A little bit late, but......

Check out my sweet boy. Just wanted to share Mason's birth announcement.

Happy One Month Mason

Mason,

I cannot believe how quickly your first month has flown by. I wish I could stop time and make each second with you last a lifetime. You are truly a sweet boy, and I just cannot get enough of your sweet face.

During your first month, you have given me many blessings, but also some stressful times. It breaks my heart when I cannot figure out what you need (although, that part is getting better) and you continue to cry. So far, your favorite activities are eating, tooting, and pooping. I could change your diaper every hour and there would be some form of a "prize" awaiting me. You "smile" when you have gas bubbles, and it makes me so excited for the coming moment when you give me your first true smile.

You hate having your having your diaper changed, but scream when you are sitting in your dirty diaper. You do not like getting dressed for bed at night, and you hate morning nap time. The afternoons are when you would sleep for hours, if I allowed it.

You are an exclusive breastmilk baby, and it brings me joy to see you grow and know its my breastmilk contributing to your growth. It makes me content when you are all worked up and out of sorts, and when I nurse you, you immediately calm and your eyes are so happy. You also love to drink out of your bottle as well. So far you are eating between 3-4 ounces every 2.5 -3 hours. When you are well fed and happy, you make the sweetest cooing noises ever. Last night, I layed in bed just listening to your cooing for at least 30 minutes.

Today at your 1 month appointment, we found out you weigh 9 lbs, 12.4 oz and are now 21 inches long. Your head measured 39 cm. For weight, you are in the 50th percentile; for height, you are in the 40th percentile; and for head measurement, you are in the 75th percentile. You also received your hepatitus shot this morning and are currently rocking your big boy band-aid. You are in between sizes right now with your diapers and clothes. I am upset you are outgrowing your newborn sized clothes, but it just means you are a healthy boy.

Currently, we are working on a routine with the assistance of "Babywise" and "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer." So far, so good. We are also beginning to transition you to your crib, but that is just during your daytime naps. At night, you are still in your pack n play in our room. Speaking of sleep, we began praying with you last night before bed. This is surely a tradition we will continue.

Currently, you nicknames around the house include: Mr. Gums, Gummy Bear, Jekyll, It, The Beast, Angel, Sweet Boy, and Mason Man. When you grimace, yawn, or any other activity that requires your mouth to be opened, all Mommy and Daddy see are gums. At night or in the evening when you fight sleep, you are known as Jekyll, It, or The Beast.

My beautiful, sweet boy I cannot express how much joy you bring to my life or how much I love you. I have waited for you for so long and knew that God would bless us with you when the time was right. You are the right baby for us and I could not imagine life any other way. You are worth every tear I have cried and any pain I have felt. You and your daddy are my world.

All my love forever,

Mom

Future BFF's

Over the last three weeks, we have had MANY visitors consisting of family and friends. Also, over the last three weeks, Mason has met some of his future best friends and possibly future girlfriend or prom date.

Walker Meets Mason:

Our good friends Erin and Gabe have a son named Walker. Walker, as it turns out, is very protective over Mason. Walker is also seven months old. Protective, you might ask??? Well, there is proof in the picture:

Also, Erin and I walk together. On these walks, Mason sometimes gets worked up and cries before the walk is completed or before I can make it home. Walker all but climbs out of his stroller to "help" Mason and also Walker looks at me like "what are you going to do about it?" Thank goodness for the stroller harnesses! These two will definitely be fraternity brothers at AppState in the future.

Cash Meets Mason:

My good friend Hilary has a son name Cash. Cash is a Mini Me of his dad, Matt. Now I have never met Matt, but after seeing pictures of Matt, there is no mistaking who this child's father is. Based on these pictures, it appears that these two are going to rely on each other to vent and be irritated and Hilary and me.













Tatum Meets Mason:

Tatum is the daughter of our best friends, Ross and Lindsey. Ross is highly concerned that Mason and Tatum will date in the future and plans on having man-to-man chats with Mason prior to any vacations we go on. Tatum, who I refer to Miss In-Charge, always has this look on her face as if to say "I am here and this is how we are going to do it." She is sure to be a handful for both her parents.

