Ryan Jonathan has Arrived!!

I'm so happy to announce that Ryan Jonathan Troyer arrived safely on August 23, 2012 at 7:46pm, weighing in at 7lbs 15oz and measuring 21 inches. It was a very speedy delivery and totally different from what I expected--but that's a good thing! :) I've never gone into labor naturally. I've been induced with every one of my babies until now, so I really didn't know what to expect. I was dead set on going into labor naturally so that I would have the experience, but also because I've been told it is a lot less painful and I really wanted to avoid an epidural this time. I had been having contractions for a few days--at night, of course, so I wasn't getting a whole lot of sleep. Sometimes they'd be strong, but far apart, other times more frequent, but not too strong. It was getting very frustrating, but I was dilating, so I knew SOMETHING was going on. I went into the doctor on Tuesday and he checked me and said I was between 2.5 and 3cm (which is pretty good for me--especially considering I was only 1 day overdue). He tried to strip my membranes, but wasn't really successful as my cervix was still a bit high. Afterwards though, I started having some signs of progress (I'll refrain from more details), which again was more than I'd ever experienced in the past. Fast-forward to Thursday. I had 2 MISERABLE nights of sleep. I'd have contractions from the time I'd go to sleep until around 4:30-5am. Enough to where I couldn't sleep at all. I was exhausted. Jeremy called into work on Wednesday and they told him not to come back until Sept. 25th (whew!! Thank God!) With him home, it made my life so much easier. No worries about knowing when to call him and no stress about having to do everything around the house, so that was a huge blessing. So Thursday morning I awoke feeling extremely tired and not so happy. I was SO ready to have this baby. My good friend called and said she'd be here around 11am to visit and take my mind off of everything. Another good friend called and brought me treats from the local Farmer's Market...my OTHER good friend was in the same boat as me...overdue with #6 and just as miserable as I was. It was good to have them all over and have a nice distraction. Good friends are such a blessing and I have some pretty awesome friends. While they were here, I had ONE (yes, just ONE) strong contraction. I was discouraged. We had some good fellowship time and as they were leaving, I started feeling more consistent contractions--as long as I was up and moving. I couldn't even make it up my stairs without having a contraction I'd have to stop and breathe through, but as soon as I'd sit, I'd have NOTHING. It was very strange. I started to have some "bloody show" and pressure that made me feel something was going on. I called my dad and told him I thought they should come down. They are 2.5 hours away and I NEEDED them to be here for my other children, especially the youngest ones as I knew having mommy away was going to be a bit difficult on them. This is something I had stressed a LOT about, but of course, God is SO good and His timing is SO perfect!! I told my dad that I wasn't sure if this was labor, but if they came down and nothing was happening, I'd go ahead with an induction. I didn't want to...but I KNEW something was happening...even if it wasn't as I expected. I put Lilah down for her nap and Jeremy put Aaron down. I came back downstairs after getting Lilah to bed and again was discouraged because although the "show" continued, the contractions had stopped as soon as I sat down...HOWEVER, as soon as I stood up, I had a very strong one. It was VERY weird. I called my friend, Jessye to come be with my children until my parents got here because I wanted to go to the hospital just to be checked. She was SO excited. I told her about the "show" and she said, "OH MY GOODNESS, that's how ALL of my labors started", so she was very encouraging. I figured I'd go for a walk around the block and see what happened, then I'd wake Jeremy up and go to the hospital. I took Luke on the walk with me and I had to stop every 2-3 minutes. The contractions were quite uncomfortable. I still didn't think I was actually in labor yet though. When we got back, I woke Jeremy up and told him we needed to go to the hospital. He thought I was being melodramatic, but wisely decided to humor me. I told him, "Hey, Jessye is here...my parents are on the way, if nothing is happening, maybe they can break my water or something". As we were driving, my contractions totally stopped. We had a comfortable, nice drive to the hospital. When