Mason 4 months

Mason Alan you are 4 months old!

What have you been up to this past month??

Can somebody please just slow time down, because it feels as if the days and months are just flying by! You are growing up before my eyes. It's hard to believe how quickly you change from the newborn stage to the happy, lively baby stage. You are such a blessing to our family Mason Alan!

Mason, you are such an easy, happy baby! You love to snuggle and fall asleep on someone's chest, but you are just as content to be swaddled and layed down. You are happy laying on the floor, in the bouncy seat, on your activity mat, in your Johnny jumper or nestled up in our arms. You love to be talked to, kissed and loved on, even by two toddlers who don't understand the concept of personal space, who like to pick your nose and kiss you just a little too hard. You take good naps and sleep through the night, in the car seat, on the couch, in your bassinet or any other random place you might end up sleeping. You love to nurse, but take a bottle like a champ.

Weight: 15 pounds 1 ounce (39th percentile)

Height: 24.5 inches (18th percentile)

Head circumference: 17 inches (91st percentile)

You are wearing size 6-9 month clothes. You are still in size 1 diapers, but could really use size 2. I'm determined to get through my supply of size 1 diapers if possible.

You nurse about every 3-4 hours. You take 3-4 naps a day. You sleep at night from 7:30-6:30. You sleep swaddled in a sleep sack. You still sleep in the bassinet in our room. I keep saying it, but soon I will move you to your crib in Matthew's room.

Just like your bro bro and sissy were at this age, you are a bald little dude!

You love your Banna, and she thinks you are a pretty special little guy. Because you are so easy and love to just be held, you usually spend one morning a week with her while Mommy, Matthew and Mollie run errands or do something special.

You found your hands! They are ALWAYS in your mouth.

You are starting to bat at, reach for, and play with toys.

You sat in your high chair at the table with us for the first time. You'll be starting solids soon!

You also played in your jumperoo for the first time. You got tired after about 10 minutes but loved looking around and playing with your brother and sister.

You are laughing! We still have to do a bit of work to hear them, but it's pretty much the most adorable thing ever.

You love to coo and smile!

You don't really like being in the swing, but love riding in the stroller.

You love your boo boo and bath time is always a hit!

Mason Alan God knew exactly what our family needed when He created you! Never forget that you are perfectly made by Him and loved beyond measure! We love you to pieces!

 

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Mason 3 months

Mason Alan you are 3 months old!

It's hard to remember what life was like without you in it! Our family of five feels cozy (I should add crazy and chaotic at times, thanks to our busy 2 and 3 year old!), but it feels just right with you in the mix of it all!

What have you been up to this past month?

You still wear size 1 diapers, but not for much longer. I should move you to size 2, but I just got a delivery of size 1 diapers, and my thrifty ways are determined to use them all!

You wear some 3 month clothes, but for the most part have moved up to 6 months, especially in shirts and sleepers.

You are my little chunk! I don't know how much you weigh, but you are my chunkiest baby!

We went on our first family vacation with you to Seabrook. You spent the week being snuggled by Banna, while Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa and Gabby chased around your brother and sister. We had such a memorable week!

Nursing is going great. You nurse about every 3 hours during the day.

Our biggest victory of the month is that you are now officially sleeping through the night! Your last feeding is about 8 or 8:30, we swaddle you, lay you down, and you sleep until about 6:30!

You are still sleeping in the bassinet in our room. Why change a good thing when you are sleeping so well? To be honest, moving you out of our room means moving you into Mollie or Matthew's room and I'm just not ready to deal with that yet.

You played in your jumperoo for the first time. You lasted for about 5 minutes before your neck got tired!

You like being outside.

You like to watch TV with your brother and sissy. You are fascinated with the lights and sounds.

You love laying on your activity mat. You look at all the toys, colors and lights but you don't reach for them yet.

You found your fists and LOVE to suck on them.

You are a paci baby.

You love for someone to sing to you.

Tummy time is starting to become more productive. You will last for about 10 minutes, look all around, and then contently lay your head down. My chill little man!

You have such a relaxed and content personality.

