Lando's ONE month

To go along with Lincoln's 2 year post, I feel like I should also finally update Landon's first month of life. Being that he's 5.5 weeks old now...man I'm getting bad at updating this stuff...I NEED to do better!

It's hard to believe it's already been a month since Landon was born. It feels like longer and just yesterday all at the same time. I can't imagine my life without this little guy, yet I can't believe it's been so long since he's been born. I hate how fast they grow and how much they change in such a short period of time. In a lot of ways I wish they could stay so small for just a little longer, but I know how much fun they get as they age so its sort of a toss up.

When I look at Landon I'm overcome with emotion. When I had Lincoln it took me a while to feel the overwhelming love that almost consumes you, but with Landon it happened much quicker. This boy is such a blessing. I can't believe God has blessed us with two healthy beautiful boys. How did I get so lucky? Truly? 

Landon has changed a lot, not just physically over the last month. He is starting to develop a little personality and I'm starting to figure him out a little. He has lost all of his hair on the top of his head so he has a skullett (he looks like an old man) and I swear he is growing like a weed! 

He's a fairly particular child, meaning that he only really likes to be held and held a certain way. I can't really do too much around the house unless I'm wearing him with my moby wrap. Also when he is held he likes to be upright. He is not so much about the laying sideways. (thank goodness we have a rock n play of our own this time). The major difference I notice between Lincoln and Landon is that Landon is by far an easier baby. He is no where near as fussy as Lincoln, he sleeps better and he nurses a lot better! We've also noticed how much stronger he is than Lincoln. Almost from birth he has been able to hold his head up for a little. He can't do it super long but he does it a lot and is no where as floppy as Lincoln was with his head control. He also doesn't startle as easily as Lincoln did. Lincoln is what my friend said to be as hyper toned, Landon is not. 

I just love my little so much and am so blessed to have him here and healthy. I hold him as much as I can (which due to his not wanting to be put down is really a lot). In fact I usually wait until Adam is home and then I have him hold him before I am able to really do much around the house with cleaning

Here are a few things about Landon this month 

• He sleeps about 6 hours stretch at night, and the last few days he's slept almost 8
• Other than around weeks 3-4 when he was waking almost every 2 hours to eat, he's been a sleeper since birth. In fact in the first week I was having to wake him up after 6/7 hrs of him sleeping just because I was hurting. 
• He still sleeps a majority of the day but he has a wake time thats in the morning for about an hr or so and in the evenings. 
• during these wake times is when he will coo at me and man did I miss that sound
• He goes to bed around 10-12 and then will sleep until about 5/6 and then nurse and go back to sleep until about 9
• He has been in his cloth diapers since he was about 3 weeks old. 
• He was 2 weeks old when he first smiled at me when I was talking to him
• He will track your face, or a light 
• He loves Lights. He follows them and studies them all the time
• As I said earlier he loves to be held. He does not like to be put down really at all. 
• He will lay on his activity mat for about 5 minutes before screaming bloody murder
• He is a very warm child and sweats A LOT!
• he sweats the most after crying, and I mean its like beads of sweat coming off his head! Weird child
• On the rare times we do tummy time he holds his head up pretty well. about a 25/30 degree angle.
• but he holds his head up really well when held upright
• He has to be constantly moving. He has to be bounced, or patted almost all the time.
• He is a very grunt child. He is constantly making noise of some sort
• He gets a little gassy in the evenings and therefore a little more fussy but he is at least consolable. 

At his doctor appointment last week here are his stats

• He is 22.5 inches long
• He is in the 75% for height
• He is 11 lbs and 6 oz
• He is in the 90% for weight 

Well in keeping with tradition I of course had to do our month photos. These were much easier than when I did Lincoln's. SO for your viewing pleasure here they are :)

Lincoln had to join

my pumpkin was a little big

grunting...per the usual

this one reminds me so much of Lincoln

What a blessed month it has been. I can't wait to see what this next month brings us, with his baptism, and first major holiday (other than Halloween I suppose)

Love you Lando more than anything

TWO!!!

