Archives for October 2011

Hello my beautiful angel. I just wanted to tell you how proud Mommy and I are of you during your first week with us. You have shown courage, strength and resolve that is second to none. The nurses and doctors are all so amazed by how well you are doing, but we didn’t expect anything less from our little “sweet pea”. I am in awe every time I look at your sweet face baby girl and I love you with all my heart.
I knew from the first moment I saw you that my life would never be the same and I now know that nothing prepares you to see your child for the first time. I will never forget that moment because I am forever changed. I promise to love and protect you until my last breath and be there for you, always. Talk to u soon my little froggy legs.

Love, Daddy

Today is one whole week since my little sweetheart made her debut. All in all things have gone very well. Tessa and I spent the day with her and she decided that it was her birthday and she’s Brady if she wanted to! So she gave Tessa a good scare with a few back to back heart rate drops. We had a lot more A’s & B’s than we would like to see and they have been increasing the last few daysHer PICC line went in last night and although the procedure went well she seemed a little stressed today. After running her labs it came back that her white blood cell counts are elevated. They did a work up for cultures to see if there is an infection and if so, did it originate from her PICC line or her old line her belly button or just a general infection. Results will be back within 24-48 hours. In the meantime she was placed on antibiotic to avoid allowing the infection to continue. We got another great, messy, diaper today which is exciting because it means we are one step closer to her digesting milk and getting off the IV.

I came back from the NICU late this afternoon with every intention of heading back after the 6:30-8pm shift change. I laid down for a nap and didn’t wake up for a few hours and feeling a little like I have a sore throat. Getting sick right now would be devastating so, I’m hoping it’s just allergies rearing their ugly head. Seems like the week finally caught up with me. Being a NICU Mommy, I am subsequently an exclusive pumping Mama too. This means pump every 2 hours during the day and 3 at night trying to up my production.

For anyone who may have thought that having a baby in the NICU means you have less responsibility than a Mommy who has baby at home…this is SO not the case. I change diapers, take temps, pump, drive back and forth, watch her monitor for a heart rate drop so I can rub her back to snap her out of it and worry every minute that I’m away from her. I’m so glad we have one week under our belts because I know that we are one week closer to having her with me for naps, getting to kiss her little cheeks which I haven’t had the opportunity to do with all the CPAP equipment on her. I can’t wait to hear her cry next to me. We warned today that most babies that have a great first week have a difficult second week because of set backs. It makes me feel like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop but I’m trying to stay positive, live only in the moment we have right now and leave the worrying for when there is a reason.

Love,
Mommy

Today is one whole week since my little sweetheart made her debut. All in all things have gone very well. Tessa and I spent the day with her and she decided that it was her birthday and she’s Brady if she wanted to! So she gave Tessa a good scare with a few back to back heart rate drops. We had a lot more A’s & B’s than we would like to see and they have been increasing the last few daysHer PICC line went in last night and although the procedure went well she seemed a little stressed today. After running her labs it came back that her white blood cell counts are elevated. They did a work up for cultures to see if there is an infection and if so, did it originate from her PICC line or her old line her belly button or just a general infection. Results will be back within 24-48 hours. In the meantime she was placed on antibiotic to avoid allowing the infection to continue. We got another great, messy, diaper today which is exciting because it means we are one step closer to her digesting milk and getting off the IV.

I came back from the NICU late this afternoon with every intention of heading back after the 6:30-8pm shift change. I laid down for a nap and didn’t wake up for a few hours and feeling a little like I have a sore throat. Getting sick right now would be devastating so, I’m hoping it’s just allergies rearing their ugly head. Seems like the week finally caught up with me. Being a NICU Mommy, I am subsequently an exclusive pumping Mama too. This means pump every 2 hours during the day and 3 at night trying to up my production.

For anyone who may have thought that having a baby in the NICU means you have less responsibility than a Mommy who has baby at home…this is SO not the case. I change diapers, take temps, pump, drive back and forth, watch her monitor for a heart rate drop so I can rub her back to snap her out of it and worry every minute that I’m away from her. I’m so glad we have one week under our belts because I know that we are one week closer to having her with me for naps, getting to kiss her little cheeks which I haven’t had the opportunity to do with all the CPAP equipment on her. I can’t wait to hear her cry next to me. We warned today that most babies that have a great first week have a difficult second week because of set backs. It makes me feel like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop but I’m trying to stay positive, live only in the moment we have right now and leave the worrying for when there is a reason.

