Kaden Ryan Salley

Kaden has arrived! I went in for my 40 week dr. appointment on Friday March 18th and my blood pressure was very high (a problem I'd struggled with the last few weeks of pregnancy) so they sent me to the hospital to get it checked out. The Dr. had told us they may just induce me when we got there seeing as I was going to be 40 weeks the next day, but I didn't want to get my hopes up and then get sent back home again so I kept telling myself it wouldn't happen today. My mom happened to be with me for the appointment so she drove me up to the hospital and we called Paul to have him meet us there. We got there about 11:30 am and they checked me into the labor and delivery and had me get into a gown and everything (which mto not get excited) I kept thinking if they tell me I have to go home after all this without a baby I will break down and cry right here. But after they examined me, they decided I could stay and they would induce me!! Paul and I got very excited, we were actually having our baby!! But it was still very unreal, hard to beleive it was finallly happening!

They gave me a pill to try and start labor and said they'd see how that went and then give me another one later that night and start pitocin the next morning. I was so excited! I had been telling myself that it would be a very long ordeal and may take a couple days so I wasn't too disappointed that it would still be many hours before I had him. But after they started me on the first pill I started having regular contractions and labor started right up. I got my epidural when I was dialated to about a 3. That and the IV was what I was most concerned about, the IV was truly awful, my blood vessel burst the first time which hurt like crazy but they got it in the second time, I hate IV's. The epidural wasn't as bad as I thought however... I had worked myself up to it being awful and was so worried the whole time but it wasn't that painful... a pleasant surprise! My family was all there by now: Mom, Dad, Jean, and Randi and what a great support group they were, they made it so fun and kept such a close eye on me and Kaden. Once I got my epidural my blood pressure dropped from extreme high to extreme low which caused some concern for me and Kaden so lots of nurses and doctors kept running in and out. I was really out of it at this point and just slept through a lot of this, I don't really remember much about that time, I do know I kept thinking to myself I should be listening to what the doctor was saying to me but I was just too tired and my eyes too heavy. So I trusted mom, Randi, and Paul to keep an eye on our vitals and take good care of me.

After they had stabalized my blood pressure and Kaden's heart rate, I dialted really quickly and was soon ready to push. It took me about an hour and a half of pushing before Kaden came.

Kaden Ryan Salley

born Saturday March 19th at 4:31 am

7.18 pounds

19.5 inches

The most perfect, amazing moment of my life. Giving birth is truly a miracle uncomparable to any other.

He had his maconium just before he was delivered so they had some NICU staff in the room ready to suction him out and the cord was wrapped around his neck twice but they took good care of him and he was just fine. It was such a strange feeling to look over and see this baby and hear his tiny cry and think that he was mine, the baby I had carried for 10 months and waited so long for. His cry was so hoarse and little I at first wondered if it was coming from my baby or one in a room next to us. I can't even describe the emotions I felt when they handed me my baby for the very first time. He was beautiful, what I had waited for my whole life. I don't think the moment could have been any more perfect, we had some skin to skin snuggle time for awhile and just looked at each other, I couldn't believe how tiny and perfect he was. He didn't cry or anything, just layed against my chest. Then Paul held him for awhile, this was one of the best moments of my life as well. My husband holding our little boy, he looked so tiny in his arms and Paul looked at him with such love and amazment, an image I hold dear and will never forget. We brought the rest of the family in to see him (Stu had gotten there just as I started to push and we were so excited to have him there as well.) The joy I felt at having my family members take turns holding my own son was so great! What a tender moment we all got to share as a family.

The hospital stay was actually something I enjoyed as well. It was nice to have our little family of 3 all together and just enjoy the first couple days of being parents, plus we got an awesome room in the mother-baby unit that had a queen sized bed so Paul could sleep with me. I loved just hanging out with Paul and Kaden, holding him all day and loving on him constantly. We also had lots of visitors come and love on him too: Randi, Sidney, and Rylee came, Stuart, Ryan, Miriam and their girls, grandma welch, and my Aunt Brooke who just happened to be there that same weekend. It was fun to show him off to everyone. They all loved him immediately as well.

We went home on Sunday, it felt funny to be leaving the hospital and taking Kaden with us, like he wasn't really ours to take and someone was going to stop us on the way out. But it was nice to be home, my mom had dinner ready, Randi brought the kids over to hold him, and we just enjoyed having him with us.

Kaden is such an amazing blessing in our lives, I have never felt such joy as I do in being a wife and mother now, having our little family is just what I always wanted and I'm enjoying every second. Paul and I already can't imagine our life without him in it. He makes everything so bright and exciting. What a blessing to be able to bring babies into the world and experience parenthood, it seems there is no greater thing. We look forward to all the memories we will share with Kaden and all the new adventures that await us as first time parents!