Blogging for Preemies

Every year, more than half a million babies are born prematurely in the United States. The rate of premature birth has risen by 30 percent since 1981.

Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death worldwide. Even babies born just a few weeks too soon can face serious health challenges and are at risk of lifelong disabilities. Premature birth costs society more than $26 billion a year.

We were one of the lucky families. Despite abrupting at 23.5w (and 17w before that) I was able to stay pregnant for 6 more weeks and give Emma a chance as survival. Had she been born the day I was admitted to the hospital she would have had a less than 30% chance of survival. Those 6 weeks gave her a chance and we owe her life to the March of Dimes and all that they've done for prematurity. The research and technologies that they have funded, along with the amazing doctors and nurses are why we have a spunky two and a half year old. There are many things I could say about our journey and how the decision to have a second child has brought so much of it back, but today I want to dwell on the positive.

Emma was born at 29w, weighing 2lbs 12oz and 15.5" tall

Now she's 2.5 years old and full of life. Like I said, we were lucky :)

Boo!

Some belated Halloween pics



Henry, William and Emma







Ivory and Jamie




A full length shot of "Ivory". This costume was awesome!


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Multi-tasker

Texting, working on her 'puter and choosing paint colors. All from her throne :)




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Goodbye Adenoids

Emma had her adenoids removed this week. Needless to say I was a bit nervous about her going under anesthesia, but it ended up being a piece of cake.






A little pre-op coloring













She charmed the pants off all the doctors and nurses.

When she went back to the operating room she was SO brave. She laid down on the table, stuck the strawberry mask on her face, held my hands and drifted off to sleep. An hour later she was up and eating popsicles.













We came home and she rested for a little while before she was up and running around again.








I was worried about her being traumatized, but last night she asked to go back to the hospital for surgery again so I guess she's okay ;) I can also tell a huge difference in her breathing and we're hoping it helps with her eating and endless sinus infections :)
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Two and a half

Last year Jamie took these photos, and last week he took the photos below. When I went back through the blog it turned out they were taken almost a year ago. It's amazing how much she's changed.

2.5 brings both challenges and joy - she is nothing if not willful (so my child). She speaks her mind (her latest favorite phrase is "walk away son", yeah I have no idea where she learned that), she's bossy and particular. But she is also smart as a whip and funny as all heck. She loves to run and pretend and she never stops talking. She constantly asks "why? why mom? why?" and it's definitely a test of my patience (and knowledge) trying to answer her. She's happy and beautiful and she amazes me every day.

Bapa and Nana

My parents came down a couple weekends ago to participate in Emma's soccer practice and play at the park with us. To say that Emma loves my parents is an understatement. I'm not sure there is a word to express her feelings for them, love isn't adequate. It obviously goes both ways and I love that they have such an awesome relationship. I wasn't lucky enough to be raised in close proximity to my grandparents and I appreciate that Emma has such a special relationship with hers.

This might be Emma's favorite spot in the world - and yes, if Nana is an option, she doesn't want me.

I'm a soccer mom

It's hard to believe that Emma is old enough to play soccer. The funny thing is that she's been old enough for a year!! In our neighborhood they start at 18months, which is scary considering how crazy the 2.5 year old *team* is.

Emma LOVES it. The first week was difficult because there were 15 people on her team, then add in 2 parents per child and it was out of control. That is WAY too many 2 year olds for a coach to control and it was a mess. You could definitely tell which kids had been practicing in the backyard... Emma was NOT one of them.

This week was much better. They split the team in 2 and it's a much more manageable size. Emma is actually able to hear the coach and she really tries to follow along with the drills (until she gets bored and tries to run off).

Besides being fun for her, it's super cute. She actually has a uniform that fits her and she is so adorable running around the field!!

FAST!!!

Seriously, is that uniform not adorable???

suckers!!

Trying to get two 2 year olds to pose for a picture isn't easy :)

The beach

Oh how I love the beach. We just got back from a week in the Outer Banks and it was fantastic! We rented a house with 4 other families (that Jamie knows from college) and spent an entire week swimming, relaxing and playing. It was amazing. It was our first vacation as a family that didn't involve work or visiting family and Emma had the time of her life. Vacation takes on a whole new meaning with kids and it was so wonderful to watch her experience these firsts. We have so many wonderful memories and Emma made many new friends and can't stop talking about "the beach house!"

Our entire group

The Schwaberow family (us + Chad and Heather)

We each cooked one night and this was our clam bake! Delicious!!!

6 of 8 of the kids

Yeah, Emma wasn't too fond of the sand on her feet at first, so this is her adorable outfit (disclaimer: I DID put a swimsuit on her but she took it off)

Emma, Sophia, Sydney, Lexi, Cole, Izzy and Tessy

Emma and her Uncle Chad (It's REALLY hard to get a *normal* pic of her anymore)

One night the boys left the house and crashed a wedding. I'm so proud.

Emma and Lexi

Daddy and Emma

Another group shot

"Wild" horse in the area just north of our town. (Supposedly they are wild, but I have my doubts)

Are you noticing a trend?

Our beach

Emma and her new friend Sophia... she LOVED playing with all the big kids!