The Birthday Boy

Landon is officially two, I can't believe it. He is such a great addition to our family and I can't imagine life without him. Landon is full of energy, he is silly, a busy body, a bully at times, he has the sweetest smile, beautiful eyes, says Thank You all the time, loves to be outside, loves animals especially dogs, loves trucks, trys to ride Madie and Ethan's scooters, loves to be read books, loves his blankets, is totally attached to the pacifier, Landon is a small fry and I have a hard time finding pants that don't just slide right off of him, he has had a lot of ear infections, he loves to follow Jeff around and is the first one to greet him when he gets home from work, he loves hugs and kisses, is a dare devil and will probably grow up to be a stunt man or some other dangerous job, he could eat M&M's all day long, he has a bad gag reflex and throws up all the time, loves to play in and with water, likes to carry around Madie's dolls, is often found "playing" Madie and Ethan's Leapsters, loves to laugh, purses his lips in the cutest way, and he is a heartbreaker.

It is hard to believe that two years ago he was born. We moved a month before Landon was born and he was supposed to come via planned c-section. He was due in June, but the Sunday before my due date and three days before the c-section date (Wednesday) I started having contractions. That night was horrible and I got little to no sleep. Jeff's mom was supposed to arrive on Tuesday to be here with the kids while Jeff and I were at the hospital. Monday was Memorial Day and Jeff and I took the kids to the park for a picnic. It was horrible for me and I was having contractions the whole time. Later that Day we called Jeff's mom and told her she better come up because the contractions were not letting up. I called my doctor and we were able to rescheule the c-section for Tuesday in the afternoon. There was no way I was going to make it until then. It seemed so silly to be in such pain when I knew it was going to end in a c-section anyway. Jeff's mom arrived at about 11:00 that night and not to long after she arrived Jeff and I decided to head to the hospital. I figured it was pointless to stay at home and not be getting any sleep when we might as well head over to the hospial and have them deliver him. After we arrived and got checked in (mind you we had never even been to this hospital before) they took Jeff and I into a small Triage room to get me prepped for surgery. They were able to get in touch with my doctor and she was willing to rush over to do the c-section for which I was very thankful for. Everything happened so fast after we got to the hospital that I went into panic mode there in that little triage room. I started cying and telling Jeff that I wasn't ready and that I just wanted to go home. Nurses were coming in and out they started monitoring the baby, they were taking my vitals and even though my doctor told them not to give me a catheter until after I had had my epidural they did it anyway so not only was I already having a hard time they went ahead and put in the catheter without my epidural. I remember feeling so overwhelmed and scared, so unprepared for all this. What happened to the planned c-section?




Madie was a scheduled c-section, because she was breech. We tried eversion (where the doctors push down really hard on your stomach and try to manually turn the baby from the oustide), it didn't work, so we had a c-section. I had Madie the day before my due date and never went into labor on my own. Ethan was three days overdue and I did try for a v-back (a vaginal delivery after a c-section) with him. After going over the due date my water finally broke at about 11:00 at night and we headed down to the hospital. After getting there and being at about a 6-7 centimeter dialated, his heart rate dropped and after monitoring him and seeing no improvement and I wasn't progressing very fast they decided to take him c-section and he had the cord wrapped around his neck. Jeff said he was blue when he came out.



So after all that I never expected that I would go into labor early with a baby, so Landon really surprised me by doing so. They took me into the operating room and after administering the epidural Jeff came in and I was more than happy to see him. The surgery went fast and before I knew it Jeff was there showing me the baby. Jeff and the baby left shortly after to go to the nursery why they finished stitching me up. I then went to recovery where I was in a lot of pain. I was having a horrilbe headache and kept telling the nurse that my head was really hurting. The nurse was quite rude and told me that I needed to stop asking so many questions, I was stunned and mad. I couldn't believe that she was being so rude after all I had just been through. The pain finally got under control and Jeff and Landon finally came from the nursery. I then tried feeding Landon for the first time. A short while later we were finally moved to a room. Jeff's mom brought Madie and Ethan up to see me and the baby a little while later. It was so fun to see them, and they were so cute holding hiim, especially Madie, I think Ethan was a little nervous about it all. The Dr. came in a while later and said that Landon's billy rubin count was high and that he would need to go under lights to fight off jaundice. I thought not again. Ethan was jaundice also and after being under lights the whole stay at the hospital, he then had to be under lights for a whole week after we got home as well. Landon's count wasn't as high and we were able to have a light box in our room, so he could still be with us. The kids and Grandma came to see us everyday while I was in the hospital and I was always so happy to see them. After getting home and Jeff's mom leaving my mom was able to come for a week as well to help. I am grateful for all the help we had. Landon defintely decided to come in his own fashion. For being so small 6 pds. 15 ounces (my smallest baby), he sure has a lot of spunk. He was a very mellow and sweet baby which did not prepare me for the busy body he has become, but we love him so much and he adds so much to our family. I am grateful that even though my babies didn't come in ideal ways and even though I won't get the chance to have a baby the normal way, I am thankful that I have three beautiful children. There are many women of the past who died from labor because their babies were breech or their babies died because they had the cord wrapped around their necks. I wouldn't trade my sweet babies for anything.



I know this is a super long post, but Landon is two and I have never recorded his birth story before now, so it feels good to finally have it out of my head and into writing. Happy Birthday Landon Bear we love you soooo much!!!