Well... 11 weeks?! How did THAT happen???

Oh how time has flown by!!! Our little Landon is 11 weeks old!!! My gosh... it seems like yesterday I was just writing his birth story!

We've had some milestones since my last post at a mere 7 weeks old - my apologies for not updating more often, it's a little harder now a days to get a free minute and when I do get a free minute, the dishes, my shower, workout, or vacuuming just seem more important than blogging - true story!

Poor Landon was diagnosed with Acid Reflux about 3 or 4 weeks ago - a mild case but non-the-less it's not fun. It makes for some really undesirable feeding sessions. This is my favorite new blog regarding reflux info. Think spitting up... excessively... like projectile?! Then comes the screaming after the bottles gone - and at first thought was that he was still hungry - not the case because this just adds to the spit up. Great right? Oh and don't forget the fact that he'd need to be kept upright for AT LEAST 30 minutes after eating which really didn't work anyway cause the second you lay him down and pick him up again, more would come up. Enter Zantac (not Xanax like Adam first thought we were giving him... that's for an entirely different problem?!) - .8ml 2x per day - a very minuscule amount but it's been a savior. I have a happy baby now... most of the time. He still spits up but not nearly as much. He still cries sometimes after bottles but not the blood curdling, ohmageez, I'm in so much pain screams like before. I've found that a pacifier for a few seconds after taking the bottle out of his mouth seems to make him realize that he really is full and that he really just wants to suck on something.

On a better note - Then there's the smiling - oh gosh - the smiling! I love it! Especially right when he wakes up from his naps... it's SO stinkin cute and makes my heart melt.

He's been on a pretty good schedule lately too. He's usually up for the day around 8am and we get him dressed and have our first bottle. Then we play a little bit and sometimes he hangs out in his bouncer while I work out or we've been known to make an early morning trip to the park for a jog :) Then I can count on a LONG nap in the morning around 10 or 11am that lasts usually until 1:30 or 2... sometimes even 2:30! That's usually when I get my shower in. When he finally wakes up he'll eat again and he's usually up until about 5 - sometimes he'll take another short nap but it's never very long. This is the time when we can usually get a good car trip in so if I have any errands to run - I better do them now... if I snooze... I lose!!! Cause after he eats again at 5 or 6pm, it's lights out until about 9pm. I WISH he wouldn't take this long afternoon nap cause it makes me feel bad for wanting to start his bedtime routine right when he wakes up. Nonetheless, once he gets up we feed him again and hang out for a little bit until we are almost ready for bed too. Then we give him his bath, swaddle him up real good and it's lights out again! :) MOST of the time I can count on him being a good baby and letting mommy sleep until at least 4am - however, that said - sometimes it's only 2am and most recently 5am :) After that bottle he usually will only last in his own crib until Adam gets up for work at 6:30 or 7am... but I've found if I bring him in to cuddle with me he won't need to eat again until his 8am bottle. PHEW... that was a long winded account of how my day's have gone for the last month... sheesh. 

Anyway, all this will probably change here shortly because come the 28th of June, I get to go back to work. I'm so not looking forward to it but hey... we're broke... the bill collectors are beginning to call for all the hospital bills we racked up in March from his delivery and his NICU stay. Payment plans... I THINK SO!!!

So, the plan is that Adam will watch him on Monday's cause that's his day off. Then our neighbor has so graciously offered to watch him the rest of the days for only $50 per week (this is 1/2 the price of daycare!). Thankfully I'm only planning to go back at 30 hrs per week so I can work a full day on Monday's and the rest of the week I'll be working 7am-1pm. Not too shabby so I can't complain.

What else have we been up to since I last updated?! I wish I could report that he's learned to roll over or something but no such luck - he hates tummy time so we haven't done TOO much of that. I try to every day actually but it lasts MAYBE 5 minutes. He loves to play on his back though so maybe that's coming soon. He does love his little sunshine toy that attaches to his bouncer or his carseat - it makes him smile SO big. It plays music if you pull on it and he's even made it play since he's started reaching out toward it to grab it. Also he's ALMOST big enough for his Baby Einstein bouncer toy... it says he needs to be able to sit up before he can use it but with a blanket behind him to prop him up he seems to really like it... for your viewing pleasure...

Happy Birthday Adam!!!

Oh my!... my man turned the big 3-0 on Wednesday!!! 

