Happy Birthday, Campbell! err...again...sort of...

Today is Campbell's 1 year "adjusted" birthday. That means today is 1 year from her due date.

"Why is this important?" you ask. Well, every time we talk about milestones, weight, progress, etc., we look at two things. We look at her real age and her adjusted age. This means that for the past year, I've learned to add and subtract 3 months quickly when talking about Campbell.

We'll continue to adjust her age until she's 2 years old, at which time most preemies will have caught up in age. Campbell continues to lag behind in her real age peers in most skills and her adjusted age peers in some areas (especially gross motor).

Just for fun, here is a picture of Campbell on her due date. Wasn't she cute?

It's so interesting to me that she was less than 6 pounds on this date. I somehow doubt if she'd have been full term that she would have been that tiny...

Announcing the Award Winning Team Campbell

Let's just cut to to the chase . . . because of all of your support, Team Campbell reached our goal of raising $2,500 for the March of Dimes and because of this . . . Team Campbell is a 2009 March of Dimes double-award winning team. We brought home three plaques from the March for Babies. Plaque one was for the most money raised online (using the http://www.marchforbabies.org/teamcampbell website). Our second plaque was for the most money raise from a family team. Plaque three was for being our area's Ambassador Family.

Campbell's acceptance speech . . . my peeps, let me first say thanks to the almighty Lord . . if it wasn't for Him, I wouldn't be here today. I'd also like thanks the March of Dimes for the surfactant that I received when I was just a few days old. Mommy, daddy, you're the bestest. Nana, thanks for taking care of me five out of the seven days of the week. I'd also like to thank all my walkers who helped me support the March of Dimes. In no particular order . . . mommy, Nana, Chrissy, Heather, Patrick, Anna, Jessica, Heather, Erica, Missi, Monica, Tiffany, her sister Dawn and Tiffany's husband Scott. (I hope I didn't forget anyone). Lastly, I want everyone to know that I walked today for Kayleigh . . . girl, I'm praying for you.

Some of Team Campbell 2009

Mommy giving her "family ambassador" speech. I was clapping for her.

Saturday night, we went to the big ole' Rock Hill's Come See Me festival. It was a lot of fun. I got to hang out with my girl Brinkley. I also met mommy's friend Sarah Sopko . . . she's engaged and has a big fat ring!

I was trying to get a bug off Brinkley.

Sunday was a laid back kind of day . . . . We went to Cherry Park with Ethan and we played on the swings and slide. It was so much fun.

On the way down the slide.

My cousin Ethan.

Swinging like a big girl!

Check me out climbing up the slide.

I'm playing with daddy . . . he grilled turkey burgers tonight and they were delish!

Well, I'm getting over my little sickness from last week, so I'm off to bed to get my beauty sleep . . . thanks for everything.

Ta-Ta for now!

One Final Reminder

Peeps . . . I just wanted to remind you to come walk with on Saturday for the annual March for Babies. The walk begins at 9am and the walk begins at the Open Shelter at Cherry Park in Rock Hill.

I'm sporting my 2009 Team Campbell shirt and we have 15 2009 March for Babies tshirts to give out too. . . so come out and show your support for the March of Dimes. It's going to be a lot of fun and I heard mommy saying today that since it's 5 miles and she's not sure how well I'm going to do in the jogging stroller for such a long time so people who come walk with us will also have to take turns carrying me . . .

So help CARRY me while you MARCH for babies!

See you Saturday and NO you do not have to donate money to come walk . . . just come out to show your support.

questions

Speaking of donations . . . THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your support. Because of you, daddy was able to turn in over $1,700 to the March of Dimes! What a wonderful feeling that is . . . .THANKS!!!!!

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On a much more serious note . . . please consider saying a prayer for one of my bffs that I've never met. Kayleigh is needing our help! Hang in there girl . . . we're praying for you!

A big bow makes it all better...

Update

Campbell seems to be feeling a bit better today. She slept well last night and didn't seem to cough as much. Her temp is down to 99 this morning. We went back to the pediatrician and she was very happy to see that Campbell definitely was not as lethargic as yesterday. She went over the bloodwork results and they are mixed. Her white blood cell counts are within normal limits but there are bands that are elevated. This means we still aren't sure if it's bacterial or viral.

She checked Campbell's ears and they are redder than she would like and since she still has the congestion, she put Campbell on an antibiotic just in case it is bacterial. She also heard her cough and was a little concerned about the sound of if so she prescribed steroids in case I hear the noise get harsher throughout the day. I also told her that when Campbell coughed she would cry like it hurt so she wants to be cautious. The steroids will help with any upper respiratory inflammation. If you remember from her bronchoscopy results, we have to be very careful of any swelling due to her laryngomalacia.

So, thanks for your prayers. It looks like Campbell is hopefully on the mend. We'll keep you all posted!

Poor Sick Baby...

Well, folks, my bravery as a preemie mom is being tested. Campbell had her first RSV test yesterday and lung x-ray today. As many things as she's been through, hearing the words "we need to test for RSV" almost knocked me to the floor. Thankfully, the RSV and flu tests both came back negative.

