Sunday, May 12, 2013

For all the kinds of mamas

Mother's day is such a mixed day for me. I love that I'm a mother, love that I got to wake up to Mylo's Bear Hugs, Oscar's songs, and Victor's giggles and love that I spent my day playing with, eating with, snuggling with and dancing with my family of 5. I am so very, very lucky to be their mom and so very blessed to have my family. I will never forget the road here and that the day that celebrates moms can also sting those who aren't yet or couldn't be and it means that in the quiet moments between the singing, the playing and the dancing I reflect on how we got here.

For 32 years, when I looked down I saw this and I was grateful for it's abilities to dance and to run and to  travel and to play and to work

and for 28 weeks when I looked down I saw this and I was grateful for it's ability to create and to stretch and to grow and to hold on for even one more day

When I look down today it often looks like this (can you find it) and sometimes I can barely recall not having 12 extra arms and legs flailing, grabbing and climbing and I'm grateful for it's ability to stay flexible and strong and nourishing and playful and loving even when it's tired, tired, tired!

and in all that change I will never forget that there was a time (that felt like forever even though it was only a couple of years) when looking down and seeing this, I saw empty and broken and damaged

So to all the mamas out there however your children have come to you, enjoy the squishy parts and the wrinkles, the grey hairs and the creaks and cracks, you've earned them and they tell your story...Happy Mother's Day to You! 

and to all the mamas to be out there enjoy every stretch and turn and twist and appreciate those jabs in the ribs and welcome that little one (or those little ones) to stay in just a little longer so they enter this world good and ready for it's crazy ways....Happy Mother's Day to You!

and to all the mamas in waiting out there, trust in your body to figure this out or when it's time to give it a rest trust in your heart to decide when and how that turn will come and know that your maybe baby will find it's way to you from within or from afar at just the right time. Try to enjoy the calm before the storm, life after will be amazing, but it will never be life before so to you, more than any other, I say....Happy Mother's Day to You! 

To each and every woman: mama, mama to be, mama in waiting, or cool aunt that never wants to be a mama, mama, and any other kind of mama I've neglected to mention, my boys and I send you a great big slobbery toddler smooch for the place that you hold in mama land! 


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Giving Back!


On June 1st, the boys and I and some other family members are going to walk to support the place and the people that supported us so much during their early, very tiny moments: Children's Hospital Neonatal programs. We are so very lucky to be so close to such an amazing hospital with incredible resources for the littlest humans that join us on the outside a little or a lot before their time. The most incredible part of Children's is how much they do to make the little world we build there a home for us and for our kiddos, no matter what we are going through or how long our stay. After more than 3 months of incredible care we were finally able to have all our babies in their real home, but we will never forget the place that proved to be the best place for our babies to come "home" to for the first couple of months of their lives. The people that helped us along the way from surgeons and doctors to social workers and family resource center employees gave our family a strong foundation and beyond any of those are the nurses. Our primary nurses were the most incredible, loving, supportive people we could have asked to have by our sides. I remember our ICC nurse being their with us on Christmas when Victor was really struggling and I thanked her for sharing her Christmas with us and told her to thank her children for sharing their mom with us on Christmas. It was so important on that day to have a nurse and a care team that really knew our boys and Katie felt like part of our family by that time so to have her there for Christmas made such an impact for this mama. Each of our boys also had their own incredible nurses in the NICU and Mary, Kris, Lori and Laurie made our stay there what it was in so many ways and we also can't forget the ICC's Christine who we didn't get to spend as much time with since she was nights, but she was sometimes the reason I felt I could go home without reservation. The list goes on lactation consultants, volunteers rocking and reading to babies, and more and more. If you would like to cheer us on in person or in spirit you can click on the link on the left side of the blog that says Baby Steps 3k or for those of you viewing this on a mobile appp I'll include the link here:


If you would like to join us in walking and fundraising click on the join team tab and sign up. If you would just like to help us support Children's click on "donate now" and that will be a huge help!

Either way there will be lots of cute pictures of these boys taking a little stroll to help out those who've helped us and a post about our adventure!