4-month appt.

Today we took Landon for his 4-month Peds appt. We were very anxious to see how much Landon grew from his 2-month appt. We were pleasantly surprised how big he's gotten, although we could tell he was getting longer. Here are his 4-month measurements:

Weight = 16lb (70th percentile)
Height = 24.75” (43rd percentile)
Head = 41.6cm (30th percentile)

He is good and healthy and everything is looking great. We are so thankful we have a healthy growing boy on our hands!

Of course, as always, I had a list full of questions to ask Dr. Oliphant. Thankfully she is so patient and laid back and doesn't mind all the questions. We of course talked about introducing rice cereal but she said to do it when he was ready, and she said we'd know when that was. I guess they start to really watch you eat and will grab for your food. Neither Jeff or I are ready to start him on rice cereal yet, as I've been told by my sister's and other mother's to wait as close to 6 months as you can, and that is what our plan definitely is unless he shows signs of wanting it before this of course. I know everyone has different opinions on "when" to start the rice cereal and baby food but Jeff and I both feel that it's not time just yet. Landon still seems to be satisfied after 5oz. of formula 6 times per day.

Lately I've been working on Landon's closet and packing away a few of the clothes he has outgrown. Although he is a whopping 16lbs., we still call him our "Peanut" and sometimes I can't believe he weighs that much cause he looks so much smaller than some of his "baby friends" and he can still fit into alot of his 0-3 month clothes. The only thing he's really outgrown in 0-3 are his sleepers and that's because he's grown in length and his little toes are crunched at the end. There are a few of his 3-6 month clothes he can wear but alot of them are still pretty baggy.

Landon is definitely alot of fun to have around and we can't tell you how blessed we are to have him in our lives. He is such a good baby and is extremely consistent with everything he does (i.e. eating schedule, nap time, play time, etc.), so that makes things a whole lot easier. He is getting alot stronger and is really good at holding his head strong...we keep wondering when he's going to roll over for the first time but it hasn't happened yet. Although we're looking forward to each milestone, we're also not wanting to rush them along too quickly...rolling around and crawling just means we'll have to watch him 24/7 and he'll be getting into everything...I can't say I'm quite ready for all of that fun, lol. Plus it means my baby boy is growing so fast, although we are definitely cherishing every moment with him. :-)

Catching up!

Geez, it's been 2 months since I've written a post so I figured I'd better get back on the bandwagon...so I've also been reading up on all of your blogs the past few days. I honestly don't even know where to start! Well today Landon is 4 months old...I can't believe how fast these past few months have gone and it's crazy how quickly Landon is growing up! It's both exciting and a little sad all at the same time. Happy to see him grow healthy and exciting for what the future holds and to be able to actually "play" and interact with him someday soon...but also sad that he's getting bigger and he eventually won't want to snuggle as much and I won't be able to hold him in my arms the same. This past week Landon just graduated out of his 0-3 month sleepers...yes he's still a little guy...especially cause he still wears quite a few of the 0-3 month clothes. He's just gotten too long for the actual sleepers. His 4 month peds appt. is on Monday the 21st so we're anxious to see what his measurements are. We know he's definitely grown alot! Also since I wrote last I have gone back to work. I was on maternity leave for 11 weeks so I went back Nov. 2nd. Luckily I was able to do a half day on my first day back so I could ease myself into it. I really thought I wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom but Jeff encouraged me to go back for a few months and then decide. Well after only 3 days back, I decided that I was cut out for working and knew that was what I wanted to keep doing. Also I love my job so much that I couldn't ever imagine leaving it. Landon goes to an in-home daycare only 5 minutes from our house, in which a husband and wife watch about 13 kids! They are SO wonderful and the kids call them Mimi & Papa. My niece Lexie goes there and also some of our friend's kids, so we had alot of good referrals. Landon and Ryder (my friend Julie's son) are only weeks apart so they are going to be the best of buds! Landon really seems to like it there and Mimi just adores him. He's her little buddy. Jeff takes Landon every morning and I pick him up in the evening. He's always full of smiles when I come and I'm always dying to see him! Soon after we get home he's ready for a nap, so our playtime is very limited through the week. Kind of sad but I have to make up for it on the weekends. Jeff and I have adjusted well and love taking Landon with us everywhere. There's not much we do without him, other than some nights we take a break or have a date night and either Mimi or Nana or one of the proud Aunts watches him. I don't think we'll ever have to hire a babysitter...ever...as we have too many family members around that would love to watch him. Well this is about all the updates I can think of for now....I will post more after his appt on Monday.

Dr. Appt....CPR Class....and Shots

2-Month Dr. Appt.....

Landon went for his 2-month check-up on Monday, Oct. 19th and everything went really well and he's good and healthy! And a bonus: I didn't get pee'd on this time...lol! I had my normal list of questions to ask and Dr. Oliphant is always so good at taking the time to chat and answer all of my questions. Since Landon's gas is better and he's doing good, she told me to cut his Zantac dose in half for a few days instead of quitting cold turkey so we can see if he does fine without taking the meds. This way we can find out for sure if he does or doesn't have acid reflux.
Going on a week, Landon is still sleeping through the night!!! He is doing so great and making Mommy so proud! I usually have to get up once in the night to feed him but sometimes that's not till 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning, so that's not really even considered the 'middle of the night', as this is already morning time. So I guess you could say some nights he's not getting up at all. Last night he ate at 9:45pm and then didn't wake up again till 6:30am...awesome!! The bedtime we decided on for him is 9:00pm, but due to feeding times and having plans that doesn't always happen. We try to stay consistent as much as possible as we think the bedtime routine is good for him, and it also allows Mommy & Daddy to get some quiet down time before we have to get in bed. It's a win win for everyone!

As of 10/19 -
Weight: 11lb. 6oz. (39th percentile)......he's definitely a growing boy!!
Height: 21.5" (5th percentile)
Head Measurement: 38cm (10th percentile)

Infant & Child CPR (at OSF).....

