So, the March for Babies walk was this past Saturday and it was, well, underwhelming. Not sure if I built it up too much in my mind ahead of time or if I had unreasonable expectations, but in any event, I came away feeling disappointed by the whole experience. I don't want to go into too much detail and take the focus away from the great work the organization does, so I'll just leave it at that. I do plan on giving my feedback and suggestions to my local chapter, however, so hopefully next year will be better.
BUT I cannot stress enough how thankful and grateful I am to each and every one of you who donated to the cause. I don't regret for one minute participating and helping raise funds for such a worthy cause. I think when all was said and done, including matching donations from my company, the team (consisting of Mom, Adele and me) turned in a little more than $700! Considering my first goal was $96, I'd say that's not too shabby. Again, thank you for helping the March of Dimes continue their important mission: helping to ensure that ALL babies are born healthy!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Graduation Day
Today, Adele had a routine pediatrician appt at the Neonatal Special Care Clinic at CMH, which turned out to be her LAST APPOINTMENT AT THAT CLINIC! Wooo! The doc released her from any more follow-up visits, so she's an official special care clinic graduate! We still have a few appointments at the hospital in other departments, but after those we are done for good! Adele has certainly come a long way from her NICU days, that's for sure.
It's strange to think about not having to back there for check-ups. For so long everything has been "special" with her--from her food, to her monthly RSV shots (which are also done for good), to her many doctor's appointments--and now that everything is relatively "normal" it feels so strange. I'm happy, obviously, that our little girl is so very healthy and adjusted, especially considering that so many preemies aren't as lucky, but I just don't know how to wrap my head around this new normal! I feel like Steve and I are finally starting to exhale a bit after this long, stressful year. As she got older and stronger and healthier, and major concerns dropped by the wayside (losing the monitor, seeing her develop on track, giving special formula the heave-ho), we felt like things WERE going to be okay, they really were. Obviously she's still not technically caught up to her actual age and there could always be issues that arise as she gets older, things we have no way of knowing about right now (language, learning, long-term physical issues), but honestly, those aren't things that keep me awake at night. There are plenty of full-term kids out there with issues and there's no reason to believe she'll have any of those problems. And if she does? Oh well...she's cleared much bigger hurdles (oh, you know, like learning to breathe and eat at the same time) and can surely face any other challenges that might arise. Anyway, long story short, I've stopped waiting for that other shoe to drop, and I feel like we're ready to move on to the next chapter of our lives.
After our appointment, we went to the third floor to visit the NICU. I hadn't been back since the day Adele was released. It felt odd, and yet strangely familiar, to be there again. It was the same waiting room, with the same teal and pink chairs, and I hit the same button on the door to be allowed access into the actual NICU. But this time I was HOLDING my baby, not going to visit her. I visited with the receptionists while they oohed and aahed over Adele, and luckily Nurse Lauren was working so we got to say hi to her too. They even took our photo to add to the graduates wall. As Lauren and I chatted in the hallway, a few parents and grandparents walked by us on their way in to see their babies. I wanted to stop each one, with their worried faces and eyes that said they haven't slept soundly for far too long, and say to them "Look, eventually it WILL be okay. Here's my daughter to prove it." And I hoped that when they looked at Adele and smiled a little, maybe they knew she was once in their child/grandchild's shoes (or isolette, as the case may be) and they hoped their story would have a good outcome too. But I also know that if someone had said "it WILL be okay, someday" to me at that point, I certainly wouldn't have believed them. So, instead, I say little prayers for all those little babies and for their worried, sleepless families, that they, too, might see a Graduation Day.
Ok, ok, enough rambling and getting philosophical (and a little weepy)...
As I type, my little one is rolling around on the floor, gnawing on a stuffed bird. In the few weeks since I posted Adelevideo II, she's learned to army crawl and is lighting-fast. I can't take my eye off her for a minute, or else I find her playing with the space heater (turned off, thankfully) or chewing on the bottom of the exersaucer. Remember how I've mentioned the need to babyproof? Yeah, still a need--must remember to do that soon. She's also begun taking actual CRAWL "cycles" (as Tiny-K calls them) on her hands and knees, but can only go one or two small steps before she belly flops. She enjoys standing while holding onto something, but can't quite get to a standing position on her own (thank GOODNESS, or we'd be in big trouble). Not for lack of trying, however, as she really WANTS to pull herself up on something, anything.
