How Mothers of Preemies are Chosen?

Did you ever wonder how mothers of premature babies are chosen? Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint, Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint. . .give her Gerard. He's used to profanity." Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy." "Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel." "But does she have the patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off she'll handle it. "I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy." "But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you." God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just the right amount of selfishness." The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?" God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says momma for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see, ignorance, cruelty, prejudice--and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side." "And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air. God smiles. "A mirror will suffice

You know your a parent to a preemie when....‏

1 .You use strange initials (C-PAP, CCs, NICU, NG) when discussing your child.
2.You actually remember how many CCs make up an ounce.
3.You count his weight in grams.
4. The skin on your hands is peeling from washing so often!
5.You hesitate when someone asks his/her age, but you know exactly how much he/she weighs!
6. The answer to "How old is your baby?" is a story 30 minutes long!
7. When someone asks his birthday, you reply, "Which one?"
8. You start to understand some of the things they say on ER!
9. You turn into Kung-Fu Mom when someone tries to touch your baby.
10. You attempt to measure just how much spit-up he/she just had before you clean it up!
11. You know how much he weighs before putting him on the scale at the doctor's office
12. You cry at Maternity Ward and get mad at Baby Story.
13. You see a 7lb newborn and say "Wow! She's so BIG!"
14. Your baby is months old before he can even go to the mall.
15. You have explained why your baby is on an apnea monitor.
16. When someone says how tiny your baby is, you argue that he is huge -- and to demonstrate, you whip out pictures of him in NICU.
17. You do a health check on people when they come to your house to visit.
18. You make people wash their hands before going near your child.
19. You want to scream when someone says that she just wants to have this baby now - at week 28, 32, or 34.
20. You are so amazed when someone actually tells you your baby is big for his age!
21. You tried to find a place to buy newborn size diapers in bulk.
22. You called half your relatives when the baby grew out of their first pair of pajamas!
23. You never take your child for granted.
24. You worry about RSV season and it is still weeks away . . .
25. You know what "RSV" stands for.
26. You donate his/her tiny clothes to the NICU and marvel that they seem so small - when they were too large!
27. Your son gets a simple cold and her doc sees her within the hour!2
8. People say, "He CAN'T be __ old...he's too little!"
29. It has taken them 5 months to grow INTO newborn clothes!
30. You pick up 2 pounds of ground beef and think that your baby was born at the same weight.
31. You buy "Purell" in bulk
32. You can stare at your baby for hours when he sleeps

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

The Osika family had a wonderful holiday season! We spent Christmas Eve with the Horn Family. Mackenzie was able to enjoy a lot of time with her new cousins, Carter & Evan. It was great having all of the Horn sisters together and be able to spend quality time with my nephews.

Mackenzie actually had a little bit of interest in opening her presents. She tore a few pieces of wrapping paper when it suited her. But, what she liked best was attempting to eat the paper. I think next year she'll really start to understand and be quite excited for all of the goodies that Santa leaves her!

We then spent Christmas Day with the Osika Family. Mackenzie got to spend some time with her aunts, uncles, and cousins. Her only girl cousin, Emma, really enjoyed entertaining Mackenzie!

We made sure New Year's Eve was a kid friendly atmosphere. We hosted a family dinner at our house and invited the Ziegler Family and the Myers Family. Although we didn't truly ring in the new year together (as I was asleep on the sofa by 9:30), it was great to get together with good friends and enjoy good eats! To many more in 2011!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Osika house is officially ready for Christmas. We chopped down our Christmas Tree on Saturday and decorated it on Sunday. This is the first Christmas that Mackenzie got the chance to take part in all of the festivities. Last year at this time she was still in the NICU. So, Daddy went out and got the tree and decorated it all by himself so that his little girl had a festive house to come home to.

So happy to have the whole family together this holiday season!

Moooooooooooo......

She had her one year well visit yesterday (only about 2 weeks late). Here are her most recent statistics:


Height: 27" (2.61%)
Weight: 16 lbs 7 oz (.65%)
Head: 17.44" (23.96%)

The doctor was very pleased with how well she is doing and although she is barely on the weight charts she jumped up from her 9 month well visit. We are to contiue to give her fruits and veggies at every meal (even if she continues to refuse them). And we can start introducing milk at dinner time. The doctor recommended doing one meal at a time. So, we'll start with dinner for about a week and then move onto breakfast and so forth and so on. So, in the perfect world the doctor predicted her to be off the bottle in 3 weeks. I'm not so sure it's going to go that smoothly. But, maybe my daughter will prove me wrong.

Needless to say, Andy & I left the appointment feeling like we are doing something right if she continues to grow (regardless of the fact that she barely eats). So, we'll keep on truckin'!

Anxious to see how this new change will go. Stay tuned..............

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!!

It's so hard to believe that it has been one year since we became a family of three! This past year has been amazing. Mackenzie is truly our little miracle, the sunshine in our life. Her smiles melt our heart each and every day. And we can't wait to see her continue to grow and learn in this coming year.

Mackenzie had a great first birthday party on Saturday, November 27th. She was surrounded by so many loved ones. She was spoiled with presents and even enjoyed a sweet little treat on her special day!

Trick or Treat....

....smell my feet....give me something good to eat....

Mackenzie had her first halloween party today at school. All of her classmates dressed up and had a parade at the local nursing home. She was even allowed to bring in a treat to school. So mommy made her pumpkin muffins to share with her classmates.

Happy Halloween!