I Know I'm a little late on this one, but I wanted to wait until after his doctor appointment to see how big he was...and being that I was in the hospital when I originally had it scheduled, they let me wait until Landon's 1 month checkup so I could bring both boys at once :)

How is it even possible that Lincoln is two? How is it possible that I've had the pleasure of being this little angel's mom for 2 whole years? I can't believe it!

Our lives have been so enriched because of him and Adam and I thank God everyday that we were chosen to be this little one's parents.

Well his birthday was quite the adventure...he got the greatest gift he will ever get...a BABY BROTHER! HAHA :) I know right now he doesn't know what that means, and I'm sure one day he will hate having to share his birthday (I really wish they had separate birthdays) but for now it was a pretty special day.

On Monday night (the night before his birthday) I was having contractions every 6 minutes or so, but then they stopped around 8pm. But to be safe we had Lincoln stay with my parents incase we had to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night. My contractions started up again about 10pm but were only every 20 min or so.

By 11am my dad convinced me to go to the doctor, I was having a mental breakdown that I hadn't seen Lincoln yet and it was his birthday...its a mom thing what can I say...So I went to my doctor and later was admitted and then 2 hrs later Landon made his appearance. You can read about it here

As a mom, it was truly breaking my heart that I was in labor and not able to spend the day with him. I know that in the grand scheme of things its minor and he will NEVER remember but in the moment it was breaking my heart. Once Landon was born, I was relieved to have him here and healthy but as soon as I was holding my new baby I was wanting Lincoln (who incidentally was still napping, we were joking that Lincoln slept through the birth of his brother..haha aren't we cool) but as soon as he woke up my dad brought him to the hospital. I remember the moment he walked in the room (I was talking to my nurse and in hindsight I feel bad because I just started to ignore her, I feel like I need to apologize to her)  and as soon as I saw him I started crying! it was quite the emotional day...My baby turned 2 and I gained a beautifully healthy baby boy (all you moms out there can atest to how emotional that was)...

Being a mom and being due with a new baby so close to Lincoln's birthday I wanted to make sure that wherever I was on his birthday he had cake. So on the Sunday before I decided to make cupcakes. I had just come off working 3 nights in a row but that evening Lincoln and I hung out in the kitchen and made his cupcakes. I let him eat the batter and everything :) My plan had been to ice them the next day, which I did amongst my contractions :)

When dad brought Lincoln to the hospital he also brought these cupcakes. So we all sung Happy Birthday to Lincoln (and Landon too) and ate them. It was so nice for me to be able to eat these cupcakes and NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT!! NO more diabetes for this mama!! :)

Singing Happy Birthday...such a happy boy!

We are blessed that all of our friends that came to meet
Landon ALSO brought Lincoln Birthday gifts...best friends EVER

Over all the day was perfect.

We had a birthday party for him with only our closest family. I had planned it this way a few weeks before Landon's arrival because I just wasn't sure how I'd feel or how we would be adjusting to a family for 6 (remember we have 2 dogs:)) This too was a great day and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family who love and support us through everything. (Adam's mom even drove up from Vincennes with her parents just to spend a few hours with us...thats almost 7 hrs of driving in just one day!) I love that Lincoln was able to feel so special and loved on his birthday even if our focus had to shift to the new baby.

The Cards were in the world Series so we had to "represent"
(even if daddy is a Reds fan)

