A Crasi Mama

Church Bells Ringing

I planned a wedding in 3 months. Yes, you read that correctly- 3 months. My husband and I started dating in 2015, and got engaged in 2019. We had planned on this big wedding ordeal in 2021.

I wanted the huge wedding with the flowers, the cake, the big fancy dress, the large bridal party, the big reception. I had planned my wedding on Pinterest before I even met my husband. It was going to be the perfect fall wedding with the color scheme being Navy blue, maroon, iron and gold.

I was going to have it at this beautiful farm location I found a few years ago. The decorations were going to be rustic but have some sparkle to them. It was going to be picture perfect. I wanted that so badly, but was so NAIVE to the cost. In my head- that is what you do! When you get engaged you throw the big wedding. It was the “next step.”

When my husband proposed it was the best day of my entire life up until that point. Now, it was time to start planning!

Boy, was I over my head. I purchased the most trusted wedding planner on Amazon. When it came, and I saw how much was actually involved in planning a wedding- I broke out in to hives! So, I picked the colors in the book and shut it for a month.

When I reopened the book- I had every intention of planning what needed to be done to get the ball rolling. The venue. So, I called a few places and got some appointments to see them.

I didn’t fall in love with any of them. That was the hard reality. I had this vision in my head of what I wanted, and none of the venues gave me that. I was back to square one with nothing.

I put the book down- again. And for the next few months, we put planning on the back burner. We carried on with our lives and watched two of my husbands friends get engaged. That brought this overwhelming sense of urgency to plan a wedding because they were planning one a year away.

In 2020 we had a lot of weddings to attend. Two of which my husband was a best man/groomsman in. This really triggered us to get our butts in gear and plan a wedding. We sat down with our moms and decided we wanted a Christmas wedding. I nixed my dream of a fall wedding because of the crazy, unpredictable weather we have in Ohio and fell in love with the idea of Christmas wedding.

We did not want to wait either. It was September 2020 and we were going to plan a wedding in 3 months and not spend a small fortune for a one day party. A budget of $5,000 was set and that included EVERYTHING.

We found the church to marry us, we found another church hall to host the reception, we found a DJ, a caterer, the cake- EVERYTHING all within about two weeks. We decided to order my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets and the boutonnière from Etsy to save on money. We decided to do a mini cake and then serve cupcakes to cut the cost of a huge cake. I had my bridesmaids all buy their dresses- which were very reasonably priced. I made the invitations, the save the dates and the RSVP cards I found my wedding dress at a second hand dress store- new with tags! Finally, we were ready!

Covid posed a problem to begin with, but we were ready to tackle that. We wanted everyone to wear a mask when they got up from their seats at the reception, but mainly it was wear them as you see fit. Little did we expect that we would have to cancel our reception due to the “no dancing” restriction that was put in to place weeks before our wedding. Our DJ informed us that he would need us to follow that or he could get fined and possibly loose his license.

We had to call everyone, including our caterer and cancel. We were bummed, but we said there wouldn’t be a point to have a reception if no one could dance. We decided to postpone until July 2021. We were going to do a “Christmas in July” thing. Which later would not pan out because we got pregnant and needed to have a baby shower instead!

December 19th, 2020 I got to marry the man of my dreams. He is everything I have ever wanted and more. He is the sweetest and kindest human there ever was, he takes care of me, he provides for me and loves me for all that I am. This was one of the best days of my life, and everything I wanted out of a wedding. Simple but elegant. There was no “over the top/craziness” that came along with the day. I, actually, got to enjoy every moment of my wedding day, instead of a normal bride who has to stress all day over every small detail. It was perfection.

I understand why people want the big party celebration, I really do. but for my husband and I, it was one day. We did not want to put ourselves in more debt just so other people could party on our dime. We wanted to enjoy our wedding and the days after, not wake up the day after our wedding and realize we had all of these bills now that came along with having a wedding. Our wedding would not be for everyone, but it was my special day. I still felt like the most beautiful bride who had the most beautiful wedding. Now we need to plan our delayed honeymoon but make it baby friendly!

Meeting Beau…

On September 23rd, 2021 I met Beau Salvatore, my son. The answer to my Prayers. My “Handsome Savior” who has brought nothing but joy and happiness in to my life.

The story of Beau begins long before we found out we were pregnant. His story starts, in fact, years before. Before I was out of college, before I met my husband, before he was even a thought.

