Landon's Birth Story - Part 2

Part 1 of Landon's birth story is here.

Eventually, it was time for me to push to get Landon's head down, locked and loaded. I think I pushed for 30-45 minutes before my OB came in to deliver me. At that point Landon's head was right there and I totally felt that urge to push. I told Kevin "Oh gosh. I have to push." and he said "Okay, push." Bless his heart, he was being such a good partner in all this. But my OB was still putting her gloves and scrubs on and I looked at him and said "If I push this baby is coming out! I have to wait for the doctor."

So then I told the doctor that I really needed to push so she quickly dropped the scrubs and took position, I pushed once and Landon's head was out and I immediately saw a slight look of panic/concern on the doctor and nurse's faces. The doctor said kind of quickly to the nurse some medical term for the cord being wrapped around his neck and it was so tight that the doctor had to ask the nurse to put her finger between the cord and the neck so the doctor could cut the cord from Landon's neck because it wasn't budging. Then the nurse translated and said the cord was wrapped around his neck but he was beautiful. Keep in mind, he was still partially inside me. So I was asked to push one more time and he was fully delivered.

The doctor did not lift him up for me to see and he was barely laid on my stomach. All the sudden there were about four more nurses in the room and they immediately took Landon to the warming table. He wasn't crying, he was so ashen and blue and limp. The nurses were rubbing him really hard to get him to "come to" and cry but he wasn't having it. Next thing I know a nurse requests another nurse to call the Rapid Response Team. At that point Kevin and I were very concerned.

As I'm laying with my legs splayed open, my placenta on a table and the doctor doing what she needs to do "down there," about 10 doctors and nurses come piling into our room to work on Landon. Normally, I probably would have been a little embarrassed because all of me was clearly visible to all of them. But in that instant all I cared about was making sure our baby was going to live. My nurse was keeping me up to date on what they were doing, and some doctors would come up to reassure us about what they were doing. No one was really giving us clear-cut explanations, but because everything seemed so frantic to me, I didn't think to ask questions and I didn't know what questions to ask in that moment! I just wanted them to stop talking to me and focus on the baby.

After a while they got Landon stable. There was talk of Landon going down to the NICU but he apparently was doing better so they decided against it. After a long time, I finally got to hold Landon and put him to my chest and nurse him. He never cried and he was still pretty cold. We eventually moved from Labor and Delivery up to our room in Recovery and when we got up there Landon was really blue around his lips. There was a lady up there when we got into the Recovery room and she drew blood from Landon and ran some tests on it right then and there and based on those results she called the NICU doctor who then came to our room and took Landon away down to the NICU. It all happened so fast.

It was such a roller coaster of emotions. First, we were so excited about his birth, then so scared after his birth. Then so worried because they mentioned the possibility of the NICU. Then so happy that he wouldn't have to go after all. Then back to being so worried and scared once he did have to go to the NICU in the end.

So when they took Landon down to the NICU, Kevin went with them. So I was alone in my hospital room. I wasn't intentionally left by myself. My mom was on her way back to the hospital to stay with me while Kevin was in the NICU. Surprisingly, I didn't break down at that point. I think I was still in so much shock that I hadn't had a chance to process everything. But I was sad. So sad that I didn't have my baby in my arms and that I wasn't able to hold him skin-to-skin and nurse him like I normally would have been able to do. So sad that our family wasn't there to hold and love on him.

My mom made it to my room and it felt good to have her there. Kevin came back from the NICU and explained what he could. We still didn't know much then, and I think looking back now, I was too afraid to ask too many questions for fear of what the answers might be. Kevin then went home so he could see Preslie, help put her to bed and get some dinner, while my mom stayed with me. My mom and I went down to the NICU to see Landon and that's when I had my breakdown. I don't like crying in front of people, but I couldn't help it at that point.

Kevin came back that night and my mom went back to our house (my dad was with Preslie back at our house). Since I didn't have Landon around to nurse him, I had to use one of the hospital's pumps to pump all the colostrum I could for the baby.

Landon ended up being in the NICU for three days. I was discharged from the hospital the day after I delivered. Thankfully, Kaiser has a program where you can "board in" a hospital room for up to three days after discharge if you have a child in the NICU and you don't have to pay for the hospital room. The only caveat was the hospital staff would not provide you with any support (like hospital food, etc.). It was just a place to stay so we could be close to our baby and it worked perfectly. We ended up "boarding in" for one night on Thursday the 2nd.

