The gift of life — Precious no matter how long
This morning I was checking my Facebook page and I found a note from a very good friend. His wife had just given birth! However, this normally celebrated occasion was a bit tempered as the baby is extremely premature. Weighing in at only one pound, the child has been given a 40% chance of survival by her team of doctors. I told him "congratulations", but it just didn't sound right.
After hanging up the phone, my mind started wandering back to my own experience with the birth of my first child. Although nowhere near as severe, my daughter was 6 weeks premature and weighed only 4 lbs. 15 oz. I remember the 18 days we spent in the hospital as if they were yesterday. The support we had from friends, family, and coworkers made all the difference in coping. It is amazing what the power of positive energy can do. My daughter just turned six, and we have celebrated every minute of her life.
I've seen my family go through the other side of this experience as well. My cousin had twins and there were serious complications. Long story short, only one of her daughters survived. Today is actually the anniversary of her daughter's passing. Listening to her and her husband speak at their infant daughter's funeral was one of the most heartbreaking things I have witnessed. Their story really showed me that every single second of life is precious.
Please help me send positive energy (prayers, if that is your thing), thoughts, and words out to this child who is only hours old and is fighting for her life. Share your stories with us if you've had similar experiences, and hug your kids tight!





annoyed, stressed or bored. These five cries are universal to all babies regardless of culture or language."
We’re co sleepers. Leo sleeps with us, in the same bed. Yeah, I was nervous about it, but we got used to it. In this “controversial” practice, we are joined (if my limited research is any indication) by a little more than half of all parents around the world. I have to wonder why something practiced by half the human population is controversial, but apparently it is.

Yes, I tried to explain that 
We did try breastfeeding. It didn’t work. There’s a part of me that’s defensive about it, that wants to explain our efforts and justify our decision to switch to formula. But why? Do we owe someone an explanation? Maybe the lactation consultant who came into my wife’s hospital room those first couple of nights with all those helpful hints and assurances that it would take work but we could do it if we kept trying?
The two pieces of advice I have are not nearly as profound, but I hope they help more than one dad-to-be out there. Here it goes:
I don't have much time to write today. I have the week off work to take care of the newborn. That's him. Leonardo Enrique Olmeda.
other issues are just as noble, like Prevent Child Abuse Florida. For many, it’s a cause way too close to home.
I've been a stepfather for the last 19 months, but it's not the same thing. I wasn't there for their births, for their first words or their first steps. I didn't see them off to school for the first time ever, and I missed maybe 100 dance recitals and performances. I've done what I can, screwed up plenty, tried to understand and tried to get them to understand.
in the United States, highlights other top issues: learning environments with trained child care providers, and cost. Zogby International conducted the telephone poll of 1,004 parents in November for the
The dog belongs to another family member who is not in a position at the moment to care for him.
not the least of which was the likelihood of getting a private room for my wife’s stay. Without a private room, the girls and I can’t stay the night. One hospital we checked couldn’t guarantee it, and was going to charge us extra if we were among the lucky few to get a private room. I’ll say that again: IF we were among the lucky few.




If there were prenatal testing to determine if your child was going to be gay, would you use it? This provocative idea, still a fantasy, is being debated in some Christian and gay circles after the Rev. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, wrote about it on his
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Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of two boys and a girl all under the age of seven.


