Introducing: Ryleigh Ann Shulse

FINALLY! Our little one has arrived, and our life is suddenly filled with more emotion than I could have ever thought possible. I know most of you already know about Ryleigh's grand debut, but I thought I would fill in the details for those who don't know. (Sorry in advance for any/all gruesome details that may be TMI...)

Sunday, May 2o I woke up having pretty severe abdominal cramping; not contractions, mind you, just constant cramping. That morning we were supposed to go to Champion Forest for church, because Julie was "walking" with the graduating class at church. Since her real graduation was so close to my due date, I didn't know whether I would be able to attend or not, so I knew I had to be at the church ceremony. Needless to say, I sat there hurting and crying for a good portion of the service. After the service, I went to the bathroom and noticed that I had lost my mucous plug. I called the doctor and the nurse suggested taking some medicine to see if it would help the cramping. Sure enough, the cramping stopped and life resumed.

Monday afternoon, the cramping returned. I had bible study that night, and I did not think I was going to make it through the whole thing. I was hurting pretty good, and again, it was a constant hurt- not like a contraction that is supposed to come and go.

Wednesday was my doctor's appointment, and we had scheduled an ultrasound at that time as well, to check the condition of the placenta and see how big the baby was getting. Sure, it was just an estimate, but when the technician told us the baby looked to weigh around 7 lb 15 oz, I started panicking. We were sent out to the waiting room to wait on the doctor's appointment, and I sat there with Jesse rehearsing my speech for the doctor. I had planned on telling her how much I wanted the baby out, ask about inducing ASAP, tell her to strip my membranes...the works. I had it all planned out. When we went back to the room and Dr. Norton came in, there were little words said. She immediately measured my stomach and did her exam to see if I had any cervical change (since I had not had ANY change in the preceding 4 weekly visits). While examining me, she said, "ah- good girl. You are now 2-cm dilated and 70% effaced." I was so happy! Then she started doing something that HURT. My face got all red and I began squirming, confused as to what she was doing. Dr. Norton looked at Jesse and said, "I'm helping her..." Then she finished her exam, threw her gloves in the trash and said, "okay- I stripped your membranes. I will see you tonight or tomorrow morning!" Ummm...WHAT? They hooked me up to a monitor, and no contractions happened, so I was not feeling confident about her time line. When I went to check out, the nurse who normally schedules the appointments said that Dr. Norton wanted to see me back in 6-weeks. She didn't even schedule an appointment in case her stunt didn't work- she was that confident!

We left the doctor's office kind of stunned and in a daze. Hayden and Lauren wanted to go work out at the YMCA, so we went with them; Lauren and I walked around the outdoor trails while the boys worked out. I had a few cramps during our walk, but nothing to write home about. After we left the Y, we decided we might want to go ahead and get the car ready in case the baby should come as Dr. Norton predicted. So, we cleaned it out, detailed it, vacuumed...the works. And FINALLY put the car seat in the car. My cramping started to increase, and seemed to come and go more like contractions. After that, it was starting to get a little late, but we still had so much to do! Chase and Rebecca were giving us a chair that they decided to not take with them when they moved; since they were going to be leaving soon, we knew we would not have another opportunity to go get it. So, we headed up towards their house, but they were not home! There is a Super Walmart by their house, so we went and walked around for awhile, trying to make sure we had everything we needed for the baby. By this point my contractions were getting much stronger, and actually started to hurt. We headed to Chase and Rebecca's, picked up the chair, and headed home. Jesse kept asking if we needed to head to the hospital, and I kept refusing. I was determined to NOT get sent home, and wanted to make sure this was the real deal before heading up there. After taking showers, making sure the house was decent, and Jesse asking again about heading to the hospital (which I still refused), we went to bed around 11:30. Well...Jesse went to bed. I was hurting too much to fall asleep. Finally around 12:15, I got a watch and started timing the contractions. They were coming every 4 minutes and lasting about 1 minute each. I woke up Jesse and told him we should go, and apologized in advance if it was a false alarm. He quickly threw some of his things in a bag, loaded all our stuff in the car, and we were off.