On Friday, after the NICU doctor made his rounds, they told us we could "room in" with Landon that night. The NICU at this Kaiser has two "bedrooms" on the NICU floor. This gives parents a chance to stay the night in the hospital with your baby in your room and nurses nearby. Again, super convenient and a great accommodation at no charge. The only drawback was the room was literally a square with no windows so it kind of felt like you were in a shoebox with a bathroom. But we were just happy that Landon was doing well enough to be able to do this.

 

^ The first time I was ever alone with Landon. I was able to take off his lines for good and get him dressed in a real outfit.

^ His first outfit! He was swimming in it and was so itty bitty!

^ Hanging out with Papa in the "room in" room on the NICU floor.

That night neither Kevin or I got much sleep - and it wasn't because of having a three-day-old in the room. It was because the nurses wanted him to eat every three hours. So I'd nurse him every three hours and change his diaper, start to fall back to sleep and a nurse would knock on our door to get his diaper  so they could weigh it. At least Landon slept great that night!

On Saturday Landon was discharged.

 ^ Heading home!!!

It was a great feeling to be out of there. I felt very thankful for so many things that day:

1. Having such a great and supportive husband. He is My Person and was an amazing partner through everything.
2. That Landon wasn't required to be in the NICU for very many days compared to more serious cases. It was scary nonetheless, but I know it could have been worse and for that I am grateful he was spared.
3. Our family who helped us so much with Preslie during it all.
4. Our hospital. I was so incredibly impressed with all the services we received.

^ We're home!

Once we got Landon home, I think everyone took a big sigh of relief. As for big sister, she didn't want to have much to do with him. I had big plans before I went into labor about how my parents would bring Preslie to the hospital to meet her brother for the first time. What she would be wearing and how we'd give her a little Big Sister Gift. That obviously didn't work out like I had hoped. In the end the only thing that mattered was that we were all under one roof and everyone was healthy.

The End.

:)

Landon's Birth Story - Part 1

It's obviously been over a month since Landon was born, but I want to attempt to document his birth story. Hopefully, I can remember most of it since it's been a while!

Disclaimer: If you could care less about the birthing process or get grossed out by "womanly things," then you might want to refrain from reading this.

Since I was about 20 weeks pregnant with Landon, I had a feeling he would come before his due date (which would have been October 19th) and earlier than his sister was born (Preslie was born a week early). Once I made it to 32 weeks with Landon, I was feeling as uncomfortable as I was when I was 35 weeks with Preslie. So that gave me even more of the sense that he was coming early.

The weekend of September 20th I was 36 weeks pregnant and made the three hour trip to my hometown and back with Preslie, to see my parents, attend a couple birthday parties and catch up with friends. I knew it would be a while until I was able to get back there once Landon was born. The whole time I kept hoping I wouldn't go into labor there because, 1) I was nowhere near my hospital, and 2) Kevin wasn't with us. So I just made sure to take it easy and let my parents take care of Preslie. Ha!

The following weekend, at 2:30am on the morning of Sunday, September 28th I woke up to contractions out of nowhere. I had had continual braxton hicks for the latter part of my pregnancy, but these were strong enough to wake me from my sleep. I thought "This is it! He's coming today!" Then my next thought was "Oh shit. I still have so much to get done!" I immediately started stressing about all the stuff I still had left to do - the mounds of laundry being one of them. So at 2:30am I got out of bed and began to do laundry and clean the house. Nesting much?

Once I was up and moving around, the contractions stopped. At one point I laid on the couch to rest for a bit and the contractions started up again. Any time I was laying down I'd have contractions. They were pretty mild pain-wise at that point, but enough pain to keep me from going back to sleep.

Kevin took care of Preslie that morning once she got up and that allowed me to get a couple hours of restless sleep before I got up for the day (for the second time). Once I was up, I went to the bathroom and discovered I had lost my mucus plug, which was completely surprising because I was only 37 weeks on this day. For the following two days I continued to have "bloody show" and a lot of mild contractions that became a bit more painful as each day went by.

Since that Sunday I was taking a lot of walks each day to see if the contractions would become regular - which they didn't. The only thing that remained consistent was that they would come regularly and strong when I was laying down, but would go away if I was up and moving around (which was the complete opposite from when I was in labor with Preslie).

