Rice Cereal

The Duchess will be 5 months next week. Her pediatrician advised that we could start to give her Rice Cereal as an alternative to formula. This way she can learn to eat with utensils.   THIS IS SO EXCITING! I get to FEED her? With a spoon?? YESSSS!  This was the result:

Is that not the cutest thing you've EVER seen? I mean... seriously, she's adorable. But, I'm biased.  If you're wondering, I am not sure she actually swallowed any of the cereal. But, we will keep working on it.

(SN: she HATES her crib. Talk about stressful...)

(FYI: She is wearing her THE Ohio State University onesie. GO BUCKS!! BEAT THAT TEAM FROM UP NORTH!)

Turkey and Football

OH MAN! OH MAN! OH MAN! I LOVE THANKSGIVING!

My sister doesn't care much for it. She isn't really a fan of Turkey. But since her family moved into their new home - she gets to be the honorary host for Thanksgiving and Christmas and with it being The Duchess' first holidays, well, we can't miss them.  Also, my (little) brother is moving off on to bigger things in Nash-vegas, so I would like to be there to wish him luck and see him off.

I cannot remember the last time I ate Thanksgiving Dinner with my parents and my siblings.  Living 12 hrs away makes holidays more of a pick-one-or-the-other kind of thing.  And so, Thanksgiving is normally not on the list of Holidays I choose to travel. But, my Grandmother has gone back to work at Wally-World and will be unavailable.  So, off we go! 

Duchess and I are going to attempt to fly. And of course, a massive Nor'easter is heading toward the East Coast. THANK GOD WE ARE NOT DRIVING. We would have never gotten there. 

Anyways, If you're reading this MOM & SISTER - green bean casserole better be on the menu... And the Lions game and the Parade on TV! This is so exciting! Food and football and family. 

I could get used to this. 

Cant wait to see you all! XOXO

Musically Inclined

I have always had a passion for music. My sister, brother and I were started young reciting music trivia in the car to 104.7 WIOT (a CLASSIC, classic rock station).  We have young parents. I love Led Zeppelin, GNR, and Queen. I could sing the words to nearly every classic rock song that comes on the radio.  My first concert was Seven Mary Three at the timeless (and now extinct) Party in the Park, Downtown Toledo when I was 12.  Mister Big's Just to Be With You stands out as one all four of us used to belt out while driving to the Helminski's to go out tubing on the Maumee River.  Classic rock, a boat, and the river just go together. That was my childhood. 

Ah, the 90's. Grunge and stoner-hippy-esque jam bands. I will always love Pearl Jam and Nirvana. My era. A bucket list item of mine is to see Dave Matthews Band with my Sister and my Mom, outside somewhere in the Summertime. 

Thanks to my Mom, her awesome taste in music (80's hair bands were her era) and her stay-young attitude have stuck with me (with all three of us).  My brother started a band with some of his best buddies back when he was in high school.  They played lots of shows and had a great following. He's now moving off to Nashville, the Music City, to try his hand at bar ownership.  

My sister and I are not living in The Music City or doing anything musically related, but it shows out in who we are as people. We were brought up to be strong and have fun first and not take shit from people. We never turn down the opportunity to go to a concert really of any kind.  

I was thinking today, how lucky I am to have been given the best gift - siblings. I cannot think what my life would be like without them. They are truly, my best friends.  We have the same dumb sense of humor. The same no-bullshit way of dealing with people. And a love of music (and sports) that is not comparable to anything I have ever known in anyone else.  

So, thanks Mom. Really, thank-you. 

4 Months

Yesterday, The Duchess turned a whooping 4 months old. It sure did fly right by. I start to tear up just discussing this so, I will make today's blog post quick...

She gets funnier everyday. She, in the past two weeks, started to laugh and the most funny part is that they almost sound stuck sometimes - more of a chuckle.  I have learned that once a baby starts laughing, grown men will dance around the house flapping their arms about and making the goofiest of faces as much as possible - just to make it happen again. 

I have realized how fast babies really do grow out of clothing. I've already filled one whole Tupperware Bin with just NB and 0-3 outfits. And now I will have to start filling up one with 3-6 months.

We have now had our first real holiday, Halloween.  We just passed out candy but I dressed her in a glow-in-the-dark skeleton shirt and she of course wore my favorite bow on her head. Starting traditions with an infant is kind of silly, but I am determined to have family traditions that we make lasting memories out of. My friend invited us to a little Halloween Parade that I hope will become a yearly tradition and since she has a baby boy who is only a month younger than Duchess, we can watch them grow up and be friends too.

This week, I will be preparing the house and The Duchess to start sleeping in her own room. Frankly, I have been dragging my feet to get started.  Mainly because I nurse her at night still and I'm so tired that its basically laziness on my part. Let's be honest, to have to walk another 5 steps to her room at 3 a.m. seems like a lot of work...

