Hello there...it's been awhile hasn't it? It's funny, when I was still pregnant with Luke I followed a few pregnancy blogs and found myself rather impatiently waiting for a baby update as each blogger's due date approached. I couldn't wait to hear their story, how it all unfolded, bringing me that much closer to my own story. Sometimes it took only a few days before there was an update, but sometimes it was a few weeks..ugh! The suspense! Well here we are, tomorrow it will be 6 weeks since we welcomed our son, and I finally have the opportunity to tell his story. I am so very proud to introduce you to our sweet baby boy. Enjoy.
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Luke's Birth Story
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September 18th, that was my due date. For months I had been counting the days, torn between slowing down and cherishing my last pregnancy and wishing the days away so I could hold my baby. As the date approached I had conversations with my doctor as to how the last few weeks would unfold. Would he stay breech as he had been every other appointment? Would he turn? What if I needed a C-section? What if he was overdue? Would I be induced?
My pregnancy with Luke was a good one. For the most part it was free of any complications. At about 14 weeks, I did black out completely while at the vet with our dog. That was bizarre, but the doctor wasn't concerned. I also had morning sickness this time when I never had it before so that was a bummer. Even though, I couldn't complain, it was nothing compared to what many experience during pregnancy.
While still in the womb I took Luke on many adventures! He rode a roller coaster at the Mall of America! He also flew on a plane, went to Disney World, Animal Kingdom and Sea World. Boat rides, swimming and lots of parks. There wasn't a whole lot he didn't get to do while growing his tiny little self in preparation for his birthday. When you have 2 kids already, life just keeps on going! You could also say that I had a bucket list of things that we wanted to do before we had a baby in tow again. It was a fun summer!
The last few weeks of my pregnancy I grew more and more uncomfortable. Even though I didn't get very big, I could tell that the end was near. My body was done. My 39 week appointment was scheduled for September 11th and at this appointment my doctor had agreed to try to get things moving with a membrane stripping. After the success I had with the same procedure in my last pregnancy when my water broke two hours later, I was convinced I would have a baby by the next day, the 12th, which was coincidentally my Grandma's birthday. Perfect!
Jeff had been working out of town for the past month in South Dakota and was supposed to stay out there through the week of my due date. I gave him a hard date of the 11th that he needed to be home by. Since that was the day of my appointment, it was time to be at home base for a while. I am sure most women would be really nervous having their husband traveling so close to their due date but I wasn't. I felt pretty confident about how it would all play out. Funny right? Well in my head, I was totally serious. I had it all planned. Well lucky for me, Jeff was sent back to work in town early because on the night of September 10th, 9 days before my due date, my water broke all on its own.
It was a Tuesday, I worked like any other day. Over lunch I went and got a pedicure, I remember thinking as my feet were massaged that it was either the best pedicure I had ever gotten or I was deliriously tired. I was so relaxed I was nodding off. I rarely close my eyes during a pedicure, usually I watch TV, play on my phone or read a magazine. This time, I nearly fell asleep. I will always wonder if there was any connection between that pedicure and going into labor the very same night. I know that foot massages are known to trigger contractions.
Anyway, the day continued on, after work I picked up the kids, went home, had dinner, went to gymnastics, had Dairy Queen and then after the kids were in bed I settled down to watch my show... A Baby Story. Earlier in the night I had noticed some signs that labor was coming soon and may just be a few days away, things were getting started. I was excited and told Jeff, he was grossed out. Ha! Because of this, just before Jeff went to bed he told me that he would be just fine with me going into labor that night as he really didn't feel like going to work the next day. I laughed and said not tonight, but there was a good chance that tomorrow would be the day, you know, after my 39 week appointment. I got into my pajamas then too and sat down to watch my shows before bed. It wasn't more than 15 minutes later when I felt a little gush. What? No way.
So, I rushed to the bathroom to investigate, this was suspicious. It was just like before, with my last baby but without any help from the doctor. Yippee! I was SO excited, I rushed in the bedroom to tell Jeff he got his wish, no work for him tomorrow. But he was already asleep and snoring up a storm. Being this wasn't my first time at this I knew what a long road I had ahead. I mean, I still hadn't even had a contraction. It was about 11:00 at night, the whole house was asleep. Why wake them? I figured I had better try to get some sleep too before the contractions got going. I quickly sent a text to my sister and then called to let my mom know to be on alert. She and my Dad would be taking the kids when I went into labor. We were excited! As I mentioned, I had this all planned out so even though things had started a day sooner than I thought it was fine, I revised the plan. Based on what I knew about how my body handles labor I figured that I could get through the night on my own, then in the morning wake everyone at their normal times and we would drop them off at school and daycare on the way to the hospital. That way my Mom could still go to work and she would just pick them up after. By then we should have a baby and they could all just head to the hospital! My mom thought I was crazy. The pets knew something was going on.
I called the Dr. on call to report my water breaking and let her know I would hopefully be in soon to have my baby. She said that normally she would have me come in right away to make sure my water had broke and that the fluid was clear but since I assured her that it was clear and that this being my third baby, I knew it was too soon and didn't want to come in only to be sent back home. My babies were all in bed and if I could wait until morning I would like to. She agreed with my plan after I promised her I would come in right away if anything felt different.
