Boy, time sure does fly! It's been 5 months already. I remember the day we came home from the hospital. I looked crippled because it took me 5 minutes to get in or out of the car. I was still recovering from a c-section, and I wound up sitting in the back seat because there was more leg room behind Chris since the passenger seat has to be up so far to accomodate the car seat. What did we do when we got home? Unloaded everything and went out to eat at El Chico! Yes, you hear that right. We took our 3 day old child to El Chico. It was late afternoon, and we sat in an unpopulated section. Mason got used to going out. We went quite freqently to dinner at Applebee's. Until... Mason turned 4 months old. Now all he wants to do is be out of his seat and touching EVERYthing! So, going to dinner has become less frequent as you can never tell when a fit may occur. He's still a great baby, but we don't want to ruin other diners' experience, so we limit our going out now.

I thought these two pictures were great to show how Mason has changed. Even though he was always moving as a baby, he was still very immobile. He slept most of the time. We were very blessed that he would sleep 6-7 hour stretches from the very beginning. Which didn't seem like much of a blessing to me at the time since all the books I read said that he should NOT, under any circumstances, sleep more than 4 hours without eating. So, I'd spend 2 full hours trying to wake him up by standing him upright, using a cool washcloth, talking to him, moving his limbs, anything I could think of or read in a book. I was especially worried since we had a minor setback with breastfeeding. Now, he's sleeping 10-14 hour stretches at night. We are so happy about that! Mason can also now sit up and pretend to fly and swim (trying to crawl but hasn't quite mastered it yet).

After we got home from the hospital, Mason was gaining weight well at his first two visits with the pediatrician. But, I started to have this bad feeling. I just knew he was losing weight. Everyone told me that I was being paranoid, but I was just sure of it. So, I went out and bought an infant scale. Best purchase of my life! At his 1 week doctor appointment, he weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and Dr. Kelkar said, "let him sleep. Do not wake him to eat." When I weighed him a week later, he was 8 pounds, 12 ounces. It was a Sunday. The doctor's office wasn't open. So, I thought about it and kicked it into high gear. I started taking out the frozen milk and bottle feeding him in addition to nursing. I read through all my books and the internet about latch issues. And, I solved the problem. Go me! At one month he was back to 10 pounds, 1 ounce. With a bit of fear, I told Dr. Kelkar what had happened.

Dr. Kelkar: "You didn't call us? You didn't call a lactation consultant? You didn't take him to the ER?"

Me: "No."

Dr. Kelkar: "You did this all on your own?"

Me: "Yes."

Dr. Kelkar: "Good for you!"

I do feel the need to brag a bit. Dr. Kelkar has told us many times that we don't act like first time parents. I think that's a compliment...

The first week back from the hospital was a whirlwind filled with firsts for everyone. It's hard to remember since I now see everything through a haze. I wonder if that is due to my body recovering and my body reregulating hormones and such. Every day I would think, "Wow. I was a little crazy yesterday." Now, I look back and think, "Wow. I was a little crazy last week." So, I think that's an improvement. I'll never forget Mason's first bath over the kitchen sink. Mom and I both kinda looked at each other like, "um, what do we do?" He seemed too small for the infant bath at the time, so I just held him in the sink. It all went reasonably well until he realized what was going on. Hence the picture above. He wound up peeing on me and pooping in his super-cute monkey towel.

Throughout it all, I couldn't have stayed sane without my mom. She has been such a rock for me. Just thinking about everything she has done for me, Mason, and Chris brings tears to my eyes. I know that I can't put words to how much she has meant, but I'm going to try. I can very easily understand how people can suffer from postpartum depression. If I hadn't had such a great support system and been willing to reach out to them, I may have suffered myself. Mom was there to pick up the phone and even drive to Corinth whenever I needed an ear to listen to or a hand to help. Cliff even came by to watch Mason while Mom and I cleaned the house. Mom is the reason I'm still nursing Mason. I would look longingly at the samples of formula given to my by my doctor, and think, "that would be so easy." But, Mom was always there to remind me why I'm doing it. After the 'feeding fiasco' of week two, our talks would always start with what Mason's pees and poos looked like and how much he weighed. Who else would care about that stuff? I don't know how I would have done it without all her love, support, and encouragement. I believe that her loving nature is tempered with a practicality that only a daughter can fully appreciate. Thank you, Mom, for everything!!!