BABY GOOGLE AND SPIT UP

Jake caught a pretty cute video of Luke talking early this morning.
And as an added bonus, you get to see some spit up action too.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

LUKES 1ST WEEK AT HOME

Who can believe that our little boy is already 11 days old. The past 11 days have gone by in a complete blur.

We are so loving having this little boy in our family. We are constantly laughing and smiling at his many facial expressions and just completely enjoying his unique personality and temperament.
He has us both wrapped tightly around his little finger.

Jake and I are both tired, and often overwhelmed as we continue to figure out this whole parenting thing, but we are enjoying the learning process. Jake refers to my constant stamina and energy to survive each day as my dose of 'mommy cocaine'... lol :D

Luke has his 1 week check up last week, and he is a healthy boy. He is in the 50-75th percentile for both height and weight, and he has such a hearty appetite, that we are pretty sure that by his 2 week appointment this week he will have gained back his lost birth weight and plenty more. He has his dads hearty appetite and knows how to chug down a bottle.

Our little stinker decided that he doesn't want to breast feed... despite endless attempts to get him to nurse, he stood his ground and after both mommy and baby ended up in tears countless times, we have resorted to pumping and bottle feeding. We will continue to periodically try him at breast feeding, and hopefully he will eventually catch on. Better late than never.

Already, Luke has shown little signs of his personality... for one, he has a 'hungry cough'... it's the cutest thing. He will cry when he has woken up, or wants to be picked up, and then when you pick him up, IF he is hungry he gives this silly little fake cough... at first we were unsure about it, but then we started paying closer attention to it, and realised that just as we thought, he only does it when it's time for him to eat... so he has a 'Um... hello, I am hungry...' cough.... so cute!

He is also very smart... He can hold his own bottle. LOL... well sort of...

Anyway, here are some pictures of his first week at home.

Life is GOOOODDDD!!!

See...I can already hold my own bottle

Mess with me and I will 'karate chop' you...

LUKE JACOB GEDDES

LUKE JACOB GEDDES

Born: May 6, 2009 at 7:19pm
38 Weeks 6 Days
Weight: 8lbs ~ 3.65kg
Length: 20 Inches ~ 50.5cm

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

THE LABOUR STORY:

On Wednesday morning, my waters spontaneously broke at 8:45am.
Fortunately Jake had not yet left for work. We called the doctor and were told to head to the hospital. After a shower and some last minute hospital bag packing, we headed to the hospital.
My contractions started at about 10:00am... they were immediately 2-3 minutes apart, and quiet intense.
When we arrived at the hospital, I was sent to labour and delivery triage, where they checked me. I was 4cm dilated and experiencing frequent contractions.
Finally, I was admitted the the labour and delivery ward... here they hooked me up to IV fluids etc. I received an epidural, which was great, as my contractions were close together, and as we later discovered, little Luke was sunny side up, which was the cause of the excruciating pressure pain in my bum. The first 90 minutes on the epidural, I didn't feel a single contraction, however after that, the epidural only kept the contractions in my belly at bay, and I was still left with the painful pressure in my bottom, so my labour was by no means painless, and I had to breath through each contraction.
When I reached 9cm dilation, the doctor came in and did the very painful procedure of rotating Luke, so that I would still be able to deliver him vaginally. This entailed me having to push through contractions as though I were ready to deliver, while the doctor rotated him through my now opened cervix. OUCH!!!!
Then came the final stretch... Pushing... pushing, and MORE pushing. I had to give 3 pushes, each to the count of 10 for each contraction. By this time, the epidural was pretty much worn off, and I had full feeling to push.
I pushed for just a little under 1 hour 30 minutes. About 45 minutes into pushing, I was EXHAUSTED, and I was struggling to catch a breath for the 3rd push of the contraction...but, I some how managed to deliver my precious little boy.

Then we heard the first cry... Luke was born.

Unfortunately, during labour, I developed a fever of 102'F (39'C)
Because of this, Luke also developed a fever and therefore had to be taken to the NICU just minutes after birth where he was hooked up to IV antibiotics in case the fever was the result of an infection. Because of this, I wasn't able to breast feed or properly hold him until 2.5 hours after his birth. He had to be given periodic doses of the antibiotics for the next 48 hours. Fortunately his blood cultures came back negative for any infections and our little man was deemed healthy.

