Luke's Birth Story

Luke's birth story is not the one I thought I would be writing, but it is one of God's perfect timing and precious little miracles.

I was scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, September 28 at 7 am. I really, really hoped Luke would come on his own before that, but after several days of having contractions and thinking it could be it and then for nothing to ever happen, I decided to just set my mind on Tuesday. On Monday, however, I hadn't felt Luke move all morning. I had been moving around a lot that morning, so when Ella laid down for her nap, I drank a glass of water and laid down for an hour to do a kick count. I didn't feel him move once in the hour I was lying down. I did, however, notice that my contractions were becoming regular. They were about 6 minutes apart in the beginning and 5 minutes apart by the end of the hour. I didn't want to get excited and think I was in labor, but there was still the issue of not feeling him move. I called my doctor's office and they said I needed to go into labor and delivery at the hospital. I called my mom and she came to stay with Andrew and Ella. Matt was still at work, so I drove myself to the hospital and met him there. During the drive, my contractions did get a little stronger and closer together. The closer I got to the hospital, the more I thought I probably was in labor. As much as I wanted them to tell me I was in labor, I really just wanted to make sure Luke was okay.

When I got to the hospital, they put me in a triage room and hooked me up to the monitors. We immediately heard Luke's heart beat and it sounded great. Then I had a contraction and we listened to his heart rate drop. It went right back up once the contraction was over, but it was definitely dropping during each contraction. He was okay, but they said they would need to try to speed up the process to get him out sooner rather than later. We were admitted and moved to a delivery room. We were going to have a baby that night! I was so excited to see finally meet him. They ordered my epidural, broke my water, and started pitocin. We discovered when the doctor broke my water, that Luke had meconium....yes, he pooped inside, which is usually a sign of stress. Not that big of a deal, but they would have to suction him out immediately after birth.

Typically, once my water is broke, I go really fast, so I wasn't too worried about not getting him out quick enough. My contractions did get closer together and stronger, but Luke didn't really like it that much. His heart rate continued to drop during each contraction. They put me in several different positions to see if there was one he liked best. I wasn't really dilating past a 5. They gave me oxygen, sugar water in my IV to try to get Luke moving, did an amnio flush to try to push things through, and bumped up my pitocin. Still Luke wasn't dropping low enough for me to dilate. My doctor still seemed positive and said we were on a good road. It felt like only 15-20 minutes later, the nurses and my doctor came in to say Luke's heart rate had dropped for a 14 minute period. After being checked and seeing I was still only 5 cm dilated, my doctor said a c-section would need to be performed right away. Luke just wasn't handling labor well. I immediately started crying. I did not want a c-section! This was my 3rd baby and my other two vaginal deliveries had gone so smoothly. This would likely be my last baby and I was so disappointed to have to deliver via c-section and not experience the vaginal delivery again. Once my doctor said a c-section needed to be performed, everything happened really fast.

All I knew was that I was trying to collect myself and just couldn't stop crying and yet everyone around me was rushing around doing all sorts of things to me. Before I knew it, I was being wheeled down the hall into the operating room. It was so weird, fast, and hard to take in. The room was freezing, the lights were bright, and there were so many people in there. Everything and everyone was moving so fast and rushing about the room. I felt like someone was doing something to every part of me and yet no one was actually acknowledging me. The anesthesiologist was the only one talking to me and thankfully she was so nice and supportive. I had no idea what was happening and was trying not to completely lose it. I was doing okay until Matt came in....then I lost it again. It was an emotional time. I was so worried about Luke and just wanted him to be born so I could see him and know he was okay. I was scared to have surgery, disappointed to have a c-section, worried about recovery, and sad I wouldn't get to hold Luke right away.

It wasn't long after we entered the operating room that Luke was born, 7:14 pm to be exact. I didn't get to see him and he wasn't making a sound. I kept asking why he wasn't crying and all they would say was they were working on him. Matt was able to walk over and see him and he said he was fine. Matt said he was so cute and looked like Andrew. Luke had to be suctioned out really well and given oxygen. It was so scary. And I did not like not being able to see him and hold him. It felt like the longest 5-10 minutes of my life until I finally heard him cry....and then I started crying all over again. They got him stable, cleaned up, weighed, and wrapped up, so Matt could hold him. He brought Luke over so I could see him and he was perfect. His color looked great, he was wide eyed, and absolutely adorable. He recovered so quickly. You never would have known he was born blue, had to get oxygen, and had any trouble at all. It was amazing. We discovered that Luke had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. He also had a blood clot where the umbilical cord met the placenta (we should know more about that at my 6 week check up). Both of those things were cutting off his blood flow. Luke was also face up instead of face down, which is why he was not dropping low enough for me to dilate past a 5.

It took a long time for them to sew me back up. I was trying to look over at Luke, but my vision got blurry and I got sick to my stomach if I turned my head. So I just looked up and closed my eyes. All I really wanted to do was hold Luke. It was taking so long! They finally got me over to the other bed and laid Luke in my arms. I cannot express how happy I was to see him and to know he was okay. There were scary moments through the pregnancy and definitely some scary ones during labor and delivery. It was such a relief to have him in my arms and see his perfection. He was finally with us, safe and healthy. And I cannot forget, so cute! I had to spend about an hour in recovery where I was able to nurse him for the first time. He did great. I think he had been waiting to eat since he was born. At about 9:45 we moved to our room and began our first night with our new bundle of joy.

All in all, I know the c-section was necessary for Luke to be alive and healthy. I am very thankful for my doctor and the nurses and for the decision they made, the quickness of the delivery, and the care for Luke. I felt at first I didn't have time to think about the c-section, but I didn't realize at the time the urgency and necessity of it for Luke's sake. I am also so thankful I went to the hospital when I did. I typically don't freak out about things, but there was just something that didn't feel right. Luke had always been such a mover and to not feel him move was unusual. I thought maybe it could be because he dropped, but there was still just this feeling something wasn't right. My doctor emphasized a few times that I definitely did the right thing by coming in. He said it was really important that they were able to monitor Luke in the hospital and that if I had waited until the next morning Luke may not have made it or would have had long term effects. I am thankful God was watching out for Luke and gave me the feeling to go to the hospital. It was His perfect timing that Luke was born healthy. Luke gave us a few scares, but he was totally worth it. He's another little miracle that has already brought so much joy to our lives.