Feeding is going well, too. She really enjoys the new formula and seems to like eating solids a whole lot more than she did a few months ago. We're working on more finger foods and will begin incorporating more table foods, especially once the swallow study is complete and we get the all-clear there.
I guess that's it from here. I feel like I should have more exciting things to report, but maybe boring is now exciting? :)
Oh, in the next few weeks, be on the lookout for
After our appointment, we went to the third floor to visit the NICU. I hadn't been back since the day Adele was released. It felt odd, and yet strangely familiar, to be there again. It was the same waiting room, with the same teal and pink chairs, and I hit the same button on the door to be allowed access into the actual NICU. But this time I was HOLDING my baby, not going to visit her. I visited with the receptionists while they oohed and aahed over Adele, and luckily Nurse Lauren was working so we got to say hi to her too. They even took our photo to add to the graduates wall. As Lauren and I chatted in the hallway, a few parents and grandparents walked by us on their way in to see their babies. I wanted to stop each one, with their worried faces and eyes that said they haven't slept soundly for far too long, and say to them "Look, eventually it WILL be okay. Here's my daughter to prove it." And I hoped that when they looked at Adele and smiled a little, maybe they knew she was once in their child/grandchild's shoes (or isolette, as the case may be) and they hoped their story would have a good outcome too. But I also know that if someone had said "it WILL be okay, someday" to me at that point, I certainly wouldn't have believed them. So, instead, I say little prayers for all those little babies and for their worried, sleepless families, that they, too, might see a Graduation Day.
Ok, ok, enough rambling and getting philosophical (and a little weepy)...
As I type, my little one is rolling around on the floor, gnawing on a stuffed bird. In the few weeks since I posted Adelevideo II, she's learned to army crawl and is lighting-fast. I can't take my eye off her for a minute, or else I find her playing with the space heater (turned off, thankfully) or chewing on the bottom of the exersaucer. Remember how I've mentioned the need to babyproof? Yeah, still a need--must remember to do that soon. She's also begun taking actual CRAWL "cycles" (as Tiny-K calls them) on her hands and knees, but can only go one or two small steps before she belly flops. She enjoys standing while holding onto something, but can't quite get to a standing position on her own (thank GOODNESS, or we'd be in big trouble). Not for lack of trying, however, as she really WANTS to pull herself up on something, anything.
Feeding is going well, too. She really enjoys the new formula and seems to like eating solids a whole lot more than she did a few months ago. We're working on more finger foods and will begin incorporating more table foods, especially once the swallow study is complete and we get the all-clear there.
I guess that's it from here. I feel like I should have more exciting things to report, but maybe boring is now exciting? :)
Oh, in the next few weeks, be on the lookout for
- March of Dimes walk photos (walk is April 26)
- Birthday party photos
- Baptism photos/report
- An Adele first-year retrospective
- More Adelevideo!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
CHAMPIONS!
Ahhhh....what a great day to be a Jayhawk. Man, that was such a phenomenal game. I'll be honest--I'd written them off late in the second half and had gone to the computer to kill time (I couldn't bear to watch!). I was so used to coming THISCLOSE and losing and thought I could see the writing on the wall. But luckily I got back to the TV in time to see Mario's game-tieing 3-pointer. It was freakin' amazing! At that point, I knew mojomentum* was on our side going into OT. As the minutes ticked away, I was holding my breath, and then Steve and I both erupted into screams and shouts of joy. We both ran around the house like crazy people, calling family and friends to share in the jubilation. After the game, Steve stayed home with the baby (who, miraculously, slept through the whole thing!) and I walked downtown to join the crowds celebrating on Mass. St. I met my friend Kris at Liberty Hall and we made our way south and high-fived and hooted and hollered and celebrated. What fun! This morning I picked up three copies of the Lawrence Journal-World (one for us, two for the DeLorios) and spent a little time online looking at photos of the celebration. It just doesn't get any better than this, folks!
Now, we just have to concern ourselves with whether or not Coach Self will stay at KU or take the OSU coaching job. I can't imagine AD Perkins wouldn't give him whatever salary he asked for, so hopefully he'll be our coach for a long time and bring us many more championship trophies.
Tonight we'll probably watch bits of the game and the post-game stuff that we DVRd last night. I just can't get enough! Rock Chalk Jayhawk, go KU!
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*I invented a new word last night: mojomentum. It's when a team has both mojo AND momentum on their side. KU definitely had the mojomentum last night!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
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