Last Cardiologist Visit

Last week Mason had his first visit with the new cardiologist, Dr. Kaushik. Chris and Mom took him since I wasn't able to take off work (I won't do that again! It was miserable not being with him and having to hear everything second hand.).

As of the 19th, Mason weighed 9 pounds 10 ounces and measured 23 inches long. His weight is only in the 9th percentile (height is 50th), and he's only gaining 20 grams a day instead of the 25 they want to see, so he has to beef up a lot before surgery. Dr. Kaushik told us to add a teaspoon of formula to each bottle he takes during the day to give him some extra calories. He's eating really well, but his heart has to work extra hard, so he burns more calories than a normal baby would. So since then we've been making sure he takes at least four bottles a day, even when I'm home on the weekends so that he gets an extra 100 calories or so a day.

Also, his oxygen saturation levels have stayed right up at 98-100, but they were down to 91 that day, so that was discouraging but not at the level that worries the doctors. He has to stay above 85. They took some x-rays, which Chris said was the worst thing Mason's been through so far (how do you hold a 2-month-old still?!), and we assume everything was okay because they haven't called us to tell us there's any problem. Overall, it was REALLY hard to hear that he wasn't doing as well since they've been so impressed with him all along, but they said he's still fine.

Dr. Kaushik decided she wants to see him one more time (at 3 months) before she schedules surgery. On the one hand, I'm glad that she wants to wait so he'll be as strong as possible, but I was disappointed that we're looking at surgery at 4 months instead of 3. The waiting is awful, and I'm not looking forward to the surgery, but I'm seriously ready for all this to be behind us. Dr. Kaushik said he'll be in the NICU for at least 2 weeks after surgery, and Dr. Seawell reminded us that it's quite common that they have to leave a baby's chest open for a few days after surgery until the swelling goes down. She wants us to be prepared for that possibility, but how do you prepare for that? We're hoping that we'll be able to get into the Ronald McDonald house.

Mason also had his 2 month checkup with the pediatrician that afternoon, so he had a rough day! X-rays AND shots. Poor baby! But he did really well with the shots...it breaks my heart to think that he's getting used to all this medical stuff.

Two Months Old

Mason hit the 2-month mark a few days ago, and he's changing so quickly! Last Saturday I had to pack away the first batch of clothes he's outgrown. Chris walked in and asked what I was doing, and I burst into tears: "He's not my tiny baby anymore!" Chris just laughed; he thinks I'm crazy.

Every day we get more smiles, and Mason's getting ever closer to laughing...I can't wait to hear it! He holds his head up longer and loves to be held up so he can practice walking (which Chris swears he'll be doing in a month or so). He's learning to make sounds, and Mom says sometimes he scares himself with his own voice. Last week he rolled from his stomach to his back, and I was sooo excited...it just made him mad. Apparently all that work didn't get him where he thought it would! Mason's also definitely getting more of a personality, and I think we can all agree that although he may look more like his daddy, he has inherited some of Mommy's character traits (like impatience and letting you know VERY quickly when he's angry--not necessarily what I would have chosen to pass on!).

The biggest change is that I went back to work this week, and it's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. I cried all Sunday night before I went back...AND Monday on my way to work...AND then later that night when Mason cried and I felt like he was mad at me for leaving him. And I'm sure there's more to come. I know he's in great hands (Gramma's), but I would do ANYTHING to be able to stay home with him. I never thought I could be happy being a stay-at-home mom. Crazy. My kids at school are great this year, so that makes it a little easier...but not much.

Mason's had a lot of visitors in his first two months. Slack came up last weekend, and he was a natural with Mason. Mason graced him with a giant smile as soon as Slack picked him up. It was super cute. Donna and Ellen were here the weekend before. We didn't let Ellen stay very long for fear that she would rub off on him. He kind of looks like a Wortham right now, though, looong and skinny.

