November is Prematurity Awareness Month

In October I am sure you noticed people in town, on TV, and pretty much everywhere were wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness but did you know that November is Prematurity Awareness Month.  The NFL probably won’t be sporting purple this month to help raise awareness. So I want to do my part to help March of Dimes raise awareness because this cause is now very near and dear to me. 

Being the Aunt of a premature baby you would think I’d have been better prepared. You always think things like this won’t happen to you and when my daughter tried to arrive at 27 weeks I was shocked.  I am so blessed and thankful that my precious little Jacquelyn was able to hang in seven more weeks and waited until week 34 to be born.  Now more than ever do I realize the importance of awareness that is why I am taking this time to blog and let everyone know November is Prematurity Awareness Month. 

Did you know:

• 1 in 8 babies, are born prematurely each year in the US (this is approximately 543,000)
• The rate of premature birth has risen 30% since 1981
• Almost 40% of premature births do not have a known cause 

As I lay in the hospital bed for 7 weeks and for the 6 weeks after that Jacquelyn spent in the hospital I ran a gambit of emotions.   Worry and concern that she might be born at 27 weeks.  Hope when I learned about the 90% survival rate the NICU had for babies born at that gestational age.  Excitement each additional week I stayed pregnant. Joy when my baby girl was born.  Fear when she was having trouble breathing.  Depression, thinking that I did something wrong to cause all this.  Apprehension because she was so small. Elation and relief when we finally were able to bring her home. 

So often when we hear the word “premature” we think of smoking or drug abuse or some other factor like these.  But 40% of premature births do not have a known cause.  Awareness is more important now than ever.  That’s why in November we fight – fight for preemies, because babies shouldn’t have to. 

As NICU Parents I am thankful to say that our story is a happy one.  On July 17^th our precious angel, Jacquelyn Helen, was born at 34 weeks weighing 4lbs 5.7 oz at 3:33pm. 

It was a long stay in the NICU but 35 days later Mark and I became full time parents and were able to bring the sweetest baby girl home.  Once we were home Mark and I tip toed around the house trying not to wake our sleeping baby and adjust to the new routines.  The hardest adjustment was getting used to the monitors she had to use at the house. 

Everyday Jacquelyn continues to grow and learn new things.  We recently relocated to Seattle and I am excited to announce that as of October 28^th Jacquelyn is completely free of her monitors.  At her doctor’s appointment this week she weighed a whopping 11 lbs. 10 oz. and is 22 inches long.   One of the best things about our appointment with the new doctor was when she said “If you did not tell me, I would have never known she was a preemie.”  Knowing that she is getting so big and catching up so fast is music to my ears. 

I write today not necessarily for my friends and family that read our blog regularly but to all the other new moms of preemies and expecting moms who might be experiencing preterm labor to let you know you are not alone.  There are half a million preemies born in the US each year and November is my chance to raise awareness.  Through our life experience the March of Dimes is a cause that Mark and I will hold near and dear to our hearts.  Thank you to all those who have contributed in the past, it was through your help and research that things were in place for our little one. We look forward to raising money for research and participating in events in the future. 

Happy Halloween

This year for Halloween we were invited to a costume party and Whirlyball tournament.  Jacquelyn was of course in attendance and was the hit of the party.  She impressed the masses with her perfect behavior which I was very thankful for.  Everyone loved her little costume.  I just hope she does not get the picture confused of her 1st Halloween and 1st Christmas when she gets older.  (I am going to have to label them well)

Axl Rose even made a guest appearance at the party

What is Whirly Ball?  Good Question -- Agility. Speed. Strength. None of these qualities will be of any use in WhirlyBall. It combines lacrosse, hockey and basketball with bumper cars, WhirlyBall has caused great athletes of every stripe to laugh and holler their way to a crushing defeat.  You use hand-held scoops to propel whiffle balls at your scoring target. It is played with teams of five and with the help of a professional referee. Ultimate goal: outscore the competition.

3 Months Old

To celebrate Jacquelyn's 3 Month Birthday we took her out to see her very first Pumpkin Patch and Corn Field Maze.  It was fun to see her next to the pumpkins because they were all larger than she is.  The Corn Field Maze at this particular farm was in the shape of the State of Washington and the maze is cut out along the routes of the highways and interstates.  We chickened out on the maze this year because we did not think it would be smart to commit to a 2 hour maze with a baby.  Next year we look forward to taking her to one a little closer to home (Texas that is).  So instead of the maze we spent the rest of the afternoon at a beautiful park that over looks Puget Sound. 

We had the camera on the wrong settings so the first few pictures turned out black and white.  Oops!

Next year I look forward to Jacquelyn picking out her own pumpkin right off the vine.

No monthly milestone is complete without the sign.

"Ein prosit der gemuedlichkeit" = A Toast to Good Times

Our first weekend here in Seattle we took a family road trip to a small Bavarian town in the mountains to celebrate Oktoberfest. We had a great time celebrating with some bratwurst and steins of German beer. Jacquelyn especially enjoyed the traditional music and seeing everyone dressed up in costume.

The town of Leavenworth, WA turned out to be really cute and nothing what we expected.  It was neat to see the architecture of the buildings carried out everywhere and not just on the main street.  (Mark was very disappointed later when we found out that this was not the original architecture but rather facades that had been added later. Turns out it was not even a true Bavarian town but rather a theme the City Council adopted to increase tourism. Even knowing this we still enjoyed our and would probably go back to spend time shopping in all the cute stores.)

 

This is a great picture of Mark I snapped while we were standing in line waiting to enjoy some Bratwurst.

Jacquelyn enjoying the music.  Looks like she might start signing along.

Hanging out in the street.  It was very crowded.

 

This is only our second family picture.  We need to do this more often.  Who wouldn't want to see more pictures of this cute family.

Seattle!

The boxes are unpacked, closets are organized and I have finally figured out how to get to the grocery store without getting lost.  So it only felt right that the next thing I do was download some of the thousands of pictures we have taken and share them with you.  Enjoy!

View from our balcony

Jacquelyn and I are all ready for our first family night out.  We went to a nice seafood restaurant down by the Mukilteo Ferry.  For those of you who know Mark really well you will be surprise to know that the ordered Fish and Calm Chowder.  This event is monumental and goes down in the history books.

Jacquelyn loves the Activity Gym her Uncle Clint bought her.  The music, lights, animals and bright colors have been keeping her entertained for hours and offer me a few minutes of sanity during the day.

Jacquelyn loves bathtime. 

This last picture is from today.  Jacquelyn and I had our first Mommy-Daughter shopping day.  It was fun, exciting and exhausting.  After a complete meltdown in the car Jacquelyn was happy to be home and see her Daddy.