I wanted to share why we chose Ritter Ezra as the name for our little guy as some have been asking.
Neal and I both have strong convictions that there is power in a name and so we wanted to be prayerful and intentional in the name we chose. The meaning behind the name Ritter is German for "knight" which is our prayer for the character of our son: a warrior and leader of men who is known for loyalty, honor and chivalry. Ezra is our prayer for the spirit of our son. In the Bible, Ezra was broken and prayerful for the state of his people and took spiritual responsibility for the whole nation of Israel. Because of this, he was given the role and purpose of returning the entire nation's hearts back to God. We will pray expectantly that God would grow him into that over the course of his life and as friends and family, we would love your prayers around that for our son if it crosses your mind!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
1 Week Old!
Our first week was really good. He slept for 3-4hr stretches at night and ate well. This is his 1wk picture. Looks like he and his elephant buddy are already doing the same poses!
I thought I would then just upload a few pictures we took throughout the week. Hope you enjoy!
I thought I would then just upload a few pictures we took throughout the week. Hope you enjoy!
Introducing Ritter Ezra!
Ritter Ezra Reasland was born on Thursday, December 19th, 2013 at 8:24a weighing 6lb. 15oz. and 20" long. We are so in love with this little man!
So the story goes that we went in to get checked the morning of the 18th (41wks gestation and our 3rd Anniversary) and as of the day before I hadn't made any progress so the doctor asked us what we wanted to do. I told him we wanted to "get the party started" and he completely understood since I had been in numerous times over the last month thinking it was "time" but never was - making zero progress but still having lots of contractions. He told us to go to the hospital at 4p on the 18th to start the induction process with Cervidel.
We got to the hospital at 4p and our doctor got there at 5p after we had been admitted. He told us it could take up to 12hrs for it to take effect - however, he checked me and I was at 2cm - praise the Lord - finally making a little progress! I still thought it would be a 12hr timeframe so I prepared my mind to hang out until we would really get things going at 5a on the 19th. Well..that didn't exactly happen. I went into active labor within 15mins!
At 8:30p, the nurse decided it be best to take the cervidel out as my contractions were every 3mins and I was seeming to be in active labor on my own. At this point I was 5cm and 80% effaced. In 3 hours I dilated 3cm and effaced another 30%. This was truly going to happen.
At 10:30p they checked and I was 100% effaced and 6cm. At this point I was crying for an epidural as the contractions were a bit more than I could bare. Neal kept encouraging me to go a little longer but this was one of the only times I was strong with him and said, "If you don't call the nurse to get the anesthesiologist, I will!" The epidural was in by 11:30p and I "rested" - not slept, mind you - for 3hrs when all of a sudden I started feeling really strong contractions again. I started thinking to myself - I thought I wasn't supposed to feel anything! Well, that wasn't the case. So, I called the nurse and she gave me another bolus injection of the epidural medicine and that didn't do anything after 15mins. I called her probably another 5 times throughout the next 3 hours to give me another injection hoping this next one would kill the pain of the contraction as I wasn't able to even rest now as Neal was sound asleep next to me - I was jealous! Again, I thought to myself - I thought I was supposed to be able to sleep like he is! Rude awakening for this mama. :)
At 5:30a, the on-call doctor came in and checked me and I was finally 10cm and still having the strong contractions every 1.5 - 2mins. so she encouraged me to push at the next contraction. These were long contractions - I pushed 5x each contraction. I was hoping it wouldn't take long to bring our little one into the world, but after 2.5hrs of pushing, our doctor finally got there and told me he could help with a vacuum since little did I know that the head hadn't moved further down for over an hour. Probably a good thing no one told me - even Neal! My doctor told me I would still have to push as he was only going to be able to guide the head. After only 2 contractions, Ritter was born.
Neal got on the phone to his parents to see if they were on their way to Chicago to spend Christmas in Austria. They were already on their way so they got to meet Ritter on Face Time that morning.
Since I had an epidural and was not steady on my feet - kind of like a waddling penguin walking on balloons - I had to settle for watching Neal and our nurse give Ritter his first bath.
That night my parents (Ahni and Papa T) came to visit.
The first night Ritter did well - he slept for a solid 4hr stretch and then 2hrs at a time. The next morning Neal's grandparents - Grammie and Grandpa - came to visit which meant a lot to us.