The hospital stay was CHAOTIC... no rest with nurses constantly in and out of your room, checking vitals and giving antibiotics and doing whatever else they do.
The day after he was born, I felt like a building had fallen on me. Every part of my body ached. Who knew that you used so many muscles during labour and delivery. Even my arms ached, and I felt like my body was made of concrete, every time I tried to move.

We are home now, and loving every minute with our little angel boy. It's hard work, and it's tiring, but just looking at his little face makes it so worth it.

HANGING IN THERE

This is just a quick update on our 'waiting game'

Today I am 38 weeks 5 days.... so 9 days to go until D-Day! The little stinker wouldn't dare go overdue if he knows what is good for him!

Yesterday I had another prenatal appointment and I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced, so there has been progress from the last time I went. The doc also did a membrane sweep, which IF effective, will get labour started within 48 hours.
Well it's been a little more than 24 hours, and aside from a lot of abdominal cramping, still no sign of labour, so here's hoping that something will happen in the next 24 hours, or the sweep didn't work, in which case they will do another one if I haven't popped by my next appointment next Monday (a whole 3 days before my due date... please just put me out of my misery if I am still pregnant and have to go to that appointment)

I honestly never thought I would go this long... I thought that because I am small and he has run out of room, and because my mom was always early that perhaps I would only make it to about 38 weeks.... but alas, NO... I have a little procrastinator brewing in my belly, waiting to make his arrival at the last possible minute it seems. (Just for the record, procrastination is his dad's genes)

So, the waiting game continues...
Hopefully the next post will be the birth announcement, and not the "I'm overdue" post!

MY PREGGY UPDATE

Well... today I am 35 weeks and 6 days... so only 4 weeks tomorrow until D-Day... I just can't wait.
I had ANOTHER prenatal appointment today, and things are moving along nicely.

I will be 36 weeks tomorrow, and I am already 1.5cm dilated, 50% effaced and baby is in the -1 pelvic station, so he is doing well. Let's hope that all this 'action' so early, means he is heading for an earlier than 40 weeks arrival. I would love to have baby in my arms by 38 weeks and be on the road to having my body back... I feel like I am housing an alien in my body these days, and I am SOOO OVER IT!!! :D

Well, here are some pics Jake took this afternoon.

BEANS NURSERY

So, we have finally moved (I will put pics of the apartment up soon) and that means that I was finally able to ease my itching fingers, and get busy setting up the nursery.

For a few months, we had boxes and boxes of baby stuff just stacked up in our bedroom in the old apartment, and eventually I thought I would lose my mind because of the clutter and because I so badly wanted to get busy with the nursery, which in my opinion, is the best part of being pregnant. LOL

Assembling the furniture was interesting. We bought both the crib (cot) and the dresser/change table from Storkcraft, and needless to say, they do not give very specific instructions. You get a box of pieces, with about a million nuts, bolts, pegs and skrews, and you then have to try to figure out the partial assembly instructions. There was more than one occasion when Jake and I realised that something was put on the wrong way, or that we had missed a part. BUT, eventually we got it done.

Then the fun stuff began... I got to pack all the drawers, put up the decor bits and pieces and get all the final things in their place. So, Mister Bean can now officially arrive and we will be ready for him. Speaking of his arrival, I have just less than 5 weeks to go now. SOOO EXCITING.

We chose to go with very neutral colours, hence the cream, yellow and green. This way we can use the same things for future babies (Once I get hit nice and hard by that 'stupid gene' that will cause me to want to do this all again. lol)
The crib, dresser and bookshelf are all in a cherry finish. The pictures however made the furniture look a little more ebony. The glider and ottoman are walnut.

Here are some pictures of how things turned out.

PROJECT NURSERY ~ ASSEMBLING THE FURNITURE


THE COMPLETED LOOK


SOME VERY CUTE PICTURES GIVEN TO 'BEAN' BY HIS AUNTY JESS