tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57984920932179332552024-02-21T01:06:16.022-06:00Ella's HaloHelping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-62032261223456491142012-07-03T15:57:00.003-05:002012-07-03T16:01:53.805-05:00Catching Up<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since I last updated our blog. Can you believe I went an entire month without a single post? I promise to be better...I guess so many fun things have been happening so I better start catching up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Bowling for Babies was on May 12th and we had another awesome turnout. We raised just under $12K again this year to help families in the NICU. Over 200 people showed up to bowl and enjoy the day with us. Thank you to everyone who came out and bowled for babies! It is so wonderful to see so many of our friends and supporters out helping our cause. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span>Thank you especially to our awesome event sponsors! We are so grateful to have some many supporters.</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fishing-For-A-Cure/359511215000">Fishing for A Cure</a></div>
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Jenny and Michael Reyes</div>
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<a href="http://www.weddingdesignsandrental.com/Welcome.html">Wedding Designs and Rentals</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.broadheadco.com/">Broadhead Co.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wfjltd.com/">Wagner, Falconer & Judd, LTD</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://paradigmreporting.com/">Paradigm Reporting</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.foleymansfield.com/">Foley & Mansfield PLLP</a></div>
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<a href="http://magnet360.com/">Magnet 360</a></div>
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<a href="http://riversrally.org/">River's Run and Ride Rally</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.redroofah.com/">Red Roof Animal Hospital</a></div>
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Ella's Halo also sponsored the <a href="http://babysteps.childrensmn.org/">Children's Baby Steps 3K</a> water stop again this year. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It was a fun day, beautiful weather and tons of walkers. Baby Steps raised over $80,000 and had over 1,800 walkers and attendees! We are so honored to be a part of this wonderful event to help the Children's Hospital and their NICUs. Children's of Minnesota has the largest neonatal program in the region and was recognized as one of the top neonatal programs in the country by U.S. News World Report's. </span></div>
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Ella's Halo was a school project for three girls at Southview Middle School in Edina. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">They interviewed us and organized a book drive, as well, they helped with various other Ella's Halo projects. We were excited to go and visit them at their school while they gave their presentation to other classmates. It was not only fun for us, but hopefully the girls learned a little along the way too.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">W</span><span style="color: black;"></span>e also worked with Children's NEXT group. These ladies helped to put together 50 welcome bags for families in the NICU during one of their meeting. It was a fun evening catching up and having them help us put together our bags to give to families at their own NICU. </div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Earlier in June we remembered Ella on her angel day. It has been three years since we lost our sweet baby girl and started on this incredible and very different journey of Ella's Halo. I look back and it truly amazes me the things we have been able to accomplish over the last three years to help other families like ours in the NICU. And to think, it all started with a sweet little girl. We remember her always and miss her so much. Later this month we are so looking forward to the safe arrival of Ella's little brother or sister. I am sure big sister Ella has been watching over all of us and has gotten us to this point so far. </span><span style="color: black;"></span></div>
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Donations, Donations and Donations! <span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">That is what we have been up to as well. We continue to keep donating our bags to Children's in St. Paul, Children's in Minneapolis and U of M Amplatz's Children’s. So many families are receiving our welcome bags and knowing there are others who are out there who are thinking of them during their long extended NICU stay.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Even more fun to come this summer. Check back often and we will promise to keep you all up to date on what we are busy working away on at Ella's Halo!</span><span style="color: black;"></span></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-41461716628756319182012-05-03T11:32:00.001-05:002012-05-03T11:32:52.090-05:00May Feature Family<div style="text-align: center;">
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At the beginning of each month Ella's Halo will have a NICU family tell their story about life in the NICU with their baby. Our hope is that by featuring different families others will have a better understanding of the difficult, roller-coaster ride many face when their baby is in the NICU. Ella's Halo created the Feature Family series, if you are interested in sharing your story, please email us at info@ellashalo.com to share your NICU story and to be a future Feature Family. </div>
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<em>However, this will be our final post of Feature Family on a monthly basis.</em> </div>
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And what better way to end our series than having Ella's Daddy tell his perspective of being a dad in the NICU. Ryan tells his story and what it was like to be a parent of a baby in the NICU so well. He brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud and so lucky that I get to call him my husband and the father to my babies.</div>
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<strong>Ella Jo Krumwiede</strong></div>
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<strong>Written by Ryan Krumwiede</strong></div>
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<strong>Former NICU Daddy</strong></div>
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<em>Life in the NICU</em><br />
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<em>Spending three months in the NICU was the longest, most difficult time of my life. And not being able to bring our baby home at the end makes it even worse. When Ella was born, I knew we were in for a long, difficult struggle, not only for her to grow and develop, but to survive.</em></div>
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<em>Ella was born at only 24 weeks gestation, and was dealing with a lot of issues, her lungs weren’t fully ready, and she needed support from a vent to help her breathe. Her blood pressure was also unstable and it was a problem we couldn’t ever get figured out.</em></div>
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<em>There were many days that I just felt lost and hopeless, because it seemed that no matter what we did, things just wouldn’t get better. It is a feeling I hope to never feel again, and wouldn’t wish it upon anybody. As a father, you have a responsibility to take care of your family. You are the rock, and the one that is supposed to make sure everyone is safe and ok. But when your child is lying in a hospital bed, and there is nothing you can do, you feel like you are letting everyone down, not doing your job as a father. It hurts more than you can imagine.</em></div>
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<em>The good days were great. The days when Ella was feeling better, and making improvements, it was unbelievable. We were able to hold her, and feed her, and it felt like we were a family. Although we were in a hospital, we still got to spend those precious moments with her, and do the things that parents normally take for granted.</em></div>
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<em>In the NICU, it’s like you’re in this bad dream. You have this feeling like this can’t be real. This can’t be really happening to me, to my child, to our family. You are always wondering, “when am I going to wake up?” But it is real, and unfortunately too many parents and families have to go through it everyday. It truly is a roller coaster. One minute you are feeling good, and feel like things are finally getting better. And the next minute everything changes, and you feel like you are never going home. </em></div>
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<em>A lot of prayers were said during our time in the NICU. And I thank God everyday that Ella is a part of our lives. She brought so many good things to us in such a short time. She is the reason that Ella’s Halo exists, is successful, and is doing so many great things. And I hope that for the others that are following in our footsteps, we can make it just a little bit easier. Just give them one less thing they have to worry about during a time that is so confusing, worrying and stressful.</em></div>
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</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-16345651209228097062012-04-05T10:24:00.001-05:002012-04-05T10:40:22.783-05:00Halo Happenings (April Edition)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wSSU-ZJUYRAJdzOrGW4VgbssvB8fbuCkcadY2Zq9CwmgXwcs5ejECHTdjmLGRD0GcLSxin6sh14v4VNIgRSg5-moXHsmzqm287V0PCdEqvwKtIVqnZMvwyfXiWl9ZCMjGNDqEiO49Dvl/s1600/Halo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_4dx57b="2" closure_uid_hi03q4="2" height="71" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wSSU-ZJUYRAJdzOrGW4VgbssvB8fbuCkcadY2Zq9CwmgXwcs5ejECHTdjmLGRD0GcLSxin6sh14v4VNIgRSg5-moXHsmzqm287V0PCdEqvwKtIVqnZMvwyfXiWl9ZCMjGNDqEiO49Dvl/s200/Halo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Things are still really busy around here. Like I said in a previous post we just got done celebrating Ella's 3rd birthday. Amazing how fast time seems to go. We are working like crazy on <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3089999271/mcivte">Bowling for Babies</a> which is only a month away. Yikes! Busy giving more donations to the hospitals as well as sponsoring a water stop at <a href="http://babysteps.childrensmn.org/">Children's Baby Steps</a> in June. And also excited about an upcoming event with our friends at <a href="http://www.sweetdreamsforkids.org/">Sweet Dreams for Kids</a>. Even got an article in MN Parent this past month. Here is a break down of our Halo Happenings.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoP67mDpFtMQZlQmJzocYLSdptRLSEN1qz4OJDi67J0QhnaNVL8_yGLqPOWf8WvJ09OnVMw62rJJ8hG6Qk9-IgX0ToIjTBW8aF5ms8IEuU6YniNEKxrx-Oj2KP2fbSjWtyfkkb66Y7776/s1600/ellashalo%252520bowling%255B1%255D+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_4dx57b="5" height="90" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoP67mDpFtMQZlQmJzocYLSdptRLSEN1qz4OJDi67J0QhnaNVL8_yGLqPOWf8WvJ09OnVMw62rJJ8hG6Qk9-IgX0ToIjTBW8aF5ms8IEuU6YniNEKxrx-Oj2KP2fbSjWtyfkkb66Y7776/s200/ellashalo%252520bowling%255B1%255D+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
First up we are so excited about Bowling for Babies this year. We have been receiving so many fun donations this year for our raffles and silent auction. Another Disney Vacation Package, DQ Dilly Bars for a Year, and so much more. So excited too about all of our awesome sponsors, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ellashalo#!/pages/Fishing-For-A-Cure/359511215000">Fishing for a Cure</a>, <a href="http://paradigmreporting.com/">Paradigm Reporting</a>, <a href="http://riversrally.org/events/2012-rivers-run-and-ride-rally/">River's Run and Ride Rally</a>, <a href="http://www.weddingdesignsandrental.com/Site/Welcome.html">Wedding Designs and Rentals</a>, <a href="http://www.foleymansfield.com/">Foley & Mansfield, PLLP</a>, <a href="http://www.wfjltd.com/">Wagner, Falconer & Judd, LTD.</a> and the Reyes Family. Thank you so much to all of our sponsors. If you are interested in being a sponsor or donating to our event, there is still time. Email us at <a href="mailto:info@ellashalo.com">info@ellashalo.com</a> to get more information. Also don't forget to get your tickets for May 12th. Buy your bowling tickets <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3089999271/mcivte">here!</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="100" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/268170_10150217366628956_112214188955_6915625_6089875_n.jpg" style="height: 100px; width: 146px;" width="146" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We are so excited about being sponsors again at the water stop for <a href="http://babysteps.childrensmn.org/">Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota's Baby Steps 3K.</a> We had so much fun last year and are looking forward to being there again this year to support a great event for past NICU families. June 2nd will be here in no time and we can't wait to meet all of the families walking in this event. Also we have been busy with our donations. 40 more welcome bags went to <a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/">Amplatz Children's Hospital</a> last night. So far in 2012 we have donated over 340 Welcome Bags, 785 books, 175 blankets to NICUs just this year. I think you can say 2012 is off to a great start.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/4244_85450096023_83384306023_1918752_5641161_n.jpg" style="height: 77px; width: 160px;" /></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We are excited about another event we are partnering with our friends at <a href="http://sweetdreamsforkids.org/">Sweet Dreams for Kids</a>. Sweet Dreams for Kids is another small nonprofit that donates pajamas to sick kids in the hospital. On April 27-29th at <a href="http://www.freeziac.com/">Freeziac's </a>Maple Grove and Plymouth locations, you can go in to their stores and say the code word "KIDS" and get a discount off your purchase with some of proceeds being split between Sweet Dreams for Kids and Ella's Halo. Come in and get frozen yogurt and help kids at the same time. It is a win win. Watch for more details about this event in the next couple of weeks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="159" itemprop="photo" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/373012_105699456180193_1326476371_n.jpg" width="125" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, this month I was featured in <a href="http://www.mnparent.com/">MN Parent</a> magazine. They did a great story about our experience with Ella and Ella's Halo. Don't forget to check it out <a href="http://www.mnparent.com/index.php?&story=18267&page=88&category=51">here </a>or grab yourself a copy!</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-9681051961161994992012-04-02T10:45:00.000-05:002012-04-02T10:45:57.916-05:00April Feature Family<div align="center"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgferVVh4SFUQege4QKKNzfELc427FlPGDmNQBy9B4FWV7tImVZ1lNROsw5bgvkFxUgHsgg-T_4tBlpSIg1trKXzR_9SXmYstZDwQR32ZbCYBxluGWLuI8yhrz6RwJT62OEAZ0mnlb9mo9O/s1600/FeatureFamily2.gif" /></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the beginning of each month Ella's Halo will have a NICU family tell their story about life in the NICU with their baby. Our hope is that by featuring different families others will have a better understanding of the difficult, roller-coaster ride many face when their baby is in the NICU. Ella's Halo created the Feature Family series, if you are interested in sharing your story, please email us at info@ellashalo.com to share your NICU story and to be a future Feature Family.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">We have not met this family but know they understand all too well the NICU life and the journey of grief after losing a child. Their story tells about the difficult journey from starting a family, to rare diagnosis of a child , to a scary NICU stay, to ultimately losing your baby. The brave story Megan tells is what so many NICU families also face and Ella's Halo is happy to bring a little hope to their lives while in the NICU.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Bailey Gosiak<br />
Written by Megan Gosiak<br />
