Hi , I hope you&rsquo;re doing well! I wanted to reach out because my baby, Josephine, is currently competing in Colossal&rsquo;s Baby of the Year competition, a nationwide campaign raising funds and awareness for Baby2Baby. Baby2Baby is a national nonprofit that provides basic essentials to over one million children in need each year. Over the last 15 years, Baby2Baby has distributed over half a billion critical items to families in need across all 50 states. The Baby of the Year competition has helped deliver a $45 million grant to further their mission. Through this competition, my baby has the opportunity to appear in a national ad campaign with The Honest Company, take home $25,000, and be celebrated in Variety! This experience has been incredibly meaningful because Josephine&rsquo;s and my Journey from birth to now has been a story of triumph and survival. Josephine is the first girl in 42 years on my husband&rsquo;s side of the family. My mother-in-law had three sons and told me to expect the same. After having two boys, I was sure my third would also be a boy. On February 26th our beautiful daughter was born and taken directly to the NICU with fluid on her lungs. I was only able to glance at her before she was wheeled away and I began the fight for my life. After hemorrhaging due to a nicked artery during surgery, I was rushed into two back-to-back emergency surgeries then taken to the ICU. It would be at least 48 hours before I was able to visit my precious Josephine in the NICU, and it would be at least another three days before she and I would be reunited on the mother baby unit. I remember she was so small and orange that I called her my Oompa Loompa bean. She&rsquo;s been my bean ever since. Although it was a difficult start Josephine is the first child I have ever been able to exclusively nurse (both of my sons had tongue ties). It is not only my heart that melted when I first held Josephine. Since she was born people have stopped me just to tell me how her smile has blessed them and have even cried when they held her. If my baby wins, It will be life changing for our family. We have dreamed of becoming homeowners, a difficult thing in this economy. We had a three-year plan to add to our savings and buy a home in 2029/2010; however, due to unexpected circumstances we have to move much sooner, within the next year. The $25,000 that comes with winning this competition would help us a great deal with purchasing our first home. Currently Josephine is in 6th place. We have until October 1st to move her into the top 5 of the competition if we are going to have any hope in bring the Baby of the year title to Dupage County. Please take a moment to vote for Josephine, not only to bring home the title of Baby of the Year, but also any contribution supports mothers in need through the nonprofit Baby2Baby. You can also vote for free once a day! With everyone's help, Josephine can bring home the title of Baby of the year!<img src="image/png;base64,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">Follow link to Vote for Josephine: <a href="https://babyoftheyear.org/2026/josephine-693f" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">babyoftheyear.org/2026/josephine-693f</a>

DuPage County

DuPage

Carol Stream

Illinois

From the NICU to Everyone’s heart: Meet Our Own...

Hi                         , I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to reach out because my baby, Josephine, is currently competing in Colossal’s Baby...

From the NICU to Everyone’s heart: Meet Our Own Local Baby of the Year Hopeful, Josephine!

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Carol Stream, IL|Local Classified|News Tip|Oct 2