40 SETS!!!!

This morning I just finished my 40th hat and bootie set!!!!! It's amazing that I have completed and mailed out 40 gifts to these beautiful babies and amazing parents. I feel so blessed to be able to do this for them.  I know I love getting fun things in the mail so I hope these gifts are bringing some joy!

 

Here is the 40th set for a sweet baby boy who was born at 25 weeks gestation weighing in at 1lb 8oz. He currently weighs 2lbs. Grow baby Grow!!!!!

 

And a little update on Baby D2:   I am 15 weeks today! It's actually hard to believe as time is going pretty fast.  Even though time seems to be going quickly I am trying to be sure that I'm soaking in every minute of being pregnant with this little peanut. I don't want to miss a moment!  We have another doctors appointment in a week from today and then in about 4 or 5 weeks we will be having our anatomy scan. Which means.......... we will find out the gender of the baby!  I can't wait to find out but I'm focusing more on the baby being healthy. The anatomy scan isn't only to find out the gender but to be sure baby is growing correctly!  Oh and for anyone wondering, Scott and I have picked out names for both boy and girl........ but you will have to wait until the baby is born to find out. Yes, I know, some may find this annoying haha. But you'll just have to wait = )

 

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day on Sunday!

Teeny Tears!!

As promised here are a few pictures of the latest hat/bootie sets that have been sent out!!  First one was sent to a sweet baby girl named Ellie Rose (beautiful name) weighing in at 3lbs and 9 oz.

 

 

 

Just yesterday I sent out a set of teddy bear hats for twin boys weighing in at around 3 pounds each. How cute will they look!!!

 

 

They also got matching booties but I forgot to take a picture before I sent the package..oops!!

 

We are currently at 39 hats/bootie sets sent out to the NICU babies!!! Almost to 40!! I can't believe it!

 

I'm so proud to say that Sweet Savannah Knits is on the Teeny Tears website!!!!! Check out Teeny Tears and Savannah's article:  http://teenytears.blogspot.com/2013/06/for-love-of-savannah-savannah-knits.html

 

 

 

 

BIG NEWS!!!!

We have BIG news in the Dussman household!!!!  Sweet Savannah is going to be a BIG sister!!!! 

 

Scott and I are happy to announce we are expecting baby #2 early December! I am currently 13 weeks along.  It has been a long journey but I feel with all my heart that come December we are going to be blessed with what we have been dreaming about for so long. I would be lying if I said the past 13 weeks have been blissful and easy. I've been a nervous wreck!! However, my doctor has been great and I'm so happy I'm out of the first trimester! I just knew from day one that this little bean sprout was going to be healthy.  I mean, after all, he/she has the most awesome and beautiful angel looking over!!!

 

Here is baby's ultrasound picture measuring right at 12 weeks!! I'm just smitten with that cute little face = )

 

12 Week Ultrasound

 

I know it has been awhile since I last wrote a blog. I've been very preoccupied as you can see!!!  I have, however, sent out a couple hat/bootie orders!!! Pictures to come as I'm still currently working on a set for baby boy twins weighing just 3 pounds each. I've been a busy bee today trying to get their cute little booties done (they must have warm toes) so I can get their sets out!!  So stay tuned!

 

I wanted to also, spread the word on a FANTASTIC movie that has been made. Maybe some of you have heard of it already.  It is called Return To Zero and it is about a couple who has a stillborn baby. It features Minnie Driver and Paul Adelstein.  The whole movie is about the grief and hardships this couple goes through after going through this tragic event. This is a topic that has never been shown in a movie.   Per their website, their Mission Statement is as follows:

 

While this film is intended for a wide-release to audiences regardless of their life experience, RETURN TO ZERO fills a particular niche for a market that has gone unserved -- those who have or know someone who has experienced the devastating loss of stillbirth, miscarriage, or neonatal death.
The statistics on stillbirth, which is the loss of a child after 20th week of pregnancy, are remarkable. In the U.S. alone there are approximately 36,000 stillbirths a year. That is equivalent to the amount of people who die in traffic accidents across this country every year. Yet, this topic has never been the central theme of a feature film.
The impact that one stillbirth has on the mother, the father, their family, and friends is devastating -- a shock-wave of pain, guilt and then, too often, silence. The majority of those affected, especially the mothers, suffer in this silence often believing that their grief and trauma is theirs to bear alone.
While planning to entertain and enlighten all audiences with a dramatic tale of the strength and resilience of the human spirit, RETURN TO ZERO intends to break through the silence and become a beacon of cinematic light to the millions in search of answers, understanding and healing.

 

The reason why I think this movie is Fantastic is because it is a great way to spread awareness and break the silence on stillbirth and infant death.  There is still such a taboo and a hush hush when it comes to this.  But why? It happens, sadly, all the time! The couples who experience it feel alone and feel as though they are the only ones this has happened to because NOBODY talks about it.  It is the most awful way to feel.   After losing Savannah I obsessed with reading stories that people posted online and others I connected with who had lost a baby. It helped me so much. It is so sad that most people suffer alone.   I am not sure when this movie will be coming out for us to view.  I know they director and producers are trying to spread the word on the movie and to show Hollywood that there is absolutely an audience of people who will go see this movie.  I pray it goes to the theaters. It will be a very hard movie for me to watch. I'll probably bawl my eyes out the entire time BUT it is something people need to see!   For more info on this movie go to their website:  http://www.returntozerothemovie.com/index.php

 

Like always, I want to give a HUGE thank you to those that have donated to Sweet Savannah Knits in the last months!!!! It is because of you that I can help provide warmth and comfort to the NICU babies and their parents!

