ONE YEAR!!

I can’t believe Lukie is one! The year seriously went by in the blink of an eye and what a wonderfully amazing year it has been. Our little man is such a blessing and such a sweet boy. He is always full of smiles and has recently started climbing into my lap, wrapping his arms around my neck and giving me big hugs ((my heart melts every time)). He is officially walking and the look on his face when he walks across the room is priceless - he is so proud and I make sure I always smile & clap for him :) So cheers to Luke, my little love bug, here’s to a very happy first birthday and many many more!

riding the carousel - such a big boy!

"cheeeese!"

matching tie dye with daddy

you know, just eating a book

coming to get mommy!

playing with the "one year" sign

my big one year old :)

*the birth of Luke – remembering that wonderful day one year ago*

When I went in for my 36 week appointment, after Dr. Long listened to the baby’s heart rate and measured my ever growing belly, she checked my cervix to see if I was dilated or effaced yet. To my surprise, I was; half a centimeter dilated and 70% effaced! Oh boy. That’s when it got real. Dr. Long told me that since I have already started progressing, I could potentially go into labor at any moment. That news both terrified and excited me and had the same effect on Eric when I told him. Over the next few weeks we made sure the nursery was completely ready to go, the car seat was installed in the car, and the hospital bag packed and placed in the trunk. Each week I would go to the doctor and hope to hear that I was a few centimeters dilated but instead I was progressing slowly; only half a centimeter at a time. When I went for my 39 week appointment I was beyond swollen and bloated and ready to have baby boy. Dr. Long told me that I was about 2.5 cm. As she was asking me how I was feeling she was listening to the baby’s heart rate and told me I had just had a contraction. What? I didn't feel anything. So then of course, as a first time mom, I started worrying that I wouldn't know when I was having contractions and would of course have the baby in the car. Dr. Long then told me that if I didn't have the baby by my due date, August 28^th, that I would be induced at 3am on August 29^th - so many emotions. I was relieved that there was a for sure end in sight but had heard scary stories about how bad the contractions were due to the Pitocin (what they give you to induce labor). So, for the next week Eric and I did everything we could to naturally induce labor. We walked everywhere. We ate spicy food. I did squats. If there was an old wives tale to induce labor, we did it. On my due date we realized that baby boy wasn't coming on his own and we would be headed calmly to the hospital at 3am. We dropped Daisy dog off at Eric’s dad’s house that afternoon and went home to enjoy a quiet dinner. We watched a movie and tried very hard to sleep but we were like kids at Christmas. The most amazing gift was coming our way in just a few hours and the ability to sleep had completely escaped us.

At 1:45 AM on August 29^th I hopped in the shower, got dressed and by 2:45am we were on our way to the hospital to have our baby. By the time we registered, were taken to our delivery room and were settled in it was 4am. The nurse started me on an IV and the Pitocin and now it was time to let the drug do its job. My mom showed up at the hospital around 6:30am and my Dad, brother and other family members not long after. Eric did a wonderful job of bringing me ice chips and keeping me calm and comfortable. He brought a sock full of rice and a sock full tennis balls to massage my neck and back. The nurse told me that as soon as Dr. Long got to the hospital she would break my water in order to really get my labor going. She showed up in my room around 8:30 and along with nurse they broke my water. It wasn't a painful experience, just a weird one. It felt as though I wet myself, a lot of water came gushing out. Not long after they broke my water, the contractions really started. I, of course, was hooked up to two monitors: one to monitor baby boy’s heart and one to monitor my contractions. We were watching both on the screen and seeing that baby’s heart rate was strong and steady and so were my contractions. They started coming every 2-4 minutes and the pain started to get pretty intense. By this point in the day most of our family was at the hospital and were visiting with us in the labor room in shifts. I told Eric that it was time to politely kick everyone out because I was no longer able to smile and talk through my contractions. I knew I was going to eventually opt for the epidural but I was doing my best to make it as long as I could without. Well time had come to go numb and the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural. I was 4 – 4.5 cm dilated when that happened. Once I was numb the nurse told me (and Eric) to try and get some sleep since I would need the strength of a bear when it came time to push. Well, easier said than done. I couldn't sleep at all and neither could Eric. He kept bringing me ice chips and popsicles and we kept each other occupied by talking about anything and everything.

My epidural kept wearing off and I could feel everything. Ouch. I had to have the anesthesiologist come in and re-dose my epidural not once, but twice. For some reason my body and the epidural didn't mix too well because after the second re-dose my left eye swelled up.

