3 months old today....

I don't think I will ever get a grasp on how fast time goes and how fast they grow up...Mason is already 3 months old. It seems like it was just yesterday that he was born. 

Anyway, here is the update on the boy:

*He is rolling over both ways: stomach to back and back to stomach.
*He loves to suck on his hands, and sometimes he will get his thumb in there just right to suck on. 
*He is sooo smiley and such a happy baby, most of the time, he still gets a little cranky in the evenings.
*Loves to jump in the jumperoo, there is nothing cuter than watching those chunky little legs jumping.
*Loves to take showers and baths.

*Is wearing 6-9 month clothes already.
*He is 90th percentile for his weight and 50th for his height, sooo he's short and chunky :)
* Loves his big brother Jake, he will follow him (with his eyes) all over the room, and when he hears his voice he starts to look for him and if he can't see him he starts to get frustrated.




Mason turned himself in his Bumbo so that he could watch Jake, he is obsessed with Jake.  I can't blame him he is very entertaining.

 *He sleeps soooo good at night, he usually goes to bed sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 (depending on when I get home from work) and then he doesn't wake up until around 7 am to eat and then he goes back to sleep until about 8:30-9:30. LOVE IT!!!! Now I know this all could change, but I am enjoying it while it lasts. :)
*Goes by many nicknames, most of them involve something about his chunkiness i.e. chunk-a-licious (thank you Fergie, we even have changed the words to the song and we sing it to him), sir chunky, chunksters, chunko, cheeks,etc.  I just hope it doesn't stick with him all the way till he is a teenager like it did for Chunk from The Goonies.
*He still sleeps better when he is swaddled with one arm out.

And I think that about sums it up, we haven't weighed or measure him lately, but let's face it the reason why they do that is to make sure babies are growing properly and well he does not have a problem there :)




Halloween 2011...

We had a great HALLOWEEN:



Three little pumpkins



Mason HATED his costume, and this is about as long as I made him wear it for.

Trying to get a picture of him not screaming in his costume.



Jacob was a Jedi again this year, maybe you remember last year when I bought this costume and bought it two sizes too big in the hopes that he could wear it more than one year, I think we still have a good 2-3 years on this costume, but I will let him mix it up next year.  He was very proud of his red lightsaber cause he did chores to earn money to pay for it himself.






Jacob with our neighbor Tyson, they are such good friends and they love playing with each other, we have so much fun with their family and it's so convenient that they live right next door.  We went trick-or-treating with them and it was fun going with another family, made even more fun for Brad and I.

 


Mason trick-or-treating....he slept most of the time..party pooper :)



Baby update....

CHUNK-A-LICIOUS

(This is an update on Mason that I did when he was 5 weeks old and forgot about posting cause I was having issues uploading pictures at the time.)

Well Mason is doing good.  We have been fighting thrush, which is a bummer!  So he has a bad diaper rash from it and it makes diaper changes a lot more difficult than they should be.  We can't use wipes on his bum, cause they irritate it, so we have to rinse him off under the bathtub faucet and then we have to apply 3 different creams to him, which we first mix together in the palm of our hand, and during this time while we are mixing the creams is when he decides to pee and then we have to start all over again.  It is slowly getting better.  His tongue is a little white from the thrush and so I have been making a paste out of probiotic powder and rubbing that on his tongue atleast 3-4 times a day.  Plus I have to put the cream on me after each feeding.  So it isn't much fun, but I am determined to beat this.

He is 5 weeks old and is measuring 22 inches and weighes about 13 lbs.  He is growing so fast and is so big, he is already in 3-6 month clothes which are fitting him perfectly so he will probably outgrow those really soon. 

He loves to be held, and hates to be set down.  Which means he doesn't like the bouncy seat or the swing.  And he doesn't really care to be carried in the wrap.  So that makes it difficult to get things done, but I am learning how to do some things with just one hand. 

He loves to be held and bounced on the yoga ball though, that almost always helps him calm down and fall asleep.

He likes to be outside, when I need a break Brad will take him outside for a little bit and he loves it out there.

He started smiling at us, and making happy little cooing sounds at us too. 

