Update Overload

It's been a while since I've blogged! A lot has been going on around our house. Luke has been unemployed for about the past 9 weeks , so the house has been full and busy and messy and un-structured and messy. He's finally back, and I actually have time to sit and write!
The March of Dimes was a success! We always have so many friends reach out and donate to this cause. They understand how much it means to us and how much the preemie world means to us. We had plenty of friends buy T-shirts, and we had some friends and family come walk with us! I'll dump some pictures now :

There was a special area in the family area call the Path of Hope. Families could donate $25 towards the walk & get a sign with their child(ren)'s name and picture and birth details. Some were in memory, some were in honor of the child itself, and some were pictures of their children in honor of family who had been in the NICU. It was a neat addition this year! Lucy and Landon loved to see Lucy's picture. We should have added Landon & Ella to it also, but it slipped our mind to even donate until after the deadline. We were able to still be included though =)

We got there early to help set up the family area, so we got to enjoy all the games before anyone really got there! No lines and a lot of fun!

She ran so fast to Elsa and Ana!

Princess crown, of course!

Our Team Lucy Loo picture ( minus 3). One day I hope that we can be one of the large teams! I think being able to see all the families, kids and babies, shirts in memory of babies, and people supporting others is AMAZING! I feel like crying the whole time we are there.

Landon & Jay. Their daddies played college baseball together and they have moved back from St Louis! They've actually been back a year but are moving SUPER CLOSE next weekend!

We loved the new location this year! We still have (all 3 years) ended up in the VERY BACK. It's way too crowded with all the people up front. Plus we walk and talk and take our time....and we had a lot of kids walking.

Lucy's friend Lexi ( and her mom and sister ) came too!

Landon said he was TIRED OUT!

Lucy passed out within minutes of getting into the car.

 

My individual goal for the walk was $325. Thanks to all our wonderful friends and family, we hit $453! Somehow the team goal was set at $600. Team Lucy Loo ended up raising $703!

We ended up doing 1 fundraiser with Funky Munky shaved ice.........and it was about 53 degrees that day! We were at a college campus in the middle of thousands of teens. So as soon as the truck pulled up , they wanted to spend their money. We are planning on teaming with them every year at the same event, hopefully next year it'll be in the 70's! We also had a big donation from a food truck here in Nashville-- Hoss' Loaded Burgers ! Check them out when you get a chance!

 

This year the MOD had a campaign called 'be your best for babies'. The family who had the greatest % increase from their best year is going to be featured on the MOD Christmas card. Team Lucy Loo did increase by 36%! Thank you for that. I don't think we will ever be a top fundraiser team, as you can see below the top team here has raised $53,115!!!!

 

Maybe next year I can have a little better success with business donations and sponsorships! And our goal will be to have at least 20 walkers come out and enjoy the day with us! The goal I sent in on our paper was 14 walkers, and we had 15 people out to support the March of Dimes.

If you know of a company that might be interested next year, let me know!

 

March for Babies news!

We are just a few weeks away now from the March for Babies!  If you still want to walk, PLEASE join us on April 13th! We will be at LP Field this year. The walk is a 5K and goes across the pedestrian bridge, down 2nd Avenue, back across the other bridge, and back into LP field. You don't have to sign up or pay, just show up, & have a good Sunday afternoon outside with the family. There will be kids activities before the walk, and our kids will all be there with us.

We ordered some team shirts last week, and we have gotten the preview of the shirts. They should be sent soon! If you ordered one, I will let you know when they are in. You don't need a shirt to walk, so don't let that stop you =)

We got charcoal shirts, the National Team shirt, with Team Lucy Loo on the back.

We have gotten a few donations--from friends and from a few Nashville businesses. We are almost to our goal, but are still short a few dollars. ( We do have another donation that was sent to the office, and isn't showing on our ticker yet). BUT, we have gotten the go ahead on a fundraiser we will be having NEXT WEEKEND. If you are a friend of ours from church or growing up in church with me ( Emily) or from college, you know what TNT is. It is coming up next weekend, and we have teamed up with a Shaved Ice Truck ( Funky-Munky) that will be at TNT. They will be giving 20% of all sales to our Team Lucy Loo! If you or your youth group or your own kids will be at TNT next weekend, send some cash for some shaved Ice! The truck will be by the softball field, and I will know the exact times soon. Right now, it will most likely be a little bit on Friday and a little bit on Saturday. We are excited, and hope to see some friends there!

If you do still want to donate, our team page is TEAM LUCY LOO

February 3rd

Just 3 years ago, after 53 days in the NICU, we brought Lucy home from the hospital. I try to remember that day each year. I think it is important to remember all that we've been blessed with and how far Lucy has come. We haven't faced too many obstacles along with way, but if you would have talked to me while my baby was living at Baptist Hospital, my fears were all over the place. Would she have issues learning? Would she be able to walk? Will the holes in her heart close up? Will she ever make it a day without forgetting to breathe? What therapies will she need? Will she have brain issues from oxygen? Will she have vision issues from oxygen? Will she know I'm her mommy? What disabilities will she have? Will she ever be able to breastfeed? Will she have a g tube? What If she gets RSV? Will her ultrasounds come back showing a brain bleed? Will she hate me when she gets older if she gets made fun of for her disabilities? Will she wear a helmet? Any fear you can think someone will have about their baby, I thought it. If you know Lucy now, you know she is amazing........and she tries my patience every day especially since she is 16 3 now. I remember every prayer I said over this baby in the hospital and at home--mostly about all those fears running through my head. I'm so proud of her !

