Six Geese A-Laying (Project Linus)

I'm a bit late with the post tonight, but hey, it's the weekend!  I've just spent the afternoon hanging with my babes over at the skating rink.  It took the past 3 hours before I could feel my fingers & toes again, but we had a BALL!  I warmed up with a little hot cocoa and some snuggling with my little dude before bedtime, while he clutched his blanket (aptly named "Stinky") as we laid there, reading stories and singing lullabies. His blanket reminded me of an upcoming project, but I was stumped how to work it in to my blog post for today's verse.... So this one's for the children who will be 'laying' down with a very special gift from a unique organization.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

SIX GEESE A' LAYING

As noted in my first post of this project, my little Bam Bam had a bumpy entrance into this world. Born right at 37 weeks (technically "full term"), he experienced some breathing problems and subsequent health issues and spent 17 days in the NICU getting some help breathing, then eating, then gaining weight… as a mother, it was torture watching my child go through that. So different from what you expect when you learn you will welcome a new life into the world. You don’t get to enjoy those first moments of his life in the way you always dreamed it would be, you don’t get to bring him home from the hospital in the way you imagined, and you spend so much time worrying about your sick child that a lot of the little things – some of the simple joys of being a new parent – are taken away from you.

And yet we were lucky. We only spent 17 days there and our son made it out perfectly healthy; so many of the other little ones in that room surely had a much longer road ahead of them. Noah was the big brute of the bunch at 7lb. 10 oz, compared to his teeny 'NICU neighbors' who ranged from ~3 to 6 lbs.  We were fortunate that when he finally came home he didn't require monitors and daily/weekly checkups to ensure his safety and health. And once we got him home, he thrived and shot up to the 80-90 percentile for weight and height within just a couple weeks. (With his gene pool, both stubbornness and the tendency to eat constantly certainly helped him out there!)

Within the first day or so after his birth, our favorite nurse brought a bright orange fleece blanket over to the incubator. She explained that it was a gift, and pointed to a little patch sewn onto the blanket corner as she described the program that sent it, "Project Linus". You know, Linus, as in the kid from the Peanuts comics?  What a unique and wonderful gift!  Noah’s blanket from Project Linus was the one thing he had with him those first few frightening days of his life that didn’t look like a hospital-issued item. It was a bright spot amidst the tubes and machines and incubators that surrounded him. It provided warmth and comfort and felt just a little bit like home. We wrapped him in it when we did kangaroo care, it laid over his "cooker" while he gained strength, and placed it over him to keep him warm in the car seat when that moment finally came that we got to take him home with us. The blanket was a simple gesture that made a big difference from someone - a complete stranger - who cared.

Taken right before he moved to the "Graduation Room", about 3 days before he got to join us at home.  His blanket is on the shelf behind him.

So now, as a bright, energetic and healthy 20 month old toddler, the bright orange fleece is his favorite “bankey” and a must-have accessory for sleeping, snuggling, and just dragging around with him! To this day, it provides him with comfort and a sense of security when he is sick or sad or scared or when he just needs a familiar 'friend'.  It now goes with him to daycare, and rumor has it that he has laid the smack down on any other children who dare try to 'borrow' it for naptime!

Snuggling up on the couch to watch 'Elf' (or as he calls it "Buddy!") for about the 19th time today.
As you can tell by the shiner on his right eye and the gouge above his left  he is a rough & tumble typical little boy who has been one tough customer right from the start!

After we got home from the hospital, I looked up the Project Linus organization, and was really touched by what they do. It is a group comprised of volunteers who hand-make these beautiful blankets children suffering from all kinds of illness or injury. Their mission is to "provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by our 'blanketeers'." Project Linus accepts all kinds of donations, but my personal favorite is the fleece 'no-sew' blankets (because I'm sure as heck no quilter!!) because they are soft, warm, and hold up well to countless launderings and the abuses of a rowdy toddler...

That's his "I'm about to be up to something" look...  his blanket follows him on many of his adventures.

So as a second part of this project, I'm going to reach out to another group to help me 'create' my donation: the residents at the nursing home where my Grandma now lives. My brother had emailed me last week, mentioning that Dad wanted us to brainstorm some ideas for a project to do while we are home for Christmas - a way to spend some fun time with my Grandma too! Grandma has never been much of a seamstress, but she can ALWAYS be found where people gather together -- whether to have 12 cups of coffee, gab about the latest happenings, or especially to show off her grandkids (though I doubt ANY of us can technically be called "kids" anymore!) But I immediately thought of this as a possibility: 1) because I've been wanting to do this for months and 2) because the blankets are pretty simple to make, and even the folks that have difficulty with hand dexterity could help out. It could be a daunting task, as my bro pointed out (and he'd know, he worked in the Alzheimer's unit of a home throughout his college years). Besides, they are often looking for some fun and different activities to do, especially during these long, cold winter months where the residents may not be able to get out and about. And even if it doesn't end up being a success, finishing the blankets will give me something to do on our 8-hours in the car on the way back home!
 

The mountain of fleece, soon to become blankets!

 So while the project won't be finished today, I will be making a donation to the Fargo Project Linus chapter for today's "give back" gesture. As a very small way of saying “thank-you” for the warmth and comfort that my son’s blanket provided to us at a time when we needed it the most:

PROJECT LINUS:

http://www.projectlinus.org/