Baby Luke is HERE!

Luke arrived Tuesday August 18 at 7:08 p.m. He weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 20 inches long. I was scheduled to go in for an induction Tuesday August 18 at 8:00 p.m., however I was awoken by my water breaking at 5:00 Tuesday morning. Luke just didn't want to wait til that evening! I have to say that I am so thankful that I had the experience of going into labor on my own. We arrived at the hospital at 7:00 a.m. I was only 2cm when I arrived so they started pitocin and the contractions started coming! At 3 cm and around noon I was able to get my epidural. That was very painful but I would let them stick me 10 times before I would feel contractions any stronger than the ones I was feeling. After I got my epidural it was smooth sailing from there. I felt like I was sitting in a hot bath for the next several hours. I had not been that comfortable in several months. I was progressing very slowly so they continued to turn up the pitocin and around 5:30 I was finally at 9cm. I went from 9cm to 10cm in about 15 minutes and then I started pushing. Richy was a great coach during this time. There were several contractions that I pushed through that Richy was the only one helping me and coaching me. The nurses were busy getting everything ready so it was up to Richy and I to push through them. I don't know what I would have done without Richy being there. He was such an amazing encourager and I am so thankful for him. I pushed for roughly 50 minutes and then I gave birth to the most amazing little boy in the whole world ( I'm not partial at all). When Luke was born the cord was wrapped around his neck so this caused a few complications in the beginning. The Lord had his hand upon my little boy because as soon as Richy started praying for him he stared improving and did not have to go to the special care nursery. After everything was cleaned up and Luke was doing well Richy was able to give Luke his first bath. It was great watching Richy care for his little boy. After the bath then Luke ate for the first time. I am breastfeeding and he latched on right away and has been a great eater every since. We allowed the visitors to come in after he ate and that was so great. I loved watching the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and great grandparents love on our sweet Luke. I can't find words to describe that day. All I know is that I am so glad to finally have Luke here with us!

38 Weeks 4 Days Appointment

Today was our last appt. to see Dr. Childs pre-baby. That is crazy to say and even harder to wrap my mind around. The appointment started off the same way except I was having some pretty strong contractions when I got there and had been having them all morning. I was weighed and I didn't gain any weight from the last week (yay). My blood pressure was down from the previous week (136/72) and Luke's heartbeat was in the 150's. Dr. Child's came in and I told him that I had been having some strong contractions and I also reminded him that two weeks ago that he said if we got to this point then we would check Luke's weight to see if he was still measuring big. He told me that he would hook me up to the monitors to monitor my contractions and that we may not need to check his weight because I may be having a baby. He said that I have been measuring two weeks ahead so he wanted to get me to 38.5 weeks and then we would make decisions from there. I was on the monitors for about 30 minutes and I had several strong contractions and then they started to slow down. Kay came in to check on me and said well. Let's have you come in Sunday night at midnight and we will have a baby on Monday. (that's if he doesn't come on his own between now and then) Well we are not going in on Sunday because of scheduling at the hospital but we are going in Tuesday night at 8 pm. I am in a daze I feel like. I am so excited and cannot wait but it is crazy to have a day that my baby will be here and the craziest part is it is less than a week away. I keep thinking of everything that I need to do before our lives our changed (for the better!) forever!

37 Weeks 4 Days

I went to the doctor yesterday for our weekly visit. I was weighed, had my blood pressure taken (146/82), and then was put into a room. My blood pressure was higher than what it has been, but Dr. Childs was not concerned. He checked me and I was dilated to 2 cm. That's only 1/2 cm more than last week, but it is still progress. He also said that Luke's head was further down than it was last time. Before leaving the room Dr. Childs gave me a note that said, "call Dr. Childs." This was the highlight of my appointment because now if I do go into labor the nurse at the hospital will call him to ensure that he will be the one to deliver.

General Update:

• Richy is a nervous wreck! I would never laugh at him where he could see but it is so funny. He is more forgetful than ever (scary....I know) and he is constantly checking on me. I didn't answer the phone the other day because I was in the basement doing laundry and by the time that I made it back upstairs to check my phone he had his mom on the way over to check on me. He also called me today and said, "you need to have the baby!" I asked why and he said, "I can't think strait. I got out the truck today without putting it into park!" Thankfully there was a curb in front of the truck that kept it from going very far. So pray for Richy that he can keep it together!
• I have been having contractions pretty much everyday. Last Sunday I had them for several hours but they were not ever consistent. They kept ranging from 4 to 12 minutes, and at 2:30 Monday morning (the morning that I had to go back to work) they stopped and I finally fell asleep.
• Today (Friday) was my last "official" day of work til October 12. It is so weird to think that the next time I go back to work I will be a mom.