The Keyes!: Welcome MASON VIBERT KEYES!

Kim has taken the kids raspberry picking a couple times and we are stocked up for now

Kim found this bug catcher at the dollar store and the kids have been loving catching bugs and putting them in

Lyza loves learning

Nixon likes to help me when I repair or build anything

What a special child. He looks like a future Olympian.

Kim got Lyza these sweet goggles. She looks awesome

She enjoyed sticking her face in the water and looking around

Because those goggle covered Lyza's nose she had an asthma flare up (it has been bad recently). We got the kids some regular goggles instead and they had to wear them once we got home from the store

This smart little guy discovered that he can put the pinwheel in front of the air conditioner

Nixon like playing in the sink

Kim was sure that she was going to have this baby early. She started having contractions weeks ago, but infrequently. This last Monday (the 27th) she started having some pretty serious contractions but spaced far apart (every 10-20 minutes). These lasted through the evening and night but slowed down on Tuesday. That evening contractions started again and were increasing in intensity. On Wednesday I got a call from Kim at 1 pm while I was at work and she told me that I better come home because she was having contractions consistently at 6 minutes apart for a few hours. I came home and we were off to the hospital by 2 pm. One day before her due date ;-)

When we got to the hospital it was a familiar situation. We get there and the contractions slow down. Kim was dilated 4 cm. The nurses weren't sure if they would be able to admit Kim, but wanted to monitor the baby just in case. At this point the last thing we (and especially Kim) wanted was to be sent home.

Within an hour Kim's water broke and we were off to the races.

Things started progressing really fast and it seemed to take FOREVER to get an epidural. Even then, it didn't work very well for quite a while. Once they got the dosage right, Kim had some time to relax and get ready for the main event.

When it came time to push everything was really smooth and relaxed. The OB doctor, Dr. Brown, was really calm and relaxed, which was nice.

At 7:16 pm we were blessed with little Mason Vibert Keyes. 7 lbs 13 ounces and 19 inches long. What a miracle!

These are some of his first moments on this earth

I guess he thought we were taking too many pictures of him?

Mason was very quiet and had trouble breathing right away. After Kim got a little snuggle time, they took Mason to the other side of the room into the Panda (the little heated baby area) and started trying to figure out why he was so quiet and having trouble breathing. They found lots of fluid and mucus in his stomach and thought he must have had a drink on his way out. They hooked him up to a CPAP machine to keep constant pressure in his lungs. They gave him an x-ray and could see that he had lots of fluid in his left lung.

Eventually after 90 minutes of the CPAP and suctioning and having him spit out fluid, he started doing better

Right before the pediatrician got to the hospital the nurse told me that Mason better start acting better or they would have to ship him to the NICU unit downtown. I told him in my most stern father voice that he better cut it out and start breathing better.

They took the CPAP out of this throat just before the pediatrician got there and he started breathing all by himself without any problems

This little guy sure gave us a scare!

Because he had such a rough start he had to stay in the nursery for almost 24 hours and he wasn't allowed to eat for over 6 hours. It was kind of hard having him in the nursery for so long, but actually made the first night a little easier because he wasn't in the room with us. But we did spend a lot of time in the nursery with him

These two couldn't have been happier to be together

This is how he got to spend the first 24 hours of his life, hooked up to monitoring equipment, nutrients flowing directly into his body, and a constantly controlled optimum body temperature. That doesn't sound too bad!

We love his hair (and everything else about him!)

He must be having a nice dream

We think he is so handsome

He loves snuggling with his mommy!

The next day I went home in the afternoon to spend some time with Lyza and Nixon. While I was gone Kim sent me a message with this picture attached letting me know that Mason didn't have to be in the nursery anymore and didn't need any of his monitoring equipment. I was so happy and a little jealous that Kim had him all to herself. But she deserved some alone time with her little man.

For dinner that night we had a celebratory dinner. I had steak and Kim had chicken alfredo. Hospital steak was surprisingly good.

We love our little guy

We have had to dust off our swaddling skills

They honestly look like they were made for each other

We don't look quite as good together, but that isn't Mason's fault.

Love that hair

We love his little yawns

We brought the kids to the hospital on Friday just before it was time to leave so they could meet Mason, and so Mason could meet them. We were a little concerned about how they would react but it was love at first sight

Their facial expression say it all. We couldn't have hoped for a better introduction

I love how Lyza says "He's kind of cute"

Nixon just kept saying "cute" and has been saying that for days

He instinctively wanted to give Mason kisses

Me and my sweet little children

The kids liked looking at his little feet

We are now a family of five. I think we have crossed a threshold in the eyes of the world...we have gone from the perfect family (one girl and one boy) to crazy people with lots of kids. Haha.

The kids also liked making themselves at home in the hospital bed

Here is little Mason ready for his first car ride

I wish the car seat would stay this light

After we all got home the kids played in the pool. Here they are having a little snack together

It is fun having our little guy at home and not feeling like the nurses are watching our every move and limiting what we can do with our child. How adorable!