Aunt Kristin and Gracie will be here this weekend...not sure if Mason's ready for more of his crazy cousin. Sometimes Gracie's love hurts! We'll have to keep an eye on her. Kristin started selling Lia Sophia jewelry, so I'm going to have a showing for her on Saturday night. Jen, Mirm, Teresa, and Kendra are coming as well as some other friends from work. It should be fun to have a girls' night!

Miriam and I had photography day with Mason a couple of weeks ago, so I've uploaded one of my favorite pictures we took. We are soooo talented! Haha!

Mason's First Holiday

We took Mason home to Maryville for 4th of July weekend, and he was a big hit. We stayed with Gramma and Grampa (which we LOVED because Gramma is a morning person and likes to come get Mason early in the morning after he's eaten and keep him so Chris and I can get blissful, uninterrupted sleep until he's ready to eat again...God bless my mother!). On Friday we drove up to Morristown to introduce Mason to his great-grandmother, Mamaw Baker. She was so excited, and we got some great pictures. He also got to meet my best friend Donna, who literally pushed me out of the way to get to him and said, "You don't matter anymore." Oh, Donna. She always says the nicest things.

On the 4th we went over to my brother's house for a family cookout. Chris was roped into playing with the bigger kids in the pool (shockingly, none of the other adults jumped in to help with crowd control), as usual, and Mason spent the day in the arms of my mom or one of my sisters, predominantly Mary, who is something of a baby hog and a bully. My big accomplishment of the day was getting the first picture of all 11 cousins, from Jordan down to Mason. Only Gracie was noticeably upset in the photo, so I count it a success.

On Sunday we took Mason to church, and, again, he was a show-stopper. Aunt Mary commandeered him again, but she kept him quiet during the sermon, so I wasn't complaining. After lunch at Aunt Kristin's, we set out for home. And so our first long car trip went pretty smoothly.

One Month Old

Mason turned one month old yesterday, and he couldn't be doing better. You should see him hold his head up! And he can bear weight on his legs now, which apparently is pretty advanced for this age. If you're lucky, you get a smile. If you're REALLY lucky, you get his Elvis smile. He's getting a little more independent every day, although he still would prefer to sleep in Mom's arms rather than anywhere else (I write as he does just that!). We're not having much luck getting him to sleep on his own for very long, but I admit that it's hard to put him down and I often don't even try to see if he'll go down in his cradle. I'm storing up for all the holding time I'll miss when he goes back to Vandy for his surgery in a couple of months. Because we're always on the lookout for a blue spell, we try to keep him from getting too upset, so Mason pretty much gets whatever he wants (except for the few times when none of us can figure out what that is!). I read that holding time correlates to decreases in learning disabilities, so I'm clinging to that theory to justify "spoiling" him.

As of Monday, Mason weighed 9 pounds, so he has gained 2 and a quarter pounds since he reached his lowest weight at Vandy. His eyes are lightening up, so we can't wait to see what color they turn out to be eventually. There is still much debate about whom he looks like, but Chris and I just think he looks like Mason, a good mix of both sides.

He has been to the cardiologist twice now and is doing so well that we won't have to take him back for a month, at which time he'll meet his new cardiologist (Dr. Liske is moving to Knoxville) and maybe get more information about a timeline for surgery.

Being with Mason is so amazing that I can't imagine going back to work in a few weeks. I get really upset just thinking about it. I don't want to miss a single minute of his life. I think back on the fact that for so many years I didn't want to be a mom, and I just smile. I had no idea, and Chris would say the same thing. Our lives definitely revolve around our son, and we couldn't be happier.

Coming Home

We brought Mason home from Vanderbilt on Friday evening, June 19th. Gramma, Granny, and Grandpa were all there to welcome him after his LONG 4 days in the hospital. The next weekend Mason got to meet the last of his grandparents, Mamaw and Papaw Baker.