Love,
Mommy

Today is one whole week since my little sweetheart made her debut. All in all things have gone very well. Tessa and I spent the day with her and she decided that it was her birthday and she’s Brady if she wanted to! So she gave Tessa a good scare with a few back to back heart rate drops. We had a lot more A’s & B’s than we would like to see and they have been increasing the last few daysHer PICC line went in last night and although the procedure went well she seemed a little stressed today. After running her labs it came back that her white blood cell counts are elevated. They did a work up for cultures to see if there is an infection and if so, did it originate from her PICC line or her old line her belly button or just a general infection. Results will be back within 24-48 hours. In the meantime she was placed on antibiotic to avoid allowing the infection to continue. We got another great, messy, diaper today which is exciting because it means we are one step closer to her digesting milk and getting off the IV.

I came back from the NICU late this afternoon with every intention of heading back after the 6:30-8pm shift change. I laid down for a nap and didn’t wake up for a few hours and feeling a little like I have a sore throat. Getting sick right now would be devastating so, I’m hoping it’s just allergies rearing their ugly head. Seems like the week finally caught up with me. Being a NICU Mommy, I am subsequently an exclusive pumping Mama too. This means pump every 2 hours during the day and 3 at night trying to up my production.

For anyone who may have thought that having a baby in the NICU means you have less responsibility than a Mommy who has baby at home…this is SO not the case. I change diapers, take temps, pump, drive back and forth, watch her monitor for a heart rate drop so I can rub her back to snap her out of it and worry every minute that I’m away from her. I’m so glad we have one week under our belts because I know that we are one week closer to having her with me for naps, getting to kiss her little cheeks which I haven’t had the opportunity to do with all the CPAP equipment on her. I can’t wait to hear her cry next to me. We warned today that most babies that have a great first week have a difficult second week because of set backs. It makes me feel like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop but I’m trying to stay positive, live only in the moment we have right now and leave the worrying for when there is a reason.

Love,
Mommy

We have had the most amazing outpouring of support from friends, family and complete strangers. It’s during tough times in your life that I think you step back and realize what life is really about and who in your life is truly there to support you through the tough times. This has been our wake-up call. What has really taken our breath away are the people that we barely know who have reached out with kind words, cards and even gifts for Baby Sofia. Our situation as far as being in the NICU and all the crazy things that come with that has been compounded by the fact that we were placed in the hospital 2 days before our move form NC to FL. Our belongings, my car and our puppy made the move…we didn’t!

Some great friends of ours have opened up their home to us and we have had offers from others as well if we needed it. We even have an offer from Ronald McDonald House of Durham as they were also notified of our situation. We would love to take RMH up on their offer but it’s about 40min away and being 15 minutes away has felt like an eternity. It’s difficult to not have any material possession we are used to, I literally have 3 t-shirts and a ton of PJ’s, can we say time for a mall visit?! But at the end of the day I would walk around in Pj’s and bed slippers if that’s what I needed to do because all the “stuff” just doesn’t seem that important right now.

Today Sofia is working on the letter P….ha ha ha ha haaaa! Sorry Sesame Street joke, lame I know. We are so appreciate of all the prayers and thoughts that have been sent our way, each one means the world to us and I credit that for the strength all three of us have had during this time. We were still hoping for that poopy diaper and WE GOT IT!!!! We literally cheered for a dirty diaper and high fived after 5pm change. How many bets are on the table that a year from now we will NOT be high fiving a poopy diaper? We also had to sign a consent to have her belly button IV lead switched to a PICC line. They so this sterile procedure while we aren’t there and it breaks my heart that she may be in pain and be alone during after. We asked the nurse to call us after so we knew everything went well. It did! It was in a good position according to the X-ray and they will do one 24 hours after to confirm it’s still where it should be. We also decorated her cubicle area for Halloween! Our friend Tessa (who we are staying with) came with me to help me pick out the decorations. It’s still Sofia’s first Halloween so we wanted her to be able to be “excited” about her firsts.

We have had the most amazing outpouring of support from friends, family and complete strangers. It’s during tough times in your life that I think you step back and realize what life is really about and who in your life is truly there to support you through the tough times. This has been our wake-up call. What has really taken our breath away are the people that we barely know who have reached out with kind words, cards and even gifts for Baby Sofia. Our situation as far as being in the NICU and all the crazy things that come with that has been compounded by the fact that we were placed in the hospital 2 days before our move form NC to FL. Our belongings, my car and our puppy made the move…we didn’t!

