Brackets for Babies 2015

Please join us for a "fun"draiser for Team Callie May and the March of Dimes!

Help fight prematurity with your NCAA Basketball Bracket Picks!

                  

                                 Enter for only $10

$5 goes to the March of Dimes and $5 goes into the final championship pot!

                                 Winner gets - 60%

                                 2nd Place - 30%

                                 3rd Place- 10%

Please sign up now by using the link:

http://calliemod.mayhem.cbssports.com/e?ttag=BPM15_em_cbsinv

Password: fighter

Any questions?  Email me at marcicostello@gmail.com

Your $10 payment can be made out to me, Marci Costello, by check or cash mailed to:

1307 Pennington Lane N

Annapolis, MD 21409

Why we continue to walk!

First, I want to start by thanking everyone who has supported Team Callie May throughout the years.  I know it is a lot to ask, year after year, and I often stop and ponder if I should keep asking...but that thought only lasts for a second.  I look at my daughter, at her friends, at the statistics, and I know that our work is just beginning.  We are so thankful for all of the research that has been done by the March of Dimes, because we know that it was instrumental in Callie's survival!

I am amazed by Callie every day.  As I did a few years ago, I decided to post a picture of Callie's first Easter (above-at over two months old) and below (age 5).  Even at two months old, she could still fit inside her Easter basket.  Now, she races around the house searching for eggs.  But we still see glimpses of prematurity.  She is still very clumsy.  We can attribute some of that to her eyesight and some to the brain damage she had at birth.  But it doesn't phase her, she keeps playing and laughing and trying!  Just this week at gymnastics, Callie was able to make it across the balance beam by herself for the first time-something her peers have been doing for years...but Callie wasn't stable and couldn't see well enough to do it without assistance.  Her amazing teacher, Ms. Meghan, suggested we put back on her glasses for the beam work (we had stopped having her wear them because of her falling and breaking them).  Ms. Meghan believed she was struggling with the depth perception and that is why she was struggling.  Ms. Meghan was right!  She put on her glasses and did it by herself.  Callie gave her teacher a big hug and then ran out to share with us that she was "big" and did it!  She went back in and kept practicing!  This has been a common theme throughout Callie's life.  Sometimes it takes her a little longer to reach a milestone or accomplishment...but she keeps fighting and when she gets it, you would never know that she struggled.

The March of Dimes has provided our family with so much support over the years.  From the surfactant she received at birth that helped her lungs, to the connections we continue to make with other amazing families!  I have had the gratifying opportunity to be a volunteer for the March of Dimes at Franklin Square Hospital right here in Baltimore.  I get to see on a monthly basis all of the support the March of Dimes provides families going throught the trauma that comes with having a baby in the NICU.  They provide classes, support groups, craft nights, and other resources so that Mommy's and Daddy's are more prepared to care for their preemies.  I volunteer on craft night, helping parents create picture frames, name tags and onesies for their little ones.  It is a nice opportunity for the parents to meet other parents and realize that they are not alone!  

There are many reasons why we continue to March for Babies.  We are so blessed that Callie beat the odds and is thriving today!  One of my best friends is currently 23 weeks pregnant.  She called and told me how she was reading about what would be happening to her little one growing inside of her over the next week.  She couldn't believe that Callie survived.  She said, there is just still so much that is supposed to happen to them safe inside of their Mommy.  It is true-we are beyond lucky!  More research needs to be done so that these babies stay safe inside their Mommy's until they are full term and ready to be born!  So please consider supporting Team Callie May this year and help fight for all Babies!

Donate at:  www.marchforbabies.org/calliemay

Brackets for Babies 2014

It is that time of year again to rasie money for the March of Dimes!  The March of Dimes has positively impacted our lives in so many ways!  We are so thankful for all of the care and support Callie received and a lot of that medicine was made possible by the March of Dimes.  This is our third year raising money with the March Madness brackets.  Please forward these brackets to anyone that you think would be interested!  We appreciate all of the support for Team Callie May and this great cause!

                     March Brackets for Babies

Please join us for a "fun"draiser for Team Callie May and the March of Dimes!

Help fight prematurity with your NCAA Basketball Bracket Picks!

                  

                                 Enter for only $10

$5 goes to the March of Dimes and $5 goes into the final championship pot!

