Mason's Birthday Mason's Way

I went 8 days past my due date with Mason until there was any sign of labor. He was due February 6th. After going a week past my due date, the doctor scheduled an induction for February 17th but Mason decided he'd rather come on his own terms! 

On Valentine's Day, Ryan and I were cleaning around the house and installing a shelf in Mason's room. I started to feel contractions around 2 pm and we were at the hospital by 5 pm.

I had Braxton Hicks the last couple of months of my pregnancy but I knew these felt different!

My birth plan consisted of: get the baby out safely and keep me as comfortable as possible :)

I really never thought it would go the way it did. I always skipped over the c-section parts of the books, boards and blogs I read but it ended up being my path with Mason.

Photo Ryan took while waiting to go to the room for surgery

I knew I wanted an epidural as soon as I could have one. Little did I know that each epidural can be COMPLETELY different. The first one was great at first then it was only working on one side. When I complained about that one, the doctor said she would have to do a whole new needle to try to affect both sides. The second one was perfect! It lasted for hours on both sides then the doctor got stuck in a surgery and I felt everything for an hour and a half. By the time she got back to me to re-up the dose, she had to do a THIRD needle. She emphasized how rare that was and that's when I started to think c-section. I have never faced a medical challenge in my life but the way my body was handling the anesthesia was becoming a concern.

After 26 hours of labor, it was decided I had to have a c-section. I made no progress for the last 17 hours of labor, Mason wasn't as active as they wanted to see and his heart rate was fluctuating. 

I was begging them at that point for a c-section but I also cried like a baby when it became the official decision. My experience wasn't at all what I thought it would be but once I heard that first cry from Mason, I was over it!

Our guy was as healthy as could be at 10+ pounds! Ryan claims he was an even 10 because right after this picture, he went to the bathroom :)

I had my eyes closed during the entire prep for surgery. I HATE hospitals, needles, etc! Ryan wasn't allowed in until I was completely prepped so I was pretty much on my own as the doctors prepped me and chatted about their weekend. I had to keep my mind on the end goal and stay calm.

Ryan is so cute when he talks about this time with Mason. I was obviously a little bit busy so they handed Mason to him within minutes of him being born. He spent the first 20 minutes of his life with his dad. Pretty unexpected for both of us but pretty sweet.

Ryan sang "Good Morning Little Yellow Bird" to him which is a song his family has sung to one another for years. It was a nice little distraction for me at that moment too. He now sings that song to him every morning and Mason lights up every time.

Rolling me back to the room

Our sweet families waited patiently to meet our baby boy. Only the grandmas got to hold him that first night as the hospital was really emphasized skin to skin with mama.

Aunt Emmy, Nanaw and Aunt Amanda

Nana holding Mason for this first time.

Mason's Opa, Uncle Lan, Aunt Katie, cousin Emma, Uncle Kraig and Aunt Erin were all there too. They had actually just come from dinner during which is was revealed Lan and Katie are having a baby boy in July! It will be hard to top this day for this family!

Uncle K.C. came all the way from Columbus to visit in a snow storm. I was so exhausted, I feel asleep for part of his visit but my sweet brother hung out and spent some time with Ryan and Mason. K.C. is named after our dad, Kenneth Charles, and now Mason carries a little bit of his name too: Mason Kenneth Haas.

My amazing friend Abbi also came to meet Mason using her nurses pass on the snowy roads! She is also now expecting this Septemeber. It's so exciting to have all of these babies that will be close in age around us.

I have to brag on my husband. Although he was kind of stuck at the hospital with us (since he had torn his achilles a few weeks before and couldn't drive), he took off work and was by our sides the entire time. I couldn't really lift Mason out of his little hospital crib so Ryan would get up, velcro his boot on and change diapers or hand him to me when he was hungry. It was so nice having this time as a new little family but we were both really ready to go home after days and nights of constant doctors and nurses in and out of our room.

After four nights in the hospital, we got to go home on Wednesday, February 18th. We waited to be discharged in the room for a while that day and snapped pictures of our three day old.

A Haas for sure

Ryan's dad and brother picked us up from the hospital that afternoon. When I got home, I took off my jacket and saw my IV still in my arm! Another awesome nurse friend, Danielle, came over to take it out so I didn't have to go back to the hospital. She also got some Mason time in :)

One week old Mason

 Once Mason was here, it made everything worth it.

Mason's Nursery

We are less than a month from meeting our baby boy, Mason! We just finished his nursery this weekend when Ryan picked up our fancy glider from Buy Buy Baby.

Crib from Buy Buy Baby
Plaques and letters from Michaels
Kamilla Glider from Buy Buy Baby
Dresser, changing table, and bookshelf all rehabbed pieces

 

 We are stocked up on diapers and wipes thanks to our baby showers and a deal at Target!

Cute boy clothes do exist...

We can not wait for Mason to get here. At the last appointment he was measuring two weeks ahead and the doctor guessed he was already 7 pounds!

Painting Cabinets = Worth It!

It has been a while since my last post but now you'll understand why...

