Pampers Little Miracle Mission: Meet Shawn Ann and Xavier

Pampers has been doing something wonderful lately,they have been celebrating little miracles by throwing over 1000 surprise baby showers for moms around the country. I have been really impressed with this massive outreach of love for moms and it reminds me of why I buy Pampers for my kids not only because they are a superior product but because they are made by a company that truly cares about their client, moms and their babies. For more information and to see how you can join in check out Pampers Facebook page.

A few weeks ago I was browsing blogs with giveaway linky’s when I came across a post that moved me to tears. Some of you may know Shawn Ann of Shawn Ann’s World, I had seen her blog before but was not acquainted with her at all. She recently was blessed with a true little miracle of her own Xavier. Xavier was born 8 weeks early and has been in the NICU since May. The post I read expressed Shawn Ann’s concern over visiting her son in the NICU once summer break came and my heart broke as a mom when I thought of having to make the choice between which child to spend time with. Here is Shawn Ann’s story in her own words.

Shawn Ann and her husband were blessed with their first child in 2005 after several rounds of fertility treatments. After Thaddeus was born they took the “if it happens, it happens” approach to another child. On their 11th wedding anniversary, Shawn Ann found out she was pregnant with #2 and due on Thaddeus’ 6th birthday. The first trimester of her pregnancy went very uneventful. During the second trimester, Shawn Ann started displaying signs of pre-eclampsia and the baby was measuring small for his gestation.

On April 12th, she went to the hospital for an ultrasound to check the growth of the baby and ended up being admitted to the hospital, received steroid shots to help Xavier’s organ growth, and remained in the hospital for eight days. Once she returned home she was placed on modified bed rest and required to come back to the hospital three days a week for an ultrasound and NST along with labs once a week to keep an eye on everything. On May 16th, during her routine hospital visit everything looked good with Xavier and she received a second dose of steroids. From the next day on, Xavier was not moving as much as he had been, but the doctor was not too concerned because this some times happens with a dose of steroids.

By Sunday, May 22nd, he still was not moving as much so Shawn Ann told her husband she wanted to go to the hospital to check everything out. She was admitted to the hospital again, this time it was just for the night to keep an eye on her blood pressure, everything with baby Xavier looked OK. The next morning because of her blood pressure still lingering high, her high-risk doctor scheduled a 4PM C-Section, which was then cancelled because her blood pressure went back to normal. Around 2PM, after arriving back to her room from another ultrasound, her blood pressure spiked and Xavier’s heart rate dropped.

Everything changed!

Nurses were rushing in, they were going to perform an emergency C-Section and they were getting me all prepped. She handed her mom her phone with her husband’s number already dialed and told her mom to tell him to get here NOW. At 2:51PM, May 23, 2011, Xavier was born 8 weeks early weighing 2lbs 8oz. Xavier was immediate sent to the NICU where he will remain until he is healthy enough to go home. Shawn Ann and her family head to the hospital one to two times a day to be with Xavier.

When I heard Shawn Ann’s story I knew  she was perfect for the Pampers Little Miracle Mission and I am excited to say that Pampers and I will be showering her with gifts shortly to help ease all the burdens her family is enduring with a  baby in NICU. Since I am in Ohio and Shawn Ann is in Michigan I am throwing a virtual bay shower. Stay tuned for pictures of all the goodies Pampers helped me to get for Shawn Ann.