Landon Wesley Ervick

Subconsciously I think I knew something was going to happen on the night of September 20th. Jeff and I put Austin to bed like we normally do, but I was feeling overly emotional about that fact that I only had a few more days left as him as my only child. I knew things were about to change forever. Not in a bad way, but things would be different. I couldn't imagine how I would love anyone as much as Austin. After he fell asleep I snuck into his room and just stared at him while he was sleeping. He looked so cute. After a few minutes I shut the door to his room and went to bed. At 5:00am this next morning our lives would change forever. I woke up to go to the bathroom like normal, but when I got back into bed I noticed my legs were wet. Did I pee myself and not realize it? Then I started thinking that maybe my water broke and it was a slow leak. Well of course I start googling it and I realized it was definitely a possibility. I wasn't having any contractions, but I woke Jeff up just to let him know what was going on. He jumped out of bed and started walking around the room. While I was still kind of in denial that I was in labor, Jeff was not. He started packing his bag and canceling his meetings for the day. I decided to call Dr Tudder to get his opinion and he said I needed to be at the hospital within an hour and he would meet us. I decided to take a shower and get some last minute stuff together. It was during that time that the contractions started. Luckily they weren't strong, but it definitely made things real. We had several plans for who would watch Austin when we went to the hospital, but no one was answering the phone so Jeff walked over to our neighbors house and Liz came over to sit with Austin until my mom and Mark could get to our house. I never got to see Austin before I left for the hospital because he was sleeping. It was better that way because I think I would have been a mess. Pregnancy hormones are no joke. So Jeff and I headed off to Reston Hospital Center and it was a drive I will never forget. It was so surreal because I wasn't in much pain and I wasn't expecting to go into labor 8 days early, but I knew we were going to meet our newest little man that day. 

Around 7:30 am we got to the hospital and checked in and they started monitoring my contractions. They were getting stronger and I was 3 centimeters dilated. Yay I had made progress since my doctor appt. 3 days earlier. The pain started getting more intense quickly and Dr Tudder said I didn't need any pitocin because my body was going on its own. I asked when I should get the epidural and he said anytime I was ready. I mentally made a goal for myself to make it to at least 4 centimeters. I didn't want to get it too early and slow the labor down. As the intensity picked up I said I was ready. I was 5 centimeters when they finally had everything ready to go. The pain of the needle was not pleasant, but it was better then the contraction pain. The actually give you the shot in the middle of the contraction, but you have to be completely still.  I started crying, but not because it hurt. I was picturing Austin's face to take mind off the shot and I started missing him. Of course then Jeff started crying and we were a hot mess! After I pulled myself together I was so happy to have some relief from the contractions. I could still feel them, but not like before. The next two hours or so I just relaxed and watched TV and chatted with my mom, Jeff, and Kelly. I could feel that the contractions were pretty strong and I was going through the transition phase, but they were tolerable. I didn't want to increase the epidural because I was afraid I wouldn't know when to push. My nurse Melissa was great and kept me in the loop about what was going on. Around 11:00 am I told Melissa that he pressure was getting very strong and I thought it was time to push. The only problem was that Dr Tudder was in a procedure all morning and was in route back to the hospital. I was going to have to hold out until he got there if possible. Not easy to do! About 10 minutes later he came rushing in and I have never been so excited to see him. My mom and Jeff held my legs and Kelly took pictures. After 20 minutes of pushing Landon Wesley arrived at 11:29 am and Dr Tudder placed him on my stomach. I didn't have a birth plan, but my one request was to have the baby placed directly on me and not taken away. Also, Jeff wanted to cut the cord. We both got our wish and it was so awesome! He was perfect!

It was such a peaceful moment after all my hard work. Jeff and I finally got to meet the little guy who had been kicking me for the past few months.  We just stared in awe of what we had created.  After about 10 minutes the nurses took him away to do all of the tests. His official stats were 8lbs and 20.75 inches. I have to say I was glad he was a little smaller then his big brother. We spent the next few hours cuddling, nursing, and introducing Landon to his family.

Big brother Austin was napping at home and I couldn't wait for him to come and meet his sweet baby brother. After months of worrying about how he would react when he saw me with the baby, I was relieved to see the excitement on his face when he arrived. I am sure the dinosaurs and stickers from baby brother helped. It was a moment I will never forget. We were officially a family of four and we had given Austin a best friend for life. We are so blessed to be the parents of these boys. The love in my heart has officially doubled in size. Let our newest adventure begin.