My Boys

These boys are my heart and soul and the reason I am here! I love them more than words can say. Nathan is an amazing daddy and I am just in awe every time he tends to Mason. I know that Mason is going to be wrapped around his daddy's fingers as he grows!! That makes me so very happy. Words can't express how wonderful life is for us right now. We love having a little family. We are truly blessed and so thankful for all that God has given us.

Mason's Smile

Mason smiles quite a bit! It's the most precious thing ever and melts my heart. I can't get enough of this sweet boy!!!

Mason loves the outdoors!!

So glad that Mason enjoys the outdoors as much as his mommy and daddy! He just soaks up the warmth and hangs out! However, we do live in Texas and have to be cautious of the heat. We sit in the shade and only for a bit at a time.

Bathtime fun!

Mason likes his baths pretty well. He just lays there and relaxes. And he's sooooo precious!!

Daddy giving him a bath:

Mason's First Vacation

For Mason's first vacation we went to Jefferson, TX. We wanted to go somewhere close since Mason is still so new :) Jefferson is about 3 hrs 15 min from where we live. We broke the trip up by stopping for lunch half way in between so that Mason could get a break from his carrier. He did great, mostly slept the whole time. He likes going for rides. It was also a great time for Nate and I too just talk and enjoy each other's company.

It rained, I mean poured for most of our trip but we still had a great time. We ate really good food and visited some antique shops in downtown Jefferson.

Mason lost his umbilical cord the evening of his 2 week birthday. Yay, now we can give him real baths.

Our favorite thing to do in the mornings...

Sit on the front porch and soak in the country life!!

Melts My heart!!

These two guys are my everything!!

BIG smile!

I captured this today (camera phone) and it made me so happy! This sweet little guy and his daddy are my whole world!!

Sleepy boy!

Sleeping on Daddy:

Sleeping on Mommy

PKU Test - 6/3/201

PKU Test – 6/3/2010

 

Thursday we had to take Mason to get his PKU test. First we took Mason to see the ladies at my Dr’s office. They’ve been following our pregnancy journey and wanted to see him when he was born. Nate, Ty, Mason and I were walking into the office and we ran into Derek Holland (pitcher for Texas Rangers). The Sports Rehab is on the first floor of the entrance to my Dr’s office. Nate said “hey” to him and asked for an autograph. Holland said, “Sure if you need one” lol. The only piece of paper I had was Mason’s card envelope from the hospital. So, he signed that and put his baseball jersey #. I wish we would have gotten a picture of him with Mason, darn it. Nate showed him Mason and said, “Look, he is already representing” (he had on his Texas Ranger’s onesie). Holland said, “Oh that’s cool” then he shook Nate’s hand and Congratulated us and wished us well. Totally COOL! If you know us at all you know that we are the BIGGEST Ranger fans.

Derek Holland's Autograph and pics

We went up to see the ladies and they were soo happy to meet him. They fell in love with him (of course). They went on and on about how cute he is. Hey, it’s my blog and I am a proud mama!! Haha!

 

After visiting them a while and telling our story of Derek Holland we went upstairs to get his testing done. This was the not so fun part of the trip. Luckily we got a girl that wasn’t so bad. She did the test pretty fast and Mason only cried for a bit. Still, it crushed me. I hope this is the last blood draw we have to do for a while. I can’t take it.

After the appt we went to visit Nate’s Grandmother in GP. It was a nice visit. She gave Mason a porcelain piggy bank completely full. She gave me a diamond necklace and earrings. They are really pretty!!! And one of her friends made Mason a blanket and birp cloth. Mason is so loved!!! Makes my heart happy.

Then it was off to Lockheed Martin to visit Nate’s coworkers. Travis, Molly and Tam came out to meet our little guy! It was great to meet Molly and Tam.

 

Busy, but good day. Mason did so wonderful and is such a trooper.

We sure are blessed.

