Travels and Lovely Locks

She's alive!

The boybarians, Handy Man and I are back from 8 days out of state. Did you think I had abandoned my post? We made the trek to the Windy City area to spend the holidays with fam and friends, then while the boybarians stayed and got spoiled by Nanie, I hopped tarmacs to NY and Handy Man headed home.

NY still has colorful trees. Here in the arctic it's looked like winter all month. The forests overlooking the Hudson were gorgeous this time of year. It was an intensive few days of work, now back to the grind! We start 3 weeks of school on Monday to wrap up the year. In January, Trouble is an official preschooler (*gulp!* nervous mommy!) and Picasso and Einstein resume 1st and 2nd grade.

In other news... I'm sporting a new do! For two years now I've been gearing up for Locks of Love. The deed has been done. I think the photos are self explanatory. I didn't cry too much. ;)

Bring On the Holidays!

If only someone could make smell travel through the internet! ;)

As I type this, I have a beautiful bird stuffed to the gill with my mom's recipe of homemade stuffing inside, a pot simmering with gizzards which will soon be magically whipped into my mom's gravy, and sweet potatoes baking. The potatoes for mashed potatoes are on deck. This house smells like childhood and family all rolled into one. Yum! I did a 24 hour brine this year for the first time, and made a cinnamon-apple-stock aromatic at the bottom of the dripping dish. It smells heavenly. I love this time of year!

Not only that but the Christmas shopping is done, minus a few last minute details. The Christmas photo is done, ordered and on its way. Cards are ready to go, waiting only for the photos.

The boybarians are off to the Chicago area for the week, spending 8 whole days with their beloved Nanie. Little else makes them so happy. Picasso is bouncing off the walls with stuff he's going to do with "my Nanie", and Einstein can't wait for me to leave. Trouble is abuzz with excitement and can't even pinpoint why.

My mom ("Nanie") will have a huge house-full on Thursday with all the extended family. Friday we're off to Chicago for more family visits. I'm heading back to NY on Sunday for a few days of work. Handy Man will return home, but the boys are staying in Illinois - without Mom or Dad. Just Nanie. I think I should be offended, but they can't wait to get rid of me.

Trouble appears to be done with the yuckies. We are watching for symptoms to return, and trust me - we won't miss them. Now that I know the signs of giardia, the symptoms are unmistakable.

And school? Well, this is why we school mostly year-round. We had intended to take December off, but with the craziness of November and recent travels and hospitalizations, we are on for all of December but Christmas week, but off this week and part of next for Thanksgiving and our travels.

We have lots of schoolwork that I'd love to throw in a Weekly Report, but there is turkey baking to be done, a pie still waiting to be filled, laundry to be folded, and 8 whole days of clothing for everyone to be packed.

Because the holidays make one nostalgic, here are some favorites from the past. The first is the very first picture of my three boybarians together, taken in the NICU. It was the first time Picasso ever met his baby brother. A magical moment of curiosity caught on film. The second is last year's Christmas picture, taken in our former house.

The Fantastic Five

What a fun contest! It was fun to see all the weights and to try and guess how some of you reached the number you did. What a fun bunch you are!

Sooo... what did these 5 amazing children weigh at birth?



They weighed exactly 8 pounds 0 oz. - an even 8 pounds. Go ahead. Gasp.

My first born son weighed 8 lb 7 oz by himself - nearly 1/2 a pound more than all these 5 warriors together. So seeing those numbers should really make you FEEL something.

We live in America. Some of us live in Canada. I have a few regular readers from Italy and Australia. But the point is - we live in a time and in nations where birth weights like that should not be acceptable. 5 children should not be born weighing less than many singletons.

So... to continue the awareness. WHO is more at risk to have a preterm baby?

*if you were born prematurely yourself, you are 3x more likely to have a preemie.

*if you have given birth early before. One estimate says if you delivered early on 2 births, the guesstimate for your 3rd birth would be up near 100% chance of premature delivery.

*if your sister gave birth early, or you see a familial correlation with the women on your mom's side of the family. Studies are emerging that suggest there may be something in your genes that increase your risk.

*if you are African American, Caribbean or Black American, it is estimated that 1 in 6 black women give birth too soon. This discrepancy is not okay! In some parts of the country, 17% of Black Americans are having babies preterm. Studies are being done to find out if this is genetics or environmental.

