Introducing....

Luke Michael Maynard
7lb. 7.7oz
18 3/4 inches
Born May 22, 2012   4:18pm
Jordan Valley Hospital

The Story:
I went in for my regular weekly appointment last week, and the doctor discovered that my blood sugar count was three times higher than normal. My blood pressure was also higher than normal.  I had been having bad headaches all week and was also getting sick after eating things with sugar.
The doctor was worried about gestational diabetes as well as preeclampsia, so he told me that I could not go past 39 weeks for this pregnancy.  I was bummed, because I didn't want to be induced this time, but I understood the reasoning, so we decided to schedule the induction for the following week, and to hope that baby would come before then.  I was at a 4 at this point and 70% effaced, so there was a good chance of me having him.
I had lots of days of stop and go labor for the next week, but nothing to show for it. So, Tuesday morning, May 22nd, Ben and I showed up at the hospital at 6:30am for the induction.  I had a Jamba juice in my hand. Ben had thoughtfully brought one home for me the night before and put it in the freezer so I could have it that morning. So sweet!

My mom had come the night before (last minute), and the kids were taken care of. I am SO grateful that my mom was able to do this. It once again helped me realize how great it is to live closer to family.  It was a sacrifice for her, and she was so willing to come and help anyway. It meant a lot to all of us.

We got settled in the room, I got the IV over with and then we got the show on the road. We all figured that once I got the pitocin, things would just take off!  Well, it wasn't the case.  They started the pitocin at 8:00 and by noon, I was only at a 7 and just starting to get uncomfortable.  They figured that once the doctor broke my water, things would really go fast, so they told me to get the epidural at that point, in case there wouldn't be time later.  I was TERRIFIED for the epidural, because the last three times it has hurt so badly to get put in. 
The dude came to put it in, and he was amazing! I hardly felt it at all. I actually couldn't believe he had done it right, because it didn't hurt. I was so shocked and so relieved. I think I thanked him about 20 times.
The epidural did its job, and I was pain free the rest of the time. It was so great!
I normally wait too long to get the epidural, and end up in horrible pain for a while before I get the epidural. It was so nice to get it this time, just as the pain was getting bad.
The doctor came and broke my water next, but still, not much happened.  So, the nurse rolled me over on my side. This is what happened with Sam's birth too. One side didn't work, so she put me on my other side and that did it! Bingo...10.
Luke was born after 2 pushes. Yup...2 pushes! I don't take this for granted. Believe me. I pushed for over 2 hours with Mary. 
Words will never describe the first moments of meeting your precious child for the first time. There was a very special feeling in the room and they let me hold him and look at him for a long time before cleaning him up.  I could tell right there that this boy of mine is a sweetheart sent from God.

(the following pictures are from later that evening. The pictures from right after his birth won't download on the computer right now, I will post them asap)

Ben was teary eyed and the adoration on his face was so precious. He just soaked in the moment.

Luke is little and cuddly and adorable. His nickname from me is peanut. He is just a little peanut.

He didn't cry much after he was born, which concerned me, but the nurses said he was fine. Because he didn't cry much, he wasn't able to clear all of the mucus out of his throat. We had to suction a lot out throughout the day, but he is fine now.
We didn't have a name for Luke, and have felt very strongly that the Lord knew his name and would let us know.  About 30min. after he was born, Ben and I were looking at him and going through our list of names. We said the name Luke, and there was an immediate feeling in the room. I won't go into detail, because it was sacred and personal, but it was very powerful and very real. Ben and I both felt it, and knew for sure that his name would be Luke. It was a very sacred and special moment. 
His middle name is Michael. We got that name from a very close and dear friend of ours from Colorado Springs. Mike and Mel were our neighbors and best friends there.
The rest of the day was full of getting Luke and I taken care of, moved to our room, and settled. I was STARVING, and tired, so I ate and rested while Ben followed Luke around and helped with his bath and check up.



I got a text from my mom showing me what was going on at home while I was having the baby. Thanks to her, my porch now looks like this!!!

 I love it so much. What an awesome surprise! It is adorable and makes me smile every time I look outside.

She came to the hospital that evening after Luke was born. She had the kids bring flowers for me in a cute duck vase, a teddy bear for Luke and yummy treats to the hospital.
She also brought clothes for Luke and a blanket that she made for him. We will be blessing him in it.
I seriously have super mom. She is amazing.

It was another very special moment to see my children meet their newest sibling, and to see my mother meet her newest grandchild. It was very precious.




