A little girl!

Ryan Elizabeth Lenz was born January 27, 2011 at 12:01 p.m. She weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and measured 20" long. She changed my life.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011, I was induced. Our surprise baby was 40.5 weeks, and time for her to arrive in the world. Adam and I received our call to arrive at the hospital, and we were to be there at 8 a.m. We got to our room, they put my IVs in, and started the pitocin. The nurses came in about every 30 minutes and increased the dose all day. Little baby was slow moving though. At about 4pm, the resident came in a broke my water. Then, I started having intense contractions. After about 2 1/2 hours of this, I was at about 4 and alittle, 80% effaced. I was given at epidural at this point. This was about 7pm. I felt super dosed after it was administered, and my blood pressure dropped. For about 6 hours, I couldn't move my left leg...

Then, labor slowed. But, it went badly. The pitocin was causing problems for baby. Our little girl wasn't tolerating it, and they had to stop it at about 11pm. An internal fetal monitor, contraction monitor, and catheter had all been placed. On top of that, I had my IVs, and blood pressure cuff attached too. And, epidural....

We tried to rest, but it became harder. The break from the pitocin had gone on for some time, and at about 2pm, the baby's heartbeat slowed... almost stopped. The nurses came in, and talked to me about what this means, and that, even though, the baby is moving, there's some cause for concern. When I was having contractions, the baby wouldn't tolerate it, and the heart rate would drop. This was a big deal, and about 5 nurses came in and discussed c-section. I was completely scared. I feared this, and I began to cry. The conversation happened twice, and I know I wanted my baby to be safe, but it is still hard to swallow. And, my baby needed to come out. While these events were occuring, my doctor was updated. He told the nurses to just let me rest, and hold the pitocin. At about 7am, they started the pitocin again. And, Dr. came into see me. The labor was continuing well from here. I rested and prayed for my little one. I prayed that he/she would be healthy and okay. I prayed for my husband while watching this to stay strong for me. I prayed because this was beyond my control.

At about 11am, I felt the baby lowering... I felt movement. I tried some practice pushing, and I pushed for about 15 minutes, and they got the doctor in. I pushed for a total of 40 minutes, and my little girl came into the world with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck 4 times. Adam saw that it was a girl-- and the doctor hurried to unravel the cord. It went fine! Although I was concerned about her, she was fine. The APGAR test came back 8-9. She was alert, and I held her first. I cried. She is so beautiful and I loved her so much already. Ryan Elizabeth was here, and I am her momma. Adam was overcome with happiness, and he was bouncing all over the room.

I have to say, Adam is my strength. He had my health and the baby's health as his main concern. He aided me in whatever I needed, and he was actively involved in the delivery of our baby. He loves our little girl.

I hadn't eaten in about 40 hours, and I was famished. I finally got to post-partum room and saw my sweet child.

Ryan Elizabeth is completely healthy. No scratches or bruising. Just a sweet baby face and the creation of my love and myself. This experience was amazing. I felt like I had changed the world. I accomplished something, and Adam felt the same.

The past few days have been challenging too. Today, Ryan is 6 days old. She's met Adam's parents, and she's met the pediatrician... She's doing just fine. I stopped taking my percocet... for obvious reasons... and, my milk came in. That HURTS!

The best thing in the world though, was walking through our door at home, and knowing we were home for good. My little girl is adjusting well, and we are trying. The nights have been difficult, but we'll adjust.

Welcome to the world, Ryan! Your parents love you!