Luke's Birth Story

We had made the appointment for an induction on April 26th. I really did not want to be induced again, but Dr. B had us make the appointment just so spaces didn't fill up. He also did not want me to go past my due date because at our last sonogram Luke was already weighing 7 1/2 pounds.

Here I am the morning we left for the hospital.

 

Since I did not go into labor beforehand, Monday March 6th came and we were ready to go. My mom came to our house to watch Samuel at about 6:30 and we left for the hospital. We got settled into our room and I got my epidural and pitocin at around 8:30. Dr. B examined me and I was still 2 cm dilated. Every time I got examined, I was a tiny bit more dilated. By about 5:00 I was still at 3.5 cm. Matthew and I filled the time by watching TLC (thanks, honey!). I was discouraged because I really thought this time would go much faster.

Matthew went to get dinner at around 6:00 and I was just laying there watching TV. All of a sudden I started feeling some pressure. I pushed the button for our nurse Rebecca (who was wonderful) and she opened the door saying, "Do you feel pressure?" I think she was as anxious as we were to get this done! She examined me and I was at a 7. Thank goodness! I went from a 7 to a 10 by 7:00 so it was time to push. At this point, Matthew and I thought we'd have our baby here in just a few minutes.

Well, I pushed for almost two hours. I was making progress, but Luke just wouldn't make it all the way down. And, every time I would push, Luke's heartbeat would get (sometimes) dangerously low. I would have to push through a contraction then turn onto my side to wait until the next one. That's when I heard the dreaded words from Dr. B. "Well, either I can help out (use forcepts) or we can go ahead and do a C-section." Of course I am thinking that I can't believe this is happening again. This is pretty much exactly what happened with Samuel! (You can read about Samuel's birth story here: http://irbydugout.blogspot.com/2011/06/this-is-story-of-how-our-precious-baby.html). I knew that Dr. B was a veteren doctor, he is awesome with forcepts, and this is how he delivered Samuel so I decided to go for it. I really, really did not want a c-section. So I said okay.

I was not as scared of the forcepts this time around because I'd done it before. Dr. B had Luke out in no time!

 Here is the first picture of our precious boy.

 

You can see the bruises from the forcepts here.

Luke was having some trouble breathing on his own right after he was born. Instead of crying, he was "grunting". The nurses sucked out his nose and mouth but were still not satisfied with his breathing, so they had to take him to the NICU. I was so very sad to see my baby go right after I had met him, but I knew he would be okay. We got Luke back around 3:15 in the morning and I was able to nurse him for the first time.

Samuel met his little brother for the first time on May 7th. He was precious...hugging and kissing him and saying "Baby Luke". It's like he knew this was coming all along!

Samuel kissing his little brother for the first time.

 

 

We had lots of visitors in the hospital (Nana, Granddaddy, Uncle Rob, Cammy, Outpaw, Aunt RaRa, Uncle JayJay, Hannah, Kara, Frank, Isaiah, Camille, Grandma, Aunt Katina, Hannah). Luke sure is loved!!

Monday is the Day!

So this is our last weekend as a family of 3. It is so surreal and I really can't believe it! I am 39 weeks pregnant today. Last Friday (April 26th) the doctor did a sonogram and we found out that Luke was already 7 1/2 pounds. In order to try and avoid having a huge baby and complications like we did with Samuel, we decided to induce a little early. So, Monday morning we will report to the hospital and help our little guy get here! Mom, Dad, and Rob are going to be watching Samuel at our house while we're in the hospital. I'm a little emotional about it all but really not as much as I thought I'd be. I know Samuel will be in good hands and he will come and visit us at the hospital. He'll have so much fun with Nana, Granddaddy, and Uncle Rob that he probably won't even notice that we're gone!

Both Matthew and my work threw us little showers recently. We work with such nice people!

Speaking of work, Thursday was my last day for the year. It is CRAZY to think that I'm done! I got everything done early at school, so I wasn't stressed at all this last week.

Here's a pic of Samuel and I one morning before school. I just love this little man!!

I will post again when I have time after Luke is born!!

Easter and 36 Weeks

Samuel spent the night with Cammy and Outpaw for the first time last night! So I am still laying in bed at 8:30 and I have time to write an update!

We have had a busy few months, between our usual craziness and getting ready for the Luke. Let's start with Easter. Samuel and I dyed eggs and painted pictures to get into the spirit. I love doing crafts with this little guy.

