Mason's birth story

My doctor peered over the surgical curtain separating me from the rest of the action in the room. "Thank goodness we went with a c-section," she said "we can see a big hole in your uterus right now". Not the most reassuring words ever spoken during a surgery, but certainly some validating ones considering the circumstances. When considering the options for how Mason might enter this world, a repeat c-section or attempted VBAC, we weighed the numbers. Though a relatively low number of women who attempt a VBAC experience a rupture (of their previous scar), those that do face some serious and scary consequences for both themselves and baby. The fear of those consequences was enough to direct us towards a repeat c-section. It seemed the right choice for us, and when I heard those words in the ER I discovered how right we were. A hole, in my uterus. This meant that when they went in for Mason they found an open window waiting for them where there out to have been a shut door. Somehow, either before or during this pregnancy, my scar from Skyler's birth had began to rupture creating a nearly fist sized opening where there ought to have been none.

We started out the day of Mason's birth rising early. We needed to be at the hospital by nine for the the surgery which was scheduled at eleven. Before all that we needed to make one last stop to see Skyler who had spent the night previous at Nana and Pa's. We got in some last minute family of three time and then ventured on for all my pre-surgery preparations. Whether it was the stress of the day or lack of sleep the night prior I could not keep my eyes open for the life of me. During the hour or so in which I spent being pumped full of IV fluids to ready me for surgery I found myself fighting drowsiness, I was worried I might fall asleep in the operating room. This was a weird feeling, considering all the nerves I was experiencing at the same time.

The whole process felt very familiar considering we had been through a nearly identical day a few years earlier. They finished monitoring me and led me back to the OR and placed my epidural as Andy waited elsewhere in his surgical haz-mat suit. He was disappointed by the scrubs this time, they weren't take-home worthy. Once they had assured my numbed state and prepared to get underway with the surgery itself Andy got to return to the room. Some jostling ensued and the conversation above occurred, and then, he was out. He sounded just like an angry cat, and I couldn't believe how big he was. Mason really did look like a chunk from the very beginning. I had wagered that he would be about Skyler's size if not a bit smaller. I was wrong. Born at 11:39 am, Mason Alejandro weighed 9lbs 3oz and measured 20.5 inches long. A few ounces heavier and a half an inch shorter than his big brother.

I was so thrilled that this time around Andy and Mason got to stay with me for the rest of the surgery's duration. When Skyler was born he was whisked away, after an initial view, for bathing and measuring in another room. I told Andy to go with him, since at least I knew I wouldn't get lost in the hospital. Our little yet unknown baby boy seemed a more valuable asset to be monitored. This time however Mason and Andy stayed with me the whole time. Once he was wiped off and measured Andy brought him over for me to adore and we spent the end of the surgery cooing over what we thought was an adorable little noise he was making. He seemed to be emitting a constant stream of 'eh-eh-ehs' which we chalked up to a talkative nature. The nurses knew differently though and became concerned by his "singing", as they called it. Turns out that that little noise was an indication of fluid present in his lungs, something Mason was trying in his own little way to remedy. Unfortunately it was nearly twenty four hours after his birth that we received solid confirmation that this was the case, a period in which we spent worrying and Mason endured endless pokes, prodding, and blood draws. We spent a much longer time in recovery because of this and almost sent family home since we weren't sure Mason would be up for visitors. Ultimately the tests did reveal that his noises were caused by fluid, a common occurrence in c-section babies, by which time the grunts had all but resolved themselves. We are grateful for the outcome, but the time in between was not something I would ever want to repeat.

The rest of our hospital stay was uneventful and blessedly short. We came home after two days instead of the three we had been expecting since both Mason and I were recovering rapidly from the trauma of birth. We were very fortunate to be on the receiving end of a lot of familial support during this time and pleasantly surprised by Skyler's embrace of big brotherhood. He loves Mason and is very protective of him, showering him with lots of kisses and coos. He seems to understand very well that baby brother Mason, as he calls him, requires gentle handling. So far the expected swing to the head or all out rejection hasn't occurred yet, but then it is only day four.

Mason himself has so far been a pretty calm baby. He enjoys his sleep and will even maintain slumber while his father and two year old brother rumble around him. He resembles Skyler in the vaguest of details, though it is clear that he possesses some strong characteristics of his own. We feel very lucky to have another health and beautiful baby boy on our hands.The rest of the story can be told in pictures. There is one short video at the end of Mason's actual birth. It's not very graphic, for those who might be concerned, especially considering it was shot by Andy who is notably squeamish and faints at the sight of blood. He apparently makes exceptions for the birth of his son.

