Awesome Website

I think many of us new mom's all wonder if we are doing the right things developmentally for our little ones.  While reading Kelly's Korner blog recently, I ran across an old post of hers which mentioned the Productive Parenting website. 

You can enter your child's age and it will email you daily, with age appropriate activities!  You can also search the site for ideas. 

I've been using Twinkle Toes adjusted age and so far, so good.  I guess I'm actually doing something right in my parenting adventures!

Reflection

There are times that I look at this little girl

And it is just so hard for me to remember that she once looked like this

Her head was the size of my fist!



Or that her little legs looked like chicken legs - poor thing! 
So small, fragile and willing to thrive!

Or that she lived like this for the first few weeks of her life

It was a triumph to get her to finish a 2 oz bottle! 

This was one of her first days at HOME!    

And now she growing

And Growing!

And is now completely off of the Oxygen that helped her lungs develop and become stronger in our thin high altitude air!

And she is now smiling, giggling and totally fascinated with the lights of the season! (Picture to come soon!)

Ok enough reflection!  I truly can't believe it is nearly December 1st!

Product Review - Eye Serum

As a working mom, time is in short supply.  I'm constantly go, Go, GO!!  I no longer have the time to pamper myself - big surprise, right?!

Well I have found this awesome product to help the skin around my eyes

Clinique's All about Eyes Serum!

It is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  So quick as it has a rollerball that not only feels nice and cool when applied but it's just the right amount everytime.  It's like a little eye massage everytime I apply it too.  It has helped with the mild dark circles that I have had from time to time.

It is a bit expensive but totally worth it, in my opinion.

Twinkle Toes is FOUR months old today!

Twinkle Toes - you are FOUR months old!!!!
Adjusted/Corrected age of 10 weeks

What are you up to these days????



I love the little Turkey's on her sleeper!



·    You are completely off of the Oxygen!  This makes mommy and daddy VERY happy.

·    You have learned to grab - you are most interested in my hair.  You are starting to grab your toys and hold on to them now.

·    You smile when I talk to you.  You are starting to laugh more and more each day.

·     You turn to look at us when you hear our voices. Especially for your daddy. When he comes home from work and you hear him - you always turn and look like "where did you come from daddy" and then you flash the biggest smile. You love him so much!

·    You are getting so tall. You really aren't very chubby - you are just long!

·    You are wearing 3-6 months size clothes and a size 1 diaper but I think that will quickly change.  Hopefully we can use up ALL of the size 1 diapers unlike the NB diapers.

·    We will see how much you weigh on 11/29.

·    You still like to eat about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours - 24/7. You rarely get up during the night.  Mommy and Daddy are truly thrilled that you sleep so well at night!

·    Every morning Daddy feeds you while I get ready for work - I love that time with you. We sit in Mommy’s office and you watch her get ready while you eat your bottle. 

·    You hate hates and your car seat! 

·    You really only cry now when you are really tired.

·    You are constantly reaching for your fingers to chew on them. We don’t think you are teething but maybe you just like to chew.

·    You still love your bath. You just chew your fingers and lay there like you could lay there forever. You are always so content at bath time.

·    Every morning when I wake up for the last time......you are always laying in your bed just as happy as a lark.

·    You are very close to rolling over.  You’ll typically roll to your left or right side and then roll right to your back again.

·    You are the Joy of mine and your daddy's lives!!!!!


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We know we have many reasons to be thankful, how about you?

Wordless Wednesday for 11/24/2010

Things to keep track of during your time in the NICU

Did you know that you can deduct medical-related mileage and medical expenses from your taxes?

Per the IRS.gov website "You may deduct transportation costs primarily for and essential to medical care that qualify as medical expenses. The actual fare for a taxi, bus, train, or ambulance can be deducted. If you use your car for medical transportation, you can deduct actual out-of-pocket expenses such as gas and oil, or you can deduct the standard mileage rate for medical expenses. With either method you may include tolls and parking fees.   You may include in medical expenses the incidental cost of meals and lodging charged by a hospital or similar institution if your principal reason for being there is to receive medical care."