By the time we got to the hospital (1:00 am), I was having a hard time walking. When they checked me in at the labor & delivery area, I was struggling to even stand up, much less sign any paper work! Within 10 minutes, we were in a triage room, and things started happening. The triage nurse hooked me up to the 2 monitors- one for the baby's heart rate and one for the contractions. After being on the monitors for awhile, she came back and checked for cervical change. Sure enough, I was now 3-cm dilated and my contractions were getting stronger and closer together. She assured us we were not going home (9 out of 10 people they check in triage get sent home the 1st time!) and then they moved to officially get us admitted and moved into a labor & delivery room. At this point (2:00 am), I was probably about a 7 or 8 on the pain scale. The worst part was when I started throwing up while having contractions...not too fun. Luckily, Jesse has gotten pretty quick at grabbing a bag to throw up in! Within an hour of being in the labor & delivery room, I had dilated to 5-cm and the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural (I didn't even have to ask!) No, I never saw the needle- I had no desire to look at it. Jesse was only allowed to stay in the room if he sat across the room, looking at me, not the needle. I did have a hard time sitting still while he stuck the needle in my back. I must say, having super strong contractions does not make it easy to sit still! However, I managed, and within 10 minutes, I felt my legs begin to go numb. The nurse thought perhaps we would be able to get some sleep now that I had the epidural and was not in as much pain. Jesse laid down and I tried to shut my eyes, but I think we were both too anxious to sleep. A little bit later, I noticed that there was one spot that was not numb, and it hurt pretty good. The nurse came in and helped me relieve the "hot spot," while also giving me an extra dose of the epidural medicine. I was really numb! She checked me again, and I was dilated to 7-cm...moving right along. Around 7:00 am, Dr. Norton came in to check on me. We laughed when she said, "what did I tell you? I said I would see you later tonight or tomorrow!" (Never again will I doubt the woman!) At that point, I was still at 7-cm, but the baby had dropped to 0-station, which was progress from the -2-station I was at earlier! Dr. Norton went ahead and broke my water at that point, and told the nurses if I did not pick up dilating again, to add pitocin to my IV. Luckily, there was no need. By 8:30 am, I was 10-cm dilated and 100% effaced...I was officially "complete." At 9:00 am the two nurses casually said, "okay, we're going to start pushing now." One sat on one side of the bed, Jesse sat on the other side of the bed, and the other nurse was at the end of the bed. I honestly thought we were practicing or something, because it just seemed so informal! After pushing through about 6 contractions, they called the doctor. Within 10 minutes, Dr. Norton was there and so were 4 other nurses! The entire atmosphere of the room changed. It was kind of scary, because I honestly did not think it was the real thing! I was still completely numb and not feeling anything while I pushed. The worst pain was in my neck from trying to hold my head in the right place. Suddenly Dr. Norton said, "our little girl is in trouble, huh?" And both labor nurses shook their head 'yes.' Jesse and I both were confused- they had not told us she was in trouble! What did that mean? Dr. Norton came over and explained that the baby's heart rate had dropped pretty significantly and might possibly have the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. She explained that if that was the case, she might have to use the vacuum to get her out. I started tearing up and getting really nervous. Jesse just came and held my hand, assuring me it would be fine. The nurses got me in position to push again, and Dr. Norton watched me push through one contraction. Then she got down there, and talked me through the next contraction...suddenly they laid the baby on my chest. I'm not kidding- I did not feel a thing. Not one ounce of pain! Honestly, I was surprised to see her on my chest because I never felt her come out! It turned out that the umbilical cord was caught around her ankle, and so when the doctor had to pull a little harder to get her out, it accidentally broke her right clavicle. Luckily though, all the pediatricians so far have said not to worry, and it will heal just fine on it's own within a few months.

God truly blessed me with a relatively easily labor and delivery. Ryleigh Ann was born on Thursday morning, May 24, 2007 weighing in at 7 lb 4 oz, and measuring 20 1/4 in long. She is absolutely beautiful, with light brown hair, (currently) blue eyes, long fingers and toes, and the cutest little nose ever. We are both head-over-heels in love with our little girl.

Now, we have her home with us, and though things are not perfect, they are getting slightly better every day. I feel like I'm healed and moving around much better. Ryleigh might have a bit of colic (though it is still early to tell), but definitely struggles with gas and fussiness after meal time. We have her 2-week well baby check-up this week, and we'll confirm that she is healthy and growing on schedule. So far, so good!

Here are some pictures for those who have not seen these yet.

When they laid her on my chest; my first time to see her.

Daddy's first time to hold her. Such a proud papa!
I just kept staring at her all day...I still do. What a miracle and amazing gift that could only come from God.
This is my favorite picture of her so far. How cute is she?
Going home from the hospital in her Texas A&M gear...onesie, socks, hat, blanket- the works!
Back at home, safe and comfortable in Daddy's arms.
First bath! Ryleigh is not incredibly fond of bath time yet. Those sponge baths probably make for extra cold babies.
First trip to the doctor, and first outing since coming home. She is so tiny in her car seat!
Gotta have at least one "sleeping baby" picture
Does she have some crazy facial expressions, or what? She makes all kinds of faces all day long.
Well, I think this post has been long enough. If you made it this far through my rambling, I am impressed! I'm sure there will be many more pictures and stories over the weeks and months to come. :)

Thank you all for your love and support throughout this pregnancy. It was tough for me, and I couldn't have gotten through it without each and every one of you and your encouragement. I love you, and little Ryleigh will love you too!