Spica cast: Day 10

We are about half way through the spica cast, and Landon continues to do really well. I hope the second half goes by just as fast as the first half. Landon continues to scoot and roll over, and is sleeping really well. Last night we attended a graduation party for the daughter of one of Jeremy's coworkers. After visiting we went outside to the playground. Landon actually fit in the swing (although it was a little difficult getting him out), and had so much fun watching his cousins Eryn and Nolan playing. I then took Landon up on the play equipment and down the slide. Landon was all smiles when I was climbing with him along side all the other kids! We had a major melt down when it was time to go, however, we have another graduation party today with another playground!

Spica cast: Day 7

Today, Landon had an appointment with Dr. Wintersteen, a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, in LaCrosse, WI. Landon is definitely not liking the Dr.'s office, as he began crying before the nurse even shut the door, and cried until we were walking out of the door. After three rounds of XRAY's, they finally got a shot where Landon wasn't moving. Landon does not like XRAY's, and I find myself crying because he is so upset and I can't run and pick him up. The good news is that everything is still in place and is on it's way to healing. The other good news, Landon's spica cast can come off in two weeks!! However, as soon as they take off the spica cast, they will replace it with a full leg cast. The Dr. said he would probably have the full leg cast for at least three weeks. Part of me is really bummed that Landon will be in a cast for six weeks (I was hoping for four). But, it is exciting that in two weeks he will have just a leg cast. This means he will be able to fit in his high chair, car seat, and be able to sit independently. So, I have started another countdown (I love countdowns) - One until his spica cast is removed, and one until he is cast free!

Spica cast: Day 6

Landon had an awesome day yesterday. Landon went to daycare for the whole day. Bernice said he did really well and seemed to quickly pick up on his old routine. All this activity must have wore him out because he slept from 8 pm until 6 am without waking up. The exciting news- he even slept in his own crib! I heard him stirring a couple times but he he never woke up and cried. I am so proud of him and how well he is doing! Today, Jeremy and I will be taking him to meet with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon. I have really high hopes!

We've had a lot of free time the last few days, so we worked on Landon's Animal noises and repeating words after I point to them in a book. Here is a fun video. I love the cat noise!

Spica cast: Day 5

Can you believe this? It has only been 5 days since Landon's cast has been on and he is already scooting and rolling over. I am not surprised since this is the same child that kept lifting his head to sit up at 1 month old. Landon took two wonderful naps today, even rolled over in his sleep during his afternoon nap. I am so relieved he is handling all of this so well. Jeremy and I will be taking Landon to the pediatric orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday for follow up. I am hoping that everything is still in place and we are on the track to healing. Also, Landon is going to return to Bernice's tomorrow. I am sure she is nervous, but I hope she is relieved once she see's how well he is doing!

Spica cast: Day 4

Each day seems to be getting a little easier for Landon. Yesterday morning, Landon, Elke and I along with Auntie Jo Jo, Grandpa and Grandma Sabelka went to the state fish hatchery in Decorah. Landon seemed to enjoy feeding the fish and looking at the waterfall. Even though the weather was perfect, the sun was strong and warm for Landon. I continue to find that we need to be extra careful so he does not get warm enough to sweat.

Landon giving his Momma a kiss!

The beautiful waterfall.

My afternoon plans changed after Jeremy took a wrong step yesterday. He appeared to sprain his ankle as it is extremely swollen yet this morning. This house is really starting to look strange. A dog with three legs, a child with his legs in a cast and now a husband hobbling along with a swollen ankle!

Landon is trying to be more independent each day. He is still enjoying his table and chair. He plays, watches movies and eats there. He is also requesting to spend time on the floor. He is putting motions together to scoot around and he can roll from his stomach to his back. I think this is what helped him sleep better last night. Landon received his dose of pain meds at 8 pm. Landon then slept from 8:30 pm-2:30 am. Landon woke up abruptly and began to scream. He does this occasionally when he is napping as well, and I have found that muscle spasms around the broken bone are quite common. After a drink of water, Landon immediately fell back asleep until 4:30 am. Same routine of him waking up abruptly, taking a drink of water, and falling back asleep. Landon slept until 6 am, and is a happy boy this morning. I am so amazed as to how well he is adapting. Still counting the days!

