Sunday, August 30, 2009

Unexpected Surprises!








Ok
so as most of you know, I was not due with our precious little Mason John until September 14, 2009 but was going to have a planned c-section on 9-9-09. We were all pretty excited about the date and were getting everything ready for the big day. John and I already had babysitters lined up, were in the process of getting our basement cleaned to move most of Austin's toys downstairs since they have overtaken our living room, and were planning on making a trip to the diaper store today to get the last minute diaper supplies that we need. Needless to say all of our plans for the next couple of weeks have come to a hault.



On Friday, I had my regular appointment in the morning, my dad was with Austin at our house. In the office I was having a non-stress test and the babies heart beat was dipping a little. The doctor said that it was probably nothing but she wanted to send me to the hospital to be monitored a little longer instead of having me sit in their office for a few hours. She said they would monitor my progress and then they might give me a stress test, which would consist of giving me some pitocin to start contractions and see how the baby reacted. Since I had been in the hospital so many times with Austin before he was actually born, I really thought nothing of this and was not concerned at all. I didn't even go right to the hospital, I first went home to explain to my dad and pack up a few things so he could take Austin to his house for the afternoon, again expecting to only be at the hospital a few hours max. Since John was at school, it was also very hard for me to get ahold of him. I was again not too concerned because I thought this would be like so many times before where I spent the day there and then they sent me home.


I finally did get ahold of John but told him not to rush home and I would text him updates. I arrived at the hospital around 10 and they hooked my up to the monitors. I relaxed and watched TV while the baby was being monitored. During this time I was telling John not to come home until we knew something for sure. Around 10:30 a.m. they decided to give me pitocin to start some contractions. This concerned me a little bit but never did I think I was going to have the baby that day! At this point we decided John should come home just in case.


I was joking the whole time with the nurse about the pitocin because I was on the highest dose with Austin for 3 days and never even had enough pain to take medicine. I was very skeptical that it would even work. Well boy was I wrong. Within a few minutes I was having strong enough contractions that I was very uncomfortable. During this time I still didn't know what was going on but started to get a little worried when whoever walked in the room would ask when I ate last. Finally after some very strong contractions, they shut the pitocin off and the doctor informed me that my doctor wanted to deliver the baby today. I was so surprised I didn't even know what to think. They ensured me that in terms of the baby's size and everything he was OK to be born at 37 weeks but he might have some breathing trouble being so early and it being a c-section.


So I called John up and told him the news. He was almost to the hospital. We were told the c-section would take place around 3 p.m. We were both so in shock... here we were, thinking we still had a week and a half, nothing packed, nothing prepared and we were going be having a baby in a few hours. At this point it was time to make phone calls and try to get some things together. First order of business a camera! Our camera was of course at home but not only that completely dead. Luckily John's mom was going to bring one. My mom was going to go to our house and get our video camera and a few items for me but most would have to wait until later when John could get there.


As it came closer to 3 we found out that they were extremely busy that day and had many c-sections. Because mine was not an emergency per say, I got bumped which pushed the time back even further. We finally got the time of around 5:30 p.m. we would be having ours. At this point it was safe for John to run home and get enough stuff for us and Austin.


So needless to say it was a very long day at the hospital, and silly me never ate before my doctors appointment at 8:30 that morning so I was starving and was not even allowed ice chips. around 5:45, John got dressed and they took me into the room where I had my spinal block. It was not that bad which I was happy about. I did get really nauseous for a few seconds but they took care of that right away. During the c-section it seemed to take forever for them to get Mason out. At one point I heard my doctor say she needed help. Come to find out, our little Mason had the cord wrapped around his neck 3 times! This is why he was not handling contractions well and would not have made it another week if I was having contractions off and on.


So at 6:17 our precious Mason John McMahon came into this world, weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. He did not have any trouble breathing and had a healthy cry right from the beginning. Because it was my second c-section it took a little longer to stitch me up, and then it was off to the recovery room.