We've been trying to get into this class for the past 2 months, as our first one was actually scheduled the evening after I had Landon...so obviously we had to cancel that one. This class was very important for us to take so we can feel confident if something should happen. Jeff and I were the only ones in the class but we actually liked that because we got more 1-on-1 attention and was able to ask all the questions we had. We both feel so much better after taking this class and I would definitely recommend others to take it.

2-Month Shots.....

Jeff and I took Landon for his 4 immunizations (3 shots & 1 oral) on Wednesday, Oct. 21st. I was dreading this day but luckily Jeff was able to leave work early so he could go with me for support, as I wasn't sure how I was going to hold up. Surprisingly I didn't cry, although I felt completely nauseas the whole time as I was watching. Thankfully my Mom and Sister gave me a few tips that I also want to pass along to new Mommies out there......
1) Give your little one Tylenol 1 hr. BEFORE his/her shot so it has time to kick in. (BTW - I asked my pediatrician about this just to make sure it was okay).
2) Have a bottle ready as soon as s(he) is done with the shots. This helps to calm/soothe them and take their mind off the pain.
That being said, I did BOTH of these and am so glad I did. The bottle tip was a lifesaver...we stayed there and fed him and he was sound asleep as soon as we got in the car! I also gave him 1 more dose of Tylenol 4 hours later just in case he was still in pain. He did of course cry so hard that nothing came out...oh man was this hard to see...but he did great and was such a trooper! I already dread going back for more shots in 2 more months, but know it's a good thing to keep him good and healthy.

Sleeping through the night!

Exciting News: the past 3 nights Landon has slept through the night!!! Yippee!! I think this is really good for only being 8 weeks old. Although we know it may not continue, our fingers are crossed that it will. I am reading the 'Baby Sleep Solution' book that teaches you how to get your little one to sleep 12 hours at 12 weeks of age. While I have not started Step 1 yet (to up his formula to 6oz. and feed 4 times a day), we did up it a half ounce and have started swaddling him only at night time, that way he knows the difference between day and night, and we finally started putting him in his own room at night with his white noise cd on. Although he's still sleeping in his carseat, we wanted to get him used to his room and I needed him out of our room cause he makes loud noises all night long and that keeps me awake. I'm honestly not in a hurry to get him in his crib, as he has started spitting up some and we're still not sure if he might have the acid reflux, so we want/need to keep him elevated at night. The carseat allows us to do that. Thankfully he has only gotten up for 1 feeding the past few nights...we're making good progress...and Mommy is loving it! Oh sleep, how much I've missed you!!! :-)
I am so proud of my little boy!!!!!!!

Behind on blogging....I know!

Sorry I have not been the best at blogging lately but time gets away from me now that Landon is here. Although I know alot of you Mommies out there are equally as busy and still make the time. I'll do my best to back track a little and get back on the blogging bandwagon. :-) Hmmm, where do I begin?! Guess I'll start with this.....
The day Landon turned 6 weeks was the toughest week so far. I know my friend Robin warned me and so did the "Baby Sleep Solution" book, in which I highly recommend, but GEESH....I never would imagine it would get like this. Landon started getting very fussy at night time and having bad gas/tummy pain, so much that it would last ALL night....the kicking his legs up, grunting, moaning of pain, and straining. Let me tell ya, if you haven't had to experience this then you're one lucky Mommy! It has been very tough for Jeff & I to see him in this much pain and know there was nothing we could do. You feel very helpless and that's a terrible feeling as a parent. After a few days went by I finally decided to call our peds office to see what they'd say. At this time they told me to change the formula to soy, make the bottles up ahead of time (so the bubbles are gone and don't get air in his tummy) and to try gripe water (people try this when Mylicon doesn't work...and Mylicon did not work for us at all). We immediately switched his formula and my mother-in-law ran out to get us the gripe water and a bottle warmer, since we had to make the bottles ahead of time and refrigerate them. Days went by and nothing had changed or got better, unfortunately. I called back again (I think they were tired of hearing from me!) and thankfully they said I could come in to have him seen by the Dr. I knew I wouldn't get many answers but I honestly didn't know what else to do. I had a list of his symptoms and since the soy formula wasn't helping, she told me to go back to my regular formula, and then prescribed Zantac so we could make sure he didn't have acid relux. She also mentioned that he was probably just "colicky"....although I think people use this word too freely. Of course after a VERY stressful and long night and a trip to the Dr. to hear my son is colicky, I had a little break down. This is the first time I really cried since having Landon, and I know my crazy hormones weren't helping either. :) As we drove to Walgreen's to pick up the prescription, Landon bursted into a loud cry. I pulled up to the drive-thru and gave the lady my 'medical card'. She told me it was the wrong card (she needed my 'prescription card') and I just bursted into tears and said I'd have to come back. Funny thing is that I had the right card with me but I was too stressed and upset to function and get it out of my wallet. Ohhhh what sleep deprivation will do to you!!! Anyways, over that week and a half timeframe we tried 4 different formulas, gripe water, Zantac, and different kind of bottles...none of these worked BUT the past 5 days or so has been SO much better and it seems as if the gas issues is much better, therefore he's not really fussy anymore. This makes for much better nights and fun days too!

Birth Weight: 5lb. 4 oz.
New Weight (as of Oct. 1st, 2009): 10lb. - he almost doubled his birth weight already...WOW!! = 30th percentile

Birth Height: 18.5"
New Height (as of Oct. 1st, 2009): 20" = 1 percentile (man, I guess he's really short!)

New HC (Head Measurement): 37cm (14.57") = 10th percentile

Note to new Mommies out there: the AVENT bottles leak and are annoying...I would not recommend them to anyone. We spent about $175 on 16 of these bottles and we're now using the Playtex VentAire bottles and we really like them alot. But all in all it's a personal preference, but my advice is to get something other than the AVENT ones.
The Playtex VentAire bottles are good because they have holes at the bottom, allowing the air to flow out that way and not go through the nipple and into his tummy. Also the bottle has a slight bend in it which they say is good for preventing ear infections.

