Brothers

My boys definitely look a lot alike. Not twins, but definitely related. 

And obviously Rich is the father.

Devin's on the left; Landon to the right.

Devin hasn't been overly interested in Landon. He likes to talk about being the big brother and give Landon kisses, but we've only gotten him to hold Landon twice. 

 

I'm sure they'll be wonderful playmates once Landon does more than eat and sleep.

First Day Home

There's really nothing to say other than we are all smitten with this kid.
 And that I've begun the process of taking five million pictures.
 

 

A Family of Four

Chilling in the hospital was great. The nurses were wonderful and since Grandma and Grandpa Millett were entertaining Devin, I didn't have to worry about anything but the husband, the baby, and me! Of course sleeping there is always hard, but this hospital was a lot quieter (probably because there are like 5 rooms on the floor) and the nurses didn't seem to come in and out as much. 

Grandma and Grandpa brought Devin on Friday afternoon to meet his baby brother. I was excited to introduce the boys and to see how Devin would react. He was pretty interested and would tell us he was the big brother, though he didn't want to hold the baby.  He did give him kisses, so that was cute.

 

 

First shot of our family of four.

We had Landon "give" Devin a present, and Devin was overjoyed that his baby brother would give him such cool dinosaurs. He also really liked eating lunch with Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa in the hospital cafeteria.

 

Grandma and Grandpa Millett meet Landon for the first time.

Of course, we couldn't, and still can't, get enough of this kid either.

We headed home and back to real life on Saturday afternoon. It was a rainy, cold day but we were happy to be taking home our healthy little guy.

The Labor Story

Short version:

7:15-Think to myself, "These contractions seem to be coming close, perhaps I should time them." But I still don't start timing till 7:30.
7:50-Tell Rich he really needs to get Devin into bed because I'm pretty sure we're going to the hospital.
8:05-Contractions have been 4-5 minutes apart for 30 minutes. Call hospital, and my exact words were, with a laugh, "I think I'm in labor." This announcement, and my laughing, makes the nurse not believe me. I'm almost talked out of coming in. Rich says we're going. I can tell Dad is kind of worried and is remembering his own experiences with Mom's fast deliveries. He's glad we're going.
9:15-Walk onto the hospital floor.
9:45-I've been monitored and declared a 4. We can stay. I'm kind of bummed I'm only a 4.
10:08-My water breaks.
10:16-I finally let the nurse check me (she kept telling me to turn over, but hello, I am contracting!), and I'm a 7. Starting to feel the urge to push.
10:26-I'm a 10 and telling her I need to push. She tells me it's not time--perhaps in hopes the doctor would make it? I insist it is time to push.
10:35-Landon arrives with open eyes and a few cries, and I love him immediately.



10:45-The doctor arrives. :)



Long, for-my-memory version:

Even though my due date had passed, I was still feeling okay physically. I was just anxious to meet the little guy! The doctors kept saying they thought I would go early, and though I tried to ignore this, I was, of course, disappointed when this didn't happen. At my appointment on Thursday morning I had the doctor strip my membranes in hopes that this would help move things along, then in the afternoon my mom and I went for an almost 4-mile walk. Pretty sure this helped!

We headed to Subway for dinner, and though I noticed I was having some contractions, I wasn't really paying attention because they didn't seem regular and they weren't that bad since they were only in the front, plus in my head I was just expecting things to start in the middle of the night, so I wasn't too concerned. After we got home and I was playing with Devin for a bit I realized the contractions were coming faster. Rich started getting Devin ready for bed around 7:15 and I thought I should start timing, but I still didn't start until 7:30. The doctors had told us to go to the hospital when the contractions were between 10-12 minutes apart since we live a ways from the hospital and they thought I might go fast. When I realized the contractions were only 4-5 minutes apart I got kind of nervous, but I wasn't really feeling a sense of urgency and though they were intense, I wasn't in a lot of pain.