Former NICU Mommy</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>My husband and I fell in love back in high school, dated and talked about wedding plans until we were able to make them happen 5 years after meeting. We both knew we wanted to start a family as soon as possible, so we began trying to build our family 6 months after the wedding.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We found ourselves pregnant for the first time three short months after the honeymoon. We were so happy, we decided to shout it out to the world. Being only 4 weeks pregnant, we told my mom. We decided to tell my in laws the next day when we saw them, and would tell my father the next week at a special dinner we planned with him and my brother. We started wondering if things were ok the day after we told my in laws. My mother in law told me that major cramping was 100% normal, even though the cramping had been so intense, it woke me from a dead sleep. Not suspecting anything, we went about telling co-workers and other family that didn't know yet. Just 3 short days after finding out we were pregnant, I started bleeding. After calling the hospital, I put myself on bedrest until the appointment the next day. Scared but praying for the best, we went to bed hoping that we were going to be alright. The appointment came and we were pulled into a room and told "I'm sorry, your Hcg is a 3. For being 4w4d, your numbers should be much bigger. The baby is gone." I remember being so mad because they were holding us there and we just wanted OUT to go home and let it all sink in. We were in the maternity wing of the hospital and I was angry. Seeing all those big bellies and knowing mine wasn't going to end up like theirs. We raced home from the hospital and began the horrible process of untelling. The most heartbreaking people to untell were my husband's grandpa Florian and great aunt DeeDee. They had gotten SO excited about the idea of a new baby around. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We continued trying and hoping and praying. After 10 months with no luck, we sought out help and started talking to an ob/gyn and start testing to see what was wrong. We even started testing my hormone levels to make sure all was as it should be. I had to do cycle day 3 and cycle day 21 testing (3 days into your period and 3 days after ovulation) and they would work from there. I decided to skip the cd21 testing because I felt the whole cycle had been a waste and nothing was going to come of it. I had been charting and temping and doing everything I could think of to track everything. One day, I noticed something was different than the other times. Sure enough I tested and found we were expecting again. Eleven months after losing our first pregnancy, we were back in the game, hoping we would come out the other end with a healthy baby. When Adam came home from work, we had 4 different brands of tests and we wanted to make sure it wasn't just some fluke. We were blessed with an amazing pregnancy full of kicks, wiggles, and in the end were given a beautiful, healthy, energetic baby boy we gave the name Anthony (after a dear friend of my husband, who died in Iraq in 2005). </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Just 6 days shy of his first birthday, we found we were pregnant again. We hadn't been trying, so this was coming as a blessing unasked for, but overwhelmingly welcome. We managed to hold off until our son's birthday to reveal to EVERYONE at once that Anthony was going to be a big brother. The whole room lit up and everyone was over the moon. It was an amazing day full of love, joy, and talk of miracles.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Everything was going along just fine until week 16 when we went in for a prenatal appointment and were offered a quad screen test. We couldn't remember if we had done one the first time around and figured can't hurt, let's go ahead and do it. It was like divine intervention in the end. We got a call back soon after the appointment and were told everything was fine, we were just inside the "normal" category. Feeling relieved, I was just about to call Adam and share the news when the nurse called back less than 20 minutes after the first time and told us that the dr had read the results wrong. We were outside the "normal" and were going to be referred to a different clinic for more testing (genetic counseling, level 2 ultrasounds, and the offer of genetic testing and an amnio). I started wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Yes, these tests often gave false positives, but the "what if's" kept floating into our minds. Four weeks later, we were in getting the genetic counseling and a level 2 ultrasound. We were told that our numbers were fine for the neural tube defects and for spina bifida, but they were VERY high in the Down Syndrome area. We were hit by bricks. We knew that Down's comes with a big bag of its own, but we felt that as long as baby was as healthy as possible, we can do anything. During the ultrasound, we were talking to the tech and told her "we don't want to know boy or girl if we can help it" and sharing our story of how we had gotten where we were and our beautiful family. The tech went about measuring fingers, leg bones, the fold behind baby's neck, length of nose, and heart. We noticed that she was spending a LOT of time looking at the heart and kept checking and rechecking things. after a while, we asked what was going on and she told us that she saw something was wrong with baby's heart. She saw that there was something missing and it can be a very big problem. While waiting for her to talk to the perinatologist and get him in the room, our hearts started to sink. Surely we wouldn't be given a miracle like this only to lose it. Maybe she was mistaken. The perinaologist came in, picked up the transducer and began going over the heart area again. The whole room was very quiet as they pointed to this and that and talked to each other. The tone said it all. Baby was very VERY sick. Something was wrong. I started wondering what I had done wrong. Not enough of this, too much of that, everything. Wondering what was going to happen with the baby. Would it be born ok? Is the problem fixable? Would we have to say goodbye?</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>The perinatologist looked at us, got this look on his face I'll never forget, put his hand on my shoulder and told us "Your baby has a heart defect that is serious. If you look here, there should be something here to block the blood from mixing up here. And there is something wrong with the valves. We are going to have to keep monitoring you every month from here on out to keep an eye on it, but its not something that will fix itself. This will need open heart surgery soon after birth. I'm going to hand your case to a perinatal cardiologist who is amazing at his job. I'm so sorry" and then gave us an amazingly long medical term that I still remember to this day. AtrialVentricular Cushion Defect or AtrialVentricular Septal Defect. We were broken, but decided that we would do all we could to inform ourselves and keep faith that everything would be ok.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We did our regular appointments with our regular ob/gyn once a month and kept our monthly appointments with the perinatologist's office. Every 2 weeks, we were going to see drs and needed a babysitter to watch Anthony all the time. Every Wednesday that Adam had off was filled with drs offices. Around 32 weeks, we got to meet the perinatal cardiologist and talk to him about what our game plan should be. He said it looked like the ventricular part was starting to fix itself (YAY!) but we would have to assess everything after baby was born. Nothing was normal at all with this pregnancy anymore. On our way to an appointment, we narrowly missed a car that came flying out of the bushes, flew down the road, hit a light pole, and gave everyone around a huge scare. There was no such thing as a normal appointment either (impossibly long waits, lost appointments, missing this or that, miscommunications, drs not being available, you name it). We ended up switching ob offices because the hospital we planned to deliver at wasn't equipt to handle such a case and our regular dr was going to be out of town. Little did we know, this saved our little girl's life on her first day.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>After a false alarm in week 37, we asked if we could put plans down for an induction because we needed to have the right people there and wanted to have things ready for when baby would be born. Our induction was planned for July 15th, bright and early. We'd be 39 weeks and the hospital would have the dr that we wanted on staff to deliver our bundle. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>But Little One had different plans. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We got things finalized, Adam worked the schedule just right so that he wouldn't have to worry about the store that he manages, we had sitters for Anthony, and we had plans for what to pack the night before the induction. We were getting the last of our plans in place on the night of the 12th and Adam was putting Anthony to bed when the contractions were starting and something felt...different. Adam came out and I laid my head on his lap, looked up and said "Honey, I'm so sorry. I'm going to ruin your scheduling that you worked so hard on." He told me to just lay down, relax, drink more water, and keep breathing steady, we only had a few more days before the induction. Little did we both know, that night was going to be one of the most chaotic we could ever imagine. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>I tried everything to stop the contractions. Drank obscene amounts of water, had my ankles up, took a warm bath, laid down in bed, everything, but nothing was working. I kept timing the contractions and noticed a scary pattern starting to develop. They were getting closer, stronger, longer lasting (piggy back contractions is a sign that labor isn't going to stop), and very consistent. I woke Adam and we hurried to pack a bag with everything we could need. This was hopefully it. On the way to my in law's house, we called (we left our apartment at 3am, and would be getting to their house around 3:45 ish) and called and called, but no one was answering. If you know my mother in law, she doesn't just let the phone ring. We were scared something was wrong on top of everything! Luckily it was just that Anthony had killed her cordless phone a few days before and she didn't hear the others ringing. She and Adam both saw that I was in a lot of pain, surely this meant that it wasn't going to be a false alarm again. We left her house at 4 am, got to the hospital at 5 am and were told to walk around and see what happens. When they checked me. Sure as it all could be, I had to be admitted. I was fully admitted and walking the halls at 5:30am. I got to a point soon after where the pain was too much and I didn't want to be far from the room, so I tried to just walk from the bathroom door to the bed and back. Soon, that got to be too much also. The birthing ball did nothing either. I had told myself that if I was going to do pain meds, I wanted the same kind I had last time. Its a one time shot in the back that only lasts about 30-45 minutes and can only be given once. I was getting along ok (truth be told I was in pure agony from contractions piggybacking so much that it was pretty much one long contraction for about 30 minutes) when I told them I needed pain meds NOW. They called the guy in and he got himself ready. The nurses wanted to check one last time and see how things had progressed and found I was at a 9. They said that there might be a while to go, but things were kicked into high gear, it was my call to get the meds or not. I told him to get things ready, I wanted the meds. Just as he ripped open the sterile package with the needle, I felt I needed to push. I told everyone "I gotta push!!" and the guy gathered his stuff and walked out as the nurses scrambled to get the dr in. Luckily, the dr we were going to be doing the induction with was on call that morning. We had lucked out! he came in, checked how things were and told me "You need to push? Then go ahead and push!"</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Three pushes later at 7:52 am, I faintly remember him saying those precious words "Its a girl!" but I thought I was dreaming. There were tears all around. 8lbs 1 oz, 18 inches, beautiful full head of copper red hair. They put her on my chest and I noticed something wasn't right. She wasn't pink, she was blue. Very blue. I got to give her a kiss and tell her I loved her so much before they took her and put her in an isolette to see what was going on. They knew from the heart defect that she was going to have a low blood oxygen level (in the 80s), but no one expected to see it was in the very low 50s. They tried a few things to get her to start breathing, but nothing was working. They wrapped her up, gave her back to me for a few short minutes (more kisses, I love yous, and please get better), and then took her to the NICU. I turned to Adam and told him "Follow her! Come back to me with our little girl." As I turned to the nurse by my side, I asked what their policy was for the first night. Some hospitals won't let you keep your baby in room on night 1 while others let you choose. She gave me that "you don't know?" look and told me "She's going to be in the NICU for awhile. You can visit her in a bit." </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>I wasn't at all prepared for the NICU. Washing my hands for 5 minutes, being wheeled to her bedside and seeing Adam in his glory, loving his little girl and holding a pacifier in her mouth. I wasn't ready to see all the lines in and out of her body, the machines beeping around her, the nurses hovering over her and giving her this and that, looking at this machine, talking about that number, talking to drs about what to do next, I wasn't ready for any of it and they didn't want me in there long because I had just given birth without pain meds. I was exhausted. They rolled me back to the room, brought in a pump, and told me to eat and rest, I could go back in a bit, but I needed to rest for a bit first. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Fast forward a few hours, Adam came in and told me that she wasn't getting better, but they had sent him out to tell me this and to get some rest. We went to her side just in time to see them with our first clipboard and pen, drs getting ready to cut my poor baby girl open for the first time. They had to put in a chest tube to suck the air out of her chest as it was making it hard for her lungs and heart to fully inflate and get things going. We signed and then were asked to leave, someone would come get us when she stabilized. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>She never did. We kept going back and often alternated who was by her side so that someone was always in the room for when family came by and we could bring them in to meet the newest member. I don't think they were prepared either. I had an amazing nurse by my side that helped with so much. When they went through treatment after treatment (cpap, oxygen on a ventilator, a jet ventilator, nitric oxide, medicines, etc) and things would start working for a little while, but wouldn't work for very long. The perinatology cardiologist was there to help lend a hand and it was soon ruled out that her heart was causing this, it was her lungs and something was VERY VERY wrong. They started talking about hospital transfers. I ran out of the NICU and back to my room to start packing. I'd be damned if I was stuck in his hospital while my daughter was 2 hours away, fighting for every breath. Luckily that amazing nurse told me "Get back to her bedside. I'm going to get a dr working on your release papers and us nurses are going to pack your stuff. You need to be by her side." </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Less than 12 hours after being born, my daughter was being picked up by an ambulance, about to be transferred to the University of Minnesota Amplatz Hospital and I was given discharge papers with very strict orders for my own care. Things had gone so horribly and so fast. We barely had time to tell everyone what her name was (Bailey Diane) before they were talking about moving her. Once she was on her way, we got our things and started our own drive to the hospital in the Cities. No one could ride with because the ambulance was full with 3 nurses and tons of machines they needed to sustain her on her ride.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We got to the hospital around 9 and were put in a family lounge to wait for the drs to come in and tell us any news they had. We waited over an hour before Dr Bendel came in and gave us some scary news.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Bailey's heart had stopped before they reached the hospital. The amazing nurses did cpr for 10 minutes to keep her heart going until they could get it shocked back into rhythm. They didn't have a machine sucking the air out of her chest in the ambulance and her chest had filled with air, stopping her heart. They had to put in 2 more chest tubes and she was finally becoming more stable and even turning pink! They had a machine that would help with breathing issues (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO), but they weren't going to use it unless she started to decline again. We said our prayers, hoped and prayed that she would pull out of this, but the dr was back soon after she left and told us to come to her bedside, they needed to put her on the machines and it would be a little while after before we could see her again. We went in and were even more overwhelmed. More nurses, more machines, more tubes, more lines, more medicines, and now she also had a bright bruise on her chest from the cpr. Here was the body of my poor little girl, less than a day old, struggling for each breath, and about to undergo a major surgery. They did a quick baptism and we were asked to leave to keep the room sterile. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>With the ECMO machine, cannulas are placed in the jugular and coratid vessels in her neck, one will pull the blood out of her body before it gets to her heart and lungs, oxygenate it, then returns it directly into her body to be pumped to where it needs to go in her body. It completely bypasses the heart and lungs. We were told that they had 3 weeks to figure out the problem and get it cured before the risks of her being on the machines outweighed the good. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We had to be put up in a room in the hospital because we came in so late. We barely got any sleep (it was cold, I was in a lot of pain and had no pain meds, and we were scared for our little girl). I started wondering if we were going to get to bring her home or if we would leave the hospital with empty arms. I tried to shove that idea out of my head, but it was always there in the back of my mind. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Days passed and we were put through the ringer. I managed to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House and was able to put all worried for myself behind me and focus on helping my little girl. She would start responding to this, but it wouldn't last. Her lungs started to look like they were opening, but that soon started to slow until it wasn't progressing at all. We even had a time when one of the cannulas slipped out of place and she was forced to breathe on her own for a little while, but they got things settled quickly. That was the night that they called my phone, but it was on the other side of the room and none of us heard it (the call was at 3 am and we were all exhausted). They only called that number and we had to correct that the next day, but luckily, nothing else happened that night. They had so many worries about our baby girl. There was the low oxygen levels she had the entire first day that caused minor brain bleeds and they worried about brain damage, there were worries about what was going on with her lungs. There was a worry about how her heart and its defect would cope with everything. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>The end of week 2, the drs were starting to really scratch their heads and worry. Bailey was stable, but there was no change. They had tried to clamp her off of the ECMO (to see if she was ready to come off) and that didn't go well at all. Adam wasn't able to be by my side because he had to be back at work, but ended up coming down and was going to stay until they had a diagnosis and things were headed where they should. Poor Anthony was forced to cope with in impossibly small room to play in (with the most amazing Ella's Halo toys!) and a hectic schedule that had no room for play. The drs were starting to talk about the more rare lung problems. More than once, the words "not compatible with life" were said. I knew what it meant, but my brain refused to let the idea really sink in. There was no way they were saying she would die, they just weren't working hard enough and she was coming up on her final days for ECMO. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Friday, July 29th, they scheduled a lung biopsy (another major surgery, more bandages, more scars, more ugly marks on her beautiful body) and told us that they should have results back as soon as the next day, but maybe closer to next week. We had to have answers by Thursday August 4th. That was her last day she could be on ECMO without the risks becoming much more dangerous. It was a very anxious weekend that followed. They had to change out a bunch of parts on her ECMO circuit because they were starting to show signs of aging (it was amazing it lasted as long as it did) and her kidneys were starting to fail. She was bloating up and unable to drain it off. I asked one of the nurses what was going on with my little girl's chest? Why is it so shiny? and the response hit hard. "She's not peeing off the extra fluids anymore. The tissue in her skin is starting to break down, she's deteriorating." No. My little girl was supposed to live. She was a miracle!</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Monday's rounds held more bad news. Her heart was starting to fail along with her kidneys and they expected the results from the biopsy to come in that day. My heart sank. I went to go pump and ended up texting my dad "If you are going to ever meet Bailey, you need to get up here now. Bailey is dying". My world was starting to cave in, but there was still a glimmer of hope. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Then the results came in. You know something is up when you are sat down in a room with 2 drs, all your primary care nurses, another nurse who cared for (and loved) Bailey, at least one nurse practitioner, and the social worker. The dr walked in and laid a sheet on the table. I barely caught a glimpse of the headline when he flipped it over, took a deep breath, sat down and said "I'm so sorry". Little beyond that mattered. My baby girl was dying. I was going to go home with empty arms, broken heart, and fractured family. I was losing another child, but this one I had gotten to carry longer and talk to. The dr went on to talk about the diagnosis (Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia), the chances (no cure, no treatment, extremely rare diagnosis), and the plan for the next few days. I don't know how Adam held together as long as he did because I could barely hold myself together once the dr came in the room.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Plans were made for us to stay the night in the hospital again while my in laws took Anthony back to the Ronald McDonald House for the night. We were told that we had all night to make memories with our little girl and one of our favorite nurses would be with her almost the whole night. She would only have her primaries for the remaining time. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>I got to bathe her (her first and last bath), read to her, put a headband with a pink flower on it on her head, get hand prints, foot prints, and hundreds of pictures, and we were given the chance to dress her, but we opted not to because there is no moving of an ECMO baby unless necessary. That night, we both slept peacefully. We had exhausted all avenues, we had prayed all we could, been there as much as possible, and given all our strength, but it was coming time to say goodbye.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>I have an amazing friend who was trained in Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep and she was able to come and take the last photos of that entire day. My dad did end up making it to meet Bailey and we had close family there to also say goodbye. My mom had gotten to come and meet Bailey, but had to go back home before any diagnosis was back. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>That whole day plays in my mind often. Watching them do the final this and that, making plans for where we would do this and that, things were set up in a private room for us to have our time, and they prepared the final moments and got everything packed up for us so we wouldn't have to go back into that NICU room. The walk to the private room was rushed, but plays in slow motion. I hadn't held my little girl in nearly 3 weeks, but I had gotten to hold her first when she came into this world. Adam never got to hold her, so he got the honor of being the one to hold her as she passed. Sitting in the chair, them putting her in my arms, the shock on my face as I realized she was VERY heavy now, the machines breathing for her, her smell, the way she laid there and let us have our time, everything was so surreal. My baby girl could finally rest. She had put up a good, strong fight, but she was too beautiful to stay in this world. She had fulfilled her purpose in life and it was time for her to go back to Heaven and actually enjoy being a child. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Everyone said their goodbyes, I handed her to Adam, and he had his time to hold his baby girl. He didn't get much time before the nurses told us that her time was coming and it was coming fast. Everyone else was asked to leave and we were given a few short minutes before they pulled her tubes out and the nurses excused themselves. We were given a chance to say goodbye and let our little angel go back home. It was a very short time filled with tears, love, prayers, and finally peace as she stirred one last time, tried to lift her arms up, then slipped away. August 2, 2011 at 12:58pm, they pronounced her gone. 20 days old.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We noticed something later on when we were alone with the nurses, after everyone had left. While holding Bailey's body, we noticed the most beautiful sky, hardly any clouds, and the sun shining brightly. More than half the time we were there, it would rain and it would rain like CRAZY! </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>The wake came and went and many many people came to pay respects and see what an angel she had been. She had shown more courage and strength than I had ever seen. She taught us so much in such a small span of time. The day of her funeral, the skies were threatening, but there wasn't more than a very light sprinkle. During the service, the lights flickered and just about went out. Bailey always hated the lights on her isolette being on. She couldn't open her eyes if they were on, so the nurses often left them off for her. Adam and I just looked at each other as the lights flickered in the church. Bailey wanted the lights off, for crying out loud! After the service, our funeral director told us that it was POURING outside, it might be better to have the meal first then head out to the cemetery. We agreed and I think it worked out better that way. Anthony was given a chance to wake up and we had a little more time before we would endure the pain of letting go forever. After the meal, we went to the doors and found that not only had the rain let up, the clouds were clearing away and the sun was coming out. Adam and I smiled at each other again. Bailey was at peace, it was time.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We now go see her whenever we are in town and have a few minutes. We decorated her headstone to reflect her personality (bright, bold, and sassy) and she has gotten more gifts from people than I would ever have expected. We just decorated her plot for Easter today, in fact. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>While many don't understand why, I feel a connection with that cemetery plot. I know her spirit isn't there anymore, but her body is. I carried that body for 38w5d. I gave birth to that body. I was the first to hold that body. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Its been 8 months since we said goodbye and life has returned to a whole new "normal". I have a caringbridge site for Bailey. Just type baileygosiak in the visit spot and it will take you there. I have a link on there also to another blog that I have recently started also. I am so thankful to everyone we met while in the hospital, to the people who donated this and that on behalf of their children passed, and Ella's Halo. From the toys to the outfit that is in her memory box to your amazing blog that shares NICU stories, Its amazing.</em></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-79276347392188579122012-03-25T20:31:00.000-05:002012-03-25T20:31:36.750-05:00E is 3<div style="text-align: center;">Happy 3rd Birthday to our little girl! </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Our little E is 3! We love you and miss you every day Ella.</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-53460290628105907032012-03-23T11:33:00.000-05:002012-03-23T11:33:16.015-05:00Parents of Preemies Day<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmp2y31fklUClPoNEoLrU2JR6BoVI0koHC_Qlst16_6mqFQY2vbJ2bqFbrtzvG0XsJYReuA2uMSyoKcsihMIlCeed73OSMMmGk4Gp5w_VurJi1k0df5_IB2oD5knrEHPyT5x1E2xNwKyN/s1600/546349_355961811109430_129525493753064_978567_1999103864_n%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmp2y31fklUClPoNEoLrU2JR6BoVI0koHC_Qlst16_6mqFQY2vbJ2bqFbrtzvG0XsJYReuA2uMSyoKcsihMIlCeed73OSMMmGk4Gp5w_VurJi1k0df5_IB2oD5knrEHPyT5x1E2xNwKyN/s1600/546349_355961811109430_129525493753064_978567_1999103864_n%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Another nonprofit helping preemies called <a href="http://www.grahamsfoundation.org/home.html">Graham's Foundation</a> is hosting a <a href="http://parentsofpreemiesday.org/main.html">Parents of Preemies Day</a> today March 23rd. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are some helpful tips they posted on their <a href="http://parentsofpreemiesday.org/what-you-can-do.html">website</a> to say and do for parents of a preemie:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>10 Things to Say to the Parents of Preemies</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Congratulations! Your baby is beautiful!<br />
2. You're stronger than you know, and your baby is strong like you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. If you'd like someone to be there with you in the NICU, I'd be happy to just sit with you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Can I see a picture?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. When can I come and visit him/her?<br />
6. After this experience, your bond with your baby is going to be so strong.<br />
7. Prematurity is not your fault and it's really unfair.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. What can I do during cold and flu season to keep your family safe?<br />
9. Cry if you need to; I can be strong for you when you need to take a break.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. You're a great mom! / You're a great dad! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>10 Things to Do for the Parents of Preemies</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Go food shopping and then cook and freeze a couple (or a lot) of meals that are easy to reheat.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Look after a preemie parent's other children so she or he can spend that much more time in the NICU.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Visit the new parents and their preemie as soon as the time is right – and focus on the baby, not the equipment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Reschedule a NICU or home visit when you know you've been exposed to germs but aren't feeling sick (especially during flu and RSV season).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Help them get to and from the hospital when transportation is an issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. Walk the dog, feed the cat, mow the lawn… anything that gives a preemie parent less to do at home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Just listen. Parents of premature babies may have thoughts or feelings you don't understand; you don't have to 'get it'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. Give a gift their baby can use right now – premature babies who aren't ready for clothes can often wear specially sized hats.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. Be understanding when the mom or dad of a preemie doesn't have a lot of time for you, even if you've been missing them for weeks or months. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. Request a Graham's Foundation NICU care package on their behalf by visiting the Graham’s Foundation website.......<em><strong>or from Ella's Halo!</strong></em></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">They posted on their website some very interesting facts about preemies as well:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Nearly 13 million babies, or about 10% of total worldwide births, are born prematurely each year. Nearly one million infants die each year as a result of pre-term birth, or about 28% of all deaths that occur within the first month of life.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em></em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The roller coaster ride your baby takes while in the NICU gives parents emotional distress, and physical exhaustion. I will never forget having spent 83 days in the NICU with Ella. It is definitely a world all of it its own and no one can fully describe it to you unless you too have been a parent of a preemie in the NICU. When a baby is born premature, parents and families find them in a whole different world faced with life and death decisions, uncertain futures for their baby and family, unknown medical issues, and a level of stress you have never felt before.