Another tip that was passed onto us and is helping Landon alot is "prune juice". It's really good for constipation, in which Landon had issues with also...we give him a 1/2 teaspoon at night and in the morning, diluted with a little water. This helps him to have a stool more consistently.

Do you have some good advice to share?? I know I LOVE learning new things from other Mommies and think we should all share stories and knowledge with each other more often!

Mommy & Daddy's ANGEL.....

Here are a few of my favorite newborn pics that were taken by my friend Nina! Landon was 4 1/2 weeks old.

Landon's newborn pics

On Sept. 10th we had Landon's newborn pics taken at our house by my friend Nina. If you're interested in contacting them for family/baby pics, here's their website: http://ninaceciliacreativespark.com/ Nina and Cecilia do GREAT work!! We were excited to have Landon's pictures taken before he grew too much but now I'm wondering if I should have waited a little longer....Landon didn't cooperate very well and ended up fussing/crying pretty much the entire 2 hours! But part of it really wasn't his fault...he hates being moved around, hates being cold, and hates being without his binky....three things of which we really couldn't help. :) But I have to say that Nina was SO patient and really took her time with us, letting us calm him when needed. We'll get our cd in about 2 weeks and I look forward to sharing some with all of you! Stay tuned...

Landon's 2-week Dr. Appt

On Sept. 4th I took Landon in for his 2-week appt. (well, almost 3 weeks). I was super surprised to see how much he had grown since he was born on August 16....

Birth weight: 5lbs. 4oz.
New weight on 9/4: 6lbs. 10oz.

Birth length: 18.5 inches
New length on 9/4: 19 inches

His head has also gotten larger. Dr. showed me the electronic graph and he is right on the chart for growing healthy. Landon is a VERY good eater...it only takes him about 8 minutes to finish 2.5 - 3oz. of formula. We are definitely blessed in that area, as many people tell us we should be. Everything else looks good too, so we are extremely happy to know he's growing and is doing great. Our next (2-month) appt. is when he'll get his needed immunizations. As I know all of you moms out there feel the same way, I am completely dreading this appt., as I know it's going to be super hard on me. But their important to get done so he can stay good and healthy!
Landon always does so good when we're at the Dr. and apparently it's obvious how much I love taking him with me everywhere! The Dr. said "you love being a Mommy, don't you?"....I said "Yes!" with a big smile on my face....she said "I can tell, you have this glow about you". I thought that was a great compliment, as it's good to know others can see how happy I am...Landon is the greatest joy and I am so in awe of him all the time!!

Landon's Birth Story

August 16, 2009....we were scheduled for my "External Version" procedure at 1:30pm, where the Dr. tries to manually move a breech baby into the typical head-down position for birth. Landon had been in the breech position for several weeks, so at 37-weeks we decided to attempt this procedure since I was really wanting a vaginal delivery. This procedure is done on the Labor & Delivery floor in case complications occur, and you have your very own nurse watching you and the baby very closely. My mom and dad came to see me before the procedure and ended up staying in the room during the procedure, along with around 7 or 8 other people. I had residents and nurses asking me if they could watch because they had never seen the procedure done before, as it's fairly rare and not all Dr's will even do it. Fortunately my Dr. was successful with the version and it only took her about 5 minutes. I guess it was pretty freaky to watch her maually turn baby, as Jeff said you could see her take his butt in one hand and his head in the other and flip him around. Luckily I had an epidural so I wasn't in any pain. After the procedure baby and I were still being monitored very closely for a few hours as my epidural wore off (it took about 3.5 - 4 hours). Due to a few complications including Landon's heart rate dropping from 190 to 40 (this was super scary!), the possibility that my uterus had detached, no activity from Landon since he had been turned, and I started having contractions, the doctors decided it would be best to perform an emergency c-section. It was an extremely scary and emotional time for Jeff and I. Literally the nurses and Dr. started rushing in the room saying "we need to get this baby out now!"....talk about scary and unexpected...I tried to stay calm but couldn't hold back the tears after they rushed me out of the room without my husband, as they thought I was gonna have to be put under...hearing this I was scared and sad, knowing Jeff wouldn't be able to be in the delivery room with me and I wouldn't be able to see my baby right away. I began to pray, pray, pray, as the tears were rolling down my face...I felt alone in the delivery room since Jeff wasn't able to be in there with me yet. The scariest and saddest moment I've ever felt in my entire life was when I heard one Dr. whisper to the other Dr. that he couldn't find a heartbeat...for approx. 10 very long seconds I thought Landon was dead. I remember closing my eyes during this moment and praying, and God was telling me that everything was going to be okay...this was the only thing keeping me calm...let me just tell you that God is soooo good...fortunately the Dr. looked over at me and said "your baby is going to be okay". And then he said my Dr. was on her way, only about 5 minutes away and that we were able to wait for her and I wouldn't have to be put under. I was just dying to have Jeff in there with me, and luckily they told him to hurry and put his scrubs on and get in there. He ended up coming in after they had already started the surgery. Literally about 5-10 minutes later my handsome baby boy entered the world, at 5:56pm! But Landon had to be taken to the NICU right away as his lungs were not fully developed (he was 3 weeks early) and he was having a hard time breathing. They immediately had to put a c-pap on him for a few hours until he was able to breathe on his own. Thankfully they wheeled the incubator over by me so I could quickly see my baby boy. Although it wasn't the ideal situation and a little sad that I didn't get to hold him right away, I felt at ease knowing he was in the best care possible (OSF is awesome!) and that I would soon get to see him. I can't explain my calmness but just know that God was really watching over and taking good care of us. I couldn't stop smiling, I just felt so happy and so blessed! Jeff followed Landon down to the NICU and I went to recovery for an hour. All of our family was there so they took turns keeping me company. After about 2 hours the nurse wheeled me down to the NICU in my bed so I could meet my baby for the first time. He was all hooked up to IV's and had a feeding tube in, but they placed him on my chest and I got to hold him for a few minutes...this was one of the best moments in my life! Jeff and I couldn't stop kissing and staring at him...he was the most beautiful little boy I had ever seen!! He looks just like his Daddy, which is definitely the greatest compliment. I seriously couldn't be a happier Mommy! :)

Landon Jay Grant
Born at 5:56pm on August 16th, 2009
Weighing 5 lbs. 4 oz. and 18.5 inches long
He is just PERFECT!!!!!!!

