Well we are on day two after the surgery and Mason is doing great! He has already pooped which I never thought I would be so excited for! Yesterday it was funny, the nurse went to put cream on his bum and he started tooting so loud right on her finger! To make it even better he had this big smile on his face!! We were all so excited to hear it though because that was the first step toward healing that we were waiting for. Since then he has not had to have morphine so he is awake and acting more like himself. He also got to eat this morning. The only problem was it was only an ounce which he gulped down and then was pretty said that he couldn't have more. But we get to add one once every three hours so that should be good. He also got a bath and got to sit up and play for awhile this morning. I am just so excited with how well he is doing. Last night when my dad was putting Maya in bed she said during her prayers she went off and said please bless Mason that he will get better and that his bag will go away and he can go poop in his diaper! I know it's those sweet little prayers that help him so much. I am so grateful for my sweet little children who teach me patience and humility. Oh I just love them!!

Our sweet little Mason

Our new baby Mason was born on 12-30-10. He was 7 lbs 2 oz and the most handsome little guy ever. He had ton's of dark hair and surprisingly lite eyes. He was such a mellow little guy. He ate really well at first but by the next day he wouldn't eat. He just wasn't interested. I felt a little worried but the doctor's just kept telling me it was normal. Finally after he was 24 hours old he still had not gone to the bathroom. The doctor came in and told us that they were worried that he had something wrong and wanted to send him to Primary Children's Hospital for some testing. I was so worried. They sent him with the life-flight team right after that. I had to stay because I had a c-section and was not allowed to leave at this point. It was so hard to have him leave me and not be able to go with. John went with him though and got to stay by his side. He was admitted into the ICU and was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease. This is when your intestines didn't grow nerves all the way to the end and the place where they stopped growing is where everything was getting blocked. This meant that Mason was going to need surgery to fix the problem. At this point, he was to small to do anything to right now. They wanted to wait until he got bigger. As the days went by, I was able to be released and started spending my days with him at Primary's. They taught us how to do irrigations. This was putting a tube up his bum and sucking all the stool out with a syringe. So after 10 days of being in the hospital, we got to take him home and continue to do these irrigations until he was big enough to do surgery. We were so excited to take our baby home!! Irrigations were very interesting. It took both me and John to do it four times a day. I don't think anyone has ever been pooped on as much as us! Things were going like they should with a newborn but I started noticing that Mason was always fussy. He seemed gassy and in pain all the time. I felt so bad for the little guy and asked the doctor's if that was normal. They said he should be fine and that is was probably just personality. I thought a lot about how hard the next year would be with such a fussy baby. After a few weeks we did an irrigation that didn't go very well. We couldn't get anything out and Mason was super fussy. We also noticed that Mason had a really bad odor that was coming from his bum. I decided to call the doctor and they told us to go to Primary's ER. I was so scared that something was wrong. I was right. Mason had developed intercolitis. An infection in his intestines. He was also so backed up that it had caused bleeding and the smell was coming from rotten blood that had been sitting in him. I felt so horrible. They admitted him back into the hospital and started him on medicine. Our normal doctor, Dr. Downey was out of town so Dr. Scaife saw him. He told us that Mason was so sick that they needed to do a colostomy for him right away. I was so scared about that. I couldn't imagine having his little intestines poking out of his belly. But we do what's best for him and he went into surgery the next day to have his colostomy done. He had to spend another week in the hospital and we were taught how to change the colostomy bag. It was so scary at first. John and I are such a great team though and over the weeks we got to be great at changing his bag and dealing with this new little adventure. After a few weeks I had to start going back to work and took him with me to La Petite Academy. The baby room teachers Ms. Jade and Ms. Kami were so nervous with him at first but they were so great with him. The difference in Mason's personality was like night and day. After his surgery he turned into the most happy mellow baby ever! I felt like I started to get to know my real baby!

A few months went by and then one day in May while we were at school, the teacher's came and got me and said Mason was really upset and would not calm down. I tried to calm him but nothing would work. I went to check his ostomy bag and saw that his stoma had prolapsed. This meant that his intestines had popped out about 4 inches into his bag. I totally freaked out. I had the girls help me get Mason in his seat and drove him up to Primary's ER. I was so worried but the doctor's came in and told John and I that they were going to leave it and we were to treat it the same way we had been... I was totally freaked out! It was so scary to look at. But they were right, nothing changed. He still acted the same and we still bagged it the same. It took awhile to get used to but we did and it wasn't to big of a deal after a week or so. We had our appointment with Dr. Downey and scheduled his pull through surgery for July 11th. Everything was going normal until June 21st. I noticed there was a cut on Mason's intestines that was caused by the bag. It made me nervous so we took Mason into Dr. Downey to get it checked. The Dr. said he was nervous about waiting 3 more weeks for surgery and asked us if we would be willing to do his surgery the next day! We were totally shocked but said yes! They admitted him into the hospital for the third time later that day. He had to stay the night to get his bowels prepped. Well that brings us to now. I am in the waiting room and he is in having his major surgery. It has been almost four hours since they started but I know he is doing great and can't wait to have my baby back in my arms. We will be in the hospital for a week and I will post and let everyone know how he is doing.

