Introducing… Dylan Parker Rhodes

   

Well, our little man has arrived and we couldn't be more thrilled. Yes, he already has us wrapped around his little finger. I admit this pregnancy flew! I can't believe he is already here.

Dylan Parker finally arrived Wed. Nov. 23, 2011 @ 3:50 am, weighing in at 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 or 21 inches long. (I truly do not know which one it is, they told Ryan 21 inches but wrote down 20 inches.)

     

Here is Dylan's story…

When I say "finally arrived", I mean FINALLY arrived. Our little man tried, unsuccessfully, to make his debut for four days. The previous Saturday night I started having contractions. They were fairly intense, and started every five minutes, but they didn't last for a solid minute so we couldn't go in. These contractions continued on through Sunday and Monday night. On Tuesday night, at about 10:00 pm, the contractions started again. This time they came every five minutes and lasted for the solid minute. I remember Ryan kept asking me if I wanted to go to bed? I looked at him as if to say, you do realize that we are counting the contractions and may be headed to the hospital, right? He was convinced that it was another false alarm and that we would be heading over to the hospital the next morning for our induction, just as we had planned. Well, needless to say… for once I was right. At about 12:00 am that night we headed into the hospital. At 12:24 am they placed me in triage to "watch me". I have to admit this was THE WORST time of my life! There was no doubt I was in labor. The contractions didn't let up at all the entire time I was there. I laid on that table in the most excruciating pain I had ever experienced, and they refused to give me any pain killers whatsoever. Finally at 2:00 am they came in and said they would have to call the on call Dr. to see if he would admit me. At that point I was only dilated to a 3, so they were hesitant. Luckily for everyone the Dr. did admit me due to the amount of pain I was in. The nurses got me into a room, gave me the epidural, and told me to just rest because it may be a while. Well, about 20 minutes later my water broke and I was fully dilated. The nurses were shocked at how quickly everything had progressed. They quickly called our Doctor. Dr. Langer and luckily she arrived fairly quickly. At that point, I had to keep from pushing, or that little guy was going to slip right out, Doctor or no Doctor. When she arrived, I pushed through two contractions and out came our little guy. It was literally that fast and that easy. I couldn't have dreamed up an easier delivery.

   

Our little man was born as healthy as could be and without any complications. When they placed him in my arms, my heart melted and I was smitten.

Just a little side note: Can you imagine if they would have sent me home?!? Ryan would have been delivering him. In case you are wondering, Ryan practically faints at any sight of blood. I don't even want to imagine how well that would have turned out!

Dylan's Name:

It took us some time to come up with his name. We went to the hospital with a few names in mind, but I couldn't bring myself to call him by any name before I saw him. Not only that, but Ryan and I were having a really hard time agreeing on what a "good name" actually was. If it were up to him to name the baby it would be something horrible like tanq, or max powers, or something like that. If it were up to me it would be a great name like Ryker, Ryder, Rylan… something like that. Instead we met in the middle and chose between Parker Ryan or Dylan Parker. Obviously, Dylan won. So far, no regrets. I think the name fits him.

Discharged:

It happens to be that Dylan was born on the day prior to Thanksgiving. We had planned on spending Thanksgiving Day in the hospital ever since our induction date was set. It just so happens, though, that everything was going extremely well for the both of us, so we decided that we would head home on Thanksgiving. What a treat that was! We were able to stop by Ryan's family and enjoy a little dinner and family time before heading home. It worked out perfectly!

     

 

We have now had Dylan home for a couple of weeks. All three of us are so happy to have him in our home! Even Cayson is adjusting well. The first day we were home I remember him climbing up on our bed to read Dylan a story. He showed him all the animals, told him what it was, and the sound the animal made. This was such a special moment for me. Throughout this pregnancy, I have been extremely worried that Cayson would feel replaced or left out and that he wouldn't want Dylan in our home. To see Cayson take to Dylan from day one meant the world to me. He is such a good big brother. He already brings Dylan his dog when he is sad, or perhaps a drink of water, or even just a little kiss. I sure do love my boys!