William Ryan has arrived!

Introducing our newest family member...


William Ryan

Born on 6/22/2011 at 10:32 AM

7 lbs 5 oz, 19.5 inches long

Just when we thought I was going to have a planned c-section on 6/27, baby William changed his arrival plan. I had my last prenatal appointment with Dr. King on 6/21 and, as usual, the report was "no progress" - no dilation, no effacing, no progress at all. This didn't surprise us because Caroline wouldn't even come after I was induced. Also, Dr. King was leaving town the morning of 6/22 and not returning until the morning of 6/27 for my c-section so I told our baby boy to stay put because I really wanted her to delivery him. The best laid plans....

Wednesday morning my water broke. I've heard people say they weren't positive if their water actually broke but I'm here to tell you that I was absolutely positive. And if I had not known, the contractions that started right after it broke let me know I was in labor. I called Kevin and told him to come home. He was on his way to get gas at the gas station by his office when I called and he immediately turned around to come home...and ran out of gas. Meanwhile, I fixed my hair and told him that I would come pick him up as soon as my hair was done and I was dressed. Ok so maybe I'm not great in crisis situaions. :)

My contractions were getting worse and I realized I couldn't drive. Now, enter all of our wonderful neighbors into the story. My friend Mary came to our house to get Caroline. Amanda came and picked me up to take me to the hospital.  I didn't pack a bag...I just grabbed our camera and our Flip video camera and walked out the door.  Chad, Amanda's husband, went to pick up Kevin and bring him to the hospital. Apparently it takes a village for us to have a child....

My water broke around 8 AM, we arrived at the hospital around 9 AM, and William was born at 10:32 AM. The time between 9 and 10:32 seemed like an eternity because we were in-processing at the hospital and they were prepping me for the c-section...and I didn't get my spinal block until right before they started the c-section. They took me into the operating room by myself and told Kevin they would get him right before they operated. Of course, as I laid on the operating table I continuously reminded them that I wanted my husband in there in case they forgot to get him. I'm sure they enjoyed the constant reminder.

Before they took me into the operating room, Kevin and I decided we should agree on a name for the poor little baby. We both liked the name William and liked the idea of him having the same middle name as Kevin...so William Ryan won in the end.

William was born with a lot of dark hair and dark blue eyes. He seemed so much smaller than Caroline and lost weight in the hospital. When we left the hospital, he weighed 6 lbs 14 oz, a full pound less than when we left the hospital with Caroline.

Here are our very first pictures of our sweet baby boy...

And now for my favorite pictures from the day William was born...Kevin took these pictures of Caroline seeing William for the first time. I will forever cherish these pictures...