2nd Pedi Appt - 6/1/2010

2nd Pediatrician appt – 6/1/2010

Before our appt we took Mason to Nana’s school to meet all of her friends. So many ladies came to the office to see him. Made us so proud to hear all of them talking about how perfect he is. Of course we know that, but it’s nice to hear other’s say that as well. One of the male principals made the comment, “You know, there are some babies that aren’t that cute and you have to lie and say they are…but this one is really cute”. It was a nice compliment. Mason scored some more Texas Rangers gear from Carol!! We visited a bit and then had to leave for our appt.

Pedi appt - First they weighed our sweet boy and he was up to 7lbs 4oz. Made us so happy to hear/see that our baby boy was gaining his weight back. He measured 20 inches long. Dr Gold came in and immediately complimented on him and his accomplishments. She said that he wasn’t the least bit jaundice anymore. She could tell just by looking at him. She also complimented Nate and I for doing such a good job over the last several days with our feedings and knocking the jaundice out. She’s such a sweet lady! She checked his breathing and his circ and said both were great. Dr Gold said unless needed she didn’t have to see him back for 2 months. So, we will see her again on August 6th. It’s weird – August 6th seems so far away…

Feeding Mason @ Dr Gold's office

Mason, you had a friend born today – Easton Peterman. Congrats to the Petermans and their new bundle of joy!

The Petermans:

1st Pediatrician Appt - 5/28/2010

First Pediatrician appt – 5/28/2010

We took Mason to the Kid’s Doc because those are the dr’s that work at MCA hospital. Dr Moyaad did Mason’s circumcision and was aware of his jaundice. We got to the pedi office and checked in. We sat in the waiting room for a few minutes and I told Nate and his mom, I don’t think I want to come back here. It just wasn’t like any place in Waxahachie, which we are spoiled to.

They called us back and had us strip Mason down to his diaper to weigh him. He weighed 6 lbs 9oz, which is lower than when he left the hospital. He weighed 7lbs 2oz at birth, and 6lbs 13oz when we discharged the hospital. She measured him and his length was 19 ¾ inches long.

Dr Gold then came in to see Mason and my whole opinion about the place changed. I instantly fell in love with her. I just got a really good vibe, which Nate and his mom did as well. She was very kind, patient and thorough with us. She was concerned about Mason’s weight as were we. She said that he was not getting full from breast milk alone and suggested that we supplement formula. She gave us many samples and even a bottle so that we could feed him on the way home. I just wasn’t producing enough to fulfill Mason. It really broke my heart, but was out of my control. I just want the best for my baby boy. But at least he is getting some from me. That is better than none, right?!?

Dr Gold checked his jaundice and agreed with us that he was pretty yellow. She went ahead and advised us to take him straight to the hospital for a billy ribbon test. Not fun for a momma and daddy, but best that we check. I just hate that the test consists of poking his little foot and draining the blood out. Makes me sad to hear him cry. His test came back at a 13.1. It was a 9 Thursday morning and then a 12 before we checked out of the hospital. Dr Gold called us before we even left the hospital parking lot. She said that she wasn’t worried about it and just told us to watch him. If he got any more yellow in color and went into a deep sleep to where he wouldn’t even wake to eat then we needed to get to the hospital. (since it was Memorial Day weekend).

We really like Dr. Gold.

Waiting for Jaundice test -

1st Night @ Home - 5/27/2010

Our First Night @ Home – 5/27/2010

I wish I could say we had a great first night, but I would be lying. It was heartwrenching as new parents to be quite honest. Mason was not a happy camper from 11:00pm to 4am. We thought he had a stomach ache. He wouldn’t settle down for anything and kept crying. Nate and I tried every trick we knew of and absolutely nothing worked. Finally Nate called Nana (his mom) to come to our rescue. She came over around 3am and helped us with Mason. She finally got him to calm down and he started to sleep. Nate and I were sitting on the couch, exhausted out of our minds and dozing off. Nana made us to bed for a few hours. It was so hard to leave our little guy and go to the bedroom without him. But we knew it was in our best interest so that we could take care of him the next day. We slept from 4-7 and then I woke up to feed Mason. I went to the living room and got Mason and then nursed him and he went back to bed. We lied down for a couple more hours and then we were up for the day. Mason was a little fussy the next day. I called the pediatrician to make him an appt. It was mainly for his jaundice and a follow up appt. Dr Moyaad wasn’t in the office, but Dr Gold was able to get him in that day. So Nate, Nana and I got ready and loaded up to head to Arlington again.

