6 weeks already?

Mason - 6 weeks

I have a 6-week-old. Crazy! I can't believe how big he is getting already. Not sure exactly how much he weighs but we'll find out in a couple of weeks at his 2-month check up! He is definitely bigger than he was two weeks ago in his one month pics! With him getting bigger, his cheeks are getting chubbier. And I LOVE IT. I kiss them all day long! :) I am so thankful to be this little boy's mommy!! The Lord is really teaching me new things through this process. I'm excited to learn even more as Mason gets older and as we continue to expand our family! (But that won't be for another year or two!)

Oh...and there's more random thoughts in this post. Actually, just go ahead and prepare yourself for all my posts in the near future to be scattered. Since that's how my brain is these days!

More like BIG guy! This kid is GROWIN!!

I'm happy to say I am finally back to my "normal" self. Not so sure I was that normal to begin with. But all of my hormones have balanced out, I'm fully recovered from my c-section, and I finally have my energy back! My OB has now cleared me to work out...so I don't have that awesome excuse anymore. Oddly enough, I'm actually 3 pounds lighter today than I was before I got pregnant. I'm glad the pregnancy weight came off. But totally did not expect to be smaller/lighter! It was an awesome surprise. I'm taking this as a moment of motivation to keep it going. Still trying to decide what method of "lifestyle change" I will be making. Have considered Weight Watchers, calorie counting, carb counting...just not sure yet. Also trying to start taking more vitamins. Which is a struggle since I have the most sensitive gag reflex and these vitamins taste NASTY! As Jimmy Fallon would say... "Ew"

One thing that has slightly changed since becoming a mommy is my defensive driving techniques. Before Mason, I will shamefully admit I would text and drive. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, that changed. And my phone use has gotten even more strict since I'm driving him around now! (Getting a car with bluetooth is definitely on the agenda) But instead of paying more attention to my driving, I have started paying more attention to other people's driving. I am appalled. Even just this morning as I was driving down 220, a lady passed us going 90mph (minimum) while doing her make up. SHE WAS APPLYING MASCARA!!! Holy crap people! I also saw two different guys (BOTH driving company trucks) accidentally swerve into the other lane when they were in front of me. When I passed them, one was trying to fix his GPS on the dash and the other was texting. Yall, I EVEN SAW A COP TEXTING & DRIVING! I realize we live in a fast-paced world and we think that if we don't answer that text right when we get it, it will be the end of the world. But PLEASE reconsider when you think about looking down at your phone! Anything can happen in a split second. If you don't do this for yourself, at least do it for all of the little kiddos out there that don't deserve to be hurt by your stupidity!

Wow. Ok. Not sure where that rant came from! Guess that's just the momma bear coming out.

Today is mine and Brandon's two year dating anniversary! I thank God every day for sending Brandon into my life! He has been amazing from day one and spoils me daily! He keeps me laughing and I love him so much for that! I am so blessed to have him as my husband and Mason is blessed to have him as his daddy!!

I am so grateful for this blog! It's so much easier doing this than keeping up with a baby book! Even though I do have a small one for him. But it'll just be for his first year. This will be his whole life! ;) Mason, I do not apologize in advance for how much I talk about kissing your sweet cheeks and changing your poopy diapers. My job as being your mommy is the best one I've ever had! You are my best little buddy and I wouldn't trade you for ANYTHING in the world!!

Random Thoughts of a New Mommy

Yall just thought the last post was random. Buckle up. And please don't read these as complaints. I am purely just emptying out my brain of things I'd love to tweet about, but can't fit into 140 characters, or that I'd love to instantly share with someone but can't at that moment because M takes up all of my time! :)

Mason's first visit to church yesterday. This was was too good not to share!!

Eat. Sleep. Poop. Repeat. Not necessarily in the order. This is what my life Mason's life is at the moment and has been since bringing him into the world. And sometimes 99% of the time, he poops WHILE he eats. Such a multi-tasker. I literally changed 3 deuce diapers within about 20 minutes earlier today.

I'm not sure about other babies, but my baby is IMpatient. He can be happy, content, wide-eyed and bushy tailed and as soon as he realizes he's hungry, he turns into Tazmanian Devil! He goes bizurk!! From smiles to tears within a matter of just nano-seconds. Boggles my brain.

Mason has gone from LOVING his swing to not liking it at all. I need to him to start loving it again! On that note, I'm still trying to break him of being held all day long. I do love and cherish cuddle time with him. But this momma needs to get some crap done. And I can't bring myself to pay $50+ for a wrap. I also don't think I could get as much done with him attached to me all day long. He needs to start learning a little separation anyway.

Tummy time = Mason trying to eat his play mat the whole time. It's going good. But he just pecks at his play mat like a little chicken. Silly boy. He's so cute.

I can't seem to keep this kid fed enough! He would eat ALL DAY LONG if I let him. And then he'd end up with a tummy ache (speaking from experience) and then we are both unhappy all day long. He's a growing boy and that is awesome! But he eats like it's Thanksgiving Day! Oh, and when he is screaming hungry, he acts as if he's never eaten a day in his life. He grasps on to the bottle like his life depended on it. Well....I guess his life does depend on it. Scratch that.