scared of the candle

opening gifts with Daddy

Such a blessed little boy

So at two years old here are a few things about him

• He is a VERY happy kid, he laughs and smiles all the time!
• He is quite affectionate. He will come up to me and just say "hug" and put his arms out reaching for me. (best kid EVER)
• He loves books. Being as I am was not very good at reading him bedtime stories this is a relief!
• He is getting better at identifying objects in books, his favorites are apple, bear, doggie, and baby
• He loves to talk on the fake phone, put a real phone up to him and he's silent, but almost all things go to his ear and he pretends to "talk" on it
• at about 18 months with Adam out of town all the time, he would call my phone daddy...so sad! Happy to have Adam home all the time now!
• He sleeps about 12 hrs a night. Usually going to bed around 10/11 and sleeping until 9/10 the next day. 
• He still takes a nap. I try to lay him down around 2. and he will sleep for about 2-3 hours...while still pregnant and working this was a dream for me:)
• He LOVES his baths. We still shower with him on occasion which he loves too. He just loves the water period. 
• He LOVED the pool this summer and started to gain a little more confidence when it came to jumping in off the side, but he was still a bit timid with it. He loved the baby pool and when in the big pool he REFUSED to use the water ring and just wanted me to hold him all the time. He does however HATE to be on his back in the water (pool or tub)
• He LOVES peanut butter, strawberries, bananas, yogurt, ice cream, chicken and really anything sweet
• Suckers are his favorite candy ever. He loved going to the doctor with me because they have the dum dum suckers and I would always let him have several just to keep him occupied while I was with the doctor, she even made a comment of how good he was by throwing the wrappers and sticks in the trash :)
• Disney Pixar movies are his favorite things. He started out loving Finding Nemo, but we have moved on to Toy Story and Cars... Adam and I have seen Finding Nemo at least 200 times!
• Mickey Mouse Club House, Doc McStuffins, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates are his favorite tv shows which I try to keep to a minimum, usually when I'm exhausted from work and just want a little bit of extra "sleep" time on the couch. 
• He loves trucks and all things boy. 
• He is climber through and through. He climbs on EVERYTHING! and I mean Everything, nothing is safe!
• He is a cute little runner, not very fast but cute none the less
• He also is a jumper, He loves to jump around, fall down and just be silly. He will put a pillow on the ground and just fall onto it. 
• He loves when things are thrown at him, we will jokingly throw pillows, and clothes at him and he thinks its hilarious...aren't we great parents :)
• Lights are a must. Every light in my house must be on at all times!
• He has been in Speech Therapy for about a month and has gone from only 10 or so words to over 50 and using 2 word combos!! YAY
• He loves the dogs, he loves to torment them and play with them, by laying on them and really just torturing them
• Everything needs to be thrown at some point, down the slide, off the counter...you get the idea
• He is more of a tornado than a toddler, but a cute one at that. 
• He's quite mischievous at times, just testing my patience, he loves to do things I ask him not to and then looking at me with this HUGE grin on his face. 
• He is starting to show interest in the "potty" but nothing regular
• He is wearing a size 8 shoe (I did buy 9s because I didn't want to have to buy new ones in just a few months, kids shoes are expensive when they go through them so quickly
• He wears a size 3T pants and primarily a 3T/4T shirt. He's a big boy!!

From his doctor appointment last Thursday here are his stats

• He is 36 inches
• 90% for height
• He is 32 lbs
• 75% for weight

Over all he is a healthy happy 2 year old and just perfect in every way. I grow more and more in love with him on a daily basis and my life would be lost without him. I can't believe he is two!!!

I love you so much my beautiful baby boy, more than you'll ever know! thank you for bringing such a light to my life and being such a wonderful little boy!!!

Here are a few pictures from his 2 year Photos...I LOVE OUR PHOTOGRAPHER! she does AMAZING work with capturing his little personality!

LOVE HIM

BIG BOY

of course eating cake

My 3 BOYS!!!

 It's been quite a second year my boy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Mommy and Daddy LOVE you more than you will ever possibly know! (well until you have kids of your own someday)

Landon's Birth

In honor of it being one month since Landon was born I figure I really should get his birth story down before I forget some of the details.

Due to my job, I'm required to work every 3rd weekend. Well wouldn't you know that my weekend happened to be right before my due date. So I scheduled myself to work the thurs/fri/sat before my due date which was that sunday. Truly doing this just caused me more anxiety than anything because I was so scared of working all 3 days then getting home and going into labor without being able to sleep. But this didn't happen, so all that anxiety for nothing.

