It’s almost kick-off time for March for Babies. Because I’m interning at the March of Dimes this semester, I’m getting a jump start on fundraising while I work out some interesting (and hopefully fun!) incentives for family teams to raise more money, and perhaps for donors who donate a certain amount. So, without further ado, here’s my fundraising widget. Feel free to donate, if you can. You can also read our (brief) story on my page, or search for it here on my blog (I’ve posted it a couple of times before). If you can’t donate, you can still support us by leaving a comment here if you’d like. And, if you have any ideas on how to get teams and/or individuals to raise more money, I’d love to hear them!

Today is National Fright for Preemies Day. If you’ve read my blog at all, you probably know by now that we have 3 preemie children, 2 of whom were micro preemies. If you don’t know our story, here is the short version (search my blog for the full story. I’ve posted it before, though it’s been quite awhile):

Our twins were born at 27 weeks gestation, 13 weeks early. They spent only 6 weeks in the NICU out of the 12 they were projected. We were very fortunate on every front. Though they came dangerously close to needing a transfusion (and being diagnosed with TTTS, or twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome) we never had to go through that. They were jaundiced, had their eyes fused shut for the first two weeks of their lives, were on oxygen and in temperature controlled isolettes, couldn’t be held for the first 2 weeks of life, had sleep apnea, and several other “minor” problems. They are 8 and a half and to this day, have no lasting effects of their prematurity. Unless you count the fact that they are a bit short for their age. Then again, if you know me, you know I’m only 5 feet tall, so it isn’t a stretch to equate the two things together

Prematurity is the #1 killer of newborns and can lead to lifelong disabilities. What’s worse is the number has increased 31% since 1981. It can happen without warning and for no known reason, much as what happened to me. Though I had a uterine infection due to loosing my mucus plug around 25 weeks with the twins, our youngest was born 4 weeks early for no apparent reason. I was on an oral medication for a month prior to his birth because I had gone into early labor (that’s 8 weeks early…not as early as his brothers, but early enough). My doctor had no idea why. She conceded that some women just aren’t made to carry a baby full term. I suppose, at least with my youngest (who will be 7 next month), that that is the category into which I belong.

Though the March of Dimes has made great strides in developing things to help premature babies survive and live healthy lives, we still have a long way to go. Won’t you join me in this fight? If you’d like to help, you can donate to our family team in anticipation of the 2010 March for Babies in May. You can also head over to the March of Dimes website and join the fight.

It’s November 3rd and I nearly forgot to change my blog theme to reflect that this is Prematurity Awareness Month! I don’t have much time since I have to head to class in a few minutes. But, I wanted to make sure I told you all, in case you forgot or didn’t know

Sunday was the March of Dimes March for Babies. It was a beautiful walk along the Erie Canal. Altogether, I’d say it was a much better walk than last year. More organized, more entertainment, more food, much better location. It was much harder to fundraise this year, though. That was my downfall. But as the family teams chairperson, I’m looking forward to calling people and getting feedback. Can’t wait to hear what they think of the new place, etc. I took several pictures, especially along the canal. I have never walked along the canal before, and would love to do it again in a different spot. There are lots of locations to walk along the canal. Anyway, here are the pics I took from the walk, in no particular order:

It’s that time of year again…the time of year where I start fundraising for the March of Dimes March for Babies. There are 91 days left until my walk on May 3rd and my goal is $500. I think that’s completely doable in 3 months, don’t you?

I am once again the co-chair for the Rochester family teams. I enjoyed it immensely last year and am looking forward to getting more involved this year. I think they want us to do some committee work, too, and I am very excited about that! I’ll definitely be posting more about that as time goes on. Until then, here’s the link to donate, if you’d like to help me support the March of Dimes. You can also read our personal story , or at least the cliff’s notes version, there. At some point between now and May 3rd, I’ll post the full version of our story, something I haven’t done in a very long time (if ever on this blog).

As you can see from my blog design, it’s Prematurity Awareness month again. It started last weekend, obviously, but I’ve had so much going on that I haven’t had a chance to post anything about it. I also made a new banner for the occasion. The small inset banner in the middle is supposed to be animated, but I’m having trouble inserting it into my banner and getting it to actually animate. I’ll keep working on that to see if I can figure it out. If not, it still looks ok. I’ll try and start posting info again, like I do ever year. I can’t guarantee I’ll do it every day this year, but I’ll try to get something up a couple of times a week at least.

I ran across the pictures of the twins right after they were born and will hopefully get those scanned and posted, as well.

So, there. Not much time to post today (at least not right now), but I wanted to “kick off” Prematurity Awareness month on my blog, even if it is a week late!

Happy weekend!

I have to say that I am so super impressed with how Rochester does their walk! They had music, a bounce-around, Home Depot Kids Workshops, crafts for the kids, pizza and hot dogs afterwards, Starbucks coffee, donuts, clowns, face painting and more! I did a little spiel about why I got involved with the MOD and then I was interviewed by a local tv station (as you can see from the previously posted picture from dh’s cell phone).

We have been chosen to be the Ambassador family for their golf tournament this summer. I am super excited about that and our meetings will start in a couple of weeks. There’s something about being involved so closely with an organization that really makes a person feel fulfilled, ya know? I just don’t know that I can explain in words what volunteering for the March of Dimes feels like. Those of you who have been or are involved in charitable organizations know what I mean.

I’m tired, but I’m completely happy. And now everyone is down for a mid-afternoon nap and I’m going shopping with mil

As the co-chair for the Mission Family teams here in Rochester, I get to give a quick 2-3 minute “speech” about why I got involved in the March of Dimes. That should be fun. I guess I’ll get over my fear of public speaking real quick, huh? DH will be moblogging, so look for random pics from the walk, courtesy dh’s phone On the upside, we got cool purple family team shirts on top of the March for Babies shirt I’ll get for fundraising. Is that not awesome?! I love what they are doing here and I love being involved!

Alright, off to bed for me. It’ll be an early morning. Thank goodness there will be Starbucks there, lol. I’ll need some. And, boy, I wish I had some extra money this month…they are having a knock-off purse sale, too!

I know that many of the March of Dimes Walk for Babies events have taken place, or will take place tomorrow, but there’s still time to donate if you haven’t yet. Brian, the boys and I will be walking in our even a week from tomorrow. If you’d like to donate, you can click on the banner in my sidebar.

I am very excited. Today, I met with the senior community director for New York State Chapter Genesee Valley/Finger Lakes Division of the March of Dimes. Darcy is wonderful! She asked me if I would be willing to be the co-chair for the divisions family mission teams! I gladly accepted, of course. They are so excited to have us on board and wanting to participate. It also appears the Brian and I will be the “face,” if you will, of their charity golf event in late July. That hasn’t been confirmed yet, but they’d really like us to be on board for that. I love that they are presenting us with opportunities to get involved. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a couple of years, but never really felt like there was an opportunity in the Erie office. I’m glad I have the opportunity here.