On again, off again

Not that my body hasn't been slowly betraying me over the last few months, but the last week has really made me want to put up the white flag. I surrender, I am done. Time for baby, my body is tired. I never experienced sciatic nerve pain last time with Skyler, and thank the gods that I am only just now experiencing it with the end so very close (11 more days!). Seriously though, ouch! I was already tired and achy in the pelvic region, but now my right leg has decided to abandon me and sends shooting pains every once and a while up the back. Even sitting doesn't provide relief all the time. I thought things had righted themselves yesterday, but it seems Mason was just testing out a different position and has now resumed his camp out right on my sciatic nerve. Thanks kiddo. Looking forward to seeing you and getting you off of my more sensitive internal assets.

Showering the baby - 34 Weeks

Today marks the beginning of week 34. Seriously, six more weeks to go. A little over a month for me to get ready for this, number two. Physically I am reaching that point, at some times during the day more than others, where I am ready. Mentally - meh. Looking at my to-do-before-baby-arrives list, also a little meh. We will be needing to make the most of the next five weekends for sure.

Little Mason man had his first baby shower this week, courtesy of my place of work. I have been so fortunate to be on the receiving end of now three showers from this employer (wedding, and for Skyler), I am starting to feel a little guilty for it. Not guilty enough to say no to all of this of course:

Sorry for the poor picture quality, my phone can only do so much. Don't get too excited for me though, I shared a shower with another gal who is due just a few days before me, so only half that loot is mine. Seems that it's not just the blogosphere going through a baby boom, there's something in the water here at work.

Remember, I shared the shower. Only one of the above referenced 'babies' is mine. We took home quite a haul, including this stroller and lots of other things to help us fill in the gaps in Mason's nursery. Very exciting, and needed.

32 Weeks - Learning to slow down

Really I was 32 weeks last Friday, so now I am hovering between 32 and 33. It all blends together at this point really, it's going fast. Quite the opposite of my general place these days, which is slow. Or I am finding that it should be. I feel like I have been able to maintain a pretty good energy this pregnancy, I haven't really felt all that limited and aside from the major energy drain of the first few weeks I have been feeling fine. Now not so much. Along with my repeat test for the diabetes they also tested to see if I was anemic. The results came back showing that I am mildly anemic, adding another pill (for iron) to my daily regimen. This also explained why my desire for an afternoon nap had increased significantly in the last few weeks. I have been taking the supplement for about a week now and I think it has been helping, hard to tell really what might be anemia-related tiredness and what is just third trimester dragging.

This past weekend also taught me the need to do some of my own regulation in order to keep myself going safely through these last few weeks. I had a bridal shower to attend that was about two hours drive away. I went up for the weekend, was on my feet helping run it all for most of it, and came home a wreck at the end of it all. I have really been taking for granted that my body would just keep up with me. Chasing a toddler in my spare hours and working during the day led me to believe that I could just power through when needed. My body has officially disabused me of this belief. By late Sunday I just had to lay down and give in, I even had some really unpleasant braxton-hicks to remind me to stay put. I have been having those "practice" contractions for a while now, but these ones were actually a little painful. Time to slow down I guess.

Otherwise things continue to go well, no more travelling or long drives in my near future. Just a matter of sitting back and watching these next 7ish weeks fly by.

Bring your child to work day

I brought (one) of mine, how 'bout you?

As the belly grows - 27 weeks

One more week and we are into the third trimester baby! I can't even believe that is possible, time really does fly. I already thought I was getting bigger, but something must have happened recently because I have been getting a lot of comments lately that I have 'popped'. I would agree with them, Mason is kinda hanging out there now. Also, so is my belly button. This didn't really happen last time, but now (especially after a good meal) my innie is definitely an outie. Just another funny difference between this time and the last.


I am starting to become more achy, starting each morning with my hips feeling like they just might go their separate ways. By the end of it all last time I was wearing a lovely garment that Andy sweetly referred to as a diaper but was really an all around belly support. I haven't had to resort to this just yet, but it's heading there. I feel like I am carrying Mason differently than I was Skyler so we'll see.

I can also feel that Mason is getting bigger in there too, I still get the frequent jabs and pokes but more and more often I feel his whole body shifting and the long rubs of some solid little body part pushing out against me. He also performs a most unsettling move that feels like a good solid kick to my nether regions, it's strange where those baby bits manage to reach. Even more strange when these particular karate moves are performed while I am trying to quietly sit through a meeting at work.

