Hospital Stay

Almost immediately after Mason was born the nurses took both our temperatures to check if we were doing okay. The nurse took mine first and I was running a fever of over 100 they were very concerned because this could potentially cause a health problem. They hurried to check Mason's just to make sure and sure enough he was running a fever of over 100 as well. They initially thought that this was just because of the pressure and stress that he endured so they continued to keep a close eye on him and his temperature the rest of the day. Following Mason's arrival both Tyler and my family were way to anxious to meet baby. We wanted visitors right away. We were so blessed that almost every body in our families could make it to meet our Mason boy. We had such a good time in the hospital that day, it was definitely what we needed to keep our spirits up after such a long and tiring day. Visitor hours ended at 8 pm, Tyler and I were so excited that we could just relax with our baby and love on him, just the three of us. That bonding time was so special to me! We were very tired so we decided to end our day pretty early. It was very hard for me to want to sleep that first night because I just wanted to stay up and hold Mason and just look and soak in every little detail about him. It didn't seem real. It was such a weird feeling to actually have to wake up in the night and be responsible for this little perfect person. I absolutely loved it. As the nursed came in a every few hours to check on Mason and give me medication, at one point during the night the nurse checked his temperature and glucose levels to see if he was doing okay....He was not. His temperature hadn't really changed at all, still running a fever and his glucose levels where terribly low. They quickly whisked him away without any explanation and took him down to the nursery for some evaluations. The first thing that popped into my head was that something was seriously wrong with my son, I burst out in tears immediately. It is every parents worst nightmare to have something wrong with their child. They quickly hooked him up to monitors and told us that he would have to be on antibiotics because his glucose level was super low and that his white blood count was not normal. The next time we would see him he would be all hooked up to monitors and with IV's in his foot and hand, at this point we knew it was something more serious then we thought. Labor and delivery told us that he would have to be on antibiotics for a whole 48 hours straight. We arrived at the hospital on a Thursday so that meant we would not be going home till Sunday. We constantly were down in the nursery loving on him and making sure we could do everything we could to make sure he felt comfortable. It was so heart breaking having to leave the nursery every night knowing that he wouldn't be able to leave with us. I would sit up and wait for the phone to ring in our room telling me that Mason was ready to eat. I felt instant joy when I was able to go and feed him and just sit any hold him for a few hours. I never wanted to leave him, but the nurses insisted that I leave and go get some sleep. Tyler was such a great guy, he would come down to the nursery every time I had to feed Mason or just when I wanted to go and see him. He is such a sweetheart. As the next day went by we were told that we would be possibly going home on Sunday which was the next day, we were completely excited, because we had enough of the hospital! As the day went by Mason's glucose level still wasn't normal and he now had a bad case of jaundice. so they then told us that it may be up to 10 more days that he could be here if things don't look up. One of the times we were in the nursery I had noticed that Mason had a very strange tick in his right hand and in his left foot, kind of like it would be if someone had turrets I asked the nurse and they said they noticed it to, they kept and eye on it because this could possibly be a sign of a neurological disorder, but that it could just be something minor and go away. We prayed for his health constantly his ticks subsided, but he still has them once in a while, but it does not pose a threat to him now but could be present in the future.  Any way, At this point I was starting to get a little selfish thinking "gosh what more could go wrong", but had to remind myself that he is here in the hospital for a reason and its for the best. That night we were laying in our bed and we got and unexpected knock on our door, in came a nurse wheeling Mason into our room, and said that he was doing really good but that they still needed us to stay in the hospital but that he could sleep in our room with us for the night. We were ecstatic! The next day rolled around, they told us Mason would need one more dose of antibiotics and that we would possibly be out of the hospital by 4:00pm that afternoon but for sure that we would be going home that day. It was one of the happiest days of my life after Mason got all checked out and they told us that we were good to leave, the biggest relief was to be out of the darn hospital after 3 days spent there. We were so happy that Mason was doing good and that we can start our journey together as a family. Life has changed so much since Mason but for the greater! We wouldn't have it any other way. We love him dearly!

