Side note: This is an epistle! Sorry it's so long, and I wrote the first big chunk while on some pain meds....So that may explain some of the extra "chattiness" :) Enjoy... feel free to just skip to the pics... :)
March 1st finally came! And we finally found out what our baby #2 was! A BOY! Mason Dean Rowe was born on March 1st at 9:04 am. He weighed in at 8lbs 1 oz (The exact same as Madison) and was 21 1/4 in. long (Very much not the same as Madi... she was a whopping 19 in.) Birth this time around was great! Let me fill you in on the story....
We came to Bismarck on Thursday night spent the night in a hotel and got up early Friday morning to get ready and head to the hospital! We were scheduled for the second spot at 8:30, so we needed to be there by 6:30... We arrived and got checked in, I changed into my beautiful gown... :) and then nurses came in and out for the next hour doing paperwork, starting IV's, and prepping me for the C-Section. Everyone who would be part of the delivery came in at one point to check on me, see how I was doing and do a last run down of their part of the surgery. I really liked my nurse anesthetist - Jerry ... I think they are the most fabulous people anyways as they ALWAYS make you feel better :) But this guy went above and beyond. He walked me through all of the procedures, constantly checking on me to see how I was feeling... During the administration of my spinal he was so sweet to help keep me breathing and calm... Great guy I was pretty happy he was assigned to my c-section. So Brian and I had our excited little faces on as we waited 2 hours to meet our new little addition. The nurses took me down to the OR and Brian gowned up and waited behind until they gave him the ok... I had to receive the spinal first and then he was allowed in. As I was being wheeled away, little Madison was so protective and sweet.... she was so upset and crying and kept saying, "Don't take my Mommy!! They are going to hurt my mommy!!" It was so sweet, and I had a hard time holding it together trying to smile and let her know I would be back in just a little bit and we would get to meet our new baby! Once down in the OR, (it is FREEZING in there)... I was shivering due to nerves and the below freezing temperature.. :) ok it's probably only like 60's but still... They gave me the spinal and it went super smooth and then they prepped everything and popped up the big blue sheet and then Brian got to come in. He was able to hold my hand and then they began.. Thanks to modern medicine it was very much painless as I was very numb... I could feel pressure and tugging but no pain. Then Jerry - remember the awesome guy- was letting me know I would feel a lot of pressure but that meant baby was almost out! Well they started doing the (what I call) body slams to my rib cage and it was funny because Jerry was keeping me calm by trying to carry on a conversation... well obviously I can't see what' happening on the other side... but I assume they have a large gymnast jumping on my chest... needless to say the conversation on my end was very short worded.. ha ha The Dr. was working on getting the baby out and baby was a little stuck so they had to use a vacuum to help out - Who knew they used those things in C-sections too? Not I - After a little more squishing of my innards and chest there was a huge pressure relief, and they dropped the screen so I could see our little baby! Jerry said, "It's a boy!" I was honestly surprised at how shocked I was... I thought all along it was a girl, but I didn't realize how much I REALLY did think it was a girl. And lo and behold I was totally wrong... Our little boy was swept away off to the nursery to get cleaned up and assessed and Brian went with... Meanwhile Jerry and I were hanging out on the other side of the big blue curtain and the Dr. and P.A. began to stitch me up. It is amazing how great it feels to no longer have so much pressure inside.... As they stitched I was in reflection mode of how we now have a girl and a boy. It was a nice few mins to try and really let it sink in. Brian came back with our baby boy and he placed him on my chest and I got to stroke his little soft hair. It was dark and just a little bit of hair, not too much, but seemed perfect to me. He had a bump on his poor little head where they had used the vacuum and swollen eyes I assume from being head down for the last few weeks... I thought he looked like Madi, with the same little button nose and chubby cheeks. It was so awesome to have him out and safe. They said he weighed 8lbs. 1 oz. Crazy- exactly the same as Madi... If we ever have a 3rd there is a lot of pressure to make weight! ha ha They got done stitching me up and I headed back to my recovery room. At this hospital it was awesome because Brian and the baby could come and hang out while I was there... and Madi and my mom were even able to be there. So Madi saw I made it through and those "awful people that took her mommy" maybe weren't so bad after all.. :) Brian and baby came in and Madi was very curious to see the little guy... she kept telling everyone to "shhhhh the baby's sleepin'" Then she came and sat by me on my bed while we just looked at the newest addition to our family. I was pretty nauseous afterward so i got to puke a lot... but I was glad to get the puking out of my system while I still had drugs on board... Can't say it would be too much fun to puke right after having your abdomen cut open without the meds... :) After about an hour baby went to the nursery to get measured, assessed and all cleaned up... Brian again went with and I'm not exactly sure what happened because I was back in recovery, but the nurses weren't pleased with how he was breathing, and his first APGAR was a 9, but then they consistently kept dropping, so off to the NICU he went. After a while the NICU dr. came in to explain there were a lot of possibilities as to why he was struggling to breathe but she felt like it was an infection in his lungs and he would have to be on antibiotics for a 10 day treatment course... :( Sad day.... There were a few other options especially because he was a C-section baby- but she felt because of the way things had gone and the pattern of his APGAR scores and the way he was breathing, infection was the highest probability. He was born at 9:04 and by 2:30 they had him on antibiotics.
