Happy Birthday Ryan

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday to Ryan!
Happy Birthday to you.

Wow! I can't believe it! Ryan is 3! It was just three years ago today that we welcomed this little miracle into our lives. It was one of the scariest days of our lives. Here is my journal entry recapping the days leading up to his birth and shortly thereafter:

January 29, 2007
We went to the doctor to have some things checked out because I had become nervous about the health of the pregnancy. Unfortunately, to our surprise, the doctor found that my body was not holding the baby inside well at all, so he immediately admitted us to the hospital. That evening I had a "rescue cerclage" procedure to help hold the baby inside. We were absolutely blessed with the success of this procedure. The plan was to stay in the hospital from this point forward until our little Peanut was born. Our hopes were to remain for 10 weeks so our baby could reach 32 weeks gestation.

February 10, 2007
Everything has been going well overall. We have had some ups and downs physically, but emotionally we are doing quite well. Late in the evening I began to have some contractions and bleeding. The nurses gave me Brethine to stop the contractions and it worked.

February 11, 2007
The contractions and bleeding have continued. I have been given Brethine several times today, and the contractions stop for a while then start again. Finally early in the afternoon it was decided to move me to the labor and delivery floor and start Magnesium to put a stop to labor. Labor continued despite all efforts. At about 5:00 p.m. it was decided that our little baby was going to be born and a C-section was going to be the safest for him because an ultrasound revealed that he was breech.

At 5:31 p.m. our little Peanut came into the world. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 1/2 inches long. He was at 24 weeks gestation.

February 12, 2007
Peanut has made it through his first day of life. This is awesome. The doctors say he is extremely critical but stable, and we will have to take everything on an hour-by-hour basis.

February 14, 2007
Peanut is doing well. His ventilator settings are set at about 25% oxygen. He breathes above the ventilator at times, and rides the ventilator at other times. His blood gases have been looking good. We received news from the doctor that the ductus in his heart has closed. This is a great blessing since they were giving him medicine to close it, and if it didn't close surgery would be required.

February 15, 2007
Peanut has a real name now. His name is Ryan Andrew.

I have been discharged from the hospital today. It is terrifying to think of being 30 miles away from from my little boy instead of just a 5 minute walk

Today Ryan is a happy, healthy, wild and crazy 3-year-old! He truly is a miracle and a wonderful blessing. So let me introduce you to my preschooler:

• He knows his colors...very well...and loves to tell you the color of everything. It wasn't that long ago that he had some colors but out of convenience called everything "yellow-blue-green". Now he knows them and with the exception of when he's extra excited and begins to stutter he names them all with accuracy.
• He can identify some letters and I'm always amazed when he calls out a letter he sees in a book or on TV. We haven't spent much time talking specifically about letters but it's neat to see his interest.
  
• He doesn't seem to have a favorite color.
• He does have a favorite movie...CARS! And for the past 5 months we have watched that movie at least once a day...sometimes twice on 6 out of 7 days of the week.
  
• He loves cars. All shapes, sizes, colors. Anything with wheels and it's all good. Between home and Nana's house he probably owns 100 or more cars.
  
• He usually finds a favorite 2 or 3 cars per day to play with. It's not that he doesn't play with others but he picks a few favorites and keeps up with those for the day. Each day is a different set.
• He still likes books although his interest isn't as intense, but I sure do love it when he wants to curl up on my lap with a book.
• He has learned the art of throwing a fit.
• He has also learned the art of pouting and will, when needed, display a pretty nice act of dramatic pouting in hopes that someone will have sympathy.
  
• He can whine with the best of them, but when at home it's a one-way ticket to his bedroom.
• He speaks more clearly with each passing day. His clarity is often dependent on his excitement...more excitement=more speed=less clarity.
• He identifies many animals some of which I'm surprised he knows because we don't talk about them often. I'm finding that he picks up stuff often with the first introduction and with his inquisitive nature he learns from everything.
• That's good...and sometimes not so good.
• He loves to be goofy and make himself and others laugh. He often tells us if something is funny, even if he is the one who did it. "That's sunny!"
• He usually has a new phrase pop into his vocabulary every month or two that is completely unexpected. His most recent phrase is "Oh My Gosh!!!" I have no idea where he got it. We don't use 'gosh', but we do use 'goodness' as in "oh my goodness". What's hillarious is that he uses it in the most appropriate places at just the right time and with perfect intonation and voice fluctuation. It's crazy.
• He loves his dogs one day and despises the next.
• He still loves the outdoors. Unfortunately we have been stuck inside due to inclement weather since sometime in November. This is one of the coldest, dreariest winters I can ever remember and we are all ready for some sunshine and warm temperatures. Ryan especially.
  
• He has cabin-fever...a severe case.
• He hasn't been sick this season..."thank you Jesus". He ran a fever one evening but I think it was related to exhaustion instead of a true illness. Either that or his immune system kicked some major butt because the next morning he woke up just fine.
  
• He is already attached to Baby Elmo and whenever he sees an ultrasound picture, hears the heartbeat, or walks into clinic with me his excitement turns into explanations about "Baby Elmo" and "Momma's baby tummy".
  
• I think his excitement will change when the baby is actually here. He's been number 1 for 3 years and sharing his momma is going to be a big life change for the little guy.
• I do believe he is going to be a fantastic big brother.
• He does much better when we stay on a fairly strict schedule.
• He still really functions at his best when he takes a good afternoon nap...2-3 hours or so.
• He goes to bed at 8 unless he hasn't had a good afternoon nap at which point his bedtime gets moved to 7:30.
  
• Occasionally he wins a free ticket to bed even earlier...he's a miracle, not an angel.
• He's a birthday-boy!
• He keeps asking for birthday cake.
  
• I can't wait to take him to the zoo again. If I make it to 36 weeks without being hospitalized going to the zoo is the first thing on this pregnant momma's list to do with her big boy.
• We're having a birthday party for Ryan on Saturday.
• Ryan is a miracle
• A blessing from God
• My little man!