Two!!

My how time flies! It's hard to believe that Quinn is two today!
She is such a fun person. She loves trucks, trains, baby dolls, babies, animals, her family and friends, reading, and making people laugh. She likes to steal the show, which is hard with an older sister like Emma, but often she succeeds. She's smart and sneaking and definitely sassy!
We love you Quinn!!

World Prematurity Day!

It’s been a year since I last blogged, and I’m not sure I’m ready to start again (life with 2 kids is busy yo!), but I’ve never missed a World Prematurity Awareness Day.
Join me as we honor the more than 1 million babies worldwide who died this year because they were born too soon, and the 14 million more who struggle to survive
It’s amazing to me how much my views on prematurity change every year. Well, maybe that’s not right – I’ll always think that it sucks, but I guess the way I deal with it becomes different. This past year I’ve realized that having a preemie has made me more aware of also having a term baby. I’m constantly amazed by Quinn and what it’s like to be a mother that isn’t constantly worrying about milestones and catching up. She seems so advanced to me, but then I realize that she’s just following the “normal” path. I have to say it’s MUCH easier to be a parent this time around.
My journey with Emma is not something that I’ll ever forget. It’s shaped who I am, both as a mother and a person, and honestly I think it’s shaped who Emma has become as well. Our experience is with me every day, and while I don’t dwell on it, I’m not sure there is a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. I’m lucky to have reached a spot where I can reflect on the positive moments during that time, while also thinking of the, much more numerous, scary/terrifying/depressing/anxious thoughts. Obviously if given the choice I would have opted to forgo anything to do with prematurity, but I understand now it was our path and am no longer angry about it. I do still get sad, or jealous, when I think about how it could have been, but for the most part I’m at peace.
It’s hard not to be when you look at how far she’s come.

baking bread

Not to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT! I made this bread. Yep, baked it entirely from scratch (well I didn't mill my own flour). Isn't it gorgeous? You want to know what is even better? It was so easy. Seriously the easiest bread I've ever made.

I'm pretty sure I'm the last person in the world to discover this recipe, but I'm going to share it anyway. It's the NY Times No Knead Bread and it's pretty no fail.

Basically you mix:

3 cups of flour

1/3 tsp active yeast (recipe calls for 1/4 tsp instant yeast)

1 1/4 tsp salt

Then you stir in

1 5/8 cup water

and mix it all up and pop it in a bowl. The recipe says to let it rise for 18+ hours, but I started it super late and only let it rise for 4 (stuff does rise faster at a high altitude). When it gets all bubbly you know it's risen enough. Then you dust it with more flour, fold it like an envelope and pop it in a bowl to rise some more (I let it rise an hour). Preheat your oven AND your pan and then I baked it at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, then take the lid off and bake until it's nice and brown.

The key is baking it in a closed container. I used my le creuset - you want to make sure that whatever you use has a lid and can stand up to the high heat.

Voila! It was seriously the easiest thing I've ever baked and it tasted amazing!!

Baby Puppets

When men play with babies

Prematurity Awareness

Today more than 1,400 babies in the United States (1 in 8) will be born prematurely. Many will be too small and too sick to go home. Instead, they face weeks or even months in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). These babies face an increased risk of serious medical complications and death; however, most, eventually, will go home.

But what does the future hold for these babies? Many survivors grow up healthy; others aren't so lucky. Even the best of care cannot always spare a premature baby from lasting disabilities such as cerebral palsy; mental retardation and learning problems; chronic lung disease; and vision and hearing problems. Half of all neurological disabilities in children are related to premature birth.

Although doctors have made tremendous advances in caring for babies born too small and too soon, we need to find out how to prevent preterm birth from happening in the first place. Despite decades of research, scientists have not yet developed effective ways to help prevent premature delivery.

In fact, the rate of premature birth increased by more than 20 percent between 1990 and 2006. This trend and the dynamics underlying it underscore the critical importance and timeliness of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. The rate fell to 12.3 percent in 2008 from 12.7 in 2007, a small but statistically significant decrease.

We were one of the lucky ones. Our baby came home and has thrived despite her early and tumultuous beginning. Every day I'm reminded of the fear of having a high risk pregnancy and a baby born too soon. Even looking at my full-term miracle reminds me of how hard Emma fought and how lucky we are to have her.

3 months!

Quinn is a quarter year old today!

Happy Halloween!

I didn't get a single picture of the girls together :(