3 Months

my sweet silly peapod.

He:

-smiles SO much. Whenever Ryan and I come home from work, the biggest smiles spread across his sweet cheeks! ahhh! melts my heart

-recognizes Ryan and I every morning with a delighted scream...like "hey, its you guys again!!"


-talks to himself in the morning in his bassinet/crib when he wakes up, so cute.

-finally has a semi-schedule of waking and sleeping, and although he isnt sleeping through the night, he goes right back to sleep after his mid-night feeding YESSSSSS!!!


- tries as hard as he can to stand/sit up whenever we hold him,  big strong man!

-takes showers with Ryan and I instead of baths. His whole body relaxes when we hold him under the warm water, and he makes little ooohhh and ahhh noises.


-LOVES being outside.  If he is fussy, and we take him outside and sit on the deck its like a button is pushed and hes just suddenly happy.

-at 13lbs 8oz, is the cutest baby alive

I:


-got fired from my job for not asking permission to take my required break to pump breastmilk.  Its a load of nonsense, really.  Im thinking there must be something else going on...the attorneys I worked for never spoke ill of my work...so whatever.  Now I have much more time to spend with my peapod!


-feel healthier and healthier every day, and im still losing weight. yay :)


-have dreams about kissing masons cheeks...and about teleporting to hawaii after chewing tea leaves. no big deal.

-think that Ryan and I may be doing something thrilling next year....juuusssssaaayyying! :)


-got a brand new mommy car!! no more mustang here!

Random misplaced musings:

Ive come to realize that people are going to give me advice, whether I want it or not.  I've learned to just take the advice in stride, but not to get worked up.  Most peoples "advice" REALLY sounds like "ways to tell you that youre a terrible parent and your choice to supplement with formula is as bad as letting your baby play with pythons". If you want my opinion, which im fairly certain you do, since youre reading this, a python is perfectly acceptable parenting aid.  I mean, they've got to grow up someday. Right, so stop telling me what I should and shouldnt feed my tot.  My baby is happy and healthy and YES he is a chubby boy and NO I dont feed him pats of butter, he was born that way (hiyooo Gaga) and he is only in the 80th percentile.  So suck it. Stop calling him fat, hes just chubby.


Ryan and I are ridiculously, disgustingly happy with each other.  Its odd, really.  I feel like we have something so beautiful growing in our relationship. yay.


Speaking of beautiful relationships...Im actually suprised at the way my friends have reacted to the addition of mason to my life.  The majority of my friends are just distant, but old friends have come back into my life with such enthusiasm that I wondered how we drifted apart in the first place!  How DO people drift apart? and Why?


I absolutely cannot wait for the holiday season.  As it gets cooler outside, my body ACHES to go apple-picking.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be so amazing this year with baby Mason.  ahh.  I even made turkey and gravy and stuffing and potatoes for dinner last night because of how much im craving the holidays.  Also, Justin Bieber has a holiday CD coming out... judge me.

-Masons Momma

2 Months

He:

-cant stop melting my heart with those eyes


-holds his head up SO well, people assume he is 3 or more months old. Hulk baby!


-was sick for the first time, with momma, a few weeks ago.  We both had the sniffles and a cough, but Ryan took good care of us and we are healthy again! (below is a picture from when we were sick)

-spends a lot of time cuddling with Ryan and I, we've found that his cuddle-button is almost on.  Anytime he cries, unless hes hungry, cuddles will instantly fix it! :) 


- SMILES! for real now, not just because hes gassy, or because he loves lamp.  I dont have a picture of him smiling because nothing can tear me away from his face, not even to grab the camera.  We will have some in about a month when our photographer takes his 3 month pics! 


-rarely poops, and it bothers/worries me.  For a solely breastfed baby, Mason only poops like once every 3-5 days.  By day 5, he is really really upset.  Poor baby.  We are trying Karo syrup, but we are open to any other ideas!


-spends time facebooking and blogging, like his mommy ;)

I:


-have returned to work.  I miss him ALL day.  I pump twice during my 7 hour shift at the Vogler Law Firm.  I even have a blanket that smells like Mason in my car to start the milk flow! haha oh the joys of breastfeeding!


-LOVE breastfeeding.  I feel so lucky that I havent had any issues with it, So I cant see myself stopping until he is at least 6 months old or starting solids!


-am back into shape, and it really makes me feel good.  The crazy thing is, as I continue to lose weight, I think I look better, but I never thought I looked bad.  Immediately after Mason was born I weighed 123lbs and I thought I looked gorgeous.  Self confidence FTW!

-sleep with Mason for about 3 hours every night.  He will sleep in his bassinet for the first part of the night, but after his 2am feeding he just wont fall all the way asleep unless he's being cuddled.  I know all the pros and cons of co-sleeping, so please, spare me the "you'll roll over and crush your baby" speech.  I got this handled. thanks.


-fall more and more in love with Ryan everytime I look at our son.  If you didnt notice, Mason is Ryans CLONE.  I mean really, is this baby mine?  I dont see it! haha 

Ryan and I are adjusting REALLY well to parenting.  Better than I couldve hoped.  When Mason is screaming his face off, and we are both stressed out, somehow something funny will happen and we both crack up.  He and I have yet to argue in the last 6 months  Ahhh bliss.


