Where has the time gone?

I've clearly failed at my goal to be a "good" blogger and document all of Landrie's milestones. Oops! You'd think that being a stay-at-home mom would give me the time to do this, but I've clearly been spending my time on other things!  Such as staring at this adorable little face...

Well, better late than never, right?

Landrie turned 4 months old yesterday, October 6. How in the world is that possible?! She changes every day. Preston and I couldn't be more in love with her! We were talking the other night about how we can barely remember what life was like before her! We feel so incredibly blessed to be her parents...she truly is the best gift we've ever been given.

Her 4 month appointment was today, which included shots. Oh how I hate seeing her cry like that! :( We're traveling a lot over the next few months and heading into cold/flu season, so it gives me comfort to know that a few minutes of tears are keeping her protected from a lot of nasty stuff!

Here's her stats:

Height: 24 3/4 in. - 75th percentile
Weight: 13 pounds 3 ounces - 50th percentile
Head: 41.2 cm. - 55th percentile

The doctor noticed at this appointment that she had 2 folds of skin on one leg and 3 on the other. As a result, she's referring us the hospital for x-rays to make sure she doesn't have hip dysplasia. She said she didn't feel or hear clicking, so she's probably fine, but she wants to make sure. Of course I'm worried, but I know it could be a lot worse! If she does have it, we'll have to put her in a brace to fix it. Say a prayer that everything is okay!

She's eating 5-6 times per day (every 3-4 hours), and I'm still exclusively breast feeding. I hate not knowing how much she eats, but according to her height and weight, she's growing, so she's clearly eating enough. I'm not sure when we'll start solids. I'm thinking a little closer to 5 months, as she seems to be doing just fine right now.

Like I mentioned earlier, she seems to be growing and changing every single day, but this is what she's been up to lately:

*Can roll from tummy to back. She can do this to both the right side and left side...seems to depend on where she places her hands.

*Can roll to both sides when laying on her back.

*Can grab/bat/push toys with ease.

*Sticks EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING in her mouth!

*LOVES sucking on her toes.

*Can sit up with a little support.

*Likes to stand instead of being held.

*Can take her pacifier out of her mouth and put it back in. Sometimes getting it back in is a little tricky for her, but she's getting pretty good at it.

*Has totally discovered her thumb...who needs a pacifier when you have a permanent one on your hand?! Uh oh....mom and dad do not want to have to pay for braces due to thumb sucking!

*Preston discovered this the other day...during tummy time, if you put your hand on her feet, she likes to push off your hand and move across the floor. She seemed pretty impressed with herself that she could move across the floor. 

*Speaking of moving...she is a wiggle worm! When I put her down on her playmat, she always moves at least a half circle, and she's all over the place in her crib. I put her in the middle at night, and when I go to get her in the morning, she's at one end or the other a lot of times.

*Loves to have someone sing to her. If she's ever fussy in the car, a quick "itsy bitsy spider" will usually cheer her up.

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can remember for now! 

Her sleep habits are totally and completely wonderful! We feel so blessed to be able to sleep through the night. During her first 3 months, she was sleeping well, but she had to be bounced to sleep and held for almost every nap. The bouncing/dancing/jumping/lunging/walking stairs (haha) would typically last 10-30 minutes, and then I had to VERY carefully lay her down in her crib. If I stopped the bouncing too early or put her in her crib wrong, the whole process started all over. NOT FUN!

This resulted in her taking a lot of naps in my arms or laying on my chest. I also had quite a few nights of sitting up in bed until 1 or 2 a.m. to get her good and asleep before I dared to put her down in her crib. While I must admit, I loved the cuddles we got in during that time, the lack of sleep and inability to get anything done around the house was beginning to wear on me. 

That's where sleep training came in. I know some people are totally against any type of sleep training that allows a baby to cry, and I completely respect other people's opinions. However, after doing some research, Preston and I decided to try BabyWise. If you're not familiar with BabyWise, it's basically a system to get a baby on schedule of eat, play, sleep, and going to sleep on their own, without rocking/bouncing/etc. 

I'm not going to lie...the first day was pure torture! I cried outside her room during her first nap and totally started to doubt if I was doing the right thing. Thank goodness my sweet cousin, Cammie, also started doing the program with her son, Cooper, who is 2-and-a-half weeks younger than Landrie. We called each other for support and reassurance, and we were both able to make it through those tough first days. 

