Breast is best but is there more

I have decided to share something a little personal.
Life has become a little busy these days now that Zurich is out of the NICU and home with us and his Brothers and sister. They all keep me pretty busy and I wouldn't have it any other way!

As a veteran mom who has been parenting 16 years now I can say with astonishment that I am still learning new things.
Each of my children's needs have been different as each child is unique, but Zurich is a fast pitching curve ball specialist.


In part as it has been explained to me some of Zurich's feeding issues are due in part to his premature birth. He suffers from reflux so bad that his bed is elevated past the standard 30 degrees , he is to sleep prone with the aid of a Tucker sling. As well as the reflux he has not had a good track history of tolerating food different formulas and at one point even my own breast milk.
We have all heard "Breast is best" in campaigns designed to promote breast feeding. In some states like California mothers who receive WIC are even told that they will not provide formula to them in the first xx amount of days without a Doctors note explaining the need for it in an effort to promote further and encourage mothers to breast feed there children.

But what happens when a mom can not? Who do you turn to then? Is there really help out there? Or like so many do we just throw our hands in the air and say there is nothing you can do. Please understand I am in NO way posting this for me very personal post in an effort to bash anyone for turning OR choosing formula to feed their child. That said there IS another choose for babies like mine. And thanks to my friend Shannon R. (I can never thank you enough for your shoulder to cry on your wisdom and prayers) I found it Donor breast milk.

Here is what I knew about donor milk before looking in to it as an option for Zurich .



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That about sums it up nicely! Nothing I knew that in the first days and couple weeks I was producing breast milk that I had an amazing supply not meaning to toot my own horn but I was getting average 15 oz every time
I would pump multiply that by 8.
Frequently the nurses in the NICU would ask if I had ever thought of being a milk donor. So in a way I guess you could say that I know that people donated milk. But still nothing truly beyond that.
Why you maybe asking would I be signing the praise from the roof tops about donor milk if I was producing like a personal dairy cow for my son? I promise I'll tell you,
At first Zurich was on my milk but at one point in the NICU he was showing signs of intolerance to my milk (I know I know near unheard of! I say near because it happens whether others agree with me or not I am not looking for a debate I have had other children who did not thrive on my milk as well all for varying reasons but none of which was my milk) many things where tried but in the end he was placed on the medical food /infant formula Elecare.
Zurich began to thrive and after a long look at family history and Zurich's short but chart filling history his Doctor felt that breast milk for Zurich would not be something that would work and so I stopped pumping.

Near the end of Zurich's NICU stay with encouragement from his AM primary nurse we again sat down with his Doctor and talked about reintroducing him to breast milk I had still taking up space in the freeze that if nothing else I was going to give to his brother Lyric who is only 11 months older then Zurich as there was no since all that milk going to waste and Lyric had always tolerated my milk just fine.
His Neo agreed to give breast milk another try and Zurich took to it very well.
As we got closer to discharge I began asking questions about what would I do if I was unsuccessful at relactating. How would I feed my baby?
Due to increasing intolerance to most anything they tried to give him we where told one to add in formula to his breast milk to increase the calories and to stretch my supply of frozen milk.
But this only worked so well at stretching his supply of breast milk because at every turn it seemed once home he went through so many more changes to his food causing the occasional waste of breast milk trying to find a formula that he would tolerate.



Stresses what they are at home it has been difficult to lactate again. My fears of what would happen once my frozen milk supply ran out continued to mount. From my sons Doctor all I ever heard was "Try and relax, but if you do run out of breast milk you have done your best in giving him what you can" . Nice advice but in no way an answer. How can I turn away from the one food that he tolerated well and provide the best I could give him to aid in his Heath and development. As I mixed my last 16oz of breast milk with his formula to mix high calorie I had tears in my eyes and sent a message to my dear cyber friend telling her that I had all but given up any hope of continuing Zurich on breast milk every lead I had seemed a dead end! She offered her shoulder to cry on, her prayers, and to look around for donor info for him.

Here is what I NOW know about donor milk and milk banks

1.The America association of pediatrics, The W.H.O and Unifef all state that when a mothers milk is not available the first recommend chose is donor milk.

2. To be a milk bank donor of breast milk one has to meet strict guide lines for non smoker, note from dr, limited on medications even multi vitamins, and much more.

