The Love I Have for My Son

The love I have for my son is unlike anything I have ever experienced. He is quite literally my everything. I had no idea I was capable of loving so much. Mason is the light in my life.

From the very moment I found out I was pregnant I loved my child. The bond he and I share is absolutely amazing. I adore the way he looks at me. His smile could light up the world...

I love you son!

I'm Baaaaaaack!

I've decided to start blogging again! I just have to get my thoughts organized. I just wanted to make a quick post saying that I will be back soon! I really have missed blogging and now that I'm starting to feel human again (Mason sleeps at night and takes naps hallelujah!) I feel that it's a good idea to blog. It's a good way for me to write everything down so I don't forget a special moment.

I don't think I'm going to do an update on the last 6 months. I'm just gonna jump into it.

So....Hi Guys! : D

It's Been a While!

Where did September go? Seriously...I can't believe the last week of the month is almost here. The sad part is, I don't even really remember the past month LOL! Kind of a blur...

Anyway! It's been a while since I had the chance to update. I'm going to do this in 2 posts. This one will be explaining everything and the next will be pictures. Not sure when I'll get to the picture one...so I'll just say eventually. I'm sure all you mommys understand.

Mason is almost 3 months old now. Way to keep everyone updated, right? He will be 3 months old on October 7th. That's 2 weeks away. Technically he will be 12 weeks next Thursday but 3 months on the 7th. Confusing!

He is doing so much better with the reflux. He still spits up a bunch here and there but not every feeding. Woo hoo! I can also tell he is not in pain anymore. Everyone once in a while it will flare up but those ocasions and few and far between, thank goodness! So yay for prevacid!

Mason smiles now! His adorable baby smiles just melt my heart. I seriously cired the first time he smiled at me. Makes me forget all the hard stuff. Most of the time he will just open his mouth really big at you and he thinks he's smiling. It's adorable. He has also officially laughed at me. Cutest thing in the world! He also does this thing where he makes these sort of coughing noises...which I'm pretty sure are him trying to laugh. I love when he's happy!

Let me think...what else? He's doing great with nursing. He used to nurse for and hour+. Now he's a quick eater and will nurse for about 20-30 minutes. Love it! He's not pulling or scratching as much either when he does nurse. I believe that would be thanks to the prevacid and patience. A lot of patience. I knew nursing was doing to be hard but not this hard! There were a few times where I had to give myself a serious pep talk in order to not quit. I got through those times and now it's basically smooth sailing. You just gotta get through it. And know that you can and will get through it AND you are doing what's best for your baby and yourself! I really admire moms that breastfeed their babies. You go breastfeeding moms!

As for me, I'm feeling pretty good! I'm back down a bit below my pre-pregnancy weight. I don't feel like I look I did before I was pregnant though lol. My body is so different now. It's so true when ladies say your body will never be the same. I think I have about 10 more pounds to lose before I can be confident in my body image again. I hate being so self conscious. It's all part of the terriotry of being a new mom though. Breastfeeding has really helped me drop the pounds.

Mason had his 2 month well visit 2 weeks ago. Here are the stats from that:

Weight: 12 pounds 5 ounces (67%)

Height: 23 1/2 (62%)

Head Circ: 15 3/4 (44%)

Hello big baby boy! As you can see, he's a bit above the norm on eveything except his head circ. I can't believe how much he's grown! Insane! He even graduated to size 2 diapers last Sunday! It makes me feel really good to know that I basically got him to that weight and height because I'm breastfeeding and what not. His doctor is always really happy with me.

He got 2 shots at that appointment. Pretty sure he handled it better then I did! He only cried a little, maybe a few seconds. Once I picked him up he was happy and I think he even smiled. What a brave little man!

He goes back in November for a 4 month well visit.

Jason has been working hard! He works full time and goes to school as well. Today we found out he was accepted to The University of Texas at Arlington. I am so proud of him! He will be taking army ROTC as well as other classes (civil engineering). He's decided he wants to be in the Army. I fully support him in this decision and could not be more proud of him. We're hoping to get an ROTC scholarship to pay for school and books etc. After school he will be a civil engineer in the Army. WAY TO GO JASON!

Both of my parents were in the Army. I have always had so much respect for anyone that joins the service (any branch). My dad is thrilled to finally have one of his kids in the Army! It's always been a dream of Jason's to be in the Army, so I'm very excited he gets to fulfil that. Of course a part of me worries about him being deployed one day BUT I'm just going to take it one day at a time and not worry about that until I have to. If I ever have to.

We survived the oppresive summer of 2011. Man that was brutal! I think the weather guy said it was the hotest summer ever recorded...or something like that. I believe it! I never want to have to go through another summer like that. Pray for rain! We need it...BAD! It's finally starting to cool off now. Mason and I are definitely enjoying our daily morning walks. Gotta love that fresh morning air.

Halloween is coming up. We still don't know what we're going to dress Mason as. I can't wait to take him trick-or-treating! So fun!

Well I think that's all my mind can remember for now! Sorry it's so unorganized. I'll add if I remember anything! Hope everyone is doing well! HAPPY FALL! God bless!

Reflux Update

Well Zantac didn't really work. I called a week after we got the prescription and was told to wait another week. Apparently it takes 2 weeks to work? Which is very frustrating. Especially since the DOCTOR told us 2-3 days and then a nurse said a week and then a different nurse said 2 weeks. Ahh! So we waited it out another week....

In that week the spitting up started again and he got more and more fussy. He is now to the point where we can't put him down and he's spitting up a ton. Not to mention he is incredibly fussy. It seems like all he does is eat, poop/pee, sleep, and cry. He used to have a time in the evening where he was happy and would just look around and coo. Not anymore.

