life comes at you fast

i hate that i am so behind on blogging... the title of this blog explains how i am feeling right now. so we'll start with the birth details. my cousin kerri was in the room recording these things as well as taking pics as we were having lucas. i am so thankful to be able to look back and know the exact timing of things, as they happened so fast.


friday, january 30, 2009

6 AM- arrive at brookwood to be induced
7:49- dr adcock checked me, 5 cm, 80% effaced, and he broke my water
7:53- contractions start coming hard and fast
8:17- started epidural (they are such a miracle drug!)
8:28- finished epi
8:39- felt lots of pressure, told nurse, she checked me, i was complete and ready to push!
** where's dr adcock? this baby is coming FAST! **
9:07- LUCAS JAMES WHITT arrives!

7 lbs, 20 inches, PERFECT baby boy

AND if you wanna know another awesome detail, when i had pushed a couple of times, dr adcock told me to reach down (and i thought he was gonna say and feel your baby's head...) and pull my BABY out. YES, that is what i just said. the head was out and dr adcock said "with your next push, reach down and pull him out, grab him under his arms and put him on your chest." OH MY GOSH... i basically helped deliver my own son and words just can't describe that feeling. wow. i know that is a lot of detail but it was just too incredible to not share with you!!! i was so surprised that i did what he told me to without thinking. i'm not sure why he offered to let me do that but it was a moment nate and i will never ever ever forget. childbirth is such a miracle of god.

ok. so that gets us thru the birthday of lucas. i can't believe my baby boy is already a week old. where has the week gone? what has happened? how have we felt? let me tell you. it's kinda of lengthy but like i said, i'm so behind on blogging.

when we got ready to leave the hospital sunday my blood pressure was extremely high. it was actually high most of the time i was in the hospital, since arriving there to have lucas. it was perfect for the most part of my pregnacy so it's still confusing to me why it was high. anyways. we finally we were released b/c it went down some. sunday we got home and mom and dad brought trace over. he had spent the weekend with meme and g-daddy, aunt nae nae and josh, and also bitsy and poppi. this was the longest we had ever been away from trace. and it was so hard. so when he got home sunday it was just crazy. he is in love with his baby brother like you wouldn't believe. but we were all exhausted. we went to bed hoping for a good nite. ha. it was the longest nite of our lives. lucas was up several times, very fussy. i guess just trying to get used to things. but we survived. monday nite, meme came over to visit. g-daddy is in honduras this week and when terri left she mentioned not wanting to go home to an empty house. so guess what? i sent my 3 day old baby home with her. 4 bottles and he was good to go. that's how rough it had been the nite before. so we got a good nite's sleep monday, woke up tuesday and had a decent day. but i had this headache that i couldn't shake. wednesday comes and my head is still killing me. we had to take lucas for his newborn visit. things look great, he is so healthy, praise the lord. well somehow i ended up telling mom how bad my head still hurt and she made me go by publix and check my BP. it was 166/109. yeah, that's high. i called my dr and he wanted me to come in asap for an evaluation. i was scared to death that i was gonna have a stroke or something. i cried on dr adcock's shoulder and basically let it all out. i was so overwhelmed with my newborn and toddler and the lack of sleep, and now my BP. he took it 3 different times over the course of 2 hours and it was still only getting higher. he sent me home on some medicine. (a side nte. one thing dr adcock told me that i have had to remind myself of a hundred times this week is "comparison takes away contentment." that is so true.) anyways. think about that when you start comparing yourself to others. that is part of my problem. ok. so now its wed. we are again exhausted, it's been a crazy, scary, emotional day. but make it thru another nite, by sending trace to meme's and lucas to bitsy's. yes, i was having a mental breakdown and needed sleep! so thursday was a better day, with the headache almost gone. but i started feeling awful thursday nite, my throat hurt so bad i thought it was closing up on me. i was in tears it hurt so so bad. so friday morning mom takes me to the dr. yeah, i have strep throat. they gave me 2 shots and some more meds. one good thing, while i was there, my BP was great.

