Does it ever end??

As Sydney and I were coming home, Landon started to feel crummy again.  Braydon had been fighting off a cold the whole time I was in the hospital and i guess he shared it with Landon.  Landon's face started to swell and turn pink again like it did when he got the cellulitis, and we started to get a little worried that it wasn't just a cold.  Thankfully, we had a follow-up appointment with Dr. LaCroix and when Braydon took him in she seemed a little worried since he can get cellulitis again now that he's had it once.  After prescribing another medication for Landon, she asked Braydon to take him over to Dr. Quinlan's office so that he could take a look at him.  After talking with Dr. Quinlan, he wanted to get a CT scan of Landon's face to see what was going on and if there was anything growing in there.  So, they scheduled a CT scan at Children's the next morning.

When Braydon and Heidi went with Landon the next morning, Braydon spent the morning trying to tell the staff that they just needed to get through all of it in a hurry.  We had been preparing Landon ahead of time (telling him he was going to the hospital and go into a big "O" to take a picture of his face).  He was satisfied with that.  When they got to Children's they have people that like to help the kids understand what they are doing and why.  Braydon tried to explain to them that Landon understood and to just get it over with, but with no luck.  The nurses had to put an IV in which made Landon really mad.  Then they thought it would be a good idea to strap Landon's head down so he wouldn't move for the pictures.  Bad idea.  Poor kid was traumatized!!  Braydon tried his best to calm him down, and when they were finished they didn't even get a usable picture!!!  After the radiologist talked to Dr. Quinlan, he decided that it wasn't worth stressing Landon out more....finally a voice of reason!!!!  So, we are just supposed to do a phone follow-up with Dr. Quinlan and let him know if Landon looks better or not.  So far, he's been doing well and nothing seems to be getting worse.  Thank goodness!!

And 3 becomes 4!

Things have been a little nuts around here over the past week.  I ended up going into labor last Saturday and went to the hospital around lunch time.  I was having contractions about every 2 to 3 minutes apart when I got there.  They got me hooked up to everything and the doctor came in and checked to see how far along I was.  I was hoping to be at 5 centimeters or something, but all I got was 2. :(  Since I was contracting so hard, little girl was not doing so well.  Her heartrate dropped a few times and all the nurses came rushing in my room to move me around.  I started to get really scared when a doctor came rushing in with them and told the nurses to give me a shot of a medicine to slow down how much I was contracting.  He told me that the baby wasn't handling all the contractions very well and that's why her heartrate kept dropping.

I was really nervous, but the doctor told me that we should get the epidural in place just in case.  I agreed and knew it was coming anyways.  All this time I was telling myself things were going to be fine and I would be able to have the VBAC that I had wanted.  After having the epidural, and having a medication induced freak out moment, I was relaxed and ready to let labor run its course.  After about an hour the doctor came in to check me and I was only 3 centimeters...dang it!  I was hoping for more, but she said that maybe after she broke my water it would speed things up a bit.  She said that as long as my contractions were helping me progress and the baby was tolarating it well we could proceed with the VBAC.  Otherwise I was going to have to end up having a c-section.

The baby started having a really high heart rate when I wasn't contracting and then it would go off the charts when I did have a contraction.  Braydon was nervously watching the monitor and agreed with the doctor when she came in and said that the baby was way too stressed out to continue.  She said that if I was more dialated she would've let me continue, but I was only 3 cm.  So after a lot of crying on my part, I reluctantly agreed that the c-section would probably be best.  Braydon and I agreed that we didn't want anything bad to happen to me or the baby, and so I had to give in to the whole VBAC idea.  Poor little thing couldn't handle all the stress.

So, on Saturday, January 22nd at 6:15pm our little girl, Sydney Addison Walsh was born into the world.  She's a cute little thing.  Braydon got to cut her cord and help get her weighed (she was 7lbs 10oz and 20 inches long), which he didn't get to experience with Landon.  We kept saying how different it was with Sydney versus Landon.  Landon was whisked away and I didn't even get to see him until after I went to the recovery room...even then I had to ask to see him.  With Sydney, Braydon got to hold her and cuddle her and be with her.

Sydney and I spent the next couple of days in the hospital getting to know each other.  It's been so great to get to experience her in a way that I didn't get with Landon until later.  She's a pretty good baby.  She only really cries when she's hungry and if I don't feed her fast enough she gets a little temper.  It's cute.

In the hospital before we went home

On our way home...doesn't she look cozy??

