Marching for Babies

In spite of the fact that I didn't get my act together until the very last minute, we managed to hit our team goal and raised over $500 for the March of Dimes. A huge thank you to everyone who donated to our walk, sent friendly email, or generally tolerated my yearly fund-raising messages. During Max's hospital stint and my difficult pregnancy with Molly, it was so encouraging and wonderful to know that all of our friends and family (and sometimes veritable strangers) were thinking of us and cheering us along. We're still glad to have you checking in on us!

Having missed the deadline to order team t-shirts (and having an irrational need to always do things the hard way), I had planned to make our team shirts again this year. In support of a preemie mom who had designed shirts to raise money for the MOD (and because the shirts were insanely cute), I bought Max and Molly their "Miracle" t-shirts to wear on the walk. Having run across a neat tutorial for making custom t-shirts with freezer paper stencils and fabric paint, I designed a Buying Mockingbirds logo and gathered all the necessary supplies. Unfortunately, the t-shirt making plans went awry and, since I'd left the t-shirt production until the night before the walk, the shirts didn't get made. I gave the Big Kids a t-shirt IOU and told them that we'd make shirts with the design of their choice later in the week (which they thought was cool anyway).

Although the forecast was calling for rain, the day of the walk dawned sunny and cool. Hoping to be better prepared for this year's walk, I had packed a LOT of snacks, little bottles of water, sunblock, coats, sunglasses, etc. Of course, getting two small children up, dressed, fed, and ready to leave the house ALWAYS takes longer than you expect it to, so I was running around like a crazy person shortly before we left. Dad kindly offered to help pack up the car and I asked him to grab the double stroller for me and throw it in the back of the car. He called up the stairs to ask where the stroller was, and I think my ever-so-polite response was "In the back room, underneath all of your crap." ;) Since Dad had put it there in the fall when we shuffled some things around in the garage, I figured he would find it easily enough and didn't give the matter another thought.

We finally made it all into the car and were on our way (and only running a little late). This year there was no crazy construction at the expressway exit and we managed to make it to the walk site, park, and unload before the walk even started. I had a bit of a surprise when I was unloading the stroller. I wrestled the thing out of the car and was trying to get it to unfold. I had thought the release button was on the stroller handle, but couldn't seem to find it. Meanwhile, Big Brother, who was trying to help me, was saying things like, "This isn't the stroller we used last year. When did we get this stroller?" I told him that of course it was the stroller we used last year – didn't he remember the double stroller? As I was saying that, I finally found the release latch and unfolded the stroller – only to discover that it WASN'T our regular double stroller at all! Apparently Dad had translated the stroller whereabouts incorrectly – he mistook "in the back room with all your crap on it" directions for "in the basement with all your crap on it." Dad had gone and found a large double stroller that we had stored in the basement – a friend had given it to us and we'd never really used it. It was more geared towards twin babies (it had the tandem seats), while our normal double stroller had a regular seat for the baby and a platform seat/step for the older kid. Although not quite the stroller I had in mind (and MUCH heavier), I managed to make it work, although I had to call Dad up so we could laugh about the mix up.

After everyone was squared away, we walked over to the starting line, checked in, and waited for the walk to start. Max and Molly were fascinated by all the people and dogs – Max saying, "Oh, hi!" to everyone we passed and Molly squealing, "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" at every dog in sight. I was glad I had planned out snacks and drinks better this year, because before the walk even started Big Brother was begging for food and Max spotted the small bottles of water (or "little waters," as he called them) and clamored to have one.

Once the walk started, we let a lot of the walkers get a good head start before we joined the group. Molly was content to sit in the stroller (she was already missing her morning nap), but Max wanted to walk. Since distractible three year olds tend not to walk very fast (or in a straight line), I figured that we'd be better off at the back of the pack. Max ended up walking more than half of the three-mile walk. I managed to bribe him into sitting in the stroller for a couple of stretches by offering him some snacks if he sat in his seat. There were several different checkpoints, with different things for the kids to do. We stopped for a cookie break and to let Max play at one of the playgrounds we passed (the kid goes totally ga-ga over slides these days).

We definitely weren't the first walkers over the finish line, but we made it! After the walk, we took some time to wander around the event, eat some pizza, and have some play time. I convinced Big Brother and Big Sister to take a crack at the climbing wall they had set up – it was fun to watch them give it a try (although Max wanted to "climb up" too). I used to do a little rock climbing back in the day and wouldn't have minded giving it a crack myself! We saw some people that we knew at the walk and even met a fellow preemie mom that I'd only ever previously "met" online. We let Max and Molly have some play time at the kiddie playscape before heading back to the car. Everyone had a good time, but we were happy to be heading home. Even the indefatigable Max was wiped out – I ended up carrying him piggyback the rest of the way to the car, because he was walking at a snail's pace. Molly was sound asleep before we made it out of the park. I was more than a little tired out myself – pushing a heavy stroller full of heavy babies all over the place makes for a good workout!

Thanks again to everyone for helping make our walk such a success!

Sleeping Through the Night?