Once Tuesday evening  (September 30th) came around, I had this weird feeling that Landon would be born the next day. Maybe since I had given birth one time before I could sense my body was getting ready? I don't really know, but I decided to double-check my hospital bag, I got everything packed up for Preslie for when we took her to Kara's if it was going to be an early morning drop off, and I made sure the guest room was ready for my parents.

At about 3am on Wednesday, October 1st, I was woken up again to much painful contractions. As I was timing them they were about 5-7 minutes apart and stronger than they had been previously. I made sure to do a lot of laps around the house to see if they would keep coming, and they did. I spent about an hour-and-a-half on the big medicine ball while I watched TV, just to get my pelvis open and relieve the pressure on my lower back. The contractions were continuing to get stronger so I decided to take a bath at about 4am. When I did that when I was laboring with Preslie, it got things moving real quick. And the same can be said for this labor.

I got out of the bath at 4:30am, then laid in bed and continued to time my contractions for another 15 minutes. At that point they were coming every 4-5 minutes. So I turned on my light, rolled over and tried to gently wake Kevin up to tell him it was time to head to the hospital.

Side Note: The day before, Kevin had a hard but very successful day at work. He had "requested" that I not have Landon on September 30th since it was month-end for him and he had some very important deals to close. He ended up closing all his deals, plus an additional one! So needless to say he was utterly exhausted when I woke him up.

So we got up, he showered, I got dressed and texted Kara to let her know we'd be dropping Preslie off since Landon was on his way. The contractions were getting much stronger. I wasn't able to talk or walk when they came. We got the car packed, the dogs situated, family notified and then we got Preslie up and changed and in the car and we were on the road at 5:30am. We dropped her off and headed to the hospital.

 

^ One last belly pic on our way out the door! 

37 weeks and 3 days pregnant.

Once at the hospital, a midwife checked me 6am and I was only 3cm! I couldn't believe it. I was so frustrated. My contractions were STRONG and I was sure I had made more progress than that with being in early stages of labor the past two days. That midwife almost sent me home, but she decided to let me stay there for an hour to monitor the contractions and see if I made any more progress. When she walked out of the room I got off that hospital bed and stood up and labored standing up to help things along.

Holy hell. Did things ever move along!

The contractions were so strong that I was shaking uncontrollably during and after them. Sweet Kevin thought I was cold and was trying to cover me up, but I had to explain to him (through gritted teeth) that the shaking was involuntary and I wasn't in need of blankets. I also had the need to vomit which was super fun (said no one ever).

The midwife came back at 7am and checked me again and I was then at 5cm. I thought progressing two centimeters within one hour was really good progress, but I guess not. She ALMOST sent me home! But I literally gave her a death stare and pleaded with my eyeballs, willing her to keep me there. After some hmming and hawing on her behalf, she decided to admit me since I needed a couple rounds of antibiotics because I had tested positive for Group B Strep. I was so so so relieved.

I don't remember too much between the time I was admitted and when I got the epidural. I do remember throwing up a lot and my contractions feeling way more painful and strong than they ever were when I was in labor with Preslie. They probably weren't, but time can play tricks on your mind. Once I got the epidural I could focus more and relax. I realized our nurse was awesome and that my OB was actually on call that day. I was pretty happy about the fact that my doctor would be delivering me.

The nurse allowed us to rest for a few hours while the antibiotics were administered and I progressed more. I have to say that I have no regrets whatsoever with getting an epidural. I know women have strong opinions about all that, but for me it was wonderful and it allowed me to get the rest I needed before I started pushing. At one point the nurse was going to check me and break my bag of waters but apparently that happened on its own. I couldn't feel anything so that whole part of labor was pretty anticlimactic.

When the nurse let us know that I was complete and I'd start pushing in about 30 minutes, I requested oxygen while I pushed. During my labor with Preslie and when I was pushing with her, I didn't have the extra oxygen and I felt like I was going to pass out on multiple occasions. I didn't know enough then to ask for it. So this time I did, and my nurse gave me the oxygen mask right then so I could just start getting it ahead of time.

I think it was around this time that we noticed Landon's heartbeat was dropping every now and then. It didn't drop consistently and hadn't dropped too low for it to be a cause for concern at that point, but it was something the nurse was keeping an eye on.

I think I'll stop here because his birth story is really long. I'll post the next installment tomorrow!

Preslie Kay at Eighteen Months

Preslie turned 18 months old on Thursday, October 2nd; one day after her little brother was born.

This past month has been a big adjustment for her (for us all)! Here is what Preslie has been up to the past six months...

