40 Weeks/1 Week

He was hungry and not excited about having his picture taken!

Instead of being 40 weeks pregnant I have a week old gorgeous little boy!  The last week has been a blur, and I can't believe he is already a week old.  Here is a brief re-cap of Mason's first week...

We were at the hospital until Saturday afternoon.  While at the hospital we had lots of visitors, and Mason was adjusting to the world after his little journey.  He did really well, but it took him awhile to get on a consistent eating schedule while we were at the hospital.  We were beyond ready to get home when they finally released us both...there is nothing like being able to sleep in your own bed, getting into our own routine, and not having people check you constantly.

Saturday was our first night home.  When we got home Nick's mom had taken care of everything!  We had lots and lots of groceries, clean, happy puppies, some more newborn clothes (we had some but not a whole lot because we didn't know how big Mason would be, turns out he is super tiny), and she even had dinner for us.  Nick went and got my prescriptions, and then his mom left and we were on our own!  It went really, really well!  Mason loves to sleep and we had to wake him up to feed and change him.  He slept a good 5 hours straight!  He really isn't mush of a crier at all so we have to check on him instead of him letting us know he needs something.

Nick and I really have no complaints about Mason's first week.  He is already on a pretty good 3 hour eating schedule, and when he isn't eating he is usually sleeping.  Towards the end of the week we get about 30 mins of eye open play time before he naps.  This boy eats like a champ too!  He has no problem going from breast feeding to bottle.  We do have to use some formula, but I am hoping to get to a point where he will only have breast milk.  However, I plan to pump and not actually breast feed in the coming weeks.

Our first outing was to Carter's and Old Navy to get us both some clothes.  Mason needs newborn clothes because he is so tiny, and even some of those are too big.  0-3 months clothing is not an option at all for him now and probably won't be for a while.  He did awesome though while we were out and slept the whole time!

In case you can't tell we are completely, head over heels, in love with this little boy.  We could stare at him and hold him all day!

Now, prepare for picture overload...I just can't help it!

Maternity Pictures

Here are a few of my favorite maternity pictures:

Thank you Kristal!

Mason's Birthday

The last appt. I had with the Dr. we decided to go ahead and induce at 39 weeks.  This meant that on Thursday we would call the hospital at 6am to see if they had room for us.  Obviously, the women who were in actual labor would take precedence over me.

Thursday, June 16th:

We got up at 5:45 to start getting ready to go, and then Nick called the hospital to see if we were good to go.  Unfortunately, they said there was no room and they would call us later when/if they could fit us in.  We both got really disappointed and didn't know if we would get to meet our boy or not.  I wasn't able to eat or drink since midnight the night before so I was also not happy about sitting around hungry and thirsty for no reason.  I decided to take a nap because there was no way of knowing how our day would go.

Nick woke me up from my nap at about 8:40 with the best news ever...it was time to go to the hospital and have this baby!  As soon as we got there they assigned us a room and a nurse.  They immediately had me change, hooked me up monitors, started an IV, and had me sign all my release forms.  Once we were all situated the nurse asked me if I knew I was having a contraction.  I told her no, I thought that Mason was just pushing up on my stomach.  She laughed and said it was definitely a contraction!  My Dr. came to check on me and let the nurse know what the plan was.  They started the pitocin in my IV, and my Dr. said she would be back in a couple hours to break my water.

At 10:57 (Nick has his "notes" that tell what was happening and what time it happened, he's awesome!) the Dr. came in and broke my water.  She said I was dilated close to 5cm, upped my pitocin, and said she would be back to check on my throughout the day.  From this point it was just a waiting game.  My parents, Nick's mom, and my best friend all came to check on me and visit.  Once my water broke it didn't take long for the contractions to truly kick in.  I was quickly having them two minutes apart.  They were painful but doable.  It wasn't until the contractions were stacked one on top of the other that I was really uncomfortable.  The contractions weren't necessarily the most excruciating pain, it was the fact that there was no break or a chance to breathe and relax between them.  Therefore, I got an epidural at 12:29 according to Nick's notes.

