Nyana’s 2nd Birthday

Well, we’re about to take the plunge and retire this space, after two whole years of posting in Nyana’s blog, Adventures of The Sunshine Brigade. With our Little Big Man just six weeks away (give or take) from making an appearance, and with Nyana’s lung disease nearly a distant memory, it only makes sense that we carve out a new little corner of the Interwebs and leave Nyana’s story as it is, closed on her second birthday.

We want to maintain the integrity of Nyana’s story as it is—this blog was created as a means to keep family and friends informed on Nyana’s condition during those first fragile days of her life. As her lung disease became more apparent and we were able to fully grasp what her immediate future looked like, this blog morphed into a keepsake for 16-year-old Nyana to reflect upon, and at the same time this blog became therapy for Don and me; an outlet with an attached support system that enabled us to continue putting one foot in front of the other. Over time, we’ve come to realize, it’s helped other families in similar situations endure their long road, as they realize that others have come before them and survived; the same way we used to look to those on the “I Was A Preemie, Too” board for motivation to continue.

But as Nyana outgrows her lung disease and as our family grows in size, this forum just isn’t the place any longer to tell our story. Nyana’s story deserves a place of its own, not to be overshadowed by the arrival of her brother and the mundanity of everyday life. Our story as a family is no longer about respirology appointments and machines called Misters and hoses for noses. Our story is now about playful toddlers and about-to-be-born baby brothers, and adjusting to yet another new normal that is as normal as can be. And as much as Nyana’s tiny beginning needs a place of its own, our story as family deserves a place of its own, too, a place we hope you will still enjoy visiting.

And so, without further ado…

Continue Reading—>

(IF YOU ARE NEW HERE AND LOOKING TO START AT THE BEGINNING, Nyana’s story starts back on September 20th, 2010 in a post titled Hello, World.

A Letter To The Birthday Girl

Dear Nyana,

Today, you are two. Yesterday you were not quite two, and tomorrow you will be just a smidge more than two. You’ve been through quite a bit in the 731 days you’ve been alive—not many ladies your age can speak candidly of nurses and BiPAP machines and tubes that feed directly to the intestine. No, you strive to be different, to be challenged, to be… well, quite simply, to be amazing.

The End Of An Era

Nyana told me that she promised you guys some more posts. That she logged in here the other night and was dismayed to see that her journal—the place we keep her stories to look back on and enjoy one day—has been sitting here stagnant for the better part of two months while we all went about our mundane activities, keeping ourselves busy with boring stuff like moving and growing a new baby and learning how to breathe. Sure, it’s been busy, but that’s no excuse.

From left to right: Ella, Sam, Oliver, Ben, Nyana, Trajan. All of them missed the 3rd trimester and all were about two pounds at birth.

Why My Phone Hasn’t Been Thrown From A Bridge

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of my phone. It’s a Samsung Galaxy Ace, AKA the second cousin twice removed from the runt of the Samsung Galaxy family. It barely manages to provide basic functions but if you’re patient enough it will get you there eventually. Luckily, it manages to capture a decent picture once every 20 or 30 tries, so my motivation to get a better phone is just barely held at bay. I’ve been toying around with this vintage camera app lately, and have decided to share some of my recent favourites – and by “decided”, I mean “was coerced by a toddler to”. Yesterday I found my laptop open to the blog entry page while she stood there with my phone in hand, tapping her feet. She wouldn’t stop til I took a bunch of pics and then  promised I would upload them. What’s up with that??

I Like New Things

Hello Everyone? It’s Nyana. Is this thing working?

I’m not sure how much time I have; Mumma went to bed an hour ago but Daddy’s just sleeping on the couch in front of the swimming again (what’s with all the swimming lately?). I just wanted to send you all a quick hello because it’s been awhile, but now I see that it’s been over two months (!!!) since Mum or Dad have written so I see I have a much bigger job to do than just say hello. But I can say hello very well. I say it almost all the time to people. I like how it makes them smile and shake their hands at me. Hello. Hellllloooo. Hi. Hiiiii. No. Yessh.