Measurements: At Preslie's 18 month well-check she came in at...
Weight: 24 pounds, 13 ounces (73rd percentile)
Height:  2' 8" tall (53rd percentile)
Head circumference: 19" (92nd percentile)

^ Water table fun over the summer! April 7, 2014

Appearance:
~Preslie has thinned out some since my 12 month post. She is on the move a lot so she doesn't have as much baby fat as she once did.
~Her eyes have pretty much evened out to a hazel color.

^Easter Sunday! April 20, 2014

~I think she has 11 or 12 teeth! She won't let me get a good look at her top molars and she BITES if I stick my finger in her mouth, but that's my guess. Based on the 11 or so teeth that she has so far, it seems like the smaller teeth tend to give her more problems when they break through than the molars do.

~Girlfriend has long legs and a big belly!

~Her hair has grown an awful lot and its light brown in color. It's very thin but is getting longer each day. I plan to have it grow long so I can do fun braids and curl it and whatnot when she's older.

^Cooling off! May 13, 2014

Sizes
~She is kind of all over the place with her sizes. She can fit into 24mo/2T clothes okay but it's getting to the point where they won't fit for long. So at this point I'm buying 3T pants and tops (to accommodate her belly).

~Size 4 shoe. She barely stayed in a size 3 for very long. I was so hesitant to buy her many shoes in a 4 for fear she'd grow out of them too fast, but so far Preslie has held steady at a size 4 shoe for now.

 ~Size 4 diapers, sometimes size 5 depending on the brand.

Personality
~I don't quite know where to begin to even describe this girl's personality. She is ever-so sassy. She clearly knows the word "no" and knows exactly when to use it.

^This smile melts me. May 25, 2014

~She is a bossy little thing - much like her Mama. 
~Much like her father, she loves attention. If she's in a room of people she makes sure we're all watching her. I'm going to have to teach her a little humility as she gets older. ;)

^Places to go, people to see! June 26, 2014

~She notices EVERYTHING! If you have a zit on your face or an "ouch" on your leg, she's sure to point it out to you.
~She will not smile for the camera unless someone is doing something silly for her. Child makes you work for a grin.

^Baby in a basket! June 27, 2014

~She will say "hi" to people she sees when we're out and about.
~If we're someplace new she takes some time to take everything in before she warms up to the situation and people.
~As with many toddlers, her attention span is slim-to-none most of the time. However, she will play by herself in her room for 15 minute stretches now and then.

New Words
There are a long list of them and the list seems to grow each day! Here are the ones I can think of right now...

^July 4th, 2014

~No
~Ya
~Please
~Sit
~Moon
~Sky
~Car
~Truck
~Night night
~Shoes
~Water
~Milk
~Snack
~Yellow
~Blue
~Bubbles
~Football
~Touchdown
~Go
~Niners
~Bye bye
~Baby
~Mama
~Mommy
~Papa
~Bubba
~Ball
~Outside
~Down
~Up
~More
~Apple
~Juice
~Shhh...while holding her finger in front of her lips. It's pretty darn cute. :)

Likes
~Preslie loves to go "bye bye." She is always really good when we go out and about to run errands.
~She will eat snacks all day long if we let her. That's all I hear during the day (and "Mommy!").
~Preslie gets so excited when Papa comes home from work.

^Papa is always so fun!

~Sweet girl loves to color. Whether it's in a coloring book or on our phones in an app.
~She thinks it's really funny to run away from us and be chased. Not so funny while Mama was pregnant!

~Preslie is obsessed with stickers. I get sticker books from the $1 Spot at Target. Luckily, these stickers aren't too sticky because we find them everywhere: on the sliding glass door, on cabinets, on Landon, in his car seat, on the floor, in her crib, etc.
~She enjoys "helping" Papa in the garage with projects.
 ~She likes to suck on her toothbrush. I think it feels good on her gums.
~Preslie loves to be outside. I don't know a toddler that doesn't!

^Cheese! August 5, 2014

~Girl is obsessed with the moon! She points at it every time she can spot it in the sky and goes nuts with excitement.

Dislikes
~She fights us with all she has when we try to brush her teeth. Any tips???
~Having her diaper changed.
~Sometimes having her hair done. I have to be real quick when I do it otherwise she is over it.
~She doesn't enjoy being told "no" or "that's enough" or when something is "all gone." Typical toddler behavior.

^Really mom???

