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!