At the RI State House celebrating Jackson's cord blood match

Did you know J Crew sold kids clothes? I didn't! I found this cuteness at "Crewcuts"

As a parent, I know there will be many times my heart fills with pride for my children. Last Friday, I was able to experience it when Jackson was honored by the Rhode Island Blood Center for being a hero. Jackson’s donated cord blood was the second match of our state’s program (there have been 8 total).

I’ve written before about how he saved a little girl’s life, but it was an amazing experience to attend a reception honoring Jackson & the 7 other children who saved someone’s life. The highlight of the night for me was hearing a mother speak about how an umbilical cord blood donation saved her daughter’s life.  As we stood listening to her speech, her sister tapped me on the shoulder to thank me for donating my children’s cord blood. It’s hard to keep the tears away when you realize how a simple act can impact another family.

The program has received over 4,000 cord blood donations in the past 3 years since its inception, and Jackson’s cord blood was one of the 8 matched. It’s a bit surreal to me that while picking up Sidney’s cord blood donation box in September,  I read Jackson’s match story on the wall of the Rhode Island Blood Center’s reception area without realizing it was my son.

My hope is that every pregnant woman learns about how easy cord blood donation can be, especially in Rhode Island with the Rhode Island Blood Center’s Cord Blood Program.  You could help save a life!

Hey guys! Sorry for the unplanned blogging hiatus, but HOLY COW traveling with 2 little ones is draining. I am just now getting my reserves back and am *almost* unpacked.

I’m jumping back into the blogosphere by joining my fav bloghop, Melissa’s Top 5 Laughs.

5. Toddlers. This cute little pirate was a MESS at Sidney’s 5 month appointment on Thursday. Like so out of control our pediatrician wanted to check his ears to make sure he wasn’t sick. He wasn’t… just a toddler. I had to laugh at the insanity of all.

4. Sidney Girl. She went with her Dad & Jackson to Rock A Baby on Wednesday and had a blast, dancing the whole time. This age is the best and she is always making us laugh.

3. We were finally able to go out to celebrate our anniversary dinner and we laughed all night. There’s an awesome restaurant in Providence called Gracies and we were able to have the wine cellar to ourselves for dinner. The last time I went I was 9 months pregnant with Sidney so it was nice to be able to enjoy some wine!

2. faux Book Club. Our once a month meeting of girl time always comes at the best time. After the worst toddler behavior ever this week, I was thrilled to be able to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (5 days later) with my best girl friends. LOTS of laughs and we may have even talked a little about books (50 Shades, anyone?).

1. Celebrating Jackson’s cord blood match at the State House friday night was amazing. I’ll write a post about it soon, but Jackson was thrilled to be at the “bootiful” State House with all the “flags flying up in the air.” Rhode Island Blood Center hosted a really nice celebration.

How was your week? Link up over at The Mommyhood Chronicles! Have a fantastic weekend, xo.

My Gaga & Me, 2 weeks old

Reading with Gaga, 3 years old

When I was a little girl, I loved going to my grandmother’s house and seeing glimpses of her childhood. She would pull out a stack of pictures and show me the horse she rode as a teenager, a big chestnut gelding named Flash. She loved talking about her father and his mill in the small town she grew up in, Bristol, Vermont. Tears often filled her eyes when she spoke of her childhood and the family she loved so much. She moved to Florida as a young adult after marrying my Grandfather, spending her life away from her family while she raised 4 small children, 3 boys and a girl (my Mom). This was long before the era of free long distance and Skype, so they made the annual drive up to Vermont in their station wagon, all on back roads. I can’t imagine being so far away from my Mom without our FaceTime and blogs to keep us in touch. My Gaga is an incredibly strong woman: working full time (nights as a nurse) while raising 4 kids under 5 years old (THREE boys!)

Gaga on her wedding day

She’s older now and Alzheimer’s has creeped in, stealing her sharp memory and forcing her to repeat herself. I try to be patient as she tells me the same story she told 5 minutes before, and 5 minutes before that. I know that will be my mother in 30 years and me in 50. We recently moved my Gaga to an assisted living apartment. This is the same woman who only 5 years ago would mow her own 15 acre plot of land in Vermont- the same land that belonged to her Grandfather. Aging is so bittersweet. I love seeing my son grow into a little boy and tell me stories about airplanes while my daughter beam as she sits up on her own for the first time, but it really hurts to see my fiercely independent Gaga lose the freedoms she was always so proud of. I’m so glad I moved to Rhode Island 7 years ago and was able to spend summers and long weekends visiting with her while her memory was still clear. I will cherish those memories forever.

This is life. Before I know it, I will be watching my children have their own children and I will be worrying about my Mom. I see my Mom in me more than ever and my Gaga in her. I will get to visit* my Gaga in her new home on this trip back to Florida and she will get to meet the fourth generation Kilbourn woman, Sidney Ann. We have a photo shoot planned for this trip to capture the memories, even if my Gaga won’t remember them.

Four generations of Kilbourn women, plus my little Jackson

*I wrote this on my flight to Florida on Wednesday. Visiting my Grandma’s new home was great, she is happy and thriving. We also had a great family photo session and I can’t wait to share the pictures with you!

I love you guys, thank you! XO Oh yeah, if she wins– I’ll give away an Alex & Ani bracelet to one of you! The contest ends on April 30th and you can vote one time/day

ETA: Apparently people are accusing some people of cheating because they’ve leaped up to 800+ votes, so we don’t stand a chance but I’d like to thank you anyway–soooo I’ll get a bracelet when I get home to give away!

