The Beginning:
Mason was not planned. In fact, he was quite a shock. Apparently not to SOME people (ahem, Adam & Jamie) but he was to me. I was 7 weeks along before I took a test to confirm. I was convinced that my PCOS was back & that those 2 were making a big deal about nothing. The 1st test I took in the morning malfunctioned so Adam made me take another when I got home from work that evening. While he sat in the living room rocking Nolin, I stared in utter disbelief at my pee stick. I kinda wandered out to where they were & stood in the doorway with shifty eyes. Adam just smacked his forehead & started laughing. It was his fault after all :) My primary physician confirmed it & 2 weeks later I met with a new OB office (can you BLAME me after the debacle that happened with Nolin?!) They were AMAZING. They came highly referred by my friend & former co-worker Katie (btw, she has an awesome blog...check her out here) & she hit the nail on the head. They quickly scheduled an u/s for the following week & we got to see our little nugget! I spent the rest of my 1st trimester trying to hold food down...Until I found the prenatal vitamin of my dreams (seriously, check it out even if you're not pregnant Garden of Life RAW Prenatal)
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| Our Nugget :) |
Once the nausea had subsided (thanks to the best vitamin in the world!) this officially became the easiest pregnancy. I had so much energy, was sleeping great, had no problems working full time or keeping up with Nolin, I wasn't in pain or starving to death all the time like I had the 1st time around...I felt fantastic! Then December came. What IS it about that month when I'm pregnant?! I was at work instructing my SLP to write up a cognitive workup on a patient when all of a sudden I thought I peed my pants. I was so embarrassed. I quickly excused myself & rushed to the bathroom. But what I found was NOT what I expected. I called the OB office in a panic, crying hysterically, to report that I was gushing blood at 19w6d. They told me to get to the ER immediately. Luckily I had a fantastic group of coworkers at that job (man I miss that job & those people!) & my dear friend Kelley rushed me to the hospital. They refused to send me to L&D because I wasn't 20w so I spent the entire day in the ER undergoing exams, u/s, tests & labs before I was finally discharged that evening with no news. I was told that I was in preterm labor, was to be on bed rest & had an appt with my doc the following day. The only possible cause they mentioned was that I had an incompetent cervix (which turned out to be FAR from the truth). The next day, even the doc was puzzled. He thought maybe I had an infection, prescribed a ridiculous amount of antibiotics (which I didn't take...I'm not an idiot lol) & referred us to a high-risk OB that afternoon. (Side note: I LOVED my high-risk OB! She was the cream of the crop as far as I was concerned!) Not long into the u/s the doc (who had been viewing from the other room on a jumbo screen) came rushing into the room. I was immediately told that I had a clot in my uterus, that it could compromise the baby's life & was put on bed rest. WORST MONTH OF MY LIFE. Do you know how hard it is to be on bed rest when you have a VERY active, heavy, needy toddler at home?! A few of you do. They decided to start monitoring the baby weekly to ensure his safety & proper growth. A couple weeks later he decided to flash his parts around on-screen...Another boy!
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| How we announced the sex :) |
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| 34 1/2 weeks...Pretty much the only pic I have lol |
Luckily I know myself. I know that my body NEVER cooperates so to avoid being caught off guard I scheduled my maternity leave to begin 2 weeks prior to my scheduled c-section date. Smart move. That 1st week (of April) I had contractions on & off so I just took it easy. I had my 37w checkup scheduled for that Friday & was told I was already 3cm but since the baby had been growing great, the risk of complications was limited & I wasn't in active labor they were going to try & hold out til my scheduled date. Yeah. Okay. It was Easter weekend, and Adam's birthday so his whole family was coming in town. By the time they arrived that evening I was having some pretty intense contractions. I was unsure of their timing & not convinced that I wasn't in false labor. I never went into active labor with Nolin so I was pretty clueless. My MIL offered to take me to the hospital but I ultimately decided against it. I didn't want to rack up another bill if it was false labor & figured if I was still having them the next day then I would go. (Not to mention that Adam had celebrated his bday a tad excessively & I didn't want him to miss the birth of his child haha!)
I slept like a rock that night but woke up to the same contractions the next morning. And the more active I was, the worse they got. That afternoon as everyone was leaving, they rearranged their travel plans so that my MIL could stay behind & take me to the hospital. Nolin was being a handful so I really wanted to get him down for a nap before we left...For Adam's sake. I curled up with my baby boy & held him in my arms until he fell asleep...When we snuck away. I had no idea that would be the last time I held my baby for a few days. On one hand it makes me sad to think that he woke up to find neither of his parents there (apparently he freaked out) but on the other hand I'm glad that being calm & curled up in my arms was our parting memory. As soon as we arrived at the hospital they told my MIL to go home & switch places with Adam cause there would be a baby in 45 mins! Holy Crap. I was 5cm (almost 6) & in full blown labor! NOT what I expected lol. The contractions were intense...They took my breath away...But they weren't painful like I expected. I totally could've done natural childbirth...Booyah!
I was quickly prepped for surgery while they waited for Adam to arrive. The nurse & nurse anesthetist rocked my world. They were witty & personable which totally put me at ease. The doc talked me through everything while Adam watched, holding my hand. I swear, it was the most fun surgery I've ever had LOL! The doc told me not to freak out, that he was going to almost lay on top of my & when he did...Out popped Squirt. He just shot up out of my belly! Coolest trick ever :) The doc held up the placenta & showed me the "clot" It looked like a giant kidney. Bizarre. He immediately informed us that it was not a clot & that they were sending everything off to pathology. Creepy. Who wants to be the guy that looks at slimy placenta with kidney shaped knots in it under a microscope?! I guess someone has to do it! The nurse grabbed Adam & the baby for all the typical APGAR, cleaning, measurements, etc.
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| Mason Daniel born 4/07/12 at 4:31 pm weighing 6lbs 9.5oz & a whopping 19in long |
The Aftermath:
The day we were scheduled to go home...Actually, as Adam was pulling out of the driveway to come get us...A team of nurses & doctors rushed in to stop us. They had done one last heel prick that morning to check for jaundice & the results were in. They were also concerned because his weight has dropped down to 5lbs 15oz. They informed us that I was still being discharged but Mason couldn't leave yet. I had to decide to leave or stay as a guest. Basically, this was a private hospital so there wasn't really a nursery. Everything was private rooms...Even the NICU. So my room was being retained under Mason's name & I would be treated as a guest of his (in the same way my mother had been treated as a guest the nights she spent with us to help out). So that was a nice option! Mason was put under 24 hrs of phototherapy which he was NOT a fan of. He showed his manipulative side by deciding to attempt to nurse for 24 hrs straight as a way of getting out from under the lights lol!
Luckily it worked & we were released the next day. We had a series of follow up appts with his pediatrician (thank God that was better this time around...LOVE that woman!) & soon found out that he was having stomach issues. At this time, they have still not been resolved but we are working on diet elimination to determine the exact cause of his distress. Hopefully its nothing more serious than a sensitivity to something in my diet!
So far Mason has been the calmest, sweetest, most cuddly baby ever! He only cries when he's trying to pass gas or poop & gets mildly fussy when he's hungry. He loves to coo & smile. He's definitely a snuggler & for the 1st 6 weeks would only sleep in my arms. He has no signs of prematurity anymore & was up to 9lbs 1oz & 21in at his 1 month checkup! He's definitely a keeper :)
Sorry for another novel...But since I slacked on blogging through my pregnancies I had a lot of ground to cover! Future posts should be much more manageable :)
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