Finally

Yes, finally I am posting about  Lucas Patrick Dell. I guess our story begins Friday. Friday seemed like the worst day ever for me. I woke up early because my visiting teachers said they were going to come over at eleven and they never showed up, then I go to my doctor's appointment and he said that I would probably have another week before Luke was born. That just devastated me. I didn't want to hear that it was going to be another week before I had my baby. So the rest of the day was a little hard for me to stay positive. So come Saturday morning I was more than ready for a baby.

Well Saturday morning came and Craig and I were spending quality time in bed together when my mucos plug came out. I got up to clean up the mess and then it felt like I was peeing, except I didn't have any control over it. I layed back down wondering if it was just whatever else was after the mucos plug (I had no idea what to expect), got up, and the same thing happened again. Fluid was trickling out of me and I couldn't stop it. So I called my mom, while Craig called his mom, to figure out what was going on and both figured my water broke, but i didn't feel contractions so I doubted. So we call the hospital and they advise that we go there just in case my water broke. So I decided, since I'm not feeling contractions, to take my marry time getting to the hospital. I take a shower, eat breakfast with Craig, clean the house, pack the bags, and an hour and a half later we're on the road to Payson. We get there and sure enough, my water broke. So they got permission from the doctor to induce labor and we were on the grand adventure of birthing Luke. 

So we got to the hospital about one thirty and induced labor by a drug that neither of us, throughout the night, could remember the name of. It wasn't until about six o'clock that I started feeling contractions and eight when they got painful enough that I asked for the epidural. I didn't get the epidural until close to nine o'clock. No fun. But I felt so much better after I got it and continued the night in anesthetized bliss. We made it to about one forty five and I was dilated to a ten. The nurses came in and had me push about three times. They called the doctor, he came and I pushed another three times and Luke was out. It was a really smooth process that Hollywood over exaggerates. Craig got to see the whole thing (even though he was unsure if he really wanted to watch) but he handled it like a trooper. He also got to cut the umbilical cord and watch them clean him off. He was so happy to have a healthy and happy son. Luke measured seven pounds and eighteen inches. He was just a tiny guy, but very healthy. They put me in his arms and it was the weirdest feeling in the world. He felt like a gift rather than a child that I created with Craig. I said his name and he looked right at me. It was one of many special moments that I'm going to experience with him. He truly is a blessing in our lives and we love him very very much. 

I should make special mention of three people who got to spend time with us before he was born. Aunt Rachel made time out of her busy schedule to drive all the way down to Payson to check on us and see how we were doing. Also my cousin Brooke and her husband Brian made their way down there and stayed until after Luke was born. They were all such helps and brought the appropriate amount of distraction so that I didn't go out of my mind with the reality of what kind of reconstruction was going to happen to my body. 

After Luke was born we got a couple of hours of sleep and then woke up to have Aunt Rachel see her nephew again. The rest of the day was spent texting and calling friends and family to tell them the big news. We didn't want to do too much texting before Luke was born because we didn't want a lot of texts or calls coming our way while we were trying to enjoy our last few hours with just the two of us. The nurses were incredible and extremely helpful. We were so grateful for their help and patience. The pediatrician was very pleased with how healthy Luke was and told us not to let him leave the house for at least one month two months just to be on the safe side. We are respecting his wishes and Luke is enjoying his nursery and our company. We left the hospital Monday night and have been home since. We're both exhausted and grateful for Nona's help and happy that we have a healthy happy baby Lucas.