Joy

As a preemie mom, there is a tiny part of me that feels like the joy of Jossie's birth was stolen from me. When she took her first breath and made her first cry, I felt hopeless. I felt like I had failed her.

But in that moment of my life, I was never aware of the unexpected, new joys I would feel because of her early birth.

I saw daily the love and gentle care of the NICU nurses and doctors. I was overwhelmed with the support from my family and friends, whom I knew were always there for me but, man, they were REALLY there for me. I experienced Jeremy's and my marriage grow because of this new challenge.

And, practically speaking, spending three weeks in the NICU forced me to stop, sit and enjoy my newborn. If we had been at home, I know me, and I would have been still moving a mile a minute, taking care of Jack, the baby and the home.  But the NICU time forced me to sit with my girl and kangaroo care the bejeebers out of her, and I'm grateful for that quiet bonding time.

I'll never forget the tears of joy at Jossie's 5-month check-up at the pediatrician when we learned she was on the growth chart for her actual age.  Or watching her as a toddler, "reading" books and crossing her arms over her chubby belly when she gets fed up at Jack.

Today, my family experienced a lot of joy. We participated in our first-ever charity walk - the March for Babies walk. A few of our dearest Chicago friends walked with us, and we were overjoyed with our friends' and family's generosity, helping us to raise more than $1,000 for the March of Dimes. I'm a professional fundraiser, and this is the best money I've ever raised.

I'm thankful for my healthy babies as I saw families walking in memory of the little ones who didn't survive. And I was really impressed with the family who was walking in honor of their little one, born at 25 weeks this past February and thriving. They had their act together!

It was a privilege and honor to participate in today's walk, walking alongside thousands of other March of Dimes supporters. Thank you again for your love and support.

Help us support the March of Dimes

Gentle readers, this weekend is the March for Babies walk in Chicago. Please help us to say thanks for the good care Jossie received as a preemie by making a gift of $5, $10, or $25 to our team. I'm thinking it will be pretty easy to hit our goal for Jack and Jossie - we're raising money for cute babies, for goodness sake. Next up, we'll be fundraising for puppies and rainbows.

And I'm bringing out the big guns.



Oh, honey, and I'm not done yet. Let's read Jossie's birth story too.

Thank you!

Help us to say thanks

Little ones deserve the best.

We saw that firsthand in the NICU but also already knew it in our hearts. We are so grateful for all of the good medical care Jossie received at the hospital last year as a preemie born at 33 weeks. Jossie′s good health today is the perfect example of how far a preterm baby can go with proper care. Quite honestly, we have erased "preemie" from our everyday lexicon at this point, for which we're grateful.

Please join us in saying thanks by supporting the March of Dimes so that their advocacy, education and research can positively impact the lives of tomorrow′s children and their families.  On April 29, our family and friends will be participating in the Chicago March of Dimes walk. Here are two ways you can join us:

1. Walk with us. To sign up, visit our team page. There is no registration fee, and you can sign up your entire family with one log-in name. Set your goal, which will feed into our overall goal of raising $1,000. Bring your kids and let's show them what it's like to be a part of something bigger than us.

2. Support us. Click on the March of Dimes link on the right side of this page and donate to Jack and Jossie's fund. Their personal goal is $500 toward the overall goal of $1,000. As a fundraiser by profession, I know what sells. And cute kids sell.

Thank you for helping us give all babies a healthy start!

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

World Prematurity Day

Today is the first-ever World Prematurity Day and Jossie's 10-month birthday to boot. A few facts from the March of Dimes:

• 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely.
• Worldwide, 13 million babies are born too early each year.
• Each year, 1 out of every 13 babies will die from being born too early.

Jossie was born January 17, weighing 3 lb 6 oz.
We were in Prentice's NICU for 22 days.

Between today and January 17, Jossie's first birthday, we are raising funds for the March of Dimes in honor of our strong girl. Please consider making a gift of $5, $10, $25 or more if you are so inclined, to Jossie's fund.

Jossie is 10 months and 18 pounds today.

Thank you!

Haiti: What we can do

With the devastation in Haiti, I found this information from the Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors to be helpful. This is targeted at the major donor (i.e., not me!) but it does give a number of good causes to support during this tragedy.