{Day Seven} Seven Days of Giveaways!

Thanks for celebrating the blogs birthday with me this week! Congrats to all the winners so far!

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is Damion!

(I used the random number generator at www.random.org)

Here is the last giveaway: Crayon Roll (Girl - colors are blue, pink, and green)

 

To enter:

1. Just leave your first name and e-mail address in the comments section.

2. If you win, I'll send you an e-mail and get your mailing address.

3. You can also e-mail me if you have trouble posting your entry, and I'll make sure you are entered:

tennsense@gmail.com

4. Giveaways are open to everyone - family, friends, new readers, faithful readers - everyone!

5. Let me know if you have any questions!



Amy

tennsense@gmail.com

{Day Six} Seven Days of Giveaways!

This week I am celebrating the blogs first birthday by posting a giveaway-a-day!

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is Leah M.! 

(I used the random number generator at www.random.org)

Here is the 6th giveaway: Simple Flannel Blanket (Boy - colors are blues, greens, gray, and orange)

 

 

 

This is another gift I was given when Tennyson was a baby. It was given to her by my Husbands cousin and I still use it! I've affectionately nicknamed this blanket the "Everything Blanket", because I literally used it for everything!

• Swaddling blanket
• Sun Shade
• Nursing cover
• Pack n Play sheet
• Stroller/Carseat blanket
• Play Mat

It's a really useful blanket! It's thin, but warm and soft. I've pre-washed it in Dreft detergent, so it shouldn't shrink with future washes.

To enter:

1. Just leave your first name and e-mail address in the comments section.

2. If you win, I'll send you an e-mail and get your mailing address.

3. You can also e-mail me if you have trouble posting your entry, and I'll make sure you are entered:

tennsense@gmail.com

4. Giveaways are open to everyone - family, friends, new readers, faithful readers - everyone!

5. Let me know if you have any questions!



Amy

tennsense@gmail.com

{Day Five} Seven Days of Giveaways!

This week I am celebrating the blogs first birthday by posting a giveaway-a-day!

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is Sharon E.!

(I used the random number generator at www.random.org)

Here is the 5th giveaway: Simple Flannel Blanket (Girl - colors are lavender and gray)

 

 

 

 

This is another gift I was given when Tennyson was a baby. It was given to her by my Husbands cousin and I still use it! I've affectionately nicknamed this blanket the "Everything Blanket", because I literally used it for everything!

• Swaddling blanket
• Sun Shade
• Nursing cover
• Pack n Play sheet
• Stroller/Carseat blanket
• Play Mat

 

It's a really useful blanket! It's thin, but warm and soft. I've pre-washed it in Dreft detergent, so it shouldn't shrink with future washes.

 

To enter:

1. Just leave your first name and e-mail address in the comments section.

2. If you win, I'll send you an e-mail and get your mailing address.

3. You can also e-mail me if you have trouble posting your entry, and I'll make sure you are entered:

tennsense@gmail.com

4. Giveaways are open to everyone - family, friends, new readers, faithful readers - everyone!

5. Let me know if you have any questions!

 



Amy

tennsense@gmail.com

{Day Four} Seven Days of Giveaways!

This week I am celebrating the blogs first birthday by posting a giveaway-a-day!

The winners of yesterday's giveaway are Beth F. and Nicole L.!

(I used the random number generator at www.random.org)

I had made two of the exact same crayon roll, so there were two winners! Surprise!

Here is the 4th giveaway: Diaper & Wipes Case (Gender Neutral/Boy - colors are yellow and gray)

To enter:

1. Just leave your first name and e-mail address in the comments section.

2. If you win, I'll send you an e-mail and get your mailing address.

3. You can also e-mail me if you have trouble posting your entry, and I'll make sure you are entered:

tennsense@gmail.com

4. Giveaways are open to everyone - family, friends, new readers, faithful readers - everyone!

5. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Amy

tennsense@gmail.com

{Day Three} Seven Days of Giveaways!

This week I am celebrating the blogs first birthday by posting a giveaway-a-day!

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is Nicole D.!

(I used the random number generator at www.random.org)

Here is the third giveaway: Crayon Roll (Girl - colors are pink, light blue and green)

To enter:

1. Just leave your first name and e-mail address in the comments section.

2. If you win, I'll send you an e-mail and get your mailing address.

3. You can also e-mail me if you have trouble posting your entry, and I'll make sure you are entered:

tennsense@gmail.com

4. Giveaways are open to everyone - family, friends, new readers, faithful readers - everyone!

5. Let me know if you have any questions!

Amy

tennsense@gmail.com

{Day Two} Seven Days of Giveaways!