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That is why we spend so much time trying to help NICUs here in the Twin Cities have small comforts of home for these parents and babies....to try to make the journey a little more bearable. We understand all too well what it is like to be a parent of a preemie.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today, March 23rd Ella's Halo helps to recognize the courage and commitment parents of premature babies have for their little miracles. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And today and everyday we are proud to be parents to our sweet preemie Ella. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbG6Xs-AxT-xJAtG0zO-GoYf1fv3IsH73nbMzXtfjjygPMk7Ubr6fbN0Y6dKVg2cmaaTaXLeCycyn0GS66AZNWzWLapP-P5ovx_oyYp6fmd7uiFmSKsnffHBBGyNwqLgInChNBKWgnHDa/s1600/image-2%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbG6Xs-AxT-xJAtG0zO-GoYf1fv3IsH73nbMzXtfjjygPMk7Ubr6fbN0Y6dKVg2cmaaTaXLeCycyn0GS66AZNWzWLapP-P5ovx_oyYp6fmd7uiFmSKsnffHBBGyNwqLgInChNBKWgnHDa/s1600/image-2%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-15883702880359809192012-03-20T11:03:00.000-05:002012-03-20T11:03:21.468-05:00Springing Ahead<img alt="" border="0" closure_uid_n7kfy5="2" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584790476711396722" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LAiLc2U6JaE/TYEpWV1eBXI/AAAAAAAAK2M/PrwulhuEpVQ/s400/Springtime%2BSubway%2BArt%2B8x10.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 324px;" /><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Via </span><a href="http://www.smilelikeyoumeanit.net/2011/03/8x10-springtime-printable.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Here</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am not really sure where this past few months have gone. The sun is warm, the snow is gone and we are hitting record highs. It sure feels like spring is here to stay! So I thought I should spring ahead and get caught up on my blog, pushing forward with Ella's Halo and take advantage of the change in the air. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">February and March tend to be really busy months for us. We have birthdays, anniversaries and preparing for bowling. Things have just flown by the past two months. And before we know it will already be May 12th and we will be hosting another Ella's Halo Bowling for Babies event. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I can't believe in 5 days our little girl will be three years old. Where did those years go!? It just feels like yesterday and our little girl made her quick and surprise arrival into our lives. Little did I know how much she would change our lives in her short time with us. We are planning to spend the day together and to remember Ella on Sunday. I am actually looking forward to her birthday this year and spending the day with her daddy. I guess over time we are just thankful that we were lucky enough to have had her in our lives and her birthday becomes more of a celebration with each passing year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In just two months we will be hosting our <a href="http://ellashalo3.eventbrite.com/">3rd Annual Bowling for Babies</a> event on May 12th at Park Tavern. I can't believe this will be the 3rd year of bowling. It is such a fun event with tons of families who come out and all help raise awareness and money for our cause. It is so amazing what we have been able to do these past three years with Ella's Halo and we are so excited about what is to come in the future too. Just this year we donated 175 blankets thanks to the help of Plymouth Creek Elementary School, we also donated 785 books to NICUs, and already have donated 200 welcome bags. It has been a busy first part of the year donating so many items to the NICU and we know with bowling this spring, sponsoring <a href="http://babysteps.childrensmn.org/">Children's Baby Steps</a> in June, the rest of the year will be just as busy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So those are just a few things that have been taking up our time lately. I am looking forward to enjoy this beautiful weather, getting outside in the sunshine, and gearing up for another busy year of Ella's Halo. Springing Ahead to Fun!</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-18988124517306594592012-03-05T10:35:00.000-06:002012-03-05T10:35:48.271-06:00March Feature Family<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgferVVh4SFUQege4QKKNzfELc427FlPGDmNQBy9B4FWV7tImVZ1lNROsw5bgvkFxUgHsgg-T_4tBlpSIg1trKXzR_9SXmYstZDwQR32ZbCYBxluGWLuI8yhrz6RwJT62OEAZ0mnlb9mo9O/s1600/FeatureFamily2.gif" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the beginning of each month Ella's Halo will have a NICU family tell their story about life in the NICU with their baby. Our hope is that by featuring different families others will have a better understanding of the difficult, roller-coaster ride many face when their baby is in the NICU. Ella's Halo created the Feature Family series, if you are interested in sharing your story, please email us at info@ellashalo.com to share your NICU story and to be a future Feature Family.</div>**Sorry, our post is a couple of days late this month. We have been busy planning Bowling for Babies and March 1st got away from us.<br />
<br />
This sweet mother contacted us at Ella's Halo and told us she loved the real stories that our families write for our feature family stories. So I asked her to write her own story and share it with us. Little did I know that her older daughter had enjoyed some of the books Ella's Halo donated while her little sister Emma was in the NICU. So glad we are helping not only babies and families but siblings too. <br />
<br />
<strong></strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Emma Michael</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Written by Rebecca Michael</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Former NICU Mommy</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>In February 2011, my husband and I found out I was pregnant! After suffering a miscarriage in the fall, we were excited to be expecting again. We anticipated an easy pregnancy, as our older daughter Madilyn had been full term with an easy labor.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>During the first trimester I’d had some spotting, but ultrasounds confirmed that baby was growing perfectly. Around 18 weeks the spotting was more frequent and heavy, but weekly visits to the doctor and numerous ultrasounds never revealed any issues. Baby was always healthy, great sized, and kicking and there wasn’t an obvious source of bleeding. We agreed with the doctor that it was probably just going to be a bit of a nuisance through the rest of the pregnancy. No big deal, right?</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>At 22 weeks and 3 days, I woke up at 2am in a wet bed – my water had broken. We headed for the hospital and then I was taken by ambulance to UMMC Riverside because I was still at such an early gestation and they had a Level III NICU that would be better equipped to handle whatever the future would bring. The first 24 hours in the Antepartum unit were a whirlwind. I wasn’t in active labor (no contractions, no dilation) and all test results came back negative for any infections. So, the plan was to STAY on hospital bedrest with close monitoring to keep Baby in until the 23-week mark: before 23 weeks, they can’t perform any life-saving measures as the baby would just be too small. So we waited and prayed that I could make it 4 more days to that 23-week mark!</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>At 23 weeks and 1 day, I started having contractions. After an ultrasound they determined that I no longer had any amniotic fluid; Baby was in distress and also breech. They started to prep me for a C-Section but as that was happening Emma had other plans. She was welcomed into the world after one quick push, 15 minutes after my husband sent an email to his work letting them know he wouldn’t be there that day. James followed our 1 pound, 6 ounce baby girl to the NICU and the journey began.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>There were SO many ups and downs during our 133-day stay – we managed to avoid most of the major problems that micropreemies typically encounter, but Emma was intubated for 6 weeks, had meningitis, developed a blood clot right above her heart, and also received injections into her eyes for ROP. At one point, she had a “line” (IVs, Arterial line, PICC line) in every extremity, including her head! We made it through the first 24 hours, then the first 72 hours, then the first week and first month. We slept with the phone next to our bed every night, hoping it wouldn’t ring with bad news. Life was such a whirlwind of worry, trying to find out everything we could about anything affecting Emma, pumping milk every few hours, keeping our families in the loop, and attempting to maintain some normalcy for Madilyn. Our doctors and nurses were amazing and took so much time explaining to us everything that was happening to Emma and teaching us how to care for her. After waiting a month to finally hold her, daily Kangaroo Care time was such a blessing.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>While Emma was in the NICU, Madilyn and both sets of grandparents spent a lot of time in the waiting room. Madilyn LOVED reading all the books donated by Ella’s Halo and especially liked showing the pictures to her baby sister when she could be crib-side! </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Emma came home the week of Thanksgiving (exactly 19 weeks after she was born) and we certainly have a LOT to be thankful for. The NICU experience is not one you ever expect to take and being there for so long gives a great appreciation for life. We saw many families whose stay there didn’t end as positively as ours, and we’re so appreciative of Ella’s Halo and their work to make the NICU more comfortable and warm in a less-than-ideal situation for every family. You are amazing!</em></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-37604670763165437612012-02-28T11:23:00.000-06:002012-02-28T11:23:22.942-06:00Top Ten Tuesday<div style="text-align: justify;">Since February is <em><strong>I Love to Read Month</strong></em>, I thought it would be fun to do a top ten on why it is important to read to your baby (children)! Plus Ella's Halo donated <em><strong>785 books</strong></em> this month to area NICUs in the month of February from our <em><strong>Babies and Book</strong></em> book drive. Here are a couple of reasons we found were important to us during our NICU stay.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Reading to your baby in the NICU helps you to bond. It is often difficult to find the right ways to bond with your baby but reading to them is something so simple to help create the child/parent bond. This bonding is so important for you and also to help your little preemie continue to grow while in the NICU.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Reading can calm your baby, especially when they are fretful and restless. Hearing your voice and listening to your heartbeat is comforting and soothing to your baby. NICU life can be stressful so hearing their parents voice while reading brings your little preemie a sense of calmness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Form a habit of reading to baby at the same time each day, or at least several times a week. Choose a time when you are both relaxed and not rushed. This habit will move with you once you are out of the NICU and into your lives at home as your child grows.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Reading to your baby can help pass the time. Many parents spend long hours in the NICU by their child's bedside. Pass the time by reading to your baby!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. By reading early on to your child, you could be helping to develop their communication skills and learning skills. Not only are you reading but you could be teaching them skills to help them as they grow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. The NICU exposes preterm babies to high levels of noise, while fetus in utero only have the stimulation of their mother's voice. However, these little preemies are in isolettes and don't get to hear the smoothing voice of their mother unless it is directed into the tiny hole of the isolette. What better way to give your little baby the comforts of home then sitting next to them, softly reading a book to drown out the other NICU noises.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Reading is the best way to develop language skills. The baby absorbs the rhythm of your speech and learns to perceive individual sounds in the stream of words. The way you read a story is teaching your baby about language.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. Dad can get involved too. Babies know their daddy's voices much like their mommy's so have dad join in on the action and grab his favorite book to read! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. Ella's Halo donated 785 books to area NICUs. Now there is no reason not to find your favorite children's book while in the NICU and go read to your baby!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. And last but not least, you are creating memories with your baby. Reading books to your child helps to create lasting positive memories of your time in the NICU. And can even continue to create memories as your child grows up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thank you to everyone who donated to our <em><strong>Babies and Book</strong></em> book drive this past holiday season. These are such fun items to donate to the NICU because we know they will be used right away by families and enjoyed!!</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-53768135726981912652012-02-14T12:05:00.001-06:002012-02-14T13:29:04.433-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Even though I never got to celebrate a Valentine's Day with you.............</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Pinned Image" height="320px" id="pinCloseupImage" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/57350595224276146_eEtUhru2_c.jpg" width="279px" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>you will always be our little valentine. </em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Wishing all of the little sweethearts who are spending Valentine's Day in hospital NICUs, much love today.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Happy Valentine's Day!</strong></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-60368602297428163712012-02-01T22:01:00.001-06:002012-03-05T10:25:00.836-06:00February Feature Family<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande", tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgferVVh4SFUQege4QKKNzfELc427FlPGDmNQBy9B4FWV7tImVZ1lNROsw5bgvkFxUgHsgg-T_4tBlpSIg1trKXzR_9SXmYstZDwQR32ZbCYBxluGWLuI8yhrz6RwJT62OEAZ0mnlb9mo9O/s1600/FeatureFamily2.gif" style="border-bottom: rgb(183,183,183) 2px solid; border-left: rgb(183,183,183) 2px solid; border-right: rgb(183,183,183) 2px solid; border-top: rgb(183,183,183) 2px solid; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande", tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande", tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">At the beginning of each month Ella's Halo will have a NICU family tell their story about life in the NICU with their baby. Our hope is that by featuring different families others will have a better understanding of the difficult, roller-coaster ride many face when their baby is in the NICU. Ella's Halo created the Feature Family series, if you are interested in sharing your story, please email us at info@ellashalo.com to share your NICU story and to be a future Feature Family.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We know Tina from back when we were in high school. Coming from a small town, it broke our hearts hearing about a family we knew so many years ago was just starting their NICU journey. It breaks my heart any time I hear about a baby entering the NICU, but even more so when we know the moms and dads and the journey they are about to embark on. Here is their story.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Kaislyn Toni Drewes</span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"></span></span></b><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Written by Tina Drewes</span></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Former NICU Mommy</span></strong></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Things started to change at 25 weeks. I noticed swelling in my legs and just thought it was from being pregnant, and that I was retaining water until someone said I should go in. I went in to the doctor at 26 weeks and they noticed elevated blood pressure and protein, so I was asked to check in to the ob floor for monitoring two days later for just a few hours. However, a few hours turned into 3 days. After checking in, my blood pressure was 140/100. They thought it was from getting settled in, but it kept rising. They started pumping in blood pressure meds to lower it, but it got as high as 170/110. I was given a steroid shot in case of early delivery.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After three days I was able to go home on very strict bed rest! I made it two more weeks, to 28 weeks, and then had another doctor’s appointment. After looking at an ultrasound and checking my protein levels, I was told I needed to head to Fargo in case we had to deliver! </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We checked in on a weekend and were told the baby would be delivered on Thursday. After they did some research, they determined we were able to hang out for a while and see how things would go. I was given a second dose of steroids and was put on magnesium sulfate (worst drug in the world). I was told that I was at a serious risk of having seizures or even stroking out due to how high my blood pressure was (which I felt fine the whole time).</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">They were monitoring me very closely, and I could not get out of bed for anything! I could sit up for only a little while, but needed to lie as low key as possible! The magnesium made me very sick, retain tons of water, and very weak – it’s a muscle relaxer that also helps with preterm labor. Each day we were told we may be having the baby or we may hang out but whatever is best for baby is the path we would take!! So 3 days after checking into Fargo, I knew at 3am we were going to be having a baby sometime within the day! They noticed on the ultrasound that the baby wasn't growing much since my blood pressure had spiked. I was told a C-section was our only option, but I wouldn’t need to be put completely out, and Darin could be there with me. Only to find out I was going to be completely put under, and Darin could not be with me! From the minute I left Darin, they had our baby girl to him in 12 minutes for a quick picture and off to the NICU. I had to go down a floor for recovery. I was finally able to be pushed back into our room later that afternoon and finally got to see our baby (besides pictures) at 10:30 p.m., when I actually had the strength to get out of bed to go to the NICU – and she was born at 1:42pm!</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Kaislyn Toni Drewes was born on January 29, 2011 at 1:42 pm. She was 1 lbs 15 oz and 13.5 inches long</span></span></i><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I was finally able to get out of the hospital the following Thursday, because my blood pressure finally came down. Kaislyn was on a vent for almost 1 month and was in the NICU for 128 days – 4.5 months!</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">She struggled with sucking, swallowing and breathing, so she ended up getting a feeding tube put in due to her not finishing all her feeds. A week after surgery we were home free, with no monitors or anything other than a button in her belly for feeding (what she didn't take from the bottle), and a list of doctor appointments. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">She also had a few issues with her heart. PDA open, ASD, and VSD, so we get to see a cardiologist for many years, and pray she will never need surgery! This month she will be 1 (9 months corrected age). Hard to believe, and wonder where the year went!</span></span></i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgWfVaL2jm7gzrBt3lESGqFkd5hWXBiFbMomTlVSZN81RPrJDn_zNLyyOgMqDcWXbCOC8shQ-eg_O4RK8Z5O6CLXQPyjyFodHymyVaTWuBC_SQV3xNR_kuuPzM_5elweCOwgSwjHjS7H1/s1600/255645_10150653010385722_837950721_19285968_1204176_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgWfVaL2jm7gzrBt3lESGqFkd5hWXBiFbMomTlVSZN81RPrJDn_zNLyyOgMqDcWXbCOC8shQ-eg_O4RK8Z5O6CLXQPyjyFodHymyVaTWuBC_SQV3xNR_kuuPzM_5elweCOwgSwjHjS7H1/s320/255645_10150653010385722_837950721_19285968_1204176_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">She is doing great, but is still very small (born at 1 lbs 15oz). In December she was 11 lbs 6 oz! Her feeding tube was removed in August and she is doing great! Right on track and continuing to go to follow up appointments, and to her cardiologist. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #262626;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading our little miracle’s story. </span></span></i></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-64292534684458737872012-01-19T13:43:00.002-06:002012-01-19T13:56:09.181-06:00Halo Happenings (January Edition)<div style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><br />
<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wSSU-ZJUYRAJdzOrGW4VgbssvB8fbuCkcadY2Zq9CwmgXwcs5ejECHTdjmLGRD0GcLSxin6sh14v4VNIgRSg5-moXHsmzqm287V0PCdEqvwKtIVqnZMvwyfXiWl9ZCMjGNDqEiO49Dvl/s1600/Halo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_hi03q4="2" height="71px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wSSU-ZJUYRAJdzOrGW4VgbssvB8fbuCkcadY2Zq9CwmgXwcs5ejECHTdjmLGRD0GcLSxin6sh14v4VNIgRSg5-moXHsmzqm287V0PCdEqvwKtIVqnZMvwyfXiWl9ZCMjGNDqEiO49Dvl/s200/Halo.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Like I said in our last post, 2012 is definitely starting off with a bang! We are so excited about the fun things we have been working. Here is a quick overview of what we have been busy doing.</div><br />
<div align="center"><a class="imgLnk" href="http://www.parents.com/"><img alt="Parents" height="63px" src="http://images.meredith.com/parents/images/template/shell/logo2011thin.gif" title="Parents" width="200px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">First up, is an exciting article that was posted in Parents Magazine in their February issue about Ella's Halo. It was on page 8, so if you haven't seen it yet, head out to the newsstands and get your copy! I will post the article here on our blog in February. They wrote a sweet little piece about Ella and Ella's Halo. Not only did they put something in their magazine but they also made a $500 donation to us. What a fun way to help get Ella's Halo's name out there and also to share what our cause is all about to so many others.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZC7TbzZsL903MTMG9LMrTTYJ_dTM95yC4fSE6mZCfncj3q8hxRTsw7cWyUS6RBeWGzBsU-ArOPzaxmBy5F4_W5I8KTaV0n4S2qHh5LvefiYPArmkR1Ow33vnJPil0iht08f7lxW6SiXI/s1600/babies%2526books1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_hi03q4="4" height="108px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZC7TbzZsL903MTMG9LMrTTYJ_dTM95yC4fSE6mZCfncj3q8hxRTsw7cWyUS6RBeWGzBsU-ArOPzaxmBy5F4_W5I8KTaV0n4S2qHh5LvefiYPArmkR1Ow33vnJPil0iht08f7lxW6SiXI/s200/babies%2526books1.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><div align="justify"><br />
We had an awesome turn out of book donations during this holiday season. I am actually still going through all of them, counting them, boxing them and putting Ella's Halo stickers on all of them. We are hoping to make this large donation later this month. So stay tuned to find out how many books were collected in November and December! Thank you to the sweet little girls of the Lino Lakes Girl Scouts for their book donations!</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://miamihealthykids.webs.com/cartoon_kids2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="109px" src="http://miamihealthykids.webs.com/cartoon_kids2.png" width="200px" /></a></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This week we meet up with the 5th Graders at Plymouth Creek Elementary School. They made blankets and donated them all to Ella's Halo. We received so many blankets to help donate to families in the NICU. It was a great learning experience for the students about volunteering and giving back. We are also going to the work with the PTA at Plymouth Creek later this month. The parents at the school are going to do a service project and make blankets for Ella's Halo too. Thank you so much Plymouth Creek! We appreciate your hard work and know many families will love the blankets too.</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div align="justify" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoP67mDpFtMQZlQmJzocYLSdptRLSEN1qz4OJDi67J0QhnaNVL8_yGLqPOWf8WvJ09OnVMw62rJJ8hG6Qk9-IgX0ToIjTBW8aF5ms8IEuU6YniNEKxrx-Oj2KP2fbSjWtyfkkb66Y7776/s1600/ellashalo%252520bowling%255B1%255D+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90px" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoP67mDpFtMQZlQmJzocYLSdptRLSEN1qz4OJDi67J0QhnaNVL8_yGLqPOWf8WvJ09OnVMw62rJJ8hG6Qk9-IgX0ToIjTBW8aF5ms8IEuU6YniNEKxrx-Oj2KP2fbSjWtyfkkb66Y7776/s200/ellashalo%252520bowling%255B1%255D+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">And finally, we are in full swing planning mode for our 3rd Annual Bowling for Babies! We are excited to start figuring out raffles, silent auction and fun activities for the day. May 12th, 2012 at Park Tavern has been set and we are are excited about a family fun day together raising money for Ella's Halo. If you are interested in donating or being a sponsor, email me at <a href="mailto:info@ellashalo.com">info@ellashalo.com</a>. Mark your calendars and we will see you in a few months out at the lanes!</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-61393512801563441292012-01-09T12:09:00.000-06:002012-01-09T12:09:01.545-06:002011 Year in Review<div style="text-align: justify;">What a fun year 2011 was for Ella's Halo. We helped so many families this year, helped spread the word about Ella's Halo to others and our Welcome bags are now being given to every NICU family in three NICUs in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Here is a quick run down of our crazy year.</div><br />
<strong>*January: </strong>Completed our first donation of Welcome Bags to Children's St. Paul<br />
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<strong>*February: </strong>Ella's Halo hosts a fundraiser at Borders Book Stores<br />
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<strong>*March:</strong> We celebrate Ella's 2nd Birthday with more Welcome Bag donations to Children's St.<br />
Paul, DVD players and cameras to Children's Minneapolis, and blankets and books to Amplatz Children's Hospital<br />
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<strong>*April:</strong> Ella's Halo provides its first Feature Family Series which are real stories from NICU families<br />
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<strong>*May:</strong> Ella's Halo hosts 2nd Annual Bowling for Babies and raises over $12,000<br />
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<strong>*June:</strong> Ella's Halo sponsors the water stop at Children's Hospital Baby Steps<br />
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<strong>*July:</strong> Ella's Halo starts donating Welcome Bags for Children's Minneapolis and becomes an Alliance on Caringbridge <br />
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<strong>*August:</strong> Kids' Company donated blankets to Ella's Halo and we had a feature article in the The Prior Lake Newspaper and we also were part of the Macy's Shop for a Cause.<br />
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<strong>*September:</strong> Ella's Halo served dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Children's Hospital and also was in a contest for Parent's Magazine for best blogger<br />
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<strong>*October:</strong> Ella's Halo had a table at the Birth and Baby Expo and meet many families who had received our Welcome Bags. Also hosted our 2nd Annual Strides For NICUs and raised over $3,000 to help families.<br />
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<strong>*November:</strong> Ella's Halo is part of the Pepsi Refresh vote and also wins $1,100 from KARE 11.<br />
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<strong>*December:</strong> Ella's Halo starts to donate Welcome Bags to 3rd hospital at Amplatz and also starts to donate Sibling Bags to Children's.<br />
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As you can see it was a busy year, and the way it is looking 2012 is starting off just as crazy!Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-30324528760014146382012-01-04T10:32:00.012-06:002012-01-04T10:40:46.243-06:00January Feature Family<div align="center"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgferVVh4SFUQege4QKKNzfELc427FlPGDmNQBy9B4FWV7tImVZ1lNROsw5bgvkFxUgHsgg-T_4tBlpSIg1trKXzR_9SXmYstZDwQR32ZbCYBxluGWLuI8yhrz6RwJT62OEAZ0mnlb9mo9O/s1600/FeatureFamily2.gif" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">At the beginning of each month Ella's Halo will have a NICU family tell their story about life in the NICU with their baby. Our hope is that by featuring different families others will have a better understanding of the difficult, roller-coaster ride many face when their baby is in the NICU. Ella's Halo created the Feature Family series, if you are interested in sharing your story, please email us at info@ellashalo.com to share your NICU story and to be a future Feature Family.</div><br />
**Our post this month is a little late due to the busy holiday season.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">I met this former NICU mother on the Parent Advisory Board for Amplatz Children's Hospital. We both care very deeply about helping children, giving back, and helping the hospital, especially the NICU. Bo and her husband had 3 little babies in the NICU. Here is their story.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong>Brooklyn, Bailey and Jordan Moore</strong><br />
<strong>Written by Bo Moore</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong>Former NICU Mommy</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em>In October 2008, my husband and I were thrilled to learn that I was pregnant with triplets. While that was not something we expected to hear; we were just excited that after years of miscarriages and infertility, we were finally adding to our family and our son was going to be a Big Brother! </em><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em>As soon as we knew I was carrying triplets, I was referred to a Perintologist at UMMC Riverside. For the next few weeks, my husband & I had numerous appointments with a team of specialist there who discussed the risks that come with higher order multiples. I must admit that the information we learned was very worrisome; however, we felt as though our family, love, faith and marriage could handle whatever this unknown path may bring. </em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>With the exception of horrible morning sickness, things were going fairly well in the beginning of the pregnancy. I had lengthy doctor appointments and level II ultrasounds every 2-3 weeks, which continued to show the babies were healthy and things were progressing as “normal”. When I was 16 weeks along, I was put on bed rest to keep the four of us as healthy and stress-free as possible. At 26 weeks, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and became insulin dependent, which is very common with multiples.</em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>At my 28 week ultrasound/appointment, my husband, mom, sister and I were all excited to see the babies in action during my first level III ultrasound. About half way through the ultrasound, the technician excused herself. She came back in with a few doctors and they all starred at the large screen monitor as she was checking “Baby C”. After a few head nodding gestures amongst the doctors, we were told that “Baby C” appears to have an overriding aorta. This heart defect is usually one of four defects found with a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. </em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>My stomach dropped, heart grew heavy and eyes filled with tears. As a mother, I will never forget the heart ache and loneliness I felt. Even though my husband, mother& sister were with, I felt completely alone and was beyond devastated. </em><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><em>A week later, we had in-uteri heart echoes done on all of the babies and it confirmed that “Baby C” had Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). A few days later, we met with the heart surgeon who explained what TOF was, how it’s surgically repaired, and what the care plan was for our baby. </em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>At this point, I was seeing the Perintologist 2-3 times a week and having level III ultrasounds completed at each visit. When I was 32 weeks, my blood pressure was severely high and I was admitted to antepardum. The initial goal was for me to make it to 36 weeks, but at 33 weeks and 6 days, I started having health issues and they had to do an emergency c-section. </em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>April 9, 2009, our triple blessing arrived! Weighing in at 4lbs 10oz, 4 lbs 8oz, and 4 lbs – our two girls and one boy made their grand entrance into this world. A team of over 20 doctors & nurses helped deliver them and I am happy to say we had no complications. Everyone was doing well and receiving the specialized care they needed. </em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Thankfully, the TOF baby who we named Bailey was doing fabulous and amazing all the doctors. Each baby had a nurse assigned to them as they were monitored closely. After 10 days in the NICU, the two “healthy” babies were able to go home. I remember how hard I cried having to leave Bailey alone in the NICU, but I quickly realized she wasn’t alone. The NICU nursing staff was filled with second mom’s to her. They loved and cared for her and her siblings as if they were their own. </em></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Within a few weeks, the TOF started to show itself. Bailey started having “blue spells” and her health was deteriorating. It was determined that she needed to be in the PICU where the cardiology team was able to keep a close eye on her. </em><br />
