Sunday, April 25, 2010

March for Babies



I know it's been a long time since I posted. So much has happened that I want to write about, but I probably won't get to it tonight. One reason I haven't been posting too often is that we're really living a fairly normal life right now. Andrea is pretty much an average baby. The bigger reason I don't post is that there just aren't enough hours in the day.

I had an interesting experience today. I participated in the March of Dimes "March for Babies" in Piscataway, NJ. I spent the walk last year sitting next to Andrea's isolette in the NICU. The original plan for today was to bring Andrea along for the walk, but the weather was awful. After all we've been through, we didn't want her to get SICK!

The reason I found the walk interesting is that it drove home haw many people have stories similar to ours. I didn't meet anyone else with a 15 ounce baby, but the majority of walkers have some connection to a preemie baby, all with their own dramatic stories. I walked for a while with a woman born 10 weeks early thirty years ago, at a time when most hospitals didn't have a NICU. I met parents of a 24-week boy who was born only a few months before Andrea. Despite the fact that he was almost twice her size at birth, his recovery hasn't been as smooth as Andrea's. It's hard to hear the sad stories. It makes me even more grareful for our happy outcome, amazed that we were, and continue to be, so lucky, and sorry for the parents who have ongoing challenges that we can't even imagine. Even worse are the families who lost their babies. I can't begin to know how you go on after such a loss.

I was able to connect with some of Andrea's NICU nurses, and show them her most recent pictures. Life has gone on for the personnel in the NICU, and it was interesting to see that no one remembered me by name. I was recognizable as “Baby’s Zimmerman’s Mommy”, or “Mommy Zimmerman”. No one who met Andrea back then will likely ever forget her, but other babies have moved into her spot (hallelujah!) and we’re not in the forefront of anyone’s minds. What a blessing that was!

In other Andrea news, she has finally decided she’s ready to crawl. She actually began crawling in earnest the week after Easter, but would slip and drop onto her tummy, especially on our hardwood floors. Now, all bets are off! She is a speed demon, and has to be watched every second! She loves to crawl over to the electrical wires and try to chew on them. She also has awesome eyesight – she finds every speck of lint on the floors and puts it in her mouth. She’s working hard on pulling up into a standing position, too. She’s been able to get onto her knees, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before she works out the next piece.

Andrea has been teething for a while, and has cut her bottom two teeth. She is very stingy about showing them off… if we pry her mouth open, she’ll stick her tongue out to hide them. I keep trying to get a picture, and she won’t cooperate.

"The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” Pablo Casals