Pennies For Preemies

(post courtesy of Talking Trash)

The number of premature births in America are on the rise. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. Anything less than 37 weeks is considered preterm. 70% are delivered between 34 and 36 weeks; 12% at 32 and 33; 10% at 28 and 31; 6% at less than 28. Even at 37 weeks, there can be complications and the babies are placed in NICU. The survival rate is even more staggering....40% chance at 24 weeks increasing with each week until 90% at 28 weeks. The medical advances over the last 40 years has been phenomenal, but the numbers demonstrate why every precious day that can be bought for these babies is critical.

Bella was born a micro-preemie which is a baby born under 26 weeks and weighing less than 1 3/4 pounds. The complications that can arise for these babies are a mile long beginning with lung problems, eye surgery and the list goes on and on. These babies haven't had time to finish cooking.

Delivering these micro-preemies even by C-Section is a risk with possible brain damage as a result...through no fault of the doctor. Imagine if you will how tiny they are...then picture in your mind how tiny the lines are that are inserted into them and the risks to the lungs. It takes a skillful hand and a lot of prayer. The odds are not in their favor, but God is.

November was National Premature Awareness month and purple designated as the official color. Bella is asking y'all to help beyond a the month of November and on into December. If you visit the March of Dimes web page, you can read all the statistics, advancements, and ways to help.

For five months, we called Baylor Dallas Hospital NICU home. We traveled back and forth daily to be with her and to learn how to care for her.

Bella was blessed with God's favor. Her only major complication was a heart defect, PDA, which required surgery. She'll have the scar to remind her of how much God loves her always.

We were fortunate. We brought Bella home in August 2009 with just an oxygen tank. We say just...she had to be on oxygen all the time as well as an apnea monitor until December 24, 2010. We took her off on Christmas Eve night and from that point on for the next month she slowly began to vein off the oxygen.

We knows we have been blessed and have constantly prayed to God about what we can do to repay this blessing. He has placed this in our heart the need to help those parents who are in those NICUs. After much more praying and soul searching, we have decided to try and start a special program that we have named Pennies For Preemies. With the donations we receive, we plans on using the money to help parents who will be spending Christmas at Baylor Hospital with their premature babies this holiday season.

I can not even being to imagine how it must feel to know you will be spending your baby's first Christmas in a NICU. We were blessed we brought Bella home and only had to spend a few holidays in the NICU. Even with that it is probably one of the hardest part of the NICU stay to be around family and friends without your baby.

We have added the donation button on both blogs and our donations are growing! Thank you to everyone who has given so far.

Preemie Awareness Month

Hello Friends and Family

November is preemie awareness month.

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness, let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles~I Chronicles 16:8-9

Me and my family are collecting pennies for preemies, we plan to collect them up to two weeks before Christmas. At that time we will cash them in and then go buy gifts for the preemie families who are spending Christmas in the NICU. We will be making the donation to Baylor Dallas NICU as that is where Bella was at. We are also taken any kind of donations be it preemies cloths, toys, gift cards for the parents to have a nice dinner or snack foods.

We will be at Winnie & Tulule’s Christmas open house on Friday November 26th from 5-9pm taken donations.

For those who do not know our story our daughter Bella was born March 12, 2009 at 23 weeks 5 days weight 15oz and 10 inches. We spent 5 months in the NICU.

We had a lot of support from blogger friends who did a fundraiser for us during those 5 months that we could not even beginning to repay or say Thank you enough too.

Now we would like to be able to give back to other’s who are going through a difficult time this year.

Thank you for your time. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season this year.

The Banda Family

It's Offical

I got my donation button added!!! Let the donations begin. Any donation between now and the Christmas open house will be entered into a drawing to win mystery prices.

We are just starting off so our prices are nothing big like a color TV but would like to make this fundraiser a little fun for everyone with some random giveaways. No idea when things will be given away or even what will be given away.

Please don't forget that November is not only a time to be thankful for what we have but also Preemie Awareness Month, there are a lot of great preemie organizations that need help.

Thank you for your support.

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness, let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles~I Chronicles 16:8-9

November is preemie awareness month

November is preemie awareness month.

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness, let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles~I Chronicles 16:8-9

Remember we will be at W&T for the Christmas open house collecting your pennies for the preemies. We all have friends, family or know someone who knows someone who had a preemie born before there time. It can be the greatest, scariest and most glorious blessing of a person life.

Help us to let them know they are not alone on there NICU Journey.

Hope to we see you there.

Bella

20 months old 11/12/2010

This month:

walking like a mad women, just come see a W&T's Christmas open house

Drinks from a sippy cup

Wear size 12-24 months - Her cloths size is all over the place.

Wears size 3 shoes, I am shocked those tiny feet can hold her up.

