Meem & Pop

That last post about the letter from Grandpa Stringer made me remember I had wanted to also share an e-mail my maternal grandma (whom we all call "Meem") sent a few days after Charlotte was born. I love hearing stories about how people cared for infants before the explosion of baby products hit the market and before entire libraries could be filled with all sorts of advice on how babies should be raised. As such, this e-mail totally cracked me up.

Hi Niki, Corey and Charlotte,

I just remembered what happened the first night we had your Mom home from the hospital. We lived in the apartment in my Mom and Dad's house on Walnut St. in Nappanee. We had your Mom in the little crib, about the size of a bassinet, right next to our bed. She woke up for the 2 a.m. feeding (I was breast feeding) but we didn't hear her quick enough. So my Mom came over and kidnapped her. The apartment was attached to their kitchen. She took her over on their side and fixed her a bottle!! Back then it was Carnation canned milk, Karo syrup and water. She hadn't had a bottle before!! If I remember right, Pop and I slept right on through until the next feeding???? Today that would be called child neglect, but it sure tickled my Mom.

Hope everything is going great.

Love, Meem

Ah, the days before Similac and Enfamil ruled the world and showered expectant and new parents with tons of baby formula samples. I came home from the hospital with an entire bag full of goodies from Similac, and both companies have been sending us samples since last fall (Duke actually ate half of one of the cans of powdered formula we received in the mail). Carnation canned milk, Karo syrup and water? Sounds like some sort of dessert! Hee hee. I talked to Meem about this story a few days after she sent it, and she claims her mother (for whom I was given the middle name, Irene) was hovering right outside their apartment just waiting for the baby to make a peep. Love it! Here are some photos of Meem and Pop from last Thanksgiving: