Our family of three..Tyson has arrived!!

Tyson Keith Gappinger
Born 3/20/09 at 3:16am
Weight: 7 pounds 7 ounces
Length: 20.5 inches
And absolutely beautiful

Our Birth Story
We arrived at Sky Ridge at 9pm for our induction...And my nerves where quite high! It was very surreal just to show up and say, "Ok, here to have our baby!" Our delivery nurse, Sarita (who was amazing!!) quickly got me all set up and started to induce with Pitocin at 10pm. We were a little nervous and shocked when she mention Dr. Grover would be in at 6am to break my water (6am?!?! Are you kidding me??). But thankfully an hour later, Dr. Grover walked in at 11pm to get things going. I was so relieved to see him...not knowing what kind of pain he was about to cause. As soon as he broke my water the contractions really kicked into high gear and as I reached my pain threshold, I asked for the epidural at 11:45pm. The epidural was brought at 12:01am and I was a happy camper. The contractions felt like tightening and pressure now, just like everything I have been feeling for weeks. They checked my progress at 1am and was only dilated at 4cm. Ryan and my Mom stayed at my side, watching the screens and letting me know when the contractions started (like I couldn't tell :) but it was at least entertaining for them.) 2am, Sarita checked my progress and WOW - we were at 9cm!!! I couldn't believe it, we were just a few steps away!

Sarita got us set to start pushing at 2:45am. I always imagined that Ryan would just be there holding my hand, but he instead had a very active role. There were even times when she was bringing supplies and it was just him and I pushing. Pushing was pretty intense and I relied on my competitive nature to get me through. Yes, in my mind I would say to myself, "Alright, GAME FACE. Let's do this!" and "Balls out Kathy, Ball outs" (which is what a Scottish running coach once screamed at me while I did sprints at the track.) I even had the Salt-n-Peppa song run through my head - Push It. Either way it got me through. 3:00am, Dr. Grover came in and the final pushing began. Now, why anyone would do all of this without an epidural boggles my mind. It was definitely very painful even with it and I can't imagine having to push and have contractions without the drugs. (So more power to ya women out there that have done so!) But I felt, since I wouldn't receive a special award, trophy, or join an elite club...why go through the extra pain?

And so...3:16am - Tyson Keith came out in the world!! Tyson is a name that we have both loved for a long time. And Keith is to honor the twins that my parents had and lost. Ryan cut the umbilical cord and Tyson was immediately handed to me. I was overwhelmed with emotion and cried my eyes out. He was here. And absolutely every pain, discomfort, and day on bed rest was so worth it. He is perfect!! I looked at Ryan and knew that everything was just as we wanted. I looked over at my Mom and saw how proud and happy she was. And I looked down at this amazing miracle and knew this was the happiest day of our lives. It was truly amazing. And what a way to bring in the first day of spring :)


At the Hospital
Well...you hear how you won't get any sleep and boy is that true! We were up for 40 plus hours straight. And probably looked like zombies! We had family and friends come to meet Ty and looking back it was all a daze for me. So far, breastfeeding is going great and I think Ty and I make a great team!! We sent Tyson to the nursery at night, so we were able to get a couple of hours of sleep in between feedings. We were all three ready and anxious to go home and finally left the hospital at noon on Sunday.


Home Sweet Home
Coming home felt amazing. I finally sat up in Tyson's room, looked at everything we had prepared for months, looked at the most beautiful baby in the world...and just cried tears of joy! I really could not be any happier. Even with the lack of sleep, we are just so happy and so in love with this little man. Ryan has been incredible and so far we are starting to build a routine. The first night was a little rough at first, but he slept at little better after 3am. My mom stayed the night to help us get settled. It was just very comforting to know that we had a veteran in case something happened.



Thank You Everyone
Finally, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has come to see us, sent emails, calls, and congratulations. As you know...our lives have changed and we are learning as we go. It will take me some time, but I will get back to all of you. We both know that Tyson will be so incredibly loved by so many people, that we really feel blessed. So thank you.