Can I Feed Him?

I had to remember to write this down!

When Colton was 1 day old and Gavin came back up to the hospital to visit with my sister, he was puzzled by how I was going to feed the baby. It was time for him to eat, so I started to nurse him. Gavin saw what I was doing and asked, "how does he get milk out of there?" I explained to him that babies drink milk from their mommies so they can grow big and strong. He was sitting on my hospital bed and pulled up his shirt and said, "Can I feed him from mine?!" He was as serious as can be and it was just the funniest thing!

2 Weeks Already :(

My sweet baby is 2 weeks old already! Although I've been through this 3 other times, I really just can't believe how the time has flown by. It makes me sad that he is growing and changing so very quickly and there's nothing I can do to slow it down.

Colton has the sweetest, most laid back personality. He doesn't cry much, only when he's got a gas bubble or needs to burp. He doesn't cry when he wakes up at night, just makes little baby noises. He smiles a lot and although I know he's not smiling at me or at anything in particular, he still seems like a really happy baby. He actually has "laughed" in his sleep several times. None of my other boys have ever done this at such an early age, but he seriously will be sleeping, crack a huge smile and then his tummy starts to move back and forth and he starts making a little baby noise. It's not a cry and it's not the same noise he makes when he wakes up. The only thing I can equate it to is a chuckle! He sleeps a lot and wakes up about every 3 hours in the night. He has yet to be awake during our family dinner time which is great because it allows me to eat with the rest of the family. This in itself seems amazing because I can vividly remember my other babies waking up as soon as I sat down to eat! It was like they could sense that I was about to do something I really needed to do and inevitably would wake up and NEED me before I could ever finish a meal. So, thus far, his red hair has not proven to make him hot tempered or any of the stereo types of red heads. I'm praying this will continue to be the case!

Colton's 2 Week Stats-
9 pounds 6 ounces (93rd percentile) - he's gained 1 pound and 3 ounces since birth!
22 inches (99th percentile) - he's grown 3/4ths of an inch since birth!

So, when I say he's growing too fast, I really mean it! Here he is at 2 weeks old. I think green is really his color!

Cutie

Off to Dell...

We were released from the hospital on Friday, October 29th and went to see our pediatrician for Colton's first check-up on Saturday, October 30th. Although his billirubin levels were low and normal when we left the hospital, Dr. Reidy decided to check them again just to be safe. Due to his facial bruising at birth and because our blood types are opposite of eachother, she said he was at a high risk for having jaundice. Since he didn't look yellow to any of us, she expected the results to be in the normal range. Unfortunately that afternoon she called to tell us his levels had gone from 7 to 20.4. A level over 20 meant that he needed to spend the night in the hospital under the blue lights, so off to Dell Children's we went. Fortunately my parents were near by and were able to pick up the older boys and the dogs for the night.

We got to Dell, checked in and had to undress sweet little Colton and leave him in an isolette under the billirubin lamps.



It really wasn't too bad except for when he would cry and we couldn't pick him up and take him out. He did look kind of cute in the little "sunglasses" they put over his eyes! He was allowed to come out every 3 hours for 30 minutes to nurse and we had to record his feeding schedule and leave all of his wet and dirty diapers in the bathroom to be weighed. Fortunately when they took his blood again late that night, his levels were down to 12.4 - a much more normal and safer level. Because they had decreased significantly the doctor let us put Colton in a regular crib without the lamps to see if his levels would continue to decrease. We were glad he didn't have to stay in the isolette but we still had to sleep over. Joel and I endured the most horrible pull-out couch ever and I actually felt worse when I woke up in the morning than after he was born! Our nurse took Colton's blood again first thing in the morning and his levels were down to 11.1, so we were able to go home.

Jaundice was quite an adventure for us as Colton was our first baby to ever have any problems with it. Our short stay at Dell made us even more thankful to have a perfect, healthy baby boy.

Colton Ryder

Colton Ryder, our 4th precious son, arrived on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 2:15pm. He was 8 pounds and 3 ounces and 21 & 1/4 inches long.