3. Breast milk from a donor bank is screened beyond the screening of donor blood.

4. There are person to person sites set up for those looking for breast milk as well.( I can not provide much info about experience with this form of donation but have had Two wonderful selfless mom's offer there own milk to my son as an option. ) But I do know I have spoke to mom's who donate p2p and I very much like what she says quoted from the mom who receives her milk "If it's good enough you would give it to your baby , then it's good enough for mine"
Many people would warn against p2p donation due to health reasons I say it is for you to decide. It is not for me to debate. I will simply provide one site I know of they can be found on Facebook Human 2 human milk and then your state name.

5. Human breast milk is even used from banks to treat some liver disorders and other medical uses

I will not bore you with dozens of facts but there are many left unlisted here.


As my friend searched for help for me I to decided one last time to contact the Colorado hospital milk bank. This time by phone.
Karen was who I spoke to and I will never forget her or be able to thank her enough.
I explained my desperation for my son and she put my mind at ease . For the first time in a while I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders.
Karen explained that donor milk can be costly at $14 processing fee for one 4 oz bottle but that no baby would be turned away grants where available and the Zurich was a perfect candidate to receive donor milk. After specking to a co worker about Zurich as the director was out of the office until the following week. They desired to send a small shipment of breast milk to get Zurich started before I even had even had signed the forms.



Zurich has been receiving donor breast milk for over a month now . Growing and enjoying feedings again. He once again is on a mix of Breast milk with Elecare.



Recently I got to share with the Neo and NICU staff that helped care for Zurich in his external last trimester and I was shocked at how little they know about it.
I explained to them what I had been told that no baby would be turned away! That Zurich gets his milk without cost.
To receive milk I only needed to call my son's Dr and ask for a RX that stated "DONOR MILK AS NEEDED" and have it faxed to the milk bank. From there I wrote a letter in detail describing what feeding Zurich has been like in a brief medical history then I email that along with the financial forms sent to me and faxed my husband's W-2.
The whole process took less then a days time and all the while Zurich was being sent milk as needed.



It is my hope to spread the word about breast milk donating and milk banks as an option to more families out there cause not once in my 16 years as a parent had I needed breast milk provided to me and not once had I ever been told how to get it.

Once a week now I place a call and the friendly staff asks about Zurich as I place yet another order for this liquid "cream" gold to be delivered the following day via Fed ex overnight to my door step. Frozen on dry ice ready to be placed in my own freezer and thawed as needed.

















I in no way think of my self as an expert on parenting or donor milk I'm only a mom who wanted what was best for her child who already had a rough start at life. The feeling I express are always my own.
And tho I wish I had time to do so . I don't always have time for editing before I post as I blog entry's to my iPhone as a parent 4 children through out the day. Most times i am feeding or holding Zurich as my mind races with thought. When time allows my wonderful understanding husband edits for me. Please bare with me as I promise to get better at this Lots -of- Love until next time.


If you have any questions as always please leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them quickly and honesty.


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Laundry day in the Marken house

How do you wash cloth diaper? Is it hard to clean cloth diapers? What's your wash routine? What kind of soap do you use to wash your diapers? What about stains?

We have all seen these questions on forums, been asked in person, or spend countless hours on "Dr" Google (my pet name for the popular search engine :P)
And the stander answer almost robotic is to say Cold wash no soap, HOT large wash with soap, cold rinse no soap. Simple enough right? Well get a room or forum together of nothing but beloved CD mommies and you will find 100 different ways and 100 different methods, soaps, tricks , and more they swear by.

I personal have CD'ed for a year now and have pretty much stuck to the Cold HOT cold way to cloth diapers but more recently have felt like experimenting. My stash has grown a lot in this past year and affords me more room to experiment without fear of running out or ruining my fluff. This as well as my growing love for all things fluff , having way to much time on my hand and my belief that not any one persons way is right for everyone I began my research.
Brace your self some people swear by Tide original , others use the dishwasher to sterilize their diapers (tho this can posse a fire risk). There are those who prefer to make there own soap, Do a HOT wash cold rinse, Wash by hand (I personally have done this twice in my CD life time),


Those who boil Cloth diapers, And many many more varying ways to ensure clean diapers And as I sit now in my craft /Laundry room writing this , I am filling the diaper pail and my son's bath pod with water from the bathtub to pour in to my washer because the new "fixer up" house we are buying has a problem with the main supply of water to the washer and the person we have called has not been out to look at it yet:( oh for the love of fluff.