Here’s the direct link: https://apps.facebook.com/exersaucer_contest/media/view/?id=36071

PS. The video may not work on iPads/iPhones, it’s a Facebook app that seems kind of buggy- I’m sorry! Thank you for trying!

 

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The Giveaway is from Friday, April 27th at Noon EST – Friday, May 4th at Midnight!

Good luck!!! 

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Speaking of survival, I’m writing over at TeetheMe.com’s blog on what helped me survive as a new mom. Visit me over there and let me know what helped YOU survive as a new mom!

Have a great day!

We’ve been good this past week but I think the rain all day has put me in a little bit of a funk. I also believe my husband’s “man-cold” has rubbed off a little and now I’m tired and cranky. Oh well, the Sunshine State will cure it

Since I didn’t do Mel’s Top Laughs this week, I’ll give a quick recap in pictures:

Going to a neighbor's house one evening with the family... Have I mentioned I LOVE our new neighborhood?!

Sidney has lost all of her hair except for this patch on top. It is growing in lighter and a little reddish!

I’ve got a couple of giveaways coming up this week: The Amazon gift card on Monday and then on Friday a new Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight! Stay tuned for the details

Also? I’m a horrible vote-begger, but if you feel like being generous- would you mind clicking on “Vote” for Sidney’s video in the ExerSaucer contest? She could win $500 toward college! Thanks!

One of my favorite things about blogging is the opportunity to meet wonderful people. One of my favorites is Kristin from the Etsy shop, Treasured Minky. Kristin reads Baby Gators Den and happened to email me a few weeks ago and told me about her Etsy shop. She’s a mother of *FIVE* and started her blanket business about a year ago. I checked out her shop and fell in love with her blankets.

She sent me the most amazing blanket for Sidney Girl. It’s a beautiful pink & taupe damask minky on one side and the other is a silky, smooth ivory satin with a ruffle to match. Sidney’s name is even embroidered in one corner in a matching taupe color. I wish you could feel how fantastically soft this blanket is through the computer. Both Sidney and Jackson love to rub the blanket and ruffle through their hands. 

Her blankets measure 28” x 34”, the perfect size for just about anything. I lay it on the floor for her to roll around on, tuck her under it in her carseat on chilly spring nights and let her and Jackson snuggle under it before bed time.

Kristin can make just about anything you would like.
If you can imagine it, she can make it a reality!

Check out her Facebook page to see her latest creations. One thing I love about her shop is that as soon as she finishes your blanket she posts a picture of it on Facebook so you don’t have to wait for it to come in the mail to see the finished product. I wish all shops had this level of customer service!

If you have a baby at home, you should have a Treasured Minky. If you don’t have a little one, anything from her shop would make a perfect baby gift– she even makes personalized gift sets that are completely customizable.

Rex was disappointed to find out the cute blankie wasn't for him

I highly recommend Treasured Minky for all of your blanket needs. You will not be disappointed– Kristin’s customer service is second to none! Thanks again Kristin for the opportunity to review one of your blankets. We will treasure it for years to come!

Kristin has generously offered to give a $25 gift card to Treasured Minky for one lucky Baby Gators Den reader. The gift card can be applied to any purchase, including shipping. GOOD LUCK!

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Jackson donated his cord blood at birth

My hero, 2 years old

I received a phone call this morning from a nice lady at the Rhode Island Blood Center asking me if I received the invitation to their reception at the RI State House celebrating their successful cord blood matches. I was embarrassed to admit I had thrown the invite out, thinking it was a generic invitation that also fell on the same night we were planning to go out for our fifth wedding anniversary.

She then informed me that Jackson was the second of only 8 successful cord blood donation matches their program has had since it began in 2009. His cord blood helped save the life of a little girl who was battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.The fact that he helped another family’s child survive warms my heart. I immediately got goosebumps and as soon as I got off the phone I hugged my little man, who has saved a life at 2 years old.

You may remember that Jackson’s cord almost killed him, so the fact that donating its blood has made a difference in the life of another family going through something so unimaginable brings me peace. I’m also thankful that my husband went back down to the car to retrieve our cord blood donation box for the birth, even though he almost missed the delivery because of it. We also donated Sidney’s cord blood but to our knowledge it is still banked and waiting for a match.

I encourage everyone who is having a baby to look into public cord blood donation. If you’re in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Blood Center has a Cord Blood Donation program that makes it easy (and free) to donate. Here’s some national info for you non-Rhodys at Be The Match.

Here are some important facts from their site: 

Cord Blood Facts & Figures

• Each year more than 10,000 patients are diagnosed with diseases that are treatable only with a blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.
• Less than 4,000 patients found a donor and had a transplant in 2007.
• Cord blood donation can fill the need for donors 26% of all transplants in 2007 were from donated cord blood.
• Minority patients have a harder time finding a matched donor. They can benefit from a cord blood donation from a public bank.
• Umbilical cord blood donations are NOT related to embryonic stem cells.

Advantages of Cord Blood

• Cord blood collection is easy and risk-free for both mother and baby.
• Public cord blood donation is free.
• Cord blood that is collected, tested and stored is ready to use when a patient needs it.

Make a difference, donate your baby’s cord blood!

Here’s a short video about cord blood donation: