While Mike is at school and Landon is chilling with me on the floor, I decided I should write about his birth story before I forget little details.
I woke up at exactly 8:00am on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 with my mind telling me that I needed to get up and get things done around the house. For some reason I was super motivated to clean and get as much done as I can, even though I wasn't due for another 5 days. So I hopped out of bed, and did my morning stuff. On any normal day, I would have felt Landon move or kick after I ate breakfast, but this time I didn't. I just thought maybe he was still asleep. Around 11 or so, I still hadn't felt him move inside of me, which was odd because he was a kicker all day long usually. So I started to eat some sugary stuff, hoping to jump-start him. I also took turns being really active and slowing things down and watching a little TV or reading. He had moved MAYBE 4 times when Mike came home from school for lunch. I told him that I was worried about Landon, so I called the doctor's office and they told me to come in right away.
So I went in and I got hooked up to the non-stress test machine for about 25 minutes. Landon's heartbeat was fine, and I was having a few contractions, but the doctor still had a worried look on his face, so he put me in the ultrasound room where they checked the amniotic fluid and his movements. The fluid was good, but for about 20 minutes or so, Landon wasn't moving his diaphragm like he was supposed to be. There was no practice of breathing. The doctor checked to see if I was dilated, and I was at a 2, so he decided to just admit me to the hospital and break my water. I was going to have a baby!
Mike wasn't with me, he was in class, so I called him and left a message telling him to leave class, go home, get the bags, and head to the hospital because he's going to be a daddy! I drove myself to the hospital and got all checked in by myself. I felt really weird going in without any bags or my husband, but after I got into my hospital gown, I saw my handsome husband come into the room with a smile on his face. He was going to be a daddy!
I got to the hospital around 5:40pm, and they hooked me up to the IV and antibiotics. ( I tested positive for group B strep) I could feel the contractions getting stronger the next few hours, and it was cool to see the numbers get higher the pain. After the contractions got intense, they slowed way down, so the doctor came in around 10ish to break my water. Landon had passed meconium, so my water was greenish-brown, and really thick. The doctor said it was the thickest he's seen in a really long time, and I guess this was why Landon was having a hard time in the uterus.
Around 11 or so, they decided to give me my epidural and start the petocin. I had to get the epidural 3 TIMES! The first time only the right side of my body was numb, the second time the lady got a blood vessel in the catheter, and the third time was perfect. And I have to say, the IV hurt WAY worse than the epidural! BY FAR. Mike loved seeing the epidural needle go in my spine, and he was thrilled to see it 3 times :) After the epidural was set, I slept through most of the night, except when the nurse kept coming in and doing her thing.
Around 5, the doctor came in and checked me, and I was dilated 5cm. He told me that he has to run off to do a C-section, and that they are switching doctors at 7, so my goal was to have the baby before 7:00am. I told him I'll try, but I was discouraged because I was only at 5cm, and I didn't think I would dilate to 10 in just 2 hours.
Thankfully, the doctor came in about 6:30am. He woke me up and checked to see how far along I was. I was 10cm!!! I looked at him with disbelief, but he said, "Let's have a baby!" I woke up Mike, and told him the good news and he came rushing to my side. I couldn't feel when I was contracting due to the epidural, so the nurse had to feel my uterus to tell me when I needed to push. I pushed for maybe 10 minutes, and out came little Landon Jay Goold! Mike was watching the whole thing, and the first thing he said was "Oh my goodness, he looks just like you!" My baby entered this world at 6:59am, just in time :)
Since he had meconium in his lungs, they quickly cleaned him up, did their thing, and wanted to take him to the NICU for tests and stuff. Before they were going to take him, I looked and the nurse and said "I don't get to hold my baby??" The nurse looked at another nurse, and they said that I could for just one second. When they placed him on my chest, I fell in love. His tiny nose, ears, fingers, everything about him I loved. He was perfect. I gave his nose a quick kiss and they whisked him off. Poor Mike didn't get a chance to hold him.
My little baby Landon entered this world with so much love all around him. I am so excited for this new adventure in my life, and I can't wait to see what a great man he will become someday.
