Son Turning One!

I had a friend that gave me this suggestion for a one year olds party and I think that it is a really great idea. She just had an "Open House party," she sent out invitations saying that people were "welcome to stop by any time on (a certain day)." She said that it was great because there was never anymore than a few people there at a time so it wasn't overwhelming for her or the young child. She made cupcakes for people to just take home with them.

My preemie was 3mo early. The first birthday is a celebration of life, of accomplishment, of survival. It doesn't really matter how you celebrate it!
~R.

Hi L.,

My son will also turn one this sunday. Its very exciting. One of the things we are going to do to make the day special for him is place anumber of his favorite books in a room with a video camera. We are going ask our family to pick up one of the books and record themselves reading that book to him. At the end of the day, you have a beautiful collection of books that are read by his family memebers that everyone can enjoy for years to come.

Good luck and have fun!

Celebrate with the nurses who helped him survive. Their love never stops.

Aww, happy birthday! Neither of my babies were preemies, but it sounds like he's done very well to get where he is today. For my kids' 1st bdays we just did a small gathering at home with family and a few close friends. We let them have their own "mini cake" that they could dig into and get messy eating the icing (Price Chopper gives the small cake FREE on baby's 1st bday when you buy the sheet cake for the party). I made little deli sandwiches on croissants and served chips and veggies with dip and served beverages. IF the weather is nice on Sunday like today you could do a picnic at the park! Whatever you do, just take lots of pictures so he can look back and see what it was like on his 1st bday, because of course babies don't remember that young :)

my advice is that you shoulnt treat him any different than you would your two yr old. my sister has a daughter who is 12 and was just like your son. she wasnt able to do anything until she was almost 3. the drs diagnosed her with prader willie syndrome. did the drs give you a diagnosis on your little boy? if you havent, you might ask your drs about it. prader willie syndrome happens in 1 of 10,000. if you want more info just let me know i can get it for you. or you can go on the web and type in prader willie syndrome. they have a lot of signs and symptoms on what to look for.they also have advise on what to do if your child does have it. my sister gave my neice a party and just fed the cake to her. she had a lot of fun. they might not be able to do anything but at least you know that you were able to throw them a party and enjoy watching them get messy with the cake and ice cream. i wish you luck and will be praying for you. let me know how it goes. god bless, R. in belle plaine

Congratulations! Of course you should celebrate for him and yourselves. I would just do a quiet friends and family party. Nothing big, maybe just dinner at a restaraunt and cake for the party guests for dessert. But you should celebrate, you and those who love and support you know how hard this year has been on your family, embrace the moment and be thankful!
Bless You!

This a real occassion to party so call every one you know, Tell them to bring a child's book and a potluck dish and get ready to pass that baby around. Buy him a cake to smash cause at 1 they really don't care for the cake anyway. Take lots of pictures, video messages from guests. Play kids music and see how many of the adults remember the words.

Live it up!!! He's the greatest reason to celebrate that you have.

What a great reason to celebrate. Even though he can't eat cake, there is nothing wrong with having one for family and friends to enjoy. Dress him up and take his picture by the cake and just enjoy the day with your loved ones. My son was in the NICU for a while after and on his first birthday, I sent a "birthday card" to the doctors and nurses that took care of him, thanking them for giving him the chance to make it to a year old. I let them know just how special they are and how much my family appreciated them, as well as giving them a brief update on how my son was doing. Your son's first birthday is not only a big milestone for him, but for everyone who has helped him make it this far :)

I say have a wonderful celebration! Just because he can't hold his head up doesn't mean he can't enjoy his birthday. For all we know he could realize a lot more than we think. Besides, having the memories and the pictures to show for it is going to be priceless in the future. I say go for it!

I agree it's a celebration of his wonderful life, and you don't need cake to celebrate that. Plus he won't even remember if he had cake or not.

How about getting poster board and put pictures of his milestones throughout the year and have everyone write a special message to the birthday boy.

I do this for my son's birthday every year and plan on giving him all of the boards on his 18th birthday.

He must truly have a purpose in life!
I would for the small family thing, and maybe some sandwich stuff like the other suggested. If it will be nice out, maybe like a picnic type thing. That your kiddo can stretch out on a blanket.

B.

My advice would be have a great time!! Who cares if he can't eat the cake, technically i guess kids don't need sweets, so not eating it wouldn't be a bad thing. But everyone around him, being happy he's there, loving him, and rejoicing in him turning one. That's going to do so much more for him than any cake could. Besides he's turning one, he has many birthdays ahead of him and can do all at those.
So I say have all those you want to celebrate this special occassion over and everyone have a great and splendid time.

If ever there was a reason to celebrate! No child would ever fail to benefit from a celebration of thier life. Even just inviting those who love him most is a healing balm for the soul. I look forward to hearing how you choose to celebrate next year! Much love and prayers!