Why not use disposables you ask? I could answer something noble like my love for the environment but that's not it I'm crunchy and soggy at times. Or answer the number of chemicals found in a disposable diaper. But that's not it (tho I'm not going to go into the list as I'm sure you have seen it all before I do admit it's pretty shocking what is in those) No those are not my reasons. Simply put I prefer cloth diapers and there is the bit of money I have spent on them! And I'm just don't want to go out to buy diapers call me lazy but I see it another way I admit that it is my hope that one day when my kids have children of their own one day that they too will use cloth diapers and that the memory will stick with them just to what links I went to in order to keep them in fluff and feel a little bit of love<3 (cause you haven't know yet I'm pretty honest)
Why not go to a laundry mat then?
I love laundry mats I do. Something about waking up early loading the car grabbing my iPod and a Monster energy drink. Pulling in to the parking lot and starting all my wash at once while I listing to music and read through the mess of magazines laying around! I love it. Not to mention taking my clothes to a laundry mat is about the only sure fire way to get me to fold all my laundry straight from the drier;).
But no I have only taking my cloth diapers to a laundry mat once. And that's cause in small part chemicals but mostly cause the laundry mat is the one place I don't want to talk about fluff! Shocking I know me not wanting to talk about fluff. But really in a laundry mat I don't want to talk to anybody or about anything!! It's mommy quite time hints the reason I take and iPod and get up at O dark 30. It's my zen and my guilty pleaser much the same as walking down the laundry aisle at the store I love the smell of the laundry aisle tho I never really buy soap there. But that's a whole other story for later.

When asked in general I too am guilty of giving the short answer. But only because I know it work and above everything else I want those trying or thinking about trying CD's to be successful.
But for those a little more like me, who are not afraid to experiment or likes to know a little more then basic these are the tips I can share.
First I'm a practical I want to know what soaps work what safe beyond the stander answer or heavily use. Here is the standard I hear a lot.
Rockin Green Soap-yes I use and love it but I have also heard many mom's say their Lo's have had reactions to this as well.
I do believe it's worth a try. Sample packs are available.
I am very excited to now find that both Diapers.com and Soap.com are stocking RNG gone forever in my house are the long waits for the postman to deliver my RNG. I really like that the soap is formulated to the kind of water you have simply look for hard rock for hard water , soft rock for soft, and classic for all those in-between.

Charlie's soap-I have this kind too , but will offer this bit of information Charlie's is an Enzymatic cleaner. This is a Great soap just as long as you rinse your diapers REALLY well. Enzymes can effect your baby's skin if their bottom is not cleaned well enough or the longer the diaper is left near the skin.
A reaction may go unnoticed if lo's Diaper is changed often enough.
This does not mean that Charlie's is not a good soap or cloth diaper friendly, my only personal dislike about Charlie's is the need to wash your washer out if other soaps that are not clean rinsing are in use in your washer. This is not the case in my house nothing gets near my washer that is not CD safe. But if you use a laundry mat or other soap you need to remember to do this . Cleaning your washer is done by simply doing a load of towel or sheets or rags and adding two scoops to the wash before doing a load of diapers with the standard one scoop. Will your diapers be ruined beyond repair if you forget this step? No the trouble is over time your diapers with began to repel do to the build up of other soaps picked up from the washer.
Some avoid Charlie's due to the cost but I believe it's only a matter of doing the math to see it's not that costly 80 loads 2 lbs is in one tube at $14 dollars that's not that bad. To avoid that cost I have found a store that sales in bulk as well as being able to reuse the container at my local whole food store I can buy it for $4 a lb. That's only $8 for the soap and forgoing The packaging


it's both cheaper an Eco-friendly.

Allen's
Tiny bubbles
And a few others marketed by Cloth diaper makers would also fall under this category as well as Free and clear brands of soaps used everyday like All and Tide.

I have found that if I am ever left wondering about a soap and if it's safe/ friendly to use on my diapers that I can go to the below listed links to find an answer to put my mind at ease.
The third link listed is just a quick and easy ways to make your own laundry soaps at home. There are many ways to do it but this is just a quick example of a couple I know. I hope that you find them as useful as I do


http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html


http://www.diaperjungle.com/homemade-laundry-detergent.html

Some washing tricks I use are BioKleen Bac-Out.
I love what this has done for me and my fluff. I keep a squirt bottle near my washer and spray bottle near my changing station in my boy's room . When using in wash I add 3 quick squirts in to the washer as the water fills for my initial cold rinse. When using at the diaper station I just spray a couple sprays on to the diaper or soaker and toss in the pail. This works wonders at keeping smells away and has saved my fluff on occasion when I did not get to wash for a day or so past the standard every other day I normally do diapers.
Rinsing well is ALWAYS Important when it comes to diapers but Bac-out is Cd safe/friendly. Bumgenius makes something similar to Bac-out only I don't favor the smell.