 

I hope everyone is doing great and I will post pictures of the hat/bootie sets that I've sent our recently soon!!

 

Savannah's Rainbow

I had to share this picture that Scott and I took yesterday as we were driving to the SHARE walk meeting.  As we were driving I spotted this beautiful rainbow and of course gasped in excitement and starting pointing like a little kid.  It was the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen. It was so bright and was a complete arch!! On our way to these meetings we always pass our favorite street sign-  Savannah Circle. So Scott decided we must stop, get out of the car and take a picture of Savannah's name with the rainbow. I'm so glad we did!

"Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother  She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors Oh, and life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no  Ain't even gray, but she buries her baby"   BAND PERRY

 

There were actually two of them

 

I've started the hats for the babies in Honduras!!! Here is my first one so far-

Another Mother's Day

Well in 2 more days it will be Mother's Day... I know last year on Mother's Day it was pretty tough for me. At that point it had only been a few months since Savannah had past plus it was my first Mother's Day as a mother. But of course without my baby... This year I feel it won't be quite as hard. Well hopefully. I think last year I was still struggling with the question, Am I still a mom if my child is not with me? This year I know for certainty the answer to that. YES!!! I have no doubts and I can easily call myself a Mom and say I have a daughter without getting teary eyed or  feeling wrong. I will never forget the feeling when we were at the funeral home making arrangements for Savannah's funeral. I had to fill out some paper work and one of the questions was how are you related to the person who died. It was the first time I wrote or referred to myself as MOTHER and I broke down in tears. It was so confusing at that time because was I am mom?  Well this past year, like I just said, I have finally come to the place where, YES I am and damn proud of it!!!   So Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies out there that are missing their angels. You are all great Moms. Probably the best Moms out there!!!

The past week or so I have sent out a couple more hat and bootie sets!! Hope they love them!!

 

 

Last night Scott and I went to the SHARE support group and I made my Teeny Tears (www.teenytears.blogspot.com)  diapers/blanket set donation to Edward Hospital!!  I donated 11 total! Here they are:

 

 

 

 

Speaking of SHARE I also wanted to show the Share Walk To Remember official logo!!!! Scottie and I are on the marketing team for the walk this year and we had a part in creating this awesome logo!!! Way to go SHARE walk coordinators. This walk will be fabulous. The walk this year is October 12th at the Naperville River Walk.

 

 

Oh and did I mention that my amazing husband got Gina Glocksen to sing at this years walk.  Yes, Gina from American Idol. She was 9th place runner up in the 6th season of American Idol. Check out her website http://www.rocktheglock.com/3_3/bio/.

A BIG thanks to Gina for being so willing to sing at  such an important event!!!!

 

And lastly in big news is that I received a very sweet email to Sweet Savannah Knits after my article was ran a week ago.  This sweet lady has a daughter who is a doctor who goes to Honduras to work in one of their hospitals (bless her heart).  She was wondering if I would be willing to make some hats for the little Honduras babies as they are always in need of them. How can I turn that down! I'm not sure how many I can complete by later this summer but I told her I will try to get a handful done that her daughter can take back with her. Savannah's memory is traveling to other countries!!

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies out there!!!

 

 

 

 

March for Babies and Chicago Tribune

Today was a great day!!! First I want to start out by giving a big THANK YOU to my friend Lisa!!! She nominated me to be in the Remarkable Women section in the Chicago Tribune and I was in it!! The article was in the Sunday Tribune today.  I was in the "Reader Nomination" section and I could not feel more special and honored!!! Lisa, you are such a great friend!! You have been there so much for me in the past year and you have helped me tremendously with my healing! You are such a great person = )  Not only do I feel great that I have such awesome people in my life, I'm also so happy that infant loss/prematurity/birth defects awareness and my mission at SSK is being spread! When starting SSK and this blog one of my main missions was to simply spread awareness. I want people to know that these things happen and show that there are ways to help. Even if it's from sending out hats to actually being part of research! Everything, small or big, helps!!!

                                                                Here's the article

Today was also the March for Babies walk in Naperville. I want to give another big THANK YOU to all our family and friends that donated and/or walked to support such a great cause. March of Dimes will always be so dear to my heart now.  So many tiny babies are saved due to all the hard work and research March of Dimes does.  Today Me, Scott and our family/friends wore three different color beads. Each one had its own meaning as to why we were walking. 

 

The white beads stand for infant loss, pink beads stand for prematurity and the purple beads stand for birth defects. We all donated and walked today to END all three of these beads!!!! Scott and I have been touched by all Three..... And if there is anything I can do to help stop this from happening you better believe I'm doing it!  Today was all around a great day and I know Savannah is smiling down on her family.  I live my life for you baby girl!! I love you so much...

 

It has been a while since I last wrote a blog and I have send out a few hat/ bootie sets !!! Currently 34 sets have been sent out!!! Here are a few pictures:

 

Tan Baby Bear Hat for a 7lb cutie

 

Green striped hat for a 2.5lb cutie

 

Working on a pair of pink booties for a 2-3lb cutie

 

I hope all Moms and Dads and Babies loved their sets!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Teeny Tears Blankets

I've been a busy bee these last couple days! Newest project- the Teeny Tears Blankets! Like I promised in the previous post here they are!! I just love them. I'm making them to be 12x12 for the little micro preemies. Well they are pretty close to 12x12 haha some maybe a quarter inch off, bigger/smaller, as I'm not the best sewer but close enough! Here is what I've completed so far:

 

 

 

I just need to finish the diaper sets for each blanket!! If any of you like to sew check out www.teenytears.blogspot.com. There are many hospitals that take these cute items.