Baby Mason

Well, as many of you know, Mason made his arrival into our arms on November 10th, 2010.  I don't even know where to begin explaining things!  I guess I'll just start with the beginning of the day. 

Jason and I arrived at the hospital at 7:30a.m. Wednesday morning to start the induction process.  It was a very nice day.  The weather outside was amazing for being November.  It was almost 60 degrees and Jason and I walked into the hospital without our coats on.  We stopped at registration to get registered and then headed up to the Birth Center.  I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be, which was good.  Usually my nerves don't agree with me!

When we arrived to the birth center, we were greeted by the great OB staff and Dr. O'Connor.  We headed down the hallway to our room #404, but had to stop at the scale first!  That was not very pretty, but it could have been worse.  Once we got into the room I got changed into my gown and got into the bed.  Dr. O'Connor came in and checked me to see if I had made any progress since the prior week.  There had been no progress.  They started the induction by breaking my water and administered Pitocin through my IV. 

I knew it was going to be a long day.  Inductions usually take at least 12 hours to take effect unless you are progressed quite a bit.  So for the rest of the day it was just waiting.  For the first hour or so I had to lay in bed and be monitored to make sure everything was going okay with the Pitocin.  After awhile, I got up and went roaming the hallways to try and speed things up.  Jason and I watched a few movies while we waited.  I don't remember much of the movies, because we were getting interrupted by nurses and the doctor to be checked.  The movies did help pass time though. 

About noon, Dr. O'Connor came back to check me.  I had made quite a bit of progress and they were thinking I would deliver soon.  The contractions started getting stronger and more intense.  I tried to hold out as long as possible to get my epidural, because I know that epidurals can slow labor down.  Jason said I looked like I was in a lot of pain and kept asking me if I was SURE I didn't want the epidural yet.  I tried to explain to him that the epidural would probably slow things down, but I think he was still concerned that I was in a lot of pain.  I held out for a few hours before getting the epidural.  At 2:00p.m., I asked for the epidural. To my luck, the anesthesiologist got called away to the ER right before I asked for the epidural.  I had to wait about a half hour before she showed up.  It was totally worth the wait though!  I felt much better afterwards and was able to get some rest.

Dr. O'Connor came back to check on me around 4:30 and I still hadn't made much progress.  I was starting to get worried that this was going to take a long time and I was hoping little Mason wouldn't go into distress.  Jason and I did some more waiting.  Watched some more movies and took a nap.  At 6:00p.m., Dr. O'Connor came back to check me.  The next thing I hear was "you're complete, let's have a baby"!  Jason and I were both in shock because we were not expecting it.

Jason seemed quite nervous, but I'm not sure if he was.  He pushed his sleeves up and got ready to help assist with delivery.  The epidural was still quite strong and I was not able to feel much of my contractions, but could feel them enough to let the doctor know when I was having one.  We started pushing with each contraction.  Dr. O'Connor said it was going to be a quick delivery.  After three contractions, little Mason made his appearance at 6:17p.m.!!  He was pretty quiet when he came out, which kind of worried me.  Then, finally he gave out a little cry.  He wasn't too noisy.  I was a little surprised that I actually cried.  It seemed so unreal that he was here.  We had waited so long to have a little one in our arms and now he was finally here.  I can't even begin to explain how I felt knowing he was okay.

The doctor handed him off to the nurses to get him checked over and cleaned up. Everything checked out good, except his body temperature.  It was low for some reason, so they kept him under the lamp and wrapped him up in a few blankets.  We weren't able to hold him until his temperature was back up to normal.  He was soo perfect!  Right after delivery they asked how much I thought he weighed- I said 8lbs 4 oz... and then they told me he weighed 8lbs 3.75oz!!  He was a good sized baby, but just perfect.

My labor and delivery went very smooth and I couldn't have asked for anything better.  I am thankful that everyone respected our wishes of no visitors before Mason's arrival.  It made the labor process so much easier.  I was able to relax and get through it all.  After Mason was born, we had a few visitors.  Jason's mom and my parents came up to meet Mason.  It was about 8:00p.m. when we could have visitors, so they didn't stay long.  Jason and I needed to prepare for the night ahead of us!

Mason was such a good baby.  He rarely cried. He was so content with everything.  The first night he was up every so often to feed, but wasn't getting the hang of nursing.  A nurse came in to help assist.  It was quite frustrating, but I was prepared for this to happen.  We made it through the night with no problems.  The second day we had some more visitors.  Jason's dad from St. Louis surprised us by coming up to meet Mason.  We just relaxed most of the day.  The second night was AMAZING.  Mason only woke up once during the night! I called the nurse in after awhile, just to make sure I shouldn't be waking him up to feed him.

