Introducing Ryleigh Grace

If you read my last post, I mentioned that I was needing to get those maternity pictures done before it got hot and my photographer moved...little did I know that I was really running out of time before I had Ryleigh! Today is only Wednesday, but the week has pretty much been a blur. I had my "routine" 36 week appointment with the Dr. on Monday. He was slightly concerned that I wasn't showing any growth in my uterus so checked the baby and informed me that I was 50% effaced and dilated to 1 centimeter. No big deal really - women walk around for weeks in that condition. He did order an ultrasound to check the baby's measurements and informed me that there really hadn't been any change in her growth in the last 2 week. This is definitely not normal! He then proceeded to inform me that he would be admitting me to the hospital that morning (I could not even go home and pack anything!) and would monitor me and the baby on Monday and start inducing on Tuesday morning! What a shock after thinking that I was going in for a regular appointment! Any of you that know me just a little well can imagine my reaction (since this was definitely not in my plans for this week! LOL) Anyways, by Tuesday morning when they started the pitocin to induce labor we discovered that Ryleigh was not handling the contractions very well. She was becoming distressed and her heart rate kept dropping. The Dr. had previously explained that due to being induced like I was that I would have a higher risk of a C-section. He stopped by around 11:30 or so and informed me that he had notified the surgery team that I might possibly need a C-section (just so they would be ready) but that he was going to continue with the medication and see how Ryleigh did. Not 10 minutes after that, her heart rate plummeted again and he made the call to send me to surgery! Once we got to the OR and realized that her heart rate had not recovered - it quickly became an emergency procedure. Luckily for me, I already had an epidural - so they just gave me another pain blocker and did not have to knock me out completely. Also - normally during an emergency C-section, husbands are not allowed into the room, however, Kyle got to come in right before she was born! Dr. tells me that the time from his incision to baby being born was 30 seconds...so it was definitely fast! The hardest part for me seemed like the recovery - the medication made me sick and pretty much numbed my whole body. Ryleigh was born at 12:01p.m. and weighed 5lbs, 3oz. and was 17 inches long. She is doing just fine and has no issues so far. We were especially concerned with the possibility of respiratory issues as the lungs are the last organs to fully develop, but she is doing great! I'm doing good too, much better today after my medicine has worn off! Kyle was able to take a lot of pictures yesterday while I was in recovery, so I have posted some of those. I was in and out all day, so we didn't get any of me and baby or daddy and baby yet to post, so I'll try to have some of those up this afternoon! Hope you enjoy!