The end result? Landrie now takes approximately 3 2-hour naps during the day and sleeps for about 10-11 hours at night. She usually doesn't make a peep when going down...maybe a minute of yipping on occasion, but generally, I lay her down, and she falls asleep. She wakes up smiling, and she's a happier baby during her wake times because she's slept well. 

In addition to giving us all some much-needed sleep, implementing this program has helped me be more in-tune with Landrie and her needs. Before starting BabyWise, Landrie would sometimes cry, and I wasn't sure what was wrong (I now know she was just over-tired). Now when she cries and it's not nap time or bedtime, I know something else is going on. I'm also loving playing with her during her wake times. I feel like before I was constantly holding her for naps, so when she was finally awake, it was my time to throw in a load of laundry, pick up, etc. while she played on her play mat. Now I can do those things when she's sleeping in her crib and when she's awake we play together. 

Clearly I'm a huge advocate of this program! :)

All in all, life has been great with our sweet little Landrie. She's such a great baby, and we feel so blessed and spoiled to call her ours! Here's a few of my favorite pictures from the last 4 months...

So that was more than a few...! I promise I'm going to try and update this more often, so my next post isn't such a novel! :)

The Day Two Became Three

A sweet friend of mine recommended that I document Landrie's birth story while it was still fresh in my memory, so I could look back at it one day. With Miss Landrie sound asleep, I thought now would be the perfect time to follow my friend's advice!

My due date was May 31, but that day came and went with absolutely no signs of labor. I had a follow-up doctor's appointment on June 4, and we discussed my options. Because Landrie seemed to be measuring big, my midwife recommended that we induce labor. As discussed in my previous post, reserving a room in labor and delivery is quite the challenge. After a lot of back and forth with the hospital, we finally secured a room for the morning of Wednesday June 5. That completely threw me for a loop! It all became so real, so fast!

I went home that afternoon and finished up a bunch of last minute cleaning and errands. We called our families and let them know the plan, and we went to bed knowing that we would wake up at 6 the next morning to go to the hospital. I was a bundle of emotions....excited, nervous, scared, but most of all happy!

When my phone rang at 5:45 the next morning, I was still in a deep sleep. In fact, I missed the call but noticed a few minutes later that I had a voicemail from the hospital. I called back and they let me know that they didn't have any free rooms, so I couldn't come in that morning. There had been a big rainstorm the night before, and apparently the change in barometric pressure can cause women to go into labor. Of course I wasn't one of those lucky ladies, but a lot of other women were!

I fell back asleep disappointed. I had prepared myself to go the hospital that morning, and I knew how hard it would be to reserve a room at another time. Looking back, God's hand was definitely over the timing of our induction, as it was so much better to go in at night instead of the morning.

When we woke up later that morning, I asked Preston to call the hospital back to see when we would be able to come in. They said they were hoping for early afternoon, but they couldn't guarantee anything. With no set time for us to go in, I started feeling really bummed. Preston's parents flew in late that morning, and my family was just waiting on our call. I got nervous that we wouldn't be able to go in and that I might have to go to my "Plan B" hospital, which I wasn't thrilled about.

My lack of patience ended up in me having Preston call the hospital what seemed like a million times to see if any rooms were free. Finally at 3:30 p.m., they said to come in at 5! I was so relieved!! We packed everything in our car, and we were off to the hospital. The drive there was surreal, as I realized the next time we would get in that car, we'd be parents!

I was admitted to the hospital in just a few minutes and taken to a HUGE labor and delivery room. Everything at the hospital was so nice and luxurious. Preston and I joked that it felt like we were at a resort! It's called Sky Ridge, but a lot of people call it "Spa Ridge." See why I wanted to deliver there?!

My midwife came to check on me and explained how I would be induced. At about 7 p.m. the nurse came in to give me Cervidil. I'm quite the drama queen, and I experienced a lot of pain when she inserted the Cervidil, but after it was done, I was free to relax. My mom and sister came around 8 p.m. and we all just hung out and talked. At about 10 p.m., I had to have the Cervidil re-inserted because it fell out when I went to the bathroom. Cue drama queen again! After some hyperventilating and crying, we were all set...again...

The nurse let my mom and sister know that nothing would happen until early the next morning, so they decided to get a hotel room for the night. Preston slept on the couch (which we didn't realize pulled out until the next day...poor guy), and I tried to get some sleep too.

