Please Join us on Feb 23rd!

Walker!!!

Here it is!!!!!

Another new thing tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow Celia will be getting her walker! No, not a cute round frog or princess walker....a real walker. As Sara Medina said, "it will be almost as cute as a baby with glasses!"
I am not sure if she will do it right away but I will have the video camera ready just incase. The gates and the rug will come out if she does do it and she will have plenty of room to practice!
I am not counting on the walker being cute because it is coming from a very nice family that Pat (Celia's PT) knows from years back. Their son used it and learned how to walk. They don't make them the same anymore, so I am guessing we will be making it look shiny, new and girly!
Celia needs this because of the extreme flexablilty in her hips and legs. Althought this makes her a great candidate for being in the Olympics for gymnastics, it is preventing her from walking. She has jelly legs to put it simply. She can stand while leaning on something and that is a great start. Like almost everything else she catches on pretty quick. I hope that is the case tomorrow. If not, it will happen in time, Celia time!!

Slow down!

Having Celia in the NICU was very hard but because of it we met a lot of other families and have stayed in touch with them. I am also a member of the NICU family advisory council, which I am proud to be on. Babies that go home from the NICU often go home with some type of support and just because they get to go home, does not mean that the long road is over. For many it is just the start of all new issues. For us, even though Celia has been back to the hospital a few times, we are very very lucky. Celia is healthy. Being involved with the council and NICU families is exactly what I want to be doing. No one understands it like another parent who has been through it and that is why I am there to offer my help. On the other hand, the families I know and the kids I know and hear about, sometimes have very sad stories even after they leave the hospital. It is a constant reminder that not every child is healthy and not every child has an easy road. Last wednesday, a member of the council lost her 2 year old son. He was a NICU graduate and went home with controlled health issues. His death was unexpected and it is heartbreaking. It makes me feel so fortunate that Celia is healthy. Sad news like this is hard to hear, I know and I am sorry. I am just trying to help people stop and slow down and stop complaining, especially on such a public site (facebook) about things that do not deserve the effort. Enjoy your children even when they make you want to scream and lock yourself in your room! In my life, because of the people I know and talk to daily, I have learned first hand that not all kids are healthy, not all babies survive and sometimes families are going through something none of us can ever understand. I would not change my life and what I have learned and do not regret being involved with the NICU. Most of the time there are great stories, like ours!

Grandma time

Grandma came to visit for a few days! Celia loves when she is here. She is spoiled double time! Can't wait for next week when we go to NY for Thanksgiving!

Being pregnant....second time around

Since the news of my second pregnancy has been out, I have heard both directly and indirectly a shocking amount of questions about wheather or not I am going to get testing done this time. First reaction is, "it is none of your damn business", which it's not. I wonder what answer people are looking for and why they are asking in the first place.

On the other hand I will share some of what I am feeling about this pregnancy compared to my first. I had about 12 weeks to be excited about my pregnancy with Celia, after that is was all scary. Every single appointment was scary, every test, every movement or non movement, every doctor, nurse, phone call, all scary. There was not one moment I enjoyed being pregnant. I wanted it to be over. Everything I had dreamed it would be was not a reality. I just wanted her to be here so I could start helping her and start caring for her. Well we all know how that turned out, after a terrible labor and c section, she was taken from me. Still I could not do anything. I was now scared for all new reasons. I was now scared of my new baby, scared of leaving, sleeping, everything. Nothing went as it should. It was terrible. It was not until months later that I felt the fear leaving. Celia is my world and I would not trade her for any other baby.
This time, I am not going to be scared. I want to enjoy it. I want to feel what everyone else feels. I want a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. This does not mean I am putting in an order for a baby without Down syndrome. If this new baby does have Down syndrome, I will be the luckiest mom in the world, I just want him or her to be healthy. I want to know what it is like to have a baby and then bring them home 2 days later. I want to know what it is like when people come to the hospital to visit and bring balloons and flowers. I want to know what it is like to hold my newborn baby as long as I want, to feed it, to have no wires attached. I am not going to feel guilty about this anymore. Celia knows I love her and am so proud of her. What we went through with her made us love her that much more. She made us strong and I am proud of what we went through.
This time I want a newborn to come home with us, to cry in the middle of the night and to want to eat, from it's mouth, not a feeding tube!! I want the new baby to look up to their amazing big sister and to learn from her. I want them to be best friends.
This time I am going to enjoy it!

Anyone still there??

Hi, I am sorry to those of you who have been following here and have not seen us in a while. I am now committed to start new posts!
First news if anyone didn't know,,, I am pregnant!