Mason's Photo Shoot

We did do the Bella Baby pictures while we were in the hospital, but I really wanted to have professional pictures taken when we got home. I had researched photographers a few months before Mason was born. I ended up going with Rose Alene Photography (www.rosealene.com). She had done several photo shoots for a friend of mine and I have always loved the pictures she posted. She also did a shoot for one of my coworkers and another friend. When I booked her, I was excited because she would come to our house to do the pictures. I originally scheduled the session for August 6th, but little did I know that Mason would be arriving so early! Luckily, I was able to call her and it wasn't a problem to reschedule. So the Friday after we got home from the hospital, we did our first photo shoot at our house.

I was really hoping to get some pictures of Mason and Leah together, but Leah had other plans. I found all of these adorable sibling poses on Pinterest. None of them worked out though. Leah would sit by Mason for 10 seconds, but then would be on the move. She wouldn't sit still and definitely didn't cooperate. I was disappointed, but we have plenty of time to try again. Luckily, we did get two cute pictures of Leah by herself though. I was happy with the way the pictures turned out. Coincidentally, we ended up doing a second photo shoot the next day (more to come on that session). Basically it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. I haven't gotten the pictures back yet, but can't wait to see them!Mason is now a pro in front of the camera!

Third time is a charm

After Mason was born, he took the hearing screening in the hospital. The first time he took it, he passed in one ear and failed in the other. They re-did the test the next day and he failed in both ears. Rob and I were both pretty upset by this news, not quite knowing what it would mean for little Mason. Rob always thinks 'worse case scenario,' where I am always more on the optimistic side. They scheduled us an appointment to come back and re-do the test for a third time. We were both pretty anxious on the way to the hospital this morning. Once we arrived, they hooked up all of the little sensors to Mason's head and started the test. After about ten minutes the test finished up and he passed!! We were so relieved! The technician again told us that some babies fail the test when there are no issues at all. Sometimes c-section babies don't pass because there is too much fluid in their ears right after birth. We were pretty certain that Mason could hear because he has been responsive to noises at home. Overall, we were happy that he passed, even if it was on the third attempt.

Before heading to the hospital this morning, we dropped Leah off at daycare. We left a little early so we could have some time to bring Mason in too so the kids could meet him. It was sweet, they were all excited to see him and were so good with him. Leah did not want to go to daycare today and told us so the whole way there. She said she wanted to stay with Mom and Dad. We are going to continue to send her to school at least 3 times a week so we can keep her in a routine and give me time with Mason. Plus, once she is there she has so much fun with her friends. Luckily, she was fine shortly after we left. She brought treats for all of her friends at school to celebrate the arrival of her little brother!



After Mason's appointment, we ran over to the mall (since it is practically right next door to the hospital). I needed to pick up a few things. It was Mason's first trip to the mall. I stopped in Carson's and they had all of their summer baby clothes on clearance with an extra 60% off. Mason made out and got several new outfits today. I didn't think he was going to be so small when he was born, so I didn't buy a ton of 'newborn' size clothes for him.

Later in the afternoon we had Mason's first check up appointment at his pediatrician's office. He had to get his first shot. Boo. He weighed in at 6 lbs 13 ounces (this was his weight when we went home from the hospital). The doctor wants to see him back in a week to see if he has gained any weight. Mason's umbilical cord was loosely hanging so the doctor just pulled it out (which caught me by surprise)! Other than that, his appointment was pretty uneventful. Mason has had a busy day and is now relaxing in his swing!

My kids - Sushi, Mason and Leah!

A shout out to my amazing husband!

I wanted to take a minute to share how amazingly wonderful my husband has been over the past week. Of course he is wonderful all of the time, but I could not have gotten through this week without him. He has been my backbone and has gone above and beyond anything I could have expected from him. As soon as we found out that we were going to deliver Mason early, he definitely stepped it up for me and our family.

