Slightly Overdue

Well, I guess it is only appropriate that I am a few days late in posting that little Luke Daniel FINALLY arrived!  He came into this world on Sunday, September 2nd at 10:29pm, weighing 9lbs 4oz and 22inch long! :)  Yes, he is a BIG BOY!

After going to my appointment on Thursday and seeing that my ultrasound and non-stress test all came out normal, and that I was still not dilated AT ALL...my doctor and I decided to continue to wait through the weekend but go ahead and schedule an induction to start on Monday evening.  I left the appointment relieved to know Luke was okay, but frustrated to know I had made no progress and would probably end up with an induction.

We went about the rest of our weekend with no plans for baby to arrive and prepared to start the week off in the hospital Monday night.  But Luke finally decided a little differently.  I woke up to some early labor symptoms and decided that going to church probably wasn't the smartest of ideas.  I was hoping things would progress quickly so I had my parents over to the house by about 10am.  Well, things didn't speed up...but they did stay consistent and regular.  By about 4pm, the contractions were getting strong and I started to get a little anxious that things would start going way too fast again like with Mark.  We decided we would go ahead and go to the hospital while they were still about 10minutes apart and see if they would admit us.  My parents took the boys to their house and I shed a couple of tears actually as they drove away knowing that was the last time I would see them as just my 2 sons!!

We arrived at the hospital a little after 5pm and were sent to triage to check things out.  Luckily, I was 4cm dilated and contracting regularly, so they let me stay!! I proceeded to tell any nurse that would listen about my last birth experience and that I really wanted to make sure I got an epidural this time.  Thankfully, they listened so as soon as I was checked in, they set me up for the epidural.  It came in just the right time as I was able to labor painlessly for the next 2 hours.  And I think it allowed me to relax and I progressed quickly!  An hour after the epidural, I was already at 7cm.  My contractions were getting very strong and close and my nurse said she thought as soon as my water broke, I would be delivering VERY quickly so she called the doctor on call.  She got there about 10pm, did a check which broke my water, decided I was ready to practice push which turned into the real deal and Luke was here 30 minutes later! :)  It was a great delivery and I felt really good and of course Luke is beautiful...and healthy... and BIG!  That was definitely a surprise!

We came home yesterday afternoon and everyone seems to be adjusting well.  The boys are fascinated with him and want to hold and "pet" and feed him all the time.  It is super sweet!

So without further adieu....here is Luke!!