Clown Family: laughing and loving our life.

well in AUG blogger ate 3 years of posts.

2011-09-28T15:04:00.000-04:00

and am i not even going to pretend i have the time to recreate each and every one of them.

so blogger you suck for eating my blog and here is a recap of the last 3 years

Danger is Awesome he turned 1 then i went "to work" as a Breastfeeding Peer Couselor and then i became a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) then Danger turned 2 and somewhere along the way we got pregnant again. I didn't tell anyone until i was almost 24 wks and i must have been looking might funny thinking i could hide the giant belly and puke face i was sporting the whole time. She was born in march, her name is Opal she is also crazy awesome.

For father's day we went to see the Ohmies i even shared a coupon code, pictures, and review it was AWESOME and everyone should check them out. it's too bad Blogger eat that post because it was supper funny and i even got to poke fun at my brilliant but sometimes dim comic partner in life...
Watson: oh.. i get it..
Me: you get what
W: You know i didn't get this was a show with yoga in it...i now get the "Ohm" thing.
M: you didn't get that they were teaching a sun salutation?
W: Nope
M: it's a good thing you get paid to act dumb, silly and look pretty.

Lucy would have turned 4 this year and instead of going to the cemetery we spent the day hunkered down bracing for a hurricane. I joined up with some co-worked to bring back bereavement support at work and it started back up this summer. I worked hard (along with many others) to lobby NY State legislators to pass the Certificate of Stillbirth Bill and we succeeded in doing so as of last Friday.

Danger turned 3, Opal started Solids and we just got back from a Ringling Clown reunion and i still miss my girl Lucy,

there now you are all caught up.

OMG i thought i lost you bloggy

2011-08-05T09:34:00.000-04:00

bad bloggy!

The birth story

2008-09-27T17:38:00.003-04:00

this story has some minor scary moments. it has taken me some time to get it all down and processed. If you know me you know that close call stories are stories i don't like to read or hear. i feel like they flaunt one's joyus outcome in the face of a mother that had a loss. an bring to question the very thing we fear --if only the circumstance was different than our outcome could have been different. OSD's story isn't so much a close call story as thank you universe thing but some might see it as a close call. and i don't blame any one for skipping it over.

I went in to labor on my own at around 2:45 am... i woke up with some good strong contractions.

did some breathing through them... not so bad. got up wen to the bathroom and i was bleeding. NOT GOOD.

called L& D and spoke with a PA told her i was coming in and paging Dr. Hellraiser on my way.

woke up watson. got dressed and told mom we were leaving to hospital and that we would get in touch.

got to hospital and was still bleeding not a lot but enough to worry me. waited for my room we had best room in the house. next door to the room we delivered Lucy in, but this one was made over into state of the art delivery room. high tech.

once i was settled in exam was done i was was at 4 cm & 70 % effaced. not bad. that was around 5 am ish. 6 am Dr. Rockstar got in he was bummed i didn't wake him up at 3 am with my call. if only all Dr. were so freaking COOL! (i am sure his new wife would have loved that wake up call) anyway around 9 am ish Dr. Rockstar does another check an NO change... writes orders to start pitocin. he'll be back around 1pm to deliver me he has to do clinic hours across the street. no sweat i am only 4cm 1 pm shouldn't be a problem. then in come DR. Hellraiser. morning how you feeling pleasantries etc. i say bleeding scary, he says not to worry about it can be normal for labor. PHEW! slight headache and my BP is a little on the high side but still not unusual given my history. lay on left side to relive some of this.

Pitocin starts to kick my ass around 10am. i ask for Epidural casue the back pain is not making me a nice girl i think i cussed out watson for not knowing i was having a contraction in one of those low growl voices like demon... scary scary cris.

10:30am Epi was a breeze the Dr. that placed it was super fantastic and was kind enough to stop my pitocin while i was getting the epi. Bless you kind man.

shortly after that maybe 1 hour my Bp was up again, so back on my left side i went...

... then around 12:30 the baby had some decels and my uterus was contracting like crazy so they stopped the pitocin and put me on oxygen... tried to staycalm and not worry have the best Dr.s on the planet.

shortly after that they check me and i was 10cm and +2 baby was good to go water not broken but leaking. OK must call mom & Nan and tell them to giddy yup already or they'll miss it.

so now we find Dr. rockstar and tell him to come back (not me personally, as i couldn't walk was in labor and had an epi rememebr and certainly i had no cell service to call him.) he came over checked me, ruptured my water, and said do you feel like pushing i said not really maybe in a few minutes.

he was like ok. i'm gonna grab a slice of pizza i'll be back in a sec. Ok see you in 5 or so.

3 slices of pizza later i was ready to push... or i should say baby was crowning on its own. Drs. hellraiser & rockstar said i didn't need to wait for a contraction that i could just push and i did 1 small effective push and we had the head out OH baby. He was crying right away (yeah for good lungs) but the cord was around his neck loosly but all i heard was the cord is around the neck deliver through it... so i just concentrated on the crying i new that was good it meant the baby was breathing. one more small effective push and we heard... It's a boy! woohoot! cheers & tears all around. cord was also wrapped tight around his leg. watson cut his cord and my placenta delivered straight away again as the cord was getting cut i think.

beautiful perfect baby boy born on his own terms more or less. and his cry was the answer to many many prayers.

-- i haven't checked this for typos or errors it was hard to write but i will someday just not now.

what's in a name

2008-09-26T00:28:00.006-04:00

Owen Samuel Danger

What's in a name or more specifically what's in his name.

Watson and i had list of several names that we liked but in the end we settled on this name for a few reason. going to try and put some of it down here.

I/we wanted a name for this baby that had gravitas, weight and meaning... and it had to be fun and clever if possible.

Owen -- this was my Mom's surname.

The Name Owen: Its Origin and Legacy
By Jhood, published Dec 25, 2007

Owen is a Welsh or old Irish name derived from Latin Eugenius meaning "Well-Born". Owen is pronounced O-en, or OH-en. The first syllable has more emphasis. The name is a variant of Eugene, and Gaelic variant for Eoghan. The meaning of the name in Welsh is young warrior, in Celtic it means young fighter. The word Originated as a loan word borrowed by the Welsh from the Latin and Greek before 500A.D.

When were were Pregnant with Lucy, Owen Henry was our one & only name for a boy. Coincidentally O. Henry was what we joked we would call that little baby if it was a boy which it wasn't it was our Olive Lucy instead. the real O Henry was born on Sept 11th -- OSD shares his birthday.

Samuel -- this name came to me on a whisper one day. i had been researching names and i love old names and was looking for just the right out of fashion name i wasn't having much luck... then came the whisper. I had noticed that most of our Docs had biblical or hebrew names, James, Paul, Hadar and Sammy. that last one stuck with me... Sam, Sammy, Samuel i looked up the meaning.

his name means God, from God, of God

I/we feel this baby was a gift to us from the universe. he had been prayed for by many from long before he was conceived. he had been cradled in my womb on prayers and thoughts of a safe arrival. the name fit. It was as if whatever had gone wrong with the universe the day Lucy died had been made right the day he was born. that and it made Dr. Sammy D Rockstar smile when we said Samuel was one of our name picks. which was nice too but mostly it was the God & Universe thing.