Some great friends of ours have opened up their home to us and we have had offers from others as well if we needed it. We even have an offer from Ronald McDonald House of Durham as they were also notified of our situation. We would love to take RMH up on their offer but it’s about 40min away and being 15 minutes away has felt like an eternity. It’s difficult to not have any material possession we are used to, I literally have 3 t-shirts and a ton of PJ’s, can we say time for a mall visit?! But at the end of the day I would walk around in Pj’s and bed slippers if that’s what I needed to do because all the “stuff” just doesn’t seem that important right now.

Today Sofia is working on the letter P….ha ha ha ha haaaa! Sorry Sesame Street joke, lame I know. We are so appreciate of all the prayers and thoughts that have been sent our way, each one means the world to us and I credit that for the strength all three of us have had during this time. We were still hoping for that poopy diaper and WE GOT IT!!!! We literally cheered for a dirty diaper and high fived after 5pm change. How many bets are on the table that a year from now we will NOT be high fiving a poopy diaper? We also had to sign a consent to have her belly button IV lead switched to a PICC line. They so this sterile procedure while we aren’t there and it breaks my heart that she may be in pain and be alone during after. We asked the nurse to call us after so we knew everything went well. It did! It was in a good position according to the X-ray and they will do one 24 hours after to confirm it’s still where it should be. We also decorated her cubicle area for Halloween! Our friend Tessa (who we are staying with) came with me to help me pick out the decorations. It’s still Sofia’s first Halloween so we wanted her to be able to be “excited” about her firsts.

We have had the most amazing outpouring of support from friends, family and complete strangers. It’s during tough times in your life that I think you step back and realize what life is really about and who in your life is truly there to support you through the tough times. This has been our wake-up call. What has really taken our breath away are the people that we barely know who have reached out with kind words, cards and even gifts for Baby Sofia. Our situation as far as being in the NICU and all the crazy things that come with that has been compounded by the fact that we were placed in the hospital 2 days before our move form NC to FL. Our belongings, my car and our puppy made the move…we didn’t!

Some great friends of ours have opened up their home to us and we have had offers from others as well if we needed it. We even have an offer from Ronald McDonald House of Durham as they were also notified of our situation. We would love to take RMH up on their offer but it’s about 40min away and being 15 minutes away has felt like an eternity. It’s difficult to not have any material possession we are used to, I literally have 3 t-shirts and a ton of PJ’s, can we say time for a mall visit?! But at the end of the day I would walk around in Pj’s and bed slippers if that’s what I needed to do because all the “stuff” just doesn’t seem that important right now.

Today Sofia is working on the letter P….ha ha ha ha haaaa! Sorry Sesame Street joke, lame I know. We are so appreciate of all the prayers and thoughts that have been sent our way, each one means the world to us and I credit that for the strength all three of us have had during this time. We were still hoping for that poopy diaper and WE GOT IT!!!! We literally cheered for a dirty diaper and high fived after 5pm change. How many bets are on the table that a year from now we will NOT be high fiving a poopy diaper? We also had to sign a consent to have her belly button IV lead switched to a PICC line. They so this sterile procedure while we aren’t there and it breaks my heart that she may be in pain and be alone during after. We asked the nurse to call us after so we knew everything went well. It did! It was in a good position according to the X-ray and they will do one 24 hours after to confirm it’s still where it should be. We also decorated her cubicle area for Halloween! Our friend Tessa (who we are staying with) came with me to help me pick out the decorations. It’s still Sofia’s first Halloween so we wanted her to be able to be “excited” about her firsts.

October 1st thru 5th

Day 1- – Sofia spent less than a full day on the ventilator. We were told prior to delivering that we shouldn’t expect to hear her cry or make any noise after birth because her lungs may not be mature enough just yet. Just as they were taking her from the room to the Neonatal team she let out just a tiny little squeak! I guess she needed to let us know she was stronger than we may expect! Later on the first day she was placed on a CPAP machine and she tolerated that really well. This little miracle is quite the little fighter. I also was able to do some kangaroo care time a little over 24 hours after she was born for about 40 minutes. That made me a really happy Mommy, it was the longest first day till I got to see her.

