Mason's Story

Mason Thomas Long was born on April 25th at 11:42 a.m. and though his delivery was scheduled as a routine c-section, he tried to make things interesting by sending me to into the early stages of labor the night before his impending birth. The nurse who admitted us placed the monitors on me and asked if the contractions that were showing up on the strip were painful ( you know, from 1-10, ten being the highest) . At that point, they were a five. She commented that it was just proof that Mason was ready to be born. Despite his apparent readiness, he was sitting very high, wedged up under my ribs and the vacuum extractor was used to pry the little guy out! Weighing in at 7 lbs 10.5 ounces, 20.5 inches long, he was born a little " floppy" but after a minute of vigorous rubbing, Mason cried a good , strong cry and didn't stop until they'd taken he and Mike down the hall to clean him off and admit him to the hospital.




Mackenzie , Grams and my sister Carley all came as soon as they'd gotten word we were in recovery. Mackenzie feel instantly in love with Mason , whom calls " My sweet Mason boy". She wanted to hold him right away and was certain to tell each person wearing scrubs " Remember! He's ours!"


Despite the few hiccups  to start, things went very smoothly after that- much more so than I had anticipated. As soon as I was settled into our room, I was able to have the IV drugs stopped and went onto oral pain meds at half the usual dose. As soon as possible, all other " attachments" were removed so I could get up and move around and by the end of the second day, it was clear that I was ready to be discharged in the morning. The only hesitation was that my staples needed removing but thankfully the doctors and nurses were more than confident in Mike's ability to do that job.

The only thing missing from our happy occasion was our sweet Mackenzie, who was having the time of her life with Grams who had planned lots of special activities. Each day, when I heard about all the fun they'd had, I wondered if Mack would even want us back! Of course, each phone call from her started with an excited " I love you, Mommy! I miss you so. I just loooove Mason!"  And so it was , we were all more than ready to get our boy home and start to find our new normal.

There was a time in my life that I doubted that I'd ever have another child. I didn't think it was possible to ever love someone else as much as I love Mackenzie and I didn't think it would be fair to another child to play second fiddle the light of our lives. A wise friend calmed my fears by telling me that adding another child to the family doesn't divide the space in your heart to love, it multiplies it. I can't think of anything that I have found to be more true than this. Our lives feel so complete with the entrance of Mason to the world. Welcome to the family, Sweet Mason Boy!

So it seems to go....

Maybe it's training for having a little brother, but Mack can't seem to find a seconds' peace with out her four legged buddy in tow. It doesn't matter what Mackenzie's up to, Ellie wants to be apart of it and the twosomes ideas rarely merge neatly. Here's how it usually goes these days:

Mack,  happily playing solo in the bird bath :

Here comes trouble:

They play together nicely ....for a minute:

When something goes awry:

But it doesn't take long before they're , once again, inseparable:

Monopoly!

Mackenzie has discovered the game Monopoly and it's since become her favorite board game. Maybe it's just luck or perhaps her strategy of buying up every property she lands on, but she is on a two game winning streak!

                        
                                                            
                                             

'Tis the season

You know it's dandelion season in our house when you wash a certain little girls clothes and find " dandy" remnants in the bottom of the dryer. It's hard to mind when I see Mackenzie's face light up as she happens upon a patch of dandelions, only to show up a few minutes yellow nosed carrying a fist full of them for her mama. Dandelion bouquets abound in our house!

The end is near....

And so , here's one last glance at the belly before we get to meet he who inhabits it! Notice the water spots on my belly? I don't know if my kitchen will ever be as clean with out the belly to do a double swipe after I wash the counter.

Spoiled!

This is Ellie curled up with Mack's favorite blanket. It sure is a hard life.

30+1

As soon as I peeked my head into Mackenzie's room the morning of April 16th, she burst into the cheerful birthday song followed by sweet birthday hugs and kisses and then began the interrogation  about which kind of cake I'd be picking for my big day.  Mike had to work the previous night so he spent a good chunk of the day asleep and when he woke up, I had to head off to my final OB appointment but when I got home, I was showered with chocolates and take out dinner. My mom came for dessert ( what Mike called "Death by chocolate " cake. I laugh in the face of this. My fortitude for chocolate is far greater than any one can know) and it was just a nicely quiet day.
 

Of course, Mike isn't one to scrimp on a birthday so the next day my real birthday present was revealed: dinner in downtown Denver at  Le Chateau for my first fondu experience  followed by tickets to the theater for a show that's been on my " must see" list for a long time , Wicked! We had a great time and , though my ankles had disappeared by the end of the night, Mike couldn't have thought of a better treat for me and it was the perfect " last night out" before Mason's arrival ( Mike even thought to get my seat on the aisle for maximum belly comfort and ease of access to the facilities! ). Of course, the night was possible because my mom and Mack had a date night in - thanks Mom! 31 will certainly be an exciting year for me.

I will admit that I am not good at dipping fondu. Thank goodness for the industrial sized serving spoon that got lots of use, fishing out my lost " goods" . 