I almost have to get you upset so that you will use your legs and stand. You are perfectly happy being held and cuddled.

You smile all.the.time! Such a happy baby! No giggles yet, but you are close.

You love your brother and sissy. You are constantly smiling at them. Bless your little heart, you put up with so much from them as well. You get lots of pokes, over zealous cuddles, and toys shoved in your face. Mollie loves to pick your nose. I can't believe how many times a day I say "Mollie please don't pick your brothers nose."

You love to be talked to. You hold eye contact, coo and smile back at anyone who sits and talks to you. It's pretty much my favorite thing to do.

You prefer the bouncy seat more then your swing.

We love you so much baby boy. Mason Alan, you make our days sweeter and our hearts fuller!

 

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Mason 2 months

Mason Alan you are 2 months old!

What have you been up to this past month?

You are a growin' boy, and are starting to become quite the handsome little chunk!

Weight: 11 pounds 14 ounces (36th percentile)

Height: 22.5 inches (24th percentile)

Head circumference: 15.9 inches (86th percentile)

You wear size 1 diapers and 3 month clothes. I always get a little sentimental when I have to put the newborn clothes away.

We are absolutely smitten with your laid back personality and the sweet little noises you make.

You’ve even started to smile at us when we talk to you. It melts my heart each and every time.

Things are much different with three, but we’re all adjusting quite well. It takes a lot more effort to leave the house, and much more time and planning ahead on my part, but we always make it happen. Thankfully you sleep great in your car seat and make being out and about easy.

You celebrated your first Fourth of July. You slept through all the fireworks. You also met your Uncle Adam, Aunt Willow and cousin Sophie for the first time.

You love to be carried in the Ergo. I love the extra snuggles. You fall asleep every time you are in it.

You are such a content little baby. It's just what we needed with a busy brother and sister. We are always on the go, toting you around from place to place!

Nursing continues to go well. You are exclusively breastfed. You still nurse every 3 hours during the day. You still wake up once a night. I nurse you at 10pm, you wake up between 3-4:30 to nurse, and then go right back to sleep until about 7am.

You sleep in a bassinet in our room. I love having you close by!

Your awake time during the day is starting to stretch out and become a little longer. You will have about an hour of awake time in the morning as well as in the evening before bedtime. Other then that, you are awake for about 15 minutes at a time during the afternoon, which is when you are the sleepiest.

Your head control is getting better and you continue to get stronger each day. You enjoy a little tummy time, but most of the time you just lay your head down and go to sleep.

No more morning stuffiness! One day you woke up with no stuffy nose and it has been clear since.

You have blueish grey eyes.

You had your first shower and loved it. Lots of times it just seems easier to take you into the shower with me instead of giving you a bath.

You are such a happy, easy, quiet baby. I couldn't ask for a sweeter little guy.

We love you so much Mason Alan!

 

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Mollie Lynn 25 & 26 months

Mollie Lynn 25 & 26 months

What have you been up to these past couple months?

You wear size 2T clothes and size 4 diapers.

I've introduced the idea of potty training to you, but you just have no interest in it right now. We'll wait a bit longer and try again. You are showing all the signs that you are ready to potty train, you are just resistent to actually sitting on the potty.

We are right in the middle of Daddy's baseball season, which means we spend lots of our afternoons at his baseball games. You love it. You run around with bro bro, ride bikes, play with your toys, eat snacks talk to other parents, and wear your pregnant mama out! Your favorite part is running around the field after the game!

You love baby dolls. You are always carrying around a baby doll with you. For quite awhile, your favorite doll was Mommy's old cabbage patch doll that I played with as a little girl. Now you have a new favorite, but it was special to me! You are always asking for your baby to be wrapped up in a blanket, to put a diaper on the baby, or for "just oooonnnneee wipe" so you can wipe your baby's bum. Too cute!

You have officially adopted a purple blanket from Gabby's house as your new favorite blanket. You ask for it every nap time and at bedtime.

You love milk. It's your go to thing that you ask for when you are upset or need to be calmed down. "I want my milky!!" Don't worry, you aren't that lucky and get it whenever you want, but you do try really hard! Your kitty cup that Gabby bought you is your favorite.