In honor of him I thought it might be time to post a recipe. It really has been a while since I posted one! I know I've been a horrible blogger since Landon was born and I haven't updated nearly enough!!! I can only do so much one-handed typing though (he's asleep in my arms right now!) But anyway, one of Adam's favorite restaurants is the Outback Steakhouse however since we are broke (whats new?) and I remembered we had this gem collecting dust under our counter, I thought I'd give it a go!!! :)

Great American Steakhouse Onion Machine

Now, I have to say, we've tried this thing before... it sucked. We could never get the coatings in the instruction book to work and it always turned out like crap. However this time... it turned out AWESOME!!! 

If you don't have access to the onion machine (I imagine not since I could only find it for sale anymore on ebay?!) Here's instructions from Allrecipes.com to hand slice it:

***To slice onion: slice 1 inch off of the top and bottom of the onion and remove the papery skin. Use a thin knife to cut a 1 inch diameter core out of the middle of the onion. Now use a very sharp, large knife to slice the onion several times down the center to create 'petals': First slice through the center of the onion to about three-fourths of the way down. Turn the onion 90 degrees and slice it again in an X across the first slice. Keep slicing the sections in half, very carefully until the onion has been cut 16 times. Do not cut down to the bottom of the onion. (The last 8 slices will be difficult, be careful).*** 

Ok so... once you have your onion sliced you need to soak it in ice water root side up for 1 hour. I guess this helps separate the petals and makes them nice and full which helps to coat the onion better. 

While its soaking you can prepare the dry mixture which all we did was just take a bunch of flour along with random spices (Johnnys, pizza seasoning, garlic powder, onion salt, paprika, ground mustard...etc... whatever you have on hand that sounds good). Throw it all in a bag large enough to fit your onion.

The wet coating you'll need is Tempura. Mix it according to the package instructions (I did notice this works best if you leave it a little thick... so use a little less water than instructed). 

After an hour, remove your onion from the ice water and shake dry. Coat with your tempura mixture making sure to get down in between all the petals. Move onion to your bag of dry coatings (this got messy for us!) And shake it... shake it baby shake it!!! :) Remove onion and place it on a plate. Again separate the petals and make sure that the dry coating got down into all the crevices! 

I forgot to mention you need a pretty good size deep fryer (or I guess a large pot would work too but have fun with that?!). We heated oil to about 375 degrees and cooked our onion till she was golden brown!!! 

Look at this beauty... oh it was good!!!

OH! I almost forgot... the sauce! I found a few different variations of the ingredients online for this. I have to be honest, we kind of make-shifted?! Here's the ingredients we used, however, the measurements are questionable so I'm not including them :)

• Mayo
• Ketchup
• Chili Sauce
• Cheyenne pepper

One last recipe that I attempted was the Outback Steakhouse Bread... it didn't turn out :( BUT - I have to admit that I was in a hurry cause Landon was starting to get fussy. You just can't rush making bread!!! Adam ate a lot of it anyway so maybe it wasn't THAT bad but it was not picture worthy! I'm going to try it again when I have more time :) If it comes out better I'll post it.

Alright folks that's all for now... my arm is asleep from holding Landon this whole time and I need to shower! CHEERS!!!

Happy 7 Week Birthday Landon!!!

I know... it's not really a milestone... but we had an appt today with Dr. C so it kinda felt like it :)

Landon is 7 weeks... holy crap! Where has the time gone and WTH have I done with the last month and a half??? Well... there's been a lot of sitting around, gazing at each other, daytime TV, spitting up, crying, diaper changes, tummy time, learning to type one handed **wink**, trial and error, oh... and SMILES! He learned to smile - and I keep telling myself (and him) that it's not just gas :)

 My phone takes crappy pictures but you take what you can get!!! :)

Anyway, he's now 9 1/2 lbs! Quite the gain from his 6 lb 14 oz beginning! It's amazing and I see him grow little by little every day. I wish I caught how long we was now but there seems to have been some question on that from the very beginning anyway. He goes in next week for his 1st set of shots... I'm so not excited about that but hopefully it'll be quick and Dr. C says he should sleep A LOT afterward :) 

Oh speaking of sleep! We'll see how tonight goes but the last 2 or 3 nights he's slept almost through the whole night! By almost I mean 5-6 hours :) WOOT WOOT! Momma's getting some rest finally! 

