We have a Belly Button!

Landon's Umbilical Cord finally fell off yesterday! We are so excited b/c now we can give him an actual bath, and along with his circ being 99% healed we can use baby wipes when he messes. I am definately glad we chose not to go the cloth diaper route. We only had to use wash cloths when we had to change his diapers and it was such a hassle.

Also for those that don't know yet, please put Landon in your prayers. We found out earlier this week that he may have a genetic disorder. It came back abnormal on his newborn genetic screen. After a horrendous time trying to draw blood (ended in him getting stuck 9 times...TWICE in the head, him crying, me crying, and Scott mad) they are going to ship his 2nd screening to Dallas and use the blood from that to hopefully rule out that he has any of these problems at all. If he does have this disorder, Fatty Acid Oxidation something or other, It is the easiesly controlled by diet and medicine. It is also the mildest of all the Disease's and Disorders that they screen for. The Pedi said that there is over a 50% chance that he doesn't even have it b/c they set the false positive rate high to make sure they catch everyone. Please pray that we are one of these false positives. We will find out the results later this week. Until then Landon is on the medicine they use to treat it just in case, they didn't want to waste any time with it. If he doesn't end up having this problem the medicine won't harm him so it was a win win situation.

Milk is in!

My milk finally came in yesterday! I am so excited, hopefully Breast Feeding will be much easier. We have been struggling a bit in this area, and it has been frustrating for both of us. We finally figured out that our latching problems were b/c my nipples are flush w/ my boobs. Easily fixable...we bought a nipple shield, problem solved...right? Kinda. We had to buy a new pump yesterday as well b/c my boobs were too big for the Lansinoh pump that we had originally bought. The Lansinoh pump was great, they just don't sell bigger felanges (the part your boob fits into) so we can't use it. Luckily my sister is pregnant and will be able to use it when her baby gets here in July. Scott went out and bought the Medela Swing pump. I have to say it ws like heaven witht he right fitting felanges. Medela sells different sizes and I happen to be an XL with my milk. I really hope my boobs go back down to a somewhat similar size to what I had before getting pregnant. My nipples have started bleeding from having to use the Lansinoh pump to help get my milk in, and the fact that Landon is like super sucker. So I sent Scott out for cabbage and I have cream and soothie gel breast pads that are wonderous. Hopefully they will heal soon and we can get this Breast feeding thing down well. I think both Landon and I will sleep better at night too.

On a side note: I totally love being a mom. I was a little nervous at how I would be, but so far it has come so naturally. The lack of sleep doesnt bother me, and the only thing I want to do is hang out with my little guy and cuddle up with him. It really is rewarding and fun, and I am so glad that we decided to have kids. It has definately brought Scott and I closer together and I love him more every time I watch him with Landon.

Landon Pictures

Allright, the wifi at the connection wasn't the best and it never uploaded the pictures of Landon, so now that we are home I will upload a few for you with the promise to do more later. It is almost feeding time so I have to go quick.

Landon right when he was born. No idea why the Doctor isn't smiling. The oxygen mask was b/c his heart rate had dropped a little right before pushing, so they had me use it to be on the safe side. It was actually nice b/c it helped take deeper and more concentrated breaths between pushes.

Scott holding him for the first time after they did his Apgar's (all 9's) and cleaned him up a little bit. We were both crying b/c we were so happy and it was such a real experience. As cliche' as it sounds going through birth with Scott by my side has made me love him even more, if that was possible. We created this together, went through it together, and it definately has brought us closer together as a couple, it's just amazing.

The first time I actually got to hold him. They paced him on my chest after he was born and I got to kiss him and hold his hand, but they had to take him back quickly to do all the tests and check his vitals, etc. My hand although looks like a war zone, I had so many tubes going in my IV it was un-real, and I had a "normal" birth except I was Group B Strep Positive and had to have antibiotics.

My favorite picture of him and I. This was taken the morning after he was born. We opted to put him in clothes that we had brought b/c the white t-shirt the hospital provided was really snug on him and looked uncomfortable, they are not made for almost 9lb babies.