Landon....you are a dream come true!

Pics of Landon...our little peanut!

Landon's Fun Birthday Facts....

Your baby's half birthday is February 14
Your baby's birthstone is Peridot or Jade (Married Happiness)
Your baby's Astrological Sign is Leo
Your baby's Flower is Gladiola or Poppy (Orange, Red and Light Green)
Your baby was born in the Chinese Year of The Brown Earth Cow
Your baby will start kindergarten in 2014, be old enough to drive a car in 2025, finish high school in 2027, and will graduate from college with the class of 2031, give or take a year. Can you imagine?

Basketball Belly!

My picture taking hasn't been the best lately since it seems like I've had to take them of myself the past few times. But I figure you can still tell the 'bump' is growing! And oh how it's growing...I can tell big time that I have popped out alot more just this past week. I went from a halfway small bump to a good size 'basketball'. I can tell I've definitely dropped the past week or two and I'm guessing that's what's making me look more round and stick out a little more. Needless to say this is only making me feel more uncomfortable (especially when I'm sitting) and so I'm getting more and more anxious to be at the end of this. But I keep thinking only 4 more weeks to go!

Car Seat...check!

So I officially feel like a "Mom" now! It is finally starting to sink in and seem more 'real' now that I have my car seat installed in my car. Jeff and I went to the car seat check at State Farm this afternoon where a few workers from OSF were there to install and teach you how to install your car seat. It was extremely helpful information and we were in and out of there within 20 minutes. Now Jeff knows exactly how to install the base in his car and we'll feel good knowing their in there properly.

Augh, still breech!

At my last Dr's visit on 7/31 (I was 34 weeks), we had a sono and learned that our little guy was still breech. He's definitely being one stubborn baby and just isn't wanting to cooperate with Mommy! At this sono he is weighing 4lbs. 15oz. and measuring 16 inches long. They are guessing he'll be around 7lbs. 4oz. at birth, which I think is a perfect size! His heartbeat has definitely slowed down a ton, beating at 135. Jeff attended this appt. with me since we were having a sono and I'm glad he did as we were able to talk to the Dr. about possibly getting the "External Version" procedure done where she tries to manually turn the baby from the outside. Over this past week I have done lots of research on the procedure and read of the risks that could be involved, along with asking everyone I know if they've had or know anyone that's had this procedure done. My sister knows a few people so I have been able to get additional info. from them and learn of their experiences. Jeff and I decided all along that we'd love to hear feedback and advice from other's but overall we were going to make the decision on our own and not be influenced by what others thought. At this point we were 99% sure we would go ahead with the procedure but wanted to wait till our next Dr's appt. to ask a few more questions before making our final decision.
Today (8/7/09) we had another Dr's appt. and Jeff went with me again so we could get a few more questions answered and make our decision on the procedure. She checked his position to find out he's still breech. :( Of course this was no shock to me as I can feel his head and know that it hasn't moved since last time. I have to keep a perfect posture anymore otherwise his head puts terrible pressure pain in my rib cage and makes me feel very nauseas. He seems to be a little scrunched in an awkward position right now but that must be comfortable for him. (??) Dr. still thinks I'd be a good canidate for the procedure so we have decided to give it a "go" and so we have it scheduled for Sunday, August 16th. We will most likely be at the hospital all day cause we have to be there 2 hours before, it takes anywhere from 5-45 minutes to do the procedure, and then approx. 4 hours for the epidural to wear off. Since I'm getting the epidural I shouldn't be in much pain during the procedure but I've read and heard that I'll be pretty sore and in pain the next day or so as this usually causes some bruising. After all the Dr. is putting her entire strength on my stomach and physically making the baby do a somersault inside me. Pretty amazing stuff! But please pray that all goes well and we don't run into any complications, otherwise they'll have to do an emergency c-section on the spot. This being said we have to have our bags packed with us and be ready to go just in case! But if everything goes smoothly, we'll go back home after the procedure and wait for baby Landon to come when he's ready to enter our world!
Today (for the first time) she also checked my cervix and I'm dilated to a "1" and I'm 80% efaced. Yay, we're making some progress!
This afternoon I went by my friend Robin's house to visit and see baby Alexa for the first time. She is so precious and it was nice to hang out and talk "baby" and hold sweet little Alexa...it definitely made me more anxious for Landon to come and to hang out and have playdates with my other Mommy friends. :) I have partially realized how much my life will change (for the better!) and how much I have to look forward to....I truly believe "The best is yet to come!!!"

Flower delivery from Daddy and Landon!

Today was my office day and I was pleasantly surprised around 9:30am with a delivery of a beautiful and colorful bouquet of flowers which came from my little 'Landon'! The note on the card said: "To the greatest soon-to-be Mommy....From, Landon". Let's just say, Daddy is already teaching him well! :)

This definitely brighten my day and put the biggest smile on my face. I cannot believe how blessed and lucky I am to have such a wonderful, thoughtful, and sweet husband...he is the best and will also be the best Daddy too!!!

Second Baby Shower!