White vinegar is nice but care must be used if you live in an area with hard water as I do because it can cause a smelly build up in your diapers.
I seldom use it but when I do the trick I find works is adding it to a Downey ball and tossing it in the washer. This helps in releasing the vinegar in the cycle it is need in. Adding it to your fabric softener dispenser works too.
Do to my hard water I only do this when I am battling something that vinegar will help or in case of a yeast infection(I have been luck to have only had to fight this ) .

Calgon water softener if hard water is the case but have found that this is not needed when I use RNG hard rock as it already has additives meant for better cleaning in hard water.

Borax what can't this stuff do, Just don't soak you PUL diapers in it (guilty) it will ruin the water proofing (all is not lost I was able to save my PUL diapers lessen learned).


Tea tree oil/TTO and Grapefruit seed Extract /GSE both are amazing at combatting things like yeast. Fun fact GSE has been shown to be more effective the silver , TTO, and even bleach at killing things like yeast.(look for later post on how I battled yeast)

And last in my laundry arsenal but not least is RLR
Now this stuff rocks. This is my laundry problem go to my work horse.
A soak over night in RLR is amazing at removing build up in diapers! The stuff works nothing else need be said! I have yet to find a local carrier of RLR so I buy it online mainly at the GroVia sister site Thenaturalbabyco.com but I have found it available on amazon as well.

As I come to the end of this post I ask this question of you , What's your wash routine? Please share in comments below beyond the Cold HOT cold so as to provide some renewed meaning in to what works for you. And maybe share a favorite laundry tip. I am always looking to try out some things that have worked for others to see what it can do for me as well. It is also my hope that others new to CD will find the comments you share and the tips I have shared. Helping them find a routine that works for them as well.



Please note I am posting unedited. This is done not out of disrespect but in my own way only further proof that I am genuine in what I share and who I am. Just a busy mom doing most all her blog post from my iPhone was I parent four children through the day. When time allows my wonderful understanding husband does my editing.:)





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Q&A ways to start cloth diapers at a lower and for some no cost.

The question brought up today was "I have never before thought about cloth diapers, What is the best/cheapest way to start cloth diapers?
To me any cloth diaper is better then none.... Well that's not true, there is one brand who shall remain unnamed, but let's just say they need to stick to making baby food.
The cheapest way to start is prefolds and covers. The simplest kit I have found that will get you the most for the least is the Econobum(Cottonbabies.com, Diapers.com, and a sea of online cloth diaper sellers carry it) 2 boxes which set you up in cloth diapers with the basic one size (os) cover with snaps and the prefold diaper themselves for under $100. For a little more included kind of kit of everything you need to start using I recommend the bummus box . It comes with prefolds, covers, wet bag, fleece liners, and more. I bought this set local not online, but it was about $160.
If your looking for an inexpensive diaper a little more like the popular Pocket diapers then I would say Sunbaby found on eBay. I know they have recently updated their line to include super cute prints as well but I can say the sunbaby brand got me my start. I got 20 pocket diapers and 30 inserts for $105 w/free shipping, it came from china but only took a week to arrive to me. I haven't looked at if the price has changed all that much but it is a OS diaper so you will not need to keep buying new sizes.
Another brand to look at that I have yet to use myself (yet :) my name is Amanda and I am addicted to cloth diapers) is the Kawaii brand they have been a little harder for me to find per say in that I haven't found but a small handful of sites that have them and have the prints i want in stock but this is the one that has been referred to me the most http://www.theluvyourbaby.com/there the diaper starts out at $6.99.
The next cheapest option is to buy used. Used is not a bad thing when it comes to cloth diapers in fact to me there is some pro's like the fact they have been prepped at some point so no need to prep. Cloth diapers have a good following now so the resale is good. You may even find the diaper you buy was not used that much due to mom having a large stash, maybe mom didn't like the fit to well or baby had to many leaks do to sizing of the diapers or any number of reasons. The best deal I have found is when little ones out grow theirs and mom is destashing to buy the next size or potty train. There are many sites aside from eBay and craigslist that you can find these deals http://www.diaperswappers.com/ is a popular one but as for personal experience I have none with diaperswappers, not to say anything negative about it I just have used CafeMom.com more there are many forms on this site and I have even found mom's willing to make trades like baby cloths for cloth diapers. Another way to buy used that I like is the cottonbabies.com repairable sales cotton babies offer a trade in program and when a diaper needs minimum repair ie: Velcro (hook and loop) replaced or the elastic then they will sell it as is and make a repair kit available for a dollar. If you are handy with a basic stitch this is a great way to get a good diaper at low cost.
When repairable are for sale this is the link to where I have found them on their site.
http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=51
The next way I would mention is Seconds sale!! If you hear of a site having a seconds sale then that's a sale you should really look at. Seconds just mean second quality ,maybe a stitch is off or it was dropped and has a smudge for what ever reason the seller has deemed it not top quality so it is offered in a Seconds sale at a very low cost. Act fast if you come across one of these. By signing up for a few brands you likes newsletter and or liking their facebook page you will hear about these sales.

