MASON RILEY STEWART

I still can't believe it. Our baby boy is finally here and he is so perfect. We are completely obsessed.
I'll start at the beginning and try to be brief, but those who read this blog (both of you...) know that short entries are not my forte.
Friday night was totally normal. I had a bit of a headache and my feet and ankles were fairly swollen, but both of those are normal occurrences when you are a week away from your due date. Riley was working at this station this weekend, so after dropping dinner off with him, and running a few loads of laundry, I went to bed a little bit early.
This is where I may give a bit too my information, but what birth story doesn't right?
Anyway, Saturday morning I woke up and was bleeding quite a bit. For some reason though, i felt very peaceful and calm. I called Riley and explained that he needed to come home ASAP. He too was very calm, and said he would be right there. I then called the doctors office, who assured me they would have the on call OB call me within 15 minutes to let me know what we should do. However, I felt very strongly we needed to go in, and was thinking very clearly. I packed our stuff, got changed, and within ten minutes of making the first call to Riley, we were in the car.
On the way, the doctor called back and pretty much reaffirmed what we already were doing. Bleeding was never a good thing, and we should make our way to the hospital... Duh!
When we arrived at the hospital, we were introduced to the first of many blessings that day. Our nurse named Mary. She is very Irish, and the sweetest woman in the world. I dont know how we could have done this without her. More on that later...
So Mary checked us in, helped me change into a gown and settled Riley in doing some paperwork. Then she checked my vitals. My blood pressure was through the roof. "Are you nervous my love?", asked Mary in her beautiful accent. I told her surprisingly no, I felt pretty mellow. She had me lay down for a few minutes then checked it again. Still high. After changing blood pressure cuffs twice, and putting me in several different positions. It was determined that with the bleeding and my high blood pressure, we were in pre-labor and the baby needed to come out now.
The next twenty minutes are still a bit of a blur to me. Mary was so sweet, but made it very clear that we were in an urgent situation and things needed to get movin! She gave Riley his scrubs, had me sign a bunch of paperwork, and before I knew it, I was in a wheelchair headed for the OR.
Riley had to stay outside while I got my Spinal Block. I was absolutely terrified, and I'm sure Riley was nervous sitting in the cold hallway on a chair by himself as they wheeled me back.
The nurses moved me to a really skinny metal table and I remember Mary asking me to hunch my shoulders and take a deep breath. The Spinal hurt far less than I had thought it would. I felt my whole back go warm, like when the sun comes out after it's behind a cloud. And before I could lay on the table, my legs were totally numb. It was beautiful!
Then doctors then put a curtain across my chest to hide whatever gruesome procedure was happening on the other side, and when they had determined that the anesthesia was doing it's job, they brought Riley back.
I can't tell you how comforting that was. The room was cold, and in no way "friendly" and I was admittedly pretty scared but Riley walked over, grabbed my hand, and smiled. He was cool as a cucumber. Mary walked us through the whole thing. About 5 or 6 minutes in she said "I see some dark hair. Here come the shoulders. Lots of pressure..." and then I heard the cutest cry in the entire world! I looked at Riley and we both lost it. It was the best feeling in the entire world. Any fear or anxiety was totally gone. Our baby boy was finally here!
The doctor let me have a quick look and then they took my little Mason over to get weighed and measured. Riley got to go with him, and when they had announced that he was 8 pounds 3 ounces, and 19.5 inches long, they swaddled him all up and handed him to his daddy. Riley and Mas came back to their chair by me and the three of us just got to chill and get to know each other while they closed me up.
In recovery, they put Mason right on my chest and I just got to snuggle him for an hour or so. It truly was heaven. Riley and I couldn't believe how sweet our little baby is. I had only met him 10 minutes earlier, but it was like he had always been a part of our family.
Mary checked my vitals again. Blood pressure still very high. Shocker... Not. She was very nervous about it though. I guess developing pre-eclampsia postpartum is fairly uncommon and definately something to be worried about.
Anyway, to save you all the boredom of the rest of this ridiculously long post, I was put on a 24 hour dose of Magnesium to prevent seizures until my pressure could be controlled. It's pretty much the most unpleasant thing I can think of. I just felt yucky and cloudy and achy for a couple of days. They kept us in Labor and Delivery for a few days for observation, but now we are in the regular Materinity Ward and life is peachy. Aside from some anemia, and a little incision pain, recovery has been a breeze. The hospital staff has been absolutely fabulous, and Mr. Mason is doing great! He is currently getting his first Jersey Tan in hopes of curing a little jaundice, and Riley and I just get to stare at this little miracle.
I can't even describe (even in this loooooooong post...) how blessed I am. I just sit in this hospital room and look and my two boys and am so humbled at what I have been entrusted with. Riley is more than I could have ever hoped for. He is the most amazing husband in the world. Throughout the whole pregnancy, and the birthing experience he has been my number one supporter. He does things I wouldn't expect anyone to do, and he does it with a smile on his face. Aside from all of that, he is already the perfect dad. Mason is so lucky to have this guy around! He changes all the diapers and burps Mas after he eats because I havent been able to get up or do a whole lot. Mason knows his voice and the minute Riley walks over, or puts his hand on his tummy, he stops crying and just looks up at his dad.
Heavenly Father couldn't have given me a better family. I am so thankful that Mason is here and healthy and happy. I am thankful for my knowledge of Eternal Families and that these two handsome boys are mine for the long haul!