I was 36 weeks and 5 days pregnant when I had you, but it all started Thursday morning at 3:30am I woke up to contractions. It was the first time that I have felt any sort of contractions, and they were pretty uncomfortable. I tried taking some Tylenol to get me through the night, but it didn’t help. I had read that they were supposed to be regular timed and that I shouldn’t go into the hospital until they were 3-5min apart, mine were a half hour to 10min apart, so I figured I was just having pre-labor contractions. The contractions were really uncomfortable, but I had never had them before so I thought I was just being a baby. I told daddy how I wasn’t expecting pre-labor contractions to be so uncomfortable. He told me that I wasn’t in labor, but that was what was to be expected during the last part of pregnancy. I agreed with him that I wasn’t in labor, but I couldn’t believe that I would have to go through this for another month!!! I tried to clean up the house a little bit and then I got ready for work. Thank goodness today was only a half day. I had a lot of work to get through and I didn’t want to complain about how crappy I was feeling, but it was a long Thursday I had to stay late to get a few things done. When I finally got home I was exhausted, and I was hurting now more than ever, but still contractions didn’t seem very regular although with each contractions I couldn’t help but moan. Daddy told me that we could go to the hospital if I was in that much pain but I really didn’t want to do anything because I just knew that I wasn’t in labor and I didn’t want to act like a baby... I mean I couldn’t be in labor a month early, I haven’t had any showers yet, or my breast feeding class yet. I kept thinking that you will have to at least hold on until my friend shower this Saturday, but apparently you couldn’t wait, you wanted to come to your parties too.
Daddy wanted to go to the store and get some food. He told me that I could stay home if I wanted to, and I was really tempted because I really didn’t feel up to it but I thought maybe walking around would get my mind off of the pain and help me feel better… It didn’t and at one point I could feel some major discharge and I couldn’t wait to go home to see what was going on. To my surprise my mucosa plug broke although I had no idea what that was. Daddy had to explain it to me, and he seemed to think it was pretty serious and that maybe, just maybe I really was in labor, so he called the hospital to see what we should do. They suggested to take a bath and to drink at least 28 oz. of water, and if that didn’t help then I should come in. The bath helped immediately and I was grateful for a chane to finally shave my legs, by this time it was probably 11pm. Since I was feeling a little better daddy decided that he would try to get some sleep since he had to work early in the morning, but that I shouldn’t hesitate to wake him up if I decided that I wanted to go to the hospital. As soon as he fell asleep the contractions started up again I tried timing my contractions again, but they still seemed irregular. They were about 3 min apart, but then every once in a while they would be about 5 or 6min apart. I really didn’t want to go to the hospital if I wasn’t in labor, but they kept getting worse and at 1am they finally hurt so that that I was throwing up. That was my breaking point I woke daddy up and away we went. I still didn’t know if I was really in labor, but I really didn’t want to have to deal with this for the rest of the night. As my luck would have it as soon as we got in the car the contractions stopped, and I wondered if it was all in my head. When we got to the hospital they got me in a room and hooked up to some monitors. The nurse must have thought that I wasn’t in labor as well because she told me that they would keep checking on me and if I felt up for it I could go for a walk around the hospital. She then decided that maybe she should check my cervix to see where I was at. To all of our surprise she told me that I was at a five and that she would get an epidural in me right away. Nothing sounded better!! As soon as they drugged me up I was heaven, but daddy kept asking me if I was feeling okay. I told him that I felt amazing, but your heartrate dropped dramatically, and I was looking really pale daddy got really worried, but I didn’t really know what was going on. All I knew was that pain had finally gone away after 20hrs. I felt so good that I wanted to go to sleep. Daddy made sure that we were doing okay though and they put some oxygen on me and your heart rate went up. Daddy called the grandmas, but he couldn’t get a hold of my mom. She had just moved into a new house and didn’t have a phone line only her cell phone which was in her purse on vibrate, so grandma Erickson said that she would go over there when I was dilated to 9 and they would come over so that they could be here for the delivery. Time seemed to go by really fast and by 6 o’clock I was dilated to a 10 the same time the grandma’s arrived. It was about time to start pushing, but the epidural worked so good on me that it made the whole left side of my body go numb. I