And are you ready for this. .......

She has pee pee in the potty twice, potty was bought on Sunday November 14th and on Monday November 15th she went potty and again on Wednesday November 17th.

We are so proud, I will not share the picture of the pee pee but yes we took one for her scarp book.

What can I say I am nuts, you know my mom does this suprise you.

Happy FaBOOlous Halloween

My little family.. by Foto Fabulous
Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween. Bella was a busy busy girl this weekend. We got up early Saturday and head to the pumpkin patch to have family pictures made by a really talented photographer. She is so great with kids, Brandon was so relaxed and well Bella is CRAZY walking so it was hard to keep her still long enough to take pictures of her. I just knew we would end up with picture of just the three or two or one of us but none of Bella. And Melissa being a FA-BOO-lous photographer sent me the most wonderful pictures. Could not ask for a better treat for Halloween than to have pictures of my little family.

Bella Last year.......

This year.. I got this shirt idea took it to have the Fa-lous! put on and added the BOO. I think she was adorable in her Fa-BOO-lous outfit.

Not to brag but I love this picture I think she is just gorgeous in this picture.
My boys aren't they handsome. This will be going on our wall at home.

15 and couting

WOW what a change in just a year.
Brandon and Bella at his birthday Party on Sunday with his friends.

He is such a good big brother.

Brandon and all his friends!

They grow up way to fast, our little guy turned 15 yesterday. Took him to Cheesecake Factory, which seems to be our choice for birthday's this year. We went in August for Roby's and October for mine and now again in October for Brandon's. Had a good time. Brandon is such a great kid I met Roby when Brandon was 4 and celebrated his birthday for the first time when he was 5. I can still tell you what I got him for his birthday. A pair of doc martin boots, Pole Jeans and a Pole shirt. I didn't know back then that kids don't really want cloths for there birthday but trust me I have learned over the years. He has become one of my favorite people to buy for even thought he is hard as hell to buy for. And has zero emotion so if you get some out of him you know that you have hit a home run.. This make him all that more fun to buy for. Only other way to get him to smile put his dad in front of him or Bella. Those two make him light up like a Christmas tree. :)

Did someone say CAKE!

Yesterday was my birthday, I can't believe I am 35 I am only 5 years away from 40 that just seems CRAZY! This month is a busy birthday month for us. Brandon will be 15 on the 20th. It is our PARTY month. He is going to be able to drive(with an one of us in the car) in a month. That does not seem possible at all.

Started my birthday fun on Monday with Roby. We have not been to the movies in over a year. So we both took off work and took Bella to daycare and off to the movies we went. We saw It's Kind of a Funny Story, cute movie. Then we headed next door for lunch at Cheese Cake Factory. I took one look at this chocolate cake, Reese peanut butter cup cheese cake and thought SALAD! Had to make sure I had room for it. So I had a nice side salad and a small fried cheese appetizer to save room and still had to take some home with me. Roby had his usually meatloaf (lunch size) and banana cream cheese cake with a cup of coffee. It was a nice stress free relaxing day with no diaper bag. LOL


Bella and I spent the day with Nana going to lunch and then shopping. After that we went to watch Miss Graycie perform her Halloween Rock Show at school. Bella was busy trying to play with the 6th grade girls like a big girl. I think she enjoyed her day but was exhausted when we got home and only wanted her momma.


Yesterday 10/12/2010 Bella turned 19 months. This time last year we had regular monthly doctor visits, machines and O2 attached to us and breathing treatments and medicine twice a day. WOW allot has changed in a year. Now at 19 months we are free of all machines and meds. Bella went to the doctor last month and does not go back again till Dec. We had very little contact with the outside world last year and now she gets to be around family and friends providing they are not sick. :)


Let's see what can she do since last month:
She can walk, she has to take a break but she would rather walk than crawl. 10/12/2010 she said Parker of course her first word other than momma and Dada would be PARKER, she loves that dog.
She has cut two more teeth one on each side in the on top in the back. These caused a bit more crankiness than the first 6 teeth but still she cut them with very little issues. She amazes me everyday at just how happy a baby she is.
She has become a bit clingy to mommy the last few weeks.
She got her first bump on her head but we survived. I say we cause I think mom and dad were more upset than she was. Once she saw Brother everything was good. Lucky her bangs cover it up.

She had a cold this month but started medicine and got it all cleared up fast before it turned into something worse. So just a few days down and then she was back to her normal self.

Got some musical instruments this month, her own drum and drum sticks that are small for her hands. She loves music, her favorite show to watch is dancing with the star when they are doing fast numbers. She goes crazy and tries to dance around.

Can sign more, milk and ball. Really understands ball. Will sign it and go get the ball. I was really excited about this one since she doesn't really mean more when she does it. She really means done. LOL.