From holding my hand while I was laid out on the operating table to wiping away my (happy) tears after hearing the sweet cry of my son, he reinforced why I love him so much. Not only did he take care of me and Mason while we were in the hospital, but he also had to keep things together at home. Although we had some help, taking care of Leah is no easy feat. He had to handle dinner, baths and the bedtime routine on his own. Leah was up and down (mood-wise) because she really missed her momma, so I know she probably was a handful. Rob ran back and forth from home to the hospital many times, and took care of any running around that needed to be done. I know that can be exhausting in iteself. He still made time to take Leah to see the kitties at PetCo (her absolute favorite thing to do). She loves, loves, loves to go and look at the cats that are up for adoption. She could spend hours there talking to them and playing with them.

Rob surprised me with a pair of beautiful diamond earrings as a push gift (even though he had already bought me a new Coach diaper bag as an early push gift earlier). He arranged for our home to be cleaned while I was in the hospital so I was able to come home to a nice, clean house. Since we've been home, he has jumped right in and has changed the majority of the messy diapers, fed him numerous bottles (even in the middle of the night) and has gotten him dressed. We had a bit of a diaper explosion this morning and I didn't hear one complaint. He immediately handled it and gave Mason his first bath. These are just a few examples of why my husband is so great and just wanted to take the time to let him know he is very much appreciated!

Welcome Home Mason

Yesterday we finally got the 'okay' to go home from the hospital by my doctor and Mason's pediatrician. We were hoping to go home on Tuesday, but since Mason is considered to be a pre-term baby, they wanted to keep him an extra night to play it safe. So yesterday around noon, we signed our final discharge papers and I was being wheeled out to the car to take our sweet boy home.

We had decided to keep Leah at daycare for a few more hours after we got home so we could get settled (even though I was dying to see her). We unpacked all of our things and tried to get organized. We introduced Mason to Sushi. Sushi smelled her and was curious about this little person. She calmed down after awhile, but we could tell she was anxious with this new baby in the house. Rob went and picked Leah up around 3:30 pm and I was SO excited to see her. She definitely was happy to see me. She came and gave me a great big hug and said "Momma, I missed you SOOOO much." She is so sweet. She kept kissing me and told me how glad she was I am home. She did say hi to Mason, but she hasn't really been drawn to him liked I had hoped, but we still have plenty of time. We did get Leah a few presents so she knows how special it is to be a 'big sister.' She also presented Mason a present that all of her friends at daycare made for him. It was very sweet.

The rest of the evening we spent getting settled into our new life! I have two kids now! Mason slept most of the time, so I had a chance to catch up with Leah and snuggle up with her.

I was a little nervous as to how the bedtime routine would go, considering I had sent Mason to the nursery every night that I was in the hospital. Would he be up every two hours? Would he be crying? Mason had a GREAT first night! He had his last feeding around 8:00 pm and we all went to bed around 9:00 pm. (We were both exhausted). Rob and I both woke up at midnight and Mason was still snoozing away. We decided to wake him up to give him a bottle and change his diaper. (He was just circumcised on Monday so we need to keep an eye on it). He took his bottle and went right back to sleep. Then around 5:30 am this morning, I heard a tiny little cry from him in his bassinet and I looked over at him and he was awake. I gave him another bottle and changed him once more. He went back to bed and woke up at 9:00 am. Rob got up with Leah and I was able to sleep until 8:00 am! I know this was only the first night and it is just the beginning, but we lucked out with Leah being a great sleeper. I hope Mason is on the same track. He has been a perfect little angel so far.

This morning, Leah has shown more interest in her baby brother and gave him a big kiss. He was crying when Rob was changing his diaper and Little Miss Leah was very concerned and rushed to his side. She doesn't know it yet, but she is going to be a great big sister.

