Baby’s 1st flight, Baby’s 1st Uber, My 1st time in Houston, Baby’s 1st football game outside my belly, My 1st NFL game, Andre’s 1st NFL home game, lots of First Downs.

It’s been a Weekend Full of Firsts.

Currently sitting on the plane, well kind of sitting, my body is contorted and I’m basically laying on top of my son while he’s in his car seat next to me. I needed some baby snuggles to get me through this flight. I have legitimate tears rolling down my face (thank God they dim the cabin lights for 5am outta pocket travel times). Why the tears? A lot of emotions. I feel like I just got my heart ripped out of my chest. Long distance relationships are tough as it is, but the fact that my son has to do a long distance relationship with his dad, his world, just eats at my heart every second of the day. Seeing Andre standing there watching us walk on the plane, not knowing when we’re going to see each other next or how long we’re going to see each other for is just a hurt I can’t describe. Another reason for my tears, 8 total hours of sleep in a 3 day trip of over 3,000 miles with a teething 5 month old is no joke. I don’t know what day it is, my eyes burn, but I’m too much of a protective mama bear to sleep on a plane with random people so close to my son. Last reason for the tears, I got to witness the love of my life fulfill his biggest dream in front of the other love of my life and the word blessing is an absolute understatement.

So let’s talk Behind The Scenes: the fun stuff I never show on Social Media. I chose 5am flying times because 90% of the time the flights aren’t full, I can fly with my car seat without paying for an extra seat (can someone say FINESSE), and they’re less expensive. When I arrived at LAX the security almost lost my 5 oz. bottle of breastmilk and made me go back and fourth through security 3 times because the agent at the front desk kept printing out Dredyn’s ticket incorrectly. Baby Dre slept through all of this and slept through the flight, he was a dream travel buddy. However, because I’m basically exclusively pumping now, I went 12 hours without pumping and by the time we landed my milk jugs were moon rocks; I was in so much pain…excruciating. As we pulled up to our hotel, Andre was waiting for us outside with the biggest smile. We got to hang out for 3 hours before he had to be back with his team. The three of us cuddled and napped the entire time. Fast forward 2 hours after Andre left our hotel. I tried to be frugal and get a room close to the stadium…and that’s where I screwed up.  Dredyn and I woke up around 6pm to get ready for our dinner date with a family friend on Friday. As I was getting him dressed, TWO COCKROACHES the size of my index finger crawled up on the wall from behind the headboard. I called a Marriott, booked a suite, packed our shit, had an Uber come get me and my baby, and we were in a nice new hotel all unpacked and chillin by 6:25 (I DO NOT PLAY). We still made it to dinner on time and had such a great night in downtown Houston at the Leeland House Restaurant. PS: Love you Mama Kym!!!

Now it’s game day (Saturday) ! Dredyn and I got to sleep in. I got about 4-5 hours of much needed sleep and a delicious FREE breakfast. We relaxed all morning and Baby Dre napped during my entire Mama Glam Sesh from 12pm-3:00 pm; how perfect is he?! I did not have to rush and my makeup and hair turned out so good! We arrived at the stadium 2 hours early so we could see Andre. I was planning on taking Dredyn to the nanny service they have for the players’ kids but I chickened out, this mama was just not ready. Seeing Andre jog out onto the field from under the tunnel was just unreal, I wanted to cry but I just spent 2 hours beating my face and yeah, you get it, so I held the tears back. I handed the baby to Andre while he was on the field and they were just bonding away. Dredyn’s eyes lit up when he saw his dad, he was smiling and giving Andre wet, drooly smooches. He had spent the last month grabbing at a face on a screen and the fact that he could finally grab and feel his dad’s face was priceless, surreal.  It’s like baby Dre understands this lifestyle and he got in all the kisses and grabs he could.

By the middle of the 1st quarter, Dredyn was knocked out with his headphones on. This kid did not wake up until the end of the 4th quarter. I was so grateful to have Andre’s auntie there with me. She basically took care of the baby the whole time while I got to soak everything in and watch the game. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share this but why not. We were sitting in the family section so it was pretty easy to figure out who the WAGS (Wives And Girlfriends of high-profile sportspersons) were and who they were there for. It was kind of intimidating at first, because let me tell you, the rocks on these women’s fingers, their handbags and clutches, LMFAO; the cost of your whole house, utilities, wifi, cable, and your car. They also didn’t make me feel overdressed what so ever. They were somewhat friendly and could not get over how perfect my little angel was.  When the game was over we all walked to the elevator to take us down to the post game reception room to meet our men.

While we were in the elevator, I was like awww shoot, my son just pooped. He was in my baby carrier so I could feel the rumbling and the warmth, lol. I was escorted to a locker room style bathroom with NO changing table, just a padded shower bench. I noticed yellow breastmilk poop stains on my ivory baby carrier. I turned baby Dre around; the kid had poop all up his back. My current thoughts: Lets tackle this shit (no pun intended) and get it handled. I had already changed him twice and had no extra clothes. I went back out to the reception room and grabbed one of the onesies that only had a little drool on the front. I stripped him down, cleaned him off in the sink, threw his poop clothes in the trash, and got him dressed. I walked back out and his dad was right there waiting for us. I handed him over and mobbed over to the snack tables to lower my stress levels lol, best wings and coke zero I’ve ever had.

We made it back to our hotel by 12:30am, technically Sunday. Baby Dre went to bed around 1:30am so the three of us cuddled and napped for 2 hours until it was time to head to the airport. Long story short, this was an Uber ride from hell but I’m so thankful Andre was with me. Homegirl had no idea how to get to the airport, got lost twice, spoke NO English, and almost ran out of gas. Then, she had the audacity to ask Andre to take her dingy 20$ inside to pay and pump the gas for her at this crackhead infested gas station with my child in the car! As she was attempting to hand Andre the money, I snatched the 20$ from her so quick and handed it right back to her and said, “yeah, that’s what he’s NOT going to do, you can do it yourself.” Twenty minutes later we make it to the airport in one piece, on time, praise God. Andre stayed with us all the way until we boarded the plane.

So now we’re back to the original paragraph. As amazing and surreal as this experience was, I cannot wait for the day that the three of us get to drive to our own home after games and snuggle into our own bed. Whether our home is in Houston or not, whether Andre gets traded and signs somewhere else in these next few weeks, whether the NFL is God’s plan for us or not;

HOME is simply wherever I’m with my two boys.

PHOTO CRED!

I just want to thank Mama Kym for capturing one of the biggest moments of our lives. My first NFL game, Dredyn’s 1st NFL game, Andre’s first NFL Home Game…so many firsts. Kym was mine and Andre’s sports photographer at SJSU. However, she’s also thee photographer for the 49ers! I just thank God for her and thank God for aligning all this, I don’t believe in coincidences. Here is her info to see how dope she is with the lens! She is the epitome of a VISUAL STORYTELLER.

Kym’s Instagram

Kym’s Blog