(William thought the hospital bed was so scary, and then so cool. It was hilarious)

(grandma was a lifesaver, and it was awesome to have her meet Luke just hours after his birth)

Ben stayed around until it got late, and then headed home.
Around the time he left, the nurses discovered that I was bleeding too much. Not a surprise to me, I tend to do that with childbirth.
So, she gave me a shot of some stuff that would make my uterus contract more than it already was.
About an hour later, I was in some serious pain. They gave me two pills of percoset (spelling?) and two mortins. It did nothing. I felt like I was going to die. I had back labor this time around, and it was no different with the after labor contractions. My whole back was contracting along with my abdomen and legs.
I laid in the bed in pain and waited for my next does of drugs, praying for them to work.
Well, I got my next dose of drugs, but they also gave me another dose of the stuff to cause cramping again.
This went on the entire night. I had no relief at all from the pain. I was basically in hard labor all night, and no one could do a thing about it. They had to change my gown twice because I was sweating through it because of the pain. It was horrible!  I ended up calling Ben at 6:00am and just cried and cried and cried. I asked him to come give me a blessing.  I had not slept at all the entire night. I was exhausted, in loads of pain, discouraged and falling apart.
He rushed over and gave me a blessing. Then he talked to the nurses and basically forced them to start helping me more.
They got ahold of my doctor,  set me up on some better pain pills, and stopped the medicine that was causing the cramping. Come to find out, I was only supposed to have one dose of that stuff. They gave me three.
No wonder I was having on giant, extremely painful, all over my body, terrible contraction for 12 hours. Hello!
With Ben by my side regulating everything and taking charge, good pain meds, a blessing from the Lord, and help with Luke from the nursery, I was finally able to fall asleep and get some rest that day.

Ben brought the kids up later that evening. They came with flowers, a balloon, and my favorite treat..chocolate covered cinnamon bears! So sweet!  It was a shorter visit, but it was good to see everyone again.


Luke and I came home yesterday. When we pulled out his cute little outfit to take him home in, it looked HUGE!  I hadn't even thought to buy newborn clothes, I just bought 0-3 month clothes. William hardly even fit into those when we brought him home, so I didn't even think about newborn clothes.  We had a good laugh, and put the outfit on Luke anway. It was way too big, but so adorable and he looked even more cuddly and cute. 

Ben had cleaned out the car, cleaned the house, and brought me another Jamba Juice, because I wasn't able to have the one he previously gave me. No Jambas during labor I guess. :(
He really went above and beyond for me and it really meant to much to me. I am a very lucky girl.
We picked up the other two boys at the sitters and made our way home. It was so fun to look in that back seat and see three boys sittng by eachother. I kept on glancing back over and over again. Sam and William were just staring at Luke and were very excited. At one point William looked at him and said "baby brother." It was adorable and melted our hearts.  Mary got home from school soon after and immediately wanted to hold and feed her newest sibling. She is going to be a great helper. Sam as been very into him.  He asks a lot of questions and is concerned about everything Luke does. It is neat to see him so engaged in his role as oldest brother. He takes it very seriously. In the hospital he told Ben, "you can take care of William and I will take care of Luke." He really meant it too. So cute!

 I have been so worried about his tummy handling the formula.  All of my ther kids have had weeks and sometimes months of crying and crying and crying because of protein breakdown issues, acid refulx and somach problems.  Ben and I just hold our breath every time we feed Luke and wait for the puking and screaming. 
So far, he seems to be doing really well. I hesitate to say all is well, because he is still so new, but we have hope and we were SO grateful last night when all we had to do was feed him, change him, burp him, and then put him back to bed. He didn't scream all night, and he actually slept between feedings.
This is so foreign to us, but we are more than grateful. I am almost elated to be honest, but I have yet to feel like we are home free. I am very very grateful though.
Luke is an absolute sweetheart, and we can't get enough of him. He is fresh from heaven, and has a special spirit around him. He looks the most like Mary did as an infant, but he has features of all of the kids.
They are loving having him home and have been very good with him. We have moved every time we have had a baby, and I keep thinking that there is some big stressful thing I need to be doing, but then I realize that we are here and not going anywhere, and it is such a relief and feels so good. It is really nice to just keep things how they are and to just try to let things flow.
We are taking things a day at a time, and trying to just keep things calm and slow. I have been blessed with  feelings of comfort and peace, and I am not a panicked as I thought I would be. Ben has helped to much and having a more quiet week has been great too.

My milk came in today, and of course, that kills, but this time around the lactation specialist at the hospital gave me a wrap to wear. She was amazing. She didn't lecture me or make me feel guilty for nt being able to breast feed. She didn't even ask questions. She just gave me this wrap and told me it will make this week much easier and it will ease the pain. She also gave me some other sugestions to keep the milk from producing more. She was right about the wrap helping.  It still hurts, but not nearly as badly as last time.  I am so grateful for people like her who don't judge, who just figure that I have a good reason,  and who try to help. 

I feel so blessed and grateful for the past few days, and I have felt the Lord near me, Luke and my family.

Welcome to the world sweet Luke...we love you so much and are glad you are here.