Playing Catch-up on 2014, Part 2 (beginning of July and Lucas' birth)

July 2014
Two days before I was due, some of our friends from Phoenix (who now reside in Vegas) came to visit with their baby boy.  I was holding him in church:

And a member of the relief society presidency said, "And we'd like to congratulate Dana on her new baby." I piped in, "Umm… this one isn't mine. My baby is still in there. And I can guarantee that I will NOT be here next Sunday because either I will have a newborn baby, or because I will be so grouchy and uncomfortable because the baby is still in there that I won't want to come next week anyway." Everyone giggled and thought it was so funny…

This is me wakesurfing the week before Lucas was born.  This was the first time when I thought, Okay.... I'm really ready for this baby to come out... This is going to be my "2 minus 1 run" until after the baby is born (we always say "2 minus 1" for last run when boating and snowboarding... because saying last run seems to be bad luck and when people tend to get hurt).

And below, This is me at 40 weeks and 5 days..... I was convinced by this point baby boy was NEVER going to come out.

And this is me at 40 weeks and 6 days below:

And yes, I'm wearing a church dress.  Even though I was NOT in the mood, I decided going to church was probably a good idea anyway. LoL.  So I went and ALL of the lady's new what that meant as they gave me sympathy head nods and smiles… but most stayed clear and didn't say anything so the wrath of the pregnant woman wouldn't be unleashed on them. haha. One lady called me an "over achiever" for keeping him in-utero for so long.  Another lady told me it was a "good thing [I] went over so maybe [I] could actually understand how most other women feel during their pregnancies." RUDE. Especially since I'm thinking… I might not look very big, but I'm feeling it!  The baby is ALL up in my ribs and I can hardly breathe… just because I'm small from the outside doesn't mean I don't understand what it feels like to have a baby on the inside. LoL

And then finally it happened that evening.  But walking 4-6 miles every evening, wakesurfing, hiking, jump-roping, jumping on the tramp, walking up and down the stairs.... none of those things did it!
I played the piano and sang for the first time in months, and within 2 hours I went into labor.  It was like the baby said, "Mom, you were jumping around so much I was scared to death to come out.... But then when you played that beautiful music I decided maybe the world wasn't such a scary place."
 Haha :)

 

Last picture with my "fur baby" (also known as L-1) before my "flesh baby" (aka L-2) was born.

 Baby's heart rate was variable, so I had to wear oxygen intermittently to be safe.  I was in labor for 16 hours and pushing for an hour and 45 minutes.

My epidural wore off at the end because I was in labor and pushing for so long.  I decided to try to be "brave" and do it without the epidural…. They say Pictures are worth a thousand words… and this picture with the tear streaming down my cheek about sums up how I was feeling by this point. 

But this moment…. 

And this moment with Jason and the baby...

 And This moment….. 

 And all of the moments to follow made it totally worth it…. I can say that in hindsight anyway ;)

 Lucas was born 7/14/14 weighing 7 pounds and 14 ounces.  We joke about the fact that he came out of the womb with "eyes wide open"… but he truly did, and all of the pictures depict that.  He was just looking around and taking it all in and to this day, he STILL has eyes wide open… always taking everything in.

This is Lucas with GiGi (my mom)

I ended up having my mom there for the birth.  In preparation for the event I thought I just wanted to have Jason and I alone because I was enamored with the idea of "starting our new little family--just the two of us." … But then as the time drew closer I thought, "Are you crazy? This is your first birth experience and you have NO idea what to expect!  I'm sure having your mother there to support you will be EXACTLY what you need!" And it was.  It was great having her there and supporting Jason as he supported me.  I felt like it bonded she and I on a new level sharing that experience. Like things came full circle or something… sharing as her baby (me) had a baby of her own.  I was truly experiencing and appreciating her giving birth to me all of those years ago, and she was able to participate in the sanctity of my birth experience.  Not to mention, She captured some fabulous pictures which I will treasure forever. 

And with his Daddy

And his mommy

Finally a "mommy"… such a crazy concept

And he finally closed his eyes after almost 2 hours of looking around. 

We went home from the hospital the following afternoon with our tiny baby boy… with large hands. haha

And of Course had to stop for an Oreo Shake since I was cleared from my temporary diagnosis of "Gestational Diabetes." Icecream NEVER has tasted SOOOO GOOD! YUM.