Baby Carriers

I never really used a carrier for either Ty or Emma. I did a little with Tyler, once in awhile, but he always seemed uncomfortable. Emma simply hated the whole idea so it only lasted for a few minutes and I just gave up. With Nate, I wanted a carrier for many reasons. Mostly because he was such a preemie and in the hospital for so long that I wanted to bond with him even more once he came home. Also, with two toddlers, I needed to have something to carry him in when the bigger kids were both in the stroller. So, a friend who owns a store selling all sorts of "earthy" type things like fancy carriers, gave me a super nice one as a gift. I LOVED the idea of this thing. It is one of those fancy, no buckle, all material, multiple position, carry-your-kid-until-they're-ten type of carriers. You know the kind? I got it a few weeks before Nate came home and practiced a little. It was VERY complicated and I had to follow the online instructions a lot. I figured it would be easier once he was actually in it. It wasn't. I just never could get the hang of it and by the time I finally got him in the darned thing, he never felt secure to me and I always worried that he wasn't getting enough air. Plus, all that material was just plain hot. Maybe I got the wrong size. I don't know. Needless to say, I never really used it.

Thus my search for a new carrier began. I looked online and the one with the top ratings is the Baby Bjorn. Great. I can't afford the Baby Bjorn. They're nice but really, are they any better than a Snugli? They must be because I had a Snugli and hated it. I guess I am just not destined to be a baby wearer.

Lo and behold, the beauty of yard sales. Yesterday I found a Baby Bjorn for $20. I was hesitant, $20 is still kind of pricey. But given that they are upwards of $60 or more new, I decided to give it a shot. The lady was very nice and showed me how to wear it, how to put Nate in, etc. I walked around for a few minutes and thought, hey, I can do this one. And the best part? I really CAN do it, even on my own. No more gymnastics trying to figure out how to wrap him correctly. No more worries that he isn't getting enough air. No more thoughts that he may fall out. He is secure and he is really in love with it. He doesn't cry, he doesn't fuss, he smiles and really enjoys his time in it. HOOORRRRAAAYYY.

So, for all of you debating weather or not to spend the money on a Baby Bjorn, I say go for it. Knowing what I know now, I should have bought one long ago. And, as you probably know, I'm not exactly thin. I was worried it would be too tight but it isn't. It adjusted well for me. I won't lie, it is a little tight but maybe this is just the motivation I need to lose a few pounds. :)

Awesome Articles Regarding Adoption

I rarely buy magazines but I was in a long check out line today and picked up a copy of Woman's Day. I was thrilled to see a story about trans-racial adoption. It was the story of a black family who adopted a white baby. Hooray! I was so happy to see things from this perspective. You can check out the article here,

http://www.womansday.com/home/13067/the-color-of-love.html

Also, my friend Gen shared this story, which is also just incredible.

http://www.happyhealthypregnancy.com/info/lib/articles/article.aspx?article_id=2342&section=library&_nc=633452236550343833&_nockcheck=true&_nc=633452297926874895&_nockcheck=true

What Were They Thinking??

Do our children have no role models left? I am beyond disgusted by a news story on the Today Show regarding Miley Cyrus. Although Emmalee isn't old enough to watch Hannah Montana yet, she still knows who that is and recognizes Miley Cyrus in pictures. So imagine my frustration when they showed a half naked Miley from a picture taken for Vanity Fair magazine. Emmalee knew right away that it was "Hannah Tanna." Obviously this is not the type of role model I want for Emmalee. This just adds to the long line of celebrities who are letting our children down. My other issue with this is the fact that her parents allowed her to take such a photo. Honestly....what were they thinking?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24342953/

Happy Birthday, Emmalee!

Emmalee celebrated her third birthday on April 6. We had a family party for her that day but decided to wait until Tyler could attend to have her party at Chuck E Cheese. She was thrilled to finally have her Chuck E Cheese party yesterday. She is one loved little girl!!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Catch Up!

I have neglected my blog for so long, for obvious reasons. Life has been beyond crazy these past few weeks. The good news, though, is that Tyler is doing well. We are so thankful for all the calls, emails, cards, phone calls and visits we have received. People have brought gifts and food. We have had help from so many, especially child care for Emmalee and Nathaniel. We have also had countless prayers said for Tyler and for our family. We know that it is the prayers and faith of so many that have gotten us through. There are simply no words to express our gratitude. Although we know that this journey is not going to be easy, we know we can make it because of the love and support we have from each of you. Thank you!

Tyler

Thanks to all our blogging friends who have mentioned Tyler on their blog. You can keep up with Tyler on his Caringbridge site...

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tylergardner

Interesting News Story

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/04/05/rowlands.down.syndrome.cnn

Bonus Time!

We got some good news yesterday. We have a few bonus days at home. Tyler was scheduled to go in this morning for his next round of chemo, the G-Tube, bone marrow biopsy and lumbar puncture. But, because there was a problem scheduling the anesthesiologist, they are switching him to Monday. Hooray! We are thrilled to have three more days at home. I know he will be so glad to have the weekend with his Daddy.

