Fight for Preemies

Over 400 bloggers are uniting today to raise awareness for premature birth. Twenty million babies are born prematurely every year. Visit the March of Dimes website to learn more about how you can help fight prematurity.

My girls were born at 25 weeks, 1 day weighing between 1.6 and 1.11 pounds. They were frighteningly small and were faced with physical hurdles that were terrifying to think of. Some of the terms that we became familiar with included Patent Ductus Arteriosis (PDA), Blood transfusion, Chronic Lung Disease, Retinopathy of Prematurity, Apnea, and Bradychardia.

Looking back at pictures from their first days in the NICU takes my breath away because the girls were so fragile. It almost feels like those days we spent in the NICU were a dream and too life-changing of an experience to put into words.

But we were the lucky ones. Our girls survived.

Alyssa



Makena



Riley

Our happy, healthy, miracle girls!

We are so thankful for organizations like the March of Dimes who raise millions of dollars every year to fund research to raise awareness, help prevent prematurity and aid in developing medical advances that will help save babies.

March of Dimes Walk 2009

We had an absoultely beautiful day on Saturday and particpated in the March for Babies. The girls and I loaded up bright and early and drove down to the capitol.

The girls....ready to roll!

And look who we found...the boys next door! Evan was also a preemie, born at 27 weeks. He pulled little brother Calum in the wagon for quite a while and then walked the rest of the way.

BF Jess and I...two lucky mamas with our miracles! We never imagined that we would both share the experience of having children prematurely.

And a look back at my girls then......

(They were approx. two months old in this picture)

And now.....

Our attempt at a group picture, which turned into a dogpile!

March for babies 2008

We had our walk for the March of Dimes today in the 100 degree weather. My dad came out to walk with us, which was a huge help since Steve has been working non-stop all week. BF Jess and Ly and their families joined us too!

Grandpa (my dad) with me and the girls

BF Jess sucking down her Starbuck's that she can't go a day without!

Ly and Alani trying to get a picture with the girls (who wouldn't turn around)

The girls stripped down so they could enjoy their snow cones!

Lissy posing in front of the fire truck

The firemen hosed the crowd down and BF Jess ran underneath the water with Evan and Lissy

Our NICU survivors...my girls who were born at 25 weeks and Evan who was born at 27 weeks.

The girls found their way into a jumpy house before we made the trip back home!

We reached our goal!

Thank you to all of our family, friends and co-workers who donated in honor of the Quilao girls!

We had a successful walk this morning for the March of Dimes Walkamerica 2007 and reached our goal by raising $270. Not bad for last minute fundraising. It was a beautiful morning in Sacramento and there were so many people at the event. There was a group of Kaiser nurses walking and we ran into one of my fabulous L&D nurses, Dayna (she took care of me during my stay before the babies were born).

Aunt Jodi, Cousin Sophie and Grammy Judy walked along with us. The girls were great! I wasn't too sure if they would put up with that long of a walk in the stroller, but they were very cooperative.

Our pre-walk photo

Can you see Lissy peeking in from the back of the double stroller?

Lissy playing peek-a-boo....this opening also gives perfect access to smack the back of your sister's head when she is riding in front of you (not that she'd ever think of doing that)

Cousin Sophie with Riley (very prepared with her binky & blankie)

We stopped to take a picture..we were one of the last groups walking

Took a break at Downtown plaza for some water and snacks!

The finish line!

We were greeted by Highway Patrol officers who lined the finish line and cheered!

Mom, Sophie & the girls

Grammy Judy, Sophie, Aunt Jodi & the girls

March of Dimes Walkamerica 2007

Help support Team Quilao Triplets raise money for the March of Dimes walk which is happening this Saturday, April 29, 2007. Donations go towards the research and prevention of premature births. I am very late in trying to raise funds this year, but I have set a goal of $250. Please consider helping out this worthy cause and donating in honor of the Quilao girls. Click on the above Team Quilao Triplets link and you will go to our March of Dimes webpage where you can make a donation.

You can also join our team and walk with us!

Saturday 4/29/07 9:00 a.m.

State Capitol

1301 10th Street

Sacramento, CA