Ryan James Mason

Born: May 16 2008 at 11:44am
7 pounds 9.6 ounces
20.5 inches long

Today is the day!!!

Update soon....

Progress

Progress has been made. I was feeling a lot of pain all last night and this morning so I went into the doctors to check it out. It didn’t feel like labor pain and it wasn’t. It is better that I don’t describe the pain but needless to say it was really awful and had me walking like a hunchback. It turns out the baby has missed the cervix and is trying to get out without it… which doesn’t actually work. The good news is that with progression the baby will re-adjust and end up how he should be. More good news is that I am now 3 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced which means I am moving in the right direction. The bad news is that I am still walking like a hunchback and probably will until he comes out. Eh, I only have to go to class the rest of the time I am hanging around the house anyway. It will be less then a week until Ryan is here (maybe much sooner!)!

Induction Junction

And so it comes to this. I have been scheduled for an induction next Wednesday, should it come to that, I will check into the hospital on Tuesday night and then Wednesday morning the actual induction starts. I have not made any progress since Thursday; the doctors seem to be giving up. I go in Monday to do all the tests to make sure everything is ok (non-stress test, amniotic fluid check etc) if anything is abnormal then Ryan will be born Monday, if it is normal then he gets Wednesday. I am still holding out hope that it starts naturally before then. Everyone think positive thoughts, I need all I can get!

Relatable

There is an interesting phenomenon that comes with being pregnant, you suddenly become very relatable. I was at a gathering yesterday with a bunch of people I had never met before which can be awkward. But everyone came up to me to tell me their pregnancy/baby story. The women who are moms tell theirs, the men who are fathers tell the stories from their point of view, everyone knows someone who has had a baby. Well because Ryan is officially late now everyone has started giving me stories about how to naturally induce labor. These are some of the more common suggestions: (1) Spicy food- I get stories about this one a lot, living with Don I get so much spicy food I think Ryan would just laugh at that being my method to get him out. If I ate anything that was spicier then what I eat now my esophagus might actually catch fire with the heart burn. (2) Caster Oil- I am not going to go into details of what the side effects are from this one all I can say is remember Olestra (Wow Potato Chips) imagine that while giving birth. (3) Walking- I walk I swear.
I think I have finally learned that Ryan is hardheaded (lets hope this doesn’t correlate to size of head) he is a Taurus after all. I am going to have to wait for him; he will come at his own time. But if he wanted to give me a really great mother’s day, he could come today, and then he wouldn’t even need to buy me a gift!

Dawdling on Due Date

Don has this habit of dawdling, he has always had it and at this point it is sort of a running joke between us. Let me give you an example, he asks me if I would like some water, I say yes and about 10 minutes later I get the water. What did he do between the yes and the actual getting of the water? No one knows. He has every intention of getting me the water, he really isn’t trying to delay, and he can’t even explain it. Well we have decided that Ryan is already showing characteristics of good old dad. I think he wants to come out; he is just dawdling in there. Sometimes it feels as though he is taking the plunge and then a few hours later I guess he just gets side tracked and forgets that the destination has not been found. Today is the due date, I haven’t lost hope that it will be today, I guess it all comes down to how severe his case of dawdling is.

Weekly update

We went to the doctor yesterday, I am now 1 centimeter dilated. Now I know this isn’t a huge number but the process has started. I told my mom and she said when she was pregnant with me she went from 1 centimeter to 9 in 20 minutes. Everyone progresses differently so it could be a sign I will start today or next week (my vote is today).
The doctor had me schedule an appointment for Monday to discuss making an appointment for induction if the baby doesn’t look like he is making progress by 10 days after the due date. Hopefully that will scare Ryan enough to make him come out, I think he will this weekend… though on the baby pool I thought he would be out by May 2nd and that obviously didn’t happen.
It has gotten to the point where every one of the doctors and nurses in the office know who I am. I walk down the hall and they ask me about law school. This is a sign I go to the gynecologist too often, way too often. It has gotten to the point where if I were to run into them at the mall or at a bookstore we would have that awkward moment where you don’t know if you should say hi…

Gardening for Dummies

So I decided that gardening would be a good physical activity to try to induce Ryan to come. I was all proud of myself getting out of the house. Let me begin by saying our garden is scary… you all who have seen it know what I am talking about. We have these 2 HUGE bushes that somehow died but before they did they sprouted about 900 branches and look like something is coming out of the ground to attack any person that comes within reach. Well you can’t just dig them up because #1 the branches spread out like 15 feet and #2 you can’t get near enough to it to even see where it is coming out of the ground much less where you should dig. So I decided to use the pruning sheers (I think they are called this- obviously my gardening skills are sub-par). Well about 2 hours later I have the bushes small enough to get to the roots and a pile of sticks that is at least as tall as I am… now what to do with these sticks… I think I will leave that part of the job to Don. While I was doing my “gardening” I was eaten by some bug (I really hope it is a bug… who knows… again the garden is very scary) take a look at these bites. I am staying inside for the rest of the day to read Harry Potter… much safer.

Letter to baby

Dear Baby,

I know this might be a confusing time for you so I will lay it out.
(1) You get out by going down, this is the one time in your life I want you to go towards the light.
(2) I understand you get poked and touched through the stomach a lot- please don’t hold that against us, we just all really want to meet you. I promise when you are out people will give you kisses instead of pokes so no need to stay in there because you are scared.
(3) We have this really kickass room for you, I mean there are planes and toys and books… this stuff is way cooler then the bladder you are sitting on now. If you come out it is all yours, I will even keep your dad from playing with the toys too much.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, you know where to find me.
Love Mom

Thanks

Hello all, I am still here, still pregnant and still functioning for the most part. I really appreciate all of you who emailed or facebooked or called etc. to send me some love. I was really lucky to have some great people around me that have really helped me out in the past week. My husband stayed home from work for a few days to be with me and my brother and best friend Rachel flew in from Chicago to help my mom and I function. I don't know what I would do without all of you so thanks.