couldn’t feel my arm at all which made it hard push. The nurse kept telling me to hold my legs up with my arm, but I couldn’t even lift my arm, so daddy held my arm and leg to get the nurse off of my back. I wasn’t really expecting that the pushing part was going to be so hard, but it took me 3 hours. I was so tired and frustrated. The nurse kept asking me questions. She asked me what we were going to name you and I told her Ryann. She asked how we were going to spell it. I was kind of irritated that she kept asking me so many questions I was too tired and I was trying to concentrate on getting you out of there. I responded Ryaan. Everyone started laughing at me, but what do you expect. I have been pushing for over 2 hours and I haven’t slept in over 24 hours. I was exhausted!! I didn’t get much accomplished on my birthing plan, but none of them really mattered when the time came down to it although I was really glad that I got my legs shaved I would highly recommended that. The next time I make a birthing plan I am going to tell them not to ask me any questions. I give all answering privileges to daddy. Dr. Hansen was your Dr, but I guess he had some family issues to attend to so he didn’t deliver you instead Dr. Langer came I was a little disappointed at first, but I really liked Dr. Langer when she came in I felt like it helped me push a little better.
You finally arrived at 9:15. You were 7lbs and 11.6 oz and 19 and ½ inches long. I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I just bawled. I couldn’t believe I was actually holding you in my arms and that you were mine. Parenthood is the most incredible feeling you could ever imagine. I can’t even describe it.
I had a grade 2 tear and I couldn’t wait for the Dr. to finish stitching me up so I could hold you in my arms again, but as soon as daddy put you in my arms you started to cry. You little stinker you are not allowed to cry when I hold you especially when it took me 3 hours to push you out. We tried to feed you but you just wanted to go to sleep, however we did get you to eat a little bit. You had a lot of visitors. Grandpa, aunt Brookie, and Aunt Penney were all the first ones to arrive besides your grandma’s of course. Your eyes were wide open I think you were really curious to meet everyone. After that daddy took you to take a bath. He said it took him a really long time to clean you off especially around that cute little chin. After your bath he put you under a heating lamp and you just loved it you sprawled right out. 
It had been about two hours since I saw you and I was getting pretty anxious, but great grandpa came to visit and he kept me company for a little while he also brought us a rose. I thought it was really sweet of him to come since it is getting harder and harder for him be out and about. He even said that he got a little lost in the hospital. We both waited and waited for you to come back from getting checked out by the doctors and from having your bath, but great grandpy couldn’t wait any longer because great grandma called and was getting worried about him, but I assured him that we would be around for Sunday dinner soon. I was able to take a little nap while I was waiting as well and before I knew it you were in my arms taking a nap with me. I wanted to have you in my arms all the time!! Later that day I got a call from you aunt Camille she sounded really concerned and asked me why granny had called her crying, and I told her that I just had a baby, she seemed really confused, but she congratulated me and then and if uncle Brian was okay. I told her that I didn’t know anything about that but that. She said that granny called her at work this morning and left a message with one of the girls, crying saying that she was at the hospital with Brian. I actually heard the phone call and explained that she called saying that she was at the hospital with Ryann not Brian and she was crying because we were all love you so so much!! Aunt Camillie then put it all together and was so excited to come see you when she got off work. We had lots of visitors come see you that day. Jade, Ryan, Megan, Camille, Faith, Brian, Kaci, Blake, Aubree, Stihl, Tommy, and Brycelynn.
You never ever fussed you just slept all the time, which was kind of nice it helped daddy and I sleep too. We lovve to cuddle with you!!
Even when we dressed you up, you just kept sleeping
The only time you ever got mad was when we tried waking you up to eat. You got your dad’s appetite and your mom’s sleeping habits. Since you weren’t eating at all the nurses had to come in and check your blood sugar levels. You hated it and it broke my heart every time they had to poke you. I didn’t really understand why they had to do it either because your blood sugar levels were fine. It just kept stressing me out that I was starving you to death One of the nurses came in at night every hour to poke you we were both annoyed we just wanted to sleep and be left alone. You had a lot of the same visitors come the next day and some new ones including Clay, Akaila, Tony, Colton, TJ, Landon, Paytin, Tommy, Brandy, Mallory, and a lot of daddy’s work friends came to see you too. 
