Luke Arthur Wiebe- October 19th, 2013, 7:39pm
8 lbs. 15 oz, 20 3/4" long
We couldn't be happier about our newest little man! When he was born the nurse said, "Well, add him to your collection," and that's just about how we feel. Such a privilege to parent 3 little boys :)
A very picture heavy post with lots of (non-gory) birth story details along the way. If this is your thing read on, if not, skip right on by...
My due date was Thursday, the 17th, my doctor was on vacation, so I had the requisite "will they allow me to go past my due date?" doctor's appointment with another doctor in her group. They did an ultrasound and took all sorts of measurements (their best guess at Luke's weight at this time was 8 lbs. 14 oz, which was pretty much dead on!). I also had an NST and an exam. All appointments said baby was fine, so I was free to carry Luke through the weekend if the doctor and I agreed that was best. However, after considering Charlie's 11 lb. 6 oz. birth, the fact that I was Strep B positive (which requires at least 4 hours of antibiotics prior to delivery), and the fact that I was already 3-4 cm dilated. We both agreed that inducing earlier rather than later was probably best. I was put on the induction list for the next day.
We got a call from the hospital at 2:30am on Saturday telling us that a bed had opened and we were welcome to come in for my induction. We quickly called Grandma Sharon to come over, threw our bags in the car, grabbed a hearty bowl of yogurt and granola for me (I already knew that once I was admitted there would be NO eating...except for jello, which I had more than my fair share of ;) and headed into Bakersfield. I was pretty familiar with this whole induction process this time around, but this was the first time that I was called in the middle of the night to go in!
After we got checked in and did all the paperwork/question answering, they started my antibiotic IV around 4:20am. This had to drip for 4 hours before they could even start the pitocin. This was a rather boring 4 hours. I tried to sleep, but those L&D beds aren't very comfortable and when you combine that with the fact that I was carrying about 45 lbs. of extra weight...yeah, not exactly ideal sleep conditions. After the first round of antibiotics was done they started my pitocin at 8:50am. I was 5cm dilated.
I'm very familiar with pitocin. Basically, as soon as they start my pitocin drip, I request an epidural. Pitocin and I get along a lot better if there's an epidural involved :) I got my epidural at 10:15, which was well before any crazy contractions kicked in, so all was well from my point of view. After the epidural was in, John and I occupied ourselves by playing Ticket to Ride online, which was fun. Basically we pretty much had the day all to ourselves. We talked, played games, watched sports, read, John ate, and we just generally had a pretty good time just the 2 of us. Pretty much the best way to spend a day just prior to adding another little one to the family. I suppose this is one benefit of an induction :)
The doctor broke my water at 3:00. I was 6cm dilated. He estimated delivery time to be around 8:00 (which was pretty close to Luke's 7:39 arrival time!) Just like with Henry and Charlie, despite the fact that I have "advanced dilation" I progress super slowly on pitocin. Oh well. John occupied himself and our family and friends by updating the babywiebe twitter feed.
At about 5:45 they had to put me on oxygen because the baby was putting pressure on the cord (turns out it was wrapped around his neck!). They had me roll over often and with the combination of that and the oxygen, they got Luke's heartrate back to normal and all was well.
At about 7:00 I started to feel pretty bad and was thinking my epidural was wearing off, which isn't good. But after about 5-10 minutes of feeling like this the nurse checked me and declared me to be complete, we tried a few practice pushes and Luke was moving pretty well, so the doctor was called in and the room was set up for delivery! I started pushing at around 7:25 and he was born at 7:39. Pretty good, I'd say.
He did have the cord wrapped around his neck, so John wasn't able to cut it, but it seemed to be a non-issue as the doctor was very quick and well prepared for such a thing. The scariest part of the process was when they put him on the warming bed (not sure what that thing is called exactly...) and he wasn't crying or moving. After less than 30 seconds of rubbing him and suctioning him, he gave out a big loud cry and John and I both let out a big sigh of relief. He was fine!
Overall, this was a great delivery. I'm sure the fact that this was my 3rd helped with that. And having Charlie at 11 lbs. certainly contributed to some of my increased elasticity. When Charlie was born I felt AWFUL for a few hours afterwards, but with Luke I felt great the whole time. Best delivery yet! On to the pictures...
After getting checked in...
Thinking my epidural wore off, but nope, just ready to push...
And here he is! Our little Luke Arthur...
Henry was completely adorable when he came into the hospital room. He was so excited to meet Luke. He asked to hold him right away and he just really couldn't take his eyes off of him. Sweetest moment ever. Charlie on the other hand...complete opposite response. All he wanted to do was watch Mighty Machines on the ipad. He has since warmed up to his younger brother :)
This picture totally captures their different responses...
First pictures of our family of 5 (Yes, Charlie's crying, but it is pretty traumatic to see mom in a hospital bed with a new baby, so we'll excuse him :)
Such a sweet little face...
Meeting Grandpa Donna...
And Grandpa Art, Luke's middle-namesake. Not a better man to share a name with, I don't think...
Love this one...
Unfortunately, as the day progressed on Sunday, poor John got the flu (for those of you who know and care about such things, his 18-year streak was not compromised). Bob and Sharon brought us dinner and Sharon ended up driving him home in our van because he felt so bad. Luckily this happened with our third child, and not our first because I stayed in the hospital by myself on Sunday night. This wasn't a big deal at all, especially since the night nurse I had was a complete baby lover and absolutely smitten with Luke. She came in often and burped him for me, changed all of his diapers, and walked around with him to give me a break. Seriously, best night ever :)
Since John was out of commission on Monday morning, my mom drove to Shafter with the boys and dropped them off at the church. Henry went to school and Charlie went to the nursery while Grandma Sharon was at exercise. After my mom dropped them off she picked up the van at our house and drove to the hospital to get Luke and me! Thankfully she came bearing bagels and smoothies because those hospital eggs and cream of wheat weren't going to see me through the morning :)
It took awhile to get discharged from the hospital. It seemed like every office that had to clear us was exceptionally busy, but we were finally able to leave by 1:00. On our way home we stopped at the pediatrician's office to get Luke's tongue-tie clipped, stopped at Goodwill to drop off a bag of junk (hadn't gotten around to it before he was born!), and then finally went home to see daddy, who was feeling moderately better by then.
And here's Luke at home...
I think that about summarizes our few days in the hospital. Such a wonderful experience and so thrilled to be mom to 3 little boys!
1 comment:
Congrats, Katie! I can't wait to meet him! We miss you guys. I don't think your mom could look happier than in that picture. I think I've seen that face with each of your boys.
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