PheMOMena

Central Ohio has much to offer for family adventures. There is so much packed within a 60-90 minute drive and we were able to take full advantage on Friday. Hubs had the day off so we packed up Baby K, braved state route 161 on a Friday afternoon and headed 40 minutes East to a little city named Newark. Newark has been in the news this year because the Longaberger building is there. Y'all know what I am talking about, right? The building that looks like a basket. Yep, that one. There is also a branch of Ohio State out there. Neither of those attractions are the reason that we were there on Friday. We went for three specific things: root beer, museum, farmers market.  Root beer: Hubs is obsessed. Like, seriously obsessed with root beer. I'm not kidding. He has a Facebook page. He rates them. He DOES have more pictures of our daughter than root beer... I think. A few weeks ago he came out to Newark all by his lonesome to go to a root beer bar. A ROOT BEER BAR. He and his ...

One year ago I found out I was pregnant. I know that I have an infant and life seems to go by MONTHS at a time now, instead of days, but it really doesn't seem like a year ago. It seems like 15 years ago. Let me explain. Hubs and I talked about planning a pregnancy. Since we are (a bit) outside the prime baby making years we definitely had a talk about the possibility of not ever being parents. We were firm on the details... if we were to "get pregnant" that would be cool; if we didn't, that would be fine too... and we were not going to have any medical intervention. So IVF was off the table for us. We were just going to try and see what would happen. And guess what? We tried for a year and nothing happened. Not a thing. Month after month it seemed like our want for a baby increased and we were shot down time after time. It was sad. By July 2015, after 13 months of trying, I set up an appointment with my gynecologist to make sure that we should keep trying. Appointm...

Summertime in the city. We have been hitting the streets a lot lately, traveling and such. When folks see the cute, chubby Baby K one of the first things they ask is: "Are you going to have another baby?" Uh, no-- thank you for asking. Such a weird question to ask... especially if we aren't related. Or close. Or acquaintances. This one little, old lady told me that if I didn't have another baby, Baby K would be lonely and grow up to resent me. Also, according to her, I didn't need to get the all clear from the doc before hubs and I started "trying" again... we should "just do it." Dear ma'am at the grocery store... Uh, NO. Ok, a couple things.  First:  I can honestly say, I have never had an overwhelming want or need to be a mom. I mean, it is great work if you can get it, but it certainly was not on my radar for the first 35 years of my life. Now, I love the time that I spend with my little chubbers, but it totally was not at the top o...

When I was pregnant (which seems like a bajillion years ago) hubs and I decided that our baby was going to be a breastfed baby, if possible. There were a couple of reasons for this but the two important ones (to us) was 1. it is good for Baby K and 2. it is a hell of a lot cheaper than formula feeding. I mean have you SEEN the price of formula?!!? It is obscene... but I digress. Totally a personal decision for soon to be mamas. I was a formula fed baby. My sister was a breastfed baby. Whatever floats your boat at the time is exactly what every mama should do. We talked about it and decided that I should at least try breastfeeding. If it was possible and Baby K grew well, our thought process was I should stick with it as long as possible. Seven weeks in on this breastfeeding thing and I have come to the conclusion that nobody respects the buffet. Me. I am the buffet, Breastfeeding is no joke, friends. Holy crap. You are always on call. Newborns pretty much eat, sleep and poop. I knew ...

It is early. As in, the sun is barely up. I know that most people are up and moving around this time, but we don't generally see early morning in this house. Hubs works second shift (usually home around 2 or 2:30 am) and we have a little human that likes to play when she should be sleeping. It is early and I am awake. Awake, drinking coffee and taking it all in. This blog will tell you the funniest or weirdest events that happen on our journey of parenthood-- and there will be plenty of stories because hubs and I are old, first time parents with smart mouths and no real experience, but today... today I will fill you in on what I see in these wee hours. The house is (mostly) silent. The (three) dogs have been outside for their morning bathroom break, so they are sleeping again. The loudest one is the chihuahua- she snores like an old man. It still amazes me that such big sounds come from a six pound dog. The cat is roaming the house like a black panther-- looking for prey to pou...

When you are preparing to come home with a baby one of the first things the doctors and nurses will tell you is sometimes babies have night and day cycles mixed up. That means that, more than likely, your baby will be awake at night and sleep soundly during the day. Totally true. Baby K is just now attempting to figure out a sleeping pattern of a normal person. She will sleep in her bassinet during the day, no problem. Somehow, as soon as the sun goes down, she has an aversion to the bassinet-- can't sleep there, won't sleep there. Nope. During daylight hours I have to wake her up so she can eat and play, but let the moon shine brightly in the sky-- this little night owl wants to socialize. Like she is at the club, y'all. Cooing, grunting, eye contact, smiling; I mean, you would think I was buying her an all inclusive trip to Disney World the way she is chatting me up at 3 in the morning. We are working on it. On Sunday hubs and I were made privy to something else that ...

It is 4:30 AM. I have been awake for two hours, after a two hour cat nap with my daughter. She is now sleeping and here I sit, watching Forensic Files, waiting for Mr. Sandman to come visit me again. The house is quiet, with the exception of the TV and the deep, slightly labored breathing of hubs, Baby K and the animals as they sleep. In the last two hours I have cuddled a crying baby, rocked her, fed her and changed a very full diaper... only to have her fill up another diaper within 5 minutes. I may never get back to sleep. As I turn to my left and look at her little sleeping face in the light of the computer and TV screens, I have no real complaints. I mean, everyone would like more sleep (and trust me, after three weeks, a solid nap would be the best present EVER) but that little familiar face makes it totally worth it. I can smell the baby lotion that I rubbed on her before she went to sleep (the first time). I can see her silhouette in the darkened bedroom-- from the nose down, s...