Anyway, as for me... I had my first appt with Dr. C postpartum too... that was fabulous... I'll spare you the details :) Although I do have to be a little bit of an attention whole for a minute to say that I'm down 9 POUNDS from my pre-pregnancy weight. And it feels GOOD to have your Dr comment on it!!! Go me :) 

Until next time... :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Well, my very first mother's day has come and gone. It was good, not great cause I miss my mom and would have REALLY loved to have spent the day with her but Adam's mom was visiting so it was nice to have her for the weekend. We didn't really do much though; he made us breakfast and gave me a sweet card that made me cry of course... postpartum emotions are still running wild I suppose :)

As far as Landon, well he isn't treating his mommy very nice this mother's day. He's 6 weeks old tomorrow... I'm not sure how that happened?!?! And everyone tells me babies have a growth spurt around this time... I think the same thing happened around 3 weeks but that seems like a distant memory at this point so this too will hopefully pass as quickly as it came. He's just been super fussy... if he's not sleeping or has a bottle in his mouth he seems to be crying bloody murder. And trust me... just because a bottle shuts him up doesn't mean he's hungry. If he's not... it all comes right back up!!! Which makes for lots of wardrobe changes... for mommy and for Landon :(

Anyway, I really should be updating more with all his milestones but gosh... who knew being a stay at home mom for a minute was this demanding??? Lets see... he lost his belly button stump finally so he got his first "real" bath at like 5 weeks....

Daddy thought pouring water on his face was a good idea :) He didn't seem to mind though.

What else? Oh... we got a smile and what might have been a giggle the other day... or it could have been gas?! He's not very consistent so we never can really tell?!

Moxie Images - Landon's Newborn Session

If you recall from this post we booked a photography package through Moxie Images. Well, I'm a little late in posting this but over a week ago now we took Landon for his newborn session - he was exactly 3 weeks old!!!

Those are two samples from the photographers blog that she sent me... SO cute! Well I got the rest back a few days later and I have no idea how I'm going to pick two shots - we get 1 8x10 and another digital file with printing rights... that's going to be tough!!!

Our Birth Story

Wow... that's all I have to say. I haven't had much time in the last few weeks to do any updating - hopefully that will change soon!

**DISCLAIMER** - this post may be long!!! Last I wrote I was still up in the air as to what route we were going to take in meeting little Baby Schultz.

Well, I was still pretty indecisive up until the last day but we scheduled the induction for the night of the 28th. In the meantime I did all I would with the old wives tales they suggest to induce labor: nightly walks, sexy time, spicy foods, eating pineapple, castor oil.... ok no... just kidding!

No such luck.

So Adam and I took advantage of our last night "alone" together and went out Sat night to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and we had a blast. We didn't really talk about the baby much but just enjoyed each others company. I REALLY wanted to share the margarita Adam was enjoying too but the food was good enough! Then we came home and just watched a movie, it was very nice. Sunday came and we just spent all day around the house. Not really doing much but trying to keep busy and get stuff done and be as prepared as possible. It was a weird feeling that day knowing we'd be parents in less than 24 hours!!! Around 7:30pm we packed up our bags in the car and headed off to the hospital.

We checked in and they wasted no time getting things going, we were escorted within minutes to room 2040 (Adam's baseball and football jersey numbers from high school!!!). They got me into my gown and hooked up to the monitors for my contractions and for baby's heartbeat - surprisingly I was already contracting pretty regularly and I was dilated to 1cm and 40% effaced... progress and all on my own!!! Then the nurse put in the 1st round of Cervadil, gave me an Ambien and told me to "get some rest."  

Ya right.  

The Cervadil was doing its job... All night my contractions were about 2-5 minutes apart and getting consistently stronger. I didn't sleep a wink. Adam on the other hand slept for hours on the couch, waking a few times to see how I was and what he could do. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything but to wait.

Around 9am, our new nurse came in to meet us and to start me on Pitocin and Penicillin (because I tested positive for Group B Strep) and shortly after Dr. C stopped in to see how I was. At that time I was dilated to 3cm (I can't recall how effaced I was?!) - more progress though. Thank goodness! The nurses kept asking me to judge my pain on a scale of 1-10... I kept thinking... well, I don't know how bad this is going to get!!! So I think I kept underestimating and telling them 4 or 5... when now I look back I should have been saying 7 or 8.

Within an hour I was in so much pain from the contractions that I was already considering getting the epidural but wanted to hold out as long as possible. I think it was around 11am I finally caved and asked for it and within 15 minutes the anesthesiologist was up in my room getting it all started. Adam was a rock holding my hands while they worked and within 3 contractions they were finished and I was laying back starting to feel the effects of it.

I don't care what anyone says... the epidural was FABULOUS! :)

After that my mom and sister came in and I could actually hold a conversation and we'd watch the contractions on the monitor and I couldn't feel a thing! Around 1pm Dr. C came in to check me again and to her (and my!) surprise I was dilated to 7cm! At that point she broke my water and that's when I got REALLY nervous cause she said we'd have our boy in the next few hours! Those next few hours were kind of a blur, we didn't do much except hang out in my room watching TV and chatting.