He is very strong, just like Jake was, and has been holding his head up very well ever since he was born. He also has a very straight and erect back, and already likes to be held standing up on our laps and tries to bounce, just like Jake did. 

He HATES to be swaddled but he won't sleep for very long periods of time unless he is.  So we have compromised, he doesn't fuss as much if I leave one of his arms out of his swaddle and he sleeps longer that way.

He does okay sleeping at night, he has his good nights and his bad nights.  But the older he gets the better he has been sleeping.

The arrival of Mason Bradley...

I am a birth story addict, I love to hear people's birth stories and watch birth videos on youtube.  That is how I usually kept myself busy during all those restless nights the last few weeks of the pregnancy. So here is our birth story for all of our friends and family that have wondered about this whole home-birth...water-birth thing and what it would be like.

Our original due-date was August 18, when we had our 20 week ultrasound though, the tech said that it was August 12th.  As much as I really wanted an earlier due date, I also understood that it didn't really matter cause the baby would come when he was good an ready regardless of some date that I was given. So we just stuck with the August 18th due date.

Really late Thursday night/early Friday morning I started to have some contractions, nothing really different from what I had been having the past two weeks but they were just a little bit stronger and a little more regular than what I was experiencing.  I was having a hard time sleeping so I decided to get in the bath which in turn made my contractions completely stop and being the emotional pregnant woman that I have been it made me start crying (for some reason).  I decided that I was being completely ridiculous and must be overly tired so I tried to go to bed, but the contractions started up again, they were keeping me from getting comfortable and so I didn't fall asleep until almost 5 in the morning then I woke up at 8 in the morning, when Jake and Brad got up, to the contractions again.  This made me wonder if it really was labor.  So I told Brad "just in case" it was we should go to the store and get some stuff and maybe take Jake to the park where he can play and I can walk around to see if that helped get anything going.  Well it didn't really make anything change.  My midwife happened to call me that morning to schedule our prenatal appointment, so I told her what was going on and she told me to keep in touch throughout the day, since they weren't really strong and I wasn't really sure if it was REAL labor.

The day went on and contractions continued but they never got any stronger or closer together.  So I just tried to stay busy and tried to not get my hopes up.  We went out for a late lunch and then met up with our midwife around 3, we talked about what had been going on all day, she warned us not to get our hopes up cause it could be false labor and even though I knew this, it was still hard to hear.  She did tell me to go home and get some rest just in case it was early labor and considering I only got 2 hours of sleep the night before, I would need a lot more rest than that going into labor.  So we went home and contractions had actually kind of fizzled off so I was able to sleep from about 4-6 pm.  But at 6 I woke up with a really strong contraction, it was stong enough that it woke me up, but I was sure it was nothing and tried to go back to sleep, then I woke up with another strong contraction.  Now some of you may be thinking....Jennet, this is your second child, don't you know what labor is like....I only know what an induced labor is like, I have no idea what it feels like to go into labor. I got up cause I was done sleeping, and just tried to pretend that nothing was happening. I tried to go to sleep, but it got to the point that every time I had a contraction I needed to get up on my hands and knees and rock back and forth, it was the only "comfortable" way for me to get through the contractions.  Brad woke up to me on my hands and knees rocking back and forth and was a little shocked but then realized what was going on.  I was trying so hard to sleep but everytime I was about to fall asleep a contraction would start and as the night went on it got harder and harder and by 4 a.m. I needed my midwife.