Mason's First Road Trip

After all our friends and family left on Tuesday night, Mason's nurse came in to tell us that Mason had a heart murmur. Hearing that something is wrong with your baby is devastating, but I knew enough about heart murmurs to realize that it was a minor problem, so we weren't too upset. Our first night with Mason went pretty smoothly, despite the fact that Chris' nervousness returned with a vengeance when his new baby was suddenly in his arms. Instincts kicked in, though, and he has been an amazing dad from the beginning. Mason and I are really lucky to have him.
The next morning they took Mason to have an echocardiogram to look at his murmur, and he was gone for so long that Chris and I got really concerned. I know they were sick of our calling the nursery to find out when our baby was coming back! He was eventually returned and spent the day meeting all kinds of new people.

The real trial came later that evening after they took Mason again to do more tests. Chris and I were visiting with Miriam and Jen, and Mom had run out to grab some dinner. Dr. Seawell called, and I answered. I don't remember much of what she said. I heard her say that they had found another, much more serious problem, and I just broke down. I handed the phone to Chris so she could tell him because I couldn't repeat anything. Miriam and Jen met Mom outside and filled her in, and Chris and I spent a few minutes alone together while we waited on the neonatalogist who was coming in to talk with us. A few minutes after all that happened, all the patients were evacuated from their rooms because of a tornado warning. As the mothers were all wheeled out into the hallway, nurses brought their babies to them from the nursery; I couldn't stop crying. My baby couldn't leave the NICU. And so had begun the hardest 48 hours of my life. Mason's pediatrician came back by then and took us back into the NICU so she could talk more to us and let us be with Mason.

Soon after that Chris' mom and stepdad came back to the hospital, and the neonatalogist explained Mason's defect, tetralogy of fallot, and what would happen next, as Mason was being transported to the NICU at Vanderbilt that night. Around 11:00 o'clock that night, the transport team came to get him, and although they were wonderful, it was unbelievably painful to see my day-old son strapped down in the huge transport isolette. I started crying again when I saw him, and Mason looked over at me and put one finger up to his mouth as if to shush me. I'll never forget that. We couldn't go with him in the Angel Ambulance, so Debbie and Dave drove us to Vanderbilt, where they rushed me into his room so that I could feed him. I still can't think about seeing him hooked up to all those monitors without getting choked up.

Mason stayed in the NICU there until mid-afternoon on Friday, and much of that time is a blur to me. The hospital had provided us with a family room so that Chris and I had a bed and a shower, but we didn't sleep much. I didn't want Mason to be alone at any time. I do remember, however, how excited we were when the cardiologist and neonatalogist cleared us to take him home! After everything that happened, Chris and I realized that Mason was in the best possible place, and we were so thankful for all the prayers and support we received...and for the excellent care they took of Mason at both Vanderbilt and Gateway.

Mason Arrives

Obviously, I'm REALLY slow at updating the blog, as most of you are aware that Mason is a month old today as I write about his birth. Well, it was a crazy month...and it's extremely difficult to get your teeth brushed every day let alone play on the computer when you have a newborn. Back to the subject...

I was sooo uncomfortable and having random contractions for about two weeks before, so Dr. Hamre scheduled me for an induction on June 16th. Chris and I arrived at Gateway Medical Center at 5 in the morning on the 16th, and the process got underway quickly. I was already having contractions every 4 minutes by the time they hooked me up to the monitor, but I really wasn't feeling anything, so they gave me half a dose of something that would thin my cervix. I was just a centimeter dilated at that point and 50% effaced, but my contractions got faster and stronger very quickly. By the time my water broke on its own just before 9, I was having contractions every 2 minutes. Dr. Hamre came to check me and laughed that Mason had decided he was coming on the 16th anyway, regardless of the induction, so it was a stroke of good luck that we had inadvertently planned the induction for the day the baby was actually planning on showing up so that all our family could be there.

To make a long story short(er), Mason arrived at 5:51 pm, weighing 7 pounds and 5 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. He came out with his eyes open and a thoroughly disillusioned look on his face. Mom and Chris also say he had a serious conehead, but I never noticed. I have to say that childbirth was not as bad as I had expected (thanks to an epidural). And, yes, he WAS the most beautiful baby ever born.