Around 3:30pm I was checked again and the nurse let me know she was going to call Dr. C and let her know that I was fully dilated to 10cm and it was time to start pushing... eeeek! I was really worried about Adam cause he told me from the beginning that he didn't think he'd be able to watch or even help hold my leg. Well, that went out the window cause the nurse didn't give him a chance to decline and by 30 minutes in he was watching the whole thing. I also had said I didn't want anyone in the room except Adam and the nurses while I was pushing but that went out the window as well when my mom poked her head in mid-push to see how I was... so I told her and my sister to come on in! So... everyone who said I'd change my mind in the moment - there you have it... YOU WERE RIGHT! :) And I didn't care one bit - I'm actually glad they got to share in his birth.

For the next two hours Adam, my mom and my nurse coached me as I pushed and slowly started to feel my epidural wear off. There was a point right before Dr. C came in that I really thought I wasn't going to be able to do it. And once she got there everything was a blur cause I was so worn out and in so much pain. I remember her telling me that she'd need to do an episiotomy and that I'd need to push with all I had the next few pushes because baby's heart rate had dropped and we needed to get him out. Two pushes later and Landon Ward Schultz was here at 5:49pm - 6 lbs 14 oz - 18 1/2 inches. Dr. C asked if either Adam or my mom wanted to cut the cord - neither wanted to, so as soon as she did it they took our sweet boy over the the warmer to check him out since his heart rate had dropped so low right before delivery. Adam was right by his side and I remember thinking he looked so proud!

He came over to me and gave me the BIGGEST hug and told me how proud he was of me and how great I did. Oh and that he loved me of course :)

For the next 1/2 hour as Dr. C stitched me up, all I could do is lay there and shake from the adrenaline. I FINALLY got to hold my sweet little boy as they told me that his breathing was very erratic and that he took in a lot of fluid during delivery so they would need to take him upstairs to the NICU for monitoring for a few hours. So after only a few minutes with him, off he went with Adam and the nurses. I don't think I really knew what was going on at that point cause I was so out of it because I didn't cry, which is really unlike me.

In the meantime, they moved me to another room where we'd spend the night to get settled and wait for Adam to come back with my little boy. After about an hour he came to our new room and said he was going to bring me food and then we'd go up to see our little man because he wasn't going to be spending the night with us - he was on oxygen and would need to be monitored for the night.

Once we got upstairs he was sleeping so peaceful but I got to hold him and the nurse tried to help me nurse him - he wasn't too interested though and we needed some sleep as well so we went back down to our room to do our best to again "get some rest." I think Adam set his alarm to go back up and see him around 3am but was back in bed shortly after.

The next morning, the nurses came in to check me and remove my IV's so I could be more mobile. I took a shower and ate some breakfast and then headed up to see my baby again. This time we met with the doctor who was taking care of Landon - he informed us that his chest x-ray had shown possible signs of infection and that they started him on antibiotics through an IV. We wouldn't know for 3 days the outcome but likely the NICU would be his home for 5-7 days... possibly 10-14 days. :(

I spent that whole day between my room and the NICU and I also met with a lactation specialist who hooked me up with a hospital grade pump to hopefully help bring in my milk and to supplement what Landon was getting through his IV. While I was spending time with him I was clueless as to what I needed to be doing. The nurses filtered in and out in 12 hour shifts and some seemed to take charge while others just let me do my thing - which was hard as there were 3 monitors hooked to him at all times beeping and just being in the way of holding my sweet boy.

The next day I was discharged from the hospital and I have to say that was the HARDEST day of my life. Going home alone. Alone without my baby that had been with me 24/7 for the last 9 months. Also, Adam had to go back to work to get his mind off things and my mom and my sister hit the road to go back home since they couldn't do much in the way of helping me out my first week with baby.

So, for the next week, it was back and forth from our house to the hospital. I tried to spend as much time as possible with him and Adam would go back with me every night after work to see our little man. Luckily we only live about 5 minutes from the hospital. It was so hard to leave him every night but the hospital had a policy that you could not sleep by his bedside :(

I think it must have been about mid-week that we got the news that Landon would be able to come home with us on Easter Sunday. It was an awesome homecoming and we are so happy to be settling in.

It only took me two weeks to get this birth story done! haha **woot**woot** I'm sure I missed a ton but that's the gist of it... as for being home - we are getting somewhat settled and into a routine. More on that to come - stay tuned!!!

:)

Landon Ward Schultz

March 29th, 2010 - 5:49pm
6 lbs 14 oz - 18 1/2 inches 
 

Birth Story to come...