Emerson Ann & Stella Louise: November 17th, 2009

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day. Two years, two months and six days ago, our lives were changed forever. My perfect pregnancy unexpectedly ended in an emergency c-section at 25 weeks, and our family would spend the next 11 weeks in the ICN. Today, we have 2 crazy toddlers, but things could have been very different for us. Our babies defied the odds, but most families of 25 weeks babies aren't as blessed as we have been.
One out of every eight babies is born too soon, and the March of Dimes' mission is to give every baby their 40 weeks. The March of Dimes was founded in 1938 to fight Polio. They successfully created a vaccine to combat Polio and have since focused their attention on prematurity. In 1985, the March of Dimes funded research leading to the use of surfactant. Surfactant is a drug that is used in preemies to fight Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Surfactant has saved many preemies, and it saved our preemies. Emerson and Stella received surfactant soon after their birth. This is why our family tries to help raise support and awareness for the March of Dimes. We believe that the March of Dimes research has the potential to give all babies their 40 weeks. We want to thank everyone that has graciously donated to the March of Dimes on our behalf.

In honor of Prematurity Awareness Day, these are some of our favorite pictures from the 11 weeks that we spent in the ICN:

Going Home!