There are so many ways to get started for less but these are the ones I have heard used the most.
My advice when looking at starting cloth diapers on a budget is to start by watching some video reviews on you tube to better see all the options cloth diapers have to offer and then starting your search for the diaper you feel will best fill your need. You don't want to spend to much money buying a lot of diapers that you are not going to like.
For the family interested in making the switch to cloth diapers but may not be able to afford the up front cost, there is still one more site I would recommend the cloth diaper foundation is a non profit that excepts donations of cloth diaper and sends them out to families who have filled out and application an are found eligible Application are open at different times of the year but by checking this link
http://www.clothdiaperfoundation.org/application/
Or adding the cloth diaper foundation to your facebook you can easily see when they are taking apps. Cloth diapers are sent to families for just the cost of shipping.

I hope this has given some info that answers a few questions and please remember I am always will to answer question so if you have anymore just leave them in the comments or ask me on any of the forms you find me on.



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Why I use Cloth Diaper By Amanda M.

This seems to be a question asked of me a lot so in an effort to get more involved with my blog I decided to blog my answer out or as my husband puts it ," I wrote an Essay" on it. ( In putting that way I kinda feel like I am in fifth grade again and I'm writing my " What I did this summer" paper.

So for the countless number of people who ask me this is my reply(Essay)


Why I use Cloth Diapers
By Amanda M :)

I choose cloth diapers not only for the benefits to both the
enviroment and the health of my children, but more so I choose it
because as a mother in this era I feel that in some ways we as a
society have taken steps backwards. Everyone at one time or another
has talked about back in the day when things where different or
simpler. Yet no steps are ever taken to simplify life in ways similar
to those times. We as a society are alway looking for the next big
thing. I myself am guilty of falling for the newest, biggest,
greatest, most awesome must have in new mommy/baby items. But when it
comes to disposable diapers it is my opinion we are stepping in the
wrong direction. I feel we are only exposing our growing children to
more then we need to by allowing the numerous chemicals to be freely
used in the making of disposable diapers to "improve" the diapers
purpose.
There are a great number of improved choices in cloth diapers these
days that are not brought to light nearly enough.
16 years ago when I had my first kid I only knew one person who used
cloth diapers. Prefolds and safety pins was what she used.
Fast forward a few years to when I was a single parent with another
baby on the way and I was given some of those same style prefolds. My
honest thought was that no one used these any more but I would stumble
through using one if I could't afford diapers for a day or two. And I
do mean stumble because I was brought up knowing only disposable
diapers.
I was blown away by the choices cloth diapers offer now-a-days when 14
months ago I revisited the idea of cloth diapering as an Eco-Friendly
alternative to disposable, as opposed to a way to streach my budget. I
was shocked to say the least and even a little upset when I learned
more about what goes into making a disposable diaper and started
thinking a little more toxic-free/baby-friendly as a result. And I
happily made the switch when I realized it could not only be doing my
part for the enviroment and healthier for my baby, but also a way for
me to revisit a simpler time introducing myself to a way of caring for
my baby that has truly shown improvement in a positive way.
Parents before me used cloth because that is what there was and what
they knew growing up and by choosing cloth for my children now, it is
my hope that they will grow up to accept cloth as the normal way of
diapering and that they will do the same for their children.







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What we have here is a failure to communicate........

