MOD Kickoff

It is official....I have obviously been in denial. Denial that I am a preemie mom, yes I act the part and hibernate from germs, sanitize sterilize, see a difference in Gunner's milestone attainment...but everyday, he is a fat, healthy, and strong baby. Any outsider would never guess he is a preemie. I guess I have fallen into this mindset too, all too quickly forgetting the struggle we had to get him where he is today.

Last night, I was reminded. I went to the MOD kickoff meeting...just walking around, looking at little kids that were once preemies, meeting the ambassador family (twins born at 23 weeks 6 days, one a sweet tiny 4 year old girl, the other an angel boy), pictures on the wall, the film promoting the walk....I was a mess, unexpectedly, but very publicly...bawling. It was wonderful, but hard too.

I am even more passionate now, humbling to remember how far we have come!

I am so grateful for everyone who has pledged their support or already made a donation to our team, but if you haven't, please consider it. You can join our team by clicking this link.

If you choose to donate in lieu of walking, here are some amounts to consider:

$7, $1 for each week Gunner should have spent in the belly past when he was born

$23.10, 10-cents a day for each day Gunner was in utero (this should be a $40 donation, if he were full term)

$39, $1 a day for each day Gunner was in the NICU

$51, $1 for each week I was on bedrest, in total fear of the outcome

Gunner and his parents thank you...

33 in 33 out....weeks that is

I got an email announcing that Gunner has made it to 33 weeks of age. I don not usually pay any attention to those because he never measures up as those are for full term babies.....but, that is how far he was gestationally. 33 weeks. Now, he is 33 weeks on the outside. So 33 weeks in, 33 weeks out.

I thought that I might celebrate with some pics...

Gunner has started solids...here is him enjoying carrots...

Gunner got a belated Christmas gift...yes he is adorable...but look at that tongue. :)

This is my litle boy looking so much like his daddy's baby pics...minus the eyes. Those are mine, even though I wanted him to have Daddy's eyes, since Greyson has mine!

New Years Resolution: Healthier me, Healthier Babies

I don't think I have ever been really happy to see a new year or sad to see one go, but I can tell you 2009 has been a rollercoaster of a year for us.

On January 1 of 2009, we knew that we were excitedly completing our family. But, there was no way we would have ever dreamed that we would have a premature baby, early, maybe by a few days, not months.

We had no way of predicting that our family would be ripped apart with hospital bedrest for six weeks. An almost three year old would be tossed back and forth between family members to accomodate Mommy not being there. The same child who had up to that time never spent a night away from either of his parents.

We had no idea what the NICU was about. Surrounded by babies born way too soon, some of them to never come home.

So, instead of making the same old resolution that I often make regarding healthy choices, I am going to take that one step further. A choice that will make myself as well as babies healthier. I am resolving to create a team, participate in the March of Dimes March for Babies walk, and hit my goal of $1000 for my team. I am so excited.

You can access our team page, affectionately called TeamGunner , named after the little man that inspired this all. He is such a success story, but who knows what could have or would have been if only one variable had changed. Please check it out and consider walking with us or making a small donation. It's only 3 miles!!!

If Gunner had been Jillian...

this may be what my baby girl would have looked like...lol



Story behind this...I was wearing the headband and he was playing with it so I stuck it on his head...how stinkin cute! I thought he looked girly with the expression, headband and the most adorable long eye lashes I have ever seen!

You can tell your preemie is getting big...

when the sweet little "santa baby" set does not fit around his neck...even when I lift up his double chin.

Fatty McFatso...So I had to quick take a pic with it around, but not attached so that we could at least see it on him!

My grandma responded to my blog entry last night with this...

Just a note to say that full term babies have the same problems. I learnt about salt water & a nose syringe early on. Both my babies needed suctioning from time to time. It really works & salt water (saline) is also healing. Use it on yourself if you get a cold.

SOOOO true! All babies have delicate immune systems! They are all very fragile, so as we are in the midst of RSV season and healthy full term babies are getting sick the same as preemies, having machines breathe for them, it makes me know he is just more susceptible. If it can happen to them, it sure as heck can happen to him, which makes me even more vigalent of his exposure.

He had mucus draining into his eye this morning, which prompted a call to the oncall nurse, who recommended he be seen. He was, we were reassured that we are doing everything right, and thank goodness no ear infection!

Not a better sound I can think of...

than the sound of a wee babe cooing delightfully at your side...unless that wee babe didn't have a nasty nose rattle that goes along with the sweet cooing...

I hate sickness. Although Gunner is getting a lot better, he is still stuffy and snorty. Babies are so hard to have sick. There is so little you can do for them to keep them comfy. Thank goodness for little noses saline, the aspirator he HATES, and breast milk. Other than that, there is very little I can do.

On a side note, I did discover something amazing and interesting about breast milk that I did not know. Someone mentioned that a baby's saliva contians germs that influence mom's body to make antibodies that fight whatever illness he is having. How amazing is that? But I wondered, it kinda sounds to good to be true...so I googled...and I found on many sites information similar to this: (from http://www.007b.com/wonders_breastmilk.php)


Immune boosters. In each feeding mother delivers MILLIONS of LIVING white blood cells to her baby to help baby fight off all kinds of diseases. You will not find these living cells in formula! Also, when mother is exposed to a germ, she makes antibodies to that germ and gives these antibodies to her infant via her milk. Breast milk also contains factors that prevent microbes from attaching, and a long list of other antiviral, antibacterial and antiparasitic factors.

