Game Day!

It is very serious in our house when it is game day! Stephen is a huge WVU fan and he can be a little crazy when there is a game on. Landon already has several WVU items including clothes, a bottle and a stuffed animal. So needless to say when WVU plays it is a big deal in our house. Here are a few pictures I took during the game.


Here are all my boys sporting their WVU attire! Yes even the dogs have WVU shirts!


Landon is his WVU sleeper


Stephen and Landon watching the football game

1 Week!

It is hard to believe Landon is already 1 week old. I would have to say that even though I had surgery and have not been feeling 100% this has been the best week of my life. I love being a mom and it melts my heart to see the man I love being a father. Stephen is so good with Landon and it is just so neat to watch.

Landon is doing great and we actually are getting a good amount of sleep. Stephens parents leave on Sunday and I am sure things will be much harder without there help. Also Stephen goes back to work on Monday and it will be very different to be by myself all day with Landon. Well as always here are a few pictures of him in the last few days.

First Doctor Appointment!

Stephen and I took Landon to the Doctor today. He is doing so good. When we left the hospital his weight was down to 5 Lbs. 15 Oz. and today he was 6 Lbs. 8 Oz. Some of that could be due to it being a different scale but even with that he is definitely gaining. The Nurse Practitioner said he is perfect and look great. It was so nice to hear that even though I already knew he was PERFECT.

We had a much better night last night. Landon still had his awake time about 3 AM but I was much more rested and just enjoyed holding him. Teresa (Stephens mom) stayed up with Landon until midnight while I slept and it is amazing how much energy a few hours of consecutive sleep will give you.

It is so much fun to be a new mom and to get to enjoy this time with Stephen home and so much family around has been great. We want to thank all of our family, especially our parents for everything they have done for us over the last week. WE ARE SO BLESSED!

I know these pictures do not go with the post today but he is just so cute it is hard to not post new pictures!




Stephen cuddling in the middle of the night


Alexis, Mallory, Ellie, Elizabeth and Landon

Just so you all know our dogs are still very loved and spoiled and today they enjoyed a little time in the sun. They are so cute with Landon. Tanner is very sweet and wants to cuddle with him, and Tucker is concerned and does not want him to ever cry.

My First Bath!

Today Landon had his first bath at home. Stephen watched the nurse give him one after delivery but today Stephen and I gave him one together. Even though it was only a sponge bath he seemed to like most of it. He cried a little bit but overall he liked the warm water.

He has been very good today, sleeping lots and doing even better with feeding. Hopefully things will go well tomorrow at the Doctors and he will have gained a little weight.

Here are a few pictures of his bath!

HOME!

Well we came home yesterday and it is so nice to be in our own enviroment. Even though Landon still lost a little weight the pediatrician was confident he was on an upward curve and is doing great. We will take him to the pediatrician on Wednesday to weigh him and hopefully he will be gaining. He liked the car and the weather was so nice that it made it a great day to come home!

He was good all evening, doing the normal: eat, sleep, poop, and be cute. Then last night he decided to drop the sleep part. He was awake a lot of the night and just wanted to be held. He had so many things stacked against him last night with his circumcision, gas, my milk not being all the way in and so forth that I am sure each night will get better.

Here are a few pictures of the last few days.

Day 2

Well today I have been feeling much better than yesterday. I am able to get out of bed, eat and move around alot more. Landon is doing great, he is doing good with breastfeeding and overall is just a good baby. We have had lots of visitors and it is so much fun to share Landon with everyone. We are going to ask tomorrow to see if maybe we can go home but if not than we will be going home on Monday. Here are a few more pictures to enjoy.


mommy and Landon


Daddy and Landon


Happy Family


Such a Little Man


Grandad and Nana


Papa and Baba

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Sorry I did not get posted yesterday but it turned into a pretty long day. It started off with the nurse starting the Pitocin drip at 6:00 and by 6:45 Landon was not tolerating it. He dropped his heart rate into the 50's and my hospital room suddenly became chaos. Within a minute there were several people in the room and I was rushed to the OR for an emergency c-section. They also gave me a shot to stop the contractions and when the contractions stopped Landon's heart rate recovered to normal. So since Landon's HR was back to normal and he was doing good we waited for Dr. Capelli to get there. He was there within about 10 minutes and he decided to go ahead and do the C-section. Anesthesia came in and tried to do a spinal block, after two tries he said he would not be able to do it because of my scar tissue. So at that point the decision was made that I had to be put under general. It was sad to me that I would be asleep and miss Landon's delivery but it made me really sad to know that Stephen could not be in the room at all. They took him out and put him in a room by himself while they prepped me and I was so scared.

