On a rainy Saturday afternoon, Ryker invited some girlfriends over to visit. Kate drove in from Lafayette and Blair and her girls, Charlotte (3) and Frances (18 mo), drove in from Nola.
After filling our tummies with shrimp poboys, french fries and onion rings (a healthy weekend snack), we made some introductions.
Charlotte and Frances were so sweet and gentle with Ryker. They proved to be "big girls" when they held him tight and gave him sweet kisses on his head.
"The fabulous people who surround us" stretches all the way to Utah, where Ryker's Grammy & Poppy live. They have booked a trip to visit us the first week in April. We are so excited to see them! We visited them over Thanksgiving when I was 6+ months pregnant (i.e. large and in charge).
Ryker will be their 5th grandchild! Justin's sister has 3 adorable children, Kaylee, Hunter and Avery and their daughter, Sherry, has a son, Collin. Below are some pictures from our trip.
We can't wait to see you Grammy & Poppy!
Justin with Grammy & Poppy, Jennifer, Matthew and Cameron
I insisted I would not give my child a nunie. I don't know why, I just don't like them always having a nunie in their mouth. However, after 4 sleepless nights, Justin and I caved. When Ryker started to cry at 1am this morning, we pulled out all the tricks.
Insert nunie. Ah, quiet. Ryker woke up every 3 hours to eat. It was wonderful!
Oh well, I'm sure it's not the first time I'll give in and let Ryker win.
1 week old today! It does go by so quickly. It's been an eventful week full of "firsts"...we've had our first doctors appointment, recovered from our first night at home and enjoyed our first outing (dinner at Mimi's). Please look how sweet our little man is...
Wearing Uncle Ches' hand-me-downs
In his outfit from Aunt Jillian
His great grandmother, Mam-ma
Enjoying his first dinner party with Mimi, great grandmother
We took Ryker home on Sunday and spent the afternoon at Lovey's house. At first he wasn't so much a fan of the car seat, but later he got used to it. Good thing, because he's going to a baby on the go. I plan to take him everywhere. Well, that's if Lovey will let me have him. She's already pretty attached.
Ryker and I ended up staying 3 nights...and really, I should have taken everyone's advice and stayed the 4th night just to have additional time to recuperate from surgery. It was so nice to have the nurses take care of me and Ryker.
Thanks to everyone who came visit and sent flowers. It was a great experience and I will never forget a moment of it.
More pics from the hospital stay...
He's so little!!
Papa Chet congratulating new Daddy with Champagne toast
Today Justin and I welcomed into the world our first born...a healthy baby boy we named Ryker James. And, he's absolutely perfect!!
I guess even with a scheduled c-section there can still be surprises! I hadn't been feeling well the last few days, only normal, right, at 38 weeks. Even so, my mom insisted I call the doctor office and let them know that his movements had declined tremendously and my swelling had increased. When I got there, they hooked me up to a machine where they could monitor fetal movements. After an hour of monitoring his heartbeat, the nurses assured me all was ok and that I would be delivering next week as scheduled. However, when Dr. Albrecht arrived at the office she noticed a variation in his heartbeat. To mom and I's surprise, she looked at me and pronounced, "Let's take him today".
A mixture of relief, anxiety and pure excitement washed over me. I had to get my husband home from Lafayette immediately! After a few phone calls, we were at the hospital and I was being prepped for surgery. Exactly two hours after hearing the news that I was going to deliver, I was in the surgery room with my mom and Justin at my side.
At 1:30pm, Ryker arrived. Turns out, the cord had been wrapped around his neck tight three times and that is why he never flipped. Good thing we had listened to our gut and gone into the doctor office today - mother's intuition! I am so thankful to Dr. Albrecht for listening to her intuition as well. And of course, we are also thankful to God for having His hands on our little baby the whole time.
He weighed 6lbs 7ounces. (Surprising, since we were told that we were having a 9lb baby!) They measured him at 17 inches; however, we later found out he's 18 3/4" in length. Either way, he's healthy and beautiful.
Thank you, God, for this little miracle! We promise to take extra special care of him, to teach him all about You and to spoil him like crazy!
For all the pictures, visit www.kodakgallery.com/reeves. Thanks Blair, for helping get some great shots!
Proud Daddy announcing his name, Ryker James
Aunt Jillian drove in from Houston
Aunt Anne drove in from Lafayette & Aunt Blair came from Nola
Aunt Steph was taking an exam and drove in from Baton Rouge
My first post, so much pressure! I’m 9 months pregnant (37 weeks to be exact) and made the decision to begin blogging as a way to document the life of our new little baby boy. Our due date is March 18th; however, I’m scheduled for a c-section in about 2 weeks. And, like most pregnant women at this stage in their pregnancy, I can hardly wait!
This pregnancy has been a breeze – well, except for the extreme amount of pounds I gained. Holy cow! Let me just tell those women who only gain like 30 lbs during their pregnancies that, frankly, I’m completely jealous. No matter what I ate or didn’t eat, the pounds just seemed to pack on!! So I have a ways to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (or, please God, at least somewhere in the near vicinity!).
Everything's ready for his arrival...including his nursery! So come on!
Justin with Grammy & Poppy, Jennifer, Matthew and Cameron
Jennifer & Drew with Kaylee, Avery and Hunter
Wearing Uncle Ches' hand-me-downs
In his outfit from Aunt Jillian
His great grandmother, Mam-ma
Enjoying his first dinner party with Mimi, great grandmother
Visiting with Mrs. Chantel
All bundled up and ready to go!
Ryker and his Lovey - what a pretty grandmother!
Oh, so miserable...
...Ok, this isn't so bad
Swollen mom and new baby
He's so little!!
Papa Chet congratulating new Daddy with Champagne toast
Uncle Ches - how sweet is this picture!
Ryker's great-grandfather, Pop
Daddy in Mommy's hospital bed
My sweet boy!
Proud Daddy announcing his name, Ryker James
Aunt Jillian drove in from Houston
Aunt Anne drove in from Lafayette & Aunt Blair came from Nola
Aunt Steph was taking an exam and drove in from Baton Rouge
Uncle Ches
Lovey
Papa Chet
Aunt Karen
Aunt Shirley
Ryker James Reeves