My friend says "REPEAT:  I LOVE BEING A MOM."  Its our joke for whenever motherhood seems to be getting us down.  Like the thought of putting on a bathing suit next year after looking at myself in the mirror currently... Let's face it, the girls aint looking like they used to. Its a hard pill to swallow.  The lack of sleep makes for some truly awesome dark bags under my eyes.  But on the bright-side I was lucky enough to lose all my baby weight very fast.  Good genes, I guess. Thanks, Mom and Dad.  I suppose I should relish the fact that I can fit in my size 4 skinny's again because if there is ever another munchkin in the future - I can probably kiss them good-bye.  A small price to pay, I guess. 

Its really hard to fathom that in just 4 more months The Duchess will probably be scooting around and crawling, trying to say her first words and eating Cheerios.  I will try to take in as much of the now, as I can. I don't ever want to forget what that first laugh sounded like. 

C'mon Man!

I LOVE FOOTBALL. 

(I also LOVE baseball - baseball IS my first love...) 

I guess I just love sports in general. I will watch whatever Golf Tournament is on TV and catch the day's highlights - especially if Tiger's playing. Regardless of his antics, he brings something to that sport that no one else brings. Competition.  I can watch the last 40 laps of a NASCAR race and undoubtedly route for Dale Jr. (I don't care what y'all think).  I bought a specific type of cable TV brand so that I could watch every single Detroit Tiger's game (162 + post-season).

But football, football brings a certain Sunday flair. (Or Saturday. Or Monday. And now Thursday nights too, if you have NFL network).  It means Fall, and chili, and comfy hoodies and jeans. Its the Lions and Packers on Thanksgiving, I love Thanksgiving. 

I desperately wanted a boy at first because I wanted Football Fridays (in high school) and Maumee Little League baseball games at Ford Field. I thought that because of my tom-boyish nature that I wouldn't know how to raise a little girl. 

I was watching CBS News this morning.  They did a piece on the lack of women's rights in Saudi Arabia and portrayed how women are punished, beaten and jailed for just wanting the right to drive a vehicle.  They interviewed a man who when asked how he felt about women having the right to drive, replied "I think its unnecessary! What would they do if they got a flat tire?!"

I was blown away. Is the world still FLAT? It made me terribly sad that I have a little girl who is still going to grow up in a World where in this day and age, there are still men who think women cant figure out how to change a tire (OR at least call a tow company to come change it)! Or think for themselves. Or make the same amount of money as they do - or in Saudi Arabia, even be allowed to have a job or an education at all!

So, now that I have a little girl, I hope she gets to have a little sister.  And I hope they play sports with the boys. And get dirty. And drive cars. And watch football. And drink beer, someday if they want to. If they want to be ballerinas or cheerleaders or football kickers - DO IT.

This goes for my girl(s) and my niece(s) and all little girls. I hope you try things. Be daring. Be strong. You are capable. 

"Scout" the Slugger

(Duchess, I will support you, no matter what.)

Baby Gibberish

The Duchess is now nearly 4 months old.  And over the last several maybe 4-5 days, she has been just talking away. Baby gibberish has to be the cutest damn thing I have ever heard. I am convinced that if I could understand her, she would have the answer to this whole mess with Congress.  She is also tracing me as I walk by her, she smiles incessantly and I don't think I have ever in my life seen a more beautiful toothless person.  

Go Tigers!

Recently, a very close friend of mine lost his father suddenly.  The family is a Maumee staple and their father even coached my softball team one year.  Another year, his middle daughter who, I graduated High School with (and a very good friend of mine to this day) tried to throw me out at third base leaving a very nice scar after eight stitches.  He was a truck driver for UPS, a member of the union and married to his wife for 36 years. There were hundreds of people at the showing. 

 Duchess and I stopped up to give my friend, his mother, and sisters, a big hug.  What do you say to people you've known most of your life, when something like this happens? The same thing the hundreds of other people have told them for the last week -- "Your father was a great guy." My heart just aches for them.  

Summer 2007

My friend wanted to introduce Duchess to his mother, who hadn't yet met her.  I waited with my friend for a few minutes while she finished her conversation with some of the other attendees, then walked up to say hello and express how sorry I was.  Looking very tired and heartbroken, his mother noticed right away that this was my new addition and she perked up a bit.  And then it happened.  Duchess in all her glory, looked right at my friend's mother and smiled the biggest toothless grin and laughed at her. As if to say, "I came here to try to cheer you up!" I think his mom really appreciated it and he even shed a smile for a minute.  She made sure to tell me that this is the really fun part, and to make sure I enjoy it.  I don't know if its selfish to think this or not, but after leaving I felt a little bit better.  That maybe, just maybe for 30 seconds, my baby brought some joy to those poor people.  

Mrs. Wampler, I will do my very best to enjoy it. And I will think of you and your family often. 

The Duchess of Crestwood makes her royal debut.

