Happy Birthday Dear Sayer, Happy Birthday to You!

On Wednesday, December 17th at 8:19 p.m., Mike and I welcomed Sayer Michael Reik into the world. He weighed 8 pounds and was 21.5 inches long. For his gestational age he is off the growth charts and is in the 98% for his head measurement and 99% for his weight. He has the biggest hands and feet - just like his daddy!

We were admitted to the hospital at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday and began the induction process. They started me on a pit drip right away and Dr. Abney broke my water around 9:00 a.m. The contractions started getting more intense after that, but I was able to make it until 2:30 p.m. when I finally requested the epidural. WOW! The epidural was painless and offered immediate relief for the pain. Contractions and dilation continued after that, but then I stalled at 5 cm and did not make any additional progress from 4:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. At that time Dr. Abney suggested that we proceed with a C-Section and Mike and I agreed.

When she said that we would meet our son in 45 minutes, we were all for it after waiting what had felt like an eternity! We had lots of family at the hospital waiting with us for Sayer's arrival.

At 8:19 p.m., Sayer was born. Mike was with me in the operating room and when we heard his cry for the first time, it was the most amazing moment of our lives! We were both very emotional as we looked at our son for the first time. After waiting 9 long months we finally got to see what he looked like! He was much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined and perfect in every way!

Although I didn't get to hold him right away, my thoughts did not leave my son as they finished my procedure.

Mike went with Sayer to the nursery where they weighed him and took all of his measurements and vital signs. Our nurse was Dana (Donald from Platte City) and she pulled some strings and let Sayer come back to my room after about 15 minutes rather than the standard hour. I was extremely thankful. I still couldn't hold him right away, but once my numbness started wearing off I was able to. What a feeling!

Needless to say Mike and I are ecstatic and we think that Sayer is the most beautiful child that we have ever seen. We love this little boy more than life itself! We can't wait for you all to meet him!