Leaving the Hospital - 5/27/2010

Leaving the hospital – 5/27/2010

 

We were discharged from the hospital around 5ish on Thursday. Nate and I packed up all of our things and called for assistance. 2 Volunteers came to help us downstairs. One volunteer went with Nate and carried all of our bags on a cart to the truck. The other volunteer took Mason and I in the nursery to match up our bracelets and to take the alarm off Mason’s leg. They gave Mason and honorary Texas Rangers certificate, a hat and 4 free tickets to a game! I love that the Texas Rangers sponsor our hospital. After we left the nursery the volunteer wheeled Mason and I downstairs to Daddy, who was waiting with the truck. It was such an awesome sight to see Nate getting the truck ready and then loading our son in. Real world, here we come. The Halls – family of 4 now (including Diesel, of course). Mason was wide awake and so bright eyed. He liked riding in his carrier and looking around. It was a great ride home.

As soon as we pulled out of the hopsital parking lot the George Strait song, “Best Day of my Life” came on. It was absolutely perfect for our situation and we will never forget that. Of course I cried.

We got home to Nana, Papa and Uncle TY waiting on us – cameras and video cameras in hand!! It was a really nice homecoming.

Day 2/3 @ the hospital

Day 2 at the hospital was pretty smooth, with the exception that I lost about 70% of my vision. It was pretty scary and I was kind of freaked out. But apparently it was a side effect of the magnesium. It was very frustrating not being able to focus on my nurses or visitors. Our first visitor was Nate's Grandmother and shortly after his family came up. We had a lot of time with just us 3 earlier that day. I was still feeling pretty crummy from the magnesium, but enjoying every second of being with our son. He's the sweetest ever and I love him so very much! They finally took me off the magnesium around 2:30 or 3 because my blood pressure was stable. I was so relieved, even though it took hours to wear off. That evening we had several visitors. It was hard for me to visit because I couldn't focus on anything. It was late that evening before my vision came back. That night we let the nursery keep Mason and they brought him to me about every 3 hours when I needed to feed him. When they brought him to me at the 4:30 feeding I kept him with me. I knew that he was going to get circumsized that morning around 7 or 8. I just held him, stared and cried for those few hours. I was really worried about the circumcision. But, it went really well and the Dr said that he did good. My poor boy! We had him with us the rest of the day. We took a couple small naps throughout the day. Dr Greve came and saw us around lunch time and said that I was doing well enough to discharge the hospital. We just had to get approval from the pediatrician. We told the nurse and she called the dr. Our nurse said that he had a touch of jaundice. That morning he was at a 9 and before we checked out he was a 12. They gave us signs to watch for at home and procedures to follow. We finally left the hospital around 5ish. Mason did so great on the car ride home. He liked the carrier and looking around. It was the cutest sight ever! Daddy was really causious driving with his precious cargo!