Our most exciting news is that you became a BIG SISTER!! You love and adore your baby brother....sometimes a little too much! You have adjusted wonderfully and have taken almost all parts of becoming a big sissy great. You are incredibly jealous and protective of any time that Gabby spends holding Mason. Anyone else can hold Mason, but when it comes to Gabby, you will cry and yell for her to "put Mason down, Gabby!"

You are Miss Independent and have learned to put your shoes and socks on by yourself. You insist on doing this by yourself, regardless of how long it takes or how much of a hurry we are in.

You usually sleep in until 7 or 7:30. Your naps and bedtime are still the same, except some nights you will be in your bed signing or tapping your feet happily on the wall for awhile before falling asleep.

You are a Daddy's girl. You always want Daddy to get your milk, put you to bed, pick you up, the list goes on and on. Daddy is officially on summer vacation, so you are soaking up the extra time and attention you get from him.

You have such a silly personality. You are always making us laugh. You talk all.the.time! You are very shy at church and around people you don't know very well.

You have a very tender heart. You love to cuddle, and give big hugs and kisses.

We love you so much Sissy girl!

 

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Mason 1 month

Mason Alan you are one month old!

What have you been up to this past month?

Mason, I can’t believe you are one month old! In some ways it feels as if this past month has flown by, but in other ways it seems like you’ve been a part of our family for much longer!

You came into this world 3 weeks early, and I think that you thought so too because for almost the first month of your life you literally did nothing but eat, sleep and poop. Don't get me wrong, you are absolutely the sweetest and easiest baby I have had, but I don't think you wanted much to do with this outside world yet.

Besides nursing, you slept your entire first 3 weeks. Some days I felt like you only opened your eyes but for a few minutes, and heard maybe a few whimpers out of you! The nurses and doctors at the hospital said to expect a sleepier then normal baby until you were about 40 weeks gestation and they were completely right!

You love to sleep on our chests. But in all reality, you are so relaxed and will fall asleep anywhere and in any position.

You sleep swaddled at night. During the day you usually sleep unswaddled.

You wear newborn size clothes and diapers.

The doctor wanted to watch you pretty closely for any signs of jaundice since both Matthew and Mollie had it as newborns. We had a couple of doctor visits to check your bili levels, but your bili levels were always low!

You poop all the time. I don't think I've yet to change a diaper without poop!

You hardly ever cry or make noise for that matter!

You have a really stuffy nose. Like seriously stuffy in the morning, and sounds like a little pig throughout the day. Your doctor says it is something you will grow out of as your nasal passages grow.

You just lay your head down and fall asleep every time we put you on your tummy.

You nurse every 3 hours during the day. I'm amazed, but since the very first night we brought you home, you only wake up once a night to nurse. I feed you at 11pm, you wake up about 3:30, nurse and go right back to sleep until 6:30 or 7. I'm so thankful that you are letting your mama sleep since your brother and sister are up early and rearing to go for the day!

You are a great nurser. You are also a very noisy nurser. I fed you in bible study one week and I didn't realize how loud you are and how many noises you make until I was sitting in a quiet room full of people!

You had your first bath at about one week old. Go figure, you slept through your bath, made a few grunts and never opened your eyes.

You are loved and kissed on all.the.time by a big brother and sissy who think you are pretty awesome. Thankfully you are so sleepy that all their kisses don't bother you,

You don't have very good head control.

You absolutely love to cuddle!

We have been blessed to have so much help as we transitioned to our family of five! Daddy was home for the first week after you were born. Gabby took the next week off of work, and Banna came over almost every day for the next two weeks until Daddy was out of school for the summer.

You love your paci. Banna gave it to you one day while I was at the park with Matthew and Mollie. You have loved it ever since!

We call you "Mase Mase", "Bubba", and "Buddy".

At about 3 weeks old, you are in the routine of eat, wake, then sleep. You now have two longer awake periods of about 45 minutes in the morning and evening. You only have about 10 minutes of awake time during the day in between your feedings.