*stress. if you have high stress levels (financial stress, hunger, long work hours, relationship stress, abusive relationships, etc) your chances go up.

*your age. Teen pregnancies and advanced maternal age (pregnancy over 36) are more likely to deliver early.

*if you are carrying twins or more, especially high-order multiples, very few triplets and up reach term.

* if you used reproductive assistance, or fertility help, your risk for delivering early is higher.

*if you are irresponsible with your pregnancy. Smoking, drinking, drug use, no prenatal care. This should be obvious, but in some parts of the country (Kentucky, for example) 1 in 4 pregnant women continue to smoke.

*unknown infection. There is a correlation between periodontal disease (see your dentist before you get pregnant!) and preterm birth. Also some bacterial infections can start spontaneous labor.

But the fact remains that in 1/2 of all preterm births, the mothers had NONE of those risk factors. Many people assume preemie moms are teens, moms of high-order multiples who took fertility drugs, smokers, living in poverty, etc. And while those are all factors, most women don't fit that profile.


So what were my risk factors? Why was Trouble born so soon?

I get asked this all the time. From the above list, my only risk factor is family relationships. My first cousin had a 26 weeker. My grandmother had a daughter "somewhere around her 7th month" who lived for a short while. Her cousin also lost a baby born early. It is possible that something on my X chromosome (from my mother's side) is messing with the gestational clock. It could be coincidence. My water broke. I was not in labor. I had no contractions. Babies cannot survive without amniotic fluid. And while the bag of water can sometimes repair itself and replenish when there is a leak, Trouble and I weren't so lucky. 52 hours after my water broke, Trouble was born via emergency c-section because my placenta started to abrupt. The only noise in the room was the hustle and bustle of the OB team, the neonate team and the anesthesia team. Trouble was born silent. He was too little to cry.

Those 5 children have beat some incredible odds. It's too late to turn back the clock on their births. So, as their parents, we can only work to try and prevent this from happening to another family.

To the parents of those fantastic five, who I am lucky enough to call friends - you are amazing souls. Thank you for letting me share your beautiful kids with the blogosphere. I am so proud of all those kids, and each of them makes my heart pitter-patter with great pride.

Congrats to Tammy at Evergreen Eclectic Academy. You nailed it with the guess of 8 pounds even. Shoot me an email to claim your bag.

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day

Tuesday, November 13 is National Prematurity Awareness Day. Buildings will be lit in pink & blue for babies, communities will hold Roll Calls and Light Stars. And here at LWM3B, it means CONTEST!

Look at these gorgeous children. So I am biased because that little one on the right is my little Trouble, but I adore these 5 amazing kids. Their stories are all different but they share one thing: premature birth.




Your task is to guess their combined birth weight. Simple enough, right?

Rules:
Closest wins.
Only one entry per IP.
All entries in by Wednesday November 14th at 11:59 pm.
In case of tie, time prevails - so pick an original weight. ;)
Family of the above pictured cuties don't count. They already know.
Winner will be announced Thursday.

Prize is a "brown bag" prize. What that means is that Trouble has helped Handy Man put together 3 prize bags. The contents of the bag(s) and the bags themselves vary between $20 and $80. Winner will choose Bag #1, Bag #2 or Bag #3.

Bags are themed: Metro Mama. Family Fun Night. Smart Cookie.

Enter now! And tell a friend, but enter first - you've got this one in the bag!

H-O-M-E! Home! Home! Home!

"There's no place like home.... there's no place like home!" Dorothy in Wizard of Oz.

"... may be surrounded by, all these people I, still feel all alone, I want to go home." Michael Bublé, Home.

" Homeward bound.... wish I was... home - where my love life's waiting silently for me." Simon & Garfunkel, Homeward Bound.


Years of music and movies carry this theme and today I feel it with them. Trouble slept through the night for the first time in exactly 3 weeks. He woke up this morning and said, beaming, "I sleeped all night in mine own bed in mine own room." He looked content. Never has my own bed felt so wonderful and cozy.

The IV was pulled and home we came last night. So far so good. Trouble's med schedule is at 7 am, 3 pm, 11 pm - so the hours aren't the best but he only has a few more doses. No more throwing up, no more yucky diapers. In fact, starting tomorrow, he'll be back in big boy pants. :)

Hopefully this is the end of that chapter. Here are some pics of his journey. Thank you again for the love and support. It is in those moments, when you rally around him, that my heart swells. Thank you.