Brad texted/called Laura (the midwife) and told her what was going on and she said she was on her way.  And only a short 15-20 minutes later the midwife and her team were all here and started setting up.  All the while I just sat on the lazy-boy watching everything and thinking, "this better be labor or I will feel like a fool if I just made these wonderful ladies come to my house at 4 a.m. for nothing" I only remember having a few contractions while they were setting up and that is why I was thinking that.  Once they got all set up, Dy (midwife assisting my midwife) suggested we watch a movie or something and we just happened to have "The Backup Plan" from Netflix at our house.  Sometime into the movie labor started to really pick up (I wasn't looking at the clock at all so I have no idea what time it was through most of labor) and at one point I had a contraction that felt like it was never ending.  I remember saying "why won't it stop", once the contraction was over Dy suggested she check me to see if the baby was in a weird position and that maybe why I was having such a long contraction.  When she checked me I was dialated to a 6 almost 7, I was so shocked that I was that far a long and relieved too, but baby was posterior and in a funky position (she explained it to me better than that, but I honestly can't remember what she said) but because of the position it was causing the long contractions and back labor.  I think it was then that she offered counter pressure on my lower back during a contraction but I needed to be able to rock and move my hips while I was on my hands and knees, I hope I told her that nicely. Then she offered another technique where she injects sterile water into 4 spots in the lower back on either side of the spine and what that does is tells the body to send endorphins to that area, I figured it couldn't hurt to try.  I'll admit the feeling of the needle going in wasn't the most pleasant, but once those endorphing kicked in, it was the best feeling at the point in my life, it was a warming and soothing sensation, it really helped.

A little while later the birthing tub was ready for me to get into.  Again, one of the best feelings at that point on my life, it was so warm and to be weightless like that in the water.  Contractions slowed a little once I got in which was a nice break but before I knew it I was on my knees leaning over the side of the birthing tub squeezing Brad's hands through contractions.

I don't know what time it was but I eventually felt my water break during a contraction.  Around 6:30 I told Brad to call my Mom and have her plan on coming to get Jacob at 7:30, (he was still sleeping in his room) thinking there was no way the baby would be here by then.  Then during my next contraction I couldn't help but start pushing.  I just kind of let my body do what it needed to do, I didn't really feel like I had much of a choice.  I told my midwives I was pushing, but I am sure by the noises I was making it was pretty obvious, I never imagined myself to be that vocal.  Dy asked to check me to make sure I was fully dialated and there was still a lip, so she said that she would hold open until the head came through (oh by the way, we were able to get the baby to turn so he was in the proper position (anterior) prior to pushing). Once most of the head was out, she told me that I could reach down and feel the head, my first thought was I can already feel it and I don't like it so let's keep on working to get this baby out, but I decided to do it and I couldn't believe that my baby was coming and it all of a sudden became all so real to me and it gave me even more motivation to get him here and I felt I was able to focus better from that point on.  One thing that I remember during the time that I was in the tub was that I had my eyes closed most of the time, because whenever I opened them I felt like I would get lost, or become unable to focus on what was going on and it was almost like an overload and everything would become more painful and distracting to me, which is kind of weird cause, we were at my house with people I know well and in a very familiar environment, I never would of thought that I would find that distracting.

Now we all know that I had a big baby, we knew he was going to be big before he was even born.  But at this point, as he was coming out the midwives noticed that the chord was wrapped around his neck, which is common and usually they can just slip it off and keep on going, but since I had such a big baby there was no room to be able to slip it off and as I was pushing it was getting pinched.  So the midwife had to clamp and cut the chord, and then at 7:14 a.m. on Aug. 13th Mason was born. 

It took a little bit to get him to cry but he eventually did and we got to cuddle him for a little and the he really started to cry, which was good, but Jake woke up around then so Brad went to get him, and Jake was really worried that he heard a baby cry, so Brad explained to him that his baby brother was born and that he could come out and meet him.  By then I had gotten out of the birth tub and I think Jake was more interested in the birth tub than the baby, he was looking in there and was very curious at what just happened here.  He came over and saw Mason, I was on the floor on some padding and then he told me "Mommy that water is yucky, I don't want to go in there" Then my mom showed up to come pick up Jake, which was actually perfect timing cause we needed someone to take him during the after birth and clean up part of the birth.  We asked her to just take him for a walk or something and then they could come back and meet the baby once we got all cleaned up. 

So after they left the placenta was born and then they examined me, and to my shock, I didn't even tear, which is great be cause that makes healing afterwards so much easier.  I think it's cause I was in the water.  Then they helped me get into the chair so I could start nursing Mason, and he latched right on, he was a hungry boy :).  Then my Mom and Jacob came back and this time Jacob was more interested in the baby, cause everything else was cleaned up.