At about 4 a.m., I started experiencing period-like cramping. My nurse let me know that was a good sign and it meant the cervidil was working. At about 5:00 a.m., I had my first contraction. My contractions for the next half hour were bearable, so I didn't want to wake Preston up. I knew he would need to be rested for the day ahead. My contractions started getting worse at 5:30 a.m., and in the middle of breathing through one, Preston shot off the couch and yelled, "Is it happening?!" I must have been breathing really loud!

We called my mom and sister to let them know I was having contractions, and they arrived at the hospital around 7 a.m. By that time, my contractions were getting pretty bad, but I could still get through them. At around 8:00 a.m., things took a serious turn, and my contractions were horrible. They were so bad, I was throwing up and had to have Zofran inserted into my IV.

My new nurse wasn't exactly what I would call kind, and she informed me that I needed to get an epidural, as I clearly couldn't tolerate the pain anymore. I had quite a few fears associated with getting an epidural, so I was really hesitant to agree. When my nurse informed me that I would have my water broken and Pitocin started, I agreed to the epidural. Within an hour, I was given the epidural (virtually pain free), and I was feeling like a new woman! The nurse that helped with the epidural let me know that I got the "prize" for the day because I waited until I was at dilated to a 7 to get the epidural. She said most women get it at a 2. I was pretty proud of myself!

By 12 p.m. I was dilated to a 10 and fully effaced. Miss Landrie, however, still wasn't ready to come out. She was at a -1 position, and my midwife wanted her at a 2. In order to make sure she was in the right position before I started pushing, my midwife had me labor down until 3 p.m. During that time, my lovely day nurse let me know that I might have to have a c-section and that the only thing I could do to move Landrie down was move from side to side in bed. Thank you for your positivity day nurse!

My mom called her friend who is a labor and delivery nurse, and I texted my sweet friend Emily, who is a NICU nurse, to ask if there was anything else I could do to get her to move down. Both my mom's friend and Emily agreed that I needed to let gravity work to get her down, which meant I should be sitting up, not just be switching from side to side while lying down. My mom's friend gave us a suggestion, which I was hesitant to try...only because I was scared my mean day nurse would walk in and get mad! My mom said we should follow my dad's mantra that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I agreed to try, and within minutes of getting me moved from my side-lying position, the baby's vitals were all over the place and actually stopped coming up on the monitor. My sister heard an alarm go off, and we quickly got me back into my original position. This proved to be quite tricky because I could barely feel my legs. My nurse came in and asked if I had thrown up, as the monitors were all over the place. I played dumb and said I had no idea what had happened, but that I felt fine. The nurse then discovered the internal monitor was slipping out. Oops....maybe I moved a bit too much. :)

But guess what?! She checked me after that, and Landrie had moved down to a 1! I'm not sure what did it, but something worked! I then followed my friend Emily's advice to sit up in bed with my legs hanging down. By 3 p.m., Landrie was in the right position, and my midwife let me know it was finally time to push.

Going into pushing, my midwife let me know that it would be an hour or less before our sweet baby girl would be in my arms. That sounded bearable to me. I had a big contraction show up on the monitor, and my midwife told me to give my first push. I took a deep breath and blew it all out my mouth. Everyone in the room started laughing at me. Apparently, I'd never learned how to push! After a few quick tips, I had figured everything out, and pushing (the real kind) finally started.

After an hour of pushing and hearing "you're almost there" what seemed like a million times, I hit a wall. I had an hour timeline in my head, and when that timeline wasn't met, I felt like I couldn't do it anymore. Unfortunately, the clock on the wall was directly in front of me, so I couldn't help but watch the minutes tick away. My epidural was no longer strong enough to take away the pain, and my inner drama queen was really starting to kick in. I really didn't think I could do it anymore, and I actually remember saying that I quit, and they could just leave Landrie in there.

Well after 2 full hours of pushing and crying and screaming....Miss Landrie Kate made her debut. Preston, my mom, and my sister were the world's greatest support team ever! I absolutely could not have done it without each one of them by my side.

Landrie weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 20 inches long. We later found out that her birth weight was wrong, as the next morning she weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and the morning we left the hospital she weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces. Who knows what her actual birth weight was, but I guess it doesn't really matter! :)

There are no words to express the love I have for our sweet little Landrie. She is perfect in every way, and I would do anything for her. Seeing Preston with her absolutely melts my heart. He is already wrapped around her little finger! The day we became a family of three will forever be one of my fondest memories. We feel so incredibly blessed to be handpicked by God to be Landrie's parents. Our hearts are full!

Waiting...

What happened to my due date of May 31st? Clearly, I'm ready.