Today, there is nothing on the agenda besides adjusting to our new family and taking it easy. We kept Leah home from daycare. I am still very sore and am moving pretty slow. (I am feeling better this time around than with my c-section with Leah). Tomorrow, we have a photographer coming over to do newborn pictures of Mason and hopefully get a few good ones of Leah and Mason together. We've had this session scheduled for a few months now. Luckily the photographer was able to accommodate a new date once we learned Mason arrived early. I am excited and hope the morning goes smoothly! We also have an impromptu photo session scheduled for Saturday. This was completely not planned and totally last minute. I was hesitant to do it since we already had a session scheduled for tomorrow and Mason is so little, but it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. A friend, who also does photography emailed me about a free newborn photography session. (Basically she is attending a photography workshop that a professional photographer leads and they need newborn models that are 5-10 days old). By participating, we would get a 2 hour photo session and free images from the shoot by the instructor. I went to her website and she had some amazing pictures. It is in Lincoln Park on Saturday morning. Luckily, I think my brother will be able to watch Leah for us while we go do these pictures. Hopefully out of the two sessions, we'll have some amazing pictures to share.

On Monday, we have to take Mason back to the hospital to re-do the hearing screening. After he was born, he did the infant hearing screening. He passed in his left ear and failed in his right ear. Rob and I were pretty upset about this at first, but the technician told us it is common and they would re-test him the next day. They came in the next day to re-do the test and he still did not pass, he failed in both ears. They again said, this happens sometimes with c-section babies and there  can be fluid in their ears or if they are too fidgety it could cause them not to pass. Again, we were pretty upset to hear this and hope nothing is wrong with Mason's hearing. We now have to go back again on Monday to have them do it again. If he does not pass again, we will go have to see a specialist. I've talked to a few people (nurses, friends, etc.) and it sounds like this is more common than we think. I am praying everything goes well. Has anyone else encountered this before?

For now, we are just going to enjoy our family time!

Introducing: Mason James Held

Our sweet little boy came into this world on Saturday, July 14th at 11:35 am. Mason James Held weighed in at 7 lbs and 5 oz and was 20 inches long. Even though he was born earlier than we expected (he was only 36 weeks and 6 days), he is absolutely perfect and we are head over heals in love!

At my 36 week doctor's appointment last Monday, my blood pressure was pretty high. I had to complete a non-stress test, get some blood work done and also do the 24 hour preeclampsia test. We discussed the possibility of delivering earlier than my scheduled c-section (on July 30th), but left it that we would have to wait and see how my results came back. On Wednesday, I received the results of all of my blood work and everything was fine. By Friday, I still hadn't heard anything on my preeclampsia test, so I thought I was in the clear. Friday afternoon around 4:00 pm, my doctor called me at work and told me that she just received my results and I tested positive for preeclampsia. My numbers weren't too high so I didn't need to rush to the hospital that instant, but she did want to deliver me sooner than later. She completely caught me off guard because she thought it would be best if I came in the next day (Saturday). The next day? Yikes! I wasn't ready. I thought for sure I had another week left and still had several loose ends to wrap up (work and personal). She told me to keep an eye on my blood pressure. If was under control, we could schedule the c-section for Monday or Tuesday. But, if it was bad, she wanted me to call her at the hospital on Saturday morning.

I slept horrible on Friday night and was up almost every other hour. When I would wake up, I would test my blood pressure and it was not good news. Even laying in bed, being relaxed my numbers were high in the 170's and 180's over 90. When I woke up in the morning, I called my doctor and she thought it would be best for me to come in and get delivered. She told me to be at the hospital at 9:00  am and I would be meeting my baby in a few hours! It was bittersweet - we were so excited to meet our baby boy, but I was also sad to leave Leah and be away from her. My dad came over in the morning to watch her for us. At first she did not want us to go and was insistent that was going to come with us. It made me sad. We snuck out of the house and were on our way to the hospital.

Last picture before we were off to the hospital.

Leah not wanting us to leave.

As soon as we got to the hospital, they started all of the prep work and got me ready for my c-section. 

