Logen is DESPERATE for your prayers. Pray blog family, PLEASE pray. Just grab this code and add it to your blog (html gadget) so you can help us spread the word! Thanks! Pray for Logen

A sincere THANK YOU to all of you who have added this to your blog! And, to Anelys for creating such a cute blinkie!!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I'm Donating Breastmilk!

When Parker was in the NICU, I remember sitting in a *circle* with another Mom and 2 nurses. Me and the other mom were *watching* our babies. She had twins in isoletes, Parker was under the bili-lights. The other Momma was having a dificult time expressing enough milk to feed her babies. I, on the otherhand, could have feed the entire NICU- and then some! I was pumping every 3 hours (around the clock) to maintain and develop a good supply so that when Parker came home, he would be exclusively breastfed. I would get about 10 oz at each pumping session. More than enough for Parker (his first fed was 1 tsp). While in the cirle one of the nurses had mentioned something about her daughter trying to buy breastmilk- it was like $2.50 an ounce! For some reason, she was unable to breastfeed or make milk. Originally, I thought- hey! This could be an awesome way to make extra money- I'll pump my breasts all day long for this! 2.50 an oz! WOW! I learned- you have to donate.... they won't pay you for your milk!

While I was on bedrest, I saw an episode of Oprah with a woman who had started some sort of breastmilk donating thing. A few months ago, I saw an ad in Preemie Magazine for Prolacta. So, I filled out the online forms. I was approved to donate as long as my blood work (I also had to undergo DNA testing) came back clear, my OB and Parker's Ped signed off on some paperwork. My bloodwork was cleared and both Dr's approved my decision. Today, I packed up 90 bottles of previously pumped milk- and I still have atleast 150 bottles in the deep freeze waiting to be shipped to the National Breastmilk Bank.

My milk will be used for ill preemies or used to make a human milk fortifier. To beable to get banked breastmilk for your baby- it has to be prescribed! I found how they processed the milk interesting-----

They test the milk~ These tests will:
• confirm that pasteurization was effective.• measure the protein, fat, carbohydrates, calories, vitamins and minerals• verify the nutritional label • ensure the absence of certain viruses

STEP 1: Clean Room - All processing technicians working in the clean rooms must undergo regular medical exams, cannot be sick while working, and must wear special clean room protective uniforms complete with gloves and face masks.
STEP 2: Thawing and Pooling - The milk from qualified donors is thawed and pooled together in a large stainless steel tank. The temperature of the tank is carefully controlled to keep the milk cold during blending and analysis.
STEP 3: Centrifugation - Once the milk is pooled, it is separated into cream and skim. A sample is taken of both for analysis to determine the level of protein, fat and carbohydrates, as well as the total calories.
STEP 4: Formulation - Portions of the skim and cream are blended in exact quantities to adjust levels of protein and calories. Protein, fat and calories are vital to your baby’s growth and development. They are measured carefully so that each feeding of these human milk preparations will support your baby’s growth and development.
STEP 5: Pasteurization - The milk is pasteurized using a special High Temperature Short Time (HTST) or equivalent process. For premature babies, the pasteurization process is important because it provides an extra measure of safety, but still preserves important nutrients your baby needs.
STEP 6: Filling - The milk is cooled rapidly and held at a very cold temperature while it is being filled into oral syringes.
STEP 7: Storage - The pasteurized human milk formulations are stored in a -30° C freezer and held until more tests are performed. These tests are performed by independent laboratories to make sure that the nutritional label is correct and that the pasteurization process was successful.
STEP 8: Use - The milk is now ready to be fed to babies in the NICU.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

God Choses Mom for (dis)ABLED Child

This is one of my favorite poems. I get teary eyed every time I read it. It makes me feel special. God sent Adam & I Logen for a reason...... And, We love him no matter what. To us, he's perfect!

Written by Erma Bombeck Published in the Today Newspaper Sept. 4th, 1993

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children.

Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments forpropagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.
"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.
"Rudledge, 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 handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it."
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence. She'll have to teach the child to 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 enough selfishness." The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize 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 present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations." "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 midair.
God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

Mourning The Loss Of A Child

Many of you already know this- and, I'm not dealing well with it. I HATE the fact that I may not beable to "hold" another baby in my tummy, to feel the tiny flutters of little body parts tickling my insides, to go through labor, to nurse another baby, to watch a baby grow into a child.... My body sucks...... Tonight, I cry b/c there may never be a 3rd baby Duncan. I may never be a mom to a daughter, I may never have 3 sons. I'm so THANKFUL for the 2 beautiful, wonderful blessings God has given me. But, yet- I mourn for a child I may never have. I'm throwing myself a full blown pity party, I ask for your prayers- to help me deal with this. This is God's will. I have to remind myself that if it's meant for Adam & I to have 3 children, we will. God will make sure of it; some how, some way. That still doesn't make this emptiness go away. The hurt doesn't stop. We will re-evaluate the "baby" situation again next year and see what "I" look like. If we are able to get pregnant again, I'll be doomed for bedrest - again. But, thats ok. If weeks and weeks of bedrest mean we have another baby, then- by gosh-- I'll lay on my hiney for a very long time! Bedrest also means my mom & Dave have to be ready! And, Adam of course!! So, please just say a prayer for us. Adam has taken this pretty hard to.