The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room and asking to see my baby. They brought Landon in and I was able to hold him. I feel like it was several hours before I felt with it and was able to enjoy my son!

But now that it is all over and we have our perfect baby boy with us, how he came into this world does not matter.

In the end our perfect 6 LBS 13 Oz 18 inch boy is here.

Here are a few pictures from the first day!


This is a picture the nurse took for us since Stephen could not be there right away and I was asleep...It was so nice of them to do that.


getting cleaned up


Cousin Tyler


Uncle Travis


Daddy!


Baba

First night in hospital

well we got to the hospital about 7:30 and got checked in. The nurse checked me and said she thought I was dilated to about a 3 and 80% effaced. She didn't think I needed the cervidil. She said we could either go home and come back at like 5:30 AM or stay here and get started early. She then called Dr. Capelli and he wanted her to recheck me at 10 and see if I had changed at all and if not he still might want to do cervidil.

So we stayed here, the anesthesiologist came and started my IV and I watched Greys Anatomy and Private Practice. Then the nurse came and checked me and said I am now a 4 and 90% effaced. She believes there is change and so she went to call Dr. Capelli again.

After she talked to Capelli, the verdict is...we will wait to do anything until the AM. So 5:30 or 6 we will start Pitocin. I just took some sleeping pills so that hopefully I will get a good night sleep and be rested for a long day tomorrow.

Tomorrow...Tomorrow!

Well my cervix has not had any change so Stephen and I will head to the hospital tonight about 7. They will start Cervidil, a med to soften my cervix. Then about 6:30ish in the AM they will start me on Pitocin. My Doctor should come by around 7:30 or 8 and break my water and we will see what my body does from there. If the Pitocin can make me contract and dilate that is great, if my body does not progress we could be looking at a c-sectin.

Hopefully the cervidil is not too painful and we are able to get a good night sleep. Tomorrow will most likely be a long day but hopefully everything will go good and in the end nothing will matter except Landon's safe arrival. My computer is fixed and we are taking it with us to the hospital so check the blog tomorrow for updates. Talk to you soon!

So Ready!

I had a good day yesterday, I went to lunch with a friend from work and spent the evening relaxing at home with Stephen. I did not get a lot of sleep last night though and that is not the best way to start the day. I then got to work and saw that I was floated to the PICU. For those of you who do not know I work in a NICU and take care of little babies. At times we are required to float to our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and we hate it. It is a lot different then what we are used to and it you are in a different environment with people you don't know. Anyway, I immediately was trying to hold back the tears as I thought..."Are you...kidding me?"

Luckily my great friend at work came to my rescue and said she would go for me. I felt very bad making her float, knowing that she hates it just as much as I do, but it was so nice of her to help me out. I usually am not one to complain about floating, it is just one of those crappy things that comes with the job, but being almost 40 weeks pregnant and contracting are things that do not mix well with a day in the PICU. So THANK YOU Christina, I owe you big time!

After that was taken care of I got report on my kids in the NICU and thought oh my, this might be worse then floating. But...my day is looking better, I have been very busy at work and have not been able to take my lunch break yet but at least it is slowing down and I can sit for a few minutes. So all in all my day is looking up and I have a very great friend to thank for that, and that fact that I don't have to come back for 12 weeks!

I go to the doctor tomorrow to see if we will be going to the hospital tomorrow night or Friday morning and I am hoping for Friday morning. I am so nervous, as I have said multiple times but I also have never been so excited for anything in my life.

I will be sure to post tomorrow after the Dr to let everyone know that game plan. My computer is in the shop so I might not be able to post in the hospital. I am going to try to do it on Stephens computer but we will just have to see, but if not I will just let everyone know via the phone when Landon is born.

