Landon's Birth Story

Friday February 27th I had a 2 PM check up appointment with Dr. Fox at the clinic. The previous week she told me that she would be doing an exam and that we would talk about her stripping my membranes too. I wasn't sure what that would mean so I did some research. I found that it was something that could possibly send me into labor, kind of a natural way of inducing. Due to this I had spent the week trying to tie up loose ends and get the house re-cleaned after my surprise 30th birthday party Nate had for me at the house.

Surprise 30th birthday party!

One week before Landon was born.

I wanted Nate to come to my appointment with me in case I started having contractions.This was actually the first regular check-up appointment he had come to. He had been to all the ultrasounds, but I didn’t figure the regular check-ups were that important for him to be there.

When we got to the appointment the nurse Lynn took my blood pressure. It was 147/90 which was very high. She had me try to relax and retook it a few minutes later, it had dropped a little but was still too high. Dr. Fox came in and checked me and said I was 50% effaced and dilated to 3 cm. She did strip my membranes but she didn't want to send me home just yet because of the blood pressure, so she sent us over to the family birth center for labs.

At the family birth center they did blood work, a urine sample, and hooked me up to a blood pressure cuff and fetal monitor. We sat in a dark room relaxing for 1-½ hours while the machine checked my blood pressure every 15 mins and recorded the babies heart rate.

My blood pressure started out pretty high, around 157/90 and by the end it was down to 134/84. They told me all my other lab work looked perfect and that the baby’s heart rate was great. We figured we would be getting out so we were making plans to go up to Mom and Dad’s to have pizza with them, Kyle, Jami and Louie.

Dr. Laura Mcguire, a colleague of Dr. Fox came to discuss my results and told us they didn't want to send us home, but wanted to induce me. I think Nate and I were both a little stunned. Since I was 39 weeks 1 day, baby was considered full term and there was nothing to gain by waiting any longer. However there could be serious problems if we waited and I continued with the high blood pressure, so we started the intake process.

It was around 5 PM when they brought us to room 125 and started the intake process. It was a little annoying that even though I had filled out the registration forms and turned them in weeks ago they didn't seem to have any of them.

Since I wasn't in labor yet I told Nate he should go home and get our hospital bag and get us food since the hospital cafeteria was already closed.

Nurse Holly hooked me up to the fetal heart rate monitor and contraction monitor. She said I was having contractions every two minutes (I didn't feel them) so she couldn't give me meds yet, so I continued with the intake forms. 

First when Holly asked Dr. Mcguire if I could eat dinner she said no. After realising that I hadn't had any meds yet, she said I could eat something quickly before I received them. My contractions eventually got further apart until they stopped all together.

I called Nate to see where he was, but he hadn't even made it home yet. There was no way he would make it back in time with food before it was time to give me meds, so Holly was nice enough to go see what food she might be able to find me. She got me a turkey sandwich, a cup of chicken noodle soup, some baby carrots, and applesauce. She apologized that it wasn't better food, but I was just thankful to eat anything at all since I hadn't eaten in around 7 hours.

After all the paperwork was done it was time for IV’s. Due to my BMI I was required to have two IV’s in case of an emergency. In the last few weeks I had gained a lot of water weight, especially in my legs and feet.

Due to the swelling Holly had a hard time finding a good vein for the IV. She did manage to get an IV in my right arm on the first try, but when she tried my left side she actually went through the vein and didn't dare try again. She called an IV specialist, Janice, and she tried two different spots on my left arm, and couldn't get them to work either. She called one of her more experienced coworkers to do the job. The next nurse, Rose, was finally able to get the second IV in my arm. I was very thankful she got it because each IV attempt was quite painful.

Finally around 8 PM a resident Doctor, Dr. Olson, came in to check me and put a cervix ripening agent in. She said I was 60% effaced, and dilated to a 2. She had some difficulty putting the little pill in my cervix, due to a lack of experience, but she did eventually get it. I was then required to lay down for 2 hours before I could get up to use the restroom.

Nate finally got back to the hospital around 8:35 PM and after the nurses were done I told him we should try get some rest. Around 11 PM he was on his phone, and his screen died. He had been having some issues with his phone, and had replaced the ear speaker, but one of the cables must have had a bad connection. He thought about trying to figure out how to fix it at the hospital, but I told him to just go home and get the proper tools. I knew people would be texting him, and it was important that his phone worked. Just before he left he helped me get to the bathroom where I discovered I had lost my mucus plug. Nate headed home around 11:30 PM.

Dr. Olson was supposed to come back around midnight to check me, but it was 12:40 before she actually made it back into my room. When she checked me not much had changed. I was 80% effaced but still only dilated to 2 cm, so she gave me another cervix ripening pill.