Everything happened pretty quick and before I knew it, I was walking down to the operating room. Since it was a repeat section, the anesthesiologist gave me a spinal. It kicked it right away and I was numb from the waist down within just a few minutes. I remember shaking and becoming really cold. They got started right away. There was a sheet up so I was not able to see anything that was going on (thank god) but I could feel slight tugs on my belly. We entered the operating room at 11:08 am and sweet baby Mason was born at 11:35 am. As soon as he came out, my doctor brought him around the sheet and we were able to get our first glimpse. As soon as I heard his tiny voice, I immediately became emotional and happy tears were running down my face. He came out crying nice and loud. He has a good set of lungs on him! The doctor's checked him out and cleaned him up. Rob was able to cut the umbilical cord and got to hold him right away. He was such a proud Daddy. One bad thing about a c-section is that you are not able to hold your baby right away since you are laid out on the operating table. They did come over to me right away and I was able to see my beautiful little Mason.

After I was all stitched up, they transported us over to recovery where we would spend the next two hours. I finally got to hold my little man and he was SO sweet. It was instant love. The nurses continued to monitor me. They expected that once I delivered, my blood pressure would go down. This was not the case. It continued to be high. In addition, I also became sick and vomited quite a bit. It was pretty miserable because I had just had surgery, was throwing up, I was still completely numb and couldn't move my lower body and would have bursts of sweating episodes. I did make the most of my time though with Mason and Rob. We were supposed to move to a regular room after the two hours, but since my blood pressure was still high, they made us stay for an additional hour.

We finally got moved to our room around 4:00 pm. I was still pretty sick, but my dad and Leah were anxiously waiting to come to the hospital to meet Mason. They came around 5:00 pm. Leah had talked a big game prior to his arrival and constantly would talk about she was going to help us feed Mason and change his diaper and just how excited she was to be a big sister. When she got the hospital, she did show some interest initially, gave him a kiss and wanted to hold him. This wore off in about 5 minutes and she said she was ready to go! She wasn't jealous that I was holding Mason, but she definitely wanted my attention. We'll see how she is when we get home.

Give me that baby! 

 Papa and Mason

A little curious

Okay - I am ready to go home

Trying to get some rest the first night was awful. I swear, someone came into my room almost every single hour, checking on this, checking on that so I did not get a good night sleep. But, by day two, I was feeling much better. The nausea completely went away, the nurse removed the IV's and I was able to take a shower! I was definitely still sore and experiencing some pain, but it wasn't too bad. I got to spend time with my 'kids' so it made up for it. Rob brought Leah back to the hospital in the morning and her reaction was about the same. She showed some interest, but then went back to doing her own thing.

Giving Mason a kiss on the head 

The I-Pad is more interesting

We had a few visitors during the day. My dad stopped back and picked Leah up for us. He took her to McDonald's and then back to our house for the afternoon. My brother came out to meet Mason and then Rob's mom, grandmother and sister Melissa stopped by too. The hospital also does a celebratory dinner where they come in and set up dinner in your room for the mom and dad. We had salad, chicken parmesan and sparkling cider. They did this when we had Leah too, so it was nice that we were able to do it again. My sister-in-law Lisa stopped by later in the evening to meet our little man too.

 Uncle Jeff and Mason

 Grandma, Aunt Melissa and Mason

Great Granny and Mason

Celebratory Dinner

Today, Mason turned 2 days old and it was quite a busy day for him. He was circumsized this morning, he had his Bella Baby photoshoot, he had a hearing screening and also had to do a carseat test. (Since he was born at 36 weeks and 6 days, he is considered a pre-term baby and had to do a carseat test). After the days events, he was tuckered out and spent a good portion of the day catching up on his zzz's.

We had a few more visitors today – my good friend Ashley stopped by after work and then Melissa stopped by after dinner. Everyone that has met Mason has just eaten him up. He is such a sweet little boy and I can’t believe he is actually here. These past 9 months went by so fast. Even though I didn’t have the easiest pregnancy and I had some complications towards the end, it was worth every single second. It’s strange to think I have two kids now! If all goes well, we should be able to go home tomorrow! Yay. Thank you EVERYONE for your well wishes and support! I can’t wait for all of my friends and family to meet our little angel. I am also looking forward to seeing Leah in action as a big sister. I think once she gets used to having him around, she will be great and a good helper to her momma. I miss her so much and can’t wait to get home!