Making Memories

Mason is almost 2 months old and it feels like time is flying by.  This has made me realize that I need to capture as many of these moments as possible.  Most people do this by taking pictures.  We have an AMAZING photographer who will be taking pictures of Mason at months 3, 6, 9 and 12...but I feel like I need more.  I want him to be able to look back and be able to understand how happy he makes Ryan and I and his grandparents.  I want him to know what its like to be a parent, I want him to know what he looked like, acted like, smelled like..

So I've been emailing him.  His email address is OurBabyMason@gmail.com if you would like to email him too.  Ive been emailing him once or twice a week since I was 8 months pregnant, and I feel like its an amazing way for me to capture the most important parts, since we cant afford a big nice camera.  Sometimes Ill email him at 3 in the morning, asking him why he is wide-awake and staring at me, instead of letting me sleep. I'll email him with pictures that I've taken, or milestones that he has accomplished.  When Mason turns 18 (tenatively, I havent decided when exactly..) I'm going to give him the email address and password, so he can read (or not, he is a boy, after all haha!) all the emails.  Cute, right?

I'll be honest, sometimes its frustrating at 3am when he hasnt slept since 9pm...but even as he is screaming in my face when I'm cuddling him, I'm basking in those moments.  How much longer will I be able to hold him so close?  How much longer will he be in these tiny onezies?  These are the things that make me want to capture EVERY memory right now. I dont want to miss or forget a single thing! He is asleep in his swing right now, and he looks absolutely angelic. It's crazy to sit in the same chair and see how big he is compared to just 6 weeks ago.  I'm in love. hopelessly, unconditionally, and happily in love.


-Mason's Momma

Life and Body Post-Baby

I can usually predict a person's reaction when they see Mason and I out somewhere.  

Older ladies eyes go straight from Mason to my left hand, which is ringless, and then the judging begins.  They ask "why arent you married" "do you know who the father is"...(rude, right?!?!) blah blah blah.  Dont care. I'm just glad im not their children, God help them if they ever make a mistake!  For the record: Ryan and I will get married when/if we feel like it.  We are pretty content just being in love with each other and our little peapod.  If its not broke, dont fix it, right? :)

Guys tend to look at my new boobs (which I totally probably deserve it, since I wear tank tops all the time) then at the baby.  Everyone else just coos over how cute he is, and I just love it.  

They then ask a series of questions, and I find it a little funny that everyone says the same things in the same order!  1. What's his name 2. How Old is he? 3.You had a baby a month ago? you look really good (yessss!) 4. How was labor 5. How do you like parenting?

It's terrible, but sometimes i'll switch up my process and tell them his name is a series of clicks and beeps, or that I went into labor in a field, or that I hate parenting, and I just leave the baby in a rubbermaid container in the basement when he cries.... I usually get dirty looks for that, but hey. A girl's gotta get her kicks somewhere!

Okay, so I absolutely have to talk about this, because it interests me.  So throughout the pregnancy, I was only concerned about his health and safety, so I just ate whatever I wanted.  I only gained 9 pounds until my 6th month, then when Mason started growing faster, so did I! I ended up gaining a total of about 35 pounds.  Most of that weight was in my belly, but in the last month, my face got a little chunky too.  Probably because Mason made me addicted to pastries :)

After he was born, I immediately lost 20 pounds.  Over the course of the next 10 days, I lost 10 more pounds, partly from lack of sleep (I burned so many calories staying up all the time) and partly because breastfeeding is the best tool a momma has to get her post-baby body back!

I also used this:

It's called ShrinkX hips.  After you have a baby, your uterus naturally shrinks down to its post-baby size, but your hips WILL NOT shrink back.  However, in the first 8 weeks of post-baby life, your body has a TON of the hormone relaxin flowing through it.  ShrinkX is an elasticky band that you put around your hips and tighten as your hips get smaller. 4 weeks later, and Im back in my size 1 shorts!  

I should be getting paid for this! haha :) but honestly.  If you are pregnant or VERY recently had a baby, BUY THIS! I will save SO much money since I wont have to go buy new clothes. :) yay.

Okay, it cant all be good, that's for sure.  the skin on my stomach still has some elastic qualities, no matter how many sit ups I do.  You cant see this, but I know what it feels like and I think its creepy.  All in all, Im pretty happy with how I look, which surprises me, because Ryan tells me I am WAY too particular.

I tried to take a picture of me post-baby while holding Mason, but it was REALLY hard.  I'll have someone take a picture for me soon and Ill post it.  So heres me- July 9th- one month post-baby

I'm certain that even if I had never lost an ounce of baby weight, I'd still be madly in love with my son, and would do it all over again! :) Babies rock.

-Mason's Momma

Masons First Month

Today is Mason's One Month birthday!

This past month has been an absolute WHIRLWIND! We have had such an amazing time getting used to being parents.  In all honesty, it feels like it has only been one really long week, probably because we never sleep anymore :)  If this blog makes little or no sense, it is because I am seriously losing my marbles over lack of sleep.  The craziest part is...I could live in these moments!  When I feel the most tired and run down, all I need to do is look into these eyes and I could run a marathon

He: 

-already weighs over 10 pounds, chunky monkey boy!

- lifts his head when he is laying on our chests or during tummy time

-is a smidgen colicky, but it gets better every day

-didnt poop for a WEEK and it worried the heck out of us! but he has since pooped, and I never thought I'd be so happy to see a bunch of baby turds haha

-still loves bath-time.  So cute. 

-can look Ryan and I in the eyes, and its absolutely heart-melting

-is VERY picky about where he falls asleep.  Example: unless he is in our arms in a blanket, sleep will NOT happen

I:
-travel in and out of sanity on a daily basis, going from mom to girlfriend to friend.  Mason consumes every minute of my day, and I wouldnt have it any other way, but sometimes it feels like SO MUCH

-love falling asleep in the rocking chair with him, just so I can see him smiling at me in his sleep :)

-have the most amazing boyfriend.  Ryan is the epitome of the perfect father, staying up late with Mason even though he has to work on the weekdays, just to let me get some rest

-have had a little trouble maintaining my breastmilk supply in the last week, and its stressing me out, which is making it even MORE difficult to maintain the supply. ugh

-was away from him for 5 hours, and I could barely stand it, I need to be able to hold my little man on an hourly basis.  Returning to work is going to be ROUGH.

We love going out together as a family :)

All in all, I am amazed at how well Ryan and I are adjusting to parenthood.  We may sleep in separate rooms since Mason would rather sleep on the ottoman than his bassinet, get frustrated with each other when we cant figure out why he is crying, and havent had a good balanced meal in a few weeks, but we love it, and we love him, more than anything else. (whoa run-on sentence, told you I was losing it! haha)  We wouldnt trade this for anything in the world.

Have you ever held your heart in your hands?

-Mason's Momma




**photos copyright SavannaSmiles Photography**