Ryker - The New Addition to our Family

We are so excited to have Ryker as part of our family. He is such a sweet boy and we love him so much. Now a little bit about our last week...

We had decided that if our baby wasn't born by the 17th, I would be induced. It was only two days after my due date, but I had already started maternity leave and was ready to have a little baby. Plus my mom had come on the 11th thinking he might be early and Ryan had high adventure on the 23rd.

No baby by the morning of the 17th so Ryan and I headed to the hospital for our 6:30 am check-in. They started the pitocin at about 8:00 and by 11:40 I had signed the consent for an epidural. :) They had given the epidural by 12:30 and Ryker was born at 1:13. All of us were very surprised (including my doctor) when we found out he was 8 lbs. 11 ounces and 21 inches long! He's a big boy.




He was born so fast that he didn't come out screaming and he actually had bruises on his face. They took him down to the nursery to check his oxygen levels and determined everything was fine. We spent the next couple of days at the hospital loving on him and waiting to come home. Here are some pictures of Nyah meeting Ryker for the first time and some other pictures while we were hanging out at the hospital. It was so cute to see Nyah's enthusiasm and her love for her little brother.

We were planning to go home on Saturday morning but then the last nurse said she really wanted us to stress with the pediatrician that he had a stridorous cry and we wanted to do some additional testing. He was basically making a gasping sound when he was crying. He also was making some grunting sounds. As I talked to Lisa about it, she said it could be several different things but agreed that it shouldn't be ignored. So the pediatrician ordered a swallow study and it looked good. He called and said he ordered one last spot check on his oxygen level and then we could go home if that was okay. Well when they went to do it, he was mad and his oxygen levels were only 72. They had the neonatologist from the NICU come look at him and she recommended that he be seen by an ENT (Ear Nose Throat) specialist. There were only two hospitals with ENT's for children and we decided on Children's Hospital.

So Sunday morning they figured out his transport to Children's Hospital and Ryker and I had our first (and hopefully last ever) trip in an ambulance. Crazy that his first car ride was in an ambulance. The transport team was great and actually came to check on us multiple times while we were still at the hospital. The ENT came to check out Ryker within a couple of hours of our arrival. They put a flexible scope down his throat to see what they could see. They determined that the soft tissue above his epiglottis were closing and partially restricting his airway. They determined he needed a simple surgery and he was headed to the OR less than a half hour later. The surgery went well and while they had him under, they did more "scoping" and found out that one of his vocal chords isn't moving as much as it should be and that there is a ring in the trachea that is more closed off than it should be. These things together are restricting his airway and making it harder for him to breathe. They fixed the one item with surgery and are going to wait and see what happens with the rest of them. They are things that can be outgrown so we are keeping our fingers crossed. Here are pictures of them getting him ready for transport and then his set-up at the NICU at Children's Hospital.

After the surgery we could definitely see improvement. Everything isn't all better yet but it was enough improvement for the doctors to feel comfortable letting him come home and waiting to see if he outgrows the other problems. The big thing once his surgery was over was for him to start eating again. The ENT said he was comfortable with him leaving on Wednesday morning so the big thing that day was for him to eat enough. Since he's nursing, we had to weigh him before and after each time he ate to see how much weight he had gained. It was kind of crazy. Finally that night they decided he was okay and they discharged us.

I was really impressed with Children's Hospital. The staff was great (very knowledgable and also very empathetic). They even have family sleep rooms that you can use so Ryan and I could both be there. It is an amazing facility.

It is so great to be home. We were so ready to bring Ryker home. Here is Nyah holding her little brother our first night home.

Through this last week I was very aware of all of the blessings that were apparent as all of this happened. I believe that in and of itself was one of the blessings. Here is a brief list of some of them....

1. A nurse that pushed us to bring up issues with the pediatrician right before we went home

2. A pediatrician that was willing to order more tests and defer to the "experts" when needed

3. He didn't pass his final spot check on his oxygen level so they did further checking

4. Having my mom in town to help with Nyah (and everything else) while all of this was happening

5. The priesthood and the comfort and healing power it provides

6. Being only 30 minutes away from an amazing hospital that covers a 9-state region

7. Intelligent and amazing doctors and nurses

8. Support from family and friends

I will work on getting some updated pictures posted as well. Time is already flying by!