Banking on it

When we got pregnant I knew right away that I wanted to bank the babies cord blood. There is so much research on diseases that it can help with or even cure. On the info about banking cord blood biphenotypic leukemia is there-you don't see it many places.
The next question was how would we come up with the money to pay for it? I got some information from a cord blood company and I mentioned we wanted to store it because we have another child with leukemia. She told me that they had a program that we could bank the cord blood for FREE!

After talking with the transplant coordinator at the hospital we decided to go with ViaCord and their sibling Connection Plan. They would collect, ship, test and bank the cord blood for 5 years at NO COST to us. At the end of the 5 years we can decide to continue to store it and pay the yearly fee, donate it or have them destroy it. The answer was a no brainer-if we aren't able to pay to keep it banked, then we will donate it.
I asked if someone else (besides Simeon) in our family could benefit from it could we use it for them, and they said we could, but that it is specifically saved for Simeon.
Simeon's leukemia will be considered "cured" after he's been off treatment for 5 years, which will be around the time that the program ends.

After Rebecca was born Dr. Clevenger went right to collecting every drop of cord blood. We now have a beautiful bag of possible life saving cells in case it should be needed.

There are many things I've considered "liquid gold" in my life but this bag tops them all. This "liquid gold" can save a life. It's a precious gift that Rebecca gave just by being the Heavenly child she is.


After the cord blood was collected, they drew blood from me to be sent it. Johann called the company and they made sure everything was labeled correctly. Our nurse was so kind staying and helping to make sure everything was correct. They saw in my file that we had a child with leukemia and she knew how extra important this was to us. After everything was checked Johann sealed the box and a courier came and picked it up. It was then flown to Kentucky to be tested then stored.


The results of the cord blood came back as: volume collected 84ml
Nucleated cell count (in millions) 528

To have a successful transplant the cord blood needs to contain 100 million nucleated cells-we far exceeded that. We pray that we will never have a need to use these cells, but if we ever do they are waiting.

A Birth Story

Thursday the 2nd I went to see my OB. She checked me said I was between 4-5cm dilated. I was set up to induced on Weds the 8th, IF I made it that far. She told me that if I started to have contractions to come in sooner rather then later since I tend to have fast labors and I was already halfway there.
Friday evening we went out to Kent Park (with bags packed) for the ward campout. While we were there I was really hot as it had gotten warmer and more humid throughout the day. I was having a few contractions, but nothing that we needed to start counting.
We left about 9:00pm and on the drive home I had another handful of contractions, getting a little stronger. We got home, put the kids to bed and went downstairs to watch the news. About 10:30 I started noticing that the contractions were getting stronger and more regular. I was getting uncomfortable with each one. About midnight I went to the bathroom then came back to the couch and my water broke. It wasn't a huge amount, but I was sure what it was.
We called Grandma Smith and got up to the hospital a little before 1 am.
They hocked me up to the monitors and said they'd check back in on us in a little while. They walked out and I had another gush of fluid.


The decided that I was indeed in labor (I think I walked in to easily to make them think I was in true labor. I do really well with pain until the transition phase.)
I got into the jetted tub, which helped me to relax, but after 30 mins in the tub the contractions were getting really strong and starting to hurt more.
At 3am after feeling like things had stalled for an hour or so they figured out that my water needed to be broke. My water had broke hours earlier-so why did it need to be broken? They guess that it broke on the side of her head and as she moved down it created another "pocket" of water that was keeping me from progressing.
My dtr came in broke my water and the contractions got really tough. I had debated about an epidural, but kept thinking I could do it without one, but nearly broke down and got one. Having my dtr come in and see me gave me a burst of "I can do this".
After about 30 minutes our little girl was making an entrance into the world without dtrs or nurses being in the room. The ran in, got gowned up and literally just caught her.

To Camp or Not to Camp

Tonight the ward hosted a campout. We all really wanted to go and camp overnight, but I was worried that if something were to happen (like I went into labor) that we'd be locked in the park and that we'd have a big show in the middle of the night packing 3 kids, a wife in labor and waking the park ranger up to get out. So needless to say despite some dissapointment by the kids we decided to go for the evenings activities, then head back in the morning.
We did though have the hospital bag fully packed and the cord blood banking kit packed in the van just in case.

The evening was alot of fun. We cooked tinfoil dinners on the fire (that turned out so yummy) and later made smores.

The kids caught a dozen or 2 little frogs, a handful of moths, found a few snake skins in the wood pile and even some lightening bugs after the sun went down.