After much uncertainty about whether to go in for a possible induction, we decided it was the best choice for our family. There was a field trip that Joel was supposed to go on planned for Keaton on Thursday, the kids were out of school on Friday and Halloween was Sunday, so considering the baby would be 4 days past due by the 27th, we decided to check in to the hospital on Wednesday morning. I really wanted to avoid having a pitocin induced labor if at all possible, so we decided to just go in and have the doctor break my water. We arrived at the hospital at 5am, started some IV antibiotics and then the doc came in at 8. I was having some contractions show up on the monitor, but they weren't very strong. She said I was about 2.5cm dialated and 65% effaced at that point. She broke my water at 8:05am and said she'd be back between 12 and 1 to check on us. Joel and I started walking the halls and the contractions were immediately 5 minutes apart. By about 10:30 they were 3 minutes apart and getting much stronger. After having walked the halls for 2 hours or more my legs were getting tired, so we decided to hang out in the room for a while. As noon approached I told Joel that I'd better be making some progress because I was pretty uncomfortable. I was expecting to be 5-6cm by the time the doc came back and if I wasn't, I may seriously start considering an epidural. When I labored with Gavin, I didn't get to the hospital until I was 5-6cm and it made it much easier to not consider pain relief options. When you're sitting in a hospital room for hours it makes getting an epidural sound much more enticing. The doctor arrived at about 12:30 and I was 5cm and 100% effaced. She was pleased with the progress we had made and went back to see patients in her office across the street knowing we'd be calling fairly soon for delivery. Around 1:30 I was in extreme pain and thought it was about time to start pushing. The nurse checked and said there was a tiny bit of cervix left, but she was going to call the doctor anyway. People started flooding our room, taking the bed apart, turning on lights and warmers and getting ready for delivery. When Dr. Meritt arrived she checked me and said she was sorry but we weren't ready... she thought I was only 8cm. At that point I was in so much pain I was desperate for it to be over. I told her she had to help me have the baby. She told me she was sorry but it wasn't quite time and offered me an epidural but said it would take 30 minutes to get. I just wanted to have the baby. She was about to leave and go back to her office but she decided to check me again and I was 10cm! I was so relieved. There's nothing like the sinking feeling you get when they tell you it's time and then decide it's not really. Watching them scurry around taking things apart and then putting them all back together is horrible. Now people were scurrying around again taking things apart and getting the doctor gowned up for the second time. I was clenching the left side of the bed rail and have absolutely no idea where Joel was - he says he was on the right side of the bed and was rubbing my back. My eyes were closed and I really can remember nothing but the pain, hearing them discuss how high my heart rate was and an oxygen mask being placed on my face. After pushing about 5-7 times, baby Colton made his grand entrance. I barely opened my eyes to look at my new son when they laid him on my chest for the first time. I was just so relieved for it to be over. Joel was across the room with the baby as the nurses cleaned him up and they were all talking about his red hair. One of them came over to me and said, "HER hair is so pretty! SHE has the prettiest red hair!" My automatic response was, "Thank you!" and then I realized what she said...did I just have a girl?! I called out, "Wait, wait! It's a boy, right?" They confirmed that he was indeed a boy, but for a split second I was in complete shock! It was shocking enough that he had red hair, but a red headed girl was not something I was prepared for at all. Colton had a lot of bruising on his face, apparently from coming out so quickly, but besides that, he was perfect scoring an 8-9 on his APGAR. He continued to cry for about the first 45 minutes of his little life, presumably from his hurt and bruised face. Once he was cleaned up Joel brought him over to me to hold and really see for the first time. He was perfect and precious and looked so much like Gavin did at birth. This was the baby that I longed for, prayed for and thought I may never have and I was completely in love with him. The love a mother has for her baby is something that never changes, no matter how many babies you have. I may even appreciate my sweet little miracle more, having had the experience of how quickly my other babies have grown.

Later that evening we were able to introduce Colton to his 3 older brothers. As we expected, they were all thrilled and as sweet as can be. Joel captured their first glimpses and reactions on video, so I will be able to treasure those moments forever. Here we are, our new family of 6.



Gavin was worried about leaving me alone in the hospital. He started tearing up when it was time for him to go because he wasn't sure where I would sleep or how I would get food. It was very sweet!

All in all, it was a wonderful day with a perfect ending. As always, the horrible pain of labor was completely worth it and I'd go through it all over again to experience the joy and miracle of life. Sadly, Colton will be my last little baby (at least according to my dear husband... I don't know that I'm 100% ready to say that he is absolutely the last one!) and I am treasuring and loving every single moment, even the ones that are painful or that happen in the middle of the night!

40 Weeks 3 Days and Counting

Here I am at 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Only 1 day to go until we meet our new son!