we got there, I started having contractions every 2-3 minutes again...as long as I was walking. I got to Labor and Delivery and they couldn't figure out whether to put me in the triage room or the actual delivery room. They decided on delivery (good choice!!). They hooked me up to the monitor, baby was fine, but again, I was having no contractions because I was lying down. They called my doctor and he said that I had to be at least 4cm. They checked me and I was 4.5-5cm (horray!!!). The nurse said she wanted me to walk for an hour and then she'd check me again. Jeremy and I got up and walked...back and forth, back and forth. I contracted every 2-3 minutes...they were quite uncomfortable. We kept walking, we ran into a nurse we know and chatted, I kept contracting....my very overdue friend was in the hospital being monitored, so we stopped to say hello (even though we had just visited that morning--she was shocked to see me there!). I kept having contractions. After my hour of walking, I was nearly to 6cm. I was so surprised I was making such progress because although the contractions were painful, they were NOT as bad as what I had experienced with an induction. I stayed in bed because Jeremy had brought me some soup. I ate it and had an INTENSE contraction. I said, "GEEZ, what in the world was that?!?!?" From then on the contractions picked up. I didn't get back out of bed, but kept having contractions. They were definitely uncomfortable, not something I'd do for fun, that's for sure. My mom and my friend Jessye arrived and soon thereafter, my doctor arrived. Jessye had to leave because she couldn't handle seeing me in pain, besides, the doctor was getting ready to break my water. When he checked me, I was at 8cm!!!!! Are you KIDDING ME?!?!? I got to 8cm without REALLY laboring?!?! This was great. Okay, I have to admit, it was still very painful, but definitely better than my past experiences. Having my water broken was VERY painful. I don't know why, but when I had Lilah, it hurt too...I don't like my doctors' method. It's never hurt before. It was good to hear though that the water was clear. Soon thereafter, the pain was in full force. Oh yes, it HURT. It was pretty awful, actually...but hey, we were ALMOST there!!! The pressure kept intensifying and the nurse just said, "Here's your call button, call me if you need me". I did NOT like that. I know I go fast, especially if I was already at 8cm. I called her back as the pressure was getting intense. I had to keep giving myself a pep talk to relax because it was very hard...so I'd go from the "transition shakes" to totally calm and back again. I just kept praying for strength and reminding myself that "when it feels like you can't do it, you're ALMOST THERE!". She checked me (which was VERY painful--I could tell she had never had a baby before, because any nurse who had would never have been so rough) and said, "You're still at 9 with a bit of cervix left", but I KNEW it was CLOSE. She left AGAIN. Ugggghhhh....she made me very anxious because I knew within MINUTES this baby was going to arrive. With another 2-3 contractions I could take it no longer...I said, "Where is my stupid call button????" I couldn't reach it, but thankfully my mom and Jeremy saw the seriousness and jumped up...I started pushing. There was nothing I could do. The nurse ran in and said, "I've delivered babies before, but I'd rather have a doctor" and ran out of the room to get my doctor. She and the doctor walked in the room just in time to "catch" Ryan. The doctor didn't even have time to get the bed set up for delivery...it wasn't necessary anyway! Ryan was there, the pain was gone and I was SO HAPPY. Not only did I get my natural STARTING labor, I also had no pain meds. It was PERFECT. To top things off, I had NO tearing (for the first time) AND Jeremy was able to be home in time to get Aaron to bed!!! It was just perfect! My friends got to come visit and I was in bed by 11pm. As I said before, God's timing is wonderful. Ryan is wonderful so far. He latched on right away and nurses like a champ. He wets his diapers like crazy and poops up a storm. He's been sleeping well also, taking naps at the same time as Lilah--so that's absolutely awesome. Today I put him down fully awake and he went to sleep just fine. I pray that he is another easy, happy baby. It feels so good not to be pregnant anymore...I have so much more energy and have been cooking meals again (which makes my whole family VERY happy!). So praise God for a healthy, wonderful delivery and a healthy, wonderful, BEAUTIFUL little baby boy!