Week 23 and 24

How far along? 24 weeks 3 days

How big is baby? about a pound and a half- I read he gains 6 ounces a week now!

Total weight gain:  ugh- the scale HAS to be lying, +15lbs - however, this is still considered underweight for my height...oh its so weird to see the scale almost at 120!!!

Maternity Clothes?  yeah okay so I dont fit in ANY of my pre-baby jeans- i wear comfy pants all the time, unless we go out somewhere nice, then i wear leggings and a cute top. NON-MATERNITY wear!

Stretch marks? still none yet!!! although my belly button is mere weeks away from popping out! ahh!

Sleep: I've still been taking daily naps, but now every few days im so exhausted I cant even get out of bed

Movement: all the time! He has started responding to Ryans voice and moving closer to the sound when he talks to him - maybe next week we will try shining a flashlight on my belly to see if he reacts!

Food cravings: Cereal Cereal and MORE CEREAL

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, wearing cute clothes- being excited for summer (since now I cant wear a two-piece)

What I am looking forward to: finishing the nursery- dressing up my little man in his ridiculous amount of outfits he already has, being able to hug Ryan tightly (belly in the way)

Worries: Baby Mason is currently in a breech position, but since we are only at week 24, Im told he has plenty of time to turn around to get ready for the big event!

What did you just say to me?!?:

"youre so small now, youre going to get stretchmarks EVERYWHERE when you "pop"

-um excuse me, thanks. I can now go home and cry.  Ive come to terms that I am just a small pregnant person

"ew, your belly button is going to pop inside out" - ew? rude.

"oh, youre going to have an epidural? I didnt have one, it felt so empowering"

-do you want a medal? congrats, you put yourself through unnecesary pain to try to prove something.  as long as my baby is safe, I am going to get some kind of pain relief, I have nothing to  "prove"

Oh, and THIS: something new- ridiculous back/tailbone pain...it seriously feels like someone dropped me off a 3 story building onto my tush. owwww. nothing helps... anyone have any ideas as to what i should do?

besides the tailbone pain though, im feeling AMAZING lately! so healthy and full of life! yay for baby!

Here is a pic of of the nursery- we are replacing the carpet in the next few weeks, so then we can start putting his clothes in there and setting up the crib!

 Here is Ryan and I - this is at 5 months- SEE?! small pregnant person.

-Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers

Sweet Nothings

Okay so as my cravings have intensified, I have found that my biggest weakness is baked sweets! These are some sweet recipes that are WAAAAAAAY more healthy than processed cupcakes/cookies/etc.  More healthy = less guilt!


Moist DELISH Banana Bread:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ cup) packed light brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups  mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium to large bananas...these should be waaay super ripe, like speckled and black)
¼ cup (3 ounces) honey (I use local honey instead of sugar a lot now, there are TONS of places to get good Missouri honey, and its full of antioxidants and immuno-boosters! woo!)
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour- a bazillion times better than plain white all-purpose
½ cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
-Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. 
-Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth.
-Add the flour and nuts, stirring until smooth.
-Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered for 10 minutes. (not sure why it has to rest, but it turned out amazing!)
-Bake the bread for 40 minutes. 
-Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. 
-Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

Super-Fantastic Breakfast Bars
I made this to use up leftover cereal that I got bored of eating with milk (yes I get bored with cereal and milk).  You can use Cheerio's, Golden Grahams, Chex, etc.

1 cup local Honey                                                                                                                                    
1 cup sugar                                                                                                                                                
1 ¼ cups creamy peanut butter                                                                                                                 
5 cups Cheerios cereal                                                                                                                              
1 half bag dark chocolate chips (yeah chocolate! dark chocolate is surprisingly good for you!)

heat sugar and honey in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved (right around boiling - make sure not to scorch it!), add peanut butter, then stir in cheerios, and spoon into a greased pan (I line mine with foil to make clean-up non-existent)
Melt the chocolate chips - I just put them in the microwave with a tablespoon of butter and about 3 tablespoons of milk for 20 seconds at a time until its creamy, then spoon it over the breakfast bars - DONE!
No baking, no crazy fat content (the sugar isnt so great, but cereal is good for you, right?), plus, its a quick chocolatey snack instead of eating cookies. yay!

As soon as I get a good camera, I'll be taking pictures of all my creations.  Enjoy! :)