I finally called the hospital after timing for 30 minutes, but I didn't know what to say, so I just laughed and said that I "thought" I was in labor. The nurse told me I sounded way too happy to be in labor and since I'd only been timing for 30 minutes I could just be dehydrated, but of course I could come in to be checked if I wanted. I wavered because I didn't want to get there too early, but when Rich heard the contractions were 5 minutes apart he just said we should go. Good thing he was making decisions. The 40-minute drive there wasn't too bad--glad we took the less windy road--but it wasn't too long in before the contractions were more like 3-4 minutes and getting more intense in my back. We got to the hospital at 8:55 and took our time parking and chilling in the car for a minute, and since I was still unsure about them admitting me, I suggested we walk down the road a bit and then come back. We didn't get very far before I felt like turning around! By the time we got onto the birth center floor at 9:15 the contractions were only 2-3 minutes apart.

I got hooked up to the monitor and hated lying in bed for those 30 minutes since by now the contractions had changed from being in my front/back to all in my back. Love the back labor! The nurse checked me at 9:45 and said she would admit us and that I was a 4. I was pretty bummed to only be that far, but finally believed we were going to have a baby sometime soon--though I was thinking it was still going to be many hours. We labored in the room for just over 20 minutes, but it didn't even seem that long before I was telling Rich something had "happened" and then my water broke! I told him he needed to get the nurse immediately. I was on my hands and knees and the nurse kept telling me to turn over so she could check me, but I kept ignoring her because the contractions were coming on top of each other. When she finally did check me I was a 7. I remember her opening the door and telling the other nurses to call the doctor. I told her that the baby was coming and she told me that it wasn't time. I was able to get up and move a little, then I felt the urge to push. She told me again it wasn't time but that I needed to get on the bed. I told her again, and then again, that the baby was coming. She checked me and I was a 10. She then told the other nurse to come in and bring a cart because this baby was coming! I pushed three times and out came our little guy, with his eyes wide open and crying a few times. They immediately put him up on my tummy and Rich was able to cut the cord. The doctor came 10 minutes later and was surprised he missed the show! We were only at the hospital for an hour and 20 minutes before meeting our Landon. Glad we left the house when we did!!



Meeting Landon was one of the best experiences ever. I wasn't as tired as I was after my labor with Devin so I was able to focus immediately on him and I felt so much more coherent. Plus, since he came so fast and without the trauma Devin did he was a much happier little man. (I was SO happy Landon wasn't face up!)



I got to have skin-to-skin for so much longer this time around, which was wonderful. Landon was also able to nurse within the first hour, so that was amazing too. I loved the nurse who delivered and was glad she was on the next night. We had a great stay at the hospital and since I didn't labor for very long I felt great physically a lot sooner.

Our new little man is perfect. Yay for babies!

Landon James Arrives

This little guy was two days overdue but well worth the wait.

Landon James Britton

March 22, 2012 

10:35 p.m.

8 lbs 6.6 oz

20 in

He has been content and adorable since he arrived.

First time snuggling up with Daddy.

We're loving every minute of getting to know him.

Rich's Birthday

Grandma and Grandpa came into town just in time to help us celebrate Rich's birthday. I was hoping the new babe would decide that sharing a birthday with his daddy would be a good idea, but it was a no-go. After church my mom and I whipped up some dinner, then we had present time.

Devin told me he wanted to make a white, blue, and green card for his daddy. Then we added "xxxx" on it to make sure Daddy had four kisses. He got this from a book we have from the library. 

Rich's gift was a picture of the lawn edger that will be delivered today.

We ended the celebration with some ice cream cake. 

Not the most exciting of birthdays, but still a pretty good day for the husband.

Love that man of mine. 

He's my favorite.

How I found Him Friday Morning

Love this boy.

Preparing for Baby

Rich said he would paint the new baby's room any way I wanted. He was super excited to hear that what I wanted was for him to paint multiple lines that involved a lot of taping. But since he loves me, and our new baby, he did what I asked. He's great.

Devin was really good about staying in the doorway, but he wanted to be involved and to help "Daddy work hard." He always say, "My a strong boy!" when helping with things. And he thinks Daddy can fix anything and build anything from the projects they've been doing together lately. He likes to tell me that he helped his daddy build the bassinet for his baby brother to sleep in.

The design turned out great, and I love the look. It was a simple update and since we didn't change the main wall color and used the leftover paint from Devin's room, it was a pretty frugal update.