Hanging at Status Quo

This has been such a tough bug to kill. Trouble is still in the hospital. Today is day 6 in the hospital and day 20 since his symptoms started. Poor guy feels like he's been sick forever.

Yesterday they pulled his IV around 3 pm, but his nurse woke me at 6:30 *am* (clearly she and I haven't met ;)!!) to tell me that Trouble had no urine output in 14 hours, and they needed to restart his drip. Because he has chronic lung disease from his premature birth, adding fluids always needs to be monitored closely so his lungs don't get over-saturated. This makes his oxygen saturation level drop, so he's watched by pulse-ox. As I write this he is sitting at 95% and munching on some pancakes. His belly is still big, but not nearly as distended as he has been. Gone are those freaky looking bowel loops, so even though he's back on IV, it's still progress.

He accidentally pulled his own NG tube this morning, which completely freaked him out. Hopefully, they won't need to reinsert that; it's so traumatizing to be tied down and have a tube forced down your nose and throat. He will be very upset if that needs back in. I'm hopeful that we've rounded that corner.

We were hoping to go home today, but that was when he hadn't thrown up in 24 hours and he had normal urine output. He threw up again since then, and still hasnt peed. *sigh*

Handy Man is coming to hang out with Trouble for awhile today; I'm getting restless looking at the same 4 walls since Monday. I feel like an impatient Mom wanting to leave when Trouble can't, but it's so hard not to get restless. I miss my big boys so much, I've already read 2 books, and the shower here creeps me out.

Hopefully my next update will be from home. :)

The Diagnosis

... Of all the things I would have guessed, it wouldn't have been this. Rotovirus, maybe, gastroenteritis, bacterial or viral, quite likely. But an intestine full of PARASITES?! Never!

Trouble has Giardia. And much to my disgust, this is one of those nasty microbials spread fecal-orally. *gag* This means Trouble ingested either water or food containing feces laced with parasites. Possibility two, is that he touched a moist surface and put his hands in his mouth. Either way, as a mom, it leaves me reeling with an unshakable feeling of revolt and disgust for these nasty, opportunistic creatures residing in my little guy's gut - wreaking havoc on his entire GI tract.

He's on a 5-day course of a flagyl to kill these nasty parasites and let his belly go back to normal. For now, he's bloated but much more comfortable. I'll post some pics when I get a chance. For now, I have only my phone to do these updates - no computer or laptop.

I send warm thanks of gratitude and appreciation for holding Trouble in your thoughts and prayers. The outpour of love and support touched me. I've read all the messages to Trouble who smiles warmly with each token of love. Thank you.

Still Waiting

He's been so brave. Through IV sticks, catheters, pokes and prods, he has been so good, so tolerant. He's been fluctuating up and down through moments of comfort and discomfort. Right now I sit frustrated, helpless as he moans and whimpers. His belly is huge; his belly button is flat and distorted.

He had several moments of joy - balloons brought smiles, stickers & videos brought distraction. Handy Man brought him a Happy Meal. And even though he didn't even take one bite, he hasn't let go of the bee toy. Even as he slept, his little hand clutched the beloved toy.

I hope today means resolution. So far they've only treated the dehydration. No meds, no plan... Yet.

I'll update when I can, so far just hanging at status quo.

Back in the Hospital

Well, our long-standing record of no hospital stays has just ended. Trouble was admitted to the hospital late Monday night. Hopefully this stay will be a short one.

LWM3B contest put on hold until he gets released.

Prayers for a quick recovery would be wonderful. Updates to come as I can from his bedside.

Weekly Report 14-16

I've been totally slacking in the Weekly Report department. But I'm up to date now, and Monday is a new week.

Stay tuned... Tuesday there will be a fabulous CONTEST!

November at LWM3B

I have a big month planned here at LWM3B! I'm excited about new bloggeriffic things: more to come on Trouble's amazing start, a chance to meet 5 incredible ambassadors for a cause near and dear to me, I'm working on another surprise, and hopefully a few Weekly Reports thrown in there, too. Stay tuned!