(Hard to read in this picture, but the sticker says "Ready or not, here I come!")

Could I get any bigger?!

Apparently little Miss Landrie is content right where she is. As a result, I've tried almost every home induction method I could think of! Long walks, a glass of wine, spicy food, lots of different vitamins, and even sex (p.s. why people I barely know felt comfortable enough to tell me to do this to induce labor is beyond me!).

Did any of these work? Well clearly not!

Thank goodness for doctors in times like these! I had my 41 week appointment today, and we decided to induce. Landrie is measuring on the bigger side, so I want to be sure I can actually have her naturally!

Our original plan was to induce on Thursday evening, so my midwife called the hospital to reserve me a room. Well apparently reserving a labor and delivery room is trickier than reserving a hotel room on the beach during spring break! Every single room was already booked for Thursday night. How that happens is beyond me! Is everyone planning their deliveries these days?

We then tried for Wednesday night....nope, booked. Friday morning...nope. Friday night looked like it was going to work, but my sweet midwife's 45th wedding anniversary is Saturday, and I didn't want her to miss her day off with her husband. So we were officially left with Wednesday morning at 7 a.m.

When my midwife asked if Wednesday morning would work, I was kind of shocked. I think all I said was, "Tomorrow?" I mean it's one thing to talk about it a few days out, but then when it's actually booked (for 15 hours later), it becomes really real, really fast! I agreed to Wednesday morning, and my room was officially reserved.

I'm not sure it's really sunk in that we're having a baby tomorrow. To be honest, the last 9 months have flown by, and I can't believe she's actually coming! We're having a baby!!!

In the midst of all this excitement and the wonderful blessing of new life, my grandpa appears to be on the road to spend eternity with Jesus. He has been living with my parents for the last two years and has been on in-home hospice care during this time. He took a turn for the worse last week and was taken to a hospice center to manage some of his symptoms and make him comfortable.

Tonight, I went to say goodbye.

There is a possibility that he will still be with us after I deliver Landrie, but there is also a possibility that he won't. It was really hard to have to say goodbye, but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do so. As I was driving home, I realized how grateful I was that I am being induced because it gave me the ability to tell my grandpa I love him and let him know that he is going to be a great-grandfather tomorrow.

I'd absolutely love for my grandpa to be able to hold Landrie, and that might be a possibility. But if it's not, I have peace knowing that my grandpa will be going to heaven, which means I'll see him again one day. I know that God's timing is perfect and that my grandpa will go to be with Jesus when he is called home. My prayer is that he will go peacefully and comfortably knowing how loved he is.

To say the least, today was definitely bittersweet. The fact that life begins every day and life ends every day became a reality. I'm so grateful, though, that I have the peace of knowing that Landrie will come into this world as one of God's children, and my Grandpa will also leave this world as one of his children.

It's now after midnight, which means I have to get up in less that 6 hours to go to the hospital. I'm assuming I'll need quite a bit of energy for tomorrow, so I better go to bed. Can't believe that next time I'll be writing in here, I'll be a mom!!!

Big Changes are Coming!

Well, I have officially given myself the title of worst blog-updater EVER! I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since my last update. I'm determined to do better from now on!

And why, you may ask, am I so determined to actually start updating my blog? Because we have a sweet baby girl due any day, and I want to have a place to keep track of all the changes and fun adventures we're about to embark on.

Until now, it was just the two of us. Preston and I always talked about how life was pretty simple. To be honest, we didn't have a ton of responsibility. We both have jobs and we own a house, but outside of that, we get to be pretty selfish about how we spend our time and our money. We don't even have an animal for goodness sake! Really, all we had to worry about was us!

Oh, how life is about to change!

When I first found out I was pregnant, I panicked. I was so overwhelmed that I kind of shut down for a few days. I am very much a planner, and finding out I was pregnant was quite the surprise! I've heard every joke about how pregnancy should never be a surprise...after all there is only one way to get pregnant...but I still maintain that we were VERY surprised!

After taking a few days to process everything, I realized what an incredible blessing being pregnant is! My fear about not being ready or prepared turned to excitement for the adventures ahead and thankfulness for the ability to become pregnant. Preston and I had planned on trying to get pregnant this summer, so God's timing was just a little sooner than ours was. In looking back, his timing was (of course) perfect. Landrie is due on the last day of school. Does it get any more perfect that that?! I still can't get over how wonderful it is to be hand-picked by God to carry this little baby girl for 9 months and be her mom for the rest of her life.

