RAISING JOEY

Buddy Walk 2007!

Yesterday was our Buddy Walk here in CT and it was the perfect day! Of course, I wasn’t able to walk the actual walk but I made it there!!! Team Joey ended up raising over $1400 and was almost 40 people strong!! I want to thank everyone who donated and also a HUGE thanks to all of our friends and family who were able to join us yesterday!!

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Leah’s birth story

It all started on the September 18. Most of  you know how miserable I was getting and how ready I was to have Leah. Needless to say I was desperate enough to try castor oil to induce my labor, well… it worked! I took my oh so lovely mixture of castor oil and orange juice at 4:30pm and by 9:00pm I was having contractions.

I labored at home till around midnight when I decided it was time to call my OB, so we called my mother in law to come over to watch Joey and we headed off to the hospital. The OB resident was quick to check me and to my surprise, I was 4cm dilated!! I apparently picked the busiest night of the year to have a baby, every single labor and delivery room was full when I got there. So I had to wait in triage for a L&D room to open up for over an hour which meant I also had to wait for my epidural. Thankfully they got me a room and my epidural as quickly as they could.

3:00am still 4cm & Leah hadn’t dropped… 6:00am still 4cm & Leah hadn’t dropped so the doctor started me on pitocen to help my labor along… 9:00am STILL THE SAME!

It was then that my doctor told me that if my dilation didnt’ change & Leah didn’t drop any by noon that I would be having a C-section. Needless to say, they made my pitocen IV as strong as they could and even then, NO CHANGE!

At 12:30 I went in for a C-section. I was so scared, having a C-section was my biggest fear! I was carted off to the OR while Patrick got suited up in his OR gear. It wasn’t as bad as I expected although they had to up my numbing meds a couple of times since everytime they did the pinching test to see if I could feel them, I could.

It took 5 minutes for Leah to be delievered and 45 minutes for me to be sewn back up. Leah Rose was born at 1:08pm and weighed in at 7lbs, 8oz and was 20 inches long. Then I went off to recovery and waited for a room to open up (since I picked the busiest day to have Leah!).

I actually got the LAST single room available at the hospital in the L&D unit! I was sooooo grateful that I didn’t have to share a room! My nursing staff was awesome and took such good care of me and Leah.

Leah took to breastfeeding right away, although it took me a while to catch on to proper holding and other techniques to help us out. Joey didn’t breastfeed so I had no clue what I was doing!

I stayed in the hospital for 4 days. The morning I was discharged from the hospital, a OB resident came in at 5:00am to take out my staples (fun, fun)! 5AM!! Then Leah’s pediatrician came in for a final check on her and my OB came and checked on me. It was then I found out that I probably can’t have children “the regular way” unless they’re tiny like Joey was (5lbs, 9oz). Apparently even Joey’s size is why I pushed for 3 hours and then hemmoraged after I had him! My pelvis is too small to babies to pass through, which breaks my heart.  But if it takes a C-section to have another baby, then so be it. I just need to take a couple years off from being pregnant, lol!!

Wordless Wednesday

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Local benefit

Any of you here in Connecticut, please check this out especially if you’re in the Stamford area. A young man’s family that belongs to the CDSC needs help financially due to the unfortunate remission of their son, CJ’s leukemia. There is going to be a benefit at Murphy’s Townhouse Cafe in Stamford on October 13 from 3-6:00. Also, please pray for CJ to make a full recovery.

Quick update

Hello all! I just wanted to give you guys a quick update. Things are going great, still very sore from the c-section but it feels a little better everyday.

Leah has taken to breast feeding very well. Latches on like a pro! I think my milk is starting to finally come in so we’ll see how the next couple days go as I’m starting to get sore around that area.

Joey is adjusting to Leah pretty well. He ignores her most of the time until she starts crying then he just laughs at her. 

Last night was very rough. Leah was up most the night crying with an upset tummy. She was a very unhappy little girl! Speaking of the little devil, she just woke up, time to go feed her!

We’re home!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to thank everyone for all the wonderful comments while I was gone. We just got home from the hospital a little bit ago. I’m still very sore but feeling better everyday. I will post Leah’s birth story in the next week or so and I will try to update as often as I can.

Leah is doing very well and is such a beauty!! More of an update later! Until then, here’s some pictures!!

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Update!

Hey everyone!  This is Stephanie again.   My husband and I are up in Connecticut for the weekend and got to spend some time with Jessica and Patrick at the hospital yesterday and Jess asked me to let you all know how she is doing.

Jess is doing well, her incision is still hurting but generally, she is feeling good.  She got up and moved around a little while we were there.  Leah was also doing great.  She is absolutely adorable.  She wasn’t awake too much but I did see her eyes open a couple of times.  She also liked to move around a lot, it seemed like every movement was a yawn and/or a stretch, lol!

Jessica will be released from the hospital sometime tomorrow.  You all can expect an update and pictures then!!!

Announcing Miss Leah Rose!

Leah Is Coming!!

Patrick just called me and the doctors have decided do to a c-section.  Leah hasn’t moved or dropped at all in the past couple of hours, so they felt a c-section was the way to go.

 Jess is being taken into surgery right now and I should hear more in about an hour and a half.

 Please pray for Jess and Leah as they go through this surgery.

Another Leah Update!

Hey guys, Stephanie again!

 I just talked to Jessica about 45 minutes ago.  Around 4:00 or 5:00 this morning, Jessica got the epideral and unfortunately, since then, has only progressed from 4 cm to 6 cm.  The doctor has checked Leah, and they are now estimating her to be 8 pounds plus.

They started her on pitocin and the doctor decided that if Jessica hasn’t progressed by noon, they are going to go ahead and do a c-section.

 Please keep Jessica and baby Leah in your thoughts and prayers and hope that she progresses and will be able to deliver Leah naturally!  Again, I will update as I know more.

Leah Update

Hello everyone!  This is Stephanie, Jessica’s sister-in-law.  I’m here to give you all an update on Leah.

Leah has decided that today is the day!!  I got a call around 2:00 am from Jessica letting me know that she had gone into labor had just been admitted to the hospital.  At that time she was 4 centimeters dialated.

 I haven’t heard from them since, but I will be posting again as I hear more information.

Sneak peak!!!

I went in today for my weekly checkup with my OB, still dialated at 1cm and 50% effaced. The doctor I saw today felt my tummy and was a little concerned thinking that Leah might be a bit on the larger side so I went for an ultrasound while I was there. She’s around 7lbs so there was no need for concern but the ultrasound tech was nice enough to do a quick 3D ultrasound of her face. She has my hubby’s nose!!

Mr. Chatter Box

Someone was in a very happy talkative mood this morning! And I actually had my camera next to me to catch it on video!

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Quick update

Not much to update on today… still pregnant. No more contractions 5 minutes apart but I have been having more uncomfortable ones the past couple days and more back pain. So we’ll see what happens. I did treat myself this afternoon to a pedicure so now at least I’ll have pretty feet for when I’m in the hospital, lol!

I forgot to post yesterday that it was his 18 month birthday! Can you believe my baby is already 18 months old?! It just seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital! I do have to say though that he is slowly getting better eating more solid foods. The little guy LOVES pasta! It doesn’t matter if it’s mac & cheese or spaghetti, he loves it all! We haven’t tried alfredo sauce with him yet but I’m sure he’ll like it too.

Today we recieved a couple more donations for our Buddy Walk team. We’ve raised $965!! My goal is $1200 but I’m very happy with what we’ve recieved! I’m leaving online donations for Team Joey open until Monday so if you still want to donate, you have until Monday. Thank you to everyone to has given us a donation. Every dollar you’ve given is going to such a wonderful cause and we’re proud to be part of it!

Favorite Ingredient Friday

Caramel Apple Nut Crunch 

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

1. Arrange thin apple slices on Apple Cinnamon Large Rice Cake.
2. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of fat-free caramel topping.
3. Sprinkle each Quaker Apple Cinnamon Rice Cake with 1 teaspoon of roasted chopped peanuts.

*I actually just found this on allrecipes.com when I was looking for caramel apples (I’ve been craving them) and this seems to much easier and even a bit healthier so I just had to share it with you all this week!

For more Favorite Ingredient Fridays, go visit Overwhelmed With Joy!

*Previous Favorite Ingredient Friday recipes

• Baked Meatballs (FIF Italian Edition)
• Spicy Grilled Cheese
• Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo
• Egg Salad (FIF Salad Edition)
• Strawberry Limeaide
• Taco Seasoning (FIF Healthy Eating Edition)
• Mom’s Watermelon Salad & Rocket Pops (FIF July 4th Edition)
• Deviled Eggs
• Banana Pudding Dessert
• Mom’s Marshmellow Fruit Salad (FIF Memorial Day Edition)
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Monkey Paws (FIF Breakfast Edition)
• Chili Pasta Skillet

A Lake To Challenge

A Lake To Challenge, Swimmer Karen Gaffney of Portland takes on Lake Tahoe and its wide, deep waters

By Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian Staff

Karen Gaffney expects that her parents will wake her while the nearly full moon still illuminates the high-Sierra sky. She expects that she’ll zip into a wetsuit and drive from the vacation home where she’s staying to Glenbrook, on Lake Tahoe’s Nevada shore. She expects she’ll strap swim goggles over her eyes and, with the air temperature shivering in the 30s, dive in.