If you haven't already, start keeping track of your trips to the hospital or doctor offices. For 2010, the standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car for medical reasons is 16.5 cents per mile.
 
That can add up and you should take advantage of it.

• Keep a notebook in your car or at home listing each visit that you make to the hospital. Note the date and where you were traveling from. This will ensure that you keep an accurate record.
• Use your car's trip odometer to track how far away the hospital is from your house, office or anywhere else your routinely travel from to get to the hospital OR use Google Maps to determine your roundtrip mileage using the route you take.
• Once your baby is out of the hospital, keep track of mileage for doctor visits as well
• Keep all receipts for medicine, equipment, and insurance co-pays. These expenses can also be deducted from your taxes.

Check with your tax preparer on all guidelines and rules before filing.  This IRS publication helps explain everything in more detail.  And this page also explains it really well.

This can be a huge savings when it comes down to it.

Product Review - Birth Announcements

I wanted a special birth announcement for Twinkle Toes and knew that the standard birth announcement really wasn't what I had in mind.

I asked on a local message board and was told about Four Harp Designs on Etsy.  I am a HUGE Etsy lover and I love to support Etsy sellers.  Best yet, Four Harp Designs is a mommy run business, which I love.  Not only does Four Harp offer regular announcements but birth announcements for Preemies!

I found the perfect announcement for Twinkle Toes:

I know this may be hard to read, but what makes this announcement unique is that it includes the "Welcome Home" date and stats.  That makes this announcement one-of-a-kind in my book.

I worked with the owner and within a few short hours, she had the entire announcement ready.  The best part is that I did the printing.  She sets it up where you receive an electronic file, you save it and take it to your local print shop (Costco in my case) and I was able to print them and have them in my hands and ready for mailing within an hour!

This also allowed me to pick out really nice envelopes to coordinate with the announcements too.  I spent a total of $50 for 100 announcements, 100 envelopes and the digital file.  That is far cheaper than any other site I priced and I still supported a momma, which really made me happy.

Check out Four Harp Designs Blog and Etsy Shop

Today is National Prematurity Awareness Day!

I’m going to rock you to the core:  Nearly 5,000 preemies will NEVER see their room!  Sobering huh?!!

As you look at the latest picture of Twinkle Toes in today’s Wordless Wednesday, I would like to remind my readers of a few things.

• You’d never know that she was born 7 weeks premature
• You’d never know that she weighed 3 lbs. 4 oz. at birth
• You’d never know that rather than snuggle with her after her birth, my husband and I watched nurses feverishly work on her to force air into her lungs to keep her alive and breathing.
• You’d never know that she was 10 days old before she was held by her parents for the first time.
• You’d never know that for the first month of her life she lived in an isolette where the temperature was constantly monitored.
• You’d never know that she was fed with tubes for the first few weeks of her life, since she wasn’t strong or coordinated enough to suck on a bottle
• You'd never know that she was too week to be held to nurse
• You’d never know that she spent her first 32 days in the NICU before coming home

You’d never know.  But you do now!

Twinkle Toes is not alone in this battle.  Every year, half a million babies in the US are born before their time.  They are born too soon, too small and too sick and the numbers are growing every year.  That number, half a million, equates to 1 in every 8 babies!!!!  One in Eight!! 

Since 1981, the rate of premature births has risen 30%, and in half the cases it is not understood what caused it.  The March of Dimes is leading the fight for answers, and ultimately, prevention.

Today is National Prematurity Awareness Day!  You know our story of Twinkle Toes and even if you don’t, I’d like to ask a small favor.  If you have a story of your own or know of a preemie, please share it today.  Share it in support of The March of Dimes.  Visit The March of Dimes Prematurity Awareness to join the fight against prematurity. 

We need to fight – because babies shouldn’t have to.   And no parent should ever have to face that battle! 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Wordless Wednesday for 11/17/2010

Why I started my blog

One of the reasons was obviously to document Twinkle Toes’ progress and journey as she got older.  But there is a far more important reason, at least to me there was.