My life is Epic right now full of some Win's and some fails. I need an out let and you would think i would be better and this blogging thing right out the gate cause lets face it I talk to myself a lot and what is blogging when you first get started other then talking to your self and maybe a couple of friends that are kind enough to read your blog when you ask them too (p.s. to those of you that do god love ya I have some great friends don't I).
But in an effort to get things moving for me and adding to my blogs and  getting what I have to say out there I am asking for a little bit of help. One of the number one things I get asked about or "tag" to talk about is Cloth diapers and more times then not by the time I shut up I have written enough for two blogs so what I am asking of you, yes you the one up while you should be sleeping cause its late at night or it's nap time in your house in which case that's a tough call naps are great I am a firm believer in "sleep when baby sleeps" but any who if you,would like to know a little more about something or if you have a Cloth diaper question or a question in general that I maybe able to answer . Please just post it below in comments, It is my hope you maybe get some more of my ramblings on here and to answer more questions this way.Thanks for your help in my humble beganings I am not looking to be this next super blogger but I really would love you get more in to getting the thoughts from my head to this page.

Those who know me or at least know my screen name on sites or forums like the baby buzz( formally called the baby 411) know I love cloth diapers! Having making the switch to cloth when my son Lyric was about 5 months old, I have been a sponge soaking up any and all information I can find about cloth diapers.
And I am still learning but have been ask a few times to share what I have learned, I love the idea of blogging about cloth but truth be told I have no clue where to start. When I think about cloth diapers I am worse then an ADHD child on Christmas morning crossed with the "and then" lady from the movie " Dude, where is my car"( sorry I'm a sucker for some really stupid movies but if you have seen the movie you know what I mean)
"And then................"
All that to say I am not truely sure where to start and where to finish when it comes to cloth .
So what I am going to do is try and start.
There is a few cloth diaper "short hand" speak I know I will list what I know.


Fluff,.... This is just a cute name for cloth diapers it just refers to the diapers them self's ie; fluffy butt a cloth diaper wearing little one, fluff mail a favorite day for cloth diaper mom's the day that ordered cloth diapers show up in the mail and a day for UPS,Fed Ex and,USPS carriers to fear because a mom waiting on the delivery is going to stock him or her and near leap on them when they arrive.

Sposies,....Disposable diapers it's just shorter to type or say.

AIO,or All In One,.... refers to a cloth diaper that is one piece no need to stuff this diaper or cover needed just put it one little one and go.A great diaper I really like the AIO for over night diapers but that's for another post.

AI2 , All in 2,Pocket diaper ..... This is a 2 piece diaper that could have a snap in insert or a liner or soaker pad that you stuff in to a opening or pocket in the diaper. This too is a good diaper it is nice on laundry day making drying time shorter.

RNG, This is a short way to say Rockin green a great cloth diaper friendly soap to wash your fluff in and if your like my husband and I you will find other things and clothes in the house to "Rock a soak" of just to see what the wash water looks like and how clean it looks after its done.(We really need to get out more I am starting to forget what a real date night is like outside of the laundry room)


Hybrid,......Hybrid diapers are one of my favorites they are a cloth diaper with a choose of a disposable insert or cloth one. The great thing about the disposable inserts is that most I have found are biodegradable,compostable,or flushable.

OS,One size,.......Another of my favorites these diapers are most time are one diaper that will fits little one from about 8lbs to 35lbs or birth to potty training.

This really is just a start of what "short hand" is out there and what I know and love about fluff but for now it's time to get ready to head back over to the NICU for diaper and temp time with Zurich.
I will be posting soon with more about cloth so stay tuned.:)

Zurich is here

Life has been pretty busy lately with Zurich here now.
So busy that this post is about 6 weeks late. Born January 10, 2011 at 5:07 pm CT time Zurich weighted an amazing 3lbs even and was 15 in long.
Born 13 weeks early at 27 weeks 2 days he has given us so much joy already.
Currently he is about 4lbs 7 oz and thriving in the past 24 hours he is taking feedings every 3 hours 38mls over 2 hours. Feedings have been his hardest struggle. But is taking to them well this time around.
In his six week stay ( so far) he has had two blood transfusions , Reminding us of the importance of blood donations to both my husband and I who have done our part in the past to actively donate.
We have met so many families and amazing nurses during our NICU stay in Wichita. During the past 6 weeks we (or I as my husband comes down on his days off and barring any illness our older children come to stay on the weekends) at the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital.
If you have ever wandered about a McDonald house let me tell you they are heaven sent. And I will be sure never to forget this stay and will be doing my best to return in the future to do what I can to help. Even something as simple as collecting pop tabs off of soda cans in a help. At the house I am currently at over half of the utility bill alone is paid for by recycled tabs donated by those in the community!

We excitedly wait for the day when our whole family in reunited under one roof and to welcome Zurich in to our home as he is welcomed in to our hearts already.