This week I am celebrating the blogs first birthday by posting a giveaway-a-day!

The winner of yesterday's giveaway is Charity!

(I used the random number generator at  www.random.org)

Here is the second giveaway: Crayon Roll (Boy - colors are orange and teal)

To enter:

1.Just leave your first name and e-mail address in the comments section.

2.If you win, I'll send you an e-mail and get your mailing address.

3.You can also e-mail me if you have trouble posting your entry, and I'll make sure you are entered:

tennsense@gmail.com

4.Giveaways are open to everyone - family, friends, new readers, faithful readers - everyone!

5. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

 

Amy

 

tennsense@gmail.com

{Day One} Seven Days of Giveaways!

Today is the blogs first birthday! One year ago today, the blog made it's debut and it has certainly been an incredible year, no doubt about it.

At the blogs inception, Tennyson had recently turned 2 years old and yet some family and friends still didn't have a clear understanding of what happened to Tennyson, what her capabilities were, and we found ourselves telling the same story. We never mind telling Tennyson's story, but we wanted a way for our family and friends to follow along with her progress. So, the blog was born.

We've "met" many new friends with children similar to Tennyson. We've also been able to stay connected with family on a deeper level, and many feel closer to Tennyson since they get to keep up with her and "see" her regularly.

The blog has given me an outlet to share my emotions - happy, sad, and everything in between. I never anticipated it would be therapeutic to put my thoughts into words and share them with the world. It's a great feeling knowing that I can share an honest perspective of what our life is like with our amazing little girl.

I've received wonderful, heartfelt e-mails from old friends, distant relatives, and other parents with children who have special needs. I've appreciated them more than I can tell you. I've read them all and I've saved them all.

I hope you have a more clear understanding of cerebral palsy along with Tenn's other diagnosis. I hope you understand what happened to our sweet Tennyson, and you realize although Tennyson is different, she is not less deserving of your patience, time, or love. She is incredible, and continues to amaze me everyday with her sweet disposition and resiliency.

In celebration of the blogs first birthday - and to thank our wonderful readers, I'll be giving away one of my handmade crafts each day for the next week. It's nothing like "Oprah's Favorite Things", or "Ellen's Twelve Days of Giveaways", but I hope you enjoy what I've made. I started sewing shortly after Tennyson was born. It was something I could do and not have to think about anything else, and I always have something to show for the time I've spent sewing. I've really only sewn baby and child items, but I've taught myself a lot over the years.

There will be a boy and a girl version of each item throughout the week. For example, today's item is meant for a girl, but there will be a boy version one day this week!

To enter:

1.Just leave your first name and e-mail address in the comments section.

2.If you win, I'll send you an e-mail and get your mailing address.

3.You can also e-mail me if you have trouble posting your entry, and I'll make sure you are entered:

tennsense@gmail.com

 4.Giveaways are open to everyone - family, friends, new readers, faithful readers - everyone!

5. Let me know if you have any questions!

Here is the first giveaway: Diaper and Wipes Case (Girl - colors are gray and light pink)

(Click on the pictures to see a larger view)

A very sweet friend made one of these for Tennyson when she was born. I still use it and carry it in my purse or diaper bag wherever I go. Mom's always need baby wipes! The bag is big enough to carry the wipes case inside, as well as a few diapers, and whatever else you can fit in (a spare onesie, diaper cream...etc.). Many of my friends with new babies have been given this as a gift, since it was one of the most useful and cute gifts I received!

Happy 1st Birthday, Tenn Sense!

Amy

tennsense@gmail.com

{Pregnancy Update} 31 Weeks

This pregnancy has continued to go smoothly. Next week I'll be 8 months! Wow! I'm still feeling good, but have definitely started to find it difficult to get comfortable when I sleep. My sister-in-law sent me a giant pregnancy pillow and that has helped me out. (Thanks, Michelle!)

I have a doctors appointment and growth scan this Friday. The growth scans give me such peace of mind that Baby Girl is doing well. I pray that she continues to grow on schedule and that I have a very boring third trimester. I'm a little anxious about the growth scan on Friday because at my last appointment, I had not gained any weight in two weeks. I'm eating plenty, so I just hope she is growing well.