My two wonderful sister's were the hosts of my second baby shower that was held on Saturday, August 1st! Lyndsay had it at her new beautiful home and we definitely packed the living room/kitchen with all of my good friends and some family. It was such a great time! The shower was from 10-12 so we had brunch, then played two fun games that had me cracking up, and then I opened a ton of great gifts! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family and I'm anxious to share mommy-hood with some of my close girlfriends! Jeff surprised me by showing up at the tail end of my shower, just so he could carry out all of my gifts to the car so none of us girls would have to mess with it. Now that's what I call a wonderful and thoughtful husband! When we got home and everything was carried in the house, I sat on Landon's floor and started going through the gifts, quickly becoming overwhelmed by it all. It seems these past few weeks that I have lost all motivation to do anything or get anything done. I'm not sure if this is a normal feeling or not but it has hit me pretty hard and I just feel so exhausted and worn down and I think I'm starting to get more and more mentally drained as well.

Here's the awesome diaper cake my friend Nina made...she's so creative! Thanks again Nina for making this for me...you're the best!

Here's my 2 sister's (the hosts), Lyndsay & Leslie. Thank you guys for making my day so special!

The quilt my Mom made for Landon...I absolutely love it!

Jen, Lyn, Me & Tiff

Les, Ashley, Me & Alli - my nieces are so beautiful!

This game was ridicuously hilarious! Everyone had to get in teams of 3 to cut and paste parts of me and parts of Jeff's face in order to create what Landon will look like. Then I got to be the Judge. Let's just say I hope that Landon doesn't look like any of these pictures (lol)!!

Maternity Pics, Baby Shower & 34-wk Belly Pic!

Here's a "sneak peak" of our maternity pics that Jeff and I had taken down at Bradley Park on Sunday. Samantha from S&D Photography took these and did a great job! We had alot of fun taking the pics and Jeff kept making comments and cracking jokes to make me smile and laugh...one of the things that I love about him! :) After we were done Sam asked if we'd like to take more pics at our house on another day, so of course we accepted. Sam ended up coming over tonight (Tuesday) and we took some in the nursery and a few in the bedroom. :) I'm anxious to see all of the pictures after her and her fiance get them all edited and put on a cd for us. I look forward to getting a few printed and hung in the empty frames in Landon's room. I know Landon will grow to see how much we love him and most importantly how much Mommy and Daddy love each other. Our marriage is and always will be #1, which I know will make Landon a strong and loving father/husband someday.

My first Baby Shower was hosted by my wonderful Sister-in-Law's (Christy & Amber) and Mother-in-Law. Here are just a few pictures of this fun day...the first one is of my Sister-in-Law's and darling little niece, Lexie. The middle one is of my Mom and older sister Leslie and 2 adorable nieces, Alli and Ashley. Christy had this adorable cake made for me by one of her graphic designers at work. That's me sitting on the cake...I was so impressed with this and just absolutely loved it! Thanks again Grant girls for making this such a special day!!

Well my belly is definitely growing and I'm starting to get stopped in stores with people making comments....and all of them have been nice so far. :) I am really starting to get super excited and very anxious to have my little boy!
Lately I have had a few rough days...Saturday was by far the worse day I've experienced so far. I woke up around 8am with severe stomach cramps. It was like menstrual cramps x10. While I headed to my 1st Baby Shower, I tried to ignore the horrible pain and stay as upbeat as I could. When I got home I laid on the couch literally all day and all night just praying over and over that they would go away. Jeff and I didn't know what to do, if I should call the Dr. or not, but I knew they would just send me to the hospital since it was over the weekend. I decided that I'd call if the pain was consistent through Sunday. I ended up going to bed around 9pm although I wasn't able to sleep because the pain was so strong and consistent. Thankfully when I woke up Sunday morning I felt so much better and all of my cramping was gone. I have my next Dr's appt. and sono on Friday the 31st and I can't wait to hear what she says about the cramping and to see if my little guy has changed positions yet (fingers-crossed that he's no longer breech!).

Dr's Appt - 32 1/2 Weeks

I had my 2 week check up today and unfortunately found out that he's now in the breech position. 2 weeks ago he was head down but between then and now he has decided to flip. I have to admit I was pretty upset after hearing this as I really want to deliver naturally. Dr. says there is still time for him to flip back and she gave me a few things to try that might help out. We discussed the option of doing the procedure to try and flip him (this is done at 37 weeks) but there are some risks involved in that. I go back in 2 weeks and will get a sono at that time so we'll see if he's still in the breech position or not. I'm praying he cooperates with Mommy! Everything else is going good and I'm still measuring right on (at 32 weeks), and baby's heartbeat was 153 today.
I'm still feeling about the same...having the same aches and pains and my feet are starting to swell a little more and becoming a little more painful. I'm just getting more and more ready to have my little guy! :)

Middle Name....check!

Well Jeff and I finally figured out what Landon's middle name will be. We are using Jeff's Father's middle name which is "Jay". Jeff is the one that came up with this while I was the one researching every modern name out there. We both decided it would be perfect, to pass on a family name (Jeff's middle name is also his Father's first name) and we also think it has a cute ring to it. I think "Landon Jay Grant" flows very well, and we figured we could always call him "LJ" for short if we wanted to. We were anxious to tell his Dad the news, so we went over last weekend and shared this with him. He was pleasantly surprised and extremely happy and honored. He gave Jeff a big hug, so it was kind of a neat moment. It seems like we stress over the little things at times, so I'm glad to know we're getting a bunch of things checked off our list of 'things to do'.

Diaper Bag....check!

I'm sooo excited I finally got the diaper bag I've been eyeing for the past few months! I'm so glad Jeff let me "splurge" on my OiOi bag!!! :-) Also it's great that it's a neutral bag so it will also look great over Jeff's shoulder!

BabyMoon and 32 week belly pic!!!!