Here is a quick little video of Landon trying to scoot around on the floor.

Spica cast: Day 3

Yesterday was a good day. Last night, again, not so great. Landon gets pain meds at 8 pm, and does well sleeping until about midnight or so. The same went for last night. We had Landon sleep on a bean bag chair thinking that would help him be more comfortable. After midnight, he was extremely restless and could not get comfortable. He either slept on my chest or Jer's. This is extremely uncomfortable and not ideal for us, but if it helps him, we'll do it. He got more pain meds at about 3 am, and then slept well until 6 am. I hope he will stop experiencing so much discomfort while he is sleeping. He really needs his sleep to recover and I want him to rest as well as he can. More about Landon's good day yesterday. What a wonderful and creative man Jer is. After doing some research on the internet, Jer found a design similar to this one and came up with this table and chair. Jer was able to build it all yesterday morning, and by the time Landon woke up from his nap in the afternoon he was able to begin using it. This is PERFECT and I hope Landon continues to enjoy it. This allows him to sit independently and carry on with many activities. He actually ate a little bit yesterday afternoon and evening and I think that was because he was able to do it independently. After Landon went to bed last night, Jer gave it a coat of durable paint, and Jeremy's Mom made this perfect slipcover for the chair. That will be helpful because I can take it off and wash it. I will definatley be bringing this back and forth to Bernice's when Landon returns. I think it will be very useful in the upcoming weeks, and I think Landon will enjoy it after his cast comes off as well. We thought we would inform the Orthopedic staff and we could pass it along to some other child who may need it when we're done.
I really want to keep Landon busy to keep him distracted. Yesterday afternoon we went to visit my Aunt and Uncle John and Sharon, and my cousin Nicole and her son Aiden who were up for the weekend from Cedar Rapids. Landon enjoyed seeing John's new pony who is just a few weeks old as well as the other big horses. Here is Landon with his cousin Aiden. Isn't he adorable!! Gotta love that hair!

Spica cast: Day 2

As I'm finding out, everyday is different and continues to be a learning process. Landon had a great day yesterday. He skipped a morning nap, and instead ventured to Decorah with me and his Auntie Jo Jo. We made a quick stop at the Depot where I had something that I needed to look for. Landon sat with his Auntie and played with his new tractor he got at the Depot. We then proceeded to Walmart. Landon was such a good boy and sat in his stroller. Otherwise, Landon is totally sick of being in the stroller already. I am already sick of the comments from people, "Oh, look at that poor little boy," etc. I want to keep Landon active and busy just as we did before. I think this will make the time go by faster for him. We picked up a magna doodle and a new movie at Walmart along with pain medicine! The photo is of Landon playing with his new toys and trying out a new seating arrangement.

On the way home, Landon fell asleep in his car seat. I transferred Landon to the bed when we got home. He slept there for 1/2 an hour, and then woke up. I ended up holding Landon for the remainder of his 2 hour nap. I knew he really needed this nap and if that's how he was comfortable that's what I was going to do. I know eventually he will get comfortable he is just still trying to figure it all out.

After Landon's nap he got a visit and some yummy food from our neighbor's Travis and Paula. Grandma Merrill and Grandma and Grandpa Sabelka also came over in the evening. Grandma Merrill brought a bean bag chair. I was really hoping this would be a good way to sit Landon up so he could play. He is sitting in it on the couch in the picture. He really didn't like it. This sparked a lot of research on the internet, and Daddy says he has some big plans for making something today. Jeremy is extremely creative and I know that he will come up with something. So excited! Grandpa brought Landon some new red tractors. Landon is playing with them as I type. Crashing them together actually :) Grandma helped me wash Landon's hair and get him ready for bed.

Because Landon was doing so well during the day, he didn't get any pain medication. This is where it goes bad. Landon slept good until about midnight after receiving tylenol with codine. After midnight Landon cried quite a bit and was extremely restless. I will continue to give Landon some pain meds to keep him from feeling any kind of pain today. It breaks my heart to see him uncomfortable and hurting, but he is really being a great little boy.