When I was wheeled in holding Mason, I was greeted by John and Austin. I was so happy. We were excited to spend time as just a family of four before all the visitors came in. To our amazement, Austin did great. He was a little scared by be and everything looked up but he did want to see his brother. After some family time, everyone came in to see the new addition and finally learn his name which had been kept a secret for the entire pregnancy.


Unfortunately after a few visitors, I got extremely sick and was unable to even open my eyes. I was extremely nauseous and extremely itchy. I had to just lay there with my eyes close. This made me sad because I was not even able to nurse or hold Mason that night. Daddy came to the rescue though and gave Mason his first bottle and was able to give him all the cuddles he needed that night.
After some medicine and a good night sleep (yes I said sleep, our little man slept for almost 5 hours the first night) I was all better and ready to jump into mommy mode. Luckily since this all happened on a Friday, John was able to spend the whole weekend with me at the hospital.
Mason has been doing wonderful. He is slightly jaundice which we went through with Austin so its not as scary this time around. Austin is absolutely loving his little brother and can not be more excited to see him. John brought Austin to the hospital each day for a couple of hours and Austin loved to touch and look at his baby brother. We definitely can say he has not missed being at home with us when he has had Grammy and Papa all to himself.
We were able to leave the hospital on Sunday, which surprised the doctors and nurses that I was doing so well after a repeat c-section. Was was anxious to get home and see Austin. It seemed like he grew up so much while I was in the hospital and I missed being around him. Fortunately we are able to stay with my parents for a couple of weeks while I recover since John has to go right back to work. This has been a huge help since I am unable to drive or lift Austin for at least a week.
There are some definite differences between Austin and Mason that we have noticed right away. Austin had strong McMahon features right from birth, Mason seems to resemble more of me this time. He still looks a lot like John and Austin but its not as noticeable as Austin who is still a mini John. Mason also has very dark almost black hair and well as we all know Austin was bald and is now just working on getting some very blonde hair. Mason is a little more sensitive then Austin was in terms of being picked up and held. Mason also is still working on nursing. He tends to like to nurse for about 5 minutes and then sleep. Austin was a champ right from the beginning. Both boys are wonderful sleepers. Austin was 4 hours right from birth and Mason is following suit at 4-5 hours also. Mason of course is bigger and fits into newborn clothes. Austin was so tiny he was in preemie for about a month.



All in all it has been a wonderful transition. Austin is doing better then expected and each day he is making us laugh at his new and wacky personality. He is very helpful with Mason and already bringing him his pacifier, bottle or whatever else we need. Today he was also helping me burp Mason. We just continue to encourage him to play an active role in the baby and cheer and clap whenever he does something nice. He loves kissing Mason and patting him. I cant wait to see the two grow up and interact with each other as Mason gets bigger.
We are planning on returning home sometime next week as long as some of my pain is gone. We are going to the cloth diapering store tomorrow and I am so excited to start using them. Mason has been in one and it was so cute on him.
Hopefully with 2 baby boys running around I will be able to update more next week.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Adventures in Pre-Potty training

We have begun to "pre-potty train" Austin this weekend. We are calling it "pre-potty" training because we are just getting Austin used to the idea of sitting on the little potty and having it around. We are not expecting much from him at this point. So far he is doing really well. When we go to change his diaper he let him sit on it for a few minutes. So far he has not gone but we praise him for sitting there without getting up and that puts a big smile on his face. This morning with the help of a cookie and some juice he sat for a long time but has not put the two and two together yet on what is supposed to happen.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Quick Update

The McMahon family has been very busy the last couple of weeks, preparing for our new arrival, getting ready for new jobs, and keeping up with Austin. 

Austin has been quite the little independent guy and is very happy playing by himself and trying out new things. He has been practicing using a fork and spoon, walking backwards, and learning somersaults. He has also been building his vocabulary although he refuses to repeat or talk on demand. He loves to sing and usually in the car can be heard singing his own little song in the back seat. Coloring is still his favorite activity, unfortunately he decided my front door and floor was a good place to use his crayons. He is listening a little better depending on his moods, and time outs have not been as frequent. Bedtime and nap time have been a piece of cake (knock on wood). We have been able to lay him right down in his bed without any protest for getting up, and within a few minutes he falls asleep. He is still taking 2 naps a day which he really needs. Usually and hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, and in bed by 8. This will make having a newborn much easier without having to fight him to go to sleep.