After the initial success of Operation Sleep, Molly promptly got sick and reverted to her old habit of getting up several times a night and demanding "bubbies" ("bubbies" refer to both nursing and the cloth diaper lovey that Molly constantly carries around). Since she pretty much spent the next couple months either sick with or recovering from colds, flus, and ear infections, we managed to get WAY off track in the sleep department. So, last Wednesday, when Dad was at work, I decided that the whole sleep thing had gotten ridiculous. When Molly woke up to nurse, I told her it was night time and the "bubbies" were sleeping. She could nurse in the morning, when we woke up and when it got light, but now it was dark and time for sleeping. Needless to say, she was not amused. She screamed and yelled and threw some royal baby fits. Since I couldn't bear to let her cry it out in her crib, I brought her into bed with me and let her express her frustration. Since I was holding her, I knew she wasn't scared or alone or hungry or thirsty (I offered her water) – she was just MAD. It was a really long night and neither of us got much sleep.

When the clock finally rolled around to a reasonable hour (I fail to recognize it as being morning until after 6 a.m.), I made a big deal about how it was morning and light out and the bubbies were up. Molly was very happy to nurse and we both zonked out in bed until Max woke up. Since Dad was home for the next four nights, he was on baby duty – when Molly would wake up, Dad would go tuck her back in and tell her to go to sleep. Since Molly knows Dad has no "bubbies," she would dive back down in bed, let Dad cover her back up, and go back to sleep without a peep. So, four nights passed by relatively painlessly, in spite of the lack of bubbies.

I was a little worried when Dad had to go back to work, since I knew that Molly was not as cooperative when I tried to put her back in bed without nursing her first. The first night she slept straight through until 2:30 a.m. Of course, when I went up to tuck her back in and told her the bubbies were sleeping, she was really upset. She didn't want me to hold her and yelled and fussed in her crib for over an hour. She finally fell asleep, only to wake up at again 5. I sat up, told her that it was still night time and she had to lie back down and go to sleep. She dived back down in her crib with a howl, but went back to sleep until 6. The next night, she woke up briefly and fussed a couple of times, but quickly went back to sleep. The third night, she slept until 2 before she woke up. I went up, picked her up out of the bed, and refused the request to nurse. I held her for a minute and after a couple of outraged yells, she asked for "more bed." I put her in bed and she went right back to sleep until morning. Last night I put her to bed at 7 p.m. and she slept straight through until 6:15 a.m. Hooray!!! It's been months since Molly slept through the night and she's only ever done it a handful of times. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to go to bed and not get up again until morning (and so had my bladder).

I'm hoping this trend keeps up and that nobody manages to get sick in the next couple of weeks. If Molly keeps this up, Max could very well have a new roommate next week. Although I've told him that Molly will be moving in his room and asked him if he wanted Molly to sleep in a bed in his room (to which he replied, "Yes!"), I have a feeling that he might not be so pleased about having his pesky little sister invade his space. But, Dad and I will be REALLY glad to evict our little roommate and get our bedroom back!

Support the March for Babies

As everyone knows, both Max and Molly were born prematurely. Although my kids (particularly Max) had a rocky start, today, both of my son and my daughter are healthy, happy, normal children. It is in part due to research funded by the March of Dimes that we were able to have such a happy outcome. Needless to say, we're big supporters of the March of Dimes. To give you a better idea of how prematurity impacted our lives, please watch this video.

This Sunday we're participating in the MOD's March for Babies fundraising event. My family and I will be walking to help raise money for the fight against prematurity. Every family deserves the happy ending with which we've been blessed. Please consider making a small donation to support our walk. Your donations will help the March of Dimes support research on the causes of prematurity and treatment for premature infants, as well as fund prenatal health and education programs. The donation is tax deductible and you can donate online. If anyone would like to walk with us, please let me know. The MOD puts on a great event and we'd love to see you!

Happy Birthday, Big Brother!

It's hard to believe that the little boy whose diapers I once changed is turning eleven today (and will be entering the junior high grades next year). We celebrated, as we usually do, with a family party on the weekend before his birthday, complete with presents and cake. Once Max figured out that we were having a birthday party, he begged us to get out the leftover "Elmo party hats" from his birthday party, and he and Molly merrily wore them around for the afternoon. Apparently, as far as Max is concerned, a party just isn't a party without an Elmo party hat.

Big Brother's main present was a bedroom overhaul, complete with new furniture, new bedding, new storage, and new decorations (and, once Dad isn't working on the weekends, new paint). Dad and I spent a grueling weekend morning shopping for the room décor and we had all the main items set up, so it could be a surprise. Big Brother was pleased, but I think Max was almost as enthused. He thought the new "big boy" bed was really cool, and we eventually had to drag him out of the room. Max and Molly also volunteered their present opening help – it was funny watching them gasp in mock astonishment and say "Wow!" whenever something was unwrapped.

Big Brother requested a Naruto-themed cake this year, and I did my best to oblige. As requested, I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, although for a change of pace I made some 7-minute frosting and used it to frost between the cake layers. I called it a "devil dog" cake, although with the frosting on the outside it was more like a giant Hostess cupcake than a devil dog. Whatever it was, it was really tasty. Max seemed a little put out that his piece of cake didn't have any candles to blow out, so he and Molly both got to blow out their own candles before they ate their cake.