Hard Labor! Part 2

Continued...On the morning of September 6, 2012 after arriving to the hospital and getting prepped and ready to have a baby shorty after arriving and being hooked up and checked I was still having very strong contractions and just anticipating the time that I would get the magical drug called and epidural! Luckily in my favor they hurried and called the anesthesiologist not long after I got to the hospital because I was progressing so fast and the fact that I was really in a lot of pain. Thank goodness it only took about 10 min for him to arrive because I was freaking out! It didn't take him long to set up all his tools and things he needed for the epidural so within about fifteen minutes I was completely done and starting to feel numb from the waist down. I was really quite nervous for the epidural after watching videos and hearing about other peoples experiences but all in all the whole epidural was probably the least painful procedure of it all and I was completely relaxed through the whole thing. After receiving my epidural I was one happy mama and really happy to be in the hospital having my baby! One downside of my epidural was that about and hour and a half after I got it I started to have feeling in my left leg, I kept asking the nurse if that was normal and she said it was and that the epidural works best on one side and that I should turn over to get the medicine going through that leg. Well I turned over and sure enough I started to feel numb again, I was relieved. Unfortunately about 30 min after turning over I started to have feeling in my right leg, so once again I turned over but this time I still had feeling in my right leg and a lot of feeling in my bum. Now, this wasn't normal. The nurse figured that  my body just wasn't taking the medication as it should be so they called the anesthesiologist back down to give me another dosage of the epidural. It worked so within this time and the time I was able to start pushing was a very relaxed time for Tyler and I as we sat there and reminisced on times and laughed about things and just sat and talked to each other. We tried to get some rest in but at this moment we were just to hyped about having our baby that day since we had been waiting so long for this boy and the fact that he was a week over due. The hours in between went by really fast, and about 2 hours later at about 1:00pm it was time to start pushing! I honestly couldn't believe that this was it, the time that our lives would change forever, I started to have a lot of mixed emotions and got very emotional and started to cry, I'm sure it was all nerves but I was happy as well. I started pushing with my nurse and I pushed for about 10 min and low and behold I started feeling my contractions and about 5 min after that I started having feeling in both my legs. My thoughts were "Oh crap, here we go again...I'm going to have to wait and get another dosage of medicine." Well at this time it was too late, and the nurse had me continue to push every time I had a contraction. I felt just about every pain you can image once again. I never thought this would happen to me, that my epidural would completely wear off for the most part. It was horrifying! At this point I just had to get my mind past the pain and keep pushing because that's all I needed to do to get my son into this world. I just have to add that Tyler was the best labor coach ever, he was so sweet to me and counting to 10 every time I pushed and kept telling me I was doing a good job, and every time I told him "I can't do this any more" he was there to reassure me that I am strong enough to keep pushing though the pain. I kept pushing with my nurse for about another 20 min while we waited for my doctor to arrive. The time I had to wait for my doctor was the longest time in my entire life. He finally showed up and hurried to get ready because the top of Masons head was visible. When my doctor was ready I pushed some more, and some more, and more...I pushed for about an hour and 20 min total, which is a very long time for most women mind you that my epidural for the most part had completely worn off so I felt every pain, practically doing it all natural. Finally at 2:10pm on a wonderful bright sunny day a little boy was finally born, a whole 8lbs 14oz and 21 1/2 inches of pure perfectness was put on my chest. I will never forget the moment that he came out screaming and once he was put on my chest he was completely calm, almost like he knew I was his mom within seconds of touching skin. I locked eyes with this handsome little guy and I fell in love all over again as joyful tears ran down my face. I was feeling so many emotions the moment he was delivered. A feeling of relief, exhaustion, happiness, love, you name it I felt it, I kept looking at Tyler almost wondering if this was real, the first moments we spent as a family were the best moments a mother could cherish. It was the most beautiful moment of my life, a moment that I will never forget! Giving birth was by far the most difficult thing I have ever done in my entire life. The pain is completely unreal and unbearable something that only a mother understands, but when your baby is placed in your arms all those feelings diminish and its all worth every waking moment seeing that sweet bundle of a baby part of your forever life! I felt like I could do just about anything after going through childbirth, people would try and tell me what it was like, but everyone has their own experiences and I definitely wouldn't change mine for anything. To be continued.... post baby and Masons not so wonderful health scare and hospital stay.