Let's just say that epidurals are heavenly, and I highly recommend them!  At this point we were just kind of hanging out, I took a short nap, and we just waited.  My Dr. finally came to check on me again around 4:50 and said I was ready to go!  She was going in to do a C-Section at 5, but since she is really good it wasn't going to take long so she wanted me to get set up and start pushing and she would be back soon to deliver our boy.  Apparently, I am an expert pusher according to our nurse.  I started pushing at 5:03 and then the nurse said we were going to have to slow down because I was doing so well that the baby would be here before the Dr. got back if we didn't.

My Dr. came in and was very impressed with my progress and told me to give her one good push and we would have a baby!  Mason Rhys Santowski was born at exactly 5:30!

Side Note:  We had the best labor and delivery nurse on the entire planet.  She was perfect and incredible.  I was her only patient so she took care of anything and everything I needed.  We were lucky enough to have our entire labor and delivery happen during her shift so we never had to change nurses.

That is a quick run down of my delivery.  I will share more info slowly but surely; however, right now I am completely in love with my little man and most of my time is spent staring at his precious face!

Our first family photo!

Right after he was born...about an hour old.
No he is not flipping you off... that's his bracelet!

How cute is he?

Happy Birthday Mason Rhys!

He's Here!

Announcing Mason Rhys Santowski!

Born on June 16, 2011

Time: 5:30 P.M.

Weight: 6 lb. 8 oz.

Length: 18 3/4"

Dedicated to the one I love!

I have said over and over again how incredibly lucky I am to have the best husband in the world.  This pregnancy has been no exception whatsoever!  No matter what I needed or wanted, he was always right there to make sure it happened.  Being a full time middle school teacher combined with the early exhaustion of pregnancy meant that things changed early on in our house.  Before, I cooked dinner every night.  That was a huge change for Nick because by the time we got home I was just too tired to still be on my feet doing much of anything.  Nick never complained though, he started cooking dinner or helping me cook.  As the chores and the cleaning got to be too much or something I wasn't supposed to do, he started to do it without any hesitation.

He has also been there every step of the way which was probably the most important thing.  There isn't a single Dr. appt. that he has missed!  Back rubs, lotion on my belly, helping me up, bringing me something.  He has been my support throughout this entire process and always made sure that I was taken care of.

I truly married my best friend and the person that makes me who I am supposed to be.  Without him nothing would be the same, and I can say with all my heart that he is my soul mate.  He told me recently that he was talking to my dad and their conversation turned a little more serious.  My dad told him that when he had a little girl he thought that no matter what no one would ever be good enough for me.  My dad then said that he was wrong because he couldn't have asked God for a more perfect person for me and he was so thankful that we had found one another.  (I love my daddy!)  After Nick told me about this I asked my mom if she knew that daddy had that talk with Nick.  She said no but she was glad he did because they often talk about happy they are for us and how they truly feel like we are meant to be together.  She then proceeded to tell me that Nick was too good for me and I should be nicer to him.  Thanks mom!  I love that my parents adore him as much as I do!

With all of this being said, I decided that I wasn't all that concerned with a "push present".  However,  I felt like Nick totally deserved a 'push present' so to speak for everything he has done the past 9 months.  I could never thank him enough for all that he has done for Mason and I during the pregnancy so I felt he was deserving of a gift.  I mean I signed up to carry and have the baby so getting a present for it seems a little silly to me.  I ended up getting him a Sony Bloggie, it is a video camera similar to a flip but supposed to be better.  He loves it and rather than calling it a push present, he has so kindly re-titled it a putting up with present.  I love my husband more and more every single day and I look forward to our growing family and many more years of love together!  Hopefully, Mason will be here for Father's Day to make it even more special!

38 weeks...

How Far Along: 38 Weeks…the countdown really has begun!

Baby Size: Watermelon…around 6.5lbs. and close to 19-22 inches

Gender: BOY!…Mason Rhys

Maternity Clothes: Whatever is comfortable at this point. Sometimes it is maternity, I have a few things that I can still wear, and I have now started to wear Nick’s t-shirts around the house.

