Mason's First Month

Y'all, we have a one month old!!!

At our appointment (which we actually had at 5 weeks), Mason weighed 10lb 6oz and he was 23in long. He's growing so fast!

I haven't blogged much since he's been here. I've really been enjoying my time bonding with Mason - and really with Josh and Bailey too. We're all adjusting well and I love our little family! Here's an update of our past month together. 

Daddy's Lion King intro of Mason - he was just a day old here!

Week 1 

For the majority of our first week, we had one of our moms staying with us. Josh's mom stayed the first 2 nights and my mom stayed the next 2. We weren't sure if we would want to have anyone staying with us at first, but in the end, we were really grateful to have someone around to help out. It gave us both the time to focus on getting to know our brand new baby! The first week was interesting. It was so much fun! Even though we were tired and exhausted, it was so exciting to take care of Mason...even in the middle of the night. We were waking him up every couple hours to feed him and change his diaper. He slept in the rock n play beside our bed for the first couple nights. The first night or 2, Josh had to wake me up. I didn't hear any of Mason's noises or the alarm clock. I was surprised that Josh heard so much. I've watched him sleep through a fire alarm before, so I never thought a little baby noise would wake him up. Haha. Josh would get up and change Mason's diaper, then bring him to me so I could feed him. He would bring me snacks and make sure I had water. He even brought me breakfast in bed one morning (we don't eat in bed...ever - so that was actually kind of weird) and fed me while I fed Mason. lol. We had our 2 day visit with our nurses from the birthing center. Mason and I were both doing great! Mason ripped his umbilical cord out when he was 5 days old! It was scary, but he was fine. We had some newborn pictures taken and I love them! Here's a link to Tristin's website with his pictures.

We had some latch issues to work on and one of the midwives at the birthing center recommended trying a chiropractor. Mason had a high bite and his chin was set kind of far back and she was able to help us out SO much! Once we got the latch issues taken care of, breastfeeding has gone pretty smoothly.

Later in the week, we had Mason's first appointment with the pediatrician. That also went well.

On his way to the pediatrician. He was 4 days old here.

Here are some of my favorite newborn pictures

Week 2

We started getting out a little during Mason's 2nd week. We had a 2 week appointment with his pediatrician. Since it's right across the street from a shopping center, we decided to grab Chic-Fil-A for breakfast and stop to pick up some clothes for me. I didn't plan postpartum clothing as well as I thought I had!

First walk in the neighborhood

Mason had his first real bath this week!

Pre-bath...not so sure about this...

 Post bath. He did great!

Week 3
We continued to get out a little during Mason's 3rd week. When he turned 3 weeks, we celebrated by going to Lake Johnson for a walk and getting ice cream.

Milk coma

Daddy with his mini-me


Mason's first trip to NC State (outside my belly) and Bailey's first trip back since she was just a puppy!

Week 4
Week 4 was daddy's last week at home. We tried to make the most out of it, but we also relaxed a lot. We went to the beach for the day during this last week. We stopped by Ferguson's in St. Pauls on the way so we could get some food and Mason could meet some old friends. Mason did great on the ride to the beach and didn't get fussy unless he had a dirty diaper or got hungry. We went to Carolina beach and walked on the boardwalk, relaxed on the swings a little and walked on the beach. Mason slept through all of this. We grabbed a late lunch/early dinner after this and Mason stayed awake to stare at the fans the whole time. On the way back from the beach, he was a little fussier. I think he was just tired of being in his car seat. He was also starting to get hungry before we made it home. We enjoyed ourselves, but we were exhausted!

We went to visit Josh's co-workers and go out to lunch with them later in the week. Mason was great and he enjoyed his first trip to Daddy's office!

Mason also started sleeping in his crib through the night this week!

 This little guy just melts my heart!

Mason's Nursery!

I never posted any pictures of Mason's nursery before he was born, so here goes!

We decided on a Winnie the Pooh theme for the nursery way early. I briefly considered getting the basics done in the nursery, but waiting until the baby arrived to actually decorate it. This was my way around not finding out what the baby was but still being able to get a gender specific nursery. lol. Pooh is gender neutral and it was Josh's first choice for a nursery regardless. When we bought our crib (I was only 14 weeks pregnant then!) that changed. I decided I wanted to have the nursery done before the baby came. So, Pooh it was!

 This is the view from the door. We will be adding one of Mason's newborn pictures to the left side of the window. 

 This is from behind the recliner. The print above the dresser/changing table is a Hundred Acre Wood print. I might add something small to either side of it, but I probably won't ever get around to it. Mason loves looking at this during his diaper changes! This is the decal I got for above the crib. it's perfect for the nursery!

This is from his laundry basket. The bookshelves are wall mounted spice racks from IKEA. The side table is made of 2 crates. We decided to get a recliner vs a glider after sitting in a bunch and I'm so glad. My milk flow is pretty heavy and reclining during feeding works out much better for us than if I have to sit upright. I keep a basket beside the recliner that has snacks, water, burp cloths, chapstick, and other things that I might need while I'm feeding Mason. This was a great tip from our breastfeeding class!

Mason is sleeping in his crib as of last week, so we're already using the nursery daily!