Mason is 7 weeks old today. Its amazing how time flies! I remember as a kid how I thought days lasted so long, especially in school, and a year seemed like an eternity. Now, I feel like I am always trying to hold on to moments to make the days and weeks and months longer. I can’t believe its been nearly a month since I posted. It feels like it was just last week. Its been that long too since I have taken any pictures of Mason….awful mother! I guess that’s what happens with your 3rd child. My friends warned me about this!
Since my last post, we had the rare occurrence of snow in Alabama. Abbey loved it! She couldn’t wait for it to fall and stick so she could build a snow man with daddy.
She decided to taste her snowman even though it was full of dirt and grass but she didn’t care!
Mason is still doing great…most of the time. He has his moments like any normal baby. I was enjoying the perfection of his first couple weeks. I really have nothing to complain about still. I was just so spoiled at the beginning when he was the text book baby. Now he cries occasionally for reasons I cannot figure out. He is trying to smile but his face just contorts into strange shapes. He is much more alert and enjoys watching the girls whiz back and forth around him.
Emma turned 15 months on Valentines Day. Wow is she different from Abbey! She walks around talking in her own little language all the time, hand motions and facial expressions included. I only wish I had some idea of what she is saying. Her temper tantrums are like nothing I have ever experienced. Its amazing how much energy can come out of that little body when she doesn’t get her way. It must be terribly frustrating to continually communicate your needs but no one gets it. She is so loving and cuddly though. She frequently stops during her day to kiss brother on the head in a long drawn out “mmmmmmmmmmmmmaw!” right on the head. She has also learned to say “cheese!” when a camera appears. Her chin titled forward and eyes squinty.
Emma is a great copy cat. I had no idea how much she was watching the rest of us until I see her mimicking all the same things. She especially loves to do anything Abbey does. Emma follows her around the house, taking cues on how to be a girly-girl, like putting lipstick on your cheek.
Abbey is 2 1/2 going on 13! She loves being a big sister and thinks its the coolest thing that she has a brother AND a sister. She loves being a good helper. We are practicing manners daily and she is so proud of herself when she remembers without being told. She has a “silly voice” she uses sometimes when she talks that makes me laugh. Her favorite thing to do is sing! I believe we have serious talent in our hands between her dancing and singing (of course I am bias). Watch out Hollywood! She will be starting preschool in the fall and can’t wait. I believe its going to be a long 6 months waiting for school to start since she is already talking about it. She wanted to go buy a new backpack this week. I assured her we had plenty of time to get things ready for school. She sings her alphabet and can recognize about half of the letters. She can count to ten and then it gets sketchy. A couple of her favorite book she can read from memory. Her favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins. She tells us that she is daddy’s ballerina and mommy’s princess. I love being home with all my kiddos and experiencing these precious years with them.
Well I guess that is a pretty thorough update for now. I hope another month doesn’t go by before I realize it again.
Well we have been home a week now and it has been wonderful! Clint had to go back to work on Monday so it was a quick transition from hospital, to home, to home alone with 3 kids. I was a bit nervous about it but everyone has adapted so well. Abbey has been a huge help and she loves being the big sister. Emma has been great too! I thought for sure she would show her little attitude once Mason was home with us but she is learning well how to be a big sister from her big sister. Mason is fabulous! He is sleeping for long stretches at night so we feel like we are getting enough rest. There were even a couple days that I was able to get all 3 kids to nap at the same time! Of course I spent that time sleeping also. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful and beautiful family!
Mason had his check up today and he is perfect! He was a little jaundice when we left the hospital but his levels are coming down. No more respiratory issues at all. He is eating well and sleeping well. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers over the last week. I guess being the 3rd child, Mason wanted to make a grand arrival with lots of commotion! He succeeded at that!
Sorry for the delay in updates. We came home Saturday afternoon and spent yesterday adjusting to our newest addition. Mason is doing really well. We go back to the doctor for a check up today. Abbey absolutely adores him! She doesn’t quite understand that she can’t share her meals with him or why he doesn’t walk and play. She would also prefer if he would finish a bottle in about 10 sec and eat every 30 minutes so she can feed him like her baby dolls! It has been such a joy watching her love on her brother. Emma is not as interested as I expected her to be. She will walk by occasionally and pat him on the head but that is about all the interaction she cares for. Mason has been sleeping really well which is a pure blessing to me! I feel great and am surviving my first day home alone with all 3 kids!
Mason continues to make great improvement! He is off the IV fluids and eating well still. If all his labs come back good in the morning we should be headed home around lunch time! It is looking promising that I will be able to stay with him tonight in the NICU which I am very excited about. I won’t be able to post again until we get home. Clint is returning home today to get the girls. Once we are home I will post pictures. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for all your prayers!
Well Mason has had a good day. He has eaten well three times now and his IV fluids were stopped but he will continue to get IV antibiotics. His breathing has been normal and he looks great! We were not able to talk to the doctor today so I am anxious to talk to him tomorrow to see what he has to say. I will be discharged in the morning and am hoping to be able to stay with Mason at the hospital tomorrow night. We thought Mason would be going home Saturday but it may be Sunday before he can leave. Please pray for me as my hormones are already out of whack and now there may be the possibility that Mason will have to stay a night in the hospital without me (or really I will have to stay a night away from him!) if he has to stay until Sunday. I am very thankful that he is doing so well. There are many babies in the NICU that have been there a while and will be there longer so I know how lucky we are to have a full term (mostly) healthy baby. I will let you know what we hear tomorrow. Thanks for all the prayers!
I just got back from visiting with our little boy. He looks wonderful and he sounds great! I really expect his labs to come back ok and for him to be able to go home either tomorrow night or Saturday. The neonatologist has not seen him yet today so I will let you know when I hear from him.
Several people have asked about visiting. We love visitors! Unfortunately you would just be coming to see Clint and I (c: because the NICU does not allow visitors but you are more than welcome to stop by. We are just hanging out, taking advantage of the down time to rest and recharge.
Hello Everyone!
I thought I would go ahead and send out a mass update on our newest arrival! Mason Becker Neville made his appearance yesterday, Jan 6th @ 10:52 am weighing in at 7 lbs 6 oz and measuring 19.5 in long. He is beautiful! Labor, delivery, and recovery went very well.
Following Mason’s birth he had some mild respiratory issues, thought to be due to the rapid delivery (once my baby’s start coming, they come fast!). When there isn’t much time in the birth canal, sometimes babies can have a little extra fluid in the lungs that just requires some extra time to absorb. The neonatologist suspects this is all that is going on, but because he can’t be sure, Mason was moved to the NICU for monitoring and IV antibiotics. He is doing well! We have been to visit a couple times and he looks great. His breathing has improved and hopefully today they will let him try to eat. Please keep Mason in your prayers as we wait for lab results and as he continues to make progress in the NICU.
The girls were able to come visit yesterday before he was moved to the NICU. Abbey is so excited that her baby brother is finally here! She held him and loved on him with so much excitement in her eyes! Emma was intrigued for a few moments but then quickly decided she needed to take control of the situation and proceeded to make herself the center of attention again!
Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers! I am going to try to keep updates posted to www.thenewestneville.com from here on out so you won’t be bombarded with emails or texts. Feel free to email, call, or text us…we love hearing from you!
Hugs!
Amanda
We recently had family pictures taken. The girls were so cooperative! We got some great pictures. Here are just a few…
Rachel Roll took the pictures. http://rlrphotography.blogspot.com/ We were lucky to find her through a friend at church. I think she did a fantastic job!