We have taken our first few little outings without Mason, which is both relaxing, and tough, because we miss those eyes and his slobber-kisses!  We have gone floating for the day with Ryan's family twice now, its a great way to go relax for a few hours before going back to our little home with our baby.  I feel SO grateful to both of our parents...my parents, for volunteering to watch him whenever we need, and Ryans momma, for watching him while I work.  Theyre the best. Honestly :)


Life is SO good.




-Masons Momma

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**

One Week Old

Mason is now 10 days old.  This post is 3 days late, but my only chance to blog is when he is sleeping...which happens to be the only times I sleep as well :)

Here is a picture from the beginning of his first week- his first day on the outside!

He:

-has gained an entire pound since we left the hospital last saturday

-is eating and sleeping well, despite wanting to be held while he falls asleep - but seriously, when I can look at a face like that, how could lack of sleep really bother me?

-does NOT like having his diaper changed, he screams like a pterodactyl, and ryan and I think its precious

-had his first bath yesterday, he loved it!

-sleeps in a "bed" we made on the ottoman of our couch, since it has a 'dip' in it, so he cant roll.

-refuses to sleep in his bassinet, we hope this is just a newborn phase!

-has a range of emotions, even though we are pretty sure they all have to do with gas at this point

-has SO many different crys, we are learning what each one means...its difficult! So far, most of them mean "Hold me, mom and dad!"

-has an unbreakable and unconditional hold on my heartstrings, and I wouldnt have it any other way

I:

- am healing VERY well, I have virtually no pain

-am breastfeeding, and *thank goodness* havent had any issues with him latching on or feeding. The pediatrician was shocked to find out that Mason gained an entire pound in a week on JUST breastmilk.  Apparently I make enough milk for twins!

-am beside myself with the size of my boobs...okay seriously...they look incredible! haha

-went on a date with Ryan last thursday, we dressed up and ate steak and I didnt smell like milk and it was SO romantic, even if it was just for an hour!

-have lost 20 pounds so far, im only 10ish (maybe less) pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight

-find myself waking up from naps at every little sound he makes.  I thought I was a light sleeper before, but sheesh! Just need to reassure myself that he is okay...and he always is :)

-am only moderately over-worried and over-protective of him, despite what Ryans friends may think when I refuse to let them hold him if they have been drinking...sorry guys!

- could look at his chubby little face forever, its hard to believe that we made such a perfect little person!

this is love.

Mason Zachary Rodgers - One week old.

As soon as we get our new camera, I PROMISE that all the pictures I upload (minus those sporadic iphone moments) will be higher quality, All these pictures are from my and Ryans phones.

next baby update on July 9th! thats his ONE MONTH! ahhh.

-Masons Momma

Masons Birth Story

When our doctor told us that we were going to be induced, it was a mixture of emotions.  At first we were glad that we finally had a date we could meet him, then disappointed that it wouldnt be a surprise, but then the joy of knowing that we would meet our son in less than a week made all the bad feelings go away!

We went to the hospital to get induced on Wednesday, June 8th, at 8pm.  They started the pitocin drip and we were on our way! I got NO sleep.  How could I have possibly slept knowing that my baby boy was on the way!?  Through the night, Ryan and my momma slept, and the nurses came in to check on me and turn up the pitocin drip.  Around 3am they started asking me if I had a "really high pain tolerance", I didnt think I did, but they said usually people with contractions like the ones I was having, had already asked for an epidural.  But I wanted to wait.

At around 8am I got the epidural, and a doctor came in to break my water, it was SO. WEIRD! I wont describe it, but seriously, it felt crazy.  And no, the epidural did not hurt, I was pretty worried about that and it just didnt hurt at all! yay!  The dilation progressed somewhat quickly from there. Ryan was getting anxious, which was making me even more excited. At 3pm, the urge to push was pretty intense, but we had to wait for the doctor. All of our family and most of our friends were already at the hospital by this time.  It makes my heart sing to think about all the love that filled that hospital room before mason even came! at 5:10 (yes, I was watching the clock like a hawk, willing it to move faster so we could get the show on the road) we started pushing with each contraction...the feeling was incredible, and with Ryan holding my hand (then eventually my leg)I felt so strong! 8 contractions later and Baby Mason was born at 5:50!

There arent even words to describe the flood of emotions I felt when he finally came out and they set him on my belly.  He is perfect.  I have that memory engrained in my mind.  I had never seen a more perfect sight;  I could live in that moment forever. His first cry was like an angel, and thats when I started crying.  All I wanted to do was snuggle him and Ryan close and never ever let go! when they finally finished cleaning him up and handed him back to us, this is what we saw:

perfect, right? and he opened his eyes so early.  I've had to pause at least 5 times in the blog so far to wipe away the tears, I seriously couldnt have asked for a more perfect baby.  I must have told Ryan "you did so good" like 10 times... He kept looking at me like I was crazy and telling me "you did all the work, babe"...but just LOOK at that FACE! hes like Ryans mirror image. Love it.

After we left the birthing suite, we took the long trip to our room.  We passed by the waiting room...and MUCH to my surprise, it was full of ONLY our family and friends. so much love. It had to have looked like a parade going down the hall and filing into our room, Im not positive how many people were there, but Im thinking it was around 20 all at once, with our families and friends! ahhh, my heart just explodes. Baby Mason is so lucky to come into such a loving environment.

Life is beautiful, incredible, and GOOD, and we cant wait to see where this journey takes our new little family.

-Mason's Momma