Landon's 2nd appointment at Dartmouth...

Hello everyone!
We had Landon's second appointment at Dartmouth yesterday. Dr. Stotland who we saw the first time just fell in love with little Landon. I hoped and prayed he would tell us to go home and not come back to see them, because Landon's skull shape was progressing as it should be and it's completely normal... I really was not expecting them to tell me there was still concern... Landon's head shape is still abnormal, and consistent with a sagittal suture fusion. Dr. Stotland said it was a very mild case, and he can't tell for sure, so he called his colleague, a pediatric neurosurgeon to come take a look at him.

Dr. Durham was wonderful. She too said she really couldn't tell for sure, but thinks the suture is partially fused. She pointed out his forehead bulges forward on one side, which is only noticeable if you look down from the top of his head. She also pointed out that one ear is pushed further toward his face than the other. I was flabbergasted that I had not noticed this, as I've been obsessed with looking at his skull shape since we found all of this out 2 weeks after his birth. He has a bump on the back of his head, which we were aware of and a flattening on the opposite side.

Normally she would have him go straight into surgery, but because it's such a gray area she wants to do a CT of his head. We are waiting for the call of when this appointment will be. We will meet with her after and she will give us the results then. If it is fused, he will be scheduled for surgery pretty quickly. Luckily this was caught early so the surgery is much less invasive and the recovery is much better. Landon would have endoscopic surgery and 2 incisions would be made.The first incision at the top of his skull and  the second on the back side of his skull. They would cut the piece of skull that is fused out. After he would be fitted for a helmet. If the suture is not fused he will still wear a helmet 24/7 for 6 months. So we ask for prayers... hopefully he won't need surgery.

We will continue to keep everyone updated...

13 1/2 pounds??!?!?

That's right! Landon weighed 13 big ones at his appointment today! Our little beef cake is getting sooo big, can you beleive he fits perfectly into 6 month clothing??? What are we going to do with this guy? We just love him!!

Best news!!!

We received the best news today!! We had our appointment early this morning. The doctor we saw does not beleive Landon's lambdoid suture is fusing... he is not too concerned about his head being fused at all. He said there may be a slight chance it is fused or fusing at his sagittal suture because of the shape of his head. If this is the case he will need surgery and helmet therapy after. As of right now he said he does not feel he will have any issues and wants to see Landon back on May 17th just to double check and see where he's at. He also remarked there is no harm done wait until then even if it is fused. We are happy with this news!! What a releif!!!! Now I can really enjoy the little guy and not worry so much!!! We will continue to keep everyone posted....

Happy Baptism Landon!!

Yesterday we had Landon's Baptism. What a wonderful ceremony surrounded by family and friends! To top it off we had a nice brunch this morning. It is just the best to be surrounded by family. We are blessed to have such a close family on both sides, I love them all sooo much and don't know what we'd do without them all! Here are a few photos from the event filled weekend...

We have an appointment!!

Hip hip hooray, Dartmouth called us with an appointment today... Tuesday April 5th at 8:30a with the neurosurgeon. Hopefully we will get some answers... prayers needed please :)! On a happier note, Landon's Baptisim is tomorrow!! We are very excited and looking forward to seeing family!!!

May 31st...

I called Dartmouth this afternoon, the only appointment was for May 31st... I can't tell you how frustrated I am feeling!!!! I called Landon's pediatritian to let her know and she called them back for me. She informed them he needs to be seen within 2-3 weeks. I should be hearing by tomorrow, or Monday at the very latest... some how I feel like this won't be the only time during this ordeal that I'll be pulling my hair out!!!

Still waiting...

We are still waiting to hear from Dartmouth... I will call Landon's pediatritian later this afternoon to hopefully get the ball rolling...
Meanwhile here's Landon and his new favorite toy :)...

Landon update...

Hello everyone,
I called Landon's pediatritian today to find out our next step... she informed me she spoke with the Neurosurgeon's office at Dartmouth and they want to see Landon as soon as possible. We don't have an appointment yet, I am waiting to hear from Dartmouth, they told the pediatritian they have to push off another appointment to get Landon in, because they want to see him right away. This whole waiting thing kills me! I guess it's time I learn the real meaning of patience and to take it one day at a time... We will continue to keep the updates coming....

Our happy little guy...

Good morning everyone!
No news yet...
I just wanted to share some photos of Landon. He is one happy boy, the only time he ever gets fussy is if he's hungry! We are soo lucky! He is just beginning to be awake alot more, and he loves his play time! He is getting big sooo fast, I hate how time goes by so quickly, he is now 12 pounds 4 ounces, and is 1 month and 3 days old! He has his mama and papa wrapped around his little finger, we'd do anything for this little man, will this still be the case when he's 18? ;)

Ridges....

