Ainsley's Birth Story

Well, hello! I decided to take some time away from the blog during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's since I haven't had a spare minute to write a post. And I hate nothing more than just posting to post, ya know?

Today, I thought I'd kick off regular blogging again by sharing the little story of Ainsley's birthday. It was such a sweet and memorable day, and I'm more than happy to share it with you all.

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I'll start by saying, we didn't really know that we'd be having her on December 10th. We had a bag packed just in case, and my parents came up earlier that week because I just knew that my body wasn't going to hold Ainsley in much longer.  However, we had no guarantee that Wednesday would be the day. 

The morning of December 10th, I had my regular twice-weekly appointment, as well as my (regular, twice-weekly) non-stress test. Ainsley hadn't been moving as much the night before -- something I immediately reported to my O.B.'s nurse when she was getting my vitals. After the non-stress test, which showed heavy contractions, (I could have told them this without a non-stress test, ha!), Dr. D came in and "checked" me. 

After a few seconds, he announced I had progressed significantly and he said Ainsley would likely have arrived within the next 48 hours anyway. Since this was a repeat C-section and I was considered a high-risk pregnancy due to my heart history, we decided to get her out that night at 5:00 p.m. (Dr. D likes to deliver his own babies whenever possible, especially his high-risk patients.) So, he called Labor & Delivery and told them to admit us. 

Ten minutes later, a nurse came into the exam room with a wheelchair and up to Floor 5 we went...

Apparently, there was a mass exodus of babies from uteruses (uteri?) across Northwest Arkansas that day because EVERY SINGLE ROOM was occupied. So, they had us wait in the L&D family waiting room while a space opened up. An hour or so later, they called us back.

Because Labor & Delivery was hopping that day, they had to set us up in one of the doctors' on-call rooms, (where the docs sleep when they're on call.) It was the size of a shoebox and had no windows, which gave both of us a little anxiety, but I was so excited that we were meeting Ainsley, that I'd have stayed in that tiny room for a week!

Our sweet nurse Mary assured us that one of the birthing suites would be ready for us as soon as the surgery was over, which was great because....windows. #necessarythings

By that time, it was about noon and our five hour wait to meet Ainsley began.

The nurse started my IV, had me sign approximately 150 papers and change into the oh-so-chic hospital gown. 

Those five hours of waiting were amazing, though. Stephen and I had time to laugh and talk, watch some TV, make calls to some friends and family, and just enjoy each other's company. We also had ample time to really talk to our nurses, the anesthesiology team and our doctor for any last-minute questions. I mean it when I say, I've never been that calm about such a huge event. 

Around 3:30, the anesthesiologist came in to start my epidural. Just like last time, because of some issues surrounding my heart and blood pressure, a spinal wasn't a possibility. I was nervous about that and told him the story of what happened during Caroline's birth. I'll never forget what he said next:

Well, I'm running this show today and that won't happen again. I promise. Believe me?

I did. Fully. 

He told me that the reason (at least he thought) that the epi didn't work the last time was because they didn't give it enough time to kick in completely. So, he brought his little cart of needles in and the fun began...

I'll be honest, it hurt. Well, the numbing shot, anyway. The sensation of the epidural going in was just weird. Stephen was able to sit beside me and hold my hand, and my nurse held my shoulders and reminded me to breathe, ha! The entire thing took less than four minutes. The last epidural took 20 minutes to place. So yeah, it was already making out to be a better experience. 

After that, a nurse from the nursery came in to let me know who the on-call pediatrician would be, as well as find out what our birth plan was. Our hospital is amazingly respectful of mommas' wishes for those crucial moments right after the baby is born, whether it's a C-section or regular delivery. I LOVE that they ask even the C-section mommas how they'd like things to go. I told her that I wanted to hold Ainsley skin-to-skin ASAP in recovery, as well as let her nurse immediately. 

Around 4:40, Dr. D came in and handed Stephen a pair of scrubs to wear in the O.R. - it was go time!

