Happy Birthday Ryan!!

Today my first born baby is 9. Wow, where did the time go. I remember when I found out I was pregnant with him. I was so happy. After 3 years of trying, the moment I had most looked forward to in my life was happening. I was going to be a mommy. Lots of things happened after I found out. I was living in South Milwaukee with Ryan's dad, going thru a divorce and I had an amazing job. All things considering, since I was starting a new chapter in my life, I decided that I needed a fresh start in a different city. So, I made the decision to leave my job and move up to Appleton. Now Ryan's dad was from the Appleton/Neenah area and I had been up here to visit many times. I thought that this was a good decision. New life, new start.

So in June of 2001, I pulled stakes and moved 2 hours from my family. I had moved plenty of times before, but this was the furthest I have been from my parents. It took me 2 months to find a job. I hated it and had such horrible morning sickness. That job only lasted a few weeks. They had an issue with me leaving the room to go to the bathroom. I asked the director if she preferred I puke i the room. I told her that that day was my last day and I wasn't coming back. I had a job interview the next day. I landed the job and started that day. Over the course of the next few months I had my regular ob appts and then the big ultrasound. I went in thinking that I was going to have a girl. Boy did Ryan throw me for a loop! I was stunned when the tech said congrats, it's a boy!

After that the planning really kicked in. I had to get a crib, clothes, diapers and all the baby stuff that I would need to bring my son into the world. My friend Jenny gave me the crib and some clothes that she had from her son, so that helped. I bought odds and ends that I needed. My mom bought me  a pack and play and the rest of what I needed. The months tick down and soon, it's almost time to meet my little one.

January 9th, 2002......Wednesday night karaoke. It was an every Wednesday thing. A friend of ours Jeff did karaoke at a local bar in Appleton. So we went as we always did since my due date was still 3 weeks away. The night was awesome. Ryan decided to be very active that night. He usually moved around alot when we were out Wednesday nights, but this night was different. He actually stuck his foot and arm out to let everyone know that mamma wasn't make things up when she said he did that. Jeff was joking with me saying I would be in labor for 72 hours and have contractions 3 minutes apart. I laughed and told him if that happened, I would kill him. So we got home round 1:30am and went to bed. I was suppose to be up at 5am to get ready for work. I woke up at 4:15am for the normal bathroom run. Well this morning was different. I thought I had peed the bed! I got up and went to the bathroom and realized that I was still leaking fluid. So I woke Mike up and called the doctor on call. Mike was still drunk from the bar. Great......The doc called back and asked if I was contracting yet and I said no. I was told to take a shower and head over to the ER to be admitted. So I did all that and grabbed my hospital bag that I had only packed 2 days before. Mike still being drunk couldn't drive, so I did drive myself to the hospital. Thankfully, I wasn't really in labor yet.

Got to the ER and they took me up to Labor and Delivery and got me all set up in my room and hooked up to the monitors. This was at about 6:30am. I had called my parents right after my water broke, so they were on stand by. At 6:45ish my contractions started. Like most first time mom's, I had decided that I was going to go all natural and not have any meds. By 1:30pm my contractions were so intense that I called for the meds. They gave me a shot of something in the arm to take the edge off, but it didn't help. I finally broke down and asked for an epidural. Only problem, they couldn't get an IV in me. So the epi was a no go.

At 4pm my mom and brother arrived at the hospital. I was so glad to see them since Mike had gone home for awhile. He arrived at 4:30. So I was ready to push. After 3 pushes, Ryan Michael was born at 4:45pm. He weighed 6lbs 11oz and was 19 inches long.

It is hard to believe that my baby boy is already 9. Time flies....So Happy Birthday Ryan! You are my little boy even tho you are getting older.