Sleep: Been really good this week, and it probably helps that I am done with work so I can sleep in and take a nap if I want!

Best moment this week: Wrapping up the school year and my school gave me a surprise baby shower the last day too!  I am both looking forward to and totally dreading next school year, but for now I am going to enjoy every moment I get with my little man both inside and outside of the womb!

Movement: Still moving quite a bit, but he has slowed down just a bit.

Food Cravings: Nothing in particular, I just tend to get really, really thirsty.

What I miss: Not getting asked every day, every 20 minutes if I am ok, how I'm feeling, or if the baby is here yet.  Trust me, I will be the first to tell you if any of things has changed.  I know they ask because they care but it can get annoying.  

What I am looking forward to: Mason's birthday, of course!  Also, getting my body somewhat back to normal...the belly is getting more and more in the way.

Milestones: Lungs are ready to breathe real air, and he is considered full-term!

Pregnancy Symptoms: Period-like cramps, my first Braxton Hicks contractions, and the insane pressure in my pelvis because he has dropped. Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed my pregnancy and can’t complain a bit; I truly feel blessed with how well this pregnancy has gone!

Stretch Marks: Not yet, we have been using Palmer’s Tummy Butter and are on our second one.

Belly Button: It is a slight outie…I can’t wait to have my normal belly button back!

Dr. Update: Everything still looks awesome!  I am dilated close to 4cm and about 90% effaced...she said  if there is much more of a change it will most likely mean that I am in labor!!  The Dr. also said that it is awesome that I have been able to progress so much with my first baby without any real labor occurring and it should help my actual labor progress pretty well on its own.  Since he has slowed down she hooked me up to some monitors to make sure that he was happy and not in distress.  While he ended up being fine, I thought I was going to pass out!  So, when all of the books and everything say don't lay on your back for too long, they aren't kidding!  I guess the nurse had me flat on my back for too long while on the monitors because all of a sudden I got an awful headache, super hot, was sweating, lightheaded, and just felt horrible.  Luckily, they let Nick sit with me so he was fanning me and then I finally just sat up because I couldn't handle it!  When we went back to the Dr. she said that is exactly what happens when you are on your back too long and why you are always told to lay on your side.  Once I was up moving I started to feel better, but the whole no back thing is no joke!

Pregnancy Survival!

With only 2 weeks until my due date I thought I would share a few of the things that I loved and helped me survive my pregnancy!  You never know what will happen and how your body will respond, but here are some of the things that made life a little easier and allowed me to enjoy my pregnancy more...


I was not going to get a 'pregnancy pillow' because I figured it was just a glorified body pillow and would make no difference.  Well, Nick decided I should try it (I really do have the most incredible husband) so we got one, and it turned out to be a life saver!  I totally recommend it!!  It makes getting comfortable so much easier, it really does fit your body better than other pillows, and it makes for a much better night sleep.  I can only speak about the Boppy total body pillow, but this is the one I suggest over all the others.  There are a lot of options on how you can position it and sleep with it, and I am in love!  Nick even kind of uses it and plans to steal it when I am no longer pregnant!

Cardigans!!  I kinda love them anyway, but they are perfect for when you are pregnant.  You can stick to buying regular ones...no need to waste money on maternity ones.  For a while they will still button over your belly, they will even stretch some, and then you can wear them open.  They work throughout the whole pregnancy, plus you can still wear them after the fact.  It also allows you to have light layers because you never know when the pregnant hot flash will occur.  They gave my lots of clothing options without having to drop loads of money on maternity clothes that I won't wear again for awhile.   Comfort, style, practicality, and ease all in one!