Emerson Rose came into my life on July 4, 2013. Yes, she's a little "firecracker". Yes, she has a full head of dark hair. And, yes, she's seems very long and will probably be tall. (Can you tell we hear that a lot?)  My pregnancy mirrored that of Prince William and Kate's, we were even in the hospital on the same exact day for severe morning sickness.  The Prince, whom I've adored since I was a kid, (we are the same age you know!) said it best -- "They shouldn't call it morning sickness, when it's actually ALL DAY AND NIGHT SICKNESS!" Seriously, that's a true story. I spent the whole day in the hospital hooked up to fluids because I literally couldn't keep anything down. Do you know what is worse than having morning sickness all day everyday? Getting the FLU on top of it... Yea. That happened to me... I have never missed so much work in all my life. But the nickname for my little addition was then set, as all nicknames for baby bumps in this family are given by my Mother (Bo, Chocolate Bunny, and The Duchess). Thanks, Mom.

Once I got past my first trimester, they say its smoother sailing. HA HA HA. Not for me... I was diagnosed with placenta praevia. Which is a semi-rare condition, in which the placenta sits low in the uterus - making it difficult for the baby to be born naturally because it blocks the exit door! (Sheesh. This can't get much worse can it? Oh, it can...)   My doctor told me that mine was not as serious as it could be and as I grew bigger, the placenta may act as a balloon and possibly move out of the way. So, that was actually something to be thankful for with my ever-expanding waste-line.

This is kind of what it looks like. (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

I was placed on bed rest until further notice. No nothing of any sort.... But, I needed to work and after 3 weeks or so, I coerced my doctor into allowing me back to work. I mean, for crying out loud, the hardest part of my day is the 2nd story walk-up. I sit at a desk and type all day... its not like I spend 16 hrs a day loading a truck or on the line at Jeep.

Things were actually going swimmingly for a while after that. I feeling much better, working everyday and getting the house ready for the new addition.  And then at 28 Weeks, I had an accident (who me??).  I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, obviously in the dark, and tripped over LuLu, my dog.

Tallulah Belle

I fell belly-first into the four-poster of my bed. Yikes. I was shaken but baby kind of kicked me back as if to say "Hey?! What the hell dude, I was sleeping!" I let the dog out, peed and went back to bed, not thinking anything of it.  I got up and went to work as usual. It wasn't until around 2:30 p.m. that I started not feeling... right.  I called my Doctor's Office fully expecting that they would just have me come in to be checked out - no harm, no foul. Boy, was I wrong. I was told to leave work, go straight to Toledo Hospital do not pass go. Do not collect $200.00. They told me when I got there that I was contracting every 2 mins. This was NOT good.  I had a battery of tests done over 5 days determining that I had an abruption somewhere, and that if I fully abrupted after leaving the hospital Emerson might die.

I was put on bed rest for the entirety of the pregnancy. Its was a long haul. I've been fully (overly) employed and/or going to school at the same time since I was 14.  I was NOT ready to be a bum for 3 months. Sitting around getting rounder and not contributing to the monthly bills. The day we made it full term was a very happy one.

On July 2nd, I contracted so badly that I could not get out of bed all day. I was in terrible pain and thought for sure I was in labor and that we were simply waiting for my water to break.  My due date was July 5th.  But as the hours came and went, so did my contractions. And even though severe, not as regular as full blown labor.  The next morning, I was feeling better. I thought I would go for a walk at the mall to try to move things along. I was DONE being pregnant. Everything hurts, not sleeping well, SO tired.  I stopped at the grocery store and grabbed some things to make tacos, then headed home to make dinner.  The night went normally. Still no baby. Not even contracting. Strange.

Then, 3 a.m. rolled around.  I got up extra carefully thinking I had to pee... My water broke! So I called my midwife, Donna.  Sleepily she told me to go ahead and head to St. Luke's Hospital. When we got there, there were no open rooms. I waited in a triage area from about 4:30 a.m. - 7:00 or so.  They were so busy that they even called in a special nurse just for us.  Her name was Stephanie. And to this day - I am so grateful for her. She deserves a special plaque and at least 3 gold stars and while were at it, a cookie!

I labored all day and all night and nothing. No progression. We even watched the Tigers Game on TV and the Maumee/Perrysburg Fireworks went off outside my window. Donna decided around 11 p.m. that it was time to try to move things along. The delivery was intense. It took a very long time, nearly 3 hours. Both the baby and I were exhausted. We were on oxygen and they shut my drugs off. Nothing worked.  She wouldn't come out. Finally, with only minutes to spare before I was whisked into surgery, Emerson was born.  7 lbs 4 oz 21 1/2 inches long. On the Fourth of July at 2:03 a.m. She never cried, only whimpered a few times.

Emmie, has proven to me what I have always known about myself. That having a baby was something I desperately needed in my life.  I would go as far to say, that she is most like her Aunt Sarah... (leggy, constantly late, and an incredibly SLOW eater.)

Emmie at 8 Weeks Old

Emerson Rose is the love of my life. Being a Mom has been intense to say the least. But I think waiting until I was 30 years old to start a family has given me some extra life experience to handle it better.