Ben's first days....

Mommy adoring Ben...I've dreamt of having a picture of
holding a newborn in a hospital bed...it's finally come true!

Showing Ben off for the camera

Peace out, peeps! Dressed and ready to go home!

Heading for the car with Mommy

Day 1 at home with big sister...in our coordinating outfits

One week old...in my "just born" onesie...monthly pictures to follow!

Rachael enjoying Nana's baked ziti...it was so good, it had to go in my hair.

Taking a post-bath nap in Daddy's arms

Well, we are settled in at home with Mr. Ben...otherwise known as "little buddy", "big guy", "Benjamin Button", and "little brother", "Mr. Man". Overall, I'd say this first week (or ten days) has gone really well. Ben is pretty laid-back and other than having his nights and days mixed up, we're enjoying cuddling with him every chance we get. Rachael is adjusting...the hardest part is that I can't lift her and she can't figure out why. Thank goodness Mike has been off this week and we've been able to have one-on-one time with Ben during the day and navigate our four-some at night.
I have to say....I have had many moments of being awe-struck this week...especially when I look at Mike holding Rachael while I hold Ben and think that I just need to pinch myself. How could this dream have come true? How could 3 years of struggles have led us to this? When will the other shoe drop? (The internal pessimist never quite goes away!)
I also thought I'd have to "make room" in my heart for Ben...you know, by taking away something else for him to fit in. NOT TRUE! My heart expanded and it's like he's always been there and I love him as much as I love his big sister, each for who and what they are.
Ben, sweetheart, we are so glad you are here and healthy.

Welcome Benjamin Michael Concini

On Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 9:22am, Benjamin Michael made his debut!
He weighed in at 6lbs, 12 ounces and measured 19 1/2 inches in length.
He cried a lot in the OR -- letting us know that he was not pleased to be yanked from the dark, warm womb to the bright and cold operating room!
Since then, he's been a pretty sweet little love....only fussing when he's hungry or cold.
He nursed at 90 minutes after birth and seemed to know exactly what to do. Now, my milk supply needs to come in to feed this hungry boy.

As for how I'm doing....I did have a reaction to the Pitocin in the OR, getting flushed, hypertensive and very dizzy. So, after he was delivered, Daddy got almost an hour to hold and cuddle our new son while I just tried to keep my head about me. Luckily, once in recovery, the dizziness subsided and we were able to nurse and cuddle. I'm having a fair amount of pain from the surgery, but, nothing that I can't handle. :)

We are so thankful to God for this miraculous addition to our family and can't wait for everyone to meet him.
We are also thankful to our family and friends for their prayers and love during the pregnancy and delivery. Nana has been here taking care of big sister Rachael, who upon meeting her brother today did leave a scratch on his forehead and try to take his cap off his head. Sibling rivalry already??

Here are some pictures from his first two days:

looks like one of his sister's first pictures!

Dr. Laskey and Dr. Roeder -- Duke's finest got to do the honors in the OR!

Healthy lungs...holding Daddy's finger

Is that my brother under there?

Family of four!

I'm not just a big sister, I'm "SO BIG". :)

Nursery and Bump

Baby bump at 38 weeks!

Close-up of crib

Full view of crib

Changing table, mirror, rug

Coming Home Outfit

View from door

Fun with family and friends...

Enough with all of the long, rambling posts. Time for the pictures to speak (almost) for themselves. January and February: Fun with family and friends! I didn't even realize until I downloaded the camera, that we're so lucky to have spent many weekends (in ADDITION to R's birthday weekend) with family and friends throughout January and February! The trend continues in to March...those pictures will come later.

Visit from Great-Aunt Ann Marie, Cousin Allyson and baby Aidan!

Baby Aidan is so cute!

Let me show you how this works, baby!

What's he smiling for? Oh! Maybe it's because I'm 13 months old! 

She's smiling, too! I've got these two right where I want them! Happy Valentine's day,  also!

Mom went to the kitchen and look where I ended up?

A belated birthday celebration with the Helm's! I love me some Samantha!

Samantha showin' me how to party right!

A sunny weekend on Longbridge...Evan and I attract the neighbor kids!

You'll find me in my car any chance I can get!

Lovin' the wagon, too!

Uncle Dougie came to visit. We BOTH know where our noses are!

Awww, Uncle Dougie. I love you. Even if my hair is full of static. :)

Queen of the pillows!

Uncle Dougie, you're sooooo funny!

