Callahan Benjamin Ryerse is here! He was born on Black Friday, November 28, 2008 at 10:19 p.m. in room 515 of Ogden Regional Medical Center. He weighed in at 6 lbs. even and was 17 ½ inches long. Contractions began Wednesday, and kept going until Friday. I wasn’t so sure we should be going to the hospital, the contractions were still 5 minutes// apart, and they say you should go to the hospital when they’re 2 to 3 minutes apart. But the contractions were strong and Dave decided it was time to go. We got to the hospital at about 8:10 p.m., and filled out the necessary forms, then the nurse checked me. I was sure they’d send me home, but to my surprise, I was already dilated between a 4 and a 5. So the nurse left to go find out which room I’d go to and call my doctor. Dr. Rosemary Lesser showed up about 20 minutes later, before the nurse, and shocked no one had gotten me in a room yet, grabbed a wheelchair and wheeled me in herself to our room. She’s pretty funny, we really like her as our OB. From that time, things were a whirlwind, moving along very quickly. The nurses and doctors barely had enough time to set everything up. I did a quarter of an epidural, by the time I got it I was already at an 8, which is what the doctor says is about the worst of the pain. So maybe next time we’ll go natural… But I’m glad I got it, I think I can enjoy things better when the pain is not so bad. At 10 p.m., the nurse said she thought I’d be ready any time. I pushed five times, and our little boy made his way into the world! He cried when he came out. His chin quivers anytime he cries, he sounds and looks like a baby goat. Daddy helped clean him up and cut the umbilical cord, and change his first diaper. He peed on the nurses before Daddy made it to the table. He was weighed and measured and given Vit. K. Then they gave him to me to hold. What a precious boy, and what a miracle birth is! I can’t get over it. It’s such an amazing thing! I fed him for the first time, he did really well and latched on like a pro! Dave and I enjoyed some alone time with him, and then a little later that night, family came over. Jerry, Stacy, Tayla and Kaison made it first, then the Ryerse and Stoddard grandparents, Julie, Randy, Brian, and Jeff, and Emma. Everyone took their turns holding him and we told the story. Emma sat next to me and held him and gave him kisses. She seems pretty excited, but a little unsure of things. She was more quiet than normal. We finally went to bed at 2 a.m., and slept for a few hours. I couldn’t sleep much, I guess I was too excited. The next day, we did all of the tests, met with the pediatrician and OBGYN, did his first pictures, took a bubble bath in the jacuzzi, and just kind of sat around and talked and watched movies. Callahan kept getting cold, his temperature was low the whole time he was in the hospital. But besides that, he’s perfectly healthy, which we’re very grateful for. In the afternoon, we had more visitors. Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard and Adam and Meghan came, followed by Amy and Kolby, and Grandma and Grandpa Ryerse with Emma. Emma was cute with him, but again, wasn’t sure about things. She would talk to him and look at him. Then Christie, Rex, & Brooke came, and Jeff and Shirely were the last ones to come see us for the night. Sunday morning, he was circumcised and had some shots, and did pretty well. Then we rounded up our stuff, and filled out all of the paper work and headed out into the real world. Sunday night, my sis-in-law Meghan said “Good luck on your first night with two kids!”, and right after she said that, Emma started laughing this funny, evil laugh I’ve never heard before! It was hilarious, we were dying! Well, the first night went pretty well. Emma was very tired, as she hadn’t had a nap, but was crying and just wanted to hold Mommy and Daddy. She got upset when we changed his diapers or did anything like that. She wanted to sleep with us and told baby brother he needed to sleep in his own bed (hmmm…where have we heard that before?). It was pretty sad though. So we let her sleep with us last night, and Cal did pretty well, waking up only about every 2 hours to eat. Besides that, he was fine. And Emma’s been really sweet to him since then, so I think things are sinking in now. We’re doing great though, and thanks to our wonderful support system – all of you great friends and family who do so much for us! We appreciate the outpouring of love we’ve received. Welcome, little Cal!
