with the little boys.

Baby swap

Nolan has Hadley beat in length but she's got him in pounds.

Grandma Nancy has been on stand by for weeks with her bags packed and ready to go!

He wears new born diapers and outfits.

A few of our many visitors. We can't wait for Sara as she is due with a boy in October

Finally going home!

I honestly didn't think I would be wearing a dress leaving the hospital.

While we hung out in the hospital, the older boys stayed busy by going to Finley's 3rd birthday party. The theme was fire trucks and they even had a real truck stop! Thanks to everyone who helped in watching the boys and keeping them busy while we were in the hospital. A very special thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for taking such good care of them. I never have to worry about them while they are with you.

Finley's Birthday Party.......

  

All of our nurses knew that we had Hadley's baptism on Sunday. We left the hospital at 8:55 am on Sunday and made it just in time to walk up front and be part of her special day. Ryan and I are one of the 2 sets of godparents. We feel very lucky to play such an important part of her special day.

Now he's awake....

and now he's sleeping

Things are crazy around here right now. We are adjusting to a new baby and trying to get everything figured out for the new house. We close next week Wednesday! So with that being said our posts might be few and far between, but I will do my best to keep everyone updated on our life changes! Just keep checking back!