Eating
~Preslie sits in a booster seat at the table with us now. She has since she was about 13 months old. Mostly because I was tired of looking at the high chair all the time. I have issues with "clutter." Ha! She does a decent job at sitting at the table with us. I think it makes her feel like a big girl.
~Recently, having her finish her dinner has been a struggle. She will refuse to eat some nights if she decides she doesn't like something; and it could be something she gobbled down the night before. Sometimes, she sets her mind on not liking a food randomly and there's no changing it. We won't make her a different meal though. She either eats what is in front of her, or she wakes up real hungry the next morning for breakfast.
~Preslie drinks a sippy cup of lactose free milk every morning when she gets up.
~She drinks water throughout the day. We don't give her juice unless it's apple juice or Gatorade heavily watered down with water.
~She had candy for the first time on Halloween night and she is now a big fan of the sugar!

^Having the time of her life outside with Papa! October 18, 2014

~She does not enjoy vegetables. However, I've recently introduced her to the holy grail of ranch dressing and it's helped with getting her to eat them.

Sleeping
~Preslie goes to bed between 7-7:30 each night and wakes up around 7:00 the next morning.
~She takes one solid nap in the morning around 10:00 for a couple hours and sometimes she'll take an afternoon nap. We've been trying to phase the second nap out but if she seems tired we'll put her down for a second one sometimes.
~She has yet to discover that she can climb out of her crib and I hope to keep it that way for as long as possible.

New Experiences
~I don't really know that I can remember every new experience Preslie has had over the past six months, but she seems to learn something new everyday.
~She knows the hand motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
~She can count to three with you.
~She likes to "sing along" to songs like "ABC's," "Row Your Boat," "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." She doesn't necessarily sing with me, but she sounds out the words the best she can.
~She's spent a lot of overnight visits with Grammy and Grampy and with Grandma.
~She spent a lot of time swimming this past summer and went to a lot of BBQ's at Grandma's house.
~The most notable new experience would be becoming a big sister. I plan to post about that later.

It is so hard to wrap my head around the fact that Preslie has gone from a baby to toddler to now a little girl, so quickly. Babies don't keep, and boy am I realizing that at lightening speed. Kevin and I often talk about the fact that we have to make sure to soak up this time with Preslie as she is now because she will never be this way again. We only have one shot with this little girl and we try to make the most of it as much as we can.

Landon's Nursery

I had every intention of posting about Landon's nursery before he arrived, but since he came early things didn't go as planned.

I've always known that if we ever had a boy, I wanted navy blue to be a main color in his room. Once it was confirmed that Baby Pino 2.0 would be a boy, I went to work searching for fabric swatches and combos for his bedding. I couldn't really find anything I liked.

I eventually decided to forgo getting custom bedding done like I did for Preslie's room, and went with a navy blue/lime green bedding set I found through babysupermall.com (and it ended up being a quarter of the price of custom bedding).

Since his room is very small, furniture had to be kept to a minimum and as always, I like decor to be simple.

So here is Landon's nursery!

 

The name canvas above the crib was hand painted by a vendor I found on Etsy and it turned out so great! I plan to have this in his room until he has the opinion to say he no longer wants it in there. Ha!

We were lucky enough to snag the crib for free from a friend of mine who was giving it away. That was a huge help to us. It's only a couple years old and in excellent condition.

I got the hanging shade from HomeGoods for $16 and then I stuck pre-cut, navy blue circles on it that I found at Hobby Lobby. It was a much more cost effective alternative to the shades I had been eyeing from Pottery Barn Kids.

A closeup of the bedding. I'm not one for animal themes in a nursery (just my personal preference), but I figured these alligators were small enough that they didn't overtake the "theme" of the room.

The changing table also acts as his dresser - again, mostly because of lack of space. The railing on the changing table can be removed and used as just a dresser when he's older.

This is the same chair we had in Preslie's room. When we bought it two years ago the price was hard to swallow. But now that we'll basically get a good four years worth of use out of it, it's definitely been worth it!

The other side of the room. You've probably noticed that there aren't many toys in here. That's because there isn't really room for much toy storage. Also, I have a feeling Landon will be in Preslie's room to play most - if not all - of the time, while they are still young. She has a lot of toys in her room, along with books. I don't really see a reason to double up on everything since space is limited and I'm not a fan of clutter.

A better look at the prints I found on Etsy that coordinate with his bedding.