Ty is starting to perk up a little at a time. I know he still hurts and is still very weak. But, every so often, his personality shines through a little. He is not as sleepy as he was the first few days. He crawled a little yesterday and that was great to see. He is using his signs a little more and even used his voice a couple of times yesterday. Slowly but surely he is starting to feel better. I hope next weeks hospital stay doesn't set him back too much.

Tupperware Fundraiser

The kindness of others never ceases to amaze me. My friend Teri has a good friend named Jeana. Jeana is a Tupperware rep. When she heard about Tyler, she took it upon herself to organize a fundraiser in Tyler's benefit. It is an online Tupperware party. Jeana is not taking any profit from this party and is working to raise funds to help us with some of the expenses. We are so very touched by her kindness and generosity.
If you are interested in purchasing any Tupperware to help us raise funds for our expenses, you can go to this link -
http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/eparty.open_parties?fv_item_category_code=48000
The current party closes on April 2 but Jeana said if there is further interest, she will open it again. Thank you so much!!

Homeward Bound

After one month and two days, we are finally headed home from the hospital. Soooo thankful that I get to sleep in my own bed tonight, with my husband and ALL of our little ones. Ty will be back in the hospital on Friday for five to seven days. After that, there are no "scheduled" hospital stays. Thanks to everyone for all the emails, calls, cards, visits, etc. Thanks especially for all the prayers. Please keep the prayers coming. We're just at the start of this very long journey.

Please Pray for Rhett

We have a blogging buddy named Rhett. :) Rhett also has Down syndrome...some of you may recall my pleas for prayers in behalf of Rhett before. Well, Rhett needs our prayers again. He is having surgery tomorrow and his family is asking for extra prayers. Please visit his blog here and say a little prayer for him. Then spread the word. :)

Grains of Gratitude

I'm not going to lie, I wasn't feeling much like posting this tonight. But, as I sat here thinking, I realized that despite the utter chaos our lives are in right now, I do have much to be grateful for. I have come to realize in my life that focusing on my blessings can make the difficult things seem smaller. So, here goes....

1. I am grateful that Brent and I are married. I can't tell you how much that man means to me. There simply aren't words. He is my soul mate, my best friend and my eternal companion. He is the greatest Daddy to these beautiful kiddos of ours. He is committed, compassionate and simply incredible. I can't imagine doing any of this -- the good and the bad -- with anyone else.

2. I am grateful that Tyler is receiving such wonderful care. He is in a fantastic hospital with a wonderful team of doctors and nurses caring for him. I have no doubt that he is in the best place he could be.

3. I am grateful that we live within five minutes of the hospital. I have met several families who live long distances from here and have to sacrifice so much to be with their child. What a blessing it is that we are so close and that we can both be involved with Tyler's care.

4. I am grateful that my mom has been here to help out. She has been here for a week and will be here until next Sunday. I so wish her visit were under different circumstances but it is such a blessing that she is able to be here now, helping with the kids, etc.

5. I am grateful that I have been able to spend time with Emmalee and Nathaniel each day. I miss them so much when I am at the hospital and it has been nice that I get to go home each evening and spend time with them. Plus I stayed home all weekend and it was great to be home with them.

6. I am grateful that we are half-way through this month of in-patient treatment.

7. I am especially grateful for Tyler. There simply aren't words to describe how incredible he is. He is strong in ways I can't even comprehend. He loves unconditionally and even through all of this, his perfect spirit shines through. It is an incredible privilege to be his mommy.

8. I am grateful to all of our family and friends for your prayers, love, support, cards, emails, phone calls, gifts, visits, meals....the list goes on. There is simply no way we could get through this without all of you!

Adoption Is A Miracle!

Two of my dearest friends have adopted in the past week or so. Teri, Howie, Nicki and Gabi welcomed home baby Ellie. She was born this past Friday.

Shawn, Sue and Alex welcomed home baby Cullen. He was born on Tuesday.

The most amazing thing about this is that Teri and Sue have been friends since Gabi and Alex were tiny. The girls were both adopted through Adoption STAR, (our same adoption agency,) and were born just a couple months apart. They are best friends. Now they have Ellie and Cullen, born just a few days apart. It is just incredible how adoption has brought these families together.

I am so blessed to know them also and to have them as my friends.

Congrats again, Teri and Sue! We love you all!!

Website For Tyler

I have set up a new website for Tyler so everyone can keep up with his progress. It is http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tylergardner

Our New Reality

Cancer. Cancer is our new reality. Our simple life is gone. Our child has cancer. Leukemia, to be specific. Tyler has leukemia. There. I said it and didn't even cry that time. I said it without breaking down and sobbing. Our perfect, beautiful, happy little boy has leukemia. Our lives will forever be changed. I know more about leukemia today that I ever thought possible. And yet, this is just the beginning. We've only just scratched the surface. There are still many, many unknowns. The biggest unknown of all is why. Why did this happen? Why did this sweet, innocent child develop this horrible disease? Why?

And so it begins. This new reality. This horrible, awful, wish-it-were-a-dream reality. So much for not sobbing.