Our advice to anyone in our shoes:

If you can, have an extra person on hand to help you. I always had support when I needed it, without being too hard on my husband. He and my mom were able to give each other much-needed breaks.

Tell people how best to help you. I was on bed rest. Everyone wanted to help, but weren’t always sure how. Don’t be shy about asking for assistance with meals or housework.

Find support from people who truly understand. I went online to a high-risk pregnancy site. No one there had ever heard of my condition, but they all understood the fear I had for my little one.

Stay positive: it’s good for your health and good for your baby. Keep your spirits up and your stress level under control.

Celebrate even the littlest milestones. We were so worried about pre-term delivery. Every single week that she stayed in my belly was a reason to celebrate. We would go to dinner with family, or just call or email an update. To hear other people be positive (“Great! She’s already 30 weeks!”) really kept me upbeat.

Be careful with randomly searching the internet for information. That can be really scary. Talk with the doctors at UNC and look at the resources they suggest.

Have faith and put faith in those who are best positioned to help. Through faith, strength and serenity are achieved.

Keep a journal of your feelings and experience.

Mackenzie's Glasses

My daughter was born with many special challenges. One of them was a need for glasses but not having a nose bridge to hold them in place. I have been asked to share how I made the frames work for Mackenzie's special need. After a great deal of thought I have decided to just post the instructions. I have thought about trying to patent the idea but I don't have the time nor the money. I have all I need knowing that I made it possible for my little girl to see. I would like to thank everyone at Duke Superoptics, especially Linda. Without them I would not have been able to do this. When everyone else said, "I don't know. I have never seen anything like this before", Linda and her co-workers all gathered around and started think of what and how we could make something work. From that brain storming section this is what was developed.

If you use this and it works for your situation, please let me know. If you need help getting it to work also let me know. I will do everything I can to help anyone in this position. I remember all to well how it felt to think no one could help my child but me. I don't want anyone else to feel that feeling again.

Tony Sizemore tsizemore@nc.rr.com

Click here to read about Dad's clever and creative solution.

Logan's G-Tube Accessories

The clever mother of a little boy with a g-tube (Logan) has designed an iron on patch that provides access to g-tubes without damange to clothing! Tummy Tunnel patches come in the shapes of stars, soccer balls, hearts, flowers, teddy bears and smiley faces. To apply them, first mark the place on the clothing item where the g-tube will come out, iron the patch onto that site and then cut the hole for the g-tube in the center of the patch. This allows parents to feed their baby without undressing him/her! It also allows these special babies to wear snap bottom clothes. The patches are $3.50 for one, $9.50 for 3 and 18 for 6. For more information call Logan's G-Tube Accessories at 208-697-1196. You can email tummytunnels@yahoo.com or go to www.tummytunnels.com.

Have a Tip?

We would love to share more tips from family to family. If you have a good one, please email us at cmih@med.unc.edu today!