Generally, my pregnancy has been pretty normal. I had the typical first trimester sickness, which was awful. Preston had endless jokes about my projectile vomiting, so I'm very happy that stage ended at about 16 weeks. Weeks 16 - 32 were very uneventful to the point that sometimes I forgot I was pregnant! Then the swelling started, and I assure you that I never forget I'm pregnant now! My feet, legs, and even my face are so swollen! I joke that I look like a stuffed sausage on most days....not exactly the picture of the glowing pregnant woman I had hoped to be.

And now I'm almost done! I can't believe I'll be 40 weeks pregnant this Friday. That means Miss Landrie Kate is due in just two short days! Her perfectly pink nursery is ready, and our bags are packed for the hospital. Now, it's just the waiting game. If you would have talked to me last week at this time, I would have said I wasn't ready and she could stay put for at least a few more weeks. But now? I'm so ready for her to finally be here!

I'll be totally honest: I'm absolutely terrified about actually delivering her. My head is spinning with questions of how long it will take, whether or not I'll need an epidural, how much pain I'll be in, and one million other thoughts. But ultimately, none of that matters. The planner in me has realized that this is one area I have absolutely no control over, so making any sort of plan is pretty pointless.

As a result, I have no official "birth plan." Preston, my midwife, and I have talked about how I'd ideally like things to go, but I've been intentional about not being set on specifics about how things end up. I've realized that I'm the type of planner that needs things to go exactly according to my pre-set plan, so if there is a possibility that it won't go exactly as I've planned, it's just better for me not to have a set plan to begin with!

That doesn't mean the "what-ifs" aren't there, though. I've really struggled the past few weeks with fear about the delivery process and the health of our sweet baby girl. In those moments, I pray, and I remind myself that Landrie is not and never will be mine. She's God's. He is entrusting me with taking care of her, and it's my job to do the very best I can to raise her to be a woman that loves the Lord.

I can let the "what-ifs" ruin the joy that comes with having a sweet baby enter our lives, or I can choose to trust that God has and alway will have Landrie is his hands. I know this is easier said that done, but I want to attempt to raise Landrie with this reality in mind every day. I am confident that God already has great things planned for this precious baby, and I already feel blessed to be part of her life!

So now, we wait. It's so amazing to think that at any moment, our lives are going to radically change. We'll go from being just us two, to a family of three. Are we ready for all these changes? Probably not. But is anyone ever "ready" for everything that comes with transitioning from a married couple to parents of a baby? I'm trusting that we'll adjust just fine though! The drama queen in me will probably definitely have some, well, dramatic moments with all of these changes. (Advanced thanks to Preston, my big sister, Ashlie,  and my mom for putting up with the drama queen during labor!) But ultimately, I think we're going to do great! Can't wait for Miss Landrie Kate to be here safe and sound.

Two Years Together

Today was our second anniversary. We had an absolutely perfect day....relaxed, spent time together, and went to dinner. Days like this are my absolute favorite!

I can't believe it's already been two years! I am so incredibly blessed to be married to such a wonderful man! How did I get so lucky?! I love him!

New Beginnings...

I said I was going to start this blog FOREVER ago, but I never got around to it! So much is changing in our lives, and I love the idea of being able to keep a record of everything that's happening. So, here I go....

After living in Texas for the first two years of our marriage, Preston and I moved back to Colorado (where I'm originally from) this summer. When I first moved to Texas for school I didn't understand why people liked it so much. But after living there for 6 years, I now understand. There's just something about it!

I never thought I'd say this, but I was actually a little sad to leave! We left behind our AMAZING friends (WE MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!), a church we loved, our jobs, Preston's family, and our very first apartment. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm ecstatic to be back home with my family and old friends. To say the least, the move was definitely bittersweet!

Preston had a smooth transition to his new office in Denver with the same company, and I was incredibly blessed to find a teaching job at an alternative high school for urban youth who have either dropped out or been kicked out of their previous schools. I already miss my students from last year, but I know God has great things in store for this year! School starts Monday....I can't wait to give everyone an update!

In other news, we bought our first house! I promise I'll put pictures up soon. We won't move in until October because we (I say we, but I really mean Preston, my dad, and brothers) gutted the entire house. All the doors, trim, counter tops, cabinets, flooring, popcorn ceilings, fixtures, and appliances have been taken out. We already filled an entire dumpster!! There's a lot of work to be done, but I think it will be our perfect first home when we're finally done!

I think that's all the updates I have for now. More to come soon!