Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a day to celebrate our moms. Today we celebrate Karen and Lou and thank them for all that they have done in our lives. I'm truly blessed to be a mom and blessed to have the perfect addition added to our family right before Mother's Day! I'm blessed to be able to follow in my moms footsteps and raise my children to follow and love Jesus. So thank you to our moms and we love you!!

It was a Mother's Day I'll never forget as I hold and snuggled with my 2 boys today. My family came over to bring us lunch and to visit. Doug and Will went grocery shopping and went to see his mom for a while. It's been quite the adjustment since we've come home with Luke from the hospital but Big Bro Will has done good. He's had his moments but Doug and I have been patient with him as much as we can and he's been wanting to help out on several of the things with Luke. We've had to teach him to be careful around Luke because he's still fragile and a small baby. He's very concerned about him and where he is at all times. I'm trying to do my best and spend as much time as I can with Will as I am with Luke. Its very hard but we are doing the best we can. Will is going to do great as a big brother!!

Luke has jaundice and we've been a glow worm since Saturday. We went back to the newborn follow up clinic today and he has to stay under the light for 2 more days and we are hoping his bilirubin levels will come down. He's been taking about 2oz of formula every 3 hours and we are trying to increase it to 3oz and are slowly making our way there. He weighed 6lbs 11oz when we left the hospital and now weighs 6lbs 8.2 oz at the follow up clinic today. So he's lost a bit! He's been sleeping good at night and having great wet and dirty diapers. He doesn't mind the noise and craziness at our house as we have had many visitors so far. Life is good so far! 

I'll update the blog with more pictures from his birth and going home pictures at a later date. But right now this momma is headed to bed just like this little boy fell asleep on the way home today, shades and all! 

Luke is HOME

Luke Penny is home and we are a complete and happy family of 4! I can't begin to describe to you the moment I walked in the door with Luke and showed him the house where so many prayers have been prayed for him! We then went to his room and he opened his eyes and I showed him what momma and daddy had worked on so much for him. I literally LOST it! The moment I've been dreaming of and praying for my entire life came true and real at this very moment. A sweet friend of mine said "the mountains feel really high when you have been in the deepest valleys." This is so true when you have been through 5 years of fertility and 133 days of being in the Nicu watching your sweet little one fight the battle of his life and also watching his twin brother go on before us and meet Jesus. It's amazing what God can put you through to give you the strength to continue on and receive the greatest blessings of life at the end of it all.

We have enjoyed the "discharge" day and we feel like brand new parents and we know this will be a brand new experience for us all. Will was so excited for Baby Luke to come home with us. They rode great together in the car and Will kept a close eye on Baby Luke. We are now praying for a great night with both of our boys at home with us! 

Luke's first day

Luke has been good. He's taking his bottle like a champ, sleeping good, pooping, and peeing on everything when it's not covered up. He's gotten Doug and my mom and it's hilarious!! Doug has been a GREAT daddy and husband to me and Luke. I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am for Doug. He's changed dirty diapers and his clothes several times today. He's been amazing!

I have been a decent patient up until today. I had my tubes tied late this afternoon and the pain medication made my oxygen and heart rate dip really bad. I recovered but was in a tremendous amount of pain. After getting pain meds and some good food in my body I was back to normal and have been resting a lot. 

Luke went to the nursery and is going again tonight so we can rest. I feel bad but after today I've got to get some sleep. 

Luke is so sweet. He cries when he's dirty and hates a wet diaper. He's burping good, passing gas, and loves to eat. He's on about a 3-4 hour schedule and can sometimes go longer depends on how much he eats. He's precious and we are still in love with him. 

Big brother Will is coming around but mainly wants mommy and daddy though. He's still in shock and starting to understand the whole new thing. He really doesn't like mommy in the bed at the hospital. 

Thank you GOD for my precious family!!!!

Welcome Luke Penny

We welcomed with loving arms at 3:35pm today the most precious 6lbs 15oz and 19 inches long with a head full of dark brown hair sweetest little boy named Lucas Andrew Douglas Penny into our family today. It was a journey to get here but God truly blessed us today with a screaming baby boy who made his entrance known and let us know that he was here.

There were a few complications along the way but God saw us through it and he's finally in our arms today!! With all the prayers we received Doug and I are overjoyed that we get to share him with the world. God is amazing!!!!! 