Jeff and I took our BabyMoon trip to Lake Geneva this past weekend and had a WONDERFUL time!! It's always good for the two of us to get away together and this trip was especially nice and special since it was our last trip before having our little Landon around. We both have of course decided that these trips will still be needed for the two of us after he is here but we also know that it will never be the same, as I'm sure we'd spend alot of the time missing and thinking about him. I really surprised myself this weekend as I thought for sure I'd spend half of the time crying and feeling sad that it was our last trip. Although it was bittersweet, I was full of excitement and happiness that my wonderful Hubby and I will be starting a "family" together and we are both sooo excited to meet him and can hardly wait another 2 months for his arrival! On this trip we did just what we wanted and needed to do....R-E-L-A-X!!!!! A few of the things we did was go to the beach (my absolutely fav!), walk around and shop, go out to eat and take a carriage ride. To me that was a perfect day! I have to add that I am constantly reminded of the most amazing husband that I have. He always puts me first, takes care of my every need and is so attentive to me...sometimes I wonder how he puts up with me! :)

Landon is definitely growing and my belly is getting bigger and bigger!

Lake Geneva, WI

Here are a few pics of our trip! We always get a picture taken in front of this fountain....the carriage ride was so nice and relaxing....and the last pic is just one of me and my growing belly outside of our lakefront hotel. We absolutely love Lake Geneva and look forward to going back soon!

My growing belly!

At 31 weeks and 2 days my belly is definitely growing and I'm starting to get pretty uncomfortable and not feeling as good, so it's hard to imagine that I have 2 months to go (I'm hoping to go a little early). I've been feeling nauseas quite a bit this past week and I'm starting to lose my appetite...nothing sounds good to me anymore. Also I am super uncomfortable at night so I'm losing more and more sleep all the time. It's mostly my hips...they hurt so severly that it is hard to stand at times. I also had a rough time at the hair salon last Friday. While getting my foils put in I passed out, broke out in a complete sweat and was fighting to not get sick. Needless to say I took it easy the rest of the day and then visited my parents that evening and just laid on their couch all night (Jeff was out of town). I had another prenatal massage last night and that helped with my low back pain, at least for now. Oh how I love my bi-weekly massages!!! Jeff and I had our second Childbirth class tonight and got to tour the labor & delivery area of the hospital and learned about false and true labor, contractions, and got quite a bit of massage from our hubby's...that was nice! :)

Childbirth Class and Dr's Appt.

Jeff and I attended our first Childbirth Education class on Tuesday evening, and we have 3 more to go. We actually have a big class with quite a few young couples, so it's great sharing the same experiences with others in the class. We learned the tools of lamaze, anatomy & physiology, different stages of labor, passive relaxation and watched a few videos. I especially enjoyed the last 20 minutes of class where we got to lay in a comfortable position (mine was of course laying into my Hubby!) and focused on breathing (I have this mastered from prenatal yoga) and just relaxing. I took this time to focus on me and my baby! :) I'm looking forward to the next class where we also get to take a tour of the hospital. Jeff and I are already glad we chose to take this class as we feel it will better prepare us for the delivery of our son.

I had my 2-week appt. on Thursday and again everything is going perfectly as planned! His heartbeat is starting to drop more (147) and he's in the correct position...now lets just hope he stays that way! I go for my final sono in one month, in which I'll be 34 weeks along. I am definitely feeling the aches and pains of the last trimester. My low back is aching so badly all the way across, I get stabbing pains in my stomach from time to time, I am so exhausted, super uncomfortable when sleeping at night and my hips ache so bad it's hard for me to sleep. Dr. thinks I won't start to really feel uncomfortable until week 36, so I'm thinking the next 5 weeks can go slow! :) No really I'm super excited to meet my little Landon and can't wait for it to get here!!

29 weeks

Well I'm finally starting to show more where people can actually tell I'm preggo! And I'm starting to show in more than just my belly...boo! But I'm fine with it since I know it's for my baby boy! :) I have been feeling some pretty strange movements inside so I'm guessing he's doing somersaults and just having a little kickboxing fun! This week he's growing eyelashes and I have to admit that I hope he has some like me, as I have nice long lashes. But all the other features I hope he gets from my handsome hubby!! Happy 1st Father's Day Sweetheart!

Ever since Jeff put the crib together Princeton has been laying under there all the time...it's so cute! Whenever I can't find him I know he's under there sleeping. It's hard to tell he's under the crib but this was the best picture I could get, and don't mind the green eyes...haha. My babies have no idea there will be another little boy in the house real soon! Man, mommy is going to be surrounded by boys!! :)

Dr's appt. - 28 1/2 weeks

I had an "in-and-out" appt. yesterday cause luckily I didn't have to wait, there's been no problems, and I only had a few questions to ask. Thankfully everything is going great and my weight and belly measurements are right on track. Although nothing compares to seeing your little one through sono, I still look forward to hearing his heartbeat, as it's always reassuring that he's in there. His heartbeat has stayed in the 150's for quite some time, as this time it was at 156. I am feeling him kick all throughout the day and have noticed some daily patterns already. I have to say that I'm not sure I like the thought of him being so active EVERY night when I lay down for bed around 10:30pm...yikes, that's going to be a problem! :) Well it's hard to believe that I start going to the Dr. every 2 weeks now....I really am getting close! Although Jeff always says it can't get here soon enough. Needless to say he is reeaally excited!

Also last night we had a meet-and-greet with a Pediatrician that I've received many referrals on. It was nice to ask her some questions beforehand and get to know her a little bit before we start taking our little one to her. Jeff and I feel that she will be a perfect fit for us and Landon too! Just another thing we can mark off our list!

Jeff got the last piece of furniture put together last night....the crib! So Landon's room finally looks like a "nursery". This weekend I will try working on the wall decor and can hopefully post some pics soon...so stay tuned! Everything is coming together and I'm hoping to just be able to relax some the last month of my pregnancy.