And that's pretty much it! I told you there isn't much to it. Basically, just the necessities. His closet is just that - a closet. His clothes hang in there along with a hanging-organizer-thing and bigger baby toys like a walker and exersaucer. I didn't get quite as organized with his closet as I did with his sister's.

I really enjoy being in his room and rocking him and feeding him. Since it's the farthest room in the house it's nice and quiet and very peaceful.

Links:

Bedding and valance from BabySuperMall.com

Hanging shade from HomeGoods and polka dots from Hobby Lobby

Changing table/dresser from Walmart

Table lamp from Target

Hand painted name canvas from the addilyn eli shop on Etsy

Coordinating alligator prints from the Sweet Peas Art Studio shop on Etsy

Navy blue and lime green toy basket from HomeGoods

Our Little Landon

Landon Mark Joseph Pino

was born on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 1:40pm,

weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 19 3/8 inches long.

^He looks blue in this picture because he was. Scary scary. :(

He arrived 2 1/2 weeks early, much to many peoples' surprise - but not to his Mama's surprise. I always had a feeling he wasn't going to wait around until his due date to get here.

He gave us a scare as soon as he was born and was admitted into the NICU for three days, but prayers were answered and we have a healthy and happy baby boy in our arms now.

I'll go into more detail once I get a chance to compile his birth story.

 Landon definitely completes our family of four!

Baby Pino 2.0: Thirty Four Weeks

I think the bellies look about the same. Landon seems to pop out a tiny bit more. 

Thank goodness for a better bra this time around. ;)

Weight gain/loss: Still holding steady at 22 pounds gained. I've been at 22 pounds gained for the past three weeks. Not complaining at all!

Size of baby: Baby Boy is apparently 4 3/4 pounds, but I'm going with at least 5 pounds; 18 inches long; the size of a cantaloupe.

If I were to guess, I'd guess that Little Landon is going to weigh anywhere between 8 and 9 pounds at birth.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: A little less movement at all times, and more at certain times; and the movement is mostly painful. He jabs and kicks and pokes and stretches. I can get him going every time I eat or drink something sweet.

Sleep: I've entered the stage where sleep has become sporadic and uncomfortable. I remember this clearly from last time. I will fall asleep on my side and I'll wake up in the morning on that exact same side - so I know I didn't roll over at all that night, because the belly is heavy! Should I be setting a little alarm/reminder to roll over in the middle of the night? I can't imagine laying in one position for 7+ hours straight is a good thing...

Maternity clothes: Yes - all of it. My maternity tops I wore in my 2nd trimester are no longer fitting at this point. So I'm wearing dresses most of the time.

Innie or outie? I have an innie and outie. Half of my belly button is an innie and half is an outie. It looks weird. My belly button never popped out at all with Preslie.

Symptoms: 
1) Heightened sense of smell - good grief! I smell everything!
2) Heartburn
3) No appetite at nighttime
4) Sore hips
5) Emotional and crying for no dang reason
6) Tired

Aversions: Nothing I can really think of. The smell of certain foods seems to be turning me off lately. I'm warming back up to chicken again!

Cravings: I haven't really had any real food cravings the past couple weeks.
1) Strawberry milkshakes
2) Cold, cold, cold apple juice
3) Cold applesauce

What I miss: 
1) Exercising. Yes, I know women out there exercise all the time when they're pregnant - but I am not one of them. I prefer to be not with child when I exercise and I'm looking forward to exercising uninhibited.
2) Alcohol - the usual.
3) Actually running after Preslie.

What I'm looking forward to:
1) My maternity leave beginning in exactly 8 work days!!!
2) Getting the last few wall hangings in for Landon's room and then sharing it with everyone.
3) For this little guy to get here! I get kind of nervous every time I think about the fact that he can be here pretty much any time after the next three weeks (or sooner - but hopefully not)!

Best moments: 
1) Crossing almost everything off my To-Do List before baby comes.
2) Having a healthy and un-complicated pregnancy so far. I'm very thankful for this.
3) New AC in our house! Seriously, it is awesome having a cool home while 8 months pregnant.
4) My mom feeling Landon hiccuping and moving all around and her starting to cry with happiness over it all.

Baby Daddy
Kev can still get Landon to move when he's close to my belly and talking to him.
Since this is the first week of football, Kevin has been beside himself with happiness. He considers it "better than Christmas morning." In spite of it all, he said he couldn't wait to have another man in the house to enjoy it with. Ha!

