It Just Keeps Getting Better All The Time

Obviously it’s been a few months since the last post and much has happened, especially in the development of Landre. Without going into depressing details, the first three months were rough. No matter how much advice you get from friends and family on what to expect and how to plan, nothing can truly prepare you for parenthood. Thankfully it gets easier, and what seemed like a never-ending nightmare when your in it, is in reality, a small hick-up.

A child is the best gift that God could give. Landre has been so much fun over these past 7 months. As I’m sure all parents can attest, the first few months they are little blobs that twitch uncontrollably and give little smiles that melt your heart even when the smile is a result of passing gas. It was around 4 months that I really felt things had settled down and we were all getting into our groove. Slowly, Landre’s personality began emerging and the sleepless nights and anxiety seemed worth it. Thanks to the advice and encouragement of friends Allison and Lindsay, it was about this time that we got Landre sleeping through the night. Hallelujah!

Right around Landre's six month birthday we began introducing solids.

I never really thought about making baby food, but I was given the “Super Baby Foods” book at one of my showers and thought, what the heck! It’s surprisingly simple and the food taste so much better than those in the jars. The only downside is that the food processor is so loud that it absolutely scares the beejeezees out of Landre, so I have to blast the TV to distract him. His first food was avocado and his face was priceless the first time his little tongue hit that green mush. I’ve been trying to introduce as many vegetables before I let his lips taste the sweet fruits. If he’s like his mommy and daddy, wants he knows sweet, there’s no going back.

Landre took his first trip the end of July to Orcas Island, WA to attend Amy & Coulter’s wedding (well, he didn’t actually attend the wedding, but he was there). We were so amazed at how well he did, especially considering that our travel time on the way there was over 13 hours! You’re probably thinking “13 hours! I thought you went to Washington”. We left the house at 5am for a 7:20 flight. The flight was 2 hours, the drive to the ferry was 2 hours, the wait for the ferry was 4 ½ hrs, the ferry ride was an hour and then the ride to our hotel on the island was 30 minutes. Phew! But like I said, Landre was a gem!

Landre’s now 7+ months and he is crawling and pulling himself to stand up against what ever he can get a grip on. But with standing, comes falling. You just can’t watch them every second, but when you hear that thud and that sad cry follow, you wish you were. He is definitely saying “mama”, but I’m not entirely sure he knows what it means. I’d like to think so. Time will tell. Other sounds like “da”, “ba”, “ahhh” and all the other noises he makes with his tongue and lips are so fun to listen to. But, by far, the most special moment is when you walk into the room, Landre sees you, and a huge smile emerges across his face. As Steen says, it just keeps getting better all the time.

Introducing the Newest Lundblad . . .

It all began in the early morning hours on December 23^rd. Around 1:00am I felt my first cramp. Thinking it was because I needed to go to the bathroom, I got up and went. About a half an hour later, it happened again. Off to the bathroom I went. Not really thinking anything of it, I was use to getting up multiple times a night with my shrunken bladder. An hour later and two more trips to the bathroom it dawned on me that maybe these were contractions. A feeling of excitement ran through me and I looked over to Steen who was sound asleep. Tempted to wake him up, I decided to let him sleep. Me on the other hand, the contractions were happening just far enough where I couldn’t go back to sleep. Believe me, I tried. At 3:45 I got up to go to the bathroom again and this time my restlessness woke Steen up. He looked at me with a dazed look and I thought, “now’s my chance”. I told him that I was starting to have contractions. Immediately he shot up and turned on the light. In an exuberant voice he said, “Well let’s get up and go down stairs. Let’s watch T.V. I’ll make some coffee. We’re not going to be able to sleep anyway.” And so it began . . .

My contractions were happening pretty consistently, about every 15 minutes. The pain wasn’t bad, but definitely noticeable. We had an OB appointment scheduled for that day and wondered whether we’d actually make it to the appointment or whether we’d be in the hospital. Steen had appointments scheduled for the day and as he left I reminded him to keep his cell close. Thinking that today could be the day, I took the advice of a friend and took the opportunity to take one last shower, blow dry my hair and put on some makeup. By the time Steen made it home to take us to our 2:00pm appointment my contractions had gotten worse and were now happening about every 10 minutes. Steen thought for sure they’d admit us into the hospital, so he grabbed our bags and off we went. We were more than surprised when the doctor said that I was only ½ cm dilated. The doctor advised us that the contractions have to be REALLY INTENSE for the hospital to admit us. Thinking my pain was pretty intense at that point, I could only imagine (and not it a good way) how much worse it would get.

Trying to take my mind off the pain, I decided to go to a movie with my mom and aunt Judy (The Blindside). Somehow it seemed to help. However, the minute they brought me home the intensity of my contractions picked up. Taking the advice of another friend, I tried walking around the house. Pretty soon they were too intense and I laid balled up on the couch. Now they were happening every 5-7 minutes and I was implementing my breathing techniques. Remembering what the doctor had told us earlier in the day, Steen kept telling me that he didn’t think they were intense enough (how would he know). By 8:45pm I couldn’t tolerate it anymore and called the doctor who advised us to come in.

By 9:30pm I was being hooked up to monitors to determine if I would be admitted. In the process of being checked out, I threw up, twice. No one warned me that this might happen, but apparently it’s a sign that you’re in “true labor”. The nurse checked my dilation and reported that I was 3+cm, going on 4cm. Enough for them to admit me; which meant that the epidural was on it’s way. By 10:00pm I had that lovely liquid running through my veins and I instantly felt like I had a second wind. By 12:00am I was officially dilated to 4cm and it was decided that the nurse would break my water. It was projected that I would continue to dilate 1cm an hour, meaning that we were looking at a 6:00am delivery. Steen immediately got on the phone and warned our family. In the mean time Steen and I tried to get a little sleep.

At 4:45am it felt like my epidural was wearing off. The nurse came in and turned up my drip. Fifteen minutes later it still felt like the epidural wasn’t affective. The nurse checked my dilation again and said, “Oh, you’re there”. The nurse alerted the on-call doctor and we began the pushing process. I pushed for about 30 minutes before the doctor arrived. Once the doctor was present the pushing got more rigorous. It wasn’t painful; it was just exhausting. An additional 30 minutes of pushing and I finally saw my boy. That very first moment when the head emerged an overwhelming rush of emotion came over me and tears of joy streamed down my face. At 6:20am on December 24^th 2009 we gave birth to our beautiful son Landre David Lundblad. He weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 19.5 in long. The nurse grabbed his little body, wrapped him, and placed him on my chest. The second his body touched mine his tired eyes opened and gazed up at me as to say, “so that’s what you look like”. Instantly I was in love. A moment I will never forget.