Growing up, all I wanted and dreamed of being was a mom. That is one of the first things I can remember ever wanting- kids. I did not care if I had them biologically or adopted them, I just wanted children. I dreamed of the day I had a baby of my own to love and watch grow. So, when I was in college and diagnosed with HPV and the doctor said that there was spot on my cervix that she wanted to be cautious about, I panicked.

I delved in to research on what this diagnosis meant for me. I had no clue what HPV was or what it affected, but I knew one thing- I was scared. Then, after many unnecessary hours on WebMD the words INFERTILITY and CERVICAL CANCER kept popping up. My entire being was rattled. What did this mean for my future?

Fast forward to meeting my, now, husband. We dated for 3 years before we were engaged, but we stopped preventing pregnancy after we got engaged because we figured “why not!” During the next two years, I had my concerning spot removed from my cervix which weakened my cervix wall, and made me susceptible to preterm labor. Then on top of all of this- we never had a pregnancy ‘scare’. That’s right! After, two years of ‘not preventing’ I never missed.

I freaked out. I thought my body was about to betray me and not be able to give me the one thing I have ever wanted. So, I hyper-focused on planning my wedding, which I planned in 3 months (another story for another time) and we got married on December 19th, 2020.

January 30th, 2021- the day my entire life changed. It was the day my period was supposed to start, but I woke up at like 7 a.m. and took the test. Positive. I remember being so happy I couldn’t contain my excitement. I ran in to my bedroom, jumped on my husband and drug him out of bed to the bathroom where 4 pregnancy tests showed our greatest blessing was coming,

Pregnancy was rough. I was sick a lot. I had raging heartburn, I felt huge and round, but I never took any of it for granted. I embraced it. I looked forward to each doctors appointment and with each passing week- we got closer to meeting our baby.

We did the blood test to find out the gender because I was too exited to wait. Up until the day we found out, I knew I was having a girl. There was not a doubt in my mind. Every pregnancy symptom I had indicated that I was having a girl. Everyone who heard how my pregnancy was going said it was a girl. My husband was in denial and said it was a boy. So, when blue balloons came falling down during our private gender reveal, I was SHOCKED! Thrilled, but shocked.

We were having a baby boy. Now it was time to start planning. We had a few names that we really liked but did not want to settle on a name just yet. One thing we did know was we wanted his middle name to be Salvatore, after my husbands grandfather. The man who inspired him most.

We had our baby showers, we washed all of the clothes, we sanitized all of the bottles and we set up our ‘Little Sharks’ surfer/shark theme nursery. We were ready. We had everything ready to go.

The last two weeks of my pregnancy were extremely hard. My doctors said that our baby was measuring way too big, so they wanted me to come in twice a week for stress test and ultrasounds. By the time we reached 38 weeks he was supposed to be measuring over 8 pounds, and I, of course, was nervous. I did not want to risk him being too big for me to deliver and possibly hurt him and myself in the process. But I, also, did not want to have a c-section either.

Wednesday September 22nd was my last normal day. I went to work, came home, ate dinner, probably watched some TV and before I went to bed I did a few stretches for my aching legs, and went to sleep. At 2:30 in the morning, I woke up startled, rushed to the bathroom (as fast as a pregnant woman could) and felt a gush of liquid. I, honestly, thought I peed the bed. So I called my mom, and asked her what I should do. She said call the doctor- your water broke.

My poor husband was in total denial! He said “Go back to bed! You peed yourself!” And boy was he wrong. We got to the hospital about an hour later because I wanted to make sure I ate something before we got checked in. The doctor confirmed that my water broke and sent me up to my labor room where I would spend the next 2 days.

After a GRUELING 22 hour labor- 3 epidural needles inserted in my spine, 5 hours of pushing, 3rd degree tear and the use of the vacuum to get my baby out- he was finally hear!

Beau Salvatore was born on September 23rd, 2021 at 11:42 p.m. weighing 7 pounds 14 ounces and 19.5 inches long.

That is the start of his story. There is so much more I plan to share, but I wanted to give the “before” with the “meeting him” story because that is such an important part to his beginning. There were so many emotions and challenges that led up to this tiny miracle baby. This is just the start of this amazing journey I am on, and I can’t wait to share it all.