We got a prescription for prevacid on Monday. He's been on it a little more than 24 hours and I'm not noticing too much of a difference. Bummer. He isn't spitting up as much but he's still spitting up a bunch. He's still very fussy and we still can't put him down.

I wish there was something that would make my baby man feel better! I hate hearing him cry in pain and there is nothing I can do! HATE IT!

Right now he is in his bassinet just looking around though. First time I've been able to put him down all day (it's almost 4:30 pm).

Spoke too soon....he's crying! : (

The Woes of Reflux

Yep....Mason has reflux. Anyone who has or has had a baby with reflux knows this is not fun. At all. Just in case you don't know what reflux is, it's when stomach acid rises up into the esophagus and causes really bad burning. Basically like the worst heartburn you have ever had. I feel so bad for my little boy. I had awful reflux almost the entire time I was pregnant with him so I know how badly it hurts.

About 2 weeks ago (soo he was 4 1/2 weeks old) I noticed he stopped liking to lay on his favorite pillow on the couch. Then he stopped liking to lay on the floor (he LOVED laying on the floor; I think if he could he would have spent the entire day on the floor on his blanket). Everyday he was getting more and more fussy. He was also spitting up more with each feeding. Then he stopped sleeping at night. For 5 days we tired everything to get him to sleep. Needless to say those nights were extremely difficult. All night he was making this terrible grunting noise and clearing his throat. Nursing was becoming harder and harder (he was pulling his head back and scratching and screaming almost the entire time I was attempting to nurse him). Then the grunting and clearing started during the day. We literally could not put the child down. The second his bottom touched anything that wasn't a human he screamed bloody murder. I don't blame him though, he was in a lot of pain.

After too many days and nights of this, I finally decided it was time to take him to his pediatrician a week ago today. He was diagnosed with reflux and we were given a perscription for zantac. I gave him the first dose that night and it seemed to help. Unfortunetely it's not working so well anymore (the grunting and clearing has started again as well as the sleepless nights), which his doctor said might happen and we would switch him to prilosec if need be. Soo I'm probably going to call sometime today to get that switched.

Nursing has gotten better, slowly. I found a position he likes much better yesterday. I think he wasn't feeling secure with the other position I had been using. Ironically I learned the position from a youtube video (youtube is literally a life saver lol). Go figure!

We got him a reflux chair at Buy Buy Baby over the weekend. I usually put him in it after I feed him in the afternoon/early evening. It elevates his head to 30 degrees which is apparently the perfect angle for reflux babies. It also vibrates, which he really likes. I'll post a picture of it later. If anyone is interested in getting it, it's made by the brand Summer.

Well he's waking up now, so I have to cut this short. Here's to hoping the handsome little man feels better soon...

One Month Pediatrician Appointment

Me & My One Month Old Baby Boy

One Month Postpartum

Mason had his one month check up today. He did great. Barely fussed at all. Usually he cries a little but this time he was very content and just looked around. Here are his stats:

One Month

Weight: 10 lbs (51 %)

Height: 21 3/4 (50%)

Head Circ: 14 5/8 (26 %)

He's moving right along and is basically all caught up to the babies born at full term. Go Mason go!

He did have to get a shot. Poor baby!! I had to help hold his little down, which broke my heart! He handled it like a champ though! He cried for about 5 seconds and then continued sucking on his paci. I am so proud of him for handling it so well.

Mason James: The First Month

Holy cow! This month has flown by! Where did the time go?! I seriously can not believe my baby boy turned 1 month old yesterday!

Mason is such a wonderful baby. We are so blessed to be his parents. I absolutely love being a mommy. It's definitely so much harder then I ever thought it was going to be, but it's so worth it. I still stare at him in complete awe that he's my son. I love him so very much.

We haven't really had any problems with him. He has some trouble sleeping when we first brought him home because his bassinet was too hard for him. We fixed that though. He is a very gassy boy, so we got him gas drops. Problem solved. He got pink eye, poor baby! His eye was leaking a yellow mucus. It looked awful. We had to take him to his pediatrician and get him some eye drops. We're still trying to clear it up but it's better! So nothing really major, which we are so thankful for!

He nurses likes a champ! We never had a problem. He almost always latches right on and goes to town. I know some moms and babies have a real issue with breastfeeding, so we're very happy that he's done so well. Sometimes he get frustrated at night but I think that's just because he's tired.

Mason travels beautifully! The only time he'll fuss is if he's hungry or over tired. I don't blame him, that would make me cranky too.

He LOVES to be cuddled and held! He's our little cuddle bug...

Here are his birth stats and the stats from his 2 week doctors appointment:

Birth

Weight: 6 lbs 9 oz

Height: 20 1/4

Head Cric: 13 3/4

Chest: 12 inches

Two Weeks

Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz (18 %)

Height: 20 3/4 (57 %)

Head Circ: 13 1/2 (16 %)

In just 2 weeks he grew so much! Everyone says that they grow fast but I had no idea just how fast! I look at him sometimes and wonder where the little baby I brought home from the hospital is. Everyday he gets more alert. It's so fun to watch him grow and develop! We definitely enjoy and cherish every single moment.

Here are some pictures I took from the first month of his life:

The First Picture I Took of Mason

Perfect Angel


Going Home Outfit

On Our Way Home!

Sleepy Boys

Me & My Baby Boy : )

He Does So Well in the Car!

He Decided He Didn't Want to Wear Clothes

My Little Puppy!

What Are You Lookin' At? ; )

Hangin' Out With Mama

Peace!

First Bath!!

Eating the Towel! haha

Kissy Face

Look How Long I Am!!

Favorite Picture!!

Father & Son

Going to My Doctor to Check Out My Goopy Eye

Hello!!

Spending Some Time With Grandma : )

Mason has his one month doctors appointment on Wednesday, so I'll post an update then! : )