Hi there!
TA DA!!! Mason Merrill Summer is finally here! After about a day of laboring and in the end having to have a c-section, he's here and it is completely worth it! He weighed 9.35 pounds, 21 1/2 inches long, and is cute as a button. Bowen is the most supportive husband. He constantly stayed by my side throughout the whole ordeal! There's so much more to say but for now here are some pictures for your enjoyment!
...The following story was written after the above post, but I felt this was the right place to insert the story.
The story of Mason's birth
It's amazing what it takes to bring a life into this world and Mason was no exception! I had a standard text book pregnancy. At all of my appointments my midwife said everything looked good, my baby boy was healthy, and the due date was June 19th. Well, on June 19th I had my 40 week appointment and from the looks of everything it seemed little Mason just wasn't ready to come out just yet. A few tears rolled down my cheek. Maybe out of disappointment...or relief? What a BIG change this little guy was going to bring into the newly married lives of Bowen and I! There had been months of preparation, baby showers, reading parenting books, blogs, and magazines. The crib and carseat were ready and all of his clothes neatly folded in the dresser. All we needed was this little boy to arrive. But, I headed back home from that appointment to wait...and wait...and wait...
Luckily my Mom, Dad, Chellese, Margie, and Marley were all here so time passed pretty fast. On June 25, 2008 a week over due, I scheduled an appointment to be induced. I believed it was time to meet our little guy. So at 10 that morning we headed to the hospital. I was given the medicines need to start contractions and an IV to keep my fluids up. After a couple hours I still felt fine. Minor contractions had started but it was no big deal. I knew Bowen was getting hungry so I sent him out with Margie to take a break from the hospital and get some food and go hit some golfballs at the driving range (which was really close to the hospital just in case). Mom stayed with me and kept me company...thank goodness...because not too long after they left, the contractions kick in HARD! This was a pain unlike anything I had ever experienced! I knew my body was trying to get this little Mason out. After an hour or so of these ridiculous contractions Bowen still wasn't back so I called him, and called, and called...I think even Mom called too. Come to find out that after he left the hospital he forgot to turn up the volume on his phone. You should have seen the look on his face when he came running through the door to find me in the state I was! Priceless! It had only been about 2 hours since he'd left but to me it seemed like 2 days! No worries though, Mase still wasn't here. FINALLY after hours of those darn contractions I received an epidural. AMAZING!!! I felt 90% better and was finally able to rest a bit. By now it was well into the night and still no Mason. I was slowly progressing, so we kept on going. The next morning around 7:00 am, there was a slight change in Masons heartbeat. It was starting to slow just a little bit and so the nurses and doctors we a bit concerned. I still wasn't fully dilated and Mason was, well, just too big to push out. We gave it a couple more hours but it was no use. My body had stopped at 9cm and I was just too tired. So the Operating Room was prepped and I was taken in to have a C-Section.
I was completely numb from my ribs down. What a funny feeling...or non feeling! They draped the curtain so I couldn't see what was going on, and then Bowen joined me by my side. I was so scared but just having him there was all the comfort I needed! He held my hand and kissed my cheek and said everything was going to be okay; and I then knew it was. Luckily the Doctors had quite a sense of humor and that actually made it better too.
After only a few minutes Mason Merrill Summer was born!!! I could hear him cry as the nurses wiped him down and scored his APGAR. "Is everything okay", I asked. They swaddled him in a blanket, put a little hat on his little wrinkled head and let Bowen hold him. He brought him over to where I could see him, touch him, and fall even more in love with our new little boy. "We did it", I said, "He's finally here!" We were able to keep him with us while the doctors stitched me back up. Before everyone could come and see me I had to go to a recovery room to let the anesthesia wear off a bit. While I did that, Bowen took our precious little Mason to show our family who was anxiously waiting to see him.
As I lay there drifting in and out of sleep waiting for feeling to return to my feet, I thought about the past day of events. "Did I really just have a baby?!? Wow! I'm a mom! Bowen is dad!" About 2 hours of resting it was finally time for me to head to my room. I still wasn't able to walk..and they wouldn't have let me anyway. ha ha! Bowen rejoined me and so did some of the family. They brought Mason back in and I was finally able to hold him for the first time. I just wept with happiness! I was so excited to finally hold my beautiful baby boy!
Mason ended up loosing some weight and had a bit of jaundice so we had to stay and extra day (4 days total) and 4 days too long. All I wanted was to go home. Finally it was time! Bowen pulled the car around and a nurse wheeled Mason and I out to meet him. I couldn't believe how sore I was. But it didn't matter because Mason was here and healthy.
On our drive home Bowen put in the Treck cd Margie had bought us. There is a song called "I must have loved you before" on it. Both Bowen and I just started crying. We were so relieved to have this little boy safely with us. We knew Heavenly father had truly blessed us with this little spirit. We knew that we knew Mason before we came to this earth and that he had agreed to come down at that time and be with us. I'm so grateful for my precious little boy!
Ok, so Bowen decided it would be a good thing to give Mason some icecream. This was the end result... Look at those big innocent eyes! You know he's thinking, "I didn't do it"
Well, hello everyone!
Since we were all in Utah we decided to have Mason blessed. So on Sunday July 20th, 2008 Mason was blessed in my home ward in Delta Utah. He looked so cute in the blessing outfit his grandma and grandpa Brown bought him. To top it off he was swaddled in beautiful blue blanket Great Grandma Jones made for him. Afterwards we had a dinner a the Palomar. There he was able to meet everyone else from aunts and uncles to cousins and family friends. The next day Bowen had to fly home to San Diego. I guess someone in this family has to make a living :) He was so wonderful to keep on top of all the Casa Linda responsibilites along with working full time at the shipyard. I have such a wonderful husband.
Here's a picture of Bowen making his very yummy Jerk Chicken and Rice & Peas.
Back to the Utah trip. After Bowen left we had about 2 days to rest and catch up with friends and other family. The 24-26 was the Dwayne Bayles family reunion. Jerolynn was in charge this year and she did a fabulous job. We had sooo much fun riding four wheelers, taking the paddle boat out on the lake, laughing, and making fun crafts! Thanks Jer!
After that we just hung out for a couple days and recovered from all the traveling and adventures we'd been on the past 2 weeks. Finally it was time to go home to San Diego. I think both Mason and I were very ready to see Bowen. We missed him very much! It's soooo nice to be home! This is where we're supposed to be. Now we're just trying to figure out some sort of a routine. For now...
Lots of love,
The Summers
Oh yes, while Mason and I were gone, Bowen neglected his military neatness. When we got back he was a long haired, bearded heathen. Well, after some encouragement this was the end result...Reno cops 911...ha ha ha!
Ok, not really the end result. But I had you going!!!
