Special days

October 15th and  Novemeber 17th are special days to me.  Special to the mission of the March of Dimes and to me as a parent.  October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day and November 17th is Prematurity Awareness Day.

These days touch my heart as I cannot imagine a greater loss than that of a child, regardless of age or gestation and I cannot imagine a struggle more bittersweet than that of parenting a baby born prematurely.  So, on Friday night I lit a single candle to remember all who have loved and lost as my private celebration of the moment.

As we approach November 17th, I will be attempting to raise awareness for the day that truly touches my heart and that of my son.  If you should want to join me, please do.  I took the following from the Blogger's Unite website, but all is true of my own situation.


Every year, 20 million babies are born too soon, too small and very sick-half a million of them in the U.S. November 17th is when we fight!

Do you know a baby who was born too soon, too small, unable to breathe or nurse on their own? With 1 in every 8 babies born prematurely, you probably do. While medical advances give some babies a chance of survival, for many babies premature birth is a life-or-death condition. Babies who survive can face serious health challenges and risk lifelong disabilities. 

If you are reading this blog, you do.  My son Gunner, born at 33 weeks.  He is the picture of health now, but 16 months ago, he too was fighting for something...his life.  He too was unable to eat on his own or able to control his temperature.  He had to be monitored 24 hours a day, just in case he forgot to breathe on his own.

The rate of premature birth has risen more than 30 percent since 1981. In half the cases, we simply don’t understand what went wrong. The March of Dimes is leading the fight for answers. And, ultimately, preventions.

This is our situation.  We have no idea why my water broke at 28 weeks.  I did everything right, I teach devlopment, I know what to do and what not to do.  But it still happened.  The March of Dimes funds research to help figure that out, so that maybe another mom won't know the undue stress that having a baby too soon brings.
November 17 is dedicated to raising awareness of the crisis. Take 3 steps to help fight premature birth:

1. Visit marchofdimes.com/fight.

2. Put a badge on your blog to help spread the word.

3. On November 17, blog for a baby you love and to help others.

We need to fight ― because babies shouldn’t have to.