At this point our poor little boy still had no name, in fact he didn't have a name for the whole first day! We had a list of options but it took us awhile to narrow it down... But finally came up with Mason Dean, Dean is the middle name of my Papa and he was such a great man and I miss him, it was neat to be able to use his middle name and we liked the way it sounded.....Ok so back to the story- I was so grateful we had chosen to go to Bismarck.... I think there were a lot of people who thought I was crazy to drive so far... but it is amazing how Heavenly Father has a plan and will help us make decisions that will make situations easier. Had we not been in Bismarck, Mason would have had his first flight from Williston, and I can't imagine what kind of bill that would have been... I'm just glad we choose to do what we did. I was so happy with my dr. and with Mason's dr. They were both amazing ladies and I'm grateful for smart, talented dr's.
So today marks day 7, only 3 more to go until Mason can come home with us. I was able to stay in the hospital for 3 days, so it made it easier to run (ha ha ha when I say run, what I mean is first being pushed in a wheelchair, then pushing my wheelchair, then walking slowly....) down the hall to check on him. After my discharge we were able to check into the Ronald McDonald House which is a great temporary stay for people who have kids in the hospital for an extended stay. I have been so impressed with how generous people are and the amount of things that are donated to this place.
So the count down is on until Sunday and we are anxious and excited to get our little man home.
Okay so it is March 16th today... And we were able to make it home on Monday the 11th. We thought we would be able to come home Sunday, but they had miscalculated his antibiotics so that was why the one day delay.
So here are some pictures! Which I am sure you would prefer to see rather than me blab on anymore...
A few more belly pics.... Just in case you didn't realize just how huge I was.. Ha!
The morning we left for the hospital.. Yay for the last day of being pregnant!
Wow... not attractive at all... but have to have the pre-op pic.
All dressed up.
Our little man in the NICU... The first 3 days were super hard because we couldn't hold him, touch him, and he just looked like he didn't feel good... :(
So he has the IV in his right hand, for fluids and his antibiotics, oxygen in the clear tube, and the little orange tube is his feeding tube.
2nd day in the NICU
His little pulse oximeter
Finally getting to hold him!!
Graduated to the incubator on day 4.
Because home was 4 hours away, we were able to stay in a Ronald McDonald House. It was awesome for all of us... but Madison was LOVING it. Right outside our bedroom was a library for kids... so the first night we switched books in and out for 2 hours before going to bed.
And the next morning she discovered the play areas...
Huge stuffed animals, and slides and room to run and play!
Back to the hospital... Day 5
No tubes!! This was day 6 I think...
Clothes!
Moved to the bassinet on day 7...
His new and improved station!
His crib friend :)
A little milk coma smile
Getting ready to go home! Day 11
While he looks super grumpy this is his milk relaxed state... but wow thats a funny face
This is where we would go to wash before we could enter the NICU
This is going home! We had checked out of the hospital and were getting ready to check out of the RMH.
Home at last! Ahhh
Madi getting used to being a big sister.
This is his scared face... or at least I call it that... Usually comes when Madi is around! :) Bless her heart she can be a little intimidating to a newborn... But anyone who knows Madi probably already knew that! :)
In the Moby wrap! I wasn't a believer of the wrap... I thought the backpack I had would be just fine... BUT now I'm in love with the moby wrap. Still really like my ergo baby backpack, but especially for in the house, I will use my wrap.
The most jealous family member of them all..... the black and white fur ball... Panda... Amazing how anytime I need to feed or change Mason, Panda decides that is when she needs the most attention and will try and get between myself and Mason.
And a cute smile to end with... :)
Sorry about the epistle.... Until next time!
