Luke is 1 month old!

Luke Robert is one month old today, and we couldn’t imagine our family without him in it! He’s the sweetest little addition :)

Luke weighs 12 pounds exactly.  He is gaining weight like crazy!  He is mostly wearing 0-3 month clothes, and is in size 1 diapers.  

Luke is a pretty calm baby.  The first three weeks of his life, we hardly ever heard him cry!  He just slept and ate, which I guess is pretty typical for newborns.  He isn't really a big fan of the swing or bouncer.  He is happiest while being snuggled and held!  This part is a bit challenging while chasing and entertaining a toddler.  Thankfully, he loves the Ergo carrier (which we inherited from my sister - thanks, Britt!), so he spends some time in that most days.  He’s not a huge fan of the car seat.  He usually cries for a while, but eventually will fall asleep and stay asleep when we get home, so this has also been a trick we’ve used for naps.

We are not on any sort of schedule, which is driving me slightly nuts (ok, very nuts).  But I understand that’s part of having a newborn, and we’ll eventually get there!  Luke is eating anywhere from 2-3 hours.  Nursing is going so much better with him than it did with Perry, and I am so thankful for that!  He is sleeping in the Snuggle Me in our bed. I think we’ll transition to the pack-n-play sometime soon.  He’s been sleeping from about 9-2 the last few nights, which is nice!  He’s been waking up to eat around 2 and 5, then has a hard time going back to sleep after that. He doesn’t really like being swaddled.  We have been peed and pooped on so many times already!  This is one difference we’ve noticed between boys and girls, haha!  Perry looooooves her "baby Luke" and wants to be next to him constantly.  When he cries, she pats his little chest and says "It's ok, baby Luke!".  Luke isn't quite sure how he feels about big sister yet. ;)

This month has been wonderful, challenging, and surprisingly not as exhausting as expected!  We are quickly adjusting to being a family of four, and all of us are in love with our “baby Luke”!

These are some of my favorite pictures from the last month.

First bath at home

First bath at home

First bath at home

We love you SO much, Luke Robert!!!

Luke Robert Lodde

It's a BOY! 

Luke Robert Lodde

July 23rd @ 5:36 am

7 lb 3 oz

20 inches

We are so thrilled and blessed to welcome Luke Robert into our little family!  He made a speedy entrance into the world very early on Monday morning, July 23rd!  

John and I checked into the hospital on Sunday night around 7:00.  Dr. Levin had planned on starting a light dose of Pitocin at midnight since I was already dilated 3 cm, then increasing the dosage at 5:00 am. She was going to come in and break my water at 6:00 or 7:00, then we would have a baby by 9:00!  Haha...isn't it funny how we think we can plan these things?!  

What actually happened is...they started a light dose of Pitocin at midnight, then contractions were painful by 3:00 am, so I requested an epidural.  They had to give me fluids, so by the time the anesthesiologist arrived, it was about 4:30 am.  Meanwhile, John is sleeping this whole time...while I breath through painful contractions alone. Haha!  To his defense, I didn't think we were this close or else I would have woken him up!  The nurse did not check my progress at any point until after the epidural was in around 5:20 am.  Before she could check me, my water burst.  Sure enough I was already 10 cm, and it was time to push!  I was slightly panicking...my doctor was not there, I could still feel pain because the epidural wasn't strong and/or hadn't had time to fully kick in, and my family wasn't there!  I immediately told John to call my mom.  He called her and said "Allison's water just burst, we're going to have a baby soon!".  They were still at home.  Our sweet nurse, Gabby, was shocked that this was happening, and she immediately called Dr. Levin, who was on-call that night.  She said "I'll be there in 5 minutes!", but Gabby said that wasn't quick enough and grabbed another doctor that was thankfully in the right place at the right time.  All of a sudden, there were about 6 nurses and a doctor in the room, and I was pushing!  It was a little chaotic, and the doctor kept asking "Is Dr. Levin coming?".  I was thinking, "Lady, my baby is coming NOW, get it together!".  Haha! 

I only pushed a few minutes before our sweet little angel arrived!  I remember saying "We don't know who it is - is it a boy or girl?!", and someone said "It's a boy!".  I KNEW it was Luke, but it was still shocking and so exciting to hear that.  John said he was really shocked and thought it was a girl.  But God knows exactly what each family needs, and we needed little Lukey. :)  Dr. Levin showed up about a minute later. 

 Luke is the perfect addition to our family.  He is an angel baby so far!  Very chill, sleepy, and snuggly.  Big sister Perry did remarkably well meeting him!  I have the sweetest video of her meeting her baby brother.  She LOVES him!  She is constantly giving him hugs and kisses and talking to him in a baby voice.  She calls him "Baby Luke" every time.  I'm ecstatic with how she has reacted so far!  We've had TONS of help with Perry, so it might be a different story when I'm home alone with both kids for a whole day. ;)

Here are some pictures from our time in the hospital.

First moments...

Meeting some of his family for the first time...

Luke Robert's namesake, Robert Wayne "Popsie". :)

This picture makes me laugh - football hold!

First bath and other random moments...

Meeting his sister for the first time...

Heading home!  Mumsie made his special "going home" gown, cap, and blanket.

We love you SO MUCH, baby Luke!!!  We are so happy to have you home!!!