Welcome to the World, Landon!

Our little boy, Landon Robert, arrived on August 7, at 2:09pm.  Weighing 8 lbs 7 oz, 22 1/2 inches long, he is healthy, happy, and by far the world's calmest and sweetest baby ever!  I thought for sure he would come on his own, but per doctor's advice, I was induced on an early Tuesday morning, August 7th, at approximately 40 weeks.

I had been having contractions off and on for the last two weeks of my pregnancy, but nothing ever "real".  Roger and I were getting super impatient, it was if our whole lives were on standby while we waited for our second to make his arrival.  Everyday we tried to do something fun and new with Ava, because maybe, just maybe it was our last day as the "three of us".  We went to the museums, the parks, the State Fair, walked around the mall umpteen million times...because maybe this would be the last time, maybe this afternoon it would happen?  Maybe tonight?  Maybe over the night I would wake up in labor?  Maybe, maybe, maybe.  It was a long and tortuous couple of weeks.

By August 3rd, I was resigned to the fact that this baby was going to be induced.  His birthday would be August 7th, and while I was excited to meet him, I will admit I was sad to let go of that element of surprise.  I was also terrified of what an induction might mean for me and for him, what if something went wrong?  I already had the scare of a possible c-section due to his transverse position, but thank God, he had engaged by the date of my hospital version.  What if I had to go into surgery for a CS?  What if the induction had a negative effect on him, what if he wasn't mature enough to come out?  I worried and worried:(  The night before the induction, my contractions were out of control painful, from midnight to 2am, I was in tears, wondering if I would make it to the hospital at all.  Even though they went away, it gave me some reassurance that he was wanting to come out.  It might as well be today!

So at 4:00am, I got up and took a shower, called the hospital to affirm the appointment and Roger and I left for the hospital at 5am.  We picked up McD's and headed to L&D in the dark.  I was getting super nervous.  I was admitted and hooked up to an IV (one of the worst parts of labor, I swear!).  Pitocin and fluids were admitted.  I am not sure at what time things started to progress, but by noonish, they were ready to break my water, which meant an epidural for me.  I was actually excited for the epidural.  It had gone so well with Ava, that I didn't have a worry in the world about getting the drugs.  My anesthesiologist came in, he was youngish, with a loud and energetic demeanor that actually made me a little nervous.  Just thinking about the actual procedure turned me into a sobbing baby and I cried through the whole thing.  After he left, I anxiously waited for that "heavily floating" feeling I had with my last epidural.  Oddly enough, my left leg turned to lead, my right leg however, just kind of tingled.  Dr. Bell came in shortly after, broke my water.  It was so weird!  Just a huge gush of fluid...that's when it got real! I knew that this baby was coming out of me soon whether I was "ready" or not.  I told Dr. Bell that my right side really wasn't as numb as I'd like it to be, in fact, I could still move my right leg and it only felt "tingly.  She told me to give the epidural some time and maybe position myself differently.  The nurse tipped me on my side, saying that the medicine works with gravity and that maybe it just needed time to work itself into my right side.  So I waited. And waited.  Until the contractions came...and boy, did they come!  Like a thunderbolt ripping through my entire right side.  I felt like I was going to black out.  Every time one came, I gripped the side of the bed, screaming in pain.  I tried not to scream, but it just came out of me, it was uncontrollable.  The pain was almost unbearable and when it came wave after wave, I felt myself slowly floating away in my head, not fully conscious of what was going on in the room anymore, I was alone with this horrifying pain and all my body was capable of doing was screaming.  The epidural was not working. 

The nurses called the anesthesiologist back in, he seemed apologetic yet a tad bit annoyed.  He sat me up and tried "wiggling" the catheter around in my back.  Again, not the most pleasant experience.  Then I had to keep waiting and see if the wiggling maneuver had worked.  I waited around 30 minutes, it had not worked, the pain was out of this world and he needed to make it stop.  They brought him back in and he again apologized for the amount of pain I was feeling.  He removed the catheter and gave me a second epidural.  I prayed that this time would work...but I had really lost all my faith in the process, I was convinced that this labor might kill me.  Again, I had to wait it out.  Would it work?  It worked for about 10 minutes, I felt soothed, finally.  I wanted to sleep, I closed my eyes and finally felt safe enough to sleep.  And then, out of the blue, came the pain again!  Oh. My. God.  Here they come again.  So much pain!  Again, the screaming commenced.  No one could figure out why they were back...not until Roger looked at the epidural machine and noticed that it had been TURNED OFF!  "Are you kidding me!!", I thought to myself.  In came the nurses, they turned on the fricking epidural machine and promised that this time, I would find some relief.  And finally, I did.