Landon hanging out with Daddy in the hospital. I can't pin point who he looks like, but he definately has huge feet and big hands. His hair was kind of dark when he was first born, but it is turning more red everyday. I am so excited that he will be red headed, I just hope it stays and doesn't eventually turn brown.

Landon's weight. Scott and I both asked the nurse when she would reset the scale so we could find out how much he weighed. She looked at us and said "That is how much he weighs" and both of our jaws dropped. They had told us there was no way he would weigh more than 7 lbs. Ha Ha they missed bad.

Sleeping with mommy. This is his favorite way to sleep and cuddle. He is such a snuggler and I love it. I could snuggle with him all day.

Landon hanging out with Big Brother, Zach. Zach was a little timid to hold him, but did a great job. Unfortunately he has been congested since so he hasn't had much time to hold him alone, I am hoping this changes quickly.

Landon is Here!!

Landon Patrick Heise is here!! He was born on 1/19/09 at 7:41 p.m. He weighed in at 8 pounds 13.6 ounces, yeup that's right he's a tank, and is 21 inches long.

Labor was alot better than I expected it. Now don't get me wrong there were some points in which I was thought to myself "OMG what have I got myself into." It was definately worth it and I had hyped it up alot to myself to try and prepare for the worse. I do have to say though the Epidural is worth it. I am a major needle phobe, and it was definately worth the 3-5 minutes of pain for the relief. I would have paid cash for one if I had too, it was amazing. I had no porblems pushing b/c I could still feel the pressure in my bum that tells you when you need to push.

Short Version Birth Story:

We arrived at the hospital at 7:45 a.m. We checked in, I was able to change into the ever so fashionable hospital gown, they asked a billion questions, checked my vitals, etc. Next came the IV (the worst part for me...needles generally make me pass out) and the drew blood for labs. I also found out around this time that my Group B Strep Test came back positive, no big deal I just had to have at least 2 rounds of antibiotics before he was born...I was able to get 3. The labor nurses then started the Pitocin and the wait began. Around 9:00-9:30 a.m. my Doctor came in and broke my water. Let me tell you, that was quite a weird feeling. I felt like someone popping a water balloon inside you, and then all of the sudden you felt like you were peeing yourself. The peeing yourself feeling last all day, big contractions especially b/c my amniotic fluid would gush when it was a large one.

So we hung out for awhile chatting with the nurses (I had 2 L&D nurses all to myself for the entire day). They would up my Pitocin as needed, and the contractions started mild and gradually became much more painful. They felt like the worst period cramps of your life w/ pain rising, peaking, and then falling again. Not exactly what I call a great time, but worth it to get my son. Around 11:00-11:30 I decided I best get in line for my Epidural since there were 2 ER C-Sections and another lady in front me. I am very glad I decided to get on the "list" at this point b/c by 1:30 when it was finally my turn to get the Epidural my contractions were no longer bearable to me. A few were stacked on top of each other and they were very painful. Well Scott had left and gone to lunch with his mom and Zach, and they got back right as they were prepping me, which was great since the whole scared of needles thing. So I sat still, they painted my back in Iodine, put some sheet thing over it and started the process. They numb your back first with Lidacaine which is a nice thought until you remember that Lidacaine stings like a bad bing sting for the first minute when they inject you with it. I got 2 shots of Lidacaine one shallow into my spinal column, and one deeper. By this time my contractions were stacking on top of each other, I was bent over forwards putting more pressure on my Uterus, and slightly nervous about the whole needles in my spinal column thing. So needless to say Scott was holding my hand, I had my face buried into one of the L&D nurses chest, needlessly chanting "ow, ow, ow" b/c of the pain and had tears streaming down my face. But I tell you what I would do it all over again for the relief and relaxation I was able to achieve from getting the Epidural. The medicine worked right away except it worked WAY better on my left side than my right side so they had to flip me around a few times between my left and right sides to get the medicince to distribute evenly.