A quick story then back to Ryan

I’m not good at journaling so I am going to do it here, as much for my benefit as to tell you blog readers my story, then I will get back to blogging about Ryan again. So Paul was my stepdad, he came into my life when I was a messed up teenager with some serious daddy issues (most people can relate). I’ve considered him my dad for a longtime, and I think our relationship was stronger because I knew that he chose me, that I wasn’t some obligation. He was great, he didn’t tell me what to do or try and be too fatherly but he was really proud of me and let everyone know. He was the sort of guy that if I needed something he was the one to call, he would have done anything for my mom, brother and I.

I was really lucky to have had the time to tell him everything I needed to before he died. He called me a few days before, knowing how sick he was and told me everything he needed me to know. I know that I am blessed to have had that; a lot of people never get the chance. Most of the sadness I feel is about the stuff that he is going to miss, mainly the birth of Ryan. He was so excited for his arrival, I wish I could have given him that but it just wasn’t meant to be. Luckily he passed without regrets and I was given the same peace.

There are a lot of stories I could tell about Paul but this one has helped me get through the last week. It was about 6 years ago that Paul’s dad died (he was in his 90's). It happened while Paul was out of town and I was the one that had to call and tell him. I had been the one to go to the hospital and the doctors came out to tell me that he hadn't made it. I was so devastated, I could hardly speak and I didn’t get out of bed for days after. Paul told me that when I told him he looked outside and saw a rainbow and felt as if it was a sign that Papa (his dad) was in a better place and no longer stuck in a body that just didn’t work. Paul felt so much peace with the sight of the rainbow. It was so out of his character to focus on the “sign” so the story stuck with me. Well fast forward 6 years: I was trying to finish up my last assignment for the semester so I went to a coffee shop with Don. All of a sudden the sky got really black and there was this massive downpour. When it was over Don and I got up and left. When I got to my car I saw this huge rainbow stretching across the whole sky and had this feeling that Paul had died. It was strange I was almost certain that that rainbow had been a sign and yet I wasn’t sad or anything, I felt sort of in shock while still trying to maintain my skepticism. I called my mom and she didn’t pick up, when I got home she called me back and said that I had called right after he died. I admit I wasn’t as calm as Paul had been when I had told him about his dad. The next day when I had myself together a little bit more I understood why Paul had really held onto that rainbow and I’m very thankful that Paul sent me one to let me know that he was in a better place and was rid of the body that no longer worked for him.

In Memory

Ryan’s grandfather died this afternoon. He was a one of the best men I have ever known and he loved my family more then anything in the whole world. He had been battling cancer a long time and was holding on in hopes of meeting Ryan, but his body just couldn’t hold on any longer. I just wanted everyone to know why I was gone if I don’t call you back or don’t post for awhile. I promise I will let everyone know when Ryan is on his way.

Baby Belly

Here is the pile of stuff to bring to the hospital. The car seat and the birthing ball (don't ask) are both near the front door. The notebook shown in the picture is my crazy notebook. I have lists of everything: Phone numbers, birthing positions, acupressure points, birth plan, medical studies to give the doctors if they try and make me do something I don't want to.... oh yes... (For all you law students out there you will probably have noticed that I even have a highlighter... apparently law school has had a greater influence on me then I was previously aware of).

This is the picture of my belly at 38 weeks; notice the dimple in the skin on the top... that is because my belly is now too small to hold the baby. Soon you will be able to see the outline of the baby :) I would show you a picture from the front.. but really it is better for everyone that I don't...

Top 5 things to do while waiting

Top 5 things to do while waiting for baby to come:
(1) Learn to cook something new: I mean I could eat all the time, and I am one of those people that gets sick of eating the same thing over and over again so this is a good time to expand (my cooking horizon… and what used to be my waistline). So far I have made chicken casserole, eggplant parmesan, homemade macarroni and cheese, corned beef and cabbage, chili and a few other things. Don likes the outcome of this activity!
(2) Watch Movies: Netflix is a godsend, that and the copies of Harry Potter that I own.
(3) Clean: From past posts you know that I am all over this one. This weekend we did the cars. My car was full of books for which the classes have ended, Don had I believe 25 water bottles. For earth day Don gave up disposable water bottles so hopefully that won’t happen again.
(4) Walk: My neighborhood is great for walking, and now that the weather has gotten so good it is a pleasure. Ok not a pleasure but it does feel good to go outside. I may be the slowest walker of all times, baby feels like he might fall out so sometimes I have to stop and wait for him to reposition. Don usually comes with me on these walks so it is a good time to talk without distraction. My friend N is just about as pregnant as me she walks like 5 miles a day… she inspires me, I am no where near as good as her, but I’m trying.
(5) Go out on dates: This one is by far my favorite. It usually involves food and it always involves leaving the house for a specific purpose. Don is really good about this one. We have gone out to bookstores, restaurants, shopping, outdoor concerts etc. If I am feeling anxious we even do this on weekdays when Don gets back from work. Who knows when we will have the luxury of just picking up and going after the baby arrives.

NOTE TO BLOG READERS: If anyone has changed address or if you don’t think I have your address please send it to me. I am updating my address book and would like to add anyone who would like a birth announcement; I want to make sure everyone who would like one gets one!