I need gloves too

As you can see in the photos below, we've had to put some gloves on Mason occasionally to keep him from scratching his face. Last night, while I was sleeping I woke myself up because I had actually scratched my own face. I thought it was just a dream when I woke up, but I had the scratch marks to prove it this morning. So, the only thing I can figure out is that I was dreaming about Mason scratching his face and subconsciously did it to myself. Or maybe this is a habit of mine and I passed it on to Mason. I don't remember any scratch marks on my face before though.

Mason's first Vacation

This past weekend we made a last minute decision to go up to the lake and stay for a couple of nights. I was a little nervous about going because I didn't even know where to begin with packing. I just threw everything into a laundry basket and off we went! We had a relaxing weekend and it was great for me to get out of the house and have a change of scenery for a bit. Mason did great. He likes the car and pretty much slept the whole way there and back. So far, he is a very sleepy baby. It is rare that we get to see his eyes so when he opens them I try to take a picture.

Mimi got him a radio flyer bike. He will like it once he grows into it.
Still sleeping
This is the kids rocker. He didn't like it very much but he will soon.
Daddy and Mason taking a nap on the hammock.




Mason's Aunt Amy came over yesterday to hang out with us. We had a great day, other than someone backed into my car in a parking lot. There wasn't much damage because the girl didn't hit me that hard. Even Mason slept through it. I think he could sleep through a tornado though..just like me. :) Before all that happened though,we had a great lunch at Meridees and then went to Starbucks. It's nice to get out of the house every once in a while and see the land of the living. :)

The Godparents

We aren't Catholic and never have been but Mason does have Godparents. I thought the traditional "Godfather" was most common in the Catholic church but I read online that it has expanded to the Christian faith as a whole. Here is a description online of the role of the Godparents.
The role of Godparent has become that of a "supporting friend" who assists the parents and takes a special interest in the child, but does not stand in for the parents or make up for any lacks in their care. Your chief responsibility is to support your godchild in living a Christian life in fellowship with the Church. You are promising to do all in your power to support him/her in his/her life in Christ."
In addition to these responsibilites, I think that the Godparents should also pay the college tuition for the child but there is plenty of time to talk about that. Below are some pictures of the "Godparents" in action.

The Godfather changing his first diaper...EVER!!!

I think they are ready for one of their own. :)

More Pics of Mason

Mason and Gran after his bath

Poppa and Mason

Mimi with Mason
The Godfather
bundled up at his first doctor's visit

He was actually yawning
What a face!!
My girls came over and made me dinner

One week old

Well Mason is officially one week old and I can hardly believe so much time has gone by. Things are starting to get easier with each day that passes. So many of you have called, emailed, and left messages and I so appreciate it. I am sorry, I haven't returned calls, I have been spending most of my time either catching up on sleep or getting to know Mason better. Please don't take it personally if I don't call you back. I promise I will try to make some time in the near future and hopefully by then my hormones will be back to normal as well. :) Our Sunday school class has been so awesome in providing us meals up until August so we are set for now. Eric has been posting most of the blogs but I just have to brag on what an amazing daddy he is. Up until Mason was 2 days old, he was a "diaper virgin." My sister-in-law, Brooke tried to get him to change her kids diapers but he said he wanted Mason's to be his first. Now he has changed about 40 diapers and he is a pro at it. Watching him take care of Mason has been so much fun. He is the definition of a "super-dad." (See burrito swaddle above) I am going to be so sad to see him go back to work next week. Thankfully, I have both sets of grandma's that will be here to help me. I will try to post more pictures (or have Eric do it) soon.

More Mason of course, what else do we have to talk about?

We left the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Mason loved his car seat and fell asleep right away. I brought him inside and he slept in the car seat for another hour or two. That afternoon was a breeze. I remember thinking that this baby thing is pretty easy. Then night came and it was terrible. Mason was like a machine needing to be constantly fueled and otherwise crying for more. I think we got one hour of sleep that night. Rachel says that around 3AM, I asked her "what were we thinking?" and we both laughed a little bit.

