The Beginning

There's no better place to start than the beginning. It all began last summer when I met Fred. We are both involved in education, Minnesota sports fans, Democrats, and all-around amazing people (we're both really modest too). We had enough in common that I agreed to have dinner with him when he was in the Helena area. I wanted to make sure that he was as charming as I remembered and that our age difference (about 11 years) wasn't going to be a problem). Dinner went well, we got to know each other better over the next couple of months and fell in love. Now here we are less than a year later with a beautiful baby girl - Adele.



Adele arrived in this world April 22, 2011 at 7:07 a.m. Fred arrived at the hospital just in time after a seven hour drive. I arrived at the hospital the night before to get checked after being in some pain. The nurse assured me that I was indeed in labor and gave me two options. I could stay at the hospital or go home with some sleeping pills and return when the contractions were stronger and closer together. I chose the second option and returned to the hospital a little less than three house later. I was lucky to have two good friends in the delivery room with me and good thing too because labor and delivery went quickly.

Just as quickly as she arrived, Adele quickly changed my life, priorities, worries, and joys.  She and I were able to spend around a week with Fred and my parents before they had to return to work. Now it's just us girls (and Mickey the cat) in our little apartment. It hasn't been easy to be a "single mom." Fred returns to Helena in early June. By then I hope I have things figured out more than I currently do. I had no choice as a mom but to change my schedule/abandon my own to meet Adele's needs and wants, which for a tiny baby are a lot. I naively hoped in the first couple of days alone with her that we were getting into a routine. I learned that babies like to switch things up when you least expect it or want it.

Weight fell off of both Adele and I after she was born. That has been one of my main worries. My baby girl wasn't gaining weight as quickly as she should. I felt, of course, like a horrible mom. Why wasn't she gaining weight fast enough? I must be doing something wrong, right? Even after being told many times I was doing a good job I didn't believe it until her most recent doctor's appointment when the numbers on the scale jumped. This visit came the morning after a long night with a very hungry and fussy baby. I had to turn to formula to calm her down and fill her tummy despite my previous hesitancy of introducing it to her this early. I feel better now knowing that even though things aren't going exactly as planned, they had to change to make things better for Adele.

That's all I want in this world. I want things to be better for my daughter. She's going to love me because I feed her, cuddle her, give her kisses and teach her about this crazy world. I think we are off to a good start (I can say that as the "new-mom guilt" fades). We have a lot of friends who are helping Mommy out. Adele is changing every day and I feel so blessed to have her in my life. Let the fun continue!