But first - an update on Trouble. Trouble is still sick. It's been 2 weeks. We spent about 5 hours at the children's hospital yesterday trying to find out why. His symptoms have ebbed and flowed over the last 2 weeks, but he hasn't shaken them. Incidentally - this is something that ties back to his premature birth; his organs and immune system just aren't up to par with his peers. When other kids get the sniffles, Trouble gets pneumonia. When other kids get a 'tummy bug', Trouble loses 2 lb and can't shake it for weeks.

"Mrs. Handy Man, are you comfortable with the care you're receiving about Trouble's growth and size? Have you been instructed on how to modify his intake to increase calories?" asks the attending.

Those of you who know me well are rolling your eyes or laughing. But with each new doctor (and this ER doc was a new face to us) comes the same shock and surprise that a 4 and 1/2 year old weighs 23 pounds.

"Mrs. Handy Man, your son is extremely underweight for a boy his age. It is quite alarming how far his measurements deviate from the growth curve. His weight is surpassed by most children on their first birthdays and certainly by their second. Are you working with someone to correct this?"

Correct this! If it were only a case of a few adjustments here and there. Maybe a milkshake or so. If only...

Anyway, his labs were okay so we're waiting on stool and urine samples so we can take them back. Since nothing is going through him right now, nothing is coming out either. If he continues not to urinate, we'll go back tomorrow for IV drip. Since his poor little hands are already scarred from pokes, and his arm is bruised from yesterday's blood work, I'd like to avoid an IV. If you're the praying type, please send some up for Trouble. It's been a rough day for him.

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Onward and upward!

A couple months ago the March of Dimes announced a contest for regular families to make a video PSA (public service announcement). The winner not only gets the fantastic $5000 cash prize, but the video will be used as a TV commercial.

Now we get to decide the winner! There are 3 finalists, all with beautiful stories. Vote and help decide who gets the prize, and which PSA you feel tells the message best. Vote here!

Then you can tell your child's story; after all Every Baby Has a Story. Come make a beautiful scrapblog (it's like blogging meets digital scrapbooking - and it's FREE!). Your child will get his own URL and you can make a beautiful page to share the miracle that is YOUR baby. You can send it to grandma, your Aunt Donna and the hot guy from 7th grade to show off your beautiful family.

Check out some examples here and here, and go make your own here.

I'm working on our Weekly Report and hope to have it up soon. If you make a scrapblog, I'd love to see it! Come back and share the link. :)

Premature Birth Matters to Me.

Trouble in the NICU

November is Prematurity Awareness Month.

All the causes seem to have a month these days, and especially come spring, it seems every cause pulls at you to support what they believe in. And most of these causes are great ones.

This is why this one matters to me. If you haven't, please read Why I Missed My Own Son's Baptism. It's a brief essay on Trouble, with photos of his birth.

Prematurity Awareness matters to me because for once - no one is asking you for money. The point of the events this month are only to raise your awareness. No strings, no 1-2 punch for the wallet.

So, what should you know about premature birth?

1 in 8 babies is born too soon in America. That means you or someone you know was born too soon.

Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death. More than SIDS.

A baby born in Cuba, Cyprus or Slovenia is more likely to survive than a baby born here in the US - despite huge economic disparities.

It's costing YOU money. The average medical care for a preemie is 10 times greater than a full-term baby. Trouble's first year was over $250,000. 11% of insured babies are born prematurely. That means your health insurance costs go up as the rate of premature birth goes up.

These babies take months, and often years, to catch up to their peers. Some never can. Babies born too soon face developmental issues, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, respiratory issues, learning disabilities. And your child may be healthy - but these children will be in your child's classroom. 1 in 8, remember?

Premature birth isn't just "something that happens to someone else". It isn't a distant, far away problem. It's effecting over 1/2 million families each year. And these mothers - they aren't drug pushers or alcoholics. These are regular families who get prenatal care, who do everything right - families like mine. But it doesn't have to be that way. Change is possible. But first, you need to be aware.

And now you are.

Thanks.

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YOU can help spread awareness! Post the PAM button on your blog for the month of November. You can tell your readers to head over here and read about Trouble. Or send them to Share Your Story - where more than 21,000 members have come together to support NICU families.



For the button: Add html, copy and paste in your side bar, change all the ( and ) to < and >.

(center>(a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurity/">(img src="http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff293/my3boybarians/NovPAM.jpg"/)