one month!

Mason is a month old already...so hard to believe how fast this past month has gone! We can't imagine our lives without him. It's crazy how fast he became our new normal :) He is starting to be awake a lot more and staring up at us when we hold him, although he's more fascinated with a light or window then us sometimes...he also is realizing when we aren't holding him and screams bloody murder...we've had a rough few nights lately with him waking up 10 minutes after we put him in his crib...usually after 2-3am, he finally stops fighting it and gives in...so we get a fews hours of uninterupted shut eye.

And now for our 4th week in pictures...

newborn pictures

We made our first adventure out of the house (aside from the few times we went to the doctor for weight and bilirubin checks) that was longer than an hour for Mason's newborn pictures. We headed to Hopkins so we could use our photographer's studio and props...she did an amazing job, we LOVE the pictures we got...I'm SO glad we did this...it's been almost 2 weeks and he's grown so much and changed since then. It was worth every penny and recommend doing a newborn session.

He did so well...I fed him right when we got there, to keep him sleepy. She also had a space heater in the room, so once he was fat and happy, the heat pretty much knocked him out....for about 45 minutes, then he started to wake and fuss...although the pictures she captured of him crying are still cute as heck :)

Enjoy!

Pictures c/o of Pixel Dust Photography

3 weeks

I can't believe Mason is 3 weeks already! We are all doing well...he is still sleeping for 3-3.5 hour stretches at night...we have some good feedings and then some cluster feedings during the day...hoping to get more normal feedings in the next few weeks so I can actually get stuff done around the house and not feel like he's permanently attached to me all day.

We have officially gone cloth as of yesterday...his nasty rash finally cleared up after we went to the pediatrician and she recommended a corn starch and maalox paste...and it seriously worked like a charm! I'm so glad to be on cloth diapers now...because holy crap, diapers are expensive!! He also weighed in at 6lbs 4oz...so my constant irrational fear that he's not eating enough has gone away some...I'm such a number person, it just drives me crazy that I have no idea how many ounces he is eating at each feeding...but I'm slowly learning to trust my body and that it knows what it is doing.

Mason likes to pee during diaper changes...I've been peed on more times than I can count in the past 3 weeks...but I can now add being pooped on to the list. After bath time, I was holding him wrapped in a towel...and all of a sudden, I heard one of the biggest farts...sure enough, he had pooped through his towel and through both tank tops I had on. Thankfully it wasn't a "mother load"...that is what we call the big ones in this house...it was just a "hershey squirt" :)

We had our newborn session last week, which I will blog about in a separate post later this week...but he did awesome.  We had about 45 minutes of him sleeping...then he started to get sick of being posed and started to wake up and fuss...but we couldn't be more happy with how they turned out, our photographer rocked!

And now for our week in pictures :)

Mason had his first bottle..we had a few difficult feedings of him not eating much and then I had to pump...and of course 15 minutes later, he was hungry so Joe was able to feed him. He loved the Dr Brown bottle, so hopefully we found one that works!

Then my parents and brother came to visit over the weekend!

Snuggling with mom after a bedtime feeding...

 I'm getting bigger!

Updates to the nursery...we finally got the finishing touches and things hung on the wall!

2 weeks...

So we have survived the first two weeks...alive and partially sane...which in my book, is a huge accomplishment! :)

Little Mason has finally passed his birth weight, we had another checkup on Friday. He was born at 5-10 and we left the hospital at around 5-3ish. He is now up to 5 lbs 11 oz (maybe a little more by now), so we must be doing something right with his feedings...he is also spending more and more time awake, which we enjoy but it also means less sleep for mom and dad and less time for getting things done around the house.

I actually feel quite blessed, Mason has really been a great baby so far. He's turned into a snacker over the past few days, which means he eats every 1-2 hours during the day now, which is annoying for me...but I honestly have few complaints. He has been sleeping 2.5-3 hour stretches at night for almost a week now, I have to wake him up about half of the time to eat and change his diaper. He's been sleeping in his crib since the 3rd night home...for some reason, he hated sleeping in our room in his bassinet...must have been too hot and just fussed all.night.long. Nursing is still kind of a challenge...but we are both still learning and figuring things out...I'm optimistic we'll get there eventually. He shows little to no interest in his nook, the only reason we introduced it so early was due to the bilirubin blanket we had to use that first weekend. I felt so bad for him, so we caved and gave him something that might comfort him. He does cry and fuss...but the fussing usually happens during the day and when he's hungry, needs a diaper change or wants to be held. I know any of this could change at any moment but I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

He does have a rash on his butt we can't get rid of...we got a prescription cream from our doctor but it doesn't seem to be helping much. We are trying a different diaper and using wet paper towels instead of wipes, hoping this will help clear it up. And his poor little lips are starting to get sucking blisters...which I've read is completely normal, not painful and should clear up in the first few months. His lips just look a little goofy is all, which hopefully don't show up too badly in his newborn pictures tomorrow.

And now for our week in pictures :)

Mom & Dad are exhausted!!

Mom's Little Man...

My auntie Debbie got me some new outfits that fit me, thank you Auntie, I love you!

 Our first family walk!

 Mason still hates bath time...

 But loves to snuggle with mom afterwards...

Helping Mom cheer the Packers on, GO PACK GO!!

And the many faces of Mason...why we call him Mas-Face...

I don't think Shiloh is impressed with this new little person in our house yet ;)