November 01, 2007

November is Prematurity Awareness Month !!!!!!

For any of you reading this who know me in the least...You know that the fight against Prematurity is near and dear to my heart! This month is all about raising the awareness of this epidemic in our world.

These five beautiful children were born premature...their COMBINED birth weights equaled exactly 8.0 lbs. which is right about the average birth weight for a full term healthy baby! Each of them have a different story and they are ready to tell it! They've each had different struggles because of their early arrivals...many they have conquered, but there are still lingering effects today. That's what each of them want you to know...We need every baby to be born healthy and "on time"! Prematurity isn't just small babies that need time to grow. Many of the 500,000 babies born prematurely each year will have lasting disabilities that can follow them for the rest of their lives and very sadly; prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death, some babies are just too small and too sick to survive.

These children know that their mommies and daddies are doing everything they can to "help save babies". They are the reason I was in Washington DC doing *political* things (which is so not me!), they are the reason we Walk every year to raise money to help fund the research that will one day ensure all babies are born healthy, they are the reason I spend at least 3 nights a month in the NICU supporting other families who have been forever touched by prematurity!

I know that we are soooooooo lucky to have Braden in our lives today! And I know that because of his early birth and complications, this is where I'm supposed to be in life, this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now! So won't you help me raise awareness this month?

Tie a pink and blue ribbon on your trees, or around your car antenna...wear pink and blue this month and tell others why you are doing it! If you want to know more about what the March of Dimes is doing to help our tiniest babies (and all babies) let me know...I'm learning more each and every day!

Right now the March of Dimes is running a campaign called Every Baby has a Story it is a pretty cool site and is all about what it's name says! Click here to read Braden's story!