mason's birth story

I was not planning on sharing this....no particular reason....just wasn't planning on it.
I've had quite a few people ask me about Mason's birth, though, and I like a good birth story as much as the next mama...so here ya go. :)
I had decided early on, that castor oil would be at the top of the list for getting this kiddo out if it got to be too late :) It worked like a charm with Adelyn, so why wouldn't it again? I had it planned out because my brother was home from the Navy until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so I decided that if all was going okay and I wasn't measuring small or anything, then I would take the castor oil sometime before Thanksgiving. Nick was out of town up until the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so I was going to wait until he was home.
Mason had dropped quite a bit 2 weeks before he was born...to the point where I was pretty darn sure he would come while Nick was out of town.
He didn't.
The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I was so uncomfortable and just ready for him to come out, that around 4pm, I finally took the castor oil...in a chocolate milkshake. WAY better than the OJ method I had done with Addy.
After that, I just did laundry and was cleaning and organizing...you know...typical burst of nesting energy. Around 7:30pm, I started noticing that my braxton hicks contractions were getting "tighter". Around 8pm, I was still debating whether they were braxton hicks. They weren't a few minutes apart...they were about every 30-60 seconds, but  I wasn't uncomfortable...finally around 10:30pm, I called my mom as an FYI, something is going on and we may have to bring Adelyn over.
I debated for a while whether to go in...then around 10:45pm, they started to hurt...they were still 30-60 seconds apart...we decided eventually to take Addy to Mom's and then go to the hospital. I think we got to the hospital around midnight.
By that point, they were HURTING. I was having back labor again (it sucks), and the contractions were still really close together...they monitored me for a while to see if I was in "true labor". I walked the halls (that didn't last long) and then sat in the jacuzzi tub (can I have one for my bedroom, please??) for almost a good hour. The contractions were still almost one on top of the other...I hadn't had more than a minute or so of a reprieve since 8pm. I was tired and basically bawling by the time they checked my cervix around 3am. They "confirmed" I was in true labor ( I coulda told you that!). I was begging for an epidural at this point. I think I finally got it around 5am. After that, everything was fine :)  I think I was able to get a little cat nap in...Nick got a little shut eye too....not much, though :)
Honestly, I don't remember what time I started pushing (maybe around 9:30am?), but his head was turned the wrong way, so we had to do some "maneuvering" to get him to turn :)
Mason had the wimpiest cry I had ever heard! During my OB rotations, I got to be in a few births and those kids had lungs! Adelyn had swallowed a bunch of fluid when she came out, so her cry wasn't the loudest...Mason's wasn't either....he still has a pretty wimpy cry even now :) Adelyn, on the other hand, is the master of loud.
Anyway...Mom brought Adelyn to the hospital around 1:30 pm to meet Mason. She kissed on him and wanted to hold him :) Then she was grumpy because it was after her nap time...
I didn't even think about getting a picture of them together at the hospital. Oops. :)
So that's about it. Nothing too exciting :) Below is a video of the wimpy cry I was telling you about :)



Holy puffy, batman. This is right before we woke up Addy to load her in the car.

sweet little man :)