Luke Brian Bowers

Our sweet baby boy, Luke Brian, was born this morning at 9:51. He weighs 7lbs 11oz and is 20.25 inches long. Thankfully he is healthy (APGAR of 9!) AND he is just as cute as Jack. :) (Don't worry, no Elisabeth Hasselbeck-type pics here.)

He is SUPER CUTE (I can say this as often as I'd like!), cried almost the entire time I held him after he was first born, but like most boys, soon made the food connection, has a decent amount of darker hair (think baby mullet), looks like Brian & Jack, seems to be a good eater, and has normal size feet.

As with my first experience, I had a plan on just how things would be concerning the birth of my second child. I wanted to go into labor naturally, stay home for as long as possible (translation: until I thought I was going to die), and not have an epidural.

Well, I tested + for Group B Strep during my hospital stay 4 weeks ago so Dr. Smith instructed me to come to the hospital when I had had 10 contractions within an hour so antibiotics could be administered. Bummer.

Around midnight I started noticing that my contractions were stronger and more regular than they had been and just couldn't get comfortable to go to sleep. I had several things to do before I headed to Club Med, so I decided the contractions didn't really count, and thus should not be counted, until they became uncomfortable. I watched tv, surfed the net, and, remembering the no food policy during labor, had a (large) snack.

Around 3:30 Brian awoke and began counting for me. I immediately had 6 contractions within 20 minutes. Just like any other self-respecting girl, I had to take a shower, clean the bathroom, make the bed, clean the kitchen (with Brian's help), and pack my hospital bag before I was in any condition to leave my house. Our sweet friend, Leslie, came over the keep Jack and by 4:45 we were on our way.

Luckily my labor was fast since I could not have an epidural. (Long-ish story; just found this out within the last 4 weeks.) I hadn't wanted one nor had I had one with Jack and it worked out so well I was ready to take that route again. As it turned out, Luke was born facing upward, which is a whole different ballgame. His little nose and lips are bruised and I don't want to even think about what's injured on me. I'll face that tomorrow.

Anyway, labor & delivery without an epidural was still the right method for me. As soon as he was born, just like with Jack, I felt great. Hmmmm. Will I be singing the same song tomorrow??? Ha!


Our first family photo! Lovin' my boys! :)

I will post more pics tomorrow, as we forgot the camera cord so we're working with pics from Brian's iPhone. Then you will see Jack's reaction to his new little brother. Priceless!