While still in the hospital the nurses all remarked on Landon's "breech shaped head". His head was elongated from front to back, which actually showed up before on his ultrasounds. We never thought twice about it as we were assured it was just the shape of his head. Landon was born with a bump running from ear to ear across the top of his skull and had no soft spot. This can be normal in the beginning. Babies skulls are not fused early on, this helps their heads to squish to make it through the birth canal. Landon was breech and VERY squished while in utero and therefore his skull bones a.k.a. sutures overlapped.
This is not an issue in the first few days, as it usually disappears. We never thought it was an issue or even knew it could be an issue, we just thought that's how his head was shaped.


At Landon's 2 week check up, the pediatrician noticed the bump on the back of his skull.

 He remarked that it was of concern. He then went on to explain that sometimes the skull bones will fuse too early, causing no room for the brain to grow and expand. It's called  Craniosynostosis. I asked what that means for Landon, what do they do for that? He then answered "you don't want to know." My heart sank. Landon's skull would need to be operated on, it would have to be cut open to allow for brain growth. He went on to say, that he has only seen that happen once, so not worry about it now. Our pediatrition was on vacation that week, so he had us come back after 2 weeks so she could evaluate it again. He also mentioned I should notice a big difference in the shape of his head by then.
I had NO idea walking into that appointment that there could be somehting wrong. Everyone remarked on that breech shaped head and how that was a normal shape. I never realized, it was  normal, but only in the first few days of life.
I was devastated, I began researching the condition as soon as I got home. I was a basket case as I read through all the information. The next two weeks were brutal. I compared his head shape to that of other babies with this condition. My heart broke into a million pieces as I realized the shapes of the heads I was seeing rolling across the screen were Landon's exact head shape.
As the next two weeks went by I was very discouraged to see no change in Landon's head shape.
The day of his follow up appointment had finally arrived.
Landon's pediatrician sent us for x-rays of his head right away. The paper we brought to radioligy said "probable skull fusion". I kept it together as we layed our sweet little baby's body on that large x-ray table. We had to be strong for our precious Landon. We went back to the office to find out results...
My fears were confirmed...
Landon's skull is in the beginning stages of fusion at his lambdoid suture, hence the lump on the back of his head. I was a little releived to find out the rest of the sutures were not fusing at this point.
Now we wait... we will be meeting with a specialist at Dartmouth hospital in Lebonon NH. Our pediatrician said in some cases the babies don't need surgery and only have to wear a helmet for a while... Oh how I hope this is Landon!
In the mean time we wait... pray... and love our little guy to the fullest. I didn't want to put him down before this news... now I REALLY don't want to put little Landon down!!
We will continue to keep everyone posted...
Keep us in your prayers!

Landon James born February 25, 2011.

The day  I found out I was pregnant seems so far away now! I was sooo excited, it was mid June and I decided to take a pregnancy test... to my surprise there was a very faint positve!! I called James right away. He was on the road delivering pellets and was also very excited to hear the news. The time seemed to fly by in the beginning. At 18 weeks we went for our first ultrasound, we found out we were having a boy! We were elated, especially James, he kept asking the technition, are you sure it's a boy?? Everything looked perfect on the ultrasond.
At 31 weeks I had another ultrasound, again everything looked perfect! As the days and months went by, my belly grew bigger and bigger! Everyone joked about what a large baby he would be. Two weeks before his due date we found out he was weighing in at a whopping 8+ pounds! I was releived to find out he was breech and  I would need an c-section! It was scheduled for February 25th at 7:30 in the morning.
The last 2 weeks went by soooo slowly! I was sooo uncomfortable, and very happy when the day finally came.
We arrived at the hospital at 5:30am to start preparing for the c-section.

It wasn't long before I was on the operating room table ready for surgery. James came in just as they made the first incision. Before we knew it our little Landon was being pulled out, butt first, what a way to make a first entrance ;)!

James was able to hold him while I looked over every inch of that little guy! He was just perfect!
The moment I was able to hold him was amazing. I couldn't beleive how much love I felt for this little being! We were so happy and excited to finally meet little Landon.

He weighed 10 pounds 1 oz!

The time spent in the hospital was so nice. We had lots and lots of visitors. The nurses and Doctors were amazing and so helpful!

Monday morning February 28th we were able to go home!! It was wonderful being home!