Baby Animal Days

Annie, Mack and I checked out Baby Animal Days in Greeley last week. There were the usual suspects- baby pigs, goats, sheep, chicks, bunnies and horses. Each adorable exhibit had someone there to answer questions and Mack learned quite a bit. Mack can see a good variety of animals as Papa's but she still had fun exploring the farm. She and Annie had fun figuring out the " old fashioned" games. A trip to Noodles and Company followed by some serious play time with Annie's dogs made for a complete day!

7 days 18 hours 40 minutes

That's the official count down to the birth of our son. I put a countdown on the computer desk top six months ago, back when the day seemed like it would never get here. And now, in 7 days, we go from being a family of three to a family of four. Though I am nervous- mostly about the surgery which will force Mason out on his birthday, we three M's are so excited- elated , to meet this missing piece to our puzzle. Mackenzie tells every person she meets that she's going to be a big sister " Yep, next week!" and the list of things she plans on teaching her baby brother is growing longer by the day. We can't wait to find out who he is. Will his nearly constant intrauterine movement translate into an always on the go ,wild boy? Will he look like his sister with my green eyes and Mike's dimples?

The part that excites me the most isn't what WE will receive upon Mason's birth. It's in knowing the world, the life, the family that this sweet boy will be born into. When I see Mike engrossed in his "Geek Dad" books, plans forming in his head of all the things he wants to do with his kids, tears well up in my eyes. And Mackenzie- how I hope to see the look on Mason's face when he realizes how cool his big sister is. She'll be the kind of sister that will help him perfect his soccer skills, or be his tackling dummy, or show him where the best worms hang out but also the one he'll come to ( much later) when he has girl trouble. Even as he's kicking away in my belly, I have plans to snap a picture to capture every big moment, to collect the sweet moments on paper , to be the historian of his life.

And even beyond our little four person nucleus, how excited will he be when he looks around and sees grandparents, full of knowledge and history, crazy aunts, handy uncles, cousins galore, close family friends with whom he will grow. I feel like it's Christmas morning and the world is Mason's gift. This boy is blessed beyond measure and he doesn't even know it yet! And we, from our front row seats, will be sure to remind him every chance we get.

7 days 18 hours 25 minutes....

Cute Bug!

I found the CUTEST bug in the yard the other morning! ( click the collage to make it bigger)
Every day I watch this little bug scour her closet for the perfect outfit, looking for just the right piece to compliment her mood that day. She gets to pick her own outfit and do her own hair most days and she loves this new found freedom to express herself. I have to resist posting all the pictures I take of her because each outfit only gets more and more creative!

No longer "free"

One of the best parts of watching a baby grow into a child is when they begin learning to talk and hearing all their funny little pronunciations. Mack has always been a really great talker so when she loses one her" Mackenzie-isms" , we're always a little sad. We still miss when ants were " aints" and lotion was " a losh" .

Today, Mack and I were playing a board game and, as she was counting aloud the spaces she'd spun, I realized that she no longer says " free" for " three" . This is a common impediment among "free"year olds, and maybe Mack tossed it aside since she's no longer " free" but this was our very last " Mackenzie-ism" and I already miss it! There was a time when " Mackenzienese" was the dominate language at our house and it's largely been replaced by regular old English. How boring!

Mike and the girls

A sight for sore eyes

Mackenzie is still set on doing her own hair! Here's her latest style:

It was just my imagination....

runnin' away with me...

Ever since I snapped this picture of Mackenzie playing "super hero" in the yard, I've had that old Temptations song stuck in my head ( can you tell we spent a lot of time with the "oldies " station on growing up?) . I wish, even if for just a single instant, I could get a glimpse into her head. I'd love to know what goes on in there when she's so lost in thought. Do you recognize her " cape"? You guessed it, that's her faithful blanket :


She doesn't go many places with out her faithful, not so fearless, side-kick, Ellie:

Easter 2012

I can hardly believe we've closed the door on Easter 2012. Didn't we just celebrate Easter 2011? After coming to terms with the fact that it was, indeed, time to celebrate this special holiday again, we got busy enjoying all things Easter. It was bitter sweet knowing this is Mack's last holiday as an only child but we all agreed that it will be so much fun to teach Mason our Easter traditions starting next year.

Click on collage to make it bigger:
We created lots of Easter masterpieces. Our favorite was the "graffiti bunny" which Mack cut out and designed all on her own. She later added her own embellishments, doodling all over the front and back of the little guy to give him that " Mackenzie Flare".

My dear friend Angie gave me the idea to "plant" jelly beans to find out what grows. Of course, curious Mack was up to finding out what sprouted from a tiny jelly bean. She was amazed to find a lollipop where last we left our tiny bean:

We also attended an Easter egg hunt at a local church. Our church's kids activities didn't fit into our schedule for the day so we were glad the church a few blocks over was a happenin' place to be. Mack scored big time on eggs and also enjoyed a puppet show and " mini sermon" geared towards kids. Another special treat- cousin's Brooklyn and Kaleb came, too! Later that evening, we dyed Easter Eggs and Mack and Mike made rootbeer.
This is the egg that made the rounds to all the colors ( and was dropped several times in the process. ) This one later met a worse fate: dog treat.

