She's Here!!

Probably the one thing I didn't get done on my to-do-before-Elsa-is-born list is catch up on my blogging.  So now I'm backlogged with 2 months of posts I didn't get to, but I certainly don't want to slog through them all before posting about our sweet little addition to our family.  I just have to hope that I can get to those months another time.  So without further ado...

Say hello to Elsa Mae Luke!

I was induced at 6:30am on May 29th and she arrived at 11:59am.  It was by far my easiest delivery.  We were blessed to have Aunt Chandra come the evening before and was able to watch Rowan and Nadia while we were at the hospital.  Everything really came together perfectly.  I waited until the contractions started to get pretty serious and then got my epidural.  It was as good as the one I had with Rowan- I had plenty of movement and could feel the contractions without the pain.  Steve and I watched American Pickers on the History Channel most of the morning waiting for me to be fully dilated.  I kept telling Steve how much I love epidurals the whole time- they are SO nice.  The doctor came to check me and announced I was at a 10 and four pushes later she came out as angry as could be.  She was definitely unhappy with the whole process and made it known. 

 I had a tiny baby!  7 lbs 10 oz!  I wasn't quite sure how big she would be, but I think I was a little shocked to have a baby in the 7lb range.  She must take after the Lukes more than the Becks.

Screaming with Daddy.


The nurses kept commenting on her temper.  It got even more apparent when they started to clean her up.  Unfortunately, her displeasure at being bathed continues to be the case even at home.  They also ended up suctioning out her stomach since she swallowed so much amniotic fluid, which probably made her even more grumpy.

We ended up leaving the hospital a day early.  There was literally someone coming in every 10 minutes.  It became almost comical in a "I'm going to knock out the next person that walks through that door" kind of way.  We reached our breaking point when a tech came in to "introduce herself" even though I already had a nurse for myself and a nurse for the baby that were coming in on a constant basis.  I never saw the tech again and I still don't know exactly what her purpose was.  Not to mention the lactation consultants, my doctor, the baby's doctor, the nursery staff, and the most annoying of them all- the hospital photographer.  Elsa and I were both sleeping and she came in telling us to get her dressed (none of the clothes we brought ended up fitting Elsa- we were unprepared for such a little baby) and asking for a cute blanket as a prop.  The lady obviously had a bad cold and was sniffling all over the baby.  Elsa was tired and hungry.  Steve kept whispering to me to see if he should ask her to leave.  After that experience, we were ready to get home and get some actual rest.  Thankfully my doctor completely agreed and signed off to let us go 24 hours early.

A rare moment.  Someone probably walked in within moments of Steve taking this picture.

Did I mention she is absolutely adorable?  After going through what has to be my most difficult pregnancy, there are no words for how incredibly grateful I am that it is over and that we have been blessed with this sweet girl.  I cry just thinking about the worry, pain, and stress that we have gone through the past 9 months only to finally be done.  It is a happy ending and a joyous privilege to become parents to this little girl.  She is perfect.  Thank you to all who were praying on our behalf.