I had been 3 cm, 80% effaced, and -2 station since my last appt the week before. I was still at this point before the Epidural and come 2:30 p.m. I was not checked again until 4:00 p.m. and I was amazed that I was then 5-6 cm, 90% effaced, and he was a -1 station. I was checked again at 5:00 p.m. and we were 7-8 cm, 90% effaced, and between -1 and 0 station. At 5:15 the Doctor came to check on us and we hadn't changed from 5:00. Around 6:00 I sarted feeling more pressure in my butt and birth canal so they checked me again. I was 9 cm, 100% effaced, and 0 station. We waited until right before 7:00 p.m. to be checked again. I joked around with Scott that Landon was waiting for his Great Grandma to show up before he decided to be completely ready for us to start pushing. Well at 7:00 p.m. when they checked I was 10 cm dialated, 100% effaced, and they could barely fit their fingers up to their 1st knuckles in the birth canal, so we knew it was time.

I started pushing at 7:00 p.m. Again I was super thankful for my Epidural, it truly was a gift from God and a blessing for me. I pushed 3X to a count of 10 for every contraction. I could feel pressure in my butt like I really had to poop during the contractions and that helped alot. After only 41 minutes of pushing Landon was here! Zach, Scott's mom and Grandma were able to be in the room when he was born, which they thought was very neat. There was an area of the room with a couch and a chair that with Scott standing next to the bed helping hold one of my legs (b/c they were both numb) they were not able to see anything, but could hear and witness it all.

Scott cut the cord while he was on my chest. They then took him to weigh him, do his Apgar scores (both 9's), and warm him up. When they weighed him they showed us the scale reading and both Scott and I asked her if she was waiting for it to reset. Keep in mind they told us he would weigh no more than 7 lbs at birth...ha ha wrong he weighed in at 8 lbs 13.6 oz and earned his nick name tank.

I suffered a 2nd degree tear (not too bad) so I have some stitches and a few other minor things to take care of. Landon is a sweet little guy who loves to snuggle up on your chest. Breast Feeding is off to a slow start, we have had a bit of difficulty but things seem to be turning around now. We are expected to go home tomorrow afternoon after a few more checks and Landon's circumsicion. I am exhausted and have only had maybe 5 hours of sleep since Induction was started. Below are a few pictures Scott took so you can see Landon...can't tell who he looks like or if his hair will be red...it does have red in it though. The nurses say it will mostly fall out and be replaced w/ his real hair color in the next week.

Headed to the Hospital

Scott and I are headed to the hospital in about 1/2 hour. I am a little more nervous than I thought I would be, but I am also excited to finally meet my son. We will try our best to update as much as possible throughout the day. Family, you will be receiving texts periodically so watch out for them please. Please pray that we have a safe Induction, and healthy and un-evenful Labor & Delivery and both Landon and I (and Scott) come out of the whole ordeal healthy! Pictures will be posted as soon as we upload them, we are taking the camera with so hopefully it won't take too long!

2.5 More Days!

Only 2.5 more days until we finally get to meet our little man! We are doing last minute little preps to get ready for him. Like one last grocery store run, making sure we have everything, getting everything we haven't packed (camera, laptop, etc.) ready and charged to take to the hospital with us Monday morning. We are getting very excited, and I think the dogs can tell something is about to happen as well.

This weekend we just plan on relaxing and watching football! I am going to try and see if I can find a newborn football outfit since Landon will be here on Super Bowl Sunday, and we will definately be watching it. Our team, the Chicago Bears, didn't make it into the playoffs so we are pretty neutral on who makes it. Although living in AZ, and Scott growing up here I would say of the teams left they are who we will root for. But as Scott says come the end of this season, all bets are off and it's back to the bears 100%.

Landon's Eviction Notice

Landon received his eviction notice at our Doctor's appt this morning. They said he looks great, he is in position, etc. They stretched me to 3 cm, which wasn't painful, but definately uncomfortable. I have been crampy ever since, but that's about it.

