Luke's Birth

I can't very well write about Gabe's birth without first telling the story of Luke's birth. Luke Matthew Miller took his time making an entrance into the world. He was four days late, born July 26. I awaited his arrival anxiously all summer as I was on summer break with nothing else to do. I tried it all to coax him out, but he was stubborn (a trait that has persisted). He arrived the day before we were scheduled for a nonstress test. I was bound and determined to have this baby without being induced. Labor with Luke began at about 4 a.m. on the 25th with fairly mild contractions. You know the ones where you hope that this is it, but you can't be sure yet. I couldn't go walking outside in the dark so I walked laps around our house to keep them going. I finally relaxed part of the day just waiting to see if I should call Matt home from work. The contractions were getting more consistent by the time Matt arrived home at his normal time, but still weren't too strong. Since they hadn't stopped, we decided to cancel plans with friends and hang close to home. Sure enough around 8:00 p.m. my water broke. Only it didn't gush out. There was a slow leak, but enough that I knew it had happened. My doctor evidently didn't think I was in enough pain when I called him at that time and told me I might be fine until morning and to call back when it hurt worse. I waited until about midnight when my husband finally told me I needed to call - they hurt at that point (A LOT)! We headed to the hospital, calling family on the way. Luke was the first grandchild on my side so when they found out that I was already 7cm, my parents and sister headed down that night even though it was a 2 hour drive. Matt's parents wisely chose to wait until morning to drive down. I really wanted to try this whole natural child birth thing. The contractions at 7 cm weren't unbearable, but I am a wuss and the thought of those contractions right on top of one another was just a little too daunting so I opted for the epidural. After that, things slowed down - way down. I was at 9.5 cm for hours waiting on the last bit of "rim" to give way so that I could push. Finally, close to 10 a.m. the doctor said I could start pushing. I think he just wanted to get sleep :) Epidurals are a wonderful thing - I didn't feel a thing and Luke was born after about 30 minutes of pushing. He weighed in at 8lb 6oz and 22in long. He was observant from the very beginning, checking out the world around him. I apparently have babies with freakishly strong necks because both Luke and Gabe were born holding up their heads. I think he was born at 10:26 a.m. but now I'm thinking I better go double check. This is why I need to write it all down, so I don't forget! Gabe's story to come later...I learn why women choose epidurals!