Well, I tried to sleep, but who was I kidding. I had such an adrenaline rush when I realized it was baby time that by the time I was finally tired enough to sleep the contractions were strong enough that I couldn't. I slept from about 12-1, and that was all. I laid in bed with my eyes closed but my mind wide awake and finally gave up at about 3:30 and took a shower. I knew Jeff's alarm would go off at about 5:30 so I started timing my contractions and watched some TV until he got up and I could share the news that I had been keeping to myself all night. He was excited, and really happy I let him sleep all night. I am such a nice wife.
Well the daycare for both kids opened at 6:30 so we soon started getting the kids packed for Grandma's and up and moving for school and daycare. We dropped them off at about 7:00 and left for Woodwinds first stopping at Caribou for a hot chocolate and a bagel. In timing my contractions I knew that they were pretty frequent and definitely painful but I knew that they weren't quite where they needed to be to be admitted if it weren't for my water breaking too. We were on our way anyway though and I was pretty confident we would be able to stay. After all, so far my plan was working!
We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 AM and were put in a holding room to be monitored. I learned that they were so busy the previous night with births that if I had come in earlier, I would have been routed to another hospital in the network. Maybe that was why the doctor on call agreed I could labor at home. I was so glad that things were working out as they did. I would have been heartbroken if moved from Woodwinds for delivery. In the holding room they checked to see how far along I was and monitored my contractions. I was at a 3 and 50% effaced. Considering I was only a fingertip dilated 6 days earlier that was great news. They really wanted my contractions to pick up before admitting me but when the test came back positive that I was leaking amniotic fluid, that sealed the deal. I was officially admitted to labor and delivery at 10:15 AM.
We were give the only room they had left, the water birth room. It was basically a regular room but huge with a birthing tub in there as well. The big tub was funny, I can't imagine having a baby in there. One of the nurses told us that sometimes the husbands will crawl in too to catch the baby. Doesn't that sound messy? Once we were all settled in the nurse came in and hooked up my IV and put me on Pitocin right away to speed up my contractions. She said she was just giving me the smallest amount possible to see how I reacted. Apparently I reacted just fine because every time she came back up she pushed to up button a bunch of times. Super fun I tell you. Pretty soon the contractions were getting so intense that I knew I would want the epidural soon and once I got that I couldn't eat so we decided to order some lunch. Well the lunch took forever and by the time it was there I could hardly eat because in the meantime the evil nurse increased my Pitocin about 10 more times. Augh!
With my past babies, once I got the epidural, things moved pretty quickly, I delivered within 2 hours and with very little pushing. One of the best parts about being an experienced mother is the nurses actually listen to you and trust that you know what you are talking about. Well I finally got the epidural at 1:20, and at my exam just prior I was still 3 cm. The epidural was heaven, I really love epidurals. Seriously. I have said it before and will say it again, why anyone would choose not to get one is beyond me. Well the nurse came in and checked me 30 minutes later and I was now 6 cm and 90% effaced. She was surprised, I was not. Not much longer!!! I was giddy. She put in the catheter and then I tried to get a little cat nap in now that I was feeling so heavenly.
An hour went by, I had just drifted off to sleep when the beeping started and 4 nurses rushed in. They had me turning from side to side until the beeping finally stopped, they then put in an internal monitor to keep an eye on my baby and gave me an oxygen mask until he stabilized. Luke's heart rate had slowed down to about 70 from the previous 130's as he was under stress. They thought at first the cord was maybe compressed but then realized it was because my contractions were coming too quickly so they stopped the Pitocin. Too much Pitocin, thank goodness I wasn't feeling those contractions because based on the monitor they were coming on top of one another. It was scary, I was enjoying my little bit of rest until that episode. Now I just wanted him out and safely in my arms, it made me sad that he was under stress.
It wasn't long. When my nurse checked me again after everything settled down it was time! It had been about 2 hours since the epidural and my baby boy was ready. I again warned the nurses and my doctor about how my first baby was out in 3 pushes and my second in 4 as they set up the bed and room for delivery. It was so calm and quiet. Jeff and I both commented on how quiet everyone was. They said it was refreshing for them that we were so calm, often this stage of delivery is really hectic and chaotic. Once everyone was in place, Jeff on one leg, a nurse on another, they asked if I felt the urge to push. I told them no, I couldn't feel anything so they should just let me know when I should. Once I was given the go ahead I gave it one good hard push. The nursed were shocked. He was coming out quick but my contraction was over. My Dr. told me just to wait until the next contraction. I asked if I could push anyway? She said if I wanted to I could try. Well I tried and they made me stop, he was out. He was born in 1 and a half pushes. I was so proud of myself, I can't fathom how some women push for hours.
He was immediately put on my chest as tears ran from my eyes. He was beautiful, just perfect and again so familiar. He was our son, and finally he was in my arms. He was tiny and oh so sweet. As I held him, Jeff cut the cord just as he did with our other babies and we were left for awhile just to take him in...every sweet little ounce of him.
~Luke Martin~
Born September 11th, 2013
3:43 PM
6 lb. 1.2 oz.
20 inches
Later that night my mom and dad came with Paige and Quinn, the moment we had been waiting for was finally here. They were able to old their baby brother and we, as a family, became complete.
And that is Luke's birth story.
Welcome to the world sweet baby boy.
