Friday, August 28, 2009

Luke Gregory Gessel makes his entrance

Sunday night I went to the hospital to get my cervix prepped with cervadil. I started having some contractions with that. By 6 am I wanted the epidural. I was only dilated to 1 1/2 cm at the time but I was in pain. I had to get the epidural put in twice because they got a blood vessel the first time. I didn't feel it, so I didn't care. Luke's heart rate dropped when they gave it to me so I had to be put on oxygen for a while. I kept progressing so they didn't give me pitocin like they were going to at 9. Luke's heart rate dropped when I was on my back or right side, so they had to keep me on my left side. I had to get oxygen for a time after that happened. They periodically checked up on me and then saw I had stopped progressing. By that time, they didn't really want to give me pitocin because they were afraid that Luke's heart rate would drop again and they didn't want him to be in distress. They checked me again and my cervix had started swelling and the dilation was only like a 5. So they asked me if I would have a c section. I didn't really want to but they were afraid that I wouldn't dilate to 10 cm and that it would end up being an emergency c section. So we agreed. The whole procedure only lasted like 30 minutes from start to finish so it was quick. By that time I was exhausted and had to force my eyes open to stay awake to see Luke. Greg said that the doctors who got Luke out had to put their backs into getting him out. And although I didn't feel pain, it was a really weird "pressure" when they took him out.



After much waiting, Luke Gregory Gessel was born M0nday, August 24th at 1:52 pm. He weighed 8 lbs and 1 oz. He was 20 inches long.




You can't really tell in pictures, but Luke has amazingly long eyelashes that he got from his daddy.


Greg made me take a "traditional hospital gown picture." But I went and combed my hair and put on make up, so I wouldn't look terrible. The gown is bad enough.



Luke, the pacifier kid, with Dad.



Luke and Mommy getting ready to check out of the hospital.

Flower and bear sent by Exxon to my hospital room.

I stayed in the hospital until Thursday afternoon. It wasn't bad eating my meals in bed and having someone at my beck and call (button). There was a night nursery that Greg and I took advantage of, between 11pm and 6am. Greg had some work training he needed to attend this week. Monday was the first day, but he was preoccupied. He went to work Tuesday and Wednesday. Each evening he would come back to the hospital and sleep on the crappy couch bed. What a great sport. Thursday, Luke was circumcised. I was reassured that he wasn't overly traumatized by the fact that he wasn't screaming bloody murder when they brought him back to us. We attended the homeward bound class. We finally got home by 3 pm.

Last night was the first night home. We expected no problems with Luke because he had slept pretty well the nights at the hospital. But he woke up almost hourly and was generally fussy. So it was hard. Hopefully, that is not the new normal.

Otherwise, we are doing just fine. We love having Luke with us. He's a very cute little guy.

11 comments:

Call Commotion said...

Sorry about the c-section! I can totally relate to the dropping heart rate and the c-section....but not at all to the 8 pound baby!! He is a doll! You guys did great!

Lesley said...

Welcome, Luke! You've got yourself some great parents.

Congratulations, Gessel family! I hope tonight is a much, much better night.

The High Family- said...

Sarah you are a trooper. He is so cute! Congrats and give him a kiss for us!

Kathleen said...

Congratulations, Sarah and Greg! Luke Gregory is so handsome! Isn't hospital pampering the best? I think anyone would understand if you wanted to delay returning home by a few days...I would have stayed there a month if possible. Hope Luke's fussiness was an anomaly. Symphany developed into a colicky baby. If you need any advice on making it through those sleepless nights, let me know! You three make such a beautiful family!!!

Ashlee Marie said...

Congrats, he's beautiful, sorry about the c- section, but a few more nights with help in the hospital can't be too bad. Don't worry, in a few months he'll sleep through the night again (or if he's like my kids in about 15 months!)

Shana said...

Woo! Congratulations!!!

Megan C. said...

Congrats! He's so cute! Sorry to hear about the c-section. I had some similar problems with Jack - his heart rate would drop when I was on my right side and then I never fully dilated either - they had me push through it anyway.
He'll start sleeping soon. This last week Jack started only waking up once in the night. It's blissful. You'll get there!

Jenny said...

WOW! What a sweetie!! He is so precious! Congratulations!! I'm so excited for you guys. Can't wait to meet the little man.

alison hilton said...

Congrats!! I kept checking your blog the week before you were due to see if the baby had come yet, but you held out to the end! What a cute kid! The first night we brought Preston home we got him to sleep and then we got ready for bed and just as we were laying down he woke up and started crying. I remember thinking, "great, this is going to be a long night." Luckily, it gets better.

kalina said...

What a cute little baby! He looks so small and snuggly. Glad he's finally here!

The Clarks said...

SARAH!!! He is so precious! Congrats! Can't wait to see him!