Friday morning we got ready to head home.  The doctor came in to check me and make sure things were going well.  He told us we were able to leave whenever we wanted.  Jason was ready to go ASAP.  I showered and started getting things packed up.  The nurse came in and did some explaining to us and then we were free to go.  It was freezing outside when we left the hospital.  Definitely was not as nice as when we arrived. 

After arriving at home I realized that we didn't get any pictures of the three of us at the hosptial.  This kind of upsets me that we don't have those memories in a picture.  I think it was because I was still in shock/denial that he was actually here.  I have been pregnant for almost 2 years straight and hadn't had a baby yet, so when it actually happened I still didn't believe it.  I don't have any pictures of Mason and myself together.  We will probably go get his newborn pictures taken sometime soon. 

Everything still seems so unreal.  It has taken me awhile to realize that yes, there is another human being in our house.  Things won't be the same again.  No more "quick trips" to the store.  It is so amazing.  I could go on and on about Mason.  He is such a good baby.  Sleeps and eats pretty much like clockwork.

Well, I have much more to say- but I better break up some of this blog otherwise it might turn into a book.  I'll keep updating about Mason.  Tomorrow we go to the doctor for his one week check-up! Time is going to go by soo fast!!!

Our Wishes

As many of you know, I will be induced on Wednesday, November 10th.  We are scheduled to start the induction process at 7:30a.m.  This will be a very exciting day, yet a very scary day.  Inductions can take a long time and can also result in emergency c-section if they don't go as planned.  We were lucky with our induction last year and everything went well. 

Last year, we allowed visitors before Ben's birth.  We were grateful to have visitors who cared about us and that were concerned for us.  Having to deliver a stillborn child is not something anybody wants to do.  This year, Jason and I are asking for something a little different.  We are asking to not have any visitors before Mason is born.  We want the laboring process to be something between the two of us.  It is especially difficult for me to have others in the labor room with me and I'm asking for everyone to please respect the wish of privacy. 

We will keep family and friends updated with what is going on.  We ask that we do not receive a lot of phone calls and texts.  If something is happening, WE will let you know.  I want to be able to relax through this process, and receiving non-stop phone calls can be very distracting

After our loss last year, I have connected with other loss parents online.  We discuss our birth stories a lot and have given each other support throughout the year.  One thing I have learned is that you are never safe.  Something CAN happen during delivery- and just because you're so close, does not mean you'll have a healthy child in your arms at the end of everything.  For this reason, I am being very cautious with my emotions.

Many of you may think I'm being stubborn by not answering my phone when you call or not answering your text message.  Please respect the fact that this is still very hard for me, even though we are so close.  As I stated before- WE will let you know if something is happening.  We are not trying to hide anything from anyone, but just ask for the respect of privacy for our family. 

We are very thankful that we have family and friends that care and are concerned about us.  Please continue to think about us and support us, but also respect our wishes. 

AND...... the countdown has begun!!! 

The Kitchen

Thought I'd just share some of our kitchen photos- now that it's more functionable... still need a few things though.

I'm still in search of a new kitchen table!  It finally feels nice to have a kitchen to not be ashamed of...

I'd say our house is "baby ready" now... and I am also "baby ready" now!!! I can't wait for little Mason's arrival.

We're gettin' there...

I had plans this weekend to get our house almost ready for the arrival of Mason.  I was a little worried this wasn't going to get done after not sleeping between 2:30 and 5 this morning.  I was wide awake. Felt fine, just couldn't sleep.  I was a little thirsty so I ended up going downstairs to get a glass of water.  To my luck, I opened the cupboard door and BAM.... a glass canning jar fell out of no where and hit me smack in the forehead.  I was trying very hard not to use every curse word in the book!  After I realized what happened and got over it, I filled my glass and headed back to bed- only to lay there some more.

I finally got out of bed around 8, after tossing and turning a few times. Jason was already awake and downstairs.  He had made plans to go to the shooting range with one of his friends.  He left a little before 9 and then I decided I better get a start on something or NOTHING was going to happen. I started out by making me some breakfast.  I was starving all night.  After a few pieces of french toast, I headed to the computer room to start cleaning.  I slowly made my way to each room. Dusting, vacuuming, organizing, etc.  

I broke down and decided to start scrubbing all the baseboards in the living room.  They were quite nasty and I knew if I waited for someone else to do it, it wouldn't get done.  I got down on my hands and knees and worked my way around the room.  I figured while I was down there, I might as well hand scrub all the floors.  So the floor got a nice scrubbing today.  We also moved around our furniture for the winter season.  We always have to move furniture before winter so that it's not too close to our wood burning stove.   I also got Jason to put together a lamp/stand we got for our wedding shower. 

