Introducing the newest member of our family...
Mason Graham Hill
April 29, 2016
4:48am
7lbs 9oz
19.5"
This sweet boy surprised us by coming three weeks early! The Lord's timing is oh so perfect, though! Here is his birth story...
I had been having contractions for a few weeks and was walking around at 3cm and 50% effaced so although I knew Mason could come at any time, I didn't think he would come any earlier than one week before his due date, which was May 9. With Graham's family living in Oklahoma, it is always hard not knowing if they will be here when our babies are born and although I could schedule an induction and know for sure, I just really like going into labor naturally. Graham's mom, my sweet mother in law, was diagnosed with brain cancer...the worst kind you can have...back in October. To be honest, it was questionable if she would make it to meet Mason at all, but she really wanted to actually be here when he was born more than anything - she said that desire was what got her through so many hard days of treatment! Well, Graham's cousin was getting married on May 1, so his mom, stepdad, grandmother and brother came in town on Thursday, April 28 to stay with us and be a part of the wedding festivities. They never make the whole drive in one day - they always split it up into two, but they had been confused about when they were coming so when they realized they were supposed to be here Thursday they drove all 12 hours in one day! They got in late Thursday night and after sitting around our den for a while and talking, we all decided to go to bed. At midnight, right after Graham and I were settled in bed, I had this strange feeling - it wasn't a contraction but just a dull small pain - and then it happened...my water broke! I've always wondered if you would be able to tell when your water breaks and everyone says you will know...well, without going into detail on here just trust me...I knew!! There was no denying what was going on! Graham and I jumped out of bed, called the dr, threw our stuff together (thankfully I had already packed Mason's bag and most of my stuff), and Graham was able to go downstairs and tell his mom and stepdad that we were headed to the hospital! I cannot express how much Mary wanted to be here for the birth, so we were all shaking our heads at the Lord's perfect timing in bringing her here in time for Mason to come!! I called mom and dad, and then called Mel to come stay at my house so that she could be here when Watson and Emma woke up. It was my first delivery without her there which made me sad, but I knew that I needed her to be with my other kids and I was so thankful that she understood that and hopped in her car to come over. In triage - they said they needed to make sure that my water had actually broken... I assured them this was not up for question!
This sweet boy surprised us by coming three weeks early! The Lord's timing is oh so perfect, though! Here is his birth story...
I had been having contractions for a few weeks and was walking around at 3cm and 50% effaced so although I knew Mason could come at any time, I didn't think he would come any earlier than one week before his due date, which was May 9. With Graham's family living in Oklahoma, it is always hard not knowing if they will be here when our babies are born and although I could schedule an induction and know for sure, I just really like going into labor naturally. Graham's mom, my sweet mother in law, was diagnosed with brain cancer...the worst kind you can have...back in October. To be honest, it was questionable if she would make it to meet Mason at all, but she really wanted to actually be here when he was born more than anything - she said that desire was what got her through so many hard days of treatment! Well, Graham's cousin was getting married on May 1, so his mom, stepdad, grandmother and brother came in town on Thursday, April 28 to stay with us and be a part of the wedding festivities. They never make the whole drive in one day - they always split it up into two, but they had been confused about when they were coming so when they realized they were supposed to be here Thursday they drove all 12 hours in one day! They got in late Thursday night and after sitting around our den for a while and talking, we all decided to go to bed. At midnight, right after Graham and I were settled in bed, I had this strange feeling - it wasn't a contraction but just a dull small pain - and then it happened...my water broke! I've always wondered if you would be able to tell when your water breaks and everyone says you will know...well, without going into detail on here just trust me...I knew!! There was no denying what was going on! Graham and I jumped out of bed, called the dr, threw our stuff together (thankfully I had already packed Mason's bag and most of my stuff), and Graham was able to go downstairs and tell his mom and stepdad that we were headed to the hospital! I cannot express how much Mary wanted to be here for the birth, so we were all shaking our heads at the Lord's perfect timing in bringing her here in time for Mason to come!! I called mom and dad, and then called Mel to come stay at my house so that she could be here when Watson and Emma woke up. It was my first delivery without her there which made me sad, but I knew that I needed her to be with my other kids and I was so thankful that she understood that and hopped in her car to come over. In triage - they said they needed to make sure that my water had actually broken... I assured them this was not up for question!
I post this picture not because it is something I want everyone to see
(clearly) but because it is a big part of my labor story and I want it
to be documented when I print this for the baby book! So as soon as I
go into labor I progress very quickly. This happened with Watson and
Emma, and I was certain that it would happen with Mason as well! Once I
had been moved to a delivery room the nurses got me all set up and said
they suspected the baby would be here by lunch time the next day. I
told them that I HIGHLY doubted I would be in labor that long but I'm
sure they thought I had no idea what I was talking about :) Well
shortly after that my contractions started increasing...drastically. I
have never in my life experienced pain like this! I was incredibly
nauseous and was certain that I was about to pass out. I never felt
like this with my other two - probably because I got an epidural
practically right when I got to the hospital with them. I kept asking
the nurses to check me because my contractions felt so strong I was sure
I had progressed...a lot. They kept saying they wanted to wait a
little longer to check me... So this continued with me literally yelling
out in pain. I started shaking really bad at one point and the nurse
said, "Oh, you must be in ___ stage of labor (I don't remember what it's
called). This means you are between 7-10 cm dilated!" I was
practically begging for my epidural at this point so they finally
checked me and I was 7cm dilated and completely effaced... They then had
to call my dr, we had to wait for her to get to the hospital to order
the epidural, and then wait for the anesthesiologist to come give it to
me. I was scared to death I was going to miss the window to get the
epidural but they assured me I would be able to get it..even if it was
right before the baby was born. Which is what happened. I finally got
the epidural and sweet Mason was born about 30 minutes later! Looking
back I wonder if I could have just gone on and delivered naturally, but
in the moment I would have done ANYTHING to get that epidural in me!
This sweet baby was worth every second of every contraction! It was love at first sight! I got to hold him for about 20 minutes before they cleaned him or anything - it was the sweetest time. I was so incredibly weak from the previous four hours that I was afraid I was going to drop him, but I wouldn't trade that time for anything. It was funny because I couldn't see his face since he was so snuggled in so Graham was having to show me pictures from his phone of what his sweet face looked like while I was holding him!
So thankful it worked out for Mary to be there when Mason was born.
Mason meeting 'Melly' for the first time!
Manna and Mason - my mom is truly the best! I cannot imagine going
through the first few weeks with a newborn without my mom there to help!
Watson and Emma were SO excited to meet Mason! Again, the Lord's timing
is so perfect - Graham's family was in town and was able to take care
of these two and help them understand what was going on! They were so,
so, so excited to meet Mason!
Uncle Alan and Mason - Watson and Emma LOVE their Uncle Alan...I look forward to watching Mason's relationship with him grow!
Hink and Mason
CarCar and her fourth great-grandchild. My kids are so fortunate to have met and have a relationship with their great grandmother!
My sweet parents with their fifth grandchild - I think my dad would be
a-okay if the number of grandchildren continued to grow :)
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