Then it was time to weigh him.  We all knew he was more than 9 pounds, you could tell just by looking at him.  Laura thought he may even be close to 11 pounds, but she did attend a twin birth two days before and the twins were around 5 pounds each, so I can see why my baby looked so huge to her. 

Jake felt it was very important to get a picture of his balloon in the picture

Mason weighed 9 lbs.12 oz. and was 20 inches long. Jacob was 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 inches long.  And I swear that extra pound and a half is all in his cheeks.  He has the chubbiest cheeks and I LOVE them!!! 

After they weighed and measured him they did an exam to make sure everything was healthy and normal and then they cut the extra umbilical chord off, which they offered to let Brad do, but Brad had no interest in doing it.  In fact Brad didn't want to cut Jacob's either but they didn't ask him they just shoved the scissors in his hands and showed him where to cut, those kinds things make him kind of queasy.  So my friend Kristy, who is also Laura's apprentice, cut the chord and the it was back to Mommy and Daddy.  Then they tucked me into bed with Mason to try and get some rest and relax.  It was soooooo nice to be at my own house and in my own bed to recover.  I can't even explain how wonderful that was for me.  The midwives soon left and my Mom took Jacob for the day for us so we could get some rest, and that is exactly what we did. 

I can't even begin to describe what a great experience it was for me to have our baby at home.  We chose to have the baby at home for many reasons and now I can't see me having a birth any other way.  Everything was just so laid back and comfortable. I could go on and on about this but instead of making this post any longer I will just post some more pictures instead :)



My wonderful midwife and her team



Getting ready for Baby...

We are officially in, what I call the "safe zone",  meaning we could have the baby anytime and baby would be healthy and if I were to go into labor I can have the homebirth that we have been planning on.  I am getting so anxious and excited to have my our baby here.  Having a homebirth is going to be a whole new experience than what it was like last time, which is the reason why we chose to do a homebirth.  We have our childbirth classes done and out of the way, and I have total confidence in Brad that he will know what to do for me and to help me get through labor.  I also have total confidence in my midwife and her Assistants as well.  It's funny when people ask if I'm afraid/scared to have my baby at home, my response is, first of all if it scared me, I wouldn't do it.  But thinking about it some more, it doesn't scare me AT ALL.  Now if you would have asked me that at the beginning of my pregnancy with Jacob, I would have said yes it would scare me to do a homebirth and that women who do have homebirths are irresponsible hippies, putting their own lives as well as their childrens lives in danger.  But look at me now :)  It's amazing how doing some research (I have been reading, studying, etc. on this subject ever since I had Jacob) completely changed my mind on the matter.  I guess we really do fear what we don't know. 

Anyway, I hope to go into a little more detail on why we chose to do a homebirth later on.  But for now we are just waiting and anxiously anticipating the arrival our newest member who we have decided to name Mason Bradley.  Brad doesn't like the middle name, but I do, and until he can think of a better one that is what it is going to be. I am officially on maternity leave, just ended my first week and I am already bored.  I always think of how much I would love to be a stay at home mom and then I have this opportunity to get a little taste of what it would be like and I am getting bored...what is up with that? 

We having everything all set up and ready for the baby, a couple of weeks ago our midwife brought over the birthing tub (we want to do a waterbirth).  So I had Brad set up for several reasons 1) Wanted to see what it looked like 2) wanted to make sure it would fit in our living room and 3) to make sure Brad knew how to set it up before I went into labor.

Jacob got really excited cause he thought he was going to be able to go swimming in our living room right then and there, and it was difficult to explain to him that it was just for Mommy for when the baby comes out.  Needless to say he was very upset that he took his pants off for nothing.

I have been having contractions on and off for days, I feel like I am being teased.  But every contraction I have IS doing something even if it's not true labor yet.  I am extremely uncomfortable, I can't sleep cause either my hips are hurting or my sciatic nerve is causing problems or I have heartburn or I just can't sleep.  So I am very thankful that Brad has been able to be home all summer so I can take naps whenever I need them, I have been very spoiled having him home.  At our last appointment with the midwife I was 38 weeks and I was measuring 40 weeks....I am pretty sure this is going to be a BIG baby...I would be VERY surprised if he is under 9 pounds. 

