A Miracle

Our little miracle is here. And he truly is a miracle. I just can't believe that three years ago we had our first miscarriage and now we've got this new little guy around...and he's OURS!

This is the birth story. I just don't want to forget anything.

When I went to the doctor on 11/4, I was 2-3 cm dilated. I knew I could stay that way for a while, so I wasn't expecting much to happen. I was hopeful that I'd progressed a little bit when I went for my next appt on 11/9. I was contracting a little when I got there at noon on 11/9, but had been at school all morning and wasn't sure anything was really going on. I was tired of being pregnant, so I asked to be induced. Jeri, the midwife, said no way. I wanted to go natural and she didn't really think I wanted to be induced. She stripped my membranes and sent me home to rest.

HA. There was no rest. The contractions started around 2:00 and increased during the afternoon. Dwayne and I were texting back and forth. I finally called the dr's office and told them the contractions weren't steady, but they were intensifying and I was going to wait for Dwayne to get home from work and then head to the hospital. Jeri's nurse agreed that was a good plan.

By 5:30, we had dropped M off with Dwayne's family and we were on our way to the hospital. The pain was pretty intense and I told him FORGET NATURAL. I was a fool for thinking I could do that. He agreed to whatever I needed.

We were admitted by 6:30 and in a labor and delivery room by 7:00. I had my epidural not long after that--that pain was incredible and I was feeling pretty sick. My sweet friends, H and P2, showed up between 7:15 and 7:30 to help me labor. We visited and relaxed a little, the epidural helped a lot.

Around 9:00, the pain intensified tremendously. Even with the medication, I was still feeling every contraction. The girls helped me labor through them, encouraging me in all the right ways. I honestly do not think I could have done it without their help. Dwayne was incredible and their help to me enabled him to focus on helping the midwife.

I had some blood pressure issues and Luke's heartrate would not stabilize, so there were some rather intense moments. His labor and delivery were FAR MORE DIFFICULT than M's. There is absolutely no way I could have done it naturally.

He was delivered at 11:09 on 11/09/10. He was sunny-side up with his head looking up instead of down. Getting his sweet little head out was the hardest part, but definitely rewarding. As soon as his head was out, he was turned. When I delivered his shoulders, my body felt a tremendous amount of relief.

Delivering him was much harder on my body...there was a lot more damage with him than when I delivered M. Despite that, I've felt better since he was born. I'm more mobile, I have a tad bit more energy. I haven't felt sick once! That's huge! :)

M is an AWESOME big sister. I'll give her her own post tomorrow so I don't forget anything about these first few days.

Last night was really rough for us. Luke was having some choking issues and had to have his tummy drained. He quit nursing most of the night and screamed for hours. This morning, he had to have more yucky stuff drained from his tummy. He's been a champ since around lunch time. He's napping right now as I look at him.

I just can't tell you how blessed we feel. I'll post some pictures later tonight. The laptop isn't plugged in and I'm running out of juice. Thank you for all your love and prayers!! Praise God for all his blessings!