Nancy and I hosted a table at the Advent by Candlelight at church this year. It was fun! She brought all the dishes and decorations, I brought the little gifts and the desserts. :o) It was cute! We had Stephanie, Lisa, Tina and Ruby sit at our table with us. :o)
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I am sitting here on this Tuesday morning, Eli is watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Rick is at work and I am left with my thoughts...
Sometimes my thoughts and I just don't get along. I wish they were always happy and upbeat, but they aren't. And today I am having conflicting thoughts... I KNOW how blessed I am with Eli. I KNOW that. We have come a long way since my 2 lb miracle was born. :o) Then I read another blog about another 2 year old. He has cancer and is dying... Why is he dying? Why is that happening to him and his family, when we were so blessed that it didn't happen to us? Why? I know I won't get answers till I get to heaven and ask Jesus, but my earthly heart and mind want to scream, "WHY DO YOU LET THIS HAPPEN? WHY DO YOU LET LITTLE PEOPLE GO THROUGH SO MUCH? WHY DO LITTLE PEOPLE DIE?" I think Jesus might say, "It's because through pain and suffering people learn to lean on Me a little more. Because I am a gracious and loving God who doesn't want the pain and sorrow of Earth to continue for these little ones." But sometimes my response to that is, "Why isn't there another way?" So I think I may push my thoughts out of my head and watch Mickey with Eli... I am so thankful that for the the moment, Eli doesn't have to deal with thoughts like this... His biggest thought is Mickey or Handy Manny? Juice or water? This toy or that? And for those thoughts, I am the perfect mama to help him answer them! :o) I'm a little behind on the preemie statuses from this weekend! It was WAY busy! lol. So here is day 19: Premature birth costs society more than $26 billion a year and takes a high toll on families.
Preemie fact day 20: Babies born just a few weeks early are at risk of severe health problems and lifelong disabilities. At 35 weeks a baby's brain weighs just 2/3 of what it will weigh at 39 or 40 weeks! As long as your pregnancy is healthy, push for that 39th week! ♥ Prematurity Awareness Day 21: "Little Bits" Our pregnancies were just a "little bit" shorter; Our babies were a "little bit" smaller; Our hospital stays were a "little bit" longer; ... Our nurses were a "little bit" more understanding Our doctors were a "little bit" more frustrating; Our nerves were a "little bit" frayed; Our families were a "little bit" fearful; Our days got a "little bit" longer; Our nights got a "little bit" shorter; Our old friends got a "little bit" further away; Our new friends were a "little bit" more understanding; Our babys' milestones take a "little bit" more time; Our meds we have to take a "little bit" longer; Our winters are a "little bit" too long; And we use a "little bit" too much hand sanitizer. But for all of the "little bits," it equals one BIG miracle. In just 2 days, Eli will have been born... WOW! I can't believe that he is almost 2! I am just a "little bit" more thankful this Thanksgiving! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Day 22: During a normal pregnancy that goes to term, parents have time to work through various stages of planning and anticipation as they prepare for their babe’s arrival. When your baby is born prematurely, that all suddenly changes. Joy, grief, fear and despair—you experience the range of emotions. The dream of the perfect birth and all of your well-made plans are disrupted. Eve...n if you’ve... been confined to bed rest for some concerning complication, even when you know your chances of going “the full 40” are slim, early labor still shocks most women. With a premature birth comes the realization that you’ll be separated from your baby while he/she’s in the NICU—the neonatal intensive care unit. Returning home to face an empty nursery inspires bouts of inevitable anger, fear, depression and anxiety. For most couples, the earlier the gestational birth, the longer these feelings linger. Expect to be stressed and short-tempered from lack of sleep. Expect to feel jealous of other parents who have big, bouncy full-term babies. Expect to feel overwhelmed. The process of grieving “what might have been,” and facing the fearful, unknown future for your preemie tests the resolve of even the strongest couples. The good news is so many preemies survive and go on to live normal, healthy lives. Day 23: HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY ELI!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ WELCOME TO HOLLAND (adapted from Emily Perl Kingsley) I am often asked to describe the experience of having a baby in the NICU - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...... When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland. Day 24: HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT VICKY! 2 years ago today, I was discharged from the hospital on Thanksgiving... I left my 2 lb baby on a vent and with a chest tube laying in the hospital... It was the hardest thing I have had to do to date! Premature babies who arrive between weeks 30 and 32 are likely to have thin skin as a result of the limited body fat. Extremely premature infants, those who are delivered anytime between the 24th and 27th weeks, have yet to develop the exterior layer of skin, which begins solidifying in the 26th week. So, it's officially Christmas time around the Corbyyons house! :o) We decorated all morning and I have to say... It looks mighty fine! The only thing we still have to do is decorate the tree! :o) Pop pop and Gma store it at their house and they haven't had a chance to get down their decorations yet so we will wait on it. :o)
Also, most of the presents have been bought! The wrapping paper has been bought! And many blessings have already gone out to dear friends. :o) This holiday season, take a moment to bless someone who could use it... The blessings that you get in return are 10 fold! So, we have officially finished Thanksgiving 2011! Dinner at Nanny's and dessert at Pop pop's and GMa's. :o) Now it's off to Black Friday! YEAH! Mommy's favorite day! <3
Here are some of the things that people wrote to Eli on FB!
