Luke Murphy Sindall

It's a boy! Gare and I are still in shock over our son. What a blessing!

Luke Murphy Sindall made his entrance a day early on January 11, 2012. His debut will forever be very memorable as it was one of the most chaotic and incredible moments of our life.

My labor started with contractions early that morning. I, however, was in complete denial that I was actually in labor so I went ahead with my day and dropped Hayden off at school and went to my office. Around 2 pm, Gary suggested that I call my doctor and talk to them about how I am feeling. I called and they tried to convince me to go to the hospital. I decided that I would instead go to my doctor's office. At 3pm, they told me I was 3cm but the baby was still not engaged - they were hopeful labor would start in the next 24 hours. I returned to my office and worked until 4:45. On my way to pick up Hayden from school, those 10 minute contractions went to 5 minutes. By the time I walked in to Hayden's preschool classroom, my 5 minute contractions were regular and those gut wrenching contractions became very real. Gary rushed across town and picked both Hayden and I up from her school. We made it to the hospital by 5:45 and I am now at 6 cm. The only thing I could think about at this point is, I need the epidural. I got the epidural at 7pm and I'm now at 8cm. Fifteen minutes pass and I can still feel every second of my labor. At 7:15, an accelerant was given to me. By 7:20, the pain had started to subside. The doctor checked me at 7:35 and I am now at 10cm and ready to push. At 8:08, Luke made his way in to the world!

This little guy is a nugget or as Hayden calls him, "a chicken nugget." Luke was 6 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long. He has a head full of light brown hair and lots of people says he resembles his big sis as a newborn (with not quite as much hair).

Hayden is loving her new role as a big sis! In the beginning, she called Luke "Sara" and was in a little bit of denial that he was a boy but she now has several nicknames for him including "Lukey Lukey" "Lukeanut" and "black bean."

Hayden: "Is Luke going to stay with us? Are we going to keep him?"

Us: "Yes."