Never make assumptions

So I thought this time around, our baby experience would be so much different. What were the chances that we would run into the same issues as with Ella. Ella was jaundiced for at least 3 months for no apparent reason. This led to sleepiness that prevented us from getting the hang of nursing and lots of dr visits. Well, Luke's bilirubin jumped up the second day in the hospital and we have since had serious moments of deja vu. Lots of babies get newborn jaundice but for some reason ours jump the gun and get high really fast. We managed to avoid a night in the hospital this time but did have dr visits every day last week. I was so looking forward to an easier time nursing since I was experienced. Mr. Luke was hard to waken for feedings and lost weight quickly. We supplemented thinking that we would be able to pick up nursing better when he was more alert. He is really loving that bottle though and fighting me every chance he gets. Slowly we are starting to come to terms but its been rough and is a really harsh schedule to follow right now. We have decided we will do it as long as I can stand. I feel slightly cheated but have come to terms with it. Things will be fine. Our baby is healthy and that's all that matters.

I had moments of self pity last week. I couldn't believe we were in the same place again. The jaundice itself was not worrisome but the sleepiness was hard to deal with. Even for bottles, it took a long time to get him awake. He was lethargic and had a weak cry for a day or two, and it was really scary. We beefed him up though. He gained 4 oz in 2 days so dr was happy. I made an appt with a lactation consultant when I noticed he was not doing as well as before. While sitting in waiting area, a little girl started admiring Luke. She told me her baby sister was only 2 lbs and they weren't going to be taking her home. I then noticed the mom and my heart broke for her. She was so tired and sad. I got over my problems then and just appreciated how lucky we are that he is healthy and growing.

I am very proud of Dave and I. We have been trying to be more "green" for a couple years now. We started with recycling, then moved on to getting rid of yucky chemicals, and have been eating organic when we can afford to. So this time around with baby, I decided we should try cloth diapering. Thanks to my brother and wife we had a good start with lots of covers. So with a little investment (less than $100) we have been using the cloth diapers since Friday. It is so much easier than I thought it would be. A little more effort at changing but it is getting faster every time. Everything fits in one load of wash which is also getting to just be routine. I really like the money we will save too!

Baby Luke is 12 days old today!! Check him out sleeping on the Boppy so mom can admire him while she pumps and pumps. (Ella has now added "pump pump" to her vocabulary)

Happy Birthday, baby Luke!!!

***Actually written Saturday and just now posted :) Terribly boring birth story to follow

I know I have been awful at blogging lately. Just grumpy and impatient for baby to come. It has been one of the longest months ever. Every time I went to the doctor I was making progress, and supposedly baby was down and ready to roll since the middle of the month. He just wasn't ready.

So my due date came and went and it was time to talk about a plan. My doctor knew I really didn't want to do pitocin and would like to try to go without an epidural. I knew I could probably make it if we could avoid the pitocin. So when I went in on Tuesday I was surprised to find I had made no progress and was just sitting at 3.5 cm dilated. He really wanted to break my water on Thursday the 30th. I asked what the chances were that we would go without pitocin and he told me 75% and he didn't want to do something I was uncomfortable with. So instead he had me come in for a non stress test for baby first thing on Thurs. I knew that we would end up in the hospital if I had dilated more. Well it didn't even take that. We didn't pass the non stress test. Then I suggested they check me and I was at 4 cm. So we went in to have my water broken.

It was pretty simple and straight forward. Water broken at 12:18. A lot of waiting impatiently for something to happen. Then finally things started to roll. I am told I was really a champ but honestly it wasn't so bad at first. Then when they did get bad, it was too late to do anything about it so then I had to deal. I went from 8 to wanting to push in about 30 minutes. Dr wasn't even around and almost didn't make it cuz I really didn't want to wait :). One horrible unforgettable push and Luke was here! I really didn't even realize I had a baby until they put him on top of me!
What a wonderful moment!