It's been pretty crazy getting used to having two children.  Braydon and I have luckily gotten some sleep at night, but we've been trying to learn what Sydney's schedule is on top of taking care of Landon and doing all the things we normally do.  It's not going to be easy that's for sure...it'll just take some getting used to.

Landon is adjusting well.  Yesterday we had a little meltdown for no reason, but that's the first thing he's done to act out.  The first few days he wasn't so sure about Sydney and wouldn't even really acknowledge her, but after we got her home he really started to warm up to her and now lets her hug him and he'll hug her too.  I hope he continues to do well with her and they become good friends.

Playing with Thomas the train.  He tells me that when he puts the train cars into that little building that they are eating. :)

Gotta love the stop sign...

I want to take a minute and thank my husband.  He has really been amazing through this whole thing.  He took on the responsibilities of the house and Landon while I was in the hospital and then took care of me when I came home.  He is truly amazing and I love him dearly.  I think I would've gone a little crazy without him. :)  I LOVE YOU HONEY!!!!

All is well again!

After an exhausting week dealing with Landon in the hospital and trying to deal with my ever changing body, I'm happy to report that Landon is doing much better!!  We had a follow-up appointment with Dr. LaCroix on Tuesday so she could see how he was doing.

We had noticed over the past week that things in Landon's face and mouth were changing.  His tongue (which is normally covered in blood-filled polyps) looks much better and his lip isn't as reddish-purple...it's more of a pinky-red.  Also, Landon's chin and cheek where he had the cellulitous were changing colors like a bruise and there was a spot in his cheek that was kind of hard.

When we saw Dr. LaCroix, we mentioned these things to her.  Landon was nice enough to hold still long enough for her to feel around to see what was going on.  Her conclusion was that there was some scar tissue in his chin from being sick.  She said that over time it should get softer.  After feeling his cheek, she couldn't tell if he had an abscess that needed to be drained, or if it was more scar tissue.  She said she was going to give Dr. Quinlan a call and talk it over with him.

Yesterday I got a phone call from Dr. Quinlan's nurse saying that she needed to schedule Landon for an appointment to be seen.  She scheduled us for today which made me a little nervous (like something could be wrong), but figured Dr. Quinlan just wanted to see Landon to make sure he didn't have the abscess Dr. LaCroix was talking about.

When we were in the hospital Dr. Quinlan stopped by a couple of times to see how Landon was doing.  He seemed a little concerned when he saw Landon right before we were leaving because I think he didn't see much change in Landon's appearance.  Braydon and I knew that Landon has always been a home-healer and we knew we were doing the right thing by taking him home.  As soon as Dr. Quinlan walked into the room today he made a comment about how well Landon looked.  It made me feel good to know that he really was concerned about him.

After taking a look at him, Dr. Quinlan said that he thought the hardness in his cheek was just from the infection and would hopefully go down as he keeps up with the antibiotics.  He said we could always try to take a sample of it, but figured Landon wouldn't really care to have a needle stuck in his cheek and he would more than likely not hold still for it.  He said that it wasn't really worth it.

Landon will have to be taken back to see Dr. Quinlan in a few weeks after he's done with the antibiotics.    I think things will be much better by then.  Landon is acting like his normal self.  Ornery and stubborn as ever. :)

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

38 weeks

This is an awful picture of me, but here's me at 38 weeks.  I've been having lots of Braxton Hicks but they still come and go.  I'll have them for a few hours, but then they will taper off.  They also don't really hurt, they are just more uncomfortable than anything.  

Keep your fingers crossed for me.  I'm gonna go walking again this week to get things moving along quicker.  We'll see what happens...  It's pretty crazy that this pregnancy is almost over.  Where did time go?  Soon I will have two children.  :)

Snow day!!

I think everyone has been hit by some snow this week.  Even back home in Georgia they got quite a bit.  We've been bitterly cold here and we also had quite a bit of snow.  On our back porch our table was covered in about 6 inches of snow.

Our backyard and my poor little tree

I thought it was funny how the lights look like they have little hats on. :)

The snow falling through the boards on our deck

We weren't snowed in at all.  The streets were cleared that evening which I was thankful for.  You never know when I could go into labor. :)  We didn't get out into the snow because it was too cold.  It has been in the single digits here the past few days.  We're finally getting to where we're close to freezing.  

I hope everyone is safe in their warm houses.  I know I'm so thankful for heat this time of year. 