From that point on, it was easy peasy!  Dilation commenced fairly quickly after all of that and was kind of a blur.  The doctor positioned the mirror to face down into all of the action.  I laughingly joked, "Ah, I don't want to see that!", but then decided, what the hell...this is probably my last child, might as well see what is really going on down there.  It was CRAZY!  I saw his hair first.  As I waited in between contractions, I could just see his head lying there, mid-canal, I was amazed that his little skull wasn't being crushed to bits by the few minutes of waiting.  It made me want to push him out as fast as possible!  And boy did I push!  Five rounds of actual pushing...and there he was, my little boy! Landon Robert, born at 2:09pm!  He came out crying and peeing all over the place, which gave everyone in the room a laugh.  The nurse put him on my belly, and yep...he peed on me.  Obviously grateful to finally meet me! Lol!  He was perfect! Long, skinny and perfect!  Once they measured and did whatever they do, they gave him to me and I put him to my breast.  He latched on immediately and it was perfect!  I knew that he and I were going to get along really well!  For the next two days in the hospital, he never left my side, save for rounds of shots or to have blood tests.  I nursed him around the clock, cuddled him the entire time.  LOVED being waited on hand and foot by the nurses.  LOVED just being alone with him.  I seriously would have loved to have stayed in the hospital for a week or two.  It was so nice to just focus on him and nothing else.  But on Thursday, August 9, we were given permission to leave the hospital and we got out of there around 3:30.  When we left the hospital, he was only down a few ounces, he wasn't jaundiced or sick or anything.  He was just perfect!

The first stop when we left the hospital was the JC Penney photo studio to get newborn pictures done.  From there, we went home and I was glad to be with Ava again.  I was glad to be home, despite the fact that I would have to share a small bed, run on everyone else's schedule, make my own food and clean up my own messes...and everyone else's:)  It was home and it felt good.  The first few weeks went by SO quickly, they still do!  I nursed him constantly to get my supply going.  He was still having meconium diapers with maybe only one or two wet diapers a day for a week.  He also had what was called "brick dust urine" from dehydration, which I was told is normal.  But he was still waking up for feedings most nights.  By that Saturday morning, I was making milk and so I hoped it would all get better and it did.  By his two week check-up, he was 8lbs 5oz, practically back to his birth weight.  At his one month check-up, he was 10 pounds, 23in, and by his two month check-up, he had reached 13lbs, 14oz and 25 inches long!! 

He is the BEST little boy a Mommy could ever ask for!! He only cries if he is hungry or tired.  He sleeps so well and when he's awake, he has a very happy and jovial demeanor, all smiles and laughs.  He started giving smiles around 6 weeks old.  By 8 weeks, he was giving us a few chuckles here and there...he is absolutely adorable!!

Ava loves him SO much!  For the first few weeks, she just kind of ignored him, and he slept 24/7, so she really wasn't bothered by him at all.  She would like to "help" with diaper changes, at which point she would announce that he had a "tail"! Lol!  By four weeks, she started to ask about him, where he was, or she would let me know that he was crying.  She began monitoring his paci-time.  She always makes sure he has paci if he is crying and she likes to "pet" his head, play with his hands and feet, and name his body parts, like his nose and eyes and ears and hair.  It is so cute!  Sometime around 8 weeks old, Landon started noticing her.  Sometimes horrified, sometimes amused, he intently watches her and listens to her high-pitched squeals and screams.  He is also starting to notice the dogs, only when they move though. 

Here, at almost 9 weeks old, he still mostly sleeps during the day.  He may have an hour or maybe two hours a day where he is awake, but that's it!  I am convinced that everytime he goes to sleep, he grows another ounce and a half-inch! Lol! 

He is such a blessing in our lives!  I honestly feel like he has completed our family and has made our lives so much better, as if that was even possible!  His sweet little smile just lifts us up, Ava already loves him so much and is so protective of him, life just doesn't get any better than this! 

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