By Sunday you were ready to go home they just wanted to make sure that you didn't get strep since I was a carrier and they hadn't given me anti-biotics the nurse called and told me that I was a carrier just a few minutes after you arrived. but you were doing fine although you still weren’t really eating, but you Dr. Mashkuri said that some babies are just really sleepy from everything that they go through getting here and it kind of puts them in what they call a sleep coma, but that I shouldn’t worry too much because you should starting eating more when we get you home. When we got home Lucy was pretty excited to meet her new sister and she was pretty curious if were going to ever come home Penney said that she would just sit on the couch by the door hoping that we would come home soon. Daddy actually went home on Saturday and he said that he had never seen Lucy so excited before she tackled him to the ground kissing him, and she whined a little when he left again. Poor Lucy she was in for a treat when you came home and she was so curious about you, but we tried not to let her get too close because we didn’t want her to lick your face off. Lucy comes running over if you start to fuss and she always has to sit on our lap when we are holding you. Penney also greeted us home with some yummy food and she had cleaned the basement for us making it all ready for you!
You were a little fussy the first night home and daddy stayed up with you most of the night. I tried to get you to eat, but you still wouldn’t have it. I could feel my milk start to come in, but didn’t have anywhere to go since you wouldn’t eat. I hurt really bad too I could feel it all the way up to my armpits. I was starting to get really worried about you. And I spent the first day home crying. So far I have been really off on my mothers intuition. I mean I thought you were going to be a boy and you are a girl, and then I thought you would come late and you were a month early. I really wasn’t sure what I should do I really didn’t want to give you a bottle, but It had been 12 hours since you last ate, and I was afraid that I was starving you, but then I realized that I may not have mothers intuition, but I have something better. I have the constant companion of the holy ghost, and if anyone knows you and knows what is best for you it is our Heavenly Father, so I got down on my knees and prayed with all my heart the best way that I could help you. I have never really felt like I have gotten a straight or instant answer to my prayers before, but I knew that there comes a special power with being a mommy and Heavenly Father would help me take care of his precious daughter. Before I was done saying my prayer I knew that I just needed to call my doctor for an appointment and everything would be okay, and that gave me the peace that I needed to make it through the day. Dr. Mashkuri told me the information that I needed to know, but she didn’t stress me out although she told us that your blood sugar levels were starting to get low, and that we should get you over to a lactation specialist right away because you had already lost 1lb since you had been born. I was worried that we were going to have to bottle feed you, but at this point I didn’t really care as long as I could get you healthy again, but instead of the bottle they gave us an S and S kit which is a tiny straw that you put by your nipple and you pump formula into your mouth. The lactation lady told me that I was so engorged that it was hard for you to get the milk out. She suggested that we get a pump and that it would help with the swelling. I was so happy to see you eat that it brought tears to my eyes. The next thing we did was get a pump the lady that we bought it from was also a lactations specialist and she showed us a few other tricks that really helped y
ou and I out. This whole thing was new for the both of us. It took both of us some time to get use to it, but we quickly started to get a hang of it, but since you hadn’t been eating you got jaundice, and we had to order some bili light beds. The first bed that we got we had to strap you on to a blanket that strapped you onto the bed. You hated it, and so did daddy and I. None of us slept that night. The next day we had to get you back to the hospital to get you poked once again to see if bili levels were any better, but as it turned out they were worse, so they gave us another bed that was more powerful and it also came with a blanket. 
This bed looked more like a little tanning bed and I wondered if you would like it more because of the time they put you under a heating lamp when you were at the hospital, but the bad thing about this bed was that you have to wear eye protective wear and so someone had to monitor you the whole time to make sure that they didn’t come off. You loved it you sprawled out and you looked just like you did when you were in the womb legs stretched out and crossed and arms over the heat, even when I tried to put the thermometer under your armpit and hold your arm down, you shot it straight back up, I guess that is just your comfy position and you don’t want anyone messing with you. You didn’t want to move from that position when you were in the womb either, no matter how much we tried to poke you. We had to put you under the bili lights until Wednesday night and Thursday was the last time we had to take you to the hospital to get poked, you actually didn’t seem care at all that time when they poked you. I guess it had just become routine for you, and your poor little feet. 