We have been accumulating items for the nursery and are getting close to starting the putting together process. I feel a bit behind with it all and probably a bit in denial seeing as the time we have to do all this is quickly decreasing. Just 13 more weeks...

P.S. If you haven't had a chance yet be sure to enter the giveaway I posted about a few days ago. I will be, with Skyler's assistance, picking the winner this Sunday!

As the belly grows - 25 weeks

Little Mason man will be twenty five weeks (gestationally speaking) tomorrow. That means only fifteen more weeks(ish) until he enters into this side of the world. I can't believe how quickly the last few weeks have flown by. It scares me to think how quickly we will now move to thirty and *gulp* beyond. I have definitely popped, I know this both by my own observation and the willingness of the general public to now make their own observations. I have been receiving a lot more comments from strangers lately, mostly women asking if I know what I am having. Though I did meet a lovely homeless man while I was parking my car today who inquired if it would be rude to assume I was expecting.

We also had a doctor visit today, all is going well and I am measuring right along if not a bit ahead. Technically I am measuring at 26 weeks, but again I am just going to keep sticking with the 26th of June as it's too much hassle to keep switching. Mason's little heart was ticking along at 150, he gave the doctor a run for her money as he was being a squirmy little bug and she had to keep readjusting to get an accurate reading. As Andy has noted, and I have noticed too, Mason is much more of a mover than Skyler was in utero. Skyler pulled lots of kicks and jabs, and by the end of it I seemed to constantly have a foot lodged in my ribs. Mason seems much more interested in full on body movements, lots of stretching,flipping, and scooting around. I also found out that thus far I have accomplished the astonishing feat of only gaining 13 pounds. This is practically a miracle if you compare it to the weight I have gained by this point with Skyler, you could pretty much triple that number and it would be accurate. Now if I can just keep it up...

Here's the belly:

Ninja nursery

When we first found out Skyler was a boy, well actually even before we knew for sure that he was, Andy announced that he had the perfect theme for his nursery: dinosaurs. Andy always loved dinosaurs as a child and could think of no better decoration for his son's new room. I knew how much it meant to him, so I set about making it happen. Fortunately it wasn't too difficult as Babies r' Us carried a dino bedding set and the rest of the accessories to fill in the gaps. Who knew dinosaurs could be cute?

When we discussed the possible genders (and associated room themes) that this next baby might have, Andy again had a suggestion: ninjas. A ninja nursery. If you are so inclined try typing that into a google search and see what comes up. Not a whole lot of baby friendly options, let alone any convenient bedding and accessories at the local baby outlet. Again, I knew how much it meant to Andy so I set about making it happen. It hasn't been easy, and we are far from even setting things up, but the pieces are starting to fall into place. First, did you know that someone out there decided to make stuffed ninjas:


Again, who knew ninjas could be so cute? I also searched, in vain, for some sort of "cute" ninja wall art. I came up empty handed on that one, so I improvised. I made my own. They are lacking frames at present, but I am thinking I managed to make ninjas cuddly and appropriate for a child's decor.


The one area I really couldn't improvise or provide a specific ninja theme was the bedding, but I am thinking the below will help create an overall Asian feeling. Pandas are definitely baby friendly too, so that helps.

So I hope I have risen to the challenge my husband put before me. The dinosaurs turned out well, and I think the ninjas will too. Now the issue will be convincing Andy that the ninjas are for Mason, not him.We are currently sitting at twenty three weeks with baby boy number two, hopefully lots of time left to pull his room together for him. We are excited to be getting under way with planning, getting things set into action and preparing for Mason.

Also excited that now Skyler will give kisses to Mason when asked, we'll see how this translates once his brother arrives.

Behind the curtain

When I started this blog it was because I needed a separate space from the blog I had already begun when my first child was born. That forum was meant entirely for the friends and family members who were (then) so far away and required regular updating and of course pictures. It wasn't an appropriate place for me to express my feelings though, and in those early months I really did need somewhere to go with all of that. In a way the original blog is sterile in that it was entirely dedicated to the mister, not my feelings about breastfeeding or why my mother was driving me crazy that week or really anything about the deeper me. Not that I am all that deep, but still. A lot went on in that first year, and I just needed a place to express myself - anonymously.