I worked all 3 night in the nursery. I feel so lucky to have a job where I could take it a little easier so close to my due date where I was growing more and more uncomfortable and more and more swollen. I remember feeling so thankful to be able to put my feet up and enjoy taking care of newborns right before I'd be able to take care of my own. I really do enjoy my job :)

After working those three nights I came home and slept most of the day. For some reason this time I was more and more anxious about going into labor, it practically consumed me. We went to church that sunday night at 5:30 and I broke down and cried multiple times finally just surrendering to God's will. Ironically enough it was during the song "I surrender". I truly felt like God was talking to me, to trust him and surrender to his will and trust what he had in store for our little family. I love when God speaks to you that way!! :)

Well monday morning my contractions started around 6:30am shortly after Adam left for work. I finally called him around 7:30/8 and told him I'd been having contractions that were 6 minutes apart for about an hr. He called me back about 20 minutes later to tell me he was coming home. I had a normal scheduled doctor appointment that day at 11 so the 3 of us (Lincoln too) went to my doctor appointment.

At my doctor appointment I was a whopping 1cm and to top it off my contractions had stopped about a half hr before the doctor's appointment. She told me I was probably having some false labor and to just relax, put my feet up and enjoy Lincoln for a little longer. She also told me she was on-call that night (so in my mind I was determined to have the baby that night). But she also told me that if I was still pregnant on Wednesday she wanted to see me again and possibly induce me if I was still pregnant. I was nervous about this because I really didn't want pitocin, so she told me she would probably just give me some cytotec to help just push me into labor. This made me feel better.

So the 3 of us came home, Lincoln was exhausted so I put him down for a nap, and Adam and I laid down too. Adam and I slept for 3 hrs and Lincoln for 4 before my contractions started again. They were about 8 minutes apart at this time. I was supposed to work Monday night so I decided it would be best to call in due to my contractions in case they picked up because it would have been hard to work with contractions. So Adam and I called my parents and all of us went out for none other than Mexican food :) At dinner my contractions were every 6 minutes.  Also at dinner Adam and I decided to have my parents keep Lincoln over night in case we had to leave for the hospital during the night. This was an extremely challenging and heartbreaking decision for me, because the next day was Lincoln's birthday!!! It still makes me cry to think that he woke up on his birthday without me being able to say happy birthday to him!!! I made my dad promise to sing happy birthday to him when he woke up that day...I have no idea if he actually did this or not, but i tried.

After dinner Adam and I went back to my parents house for a little to spend some time with Lincoln, mom and I went for a walk and my contractions were still about every 6 minutes. However by the time we got home around 8:30 they stopped. I had to ice the cupcakes I had made for Lincoln's birthday the day before, so we did that and then Lincoln just laid with me on the floor of my parents house for 45 minutes. He laid under the blanket I had just holding me...seriously I was flabergasted. He'd never done that before!!! He must have known I needed to love on him a little more!!

After that Adam and I went home, I cried on the way home frustrated that once again my contractions had stopped. But Adam tried his best to reassure me that it would happen soon and to just try to relax.

We got ready for bed and my contractions started again around 10:30 but they were only about every 20 minutes and mildly painful. So I was able to rest between them. When Adam woke up that morning he decided to go to work but I would just update him through the day. About 8:00am they increased to about every 8 minutes. However they were strange because I'd have them about every 8 minutes for about a half hr then I wouldn't have one for almost 20 minutes. They were getting more and more painful and were lasting longer, almost 2 minutes.

I called Adam several times through the morning just wanting to hear his voice. It was weird being home alone, and going through labor. I felt great between contractions but during them I felt defeated and sad that I was alone. Finally around 11 he decided to come home. At that same time my dad called and in a way guilted me into calling my doctor to update them on my status. His phrase of "don't you want to make sure the baby isn't in distress" really got to me. I was at this point exhausted and extremely emotional. I was emotional because I was feeling extremely defeated because these contractions weren't regular and it was KILLING me not to be able to spend the day with Lincoln since it was his birthday!!

I called my doctor and they told me they wanted me to come in. So I called Adam to tell him and he almost acted mad saying "why did you call the doctor???" I simply stated through tears "because everyone told me to and I'm exhausted and tired and just want to be done" He didn't argue and said he'd be home soon. When he walked through the door he asked how close my contractions were and I told him every 2 minutes. It was almost as if as soon as I called the doctor it set things in motion and I went into hard labor. The contractions came more frequently and lasted almost 2 minutes.