As happy as I was to get you off those lights and to not have to take you in to the hospital anymore, I was a little scared, it was easy to take care of you under those lights and I wondered if they would sell me one of those beds to keep, but I couldn’t wait to cuddle with you and hold you in my arms for as long as I wanted! I have been pretty paranoid about feeding you every 2 hours I even set an alarm to wake me up so you could eat. You probably would have slept the whole night if I would have let you though.
Daddy wanted to go to the store and get some food. He told me that I could stay home if I wanted to, and I was really tempted because I really didn’t feel up to it but I thought maybe walking around would get my mind off of the pain and help me feel better… It didn’t and at one point I could feel some major discharge and I couldn’t wait to go home to see what was going on. To my surprise my mucosa plug broke although I had no idea what that was. Daddy had to explain it to me, and he seemed to think it was pretty serious and that maybe, just maybe I really was in labor, so he called the hospital to see what we should do. They suggested to take a bath and to drink at least 28 oz. of water, and if that didn’t help then I should come in. The bath helped immediately and I was grateful for a chane to finally shave my legs, by this time it was probably 11pm. Since I was feeling a little better daddy decided that he would try to get some sleep since he had to work early in the morning, but that I shouldn’t hesitate to wake him up if I decided that I wanted to go to the hospital. As soon as he fell asleep the contractions started up again I tried timing my contractions again, but they still seemed irregular. They were about 3 min apart, but then every once in a while they would be about 5 or 6min apart. I really didn’t want to go to the hospital if I wasn’t in labor, but they kept getting worse and at 1am they finally hurt so that that I was throwing up. That was my breaking point I woke daddy up and away we went. I still didn’t know if I was really in labor, but I really didn’t want to have to deal with this for the rest of the night. As my luck would have it as soon as we got in the car the contractions stopped, and I wondered if it was all in my head. When we got to the hospital they got me in a room and hooked up to some monitors. The nurse must have thought that I wasn’t in labor as well because she told me that they would keep checking on me and if I felt up for it I could go for a walk around the hospital. She then decided that maybe she should check my cervix to see where I was at. To all of our surprise she told me that I was at a five and that she would get an epidural in me right away. Nothing sounded better!! As soon as they drugged me up I was heaven, but daddy kept asking me if I was feeling okay. I told him that I felt amazing, but your heartrate dropped dramatically, and I was looking really pale daddy got really worried, but I didn’t really know what was going on. All I knew was that pain had finally gone away after 20hrs. I felt so good that I wanted to go to sleep. Daddy made sure that we were doing okay though and they put some oxygen on me and your heart rate went up. Daddy called the grandmas, but he couldn’t get a hold of my mom. She had just moved into a new house and didn’t have a phone line only her cell phone which was in her purse on vibrate, so grandma Erickson said that she would go over there when I was dilated to 9 and they would come over so that they could be here for the delivery. Time seemed to go by really fast and by 6 o’clock I was dilated to a 10 the same time the grandma’s arrived. It was about time to start pushing, but the epidural worked so good on me that it made the whole left side of my body go numb. I couldn’t feel my arm at all which made it hard push. The nurse kept telling me to hold my legs up with my arm, but I couldn’t even lift my arm, so daddy held my arm and leg to get the nurse off of my back. I wasn’t really expecting that the pushing part was going to be so hard, but it took me 3 hours. I was so tired and frustrated. The nurse kept asking me questions. She asked me what we were going to name you and I told her Ryann. She asked how we were going to spell it. I was kind of irritated that she kept asking me so many questions I was too tired and I was trying to concentrate on getting you out of there. I responded Ryaan. Everyone started laughing at me, but what do you expect. I have been pushing for over 2 hours and I haven’t slept in over 24 hours. I was exhausted!! I didn’t get much accomplished on my birthing plan, but none of them really mattered when the time came down to it although I was really glad that I got my legs shaved I would highly recommended that. The next time I make a birthing plan I am going to tell them not to ask me any questions. I give all answering privileges to daddy. Dr. Hansen was your Dr, but I guess he had some family issues to attend to so he didn’t deliver you instead Dr. Langer came I was a little disappointed at first, but I really liked Dr. Langer when she came in I felt like it helped me push a little better.