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<em>After almost 3 weeks of being in the PICU, it was determined the initial plan of waiting 3-6 months for her open-heart surgery was no longer an option – she was too critical. At just 6 weeks old and barely over 5 lbs, Bailey underwent her first open-heart surgery. She was the smallest patient this heart surgeon had ever attempted this type of repair on, so there was a lot of concern. Not because of the heart surgeon’s abilities, but because they were not sure if her tiny body could handle the extensive trauma it would be faced with. After 7 hours in surgery, we got the phone call in the patient lounge that they were able to repair 3 of the 4 defects and Bailey was stable. </em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>As prepared as we thought we were to see her, we weren’t! I was in such shock that I couldn’t even cry at first. Seeing your tiny doll size baby with numerous tubes coming out of her stomach/neck/groin, with an incision that went from her neck to her belly button, while on the ventilator was unbearable. I was in such shock that I couldn’t even cry at first. Then, the PICU nurse hugged me and reassured me that she was going to be okay and that’s when the flood gates opened. </em></div><em></em><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Later that night, Bailey had some complications and did have to have another emergency procedure done. Over the next few days, she continued to heal and 4 days after her heart surgery, she was taken off the ventilator. A week later, she was transferred to the floor, and a few weeks later she was finally discharged! After 3 months of calling the NICU/PICU “home”, Bailey was finally able to join the rest of our family at our home. </em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Bailey has continued to suffer and battle through a long list of health issues, some of which have been life threatening, but she continues to overcome the odds and is still with us. Unfortunately, her triplet sister (Brooklyn) was just hospitalized and diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in September of this year after being sick with a cold. Between Bailey & Brooklyn, they see 16 different specialists at UMACH. We continue to spend a lot of time at the hospital/clinics, and I am grateful for the amazing staff that goes out of its way to make sure we know that we’re more than just “patients” – we are part of the UMACH family. </em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>Every night when I say my prayers, I thank God for all the blessings and miracles he has provided us. We know how lucky we are and do our best not to take anything for granted. We could not have survived the long emotional rollercoaster life has kept us on over the past few years, if it weren’t for the amazing staff in the NICU, PICU and CFL (Child Family Life). The heart-warming care and tenderness they gave our entire family while providing exceptional medical care for our children was second to none. All the hugs, words of wisdom, warm smiles, treats from the vending machine/break room, toys from the toy stash for big brother, and toothbrush runs, will be something I will forever be grateful for. </em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em>I’d like to thank Ella’s Halo for allowing us to share our story. I could not imagine the amount of heart ache you endured after Ella earned her angel wings. I imagine the pain and sorrow doesn’t go away, but I hope knowing all the good you’re doing in her honor brings some comfort to you.</em><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>God Bless!</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>The Moore Family </em></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-38974935546658437662011-12-28T08:56:00.000-06:002011-12-28T08:56:14.242-06:00Happy Holidays<img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="425px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/387454_10150445888703956_112214188955_8192404_226509590_n.jpg" width="640px" /><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy Holidays from your friends at Ella's Halo!</span></strong></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-50768650295255877722011-12-14T09:26:00.000-06:002011-12-14T09:26:34.813-06:00Catching Up<div style="text-align: justify;">Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged in such a long time. I guess there is just too many things going on around here with the holidays. Here is a quick recap of what we have been up to here at Ella's Halo the past month!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong><em>Minnesota Paralegal Association Fall Gathering-</em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We were selected by the <a href="http://www.mnparalegals.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=89615&orgId=mpa">Minnesota Paralegal Association</a> to be the nonprofit at their Fall Gathering. We held a book drive at their event on November 17th and collected over 150 books for our book drive. It was a fun evening collecting books, sharing our story about Ella's Halo, and meeting others within the community. Thank you MPA for letting us be part of your evening!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/375403_10150394696708956_112214188955_8048194_431803411_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" border="0" class="spotlight" height="240px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/375403_10150394696708956_112214188955_8048194_431803411_n.jpg" width="320px" /></span></em></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Taryn standing at our table with the books collected at MPA</span></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/374280_10150394696468956_112214188955_8048192_489763589_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" border="0" class="spotlight" height="240px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/374280_10150394696468956_112214188955_8048192_489763589_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Taryn speaking to the Minnesota Paralegal Association about Ella's Halo</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><em><strong>Plymouth Creek 5th Grade Class-</strong></em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">Ms. Kostik's 5th Grade Class decided they wanted to help Ella's Halo this holiday season by making blankets and doing a book drive. I went to talk to their class on November 21st, told them about Ella and how Ella's Halo was started. They were an excited bunch of kids eager to help out babies. It was a fun morning and we look forward to the awesome donations they will be delivering to Ella's Halo in the coming weeks.</div><div align="center" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/391150_10150445781508956_112214188955_8192073_1951466900_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" border="0" class="spotlight" height="240px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/391150_10150445781508956_112214188955_8192073_1951466900_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Taryn with Ms. Kostik's 5th Grade class and the kids showing their Ella's Halo bracelets</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong><em>Ella's Halo Helping Hour-</em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We hosted our first ever Ella's Halo Helping Hour on December 1st. We invited our volunteers to come to help us put together 500 welcome bags that would be delivered to NICUs this holiday season. It was a fun evening with over 25 volunteers who helped put 500 bags together in 20 minutes! We had appetizers and wine to help our helpers get in the holiday spirit. We are looking forward to putting together another volunteer event in the future to help us continue to make bags.</div><div align="justify" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/387333_10150445800948956_112214188955_8192238_1420669107_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" border="0" class="spotlight" height="240px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/387333_10150445800948956_112214188955_8192238_1420669107_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Volunteers at Helping Hour making bags</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="320px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/381206_10150445801108956_112214188955_8192242_1200645475_n.jpg" width="240px" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>500 bags our volunteers put together</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong><em>Donating Bags to Amplatz-</em></strong></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">Our bags are now being donated to the <a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/">University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital</a> in Minneapolis. This is now the third hospital in the Twin Cities that are giving our bags to families in the NICU. We are so excited to be able to donate these bags to families in the same NICU we were in with Ella. On December 9th we donated 50 bags to families currently on the unit and another 50 bags for future families. It was a great way to start the holidays by being able to donate bags that will help families in the NICU.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/380520_10150445776643956_112214188955_8192043_982666654_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" border="0" class="spotlight" height="240px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/380520_10150445776643956_112214188955_8192043_982666654_n.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Taryn and Ryan donating bags to Amplatz</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="240px" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/374916_10150445776728956_112214188955_8192044_1284220609_n.jpg" width="320px" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Staff at Amplatz that helped with dropping bags off to families in the NICU</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">So as you can see it has been a very busy month for us here at Ella's Halo. In addition to all of these things we have been doing, we are still holding our book drive. While you are out shopping this holiday season, remember to grab a book to donate to Ella's Halo. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">Happy Holidays from Ella's Halo!</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-40074320124454386232011-12-01T11:05:00.000-06:002011-12-01T11:05:50.410-06:00December Feature Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZGKb1Sn2ocOGe_o4FElrE-VWnNy8-NHkVGTP3dTgCcKim5u-9G43MxTiD2JVO9Mg3l7m_S-Oiy9fSICGwBk1exFg3u5QR1imevtKRsUN58paBGkt-u0EnwQh6sev37P4ID2GOZr_fzum/s1600/FeatureFamily2%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="140px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZGKb1Sn2ocOGe_o4FElrE-VWnNy8-NHkVGTP3dTgCcKim5u-9G43MxTiD2JVO9Mg3l7m_S-Oiy9fSICGwBk1exFg3u5QR1imevtKRsUN58paBGkt-u0EnwQh6sev37P4ID2GOZr_fzum/s320/FeatureFamily2%255B1%255D.gif" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">At the beginning of each month Ella's Halo will have a NICU family tell their story about life in the NICU with their baby. Our hope is that by featuring different families others will have a better understanding of the difficult, roller-coaster ride many face when their baby is in the NICU. Ella's Halo created the Feature Family series, if you are interested in sharing your story, please email us at info@ellashalo.com to share your NICU story and to be a future Feature Family.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Our Feature Family this month are friends we have met through <a href="http://www.faithslodge.org/index2.htm">Faith's Lodge</a>. They even spent time in the same NICU that we did with Ella. I work on the Family Outreach Committee for Faith's Lodge with Kari and have enjoyed the friendship that we have formed over the last few years. It is fitting to have Faith's Lodge friends tell their NICU story during December since it was two years ago this December that we went to Faith's Lodge and started our own journey of hope and healing.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Brandon Patrick Elias<br />
Written by Kari Elias<br />
Former NICU Mommy</strong></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <em>July 19, 2006 our son, Brandon Patrick Elias, was born. At the time, we did not know it, but we were about to embark on a 25 day stay in the NICU. The NICU was a bittersweet place for us. The blessing was the support of our nurses and doctors. The hard part was wondering if we would ever get to experience a night at home with our son. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>After Brandon was born, he was rushed to the NICU for special support. At the time, we did not know our son was very ill. We spent the first five days in a level two NICU trying to find out why our son was having trouble breathing, why he could not eat food like a healthy baby and why he had very low muscle tone. Over those five days the doctors ran a series of tests and we then made the decision to have our son moved to a NICU at the Fairview University Hospital so we had faster access to more doctors. That move was one of the best decisions we could have made. Although our experience at Fairview Southdale was top notch, things moved at a much quicker pace when we got to Fairview University Hospital. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em> </em><div style="text-align: center;"><em>After our move to Fairview University, we met a doctor that specialized in Neurology. He ran a test on our son that examined the “very long chain fatty acids,” which we were not familiar with. However, we got the results within two days. I remember the morning we got our son’s diagnosis. We had just gotten him to eat almost a full bottle. As many NICU parents learn, the criteria for taking your child home is getting him/her to breathe and feed on his/her own. We were so excited because we felt we might be on the home stretch. Later that morning, a doctor came to visit us. As we sat holding our son, he explained that Brandon had a rare genetic disorder called Zellweger Syndrome. From the look on the doctor’s face, I knew it was not good. I asked the doctor if it was terminal. His response was yes. I asked him how much time we had. He told us they really did not know. The life expectancy of a child with Zellweger Syndrome averaged six months to two years. I did not know what to think. He left and arranged for a geneticist to come and give us more details. In a weird way, it was at that moment I felt a little relief knowing there was a diagnosis, but in a split second it all changed to fear</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em> </em><div style="text-align: center;"><em>After hearing our son’s diagnosis those in the NICU rallied around my family. They gave us time to cry, allowed extra visitors and worked with us to ensure our son could get home. Once we knew what lied ahead, we focused on bringing our son home to live. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em> </em><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Our son came home after 25 days in the NICU. We gave him as much life as we could by showing our little guy as much of the world as we could. My son, Brandon, went home with the angels on October 2, 2006. He lived two months and 14 days. I thank God every day He gave us the blessing of bringing our child home. I also thank God for the many people that came into our life because of the NICU: Amy Vivant, Cathy Hennessy, Dr. Keri Roberts, Dr. Lisa Schemmenti, Dr. Christina Morris and the interns at the hospital that gave us so much love and support. I sometimes wish I would have never met them, but I am so thankful that during our journey they supported us and helped us through one of the toughest times of our life. </em></div></div></div></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-84437779492706162692011-11-15T22:11:00.000-06:002011-11-15T22:11:30.560-06:00Top Ten Tuesday<div style="text-align: justify;">In honor of November being Prematurity Awareness Month and also World Prematurity Day on November 17th I thought I would do a top 10 about things you may not know about preemies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Did you know that over 13 million premature babies are born every year world wide? That is a lot of preemies who have to spend time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units. (<a href="http://preemiehelp.com/about-preemies/preemie-facts-a-figures">info from here</a>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Did you know that one of the greatest minds in history, Albert Einstein was born preterm? How about Stevie Wonder or Mark Twain!? Yup, they were preemies too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Did you know that average cost of having your preemie in the NICU is roughly $15,100? And that is before medicine, doctors, specialist and machines that your preemie might need which could dramatically increase these costs. Prematurity accounts for 47% of all costs related to infants. (<a href="http://www.preemieprimer.com/preemie-stats/">info from here</a>) That is over half!</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">4. Did you know preterm infants that have skin to skin connection with their parents gain weight faster, cry less, have a more stabilized body temperature, sleep better, breathe better, are often more alert, and have more stable heart rates? Preemies need to be touched and connect with their parents. Usually this is done through Kangaroo care and is so important to preemies and parents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. Did you know that a simple bad cold in a full term baby could be life threatening for a preemie? Preemies have lower immunity and need to be protected the first two years of their lives from the common cold and germs. That is why hand washing, keeping preemies home and out of large public places are so important.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. Did you know that preemies are not just tiny little babies, they also are little fighters that have to overcome many health concerns? The range of health concerns is quite large and can range from short term problems such as breathing, heart problems and eye functions to larger long term problems such as cerebral palsy, hearing and visual impairments and developmental concerns. Each preemie has his or her own health concerns and what might happen to one 24 weeker isn't always the same for another 24 weeker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Did you know a preemie could be less than one pound or as big as 9 pounds? Premature babies fall in the range of 24 weeks to 36 weeks. Their sizes, weights, needs and health conerns can all be very different.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. Did you know that most babies who spend time in the NICU do eventually come home? Some babies spend a few hours, some a few days, and some spend many months in the NICU. Thankfully, with modern technology, much research and experienced doctors, many premature babies get to leave the NICU with their parents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. Did you know that even though a preemie might have tubes, wires and vents all connected to them, they do know that their parents are there? Preemies can sense, smell and hear their parents. It is important for them to have their parents read books to them, to hear their parents talk to them, and to have their parents close.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">10. Did you know that preemies are celebrated in November and especially on November 17th? What a wonderful way to help others understand and learn more about preemies. Wear your purple this Thursday for Preemies!</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-26120561836195115512011-11-14T10:02:00.000-06:002011-11-14T10:02:52.947-06:00Just Vote<div style="text-align: justify;">We are so excited to be up for <a href="http://www.kare11.com/default.aspx">KARE 11</a> and their $11,000 Charity Vote. The local non-profit with the most votes will receive an $11,000 grant from the Gannett Foundation and KARE 11! Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16, 2011. So please check out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ellashalo#!/KARE11?sk=app_153284594738391">KARE 11's facebook page</a> and vote!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kare11.com/images/share/shareinthegiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Share in the giving" border="0" height="170px" src="http://www.kare11.com/images/share/shareinthegiving.jpg" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
Also on Friday 11/11 we were the lucky winner of $1,100 also from KARE 11. Check out their <a href="http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=946031">website</a> to see other nonprofits that won $1,100 too.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Don't forget we are still up for the <a href="http://www.refresheverything.com/ellashalo">Pepsi Refresh Project Grant</a> too. Voting goes until 11/30 so keep voting. You can vote via facebook, text (Text 109357 to Pepsi 73774) and your email----or all three ways! Each vote helps! We need to be number 15 or lower so please share with your friends and help us win $10,000 to continue to help families and babies.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rushphilanthropic.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/pepsi-refresh-grant-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205px" src="http://www.rushphilanthropic.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/pepsi-refresh-grant-logo.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So many easy ways to help Ella's Halo and it only takes a few minutes to vote! Help us, help babies!</div></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-49388091956562733422011-11-08T15:20:00.000-06:002011-11-08T15:20:13.737-06:00Halo Happenings (November Edition)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wSSU-ZJUYRAJdzOrGW4VgbssvB8fbuCkcadY2Zq9CwmgXwcs5ejECHTdjmLGRD0GcLSxin6sh14v4VNIgRSg5-moXHsmzqm287V0PCdEqvwKtIVqnZMvwyfXiWl9ZCMjGNDqEiO49Dvl/s1600/Halo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="71px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wSSU-ZJUYRAJdzOrGW4VgbssvB8fbuCkcadY2Zq9CwmgXwcs5ejECHTdjmLGRD0GcLSxin6sh14v4VNIgRSg5-moXHsmzqm287V0PCdEqvwKtIVqnZMvwyfXiWl9ZCMjGNDqEiO49Dvl/s200/Halo.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Welcome back to Halo Happenings. November is definitely starting off to be a crazy month. We have lots going on (as always) around here.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dGYDRqUGPGe-4hwYvaNSybS0vtfvboOeOKvtYhrzuP2GB3W2epoNu5RSxAFuKH2sVMKq7zN_IWVNHucgIWtJ7QQjFFosL3lkgkqJ60DNmqI75lE_f3RqBzJ44caR8dag3LXyMP-bXLWL/s1600/pepsi-refresh-project-logo_normal%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dGYDRqUGPGe-4hwYvaNSybS0vtfvboOeOKvtYhrzuP2GB3W2epoNu5RSxAFuKH2sVMKq7zN_IWVNHucgIWtJ7QQjFFosL3lkgkqJ60DNmqI75lE_f3RqBzJ44caR8dag3LXyMP-bXLWL/s200/pepsi-refresh-project-logo_normal%255B1%255D.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">As I am sure you have seen in emails or on facebook, but Ella's Halo is up for $10K Pepsi Refresh Grant. It would be so awesome to win this so we can continue to help families in the NICU. Here are a couple of easy ways to get your votes in now before November 30th. Remember you can vote everyday so go and VOTE. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>3 Steps to Voting Online:</strong></div>1. Follow this link: http://www.refresheverything.com/ellashalo<br />
2. Login or sign up (to sign up it just takes a minute). You can even login with your Facebook account. <br />
3. VOTE and make sure to come back everyday after and continue voting. <br />
<strong>2 Steps to Text Vote:</strong><br />
1. Grab your phone and text Pepsi at the number 73774 <br />
2. Put 109357 into your message and text again the next day<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZC7TbzZsL903MTMG9LMrTTYJ_dTM95yC4fSE6mZCfncj3q8hxRTsw7cWyUS6RBeWGzBsU-ArOPzaxmBy5F4_W5I8KTaV0n4S2qHh5LvefiYPArmkR1Ow33vnJPil0iht08f7lxW6SiXI/s1600/babies%2526books1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZC7TbzZsL903MTMG9LMrTTYJ_dTM95yC4fSE6mZCfncj3q8hxRTsw7cWyUS6RBeWGzBsU-ArOPzaxmBy5F4_W5I8KTaV0n4S2qHh5LvefiYPArmkR1Ow33vnJPil0iht08f7lxW6SiXI/s200/babies%2526books1.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">We are also doing our babies and book drive. Join us now and during the holiday season by collecting new or gently used books for families in the NICUs. We are looking forward to the <a href="http://www.mnparalegals.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=89615&orgId=mpa">Minnesota Paralegal Association</a> and their Fall Gathering on November 17th. We will have a table, will be collecting books and talking about Ella's Halo at this event and are super excited. So remember to grab some books when you are out shopping this holiday season. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kare11.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="27px" id="gtv_footer_logo" src="http://www.kare11.com/graphics/footer/logo.gif" width="200px" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">We are also looking for supporters to email KARE 11 at <a href="mailto:share@kare11.com">share@kare11.com</a> to nominate Ella's Halo. <a href="http://www.kare11.com/dontmiss/945185/387/Join-in-the-celebration-of-11-11-11-with-KARE-11">KARE 11</a> is celebrating 11/11/11 by recognizing local non-profits that give back to our community. Simply write a paragraph (no more than 111 words) telling them about your favorite local non-profit (Ella's Halo of course) and the difference they make for the community. Please submit these by November 9th at 8:00 am (tomorrow morning). Twenty-two entries will be randomly selected and announced on 11-11-11. So please send an email for Ella's Halo!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQtUnK8TDsOKQ9ODBbeKuVTSdoEGNa2fUERmtGJIygiDypu3yb_PhIcHShQPkfb8yQtkewu0lSSeAgr4Cyv22eT-XN8DiD-I9yHcD0ZHGITN8olQ_JTue7ozduh0hb34PXWSn5HcaLLP4/s1600/helpinghour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="75px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQtUnK8TDsOKQ9ODBbeKuVTSdoEGNa2fUERmtGJIygiDypu3yb_PhIcHShQPkfb8yQtkewu0lSSeAgr4Cyv22eT-XN8DiD-I9yHcD0ZHGITN8olQ_JTue7ozduh0hb34PXWSn5HcaLLP4/s200/helpinghour.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><br />
We are excited to host a volunteer event for Ella's Halo. We are hosting a welcome bag making party which will all then be donated to area NICUs. It will be a good way to get our volunteers together, enjoy some appetizers and cocktails, and help give back to our community. Details about our first volunteer <em>Helping Hour</em> will be coming out later this month. So check back soon!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/images/PAM2010GifStatics/PAD2010300x250static.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166px" src="http://www.marchofdimes.com/images/PAM2010GifStatics/PAD2010300x250static.gif" width="200px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">And finally, did you know the November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Premature birth is something that can happen to anyone! Did you know that premature birth is the leading cause of newborn deaths world wide and that prematurity has risen by 30% since 1981. It is a cause for concern and November is a month where we can bring awareness to these issues. The <a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/">March of Dimes</a> provides so much information and statistics on premature babies. <span class="fsm">And November 17 is World Prematurity Day when we all come together and focus on the issues of premature births. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span class="fsm">Check out next week when I pay tribute to Prematurity Awareness Month in my Tuesday Top Ten blog post. </span><br />
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November is already off to a fun month. So much to look forward to, great ways and ideas of giving back this holiday season, and we can't forget Thanksgiving and all that we are thankful for. </div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-29509509025014262672011-11-03T16:38:00.004-05:002011-11-03T16:50:13.127-05:00Refreshing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rushphilanthropic.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/pepsi-refresh-grant-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204px" src="http://www.rushphilanthropic.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/pepsi-refresh-grant-logo.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">We are so excited to be up for the Pepsi Refresh Project $10K Grant. It would be so amazing to win this grant so that we can continue to support babies and families in the NICU. Just think $10,000 would help us support 3 NICUs in the Twin Cities for 2 years! We would be helping so many families by providing over 1,000 bags. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is sooooooo simple and only takes just a few seconds in your day to vote. There are two ways to vote. Online or Text (or both)!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><strong>3 Steps to Voting Online:</strong></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Follow this link: <a href="http://www.refresheverything.com/ellashalo">http://www.refresheverything.com/ellashalo</a><br />
2. Login or sign up (to sign up it just takes a minute). You can even login with your Facebook account. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. VOTE and make sure to come back everyday after and continue voting. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><u>2 Steps to Text Vote:</u></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Grab your phone and text Pepsi at the number 73774 </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Put 109357 into your message and text again the next day</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can vote everyday! So go and V<strong>OTE</strong>! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now that you voted, help us spread the word too. It only takes a minute to pass along.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><strong>Here are some helpful tips:</strong></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Send an email to your friends and tell them to vote at <a href="http://www.refresheverything.com/ellashalo">http://www.refresheverything.com/ellashalo</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Link up to our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=288548681167493">event on Facebook</a> and share with your online friends</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> If we get enough votes from our supporters to stay in the top 15 projects in our category we will get a $10,000 grant!! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What perfect time to be up for this Pepsi Refresh Grant. You have the entire month of November to vote and November just happens to be Prematurity Awareness Month. So go on and keep voting so we can keep helping little preemies!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.waterfrontmission.org/files/0000/0885/pepsi-refresh-project-logo_normal.jpg?1288188738" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.waterfrontmission.org/files/0000/0885/pepsi-refresh-project-logo_normal.jpg?1288188738" /></a></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-28114082239182044732011-11-01T10:19:00.000-05:002011-11-01T10:19:52.777-05:00November Feature Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSCzRFPp2LM1mz1YZAgg60SeZZ0UJTNrmhtTR9xoOAqdo8UWJg-ty24WmHamRQalCioRdnKJo5-z1kQNfAn0YqpQfeIgKWCYnuKuRoqXJRDBkFhLtjxrF-KIT_5l0BaWelFE7O15vipp3/s1600/FeatureFamily2%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSCzRFPp2LM1mz1YZAgg60SeZZ0UJTNrmhtTR9xoOAqdo8UWJg-ty24WmHamRQalCioRdnKJo5-z1kQNfAn0YqpQfeIgKWCYnuKuRoqXJRDBkFhLtjxrF-KIT_5l0BaWelFE7O15vipp3/s400/FeatureFamily2%255B1%255D.gif" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">At the beginning of each month Ella's Halo will have a NICU family tell their story about life in the NICU with their baby. Our hope is that by featuring different families others will have a better understanding of the difficult, roller-coaster ride many face when their baby is in the NICU. Ella's Halo created the Feature Family series, if you are interested in sharing your story, please email us at info@ellashalo.com to share your NICU story and to be a future Feature Family.