Looking back at my baby:

 

Lucy's half of the room while we roomed in the night before we brought her home, and Luke fixing our 'bed'. Lucy slept the night away, I pumped, worried, and did not sleep =)

 

 After 53 days at the hospital, & 19 days before her due date she was ready to go home!

 

Last time through those doors!

Home together!

 

First day at home, slept the day away just like in the hospital! She slept the majority of the next few weeks.

 

1 year later! If you can't eat cake on your birthday, you celebrate on the day you came home!

2 years later =)

All grown up, walking, running, talking, eating, counting, singing, dancing,laughing, acting 16, and sledding for the first time! 3 years after discharge.

 

 



March for Babies

March for babies 2014 

 

It is getting close to that time again for the March for Babies! Next weekend is the Family Team March for Babies Kickoff, and we are excited to walk again this year as Team Lucy Loo!

We have participated for the past 2 years in the March for Babies, put on by the March of Dimes. First of all, thanks for our friends and family who have donated the past 2 years! Thank you to those who took time out of your day to walk with us as well! The walk this year will be on April 13th at 2:00pm with registration starting at 12:30. It will not be at Centennial Park again, but at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans.

 

#1)We would LOVE for you to join our team and walk with us! It is free, and a day to get outside and enjoy witnessing all the miracle babies and wonderful families.

 

The link to my personal page is :

http://www.marchforbabies.org/LucyEmilia

There is a button you can click that says Walk With Me.
If you don't know our story of WHY we walk, you can check it out there too!
 

#2) We would love for your business(team, squad, sorority, youth group, class or school) to sponsor our team. There are 4 levels of corporate sponsorship--the lowest being $150 & the highest being $750. With the Bronze level your company name will be on the Family Team Banner at the walk, the Silver level will put your company logo on the banner, the Gold level puts a large company logo & prominent placement on the Family Team Banner, and the Platinum level gives your company a private banner with your Logo. If your company is interested in sponsoring Team Lucy Loo in the March for Babies, let me know! If you have any friends or family that might be interested, let me know. I have sponsorship forms I can send you in the mail that can be mailed or faxed back to the head of family teams at Nashville's March of Dimes.

 

Think about walking with us ( We will be getting t-shirts again. Let me know if you have a design idea!), becoming a corporate sponsor, or donating as little as $5 towards our team! I will be adding a new tracker on the side of my page as well to keep everyone updated on the team progress!

 

 

******** T-SHIRTS WILL BE ORDERED THURSDAY, MARCH 20TH*****
We will be ordering the National Team t-shirt in charcoal. $7 each
Let me know ASAP if you'd like one!!! The back will say Team Lucy Loo

Bedtime

There's only 1 of me most nights at bedtime. Luke is away a minimum of 65 hours a week at work and including travel time to and from work. Especially now, with me working a few hours a week at the farm, he has to close more nights a week. I just don't have the patience or hands to have a good bed time routine with all three. Ella is still nursing right  before she heads off to bed on most days. She is very distract able. I put Lucy's pajamas on her, and put her in her bed to read. I then send Landon to get himself ready for bed, and then he usually can sit in my bed or on the couch and watch a show after he has gotten the rest of the toys put away. He loves helping put those last few toys away that Lucy missed; he  knows he is staying up later, and he thinks he is big stuff. I get Ella ready for bed, feed her, send Landon to his room, and then stick Ella in her bed to fall asleep if she hasn't already. Landon waits in his bed for me. Tonight Lucy was SCREAMING TAGGIES ARE IN THE CAR!TAGGIES ARE IN THE CAR! She had taken her tag blanket with use earlier to the post office, and was just devastated that they were still in the car. I sent Landon to tell her to be quiet two times while I was feeding Ella  ( and she was trying to drift off to sleep), but she was not having any part of me forgetting about her blanket in the car. By the time I got back to her room, turned their light off, and got Ella into her bed, I told Lucy just to lay down & I'd go get them. When I came back in, I just threw them into her bed & told her sweet dreams. I whispered into Landon's room as I passed by, and headed straight to get the clothes out of the dryer, move the wash over, and vacuum the living room. Then I turned off the vacuum and went straight back to Lucy's room. I just needed to hug her and rock her before she went to sleep. I sat down & just started to cry .FLASHBACK to New Years day--18 days old:

Oh I just see that tiny body and long head with tubes when I hold her sometimes in the rocking chair. Sometimes I'm stuck mentally in the WHAT IFs still. I just know something else is going to pop up. I just know everything really isn't fine. I just know once she starts school we will see more things showing up. The part of this that Luke doesn't understand is the part of me that was intended to hold that baby, grow that baby, provide a safe place for up to 42 weeks--that part of me failed. Whether I had any control over it or not, I will always feel like whatever comes from the 29 week birth will always come back to me. My first thoughts when visiting her for the first time ( that stick with me) were that I had no clue what would come of this. And if my poor baby had a disability, a delay, any problem, and someone were to make fun of her for it, I would just want to die. My poor baby had no choice, it was my body. She didn't deserve any pain--physical or emotional--and I hated that it wasn't her fault.