but what next lord? no sleep, new baby, high BP scare, and now strep? are you kidding me? i have to admit i've had this thought several times this week. like i said, life comes at you fast! but thru it all, (and believe it or not, many details were left out) god is on our side :) this week i felt like my family was falling apart. i've had the baby blues (that's normal, right?) and nate and i have cried more than ever. but we have learned so much. and god has been so real to us, and so sweet to us. he has strengthened my marriage, in ways i didn't know it needed it. nate has been my rock thru it all. ok. i'm crying now. i've done good this whole blog but i'm telling you, i could not have made it thru this week without nate. he has been mr. mom... doing laundry, dishes, fixing dinner, washing bottles, everything. he has been strong when i was weak. but more than that, GOD has been our source of strength. in our weakest moments, he has been here for us. for nate, for trace, for lucas. he has never left us. when my blood pressure was thru the roof, when lucas wouldn't sleep, when trace didn't understand what was wrong with mommy, when i got strep throat, god has been by our side thru it all. i am so ashamed of the way i've tried to live on my own the past week. when struggles came, i whined, cried, complained. tried to make sense of it all. finally, i cried out to jesus and he has been so real to me since then. nate and i have a greater love and respect for each other. i am so blessed to have him as my husband and the father to my sons. he is so wonderful. so godly, so strong, so sweet. i can't believe i've taken so much for granted. and it's taken this week, what i would like to call a week from hell, to realize how much i need god, and nate, and my whole family. so many people have been praying for us, and i'm telling you, the prayers have been felt. thank you, thank you, thank you.

my mom gave me a list of verses and reminded me to read them, to pray, to focus on the good things. satan has tried so hard to get to my family this week. i've let him a few times, but he no longer has a hold on me. the victory has been won. i love god, and this week he has renewed my faith in him, as well as my love. one verse that stands out is psalms 146:5 " how blessed is he whose help is the god of jacob. whose hope is in the lord his god." AMEN. i am so blessed. and it's all from god. nothing i've done on my own.

so wow. this blog started as a lucas update but turned into a time of reflection and really i just want to give jesus all the praise and glory for getting us thru this week. but also for showing us to fully rely on him. another thing i've really tried to remember is that it could always be worse. you don't have to look far to see how bad someone else has it. even though we have faced many challenges and had a hard week, god was with us thru it all. and it was all in his plan. i am so thankful to be a child of his and to know that with him, all things are possible.

i'll end with this verse, another one from mom. " psalms 118:5-6 "from my distress i called upon the lord, the lord answered me and set me in a large place. the lord is for me- i will not fear. what can man do to me?" i've always had a problem with fear and worry, but this week has taught me to that i can't let it rule my life. so i'm trying hard to let christ take all my burdens and fears away. i'm so thankful that the sorrows only last for a nite and JOY comes in the morning!

so here are just a few JOYS of lucas and from the past week:
* lucas arrived fast, safe, and healthy
* i think he completes our family
* he looks so much like trace did at this age
* and btw, trace is the best big brother ever
* nate and i have drawn closer to god and each other
* each day i've learned to trust god more and more
* i try and be thankful for even the small things
* lucas is a happy baby and already given us several smiles
* he is such a sweet lil cuddler
* i have the best family ever

please continue to pray for us... nate goes back to work tomorrow. neither of us are very excited about that, but we know it will be ok. god will give him the strength he needs to work 10 hour days, and he will give me peace and confidence to be a good mom to lucas while nate is gone. trace will go to bitsy's and meme's like normal and hopefully we can all establish a good routine this week. also continue to pray for my BP, i go back to see dr adcock thursday for a check-up.

here are a few pics. there are a ton that i want to load... but for now, i'll leave you with these first few pics of my sweet baby lucas.

"we prayed for this child, and the lord has given us what we asked of him." 1 samuel 1:27