We were discharged Saturday morning - the 21st. We enjoyed our time at the hospital and were given excellent care. Moms from our church weren't kidding when they said we would be well taken care of! This is what Ritter went home in. :)
So the story goes that we went in to get checked the morning of the 18th (41wks gestation and our 3rd Anniversary) and as of the day before I hadn't made any progress so the doctor asked us what we wanted to do. I told him we wanted to "get the party started" and he completely understood since I had been in numerous times over the last month thinking it was "time" but never was - making zero progress but still having lots of contractions. He told us to go to the hospital at 4p on the 18th to start the induction process with Cervidel.
We got to the hospital at 4p and our doctor got there at 5p after we had been admitted. He told us it could take up to 12hrs for it to take effect - however, he checked me and I was at 2cm - praise the Lord - finally making a little progress! I still thought it would be a 12hr timeframe so I prepared my mind to hang out until we would really get things going at 5a on the 19th. Well..that didn't exactly happen. I went into active labor within 15mins!
At 8:30p, the nurse decided it be best to take the cervidel out as my contractions were every 3mins and I was seeming to be in active labor on my own. At this point I was 5cm and 80% effaced. In 3 hours I dilated 3cm and effaced another 30%. This was truly going to happen.
At 10:30p they checked and I was 100% effaced and 6cm. At this point I was crying for an epidural as the contractions were a bit more than I could bare. Neal kept encouraging me to go a little longer but this was one of the only times I was strong with him and said, "If you don't call the nurse to get the anesthesiologist, I will!" The epidural was in by 11:30p and I "rested" - not slept, mind you - for 3hrs when all of a sudden I started feeling really strong contractions again. I started thinking to myself - I thought I wasn't supposed to feel anything! Well, that wasn't the case. So, I called the nurse and she gave me another bolus injection of the epidural medicine and that didn't do anything after 15mins. I called her probably another 5 times throughout the next 3 hours to give me another injection hoping this next one would kill the pain of the contraction as I wasn't able to even rest now as Neal was sound asleep next to me - I was jealous! Again, I thought to myself - I thought I was supposed to be able to sleep like he is! Rude awakening for this mama. :)
At 5:30a, the on-call doctor came in and checked me and I was finally 10cm and still having the strong contractions every 1.5 - 2mins. so she encouraged me to push at the next contraction. These were long contractions - I pushed 5x each contraction. I was hoping it wouldn't take long to bring our little one into the world, but after 2.5hrs of pushing, our doctor finally got there and told me he could help with a vacuum since little did I know that the head hadn't moved further down for over an hour. Probably a good thing no one told me - even Neal! My doctor told me I would still have to push as he was only going to be able to guide the head. After only 2 contractions, Ritter was born.
Neal got on the phone to his parents to see if they were on their way to Chicago to spend Christmas in Austria. They were already on their way so they got to meet Ritter on Face Time that morning.
Since I had an epidural and was not steady on my feet - kind of like a waddling penguin walking on balloons - I had to settle for watching Neal and our nurse give Ritter his first bath.
That night my parents (Ahni and Papa T) came to visit.
The first night Ritter did well - he slept for a solid 4hr stretch and then 2hrs at a time. The next morning Neal's grandparents - Grammie and Grandpa - came to visit which meant a lot to us.
We were discharged Saturday morning - the 21st. We enjoyed our time at the hospital and were given excellent care. Moms from our church weren't kidding when they said we would be well taken care of! This is what Ritter went home in. :)
Friday, December 13, 2013
Nursery
We finally have the baby's room all done! We were waiting on our crib mattress and glider to get here and they arrived at the beginning of last week. I'm happy with how the room turned out for now - its all very neutral knowing that we will change colors/add accents once we know who this little one is! Enjoy the pictures below. :)
This is ready to go in our room for baby to sleep in for the first couple months!
40 Weeks
Week 39 was filled with contractions and went to the hospital twice to be checked thinking it was "time" but no progress at either visit. This was the week that I had to change my perspective and the LORD was teaching me to relinquish all control and learn what true patience is. :) There's a reason they say patience is a virtue!!!