DANGER -- um DUH very cool.

n.
Exposure or vulnerability to harm or risk.
A source or an instance of risk or peril.
Obsolete. Power, especially power to harm.
[Middle English daunger, power, dominion, peril, from Old French dangier, from Vulgar Latin *dominiārium, authority, power, from Latin dominium, sovereignty, from dominus, lord, master.]

actually this started as a clever little game between Watsy & I. Wats would say what about this name or that name... and i would make a face or laugh then i say what about Huckleberry Fion then he would make a face... and we would start all over again. when he offered up Danger it stuck. i liked it, he liked it, baby seemed to like it and it went with every name we put it with. so it was settled no matter it it was a boy baby or a girl baby Danger would be it's middle name.after all we had been through this past year. i figured Danger was fitting name for this little baby, it was a risk we took and it paid off. so maybe having a risky middle name will keep him from harms way.

with a name that in part means warrior from God i think we might be ok for now.

week 2

2008-09-25T23:43:00.004-04:00

we had some milestones this week. if we were still Prego Tuesday Sept 23 would have been 39 wk 3 days for Poppy (aka Owen Samuel). the gestational age at which Lucy died. We knew from the start that we would never again carry to 39 wk 3 days. but some how it still was a scary day to make it through. I am not sure how to explain it. i know he is already born but i was still worried.

Today OSD turn 2 wks his physiology is developing into an infant. I can't remember all the timeline but neonates are not "infants" so to speak they are still fetuses for a time. i think it is like 4 wks more a less.

Part of me was holding my breath until we hit that magical number of 39wk 3days... like if we made it past that then all the worry would disappear. not so much, still worried but i get that the worry doesn't go away.

I know i haven't posted his birth story yet but he came on his own with just the tiniest bit of help after i had already gone into labor on my own. I was not induced. I am one of those "lucky" women who's children take pity on her and come a little early on their own.

*sigh* i just wish that 39 wk 3 days wasn't always going to be a gestational age i fear.

newborn fun

2008-09-24T19:27:00.007-04:00

i'm really silly and i was taking some silly pictures with the baby while he slept.
daddy i hope they make you laugh! we miss you.

today i eat, slept, pooped, and did it again.

some dangerous video... i hope.

2008-09-23T15:25:00.006-04:00

he seems to be getting much stronger tries to hold his head up.

tummy time and lots of talking --i think it is talking.

he misses his dad and looks a little sad from time to time.

anyway here you go me trying out my mom's video feature on her new camera...

Tummy time in the sun beam & a cute little fluffy g bum...

more tummy time this is this early this afternoon.

enjoy!

some things i don't want to forget

2008-09-22T00:05:00.002-04:00

dangerous to leave momma alone while nursing she does silly things to my hair

i swear he has beautiful eyes... i just keep taking his pic with them closed.

i almost never smile in photos unless they are candid.

i am happy don't let the expression fool you.

the other things i don't want to forget.

When W & I work together we are unstoppable.

Wats is on a trip. the circus offered him work in Boston for the week and as hard as it is for him to be away he is the only one working. the choice was sort of a no brainer. My goal this week is to journal each day so watson will have a record of this tiny magical little being that has consumed all our love and then some. My dad & mom are here to help out.

OSD's umbilical stump fell off today, his circ. is healed and he had mini "bath" today rather than a wash cloth bath. he got his hair washed which was good because it was getting really oily.

I think he has a cold. today he has been fussy and really only wanted to nurse or be held by me but i finally got him to really sleep around 8:30ish tonight and he is still sleeping and it is now 11:15 pm. so i suspect any minute he will wake up to eat.

these last few days have been tough. (i am not stupid i knew they would be) but i don't mean tough like i was unprepared i mean tough emotionally. i look at this tiny little baby and i realize that already he is different he is growing... my only other baby is frozen in time this baby is changing.

I have taken a photo of him each day since he was born. i hope to one day make a slide show for him that is him growing up. but right now i'll be glad if i remember to check my blood glucose (like i forgot to do while i was writing this post!)

but mostly i want to remember that i am a good parent, even when i cry or am sad i am still a good mom and i love this little boy, his dad and his sister more than air.

I miss you watson and i can't wait for you to come home so we can have some adventures with our tiny monster baby.

Week one recap (part two)

2008-09-20T08:42:00.011-04:00

ADDING TO

Sunday Sept 13: our first visitors at home, Dash's p'rents came over to meet OSD.

Monday Sept 14: forgot to say went to the pediatrician per hospital Attending Pediatrician orders. OSD weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and measured 19.75" not bad. also he has jaundice... photo therapy for you little boy.

Wednesday Sept 17: eat sleep poop repeat, dad and OSD took a walking the courtyard.

Thursday Sept 18: Dad to work and OSD & i had a day planned. took the bus to our Docs office cause momma forgot to have some forms completed the day she gave birth (silly me!) meet all my fans,

this is just a few if my gals!

OSD got held by about 30 different women... and didn't cry once! we also delivered brownies that nana baked that morning at the request of mom to the High risk clinic, the regular OB clinic and to Labor & delivery. then we went to the WIC office for our 1st newborn appt. and momma got a very nice electric double breast pump from WIC & Medela because she is exclusively breast feeding. (OSD is a champ! he has a great latch and has since about 10 minutes after he was born. if you are PG and considering BFing i suggest skin to skin ASAP afterbirth to help with latch on.) when we got home Nana had left for a few days and it was just the 4 of us Dad, momma OL & OSD. chillaxin and soaking it all in.

Dad read me my first book. OSD slept through the night that night.

that wraps up the first week.

OSD has his own blog now here.

I will be journaling for him there. if you want to be a reader email me or just comment and i'll add you. if you are a village member you can already view.

Week one recap (part one)

2008-09-19T10:19:00.011-04:00

Owen Samuel was One week old yesterday. this is a recap of our week as a family.

Thursday Sept 11: Born then nursed

goop in the eyes hat on your head swaddled tight and off you go.

got checked into the nursery and waited for mom to get her butt upstairs so he could eat.

dad checked on him many times while mom waited for the room to get ready...roomed in, and eat pooped sleep repeat all night long.

Friday Sept 12: Woke up early knew Dr. Sammy D Rockstar would be by to see me early in the am. we had a "procedure" to do.

this later in the day i am not smiling because they baby just had a procedure i was talking to watson.

after that Dad got sent home to catch some extra zzzzs.

we had a gazillion visitors and phone calls. ok not a gazillion, but it felt like it. nana, Dr. rockstar, nurse nanny, and the lactation coach ang these guys were the only ones we snapped pictures with OSDK.

dr. hellraiser again -- i think his hand is bigger than the baby?!?

were my nurses at? holla!

i had my blood taken and pretty much hung with the baby, who had a hearing test and saw the pediatrician. that night we had awesome Pizza and i had a candy bar for the first time in MONTHS!

Saturday Sept 13: Up early because today was going to be busy. Pediatrician, OBs, new clothes that were gigantic on our tiny baby, dad lost the car for few mins...but then he found it. PHEW! we were first to get discharged YEAH! and then We went home!

Monday Sept 14: sleep eat poop repeat until tomorrow, and us parents slowly catching up on sleep after that hospital stay...

Tuesday Sept 15: Dad had to go to work this day... it was tough, we missed him but he sent us this message from work.

to be continued...

Owen Samuel Danger

2008-09-13T21:01:00.008-04:00

Born: September 11, 2008

2:20 pm

6lbs 13 oz

19.5 "

we are doing well i am exhausted so the birth story will have to wait but here is a picture (maybe 6) to hold you over.

Above Dr. Hellraiser

Dr. Sammy D Rockstar

Nurse Colleen the Red

Getting dress to go home

Sleepy boys in the sunshine

Amnio test results

2008-09-10T23:32:00.001-04:00

are in

positive for lung maturity...

i need sleep and a sedative of some kind because i am terrified.

tomorrow 8 am induction.

amnio day

2008-09-10T21:17:00.007-04:00

this is how our day went...

slept in late (sort of i was up at 5am but went back to sleep) woke up around 10 ish

brushed teeth

ate breakfast- pancake (yes just 1) and egg and 1.5 slices of bacon and 1/4 of a nectarine.

brushed teeth again ( yes this is a fact when i am prego my teeth BUG me to no end)

showered (oh what i would give for a magical shave thingy that would make this easier during Pregnancy)

got dressed (good thing too cause the sight of me au natural is... let's say not for the faint of heart)

gave out my "rules for the next few days"

under no circumstance are you to make any noise that might be considered a sound effect for pain. or else you will be kicked out of the amino ( this means you too watson)
I may not be much fun during induction if for some reason you get on my nerves i will kick you out it is not because i don;t love you i just love me & my sanity more.
Getting kicked out is not the worse thing that can happen. take it as an act of mercy if you know me and my temper you might be better off out of the reach of my vicious tongue.

left for Clinic

rode in car to clinic, don't think i yelled at watson in the car once (ok maybe once)

got to the clinic a few mins late

then we waited

played with mom's cell

and waited

played with the ipod

and waited after about an 1.5 hours we were called in....

we got in the room i made MOm sit in one chair and watson sit in another... Just in case.

quick sono to check heart rate.

in come the Docs. not 1 not 2 but 3 of our 5 Docs were there.

in attendance Dr. D (Rockstar Chief Resident), Dr. W (perinatalogist #2 i have 2 that are supervising my case), Dr. H (Resident in High Risk clinic). Watson, my mom and the MJ the sonographer me and the poppy (DUH)

The ACTUAL procedure:

sono to find a good pocket of Amniotic fluid

Dr. W does first pass find a pocket he would push with one finger on my belly when he found a pocket on the the screen to see where if the pushing would correspond on the screen. Then Dr. D & Dr W switched places so Dr. D could do the "TAP" (that is OB speak for an amnio)

Dr. H was great distractor, we like her a lot, but Dr. D wanted to do the procedure.

once a good pocket was found my belly was swabbed with betedine and a one of those blue plastic cloth type surgical drape thing that stick to you with a 6" x 4" "window" in it.

Sono doppler in one hand and back on belly needle in other hand

the poke it self was not so bad i watched the monitor. i used few relaxation techniques for the stick. not so bad.

it did take a few seconds to collect the fluid but not too long. few deepish breaths and it was over.

Dr. W said "Looks mature"

the other two said i did great and that they hoped to see me tomorrow and some other small talk. we asked again what exactly we need to have the induction.

we need positive lung maturity of 3.5 or higher (because of the Gestational diabetes) and PG+ (this is some kind of lipid found in amniotic fluid when the fetus is mature)

off they went then, MJ came over and clean up my belly did another quick sono to check heart rate post amnio

then down the hall we went to the the second part of the procedure a NST to confirm the baby hasn't gone into distress.

my BP was up a bit for me 120/80 not terrible especially considering i had just had a 6" needle stuck in my belly.

on the monitor for 20-30 mins...

baby was perfect. even had a few small contraction while i was there... WOOHOO.

Dr. W came in to check the tracing (more OB speak.)

he said "you can't ask for a more perfect reading"

no real restictions. relax and wait. and hope for good numbers.

from there we went to lunch

the cemetery to visit Lucy

then i said let go by the mall for a walk around

then we hit a small farmers market

called A (it's her birthday today she is 7)

stuck my finger to check my Bg --141. YIKEs! i guess super cheese Quesidilla, w/ beans, steak & No veggies not a good meal option for a girl with GD oh well)

came home

and here we are

I spoke with a different Dr. H at 9 pm and my results aren't in yet... so we continue to wait....

in the mean time check out this belly shot!

37weeks

2008-09-09T11:49:00.004-04:00

Friday's NST was great.

2.5 hours of Braxton Hick contraction that night... fun fun fun.

SAT Officially Full term- 37wks

Sun not to exciting

Monday on self imposed bed rest to rest up for possible thursday induction

today Tuesday

BPP great!

Exam reveals i am now 2cm 50% effaced. yeah for progress!

and Dr. H (awesome OB #2) stripped my membrane to help things along.. Effective i have been having a few contractions since we left. yeah baby!

Amnio: tomorrow afternoon Rockstar Dr. D will being doing the procedure

results by 9pm. *hint check back here around 10pm EST if you can't wait for an update.

Induction: thursday 8am

fingers crossed and many tears have been shed this week. on a personal note i am terrified.

36w3d

2008-09-02T19:23:00.003-04:00

last week BBP was good and NST was hard work I spent almost an hour chasing this bittty monster all round my uterus. then it got hiccups which i have to say sound like the hiccups you and i get out side... WILD! i tell you just wild.

BPP today was good.
weight: aprox. 6 lbs 13 oz

Amnio date: YUP 8 days away!

Induction date: only if i don't go on my own... cause the good news is I am 1cm 50% effaced...

funny moment today...
Dr H to us: hey we may not need to induce your 1cm & 50% and i can feel the baby's head...

me: Yeah baby! i thought this baby dropped this weekend i could feel the difference

watson: HUH? really? already?

So place your bets folks get them in now... will i or won't I?

Tomorrow Nana comes! yeah Nana!

today is my sister's birthday.

2008-08-27T00:36:00.002-04:00

Dear friends and family,

mom and dad are busy today.

Today is my sisters birthday. so no update about me-- (but they looked under the hood and am good)

If you have an opportunity to light a candle tonight, it would be appreciated. Be well, take care and thanks again for being there for us during such a difficult time in our lives.

Peace, love, and light,
mom, dad, Olive Lucy & Me

Portrait by Davin Watne life long friend of daddy...

we bought something for the baby and 35 wk update

2008-08-23T07:44:00.006-04:00

I/we put a ban on purchasing anything baby until this baby came home... but Old Navy had/is having a sale today so i got up early and bought a few things (online not about the brave the mall PG and crabby) because if the sale. all unisex or passiable for unisex and all what i would call "staples" of anyones wardrobe... *sigh* let's hope i didn't jinx us.

this is what i bought.

I bought 2 pair of jeans 6-12 mos & 12- 18mos they were only 7 bucks

i also bought this romper

and 3 pair of these white socks -- i wish had bought the "natural" cotton instead but whatever...

their socks.

i also got myself a pair of post Pregnancy jeans... hope i guessed the right size for myself.

Update: i weigh 172lbs again PHEW! told you the scale lied last friday! NST was perfect, belly is measuring on target BP was 110/70 (almost always is) sugars are good.

next appt is Tuesday PM. BPP & prenatal visit with an OB that hasn't seen me before... little scary but he has meet me and he was trained by DR. H so let's hope he is good. if not just one visit with him then DR. H & Dr. Angel are back as is DR. D my perinatalogist.

we are officially 35 wks today. so 2-3 more weeks and if all goes well we'll bring home a baby... or maybe this is a tiny monster.... EEEEEKKKKK!

Harvard anyone?

2008-08-19T20:25:00.005-04:00

Poppy and Shelby (those are the bellies) and Cris & NIk

Nik & Don.
the skyline as you drive over harvard bridge... which incidentally was measured by a bunch MIT students using a guy named SMOOT
Harvard Square... not really a square at all. but they have good ice cream nearby.

Nik was presenting her Dissertation to a bunch of people at a conference during a poster session. In case you were wondering about how we ended up in Boston.

Watson also spent his freshman year in Boston at BU. So for 12 years he has been trying to get me there... it took my sister being in town for us to go... and i was cranky from the bus ride... so Watsy i promise we'll go again (and some time before another 12 years has passed.) and we'll walk from downtown to BU and get a cup of tea...

I love you!

ugh i'm huge

2008-08-16T10:03:00.002-04:00

So I am on a bus going to Boston and I have to say that I think it sucks that I don't fit through the doorway to the bathroom!

I'm sad, angry and crying because now I am stuck on this damn bus for 4 hours without access to a bathroom toilet!

Ugh!

budda belly at 33wks6ds

2008-08-15T17:52:00.007-04:00

had our "first" office NST today was super fast the baby was reactive and good fetal HR.

WOOHOOT! yeah baby!

I linked to a short explanation of a an NST above, but here is another version little more for you non high risk, or unfamiliar readers. maybe next week i get someone to snap a picture of me hooked up to the monitor.

so the 2 belt one at the top of my belly nearest the fundus ( the apex of your uterus while carrying a fetus) is placed there to monitor if i am having contractions. the 2nd is place lower on my belly to monitor the baby's heart rate i am also give a little button. that i push every time i feel the baby move.

all these things get printed out on a graph like sheet like this:

the black dots indicate where the mom feels movement and hits the button; the rest is HR etc. what they look for specifically is that the baby's heart rate accelerates when it moves just like yours dies when you exercise or move. this means the baby is "reactive" and indicates good fetal environment.

so the whole time i am doing this test 20 ins they aim for 4 accelerations with a PEAK acel that exceed 2 or 3 squares on the graph paper if i remember correctly... changes with gestation age of the baby. anyway so they turn up the sound and you push a button and listen to the sweet swoosh swoosh sound of the baby's heart beat. kind of cool.

in other news: oddly enough the scale said i gain 1.5lbs since tuesday but i think it was lying i was in a different exam room on a different scale-- evil turd scale is what i will call it from here out. so i am now officially 174 LBS! evil turd scale not nice!

anyway this is what my belly looked like today.

this belly look HUGE in profile but when i look down on it not so much.
I have been told it is very pointy and strangers are telling me all the time it look very forward what ever that means. all i know is that i am beginning to feel like i have been pregnant for something close to forever. i know watson is feeling it too, but in a different way. i haven't had work since i was 4 month along and that is starting to become pretty evident when you see how hard watson is working to make up for my lack of work.

Not sure what we would do without him.

tomorrow we take the belly to boston. i have never been. but my sister and her hubby are there for the day and what better excuse to see my Sis Nik & her hub Don then that the baby wants chowda and lots of it! (that would be clam CHOWDER for you non- new englanders) so off we go.

33w3d

2008-08-12T19:29:00.003-04:00

no picture. baby is not feeling like it.
but we do know this:

Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primate
Family: Hominiae
Genus: Homo
Species: Sapien
weight: aprox. 5 lbs 1 oz
length: unknown
hair: yes

eye: two, open today
gender: undisclosed to us

also start twice weekly visits this week. BPP & a visit one day & NST and a visit another day later in the week..

GD still sucks and i request that my first meal post delivery consist of- starch, starch, & more starch followed by a coke, ice cream and a GIANT milky way or huge box of dark chocolate covered caramels... I love you baby, but seriously i so miss sugar and starches like mashies and pasta!

watson i love you...

2008-08-07T14:34:00.003-04:00

I left you a message on Lucy's blog.

32w3d

2008-08-05T22:43:00.004-04:00

no picture this week. our very sonogenic baby pulled a celebrity vs. paparazzi move and showed us a whole lot of back...

and when the sonographer tried to snap a picture of the face up went its chubby hand to block the shot....

OH yeah! eat that hollywood. Who's your baby!

so here is the short list
baby is fine doing well--except for the ego.
still no weight gain on my part holding fast at 1/3 the birth weight of a pachyderm calf. what, you have no idea how much a elephant baby weighs! unheard of.... it weighs about a half ton so that would make me... you guessed it 172 lbs.
I am nervous wreck and just want the baby born soon.

I have the best team of OB docs a gal could want.. 2 Maternal fetal specialists, one of these is also the head/director of the OB/GYN dept at the hospital, and then there are my OBs Dr. Angel and Dr. H that are the men that held us up they day the world stopped spinning. they are amazing and great at actually listening to their high maintenance patient. the newest member of our team and the sole female OB is another DR. H. and she is awesome too..

I spoke with DR. Angel by email today and he has assured me that he will be there for our delivery (despite his promotion and subsequent busy schedule in another wing)

meanwhile watson and i have been entertaining ourselves with the poppy's recent pastime of kicking me and doing back flips that if you watched you might think it was looking for an escape hatch.

31w3d Shut up this is soo awesome!

2008-07-29T18:03:00.004-04:00

I am only posting one Picture today because this is wicked awesome.

Fingers of hand near nose , nose and the creases of the nostrils & closed eyes mouth open... and Shut up the baby was smiling. maybe not in this sono but i was at one point smiling.

we also saw a foot today that looked HUGE! but what do we know about big feet. prenatal re-cap: amnio date is bouncing around some which makes me nervous. baby had it's growth take and it is 4lbs 2 oz. I weigh the same as 1 cubic foot of limestone (if you aren't a measurement maniac that is 172lbs!)

AS for the GD- it still sucks but i am doing well on the diet as boring as it is i am managing.

one amazing set of pictures

2008-07-27T11:01:00.006-04:00

a few weeks back i went to TX for a few days. watson was away bidding farewell and speedy journey to his grandma. So off i went to TX at the very last minute to get some love from my nieces A, E & C, blog manic SIL Holly and my bother Joey gifted with mad crazy photog skills.

Sunday was 7/6/08 was Watsy's Birthday and my bra'da offered to take some pictures which have become watson Birthday gift.
(Coincidentally 7/6 is also J&H's anniversary, H has let me borrow my brother 2x in the last year on days that were really important to her. AUG 31 of last year my brother was her in NY helping us bid farewell an speedy journey to our precious girl Lucy, it was H's birthday she was in TX with her girls... i'll never forget that she gave us such a wonderful gift by letting J be here and understanding that her brthday would always have special significance in our lives.)

here you go.. a sneak peek at 172 lbs of glorious Prego me featuring poppyseed.
massive hair a gift from back to back pregnancies

A popular little hand signal amogst us mom's baking rainbows.

Watson "loves" this face a make when i am getting my picture taken.i am so glad joey was able to capture it with such a softness.
ME and the girls
JDD and me
I love this next picture poor E just wanted to be done taking pictures... and this was one of my favs.

this is actually a candid. but i have to tell you it is one of my favorites. this is A niece #1 beautiful, intelligent, and very very loving and sweet.

i don't have an actual picture of it but at one point everyone had theri hand o my belly because PS was moving around and everyone wanted to get a piece of the action... so in my mind that is a great Picture you have to use your imagination. ok stop slacking and get back to work!

29wk 3d, & 30w 3d

2008-07-26T10:24:00.004-04:00

OK so looking at you... 29wk 3 days
i put that picture next to a picture of lucy and they have them same cheeks and chin...

now 30w3d profile
poppy looked like it was eating when this pic was taken. good baby!
that is all... back to work!

update: 30wk 4 days

2008-07-23T14:06:00.005-04:00

we had a huge scare last week 7/14 and it kept me from posting... the baby had gotten it's self into a very comfy breech position and i could not feel it moving for about 5 hours.

I went to L&D for a BPP and NST.

meanwhile W was away at camp and it kicked both of our anxieties into over drive.

so Tuesday 7/15 at my appt i asked if i could go away Dr. H said go be where he is it will help. and it did.
i spent the rest of the week with W in CT at camp. i did some swimming and pottery and visiting. i managed to catch a summer cold... YUCK.

yesterday we had our regular appts.
baby is doing fine... growing and moving i haven't gained any weight in 3 wks now so if you are keeping count... i am still holding fast @ 172 lbs.

i will post pictures another day the bed is calling my name.

28 w 3d, gestational Diabetes

2008-07-10T20:18:00.005-04:00

so.. here is the baby for the week.

looking at you.. this was really amazing while our sonographer was trying to get this picture it was like the baby was smiling and looking right at us.

this is profile a little hard to make out but you can see an eye, nose and mouth, again the knee is near the nose... must be a circus performer...
so the crap news is a failed my GD tests. i had a feeling since the early day that something was off with my sugar this Pregnancy, i have been craving sugar way more than i normally do.

so now i am on a restricted carb and calorie diet ( a word that should never be associated with pregnancy as far as i am concerned) and doing finger sticks 4 times a day. the worst of it is that it is like day 3 and i feel hungry all the time, and my sugar number seem either low to me or high to me nothing seems to really match my goal numbers. but i am not a DR and i have never had to deal with this before.

anyway i am trying to finesse my meal plan and see if i can hit my goals better.

27w3d & great grandmothers

2008-07-01T17:45:00.006-04:00

today we are 27 weeks 3 days.

the Poppy is breech at the moment or at least it was this morning. look poppy can kiss it's knees...we saw the poppy practice breathing today. chest raise and fall. opening and closing the mouth. good work baby!

Watson found out just afterward that his grandmother died during the night last night. in her 80's she had lived a long life, but there are just no words to explain what he must be feeling at the moment.

Arghh me maety if you love...

2008-06-24T18:55:00.010-04:00

...being a prego pirate!

behold a vast n mighty mate she be but a mean and nasty hook has she...

whats thar in her belly so large a wee 2nd mate smiling at ye

Ahoy ye land lubrs, thar she blows... floating out to sea? nay adrift in the fair isle of pool is she

ok i borrowed the little "argh me matey' from my favorite camp, but i have to admit that for the first time in my life i was dressed as a pirate for a gig on sunday and it made for some fun and a good laugh. the sono is from this morning and the pool shot is from my "vacation" day a week or so ago. enjoy!

25w 5days: Fetal echo cardiogram & prenatal check up!

2008-06-19T19:44:00.004-04:00

we had the fetal echo cardiogram today and the cardiologist say the poppyseed is very echogenic and that poppy's heart looks great. no visible congenial heart defects.

he also said it is very unlikely that Lucy's stillbirth was casued by a congenial heart defect.

also had a prenatal check up... baby still looking good and measuring well. gained a few lbs.

we also have the plan for delivery... we have a new amnio date End of Aug and potential delivery date.

today was also our last offical APPT with super DR. D. Next month we will become a Chef Resident so in 3 wks we start seeing our new OB DR. H.

beginning next week tues i start weekly sono, Bio-physical profiles, NST & umbilical dopler to check blood flow (all you girl that lost your babies to cord issues remember this one write it down and ask your MFM/ Peri to order them for you during you next PGs) i will also have weekly office visits with the Peri another Dr. D or DR. W. and every 3rd week with DR. H.

pics are from today after the echo... profile and looking right at you!

Stillbirth Legislation: Federal and NY State

2008-06-04T08:58:00.009-04:00

So we the disenfranchised parents, children and families touched by Stillbirth are stuck, we are stuck lobbying for something that to many seems like it should just be common courtesy to do. But alas it is not something we are being granted easily. We continue to beg, plead, nay argue our position as if our children who died through no fault of our own were merely figments of our overactive imagination. That the months we spent nurturing, caring for and loving these these children that have died meant nothing, not to our government on a federal or state level.

Here in NY the Assemebly BIll 8960 remains stuck in the Ways and Means Commmitee. GRR!

From our fine NY leader:

This is our final plea to get Assembly Bill 8960 - Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth - to the Assembly Floor for a vote before session ends on June 23rd.

Sign the online PETITION to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver asking him to use his authority to allow the bill to move out of the Ways & Means Committee to the

Assembly Floor.

Click on this link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ny-stillbirth-bill

The petition will be open through June 10th and delivered to Speaker Silver's office in Albany.
Forward the link to everyone ~ ask them to sign the petition in memory of your child.

~Paige
For our child, Samantha 1/26/03-1/26/03
For all of our Children...www.CBRSbill.blogspot.com

From those working on the Federal level: Dear Friends,

We have exciting news!

Representative Peter King from New York has introduced a bill to raise awareness about stillbirth that seeks to standardize the definition of stillbirth, and the method in which stillbirth data is collected, so there can be a national repository for stillbirth data with which to conduct comprehensive research efforts. The bill also authorizes a campaign to increase public awareness of good prenatal care practices that may decrease the risk of stillbirth, including monitoring movements during the last trimester. To view the actual bill and supporting documents, please visit the First Candle website.

Now we need your help! We are asking that you write a letter to your Representative asking them to co-sponsor this bill. The more co-sponsors the bill has, the more likely it is to pass. Please note, this is for the House of Representatives only. Do not contact your Senators at this time.

If you could do this within the next couple days to one week, we will be able to maximize the momentum Representative King has initiated!

Members of Congress receive hundreds of messages from their constituents every day. This communication is important to them because it helps them better understand what issues are important to those they serve. Through your requests, congressional leaders will support legislation, add their names as co-sponsors or even introduce legislation to assist constituents in their districts.

The compelling testimony provided by parents at First Candle’s 2007 Advocacy Day-on-the Hill is what prompted Representative King to introduce this important bill!

·         The first step is to identify the Representative for the District you live in. If you already know that, or have had direct contact with him/her, you are one step ahead of the game!

·         If you do not know who your Representative is, or if you do not have contact information, you can find that information at https://forms.house.gov by putting in your 9-digit zip code (if you do not know your 4 digit extension, you can get it at http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp.) You will then be able link directly to your Representative’s website. There you will find all the information you need, as well as the ability to email directly to their office.

·         Once you have the contact information, write your letter. We have provided a sample letter below, but encourage you to add your personal story where indicated. Personal stories always have a greater impact and are taken more seriously than form letters! Of course, you can write your own letter if you have the time or desire. Just remember to keep the statistics and information about the bill consistent with that of the sample letter.

·         Sending a hard copy or email letter are both equally effective. If you are mailing a hard copy, feel free to send along the documents attached to this email. It is not a good idea to attach documents to email letters, as they will most likely be rejected. Do not let this discourage you from using email though, as the vast majority of constituent letters do not include supporting documentation. Your email letters can be sent directly through your Representative’s website.

·         First Candle would very much appreciate knowing who you have sent a letter to. This way we can conduct follow-up if and when that becomes necessary. Simply send an email to jennifer.johnson@firstcandle.org with your name and the name of the representative or staffer you sent the letter to. Hard or email copies of your letters are also welcome!

·         And finally . . . please share this email with anyone that you think would be interested in supporting this effort, including family, friends, your favorite support organizations, groups, websites, etc.

·         If you have any questions regarding the bill or this process, feel free to contact Marianne Adezio at 703-741-7053 or madezio@golinharris.org.

We thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this important matter! By working together, we stand to gain the most in our quest to spare families the devastation of stillbirth . . . in the belief that every baby should live.

Sincerely,
The Board and Staff of First Candle

Sample Letter

Dear Representative ________________:

I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor legislation that would help the CDC and researchers better determine the risk factors associated with stillbirth and convey those risk factors to expectant parents.

House of Representative Bill 5979, the Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act of 2008, was introduced by Representative Peter King of New York in an effort to address the lack of standardized data collection nationally with regard to stillbirth.

Each year more than 25,000 babies in the United States are stillborn. More than 50 percent of these deaths occur in the last trimester of pregnancy and 15 percent occur during labor and delivery. Due to a lack of autopsy/investigation and inconsistencies in diagnosing these, more than 50 percent of all stillbirths remain unexplained.

With standardized investigation and reporting of these deaths, researchers would be better able to determine the risk factors. H.R. 5979 would both standardize the definition of stillbirth and the method in which data is collected, in order to create a national repository of stillbirth data to assist researchers in conducting comprehensive studies in to the causes of, and possible preventive strategies for, stillbirth. The bill also authorizes a public awareness campaign promoting good prenatal practices, including monitoring movements during the last trimester of pregnancy, to reduce the risk of stillbirth.

This legislation is important to me because (insert your personal story here)

Thank you so much for your consideration of my request.

(insert name and contact information here)

22wks 5 days

2008-05-30T07:23:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we had a check up everything is going well. sitll not in the mood to post a pic yet not sure why... maybe soon.

in 3 weeks we go back for Fetal echo-cardiogram, another Pre-natal check and a glaucous challenge (#2 for me this Pregnancy) it will also most likely be our last Pre- natal check up wiht Dr. D because he is becoming a Chief Resident in July (yeah Dr. D) he still plans to deliver us, but he will not have OB clinic hours. :0( we knew this was coming... we are very happy for him but it is a little scary.

We choose our new OB Dr. H because:

he was there with us when we lost Lucy he was the attending OB on call that morning and was the one that told us and was about as caring as we could have hoped for.
when i spoke to him last ( early on in this PG i had a Q and called L&D he is always there it seems) i said will you take me as you patient when Dr. D can't see me anymore and he said of course!
he knows our case history and is willing to work with our nervousness

I will still Email/call Dr. D so if he thinks he is off the hook now not a chance! he has been told he will be delivering us --unless we pop really early in august in which case i'll let him off the hook because he is getting married and on honeymoon so i guess that is a good excuse.

the baby is moving a lot more now, and by grocers standards is about the size of a spaghetti squash. if you ever wondered why poppyseed, it is because wats and i knew really early on that we were Pregers with little monster baby. i was barley 4.5wks (that is a gestational age of aprox 2.5 wks it is embryonic thousands of cells but very tiny) and the little email we get each week told us the baby was the size of a poppyseed and the name stuck.

so here we are 22wk almost 23 wk (i actually lost count weird huh) in a week the baby will be come what is medically know as a "viable" gestational age-- why does this matter you ask, it matters because now if something goes wrong instead of "nature" taking it's course they will intervene at all costs to save the baby. but this monster is going to stick it out at least 14 more weeks then we'll talk (right baby?!? i am still the boss of you so, you stay put! you got it!)

not much else going on... i weigh a ton (give or take 832lbs) and maybe in a week i'll make a baby pool for those of you that want to guess length, weight and gender. but only if you behave and only if you haven't peeked at the envelope on the fridge!

4 weeks is too long to wait

2008-05-09T15:54:00.004-04:00

we had 2 days of poppyseed related D. visits.

the first (Wednesday) was the BIG sono. the anatomy scan and every looks great. is mesuring great. the baby weigh 13 oz and we actually got to hear the heart beat for the first time in months, we have seen the heartbeat every visit but not heard it. we opted not to know but Nancy know and so does the envelope on the fridge but we are not finding out until we give birth. so don't ask we don't knwo if you need to know get in touch with Nancy if you know her and she can tell you but you had better not tell us or you'll get a chewing out you won't want.