At this point in the pregnancy she should be just over three pounds, which would make her bigger than Tennyson when she was born. I feel like she is bigger judging from the belly earthquakes she creates throughout the day. She's active and I love it. When I count my kicks, I only have to count for 30 minutes at the most. I think I felt her knees poking through my belly today!

I met my Doula that the hospital matched me with and I really like her. She wasn't annoying at all (I was a little worried about that!), and she seems very calming and supportive.

I feel a little ahead of the game in terms of being prepared. I've washed and folded her tiny little clothes and they are in her dresser drawers already. I have preemie clothes in my hospital bag just in case and will switch them out with newborn size clothes once I hit 37 weeks. I think she could wear a new onesie or outfit everyday for the first 3 months. She has so many cute clothes. Most of them are hand-me-downs from Tenn, but I have also been given so many cute clothes from friends.

As I get closer to my due date, I can't decide whether or not to take birthing classes to prepare for labor. If you took birthing classes, do you think they helped you? If you didn't take birthing classes, do you wish you had? The plan is still for me to attempt a VBAC up until my due date and then I will proceed with a c-section.

Amy

tennsense@gmail.com

Crawling Out of that Big Dark Hole

It's been a few weeks since a blog update. I've sat down a few times to write, knowing I should update, but I have had zero motivation or inspiration. I've just felt exhausted. Mentally and sometimes physically.

From the beginning, I said I'd keep it honest here on the blog, and I'll be keeping that promise.

I've been in a mental "big dark hole" for the past few weeks. Not a depression, but my thoughts have definitely been consumed with Tennyson's progress - or lack thereof. Since her surgery, we are dealing with huge regression in terms of her muscle strength. She can no longer bear weight on her legs, her head control is poor, and her reflux is back with a vengeance (which means I get to clean up throw-up daily). In the long run, once we get her strong again, the range of motion in her hips and legs will be wonderful for her, but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when a years worth of work is out the window in a matter of weeks. We are starting over, and it feels like we have a never-ending mountain to climb.

It didn't help that she had six appointments in the last week and I had to explain over and over again to each one of her doctors where she's at developmentally and why she has regressed. It drained me. She saw Genetics (and we found out that Tennyson is still the only little girl in the world documented with her rare chromosome abnormality), Pediatric Surgery (to get her g-tube changed), Orthopedics (because one of her legs is longer than the other due to "pelvic obliquity" - a topic for another day), Neurology and GI (because she was due to be seen), and she had a weight check with Nutrition (she didn't gain or lose anything -not good, not bad).

I can usually carry on and not let the negative feelings consume me. I think I've developed a pretty thick skin when it comes to the slow progress and accepting the cards we've been dealt. But lately, I've let it get to me. When I start to feel negative, I start to think negatively. Everything feels harder. It's a slippery slope that dumps me into a "big dark hole".

I get irritated with the stares we get in public and the strangers who ask annoying questions. I want to say to them, "she's just a little girl!" or "She can understand what you are saying!" (and other really witty, sarcastic things that I would never actually say...). The kids in her class at school have more manners than half the adults we come in contact with while we are out and about.

I went to pick Tenn up from school one day this week and she was sitting in her teachers lap playing with all the little girls (so cute!). One of them came up to me and showed me a sign that had her name on it. I asked her if she knew the names of the letters in her name and she did! It was one of those moments that made me go, "Holy crap - that's what three year olds can do!? This kid is a genius!".

It made me wish Tennyson could do more. It made me sad that she is so far behind - years behind her peers. When I told my Husband how sad I was about it, he said gently, "It's only going to become more obvious the older she gets." I know he's right. He can say those things and somehow it's okay because we're in this together. He adores Tennyson for Tennyson and doesn't compare her to any other kid. He thinks it's awesome she gets to participate with her peers at school and they work hard to adapt all the activities so she can be part of them. From the beginning, he has seemed to accept it all easier than I ever have.

I can't fix the damage done to Tennyson's brain. I won't deny I wish I could. I wish I could have a two way conversation with my daughter. I wish she could tell me about her day, rather than having to ask her teachers or read it in her communication log from her therapists.

Then I read "The Mom I Would Have Been" by Dana Nieder of the blog Uncommon Sense. Definitely worth taking the time to read! She put into words (better than I ever could have) exactly how I was feeling. Sometimes knowing you aren't the only one feeling the way you do is just enough to make you feel okay again. So, I'll work on acknowledging  the feelings I have and then get myself out of this stupid big dark hole.

Amy

tennsense@gmail.com