Meet Mason

Our newest little man has finally arrived! Mason John Lewis joined our family on January 21st at 7:17am. Although he was over 2 weeks early, he weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. I can't imagine how big he would have gotten if he had gone until his due date!

Everything about this pregnancy was totally different than my first. I felt great most of the time, had very stable blood pressures and protein levels and carried this little one all in my belly. I did start to get edema around 35 weeks, but nothing like with Caleb where I literally blew up like Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka. I had preeclampsia with Caleb which meant he had to come almost 6 weeks early. What a difference 3 weeks in a healthy mama makes! Mason came out the size that Caleb was at one month old.

The funniest thing to me is that when you have a pre-term baby (like Caleb) and are in the hospital yourself because of issues, you are checked on every hour day and night. Blood pressures are taken, blood is drawn, every part is checked, you are watched when you sleep, they measure how much you eat and drink and pee and when you can walk. And when your baby is in the NICU, even if he is healthy, the nurses teach you everything. They literally watch you with the baby and take notes, marking down if you have mastered things like changing diapers and nursing correctly. You have to watch a CPR video and the baby has to pass a car seat test before he can go home.

With a full term baby and a healthy mama, it felt like they just handed me the baby and said "take him home!" I spent the first night of Mason's life totally alone with him. Even though the nurses were just a call away, I was a little nervous. Thankfully we did great and I will cherish that time I got to know my new little one.

One thing that wasn't different was the fact that we could not decide on a name for the poor child. Even after he was here, we didn't have a clear decision on his middle name. I blame Adam for this as I tried numerous time to talk about names and he was less than decisive. Adam is an amazing husband and daddy, but he procrastinates with the best of them! We decided on Mason just because we like it. It is currently a very popular name, but that's okay. John is after my dad (his middle name) and Adam's step dad. Both are wonderful Grandpa's who we know will love and be adored by this new baby just as much as the first.

As of today Mason is 6 days old. So far, he is a very mellow, easy baby. He eats well, sleeps well and poops well. He is sweet and cuddly and looks a lot like his brother, which means he is super adorable. :) Caleb is still getting used to "baby Mason," but overall is very sweet with him. I think he will make a grat big brother.

Welcome to our family Mason John. We love you!