March for Babies: Why I’m Walking

Following is the text from the speech I gave at Missouri Basin Toastmasters, telling people why I’m supporting March of Dimes’ March for Babies, and why they should, too. Please support me at http://www.marchforbabies.org/erin_huntimer.

Why I’m walking

Thursday, March 15, 2007. What a crazy day. I was 8 ½ months pregnant, and I think it finally hit my boss that in 5 weeks, I’d be out of the office for 3 months. After a stressful day, I hit the road to go home at 4:30. I was on the interstate between here and Central Market when it happened. My water broke. I didn’t know what to do; I drove myself to the hospital.

My heart raced. My mind raced. It’s not supposed to be like this. It’s too soon. My hubby was at work at the coal mine 40 miles away. A supervisor had to chase him down in the field to deliver the news, but he made it to the hospital. After almost 8 hours and NO epidural, KayLee Rae arrived a little before 1 a.m. on March 16, 5 pounds 5 ounces 18 inches and eyes wide open. I only caught a glimpse of her before they whisked her away to the NICU. It was a couple hours before I got to hold her for the first time.

They put her in an isolette, but I called it her cube. She for the most part was doing fine, though she did require oxygen for about a day to help strengthen her airways. Her biggest hurdle: she hadn’t developed the reflex to be able to eat yet, typical for a “35-weeker,” so she had to be fed through a tube in her nose.

The next 12 days were a blur. Sunday night we left the hospital without our daughter. Rick went back to work on Monday, and I moved in with my brother in Mandan so I could be at the hospital with her. I was there every three hours to hold, help feed her and care for her the best I could.

Thankfully, she eventually got strong enough to drink from a bottle, and came home on March 28, not quite 6 pounds, but healthy. We haven’t looked back since. The doctors were never able to figure out why she was born early. The whole experience was pretty traumatic for me, but I realize we were fortunate.

Every day 1,400 babies are born too soon, according to the March of Dimes. Some are challenged with life-long disabilities; others never go home. It shouldn’t have to be like this. Every baby deserves to be born healthy. The mission of the March of Dimes is to make this happen, which is why I support it, and I want you to as well. Today, I want you to learn how YOU can help babies be born healthy. There are two big things you can do: education and donations.

First, get educated & spread the word. About 40 percent of all premature births have no known cause, as was the case with KayLee. But there are still things women can do to help their babies. An easy one is folic acid. Women should take it even before they plan on getting pregnant. It’s a B vitamin proven to prevent birth defects. Another one – get a dental checkup. According to WebMD, gum disease in women can increase the risk of preterm birth by eight-fold. A third tip – know your family health history and tell your doctor. This kind of information can give doctors a heads-up for any potential problems and a head-start on dealing with them, which may include genetic counseling.

These are just a few things. You can learn more at http://www.marchofdimes.com. Take this knowledge and share it with the women in your life.

Second, support the March of Dimes financially. Your dollars make a difference. The March of Dimes funds scientific research into the causes of prematurity and how to help the little ones in their fight. One example is surfactant therapy. March of Dimes-funded research produced this treatment that helps preemies’ lungs mature. As a direct result, infant deaths from respiratory distress have dropped by two-thirds since the 1990s.

This year the March of Dimes is about 15 percent short of the funds needed to support the research and programs it had hoped. Consider donating to March of Dimes to help them make up that difference.

I am walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies event that is being held here at Basin Electric Headquarters on May 16. I have a goal of raising $600. Please consider donating through me and supporting Basin Electric’s team. 77 cents of every dollar goes directly to research and programs for babies to get healthy starts.

Visit my Web page at http://www.marchforbabies.org/erin_huntimer, or visit with me in person. As the slogan for this year’s March for Babies says, one day all babies will be born healthy, but we need to walk to get there.

Please support the mission of the March of Dimes. Each and every one of us can find a personal reason. Just look at your sons, your daughters, your nieces, your nephews. I’ve got my reason right here — my daughter.

My second video

Here’s the second video story I’ve done for Basin Electric. It’s on how local Touchstone Energy co-ops worked together to sponsor the Living Ag Classroom at the AgriInternational in Bismarck in February. There, school kids learned where their food comes from. So many of them think milk comes from grocery stores, and hamburgers come from McDonald’s. The Living Ag Classroom teaches them otherwise.

 

Or view it on Basin Electric’s Web site:

http://basin03.basinelectric.com/player/player.php?gallery=1&topic=4&video=217

Gym rants

Overheard at the gym:

Weightlifter A: Dude, you should put a heart rate monitor on that vein in your forehead.