Hours before dawn that morning, on or about Sept. 25, Gaffney expects she’ll slap her first stroke against the lake’s cold, glassy surface, followed by the next and the next. And so it may go for six to nine hours as the 29-year-old born with Down syndrome attempts to swim the 12 miles across the nation’s second-deepest lake, the latest in her string of remarkable open-water endeavors.

Six years ago, Gaffney made history when she became the first person with Down syndrome to swim the English Channel on a relay team.

In Lake Tahoe, she’ll be on her own.

She’ll swim the deep, high-altitude lake, Gaffney said last week after one of her rigorous daily workouts, “to prove to people that I can do it.”

Barbara Gaffney was in her 20s and healthy when she was pregnant with Karen, her and her husband, Jim’s, first child. She never took a test to see if her fetus had the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome. Until this year, doctors routinely tested only pregnant women 35 or older for the abnormality. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently began offering Down syndrome screening to pregnant women of any age.

By some estimates, 90 percent of women who learn they are carrying a fetus with Down syndrome choose abortion.

When Karen Elizabeth Gaffney was born Nov. 3, 1977, in Santa Clara, Calif., doctors warned Barbara and Jim that life would be tough.

Karen’s abnormality would cause developmental delays. She likely wouldn’t grow to full size. She might suffer vision and hearing loss, congenital heart disease, gastrointestinal and orthopedic problems, among other difficulties. Those with Down syndrome, it was thought, were incapable of graduating from high school, working or living independently.

The Gaffneys, successful professionals from large, close families, decided to push the limits of what was thought possible.

For the rest of the article, click here.

This one is a couple days old but worth posting

Wordless Wednesday

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Cookbooks

One of the moms from one of  the message boards I frequent share a cookbook that she absolutely loves that I thought I would share with you all…

The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine

I went onto amazon.com to check it out and see what other cookbooks I could find that might have some recipes for me to make for Joey and came across these…

Kid Favorites Made Healthy by Better Homes & Gardens

Quick Meals For Healthy Kids and Busy Parents by Sandra K. Nissenberg, Margaret L. Bogle, and Audrey C. Wright

Big Book of Recipes for Babies, Toddlers and Children by Bridget Wardley, Judy More

The Baby Bistro Cookbook Healthy, Delicious Cuisine for Babies, Toddlers, and You by Joohee Muromcew

Does anyone have any of these? If so do you like them? Or do you have any other good cookbooks geared towards children to share?

We will never forget…

Congrats to the FlipFlop Mamma!

I just found out  that The FlipFlop Mamma had her baby!! Congrats to J and the rest of her family!!!!

Time Travel Tuesday- First Job Experience

This week for Time Travel Tuesday we go back to our first job…

Time to share your first job experience…
What was your first job experience?
Do you remember the first paycheck, starting salary?
Do you remember your first boss, coworkers?
What was your favorite task/least favorite task?
How did that job end?

Right after I turned 16 I got my first job at a local flower nursery about a mile from my house. One of my best friends at that time worked there and he got me a job with him. I can’t remember what I got paid… at the time I thought it was so much but I know it was right around minimum wage. My boss was my friend’s uncle which was pretty cool, he usually gave me pretty easy jobs to do.

I typically worked outside with the guys watering the plants and helping customers to load their cars with the flowers, mulch, whatever they had bought. I got pretty “buff” that summer working as hard as I did! The one set back was that I also had one heck of a “farmers tan” since I was outside all day, I’m talking socks lines & all!

I always enjoyed ringing up the customers orders whenever they needed help doing that. It was much better than standing out in the hot sun

My hard working summer came to an end when the flower season started slowing down and they needed less help, unfortunately I, along with a few got laid off and my summer of working ended. The one bad thing was that I had almost 1 month until school was going to start back up with no job but thankfully I had parents who were just happy that I had found a job and worked hard for the summer.

For more Time Travel Tuesdays, go visit My Life as Annie.

Time is running out!

OK people! Time is running out for you to get your donations in for Team Joey! If you can’t donate to the CDSC’s Buddy Walk, please try to donate to the local DS organization closest to you! The donations all go for a good cause!!

So far, Team Joey has raised $415 of our $1200 goal and time is running out very quickly!

Doctor’s appointment update

I went to see my OB today for my weekly visit, I’m still 1 cm & 50% effaced. The good news is that Leah’s head has dropped all the way so hopefully that means I’ll go sooner than later! Keep your fingers crossed!

37 weeks today

(thankfully you can’t see my stretch marks in this one or else it wouldn’t be up, lol!)

Sunday Night Fun!

Cuddling With Daddy & watching the NY Giants game…

Self Portraits with Mommy!!

Cheese Joey! (check out all of the toofers!!)