I feel comfortable enough now that the idea of sharing my name, our names, doesn't seem so scary. I still worry that family members and people who I haven't shared this blog with intentionally might find me here, but then that is really a consequence I have been courting since putting my life and words out into the blogosphere. So hi, my name is Jeni. I'm married to Andy, and our first born son's name is Skyler. And this guy (direct your attention to uterus level):

...is going to be called Mason.

Little Bean - 19 Weeks

Holy wow, I cannot believe that this pregnancy is almost halfway over. Even more so I can't believe it's only another week and a half and then we get to find out what we're having, I can barely contain myself. The mister was very forthcoming in revealing his gender, I just hope the Little Bean is as helpful.


So at 19 weeks I am starting to feel unwieldy. I am not feeling big, per se, but I am beginning to notice a certain lack of balance and I even think I am starting to waddle. Not the full on pregnancy waddle, mind you, but it's not my usual forward movement. My hips and pelvis are also starting to feel loose and creaky, something that occurred closer to the end of my last pregnancy. Everything really does happen sooner the second time around.

I also have been experiencing increasingly regular nudges and bumps from this internal inhabitant. Since about week 15/16 I have been feeling pokes here and there, but now there are definite intervals during the day when the baby is up and moving. It's incredible to feel these things again, and even more so since I know how much more regular and intense their movements will become. Even though we are nearly fifty percent there it almost seems like it is all just starting now, I think the movements (and the bigger belly) make it even more real.

Little Bean, 15 Weeks

Definitely getting rounder, and I know that more stretching is soon to come because I am starting to get that aching/growing feeling. It's really begun. I also keep waiting and wondering when I will feel my first official kick from this little one. Lately I swear I have been feeling fluttering movements in there (especially about an hour or so after dinner), but I still can't quite label it as definitely being the Little Bean moving.

I am starting to allow myself to think about plans for this baby, what we will need to buy and how the room will be set up. It all still seems so unreal, but the bigger belly doesn't lie and I should probably start preparing sometime (soon). I am even in the process of figuring out how to knit, as I have grandiose plans of knitting a blanket for the Bean. We will see how that turns out.

I am certainly feeling better now, though the shortness of breath and the gradual increase in body temperature has definitely set in. I forgot just how exhausting it is being pregnant, especially as the weeks go by. This is a really good point in the pregnancy though, I am looking forward to first movements and in five more weeks finding out if this really is a bean or beanette.

10 down, 30 to go

I suppose it was technically ten weeks yesterday, but I won't worry about being too particular. So here's the baby bump:


Looking somewhat reminiscent of what I recall sporting around month five with the MR. Eh. I am definitely feeling better as of late, and BL mentioned that he is glad to have his (generally) pleasant wife back. I am fortunate that he has a strong memory of what last time around was like, so none of this is unexpected for him. He has been most accommodating and his rule of thumb is to keep me fed. This, he says, was his greatest piece of knowledge he gathered from preggo number one. Hungry = even more grouchy/bitchy/intolerable. He's a smart man, that one.

Here's an aerial view, for anyone that might wonder what I see when I look down everyday. It's still crazy to me when I see such physical evidence of the process occurring inside of me. It's exciting and reassuring, but still just as wondrous as the first time.

8 weeks 3 days, as the belly grows

So regardless of the fact that the little bean in my belly is only about the size of a gummy bear, according to internet sources, my belly is definitely exhibiting signs of residency. I was looking back at some of the early pictures I had from my pregnancy with the MR (of which there are sadly few prior to about 5-6 months) and things seem to be on track. I guess I just show earlier.

For the last half of this past week things in the nausea/exhaustion department have become a little more manageable. I learned from last time that it is highly helpful for me to regularly dose myself with snacks, and this time around I am finding that those snacks are better received if they are not a)sugary or b)full o' sodium. I am already starting to be more careful about these two, as I am hoping to forego a round two with the gestational diabetes, but I have also noticed that my body (and temperament) are less receptive to these kind of snacks. So lots of apples, yogurt, and string cheese for me. Not necessarily a bad thing. I am not sure if this more careful monitoring of my meals is responsible for the slight lifting of the fog I had been trudging through these last few weeks, but I will take what I can get.

So what do you think, does this look like the belly of an eight(ish) week pregnant lady?

P.S. Yes, those are already maternity pants, they are just more comfortable, k?

Already?

A little over six weeks along and I am already starting to pooch out... I don't recall this occurring so early last time. Must be the result of my tummy muscles taking a beating from the MR's residence. Or maybe just bloating? We shall wait and see.