Weightlifter B: Yeah, right. It’s gross, isn’t it?

Weightlifter A: No way, man. That’s awesome.

Me: Men. Gross. *shaking my head*

My first video!

My very first video news story for Basin Electric is done!

Or see it on Basin Electric’s Web site:

http://basin03.basinelectric.com/player/player.php?gallery=1&topic=4&video=198

Hundreds protest global warming

OK – now for something on the funny side. This photo reminds me of those Calvin & Hobbes cartoons.

Hundreds protest global warming

An open letter

As I sat on the edge of the tub the other night, I watched the water swirl around, creating bubbles in its path. My mind drifted back to a time not so long ago, and I chuckled to myself to think how much my life has changed.

It was shortly after the birth of my daughter. KayLee was sleeping. I had to use my time wisely. I wanted a bath. So what if it was 3 in the afternoon. I was exhausted, horribly so. I’ve never done well on a lack of sleep, and at this point must’ve been close to the edge of insanity. I turned on the water and went about getting ready. I looked in the tub. Hmm. Not much water in there – will have to wait longer. I sat on the edge of the tub & watched the water flow. Hypnotizing. Why wasn’t the water getting deeper? I was confused. I stared longer, my sleep-deprived mind not recognizing the obvious. I forgot to put the plug in.

How did I ever survive KayLee’s first days, weeks and months? Why on earth did I chose to put myself in that situation to begin with? Am I willing to do this again? I’m finally to the point where I can laugh at myself, not only in that particular situation, but in my naivety in general.

“Are you ready for this?” people would ask me when I was pregnant, or they’d try in vain to put the adventure of parenthood in some profound perspective. Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. But I see now what people were trying to tell me. You’re never ready for a child to come into your life. You can’t wrap your mind around it, never mind your heart. But how do you put something like that into words that measure the gravity of the reality? Impossible. You’ve just got to live it.

Even now, I look at my daughter every day and think, I’m not ready for this. Not her first smile, not her first words, not her first steps. She’s telling me she wants to use the potty now. She’s ready. I’m not. I look at her every day in disbelief. There’s no way she can be mine. She’s too beautiful. She’s too smart (scarily so). She’s too perfect. Even in all her “terrible two” naughtiness, she still saves a hug for me and greets me with such a heart-felt, “Mommy!” she could bring tears to my eyes every time.

So what’s the point in my writing all of this? Think of it as an open letter to God, thanking Him for the wonder He’s brought to me through KayLee. He’s blessed me with a beautiful adventure and an open invitation to love and be loved the rest of my life. Thanks be to God.

Tanya’s heart

Mysterious Heart Ailment Strikes New Moms

I have to share this with you for two reasons. One, the woman in this story is my neighbor & one of my best friends, and I’m very proud of her. Two, what happened to her could happen to any of us, our daughters, our granddaughters, our friends. My friend Tanya’s heart gave out a few weeks after giving birth to her son. She was clinically dead twice, and her heart was shocked 15 times. She’s alive today and is a miracle; praise God!

Tanya wants to spread the word about this condition so young women don’t pass it off as a normal part of having a baby. Please share this with the women in your life who could benefit from knowing about peripartum cardiomyopathy.

If you’re gonna play in Fargo…

I generally don’t care for things that perpetuate the negative assumptions about North Dakota. After all, I love it here. But this here is a fine piece of music and an even finer piece of comedy. Enjoy, and thanks Froggy FM in Fargo!

“If you’re gonna play in Fargo (you gotta have a shovel in the van)”
by Roy Holdren & Sweetwater

http://froggyweb.com/?p=1744

Mug shot

My employer is trying to go a bit more green and has gotten rid of the styrofoam cups and given all HDQ employees coffee mugs. This is great, it enforces something I’ve been doing for a while.
My only problem is this – when I want to drink a glass of pop instead of the whole bottle, I have to use my mug. Why does it feel so strange to drink pop out of a coffee mug? It doesn’t taste any different, but I almost feel like I’m doing something wrong. Maybe betraying my coffee or something.

Folic Acid Awareness Month

http://newsmomsneed.marchofdimes.com/?p=1896

Good morning, my girlfriends. I read this blog post this morning and wanted to pass it along. It’s Folic Acid Awareness Week. Regardless of your situation in life, you should take folic acid every day. The fact of the matter is, 50 percent of pregnancies are unplanned, and folic acid makes the biggest difference in the first month of pregnancy, often long before you even know you’re expecting. They’re tiny pills, they’re inexpensive & they help prevent birth defects. That’s a bargain!