diff --git a/lib/stackdriver.js b/lib/stackdriver.js
index ee46e52..c919d98 100644
--- a/lib/stackdriver.js
+++ b/lib/stackdriver.js
@@ -92,15 +92,17 @@ StackdriverBackend.prototype.post_message_to_gateway = function(stackdriverMessa
 		return;
 	}
 	
+	messageString = JSON.stringify(stackdriverMessage)
+	
 	// setup the HTTPS request
 	var options = {
 		host : this.stackdriverHost,
 		path : this.stackdriverPath,
 		method : 'POST',
 		headers : {
+			"Content-Length" : messageString.length,
 			"Content-Type" : "application/json; charset=utf-8",
 			"x-stackdriver-apikey" : this.apiKey,
-			"Content-Length" : stackdriverMessage.length,
 			"User-Agent": "stackdriver-statsd-backend-0.1.2"
 		}
 	};
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ StackdriverBackend.prototype.post_message_to_gateway = function(stackdriverMessa
 
 	if (this.debug) {
 		util.log("Message contents to be posted:");
-		util.log(JSON.stringify(stackdriverMessage));
+		util.log(messageString);
 	}
 
 	// perform the HTTPS request
@@ -128,7 +130,7 @@ StackdriverBackend.prototype.post_message_to_gateway = function(stackdriverMessa
 			util.log("STACKDRIVER GATEWAY RESPONSE: " + chunk);
 		});
 	});
-	req.write(JSON.stringify(stackdriverMessage));
+	req.write(messageString);
 	req.end();
 
 	req.on('error', function(e) {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5248919..bd5e6de 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "stackdriver-statsd-backend",
-  "version": "0.1.2",
+  "version": "0.1.3",
   "description": "Send metric data from statsd to Stackdriver",
   "main": "lib/stackdriver.js",
   "scripts": {