Luke’s dramatic entrance into the world May 22, 2007
Most of you may have heard already, but Luke is here! He was born last Thursday, May 17, 2007 at 11:46 am. His weight was 6 lb. 11 oz. and his length was 19 inches. He is as handsome as can be and extremely healthy. He is catching on quickly to all the newborn duties: eating, sleeping, pooping. We are very proud parents.
His arrival turned out to be quite an exciting one. I went in for my weekly prenatal visit on Wednesday and the doctor determined that I had preeclampsia. He decided to admit me into the hospital to stay overnight and induce labor in the morning. I called Mike to let him know and before I knew it they were wheeling me over to labor and delivery.
Wednesday evening they gave me some medication to soften things up and get me ready for dialating. This started contractions for me right away but they were mostly very mild. In the wee hours of the morning I was having some pretty strong contractions and was having to really start relying on Mike to calm and comfort me. At 6:30 am Thursday morning they gave me pitocin to really get things moving. By 7:30 am they broke my water and and I was on my way! My mom and sister arrived around 8 am and were a huge help in keeping me relaxed and focused. After a few hours of contractions coming nearly one after the other and increasing in strength, I was ready for the epidural.
At around 11 am the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural. He kicked Mom and Kari out so it was just the staff and Mike in there with me. I really didn’t know what to expect with the epidural but I never would have expected what happened next. After they injected the numbing medication and inserted the catheter, I felt a very warm sensation from my waist down to my toes. The sensation quickly subsided and I was left with absolutely no feeling in my body from my shoulders down. I stated this to the doctor but I don’t think he quite understood because he then asked me to sit straight up. I could not sit up. I couldn’t feel a thing. Mike and the nurse started to push me up, thinking they were assisting me in sitting up, when in reality they were doing all the work for me. They loosened their hold on me just a bit and I immediately began to fall to the side. They caught me just in time.
This is when the anesthesiologist realized something had gone terribly wrong. My understanding is that the medicine mistakenly got injected directly into the spinal sac rather than in the space around it (the epidural space). The result was a temporary paralysis. I cannot begin to tell you how terrified I was. It is the scariest thing I have ever experienced. I had no feeling in my body, not even a mild sensation. I could still move my head and talk but that was it. I could see the nurse moving my body to adjust my position on the bed but it was like I was watching it from across the room.
I believe it was at this point that they realized the baby’s heart rate was dropping. I heard someone say C-section and that added to my panic. That was the one thing I had not prepared mentally for. Doctors and nurses were rushing into the room. It was complete chaos. They instructed Mike to put on a set of scrubs and before I could process what was happening we were in the operating room and I could hear little Luke crying. Just like that, he was here. I looked over to my left and Mike was holding Luke next to my head. I’ll never forget that two seconds in time when I got to see his face. His head was perfectly round with chubby cheeks and a tiny bit of dark blonde hair on top. His eyes were scrunched closed, but it seemed as if he were looking at me like he knew who I was.
As quickly as he came, they whisked him away. They invited Mike to come over to see Luke but he wouldn’t leave my side. He knew I was scared and that right then I needed him more. We waited there together as the doctors stitched me up. I could start to feel the tugging on my belly as the anesthesia was wearing off quickly. By the time they brought me to the recovery room I was fairly lucid and in quite a bit of pain. Luke was in the nursery getting his breathing checked out. He was grunting a bit just following delivery so they wanted to be sure his breathing was okay. After about an hour and a half they brought him in to meet me. I was still in shock from all that had happened and even though he was there in my arms I really didn’t understand yet that this was my baby; this was the little guy that I had spent the last nine months with.
Thursday ended up to be the worst day of my life and the best day of my life all at the same time. Things certainly didn’t go how we expected, but God was there through all of it and kept us safe and healthy. I’m just so glad Luke is here now and that everyone is okay. He is a picture of health and we are enjoying every minute we have with him. I am moving slowly but I am healing well so far. Motrin does wonders. Mike has been an amazing help. He eased right into the role of father. He is taking care of many of the duties I would be trying to do were I not recovering from the C-section. We have been saying that I am basically just a milk machine. Luke comes to me for food and Mike handles everything else. It’s a huge job, taking care of both of us, but he does it all with a smile and a giddyness I have never seen in him.
So that is my birth story, and next I’ll post some pictures of our beautiful baby boy. A ginormous thank you goes out to everyone for all the help and support you have given us. We are blessed beyond measure.
Decisions, decisions May 14, 2007
Last week we bought a used car to replace the truck, which has to be turned in in July. Mike had been keeping an eye out for a good used trade-in at work, one within our budget. He found one even sooner than we had expected. We hadn’t quite saved up enough money for it so we did finance the purchase, but the plan is to pay it off as early as possible. Ugh. I hate borrowing money. But, I am happy that the truck payment is going away along with the expensive insurance. This new-used car will save us a load in payments, insurance, and gas. It’s a Buick Century. Dark green, 4 door, rides really nice. It’s what we call an “old lady” car, which is exactly why Mike knew I would love it.
We were recently looking at an opportunity to buy a house in a town near Lansing where we would love to raise a little boy. It’s next door to some dear friends of ours and it’s been on the market for 9 months. They just dropped the price into our price range so we were serious looking at it and looking at ways we could sell our house. Unfortunately, the price drop attracted a few other offers and I don’t think it’s likely we’ll get it.