Happy Birthday Sweet Mason

So by the title of this post, its obvious that Mason Andrew has arrived. This past week has been the most life-changing experience that I cannot even begin to put it into words. So I will avoid trying and just give you the birth story. There are some detailed pictures and explanation, so if you are sensitive, you should just quit reading now.

9/14/2011: I left work early and came home because I "just didn't feel right." Something was definitely off. Additionally, around 10 that morning I began to lose "the plug."

9/15/2011, 3:30 am: I called my sister because I was having contractions that I could still talk through, and I ended up calling the hospital to see if I should come in. Contractions were about 10 minutes apart, but not super intense. Mid-wife told me to keep my OB appointment, scheduled for 8:40 am that morning. It sounded like I was in early labor, just not active labor. Call back when you cannot talk through your contractions and they are 5 minutes apart lasting for around a minute each.

8:40 am: Saw Dr. R and found out we FINALLY made progress. I was still only a fingertip dialated, but Mason had dropped, and I was 50% effaced. While doing my internal, Dr. R said he was going to "help me out a little bit." So he began stripping my membranes, which I was not prepared for. These things take time to mentally prepare and therefore let out a "Holy $h!t." Keep in mind Dr. R is an elder in our church and serves communion. As soon as I realized what I had said, I immediately apologized. Dr. R told me that Mason could arrive today, tomorrow, or next week.

Throughout the day on Thursday, my contractions ended up picking up in frequency and intensity. However, I did make sure that my hair was trimmed, colored, and my eyebrows were waxed, so I went to the salon. Later that day, I was talking to a friend, and I could feel the contractions coming on, and I remember telling her to just talk to me for a minute bc I knew I was about to have to focus through these contractions. Later that afternoon, my MIL came down bc we were going to see "The Help," which did not happen, but she spent the night anyway. That night, Charlie and I went to bed around 10:30 am and while I was asleep, I still remember twitching my feet back and forth in bed trying to get through the pain of the contractions.

Friday, 9/16/2011: I finally got up around 12:30 am and decided that I would deal with the pain better if I could just walk it out. So I get my MIL and we go downstairs and start timing. The contractions were definitely lasting for at least a minute and were about 3-5 minutes apart. We called the hospital and were told to come in.

We got to the hospital around 2:00 am and was checked. I was dialated to 4 cm at this point and beginning to get nauseous from the contractions. The nurse (Cece) told me I was getting admitted. By 4:30 am I had my epidural, and was feeling great. Also my mom and sister had also arrived at the hospital drinking coffee, which I REALLY wanted to partake in. Labor began to stall out, so they started me on pitocin, and then I began feeling the contractions again....UNACCEPTABLE! So Dr. Doolittle (literally) came in and injected some added juice into my IV and within 5 minutes, I could no longer feel my legs. I was complete dead weight, and I had to have Charlie and the nurse move me from side to side to get the epidural evenly proportioned.

Around 8:30 am, the nurse began moving all this equipment into the room and I just remember thinking I cannot be this close bc I feel nothing. At 8:45 am, Beverly, my new nurse, checked me and told me I was dialated to 10 cm. I had a mild internal breakdown, and just kept reciting to myself "God give me peace, God give me peace, God give me peace." The next thing I know I was pushing at 8:50 am and Mason came into this world at 9:25 am on 9/16/2011.

Mason Andrew weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 19.5 inches long. He was absolutely perfect in everyway. I had an amazing birth team consisting of my mom, sister, MIL, and Charlie. They were incredibly motivating, which I think kept me determined to get my sweet boy out. Charlie did an amazing job, and thoroughly impressed me bc he can be quite squeemish with blood, needles, or just seeing me in pain. However, after the adrenaline wore off, he did get faint, which you will see in a picture below.

This past week has brought about SO many changes. It is the most rewarding, yet trying experience of my life. We are adjusting wonderfully and each day gets better and better. So far my favorite moment of each day is waking up at 5:30-6:00 am to breastfeed Mason and then he falls asleep on me. I love looking at Charlie (still asleep) and Mason (asleep) and feel the warm fuzzies on the inside bc of my love for my little family. So, here are some pictures of our sweet Mason aka little Charlie.