Landon did not have any appetite yesterday or this morning and I am starting to worry. I have tried all of his favorite food including M & M's and he won't even touch those. I hope he is feeling up to eating something today, but am thankful he is at least drinking his milk and water.

Plans for the day are to get outside and do something fun, and Daddy is going to build a chair for Landon to sit in. Yeh!! Thanks again for all your precious thoughts and words of encouragement!

Spica cast: Day 1

Landon is such a brave little boy- He is doing so awesome!! Landon and I spent a lot of time outside in the stroller yesterday, and he had lots of company. Grandma Merrill was first to visit Landon in the morning. She brought Elke back and brought Landon a nice puzzle book that will keep him entertained. Grandma Sabelka came over for lunch and helped with some household chores and held Landon in the afternoon. We spent some time outside and then Landon took a nice nap. After work, Auntie Jo Jo came over with some snacks and balloons. Elke wasn't sure about the balloons, but Landon loved them! Then Bernice came over with more balloons! Landon loved that balloon because there was a sucker attached! Later in the evening Uncle Randy, Aunt Cathy and cousins Eryn and Nolan came to visit. They brought Landon a movie, some puzzles and more snacks! Landon loved visiting with his cousins. He laughed and laughed. Landon even wanted to get down and on the floor. I think that Landon will be figuring out how to get around one way or another. I think all his visitors really helped him. So thank you all! We also had lots of phone calls from coworkers, friends and family! Jeremy and I are overwhelmed by the love and support from everyone and we know that Landon is going to heal in record time!!

I think these next few days at home will help us figure out how to best help Landon. We are still figuring out the diaper issue. I ordered a cloth diaper cover online yesterday and I think that will help keep his disposable diaper in place. Jer is going to work on building a tray for Landon's stroller so he can eat by himself. As for Landon's first night of sleep, that went really well all things considered. Jer and I are giving up sleeping in the same bed for the next few weeks. I feel better that one of us will be close to Landon and be able to keep him comfortable. He woke up several times during the night and Jer rotated him from his back to his stomach. Landon usually slept on his stomach so I am releived he feels comfortable doing this.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers!

Broken Femur...

While at daycare yesterday, Landon climbed on the couch and fell off. Immediately, Bernice knew that something was not right. I was already on my way to pick him up and she informed me that she was concerned immediately when I arrived. Because Landon did not want to stand, I was concerned as well. I called Jer who came home and we proceeded to the ER. After an extensive wait, they did XRAY's and found out that Landon broke his femur. This is not common in infants, so we got transferred to LaCrosse. They wanted us up there as soon as possible because Landon had a "perfect break" and everything was still in tact. This meant no surgery and no pins. The bad news, a lower body cast. We arrived back home at 2:30 this morning. Everyone is extremely exhausted, but feel very blessed as this situation could have been much worse. There will be a follow up appointment in the next 7-10 days, but it is projected that Landon will be in the cast for 6 weeks. Please pray for a speedy recovery! I will keep you posted, but here are a few photos from this morning.

Figuring out how to get a diaper on is the hardest part. Right now we just tuck it in place. Already though Landon is trying to pull it off.

We found that Landon's stroller is going to work really well. He will be able to sit up a little to see what's going on. Also will have a tray for snacks. Jer is going to come up with a larger tray for meal times. Landon loves the wiggles and loves to watch movies on his portable DVD player. He might be sick of them after a few weeks though!

Napping outside

It's no surprise that Landon like any other 1 year old loves it outside. Last year Grandma Merrill gave Landon a swing for 4th of July. We have gotten a LOT of use out of it. I admit, I am selfish. I love nothing more than sitting in front of Landon in a comfy chair, pushing Landon in his swing and reading a good book. Even though Landon and I were feeling a little under the weather today we ventured outside for a little sunshine. Ok, two hours of sunshine. Landon was so comfy he dozed off. The bottom picture is him napping outside in his swing last summer. Aw, Memories...

Random photos...

Just a few random pictures I took tonight. I love photography and experimenting with my camera. Of course, Landon is always a great subject!

Elke come here - TAKE 2

Landon is getting so good at calling Elke to come. If only Elke listened and actually came to him. Here is Landon calling Elke once again!

The oats are growing...

As you can see the oats are growing. So far this farming thing isn't so bad :)