I think I under estimated the disaster in the bathroom. I broke down and scrubbed the tub.  That was probably the worst room to clean, even though it's the smallest one! After getting the tub and surround all sprayed down, I started to scrub.  It was not easy! I forgot how big my belly was and that leaning over the edge of the tub was not going to be easy.  After a few breaks, I finally got it scrubbed down the best  I could.  If anything, it looks better than it did. 

Jason finished working on a few things in the kitchen, cleaned off the deck, and cleaned out the garage.  I can finally park my car in there again! We were going to go to church tonight, but decided to stay home and get some things done. 

We got a lot accomplished today and I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow.  My feet are already killing me!  I'm sure tomorrow every bone in my body will be hurting.  I decided to call it quits for the night and relax.  I just threw a pan of lasagna in the oven and I just might put a movie in...

It feels good to have our house almost ready for Mason! I can't wait for his arrival, but I'm hoping he stays in there until at least November!! 

The Weekend

It's been a very long weekend! Jason started the weekend on Friday by installing our new kitchen floor.  It took them quite a few hours, but it's all put it.  It turned out pretty nice and I'm glad to finally have a kitchen floor that I'm not ashamed of.

We're still working on putting baseboards back up, but the floor is IN!

I worked 9-5:30 on Friday, so this is the floor I got to come home to.  By the time I got home, I didn't feel like doing anything.  Jason's mom stopped over to see the new floor also. 

Friday was a special day for Jason and I, as October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.  Every year we light a candle at 7:00p.m. in memory of Benjamin.  This year we lit the candle that we got for a Christmas gift last year.

Friday night was a long night.  I couldn't sleep and then eventually woke up at 2:00a.m. not feeling well.  I spent the next 3 hours awake.  Every time I went to lay down, I just felt even more sick.  I eventually had to prop myself up with about 10 pillows before I could fall back asleep. 

I eventually got up out of bed around 9:00a.m. on Saturday.  I sat on the couch for a little bit and then got a rush of motivation.  I went out into the garage and starting cleaning up some of the mess from the day before.  I then started painting all the baseboards for the kitchen so that we could get them back on before the weekend was over.  I still was not feeling the greatest all day Saturday.  Jason had to DJ a wedding Saturday night so once he left I cleaned up the new floor a bit and then decided to take a shower and rest for the rest of the night.

Jason didn't get home until about 1:30a.m. Sunday morning from DJ'ing, but he still managed to get up in time to go to church with me.  Today, we were announced at the church as new members of the congregation.  It just so happened that today's sermon was about pregnancy.  It was quite interesting, even though I kept getting distracted by the cute little blonde girl sitting in front of us.  It was quite a noisy day at church with all the little kids there.

After church, we came home and Jason starting moving some things back into the kitchen. He got the fridge, stove, and dishwasher all put back.  The stove has been a nightmare putting back in.  Everytime Jason would get it hooked up and turned the gas back on we could smell it leaking from somewhere.  Jason went and got a new hose for it, but that didn't solve anything.  Later on he discovered that a different piece was cracked and who knows how long it's been like that.  Kind of scary!  So he's on his 3rd trip to Menards for a new piece. 

I'm beginning to get very frustrated with everything.  I think pregnancy has finally kicked in.  I have been too exhausted to get much done lately and I'm getting upset that our house still is not done.  I feel like once we get one thing done, there are 10 other things that still need done.  I'm down to the point where I think we're going to have to hire someone to come in and finish.  All this painting is getting too hard for me.  Getting up and down on the ladder a million times and bending over to reach the paint can is taking it's toll on me.  I'm trying not to work myself too hard, because our little man needs to stay in for a few more weeks.  Also, knowing that I work 9-5:30 all this week, there won't be much of anything getting done around here. 

Not much else is new. I haven't got anything accomplished today. Jason, on the other hand, has been working all day getting stuff put back.  Now,  if 10 other people would just come over and finish everything else- we'd be good to go- BUT I don't forsee that happening anytime soon!



Productive Day?

Today turned out to be a somewhat productive day.  After working til 11p.m. Saturday night, I still managed to make it out of bed by 8:30 this morning.  I took my shower and read the Sunday paper and then Jason and I decided to not attend church today.  I wasn't feeling the greastest and wanted to relax.  Little did I know what was about to come.

Jason started working on the window trim for all the rooms and managed to finish them all except our living room.  I, of course, followed Jason around like a lost puppy making sure it was all done correctly-- or attempted to be done correctly.   So now that the trim is up, that means I will need to paint it all sometime soon! Ah- one more thing to add to the list. 

I finally broke down today and washed all the ceiling fans!!  It was quite disgusting.  I've lived here 4 years and I don't think it's ever been done-- sooo you can about imagine!!  Now if I can just KEEP them clean.  I need to go stock up on the swiffer dusters.  Those things are amazing- especially with the handle that extends/bends.  Makes my job easier! 