You get the prize for my easiest, most content baby! Congrats Mason. Literally, you eat, sleep and poop. Just a little bump on a log that we all love to pieces!!

God knew what our busy family needed when He gave us you!

 

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Mason Alan

We were so excited when we found out that we were expecting baby #3! We told our parents and siblings very early on in my pregnancy (about 5 weeks). Good thing, because I felt by 6 weeks I was already starting to show! I guess that's what happens when you have three pregnancies in three years! We waited a couple weeks before telling anyone else, and once I had my first ultrasound at about 9 weeks, we shared the good news with all our friends and family. Having two kids so young, and being pregnant with number three, I got a lot of mixed responses to me being pregnant again. It was either pure excitement for this new little blessing, people thinking I was absolutely crazy for doing this again or purely not surprised seeing as how I'd either been pregnant or nursing for basically three years prior! Either way, we were beyond excited for God's miracle and this new little addition to our family.

Thankfully I never experienced nausea during my pregnancy but man was I tired. Some days all I lived for was nap time and bedtime for my kids and myself! I also had horrible back and pelvic pain especially during my first and third trimester. This was by far my most painful and uncomfortable pregnancy, Needless to say, by the time my due date drew near, I was so ready to finally meet this baby. When we found out we were pregnant, we knew from the very beginning that we were not going to find out the gender of this baby. I think that made the arrival of Mason Alan much more special and anticipated.

My due date was June 9th, but I just knew that I wasn't going to carry until then. I had Matthew on my due date and Mollie 10 days early, so I figured that we would meet this little one a tad earlier. On Sunday May 18th, at exactly 37 weeks pregnant, I was up in my room getting ready to go to evening church at 4:00 pm when I thought my water might have broken. I didn't experience the typical gush like I did with Mollie, but I just noticed a slow trickle and some had some intense contractions. After waiting about 20 minutes, I knew for sure that my water had indeed broken and it was time to get things ready. We called my parents, who quickly came over to our house.

(Our last picture as a family of four, just before heading to the hospital)

I scurried around and finished packing bags for Matthew and Mollie to spend the night at Miss Jen's house, one of my dearest friends. This was the first time that Matthew and Mollie had ever spent the night anywhere else but Gabby and Grandpa's house. I knew that Jen would smother them with love and my kids were so excited to have a sleep over with Grace and Faith, that it put my Mommy anxiety to rest. My parents took Matthew and Mollie up to church where Jen took them for the night, and then my parents met us at the hospital.

After my kids were gone, I showered and packed my hospital bag (I know, total third time mom thing to do....wait until the very last minute to pack bags!). I did have a hospital bag already packed for baby. By this time I wasn't having regular contractions, but was still leaking fluid, so Matt and I took a few minutes to pick up the house and stop by the store for some drinks and snacks. On the way to the hospital was also confirmed our baby names for both a boy and a girl, since we weren't completely decided on either!

I arrived at the hospital about 6:30pm, they checked me into my room, hooked me up to the monitor and I changed into a hospital gown. Being my third pregnancy, and the fact that I was dilated to 3cm at my appointment the week before, I was expecting for labor to progress quickly and we would have our baby before midnight. I was so wrong!

For the next few hours I walked the hospital hallways, bounced on the labor ball, and laughed and enjoyed the evening with Matt and my mom and dad.

I had a few irregular contractions, but nothing regular and nothing that was painful. My contractions eventually stopped.all.together. Seriously??? So here it was, almost 11pm, my water was broken, I was not in labor, I was 4cm dilated, baby was high and not engaged in my pelvis. My doctor said I could wait until morning, hoping that labor would start on its own, but by then baby would be at increased risk of infection due to my water being broken, or we could start Pitocin. Initially I was very opposed to using Pitocin. I wanted a natural, drug free labor like I had with my other kids. Thankfully I had an amazing nurse, who answered all my questions and eased at least some of my fears about inducing labor with Pitocin. I finally decided to start Pitocin about midnight.

