your cord

Mason,

A big chunk of your umbilical cord fell off when you were nine days old. It got stuck on the rag when Daddy was burping you. When I saw it on the rag, I initially thought it was a bug!

In the picture below, you can see your belly button, with the cord remnant on the white burp rag in the background, behind Daddy's arm.

You are such a big boy!

You can slow down this growing up thing any day now, okay?

We love you!

Mommy

meeting Auntie

Mason,

On your one-week birthday, your Auntie, Ellen, who is my sister, came over to meet you.

You peacefully slept in her arms the entire time she held you. And then you (loudly) dirtied your pants moments after she gave you back to Daddy and left the room.

Way to be polite to our guests, sweetie!

We love you!

Mommy

one week old

Mason,

To celebrate your turning one week old, we left the house. Daddy carried you to the farmers market behind our house in the Baby Bjorn. We go to the farmers market every Saturday morning during the market's season. This is your first of many trips!

We gave you a tour of our usually beautiful, but now much neglected back yard on our way home after the market. 

Then we hopped in the car and drove down to my favorite annual DC event: the National Book Festival.  Usually I attend this event in its entirety. This year, that wasn't possible, but I still wanted you to make an appearance at your first book festival, and to pick up a poster and take a family picture. An extremely nice DC parking enforcement officer allowed us to park illegally right near the festival so that we could hop out for a few minutes.

We couldn't help but snap your first picture in front of the United States Capitol on our way back to the car. You live in an amazing city, Mason!

We're looking forward to many more fun outings in the future!

Love,

Mommy

first bath

Mason,

It took Daddy and me some time to get our act together with your first bath. I think we had been home for three days before we had a chance to give you one.

You did great! You didn't cry at all and you even seemed to enjoy it.

We worked fast and tried to keep you bundled up so you'd stay warm. If you enjoyed the sponge bath, we can't wait to see how much you like bath time once you get a little older and can play with the bath toys we've received.

But we're not quite ready for big boy baths yet. Don't grow up too fast. We can't handle it.

Your post-bath, baby-lotion smell is my new favorite scent!

Love you!
Mommy

first pediatrician visit

Mason,

Two days after we came home from the hospital, we visited the pediatrician. It was quite a memorable first appointment! After the nurse weighed you, you projectile pooped all over the counter before we could put your diaper on. Daddy and I were mortified as we scrambled around, cleaning up the mess. We're noticing a theme here, sweetheart. Do we need to have a talk about this?

The good news is that you had regained almost all of your birth weight. As of September 21st, you weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and are very healthy. Praise God!

Let's shoot for poop-free pediatrician visits in the future. 

We love you!

Mommy

tech savvy baby

Mason,

You are growing up in a different world than Daddy and I did. You have your own blog. On your first full day at home, you skyped with your Grandma and Grandpa, Mommy's parents, to meet them.

You slept throughout most of the session, but they'll be out soon to meet you in person.

You'll be emailing and texting before we know it!

Hugs and kisses,

Mommy

making your mark

Mason,

Before you were born, Daddy and I set up your Pack 'n Play in the corner of our dining room to serve as our downstairs "station" for when you needed a nap or a diaper change, and we didn't want to run upstairs to your room.

I mean, really. Doesn't every formal dining room need one of these?

Minutes after we brought you home, Daddy and I laid you on the changing table attached to the Pack 'n Play, and proceeded to change your diaper. You made your mark, sort of like a dog marking its territory, on our house by peeing all over the dining room wall and yourself, something I had never considered happening when I decided to keep the Pack 'n Play in the dining room. At least you missed the art on the wall!

You've marked other areas of the house since then--something we're getting used to with having a little boy!

We love you!

Mommy

homecoming

Mason,

We came home from the hospital on Monday, September 19th. It took us forever to get packed and ready to leave. As I mentioned, lots of babies were born the weekend you were, so the hospital staff kept checking in, no doubt waiting for us to leave so that they could clean the room and turn it over to someone else.

Here is your homecoming day, mostly in pictures.

We asked the nurse to take a family picture before we left the hospital and I'm glad we did because there was no one around to take a picture of the three of us once we got home. Mommy was weepy!

We've yet to capture your full smile on camera, but here's the closest we've come thus far. We like to think you were happy to be coming home with us!

You were so peaceful.

And you slept the whole way home in the car.

And here you are, in front of your new home! Who left a baby on our steps?!

We're happy you're here, sweet Mason.

Love,

Mommy

homecoming outfit debacle

Mason,

I really wanted you to come home in a gender-appropriate outfit, so when Daddy and I went shopping a few weeks before you were born, we bought two outfits--one for a girl and one for a boy--knowing that one would not be used.

We were a bit perplexed about which size to buy, as the newborn sizes advertised "up to 8 pounds" and several ultrasounds had predicted that you would be a larger baby than that. We ended up purchasing the 0-3 months size, even though it looked big, because the tag said it was appropriate for 8-12 pound babies. Perfect, or so we thought.

