Ma Son, Mason

Trick or Treaters got a little more than they bargained for this Hallowe'en when a ready-to-pop Muno waddled to the door and strained to bend down to contribute some candy to their bags. Little did they know, I was having a baby in a matter of hours.

My doctor had to catch a plane for a family vacation to Disney World, so he'd have to perform my C-section in the wee hours. He was very apologetic, but I recognize that doctors have families and lives too and I didn't mind the early morning - bonus time in the hospital! He called and confirmed that we could check in the night before and just be woken up at 3:30 for the procedure, but we worried that wires might get crossed and we'd be charged an extra night. And we opted for a good "night" sleep in our own bed - really a good "hour" sleep. So, we sent Teagan off to Katie's for the night and packed and planned and planned and packed.

We reported at 3:30 AM and I approached the Labour & Delivery desk with the opening line, "I'd like to have a baby please." Not exactly the huffing, puffing and screaming from a wheelchair I've seen so many times on TV, but I think I like my way better. They were expecting us closer to midnight - apparently I should have called!

I got prepped with my IV, answered a squillion questions about my medical history and got set up with my "nursing" gown. I thought it was a nursing gown - apparently we're in an economic crisis and my gown just had a few holes in it. Once I pointed it out, the nurses - Carla and Tammi - got me a fresh one which wasn't quite so...um, breathable.

The spinal block wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but I'd been warned it took effect immediately and the speed with which my lower half went numb was a little disconcerting. In came the team and they got to work. It amazes me that the doctors and medical assistants can hold casual, everyday conversation while performing surgery. My work was never so complicated, so it's mind boggling to me that such complicated procedures are second nature and almost hum drum for these professionals. From the other side of the curtain I heard talk of weekend plans and plans for the Disney parks, all the while just waiting to hear the little cry I've been waiting months for. 

If you've ever seen the Wizard of Oz, where the wizard is shaking the curtain in an attempt to look ferocious, or Jurassic Park where the leaves are wiggling and waving about while a poor cow is sacrificed to a raptor, you know what it felt like to be on my side of the curtain. There was a whole lotta shakin' going on while the doctor was trying to pull the poor thing out. He had been breech going into surgery, but with the amount of pressure (it felt like they were jumping on me) being applied, they may have turned him around to come out headfirst. Dr. Pollock began to pull him out and announced, "I see some light hair. Oh my gosh! Look at all that hair!" and then exclaimed, "And we will call you Gigantor!" mostly on account of his head. And with that, Mason Brandon Richards (and his hair) arrived at 5:44 AM on November 1st. They weighed him in and he was only 8lbs. 4oz. When Brandon and I sounded disappointed, the staff reassured us that 8 4 is plenty big.

I was shivering uncontrollably - a phenomenon I remember well, but not fondly, from my last C-section and I felt as though all the blood was rushing to my head and couldn't feel anything below my neck. I was much more nauseated this time around and ended up vomiting multiple times while laying on the table. Not an easy task when your stomach's been sliced open. As a result, I had to fast (save a couple of ice chips after 24 hours) for 36 hours. Not cool. I demonstrated my displeasure on my order form for lunch the next day. Apparently the cafeteria didn't get the memo that I wasn't cleared to eat and two different meals were brought to my room, taunting me. I gave the first to Brandon but was so delirious with hunger that I sent the second one back instead of feeding the father of my new child. Oops! But, he consoled himself in the pantry. We were literally across the hall - I took a photo of it while standing in our doorway. I'm sure the hospital staff responsible for restocking things were glad to see us go.

While in the hospital, Mason was an absolute angel. At least he became one. During the day, he nursed for half an hour every 3-4 hours and then slept most of the time after that. I wish I could take a picture of his nursing face - he hunkers down, scowls, opens one eye and darts it left and right. The first night he was up on the hour, every hour to eat for 5 minutes and the second night, he slept four hours...too long for a baby his age - sorry Mason! When he was awake he was happy, unless he needed to eat or be changed - I love this stage, their problems are so easily solved most of the time. He came back from getting his shots only able to squeak - apparently he screamed so much he lost his voice, poor thing.  Everyone commented on his hair - I guess it's unusual to see a blonde baby with so much of it...unless you're a member of my family:

My Mum was a HUGE help both at the hospital and at home with Teagan. She helped me with things that nurses should have been doing and claimed to be too busy for - let's just say that I thought I'd be returning the favour of her changing my diapers before she'd change mine again. And when she wasn't taking care of me, she was taking care of Teagan at home, playing dolls and dress-up and colouring. What a woman. We were so glad she could come to help - and her RPN training came in handy more than once. We had a great experience at Southern Hills again, aside from my doctor not being the one to check in on me, but I had a very nice doctor in Dr. Jex looking in on me. We had a good laugh when he asked how my breathalizer breathing was going. Apparently there was a miscommunication about the level I was trying to reach 10 times an hour. I was killing myself trying to blow into the contraption to reach 2500 units when I only needed to reach 1250. My lungs have never been healthier and my recovery from a scheduled C-section was decidedly easier than my emergency one.
Mason looked a lot like Brandon for the first 24 hours of his life, and then morphed into another one of my clones. Poor Daddy - even his boy looks like his Mum. He changed so much just in the three days we spent at the hospital, getting cuter all the time. I give you, the Many Faces of Mace (all at the hospital.)

So excited to have a son and a daughter and am still coming to terms with the idea that I'm a mother of two. He is such a sweet little thing and I find myself staring at him all the time, cherishing my little piece of heaven. I'm so grateful for my growing little blonde bombshell family!