Mason is such a special spirit. He has been through so much in his short little life so far and I am honored to be his mother. I know he has such a special life ahead of him. I can't wait until he is better and healed. Thank you to everyone for all your support and to the wonderful doctor's and nurses that have been so great throughout this!

First Airplane Flight!

Last Saturday, Oct. 2nd was a big day for the Johnson side of the family. My dad and uncle had their first flight on the airplane they have been building for about 8 years! My dad called me that Friday before and said they would be flying at 8:30 the next morning. I have to admit it made me super nervous. The thought of someone going up into the air in something that is home built just freaked me out a little! But that morning, we got up early and all headed to the airport. Maya was so excited to go she really likes to see Grandpa's airplane and she didn't even realize it was going to take flight that very morning!! Not long after we got there my family all showed up as well as my Uncle Bruce's family and Uncle Greg's family. My Grandma was also there. It was really great to see her, I haven't seen her in a long time and it's always fun for Maya to see her Grammy! Everyone chatted for awhile and ate some yummy breakfast that was provided by my uncle until at last the big moment came...They wheeled the airplane out of the hanger. Camera flashes were going off like crazy! My Uncle Bruce climbed in the pilot's seat and closed the canopy. More flashes! My cousins and brothers were running around taking pictures of every little angle of that plane. I started to think, is this because they are worried that they won't see it in this condition again??? I was so nervous! The propeller started and the airplane moved down towards the runway. I thought the fact that it is moving is a pretty good sign. Maybe these boys did know what they were doing! We all walked down towards the runway, and waited as my Uncle turned and drove towards the entrance. A few minutes later we could see and hear him coming full speed towards us. We all watched as he lifted off the ground and flew low right past us!! We were all clapping and cheering! He pulled up and took off into the sky. I was amazed at how sharp it looked and sounded as it flew by. This was a really nice plane and I started to have a lot of hope that it was going to make it back in one piece. He flew in a large circle around by the mountain and came back and flew low past us. He waved to us as we all clapped and waived back to him! He did this a few times before coming back in and landing. The whole flight went great with no problems! It was pretty amazing to think that so long ago this plane started out as a bunch of tiny pieces and now it was flying around the city! It was a lot of fun that so many of the family showed up to support my uncle and dad and siblings in all their hard work. It really paid off! Later, I was sitting by my dad when Uncle Bruce came up to me and said, "So I heard you were pretty nervous about today?" I didn't want him to ever think I doubted his airplane building skills so I said back to him, "only about the weather, I really wanted it to be perfect for your first flight!" Him and my dad both laughed and said nice cover Kara!! It turned out to be a very fun and exciting morning and maybe just maybe I will eventually be brave enough to go for a ride someday!

Maya's Potty Training Adventures!

Well we have finally just about got Maya potty trained! At least during the day (she still has to wear pull ups for nap and bed time.) Getting there has not been an easy task. In the beginning, about 3 months ago, she started sitting on the potty but would never go to the bathroom. Then one day John tried putting warm water in a cup and making Maya stick her hand in the water while she was sitting on the potty! I thought this was so stupid and told him to quit it, he said it would make the muscles relax and she would go! About 30 seconds later it worked, she actually pee'd!! Me being a wife said oh so now we just have to keep her hand in warm water the rest of her life to make her go to the bathroom! But over the next couple of weeks she started going more and more. So then we decided it was time to try underwear. The first weekend I think I cleaned up almost 10 accidents and listened to her cry for a diaper all day until I finally gave up. The next Saturday we tried again and the morning started out just the same as the last. But while she took her nap I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of little toys, wrapped them up, and put them in a basket. Then I got some stickers and made a little sticker chart. It was so funny when she woke up. I showed her the presents and she was so excited!! I explained to her that every time she went potty in the toilet she would get a sticker and when she got five stickers she got to open a present! Oh boy from that point on all she wanted to do was sit on the potty so she could get a sticker! It took her about a day and a half to finally earn a present and she clapped and laughed and thought it was the greatest thing that's ever happened! From that point on she stopped having accidents for just over a week. Maya is a smart little girl, I had to start watching her sticker chart because she would do things like pull a sticker off the chart, tear it in half and put each half on a square! Only two and already cheating! But she did so great and I was really proud of her. Then she started having accidents again...I could not figure out why. She would just go and then come tell me she. One of my favorite things she has ever said to me happened one night after she had had an accident. I took her into the bathroom and I was mad! She was standing there with a sad little look on her face while I gave her the third degree. I was telling her that now she did not get a sticker and mommy was very sad and on and on but nothing seemed to affect her. So finally I said, "Maya if you go potty in your underwear again, You will not get any more skittles." That made her turn right to me. She walked up to me with the biggest scowl on her face, got an inch away from me and said in the biggest growl she could do, "baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?" And then just kept glaring at me! I couldn't help it, I busted up laughing! So much for getting through to her! She just didn't care about anything I was saying. It was like she was telling me listen mom, I will go on my terms and there is nothing you can do about it!! That was about a week ago and she has gone back to not having accidents! One thing I have learned from this ongoing process is that she really is in charge and no matter what kind of bribes we do, a two year old will always choose what they want!!

My new blog

I would like to thank Melissa Johnson for helping me set up this blog!