Graecyn Nicole ~ 3.5

Where have the last 3 1/2 years and my baby girl gone!?!  You have become such a sweet, caring, and funny little girl.  You have one of the sweetest, funniest personalities and your laugh is contagious.

You are in gymnastics and were invited to move from the recreational class to the developmental (pre-competition team), so go 2 days a week now.  You love it and have so much fun each time.  You also love to dance and really have some moves.  You are also in swimming one day a week and love being in the water - such a difference from even a year ago!

You are very bashful when first being around people - even those you know well - but after a few minutes, you become a chatter box and show off.  Your vocabulary has grown and we love to hear what new words will come out of your mouth - especially those that aren't quite what they're supposed to be.  Some of our favorites are:

gisgusting (disgusting)
mistappear (disappear)
holy camoly (holy canoly)
baby brudder (brother)
lucky germs (Lucky Charms cereal)
popscotch (hopscotch)

Anytime you see a police car, you tell us that the policeman is going to come "knock you over" (instead of pull you over).

Another funny thing you've said was during bedtime routine, "Mama, when I have to go potty at night, I go like this "pork and fath, pork and fath." Said while moving your hips back and forth. (It took me awhile to realize that pork & fath meant back and forth.)

You love to color and draw and are learning your letters and numbers.  You can spell your name and recognize the letters in your name.  You love to play outside and are mastering your balance bike and hula hoop.  You recently discovered legos and love to build things.  You also enjoy doing puzzles and are very good at them.

You still nap at home and usually take a 2-3 hour nap (you don't do as well napping at daycare - we're lucky if you get a 30 minute nap in at daycare).

Cody Landen ~ 1 Month Old

The past month has flown by.  You are such a good baby and seem to have a very laid back personality so far.  You love to sleep and are now giving us 3-4 hour stretches of sleep at a time.  The only downside to your love of sleep is that you would rather sleep then eat, which has created some problems when it comes to nursing you; the second I start to nurse you, you snuggle in and fall asleep...nothing will keep you awake.  At your first well baby visit (2 days after coming home from the hospital), your weight was 7 lb 13 oz (down one ounce since leaving the hospital), so your doctor suggested we start to supplement or pump and bottle feed you; I opted to pump and so far have a good milk supply. You're now eating 3-4 oz bottles every 2 1/2 to 4 hours and are starting to get chunky rolls!  At your 2 week weight check you were 8 lb 15 oz and at your 1 month check-up you were 10 lb 10 oz (63%) and 22.5" (81%)!  You're wearing 3 month size clothes, but I'm finding that they're starting to get to be too small, so will be digging out the 6 month size soon.

You love to cuddle and are starting to give us smiles.  You like to spend time on your activity mat and have started to reach out to touch the animals that hang down from it.  Your neck is getting pretty strong and you can hold your head up pretty well.  You seem to like the pacifier, which I'm not crazy about, but if it helps soothe you, then I guess it's a good thing.  You love to look at lights and ceiling fans.  You seem to have a favorite toy already, a blue stuffed elephant that we hang from your activity mat.  The feet crinkle when touched and there are other textures on it - if all the things hanging from the mat, you always reach for the elephant most.

Our nicknames for you right now are Cody Cocoa (or just Cocoa - named by Graecyn), Buddy/Bud, and Buster.

Graecyn has adjusted well to being a big sister, but I think the excitement of it is wearing off.  During the first few weeks, any time you would cry, Graecyn would drop what she was doing and run to you yelling "I'm coming, I'm coming, he needs me."  Now, when you cry, she yells from wherever she is, "Buddy, I'm right here, buddy." or "Shush, I can't hear, Buddy."  She loves to give you hugs and kisses and thinks you're pretty boring right now (we've warned her that this will not always be the case).

We can't wait to watch you grow!

Welcome to the World, Cody Landen!

At 6:19 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2015, we welcomed Cody Landen into the world!  You weighed 8 lb. 9 oz. and were 20.5" long - such a big boy!  You are a very happy and healthy baby and we are so excited you are here and part of our family!

I had my 40 week appointment the day before and was feeling a bit defeated because it wasn't looking like you would be arriving anytime soon - and I found out you were on the 8+ lb side, which made me a bit nervous.  I was dilated to 3.5 cm and 90% effaced and had the doctor sweep my membranes again to see if things would start naturally.  By about 8:30 that night, I was feeling pretty regular contractions that were around 10 minutes apart - not close enough to get too excited about yet, but I warned your daddy that this could be it.  I went to bed wondering if things would progress or stop as they had in the past and woke up around midnight feeling slightly more intense and frequent contractions.  I timed the contractions for 30 minutes - they were coming around every 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, so decided to go ahead and wake up daddy and start getting ready to head to the hospital.  Our neighbor, Bob, came over to the house to stay with Graecyn and we arrived at the hospital around 1:15 a.m.; in triage, the nurse found that I was dilated to 4.5 cm (halfway there!).  The hospital was quite busy with babies being born, so it took a little while to get into the labor and delivery room.  I labored naturally until around 5:30 a.m. and the contractions were becoming much more intense and frequent.  The nurse asked if I wanted an epidural and while I was hoping to do the entire delivery naturally, decided to go ahead and get one because the pain was so intense.  By 5:45 a.m., the anesthesiologist had given the epidural.  By 6 a.m., I finally saw the doctor for the first time (she had been in back-to-back emergency C-sections).  She checked me and found I was dilated to 9 cm and 100% effaced and went ahead and broke my water.  As she broke my water, she discovered meconium and that changed the course of action pretty quickly making Daddy and me a little nervous.  We were informed that as soon as you were born, they would let me see you, but that they would then immediately take you to the side where a pediatrician and neonatologist would be ready to clear the meconium from your nose and mouth - hoping you would not ingest any with your first breaths.  By 6:15 a.m., I had the intense urge to push (15 minutes after my water broke) and by 6:19 a.m., you were here - 4 minutes of pushing!  You were what the doctor called "sunny side up", which made the delivery pretty painful even with the epidural, but thank goodness it only took 4 minutes of pushing.  We couldn't believe how quickly things progressed!  The doctors were able to clear all of the meconium out and were positive none had been ingested, which allowed us to breath a sigh of relief.  Before I knew it, you were gently resting on my chest.  Our baby boy was finally here!!

We are adjusting well to being a family of 4.  Graecyn is being such a big sister.  Everytime she hears you cry, she drops what she's doing and runs over to you saying "he needs me, he needs me" and then she gets down by your face and starts saying "you're ok" and softly shushing you.  She'll sing songs to you to help calm you down. 

We are adjusting to the lack of sleep again and are on cloud 9 to finally have you here!

Our baby boy is finally here!

Proud (and tired) Daddy!

Mama finally gets to hold you

Big sister finally gets to meet you

Headed home

Home Sweet Home