Smiling

Today Landis smiled at me about 6 times. I know it was a real smile because it was 3 in a row each time. You could almost see the thought process she was going through as she tried to smile. It was so cute. The first time it was just she and I sitting in the glider, the second time my friend Erin had dropped by and she did it again. Three in a row:) It was the cutest thing ever.

My first....

Well today Landis took her first bottle from Nana Peggy. Mom, that's me, was out of the house on a walk with Papa Norman. Landis is growing so fast I think she is up to 9 lbs and she is doing great. She sleeps, eats and has a couple alert periods a day. She also has one fussy period a day but it is mostly cute and not too frustrating. She saves it up until the end of the day most of the time so the girls are down and I can focus on her 100% which makes her, and me, happy. I wonder if it is something I eat, since there could be a lot of offenders in the list of beans and green vegetables that I consume. Also I have been guilty of a shot of espresso every few days, I know, I know but sometimes I think I really need it;) I am starting back into my exercise routine this week so hopefully that will replace the espresso, or it may cause me to want more, LOL!

The little chunk

We all had a late and long night last night. Someone in the house picked up a stomach bug, lucky for us it seems to be the twelve hour bug. Piper had it overnight which was better than Lela's day and into the night version. Jason took charge of Lela and slept with her in the guest room while I kept little Landis far away in our room. Funny thing is that Landis had a projectile stomach emptying session at 3AM so vomit was in the bed anyway:) LOL! I think she was just overfull, she does that sometimes.

But the whole point of the post is that while I was changing/cleaning her up last night or early this morning I should say, I noticed how chunky she has become. I mean she has rolls on her legs and a big beautiful face and jowl:) It is hard to believe how quickly she has transformed into a healthy beautiful baby. She looks more like Piper in the face now and she has Lela's build. It will be interesting to see how she continues to grow.

To Moby or To Maya

Okay so we are doing the whole babywearing thing and I really like it. Landis likes it the most since it means that she is worn around by mommy for most of the day. Nothing like being close to food and a warm beating heart all day:0) We should all be so lucky. I LOVE my moby wrap, the only thing is that is not quick to get on. It only takes about 20 seconds or so but once I get all wrapped I don't want to unwrap. The Maya wrap is definitely the quicker carrier but so far we have not found a comfortable position for both of us. I think as she continues to grow she (and I) will find a comfortable carrying position but until then I think Moby wins.

Doctor's Visit

Well we went to the doctor today for our 1 month check up. It went really well. Landis has moved from two ticks below the lowest line on the growth chart to the 10th percentile for height and weight! Yeah for us. She is now 20 inches long and 7lb6oz. The doctor is very happy and impressed with her weight/height.

I talked to her about the nursing as well. After our one solid 3 hour night we have had several 1 hour nights and last night was no exception. Seems like you get a two hour nap then you are up and eating almost every hour. Of course I am feeding on demand since my main concern is your growth. Well meaning friends say that maybe I am doing it to much and creating a little feeding monster:) But the doctor thinks that you are just trying to catch up and that all your nursing is nutritive and if I can keep it up then I should. So we will keep at it and as soon as you finish catching up, then we will work on a schedule or at least stretching out those feedings a bit.

On a side note you can now see everything. You can't track voices or people but you can see us. That was abundantly clear yesterday as you stared at yourself in your little mirror and this morning as you gazed up at your Daddy. Hopefully now that you can see us you will like this crazy family you have joined.

Solid three hour night

Last night Landis did what she normally does during the day, she slept in three hour increments! Well really 2 hours 30 min or so but with the nursing it was 3 hour shifts. That is what I told her to do when we went to bed at 10:30 but little did I know she would actually do it:)

Also after the nighttime routine Landis has started to have an alert period that lasts a good 45 min or so every morning. The girls love it because she looks at them and Piper makes sure to get in to her field of vision if she can't or won't turn her head towards her.

I don't know what she weighs but she is definitely getting bigger. She is out of her preemie clothes, they still fit but are snug, and is starting to fill out her newborn togs. The preemie clothes did not last long but it is nice to have clothes that actually fit your baby, it makes them look less scrawny:)

Last night

So we are working on our nighttime routine, which really doesn't exist. I let Landis nurse whenever she wants during the day and night but I don't think I do as good a job at night because I am half unconscious. So Jace is helping me and last night went pretty good. She ate at 10:15, 1:15, 3:15 and 6:15. Jason took her from 3:45 to 6:15 and kept her happy and sleeping, he was sleeping off and on while he held her. I was happily dreaming away and waking only when she squeaked, but Jace was an ol' pro and was able to get her right back to sleep.

We even went out to breakfast this morning which was great. I am using a Moby wrap and I love it, Landis seems to like it too. I just wear her everywhere we go and I keep her swaddled most of the time we are out and about, it seems to keep her calm and asleep. I have these great wraps from Kiddopotomas that swaddle her up and I can even use them in her carseat which is great. All in all she is a dream child just like her sisters were.

Welcome!

Well it's Landis' 3-week birthday and it's taken me this long to post something on her own blog. I'm not off to a great start as a dad, but I'll keep working on it!

The way Landis was brought into the world was quite different than how Piper and Lela were introduced, but equally as exciting, in my opinion. It all started when the doctors became a little concerned about how Landis was growing. Her abdomen was lagging a bit... nothing huge, but something to be watched.

So they got Mystique to go in for ultrasounds at least once a week, more often twice a week. This started, I think, around week 32 or 33 or her pregnancy. It was a busy time, but Mystique was always there doing her tests.

On the day of Mystique's 36th week of pregnancy, we went in for an amniocentesis to see how Landis' lungs were progressing. This was around 9am or so on Friday, September 28th. One of our favorite doctors did the procedure and we were sent back home/work to wait for the results.

