I know it's been six months since he was born, but I want to write out his birth story before I forget too much of what happened. I apologize ahead of time for the length of this post and if it has too much information in it...if you know what I mean. It's just really important to me to remember an event that changed my life so drastically; I don't want to look back years from now trying to recall the details and wishing then that I did what I'm doing now. Here it goes...
I was due April 6, 2008. The ultra sound that we had halfway through my pregnancy put my due date at March 31st and for some crazy reason, that's the date that stuck in my head and I was positive he'd be here on or even a little before that date. Apparently Luke likes to take after his dad and take his sweet time until he's ready to something; in this case, it was being born. At my doctors appointment on April 7, we scheduled my induction for Monday, April 14 at 5:30 in the morning.
At this point in the pregnancy, its extremely hard to sleep anyways, but when you know that your child will be coming the next day, there is no chance of sleep. It was like being a kid again the night before Christmas. I tossed and turned and prayed that everything would go well for myself and Luke the next day.
At 5:30 the next morning, Keith and I checked into the hospital and was given a pill that was supposed to put me into labor. I was 2 cm dilated at this point which was a miracle to me because I hadn't shown any signs of progress during any of my appointments with the doctor. Labor progressed slowly and after awhile I was put on pitocin.
Around 1:30 as I tried to roll to my side, one of my bags of water broke. I remember looking at my dad and brother and telling them they needed to leave the room because something had just happened. I wasn't sure at that time what it was, but they needed to get out! After I was cleaned up and situated again, the contractions started to come much harder and faster. It got to the point where I wasn't able to distinguish when one contraction stopped and another one started.
My ultimate goal for my labor was to make it through without an epidural. Some very important women in my life were able to do it and I really wanted to have that experience as well. It was a really difficult decision, but ultimately, I wanted to enjoy this experience and got the medicine around 5:30 in the afternoon. The thought of a needle going in my back and the pain that was associated with it really freaked me out. My nurse even told me it would feel like a bad bee sting. When the doctor, my lifesaver, told me he was finished, I realized I hadn't felt a thing and I had worried about nothing. Relief came in minutes and then it was back to chatting with all the friends and family who came to visit.
When Dr. Leonard came to check me around 6:30, he broke my actual bag of water. I had never realized that it was possible to have multiple bags of water, but I did. Lucky me. Knowing what the small felt like when it broke, I am way glad I couldn't feel anything for the second one! At this point I was 4-5cm, so we still had a ways to go.
When my nurse checked me at 10:00, it was time to push! I was exhausted at this point and SO hungry. I hadn't been able to eat anything since 8:00am that morning and drink anything since the lemonade that came with my lunch that Keith ate. In between pushes, I would lay back and basically fall asleep until I was told I needed to push again. My epidural was working so well that I never felt the urge to push, so it was two solid hours of pushing. Somewhere in the midst of the two hours, I remember asking if it was normal to have to feel like I had to throw up, which I did within the next minute. Gross, but I felt so much better afterwards.
At 11:50, my amazing nurse Seanna stepped to the door to talk to another nurse. They had a conversation about how I wasn't progressing enough and that it might be time to call the doctor and discuss what the next step would be. In my mind, I could only picture them making me have a c-section. When Seanna came back, she said we would try pushing one more time before they would call the doctor. Something inside me must have woken up because I pushed so hard that his head started come out and Seanna had to push it back in so she could call the doctor!
Dr. Leonard was there within 10 minutes and Luke was born at 12:04am on Tuesday, April 15.
I remember looking down and seeing Luke's face come up at me. When they put him on my chest, it was like the world stopped for a second and I had this tiny miracle that Keith and I created resting on top of me. He looked straight at me as he was screaming and I knew that I was changed forever. He was perfect with his fingers and toes and soft skin. It was a moment I'll never forget and treasure for a lifetime. Everything I had ever wished for was there in that room. Family and friends to support me. A husband who loves me unconditionally. And a child. A sweet child that was ours.
When we arrived in Silver, my parents met us at a gas station so that we could follow them to their place. Luke woke up screaming and from there, I'll spare you the rest of the sleeping details of the weekend. It just didn't go well.
Dad, Donovan, Randy, and Keith doing some "male bonding" while taking a break to repair Keith's finger from shooting guns.
Luke laughing with Pop
We would have to sing to him to get him to smile and open his mouth for the next bite. I almost felt bad tricking him like that...
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We'll also have nursing covers, diaper cakes, and diaper wreaths. It should be a lot of fun.... Wish me luck!
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We also learned this month that Luke enjoys being out of his car seat when we go shopping. He had a great first experience when we put him in the shopping cart at Sam's.
Luke taking it all in.
Emma found dirt. Can you find Emma?
I think Luke really wanted out, but he just isn't quite big enough yet. Or maybe I should say old enough, because I'm fairly certain he's getting close to big enough.
Luke was wiped out by the time we made it back to our house. When I went to check on him during his nap, this is how I found him. Apparently, he was taking solace in his bumper for not being able to play with the other kids earlier. 
Approximately 15 Mississippi's down the road from my house, we had to make a pit stop to figure out how to close Andi's hood because her purse had somehow popped it open. I failed to get a picture of us two girls first trying to figure out how to fully pop the trunk and then slam it down. Darn.
Katie and Will's amazing display of flexibility:
