Today I am sharing an entry from my baby journal in support of Johnson’s Baby Cares, Save the Children, and new mom Hilary Duff’s newest initiative. They have joined forces to make sure families who are experiencing difficult times, both in the U.S. and around the world, get the baby care resources they need. Each year, more than 3.1 million babies die before they turn one month old. Through the JOHNSON’S® BABY CARES campaign in support of Save the Children, health workers and midwives in developing countries can get the vital training and basic techniques to prevent birth asphyxia, saving newborn lives in a program called Helping Babies Breathe. “Baby Care Kits” have been created and are filled with essential JOHNSON’S Baby products that will be sent to families worldwide.
February 27, 2005
Dear Oldest:
You are a big brother now. Your baby sister was born at 5:11 p.m just a few months ago. I went to the hospital on a Thursday night and you spent a week at your Nana and Grandpa’s house. Unfortunately since your baby sister was in the NICU, you were not able to see her while she was in the hospital. When I was pregnant, you were were so excited to have a baby sister. But when you found out that you had to wait to see and touch her it made you very upset. We hadn’t prepared you for this — having to see her from behind a glass. After the nurses pulled her “bed” near the glass, you got so upset. You could tell she was sick. She was connected to many “machines” as you called it, and it worried you. The nurses suggested that it would be better if you just visited me and not her. So for several days you went to the hospital and sat in my room, asking all about your sister.
It was very hard to try to be there for you while I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital for 12 days worried about you and your sister. I wanted us all home together, not split apart. Thankfully your Tita (Grandma) arrived just a few days later so you were able to sleep in your bed for a little sense of normalcy.
See, we didn’t expect your sister to come so early and because of that, Mommy and Daddy were gone for almost two weeks. You thought having a new sister was going to be fun, you didn’t expect us to be gone. But the day we all finally came home and you got to see your baby sister was a day I’ll never forget. Your sister was waiting for you in the car and we surprised you. You looked into the car and your entire face lit up. You couldn’t believe that you could finally touch her and see her up close. We kept you home the next few days so that you could hug and kiss “your baby” (as you called her), as much as you wanted. You were so happy and proud of your baby. You wanted to take care of her as much as possible and kept asking if she was still sick. You had taken your role as big brother very seriously.
As you get older, I want you to remember how much you took care of your sister when she was a baby. You are now a big brother and you two will be a team. Take care of each other, always.
Love, Mommy
Join me in celebrating babies around the world. Help spread the word about Johnson’s program. On Twitter use the hashtag #WeCare and be sure to follow Johnson’s on Facebook and check out the website here.
I wrote this post as part of my affiliation with Latina Bloggers Connect and Johnson’s Baby. All opinions expressed are my own.
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