Not long after the second pill I started to have contractions again. They were very mild, I could hardly feel them really. Nate got back around 1 AM and I told him I was having contractions and that he needed to try sleep. Around 5 AM my night nurse Nicole checked me as Dr. Olson was busy, at that point I was 100% effaced but still only dilated to 2.5 cm. Because I was having regular contractions they didn't need to give me any more cervix ripening meds, so they prepped me for the use of Pitocin.

The Pitocin did make my contractions a little stronger, however they didn't seem much worse than a period cramp, and I was able to rest. At 6:05 AM I was jolted awake by a sharp bang in my pelvis, followed by a trickle of fluid, and I was pretty sure my water had broke. I called for the nurse, and told her I thought my water had broken, but she was doubtful. Even when she helped me to the bathroom and I told her it was running down my legs, she just thought I had peed and didn't realize it. She decided to check me though and found that my water really had broken.

At that point I wasn't sure if I wanted my epidural yet, but within about 15 minutes I went from about a 3 to a 8 on the pain scale, and I was ready. I told Nate it was time to wake up, because I needed him. Luckily the anesthesiologist was there quickly and had no trouble getting  the epidural placed. Within about 15 minutes my pain was back down to a 1-2, more just discomfort rather than pain. The nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 7 already, which was very unexpected. Normally they figure 1 cm of dilation to take an hour for a first time mom, but I went from a 2.5 to a 7 in an hour and a half.

I tried my best to rest up as my body worked, but sleep was hard to come by. At 12:30 PM Dr. Farber checked me and said I was dilated to 10, and the baby’s head was at a +2 (+5 is the head crowning), they decide to have me sit up for a half hour and then start pushing.

I remember the sun was very bright, and even though there were privacy shades the sun was shining right in my eyes. I asked Nate to stand so he could shade my eyes as he held my leg for pushing.

Around 1 PM with Nate on my one side and Holly on my other, Holly taught me how to push. At first we tried pushing with me on my back. They would watch the contraction monitor and let me know when to push, but after about an hour in that position with no forward progress we decided to try a different position. Part of the issue was the fact that my contractions were almost 5-7 minutes apart, which left lots of time for his head to move back to where it was before my push, so they upped how much Pitocin they were giving me to try get my contractions closer together.

I really didn't like the side pushing, it just felt awkward and it was hard to grab both legs, so we changed to a hands and knee position. By that time I wasn't feeling numb anymore. The contraction monitor was having a hard time detecting contractions so they were relying on me telling them when I was having one. The problem was I couldn't really tell other than I would start having a horrible pain in my lower back. Unfortunately the lower back pain meant the baby was probably facing the wrong direction or as Dr. Farber put it, “sunny side up.”

By 3:30 PM my pain was getting really bad, back up to an 8 or so, they decided to call the anesthesiologist to give me an extra dose to get the pain under control. I was so tired at this point that it was hard to keep my eyes open. They let me rest for around a half hour before continuing on. They say typical pushing time for a new mom is 3-4 hours, so we're still 'on schedule'. Baby has come far enough down that they said they can see he has dark hair.

By 4 PM Dr. Farber said that it seemed the baby was turned and that we needed to talk about other options as the baby didn't seem to want to come out. I basically had two options, forceps which may work, or a c-section. Dr. Farber is one of the few doctors who will even use forceps, and he is very skilled with them. He said he would try to place them, but if he didn't feel that he could safely pull him out then I would be rushed into a c-section.

They had Nate put some scrubs on in case of the c-section, explained what would happen, then a huge group of nurses came flooding in the room. They said they were there for a birthday party. I had Holly on my left and Nathan and another nurse on my right. They informed me that if the baby's shoulders got stuck the nurses would push down hard on that side to try shove him though.

I took my direction from Dr. Farber, he told me to push, then stop, then push, then stop. I didn’t really know what was going on, but the stopping was because he needed to cut me and also because the umbilical cord was wrapped around baby’s neck and arm, so he had to untangle him. One more long push and he was out 4:44 PM. Dr. Farbor handed Nate some scissors to cut the umbilical cord, they wiped the baby off and laid him on my chest.

I was so relieved and exhausted that he was out, and okay, and it was over ... I started crying. They placed him on my chest, but with no glasses, and trying to see through tears I couldn't get a good look at him, but it didn't really matter.

Dr. Farbor worked on stitching me up, I had a pretty bad tear along with an episiotomy. Seemed like it took a long time, but he said I was good as new.

