Riley is here

I apologize for this long awaited blog. As most of you have heard by now, Tony and I got a little surprise on Saturday, Oct 2. I woke up to go to the bathroom at around 4:30 and realized that there was too much fluid coming out just to be going pee. I immediately woke Tony up to tell him I thought my water had broken. He told me to get back to the toilet to make sure it wasn't urine. Afterall, I wasn't due for another 3 weeks and had just met with the ob a few days before that who was pretty sure I wouldn't be going into labor anytime soon. I was only 2 cm dialated and -3 and only having a few Braxton Hicks Contractions. So I went back and sat down but fluid kept coming out. I told Tony that my water had definitely broken and we needed to go to the hospital. I asked him to grab a bag but he said that he figured they would send me home and put me on bedrest.....he later admitted he was in denial and in shock. We got to the hospital and I was soaked. I was polite enough to bring my own towel to sit on. I did it mainly to not get my seat in the Jeep all wet but I was a polite patient and put it down on the wheelchair. We went through the ER entrance as this entrance was the only one unlocked and had a friend check us in. I was immediately wheeled up to labor and delivery and got checked in. We got settled in and I was started on petocin by 7 that morning as I wasn't having any contractions. Because Riley was going to be considered "premie" by a few days and I went into natural labor, I tried for a vaginal delivery. No, I did not chicken out of the c-section. I wanted to have a c-section only if I did not go into natural labor and I was 39 weeks.
Anways, I got my epidural an hour or so after the petocin started. I was not in a whole lot of pain, but I knew ahead of time that I was never going to try to give birth without pain meds and I knew that the contractions were just going to get worse. I looove epidurals. I labored for 19 hours without feeling any pain at all. I was dead wait and could not move at all from the waist down so it was entertaining watching the nurses try to move me around. Finally at around 11, the nurse informed me it was time to push. A half hour later, our beautiful baby boy was born at 11:32 pm weighing in at 5 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long.Here are some pics:

A good view of his bilateral cleft lip and palatte

In the scale

My first few moments with my son
Our first family photo


Soon after Riley was born, he had to be taken to the nursary as he was having difficulties breathing. He was breathing very fast as he had a lot of fluid left in his lungs. He was first put on a nasal cannula but he didn't like it and it the nurses were worried about it hurting his cleft lip so they moved him to a hood. He was weaned off that about 2 days later.
After his breathing issues became under control, he became jaundice and was put on the bilirubin blanket and also put under lights.

Just yesterday he was discharged off of everything but is feeding tube. Feeding is a major issue with bilateral cleft lip and palatte babies. He is doing better and finally was able to use the haberman feeder the day before yesterday for the first time. We have met with a speech therapist yesterday who worked with Tony with feeding and will work with me as well just to make sure we are both picking up the pointers he is giving us. He's been seen everyday by a neonatologist as well as our pediatrician. We are getting such great care.

As for us, we have been scrambling to get our house ready. The nursary was just about done but there was still a lot of basics we needed. My shower was supposed to be the 5th of October but we cancelled it. We may have it at a later time or have a meet and greet when Riley is able to come home. It has been very hard for me to leave him at the hospital but Tony and I both know he is where he needs to be right now. He's getting excellent care and hoping that he won't have to be discharged with a feeding tube.

I am recovering nicely but it has been very draining. Its been both very physically and emotionally exhausting with Riley still being in the hospital and going back and forth. Tony and I are adjusting well to Riley's cleft lip and palatte and it really hasn't bothered us much at all. I think being prepared made a world of difference. We know that in 4 months he will have his first surgery and his lip will be fixed. We still think he is a beautiful baby and his cleft lip and palatte is just how Riley is. We love him more than I thought we could love anything.