Big Sister:  
Preslie now points to my belly and says "beebee" and she'll point to the swing, Landon's crib and carseat and also says "beebee." I don't think she really understands the meaning of "beebee" though, but at least she's putting two-and-two together for now. 

When it comes to everything else though, all the things are "MINE!" So that should be fun when we have to introduce the fact that everything will soon be ours.

Today, she gave my belly a couple pats - almost as if she just then realized it's a big belly. 

Her tantrums have been out. of. control and I loathe them when they continue when Landon gets here. Lord, give me strength!

Baby Pino 2.0: Thirty Weeks

30 week comparison between Preslie and Landon. 

He is definitely making a bigger appearance than his sister did at this point! 

Weight Gain/Loss: So far I've gained 20 pounds.

Size of baby: Almost three pounds; about 16 inches long; the size of a eggplant. However, I'm going to guess he's closer to three-and-a-half pounds - maybe even four pounds.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: He moves all. the. time. However, over the past week or so his movements have eased up a bit. Usually, he moved every minute it seemed. Now he moves most when I wake up in the morning, after I have a cup of coffee, after lunch, right before bedtime and any time I eat fruit.

Sleep: I've been sleeping great! No complaints in this department. Oh, and I do snore. Kevin doesn't hesitate to remind of this. I snored while pregnant with Preslie, too.

Maternity clothes: All maternity clothes. My maternity, work dress pants are starting to fit a bit snug but I refuse to get any new ones with only a month left of work. So, I'll make due for the next 30 days and maybe incorporate some more dresses into my work wardrobe.

Symptoms: 
1) I've been so emotional this pregnancy. I'm not usually a crier, but I can cry about anything.

2) Holy heartburn. This child better have a ton of luscious locks because I've never experienced anything like the pain of this heartburn. It comes randomly too: if I'm hungry, if I've eaten a healthy meal, if I've eaten a bland meal, in the middle of the night or any time of day. Doesn't matter - it's there.

3) Back pain has eased up some so that's been a nice relief.

4) Still have achy feet and at night my feet get so hot!

5) Contractions have slowed down. The last time I went for a leisurely walk on a cool day, I had contractions coming every five minutes. So the doctor told me no walks until I'm 37 weeks. Since then, I've been resting a lot more and drinking more water and it's helped ease the contractions. Little Landon still has a bit of growing to do!

6) I don't feel so tired anymore thanks to the fact that we discovered I'm anemic. So now that I've been taking iron supplements it's helped my energy level so much!

7) NESTING! It has hit hard this time around. I want to clean ALL THE THINGS!!! Baseboards, door casings, doors, window sills, blinds, behind and under all the beds, sterilize the bathrooms. All of it. And it has to be done like yesterday. I sit at work just thinking of all the stuff at home I could be cleaning. I'm sick.

Aversions: They come and go and I can't really think of anything specific at the moment. Obviously, still grilled chicken and anything sweet.

Cravings: 
1) Quiznos
2) Alcohol
3) Entenmann's chocolate donuts like WHOA. 
4) Fruit roll-ups (apparently I'm a child)

What I miss:
1) Being active 
2) My body, post-babies
3) Going out for drinks with Kev. Not that we really did that a lot before, but just having the option to do it is what I miss - where I can drink too.

Best moments:
1) Getting Landon's room about 80% done.
2) Folding and putting away newborn jammies and onesies in his dresser.
3) Opening a pack of newborn diapers. My word they are so tiny! You really forget how small they start out!
4) Feeling Little Landon kick when I sing songs to Preslie.
5) Having two, very relaxing weekends away over the past few weeks.
6) Finding out one of my BFF's is also having a boy!
7) Passing my glucose test.

What I'm looking forward to:
1) Getting the rest of Landon's nursery decor in and his room completed.
2) Maternity leave!

Baby Daddy:
1) Kevin finished painting the crown molding in Landon's room so I got to check that off my "To-Do List Before Baby."
2) He started a new job last week and seems to enjoy it. I'm hoping his new boss will give him at least a week off to be at home with us once Landon arrives.

Big Sister:  Preslie is starting to warm up to the whole "baby" thing. She now says "baby" and she will pick up her Cabbage Patch doll (which used to be mine when I was little) and kiss and hug it. So I feel that's a step in the right direction! Especially since she doesn't throw it. Improvement, people!

She's been throwing more fits lately and when she does I think to myself "Hmmm...this should be interesting when she does this and I have a screaming infant as well."