Stephen and I gave each other a quick kiss and they wheeled me across the hall to the operating room. Until then, I hadn't been that nervous, but it hit me like a ton of bricks then. Thankfully, everyone was so sweet and reassuring, plus I could tell the epidural was really kicking in. 

After testing me to make sure I was completely numb, they let Stephen come in and the surgery was underway!

I felt a whoooooole lot of pulling and tugging - it was so weird. But strangely, nothing hurt. (Stephen told me later that night that he was shocked at how rough they have to be to get the baby out!) 

Just moments after they began, I heard Dr. D say, "Ready to meet her?"

Before I could answer yes, I heard a beautiful, mighty cry fill the room. 

It was Ainsley. 

My baby girl was born. 

I'm serious when I say, it was one of the most surreal moments of my life. 

They weighed her and announced that she weighed 5 lbs., 13 oz. - a tiny little thing with a big, healthy set of lungs! While they checked her out, they finished my surgery, which felt like it took forever. I was so ready to hold my girl!

Stephen joined me in recovery almost immediately and, just a few minutes later, they brought Ains in for some skin-to-skin bonding and breastfeeding. I couldn't get over how teeny and delicate she was! I just kept saying, "She's beautiful!"

We enjoyed a few quiet minutes with just the three of us before they took us to our room.

It was a perfect birth experience. 

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Soon thereafter, Stephen's mom brought Caroline into the room to meet Ainsley. She immediately smiled when she saw Ains, then started to whimper when she saw me. I think she was a little scared of all the tubes and machines in the room. After a few minutes though, she was totally fine. It was so neat to have our family of four all together!

The hospital stay was smooth and FAST. We really only spent a couple days there. (Wednesday evening, Thursday and a few hours on Friday morning.) Ainsley was nursing well, she passed all her newborn screenings with flying colors and I was recovering quickly. That Friday morning, they discharged us and we took our second baby girl home!

If you read all of that, props to you ; ) If you didn't, I can't say I blame you, ha! 

Thanks so much for indulging my momma-ness and letting me tell Ainsley's birth story. I treat this blog like a journal for our life, so I wanted to jot this down while it was still fresh. 

Family of Four

Warning: This is long. It is for my momma records since I treat this blog like a journal. If you're over all the baby stuff, (and I wouldn't blame you one single bit), I'd suggest maybe skipping over this one : ) 

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Did y'all wonder if I'd fallen off the face of the earth? ; ) Hope all of you are enjoying this holiday week with your friends and family!

So.

I had a baby girl on December 10th.

And, we are all slightly obsessed with her.

I know I'm biased. I know I am. But...but.

I think she's kind of perfect. (Aren't all babies?) She's so snuggly and warm and sweet-smelling. And I want to keep her this size forever and always.

Anywhoodle, I thought I'd pop in and give you all a little update on all the goings-on since Ainsley's birthday.

Her birthday...

People asked if we knew that December 10th we'd be having her. The answer? Nope! We had a bag packed just in case, and my parents came up earlier in the week because I just knew that week would be the week. (My body was o.v.e.r. being pregnant.)  However, we had no guarantee that Wednesday would be the day. So, it was a fun surprise for us, too!

That morning, I had my regular twice-weekly appointment, as well as my non-stress test. Ainsley hadn't been moving as much the night before -- something I immediately reported to my O.B.'s nurse when she was getting my vitals. After the non-stress test, which showed heavy contractions, Dr. D came in and checked me. If you've never been "checked", you truly haven't ever experienced fun ; )

After the 30 seconds of hell that is being "checked", he announced I had progressed significantly and he said Ainsley would likely have arrived within the next 48 hours anyway. Since this was a repeat C-section and I was considered a high-risk pregnancy, we decided to get her out that night at 5:00 p.m. So, Dr. D called Labor & Delivery and told them to admit us. And up to Floor 5 we went...

Birth story coming soon!

Baby

Ainsley is teeny tiny. At 5 lbs. 13 oz. and only 18 inches long, our little gal is quite the peanut! Funny thing is, even for a petite little thing, she lost the least amount of her birth weight out of all the babies in the nursery that week, only dropping two ounces upon discharge. Girlfriend loves to eat and I'm happy to report that she's thriving. Due to her eating so well, we only spent two nights in the hospital and were discharged! (That's a really short stay for a C-section.)

We have been seriously lucky to get two very laid back babes. Her disposition reminds me a lot of Caroline as a newborn. She cries when she's hungry or wet, (or just wants some cuddles), but honestly, she's pretty content most of the time.

She looks a whole lot like her big sister, too. Her eyes are the same shade of blue as Caroline's, but her skin is very olive-toned, much like her daddy's Italian side of the family. (Caroline definitely inherited my Scot-Irish skin tone and freckles.)

As of now, we are exclusively breastfeeding. I haven't pumped yet, as I really wanted her to get in the habit of latching and feeding easily. Maybe it's because this isn't our first go-round with BFing, but it has been SO much easier this time. I look forward to those quiet, still moments during the night feedings most of all. It's such a cool bonding experience that I loved being able to experience with Caroline and I'm glad that it's working out so far with Ainsley, too.

Big Sister

Caroline is curious about her little sister and definitely likes to watch us feed and bathe her. When people point to Ainsley and say, "Caroline, who is this?",  she'll reply, "Mah' bay-beeeee!" And then I melt because I'm sappy like that. #hormonesforlife

Because of the very small age difference, we haven't had to deal with any jealousy issues - probably the biggest perk I've heard of having them so close together.

I won't lie. The first two nights at home were ROUGH. Caroline woke every hour hollering, which then woke Ainsley, too. We just thought it was because of all the excitement, however, we discovered a couple days later that Caroline had an ear infection, which is why she was so restless. She's still getting over that, but thankfully, she's on the mend and everyone is sleeping better now.

It breaks my heart to not be able to pick her up because of my incision. She'll hang her little arms around my legs and cry, which kills me. Thankfully, I should be cleared today or tomorrow to be able to lift and carry her again.


Daddy

A very special thing happens when you have kids with someone you love. Despite the fact that you spend 23 of the 24 hours every day covered in the various bodily fluids of a tiny person, annnnd you may not have showered in a sweet forever, you fall even more in love with each other.

Maybe it's that whole, "We're in this together" mentality.

Stephen is a caretaker by nature, so he's been working double-time to make sure I'm comfortable for feeding sessions, that our pantry and fridge are stocked, that laundry is done....the guy has even made us home-cooked meals most nights.

He is also completely smitten with his daughters. (Duh.)

Something about seeing a grown man pull up a chair for a tea party or tell your newborn daughter that she's "the prettiest thing ever" that makes you weak in the knees. Men turn to mush around their little girls. This is fact. And I love it.


Mommy

I feel pretty good, actually! This C-section recovery has been much easier than the first, probably because my body knew what to expect this time. The day after the CS was horrendous -- hello, second day pain!! -- but after that, things started getting better. I tried to force myself to walk a lot in the hospital, which I credit for getting rid of the bulk of the soreness so quickly.

I only had to take the pain meds for the first five or six days after the surgery and now I'm just taking ibuprofen when needed for soreness.

I did have quite a bit (read: a shiz ton) of swelling in my feet and ankles...and thighs...and hips...and abdomen...following the surgery. It was super sexy and I've never felt more attractive. (Ever heard of pitting edema? A barrel of fun; that's what that is.) Seriously, Lebron James and I could've shared shoes.

It was super sexy and I've never felt more attractive.

(Fluid retention is the new black.)

This is really common after C-sections because of all the fluid they pump into you prior to being operated on. I'm now happy to report that I have noticeable ankles and knees again, though my tummy is still pretty swollen.

And I'm still totally, unapologetically wearing maternity jeans.


Life with two

Having two only 14 months apart is not for the faint of heart. Or those with low energy levels. I don't feel like I had much of a recovery period after the hospital. I just had to jump back into life and honestly, that was okay with me.

Is it tiring? Hell yes.

Do I love it anyway? You bet I do.

We are slowly getting our stride and I'm starting to feel like we're not treading water anymore. The first week was a blur, but this past week has been much smoother. My mom has driven up each week to be here on the days Stephen works, which has been so, so helpful. I'm definitely a little nervous about how I'll handle it once I'm here by myself, but I know that it'll all work out.

I wondered constantly how I'd love another child as much as Caroline. I can't put into words exactly how it feels, but it's like God makes even more room in your heart when you bring another child into the picture. I love them both so fiercely and wholly. They are our greatest accomplishments and the most precious gifts we have ever been given.

I don't care what else I achieve in this lifetime, so long as I do this mom thing right. Yes, Ainsley was a surprise to us, but sometimes the best things in life are those that you never saw coming.

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See y'all tomorrow!

Confessional Friday

This week has been really short on content, but I did have a blast taking photos for Wednesday's post. I'm sort of addicted to hanging out with my kid, if you can't tell. And yes, she's even infiltrating outfit photos now...oops ; )

Let's confess, shall we?

1. I confess that I stopped at Starbucks on my way into the office Tuesday because I had a free beverage coupon. The nice barista asks for my order and I say, "Grande Caramel Flan latte with extra whipped cream." She says, "Okay, that'll be $4.39." And I say, "Oh, I have a tampon for that!"

Good lord.

2. I confess that I bought some of that Younique 3D mascara that everyone is raving about because I'm a sucker for beauty products. I'm not sure if I'm applying it incorrectly or what, but by the end of the day yesterday, I had TONS of flecks of dried mascara under my eyes. It looked like I'd taken a walk next to a volcano a few hours post-eruption, (read: ash-looking mess all over my face.

If anyone also bought this stuff and can give me some pointers on preventing the flecking, tell me. Again, I'm sure it's terrific when correctly applied; I've seen photos of other women wearing it and it's really impressive and beautiful.

3. I confess that I think a baby in a simple cotton onesie is just as cute as a baby in pink frills and lace.

4. I confess that I actually laughed out loud when the on-call pediatrician yesterday commented that Caroline had "weird, tiny hands". It was, to date, the most random comment on my kid I'd ever heard. Don't know if it was delirium from lack of sleep this week or what, but it made me laugh.

It also made me think of this gem:

Link up or drink up. (Coffee, that is.)

Keepin' It Casual: {Outfit Pics}

Lately, I've been wearing a whole lot of what I like to call "the mom-i-form" on my days that I'm home with Caroline: leggings, long-sleeved tees and sneakers.

But, here's the thing: I like looking put together. So, I've started looking for comfy yet stylish pieces that can be worn on days at home with the kiddo OR dressed up for days I head into the office. Pieces that can play well with a pair of Converse sneakers or Brian Atwood stilettos.

Sunshine Stripes hoodie c/o Impressions // Pretty Little Tank c/o Impressions // sunnies here // jeans here // wedges from last summer, but similar style here

I love the ease and versatility of the Sunshine Stripes hoodie from Impressions. I paired it with their Pretty Little Tank in ivory, threw on my favorite skinnies and donned a pair of wedge heels from last summer, (similar here.)

Oh, and grabbed a cute baby. Because every photo needs a cute baby.

Easy, right?

A few other pieces that definitely fall into this category at Impressions right now:

Piko Relaxed Fit V-Neck Tee in mustard

Ballpark Sunshine Tee in Mint

Nautical Glam hoodie sweatshirt jacket

Spade Lovely blouse

Skinny Denim jeans

Basic Skinny Jean in mint

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Also, I couldn't help but share this pic of my adorable photography assistant yesterday. I'm so glad she's mine, y'all.

Caroline Rose: {Five Months}

Weight/Length: As of exactly one week ago, she was 12 lbs. and 8 oz. Caroline is also 23.5 inches long and her head is measuring 40 cm.

Still a little peanut of a thing, but MAN goes girlfriend have some cheeks on her! I could squish and kiss those puppies all day. And sometimes, I do.

Hair: Hasn’t changed a bit. Still brown and still growing fast : )

Diapers: Size 1 Pampers Swaddlers. We tried on a Size 2 and, um, nope. The dang thing came up under her arm pits, haha!! She has a teeny booty, that Caroline.

Clothing: 0-3 month in Old Navy and Baby Gap, 3 month in Carter's and most everything else. She still can't wear any of her Mud Pie clothes - they're huge on her! I've heard this is common for that brand??

Favorite Things: Her Sophie the Giraffe toy, her Bumbo seat with play tray, her Olivia the Pig doll and her jingle bell ball.

Likes: Right now, our petite princess loves: looking at books with bright pictures, having songs sung to her, music, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the iPad, bath time, getting her diaper changed. And "standing". She loves when we hold her in a standing position under her arms and let her put her feet down and straighten her legs. She likes this because it usually ends in us clapping and cheering for her like a bunch of buffoons.

On Wednesday in her stroller. 

Dislikes: The Nose Frida. Not funny, but kind of…she’ll grab the Frida when we’re trying to use it on her and hurl it at us.

Milestones: She rolled over from back-to-tummy on February 9th, then a week later started rolling from tummy-to-back. She began holding her own bottle around the beginning of February, also, right before she turned four months old. She is also starting to gear up for crawling and sitting. She also loves to "talk" and belly laugh, especially when her daddy plays peek-a-boo with her.

This month, she has also started imitating us. We can make a funny sound and she’ll mimic it. It’s so neat to interact with her this way!

She is also learning to pet the dogs. This delights Ruby (our miniature dachshund) to no end because she loves anyone who will dote on her. Ari couldn't care less, but he's a great sport while we let Caroline touch his ears and gently pat his head.

Sleeping: Up until the dadgum time change last Sunday, we were doing great, haha. She’s still sleeping through the night, but instead of going down at her normal time, it’s taking us about an hour longer to get her to sleep. We’re just being patient and looking it as though this just gives us more time to cuddle with her at night : )

She takes one long nap around 10:00 a.m. for two hours, then another nap around 1:30, then her final one around 4:30 p.m.

Mama Thoughts: 

Caroline is changing overnight these days. Clothes that fit last week don’t fit this week. Her little mind is like a sponge and soaks up new things every single day. I’m taking advantage of this and exposing her to as many things as I can. I noticed her staring at a flower in a vase on our countertop the other day. I took this opportunity for her to touch the petals, take in the bright red color and admire the beauty of this new discovery.

It’s true what they say.

When you have a child, everything is new again.

Faster than her little body is growing, is our love for her. I simply cannot imagine being more in love with another tiny human. I miss her terribly on the days that I work, although I do enjoy the time out of the house. But do you know what? That moment when I walk in the door in the afternoons and see her face light up - perfection. Can't put a price on that, friends.

Another stroller walk this morning.

Her blue eyes are getting bluer by the day, too. I'm still not sure if she favors Stephen or me more, but those eyes, y'all...those eyes. Someone said one day that she could probably cut glass with them because of the piercing blue color...I think they might be right.

Until next month, friends. 

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P.S. Sorry about Confessional Friday, but I cannot get InLinkz to work this morning. And this little cutie took priority ; ) 

Just Wait 'Til...

No cutesy intro. Let's just talk.

I read this post by Kate at The Small Things last night and it resonated with me on so very many levels. An excerpt:

If you are a parent it is no news to you that people will steal your beaming joy about a long nap or an evening of no fussing by telling you to "just wait" or "yeah, give it two more weeks and everything will be different. She'll never sleep again."

Sometimes, I think that's their way of trying to relate to you by sharing their experience with the same thing, that ultimately didn't go as well as you hope. The pessimism would temporarily get me down but I figured out how to push through it and not let it get to me. I preferred the "ignorant bliss" of hoping, just hoping, that the toughest night was behind me. 

But, like I mentioned before, I feel emotionally stronger and am more resilient than I was even a few short weeks ago. I have found joy in parenting, and am even more thankful than ever that God gave Justin and I this gift.

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Amen, sister. A-freaking-men.

Just like her, the thing I get most tired of hearing as a new mom is "just wait until..." This is for a couple reasons:

1) I feel like veterans moms and dads sometimes like to scare the ever-loving wits out of new parents just because they can.

2) It has such a negative connotation. Example: "Oh, you just wait until they start crawling. You'll just think you were tired before!"And while I'm sure that some of this is just anecdotal, it eats at a new mom who is trying her hardest to deal with the here and now, while ENJOYING the presence of her child.


My best example of this is something that happened to us at Christmas. We had taken Caroline to get a photo with Santa at our local shopping center. Several people in line commented on how mellow and calm she was, when suddenly, a father standing with two boys says, "Yeah, well just wait until next year when she can talk and walk. They turn into brats then."

Couple things, dear sir. For starters, my child isn't yours. Maybe she will be more difficult next year, it's quite possible. Maybe she won't be. But you don't get to determine her fate, now do you?

Also, how lovely that you refer to your own children, right in front of their faces, as "brats".

Another example: we were shopping in Dillard's with the baby at New Year's and she was smiling and cooing at people in line. A mom of a toddler boy said, "Enjoy it now. He," she points to her son, "was all smiles last year at this time when he was about her age, but I'd rather eat glass than spend a day out with this kid now." Now, I'm sure she didn't really think about the words she was using in reference to spending time with her son, but it ran all over me.

Do I naively believe that life will be all daisies and sunshine with a baby? Um, no.

For the love of Pampers, there are hard, HARD, days NOW.

I've been peed on, pooped on, thrown up on, been up all night with a sick baby, had days where eating and showering didn't happen.

And of course there are new challenges as she gets older. But that's the thing. They are NEW. There were other challenges, different ones, when she was a newborn. Those have since gone away and been replaced by new ones as she is developing into her own little person.

So anyway, all that to say, let's be positive about our children. Better yet, let's help build up other new parents. Support each other. Be a rock (a positive one) for another parent. (My sister-in-law is one of the BEST lifter-uppers I have in my life.) Remind others of how each day spent with their child is a precious one and how they have much to look foward to.

Just one new mom's thoughts.

My Momma Favorites

First off, I'm going to be real with ya. The whole mom chat thing? Probably not happening any time soon. Y'all ever raised a four month old? It makes me le tired.

This was a chat topic once upon a time, but since that idea went "poof" into the wind, I thought I'd share my favorite things for Caroline and me thus far.

This is definitely one of those post series that, unless you are a mommy to an infant, probably is about as boring as counting beans. Unless you enjoy that sort of thing.

Maternity Favorites

I adored, adored, ADORED Blush Maternity and bought a good half of all my maternity clothing there. In fact, I loved a few shirts I found on their website so much that I even wear them once in a while still!

I loved the Be Maternity BeBand (found here) as a support band when the bump began to grow. I bought the nude color and the black, as well.  It's super comfy and gives you a nice smooth silhouette under tighter fitting shirts, (read: it minimizes the sticky-outy belly button when you hit that third trimester mark.)

1. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets, here 
2. Timi & Leslie Marilyn II Diaper Bag, here 
3. Prince Lionheart Wipe Warmer, here 
4. MAM Start Silicone Pacifiers for 0-3 months, here
5. Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play Snugabunny Sleeper, here
6. Aden + Anais Mum and Bub Bath Wash, here
7. Wubbanub Pacifiers (we have the lamb, caterpillar and puppy!), here
8. Medela Tender Care HydroGel Pads, here
9. Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump, here
10. Britax B-Safe Carseat, here

1. BrightStars Pretty in Pink Activity Mat, here 
2. Dr. Brown's Bottles in Special Edition Pink, here
3. Britax Agile-B Stroller in Black, here
4. VTech Touch and Swipe Baby Phone, here
5. Olivia the Pig doll, here
6. Sophie the Giraffe teether, here
7. Carter's sleep gowns, here

*All opinions are my own and I am in no way affiliated with the brands or manufacturers listed above. This is simply one mom's list of must-haves.

A Story You Need to Hear: Baby Nella

I was contacted last week by a very sweet reader, blogger and fellow Instagrammer named Kristin. In her email, she told me about baby Nella, a sweet little infant who's currently in the fight against SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), Type I.

Until Kristin's email and her blog post, I'd never even heard of SMA. What I found out after reading Nella's story not only made me aware of this disease, but also made me want to fight fiercely for this baby girl and her family. But how do you fight for someone you've never even met?

Through prayer and awareness, my friends. Prayer and awareness.

So, here I am. A mom myself, asking you girls to pray fervently for sweet Nella.

I wanted to make sure that I included every detail correctly, so I'm sharing these words from Nella's Facebook page:

Our beautiful Nella Evangeline was born on August 7th, 2013. She was the daughter we had been praying for. She was born perfect, with a perfect apgar score of 10. Within hours of being born, Nella was holding up and lifting her head. We headed home anxious to start our new life as a family of 4.

After noticing Nella had some regression with her strength around 11 weeks old, we took her to see a pediatric neurologist. On October 24th, 2013 our world came crashing down. The neurologist immediately identified what he believed to be Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1. Nella had the most aggressive form of SMA. We followed up with a second neurologist the following day, who agreed Nella most likely has the most aggressive form of SMA. On November 5th, 2013, we got confirmation that our sweet girl has SMA type 1.

There is no treatment and no cure for SMA type 1.

We believe that God is the ultimate healer, and Nella is in His hands! We remain faithful in prayer and grateful for the blessings we see daily. We BELIEVE in the power of prayer and that God will perform a miracle on our sweet Nella.

SMA is the #1 genetic killer of young children. Why had we never heard of this disease until it devastated our family? We have to change this!

Spinal Muscular Atrophy affects approximately 1 in 6,000 births, and is the leading genetic killer of infants. SMA is a progressive neurological disease that affects both infants and children. Infants with SMA suffer from severe muscle weakness and atrophy of voluntary skeletal muscles. Muscle weakness in SMA is due to the death of the nerve cells (called the motor neurons) that connect brain to muscle. Simply put, infants with SMA become weaker and weaker, which eventually affects every muscle in the body hindering the ability to walk, sit, stand, eat, swallow, and even breathe.

SMA is caused by mutations in the survival motor neuron gene (SMN1). Researchers now understand that these mutations result in a reduction in the amount of protein, called SMN, which is crucial to the function of the motor neurons. Without this protein, motor neurons in the spinal cord degenerate and die.

1 in 35 people, or nearly 8 million Americans, unknowingly carry the gene mutation responsible for SMA. Few have any known family history.

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If you're asking yourself what you can do to help, here are a few different ways:

1. Pray. 

2. Participate in the Instagram auction to benefit Nella and her family March 27-29! You can follow her mommy @bowenandnellasmama for daily adorable photos of Nella and @krisestok for more details on this auction. Lots of AMAZING vendors/boutiques are donating fabulous items. You don't want to miss it!

3. Tell others about the Instagram auction by sharing the below pic and using the hashtag #prayersforNella.

4. Share this post or Kristin's post on your own blogs. We want awareness to spread like wildfire!

5. Send Nella and her family a card! 

Nella Evangeline

PO Box 28567

Gladstone, MO 64188

IF you are a vendor/boutique owner/maker of something awesome ----> listen up! If you think you'd like to donate an item for the auction, let me know. Shoot me an email at askblondeambition@gmail.com and I'll connect you to the people heading up the auction. 

I'll be back here tomorrow, y'all. Please squeeze your kiddos and loved ones extra tightly today, okay? I know I will.