Our hospital visit

Once again Landon threw us a curve ball.  We get comfortable in a routine and then WHAM! we get thrown off course.  Tuesday night Landon started feeling bad and was being extra cuddly.  I knew something was wrong when he came up to me and put his arms around me and wouldn't let me go.  I took his temperature and it was at 102.  After we took his clothes off and gave him some Tylenol we got his temperature down and put him to bed.  We thought maybe he was catching a cold or something.  Here's a picture of him that I took when we found his temperature....doesn't look like he feels good huh?

In the middle of the night, Landon woke up crying.  I figured he wasn't feeling good again and went in his room with more Tylenol.  When I lifted his shirt to give him the medicine, he was burning up!!!  When we took his temp it was back up, but this time it was 105!!  I immediately took off his clothes and got out a cool washcloth.  He was upset crying and Braydon and I tried our hardest to make him feel better.  We ended up having to put him in a cool bath to cool him off.  We got his temp down and put him back to bed.  The next morning, Heidi came for her shift.  She took his temperature and it was 106.8!!!!!  We did what worked and gave him Tylenol and put him back in the tub.  We actually got his temp down to 98.6 and debated about if we should take him in because he didn't have any other symptoms.   I called his pediatrician and they told us to bring him in to see the doctor just to get a once-over.

Before we left we noticed that Landon's chin was turning a little red and it also started on his cheek.  We mentioned it to Dr. LaCroix and she said she thought it might be cellulitis.  She told us that we needed to head over to Children's to get some IV antibiotics and a CT scan done to make sure it wasn't something serious.

Thankfully, the CT scan came back normal, so we spent the last couple of days in the hospital giving Landon IV antibiotics.  They had to make sure they worked before they would let us leave.

Today, we got to come home.  We were so excited to come home.  I know Braydon is excited to sleep in our bed tonight since he was nice enough to let me go home to sleep the past couple nights.  I do love my husband. :)

Landon is doing much better.  He still has a little bit of discoloration on his cheek, but we're hoping after a few more doses of medicine it will get better.  He is acting a lot better and I'm just thankful that he's doing better and doesn't have to be stuck in the hospital anymore!!!

I do want to say a very big THANK YOU to Megan for bringing us dinner!!!  She's such a lifesaver and I'm so happy that she's my friend.  Megan, you are wonderful! :)

A visit with Penny

Landon and I went to see Penny this week.  Penny and I have debated on whether or not Landon needs to continue being seen, but we decided to keep going with it because he can always use the help.  She can also make sure that his muscles in his legs aren't getting tight since he still kind of walks/runs on his tip-toes.  We ended up deciding to continue every other month after little girl is born.

Landon was super cooperative when we visited with Penny.  We worked on getting in and out of riding toys and pushing himself on the scooter.  He did great with both.  He pushed himself along in the riding toy which he never really did before...he was just content sitting still and letting someone else move him around.  He went up and down the hallway and into offices to say a quick hello to some of the therapists.

When he got on the scooter, he had a little more trouble knowing what to do.  Penny had to instruct him on what to do with his feet but even once he got that down, she didn't really worry about him propel himself because she said she was more focused on him getting the idea of what he was supposed to do.  She tried another scooter that was easier to move after he understood how to move himself and he did great on a slick floor!  He needs practice balancing himself, but thankfully we can do that at home with his new scooter from Santa. :)

We also had him practice throwing a ball and running after it.  It's pretty cute when he throws a ball.  I took some pictures the other day when we were hanging out at the house to give you an idea.  He won't kick a soccer ball, only throw it....funny kid.  This is the sequence of events when Landon throws a ball...

Throw the ball over head with two hands...

get really excited and squeal and laugh....

chase after the ball...

Pick it up...

Go back to the beginning and wait for mom to count to 3 again....Repeat. :)

He played this game over and over again and didn't want to stop.  It's a good way to wear him out. :)  Throwing the ball with Penny was pretty much the same, but he had more of an area to run around in.  Plus she had one of those giant rubber workout balls.   Landon loved that.  It's so much better than a tiny soccer ball. :)

Penny and I were very impressed with how well Landon stuck with stuff at that session.  She made a comment to me about how Landon's attention span has gotten so much better since starting school.  I definitely agree with her.  He sticks with activities a lot longer than he used to.  It's very nice to see and very nice to hear from someone that doesn't see him everyday.  

37 weeks and counting....