Nate's point of view: 4:00pm update. We first try pushing a couple more times, but are not making any progress. The baby is not in the correct position. Dr. Farber is prepared to go for forceps. They have me gown up to prepare for a possible c-section and 9 nurses and doctors are suddenly in the room preparing. They uncover a cart that has been in the room, revealing a pile of medical tools. They have many scissors, clamps, the forceps, etc. He gets the forceps inside and on the next contraction, they have Trish start pushing while he is pulling with the forceps. It looks like he is having to tug fairly hard. At one point he stops the pushing, grabs some scissors, and after a very quick couple of snips, has Trish start pushing again. During the pushing I see him push the cord aside at one point (I later found out it was around his neck). At the end of this second set of hard pushes, he gets the baby pulled out! He looks fairly pale and blue to me, but nobody seems too concerned so I figure it must be normal. He is breathing and is a healthy baby!! Little Landon David Kandoll has been born. Both Trish and I immediately start crying with happiness and relief as we see our little son. As soon as they get him wiped off they put him on Trish's chest as tears of joy stream down her face. They get out the placenta, and somewhere around that time I see a fountain of blood shoot at least a foot before Dr. Farber gets a quick clamp with some hemostats. This must have been the cord? Dr. Farber starts stitching Trish up, which she doesn't seem to mind with the painkillers and a brand new baby on her chest.

The nurses had us guess his birth weight, I guessed 8 lbs 6 oz, and Nate guessed 8 lbs 2 oz, and Nate was dead on.

We heard them say Landon was 21” long, but later we noticed on the card in his bassinet it said he was 20-¾” long.

I heard them say his apgar score was 8 both times, so he was doing pretty well, and there was a steady flurry of nurses as they cleaned up the room.

We finally try to breastfeed, but Landon is now quite sleepy and he doesn't want to latch on. When they checked his blood sugar levels they were really low, so the nurses give him formula to help raise it.

Dr. Farbor holding the forceps.

My delivery nurse Holly and Dr. Farbor

Once again the hospital kitchen has already closed, so I called Mom to ask if they would bring Nate and I food when they come to the hospital. This was around 9:30 PM and I can hardly talk because I get emotional and start crying again.

When people finally arrive I am very tired, I’ve pretty much been awake for 36 hours, and haven’t eaten in over 24 hours. While family is visiting they come to give Landon a bath, which he isn't too fond of, and they take his foot prints too.

First bath.

Enjoying my first meal in over 24 hours

Our new family

That first night we had my parents, Dave & Kristie, Jana and boyfriend Muki, Jami, Jessica, and Emmaline come visit.

Dad, Mom, Jami, Jess, and Emmaline

When everyone leaves the nurse comes in and tells me because of Landon's blood sugar levels I’m not allowed to breastfeed him, I have to call them to come check his blood sugar, then give him formula, and then they have check the numbers again. For one feeding one of the NICU nurses comes in and does it, when she is done I hold Landon skin to skin to see if that will help anything. I don’t want to fall asleep though as I was worried I might let go of him.

Later the nurse came in and took him away to be monitored in the NICU, not bringing him back for a couple hours, which didn't make it any easier to sleep.

Sunday in the morning he has finally had 3 good blood sugar tests in a row, so they can stop pricking his feet for that. His poor little feet are already bruised looking from being pricked so many times.

Family comes to visit after church, which was nice, and yet stressful because I needed to try feed Landon and he’s really not interested after being fed a bottle for a day. The nurses finally get me a breast pump to see if I can get anything that way so we can feed him through a syringe … but I get nothing.

Finally when all the visitors are gone I take a nice warm bath, which I find very difficult to stay awake in as I've only got around 3 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours or so. The bath feels good though, and seems to help with the recovery pains too.

Around 9 PM Holly comes in to check Landon for jaundice. We knew there was a high probability of it since he had bruising on his head from the forceps and difficult delivery. His levels show he’s at high risk, so she needs to draw a vial of blood from him to confirm. He’s not much of a bleeder and she spends around 20 minutes trying to milk enough blood from his foot to test it. The whole time he’s crying in my arms, and we feel so bad for him.

The test results confirm his levels are too high, so they decide to put him on a Bilisoft bilirubin blanket. He has to be swaddled with this for 3 hours, then can come off it for ½ hour, and then  back on for 3 and so on. While on the blanket he has to wear an eye mask to protect his eyes.

Our little glow worm.

This makes feedings/diaperings and sleeping much more challenging for all of us, but it is best for him. By 1 PM on Monday they say that his bilirubin levels are low enough that he doesn't need to be on the lights any more, so they prep him for his circumcision.

That procedure only takes 15-20 minutes and he is back in the room recovering. They want to check him every half hour for a couple hours to make sure he is recovering okay.

I decided to take another bath, as it was so helpful the night before, and while I do that Nate calls the insurance company to figure out how to get a breast pump, and what they will cover. The insurance company will have one at the house in 7-10 days, so in the mean time we rent one from a shop near the hospital. Nate went and picked it up during the circumcision.

Around 5 PM we get the okay to be discharged, and so we work on packing things up. It takes Nate several trips to the car to haul out everything, but it’s finally time to head home. My feet have swollen a lot since giving birth, which the nurse warned me would happen. I couldn't fit into my shoes, so I’m glad we had been having sunny weather as I had to walk out to the car in my socks. Next up was a careful drive home to start spending time with our new bundle of joy!