First I'll start with August 10th when Marcus's parents came to visit and took us all out to dinner for Marcus's birthday which was the next day. We had an enjoyable evening with them and they were so generous to come out here and spend the evening with us.
August 11th was Marcus's birthday - I made him breakfast in bed and Kaylie and I made cards for him too. We had dinner and treats later at my parents home. Marcus opted for Sinfully Rich Fudgy Brownies as his birthday treat this year. Yum!
August 22nd - Marcus and I celebrated 5 years of marriage this year. 2 Bachelor's Degrees, 2 beautiful children, Marcus with a great new job... our love has grown so much. I couldn't love anyone more. Marcus has been a loving and supporting husband from the beginning. He makes me laugh every day and encourages me to try new things and shows me a different outlook on life. My life would not be complete without him in it. I'm so glad that my grandma had the crazy idea to hook us up back in 2007. I married my best friend!
THE BABY STORY
On August 16th I went in for my 38 week appointment - I was actually 38 weeks and 2 days along. My mom suggested that I ask the doctor if she could strip the membranes to possibly speed up the process of contractions. Well, the doctor did that and later that evening Marcus and I were playing card games and I was feeling some small, uncomfortable contractions, but didn't think much of it. They just felt like stretching or tightening like Braxton Hicks Contractions. The next day, the 17th Marcus wanted to spend some of his birthday money, so we went out to Roseville to do a little shopping. I was feeling those small contractions that morning too and I thought it would help to go out and walk around to continue to speed up the process. We were out for a couple hours and by the end of shopping I was tired and wanted to just get home and get something to eat. I was feeling pretty warn down. Around noon I was feeling some contractions pretty close together, but they were still bearable and not too painful. By 2pm I was starting to feel more serious pain and the contractions I was having were a lot closer together. I called my mom to ask her what her opinion was since the contractions were still bearable but I was able to just breath through most of them without a problem. She said to wait just a little bit longer and see if anything changes. My dad, who was out in Utah for Allie Harrison's wedding, gave me a call not long after I hung up with my mom. He asked how I was doing and after explaining to him how I was feeling, he suggested that I call labor/delivery at the hospital just in case they want me to come in. He said there is no harm in calling and he said he would feel better if I did. So, I called in around 3pm and after discussing my previous birth and complications with Kaylie and discussing how I was feeling at the moment, the lady asked me to come in. Marcus and I headed to the hospital after Jason and Mom came to stay with Kaylie. Around 4pm we arrived at the hospital and a doctor checked to see how I was progressing. I was 3cm dilated! I was having contractions every couple minutes! So they admitted me to the hospital and around 5pm I was in my labor/delivery room. My mom joined Marcus and I not too long after I was admitted and Jason stayed to watch Kaylie. We called Marcus's parents and they came to Sacramento that evening as well. Melania joined us around 10pm in the hospital while Dan stayed with Kaylie. I was progressing very well by 10pm. I had been breathing through all the contractions, which by the way, never let up - every 2 minutes still and I had reached 6cm by 10pm. Marcus and my mom were both helping a lot with keeping me focused on breathing out the contractions and not hyperventalating. I was actually very proud of myself for doing so well for so long. However, I was wiped out! The contractions never let up and since I was progressing like the doctors wanted me to, I opted for the epidural. I knew I would need some energy for pushing and I was so tired. I'm really glad I got an epidural. I got the epidural around 11pm and after 30 minutes to an hour, I was feeling pretty good! By 12am the next morning I wasn't feeling hardly anything from the contractions so I got to rest. The doctors and nurse said I should get some sleep, but I was so excited about this baby coming that I couldn't sleep! Marcus, Melania, and my mom were the best team throughout the whole process. Around 3am I was fully dilated and ready to go. The nurse was doing some pushing with me. My mom helped me the most through this process too. She stood by my side and helped me almost to the end. Marcus took over right at the end. Pushing that baby out was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! Talk about exhaustion! I am so glad I got the epidural so I could relax for a few hours. Although, by the time we started any pushing, the pain was back and I could feel a lot of those contractions. After lots of pushing and little breaks in between those pushing sessions, baby Landon arrived at 4:23am! There is no better feeling in the world than having a newborn baby resting on your chest after long, hard labor. I look back now and I can honestly say it was totally worth it. Marcus and I were overwhelmed with happiness as we welcomed our little boy into the world. He looked perfect! 7lbs 14 oz. and 19 inches long. He was almost exactly Kaylie's size. Just one ounce lighter and 2 inches shorter. And he had lots of black hair just like Kaylie too. Marcus and I loved Landon instantly. He was so calm and awake for about 3 hours after he was born. We tried to get a little feeding in and he did pretty good for the first time nursing. Of course, it helped me to have done it before. Everything was so natural again as Marcus helped me take care of Landon on the first day. My mom also helped us a lot and let us get a little rest. Melania and my mom both took lots of pictures for us as well. Nothing was better than seeing Kaylie greet Landon for the first time. We knew right away she was going to be the best big sister! She even sang him "I Am A Child Of God". It was such a tender moment to see the two of them together.
2 comments:
Loved the baby story!!! Congrats again! He sure is a cutie!
I always love a good baby story! Thanks for posting it! And of course your children are beautiful! But my first thought when I read it was, "Jason is old enough to watch a kid by himself?" I guess I haven't seen your family in a really long time.
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