This pregnancy has been different from the last one in a couple of ways.  This one has been more physically painful, because of my pubic bone dysfunction and my sciatic nerve that I had problems with before I even got pregnant.  But the last pregnancy was more emotionally hard, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, and had problems with my blood pressure and was induced due to my blood pressure being elevated.  Looking back now on that pregnancy there are a lot of things that I would change, that probably would have prevented all of that from happening but I learned from it, I can't do anything to change it now and since I have learned from my mistakes I have had a much healthier and happier pregnancy. 

So I feel as ready as I can be for the baby, except for all the baby clothes that need to be folded and put away, and we can't wait to meet our new little boy and CANNOT wait for him to decide that he is ready to meet us. :) ;)

Red Cliffs, (June 8, 2011)

I am a little late posting this adventure of ours.  For some reason I was all into blogging and wanting to go on little hikes and be outdoors and then it got hot here in good ole St. George and my energy level is next to non-existent.  Except for every once in awhile I will get a burst of energy here and there, but only if it involves getting stuff ready for the baby.

Anyway, the day after my birthday we went for a little hike to Red Cliffs Reserve.  This place for some reason has quite a few memories for me.  As a teenager my friends and I went camping here and would come often during the beginning of Summer to cool off and jump off the cliffs and play in the water.  Brad had never been and I knew Jake would love it, so we decided to go early one morning before it got too hot.


 



It kind of freaked me out watching Brad carry Jacob up this part of the trail....cause he lost his balance a little bit.



In order to go further up the canyon you had to use a rope to help you to climb up...between Jacob being terrified of it and me being pregnant....Brad was the only one that went up there.





It felt SOOOO good to put my feet in the cool water, we actually walked most of the way back in the stream barefoot.




Brad showing Jacob (and me) how to skip a rock, I had never successfully skipped a rock until this day....Yay for me!!!



There's my Jacob....looking for the biggest rock his little muscles will let him lift and throw into the water, one of his most favorite things to do.

After our hike we had a picnic at the picnic grounds at the park.  We had so much fun and I know I have mentioned this before, but it has been so nice having Brad home for the summer so we have been able to have fun little adventures like this one.

AHHHHH!!!! I'm 26 years old....

Actually I'm not bummed about it all that much.  I look at my life and see where I am right now and realize I have accomplished a lot and I am exactly where I imagined myself to be...married, with a child and one on the way.  I have a GREAT husband, who I love and adore and who loves me back, a son who I love and adore and can't get enough of and another baby boy on the way....Who could ask for anything more???

My Birthday was June 7th, I was lucky that it fell on my scheduled day off, and I didn't have to find anybody to cover work or have to work on my birthday.  The one thing that I was looking forward to the most was I had scheduled to get my haircut, which it has been way too long since I got it cut, and was so so so excited for it.  So we went out for breakfast and while at breakfast I get a call from the salon and they tell me we need to reschedule cause my stylist was sick :(  Of course I understand and I would never expect her to cut my hair while she is sick and not feeling well, but my pregnancy hormones got the best of me and I almost started to cry.  Pathetic...I know!  So we rescheduled for later on in the week.  Well then Jacob started getting out of control, he would NOT listen, he was super-duper hyper, and threw a fit everytime we said "no" to him.  So we come home to have naps and he is still just fighting me with everything and so I finally just leave the room and go in my room and cry....hahahahaha! I laugh now, cause honestly I have no control over my crying at this point it just comes and if I don't let it out it just gets worse, so it is very therapeutic for me to go in my room and cry, and things are usually better afterwards.  The part that still makes me sad is after I went to my room, Jacob started to cry, and he says to Brad "I made Mommy sad, cause I wanted Milk".  I heard him crying when I was in my room and that made me cry and then when Brad told me what he said, it made me start crying again.  I was a MESS!!!! 

Anyway, after naps everyone was much happier and pleasant to be around...no more crying, no more tantrums from Jacob, and lots of fun and laughing and lots and lots of hugs.  Jacob was so sweet the rest of the day, he even reminded us that we forget to get a birthday cake...

It was an okay birthday...it started out kind of rough, but it got much better by the afternoon.