Mason Ashby Chantry's Birth-Story

Mason Ashby Chantry

Born: November 25th 

9lbs 4oz, 22.5in

I felt very blessed during my labor with Mason's birth. I felt so much peace and I felt like I was being guided on how to deal with the contractions. But those last weeks are the hardest. My belly was so big and I was getting a lot of unwanted attention haha. Sometimes I wish it was still socially accepted to "go into hiding,"  when you are big and pregnant. I was soooo tempted when the Dr hinted at getting things going at my 38 week appt. But I knew that would stress Scott out. He had a bunch of assignments due over the weekend, and was new in the bishopric. So really it was just best if I stayed pregnant for a little bit longer. I had another appointment the next Monday (November 24th). This time, because of Thanksgiving, Scott had a little less on his plate. So, I said yes lets go for it. That afternoon I had contractions, but they were not very consistent. That night they became a little more consistent. They were pretty close together, but seemed to short to really make a difference. The next day, early afternoonish we took the kids to my mother-in-laws and I went home and vacuumed hehe. An hour or so later, I felt like something had changed and it was time to go to the hospital. I got there and they checked me. I was at a 3+, my contractions still didn't seem quite long enough. I was sure they would send me home, but was totally surprised when they wheeled a IV in and asked which arm I'd like it in. "Oh, you're keeping me here???" "You didn't know???" "Nope, but I'm not complaining!" HA HA HA! Anyway, I did laps around the hall in labor & delivery for an hour or two. When I'd feel a contraction coming on I'd go faster and I totally felt great. The contractions were lasting longer. Then they had me lay down to monitor and get me on a small dose of pitocin. Laying down it took a little more concentration to stay relaxed, but I still was feeling like I could handle things. I had an awesome nurse, and instantly felt like she was my best friend. She was so caring, and careful. It was so nice because I was her only patient. When the doctor came to break my water, she stared the nurse down and told her to make sure to turn the pitocin on high more or less. Right after the doctor walked out of the room, she looked at me and said, well we're not doing that! I could have given her a big hug. She watched the babies heart rate like a hawk. At the smallest sign of distress she would turn the pitocin down. He had a happy heart rate pretty much the whole time I was there. I realize now that, that was part of the reason labor would stress me out in the past. I had told the nurse that before I had my water broke, I wanted an epidural. The doctor texted her at the same time she found out the anesthesiologist was about to go assist in a c-section. She was able to convince the anesthesiologist to come right then! The rest of labor was smooth sailing. I don't push the epidural button very often, because I like to be as mobile as possible afterwards. After being at the hospital for 8 hours I had Mason. I was completely surprised when the nurse said I was "complete" and it was time to call the doctor. When the doctor came in and got everything all set up she had me push. Then turned to the nurse and said...."uhhhh have you called in the nursery???" "No, well you better do that and have them hurry!" They came in I pushed about 1 1/2 more times and he was out. When they gave him to me he seemed so offended about what had just all happen, but I calmed him down. He was so sweet! Scott started talking to him and he gave him the most adorable frown! He has since warmed up to Scott and adores him. But I love that tender side of Mason. He is such a sweet baby and smiles, even when he's upset sometimes. I'm over the moon for this kid, and can't get enough of him. I am such a blessed mommy to have these three amazing kids. I count my lucky stars everyday!!! I love motherhood and I'm learning so much!

Prelude to Mason's Birthstory

I've got to give a little background before I delve right into my sweet little boy's birth-story. After I had given birth to Chloe, I decided that I wasn't happy with how my labor went. I wanted things to be different. First of all, I did not want to spend almost a full 24 hrs stuck in a bed. I also was scared to be given pitocin. Chloe's heartrate seemed erratic to me. At one point they had to turn the pitocin completely off, because it was stressing her out to much. I think both of us needed a break. So, with Matthew I spent most of the labor at the hospital with little to no pitocin, but I wasn't progressing. Matthew's heart-rate still seemed erratic. I finally agreed to having a higher dose. He came fairly quick, after they gave me a higher dose, so I was only in labor for 14 hrs. But it was still stressful and I was still feeling chagrined about how uncomfortable it was to spend that much time in a hospital bed. This time I wanted  labor to be more peaceful and not so anxious. But had no clue how to make that happen. 

Three weeks before I had Mason I was listening to a hypnobirthing cd. I was not planning on going natural (and I didn't), but I felt like I needed some relaxation methods. I had listened to one side of the cd several times, but finally flipped it over to the other side. The cd talked about being connected to your baby while pregnant and how the baby can feel all of your emotions and knows when you are uptight. Through both Chloe's and Matthew's labor I was a nervous wreck. It might have been the hormones that made me feel emotional hearing this, but I broke down crying because I felt like I had been so selfish. I thought mostly about MY emotional well-being while I was in labor and didn't think about theirs. I only thought of their physical well-being. I decided that with this baby I was going to try and be comforting to them (which sounds weird), but felt right. I realized this mind set probably was the wisest for me in any case, because then labor was no longer focused on my body and whether it was going to perform the way it was expected. But on being a mother to this new baby of mine and helping him in this transition of birth. Throughout labor I always felt so on the spot and this took the focus off of me. 

I had asked Scott to give me a blessing before I had come to this realization and in the blessing it said the Lord would help me to prepare for this upcoming labor. Having that inspiration for the kind of mind set I needed, I felt prepared just like the blessing promised.