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our November Feature Family are very special to us. They are friends that we didn't meet in the NICU but through our Support Group. If you have been following our blog, you know that the friendships we made in the NICU and in our Support Group are so very important to us. When we first met Molly and Zach, they did something very special, they held their very own blanket drive and donated them all to Ella's Halo. I know Molly doesn't know this, but their kind gesture is something I will always remember and that touched us. To know these two parents were wanting to help others during their first holiday without their little baby boy was just so special. Their NICU experience may have been short, but it left a huge impact on them as they continue to give back to the NICU.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<strong>Dylan Quinn</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Written by Molly Quinn</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Former NICU Mommy</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Our son Dylan was born on August 10th, 2009 at 29 weeks 1 day gestation. We were going along in our pregnancy with no problems until we were told at our 20 week ultrasound that he was sick with what is called Fetal Hydrops, we were shocked. Hydrops causes a baby to develop at a poor rate due to fluid filling the body in two or more cavities. The fluid is a result of and underlying problem, we never found out what this was. My husband Zach and I were heartbroken. Nobody really thinks something like this will ever happen to them.</em> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><em></em> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Upon finding out that Dylan was sick they told us our chances of him surviving this was somewhere around less than 5%. The following weeks were filled with countless doctors visits and a lot of waiting. We were waiting to feel because we did not know what the outcome would be. Our doctors thought that our little boys heart would stop by 22 weeks because there was so much fluid throughout his entire body and at times I was essentially waiting for that to happen. At 22 weeks his heart was beating and he was still strong. Over the weeks he started to move more and grow a lot. We of course were so in love with this baby and thought "we are going to make it!“. At about 27 weeks they started to become very concerned with my health and feared I was developing mirror syndrome which would cause me to mirror Dylan’s’ fluid, and also be at risk for preeclampsia. At 28 weeks I had developed polyhydramnios, too much amniotic fluid, and they decided to do steroid shots to try and mature his lungs. They also offered to do a thoracentesis. This is a procedure where they use a needle draw to remove fluid from the baby’s lungs. We decided it was our best option to help save Dylan who had plural effusions (fluid in both chest cavities), ascites (fluid in the tummy), and skin edema (fluid under the skin). He was a very severe case. The main concern of Dylan’s survival was lung development due to the fluid preventing this from happening, so we scheduled the procedure to be done.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>As we were getting closer to a possible delivery we went to meet with our neonatologist at the University of Minnesota Riverside NICU on the morning of August 10th. We really wanted to plan and be ready for Dylan’s visit to the NICU after he was born. Everything went great, we were even shown a hydrop baby in the NICU that was doing really well. Our doctor explained all of the machines and what they did, he also went over detailed information on what exactly would happen as soon as our baby was born. We left feeling happy and full of hope because of the staff making us feel so welcome and we knew they would love and care for our son when he arrived. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Immediately following our meeting we were scheduled for the thoracentesis. The doctors were able to drain almost all of the fluid off of Dylan's left side of his lung and a liter and 1/2 of amniotic fluid from me. It was quite painful and I had been contracting through the entire procedure. We were done and happy, they actually said let's do the other lung but take a break first. We were put in a recovery room to monitor his heart and his movements and I felt so great, I kept thinking that we were on the road to taking our boy home. Then my water broke, my heart broke, I knew this was not good.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>They delivered Dylan by Cesarean at 4:58 pm. I was able to see his perfect face and kiss him before I handed him over to the NICU team. Dylan was in the NICU for almost an hour as they worked on him. The doctor called my husband Zach down to show him x-rays of Dylan's chest and show him all of his vitals on the machines, he was very sick. Dylan was trying so hard, yet his oxygen levels had now affected his health even more, and Zach and I knew it was time to let him go. I will never forget the sea of sad faces that received me as I was wheeled in. They handed Dylan to me and he was at peace, he took his last few breaths in my arms. He was there with Zach and I as we told him we loved him and kissed him.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Not all of the NICU stories end how the parents and staff would like them to. Although we only spent a short time in the NICU with our son, it is the only time we ever had with him. The doctors and nurses made sure it was something special, and what happened in the short time we had with Dylan was somewhat magical. We were able to baptize our perfect little angel and spend almost 3 hours with him after he went to heaven. We were able to have the time to stare at him and kiss him like any parent would. Our amazing nurse Michelle took many pictures and also allowed Zach to give him a bath and change his diaper. Michelle brought us many different outfits, allowed us to choose our favorite one, and dress him. These are the moments that every first time parent dreams of, and she knew exactly what we needed. She will never be forgotten, she holds such a special place in our hearts.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>We just celebrated Dylan’s 2nd angel birthday. For the past two years we have gone to the NICU on this day. We love to bring the staff flowers and say hello. We have also chosen to donate books, clothes, and other items that will allow the current NICU families and their babies to feel more at home. We continually want to let the staff know how much they impacted our lives. As parents that had only hours with our son, we feel lucky to say it was such a positive and memorable experience. This is because of what these nurses and doctors do each and every single day. The true sincerity we felt from each person that day will never be forgotten, and we thank them for that.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Dylan touched so many people that day and throughout his journey, as his parents, we hope he is never forgotten. Our wish is that his story can inspire even a small amount of greatness in anyone reading it. He was a fighter and has changed our lives for the better. My husband and I look forward to telling his little brother Brody his story someday.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Thank you to the staff at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. A special thank you to Ella's Halo for all that you do, we are lucky to know you Taryn and Ryan. And lastly, thank you for allowing us to share our son Dylan’s story. </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>~ Molly Quinn (Dylan and Brody’s mommy)</em></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-57925089797249654362011-10-28T12:20:00.000-05:002011-10-28T12:20:34.784-05:00Babies and Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKvW4CCskXu6hGejXRIhyphenhyphentdduvp4O3J6l6ubPuOsQ6aHUFMLKVP9h7RA-8aYsZPNPHesD6szQaQUXJTJuqOMji1bB3HFGJ9aL_S22ecA6CJLCObepvPjWU7CYdr7t4XyXxbNnWmGyE1Ok/s1600/babies%2526books1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173px" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKvW4CCskXu6hGejXRIhyphenhyphentdduvp4O3J6l6ubPuOsQ6aHUFMLKVP9h7RA-8aYsZPNPHesD6szQaQUXJTJuqOMji1bB3HFGJ9aL_S22ecA6CJLCObepvPjWU7CYdr7t4XyXxbNnWmGyE1Ok/s320/babies%2526books1.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Join us this holiday season as Ella's Halo hosts our first annual book drive. We are very excited about setting up a book drive to help NICUs here in the Twin Cities. </div><br />
<strong>WHY BOOKS:</strong><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Here are a few benefits you may not have known about why it is so important to read to babies, especially babies in the NICU!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><ol><li><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading aloud to your baby is a wonderful shared activity you can continue for years to come — and it's an important form of stimulation and communication. It usually is something that is continued once the baby gets to come home.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">When reading, babies hear different emotions and expressive sounds which helps to foster social and emotional development even at a young age.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">And most important it helps to create a bond between baby and parent. Babies love their parents closeness and voice while parents get to bond with their bundle of joy. The <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/12/14/reading-to-kids-cant-start-too-early-study-suggests/">Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics</a> did a study on reading to babies in the NICU. They found that 70% of parents that read to their babies in the NICU felt a closer bond with their preemie.</div></li>
</ol>***And for many other reasons check out this <a href="http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/reading_babies.html">site</a> to learn about the benefits of reading to babies.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not only are we are we accepting new or gently used children's books but are also accepting adult books as well. We spent many hours sitting next to Ella's bedside. Often times when I wasn't taking to the nurses, listening to lullabies with Ella, or telling her stories and reading her books, I was sitting in the chair and reading about NICU life and preemies myself. Sometimes even reading romance novels to help take my mind off being in the hospital. So check your bookshelves to see if you have books that you have read and would like to donate to parents of the NICU too. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><strong>HOW TO HELP: </strong><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Book drives can be something you start on your own or by simply going through your bookshelf. Here are some helpful tips for helping you get started in collected new or gently used books. </div><br />
<ol><li><div style="text-align: justify;">During your holiday party this year, instead of doing an ornament exchanges or having guests bring an appetizer to share, have them bring a book they could donate. What a fun way for people to get together around the holiday season, spending time with family and friends, and donating a book that could be read to a baby who has to spend Christmas in the NICU this year.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Set up a box at work and have your co-workers join in on the fun. Getting others involved and organizing your own mini book drive is half the fun of giving back. Check with your employer and start collecting books this holiday season.</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Check with organizations your kids are involved in. Mother's Day Out programs, after school programs and Boy and Girl Scouts are always looking for service projects to get kids involved. See what <a href="http://ellashalo.blogspot.com/2011/08/kids-company.html">Kid's Company</a> did this summer at their book and blanket drive for Ella's Halo.</div></li>
</ol><strong>WHERE TO DONATE:</strong><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">It is easy to donate! Just contact us by email at <a href="mailto:info@ellashalo.com">info@ellashalo.com</a> and we will arrange for you to ship or for pick up of the books you donated. Also we would love to hear your stories about how you are organizing your book drive to support Ella's Halo! </div><br />
<strong>WHEN TO START:</strong><br />
<strong> </strong><div style="text-align: justify;">Right now! We are hoping to donate all of the books before December 25th to area NICUs. So start collecting today! </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Check out <a href="http://www.mnparalegals.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=89615&orgId=mpa">Minnesota Paralegal Association</a> and see how they are helping Ella's Halo with their very own book drive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>Babies and Books- Ella's Halo book drive! Help us, help babies this holiday season.</em></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-31849142770129476332011-10-19T10:49:00.000-05:002011-10-19T10:49:47.505-05:00Twin Cities Birth and Baby Expo<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Ella's Halo had the opportunity to have a booth at the Twin Cities Birth and Baby Expo. It was such a fun day. There was so much excitement and energy at the event. It was hard not to catch the baby fever!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4J3ZpK_oUJ7eOr0dpcdSD67aGPFJ_ThEJamCR7Ss7vpNXN5g-mDWdLQhcKUzz05Wt5_J3lvU3v55qQ620EkM7xdBSgKJX0PmY_okz8QAlUYUUpBTWrH1J4ypVYQLZEFClL9pQb0r9TF6o/s1600/300666_10150347426748956_112214188955_7819593_1397352973_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4J3ZpK_oUJ7eOr0dpcdSD67aGPFJ_ThEJamCR7Ss7vpNXN5g-mDWdLQhcKUzz05Wt5_J3lvU3v55qQ620EkM7xdBSgKJX0PmY_okz8QAlUYUUpBTWrH1J4ypVYQLZEFClL9pQb0r9TF6o/s320/300666_10150347426748956_112214188955_7819593_1397352973_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Expo was started in 2009 with a mission to connect local families with empowering, multicultural resources and education that promotes healthy birth and parenting and to celebrate the transformative experience of becoming parents. Check out their website to learn more <a href="http://www.twincitiesbirthandbaby.com/about.html">here.</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">There were local businesses and organization that all offer products and services for families. There were over 75 exhibitors at the event and it was so fun to meet other organizations that are helping within our community.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The highlight for me, was having the chance to meet families who had spent time in the NICU...even meeting some families who had received one of our Ella's Halo Welcome Bags! I got to meet this sweet family below and their twins. They received one or our welcome bags during their NICU stay. To see their faces and know that we are helping families makes all of the hard work so worth it. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z5DvtleisCH7Lq3TWzZga8uXjhbBJzCWWa1ZCDLKJLBirkkG6czqDmJx9nuH8dnusQd-mKkPF23EJrE26G3xxV9aQkfqQd27bSTZ3lxDCsSgHkpyUKPZcxm6SeuHsiMxAhJuNKSjQc9x/s1600/315601_10150347425618956_112214188955_7819576_951548625_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z5DvtleisCH7Lq3TWzZga8uXjhbBJzCWWa1ZCDLKJLBirkkG6czqDmJx9nuH8dnusQd-mKkPF23EJrE26G3xxV9aQkfqQd27bSTZ3lxDCsSgHkpyUKPZcxm6SeuHsiMxAhJuNKSjQc9x/s320/315601_10150347425618956_112214188955_7819576_951548625_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">I met families who had a preemie in the NICU years ago and who gave me a hug to thank me for having our services now valuable to families. Having them tell us their story and explain about items they had wished they had while in the NICU helped to confirm that we providing things most needed to NICU families.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">The Twin Cities Birth and Baby Expo was just what my soul needed to keep doing what we are doing. It was what I needed so that I could find hope and happiness in future pregnancies again. It was just seeing families spending the day learning about birth, parenting, families, and children that makes doing Ella's Halo all worth it. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;">We can't wait for next year!</div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798492093217933255.post-42399735796831975042011-10-15T07:00:00.001-05:002011-10-15T07:00:09.883-05:00October 15thDon't forget to light a candle for one hour at 7PM (all time zones) for the Oct. 15th International Wave of Light. Remembering all little ones who left us too soon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbChin39peVwdtZgJ7xK22AchEEHjpxqn-uEp7-NswXZaJQY4UDMt1X6XdL1ri662-t3kfzVc-GyH24BotjwzirNXzdyRBrIT863d9PqdLVu-IZduhMtC2bT9M45h5_31JJ8U_5wfvybbU/s1600/Candle%252520flame%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbChin39peVwdtZgJ7xK22AchEEHjpxqn-uEp7-NswXZaJQY4UDMt1X6XdL1ri662-t3kfzVc-GyH24BotjwzirNXzdyRBrIT863d9PqdLVu-IZduhMtC2bT9M45h5_31JJ8U_5wfvybbU/s320/Candle%252520flame%255B1%255D.jpg" width="212px" /></a></div>Helping All Little Oneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06725842063927826295noreply@blogger.com0