Yesterday: Never a Dull Moment

Yesterday I was so excited to have my LAST doctors appointment here in Bismarck. For the past couple months every Thursday I've had to leave work to go to the clinic for my weekly check-up and then go back to work afterwards exhausted and overwhelmed. I was so happy to finally be able cross off that last appointment date on, what once was a long list on our fridge. I told Ryan as we were getting ready for work that I promised to have a good attitude today and that for once I wouldn't text him while in the waiting room, complaining about how much I hate Thursdays and how tired I am. He just laughed and gave me a kiss before heading out the door.

At work I made sure to hug my kids more and kept reminding them that tomorrow would be teachers last day. Before I knew it, it was time to leave for my appointment. One of my favorite little boys followed me to the door and asked in his little voice that melts my heart, "teacher be right back?" I kneeled down and told him I'd be back around lunch time and to be good. As I drove to my appointment I reflected on how many times in the past couple months I'd made this drive and that today was the last time. Thursday would never be the same again. I was filled with joy and gratitude to God for getting me through so many long, hard days. I got to the clinic, signed in, and was sent back to the ultra sound waiting room. The receptionist all know me by now and just ask if there's been any changes since last week. I wanted to tell them that today was my last day, but I knew they probably wouldn't care haha. I was just SO excited!

It wasn't long before I was called back into the ultra sound room. I was glad to see the tech I had was not the woman who finds it necessary to give me a picture proving that Landon is a boy every week. I would much rather get a picture of his face or profile. During the ultra sound me, the tech, and the intern all giggled and sighed as Landon was opening and closing his mouth like he was babbling. He's so cute! The techs don't see many babies as far along as he is. He no longer looks like an alien, but an adorable, cute as a button, baby boy now :)

I left the room with two perfect pictures of his little face profile and went back to the main waiting room, where I stayed for the next hour... I really did have a good attitude for most of it, but then my stomach started to ache because it was lunch time and my eyes started to close because I was tired and I had nothing to occupy myself except the small tv hanging in the corner that I couldn't hear at all. I could tell that something must of been going on because most of the woman around me had been there just as long as me if not longer. I could sense their frustration building as the minutes passed without their name being called. I watched as some of them walked up to the counter to ask what was going on. It was clear the receptionist wasn't able to explain so they just tried to calm them down by assuring them that it shouldn't be much longer.

Just as I began contemplating asking the elderly woman next to me to wake me up if my name was called, things started to move. Women's names started being called one after the other until finally I heard Natalie Maxwell. After a while of even more waiting, (I think they call you back to the doctors rooms just so you feel like your progressing) I heard the familiar knock of my OB. She apologized for the wait and told me some procedure went wrong and it affected everyones schedule. Then her face brightened as she began to talk about Landon. She said that he is just looking perfect. His weight is in the 80th percentile and his breathing is an 8 out of 8. She said she was sad to let me go, but excited that he will be where he needs to be. She made me promise to send pictures. Then she listened to his heartbeat, and told me that she was going to check my cervix just to see how everything looked. With surprise in her voice she exclaimed that I was at a 2. I was really surprised, but told her that a couple nights ago I felt strange and I even researched what contractions feel like, because I just didn't feel right. I told her that I figured they were just braxon hicks and nothing to worry about. She said, no they were definitely the real thing and she told me from now on you feel anything, ANYTHING weird you come into labor and delivery. She asked me again when I was planning on going down to the Cities and I told her Sat. She said she thought it would be best if she checked with U of M to make sure they don't want to see me sooner. She said that contractions before 37 weeks is considered pre term labor and nothing to fool around with, especially in my case. She said, on the bright side it looks like I may have a fast labor when he does decide to come. I told her that I had been worried about that because my mom had very fast labors and in our child birth class they said that you can sometimes predict what your labor will be like by how your mothers was. She agreed that's a valid concern and she told me again that if I feel anything to not hesitate to come in. It's very serious because if I go into labor here in Bismarck, I'm going to need to be airlifted to Minneapolis, and more than that there's an even higher risk if he's pre-term. On that note she hugged me and told me that it's going to be fine and she would talk to me later that day after talking to U of M. I told her thank-you for everything. After that I went to the lab to have blood taken then I called Ryan on my way out. I tried to explain things without freaking him out, but it didn't work. He kept saying we could leave that day and told him we should wait to hear back from MN. I assured him I felt fine and that I'd finish up work and meet him at Sams to get groceries like we had planned. I got back to work, now 3 hours later, well past lunch time, and went to talk to my boss. I told her what my OB said and that I wouldn't be able to work the next day after all. Then I went to my room and was surprised to find my kids still awake. They all were excited to see me and the one boy pointed out that I took a long time. I explained again that I was at the doctor & they were obsessed with the band aid I had on from getting my blood taken, it took a while to settle them down. It was difficult to say good-bye to each of them yesterday. I wasn't emotionally prepared for it to be my last day, but since Landon, God has been teaching me that I need to be ready at anytime for MY plans to change.

After work I got a call from a lady at U of M. She wanted to know about everything, what our plans were for traveling and when we would make it to the Cities, and where I was staying. She asked me how I was feeling then and if I'd had anymore contractions since that night, I told her I hadn't. She said that she thinks it will be fine if we keep our original travel plans and get to the Cities on Saturday. She said that if I don't feel right in any way to come in ASAP on Saturday, but if I'm fine to just go to my aunts house and continue to take it easy. She said I can drive but I need to stop at least every hour, get out and walk and drink lots and lots of water. She said she will give me a call on Monday to reschedule my appointment because they want to check on me before my original appointment on Thursday. She gave me numbers to call if anything comes up and she made sure I know where to go if I do go into labor and then she said she would talk to me soon.

So that was my exciting day in a long nutshell. Last night me and Ryan enjoyed a nice supper, our last date night in Bismarck without Landon, then we came home and relaxed. Neither of us could sleep well, Ryan said he was to excited about having a baby but he keeps telling Landon he needs to wait a little longer. I woke up last night screaming from a leg cramp and Ryan practically jumped out of bed hahaha He's paranoid now that I'm going to go into labor at any second. Truthfully we both never really considered Landon coming early because the doctors have all been telling us he will go full term, so I've just been telling people that I'm going to be induced the first week of April. After yesterday though I realized that really anything can happen so the main thing right now is just to get Landon to where he needs to be.

Thank you to all of you who are following Landon's story and praying for him. Your excitement, anticipation, and prayer support are priceless to us.

Landon's momma