My contractions started to pick up, and oh my goodness, Pitocin contractions are no joke....they hurt! I've been through a natural labor where my water was not broken, I've been through a natural labor where my water was broken the entire time, and labor augmented with Pitocin is by far the most painful. I was exhausted at this point, but was most comfortable being out of bed, walking the hallways, and bouncing on the labor ball. After 4 hours of hard, painful back labor, I had only progressed half of a centimeter. I was so frustrated and was ready to give up and get an epidural, because at that point I felt like labor was never going to end. My nurse was such an encouragement to me and kept telling me that once we got baby into the right position, she was confident that I would progress fast. We tried different labor positions, in bed, out of bed, walking, bouncing, you name it I tried it!

Thankfully, things started to pick up and a little after 7am I was 9cm. Shift change was starting and I met my new nurse who was coming on. I felt like I finally had to push, so my new nurse checked me and I was still 9cm dilated. I continued to feel the urge to push, but I refused to be checked again and have someone tell me to labor a little longer. So I got out of bed and suffered through a few more contractions, trying to forget about the fact that I felt the need to push. My new nurse was slowly starting to set the room up for delivery. At 7:36am my night nurse walked through the door to check in one last time, with the delivering doctor behind her, and I immediately told her I had to push....like now! She rushed over to the bed and literally as I got into bed, she reached under my gown and caught baby! No pushing, completely self delivered. Nothing was set up, no doctor, nothing! My nurse immediately put baby up on my chest and all I remember is Matt saying "It's a boy!" The excitement of that moment made it 100% worth not finding out the gender of our baby.

Mason Alan Stevens

Born Monday May 19th, 2014 at 7:37am

7 pounds 8 ounces

20 1/4 inches long

I had so many thoughts going through my mind...feeling pure joy that our baby boy had arrived safely, laughter, so thankful that labor was finally over, and utter disbelief that I had just delivered a baby within the blink of an eye! I savored the next hour of baby staying on my chest, nursing and bonding with my new baby boy! Instant love at first sight.

A proud Daddy!

A blessed Grandpa and Gabby! After snuggling baby Mason for a bit, they headed home after a long night to get some sleep before two other little munchkins joined them later in the day!

So quiet and content during his first bath.

Papa meeting Mason!

Happy Grandma!

Mason passed his hearing test and rocked the ear phones

Matt and I enjoyed a quiet, restful morning and early afternoon with Mason.

Later that afternoon, Grandpa and Gabby returned with a big brother and big sissy who were eager to meet their little baby brother! I was blown away with how much they instantly loved Mason and were so interested in holding him and loving on him. Matthew would hold him for a minute or so and then say, "You can hold him now." They both were thrilled about the baby doll, remote control car, books and treat that Mason gave them!

After a wonderful visit from our kiddos, we said goodbye and enjoyed a quiet evening with some visits from our friends and family.

I love the rest and special time I get with my husband and baby while being in the hospital, but by the next morning I was so ready to sleep in my own bed, see my kids and start this new adventure as a family of 5!

"Behold children are a heritage from The Lord" Psalm 127:3

We are so blessed!

 

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Mollie 2 years old

Mollie Lynn you are 2 years old!

Happy Birthday to our sweet and sassy little 2 year old. Mollie Lynn, these past two years seem like they have flown by. I still vividly remember the first time I laid eyes on your big beautiful eyes just after you were born. My heart immediately swelled and I knew the special love a mommy has for her daughter. Although there are days where I feel knee deep into the terrible twos, my love for you grows every day. You bring so much life and spunk into our family and we are so blessed to call you ours!

What have you been up to lately?

Weight: 27 pounds (50th percentile)

Height: 35 inches (88th percentile)

Head circumference: 19.5 inches (91st percentile)

You wear 18 month-2t pants and tops, depending on the fit and brand. You are also wearing some 6-9 month pants as capris. You have a skinny little waist! You wear size 4 diapers.

Sleep hasn't changed all that much, other then the fact that you have been waking up early. You usually sleep from 7:30pm-6 or 6:30am. I'm hoping you will start to sleep in a little later! We've also found that it doesn't matter when we put you to sleep, you are still up early. With an early wake up time you are exhausted by nap time and will take a 2-3 hour afternoon nap. If you skip a nap, you are absolutely exhausted and usually asleep on the couch at 5:30!