Mason's Birth - 5/25/2010

5/25/2010

Tuesday we had our sonogram at 1:45 and our appt following it. The sonogram went well and Mason passed his BPP with flying colors. At the end of the sonogram she weighed him and it showed him to weigh 7lbs 9oz. This kind of concerned me because 3 weeks earlier he weighed 7lbs 8oz. Didn't seem right that he only gained 1oz in 3 weeks. We went to our appt and Dr Greve checked my cervix. I was dialated to a 2 and 75 percent effaced. He started to review my charts and made the comment, 7lbs 9oz, he wont be too big. I said, well I am concerned about that because he is only showing to gain 1 oz in 3 weeks. Dr Greve looked back at my charts and had a very concerned look on his face. He said, you are right. Not that I am too worried about it but still could be that his abdomen isn't growing, we need to get you delivered. He and my nurse Odessa left the room to call the hospital to see what they could set up. I started having anxiety thinking that in a very short time we would be meeting our baby boy. Nate was so excited, it showed across his face. My heart just about beat out of my chest. Dr Greve came in and said, we are going to get you admitted today. Odessa was setting everything up and would be back in with the instructions. Nate called his mom and she couldn't believe it. He had to tell her about 6 times that we were serious! haha! Odessa came back in about 15 minutes later. And around 3:30ish we were making our way to the hospital (opposite wing we were on). We had to get the truck and pull around to that side. We went to the registration desk and checked in and then headed upstairs to labor and delivery. They walked me straight to our room and within about 3 minutes I was in my gown and in the bed getting things started.  The nurse hooked me up to the contraction monitor and within minutes we noticed that I was already having contractions. Then she started my IVs and the pitocin on slow drip. Sometime around 5:30 or so my blood pressure started spiking. It kept getting higher and higher. They finally diagnosed me with pre-eclampsia. I started swelling all over. So they started me on magnesium to prevent seizures. That medicine is the devil, let me tell you. It makes you feel like you have the flu. I got a bad headache, nausea and felt like I was running fever. The next day I lost about 70% of my vision. I couldn't see anything that wasn't about 6-8 inches in front of my face. Made it really hard to focus on the nurses and visitors. Anyhow, back to the birth story. When they started the magnesium they also upped my pitocin to make things run faster. Wasn't long after that and the contractions started getting really strong and painful. I asked for an epidural around 6:30, but had to let my IV bag finish first. It was around 7:15 when they gave me an epidural. Our anesthesiologist was pretty awesome and let Nate watch the entire thing. He explained everything he was doing and what I would be feeling. And to my surprise, the epi didn't hurt at all. The IV in my arm hurt much worse. The epidural kicked in about 10 minutes later and I was feeling great!! My doctor was not on call that night, so Dr Phillips took care of me. At first I wasn't happy about it, but it turned out okay. Dr Phillips was great!! He broke my water around 8:00pm. And that didn't hurt either!! Yay! He also checked me at that point and I was dialated to a 4. The Dr didn't expect me to deliver before midnight. So I just layed back and tried to relax. We had visitors, so we hung out and watched the Ranger game and talked. Around 9:45 I started feeling the contractions again and extreme pressure down low. I told my nurse that I was feeling them and she called for more medicine in my epidural. I told her I thought it was time and she checked. I was dialated to a full 10, time to start pushing!!! We started pushing around 10:30ish and Mason was born at 11:29pm. And in that moment I laid my eyes on the most perfect baby ever! And it was at that time my life was changed forever. It was amazing and I was finally a MOMMY!!!!! They laid him on my chest and the tears started flowing! I couldn't believe he was finally here.

Recap

1:45 - sonogram

2:30 - ob appt

3:30-3:45 checked into hospital

4:15 - in room getting things started

5:00 - blood pressure spiked, diagnosed with pre-eclampsia

5:30 - started magnesium for the pre-eclampsia, upped the pitocin

7:15 - got epidural

8:00 - Dr broke my water

10:30 - started pushing

11:29 - Mason is HERE!!!!

Around 12:30am they let the family come in and visit for a bit. After they all left I nursed Mason for the first time. That was an amazing experience. He latched on quickly and did really well. They took him to the nursery around 3:30 am to get weighed, measured and then he had to stay a few hours for the testing. They brought him back to us around 7:30 am and he got to spend the majority of the day with us.

We are so in love with our son! And absolutely loving being a family of 3. God has truly blessed us.