You finally arrived at 9:15. You were 7lbs and 11.6 oz and 19 and ½ inches long. I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I just bawled. I couldn’t believe I was actually holding you in my arms and that you were mine. Parenthood is the most incredible feeling you could ever imagine. I can’t even describe it.
I had a grade 2 tear and I couldn’t wait for the Dr. to finish stitching me up so I could hold you in my arms again, but as soon as daddy put you in my arms you started to cry. You little stinker you are not allowed to cry when I hold you especially when it took me 3 hours to push you out. We tried to feed you but you just wanted to go to sleep, however we did get you to eat a little bit. You had a lot of visitors. Grandpa, aunt Brookie, and Aunt Penney were all the first ones to arrive besides your grandma’s of course. Your eyes were wide open I think you were really curious to meet everyone. After that daddy took you to take a bath. He said it took him a really long time to clean you off especially around that cute little chin. After your bath he put you under a heating lamp and you just loved it you sprawled right out. It had been about two hours since I saw you and I was getting pretty anxious, but great grandpa came to visit and he kept me company for a little while he also brought us a rose. I thought it was really sweet of him to come since it is getting harder and harder for him be out and about. He even said that he got a little lost in the hospital. We both waited and waited for you to come back from getting checked out by the doctors and from having your bath, but great grandpy couldn’t wait any longer because great grandma called and was getting worried about him, but I assured him that we would be around for Sunday dinner soon. I was able to take a little nap while I was waiting as well and before I knew it you were in my arms taking a nap with me. I wanted to have you in my arms all the time!! Later that day I got a call from you aunt Camille she sounded really concerned and asked me why granny had called her crying, and I told her that I just had a baby, she seemed really confused, but she congratulated me and then and if uncle Brian was okay. I told her that I didn’t know anything about that but that. She said that granny called her at work this morning and left a message with one of the girls, crying saying that she was at the hospital with Brian. I actually heard the phone call and explained that she called saying that she was at the hospital with Ryann not Brian and she was crying because we were all love you so so much!! Aunt Camillie then put it all together and was so excited to come see you when she got off work. We had lots of visitors come see you that day. Jade, Ryan, Megan, Camille, Faith, Brian, Kaci, Blake, Aubree, Stihl, Tommy, and Brycelynn.You never ever fussed you just slept all the time, which was kind of nice it helped daddy and I sleep too. We lovve to cuddle with you!!
Even when we dressed you up, you just kept sleepingThe only time you ever got mad was when we tried waking you up to eat. You got your dad’s appetite and your mom’s sleeping habits. Since you weren’t eating at all the nurses had to come in and check your blood sugar levels. You hated it and it broke my heart every time they had to poke you. I didn’t really understand why they had to do it either because your blood sugar levels were fine. It just kept stressing me out that I was starving you to death One of the nurses came in at night every hour to poke you we were both annoyed we just wanted to sleep and be left alone. You had a lot of the same visitors come the next day and some new ones including Clay, Akaila, Tony, Colton, TJ, Landon, Paytin, Tommy, Brandy, Mallory, and a lot of daddy’s work friends came to see you too. By Sunday you were ready to go home they just wanted to make sure that you didn't get strep since I was a carrier and they hadn't given me anti-biotics the nurse called and told me that I was a carrier just a few minutes after you arrived. but you were doing fine although you still weren’t really eating, but you Dr. Mashkuri said that some babies are just really sleepy from everything that they go through getting here and it kind of puts them in what they call a sleep coma, but that I shouldn’t worry too much because you should starting eating more when we get you home. When we got home Lucy was pretty excited to meet her new sister and she was pretty curious if were going to ever come home Penney said that she would just sit on the couch by the door hoping that we would come home soon. Daddy actually went home on Saturday and he said that he had never seen Lucy so excited before she tackled him to the ground kissing him, and she whined a little when he left again. Poor Lucy she was in for a treat when you came home and she was so curious about you, but we tried not to let her get too close because we didn’t want her to lick your face off. Lucy comes running over if you start to fuss and she always has to sit on our lap when we are holding you. Penney also greeted us home with some yummy food and she had cleaned the basement for us making it all ready for you!