Falling in Love

Fall, also known as Autumn, is my absolute most favorite time of the year. Mason's impending arrival gives me another reason to add to my list of why I LOVE this time of year so, so much. Gosh, where do I begin to put all these wonderful thoughts of fall into words.

The most obvious sign of fall (to me) are pumpkins. Big, beautiful pumpkins can take you from September through Halloween and then to Thanksgiving. Picking out pumpkins is a favorite fall activity of mine, and while I would LOVE to take Mason to pick out pumpkins this year, chances are I will not wait on him to arrive to participate. Even if he is here, he will be too young to go along. The first picture below is from my in-laws church where they host the annual pumpkin patch. I am so pumped up to go and in case you follow my blog from our hometown, the pumpkin patch at BCUMC is scheduled to begin on September 24 @ 9:00 am.

Another sign of Fall season that I LOVE are the leaves. Being an Appalachian State alumni, I was spoiled for 4 years of the fall folliage season. At the time, it was annoying when all the tourists, more specifically Floridians, would drive up the mountain and slow down the flow of traffic. Looking back, it was all for a great cause as you cannot deny the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains covered in those beautiful autumn colors. Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway during this special time was beyond magical.

Fall also brings about apple season. With Charlie being from Lincolnton, and me from a small town close to Lincolnton, its a yearly tradition to participate in the Lincoln County Apple Festival. There are tons of local vendors, local high school booths, the most amazing apple fritters, fried apple pies, and just socializing with those you don't have the opportunity to see everyday.

Speaking of apples, I have ALWAYS wanted to go apple picking. As in, Charlie and I drive to the mountains to an apple orchard and pick some apples. How much fattening foods could I make with all those apples?

I also LOVE the Fall season because I LOVE to decorate my porch with MUMS! They come in several different sizes and many fun, amazing Fall colors. I cannot wait to go and purchase some for my outdoor decor. I like to find random people set up on the side of the road selling mums becuase they have the best prices and best mum color selection.

If you know me, you know that I LOVE food. Who doesn't? Seriously, while eating breakfast, I am already planning supper. The Fall season brings about my most favorite tastes. For example, when I know my beloved Starbucks has released their pumpkin spice latte or their pumpkin muffins, I get a warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside. True story. This year, Dunkin Donuts also has released a caramel apple donut. So far I am about halfway through my first jar of apple butter and have some pumpkin butter lined up to consume in the very near future. Just the thought of sitting on my mom's front porch on a crisp morning, cup of coffee in hand, and some sort of fall-inspired food really gets me excited.

Fall smells (deep inhale, now exhale, ahhhh), from the smell of the first few crisp mornings, to the foods cooking/baking to the scents that I burn in my home; gosh it just does not get any better. Here are some of my favorite Fall scents: 1)Tyler Candles: Homecoming, Mulled Cidar, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake 2) Yankee Candle: Pumpkin Buttercream 3)Scentsy: Baked Apple Pie.

On to another Fall love: decor. I have already told you that I LOVE pumpkins, leaves, mums, but I also have been known to get crafty. Here is my latest project: the deco mesh wreath. This was my first experience making this type of wreath and I absolutely love how it turned out. Lastly, no porch is complete without the seasonal welcome mat.

Fall also brings about football. Whether its watching our USC Gamecocks play, taking a trip up the mountain to watch my beloved Appstate Mountaineers play, or taking a Sunday afternoon watching those Carolina Panthers play from Bank of America Stadium or from our couch in sweats and our jerseys; football season is simply amazeballs.

Another reason to love Fall is because I was a November bride. Yes, our anniversary is November 10, 2007...WOW 4 years married. That will be its own separate blog post, but its just another reason to add to my reasons to love Fall.

Pimp My Nursey....Giraffe Edition

So, Mason's space has been a work in process for a few months now. It seemed like it took forever to get the furniture in and there was such a lag between painting the crown molding and the furniture getting here. I needed everything to be completed before I posted pictures. So....without further ado, here is Mason's nursery.

PS~Blogger and I are not getting along with spacing tonight.