Welcome Ryan Patrick!

It was with great joy that we welcomed Ryan Patrick on July 16th at 12:26 am. Labor actually started at 2 am on the 15th when I was awakened by contractions. The contractions were strong enough to keep me awake and causing back pains that I knew this was actual labor. I watched the clock for the rest of the night trying to hold on long enough so that we could call the nanny at a respectible hour to come watch Keira and Colin. The contractions never got any worse (although they didn't get better either!) so when our nanny arrived at 7 am, I asked Blair to stay home from work. As I got up and was busy with the kids, the contractions seemed to slow down to 10 to 15 minutes apart. Blair and I took Maddux for a long walk to try to help things along. It wasn't until about 6:30 pm that things really picked up again. At 7:30, I called my doctor and he told me that I could come in. I was feeling nervous that I was going to the hospital too early after talking to the doctor (with Keira and Colin we went in and got sent home once). Five minutes later, my water broke and we knew there was no turning back. The contractions came fast and strong. We got to the hospital around 9 pm. The hospital wasn't that busy but everything seemed to take forever (the staff called the wrong doctor and then my doctor got stuck in traffic - at 10:30 pm - that's DC for you!). I was so anxious to get an epidural to get comfortable, not to mention that Blair and I were both watching the clock hoping to drag this out long enough to make it to our due date (as Keira and Colin both beat the odds and came on their due dates). Finally, I got an epidural and my doctor got there. At 11:15 I was able to start pushing. The nurse who was with us kept saying that I would go fast, especially given this was my third delivery. Well, no lbaor is uneventful for us and Ryan proved to be the scariest of the three. Our doctor came in after about an hour of pushing and I immediately read the panic on his face. This was the same doctor that delivered Colin and despite the cord around Colin's neck, I'd never seem the panic before. With Ryan, he wasn't handling the pushing well and his head wasn't dropping. He, like Keira and Colin, was "sunny-side up". The doctor started preparing us for a c-section but said he wanted to try once with foreceps. I was so scared that I just focused on Blair. When the doctor told me to push, I pushed. I felt a big flip in my stomach and Ryan's head was out. Apparently, the doctor changed his plan and actually turned Ryan while I pushed. Ryan did a 360 degree flip on his way out. What an entrance!!! (and what a relief!).
Well, Blair and I were both shocked to discover we had a healthy boy! As both Ryan and I needed to be tended to, I didn't get to see him for the first twenty minutes or so. Blair and I never settled on a boy's name so I kept having Blair show me pictures on the camera and asking Blair what name he thought fit him. Blair picked Ryan (one of our leading contenders) and it is absolutely perfect! (Keira kepts calling him Brian but she is working on it.) The hospital again moved very slow and it was almost 3:30 am by the time we got to the post-delivery room. Blair was so exhausted that he slept a few hours on the pull-out chair before heading home to share the pictures with Keira and Colin. Keira, who had shown a preference for a little sister, couldn't be more excited about her baby brother. Later that day, Blair, the kids and my parents (with hoagies from Philly as is our labor tradition) came to the hospital to have a picnic dinner with Ryan and I. Keira was nervous at first around Ryan while Colin just kept saying "baby" and wanting to hold Ryan. I don't know what was a bigger hit with them - Ryan or the buttons on the hospital bed.
Well, the next day was a long wait (again) to get discharged from the hospital. We finally got release and little Ryan made his first trip through the McDonald's drive-thru on the way home. Maddux was distracted by the food and initially showed little interest in Ryan. Since then, Maddux has done really well with Ryan and only gets very excited when someone new comes and holds Ryan. Maddux is already proving to be a very protective dog. Keira has been a terrific helper and loves to hold her brother and bring him toys. She is scared of his umbilical cord so until that falls off, she doesn't want to see him naked or help with diaper changes. Colin has adjusted better than we could have imagined - he just keeps wanting to kiss Ryan and has been very gentle with him. Ryan continues to be a very laid-back baby and sleeps most of the day. He is a hungry little guy and likes to eat every 1.5 - 2 hrs. At night, he eats and goes back to sleep very easily so hopefully this continues. He just hates being naked and will scream during diaper changes or while getting dressed. All in all, we are adjusting very well.