Thursday we had a regular OB check up heard the heart beat Finally on the doppler, which was relief.

next check up is in 3 weeks no major new to report except that 4 weeks is too long for me to wait between check ups.

oh and i don;t think i will post the sono pics this time... the baby is facing the "camera" and you aren't going to be able to figure out what you are looking at with out a MD or me telling you.

kick kick kick

2008-04-23T12:47:00.003-04:00

i feel you little bugger.

i know you are there and yes i know you are growing big and strong.

now keep on kick kick kick kicking

we love you little monster baby and i especially love how you make your popa smile.

i hope you know how happy i am to have you.

NY State: Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill--STALLED

2008-04-17T11:41:00.004-04:00

Dear readers of this blog i am asking you all once again to help us in memory of our daughter Olive Lucy Kawecki.

Please click the link below and let this assemblyman know just how important it is for families like us to be validated despite our loss. Especially, families like watson and myself that live in NYC we do not and will not receive a death certificate. So as far as our federal and local government is concerned our Daughter never existed. We know this is not the case but it sure would help to have a CBRSB. it would cost them very little to pass this bill, but it would have far reaching affects in healing many families.

The link below will take you to a web-form that will take just a few moments of you day to complete. There are a quite a few undecided assembly votes, one of which is the Leading assemblyman of the Way and Means Committee where the bill has stalled for the second year. this is a simple request for families suffering a terrible tragedy. Give the the gift of validation that they their children count that they matter, that their child that has died had a life that mattered.

Even if this particular type of tragedy has not touched your life personally please take the time to click the link and send Assemblyman Farrrell a message of support for this bill, if you live in another state please also click the link you never know what might reach him by way of support.

The Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill has passed the Senate and is now STALLED in the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee under the leadership of Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell.

This is the same committee where the Bill stalled last year!

They get to decide:

+ Do parents who gave birth to a stillborn child deserve recognition of the birth process?

Assemblyman Farrell needs to hear from you. He needs to know that this bill is important to you -- as a mother, father, family member, friend, co-worker -- one who has suffered the tragedy of a stillborn child.

Your immediate help is needed NOW and will take less than one minute of your time.

Log on to the link: http://missingangelsbill.org/~jnevels/support.php?se_id=22

And send your SUPPORT for the CBRS Bill. It will only take 30 seconds.

Then *very importantly* forward the link to family, friends & coworkers. Ask them to log on to show their
support and to forward the link to their family, friends & coworkers.

This system works and to be effective we need hundreds of families to click on the link. Doing so will show Assemblyman Farrell and the Ways & Means Committee that this Bill IS important to NY families. The passage of this bill will allow parents who have suffered the tragedy of a stillbirth, the option to receive a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth to acknowledge the birth process.

To watch the progress of the CBRS Bill, visit: cbrsbill.blogspot.com

Thank You for your support!

Watson, Lucy, poppyseed and I all thank you for your support of this bill and bills like it your state. It does make a difference and it is something each of you can do to make a difference in our life and the lives of others like us.

with much love and gratitude for your help in this matter
C, W, OL and PS

Edited 4/18- to correct an error there not just one undecied vote left in the assembly there are more. if you live in NY state please also contact your assembly person to show your support. if you follow the link above you will see a list of all the NYS Assembly persons. also in my previous posts about this subject there were links to how to find you assembly person.

The Things We've Handed Down

2008-04-12T13:02:00.003-04:00

this song came to us by way of a musician friend. I can't find it to add to my playlist here but if you are embarking on a subsequent pregnancy after loss or maybe you are just having a difficult pregnancy period. but this some both made me smile and cry. it touch my heart. so i bought the song from itunes to add to my collection.

The Things We've Handed Down
by Marc Cohn

Don't know much about you
Don't know who you are
We've been doing fine without you
But, we could only go so far
Don't know why you chose us
Were you watching from above
Is there someone there that knows us
Said we'd give you all our love

Will you laugh just like your mother
Will you sigh like your old man
Will some things skip a generation
Like I've heard they often can
Are you a poet or a dancer
A devil or a clown
Or a strange new combination of
The things we've handed down

I wonder who you'll look like
Will your hair fall down and curl
Will you be a mama's boy
Or daddy's little girl
Will you be a sad reminder
Of what's been lost along the way
Maybe you can help me find her
In the things you do and say

And these things that we have given you
They are not so easily found
But you can thank us later
For the things we've handed down

You may not always be so grateful
For the way that you were made
Some feature of your father's
That you'd gladly sell or trade
And one day you may look at us
And say that you were cursed
But over time that line has been
Extremely well rehearsed
By our fathers, and their fathers
In some old and distant town
From places no one here remembers
Come the things we've handed down

16 weeks

2008-04-11T23:26:00.004-04:00

we had a prenatal check up yesterday.

it was not a great day we were really sad to begin with and it was just tumultuous from there

Our Dr office was flled with very pregnant women (DUH OB's office) and a hand full of newborns we also there GRR! so we waited in the outer lobby. ONce we got in to the exam room Dr. D had a hard time finding the baby's heart beat with the doppler. can you say nerve wracking? so we went across the hall for a quick sono to check for a flicker. filcker was there and we discoverd that baby's placenta is anterior (across the front of my uterus) and acting like a sound barrier and the baby was belly down with it's feet/legs tucked under like a frog.

so i am gald i did not spend the money on a doppler form home because i think i would be driving my self nuts trying to find the baby's heartbeat each day.

so i have been warned that the baby's kicks might not feel as strong as they did with lucy, but lucy placenta was also anterior but higher i think if i remember correctly... so now i worry that watson won;t be able to feel the baby kick.

Next sono in a few weeks and next appt in may.

baby kicks

2008-03-29T22:29:00.001-04:00

poppy seed has been kicking for weeks and at first i thought i was imagining it but i am sure now that i am not. got kicked pretty good today.

sono picures

2008-03-24T12:27:00.003-04:00

A full body shot. the baby's leggs are ticking straight up and it looked like it was doing pilates while getting the sono done.

trying to put it's hand in it's mouth

the profile close up

two more profile shots

we were 12w5d when these were taken. FHR was 174 and we don't know the sex so there you go.

next sono is i don't know in the next month or so maybe more. next check up is 4/10/08

Prenatal check ups and Perinatalogist

2008-03-11T12:44:00.003-04:00

we had our Perinatalogit visit on Friday last week, where they laid out the whole plan.
checks every few weeks for the next bit
nuchal fold test & quad screen next week @ 12 wks
Fetal echo week 19-20 the again later i think i should have taken notes.
Dopplers to check blood flow to the baby. different than the Doppler to check FHR
weekly sonos starting around week 30
weekly NST starting around week 30
Amnio at 37 wks to check lung maturity then deliver at 38 weeks if it looks good.

all of my most recent blood work came back perfect even my early Glaucous test came back perfect. my one thing that was a red flag is my Cystic Fibrosis gene screen came back i am a carrier so they are testing watson.

next check up is this Thursday.

thanks you all for the positive vibes an prayers and support.

Chapter 2.2

2008-02-29T11:22:00.002-05:00

If the first chapter of your life is your childhood, chapter 2: adulthood, Chapter 3: marriage, Chapter 4: Children

then we are chapter 4.3
but in the book of grief we are in

Chapter 2.2

This is the chapter where you have successfully gotten pregnant after a loss and are Figuratively holding your breath for 9 months while you beg and plead with the universe to not let it happen again.