You were a little fussy the first night home and daddy stayed up with you most of the night. I tried to get you to eat, but you still wouldn’t have it. I could feel my milk start to come in, but didn’t have anywhere to go since you wouldn’t eat. I hurt really bad too I could feel it all the way up to my armpits. I was starting to get really worried about you. And I spent the first day home crying. So far I have been really off on my mothers intuition. I mean I thought you were going to be a boy and you are a girl, and then I thought you would come late and you were a month early. I really wasn’t sure what I should do I really didn’t want to give you a bottle, but It had been 12 hours since you last ate, and I was afraid that I was starving you, but then I realized that I may not have mothers intuition, but I have something better. I have the constant companion of the holy ghost, and if anyone knows you and knows what is best for you it is our Heavenly Father, so I got down on my knees and prayed with all my heart the best way that I could help you. I have never really felt like I have gotten a straight or instant answer to my prayers before, but I knew that there comes a special power with being a mommy and Heavenly Father would help me take care of his precious daughter. Before I was done saying my prayer I knew that I just needed to call my doctor for an appointment and everything would be okay, and that gave me the peace that I needed to make it through the day. Dr. Mashkuri told me the information that I needed to know, but she didn’t stress me out although she told us that your blood sugar levels were starting to get low, and that we should get you over to a lactation specialist right away because you had already lost 1lb since you had been born. I was worried that we were going to have to bottle feed you, but at this point I didn’t really care as long as I could get you healthy again, but instead of the bottle they gave us an S and S kit which is a tiny straw that you put by your nipple and you pump formula into your mouth. The lactation lady told me that I was so engorged that it was hard for you to get the milk out. She suggested that we get a pump and that it would help with the swelling. I was so happy to see you eat that it brought tears to my eyes. The next thing we did was get a pump the lady that we bought it from was also a lactations specialist and she showed us a few other tricks that really helped y
ou and I out. This whole thing was new for the both of us. It took both of us some time to get use to it, but we quickly started to get a hang of it, but since you hadn’t been eating you got jaundice, and we had to order some bili light beds. The first bed that we got we had to strap you on to a blanket that strapped you onto the bed. You hated it, and so did daddy and I. None of us slept that night. The next day we had to get you back to the hospital to get you poked once again to see if bili levels were any better, but as it turned out they were worse, so they gave us another bed that was more powerful and it also came with a blanket. This bed looked more like a little tanning bed and I wondered if you would like it more because of the time they put you under a heating lamp when you were at the hospital, but the bad thing about this bed was that you have to wear eye protective wear and so someone had to monitor you the whole time to make sure that they didn’t come off. You loved it you sprawled out and you looked just like you did when you were in the womb legs stretched out and crossed and arms over the heat, even when I tried to put the thermometer under your armpit and hold your arm down, you shot it straight back up, I guess that is just your comfy position and you don’t want anyone messing with you. You didn’t want to move from that position when you were in the womb either, no matter how much we tried to poke you. We had to put you under the bili lights until Wednesday night and Thursday was the last time we had to take you to the hospital to get poked, you actually didn’t seem care at all that time when they poked you. I guess it had just become routine for you, and your poor little feet. As happy as I was to get you off those lights and to not have to take you in to the hospital anymore, I was a little scared, it was easy to take care of you under those lights and I wondered if they would sell me one of those beds to keep, but I couldn’t wait to cuddle with you and hold you in my arms for as long as I wanted! I have been pretty paranoid about feeding you every 2 hours I even set an alarm to wake me up so you could eat. You probably would have slept the whole night if I would have let you though.