                                 Winner gets - 60%

                                 2nd Place - 30%

                                 3rd Place- 10%

Please sign up now by using the link:

 http://calliemod.mayhem.cbssports.com/e?ttag=BPM14_paste_cbsinv

Password: fighter

Any questions?  Email me at marcicostello@gmail.com

Your $10 payment can be made out to me, Marci Costello, by check or cash mailed to:

711 Scottish Isle Dr

Abingdon, MD 21009

Another Surgery

Today, Callie had her 7th surgery and again was a trooper!!  She had ear tubes placed two years ago and one had fallen out over the summer.  We were hoping that she had outgrown the need for eartubes, but she is on her third ear infection of the year and is struggling to get over it, even after the second course of antibiotics.  So, her ENT, said that he also wanted to remove her adenoids since they are a major source of infection.  Callie had surgery this morning and everything went as planned.  The doctor was concerned because the infection was so bad and we have to call on Friday to get the results of the culture.

Even after 7 trips to the OR, it really doesn't get easier.  Our poor girl has been through so much, but we are so proud of her.  It always amazes me to see peoples reactions to her history...even today, it happened again with her nurses....it make me sad and overwhelmingly proud!  I will try and update soon about some of the fun activities Callie has been involved with!

Thanks

This is Callie's fall school picture from Goddard School.  Can you believe our little miracle will be in Kindergarten next year?!?!?!  She is growing up so fast!  We truly have so much to be thankful for!  This week Callie told me all about the Pilgrams.  She knew about the Mayflower, the Atlantic Ocean, and the American Indians.  She completely blew me away!  We can't thank the Goddard School teachers enough....they all have been amazing and have supported and taught our little girl so much.  

Long Overdue!!!

Well, I guess to say that a post is long over due is an understatement!!!  I promise I have tried to log on numerous times, but something would happen to my computer and it would freeze me out and I would just move on to the next thing!  I decided to try it on my iPad tonight, so fingers crossed that this works!!

The biggest update for Callie has been her glasses!  This one was tough for Mommy, with guilt anyways.  Becuase of her ROP when she was a baby and then her following surgery for Strabismus, she had been being closely followed by an amazing Pediatric Opthomologist at Johns Hopkins.  Well, now that Callie is 4 and knows all of her letters, she officially took her first eye test.  They covered her left eye and she did amazingly well with her vision...switch sides, and she barely knew the E.  Poor girl! Here we thought she was just clutsy and her writing was messy, and in reality, she needed glasses!  I felt so guilty that I hadn't recognized this earlier, but at least she has what she needs now!

We have noticed quite a difference with her glasses.  Her writing has improved, her balance is much better, and her first comment to me when she put them on was "Mommy, everything is so big!!"  And our Callie is all about being a BIG GIRL!  Little miss independent she is for sure! She is certainly learning to test her boundries and has a strong will to say the least!  I have called my Mother so many times to share a funny story that just reminds me so much of me.  Such as "mommy I don't need to listen to you" or the strong willed "NO!!!".   Don't get me wrong, Callie is a sweet and loving girl most of the time.  We are always so proud at Parent/Teacher conferences because they always point out what a good friend Callie is and how they can always count on her to play with a friend when they are sad and down.  Actually, we are so proud of her all of the time.  It never ceases to amaze me what a miracle she is.  She has come so far and we just feel so privaledge to share in her journey!

Fall has been a lot of fun with all of the festivities and visits from family members.  If this post works, I promise to update more frequently.  People still comment to me from time to time that this blog has helped them or a family member wade through the trenches of prematurity and that makes me feel good that I can share her story with the world.  I guess when things stabalized, I didn't know if everyone still wanted the updates and frankly, we got busy!!  But at one of the latest family gatherings to celebrate the wedding of my beautiful cousin, Jessica, more than one person requested updates, so I promise to be better!!!

Here is a picture of our beautiful purple butterfly!  She was 100% certain of what she wanted to be this year and she had an amazing time!  It is crazy what a difference a year makes!  This year, she wanted to go up to the doors by herself with her friend Ashley, while Mommy, Daddy and Grammi watched from the sidewalk.  She does her best to keep up, but after about half of the block she asked to be carried a little between the houses, because she "isn't as fast as her friend."  I don't know if this is just because she is smaller or not as steady, but a little reminder that things still aren't easy for her.  But as always, our little fighter fights, and does her best to keep up.  We are so proud of you Callie May!