4 DAYS!

I can hardly believe we will be holding out little man in just 4 days. I am doing good. Stephen and I had a great, relaxing weekend...what more could you ask for? Last night I had a difficult time sleeping, it was a combination of heartburn, and just a racing mind. I was thinking of all sorts of things that I could not shut my mind off to go to sleep. I am working today and it is becoming oh so relevant how pregnant I am. Work is getting harder and harder. Luckily I only have one more day after today. Also I have been having a lot of braxton hicks today. I know they are not labor contractions but they are annoying and I cant wait to not have them anymore.

I am getting very excited for Friday, although I am nervous, I am so thrilled that Landon will finally be here.

I think Stephens parents at coming in town on Saturday and I am sure we will have a lot of company at the hospital but I am anxious to show off our little boy!

Lots of people have asked me how they will know when Landon is here and I promise I will try my hardest to text and call and even try to get a post on here by Friday night. Stephen and I are planning on being the only ones in the delivery room. It is also important to us to have some time after the delivery just the two of us to get him cleaned up, me cleaned up and to breastfeed, but we will let my family in the waiting room know as soon as Landon is born and I am sure my mom will make tons of phone calls.

Hope all is well with everyone!

6 DAYS!

OH MY...6 DAYS is so soon. Tonight Stephen and I are going to go our to a nice dinner to celebrate out last weekend as a family of two...well 4 if you ask Tucker or Tanner!

We are going to the melting pot, one of our favorite restaurants to go to for celebrations. We go there often for anniversaries, birthday as so forth. When I called today to make the reservation the lady asked if we were celebrating anything. I told her no, but then I hung up the phone and thought we are celebrating something pretty amazing...this time next week our precious little boy will be in our arms.

Today I slept till 10:30...anyone think that will happen in the weeks to come? I am so lucky that I still feel good and am able to enjoy this last week. Well, thats all for now, no changes to report!

8 Days!

I went to the Doctor today and we decided that if Landon does not come by next Friday that we will induce. So the plan is, I will go to the doctor again next Thursday and he will check me, if my cervix is soft enough then Stephen and I will go in to the hospital early Friday morning for induction. If my cervix is not effaced enough then we will be admitted Thursday night and I will receive cervidil (a med that softens your cervix) then Thursday AM we will start Pitocin to induce contractions.

We decided to wait until next Friday to give my body a little longer to go into labor on its own. While going into labor on my own scares me a little with my back and stuff I know Pitocin can be very uncomfortable. I also really hope that we do not have to stay in the hospital over night on Thursday. I am sure I will get a much better night sleep at home in my own bed the night before our son is born.

Anyway, we will see what happens. It is both scary and exciting to know that we will have a baby boy in our arms no later then next Friday.

I work tomorrow and then next week I will work Monday and Wednesday, with Wednesday being my last day at work for 12 weeks! I am so excited for my time off at home with Landon, I know I will be exhausted and it will go by very fast but I am looking forward to it so much.

Hopefully Stephen and I can enjoy our last weekend without a child and spend some time just the two of us. It is so surreal to really know that this is the last weekend we will have before we become parents!

We will keep everyone updated and who know maybe Landon will have something else in mind and decide to come earlier.

9 DAYS!

It is getting closer and closer. I did not get a chance to post yesterday but I had a good day. I was off so I spent the day cleaning and doing things around the house. Then I went to the grocery store and cooked dinner, for the first time in who knows how long. After dinner Stephen and I went to see a movie. It was nice to go on a date just the two of us. Tuesday nights at the theater in LS it is bring your own bowel and they fill it with popcorn for free. So we had a great date night for $10, you can't beat that!

Stephen thinks that since I cleaned the house, cooked dinner and felt really good that I am "nesting", but I think I just want a clean house when I have company after the baby is born. We shall see though, maybe this baby is getting ready to come.

Well, I go to the Doctor tomorrow so we will see what he says!

11 DAYS!

I can not believe I only have 11 days (at most), probably only like 7 or so. It is so crazy that it is that close.

Stephen and I had a good weekend. Sunday we went to church, out to breakfast and then went to the pumpkin farm with my brother and nephew. I think Stephen and I had as much fun as Tyler. We got pumpkins and mums and went home and decorated our front porch for fall. It turned out very cute. We then hung around the house, I made a yummy pumpkin pie (I love fall) and then we went to dinner just the two of us. Today I am working and feeling good. I feel like we have gotten a lot accomplished, I need to clean my house tomorrow and then I am ready for whenever Landon decides he wants to come.

No other news to report but we will continue to keep everyone posted.

