Meeting Lucas Neal.

December 10th came and went. As did December 11th, 12th and 13th.  December 14th, 2013 is now the most special day of my entire life.  Everyone says it, but it is so true: I have never loved anything as much as I love my son!  We met Lucas Neal at 9:50am on Saturday, December 14th.  He weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds 2 ounces and was 21 inches long.  We are completely smitten with this new addition to our family.

For those of you interested in his birth story, (birds chirping, yes?)  keep reading (and maybe grab some coffee).  The rest of you, just look at the pictures :)

During the last week of my pregnancy, I was reading any birth story I came across thinking to myself, will mine be like that?  What if ____ happens? How will I know if it's really time?  So for the other anxious pregnant ladies out there, here is one more to make you go crazy.  You're welcome.

40 weeks 2 days

I feel very lucky to have had a healthy, full term pregnancy.  Each week brought with it new feelings of excitement and worry, along with many new aches, pains, kicks and jabs. It goes without saying that the last week was particularly exciting as I knew it could be any moment that we would get to meet our son.  It was also extremely scary as I had NO IDEA what labor would be like.

If you know me, you know I'm a bit of a hypochondriac.  I'd prefer to refer to it as "in tune with my body". :) If I feel a tinge of pain, I'm convinced it's going to be bad.  I sneeze- I have the flu.  A student comes to my desk asking for a pass to the nurse- I write it, and then douse myself in hand sanitizer.  (if they say its their stomach-- forget the pass, RUN!)  That being said, I had many nights and mornings with an ache in my back, or an "off" feeling where I thought "this is it!", only to feel perfectly normal during the day.

Each day I would arrive at school, it seemed like every which way I looked someone was looking at my huge belly saying, "You're STILL here?!".  I left school each day with specific sub plans laid out, hoping to not be back the next morning.  On Friday morning, I woke up at 2am, which I had done MANY nights.  I got up, had a snack, but could not get back to sleep.  My back was so achy.  I finally fell back asleep for about an hour before I went ahead and got ready for school.  Before I left, I told J to keep his phone close.  I wasn't sure I was going to stay the whole day- just feeling "off".

It was freezing rain outside, and Friday the 13th.  It was bound to be a weird day! I walked into school at 6:55am to about 5 students waiting for help.  I was giving a test that day. Luckily, I don't have students until 3rd hour. I knew before school even started that I would be headed home.  I could barely walk normally! Every time I tried to walk "fast", I had to stop for a break.  I wasn't in pain... just uncomfortable.  I quickly did some last minute errands around the school (well "quickly" being relative) before heading to the office to have them call my sub. I was so glad I was able to see her in person and talk her through the plans before I left. All the staff were SO nice as I left.  It was a strange feeling leaving, knowing I wouldn't be back for 3 months! I miss the students and staff already.

J met me at home and I camped out on the couch all day. Contractions were there, but were not painful.  Probably about 15-20 minutes apart. I got ready for my doctor's appointment at 4:00, fully prepared to be admitted to the hospital right then! I was having contractions, and was starting to feel them! She checked me, 1 cm dilated (bummer!). We scheduled an induction for December 18th.

As we headed home, all I could think was, "How am I going to function like this for the next FOUR days?!". By 5:00, the contractions were painful.  By 7:00, they were 8-9 minutes apart.  I lost track of time, but before 8:00 I was begging J to take me to the hospital! My parents came to the house and got our dog. We waited (myself, impatiently!) until about 10pm before heading to the hospital.  I was SO glad I had the car packed.  There was no way I would have been able to function well enough to pack it at that point!

It was not a fun ride, but we made it.  We were checked into triage where they monitored me for an hour and a half before admitting me to labor and delivery.  Time was going SO. SLOWLY. When the nurse walked out and said she'd be back in an hour, I couldn't believe it.  She just strapped me up to monitors and left me in there screaming through contractions every 3-4 minutes! Labor hurts :)  After another, even more painful hour and a half in the new room, I opted for the epidural.  At that point I was 5cm dilated.  After the epidural (about 30 minutes), I was at 9cm.  That was about 2:30am.  The pain was almost immediately gone, and I could THINK! and BREATHE! even SLEEP! It was glorious.  I slept on and off for the next 3 hours as I was not progressing past 9cm.  At one point during that time, there was a brief scare with Lucas's heart rate.  It dropped rapidly and the nurse and doctor rushed in asking me to turn from side to side. His heart rate increased and the doctor told me then that I was about 2 minutes from an emergency C-section! Scary.  They inserted a more precise monitor on Lucas at that time. About 6am I was given Pitocin to speed things along.  At 7:30 I was 10cm, and now had a new doctor and new nurse (LOVED her!).

Around 9:30, the nurse called the doctor to the room for delivery.  Her phone conversation sounded like this: "We're ready for you!... Okay...What should I do?... How long?... What are the options?..." Yeah, I'm a little worried at that point.Turns out the doctor had been called to a C-section.  I was to wait for the on-call mid-wife to arrive in about 15 minutes.  Little drama never hurts? She showed up and moments later I met my son.

Healthy and strong, beautiful. He is perfect and so loved! I'm one lucky mama.

My husband was absolutely incredible throughout this entire experience. He was more patient, loving, comforting, confident and compassionate that I've ever known anyone could be.  He counseled me through each contraction, held my hand, fed me ice, and didn't flinch when I would scream.  His love for me and our family was BEAMING this day.  I know 100% I married the right guy, and 100% that he is the BEST father for our son.  I am beyond proud. How did I get so lucky?

We were blessed to have many visitors throughout our 2-night stay at the hospital.  Family and friends have given my family so much love, and I am forever grateful for that.  

Congrats if you're still reading! :) We have been home about 3 weeks now and are settling into our new life as a family of 3.  Thank you to all of you for your love and support throughout my pregnancy, and as I've ventured into motherhood!
-m