Over the last few years, while we were desperately trying to get pregnant, I read and followed several blogs.  Those blogs covered everything from TTC to the journey of parenthood.  Some of these blogs we so sad and tragic to read at times but it helped me learn what to expect if, god forbid, we were faced with anything remotely like the stories I was following.

I am so thankful for those mommy bloggers that documented the ups and downs; the good times and bad; the funny stories and the heart wrenching struggles that their children face.  Without them, I wouldn’t have been as strong or knowledgeable about Twinkle Toes’ early arrival.

So today, I’d like to say thank you to the following mommy bloggers whose journeys I have followed and continue to do so:

Jaxon and Brady’s Journey - found Here http://lettenbergertwins.blogspot.com/

Three Cheers for Babies - found Here http://threecheersforbabies.blogspot.com/

Out Stork got Lost… - found here http://ourstorkgotlost.com/

I am hopeful that my blog can do the same for others.  I hope that I can watch the number of followers grow.  I hope that other momma’s will reach out and contact me.  And that I can develop friendships with some of these wonderful people.

So let me finish this post by saying “Thank You” to all of the wonderful mommy bloggers out in the blogging world, for sharing your ups and downs and everything in between.  Without you, many of us would be lost.

Sincerely Grateful,

Momma J

Great news!

I just got word that Twinkle Toes passed her overnight oxygen test!  That means she can go without any oxygen while sleeping!

So what that really means -- no more oxygen!!!  We are so excited about this.

We will keep the oxygen around for about a week or two and then it's all going back!

We are still waiting to hear if she has been approved for the Synagis shot.  That is the shot that preemies need for RSV season, which is now upon us.

Wordless Wednesday for 11/10/2010

Toys for Differently-Abled Kids

This blew me away and in a good way! 

I learned that ToysRUs offers a catalog for Differently-Abled Kids.  They have offered this guide for over 20 years!  Who knew.

The guide features specially selected toys that encourage play for children with physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities.  You can find more info here regarding the guide and this amazing service.

And why call them Differently-Abled?  Well, ToyRUs believe that all children have unique skills and abilities.

This guide, which can be viewed online as well as picked up in any ToyRUs location, categorizes toys by various skills.  The skills include but aren't limited to:  Auditory, Creativity, Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Language, Visual and the list goes on.

I truly think this is a unknown resource and that more people should know about it!

Prematurity - Did you know?

November is Prematurity Awareness Month -

Did you know:

• 1 in 8 babies is born too soon
• Many have serious health issues
• The serious effects of an early birth can last a lifetime
• Nearly 5,000 preemies will never see their room!
• Each year, 13 million preemies are born worldwide
• More newborns die from premature birth than any other cause
• Together, we can fight premature birth, click on the image below to find out how!

Help bring more babies home healthy!!!

Join the Fight!

Hello readers!

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. I invite all of you to come join me at Bloggers Unite. They are partnering with the March of Dimes in support of Fight For Preemies. The goal is to have 500 bloggers posting on and before Prematurity Awareness day - November 17th.

So consider this your official invitation. Please post a special story about either your own preemie miracle or maybe you know a preemie and their story. We want everyone to learn why it is SO important to support the ongoing need for prematurity research funding.

You can also grab a badge or banner for your blog.

Itzbeen Timer

Yes, I may be a little OCD with this timer AND the Baby Log but hey, it works for us. 

This little gem just rocks for keeping track of the last time that Twinkle Toes ate, how long she has been napping, when I last pumped and her last diaper change.

It lights up, has a clock and a flashlight - for finding the lost pacifer in the middle of the night.

Wordless Wednesday for 11/3/2010

Little Pumpkins!

Holy Cow!

I feel like a dairy cow!  I counted the number of frozen bags of milk last night. 

Can I get a drumroll please........

I currently have 45  6 oz. bags of milk frozen for Twinkle Toes.  That's 270 oz. of milk for her down the road. 

No wonder I feel like a dairy cow.