Even more amazing, if a baby contracts an illness that mom has not been exposed to previously, he will transfer this organism through his saliva to the breast, where antibodies are manufactured on site and then sent back to baby via the milk to help him cope. Mothers who wean their babies from the breast during the first and even second and third years of life often notice that their child becomes sick more than before, or for the first time. Lisa Marasco and Jan Barger in Examining the Evidence for Cue feeding of Breastfed Infants

However, this illness makes me think, where would he contract such an illness? He is not around anyone but his family and rarely a little extended family. So of course it is no one's fault he is sick, but no one but me is up several times a night suctioning him so he can breathe. No one else is googling the symptoms of RSV, praying he doesn't have it. No one else is talking to after hours nurse explaining his symptoms, getting the low down on what to do next. No one but me.

I think it is getting increasingly hard to explain to others my desire to keep him out of crowds and home where it is "semi-safe". No one actually questions it (to my face) but I am sure it is mentioned not in front of me. I say this because on the outside he is huge, he looks completely normal. He is on the full term baby scales, over top on the preemie scales, he is actually BIGGER than some full term babies that are his actual age (when he should be almost 2 months younger than them).

Tis the curse of preemie parenting. See, he was born at 33 weeks and while I am thankful for each day he spent in utero past 28 weeks when my water unexpectedly broke, at 33 weeks and prior babies are born with no immune system period. At 34 weeks, mom's immunity begins to transfer to baby. So between 34 and 40 weeks, that is when baby develops the small amount of immunity he will have at full term.

~~Merry Christmas 2009~~

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy all the pictures of Greyson and Gunner on the Christmas card that I just managed to get out in time! I took so many it was hard to choose just a few! The card already says it, but it has been one crazy year! That’s right, we learned all sorts of new things this year we didn’t want to, like what pPROM means, that 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely, and how much it costs to be a guest at the hospital for 12 weeks between Mommy and Baby. But at the end of the year we couldn’t be too much happier and healthier so we count our blessings daily! Here's our little family on Mother's Day, my first weekend of hospital bedrest!

Boys, Boys, Boys…what else can I say! It used to be a more equal ratio, but it is official, I am seriously outnumbered. Yet, I must say that I am loving be a Mommy to two big and healthy boys!

Our first “baby” Greyson: He is an amazing BIG brother! He loves “his baby Gunner” but doesn’t understand why he has to be so quiet all the time; that darn baby is always sleeping! Yes, we still think of him as our baby, but he is growing like the cutest weed you have ever seen. He is a very active little boy, and when I say boy, he is ALL boy. He climbs, jumps, and does all sorts of things that make us cringe. He has no fear and is so energetic. He is very smart too! We saw an amazing change in his vocabulary and skill level when he started full time preschool (with Aunt Lindsey) over the summer while Mommy was in the hospital and it is amazing what he seemed to learn…including the dreaded potty training! He loves his school, friends and his cousins. He still has a serious allergy to milk, so that means we have to be over-vigilant making sure he has nothing with milk in it and carry an epi-pen everywhere just in case.

Greyson and his cousin Keegan while I was on bedrest, he hung out here a lot!

Our second, but “miracle baby”, Gunner: I am in complete awe of this boy. Yes, boy not girl like I swore I was having a girl, and it was even confirmed for a day. After coming at 33 weeks, at a tiny 4 lbs and 17 ¼ inches, he kicked NICU butt and made it home before his actual due date! He is such a little fighter, which is what his name means! Overall, he looks and acts perfect, but on the inside I know better. His lungs are the lungs of a preemie, so they won’t really be the same as a full term baby for at least another few years. At 34 weeks to birth is when Mom passes antibodies and immunity to baby, which of course he was born before, so he has no immune system right now. So we have spent since October in hibernation mode. Other than that, he is growing like crazy and developing according to his adjusted age very well. He is a whopping 15 pounds now, which is about 14 oz smaller than Greyson at his age! He is just an angel baby.

Of course, the parents of these amazing children are doing ok too. We sincerely love having two boys and just really enjoy everything Gunner does even more because of what we went through to get him here! In fact, due to the happenings of the summer, Mommy now has a cause or a soapbox that she likes to stand on and that is joining with the March of Dimes to educate and try to fight for the babies that are too little to fight for themselves! I have formed a team in honor of Gunner will be doing my first walk in April of 2010. So please consider joining me to walk, making a donation, or just raising awareness with me! Here is my team website: http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1363932

Daddy passed his journeyman’s test, which for non-trades people, is the equivalent of a bachelors degree in the electrical field. He also bagged a giant buck off the back 40 acres that we will be building on if this economy ever recovers!

Latest updates can be found at:
www.babysites.com/sites/clyoungsey (which will be my project over Christmas break, I have been spending too much time on Gunner’s Blog)
http://www.babyyoungblog.blogspot.com/

Or catch the boys in action at:
http://www.youtube.com/ (tags: Greyson and Gunner Young)
http://www.theyoungboys.shutterfly.com/ (pictures, pictures and more pictures)

So all is well in the Young Household! Hope this letter finds you healthy, happy and in great Christmas spirits! Better watch out, better not cry, better not pout, I’m telling you why…..Santa is visiting our house again! Thank goodness for children!

Love you all,

The Young Family