The car ride to the doctor was better than I remember but still painful. It's funny how when you are in hard labor how every bump and every stop and start you feel with extreme intensity. When the doctor came in to check me I was having a contraction and he said "well it looks like someone is in labor". This doctor is extremely funny and that made me laugh. Then he checked me and said "well you're doing really well, you're about 6 cm" I swear I could have kissed him at that time, it was such a relief to know that I was in fact in labor and that this baby was finally coming!!! He said he wanted to admit me and so Adam and I headed over to the hospital. I decided to just walk instead of getting in and out of the car (my doctors office is attached to the hospital).

When we finally got to our labor room it oddly enough was the same room that I was in when I delivered Lincoln :)

They started my IV and gave me my dose of penicillin that I needed due to being GBBS+ Ensuring that I got this medication was extremely important to me because I know there are an increased risk of complications for baby if untreated. The medication took about 30 minutes to go in, and the nurse checked me again, I was about 8-9cm at this point.

My contractions increased in frequency, during the contractions Adam would rub my shoulders and head, while my mom rubbed my lower back (I was having a lot more back labor this time, but having adam rub my shoulders and head was a great distraction from it). In between contractions I was able to sit on the labor ball and just talk with everyone. It was quite a different experience this time. I really focused on my breathing and trying to remain relaxed and I feel like this really helped labor go smoother and faster.

During my contractions my nurse kept saying that she didn't trust me, meaning she didn't think this was going to take very long. So they set up the table and got everything ready for my delivery. They let me labor for about another hour before Dr. Myers came in to check me. When he checked me I was 9 cm. It was rather painful when he checked me (then again this doctor is not known for being gentle) so he wanted to do some sort of pain block, but I wanted to think about it. So he left the room. Adam, my nurse and I talked it over and I decided against it. I had a few (2 or 3) contractions and then I felt the baby drop! It was a TON of pressure all at once. I started screaming, it went from a pain level of about a 5 during contractions to 10 in a matter of seconds! OUCH!!

What happened next is sort of a blur. My nurse left to get the doctor (and apparently a few other nurses) while I tried to lay back in bed. They got my legs in the stirrups and Adam said at that point the babys head was right "there". They had me push a few times (it was way more painful this time) and I remember thinking there is NO WAY I can do this for a long period of time. This hurts more than anything I've EVER been through. Finally I heard Adam say that the baby's head is almost out (this was a shock to me, because I didn't know the baby was that close, I was thinking this was going to be like with Lincoln where I had to push for hours). Finally the baby's head came out and they wanted me to push again but I felt like I didn't have it in me. I think this was because I wasn't having a contraction, but once that contraction came I pushed out the baby and I here Adam practically scream "IT'S A BOY". I feel like I was so exhausted and sort of out of it but I was so relieved at the same time!

working hard to get him out!

IT'S A BOY!!

He's really here!!

holding my baby for the first time!

with Dr. Myers...surprisingly wasn't too bad :)

Landon Richard Kalvin

I was a little overwhelmed to say the least to have
both my babies with me. 

After he was born my dad and Lincoln came to the hospital. I just lost it when I saw Lincoln. I think all of the emotions I'd been feeling about not being able to see him for his birthday and having a healthy beautiful baby just hit me. Adam's brother and his wife and baby girl came shortly after. And then adam's parents came shortly after that. They barely had enough time to leave and get up here in the time we gave him (oops, Landon just came too fast). We also had some close friends come to meet our little one. 

We all sang Lincoln happy birthday with the cupcakes I made :) it really brings a smile to my face when I think about how blessed we are. What a wonderful day it was. 

I'm so thankful this labor was smoother, yet harder and more painful than Lincoln's. It was easier in a lot of ways because it was shorter (from the time I got admitted to his birth was 2 hrs and 15min) but the pain during that time was a lot more than I remember. But I have a beautifully healthy baby boy that I feel so blessed to have. I'm not sure why God has blessed me with my two blessings but I am forever grateful.

Love you Landon Richard Kalvin, more than you'll ever know!!