Early in the wee morning on December 26, around 1 am I woke up with some sharp contractions. I got up from bed and walked around our bedroom, checking to see if they were at all consistent. They seemed to be, so I finished packing my bag, and tried to wait the suggested 1 hour before waking Steve up. 45 minutes into the contractions, I woke up Steve and told him, "I think we are going to have a baby!" When going into
labor with Christian I didn't ever have false labor, or any prior-indicator that he was coming, and I thought that maybe this was true labor in this case too (although in the back of my mind I was a little worried that we would get to the hospital late in the night and my contractions would stop.) We arrived at the hospital a little after 2 am and I was already 6 cm dilated and 100% effaced. By 3 am I was 8-9 cm. By this point I felt like I just couldn't finish the labor naturally, so they gave me a little relief. The spinal block slowed down my labor and made that last cm take awhile longer, but by 5:13 am we welcomed our sweet, healthy baby boy! Lucas Jude was 7 lbs. 11 oz, and 20 1/4 inches long. My labor couldn't have been easier and I am so thankful for such a short delivery, and a full term baby! Praise God!!
It was also a huge blessing that Steve's parents
arrived the night before on Christmas Day. What perfect timing! Funny though, we didn't tell Steve's parents that we were going to the hospital because Steve didn't want to wake them late in the night. Unaware to us, they both had their cell phones charging in our kitchen and didn't receive our texts or phone calls in the night. So by 8 am we were becoming a little concerned that no one was answering- Steve returned to the house, Christian was happily playing in the family room and Grandpa and Grandma were sleeping in after a long day of traveling. :o) But it still all worked out. I wasn't released from the hospital until Wednesday and Christian, Daddy, Grandpa, and Grandma came to visit Lucas and I a couple times a day (so nice to be 15 minutes away from the hospital this time!) Although I don't feel like I have been able to spend much quality time with my
in laws this visit, I am so thankful for the attention they have given Christian and help that they have provided this week. So glad that they could be here to share in this exciting time with the arrival of our sweet new arrival!
I am still feeling pretty well overall. Winded walking up the stairs, difficulty sleeping, heartburn, general pelvic pressure- check, check, check, and check. But really, how can I complain? Both pregnancies up to this point have been so easy compared to other women's stories I have heard. More importantly, I am so thankful that we have this opportunity to be parents once again. So often I take it for granted that we have been able to easily have children and I forget to thank God for the wonderful blessing that it is. So when those sleepless nights due to feeding and crankiness come along here again soon, I pray that I will remember how richly God has blessed us, and to truly treasure those 2 am "snuggles."
Christian is such a joy in our lives. He is fun and silly, and we are enjoying him as he learns and picks up on everything. (We have found that we need to be a little more careful these days about what we do or say.) His vocabulary is continually increasing, although it seemed slow at first. It has been fun to see him get excited about the "school" that he attends once or twice a week, and I love watching him interact with other children. He is most certainly ALL boy. He loves wrestling with Daddy on the bed, attempts free fall stunts whether or not anyone is there to catch him, and enjoys using his loud voice. :) Funny how boys just know how to make airplane engine sounds and growl even though Mommy has to work much harder at it. Christian has also taken up an interest in coloring and writing with pens. He loves to sit at the table and color in his "Crayola Magic Wonder" books and coloring books when I am cooking in the kitchen, but he especially likes it when Momma and Daddy join in the fun. Of course, paper shredding is a big thing these days too- I haven't needed to use our machine paper shredder in some time now.
We would love to see some snow here in South Carolina like last winter, so please send some from Colorado! The comfortable 70 degree days are wonderful, but a cool, balmy day on Christmas would be welcome and feel more like home. I guess we will just have to dream of a white Christmas (after Steve's parents arrive of course.)