Time to Wake Up!

I had a rough start to my day today. I slept pretty decent for being 38 weeks pregnant. My alarm went off and I, as I always do, hit snooze a few too many times. Although today I fell back into a deep sleep. I rolled over and looked at the clock at 6:30...and quickly jumped out of bed. Considering I usually leave my house at 6:15 for work you can imagine I was not thrilled. I put on scrubs, grabbed my make up and a brush, brushed my teeth and was out the door but 6:36. I drove slightly fast to work. Luckily it was Saturday and there was little traffic on the road and I am able to park in our parking garrage instead of off site and catching a bus to work. So I arrived in the parking garrage at at 6:55, brushed my hair and put it in a ponytail in the elevator and headed up to my unit. I clocked in at 6:59 and was getting report on my babies by 7:05...pretty amazing.

I finally made it to the bathroom around 10 and put on my make up and touched up my very messy hair.

Now it is after lunch and my day is calm. I am half way done with work and looking forward to going home and resting tonight and tomorrow. We also plan to go get pumpkins and mums tomorrow to decorate our front porch and I am so excited. I love fall and now that all my fall decorations are out inside my house it is just the outside that is left. Although when you go outside it feels much more like winter than fall....what happened to the nice fall weather? I heard something about snow tomorrow and I am praying that will not actually happen.

Anyway I am doing good, feeling great and enjoying the little time we have left as a family of two.

38 Weeks!

I went to the Doctor today and nothing has changed. I am still dilated to 2 and not completely effaced. Landon is head down but is not engaged in my pelvis. Since he is not engaged we do not want to induce because it will increase my risk for a c-section. So, for now we just wait it out and see if anything happens next week. If not I go to the doctor again next Thursday and then we will talk about induction and what to do next.

I am still anxious about the delivery, I am worried that I will not know when to go to the hospital, that I will not be able to get an epidural and that overall I will not be able to do it. I know I do not have a choice that one way or another Landon will come but I just ask for your prayers that he will come safely, and we will all have a positive experience.

I can't wait to hold my baby boy in my arms and know that Stephen and I did a great thing together.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Rest and Relaxation!

Today was a great day! I have never had so many ups and downs before, one day I am contracting and can't sleep then the next day I have very few contractions and sleep great. I guess when I have a bad day I just have to hope that a good day is around the corner. It also helps that my mom surprised me with a pregnancy massage and pedicure. So after an afternoon of relaxing and being pampered I couldn't feel better. The massage was so helpful and now my toes are cute and ready for stirrups.

While I am very ready for Landon to be here, at the same time I cant believe that he will be here in less than two weeks. The fact that any day Stephen and I could become parents is both scary and exciting.

Anyway, I work tomorrow and hopefully can get some sleep tonight and have a good day tomorrow.

LONG Night!

I had a very hard night last night. It was the most difficult night I have had the whole pregnancy. It started about 10:00 with the normal contractions but they just got harder and harder. The contractions were between 5 and 6 minutes apart until about 2:30 in the morning. The contractions were some of the worst pain I think I have ever experienced. I tried different positions, massage, taking a bath, walking around the house and everything else I could think of to relieve the pain but nothing worked. The bath seemed to be the best and Stephen applying pressure to my back but man was I in pain. We decided that until the contractions were a little closer we were not going to go to the hospital and then about 2:30 the contractions started to spread out to about 7 or 8 minutes apart. I think around 3 they must have spread out a little more because I was able to fall asleep in between them. I woke up several times between 3 and 5:30 due to contractions and having to go to the bathroom but was always able to fall back asleep.

When I woke up at 5:30 to get ready for work I was overwhelmed with many different feelings. I was so upset that these were just practice contractions and that I was going to have to do this all over again but yet relieved that the pain did subside. It is hard to explain but today I am feeling very down and just wishing that everything will soon be over and Landon will be here. I have never felt this much anxiety for anything and it is so hard to know I have no control.

At first I was feeling all this last night alone as Stephen slept. I would try to wake him up and tell him I needed him to do something to help me and 2 seconds later he was snoring. He finally woke up around 1 and rubbed my back, and watched tv with me to distract me. Once I felt like I was not alone things did get easier. I hope Stephen can be supportive when the delivery day really does come, I need him more than anything. I feel bad keeping him awake at night but I can not do this alone and I just needed him to tell me it would be okay.

