PLEASE READ - March for Maddie

As you all know, Madison was born eight weeks premature and spent 43 days in the NICU. Before this happened, I had never thought very much about prematurity, birth defects, etc. No one I'm close to has ever had a problem with anything like this. I have to admit that until Madison ended up there, I didn't even know what NICU stood for! But the people we met there and the things we saw have stuck with me in a powerful way. While Maddie has grown into a happy, healthy baby, many of the families we met in the NICU did not have that outcome to look forward to. We met families whose babies had been there for months, who were already dealing with multiple health problems with many more to come. The reality is that while the NICU may seem like some remote place most people never have to witness, one in eight babies is born premature or with some birth defect. And most of the time, including Maddie's case, doctors have no idea why.

The March of Dimes is trying to change that. The organization's sole purpose is to raise money to contribute toward researching prematurity and birth defects and supporting families who are struggling through this very difficult time.

Maddie and I want to help. So this Saturday, we are participating in the March For Babies, a three-mile walk to help raise money for this very important cause. And we want your help, too. I know times are tough and it's kind of weird that I'm asking for money on my blog, but please contribute if you can. You can sign up to walk with us (the walk is at 11 a.m. in Olive Branch for those of you who are local) or you can donate whatever you can from wherever you are. Every little bit we can raise will hopefully mean that someday, other babies and families won't have to go through what we did.

CLICK HERE to see our team page and sign up to walk or donate.

And if you'd like to read more about Maddie's story, you can read my posts here.

 Our four-pound angel baby!

Now our happy little girl!