We know we want to get out of town before Luke goes to school, because we’re not really thrilled with the company he would be keeping going to Lansing schools. The school systems themselves aren’t too bad, but the kids attending are getting more and more unruly as the years go by. The schools are becoming a dangerous place to be. We don’t want to leave the area by any means, so we’ve been looking at the various small towns surrounding Lansing as possibilities to live in. We want to live somewhere where there is a community feel, where people know your name. Like Cheers, but without the beer.
Just in the past week we’ve had some issues with the city. The first is minor – they stopped picking up our grass clippings. We’ve been putting them at the curb in a plastic trash can and they’ve been picking them up that way for years. All of a sudden they stopped, citing that rigid containers are not accepted and we need to use paper yard waste bags. You know, the kind you have to buy at the hardware store. It’s the only thing they’ll accept, apparently.
The second issue is much more upsetting - we received a letter on Saturday notifying us of a code violation with our carport. This stupid carport has been falling apart slowly, and we’ve been trying to save up the money to replace it as well as repair the concrete driveway (it’s better to do it all at once). They gave us a deadline to fix it by July 10th. If it’s not repaired by then the fines are $500 per day. Mike is going to call the city today and see if he can explain our situation and get the deadline extended. With all that’s going on and the changes we are facing, we have not the time, energy, or funds to get this handled in less than two months. Hopefully he’ll be able to talk to someone today. Apparently the only hours you can call about this stuff are between 8-9 am and 12-1 pm. I get the feeling they are really here to help us. All these income and property tax dollars we pay to them and they give us two, one-hour windows to talk to a real person. Ugh.
Both those issues and the house opportunity have got us thinking about moving sooner than we had talked about. If you’ve seen the state of our house you may know it could be a challenge getting someone to buy it, especially in the current state of the housing market. Externally it desperately needs windows and siding and internally it needs a lot of cosmetic work. We have talked about getting a home equity loan to handle the needed repairs, with the intention of turning right around and selling it. The thought of another loan makes me cringe, but I really would like to be done with this house and this city. I wonder what Dave Ramsey would say. Being a leader of his class and all, would I just be a big hypocrite if we did something like that? I think that might be my biggest concern here. Oy. It’s just a big decision and I want to do the right thing.
I’m really struggling with worrying about our finances. There are too many unknowns for me. We don’t know how much this baby is going to cost. If we decide to fix the house, sell it, and buy another, that throws another variable into the pot. Yes, it’s only two variables, but they are big ones and I am not comfortable with variables when it comes to finances. That is one area I like to have control. So it is a challenge for me to relax and leave things up to God. But as He keeps reminding me, He has never forgotten me and will not forget me now. This is definitely a year of faith building for me. Yee ha!
Restless May 14, 2007
Friday was my last day working but I plan on going in today for a couple of hours to offer help with payroll, if needed. Other than that, I’m done. Just waiting now for the baby to come. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week. It’s torture just sitting around waiting for it, not knowing. I’m scrutinizing every little pain in my belly. And there is pain to scrutinize. Poor Luke is crowded and heavy, and every time he moves he pinches or pushes on something. I feel like I’m bruised on the inside.
I am glad I’m not working because I need the rest, but how many hours in a day can you rest? I have to find other nonstrenuous things to do. It shouldn’t be difficult. There is always dust or cat hair to clean up, papers to sort through, and dishes that need washing.
Here are some goals I’m setting for myself this week:
- Compile FPU class testimonials and send in to Dave Ramsey’s office
- Make a meal plan for the next two weeks
- Buy groceries
- Declutter the papers in the office
- Fold and put away laundry
- Return pop bottles
I think all that will be enough to keep me from going insane with boredom. We’ll see how it goes.
Almost there! May 8, 2007
I was 38 weeks on Saturday, so I now have less than two weeks to go until my due date, May 19. I am ready to not be pregnant anymore. Who knows if I’m ready to be a mother of a newborn. I don’t think you’re ever ready for such a huge task, you just learn as you go I guess. I look forward to the challenge. Bring it on.
I had intended to keep working right up until I have the baby but I changed my mind. My last full day will be Friday, and I’ll just come in for a few hours on Monday to help the new girl with payroll. I can handle being tired and slow and out of breath, but I’m having some pain since the baby has dropped so low and that is why I thought it best to finish out this week and rest until Luke comes. And who knows, maybe he’ll come before then. We’ll see!
Mike is coming along on the baby’s room. He re-drywalled the closet and refinished the wood floor. He’s putting the last coat on the wood floor tonight. Then starts the painting of the walls. He’ll be completing that task the same way he’s been doing everything else – small steps in the evenings after he gets home from a long day of work. He has been working so hard and I haven’t heard one word of complaint from him. I am so blessed to have such an amazing man for a husband.
I’ve been training my replacement here at work and I’m pretty confident she’ll do well while I’m gone. She’ll be here any minute actually, so I should get back to work.
I know I’ve taken quite a hiatus from blogging. I just didn’t know pregnancy would have such an effect on my blogging motivation. I used to itch to post but lately I just never seem to get around to it. It’s been unintentional and I hope to get back to it soon. We’ll see.