Palmer's Tummy Butter!  I know they say you can't prevent stretch marks and that lotion companies say you can, but whatever the case I love this stuff and, finger crossed for the next two weeks, I have no stretch marks!!  So, I am a full on believer of the stuff.  More than that though, it keeps your skin super moisturized, soothes itching, and keeps your skin firm all at the same time.  I originally had no idea that my stomach would itch because I was pregnant.  My mom and Nick would yell at me if I scratched at all, but sometimes I just couldn't help it.  The tummy butter totally helped with that!  It also made my skin so soft and helped it from getting dry while it was stretching to ridiculous limits.  Plus, it helps to also keep your skin firm.  I will keep using it for a little while after Mason is born because of this.  I still want moisturized skin, and this will help firm it up while it is trying to shrink down.  Again, I love this stuff and didn't get any stretch marks while using it!  Nick wasn't the biggest fan of rubbing it on me, but he was an excellent sport and did it every time I asked.  It does start out kind of greasy but that goes away once your skin starts to absorb the moisture it needs.  The smell is good too; however, Delilah, one of our dogs, tries to lick my stomach when she can smell it on me.

What to Expect When Expecting App!  I have an I-phone and I love this app!  It gives you weekly info about the baby and your body, and it has daily information too.  I loved reading my little daily info each morning to start my day.  It also has a place for your weekly pictures so you can see your belly getting bigger.  Plus, it keeps track of how far along you are, counts down how long is left, tells you about how big the baby is getting, and gives you a wonderful fruit reference for the baby's size.  Nick and I both have it and love reading it and having a daily update/suggestion/information/idea.  The picture is not of mine but this is exactly what it looks like.

Linen Maternity Pants!  I got mine from Motherhood Maternity, and they are the best and most comfortable thing ever!  Once you get a full on belly these pants are wonderful.  They are super comfortable, light and cool, you can dress them up or down, and they are cute and fashionable too!  These pants have seriously been amazing in my last tri-mester because they allowed me to be comfortable yet work appropriate.  Highly recommend that you find a pair if and when you are pregnant!

These are a few of the things that helped me survive my pregnancy.  I would recommend them over and over to anyone expecting.  I know several bloggers have shared things they are loving the first few weeks and months of their babies lives and thought I would share something for those who are still waiting on their little ones to arrive!

This is the month!

9 months pregnant! I can’t believe we will have a baby this month!

How Far Along: 37 Weeks…less than a month to go, only 3 more weeks!

Baby Size: Watermelon, I can’t believe I am carrying around a watermelon …around 6lbs. and close to 19-21 inches

Gender: Baby boy…Mason Rhys

Maternity Clothes: Whatever is comfortable at this point. Sometimes it is maternity, I have a few things that I can still wear, and I have now started to wear Nick’s t-shirts around the house.

Sleep: Typically pretty good, but there are times when Mason decides it is not time to sleep. Working out seems to make me super tired which makes me sleep really well at night.

Best moment this week: Getting to see a good friend! We haven’t seen a friend of ours since our wedding, and she came into to town over Memorial weekend and we spent the afternoon with her. It was so good to catch up with Katie!

Movement: Still moving like crazy even though there is no room. Sometimes it gets a little painful since there isn’t much ‘extra’ space for all the moving he does.

Food Cravings: Fruit has been the thing for the whole pregnancy, this week it was cantaloupe in particular.

What I miss: Having ankles, haha. My feet have started to swell, and it really isn’t attractive. My hands only swell if I get hot, so as of right now my rings still fit, yay!!

What I am looking forward to: Obviously, meeting my little man! Plus, we now go to the Dr. every week. I just can’t wait to hold him!!

Milestones: He is full-term!!! He could be born anytime now and it would be ok!

Pregnancy Symptoms: Nothing horrible…backache, pressure type pain since he has dropped, and some swelling. Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed my pregnancy and can’t complain a bit; I truly feel blessed with how well this pregnancy has gone!

Stretch Marks: Not yet, we have been using Palmer’s Tummy Butter and are on our second one.

Belly Button: It is a slight outie…I can’t wait to have my normal belly button back!

Dr. Update: Everything looks awesome!  I am dilated 3 cm and 80% effaced...she said much more progress will mean that I am in labor!!  She said he probably weighs in the low 6lb range and will most likely only be slightly over 7lbs when he is born.  Thank goodness for no 10lb baby! We are so ready for this wonderful blessing to be here and more than anything I just can't wait to hold him!