Exploring

After breakfast we just went & walked around. We went thru Times Square. We walked down 5th Avenue. We stumbled upon the LOVE sculpture!  Now a little nap then off to Fallon!

Harbor Lights Cruise

Best $60 I ever spent!

While I sit at a bar with Gary so he can watch WWE Summer Slam PPV & eat the best "bar food" I have ever had, I thought I could share a few pics from the cruise we went on this evening!

Shout out to the cute girls from Spain for taking pictures of us that weren't selfies!

And We're Off!

We made it to the bus station on time and away we go!  

Our driver just made an announcement no drinking alcohol or smoking on the bus. If the driver can't get drunk & high neither can you.... Hahaha

A pit stop in Philly...

45 minutes in Philadelphia ...  

A pit stop in Philly is definitely the pits!  

I had a few bites of a questionable hot dog. 

I met the bus station mascot. 

And I witnessed some amazing spelling!

Hendrick Andrew

One of my very best friends gave birth to her son, Hendrick, on July 18th.  It was less than a week after everything with Lexi and a month before his due date.

Erin's pregnancy was rough.  She had something called placenta previa.  Her placenta didn't move away from her cervix the way it was supposed to.  This caused her to have a lot of bleeding.  So much bleeding actually that she went to the ER numerous times afraid something was happening. 

The doctors had her on medicine to stop the contractions for about a month.  As soon as that ended she started having them regularly again and the bleeding got worse. 

On Friday, July 18th, she woke up to a lot of bleeding so her and Andy rushed into the hospital.  While there, Erin's water broke and they took her back for a C-section right away.  And Hendrick was born!  Weighing in at a tiny 5 pounds 3 ounces!

Saturday morning Hendrick was having trouble keeping his food down and his oxygen levels kept dropping.  So they sent him to Children's.  He stayed there until Tuesday evening then he got to come home.  Everyone was so excited!

Gary and I went to their house that Saturday to meet him.

I couldn't get over how tiny he was!

Then Monday night, before Erin went to bed, she noticed something wasn't right.  Hendrick was really limp and not responsive.  So they rushed him to the ER.  They got sent back to Childrens and they have been there ever since.  Its been 9 days and they won't be going home until Monday at the earliest.

Somehow Hendrick ended up with a virus.  So they did a round of antibiotics for that.  Now he has pneumonia.  He will be on the medicine for that until Monday.  He is also on oxygen.  He will have to be off of the oxygen for 48 hours before they will discharge the poor little guy.

Its been a rough few weeks.  But Hendrick is tough and he has a wonderful mommy who hasn't left his side.  He is going to pull through, its just taking some time. 

Idlewild

We spent a really fun day yesterday at Idlewild park with Amanda, Justin & Becca!  

We started at Storybook Forest. That place seemed so much bigger when I was a kid! I'm also pretty sure they haven't made any improvements in the 20 years since I have been there either. But the girls loved it & that is all that mattered!  

After we ate lunch we went to the park to find Daniel Tiger. We found him & of course Lyla wouldn't go near him... Gary & Becca got hugs though. 

Then we went to Soakzone for a while. Afte that we hit up the kiddie rides.  Lyla was hesitant but I convinced her it would be fun and after the first ride she was hooked!

Then we talked them into going over to the big rides. Lyla rode her first roller coaster!  She even sat in the front car with me!  She loved it & grinned ear to ear the whole time!  After that she rode the Scrambler & the Spider with us!  We were so proud of her!

It was such a great day!

5 Things Friday - Facts About Stillbirth

After losing Lexi we have all learned a lot we never knew before.  From talking to different people, it feels like everyone you talk to knows someone who went through something similar.  Em has been doing a lot of research and I asked her to contribute and share with me 5 facts she has learned that she thinks others should know:

1.  1 out of every 150 births end with stillborn.

2.  1 out of every 4 cases of stillborn never have a diagnosed cause.

3.  Average couples get pregnant again within 5 months to a year after a stillbirth. 

4.  Most pregnancies after stillbirth lead to healthy babies.

5.  There is a higher rate of stillbirths in this country than SIDS but less talked about.

Lets try and do something about #5.  I don't want it to be less talked about.  I think it makes you feel so alone when it happens to you.  You feel like you are the only one who has ever been through something like this and its comforting to know that you aren't. 

As you all know, I am very adamant about SIDS and SUID awareness after we lost Cassie.  Now I feel adamant about Stillbirth awareness.  I just want everyone to know that they are not alone.