You usually wake up in the morning incredibly happy. You grab your baby or whatever toy you took to bed with you, turn off your noise machine and walk out of your room. If we are still sleeping, you immediately walk into our room to wake us up and say "Hi Daddy! Hi Mommy!" Morning snuggles in bed are my favorite.

You are a dairy lover. You would drink milk all day long if you could. You also love yogurt, cheese, ice cream, frozen blueberries and pretzels. Some days you are a great eater, and other days it seems like you don't have much of an appetite and just pick at your food throughout the day.

There are only a very small handful of people that you let see your true personality. You talk ALL.THE.TIME. and in full sentences at home and around a few other people. However, at church and around most people, you are very quiet, barely talk, and just bat your big, beautiful eyes at everyone.

We have been working on first time obedience, so sometimes Mommy will say "Mollie Lynn you need to come here right now." Lately, when you want your milk you will demand, "I want my milk, right now!!" Whoops, maybe I need to work on phrasing my commands a little differently.

You moved up to the 2-3 year old class at church, which is the same one that bro bro is in. You love going to class and are always talking about and naming your friends at church.

We had our first Mommy/Daughter date at the nail salon. We both got our toenails painted and you loved it! You picked out a hot pink color and sat so still while you had your toes done. So fun!!

You love to play with your baby dolls. Your favorite doll right now is my old cabbage patch doll from when I was a little girl! You always want a specific baby blanket for your baby too. You put diapers on the. And change them when they "go poopy". You put them to bed in your new baby bed and you burp them when they cry. You are my little mommy's helper in the making!

You also love to kiss and snuggle real babies. You love your cousin Parker, but you always think that he needs his boo boo, and try to constantly stuff it in his mouth.

You are going to be a big sissy in about a month and a half! You kiss and tickle my big pregnant tummy all the time. I'm going to have to watch you closely though, because I think you are going to love your baby brother or sister just a little too much!

Your favorite song is Wheels on the Bus. You also like to sing the ABC's and Jesus Loves Me.

You count to 15, skipping a couple of numbers along the way.

When asked how old you are, you say "two" and hold up 2 fingers.

You like to play the I-pad. I'm amazed at how well you can navigate through it to find and play your favorite apps. You also love to look at pictures or watch our home videos.

Your favorite TV shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Ella the Elephant, and Little Einsteins. You are interested in the show for a few minutes, but that's about it!

You are our little helper, most of the time willing to clean up or go get something we need. You LOVE to sit up on the counter while I prepare meals, especially in the morning when we make Daddy's lunch. You are so proud to hand him the finished product!

You love to play Patty Cake, Row Row Row your Boat, and Ring around the Rosie.

You sing the song Old McDonald Had a Farm every time we pass a McDonalds restaurant.

You absolutely LOVE to read books.

We call you our little hoarder and our little bag lady. You are always putting trinkets or money in your pockets. You love to carry around bags, your Minnie backpack or your pink Halloween bucket and put toys, food, or really anything you can find in it. You take an armful of babies, books and blankets with you to bed every night and will not leave your room in the morning until you have everything stuffed back into your arms to carry downstairs.

You love your purple blanket.

You are 100% a Daddy's girl.

You dislike riding in the car or being in your carsest.

Mollie Lynn you have the most beautiful big blue eyes, one of the most infectious smilies around, and a sweet endearing personality. But my, oh my, you are going through the terrible twos early and things can change from sweet to all spice in a matter of seconds. You are Miss Independent and want to do EVERYTHING by yourself, from putting your pants, shoes and socks on, brushing your teeth, wrapping up your baby doll, getting a snack etc. If we say no to that, or are in a hurry and need to do it ourselves, you throw a screaming and crying fit, to which you find yourself in timeout often.

When you get upset, hurt or in a fight with your brother, you get mad and will throw anything that is in your path. We are working on self control!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sissy! We thank God for you every day!

 

 

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