Then we had a fun Easter egg hunt at Valley View.

The Easter Bunny visited Samuel on Easter morning...

We went to church then had a fun afternoon with the Irbys.

 

 

And here I am at 36 weeks pregnant:

 

Our Little Man

I wanted to share some things that Samuel has been doing lately so I don't forget. He will be 22 months tomorrow and it seems like he's doing more every day.

He is really in to letters right now. He can sing the ABCs with help, can name a handful of the letters when he sees them, and LOVES to play iPad ABC games. He has bath letters do he absolutely loves bath time (he really always has).

Samuel repeats everything we say and says a ton on his own. His newest thing is to say "thank you, welcome". It is so cute. He can name all of the animals, his colors, tells us what he wants to eat(usually a cracker or raisins), etc.

Samuel loves being outside. We recently got an awesome swing set from a very generous friend and Samuel loves going down the slide. If he is in a bad mood, stick the boy outside and he will be fine!

We are trying our best to prepare Samuel to be a big brother. We talk about Baby Luke all the time, point out his baby toys, read Samuel a big brother book...it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to his baby brother.

Testing out the bumbo for Luke

 

 

 Ready to meet his baby brother

Sitting on his new tractor that he loves!

Reading his bible one morning before going to Ms. Sheryl's

Enjoying our "Samuel Day" (Matthew and I took off work and took Samuel to the zoo...one last hoorah before baby Luke arrives!)

24 weeks

Today I'm 24 weeks pregnant. Time is flying!! I went to the doctor last Friday and everything seems to be going great. I'm feeling wonderful. I have energy, I have a (big) appetite, and I don't think that I'm gaining as much weight as I did with Samuel.

Luke has been kicking a ton lately. It's fun to watch my tummy wiggle as he does his aerobics. Samuel still really has no clue what's going in. I think once we get the baby stuff out he will realize that something is different.

Here is a self portrait of me at 24 weeks. I feel huge!

Some Samuel news:
He is saying new words all the time. He has the cutest, cheesy smile that just melts my heart. Samuel has also started to throw some major tantrums. He probably had at least one a day this week. We are trying to work through them with him but it sure is hard to do after a long day at work!! We know that this is part if being a toddler, though and that it won't last forever.

Our precious little man at the zoo

Big News

So in September I was feeling a little different, and I told Matthew I thought I should take a pregnancy test. Matthew kept making me put it off because he didn't want to spend the money on a test and he knows I can be a bit dramatic, but I eventually convinced him we should do it. We were shocked to see a plus sign appear!! We were both very excited. We told our families by putting a big brother shirt on Samuel and just having them figure it out. It took Matthew's family no time at all, and it took mine a little longer.:) We found out at 19 weeks that we are having another boy!! I really wanted another boy for several reasons: I love Samuel so much and have tons of fun with him and I think a boy will just add to that, I know how to raise a boy so I am more confident, they can share a room, making the extra room a playroom, and we already have all the clothes and I get to go through them and remember when Samuel wore them!! As you can tell, I am very excited to be welcoming Luke Joseph into our family.

Here is our newest little guy at 20 weeks. 

18 Months

Well I have been the worst blogger ever!!! Guess I've been a little busy.:) I wanted to give some highlights of Samuel's 18th month.
- 25 lbs, 12 oz (50th percentile)
- 33 inches long (25th percentile)
- wearing 18 to 24 month clothes
- Samuel is talking so much! He will pretty much try to say anything we ask him to, but some of his favorite words are: mama, dada, Santa, nana, outpa, rob, Hannah, oh no, what's that, truck, please, thank you, bear, and all animal noises.
- Some of Samuel's favorite toys are puzzles, books, cars and trucks, and plastic animals.
- Some things he likes to do: play with toys, go on walks, go to class at church, play hide and seek (really he just runs and hides) and take baths.
- Favorite foods: bananas, raisins, graham crackers, any fruits, potatoes, yogurt, bread.
- takes one 2.5 to 3 hour nap per day.

Samuel has a sweet, loving, and stubborn personality. He loves giving kisses and snuggling (though the snuggles don't last long). When he wants something, it's hard for him to be distracted from it. He is very active but can focus on a book or puzzle for a good amount of time. We love our little man and can't imagine life without him!!