Brackets for Babies

It is that time of year again to raise money for the March of Dimes! We are so thankful for all of the care Callie received and a lot of that medicine was made possible by research funded by the March of Dimes. We had a lot of fun last year with the brackets and we raised a lot of money for a great cause!! Please forward our brackets to anyone you think would interested! Thank you!

March Brackets for Babies

Please join us for a “fun”draiser for Team Callie May and the March of Dimes!

Help Fight Prematurity with your NCAA Basketball Bracket Picks!

Enter for $10

$5 goes to March of Dimes and $5 goes into the final championship pot.

Winner gets 60% of the pot

2nd Place – 30%

3rd Place – 10%

Please sign up now by using the link http://calliemod.mayhem.cbssports.com/e

(you will need to create a cbssports login)

Password: fighter

Please forward this on to anyone that you think will be interested!

Any questions? Email me at marcicostello@gmail.com

Your $10 payment can be made to me by check or cash mailed to:

Marci Costello - 711 Scottish Isle Dr., Abingdon, MD 21009



Happy 4th Birthday!!!

Can you believe Callie is 4 years old?!?! And she certainly acts the part!!  This was her first year having a Birthday party with her friends from school.  In years past, her parties were always families of Mommy and Daddy's friends, but this year, HER friends were included and she was soooo excited!! 

Unfortunately, it has been a rough winter for Callie's health.  It was touch and go whether or not we would have to cancel her Birthday party, but luckily, her temperature subsided and she was able to have her party as planned!

Callie absolutely loves gymnastics, so it was an easy decision to have her party at her Gym!  We had never been to a party there, but were pleasently surprised.  They had lots of playtime with the kids in both the big gym and the little gym, before taking you downstairs to a party room for pizza and cupcakes!

One of the highlights is a swing that the kids took turns dropping into a pit of foam cubes.

Then the teachers had Callie sit on the swing while all of her friends sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  Callie still has Mommy play her the video of the singing.  She thought it was so cool that everyone sang to her!!

In other news, Callie is going back to her ENT this week as she continues to have ear infections, and it appears one of her tubes is no longer in place.  And she as I mentioned in her last post, she is in the middle of being evaluated by Child Find and we will update you as soon as we get the final reports!

WAY overdue!!

 Happy New Year everyone!  I know it has been WAY too long since my last post, but things got busier than ever with the Holiday's and the sicknesses that the cold weather seems to bring us!  The good news, Callie continues to thrive and she amazes us everyday!!

We were fortunate enough to have Callie's Holiday pictures captured again by our friend Amy.  She is the Mommy of one of Callie's good friends from the NICU.  It is so amazing to see them growing up together and how beautiful they are becoming.  We spent the afternoon together, had dinner, and watched our miracles play dolls...a true blessing!!

Callie continues to do well in school.  Right before the Holiday's, we had our parent/teacher conferences at Goddard.  For the most part, Callie is right where she should be.  The teachers were very impressed with her memorization skills-like know her numbers, letters, shapes ect.  They also were pleased with her social skills.  They told us that she is always smiling and that they can always count on her to play with anyone.  We just love that she is become a good friend!  The big area of concern for them was her attention span.  We have also witnessed this at home, but weren't sure what was appropriate for her age and also how much was capability versus attitude.  Her teachers said that she struggles paying attention in circle and is often distracted.  They asked if we would be willing to have Child Find (essentially Infants & Toddlers for ages 3-5) evaluate her.  Of course we 100% support this.  We have always believed that the more eyes and support that we can get on and for Callie, the better.  So, Mommy has completed the paperwork and she should be evaluated in the classroom soon.  We also discussed this with Callie's pediatrician and apparently there is a big correlation between prematurity and attentian deficet.  We are just hoping that we can put some plans in place to help her behavior prior to getting into Kindergarten. 

What was also reassuring out of this scenerio, was how truly amazing Callie's teachers at Goddard are.  Mommy really struggled when Callie was released from Infants and Toddlers.  While I was incredibly thrilled they felt she didn't need the support, I worried something might get missed and she would lag behind.  Her teachers involvement and concern comforts me in knowing she is absolutely in the right place!