I look at her now, and I just cry thinking back. The first 2 years were HARD. But she is doing great. She is wonderful. She is smart. I tell her every day that she is not allowed to turn 3 in a few months! She is too sweet right now at 2, and I don't ever want her to grow up!

I want to be able to rock my babies EVERY night. I want to read them all books and sing to all of them and lay with them in their bed or crib. Some nights I just don't.

Tonight I am glad I did. And tonight I am so thankful that I don't have to wait on someone to get my baby out of her bed. I'm so thankful that I can hold her whenever I want and for however long I want. I'm so thankful that I'm not worrying about oxygen tubes being kinked. I am so thankful for my Lucy!

NICU party

The yearly NICU party was a few weeks ago at Baptist St Thomas Midtown. I wanted to buy Lucy a cute new dress since I had the past two years :

 Mommy/Nana made dress @8 months

Star shirt and her favorite skirt that she STILL wears almost Daily @ 20 months

 

I went ahead & made her a dress again this year & a matching headband.

 

It was an easy tank dress. I had found the perfect fabric that I LOVED. Of course, it was from a line in 2011 & is not available to buy any more.

But I did find the  fabric I used for her dress in stock from Sarah Jane Studios and was able to buy a couple yards of Playouse from Children at Play.

 

 

And I also found the Out To Sea line that I am so excited to use for something at Landon & Lucy's Pirate & Mermaid birthday party in December!

 

 

The first step is to cut your baby's tank top where you want it to stop. I cut Lucy's about 3'' from the armpit.

I cut the fabric into a rectangle 30"x12". This all depends on where you want the dress to fall ( allow for hemming and the seam along the chest), and her measurement of 20" around. I made the width 1.5 larger for gathering. Fold the rectangle right sides facing, and sew up the  side--this will be the seam up the back.

I don't have a serger, so I stitched and then did a zig-zag stitch along the seam. Not completely sure if this is the correct way, but I'm not a seamstress. I just look at a few tutorials, and go from there ;)  This tank maxi tutorial was written for adult sizes, but is easily adaptable to make a toddler sized dress.

Next step: stitch around the top of your skirt fabric & gather. Some tutorials suggest using elastic thread. I have yet to use it for Lucy's dresses and they are OK. Since a toddler doesn't have chest or hip issues, it just slides on great. I did do this part 2 times though. I had gathered the fabric to 20", and then realized her head is bigger than that, and wasn't sure if it would fit. A lot of her 24m or 2T shirts are VERY VERY snug over her head. So I pulled out my basting stitches and re-did it, just not gathering as much. I think it probably would have been fine though.

Next: Slide your tank into the skirt section. Right sides should be facing.

I pinned them together in a few spots. Start with lining the back tag up with the seam, add a pin on each side and the front to even it out. Then you can add a few more. I did a straight stitch and also a zig zag along ( I think).

This is the dress right side out!

I do not know the correct way to hem. Some people say 'fold twice and sew'. I folded it under about 1/4" and stitched all the way around. Then I folded that stitch under & over 1 more time & stitched around the bottom.

Hem complete. She's 2. I'm not really too worried about it ;)

Now for the sash to tie around the dress. I just cut 2 long pieces about 3 inches wide. I stitched them together to make 1 long piece. Then fold the long piece in half ( right side in) and sew up the side, down one end, turn right side out, and sew the last end.

I think I might attach this tie to the front and sides of the dress. We lost the one from her tie dyed dress at church. It might help if I keep it attached.

 

 

 

Then I had to figure out a headband to match ;)

I added a small rosette to the chest, and it was done!

 

She looked cute enough for me to go hang out with her nurses and doctors!

(If you need a headband, like the Facebook Page .)

 

After we came home that night, I just was loving Lucy and thinking about the entire NICU journey. I posted this on my FB:

I know the NICU nurses & doctors at Baptist LOVE their patients. I don't know if they can ever fully understand how much we mommies LOVE THEM! The ones we still talk to, the ones we only saw once during day shift ( because I loved to feed/rock every night & 'put Lucy to bed') the one who only had our baby once but got her to take that bottle, they all are amazing to me. When you have no choice but to leave your baby with someone else for 2 months, you are forever grateful for their care! Lucy snuggled with me tonight ( for like the first time in over a year!), & I'm reminded how much i adore her! I'm so thankful for the baptist staff & all our friends or family that prayed for us during that time! You all had a part in who she is....& now I need a box of Kleenex .