As it so happened, at work that day my group was having an end-of-quarter bash at a bowling alley in the afternoon. Because Mystique dropped me off at work after the doctor's appointment, she picked me up at the bowling alley around 4pm with the girls. About three minutes into the ride she said, "So... we're having Landis at 10pm tonight!"

Yowza! I guess the doctor had called her about 10 minutes before she got me, said the baby's lungs were good, when did we want to have her? Mystique, not one to procrastinate, said "tonight!"

So we hurriedly called my parents, setup some babysitting for that night, and Mystique and I went off to the hospital, arriving around 8pm. Of course Mystique was a blast to be with... the nurses all immediately fell in love with her. We had a lot of fun while we waited. I got a kick out of the anesthesiologist, but I'm not sure Mystique was a fan of him.

Anyhow, right around 11:15pm or so we finally got into our operating rooms. It was just about the coldest room I've been in outside of a meat locker. Our doctor was nice enough to provide Mystique some warm blankets while she was prepped for her shot, and then he also draped one over my shoulders. Nice fella.

This time around with the c-section I had a much better view of things and I was more comfortable with standing up and watching. I tried to convey some things to Mystique since she was way more aware with this birth. It was really interesting watching the whole thing. But the best was when Landis finally came out -- the knot in her cord! When the doctor held her up he said "Well, that explains it" and there it was in plain sight -- knot. It was tight, it looked more like a pretzel knot. But that's why Landis' abdomen wasn't growing, she wasn't getting all the food from Mystique!

After that I went back with Landis where she was weighed, looked at, etc... Mystique rolled in around 20-25 minutes later, and there we were... 3 of the happy 5.

I finally went home around 2am to relieve my parents. They were just hanging out in the house, looking tired, but pretty darn happy. And so was I.

Update

Well we went back to the doctor today for our weight check, Landis not me thanks goodness:) She is a whopping 5lb12.5oz! Yipee, Yeah for me! The doctor was surprised that I could get her weight up that much with just breast milk, I guess all those one hour feedings and late night snacks are paying off. Yipee! She is doing really well and so am I, it took longer than I wanted for us to get into some sort of groove but we got there finally. All days are not perfect but it is all tolerable now. Everything else is looking good too. She has a clogged tear duct but Piper had that as well and it is pretty normal. All her bloodwork came back normal, her 10 day PKU is great (that is the new baby check up) and Dr. M said she looked like a new baby. No more jaundice, she is nice and pink. Sigh......

5lb 1.5oz

We went back to the doctor today to check on your skin thing and get weighed. You peed on me on the way to the scale, which was funny:) Your infection is gone and that is great news. They think you picked it up during delivery somehow but they don't know how. We also went back to get your blood tested and it was a nightmare. Unfortunately for me and for you we are going to have to have more blood drawn since the staff at the lab we went to yesterday seemed totally incompetent. The only thing they did accomplish was turning you and I into crying little heaps, of course your heap was much smaller than mine:)

The good news is that you are almost back up to your birth weight and I think we have made a breakthrough in the breastfeeding. Last night did not go so well but we are making great strides you and me;) You don't have to go to the doctor for another week so that will be a nice change.

Belly Button

Your belly button fell off last night. Well really I guess it is your cord, but it is gone and now just your little belly button remains. We are getting the hang of the breast feeding and I can honestly say it has been a challenge for us both. Thankfully we are both pretty patient. I know in the long run it is the best thing for you and for me so we keep trucking along.

Finally home

Well it is not that we were in the hospital very long but it is good to be home. We stayed a couple of days and came home on Monday. I was very happy to have you home and to see your sisters, I missed them a bunch. So far you are doing great, eating and sleeping. You are just a peanut at 4#12oz but I am sure you will be growing soon.

Your sisters are very excited about you and whenever they are around you try your hardest to open your eyes and look at them. They think that is super cute. Also every time you cry they ask if you are okay.

We have been going to the doctor every day because you had some type of infection on your skin. Turns out that we caught it in time and now it is gone. So we won't go back to the doctor until Monday. You are doing super, you sleep easily and hardly cry. I have been wearing you in a sling and I think we both like it.

Welcome baby Landis!

For the past few weeks you have been working me over with doctor's appts. Seems like you just don't want to grow. We would go for stress testing on Tuesday's, OBGYN appt on Wednesdays and ultrasounds on Fridays. In between sometimes we would even see a specialist on Thursdays. Every time the diagnosis was the same, small baby, can't tell why everything looks normal. So we would just rinse, recycle and repeat the next week a whole slew of tests.

Finally my appt came with my doctor and they decided to do an amnio to see if your lungs were mature. Seems like you had slipped from the 10% for growth to the 7% and that is when the doctors start to worry. So your dad and I went to the doctor early on Friday morning leaving your sisters with Grammy and Grampy. We waited, laughed, joked with the nurses and finally the doctor decided to go ahead and do the amnio. They took a needle and poked it into mommy's tummy and into the sac that you were in and took out some fluid. Then they tested that fluid to see if your lungs were mature. After waiting most of the day we got the good news, your lungs were mature so you were ready to join the family.

So that night your dad and I checked into the hospital at 8PM. They started working on me to get me all ready for the surgery where the doctor was going to take you out. The surgery was supposed to be at 10:30PM but another mom needed to get into the operating room first so we waited. Finally at around 11PM your dad and I headed into the operating room. At 11:49 on Sep 28th you were born. Your dad and I were so happy and you were happy too. It turns out that you had flipped and flopped so much in mommy's tummy that you had tied a knot in your cord and that is the reason you could not grow.

Your dad and I loved you from the moment you were conceived and are so happy that you are here to join us and your sisters. Welcome Landis Olivia Haslup!