In our latest attempt to sell one of the houses from our bachelor/bachelorette days, we did a major kitchen overhaul on Ryan's old house.  Although some might find these orange oak cabinets and blue countertops to be beautiful, we thought some might like a more neutral take on a kitchen.

Step 1: Remove all cabinet doors and place hardware inside of each cabinet.

Step 2: (No picture but highly recommended) Use painters tape to number cabinets from left to right. You can move it around on the door or drawer as you're painting.

Step 3: CLEAN areas to be painted including cabinet fronts, drawer fronts and doors. I have seen fancy cleaners advertised for this but we just 409'd the grime off of everything. Areas around the stove needed several wipe downs.

Step 4: Liquid sander on all areas to be painted to get rid of the shine and any left over grime. This stuff is easy to wipe on and then you get to walk away! Once it is dry you are set to start painting. No need to wipe everything down again.

Step 5: Prime everything with a white latex primer and dry

Step 6: Repeat step 5 :)

*Door recommendation: Paint on top of a piece of plywood. I tried the nail set up on top of the plywood but didn't find it to be worth that extra step. If I ever do this again, I will just lay it right on the plywood.

 

We took the doors to our house so we could put the multiple coats of primer and paint on them without going over to the bachelor house.

After one coat of primer

* A foam brush and foam roller were the best tools for this job. I recommend painting the crevices first with the foam brush then...

Paint the flat surfaces with the little foam roller and make sure everything is smooth.

Any flaws can be gently sanded down and touched up with paint later if needed.

Steps 7 & 8: Semi gloss paint coats

Steps 9-12: Flip doors and paint other side. Easy but time consuming and monotonous!

TOTAL COATS:

2 coats latex primer

2 coats latex semi gloss paint in color of your choice + touch up coat where necessary

BIG ADVICE: DO NOT STACK PAINTED DOORS ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER FOR TRANSPORT. They like each other too much and will end up taking paint off one another.

Although I don't want to look at white paint for a long time, these shots make it well worth the time!

 

New granite counters, sink and faucet!

+ a cute rug from TJMaxx, candle and soap dispenser which my husband rolled his eyes at but clearly make the kitchen.

SAAP Fosters

When Good Buddies dissolved last year, the volunteers from that group were on a hunt to find a group to donate our remaining funds and have as a back up for any returned dogs. They found the Stray Animal Adoption Program (SAAP)! When we were ready to foster again, we filled out our foster application with them and had our first guy, Balto, within a week.

I have been absolutely amazed by the number of people involved in this organization across the Greater Cincinnati area. The Facebook group for SAAP constantly has people posting about animals in need and more importantly, people swinging into action to help those animals. We are able to take a foster on whenever works for us. Here are our SAAP guys and girls so far:

Balto- This big sweetheart was returned to SAAP because his owner fell ill. He was adopted to his new forever home after being with us for almost two months. He lives in our area so I am always on the lookout for him on walks!

Woody- This gorgeous guy was with Owen County Friends of Animals for months. One of my sister's friends fostered him for the shelter during Christmas time. When we told SAAP we were ready for another foster, they brought Woody into the organization and we fostered him. My co-worker and her family had lost their beloved dog a few months before this and I overheard her talking about getting a new dog. I immediately took out my phone to show her pictures and videos of Woody and she was in love! We had Woody for 3 DAYS before he was adopted to his amazing new family.

(Naughty) Nadia- Our first female foster made her mark the first day! She was the sweetest thing with us but not at all interested in having our dogs around. The great thing about SAAP is their size, so when I knew Nadia wasn't a good fit for our pack, they found her a new foster. She was adopted out to her new foster's coworker within the same week!

Brutus- Oh Brutus! The final adoption event I took Brutus to began with me telling them, "He has to get adopted today!" I was absolutely in love with this big guy. After our experience with Nadia, I asked SAAP for a younger dog. Brutus was 4 months old and perfect for our pack! He was completely submissive to Sam, but would play really well with Coffee. He had to wear the "cone of shame" for the first few days because he wouldn't leave his neuter stitches alone. He was not a cone fan! He was adopted after a couple of weeks to a great couple with three other SAAP dogs and can be blamed for my new found interest in this age!

Bella Bee- She was a skinny mini when she came to us. She was absolutely terrified when I picked her up from the vet. We fattened her up and loved on her as much as we could before she was adopted at her very first adoption event! She was adopted out to a family who also adopted a slightly younger SAAP puppy at the same event.

Rocky- Our latest foster was a total puppy. I felt like a new mom with this guy, getting up every night between 2-3 AM for a potty break! He was also very submissive and believed he was a lap dog :) He was adopted out to a cute couple with 100 acres and a pond on their property. He will have the life!

Milo- We thought we'd foster for a few more months before Mason was born so we agreed to foster again in the fall of 2014. Little did we know, Milo would be with us for three months :) Milo was a good looking pup but his nickname was "Pee Pee McGee" because he would pee a little bit every time we got him out or pet him. Ryan loved that about him :) I felt like he was preparing me to clean up after someone else all the time aka Mason! Milo was adopted in December to a sweet couple who looked passed his puppy trait.