They decided to induce us if Landon does not decide to make his own appearance before Monday the 19th. Alot of factors went into the decision, but the main one is my ribs. For those who don't know for the last month I have been struggling with sprained tendons and muscles in my ribs on my right side. This is due to Landon's position, and the squishing of all of my internal organs up there to make room for him. They believe it is b/c he is long (they estimate him to be 21 inches long at birth) and doesn't have room to move anywhere else. Well to add to the spraining, his position has now caused bruising in my ribs and I have been in alot of pain for awhile now, and there is nothing they can give me for it except tylenol which has done nothing. They also decided to induce b/c since my last appt I have had daily headaches and swelling in my fingers so bad that at night alot of the times I can't bend them completely.

I am excited to finally know the date when I will get to meet and hold my son for the first time. I am a little nervous about the Pitocin though b/c I have heard that contractions on Pitocin are much more intense than natural contractions. I am also nervous about the needles involved, but that's just me b/c I am a needle phobe. But I will have Scott with me. My doctor did tell me that of all of her patients the red heads she has delivered babies for have all had quick labor and deliveries, even first time moms.

We will be taking the computer to the hospital b/c they have wifi, so pending how I feel either Scott or I will try to put up updates on the blog when we can. We will definately upload photos once he is born and everything has calmed down some.

Thank You

I wanted to send out a heart felt thank you. I recieved a package today from a company in Georgia. In my package were the cutest and nicest burb cloths monogramed with Landon's name on them. Unfortunately the package had no sender information, just the companies information. So, to whomever sent them to us, thank you very much. We cannot wait for Landon to get here so we can use them. I will post pictures for everyone else once I figure out how to use Scott's camera.

Baby News: We had 3.5 hours of contractions that were definately more painful than BH and were consistently 4-5 minutes apart last night. The fun part...they stopped right as we were about to get up and go to the hospital. grr. Oh, well. I have a doctor's appt tomorrow morning so please pray for good progress. I am planning on asking them to strip my membranes while we are there, so maybe we can help Landon get his show on the road! I will update when we get home.

Cone Head is no more

Schwepps, our Lab, finally had the cone removed from her head by the vet this morning. This dog has had a cone for 3 of the 8 months we have been in AZ. Between chasing a frog into cactus and having needles in her eye that had to be removed, and now she had a hematoma inher ear that had to be fixed...TWICE. She is finally done with cones. Hopefully for good. I am excited too b/c now hopefully Landon will come, and we can re-open the dog door in our house! Life will be so much easier w/o that dadgum cone, and I am sure she is just as thrilled to have it removed.

Mucus Plug, Gone

Yeah that's right I lost my Mucus Plug, or a good part of it this morning. Woohoo that means we are not far at all from Landon being here. There is an avg time between losing your MP and going into active labor, but I cannot remember it for the life of me currently. I may google it when I get a second. We will definately be walking, timing contractions (I am having them just not timeable yet), and praying we will have a baby in the next day or so!

We have Progress!!!

I had my 37/38 week appt today (I'm not technically 38 weeks until tomorrow). It went really well. I had my strep B test and will know the results of it on Tuesday when I go back. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I am still not crazy about having my bum swabbed.

They said his heartbeat is great, he is in great position. They did my first internal at the Doctor's office and I am 2 cm dialated, 70% effaced and he is at -1/-2 station. I was nosy and looked at my chart on the computer screen before I walked out the door, and it said "Labor Warnings" in the notes section. I am really excited. And to make things better there is a Full Moon Friday and Saturday nights, so I am hoping we will have us a baby before Monday. If not that is cool too, but it would be neat. The said they would like to see him go past Thursday b/c once they are past 38 weeks they usually don't have problems with Jaundice. So, we are all on Baby Alert. I will keep everyone updated as we progress or find more out! Wish us luck that he will be here soon!

Nursery Pictures!