In a last-minute moment of packing panic, I included a tiny, newborn size sleeper in my hospital bag just in case the ultrasounds were wrong about your size. I had received this gender-neutral sleeper at my church shower, and while it was adorable, it wasn't what I had dreamed of as your homecoming outfit. But when I started to dress you the day we left the hospital, I realized that the little boy outfit Daddy and I had so carefully selected just wasn't going to work out, at least, not for your homecoming.

The pants alone could have covered your entire body!

It's a good thing we had the little duck outfit after all, even if it wasn't what I had pictured. At least you left the hospital wearing more than just your diaper!

Your original homecoming outfit is now hanging in your closet, waiting for you to grow into it, which I know will be long before Daddy and I are ready.

We love you!

Mommy

hospital time

Mason,

Our two days in the hospital flew by. On the night of your birth, Daddy and I read your first book to you. Good habits start early! Being a city baby and all, we thought you'd enjoy a book about your hometown.

The first night in the hospital was rough on all of us. You were starving and we couldn't satisfy you. We tried to send you to the nursery so we could get some rest, but the nurse there kept sending you back to us, saying there was nothing she could do to help. You finally wore yourself out at 5 AM, and Daddy and I passed out with you, and then awoke in a panic at 7:30 AM because we hadn't heard a peep from you, and we wondered if you were still breathing.

On Sunday, you had two unexpected visitors. Your grandmom and granddad, Daddy's parents, took a detour to DC on their drive to their annual Myrtle Beach vacation to briefly meet you.

The labor and delivery ward and the maternity suites were hopping the weekend of your birth. We ended up staying in an older wing of the hospital that is scheduled for renovation and normally not used, but we were still thankful to have a private room. We had a great and very experienced nurse named Corinne. She seemed to like you a lot!

Here are two pictures of our room.

The rest of our time in the hospital was spent with various classes, appointments, and checkups. Once we finally got your hunger under control, we did send you to the nursery a couple times so Daddy and I could rest up before taking you home. We suspected we would need as much energy as we could muster. Boy, were we right!

We love you!

Mommy

your birth

Mason,

Daddy and I always joked during pregnancy that you seemed to be an obedient baby. You cooperated during ultrasounds. Your growth was always right on target, if not a bit ahead of where you should have been. You plumped up nice and healthy in the womb. You allowed me to finish working through the date I committed to (September 9th). You let Daddy get through the Congressional hearing he was in charge of, which coincidentally fell on your due date (September 14th).

My first week of maternity leave, which began on September 12th, I walked and ran in earnest, trying to move you along toward being born. I ran two miles that week, and walked 16 miles. Then, on Friday, September 16th, I made and ate an Atlanta restaurant's eggplant parmigiana that's famous for sending women into labor. In retrospect, I wasn't feeling well on that Friday anyway. And, I don't know if the excessive walking/running that week or the eggplant parmigiana had their intended effects, but you decided to start making your way the afternoon of Friday, September 16th. But again, you proved yourself to be an accommodating baby. You allowed Daddy to finish up his work week and he arrived home at a normal time on Friday evening. Then you kicked it into high gear, but not before you allowed us to finish up some last minute chores around the house while I labored. We finished packing our hospital bags, ran the dishwasher, washed a load of towels, collected and disposed of the garbage, and even wrote a few thank you notes, which we mailed on our drive to the hospital!

You even granted us time and energy to take one last picture as we left the house shortly after midnight on Saturday, September 17th. We set up the shot in the living room and used the timer on our camera.

Upon arriving at the hospital, we learned that the Lord, and you, truly have perfect timing. Apparently, many babies decided to be born the weekend you were, and the labor and delivery unit had been crazy earlier that evening. They ran out of rooms and women had to labor in the hospital's waiting room. But, we arrived during a lull, and were lucky enough to get a room. We heard that things picked up again a few hours after we arrived, so we were thankful that the timing worked out just right.

Daddy and I walked the hospital halls, and then I got the magic drugs by 4 AM, which allowed Daddy and me to sleep for a few hours. The nurse woke us up at 7 AM, broke my water, and we went back to sleep until 9 AM. Things moved along pretty quickly after that; I started pushing at 11:19 AM, and you were born at 12:10 PM. Apparently, you wanted to make your appearance before the Tennessee Vols took on the Florida Gators at 3:30 PM. It was the perfect day, even though this was probably the first TN/FL game in years that Daddy didn't get to attend or even watch, but he didn't care about missing it one bit. My, how quickly priorities change!

 
Your cord was wrapped around your neck, but you were fine, and started crying soon after the doctor got you untangled. A minute after you were born, they plopped you on my chest. Daddy was standing over my left shoulder, and when you heard his voice, you arched your neck to look back to find him. You knew your daddy's voice. Our hearts have not been the same since that moment.

We love you and we're glad you're here!

Mommy

happy birthday

Welcome to the world, Mason McNeil!

You arrived on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 12:10 p.m.

You weighed nine pounds, six ounces, and you were 21 inches long.

The nurse put the Vitamin K drops in your eyes right away, so your eyes are a little red in the next two pictures.

Daddy and I couldn't be more delighted to have you here, sweet Mason.

We love you!

Mommy