This sad tale of illness began this past Friday when Campbell started a fever. She seemed fine despite it, maybe a little grumpy but not too bad so we didn't worry too much. Saturday the fever persisted and her nose started running. Sunday the runny nose was unbelievable, she started coughing, and she STILL had the fever. Monday she still had the yucky nose and fever so I took her to the pediatrician where they tested her and everything came out negative. They listened to her lungs and they sounded clear. Her ears also were clear so we concluded that it was just a virus we'd have to just wait out.

Last night she slept through the night but coughed pretty regularly. Since the dr. said she'd probably cough more when laying down, we didn't worry too much about it. This morning I was very excited when I took her temp and it was normal for the first time in 5 days!

Nana (my mom who keeps Campbell while I work) kept us posted throughout the day that Campbell didn't seem to be feeling better and actually started seeming worse. She was very lethargic, coughing a lot, didn't have much appetite, and had a fever of 99-100. After a short afternoon nap, Nana noticed that Campbell seemed to be having trouble breathing. Nana called Robbie who called me and the pediatrician. I met Nana at the doctor's office with Campbell. They quickly put a pulse ox on her foot to measure her oxygen saturation and it was at 88%!!!! This put me into an immediate flashback to the NICU and I knew this number wasn't good. (It should be in the high 90's to 100%.) They deep-suctioned her nose and got lots of mucus and yuck out and her sats went up to 97%. Thank God.

They listened to her lungs (and even let Nana, R.N. listen) and they sounded clear. They had us just kind of hang out for a while while they watched her. The Dr. who saw her yesterday was shocked at how lethargic she was in comparison to yesterday. They decided to give her a shot of antibiotics and send us to the hospital for bloodwork and a lung x-ray.

The results of the lung x-ray and bloodwork were all clear so our current assumption is she has some sort of infection. We have a follow up appointment in the morning. In the meantime we are keeping her elevated, including raising one end of her crib (flashback to reflux days), running the humidifier, and suctioning her nose often. Her temp a few minutes ago was 102.4 so I gave her some more Motrin.

Please say a prayer that Campbell feels better soon. We'll keep you all posted.

Please also say a prayer for Nana who had a big scare and did a great job in taking care of Campbell. Nana stayed with me all through the dr's office and hospital. It's great having a Nana who is a registered nurse and understands all the lingo and who knows and loves Campbell enough to recognize when things aren't right. We love you, Nana! Thanks for everything!

And the winner is....

Drum Roll Please....

The results from the Raffle are in and here is the list of the lucky folks and what they won:

Linda Call 2008 March for Babies T-shirt

Jabari and Melissa Wade 2008 March for Babies T-shirt
Tricia Cox 2008 Team Campbell T-shirt
Heather and Patrick Kelly 2008 Team Campbell T-shirt
Scott and Kate Sinclair 2008 Team Campbell T-shirt
Jennifer Borak 2009 Team Campbell T-shirt
Kathy Dorton 2009 Team Campbell T-shirt
Nancy Needham 2009 Team Campbell T-shirt
Michell Pruitt 2009 Team Campbell T-shirt
Steve Hefner (by the way...Richland 2's Superintendent) McAlister's Deli Gift Card
Grandma (Juanita Robinson) Longhorn Gift Card
Nana and Pop March of Dimes Insulated Cooler
Michelle and Adam Lucas Regal Cinemas Gift Card
Nichole and Joseph Hedgepeth 107.9 the Link Prize Pack
Gerald and Linda Owens 107.9 the Link Prize Pack
Chrissy and Michael Catoe 107.9 the Link Prize Pack

Congratulations to all of the Winners! We will be getting your prize to you soon.

Thank you to everyone who donated!

Don't forget, the March for Babies is this Saturday at 9 am at Cherry Park. We would love for you all to join us. If you haven't joined yet, you can sign up by clicking the purple badge to the right.

Meet one of my BFFs Finley

On Wednesday mommy, daddy, and I loaded up the car to head to Savannah, GA. One of my BFFs Finley lives there with her mommy and daddy, Jennifer and Greg. While packing Wednesday morning, I was playing in the living room floor while mommy fixed my breakfast. Five minutes later I was eating breakfast in the dining room when all of a sudden I heard a big CRASH! Right where I was previously sitting, the ceiling fan fell from the 14 foot ceiling and came crashing to the ground. Did I mention . . . 5 MINUTES PRIOR, I WAS SITTING THERE? Scary!!!!

So we left and on the way heading to Savannah, we stopped in Columbia and I was able to meet all of my daddy's co-workers at his new job. They were all so funny and nice.

Here I am in the car ride . . . having to entertain myself

After being in the car for about 4 hours, we finally made it to Savannah. On Thursday Finley and I had a busy day planned. We started at Oatland Island, an educational nature center in Savannah.

I just met a goat for the first time.

Finley and I checking out the back of a cow.

It's another goat.

Finley laughing at Donkey . . . did you know he was in the movie Shrek?!

Here is me, mommy, Jennifer, and Finley

Check out my new Crocs!

After our naps, we all went out for a quick dip in the pool. It was so much fun swimming with Finley . . . she can blow bubbles!!!!