It was about 3:00pm when Dr. Long came in to check my cervix and told me that I was 9.5cm dilated! That was the good news. The not so good news was that baby boy turned from his head-down-right-where-he-should-be position, to lying sideways in my belly. Little stinker. So, Dr. Long told me that as soon as he rotated back in to the correct position, it would be go time. In order to make that happen, she flipped me on to my side and told me she would be back in about an hour. About an hour later when she came back in and checked me, she told me that baby boy had cooperated and it was time to push. Oh my gosh. This was it. I started shaking and was so nervous. Eric and I looked at each other, both took a deep breath, and smiled. Eric alerted the 20+ family members in the waiting room that it was time to push while the nurse and doctor got all of the tools ready. The nurse, Mary Ann, held one leg and Eric held the other as I started pushing through each contraction. They were about a minute apart at that point. Let me tell you, pushing was hard and awkward. My epidural started wearing off AGAIN and I could feel everything as I pushed. Oh my gosh it hurt. I once again was re-dosed and all was right with the world again. I pushed and pushed and pushed. The hours went by and still no baby. Dr. Long told me that baby’s head was right there, so close, but wasn't moving very quickly and I could either keep pushing but it would take several more hours, or she could help pull him out with forceps. It had been three hours already. I was going on an hour of sleep and hadn't eaten in over 24 hours. I was exhausted and just wanted to hold my baby. Eric and I quickly talked about it and decided that we wanted to move forward with the forceps. Immediately Dr. Long sprang into action and started getting the appropriate tools out. Not a minute later that good ol’ anesthesiologist came back and gave me a hefty dose of the epidural since they didn't want me to be able to feel any of what was about to happen. Once everything was in order, a contraction came along and I had to push as hard as I could while Dr. Long pulled with the forceps. It took three pushes for baby boy to come out. Eric was holding my leg and watching our son come into the world. I looked at his face and it went white. Dr. Long calmly said “hey dad is it ok if I cut the cord, it’s around the baby’s neck.” Eric of course said, "yes, do it now!". She cut the cord and placed the baby on my belly. He was slightly blue but his color came right away. The nurse started patting him on the back and the next sound I heard was the most wonderful of all: my baby’s first cry. The next few hours were a complete blur. Lukas Oliver was measured, weighed, inked and swaddled tightly while Dr. Long worked her magic and cleaned me up. Eric went back and forth from me to Luke and took pictures of our first moments together. We then got to hold our baby. The three of us, our family, the beginning of the most wonderful journey. After everyone was cleaned up our entourage was allowed into our room where Luke got to meet our big crazy family. Luke was wide eyed the whole time he was passed around from person to person and many pictures were taken. I finally got to eat and the nurse made everyone leave so we could try breast feeding for the first time. Luke was such a natural. We were moved to a different room where we spent the next day and a half. We had a constant flow of visitors before we went home on Friday afternoon, just the three of us. Our little family.

11 Months

I can't believe Luke is almost a year old! He is turning into more of a toddler and less of a baby every day and while I love watching him grow, I'm also a little sad at how my sweet baby is turning into a little boy so quickly. He is so busy! He goes from one thing to the next all day long. He is getting closer to walking and has started making some very cute animal sounds. He is still quite the talker and all day I hear a lot of "ma ma ma" and "da da da" mixed with his own little language. He is just the best and being his mom is the most wonderful thing of all :)

cheese face :)

this is as good as it gets when it comes to sitting on the lion these days

he loved the giant tiger

10 months!

Our little man is now 10 months old! It's amazing how fast the time is going and how quickly he is growing up. This past month Luke went swimming for the first time and loved it. He kicked and splashed in the water and was in no hurry to get out. He is working on walking and has started pushing the laundry basket around the house while walking behind it; I think it is time to get him a new toy :) So far we are enjoying Luke's first summer and looking forward to all that is to come in the next few months.

in the pool for the first time

swinging at the park

refuses to sit still on the lion

cheese!!

wearing daddy's hat

9 months!!

Luke is nine months old! He had his nine month check-up today and is weighing in at 17 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 28.5 inches long! He is in the tenth percentile for weight and the sixtieth for length - long and lean. He is a very active and curious little guy and over the past month he has started standing on his own for several seconds at a time. I can't believe how quickly he is growing. He has such a sweet demeanor and is always making us laugh. We are looking forward to all of the adventures summer has in store for us :)

"say cheese!" showing off his teeth 

(he loves sitting in laundry baskets)

again, showing those teeth!

getting too big for the lion :)

always chewing on something

8 Months

My sweet baby is eight months old! This past month was full of new experiences both for Luke and Eric & me. We ventured to South Carolina for my brother's wedding and I packed, what felt like, everything we owned. Traveling with a baby sure is different. What normally would have been about a 9.5 hour trip turned into almost 12 hours. He really did do well in the car and only started fussing with an hour and a half left in the drive (but I can't blame him, I was ready to get out of the car, too!) He experienced the beach for the first time and loved crawling around in the sand - and of course he tried to eat it. While we were in South Carolina he got another tooth and I'm pretty sure he's working on one more as we speak. He's crawling and pulling up on everything and is constantly babbling, although no real words yet.

he would not stay on the lion :)

digging for toys

pulling all the books off the shelf - his favorite

8 month Luke eating an elephant in his rocker

sleeping in the car on the way to Folly Beach

on the pier with daddy

on the pier with mommy

afternoon nap at the hotel bar on the beach

getting ready to eat some sand

playing in the sand (it was kind of cool that day so he needed long sleeves/pants)

eating a 'puff' - he LOVES them :)

7 Months

This past month flew by! Luke is officially crawling everywhere and pulling himself up on everything; we have had to baby-proof and lower the crib mattress. Aside from becoming completely mobile, this past month Luke was baptized and started on 'solid' foods. He loves fruit and carrots and sweet potatoes but, much like his mama, does not care for peas :) We are looking forward to Luke's first Easter this Sunday and coming up in a few weeks we are headed to South Carolina for my brother's wedding and Luke's next big adventure: the beach!

baptism

carrot face :)

intrigued by the sign

flipped over and crawled to try and eat the sign

6 Months!

Wow, I have been a mom for half of a year already; it is hard to believe Luke is already six months old. He does something new everyday and it is so neat watching him learn and discover his world. He is very mobile and does this crawl scooch combo to get around. His two bottom teeth are in and I'm sure others will be along shortly. He loves to drum on everything and has become very vocal - he screeches and growls and babbles :) We go for his six month check-up on Monday where his pediatrician will give us the go ahead for our next adventure: sweet potatoes and carrots, hooray!

5 months

This past month has been full of firsts: Luke started eating rice cereal before bed and, thankfully, has started sleeping better :), he had his first real tears (it was rather traumatic), he got into the all four crawling position and rocked back and forth, and had his first fever (I called the pediatrician and my mom 19 times). Everyday is something new. He babbles non-stop, he's quite the talker and it's the cutest thing.

cereal face

too distracted by the sign

sitting up with a little help from his boppy