Luke is here!!!!

Hey everyone! I have not been keeping up with the blog like I wanted to because my hospital room did not have good wifi. Also, I've been a little busy birthing a baby!! On Friday, September 26th at 8:48 pm the most precious little man entered our lives (almost 10 weeks early!!). Luke Thomas Smith weighed in at a whopping 3lb. 13oz. and was 16 1/2 inches long! That may sound tiny but we were so glad that he was as big as he was!! In the preemie world, that's pretty big! He has all his parts and a TON of hair! The doctor said that if he had stayed full term we would have had to braid it! Don't listen to the old wive's tales....I had hardly no heartburn during my pregnancy!! He is now in the NICU and we honestly don't know how long he will stay. All in all, he is doing very well! The nurses have told us that it is a rollercoaster ride with preemies. One day they are doing awesome and the next day they take a nose dive. So far, Luke is doing fantastic! We have had a few setbacks, but they are all to be expected. The nurses say that he is a fiesty little guy! He has lost a little weight and has severe jaundice right now. They have these high powered lights on him so he looks like he is in a tanning bed! He also is have a few of these moments that the nureses call "bradys". Basically, he has a type of apnea that causes him to stop breathing and his heartrate drops. This, of course, freaks me out a little, but they say this is very common for any baby born before 35 weeks because their little nervous systems are not developed yet. They stimulate him a little and if he has several of them, they give him a jolt of caffeine!! But...Praise be to God ~ he has not had to be put on a ventilator at all! He is doing pretty good breathing on his own. They help him out with a little bit of oxygen in his nose but that is all! This is GOOD news! Also, they have started feeding him a little. He gets less than a teaspoon every three hours through a little tube that goes in his mouth and to his belly. He is doing great with digesting and having no residual food in his tummy! Luke is just the most beautiful little person I have ever seen! He is a tough little cookie and I hope and pray he continues to be a fighter! I hated leaving him yesterday but am totally confident in the care he is giving. I am at peace knowing that his every need is taken care of and that he is hooked up to so many monitors that nothing will slip by his nurses. He is exactly where he needs to be right now, so I can't be unhappy!! God has been so unbelieveably good to us and it amazes me how he is continuing to bless us and our little spider monkey every day! I also have to tell everyone that the nurses in labor and delivery and the NICU at St. Vincent's have been AMAZING! They all will have HUGE crowns when they get to heaven! They have catered to my every need and Luke's every need and I will be eternally grateful for every sweet woman that I have met there during the last 13 days! I will be posting some pictures (the best I know how) and will keep everyone updated on sweet Baby Luke! Keep him (and all the NICU babies) in your prayers!