Wishing Eli a very happy birthday. Kisses to him. :) Prematurity Awareness Month, Day 23: Another amazing and awesome preemie has his birthday today! Happy 2nd Birthday, Eli! I'm holding up 2 fingers for you! ♥ Happy birthday Eli!!! can't believe eli is two today!! can't wait to see him when i'm home. love you all and miss you ♥ Happy Birthday Eli! Now it's Eli's turn to turn 2! Happy Birthday, little man! You are amazing and loved so very much! Happy Birthday Eli!!!!! Happy Birthday Eli!! Happy birthday to ELI!! We are so happy God has blessed us with you!! xoxoxoxox to you and mom and dad!!! Happy Birthday Eli! Happy Birthday little man !!!! We love you very much .. Happy 2nd Birthday, Eli!! Happy happy Birthday Eli! We love you! Xo Happy Birthday Big Boy!!! We love you!!!!! Happy Birthday Eli!!! Happy Birthday Eli! Happy Birthday Eli!!! I love you and can't wait to see you tomorrow. It's after the rain that the flowers grow! Love you Kate~enjoy the flowers ♥ Happy Birthday Eli!! Have fun with Mom and Dad today!! I love this sweet boy. Have a Happy Birthday today,. Happy Birthday little guy xo This week has been full of celebration! We had Eli's 2nd birthday party last Saturday on Nov 19. We had over 50 guests there! A couple of school friends, a couple of other friends and family. :o) It was so fun! Take a look! Elmo was the name of the game, and Eli loved it! :o) Pop Pop got a bounce house for **his** birthday and decided to bring it out to share at the party. :o) It was so fun! After Eli's party we cleaned up, Eli took a nap and we went off to his school friend, Alyssa's, party! He had a good time there too! Then Mama, Dada, Pop Pop, Auntie Bethy and Rob headed to the Casting Crowns concert! It was a busy day! :o)
Yesterday was Eli's actual birthday, and we kept on celebrating! Mama, Dada and Eli hit IHOP for breakfast. Eli's favorite... Pancakes and sausage! Then Eli went to play at Pop Pop and Gma's house. We all went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A (again, an Eli favorite!) and then dinner with Nanny, Pops and Aunt Vicky at Outback to celebrate Eli's and Aunt Vicky's birthdays. Eli got a Handy Manny cell phone and an ISpy bag from Mama and Dada for his birthday. :o) I feel so blessed to have him in our lives, Happy 2nd Birthday Baby!! <3 Day 11: Two years ago today, I was released from the hospital after my first visit... I was diagnosed with mild toximia. That is basically a fancy term for preeclampsia.... Pre-eclampsia is a medical condition in which hypertension arises in pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension) in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine. I had NO outer symptoms except excessive swelling in my feet... This has nothing to do with preemie babies other than it can lead to having a preemie! ♥
Day 12: What do all these people have in common: Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Franklin Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Napoleon Bonaparte, Renoir, Churchill, Goethe, Wonder, D H Lawrence, Thomas Hobbes, Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Issac Newton, Charles Wesley and Eli??? They were all preemies (born before 37 weeks gestational)! November is prematurity awareness month, support March of Dimes! Day 13: My heart is heavy today after the news that one of my friends baby (who wasn't yet born) passed away last week. And after talking to another mom this morning about the loss of her daughter many years ago... March of Dimes focused its efforts on the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality, which became its mission (after curing Polio). In 1976, the organization changed its name to the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. In 2005, reducing the toll of premature birth was added as a mission objective. The March of Dimes's isn't just about preemies... Prayers for these two special ladies... Day 14: Premature birth is a complex problem with no single solution. More than half a million babies are born prematurely each year in the United States. In up to 40 percent of cases, the cause is unknown. March of Dimes researchers are seeking the causes of prematurity as a step toward developing ways to prevent it. Eli was born due to preeclampsia. Day 15: Dr. Virginia Apgar, the developer of the Apgar test EVERY BABY is given at birth, was the first medical leader at the March of Dimes to recognize prematurity as a serious problem that demanded a focus on the importance of early prenatal care and healthy pregnancy. Day 16: Tomorrow is the first ever World Wide Prematurity Awareness day! All around the world people will unite and wear purple for preemies! You should wear purple and take a picture and post it for me! I am going to make a book of everyone wearing their purple! Now for your