I'm almost done with this pregnancy!!!  Yippy!!  I can't wait to meet our little girl and get to hold her and kiss her all over her face. :)  I also can't wait to be able to sit at a 90 degree angle, sleep in more than 2 positions (on my sides), breathe when I go up and down the stairs, and be able to get up from ANY surface without assistance.  The list of negatives gets pretty long when you're at this stage of pregnancy, but there is one HUGE positive that comes from it.  I'm just glad to be getting closer.

37 weeks

I went in today for my 37 week appointment with Dr. NewMyer.  I spoke with her a few weeks ago about what my birth plan was going to be.  I told her that I really wanted to try a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceserean section) because I feel like I lost out on the option with Landon.  I didn't have much of a choice with him because of his condition, so I wanted to be able to experience labor the way nature intended it.  She agreed to let me go to 40 weeks (where in most cases she would have a repeat c-sectioner go in at 39 weeks) and went over the things that could go wrong (like with any doctor).  I knew going in that there are some risks, but there are also so many women that have had an amazing VBAC experience.  I feel like I can handle labor, I just need to get there. :)

So, I've been eating eggplant parmesan and I bought a fresh pineapple and honeydew melon today at the grocery store.  All of these are supposedly old wives tales of how to get labor moving along. :)  I've been having lots of Braxton Hicks, but when Dr. NewMyer checked me today she said my cervix was really thin...so no dialation. :(  But I'm going to start walking with a friend and get this whole thing moving along.

If this little girl decides to be stubborn (which is very possible), my doctor told me that she would have to deliver her by c-section.  She said it's too risky to induce me and she won't let me go past because she doesn't want the baby to get too big (which could end in a c-section anyways).  I really don't want a c-section, but if it comes to that, I would rather be safe than sorry I guess.  Dr. NewMyer scheduled my c-section for January 25th if little girl doesn't make her appearance before then.  Hopefully, she will. :)

Baby sister's room is ready!!

FINALLY!!  I feel like I've been trying to get her room done for forever!  At last, it is all put together (except for her name on the wall).  We decided to keep her name a secret until she's born...just to keep everyone guessing. ;)

As for her cute little room, we did a "bird" theme.  I must say that I'm pretty proud of it.  I think it turned out cuter than I expected it to. :)

Little girl's cute little birdie bedding

I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to paint a mural of the tree from her bedding on the wall.  I found some cute vinyl stickers of trees with birds and birdcages on etsy.com, and thought about just doing birdcages since they would be a little easier.  Then I couldn't decide so I ended up doing both. :)  When my mom visited in the beginning of December we decided to tackle the tree project.  My mom did an excellent job helping me paint leaves on the trees and helped me create birds and flowers with fabric to put on the tree. We used some foam core (which is basically two pieces of posterboard with a small layer of foam sandwiched in between) and batting to create some dimension in the flowers and birds.  My mom even helped me sew little buttons in the center of each of the flowers...she's so crafty! :)  The finished product turned out super cute!

Here's me diligently working on the branches of the tree...

My mom helping fill in the colorful leaves

We finished painting the tree...

Then we added the birds and flowers to make it complete.  Turned out cute, and didn't take nearly as long as I thought.

This past week, I've been trying to get all of the finishing touches for her room like frames for pictures and odds and ends.  Finally, after 36 weeks of pregnancy, it's finished! :)  About time, huh?  I tried to take some pictures of the whole room, but her room isn't big enough for me to get some really good shots...so here's what I got.  I think they'll do... :)

This is the birdcage I painted.  Under the bird is where we will hang some letters to spell her name. 

I used to have this in my room when I was little.  I've always loved it and found it in a box a few months ago...I couldn't resist using it.

The many clothes we have for her.  Her closet runs from one side of the room to the other and it's almost full!!  Although it's not just one size.  It goes from newborn all the way to a year old, but still... :)

These are the many books that Landon is sharing with his sister.  We have a whole basket. :)  He's so sweet.

So, now all we need is a baby. :)  I've been having some Braxton Hicks (false labor pains) off and on for the past week or so.  Nothing serious...I told my doctor and she seemed unphased.  It's pretty normal.  Braydon and I went to The Olive Garden to use a couple of gift cards that people gave us for Christmas.  It was nice to get to spend some time together.  Some moms have told me to eat eggplant parmesan because it's supposed to help you go into labor...so that's what I got.  Hasn't worked so far, but I brought home some leftovers, so maybe I'll try again. :)