Once the paint was done, we could start putting in the furniture and preparing the room for our new arrival. We really aren't finished yet, so the baby will be coming to an incomplete room, but I did finish one project: recovering the cushions to our garage-sale glider. So I give myself at least one thumbs up, even if I did need to ask Selina for advice before starting and then call my mom while buying the new fabric.

I reminded myself several times to take "before" shots of the glider, but of course I didn't. At first I wasn't going to worry about recovering the chair, but the more I looked at it in the room, the more hideous it became. I'm not even sure why I ever considered keeping the original fabric. Anyway, the new cushions aren't perfect--this was my first time attempting something like this and I forgot to pay careful attention to the way the bottom cushion was connected--but it turned out all right and it's comfortable to sit in. So, yay for me finishing a project!


Lindsey the Amazing is designing me some posters for the room. She is seriously super talented and so wonderful. The baby loves her already. I did finally order the other wall art for the room, so things are slowly coming together. At least for now I feel like we're prepared for the child, even if his room isn't completely adorable yet.

We are also planning on putting the baby's name in the room, but since we don't have a name yet, that will be forthcoming. As will be the quilt that I'm going to make, which inspired the color scheme. Considering I didn't finish Devin's quilt till he was a year old, I'm guessing the name will be get done before the quilt makes an appearance. At least we hope so ;)

We're all excited to meet this little guy! In fact, Devin will randomly burst out with "Guess what!? Baby brother come to live with us soon! It's going to be SO MUCH FUN." Last week someone came to the door, and when I returned, he asked me if it was his baby brother.

(39 Weeks)

Weekend of Fun

Rich and I decided to have an overnighter before the baby arrived. We thought it might be good practice for Devin to actually be away from us for an extended period of time in preparation for the baby. I can't really believe that this was the first time we've ever left him overnight! 

Heather was wonderful and took Devin for me. I think he probably had more fun than we did, and he certainly wasn't upset about us being gone. He loves all the Savage children and got to attend a birthday party on Saturday afternoon where he could play in the dirt and jump in a bouncy house, so I'm guessing all these factors made sure he wasn't missing Mom and Dad even a little.

I guess he was a little sad at bedtime, but other than that I'm positive he didn't miss us much. He even told Sister Savage that he loved her when we went to pick him up, and he didn't even say this to me! 

Rich and I headed to Sacramento on Friday night to catch the Kings/Mavericks game. It wasn't the most exciting of games, as the Kings were up by at least 10 the whole time, but it was still fun to be out and enjoying basketball and ice cream.

 

I made sure to get a shot of Jimmer when he was on the floor. 

When we planned the weekend we were trying to get a Friday game, but because of the lockout the only ones were in March. In my head, 10 days before my due date was plenty of time, but as it got closer I was nervous I was going to go into labor while in Sacramento. Luckily that didn't happen, though I was worried that night that things were going to start since we decided to walk to the arena from our hotel. Our hotel was less than a mile from the arena, but on the way there I started having some contractions and was pretty uncomfortable by the time we reached our seats. The way back produced more regular contractions, and we had to stop a few times for me to breathe through them. I'm pretty sure Rich was silently freaking out and that all the people driving past us were wondering why this very pregnant lady was walking on this busy road late at night! But, the baby decided to let us enjoy the remainder of the weekend, so it was just all a false alarm.

We took advantage of not having a child to care for in the morning and slept in and were generally lazy. We had planned to attend the temple, but because we dawdled (really, it was just me) by the time we made it to the temple we didn't feel like we had enough time to do any ordinances since we still needed to do some shopping before heading home. 

Instead we walked around the grounds and just enjoyed the Spirit and beautiful weather for a bit before heading out. 

It was so nice to spend time with my wonderful husband and to be able to relax and get rejuvenated before the baby comes.

****

Another reason we had to get home was so I could have one last girls' night with some friends. This was also a welcome, and much-needed outing. We had a great time visiting at dinner and finished up the night at the movies. 

I'm posting these pictures to retain the memory of just how BLAZING hot I was after the movie, certainly not because they are attractive photos of me!

And here we have the pregnant girls. 

 

(As a side note, Jessica had her baby the next morning. Apparently a relaxing night with the girls was all that was needed to get that boy here! Yay for her!)

It was a great, and tiring, weekend. Combined with Daylight Savings Time, I spent most of Sunday being pretty lazy!