Like Brother, Like Sister?

Owen...................................Adler

We definitely see a family resemblance. Although Adler has much more feminine features. Her hands and feet are much smaller than Owen's were when he was infant. But she's a bit chunkier than Owen was.

Here we go.....

All our family is back in Texas and today is Micah's first day back to work since Adler was born. It's amazing how quickly life must get back to 'normal' after giving birth. But we're doing good today, just hanging out and taking it easy. We certainly miss all the help our parents provided us while they were here.

Owen eating a carrot from our garden.

Mimi and Adler

Micah's parents were here for a week and just left this past weekend. They were so much help with both Owen and Adler during their stay!

Yes, I'm sleeping with both my kiddos here.....I love to wake up with them next to me in the morning!

Owen is going to hate us one day for taking this photo, but seriously.....this is hilarious!

Olfa and Mimi with their grand kids.

Here is Adler's first baby friend, Max. Max was born 5 days before Adler and came over for a visit this past weekend. He is such a cutie! And yes, I realize my baby girl looks like a giant. But to be fair, Max was born 3 weeks early and Adler 2 weeks late.

Pretty Baby

My good friend Kristin came over a few days ago to meet Adler and took these great pictures while she was here! Thanks Kristin!!!!

One Week Old

It's hard to believe Adler is one week old today! I think the past week has just been a blur......lack of sleep can do that to you. But she is really a good baby. She is very calm and easy going, and really only gets fussy when she's hungry. She's already passed her birth weight and today weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces. She was also measured at 21 3/4 inches at her pediatrician appointment earlier this week, which is 2 inches longer than she measured in the hospital. Hmmmmm......either she was mis-measured in the hospital or my breast milk is more amazing than I thought!


Olfa and Adler

As you can tell, Owen is very affectionate with Adler. He's constantly giving her hugs and kisses.

But we're really going to have to keep an eye on him.......

Look at those rolls!!!

Here's my mom and her grand kids dressed in Aggie get-up.

Adler already has her daddy wrapped around her tiny finger.

The Birth Story

I feel compelled to share Adler’s birth story because it was probably the most amazing experience of my life (and I wanted to write it down before I started to forget the details). It was the complete opposite of Owen’s birth…..not that Owen’s birthday wasn’t wonderful. The day Owen came into the world changed my life forever, but it wasn’t a birth story I wanted to repeat. In fact, his birth story is what compelled me to have a natural childbirth this time around. And that’s exactly what happened:

Thursday, September 17, 2009 started out with a regular doctor appointment to check on my progress, as I was 10 days past my due date. Dr. Koch told us I was still about 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The baby looked healthy, so there was still no reason to induce labor. She said she would see us again in four days if I still hadn’t gone into labor.

Micah and I were a little disappointed by this news, because we were really hoping to have progressed more. It was hard to stay positive at that point, so we decided to stay home from work that afternoon and both took a long nap. Around 5:00 pm my mom and I took Owen to get his hair cut and then headed to Raley’s around 6:00 pm to pick up some food for dinner. While in Raley’s I started having some fairly hard contractions. At first, I didn’t think much about it because I had been having mild, irregular contractions for the past two weeks. But they started coming on pretty fast and hard, and I had to concentrate to make it through the contractions. By the time we checked out, I told my mom she would need to drive home because my contractions were so close together.

Once I got home, Micah started timing the contractions and they were only one minute apart and lasted about one minute each. I had to breathe/count through the pain and started think we should get to the hospital quick! So while I dealt with the contractions Micah ran around the house packing our hospital bag, calling our doula, and making arrangements for Owen. I ended up working through the contractions for about an hour and finally around 7:30 pm Micah and I headed to the hospital with our doula, Launa, following. My mom stayed behind with Owen and got him ready to go to his friend’s house for the night.

The car ride to the hospital was not pleasant! We caught every traffic light and I was in a ton of pain. Micah was helping me cope with pain by counting backwards. When we finally arrived to the hospital, my contractions were less than a minute apart and it took me about six contractions for us to finally make it through the hospital to the third floor maternity unit. On our walk through the hospital we had to stop for each contraction so I could work my way through it. Micah would bend over each time and allow me to rest on his back while he and Launa helped me count backwards to keep my focus. When we finally made it to the maternity unit, the nurses were waiting and ready for us. My nurse, Marie, quickly learned that I was already at 8 cm and started helping me through each contraction. Marie never left my side until Adler was born. About 30 minutes later my mom arrived and immediately stepped in to help me through the pain.

I had an amazing Birth Team. Micah was my strength through every contraction, as he bent over for me each time so I could stand up and lean on his back as I labored. Launa was in front of me making eye contact and keeping me mentally focused while we counted backwards. My mom and Marie were behind me, massaging my back through every contraction and while I rested. How lucky I was to have so much support! I know I couldn’t have stayed focused without everyone’s support and love.

For about an hour we labored like this until I needed to push. After a couple of hard pushes I was told the baby’s head was out (which I had a hard time believing). When I gave birth to Owen I pushed for an hour and a half, so it seemed unbelievable that this baby’s head had already emerged. Dr. Koch told me to push one last time to get the shoulders out, so I did and out she came! She entered the world at 8:59 pm, a little over an hour after we had arrived at the hospital. I was so overwhelmed that everything had happened so quickly and that my baby was a GIRL! Dr. Koch passed her to me and then everyone helped me get into bed where I held the baby, uninterrupted, for hours. She lay on my belly, nursed and slept all night long, while I gazed at her in amazement for most of the night. She wasn’t even weighed until the following morning and we were discharged from the hospital about 18 hours after we had been admitted.

I am so proud of the way Adler entered the world and will never forget the love and support that surrounded us as she was born. I am thankful to my doctor, my Birth Team and the hospital for allowing me have the kind of birth that I had envisioned for so many months!

And now, the real fun begins!

Adler Joy

Here's a few more pictures from our short stay at the hospital and our first night home with baby Adler. Owen is very interested in Adler and asks to hold her often. Whenever she starts crying Owen tells me "Baby needs you, Mama" OR "Baby needs to nurse, Mama." It's very cute!

Proud Big Brother

My mom has been here for 2 long weeks waiting on Adler to arrive. Finally, she gets to hold her granddaughter!

Owen received his own baby doll yesterday and I caught him copying his father last night.

First night home and we are pooped!!

Adler is a very good eater.....that's all she wants to do (which makes for a very tired Mom). I haven't slept much the past 2 nights, so hopefully we'll figure things out soon. But I can't complain because she is such a great nurser!

LANGDON LIFE......FINALLY!

WELCOME
Adler Joy Langdon
September 17, 2009
8:59 pm
8 pounds, 12 ounces
19 3/4 inches long

It's been an exciting 24 hours, and we're already home from the hospital with our new precious daughter. Adler is such a sweetie and we are having fun getting to know her. More details to come soon.......

How to induce labor???

We keep trying a variety of ways to induce labor, but nothing seems to be working. I've been doing a bunch of walking and hiking because it seems to make my contractions stronger for a few hours. But then I go to sleep and wake up in the morning to nothing. Tonight we took an extreme hike to a nearby waterfall. If this doesn't make me go into labor, then I don't know what will!

Grandma and Owen had a blast climbing the rocks.

So my mom was supposed to fly back to Texas TODAY! But she extended her trip a few days in the hopes of meeting her second grandchild very soon. She's been here for almost 2 weeks now. The pressure is on.

Here I am showing off my almost 42 week baby belly.