You be come even more neurotic about your pregnancy and who you plan to tell when because you must preface it with the following:

We are NOT over our loss

Then quickly follow it up with

but we are pregnant again and very excited about the possibility of bringing home our baby this time around.

then you go through the usual list of suspect questions.

how far along are you?
when are you due?
have you been sick?
do you know what your are having?
are you happy?

But it seems that amongst the usual suspects those of us like me should also be prepared for a specialized section of question for subsequent pregnancy after loss. the "OMG i can't believe you asked that question or made that comment"

well it's about time!
thanks goodness now your life can get back to normal.
well what does the doctor say?
will this one live?
are you ready for this?
well now you'll get to be parents.
When i had my baby after... insert early miscarriage story told by random stranger
it's a good thing you have an angel watching over this pregnancy (really that makes a difference are you freaking SURE!)

we haven't gotten to many of these comments, Thanks to fact that we have told almost no one well ok that isn't exactly true we have told lots of people in our support groups and our online grief network. but in real life we haven't told many people. it is getting harder for me to hide my belly so now i will need to tell people soon.

it has also been 6 months since we lost lucy and we are sure we are going to start to get the move on vibes from folks for sure now.

NY State: Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill

2008-02-23T22:13:00.001-05:00

If you live in NYS and i have your email you may have gotten this from me already if not here you go! a call to action from our home to yours. please support this Bill.

From the MISS foundation

The Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill is being considered by your New York State Senate and Assembly members right now.

The bill is moving quickly in both the Senate and Assembly.

Your representatives get to decide:

Do parents who gave birth to a stillborn child deserve recognition of the birth process?

They need to hear from you. They need to understand why this is so important to you -- as a mother, father or family member -- one who has suffered the tragedy of a stillborn child.

Write, call or email your Senator and Assembly member today (sample letter below). Forward this email to family, friends & coworkers and ask them to contact their representatives.

Who is your Senator?

Find your Senator

Who is your Assembly member?

Find your Assembly member

Contact them now. Ask them to support the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill.

Then, Please forward this email to everyone you know. Ask them for their help.

Your representatives need to hear from you. They want to hear from you on this issue.

Thank you.

[sample letter]

Name of Representative
Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248

Re: Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill
[SUPPORT]

Dear _____:

I am writing to ask for your support of the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill (Hyer-Spencer). This legislation would allow parents whose children are stillborn the option to receive a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth to acknowledge the birth process.

Your support of this legislation will send a message of hope and compassion to bereaved parents who suffer the devastation of a stillbirth.

[Include personal story, if you choose to]

Nearly 30,000 babies are stillborn in the US every year, making it the leading cause of infant death. In half of all cases there is no medically discernible reason, causing many to liken it
to an intrauterine SIDS. In fact, stillbirth kills more than eight times as many babies as SIDS every year.

Approximately 2,000 babies are stillborn in New York State annually, and for every stillborn a minimum of 10-20 people are affected. Thus, this issue impacts 20,000 - 50,000 individuals
every year in New York State.

These certificates will bring much needed attention to this issue and may be instrumental in uncovering stillbirth's mysteries, thereby saving precious lives.

You have the opportunity to enact legislation that has the potential to save lives and has zero cost implications.

Your community trust you to represent it. I urge your enthusiastic support of the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill and will be following it closely.

Respectfully,

NAME
Address & Phone

oh what a day

2008-02-18T21:19:00.003-05:00

on valentines day we had our first prenatal check up and our first official sonogram for the poppy seed.
this is at 7w5d.

We have a heart beat...

2008-01-31T17:39:00.000-05:00

Unofficially that is, i not only saw the poppy seed's heart beat i heard it too.

all because of a blood test i had on Jan 25. it was for Progesterone & beta HCG. so the blood work confrimed Pregnancy. But it also was cause for minor concern. My Progesterone was a little low, just under 10 so I was scanned to check placement, so my OB could give me a Rx for Prometrium, a progesterone supplement.

OK POPPY SEED now grow big and strong just like your sister.

edited to include

i was already having some morning sickness and now it is a little more intense. It does seem like each day my body get a bit more used to the supplements.

My next Official OB visit is on 2/14 and that morning we will have our OFFICIAL 1st trimester scan.

to wait or not to wait

2008-01-23T09:23:00.001-05:00

... that lasted a few days. we called my family last night.

now i just need to make it through the next 36 weeks (4 weeks PG-- will most likely deliver early)

my first Prenatal check up is on 4/14/08... I will be nearly 8 weeks

To POAS or not to POAS

2008-01-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

I was away on a business trip this past week.
I left my hotel in ATL at 10 am to make my 12 flight to sit on a the plane for hours waiting for the plane to get deiced.

I arrived home at almost 7pm
droppped bags had to POAS

7:01 PM - POAS

7:10 PM - BFP

7:11 PM - show results to wats
7:12 PM - Explain results (sort of)
7:15 PM send text message to OB & Nurse friend

Watson and i decided to wait to tell anyone

Blood Test results

2008-01-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

this test was for progesterone levels to verify Ovulation...

I have not had fertility issues but this was to confirm that my hormones were in step with the rest of my body.

results were 9.49 OB said this was a good high numbmer highest is 10 and lowest to confirm would have been a 3.

now the wait.

more blood work

2008-01-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

so i had some blood work today... wonder what they will find.

this time it was just to make sure that i am ovulating...

I can test next Saturday but after my Christmas stress i think i'll just wait and see.

a sad christmas at my house

2007-12-23T01:01:00.000-05:00

4 negitive home pregnacy tests and one very sad, angry and bitter women is sitting in front of her keyboard right now with so much hurt.

November HPT

2007-11-30T14:19:00.000-05:00

6 test 6 big fat negatives...now we wait for Dec....maybe we will get another pregnancy for Christmas that will result in another August baby next year...

The 2nd test

2007-10-15T18:16:00.000-04:00

I told watson over the weekend about the first test.

this morning i took the 2nd test and it came back NOT pregnant.

this makes me sad very sad. i was hopping we would be pregnant.

I will have this confirmed at my next OB visit, but i am not sure the outcome will be different.

The Test

2007-10-10T16:46:00.000-04:00

So it has been 1 month, 1 week, 6 days since I had Lucy.
Watson & I are trying to get pregnant again. Or more accurately we aren't taking any precautions to prevent pregnancy. We are hoping that we will be pregnant again soon.

I took the 1st Post Lucy Pregnancy test this morning after he left for work. i got a faint positive. I will test agian in few days to confirm, might even need to get fancy blood test version done.

I am going to wait to tell watson until after i know more positively that i am Pregnant. I think it would be really painful to get his hopes up if we are not pregnant.

I also purchased some books for us today that deal with the issues that arise during Subsequent Pregnancy After Loss (SPAL) I hope that they will help me through the rough patches as we press forward.