A Day On The Blakeslee's Farm!










Logen ~ The Cookie Monster

How can you not love this little guy??? This happened one night last week! Adam had gone to the fridge to get Logen some milk. Of course, Logen was standing right there & saw something in the fridge he thought he had to have. Adam closed the fridge and Logen stood there pointing at it like, "How could you?" So, we opened it back up and Logen grabbed the package of cookie dough. I said, "Logen- Mommy has to bake it in the oven before we eat it." So, he set it on the stove. I said, "No honey- IN the oven on a baking sheet!" So, he tried to open the drawer under the oven to get a baking sheet. He couldn't get the drawer open. So, he looked in the cabinet next to the stove and found a breakable pizza plate. He got the plate out and put the dough (still in the pkg) on it. She tried SOOO hard to get the plate lifted up to hand to me. Now, did he deserve the cookies or what??!!! If it hadn't have been 10pm, I'd have made them and he could have had 2 or 3! I ended up giving him a few bites of dough (which in Logen's opinion were NOT good enough!)
This is amazing to me b/c this means his little brain is really processing what we say! He was able to follow simple commands! And, how great is it that he remembered the cookie baking process? He's made cookies with me before (and he loves playing in the flour mix!)
Here are a few pics I managed to snap during the process :)







Thanks To Our Military Heros!

I was reading Chrystie's blog this morning and she has a WONDERFUL thank you to the soldiers fighting for our nation. Yesterday was Memorial Day & I should have also written a heart filled thank you to these men & women. I copied and pasted some of her thank you b/c it was so wonderful & brought tears to my eyes! *Chrystie- I hope you don't mind!!*

"Today, it's about gratefulness.I am thankful for the men and women who have decided that defending their country (be it Canada or the US) is more important than financial gain. I am thankful for the men and women whose blood, sweat and tears are shed because they believe in protecting their nation. I am thankful for the families who kiss our soldiers good-bye, and somehow, let them go for months at a time.I remember thinking, in the dead of a Texas summer, when the mercury rose to well over 110 degrees, how this would be a cool summer day in Iraq. I looked down at my jean shorts and flip flops, and wondered what it would feel like to wear combat boots and full uniform in this kind of heat. Wow. I sweat just thinking about it.

I also often wonder if I'd ever be able to muster up the inner strength to kiss Richard goodbye for six months at a time. SIX MONTHS. Ellie wouldn't even remember who her daddy was after that amount of time. And thousands of families are dreading that day in the airport right now. Thousands of wives are pleading with God to keep their husbands safe yet another day.

And here I sit, in my air conditioned house, watching a good ole hockey game (Go Sens!), sipping my fresh coffee, knowing that my husband will be back from his hour-long trip to Canadian Tire any minute. Today, I thank the guys (both men and women) who have given me the ability to do all those things. I thank the guys who are are running the obstacle course in basic training. I thank the guys who are trying to sleep in a tent in the middle of the desert, when the overnight low is 100 degrees. I thank the guys who are holding down the fort in North America."

THANK YOU IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH!

Monday, May 28, 2007

Parker Talks!

Last night Parker started to "talk"! It's gone between sounding like "baby" to "blaaah" to "bye bye". It's just the ba-ba-ba sound (I'm guessing *typical* children make). It's the strangest thing to have a baby meeting milestones on time. I PRAY for the day Logen starts saying ba-ba-ba!!!! Anyway, I marked it in the baby book! It seems easier to mark milestones with Parker. I wish I would have kept a better journal for Logen. I guess thats why I have written EVERYTHING down for Parker!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Parker Has Momma Pegged!

Earlier this evening, I was giving Parker a bath. In the last week, he's decided he likes to suck the water out of the wash cloth- tonight was no different. However, I needed the wash cloth to rinse his hair. I took it from him & he immediately started crying! And as soon as I gave it back, he promptly put it into his mouth & smiled!!!!!! Isn't 6 months a little earlier for this behavior? LOL

A Tractor Ride

While Jerod was home, him & Tamra drove their tractor to visit us! Adam took Logen for a ride around the block and said he got some interesting looks from the neighboors!!!












Meeting Uncle Jerod

Adam's brother, Jerod, has been overseas since before Parker was born. At the beginning of May, he came home for 2 weeks of R & R. Parker finally got to meet his uncle! And, he LOVED him!!!!!!! Please pray for the safety of Jerod & 142nd!








Parker & Pawpaw On Mother's Day


Playing at The Floyd's







Logen playing with Ridley & Angel. He's taken over Parker's portable swing....

Friday, May 25, 2007

Figuring "blogging" out!

As you can see, I don't know how to post pictures on here yet! All of the other blogs have smaller pics and you can actually see the entire picture! So, any help would be appreciated :) The pic of Logen feeding the camel is so cute, but you can't see the camel since my pics are too big! I'll figure it out some day :)

An Afternoon At The Gentry Safari

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