Cade Ryder Landes has arrived!!

Cade Ryder Landes has arrived!! He was born Saturday, February 21^st, 2009! He weighed 7lbs, 12 ounces and is 20.75 inches long! … Oh and did I mention he is absolutely beautiful!

Here’s how it all happened….

Friday evening Ryan and I checked into the hospital to be induced. We were all settled by 9:30pm and I was gel given to get things kick started. The plan was to get two doses of gel throughout the night and then start Pitocin the following morning, well things moved along much quicker than expected. I came to the hospital at 4 centimeters, relaxed through the first dose of gel, played games and enjoyed the night with Ryan, but by the second dose of gel (1am) things really got going. In about thirty minutes I went from barely cramping to full on contractions. Being that I was barely going on gel, my nurse offered me some Tylenol and suggested we take a walk. Well I made it half way down the hall and had to turn back. My nurse hooked me back up to the monitor, realized my contractions had really picked up and offered me my epidural. I never quite understood how beautiful of a creation epidurals are until I experienced the most painful hour of my life. By the time I got my epidural, a little more comfortable and back into bed, it was about 3am and I was then 5cms dilated. The next time the nurse checked me I was 8cms and by 6am I had reached 10cms without a drop of Pitocin. Although I was fully dilated, my water still had not broken and the nurses wanted to give my body just a little more time to let the baby drop before we could start pushing. Although we had to wait it out for an hour or two, we didn’t think we’d be this far until later in the afternoon, so we were still way a head of schedule and happy with the progress of things. In the mean time, I felt great, was in great spirits and just excited to meet my son. Soon enough my doctor arrived, broke my water and we were getting ready to push. After “practice pushes” throughout the morning, I pushed for about an hour before finally getting to meet Cade at 10:28am!

Labor and delivery was the most amazing experience of my life! Being that I have never had more than a scratch on my body, I was quite nervous to deliver a baby. All in all, besides the hour of uncomfortable contractions, my labor really was a fun, exciting and enjoyable experience! I cried quite a few times, but only because I was so excited to see my baby. Words cannot describe the moment I saw Cade, heard his sweet cry and got to hold my baby! And the best part was sharing it with Ryan! Did I saw it was amazing!?

Ryan, Cade and I spent the next two days at the hospital and came home Monday morning. I must say, our first 24 hours home have been GREAT! It has been so fun caring for Cade and learning how to be parents together. We spent yesterday afternoon getting settled into the house with a little baby and enjoying our time as a family. We were anxious to see how our first night would go and were prepared with a game plan. At the hospital we had Cade in our arms most of the night (mostly because we couldn’t get enough of him), but we were determined to keep him in his bassinet once we were home. Well to our surprise, the night was practically flawless. My mom, Grandma Carrie, let us get to bed at 10:30 and watched Cade until his 12:30 feeding. From then on, Ryan took the first shift. He only had to get up once to cuddle and comfort the little guy and then he slept like an angel until it was time for me to feed him again. After that, he was out for another four hours before it was time for his morning feeding. We zonked out again until Grandma came back around 8am and let us sleep until 10am. Lol, I never thought we would get almost 12 hours of sleep our first night home. We definitely owe a few hours to Grandma, but still, it was amazing to only have to wake up for feedings and not because of a single cry. The rest of the day was filled with exploring some of the baby gadgets, a walk around the neighborhood, a sponge bath and lots of time staring at our precious little baby!

Every minute of the past four days has been incredible and I just can’t wait for the days, weeks, and months to come!

Late Friday night, hanging out in the hospital before all the action started

Love at first sight!

Weighing in

Getting all cleaned up

New Papa

Our first family outing... taking a walk in the hospital courtyard

Our fabulous doctor!

Daddy and Cade's first night in the hospital

Dressed and ready to go home!

Welcome home baby Cade!

Snug as a bug, Cade's first night at home

Cade's first walk