Callie continues to LOVE gymnastics!  She is really working on improving her balance and flexibility.  But we see her real strength in her upper body.  The video above is at the end of the fall session.  We love her determination and the fact that she doesn't want help.  And honestly, we are just impressed with how well she does with the bars!

The Holidays were great! We went up to NY for a whole week and got to go sledding and we were able to have a lot of quality time with our family.  Of course, our girl was spoiled!  It was great, because this year she was really into Santa Clause.  Cal and her cousin Jack put out cookies and milk and carrots for the reindeer and she wanted to make sure she wrote her own letter to him.  In the morning, she was very inquisitive...even examining the wrapping paper that he used!!  Christmas is so exciting through her eyes!

This season has definitely been rough on Callie's health.  She is currently taking her nebulizer twice a day with her steroid inhaler and that seems to be helping her.  Her ears continue to bother her, even with the PE tubes.  Her pediatrician said that if she gets another ear infection this winter, Callie will have to go back to her ENT surgeon.  We are hoping to avoid that with some ear drops her Pediatrican prescribed.

World Prematurity Day

 Today marks the 2nd World Prematurity Day.  Ever since our precious Callie was born 16 weeks early, prematurity awareness has been something very near to our hearts.

 We look at our miracle every day in amazement.  She has defied all odds, endured 6 surgeries, spent 6 weeks on a ventilator, and had to be resuscitated more times than Mommy can bare to remember.  We thank God and her amazing Doctors and Nurses every day for the blessings and care she received.

After Callie came home from the hospital, we decided we needed to do more to help other families and babies in need and decided to become active with the March of Dimes.

Mommy has been actively involved as a Mission Mom with the March of Dimes, which is the worlds leading organization in raising money and awareness for Mother's and babies. Without their research, we know our amazing little girl wouldn't be here today.

The Mission is working! For the 5th consecutive year, the premature birth rate has dropped in the United States, but we still rank 131st in the world with 1 in 8 babies born too early-this is WAY too high!

 So, today we wear purple in honor of our Miracle and so many of her preemie friends and in memory of those that are no longer with us-we carry your memory in our heart every day.

For our blog post today, I decided to post pictures of Callie in purple through the last three years. I still choke up looking at these pictures. But as you can see, even from the first picture of Callie in purple when she was 6 weeks old...she is a fighter!

So please join us in wearing purple today and sharing Callie's story and the story of too many babies that have to suffer every day to simply survive.

Summer is Over

It is hard to believe that fall is here!  (And I haven't updated the blog at all)  Callie had a busy summer and had lots of fun!

 We had a great visit to Canton in June, visiting family and friends.  Callie just loves being surrounded by family and I think the feeling is mutual!!

 Cal had the chance to ride her first horse this summer! 

 Visit an Irish festival!

 Spend a lot of fun time in Ocean City!

 She managed to get a great tan, despite Mommy putting on sunscreen every hour!!  (that happens for a sun baby that loves to be in the pool at every chance she gets)

 We attended the 2012 Johns Hopkins NICU reunion and saw some of our favorite nurses and the brand new NICU that just opened!  The new NICU is beautiful and has private rooms for each baby.  I couldn't help but think how I never would have left her side if that had been available when she was in the NICU.  I dreaded every night that I had to leave her, it is an awful feeling to leave your sick baby and I am so glad that these parents have the opportunities to stay with their babies!

Callie got to go to fairs and amusement parks and had NO fear of the rides!!  She was upset when she wasn't tall enough to ride one! 

 Callie still loves gymnastics and has started swimming lessons again.  She also started ballet a few weeks ago...so sweet!!

 Mommy started taking Cal to the library and she loves it!  We are so happy that Callie loves to read!  She loves to have stories read to her and then she likes to tell the story back to you!  She has developed a great imagination.  She loves playing with dolls and any sort of make believe!

Callie moved up a room at school in August and is officially in pre-school.  Her room is even out of the baby hall-such a big girl!!  We love her teachers and the fact that she is learning so much! She is really doing well with her letters, with both recognition and sounds.  It's so cute to have conversations with her, she will tell us all about different things that start with A...all things we never knew would be possible.  We can't wait for all that is to come!!