Born on the 4th of July!

Our sweet little man was born on July 4, 2012.  Lukas Paul Smith arrived at 3:32pm weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long.  Today Luke is one week old, and the time has just flown by.  His Daddy and I are madly in love with this sweet boy.  I'm sure we're like every other set of new parents, but every face he makes is the cutest we've ever seen.  His cries are adorable, he sounds like a kitten, just little mews.  He's just as laid back on the outside as he seemed to be when I was pregnant.  He loves to sleep.  I have to wake him up to feed him...which I know sounds crazy.  But he lost 11.5% of his body weight the first few days and we're working to catch back up.  That and I am not sure that he would wake up on his own to eat, he really loves his beauty sleep.

Luke's Birth Story:   I went into early labor the Thursday before Luke was born.  We made a few trips to the doctor and hospital and although the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart, there wasn't enough progress to keep me there so we were sent home.  Needless to say, the next few days were painful and exhausting.  Finally on Tuesday July 3rd my water broke.  We arrived at the hospital around 6:30pm and checked in to have our baby.  Our Midwife and Nurses thought he would be here by the next morning.  My contractions were extremely painful and lasting 3-5 minutes each.  They decided to start Pitocin to try to get things moving faster and to deal with the pain I had my epidural put in, and God bless that Doctor.  It kicked in immediately and I was so grateful!  Unfortunately after laboring for a full 24 hours since my water had broken with no real progress, we realized that Luke's head was simply too big and it was time for a c-section to keep him safe.  His heart rate had dropped dangerously during the night and we were seconds away from an emergency c-section.  It was the worst feeling Joe and I ever experienced.  It was terrifying.  Thankfully after several long minutes they were able to stabilize Luke through positioning.  I really dreaded the c-section, but I'd spent the hours since his slowed heart rate terrified it would happen again, and was willing to do anything to get him here safely. Once the decision was made, everything went very quickly.  I signed the papers and Joe and I headed to the O.R. to meet our son.  When Luke came out time stood still.  They brought him around so that I could see him and we could hear him crying.  Because there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, there was a team in the O.R. that immediately took Luke and checked him.  Thank God he was completely healthy and scored 99 on his apgars.  They let Joe cut his cord and wrapped him up.  Then they handed him to his Daddy and they brought him over to me.  I'm sitting here crying thinking about that moment.  I couldn't even say hello to him because I was crying too hard.  Looking at my son, seeing him here safe and sound was the best moment of my life, hands down.  I am beyond lucky to be his Mommy.

We spent the next 4 days at the hospital and I am really grateful for that time.  I needed it to recover from the surgery, and Luke needed it to deal with his jaundice and weight loss.  The nurses and lactation consultants were amazing.   And we took full advantage of having them there.  We were released with flying colors and on Sunday we were able to bring our baby home.  He's been completely spoiled ever since.  His Grandma and Grandpa Smith were here a few days before his birth and have been snuggling him like crazy ever since. Daddy and I can't get enough of him either.  We could hold him 24/7.  We can't wait for the rest of our family and friends to meet our boy, we know they'll be just as in love with him as we are.

Joe has been amazing. Even though he isn't getting much sleep either, he has waited on us hand and foot.  He's cooking, cleaning, and still finds time to ooh and ahh over his boy and take a million pictures. I don't know what I would have done without him this past week.  I am so lucky to have him for my husband and Luke is blessed to have him for his Dad.  He's taking the very best care of us and I am so appreciative.

So here I am, typing up his birth story while my sweet boy is next to me.  Every once in a while he will stretch or make a cute new face and my heart melts a little more.  I wish I could freeze this time forever.  He is perfection.

Joe and I want to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers and well wishes.  We look forward to keeping you updated on our little man as he grows.  We are so incredibly grateful and happy and love that you are here to share this journey with us.