fact... Birth Statistics- Premature born before 37 weeks Moderately premature born between 35 and 37 weeks Very premature born between 29 and 34 weeks Extremely premature born between 24 and 28 weeks Low birthweight baby weighs less than 2,500 g (5.5 lbs) Very low birthweight baby weighs less than 1,500 g (3.0 lbs) Extremely low birthweight baby weighs less than 1,000 g (2.2 lbs) According to these stats... Eli was very premature and very low birthweight. Day 17: This year, for the first time, a World Prematurity Day will be observed on November 17 by the March of Dimes along with organizations in Africa, Europe, and Australia. Worldwide, an estimated 13 million babies are born preterm and, of those, one million die as a result of their early birth, according to an October 2009 March of Dimes report on the global toll of preterm birth. Today 2 years ago, I was admitted to the hospital for the second time. They basically told me I wouldn't leave till the baby was born... I thought I would sit there for 10 weeks... Little did I know! Today was the first ever World Wide Prematurity Awareness Day! WOW! It's exciting to be a part of something that is changing the face of the world, but it's also sad... I found out today that world wide 12 million babies will be born premature, out of that OUTRAGIOUS number, 1 million of them will pass away anually. It's hard to think about....
But today I had the honor of going to the March of Dimes Broward Division Business Executive breakfast. The following is what I read... I hope that it influinced some of them to join up with the March of Dimes to raise money and awareness! Hello! My name is Mary Kate Corbyons and this is Eli my son. When you are pregnant you never imagine anything other than a perfect birth. You plan and plan for that due date and never expect complications… Till they happen. Our lives changed forever on November 23, 2009 when Eli was born prematurely at 29 weeks weighing only 2 lbs 11 oz. He spent over 7 weeks in the NICU at Memorial West Hospital and we are so BLESSED to have him here with us today. Before Eli was born we were not fully aware of what the March of Dimes did or why they did it. But we soon became aware. During his stay in the NICU, Eli had many breathing problems. On day 3 he actually developed a hemothorax (an air bubble outside his lungs in the chest cavity) and had an emergency chest tube put in and was placed on a ventilator. During this time, Eli was given a drug called Sutfactin. Surfactin helps babies lungs expand so that they can breathe more easily. Later we found out that Surfactin was researched and developed through funding from the March of Dimes. We will be forever grateful to the people who truly care about what happens to the littlest of babies born to soon. Since Eli’s birth we have had the opportunity to learn more about the March of Dimes. We had the chance to join the March of Dimes in the annual March for Babies the past two years. It was amazing to see all the parents, family members and friends who have been touched by premature birth coming together to change the lives of babies. And I, personally, was touched that so many people from organizations like yours were willing to come out and spend time changing lives of people they may not know or ever have the occasion to meet. I truly believe that with the support of people like you all, we will one day read about prematurity only in history books. We are blessed that in just one week, we will be celebrating Eli’s second birthday! It is in no small part that we thank the March of Dimes for helping us celebrate this milestone with a happy and healthy toddler. So I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for caring about the littlest of babies. Thank you for choosing to stand up for the littlest humans. With your help we have seen dramatic changes! Thank you for helping all babies be born healthy! On another note... 2 years ago today I was admitted to the hospital again.... It is hard to think about because at that point I still didn't feel bad. I am really blessed that God put people in the way so that I would end up Novemeber 17th is coming... And QUICKLY! :o) It is World Wide Prematurity Awareness Day. Everyone should wear purple in honor or memory of a special preemie in your life! We will be wearing purple in honor of Eli and so many more preemies that we have met since beginning our journey into parenthood.
November 17th also marks the day that I was admitted to the hospital for the second time. I would not leave the hospital till after Eli was born that time. I had no idea that there was such thing as Prematurity Awareness Day or that I would be admitted to the hospital that day or that Eli would be born extremely premature. Wow, how life changes in a moment let alone 2 years! |