Well we made it to 40 weeks and still waiting!! We have been having the true labor contractions all week but after last week, we won't be going in until my water breaks. There was still no progress passed 1cm at this week's appointment, so it is a waiting game. We have a non-stress test (NST) scheduled for next Wednesday the 18th - our 3rd Anniversary! And if baby still isn't here by then, we will be scheduling an induction. It is such a different thought process knowing we will have made it to 41wks and I'm pretty much done with this game of lots of contractions and no progress and that we get to decide when we start the labor/delivery process since it didn't start spontaneously. How do you go about deciding a date? We obviously want baby to have their own birthday, so we won't choose to start the induction next Wednesday, but then how do you decide from there? It would be really special if this little one was born on the 21st because that was my Grandpa Berg's birthday and he was such a special person to me, but the doctor said an induction can take a matter of a couple days depending on how my body responds to the induction process. So - we are covering all of this in prayer knowing that we may not have to go through this if labor starts spontaneously before next Wednesday, but gearing up for the possibility of this taking a while. So, we would appreciate prayers for strength, peace, wisdom and discernment around the arrival of this little gift. :)
40 Weeks
Monday, December 2, 2013
38 Weeks!
We have made it to 38 weeks and are trying to patiently wait for the arrival of this sweet little babe! I am starting to mourn the idea of not feeling the kicking, somersaulting and punching from the inside but getting super excited to meet this little one face-to-face and see them wiggle about in person. :)
This week I started to have really strong lower back pain that only rolling on the exercise ball or counter pressure from Neal would help to relieve. At this week's appointment I was 1cm dilated. We'll see what we find out at the 39 week appointment on Wednesday!
This week I started to have really strong lower back pain that only rolling on the exercise ball or counter pressure from Neal would help to relieve. At this week's appointment I was 1cm dilated. We'll see what we find out at the 39 week appointment on Wednesday!
38 Weeks
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Third Trimester
We made it to the Third Trimester!!
Week 28 we took the glucose test and passed! My glucose level was 114 and iron was 12.1. We went to the cabin for the last time as Nana and Papa were getting ready to move from the lake into Mount Vernon.
Week 28 we took the glucose test and passed! My glucose level was 114 and iron was 12.1. We went to the cabin for the last time as Nana and Papa were getting ready to move from the lake into Mount Vernon.
28 Weeks
Week 29 I almost got sick from pushing myself too hard at work and at home throughout the day so I had to start learning how to slow down a bit - a challenge for me!
Week 30 I was not as hungry at night and started going to bed much earlier which I never mind. :) I love my sleep! Something I am going to have to get used to not having as much of here soon! It became harder to breathe throughout the day as baby went through another growth spurt this week. I also had lots more Braxton Hicks everyday and baby enjoyed beginning to kick more up toward my ribs which was a new experience. The doctor said this week that he was pretty sure the baby was head down which was good news!
30 Weeks
Week 31 my left hip became really bothersome so I started waddling at night after being up and around all day. At night and around the house I could only wear Neal's shirts comfortably because my t-shirts were scrunching baby's space to move about.
Week 32 the linea negra on my belly appeared faintly and baby went through another big growth spurt this week! I was eating more and hungry often. We had 2 baby showers this week and were totally blessed at both of them - one with the Torgeson side and one with the ladies from our church.
32 Weeks
Week 33 Neal was in Dallas during the weekend which gave me time to make 8 freezer meals and start nesting in baby's room from all the many gifts we received at the previous week's showers. I also felt sick 2 times this week and started having pelvic pressure. Baby was proving the head-down theory that the doctor gave us!
Week 34 I washed all of baby's onesies, blankets, sleepers, sheets, etc. that we had received from everyone. We also had the PCI shower and went to Wicked that evening as a girls group. It was so fun seeing it again!! The Saturday of this week Neal and I went to Childbirth class which was very beneficial for both of us.
34 Weeks
Week 35 the linea negra on my belly was very present. We also had the Berg shower and bought the rest of the items off our Babies R Us and Target registries - all we were waiting on was the stroller, mattress and glider for baby's room. The week I became more exhausted at night - more so than before.
Week 36 very strong Braxton Hicks started. Neal and I went in to get checked because I was having contractions every 5 minutes for 75 seconds a piece but there was no progress so we came back home. The doctor said my body is keenly aware to whats going on and getting ready.
36 Weeks
Week 37 the Braxton Hicks went away for a few days. I had a few here and there but they weren't at regular intervals like before. We had the Reasland shower this week and were blessed with many gift cards!
Let's just say we were extremely blessed by EVERYONE at the 5 showers we had!
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