A late announcement

We are expecting!  Well, we were expecting and I did not get it officially announced on the blog.  So here are some belly shots.

 And I had a grand plan for some more belly shots (oh yes, I was even more round than this ;)), some belly shots with Leah, some sibling shots, etc.  However the baby had his own plans for his entry into this world!  After having some friends over for a taco dinner, at around 2:30 p.m. - at 34 weeks and 3 days my water broke at home (a first for this mama).  I packed my bags, Adam (13) loaded them and escorted me to the hospital (45 minutes away), and we checked in and hoped for Chad to join us from his training in Lincoln at the Guard base (2 1/2 hours away from the hospital).  The nurses evaluated the situation, called the doctor and decided to induce.  They checked me and realized that I was only 2 cm dilated and nowhere near ready to deliver, so we visited about my desires to go naturally and what that might look like with the baby's water breaking at such an early stage.  The NICU pediatrician came in for a briefing on what we should expect with a preemie.  We trusted God.

2 doses of Cervidil, each with 4 hours of waiting, plus 6 bags of penicillin (in case I was Strep B +), and finally a steady dose of Pitocin beginning around 5am the following day and things finally started happening around 9:30am.  An hour later I was dilated to 5 cm and extremely disappointed.  The baby's heart was not looking good on the monitor, and I played with the idea of some pain medicine.  Our amazing nurse told us to keep praying and assured me that I was going to "go quickly" and she was right!  20 minutes later, we high-fived that I was at a 10 cm dilated (supernatural childbirth) and the doctor was frantically being texted/called/paged.  The doctor who was supposed to deliver did not make it and another doctor (my least favorite, he's also an abortion provider) swooped in, told me "one good push" and delivered our baby, admitted he didn't have time to read my chart and asked me if I wanted my tubes tied (he's all about sterilization too ;)) and disappeared.  Chad cut the cord, I was able to hold him on my stomach for a few seconds and then the pediatrician took him right away and evaluated our new baby boy.  Adam hung out in our recovery room and took a few laps with us in the middle of the night, he took this picture after the baby was taken to the NICU for evaluation.  At this point, Chad had shared with me that the pediatrician was impressed with the baby's color and breathing.  We trusted God.

 This is what a first glance of our little boy looked like.  Not easy. They had decided to help his breathing with a c-pap.  We trusted God. 

 Later in the evening, after Chad had went home, they decided to go ahead and put him on a ventilator and this is what it looked like. I love how plump he looked in this picture and we were so excited that he started out at 5 pounds.  Not easy.  Scary even.  We trusted God.

 Then miraculously after 24 hours, he not only was taken off the ventilator, but then moved back onto a c-pap and lastly this cannula breathing apparatus and though he was born prematurely on a Friday morning at 11:00 a.m., he was breathing room air by Sunday evening.  That was a sweet milestone.  We trusted God.

 On Monday, I walked from my recovery room and the baby was moved into his own NICU room and into a isolette to keep him warm.  From Sunday until we left, I was able to feed him breastmilk with a syringe, every two hours (we still find it shocking that I could even stand after such little sleep for the nearly two weeks, hanging out with the day nurses and getting to know the night staff - thanks be to God).  He also had a UAC/UVC or a catheter inserted into his umbilical cord, for drawing blood and extra nutrition.  This prevented us from holding him.  Brings me to tears just typing it, it was SO hard to not hold him when he cried.  Thankfully he is a very laid back baby and rarely cried.  Chad held him for the first time when he was a week old.  Overwhelming.  We trusted God.  

 The day Chad held him, they had moved him from the isolette to an open crib.  I had to be careful with my expectations.  I was able to nurse him, but only once and they would only allow me to hold him for 30 minutes at a time, 3 times that first day.  I was an emotional mess at times over these helpless feelings mixed with hormones and lack of sleep.  Oh how we appreciated our family and friends, praying with us!  Chad did a great job with the kids, the churches, the extra baptism and funeral, the extra details of finalizing Leah's adoption, straightening out our military insurance details AS WELL AS visiting his unstable (at times) wife.  Even with all the uncertainties, we WERE SO OVER THE TOP THANKFUL.  It was so shocking that he was really here and alive...and actually doing pretty well!  We trusted God.

 We had the perfect number of special visitors, it seemed at just the right times.  Especially in the end, I had felt like God was specially hand picking the nurses for our last days.  It wasn't until Sunday, day 10, that a nurse finally said to the pediatrician, "What is the goal here?  This Mom is doing our job for us.  When can they go home?"  He finally told us that he was comfortable, if all was still going well (the famous NICU phrase), to release us "on Wednesday or Thursday."  We were SO happy, and Chad happened to be there when he told us that great news!  We trusted God. 

And after 13 days in the NICU area of our hospital, this is the little bundle that we brought home.

Introducing: Luke Josiah Thomas Boggs
(bringer of light, the Lord saves, twin)  Such a big name for such a peanut.  But how fun to have a name with such a bold meaning and since this precious one is going to have a sister just six months older, the second middle name that means twin - so appropriate.  Thomas is also the name of his Grandpa, and middle name of his Great Grandpa.  The initials of his first two names match Leah, and they are the same as my dad and his twin sister - LJ.