Another exciting thing is that a friend of ours is giving us her hot tub for free!! Just ask Jeff, I have wanted a hot tub for a few years now as I really think it'll help with my fibromyalgia pain, and will be fun to have friends over and spend some relaxing nights in it. Although I feel bad for adding another project to Jeff's to-do list, it's all worth it to keep the Wifey happy! :)

The homestretch begins!

Well I have officially started my third trimester and it's hard to believe I'm in the homestretch of my pregnancy. I consider myself lucky cause at some points I don't feel pregnant at all...but then I have those moments of back pain, sciatica pain, hip pain, frequent urination, trouble sleeping, fatigue, contractions, and baby Landon kicking me, that soon brings me back to realize that I am pregnant! It seems as if every week flies by so quickly, so I know that we'll soon be holding our baby boy in our arms before we know it. These past few days is the first time I've thought about labor and delivery, and I think that's because I'm reading books that talk about the third trimester and how close we're getting. Jeff and I are really looking forward to our Childbirth Education classes that start on June 30th. We know that will make it all seem more real and better prepare us for what's to come.
This past weekend I went on a shopping trip to Aurora with my Mother-in-law, sister-in-law's and friends...it was fun to get away and do some more shopping for my little Landon, and of course Mommy too! Lets just say that I spent way too much and Landon is more than set for a few years! I've finally come to realize that I don't need to buy him one more thing...his closet is already out of control!!! :) I've been washing everything up and trying to get a few things organized. The last thing Jeff has to put together is the crib and he's planning on doing that sometime this week. Then I can start hanging stuff on the walls and making it look cute!
My next Dr's appt. is Wednesday morning, so I'll blog about that later in the week.

27 weeks down!

Again I don't have much to blog about but here are a few updates from the week....

1. Jeff FINALLY got to feel Landon kick!!! He has patiently been waiting and spending many nights with his hand on my tummy....when he felt it he couldn't believe it was so powerful as he expected it to be more of a flutter....no no no, Landon knows how to really kick! I love this feeling and don't want it to ever go away. :)
2. My fatigue has come back...Boo!! The past few days I have been so worn out and exhausted, just like I felt in my first trimester. I absolutely hate feeling this way (especially when I get 9+ hours of sleep!), but Landon is taking everything out of me....again. I really hope I don't feel this way for the last 3 months as I still have lots to do before he arrives.
3. Jeff and I started our Target registry and I have to admit it is sooo overwhelming! It's like we're doing our wedding registry all over again. But I do love that you can edit your registry "online" in the comfort of your own home! I spent a few hours today in my pj's on the couch adding things to my registry. If any Mommies out there have any suggestions of the necessities (that I may miss), please feel free to let me know....I can use all the advice I can get....plus you Mommies know best!
4. Oh my, I've started snoring! I have never been a snorer before but pregnancy does some weird things that you can't control....sorry honey! I have woken Jeff up a number of times and he has a hard time going back to sleep. Maybe that's God's way of also prepping HIM for all the sleepless nights that are ahead. Funny story...last night I went to bed before Jeff so I closed our bedroom door, had a fan running and he was in the living room watching tv. He told me this morning that even over all of that he could still hear me snoring really loud. So he went to grab the camera to take a video of me as he wanted me to hear what he's been dealing with...haha! Well I guess I woke myself up and stopped snoring so he couldn't get me on video. Thank goodness!!
5. We have a sono this Tuesday so we're excited to see our little guy once again as it seems like forever since our last sono. We have invited both of our moms to come and be a part of this visit. Hopefully Landon is active and I'm anxious to see which way he's laying (I know he's very low).

Popping out!

Well I don't have anything to really blog about this week other than to say I've been feeling really good this past week and that my belly is really starting to pop out, finally. Also I've noticed how much less I can eat already so I'm wondering if I will soon be full after eating just an apple?! :)
Jeff got Landon's closet organizer done and it looks great...he did such a nice job! Over the weekend I washed up some of his clothes and have started hanging them in the closet. He's got a nice little collection of 'preppy' clothes! Sat. night my Mother-in-Law wanted us to stop by so she could give us a few things...well lets just say she has had a good 'ol time shopping for our little Landon...I'm pretty sure she gave us around 20 pieces of clothes for him and they are all so stinkin adorable. Landon is sure to be stylin! Also on Sat. morning my sister and I hit some nice garage sales in Washington and boy did we hit the jackpot! We both scored on girl & boy clothes, and had so much fun! I get on a high when I find good bargains. :)
It's been great cause lately I've been feeling Landon kick alot more often, which I really like. I'm sure when it becomes annoying and painful I will no longer enjoy it. Unfortunately Jeff STILL hasn't been able to feel him kick...I think he senses Daddy's hand and is secretly teasing him. I can't wait till the time he can feel it so he knows what it's like and how special it is.
Also over the weekend I spent Sat. & Sun. at the pool just relaxing! I just joined Wedgewood (and think you all should too!) and I absolutely love it out there. I wanted to enjoy one summer to myself, relaxing in the "adult pool", as next summer Jeff and I will be taking our little boy with us, and that will be so fun too, just not as "relaxing!"
Well that's all I have for now. It's so hard to believe I have a little over 26 weeks down and only 14 more to go. Time is flying by!

Landon's closet

Landon's closet is starting to fill up! This is the closet organizer Jeff put in this past weekend...I absolutely love it! By the time Landon is born I'm sure his closet will be completey full...I can't control myself with the shopping & buying...it's way too much fun!! :)

Only 39% left to go!

