{luke daniel}

introducing our newest family member...luke daniel.
he made his grand appearance late friday night (2/25) at 11:51.

i labored much of the afternoon friday with short contractions every 5-6 minutes, but they were not that intense...and after weeks of false labor pains i wasn't ready to trust that it was real labor. we decided to go ahead and attend the MOPS couples banquet we had signed up for that evening--after all, it only brought us closer to the hospital if need be. we did, however, go ahead and throw all the bags in the car when we left the house. :)

after finishing my dinner i decided the contractions were getting more frequent and painful, so we called the my OB and headed in to the hospital to get checked. i was just hoping i was far enough along that they would allow me to stay...so imagine my surprise when i was already nearly 8 cm.

we settled in a labor and delivery room, and being so far along, i decided to forego the epidural, etc. (which had been my hope all along and my hesitation about being induced!) and after about an hour and a half the nurse checked me again and i was 9, but my water still hadn't broken. my OB came in and broke my water...at which point labor definitely became much more intense (to say the least!)...but after about a half and hour i couldn't breathe through contractions without the intense need to push...three pushes later and our luke came bursting onto the scene.


he is not small...to say the least. nope, our big guy weighed in at 10 lbs 14 oz. and 22 1/4 inches long (and a 15 cm. head). he is perfect...absolutely perfect...and i couldn't have asked for a better labor and delivery...no complications for me...and in spite of the meconium in my water when it was broken i was still able to hold him immediately.

isn't he precious?

we didn't get settled into our post-partum room until nearly 2 am...after a few excited phone calls, lots of snuggling, his first meal, etc. needless to say, i didn't settle in and sleep much at all...but fortunately daddy was able to catch a few winks.

in the morning luke had several excited visitors. his big sisters are quite smitten. kate was the first to jump onto the bed and check him out, kiss him, ask questions, etc. elizabeth was a bit slower to warm up but did quickly decide she wanted to hold him and love him. both of his biggest sisters have continued to dote on him...kisses, snuggles, bringing him cars, toys, his paci, blankies, and on and on. hilariously enough kate was utterly convinced his name was jonathon at first...regardless of how many times we told her differently (not sure where that came from!)....and elizabeth insists on calling him "luke daniel"...not just luke...perhaps because she is the one who came up with his middle name. it was her front-runner "real" name choice (you know, other than scooby-doo, etc.). jilly did sit in my lap and look at him that first day, but it took her a bit longer to warm up. she was most interested at first in his paci...and since then is gradually growing more interested in luke.

the girls were accompanied by grandmommy and poppy (who made the late night trip friday night to stay with them for the first 24 hours while i labored, etc.) there "aunt jill" was also there to visit and love on luke quickly...just didn't get any pictures :(

love this one of poppy, grandmommy and the whole brood!

grandmommy and luke

i was able to get some sleep saturday afternoon before luke and i had more visitors...and then got a delightful night of sleep saturday night...before waking up and being horribly sick sunday morning...throwing up, etc....ugh! so thankful for the nurses that took great care of me...and of luke! and i felt much better by the late afternoon/evening after getting some sleep. :)

mike's parents and his brother and brother's girlfriend came in for a brief visit sunday....unfortunately not when i was at my best. mike and the girls were there too...so it made for a full rooom. :) but we did get a few pics.

grandpa and grandma f and luke


yep...every bit of him is huge...love the perspective of his foot size compared with my iPod. i think our favorite is the roll at the back of his neck. but really he is proportionally big...just big and snuggly all over...with huge hands, long fingers, long toes...and the sweetest, squishable, kissable cheeks. he totally captured the hearts of the nurses...even one of the gals from house-keeping stopped in before we were discharged; she had seen him in the nursery and just couldn't get enough...so, yes, we are biased...but a lot of people agreed with us about his preciousness!

the hospital released us early sunday night so we didn't have to stick around until the official 48 hours at almost midnight.

all dressed up and ready to go

doesn't

he

take

your

breath away?

our first night home was pretty sleepless...partly because we had severe storms and torrential rain...that combined with luke made for about an hour of sleep for mommy! and night two he was still not sure what "night" was for...but night three at home went MUCH, MUCH better. we have already learned that luke loves being on his tummy...he loves eating...he loves snuggling...and he is very much loved! we've been napping and hanging out, taking life slowly (unless you are daddy...who is working his tail off taking care of all of us...so, so, so incredibly thankful for my incredible husband.)

life is good.