I am anxious to go the doctor on Friday (I changed it from Thur to Friday due to work) and see what he has to say. Why am I having false labor? Why am I contracting so much for hours and then it just stops And, will I ever know when it is really time to go to the hospital?

Another Day!

I made it through another day! After a relaxing Sunday, I had a much better night sleep. I then worked for a few hours today and did some stuff around the house and am now resting and watching some TV. I work tomorrow and Wednesday and am sure it will be a little rough, but hopefully I can make it through.

So with that said, no real changes and I will let you know how work goes tomorrow.

Weekend Update

Not a whole lot of change, I know several people are wandering how I am doing so I will try to post a small post each day. I worked all day Friday and then was pretty uncomfortable and had a hard time sleeping Friday night. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart for several hours but slowed down after I took a long bath. I was able to fall asleep around 2 and only woke up a few times.

Then Yesterday Stephen and I had a pretty busy day. I first went wedding dress shopping with Natalie, my brothers fiance, then Stephen picked me up and we went to my nephews soccer game. After that we grabbed a quick lunch and then we headed to my nieces soccer game. Most of my family went to Alexis' game so we decided to go out to dinner afterward. We had a great dinner at cheesecake factory but did not get home until around 11. It was a great day but I was very tired and was having contractions about every 5 minutes when I got home. My back was hurting really bad and it was hard to tell if it was the contractions or just because my back is always sore after a long day. Anyway I was awake until about 4 and ended up only getting a few hours of sleep.

Stephen and I went to church this morning and when we came home I took a two hour nap while he went to the barn and now he is mowing and I am going to do a few things around the house before I probably lay down for another nap.

I am thinking I might have to try to change my work schedule next week. I work on Tuesday and if I come home and have lots of contractions all night then I am afraid I will not be able to work on Wednesday. Hopefully I can make it so all my days are spread out but we shall see.

All in all today I am feeling pretty good, I think I have just gotten to the point where I need to take it a little easy. It is a hard thing to do for me, I like to stay busy and do lots of things, but right now my body is telling me to slow down.

It would be a different story if I thought the contractions I was having were doing something to make my body go into labor. If I thought Landon would come it would be worth it to stay busy, contract, loose sleep, etc. Although for me it seems I contract all the time for no real reason, and it is no fun at all.

Anyway we ask you keep us in your prayers. We hope God will be with us and everyone involved in Landon's delivery to help our little boy come in to this world safely.

We will continue to keep you updated.

Calm Before the Storm???

Well I am feeling a lot better today. I dont know if it is God giving me a break before my world changes forever or what. I had the best night sleep last night that I have had in a long time. Some of you may not understand the magnitude of this, but I only got up 1 time in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. That is an amazing thing, considering my normail is 6-8 times a night. Also I feel like I have more energy today then normal and that I could do anything. I am working and know things could change any minute around here, but for now I am feeling great.

So what does this mean after my day yesterday? Is is my time to be calm and relaxed before things change or was yesterday really nothing at all. I was definitly having a lot of contractions but where they all for nothing? No one really knows the answer to that but I guess time will tell and staying calm for now is fine with me.

So for now I am doing good and I will let everyone know if anything changes.

37 Weeks!

Well I had a hard time sleeping last night and was having contractions that to me seemed different. I went to my regular doctor appointment this morning and Dr. Capelli checked me and thought I was about 80% effaced and dilated to 2 or 3. My contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart so he told me to go home and do a few things to get ready but to head to the hospital. I called Stephen, he came home from work, we did several things around the house and then headed to St. Joe hospital. I was admitted, put on monitors and after two hours...sent home. Yes, sent home. It stinks because I would not have gone to the hospital but since Capelli thought I should I really thought that maybe today was the day.

I am home now and still having contractions but I guess I will just wait it out and see what happens. It is all in Gods hands now so when he decides it is time for Landon to come, he will.

I will keep everyone updated but as for now I am still going to work tomorrow and go about my daily routine until something happens to let me know its time.

Stephen and I took a new belly picture last night so here it is along with the old ones for comparison. It has been quite a journey and it is hard to even remember not having a belly. I am just ready for Landon to be here and the belly to start getting smaller.


15 Weeks


24 Weeks


31 weeks


37 weeks