He's Here!

Ryan Todd Abplanalp - February 23rd, 2009

10:23 p.m. - 7 lb 3oz - 19 inches

Ryan Todd Abplanalp arrived 11 days early and the whole family is doing well. We were planning on heading to a doctor's appointment Monday morning, and my water broke about the time our alarm went off so we headed to the hospital to have a baby instead of a check-up. Luckily we had packed everything the day before so we were prepared, and I was feeling no contractions so we were able to take our time and shower and get a bite to eat before leaving. All in all, I was in labor for 15 and half hours but the first four I didn't feel anything and the middle eight I had the perfect epidural that eased the contraction pain but allowed me to have complete control of my legs and just the right amount of sensation. Unfortunately, the last three hours were pretty trying but well worth it for our healthy baby boy. My sciatica pain was unbearable and pretty much unaffected by the epidural so it worked against my pushing. I ended up pushing for almost three and half hours and he was delivered using forceps so I will take longer to heal but am okay and moving around 24 hours later. Ryan didn't have any forcep marks and his originally oddly shaped head from the birth normalized within several hours. He's feeding well and has had lots of visitors.