Later on Thursday evening, we went for a golf cart ride. It was my first time cruising.

The night concluded with my first double bath . . . Finley and I took a bath together. It was so much fun splashing her with the water.


Thank you Finley, Jennifer, and Greg (and soon to be Baylis), I had so much fun. My first trip to Savannah was a memorable one.

come walk with me - 13 more days

Peeps . . . okay, it's Campbell . . . it's time for a serious talk . . .

First let me say THANK YOU so much for helping me raise money for the March of Dimes . . . all of you rock! THANKS!!!!

Now for the serious talk . . . on April 25 is the actual March of Dimes "March for Babies." It's going to be at 9am at Cherry Park in Rock Hill . . . now for the kicker . . . the walk is going to be 5 MILES! Are you up for that?

Did you notice the cool image at the top of this post? That's the saying on the back of the Team Campbell t-shirts. You can still win one in the raffle by donating to the March of Dimes.

I'd love for you to come walk with me, my mommy, and our friends. Even if you are not able to donate any money, that is perfectly fine . . . come walk with me. I really want all my friends to be there.

If you are going to walk, or thinking about walking . . . still register. To register to walk with me, click here or email my mommy and daddy at robbieandmartha@gmail.com and they can register you.


Here is a picture of last year's team . . . notice anyone who is missing? Yep, ME!!! This year, I'm able to come out and am looking forward to not only walking (okay, being pushed) for 5 miles, but I'm also looking forward to having you walk with me . . . what do you say . . . come walk with me!

Happy Easter!

Martha, Campbell and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. We went out to Glencairn Garden in Rock Hill to get these shots.


One side note about this one (below) . . . We were on a hill and Campbell discovered that she could fall backwards and Martha would catch her . . . below is one of those pictures . . .

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

2 ponytails flapping in the wind . . .

As you know, Martha's mother (Nana) watches Campbell during the days (Thanks Nana). Campbell loves her Nana and they have so much fun together. We went to have dinner with Nana and Pop on Friday and to our amazement, we found Campbell looking like this . . . 2 ponytails flapping in the wind. Aren't they so cute?!

After dinner, Campbell managed to pull the ponytails out . . . this is the aftermath.

On Saturday, we went swimming again . . . no, this is not the same picture from last week . . . . this was taken today.

Today we worked on our kicks . . .

Our floating . . .

Kicking from the side of the pool (ignore the big blue blob in the water behind Campbell) . . .

We even worked on using the kick-board . . . .

The day ended with Campbell throwing herself into the pool . . . luckily I was there to catch her . . . all in all, today was a good day!

Hard to believe it's been a year...

I can hardly believe that one year ago Campbell came home from the hospital. I could spend hours writing about how our lives have changed, but I don't have the time to write it and you don't have the time to read it. If you're curious, you can look over the last year's worth of blog posts and see the amazing journey we've been on.

We are blessed to be able to look at our own miracle every day. She is an amazing, sweet-spirited, angelic little being who has blessed us beyond our imaginations.

4/9/08

4/9/09
Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support during this past year.

Bronchoscopy Complete

Campbell had her bronchoscopy done today (see previous post about it). Basically, the pulmonologist put a camera down her throat to look at her airways. Campbell is a loud breather and he wanted to make sure there was no cyst or scar tissue from being on the vent in the NICU causing the noise.

We are happy to report that the loud breathing is caused by laryngomalacia. In short, everyone has folds or flaps in their throat (epiglottis is one and arytenoid cartilages are others) that flop down when you swallow so food doesn't go into your lungs. Well, Campbell's arytenoid cartilages are large and flop down when she breathes rather than just when she swallows. This makes her breathing sound wheezy.

As scary as this sounds, this is great news because it *should* be something she grows out of. Dr. Black said that most babies grow out of this by 6-7 months, but Campbell "didn't read the manual". It's often made worse by reflux which Campbell definitely had. He said that it is something that can be fixed with surgery if she doesn't grow out of it or if it begins to affect her quality of life. By that he means that there is the remote possibility that as she starts walking and running it's going to be louder and if we see her gasping for breath or seem to struggle we may have to consider the surgery.

We also have to be very careful that she doesn't get Croup. Apparently croup is a virus that makes the throat swell and since her throat already has the folds that are flopping around when they shouldn't be, that any swelling would probably put her in the hospital. So, those of you who don't understand my germ-a-phobic-ness...watch out because it's probably going to get worse. We are lucky that croup season is almost over (knock on wood).

On a side note...it was a strange feeling to be back in a hospital with her. Seeing her attached to all of the monitors, especially the pulse ox with the red light brought back a lot of memories. It was nice to see her oxygen saturation sit at 100% which didn't really happen this time last year...

I am so proud of my big girl. She did so well! The anesthesiologist kept telling us that she might fight the gas but she was so sweet that she let them do what they needed. She did wake up quite grumpy but as soon as they let us give her a bottle, all was well. She quickly perked up and they got her some toys to keep her entertained while we waited out the mandatory hour wait. Here are some pictures from Robbie's phone. Didn't she look so cute in her little hospital gown?!

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!