Karla, new member packets are going out to every new member starting in August - they are folders full of CDH and CHERUBS info.

Expectant and newborn cherubs will get the baby bags.

I understand about feeling cheated. To be honest, I wasn't 100% on board with this totebag idea at first. I felt like it was showing partiality to the new parents and wasn't fair to all the members. And I was afraid that it would be considered "bribing" new parents to like CHERUBS.... after all, other groups have followed our Parent Reference Guides and New Member Packets and started sending things to new parents. Some have completely dismissed the trademark and attacking parents because a group sent them free stuff and that's all that mattered to them. It really, really did not set well with me at all at first...

But I know Corin's heart was in the right place. I know that Gabe's Gifts was about helping families in Gabe's memory and Corin didn't care what group did what to whatever parents.... it was about Gabe and wanting to keep his memory alive and do something good in his memory. I get that. We all want to do something good to honor or remember our children. So we all talked about it out and it was all good. : )

Plus... there are so many CDH parents and most hospitals and doctors refer new families to CHERUBS. We're working with so many hospitals within the CDH Study Group and we have the Adopt A Hospital program too, plus we're at the conferences - we're involved, we're invested in research and the hospitals and surgeons know us and work with us. So more and more CDH families are being referred to us. We've had a lot since we went to the APSA conference and we'll have even more soon. So hopefully soon, every CDH parent will be referred to CHERUBS either before birth and soon after birth - and all expectant and new parents will have the information they need.

I wish we could somehow make sure that 100% of cases are diagnosed at birth... I hear ya on the not being diagnosed! I was in the same boat as you... without the internet, without CHERUBS, without any info at all. The whole reason CHERUBS was founded was so that no family went through CDH alone again. We're getting there! : )

Let me know what the blankets look like and I'll make sure you know 100% that we got them! : )