Well I don't have anything much to blog about today but thought I'd write a few things of what's been going on lately.
First of all I'm siked that my glucose test reslts came back and I passed....woohoo! That was some good peace of mind. I have to say, I'm really starting to feel pregnant now with all the new aches and pains. The other night Jeff and I were out shopping (for crib mattresses to be exact) and I got this sharp stabbing undescribable pain in my low abdomen that had me in tears within seconds and I could barely walk. So of course we immediately had to leave and head home. Luckily the pain went away within about 45 minutes. I'm guessing it was stretching of ligaments or maybe Landon was moving around and had his head pressed on something uncomfortable. All I know is that it was the most painful thing I've felt so far this pregnancy and it really scared me. Believe me I know there is much more to come. :( I've also started to get the painful and annoying leg cramps (charlie horse) that one of my friends recently told me about. I have only gotten mine in the middle of the night, but they are very painful.
We've been working on the nursery little by little but it seems we always have so much going on during the weekends that it's hard to get much progress done. Jeff painted the inside of Landon's closet this weekend and will work on getting our custom closet organizer installed hopefully today or tomorrow. Then I can start hanging Landon's cute little clothes in there and make it feel more like 'his' room. :)
Tuesday night me and a friend (Robin) went to prenatal yoga! It's always good to connect with other prego's and have some down time and relaxation. I truly feel that yoga helps me alot, to unwind and focus on me and the baby, and to stretch out all my body aches (mostly my low back and sciatica). I look forward to going to a few more of the prenatal classes and then someday after baby arrives I would love to attend the itsy bitsy yoga (baby & mamma yoga).
Last night we went to my friends couple shower and had a great time! It is so nice to hang out with other girls that either have kids or are currently pregnant, as there is always so much to talk about! I think we spent 90% of the time talking about pregnancy, labor and just babies in general. It's always good to get other's advice and hear their stories. I know Jeff even commented that it was nice to hang out with guys that have kids or are going to have kids, as it puts you on a whole nother level and you have different things in common to talk about.
Well that's about all I have for today. I can't believe I have 25 weeks down and only 15 to go! Very soon we will meet our baby Landon!!!

Dr's Appt.

Well today I got to drink the 'orange drink' in order to get checked for my glucose. I don't understand when everyone says that drink is so nasty...it doesn't taste bad at all!! I had bad expectations so I chugged it fast and actually drank more than I needed to (back off, I was thirsty, haha!). For some reason I thought I'd get the results back today and didn't realize they had to draw blood and send it off to the lab...so I should find out within a few days if it comes back positive or negative. My appt. went very well...I'm measuring right on (at 24 weeks) and Baby's heartbeat was 152 (it's gradually slowing down). I go back in 4 weeks and after that appt. I start going every 2 weeks. I seriously can't believe how FAST time is flying by...our baby boy will be here before you know it, and I'm getting sooo excited to meet him!!
On Monday I was able to schedule a meet-and-greet with a Pediatrician that I got a few refferals on, so we'll meet with her in June. I had originally thought we'd go with a male Pediatrician but after talking with Jeff, we both decided a woman would be best for us, as I feel she will be able to better relate (since she has her own child and has been through it all).
Also, I recently scheduled our Childbirth Education classes and will begin taking those on June 30th. Jeff and I look forward to this 4-session course as we know we have LOTS to learn. :)

Daddy's little boy....

While Mommy is out shopping for "clothes", Daddy is going crazy in the CAT gift shop! :) Can you tell that Daddy is a little excited for a BOY?! Although these are tractors and trucks and not barbies and dolls, I have to admit that their pretty cute and will be fun for our little one to play in the sand box that Daddy will build one day. I also have to admit that I'm pretty darn excited to have a little boy, as I think our house will be a whole lot of FUN....and probably a whole lot of CHAOS too!!! :) I know he's going to be a Mommy's boy, but I also know that he's going to be a Daddy's boy too!

24 weeks down and 16 to go!

Well another week has gone by....I don't feel much bigger but know that I am because I'm officially wearing maternity pants all the time. But I have to admit that I LOVE them...they are so comfortable and it makes all those bathroom trips so much easier. Recently I've had a few bad 'sick' days, my sciatic is hurting on my left side now, and my low back pain has been pretty horrible. But other than that everything is going great and I can't believe how fast time is flying by (although Jeff thinks it feels like it's taking forever!). We still have a few things to shop for and buy (crib mattress, high chair, etc.) and we're still putting the nursery together. Jeff got the new baseboards put in this weekend and it looks really nice. I can't wait to see what it'll look like once we have it all done!!

My next Dr's appt. is Wednesday morning. That's where I have to drink the flavorful 'orange drink' and get tested for Gestational Diabtes....fingers crossed that I test negative....I'll be sure to blog that evening to keep you all posted.

23 Weeks....

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to every Mommy out there! It doesn't seem real that I am one of those Mommy's, but it excites me to think about it. My sweetheart husband started my day off great by waking up to 10 beautiful pink tulips and a special 1st Mother's Day card with money in it to go spoil myself! :) We also spent the day with my parents and then a cookout with his family...it was a great day!
Well I decided against doing a belly pic this week as it doesn't seem like my belly grows enough from week to week. So Jeff and I thought it would be best to take these every other week so the changes are more noticeable to all of you. I am definitely getting bigger and starting to get alot more uncomfortable, but our precious little boy is totally worth it all!

Only 126 days to go!

My "Sunday Six"....."6 things we've done to the nursery lately".....

1. Carpet is installed!

2. New ceiling fan is installed!

3. New blinds are up!

4. Room is all painted!

5. New baseboards are bought! (Jeff still has to put in)

6. More furniture/decor orders have been placed!

21 Weeks...he's the size of a Banana!

Well another week has passed by and I'm starting to feel the flutters a little more often. My sciatic pain has gone away (yay!) but I'm still having the usual low back pain, but it's nothing I can't stand or handle. This weekend has been fun...Jeff, my Mother-in-Law and I started painting the nursery this weekend and I love the color I chose. It's a light lime/apple green but I'm adding more to it. Hopefully the finished product looks as I have planned in my head. I've also shopped quite a bit and the pictures to the side is just some of the damage I did today. Baby Gap has some adorable boy clothes so I'm excited about that! Also my Mother-in-Law brought over this little swing set that I know he will just love playing on.