5 Products I Love as a First Time Mom

As a first time mom, I spent HOURS researching the best products on the market I would need for my baby when he arrived. I wanted “The Best of the Best” for him. Now that he is here, and 3 months old, there are products I LOVE and would recommend to anyone!

I know every baby is different, and every mom has different views and needs. But, I wanted to share some products that I really enjoyed and why, so maybe some first time moms can benefit from my review and help them decide on what they need.

First product: The Baby Brezza.

This is HANDS DOWN my absolute favorite baby product I own. If this broke for any reason, I would go out THAT DAY and buy another. That is how much I love this product. It works exactly like a Kuerig- it mixes formula and water to make the perfect bottle for your baby. You set the formula setting to the formula you are using, adjust the temperature setting and ounce setting and BAM! Within seconds you have a bottle ready.

I was unable to breast feed, so I wanted to splurge on this product to make my life a little easier. Is there cleaning involved with this? Yes! You do have regular cleaning with this product, but it is worth every cent. I love this product SO MUCH.

Second Product- The Owlet Sock Monitor

This is the second product that I absolutely love, and I am so thankful that I have. As a first time mom, I had sleep anxiety. When he goes to sleep, I get SO paranoid. For one I am a deep sleeper, and I was afraid that I would sleep through him crying, choking, rolling over etc. This product has given me such a peace of mind when he is wearing it at night.

My cat actually chewed the charging cord for the base, and I contacted The Owlet company and they sent me a new cord and were so helpful and nice. Their customer service was fantastic. But, during those few days I did not have the sock were the worst days of sleep in my life. I could not shut my eyes. I was terrified I would miss something. When we got the new cord, my body could finally sleep. This product is a total game changer. This allows me to not only track his sleep patterns, but it tells me what his heart rate is at and his oxygen levels are at. This product, as a first time mom who already had anxiety, allows me to rest easy. It is one of my favorites!

The Third Product- The Summer 2 in 1 Bouncer and Rocker

This has been a dream product to own. I wanted a lightweight, easily portable seat and bouncer for when I couldn’t hold Beau. This product is fantastic. It folds up, so I can take it places. It is lightweight, so I am not breaking my back trying to move it from room to room. It is just all around a great baby seat.

The Fourth Product- The Galt Playnest Farm

This was a product that I saw on TikTok and ordered it straight away! We fell in love with it! It is a tummy time donut that allows Beau to do tummy time but not actually lay on his stomach. Beau is very stubborn and does not like to actually lay on his stomach, so this allows him to get some tummy time without crying! And that makes this mama very happy!

The Fifth Product- The Shynerk Baby Car Mirror

This, final, product that I love is this car mirror. It gives me peace of mind that I can see him when we are in the car at stop signs. This allows me to see, if he is upset, what the problem is. This allows me to talk with him and see his response. This is just a really great product for a paranoid mom.

These five products have really made the transition in to new mommy life easier. Had I not had these products, I think I would have lost my mind. All of these products are a 10 out of 10, and I would recommend over and over again!

The Obligatory Introduction.

Hi Everyone! My name is Tyler Crasi, and welcome to my blog! I am a new mommy trying to balance this new normal of having a baby with life in general. Prior to being a mom, I majored in English with two minors, one of which was creative writing.

I have always had a passion for writing and with limited jobs wanting an English major where I am located, and a drive to utilize my degree, this led me to start blogging.

So, let’s get in to the nitty gritty of it! Here are some things to know about me: I am married to my very best friend Brandon. We have been together for 6 years and married for 1! Right after we got married in December of 2020, we got pregnant! We were overjoyed to find out that we were having a boy!

In September 2021, we welcomed our 7 lb 14 oz precious baby Beau Salvatore Crasi. Since then, I have become ready to tackle on the task of becoming a grade A Pinterest mom while trying to be a semi-decent housewife!

I love to go to thrift stores. It is my favorite thing to do for “me time”. I enjoy going to TjMaxx, Homegoods and Marshalls to hunt for Rae Dunn! If you know, you know! I enjoy trying to cook. Try being the key word! I attempt to be crafty, especially now that I have Beau. That is a little about things that I enjoy doing, besides being with my family, dog and friends!

This blog is really for me to talk about being a first time mom, share products that I love, write about the moments in my life and much more. There is no “set theme” to this! I want to have a creative outlet and that is why I am here! I hope you enjoy!