Ryan Douglas Alberts

After nine LONG months the day I we have waited for finally arrived! Ryan Douglas Alberts was born Tuesday, May 19th 2009. He weighed in at 6lbs 13 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.
We got to the hospital at 10 am that day for my scheduled C-section. By 10:05 I was freaking out! I asked the nurse if she could give me a sedative or something and she just chuckled at me. By this time I hadnt eaten in 12 hours and was about to chew off my own arm. You know when you get so hungry that you just feel sick to your stomach, I was 10 paces beyond that point so it didnt help my nerves one bit.
I got all hooked up to IVs and waited for Dr Coleman to come get me (Dr Winkler was my OB and he got stuck in Chicago! Go figure) Brad was so wonderful this whole time, keeping me relaxed and being the awesome husband that he is. Then it was time for surgery, they had me walk down to the OR, I think I at least should have gotten a wheel chair, HELLO I am about to give birth here. Oh well. I swear my anesthesiologist was only 12 years old but I didn't even care anymore. My spinal tap wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and it was so crazy when they laid me down on the table because I felt this warm tingly feeling come over me. Then my nose started iching, and my arms, and my ears. I had a weird reaction to the block that made me throw up a bit and get really itchy, the itchy part lasted a few days. After lots of tugging and pulling on my little body Brad and I heard the cry of our son for the first time
(ok break- I am sobbing over here re-telling this story, best day ever...)
He came out kickin and screaming, it was such a miracle to hear his little voice and see his slimy wiggly body kicking around in the exam bed. Brad was able to take lots of pictures and hold him right away, it killed me to have to wait to touch him myself. He was beautiful and I fell in love instantly.
After getting stiched up we were sent to a recovery room for nearly 2 hours, it was so wonderful to hold this new baby and check out all his adorable parts, he looked so much like his daddy it was almost comical- carbon copy. The only thing I passed on was a hearty appetite and long fingers. I was able to breast feed him right away and was very lucky, he latched on and started eating right away, no fuss at all. Grandma and Grandpa Alberts (Brad's parents) got to see us soon after as we were then sent to our postpartum room. I have to say it was the nicest room I have ever seen, we were so happy with everything. Being just the 3 of us for the first time was such a sacred experience, we laughed and cried and marveled at this little life we had created. He was perfect.
We were in the hospital until Friday (happy 22nd birthday to me!) the whole stay was wonderful, I got quite used to the nurse call button because they never put up a fuss about re filling my water bottle or helping me nurse Ryan or just loading me up on more pain meds. The damage from surgery wasn't as bad as I was expecting, my Dr did a fantastic job- all my stitches are internal and my incision is as thick as a pencil line. I was able to get up and walk to the bath room that night though I talked the nurses into leaving my catheter in til the next morning (I didn't want to worry about trying to get up to go potty all night) By the time we left on Friday I was up and moving pretty good though I still have to take it easy and I get sore very quickly if I overdue it. Dr says 2 weeks til I am feeling good and 6 til I am all healed.
Being home with Ryan has been so awesome, we are constantly learning new things about him and ourselves. Brad and I get so excited when we find a new "trick" to getting him to sleep or figuring out a new way to change him or whatnot. Last night was pretty hard though because he was up crying most of the night, I had to take a min and walk away to have a good cry - I am feeling much better today. I made sure to take a long nap this evening so I can be up with him if I need to be. The only thing I would change is the fact that I need more "newborn" size clothes, maybe even some preemie stuff. He has hardly anything that fits, hes just so tiny. Oh and maybe how many diapers we go through in one day, kid poops like a champ.
Well I'm off to cuddle with my 2 sweeties and enjoy the wonderful life that I have.
Love you all!