Bath time is going MUCH better! He actually somewhat enjoys it now. He just sits there with a solemn look on his face the whole time and that totally beats screaming the whole time!!

I just know my kid will love reading about his bowel movements on the world wide web one day.

Breakfast with the cousins, Karli June & Shelbi Jo, and Aunt Mandi!

Shelbi Jo and Mason

Oh..and this took me about 6 hours to write since Mason wouldn't hardly let me put him down today. :)

Introducing Mason Richard Burnside [Birth & 1 Month]

Wow! Seriously, where did time go? I can't believe its been 5 weeks since I last posted. This has been the fastest 5 weeks of my life. Also, I apologize for the rambling I am about to do. I have officially lost the ability to control my focus/train of thought so this post is probably about to be all over the place. Oh, and it's going to be one of the longest posts I've ever written with LOTS of pics. So much to be shared!

On Monday, July 14, 2014 at 11:24am, we welcomed our baby boy, Mason Richard Burnside, into the world!! He was 7 lbs, 13 oz, and 20 inches long. I'm not going to go into detail about the birth story, mainly because it was all such a blur anyway. I ended up having an emergency c-section because every time I would have a contraction, Mason's heart rate would drop. So after laboring for 11 hours, we got that baby outta there. And my life has been changed (for the better of course) ever since.

When you're pregnant, everyone tells you "get as much sleep as you can now!" And while yes, that is great advice, it really does nothing to prepare you for the loss of sleep you will experience. I will say we have been blessed with an awesome baby. He does sleep pretty well at night, other than waking up screaming when its time to eat. But going from sleeping 7-9 hours (straight with no waking) a night to getting about 2-3 hours of sleep at a time is the most exhausting thing I've ever experienced. My body has never had to function on so little sleep before and its taken me a while to adjust. I've always LOVED sleep. I even came home from the hospital (when I was born) sleeping through the night, so my mom says. So that's been one major adjustment. Totally worth the loss of sleep though. :)

Being a mommy is the absolute best thing in the world. I have 9 nieces and nephews (with one more on the way!). And I absolutely love and adore those sweet babies. But I just thought I knew love before Mason. I had no idea. Not gonna lie, the first two weeks of his life were extremely hard. I started out breastfeeding. B and I went to a couple of classes and I was very excited to try it. However, it was soooo not for me. I struggled with it a lot. Mason actually caught on really well with it. But I was not producing enough, so it was taking him like an hour to an hour and a half for every feeding and then he was still fussy. He wasn't happy. I wasn't happy. And that meant Brandon really wasn't happy. So Brandon and I talked about it and talked to our doctor (whom we LOVE, by the way), and we decided to switch to formula, especially since I wasn't producing enough and he went from week 1 to week 2 with no weight gain. And it was like the heavens opened up and the angels sang "HALLELUJAH!" It was crazy how much of life change that was! But I can't say I didn't struggle with the decision. I struggled with it a LOT. I didn't want to be a "quitter". I wanted to naturally provide nutrients for my child. I wanted to keep that sweet bond between Mason and me. I wanted to save money and not have to buy formula. And unfortunately, I started to care way too much about what other people would think about me quitting. But yall, I will tell you right now. I have zero regrets about changing to formula. It was been the best decision we've made so far in parenthood. Ultimately, the decision was made because Mason was not getting what he needed. And he came first in the decision. But I still have that sweet bond with him, and now Brandon gets to share in on that too when he feeds him. It's a win for everyone!

I have spent a lot of time in prayer, praying that I wouldn't let Satan keep stealing my joy of motherhood. Since being a parent is one of the most challenging, yet most amazing journeys sent directly from the Lord, I feel like that's the one of the main things that Satan tries to attack constantly. He is always making me doubt my ability as a mother. He's always wanting me to compare myself to other mommys. He's wanting me to compare Mason to other children. He tests my patience (constantly) and knows I can't stand to hear my child cry. So in those moments of doubt and frustration, I pray for him to flee from my thoughts in Jesus name. Then I take about 3 deep breaths. And then I spend time praying prayers of thankfulness to him. Thanking Him for all he has blessed me with. How in the world did I end up with the most amazing husband and son I could have ever imagined? I'm still not sure. But I'm so thankful I did.

I guess its time to give some updates on Mason, since he IS a month old and all.

Mason Richard Burnside

Age: 1 month

Weight: 10 lbs, 6 oz 

Height: 21 3/4 in

Mason loves:

• to lay on his Daddy's chest - one of my most favorite things to see
• tooting - seriously...I've never heard a kid toot as much OR as loud. It's somewhat impressive.
• to be held - it's getting a tad ridiculous...buying a wrap this weekend so I can actually get some things done around the house!
• people - He's had quite a few visitors and even has a roadtrip to Arkansas under his belt.. all of which he did great! He loves seeing new faces.
• kisses from Mommy - ok, so he may or may not love this, but I sure do love it so I had to add it to the list.

Also, he has already outgrown most of his newborn onesies and this momma just about cried over it. We put him in 3-month pajamas last night and the length was perfect. He's growing up so fast already!!

And before I start crying again, I will leave you with some of the pics from our 1-month photo shoot!