From a PPROM survivor

As I lay in a hospital bed for 62 days, praying and hoping that my baby would survive in my womb without adequate levels of amniotic fluid, due to premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) at 23 weeks and 1 day pregnant, I was barely able to grasp the magnitude of the situation for her health. While we were extremely fortunate that Rachael survived (and is now thriving), there are many families who face great loss because of PPROM. For a woman who goes through a pregnancy marked with PPROM, the prospect of another pregnancy is freightening, as PPROM does recur.
After the initial shock of our current pregnancy subsided, the real questions began: what if IT (PPROM) happens again? What if we lose this baby? What if we aren't so fortunate the second time around? (Fortunate, to deliver  3lb, 6oz baby who spent 51 days in a NICU).
I was thankful to my medical team at Duke to agree that the use of P17 (a weekly injection, taken in weeks 16-26 of pregnancy) which has been shown to reduce the recurrence of PPROM by 30% was a good treatment option for me. I was given a script and paid $90 for the entire 10 weeks of the medication.

Well, now the production of this medication (which was compounded in individual pharmacies) has now been approved through the FDA to one drug maker, who is charging obscene amounts of money for this treatment. See the link below for more details as well as the steps below that you can take to stand up against this process which will keep MANY (most) families from having access to this vital drug for pregnancy survival.

The logic doesn't work out -- if PPROM prone women do NOT get this drug, the alternative is a marked increase in NICU stays. Rachael's 51 day stay was billed to our insurance at almost $500,000  --- so, taking AWAY a drug that would cost the patient $90-100 and insure the longevity of her pregnancy is ABSURD!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41994697/

First, contact KV Pharmaceutical and voice your displeasure:

KV Pharmaceuticals Contact Information: investorrelations@kvpharmaceutical.com
Second, notify your local media outlets about this issue.
Third, write or email your congressman and senator:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Fourth, contact the FDA and find out why they elected to give KV exclusivity for this product. Competition will bring down the price dramatically.
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/default.htm
Fifth, write to the president:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Sixth, contact your state Medicaid offices and your insurance carriers. Get them involved
Seventh, get as many of your friends, family members, co-workers, etc. as possible to do the above.
Eighth, feel free to cut/paste/email the above to as many contacts as you can.

Coming Home Day -- 1 year later

One year ago today, we brought Rachael home from the hospital! We closed the chapter on my 65 day stay and her 51 day stay at Duke University Hospital. We began the chapter of living with her each day...every day...all. day. long. She was ours. No more nurses. No more beeping monitors. No more gowns or scrubbing in. No more phone calls to check-in during the 10 hours between visits. I remember staring at her in the car seat in our car and praising God that we were bringing home a healthy little girl. The sigh of relief we breathed as we settled in to our life in our home was huge. A weight had been lifted.

She is now thriving and acting every bit (and then some) of her 13.5 months! She weighed 5lbs, 10oz and 18 inches when we brought her home. She's now 18lbs, 6oz and 29 inches long. According to her developmental check-up, she's demonstrating the cognitive/language/problem solving skills of a 15 month old and her gross and fine motor skills are right on for 11.5-12 months -so on track with her "adjusted" age. Most importantly, to me, the psychologist reported that Rachael was flexible and if an activity was too challenging for her, she would just do what she knew how to do with what was available, rather than getting frustrated and giving up. She made it through the 60 minute evaluation without fussing, but, as soon as it was over, she was tired and hungry, for sure!

Rachael....you have changed our lives forever. It is an honor and a priviledge to be your Mommy and I hope that you'll learn as much from me as I have from you. I love you with my whole heart, little girl!

Full Term!

From BabyCenter.com:
Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. 


This is a significant milestone for the mom (and dad) of a preemie! After watching our little girl struggle with basic life functions, like breathing and maintaining her heart rate, the idea that the little baby boy growing inside me *might* not have to struggle with these things is overwhelming. enormous. downright miraculous! I say *might* because I know well enough that not every "full term" baby is strong enough, but, I can keep saying my prayers that he will be and that we'll go to the hospital sometime between now and March 23 and deliver a baby and bring him home a few days later. 
This will mean, we'll have had a baby in all 4 nurseries at Duke -- the NICU, the Transitional Care Nursery (where R spent her last week in the hospital), the Special Care Nursery (where she spent 24 hours) and baby brother will hopefully go to the full-term nursery.
I'm hoping he's just packing on the pounds and enjoying his last little bit in the land of easy feeding and sleeping! 


We can't wait to meet you, little man! To cuddle you and love you and watch you grow every day of your life.

Houston: We have first steps!

That's right...at 11.5 months (adjusted age), 13.5 months (calendar age), we witnessed the first FIVE steps for Rachael. She stood up from a sitting position, balanced herself and took 5 steps towards Daddy while we both looked on. She's been taking 1-2 steps for the last week or so, if we get her up to her feet. It was amazing to see this happen right before our eyes.
Pictures/video to come....this momma is not so good at routinely downloading the camera.
She's getting to be a big girl...we're so excited to watch her grow.

Customer Service...can I get some good service, please?

OK...I'm interrupting my normal flow of chattering about the craziness in our house, to something that gets under my skin like nothing else can: POOR customer service.
I work in a customer-facing job; I KNOW how difficult the general public can be. For goodness sake, I work with 18-22 year olds...they can sometimes be worse than the general public. (Said with love, of course. :) )
Today....JUST today....within the span of less than two hours, we encountered 2 instances poor customer service.
We took Rachael for some new kicks...some big girl shoes for walking. Well, we travel 20 minutes to the closest Stride Rite store. As we arrive at the store, the two families who were already there were leaving. So, we're on our own in the store -- not a salesperson in sight.
I look around for the sign-in sheet. I do see a clipboard, but, it's labeled "district newsletter" -- well, not going to sign up for that, thanks.
So, we approach the shoe display and we're looking at the shoes trying to figure out which pair we like. Approximately 5 minutes had lapsed between our entry to the store and this point of looking at shoes on our own.
Well, just as the two - YES- two associates emerge from the back, another family is walking in the door. BOTH associates make a beeline for this family. NEITHER one acknowledges us, at all. WHAT?????? So, Mike gets assertive with the one sales lady and asks her to come help us....being that we were there first. When she approaches, I mention that I didn't see a clipboard for sign-in. She points to the one labeled, "district newsletter" and says, oh, it's right over there. I make sure to point out that it is not well marked.
Then, the woman spends the rest of our 10 minute visit with her making us feel like we're inconveniencing her. Ummmm....we're paying customers. We're the reason you have a job, lady!
So....we do, in fact, get shoes and go on our way.
I brush it off and move on.
Then, we pick up a few more things and get to dinner. We go inside the restaurant and ask for a table for two adults and a highchair. 1) She doesn't ask if we need a kids menu....OK...I blow this off....Rachael is little and might not look like she can eat a plate of chicken tenders! :) 2) We get to the table and the hostess leaves the highchair in the middle of the aisle and walks off, after tossing our menus on the table. She doesn't even wait for us to be seated or mention that she hopes we'll enjoy our meal.
Luckily, it wasn't very crowded at the time, so, we could rearrange the furniture to suit our needs, but, geesh....could you help a customer out?
I don't know folks. I worked in the restaurant biz for 5.5 years...perhaps that has made me a stickler for customer service, but, what about simple human decency??? What about doing more than is required? Going "above and beyond the call of duty"? This seems to be lost in the service industry landscape these days and nothing is more aggravating to me.
Thanks for letting me vent. I hope to teach my children to give better service than they will likely receive.

Transition...

I know everyone faces transition in life....from one thing to another and growing and changing is what keeps life interesting, isn't it?
Well, Rachael is going to transition this week...from the infant room at daycare to the toddler room. This may not sound like a big deal, but, believe me it is! She'll be fine....I, on the other hand, am nervous for her!
What does this transition mean for her?
~ no more bottles at school...period. All milk (yes, I said MILK -- not formula) will come from a sippy cup. We tested this out this past week and she did fine, but, is waking up overnight again for a bottle because she's not quite getting enough fluid during the day.
~ one nap -- and it's on a cot -- no more crib! She's typically taking only one nap a day, these days, but, it's still in a crib. I can't wait to see how she does with the cot.
~ almost everyone in the new class is walking....Rachael is close, but, still working on walking while holding hands or on to the furniture.
~ no more Miss Nicole and Miss Jessica. She's really attached to these two teachers, especially Miss Nicole (pictured below in her birthday pictures). We're hopeful that she'll like Ms. Linda and Ms. Janis just as much.

We'll keep you up-to-date on how it goes....I bet she'll do better than I will!
Vocabulary update:
shoes, fish, uh-oh, Lacey (sounds more like shay-she), hi, "hey", and apparently at school she was looking around from her crib saying "cole" -- perhaps for Miss Nicole!