After waiting in the lobby for 3 hours this morning for a room because of a full moon we were finally admitted by 9:30 am and got the ball rolling. Yes this is my blog and Luke's birth story so please quit reading if you need to because I will go into labor things. I was already 3cm when I came in today. So I got settled in and they started pitocin and the contractions kept coming on stronger. I had been feeling them since 3:30am that morning and they were beginning to get stronger  but I blew it off as nothing and tried not to think about it. After we got the pitocin started I got an epidural and around 1ish the doctor came in a broke my water and I was 4cm and 100% thinned and he said it wouldn't be much longer. At 2:30pm I was checked again and I was 9cm and started freaking out. Of course my blood pressure skyrocketed so they gave me a few minutes to calm down and we began pushing at 3pm. They got me to a point where Dr Young would come in and finish it and at 3:35pm Luke Penny entered the world and I cried tears of joy because I was so happy and relieved to hear that cry I've always wanted to hear. Doug cut the cord and then we did skin to skin and it was the most wonderful experience of my entire life. 

I absolutely love my family with all my heart and God has truly blessed us in such a way that is indescribable to me in words. My family is complete!!! 

Last night as a Family of 3

We enjoyed our last night as a Family of 3 with Will. We picked him up from school and went to find fire trucks and water tanks, which are his favorites. We then had a nice supper at Outback and then left him with Nana and Papaw to spend the night since we have to be at the hospital at 6am tomorrow morning.

We have enjoyed our time as a Family of 3 and are excited about adding Luke to the family tomorrow. God has blessed us in so many ways and our prayer and hope is that we will continue to glorify and honor HIS name as we welcome Luke into the family with loving arms tomorrow. We are so excited and nervous about this next step in our lives. 

Wednesday is the Day

Wednesday is the day we have been waiting on for a while! Baby Luke is coming Wednesday, May 6th if he doesn't surprise us before then. We are so excited to say and a little nervous too. It's all in God's hands for a safe delivery. It's been in His hands the whole time and throughout this pregnancy and He knows when Baby Luke is going to arrive. 

As I said it's truly in God's hands. We found out we were pregnant on Doug's birthday. We heard the heartbeat on my birthday. Baby Luke is coming on May 6, 2015 which May 6, 2012 was Will and Drew's due date just 3 years ago. Also our doctor is normally on call on Tuesday's but he had to switch with another doctor for Wednesday because of that doctors conflicts. It's a God thing I tell you. Also if my blood pressure had not been elevated these last few weeks then Baby Luke probably wouldn't be coming. We are so blessed to have made it to 37 weeks and are ready to meet our sweet Baby Luke who has blessed us beyond words can say. We can't wait to be a Family of 4 and to celebrate a special Mother's Day weekend! We are indeed blessed!! 

37 weeks

37 weeks and we made it!!!!! We made it after a rough start to the week. Monday we went to our scheduled doctors appointment and I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and having protein in my urine. I was later sent to Women's hospital for further testing for preeclampsia and then put on rest and was told to do a 24 hour urine test. Those results came back Wednesday which didn't result in Baby Luke coming that day. My test results indicated that I was getting enough fluids and also my protein levels were around 110 which anything below 300 is good. I was then told to stay at home and off work and officially start my maternity leave and we would reevaluate the situation when we go back to the doctor on Monday.

Of course being told you are on rest and the realization that he could come any minute or any day kinda hit me this week. It didn't help my blood pressure issue either. So least to say I was a little stressed out and hurrying around to get things done quickly. Luckily we are still hanging on.

We are thankful and blessed we have made it to 37 weeks and to the month of May because that was our ultimate goal. I can't believe I'm 37 weeks pregnant either and in my last and final month of ever being pregnant. I was still able to take my LAST shot on Wednesday which was a relief. I'm hoping and praying Baby Luke will come this week and all will be well with him.

So I've just been resting and nesting as you can say. The weather has been gorgeous and I've been soaking up some sun on my new back porch and just simply laying around and doing laundry. I did clean out my laundry room cabinets which were driving me crazy but I think I might have overdone it because I didn't feel good after I did that. Doug says I've been on "house arrest" but he's been good and has taken me to some appointments that I already had scheduled. I do miss my bank work girls so I've been keeping in touch with them. They are taking care of everything for me since I've left unexpectedly. I plan to be back when my maternity leave is over and will keep in touch with them while I'm off. As Doug keeps telling me life will go on with or without you at the bank and to not worry about things there. 

I've had a good supervisor to watch over me this week. My baby girl, Maddie Mae, has been keeping a close eye on me this week. She probably is upset because I've been home invading her day but just wait till Baby Luke comes home. 

I got an early Mother's Day gift from my sweet boys this week. We love to eat outside and they got me some outdoor plates, bowls, and a platter. I can't wait to eat outside on these plates and spend some good time with them on the back porch. 

So here's to 37 weeks pregnant and waiting on Baby Luke to arrive. We will keep you updated as we know more Monday morning.