Fortunately, Rachel's mom came and helped us the next morning and allowed Rachel and I to sleep. Each night since then has been better and better. One of our friends gave us some good advice about getting his nights and days in order. They said to leave all the lights on during the day and talking at normal levels, even during his naps and always having the lights dim at night and talk in whispers. That seems to be working well so far. Last night, we got 7 or 8 hours of sleep (not consecutively, but almost as good).

Yesterday, my Mom came over and we cleaned the house while Rachel slept. Then, Mom watched Mason while Rachel and I went to Target. It was nice to get out of the house for a few minutes. Every day brings a new adventure. Who knows what will happen today...



Mason has to wear these gloves because he keeps scratching his face and eyelids.



He didn't care for his first bath that much, but he loved it when I rubbed the wash cloth on his head. Since then, I've found that he really likes to have his head rubbed.



This is how Mason was sleeping this morning. That looks like a happy baby.



Here he is in his bouncy seat for the first time. I honestly don't remember if this was a yawn or a wail, so we'll have to try it again and find out.


Lucy has been trying to steal some attention back from Mason.

Mason - Almost 3 (days)

My brother Adam saw Mason today for the first time since he was on a vacation in Florida. This is what Mason thought about him not being there when he was born.



I always heard that babies just eat and sleep, but that really sets up new parents for some stress. That is all they do, but there is a lot to do in order for them be able to eat and even go to sleep. Last night, we got Mason to go to sleep peacefully in his hospital crib on our own, so we were excited. Before, we could only get him to sleep by holding him. He likes for me to wrap him up in a double-decker burrito style like the photo at the bottom. That is not as easy as it looks, but I'm getting better. The nurses here at Williamson are incredible and love to teach. We'll recommend this hospital to everyone that is having a baby.


Here are some of Mason's stages right now...

Just got done feeding... mmmmm that was yummy.


Favorite place to take a quick nap before Dad grabs me to change my diaper.


And then burrito and bedtime (with a lot of fussing about a diaper change in between that Dad didn't have an extra hand to take photo)...

More Pictures

Here is Mason in the nursery before Rachel got to see him. He wanted to see his mommy!



There she is...


Grandparents...





Great Grandparents! This is my granddad, James Lackey Sr, below (My dad above is James Lackey Jr. or Jimmy). Granddad was in the hospital on the floor right above ours because he had a heart attack on Friday afternoon. He was well enough yesterday that they were able to take him down and let him see Mason in the nursery.

Mason James Lackey

Mason James Lackey arrived today. He weighed in at 7lbs 8oz. and 19.5'' in length. He is awesome. We arrived at the hospital this morning at about 1:30-2AM and were admitted quickly.



Everything was moving very fast all day and Rachel was fully dilated by around 10AM. But, for some reason Mason just didn't want to come out. They tried the forceps and the doctor pulled so hard, but he just wasn't budging. The OB told us later that Mason's head was just too big to come out naturally through Rachel. They had to change gears quickly and do a c-section because Mason's heart rate was dropping. It all went so fast and they rushed Rachel out of the delivery room and into surgery.

Finally, a nurse came in to tell me that both of them were fine and that Mason was being taken to the nursery and I could see him there. I went in and held him and rocked him for a little while before they had to start doing the tests and bathed him. Rachel came out about 45-60 minutes later and was very groggy. Mason wasn't ready yet, so I showed Rachel photos I took of him in the nursery.




Here are the grandparents. I took a photo of them from inside the nursery.


Rachel eventually got to meet her son. Here is a photo from when she was about to hold him for the first time.





More photos to come...

Rachel and I haven't slept in 32 hours now and they don't want Rachel to have any visitors today or tomorrow in order to help her rest and recover. We want everyone to see Mason, but we'll probably need to wait until we get home so we can catch up on sleep.