I have been going to the doctor weekly because of my low iron. The baby is looking good and we just had our 4th ultrasound today. He is about 6 lbs. We are happy to report that sometime this week he turned and is no longer breech. We are still going to go ahead with the planned c-section on 9-9-09. It makes it much easier with John's new job and lining up babysitters for Austin while I am in the hospital. I have a feeling my 3 day hospital stay will be like a mini vacation for me. I have been having a lot of contractions this past week so we will see if this baby wants to wait until the 9th to arrive. If he is anything like Austin, he has a mind of his own and only does what he wants when he wants. 

John's new job starts on Monday and we are both excited to get all the information and see what he is actually going to be teaching and his schedule. Its going to be an adjustment for both of us but we can't wait for it. 

Monday, August 3, 2009

Boating Baby

Yesterday John, Austin and myself got to spend the entire day on my parents boat. It was a much needed "mini vacation" for John and I. We have had so much going on, good and bad, that we just needed a day to relax.

Austin has been to the boat a lot of times but he has never been "out" on the boat. When we first started moving he was unsure of what was going on and just held on. After awhile he adjusted well and was running around trying to get into everything as usual.

Even though it was a little chilly, that didn't stop our water baby from having fun in the lake. He loved swimming with daddy and trying to splash us on the boat.

All the sun took a toll on our little guy and as soon as Papa started the boat up to head over to Metro Beach for a BBQ, Austin snuggled up with Grammy and fell fast asleep, missing the whole ride over there. He was so tired that we managed to take his life jacket off and lay him down on the couch without him waking up. I would like to say that this all happened once but again after a yummy dinner of steak and pasta salad, Austin again snuggled up to Grammy and fell fast asleep on the way back to the dock.







Saturday, August 1, 2009

Adventures in Cloth Diapering and a New Job!

Today I attended a cloth diapering seminar in Ann Arbor. I learned so much and am even more excited about using them for the new baby and for Austin. This store was heaven with all the different types that you could see and purchase. It was much better then just searching on the Internet without seeing what will work for us. We decided to buy one diaper today to try it out on Austin and to see how we like them. We decided to try the Bum Genius first. It has three different sizes and seemed super absorbent. We put Austin to bed tonight in it so we will see how it holds up through the night. If anything he looked so adorable in it because I had it double stuffed. He was a little confused at first when I put it on but after a minute he was running around and fine with the change.

While I went to the seminar, John took Austin to see the U of M football stadium. Austin has not been there since he was a couple of months old and he slept the whole time then. Austin had fun running around and John got some really cool pictures of Austin with the stadium behind him.
In even better news, we are happy to report that John was offered an incredible teaching job the other day. It is at a brand new school in Detroit. The building is undergoing a renovation and is going to be outfitted with the best technology available. John starts on August 17Th. This is a school that John really wanted to get into which makes the offer even better. Because of the career change this allows me a career change and I will soon be a stay at home mom. I am super excited to be able to stay home and take care of my babies. I feel like I was missing out on so much with Austin and seeing him cry in the mornings when we dropped him off was heart breaking. Austin is going to benefit from me being home so much. He will finally be able to get on a regular schedule since when he is a daycare he doesn't like to nap at all. I am sure it will be a huge adjustment for me and I will have my days that I wish I had a break but I can't wait to be able to spend everyday with my little men.

In pregnancy news, we are going to be scheduling a c-section at my next appointment. Now with John's new job, the date will be tricky because we are supposed to have it the week John will be starting school. We will work it out and I am sure I will have plenty of people around me to help out the first few weeks.

Many new changes are happening for our family and we are excited about each one. New jobs, me staying home, new baby, and who knows what else. We are ready for each challenge and cant wait to see what else is to come.
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