Easter morning was a treat- we all actually slept in, Mack being the last one up. After she crept down stairs to find out what the Easter Bunny had left in her special basket, she slipped on her sandals to find out where that silly bunny hid all our eggs!

I wonder where those eggs could be? :

Ellie was a big help in finding those pesky eggs:

After a super lazy morning, we headed over to Grams' for dinner. Cousins Brooklyn, Kaleb, Cam and Anaka were all there to play the afternoon away! Despite a quiet morning, the afternoon packed in so much action that Mack was barely awake for our bed time songs and prayers. That, to us, means it was a great day!

One last picture to round out the massive Easter update. One of Mack and Ellie, the girls in pink. I was finally able to get them together in one location and snapped just two pictures before Ellie escaped. This picture makes me giggle because they are making the same exact same" Enough pictures already!" face.

Rough life for a dog

36 weeks and a birth day!

I'm 36/40 weeks pregnant this week! The 36th week is an important one- it's where weekly OB appointments begin and the baby is just one week shy of being considered " full term" . For most women, it marks the dramatic slowing of time to a drip's pace because they become uncomfortable , their belly like an anchor to the couch! This isn't the case for me. Though I am noticing myself being more moody and tiring more quickly, by and large ( yes, I just used that phrase to describe a pregnant me) I feel really good, not at all like my pregnancy could be over any time now.

So off to my weekly OB appointment we went , this time with extra anticipation. I knew that this day was the day we could officially schedule my repeat c-section- Mason's birth day. This , a repeat c-section, has been something I've struggled with over the course of my pregnancy. It's different, being on the scheduled side of a c-section. With Mackenzie, it wasn't a question. Things were going down hill and something had to be done. There was no time to think about whether I wanted a c-section. I NEEDED one. And even though I've gathered the opinions of several people whose experience and knowledge I trust, I couldn't quite get comfortable with CHOOSING to have surgery until just recently. What did it for me was this: having a great doctor who could sense my anxiety over this choice. Who could see that I would be fine with a repeat c-section if I knew that I wasn't " taking the 'easy' way out". After taking the time to listen to my family history of c-sections and then my own birth story with Mackenzie , she said she would support me 100% if I wanted to attempt a VBAC ( vaginal birth after cesarean). In her experience, there are two types of c-section moms. Those who have a c-section because of an issue with the baby- breech presentation, a baby in distress ( umbellical cord issues) or placental issues. These cases, while very serious, aren't likely to repeat themselves making for a great VBAC candidate. The rest of the women, the group I belong to, who have a c-section after extremely long labors, who's labors stall or fail to progress, suffer from what she likes to call " repeatable offenses". Remember Mackenzie and her 33 hour labor? Remember how, after all that time I only dilated to 7 cms? Dr. Appleton says in many cases like this, the bone structure of the mom or the size of the baby prohibits the baby's head from actually being able to put enough pressure on the cervix to dilate it. The contractions are working but something keeps the baby from getting to where it needs to go. Mackenzie was an 8 and a half pound baby. My mom had four c-sections because of her bone structure. This didn't look like a very good VBAC climate to me. So, armed with this information and a new sense of peace that I'd done my home work before making such a big choice, we set the date! April 25th, 2012

It's a little bit strange to PICK your child's birthday. It was an easy choice though. See, though I would have picked an even numbered birthday ( because my brain is random that way) , Dr. Appleton only does surgeries on Wednesdays and since they don't like c-section moms to go very far past their 39th week, the choice basically made itself. Wednesday, April 25th!

Aside from that, my blood pressure was a little bit high before the appointment and remained high even after and even still when Mike checked it that evening as well accompanied by a far amount of swelling in my legs and feet . I am under strict instruction to drink my weight in ounces of water ( that, by the way, is a LOT of water) and call the doctor ASAP if I develop concerning symptoms. I'm not overly worried about this since I spent nearly all of my last trimester with Mackenzie living this same story.

36 weeks have flown by and , just three weeks from today around THIS time, we'll be counting the fingers and toes of our brand new baby boy!

A cute side note: Poor Mackenzie really is having a hard time figuring out how this time line will go down. Each doctor's appointment, she's convinced, is THE appointment where she'll meet this brother of hers. Yesterday, as we were leaving for the doctor's office, she said " Mommy. After your c-section today, lets go to the park!" This , of course, followed by a discussion of how mommy will be sore for a few weeks after Mason comes and the park would be off limits for me. But even still, Daddy would be her park buddy until I could get back in the "swing" of things ( ha ha) . She assured me that the swings would still be there when I am feeling better.

April showers

Since we haven't had any real showers, we decided to make our own! The thermometer hit 80 degrees so we fished out the sprinkler, splashed in puddles and gave our grass a much needed drink with out turning on the sprinkler system . Mackenzie's favorite thing was putting the sprinkler under the slide of her play set, making her go "super de duperdy fast!"