I'm excited to get our floor put in on Friday!  Then I can start putting things back together.  I will be searching for a housekeeper soon to come clean our house in about 2 weeks.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!  I'm desperate! I need some deep scrubbing done on our baseboards and a deep scrub in the bathroom.  We will probably need to get our computer room carpet shampooed as well.  All the other carpet is new enough that it doesn't need to be deep cleaned.

My dad came up today- it was nice to see him.  Jason and him went to the chili cookoff, but didn't get to try any chili.  Tasting didn't start til 2:30 and they headed out there around 1:00-- so that didn't go too well.  They came back home and talked for a bit and then my dad headed back home to mow the yard.  He brought me a box of baby clothes from my mom that I went through and just finished washing all of them. He also brought me the vinyl I had ordered from Jodi for my bathroom!

It turned out pretty good- even though it was kind of a pain in the butt to get on the wall!! Jason hates putting vinyl up, but I'll keep ordering it!!  It's so neat and beats putting holes in the wall to hang things up.

It was also kind of a tragic day.  As we were waiting for my dad to arrive, we decided to clean out our fish tank.  Let's just say- it's been a LONG time since it's been done.  As of yesterday, we had two lively fish.  Today, not so much.  As we transferred the fish from the dirty tank to a small bowl while we cleaned the tank, we noticed that the one fish was on his 'last fin' (if you know what I mean)- So after awhile of debating, we decided it was time for him to go.  He has now found a new home (somewhere in our sewer system)!  I'm still amazed that he lived for 3 years..... Everyone always said how fish are so hard to take care of- well, these fish were not hard to take care of.  They maybe were fed 2-3 times a week and lived in nasty water for a majority of their life-- but maybe that's what it takes to raise a fish!  Who knows!?!?  We are now down to one lonely fish-- poor lil fella!!

So even though we didn't get A LOT accomplished today- I still feel it was quite a productive day.  Finally getting the trim up feels great!  Only one more room to go!  Little Mason will be here in about 4 weeks or less and I'm hoping everything can get finished in time!! 

and.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! Hope you had a great day (even though you had to work)!  I hope you like your gift and maybe someday soon you will get that banana cream pie you REALLY want!!

34 Weeks

This week I have hit the 34 week mark in our pregnancy.  We have been having weekly non-stress tests at the doctor's office just to make sure our little man is doing well.  He has passed all the tests so far.  This week when I went in for the test, he had the hiccups.  It was cute to hear them on the machine.  They were so loud I had to reach over and turn down the volume on the machine. 

Jason and I have been trying to get our house ready for the new baby.  This past week we repainted the kitchen and Jason installed a new glass sliding door for our patio.  Next Friday we will get our new floor put down and then we can start putting our kitchen back together.  We will need to order countertops still, but I can live with the ones we have for now.  We will eventually need to get a new kitchen table as well.  Once the floor is installed we'll need to put up chair rail around the room and new baseboards around the new flooring.

Most of the other rooms are already completed.  We still need to get trim put up around all the new windows.  It's just been a nightmare with that.  It seems like such an easy thing to do, but it still isn't done after a year!! 

I need to start making my list of things that still need done before the baby comes.  I keep all these mental posts in my head, but I know I will forget if I don't write them down.  So a list needs to get started.  I'm thinking of hiring a cleaning person to come in a few weeks to deep scrub all the woodwork and walls in the house- just because my belly is too big to be crawling on the floor all day.  I also need someone to come scrub our shower/tub-- I could probably do it, but who knows when!  I'm planning to make a shopping list of things we will need while I'm off work, just because I really dread the thought of going out in the cold!!  We will stock up on everything before our little guy arrives! 

Not much else is new.  Today I attempted to clean up the house a bit so I can relax a little this weekend.  I have to work tonight and tomorrow night, but have Sunday off.  Jason and I will go to church Sunday and then head to the chili cook off out at the Fort Museum.  Hopefully the weather cooperates.  My dad is also coming up this weekend- so it will be good to see him.  AND it's my mom's birthday on Sunday!!  Unfortunately, she won't be able to come up here to see us! 

Next weekend Jason and I will be announced at the church as new members.  It should be interesting.  We have to write a paragraph about ourselves for the church newsletter... Guess who will get to do that?!?! 

Well, it's time to finish getting ready for work!! 

P.S.- for those of you wondering what we plan on naming our little guy, we have decided on Mason Benjamin Hanna.  We came up with the name Mason by combining our names- Jason and Megan.  We also felt like Benjamin should be part of his life and that's how we got his middle name.  I was a little leary at first because Mason sounded so much like Jason, but the meaning behind his name outweighed that thought.  So little Mason Benjamin will have a part of all of us with him- forever!