The kids enjoyed running around the area with thier friends and even going on a hike.
The day felt like it just kept getting warmer and more humid. I did lots of sitting at the campsite, but was up and walking. While we were there I had the normal irregular contractions that I'd been having for weeks and didn't think much of them.
Around 9:00pm the sprinkles which had been falling for a little while got heavier and the kids needed to get to bed, so we said goodbye and we'll see you in the morning BUT if we don't show up it's not because we had a baby it could just be we didn't get up early enough.

Watching the Water Flow

This morning Simeon needed to get his counts checked and then had his reading tutoring apt. We ended up having some extra time in between the appointments, so we stopped at the garden area in front of the hospital. The kids like to jump on the big stones, play in the stream and look at all the flowers.
Corrine & Ammon were being "Twin Twins" today. They both had on their Twins T-ball shirts, jeans and flip flops.

I hadn't gotten the camera out, but Simeon went and got it and asked me to take some pictures. I'm so glad that he did-because I was able to get some really good pictures of them.

The kids liked dropping leaves and sticks into the water and running to the other side of the bridge to see them come out.





We were having such a fun time watching the water that they didn't want to leave. When we did leave we used "the secret passage" to get into the building where Simeon does his reading. The secret passage is a door on the side of the building that's kind of hidden, and then we had to use the stairwell to get to the 1st floor. The kids said we had to use the secret codes on the walls to get the doors to open, so it made the "secret passage" even more fun!!

A Trip to the Airport

Today we took a field trip to the Iowa City Airport with MOMS Club. The airport is very small with only small planes. They have alot of medical flights from this airport since the University Hospital is just a mile away.

We were in the 1st group to have the tour. We started by looking at the pilots lounge and the maps of all the airports in the area. While there we met a really nice stunt pilot. We had just watched him land his plane, so it was neat for the kids to get to ask him questions. We found out that he flew at the Quad Cities airshow that we had been at on Friday.
Then we went to the hanger. The man giving the tour said "Keep your hands in your pockets so we don't touch anything we shouldn't." Ammon followed his instructions and kept his hands in his pockets.

The kids were able to go into a jet and look around. Then we went and saw the mans plane that he had just landed.
After looking around the hanger we went into the observation room, but decided to head home rather then wait to see a plane land since it was going to be another 20 minutes.

If the Shoe Fits...

It's hard to believe that one day they really will fit into shoes this size. For now their feet can stay little.

LIFE’S HANDBOOK

Everyday I get an email from a site called busy moms. Most days I delete them before even opening the message. Today though I decided to open the message up and read it. I'm glad I did. I found this gem of a list that I thought I'd share with you today.

*LIFE’S HANDBOOK *

*Health: *

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a
beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food
that is manufactured in plants.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.

5. Make time to pray and connect with GOD.

6. Play more games. Be silly.

7. Read more books than you did in 2008.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day, totally
disconnect with noise.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile and
BREATH.

*Personality: *

11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead
invest your energy in the positive, present moment.

13. Don't over do. Keep your limits, learn to say I wish I could, but
I will have to say next time.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does, you only think
you always have the answers.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, refer to #11.

16. Dream more while you are awake.

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need, things are
not nearly as important as you think they are.

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of His/Her
mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness; move forward.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating or plotting against anyone.
Don't harbor hate and negativity towards others, learn to let it go.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present, stop the
cycle today for a better tomorrow.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you...PERIOD! HAPPINESS
IS A CHOICE, strive to make it every day.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems
are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra
class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more, learn to find joy in the everyday.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree, WE ARE
NOT ALL THE SAME, DIVERSITY MAKES THIS WORLD BEAUTIFUL!

25. When you find yourself in deep water- learn to seal your lips and
be silent, otherwise you may drown.

*Society: *

25. Call your family often, truly connect with loved ones.

26. Each day make a sincere effort to give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything, it will set you free.

28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6, they
are your best Teachers.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day. Say the good
things you are thinking out loud.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends
will. Stay deeply connected.

*Life: *

32. Do the right thing! You know what it is.

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful...
simplify.

34. GOD heals everything.. in HIS time not yours, hand it over and
move forward.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change and change will
make you stronger, wiser and a better Teacher at 70.

36. No matter how you feel, get up, get dressed, show up and breath.

37. The best is yet to come.

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Don't preach to people, they won't hear you. BE A LIVING EXAMPLE,
your message will be heard loud and clear! Refer to #14.

40. Your inner most desire is always to be happy. So, be happy!!! You
will live longer, better and your peers will always be by your side loving
you till the end which is really just the beginning.


Posted by: "Charlene Davis" busymomstips@gmail.com busymomstips
Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:07 pm (PDT)