High FIVE: Celebrating our family's journey

As many of you know, our daughter, Nava Elle, recently turned five years old. Nava was born on Saturday, March 17th, 2017. I was just shy of 32 weeks pregnant. We were able to bring her home from the hospital on Wednesday, April 19th, 2017.

 

For the past 4 years, I have honored the 32 days that our daughter spent in the NICU by creating a daily ritual that focused on creating opportunities for reflection and celebration through movement. Committing to a new personal challenge each year has been meaningful and powerful; it reminds me how strong we are individually and as a family. Those first 31 days of Nava's life I was frozen in shock and fear. I spent 8-10 hours day, sitting by her bedside, watching her, watching over her. I was constantly sitting in stillness- waiting to be given permission to hold her, waiting to hear updates from her doctors, pumping, reading to her while she was fed through a feeding tube on my chest. Not being able to bring her home, or hold her constantly, not being able to feed her myself for weeks, or be the one to respond to her cries in the middle of the night... it was the scariest, most heartbreaking experience of my life. It was also when I began to know my daughter as the fierce and incredible fighter that she is. At barely 5 lbs, we watched her fight off a nurse who was trying to re-insert the feeding tube she was pulled from her nose. We learned how to change diapers through the holes of an isolette, how to bathe her, how to recognize stress signals unique to preemies. While sitting there, frozen, I watched my daughter begin her life and claim it as her own.

 

In honor of our amazing and powerful daughter, I am continuing this annual ritual of creating and committing to a personal challenge. Beginning on her birthday, I have committed to running 5 miles a day and engaging in at least 32 minutes of cross-training (so far it's been cycling, strength-training, and HIIT workouts). It is an exercise (no pun intended!) in embodying the shift from powerless to powerful that I have felt over these past 5 years. It is a love letter to my daughter, to my husband, and to the mother who discovered a strength she didn't know she possessed 5 years ago.

 

As we have in the past, we are also using this as an opportunity to raise money for March of Dimes. They support research, lead programs and provide education and advocacy so that every family can have the best possible start.

 

This year, we are REALLY excited to also be able to offer a way for YOU to join us in sweating it out in honor of Nava. On Sunday, April 24th, our friends at B/SPOKE Wellesley will be hosting a charity HIIT class for us- it will be a total body workout and a ton of fun. Vaccinations will be required and we ask for a minimum donation of $25  (which you can make on this page). Please fill out the registration form to reserve your spot: Registration for BSPOKE fundraiser class