We finally have Nursery Pictures to post for you! Scott recieved a nice new camera for Christmas (b/c he has the best wife ever). He had to install the software, etc on to my computer (because for whatever reason the cd rom on the desktop sucks) so now that it is finally done here are the pictures of Landon's room.

Sitting in the recliner looking out of the room. The changing table/dresser would be to your right.

Standing next to the crib looking into the room. Scott's mom painted the boat picture above the Changing table years ago. The stuffed dog was Zach's and has since been moved else where in the room.

Standing in the door way looking into his room. Scott painted the letters for his name, and hung them up too. Can you see Boomer? He was so excited to get to be in one of the pictures :o)

Close up of Landon's crib. The bedding is Nautica's William Bedding. Scott ran out and bought it the day we found out Landon was a boy, and is what we have centered the boat theme around. The quilt will be removed once he arrives, until he is older.

Update on Progress: I have been really crampy lately, and have had alot of pelvic pressure so I am hoping that at our Doctor's appt on Tuesday we will have made some signifigant progress. Also for whatever reason tonight Boomer won't leave my side. He layed down in front of the bathtub on the tile while I took my bath, that is weird he never does that. I wonder if he knows something I don't? Guess we will find out here pretty soon.

My Dog tried to help

For those of you who don't know along with Boomer (my little white dog), Scott and I have an 87lb Black Lab named Schwepps. Well, she decided last night to try and help coerce Landon to come play. I guess she is so excited that she couldn't wait anymore :o) I was in the computer/plane room surfing, and Scott had layed down in bed to read. He finally coerced me to come to bed, so I picked up my mess (really, I promise) and started down the short "hallway" distance to our bedroom. Now, both rooms are upstairs and thehallway is open to the downstairs with the banister, so it's not very wide. Well Schwepps had planted herself across the hallway between the room I was in and our bedroom. With her being Black, and Scott having turned the lights off except for a lamp in the corner of our room, she was impossible to see. So I was walking normal with Boomer in tow behind me, and all of the sudden I am airborn. I thankfully land on my right knee and then roll to my left side and hit the linen closet door. Scott jumps up, and I start crying b/c my knee hurt so bad, that's alot of weight to land on one small area. Meanwhile Schwepps stays where she was, like nothing happened. I am fine and so is Landon, but man you should see the carpet burn, and the size of this bruise on my knee. I will definately have to take a picture for you. My rib area is a little sore, but Landon has been moving around like nothing happened, so he is fine. It's funny to think about it now, but man I was so mad at the dog at the time, and it was my fault for not paying attention. I will now be shuffling down the hallway at night, to avoid tripping over the dog again.

We have internet

Woohoo!!! The guy came out today and set up our land line (getting cell service out at our house, is spotty at best), and the DSL stuff came from UPS. I am so excited, both Scott and I like to surf to relax, so it is nice to be able to do so again. Plus it's really hard to blog w/o internet access, and I wasn't able to pick up any wireless connections the neighbors might have had that I could "borrow" until ours was set up. I know alot of family and friends are watching to see if Landon has made his arrival yet through the blog, and now I can make sure they get the info on time :o)

Speaking of Landon, he has not decided to make his debut yet. We are thinking it will be soon, but really have no idea. I have a doctors appt on Tuesday so we will see if we have progressed any. I am really hoping that we have. I also need to talk to them about the excruciating pain in my ribs on my right side. They diagnosed me last time as having sprained muscles and tendons due to Landon's position, and refusal to "hang out" any where else. The pain has quickly become un-bearable and the tylenol they reccomended taking, does not do a thing. Hopefully they will have something I can take, or a solution for getting him here to relieve the pain.

Poor Scott is also in pain, he pulled or strained a muscle in his back the other day turning to pet his mom's Golden Retriever, Sandy. I think his muscles were/are so worn out from moving all of the boxes and other stuff constantly over the last 2 weeks that they finally had it. Please pray that he gets over this quicky. He is not able to take IB Profen, so he kind of has to stick it out.

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years!