Day 2- – Sunday she was placed under phototherapy lights because she had raised bilirubin levels due to jaundice. We keep telling her that this just a little tanning bed experience…and that she will not be allowed to tan like this when she’s bigger. She is still doing well with the CPAP but she is NOT a fan of the headgear. She’s a feisty little thing and tries to take it into her own hands to push the mask and tubes off her face. Just a little glimpse of her personality I think. I was discharged from the hospital today and that was just about the hardest moment I’ve had so far. It’s devastating to walk out of the hospital during discharge with all of the other Moms’ who have just delivered but not be able to take your little home.   

Day 3- – Daddy got to kangaroo for the first time and he loved it as much as I did. Feeling her close is so relaxing and comforting. We hope she feels the same way! Bili levels came down and she was taken off the phototherapy session. It was a boring day in the NICU…we love, love, LOVE boring NICU days! Mimi and Papa Farsaci and Kumpa B all went home today. We were so sad they had to go but we know that they wish they could be around the corner. Sofia will miss them but knows they send their love everyday. 🙂

Day 4- – We are back under phototherapy because her bilirubin levels went up again today. So the tanning session is back in effect. She is still only digest small amounts of the 1ml of breast milk she is receiving. She has a little back up of meconium into her tummy at this point and we are hoping for a poopy diaper any day now! Her sugar levels are elevated and her blood work is showing she is hyper-glycemic. They are adjusting her fluids levels to balance this out, fingers crossed they get the right levels quickly. Glama and Grandpa Fox went home today, so now all the grandparents have gone to FL. We miss them so much and we all wish we were a lot closer during all of this. They have been an amazing support system and we know how much they love this little miracle baby.

Day 5- – Sugar levels are still elevated today so more adjustments will be made to control her levels. They have dropped since yesterday so we are headed in the right direction! Still hoping for that poopy diaper! We have had a few smears but we can tell she’s really working to pass that build up. It will be so beneficial for her after. She will get rid of more of the bilirubin and take more milk which will help her sugars and weight gain. We are still at 1lb4oz but put on a few grams from the last weight in. Daddy had his first encounter with a Bradycardia episode and boy did he get freaked out! We almost needed a heart monitor for him. It was right after he got there for his visit and he had just reached in to the isolette. It only lasted a few seconds and just a little rub on the back from the nurse got her to pop back up. This is a common preemie thing but still unnerving for us as parents. She got some Kangarooing in with Mommy and Daddy today! We love snuggle sessions with Sofia!

October 1st thru 5th

Day 1- – Sofia spent less than a full day on the ventilator. We were told prior to delivering that we shouldn’t expect to hear her cry or make any noise after birth because her lungs may not be mature enough just yet. Just as they were taking her from the room to the Neonatal team she let out just a tiny little squeak! I guess she needed to let us know she was stronger than we may expect! Later on the first day she was placed on a CPAP machine and she tolerated that really well. This little miracle is quite the little fighter. I also was able to do some kangaroo care time a little over 24 hours after she was born for about 40 minutes. That made me a really happy Mommy, it was the longest first day till I got to see her.

Day 2- – Sunday she was placed under phototherapy lights because she had raised bilirubin levels due to jaundice. We keep telling her that this just a little tanning bed experience…and that she will not be allowed to tan like this when she’s bigger. She is still doing well with the CPAP but she is NOT a fan of the headgear. She’s a feisty little thing and tries to take it into her own hands to push the mask and tubes off her face. Just a little glimpse of her personality I think. I was discharged from the hospital today and that was just about the hardest moment I’ve had so far. It’s devastating to walk out of the hospital during discharge with all of the other Moms’ who have just delivered but not be able to take your little home.   

Day 3- – Daddy got to kangaroo for the first time and he loved it as much as I did. Feeling her close is so relaxing and comforting. We hope she feels the same way! Bili levels came down and she was taken off the phototherapy session. It was a boring day in the NICU…we love, love, LOVE boring NICU days! Mimi and Papa Farsaci and Kumpa B all went home today. We were so sad they had to go but we know that they wish they could be around the corner. Sofia will miss them but knows they send their love everyday. 🙂

Day 4- – We are back under phototherapy because her bilirubin levels went up again today. So the tanning session is back in effect. She is still only digest small amounts of the 1ml of breast milk she is receiving. She has a little back up of meconium into her tummy at this point and we are hoping for a poopy diaper any day now! Her sugar levels are elevated and her blood work is showing she is hyper-glycemic. They are adjusting her fluids levels to balance this out, fingers crossed they get the right levels quickly. Glama and Grandpa Fox went home today, so now all the grandparents have gone to FL. We miss them so much and we all wish we were a lot closer during all of this. They have been an amazing support system and we know how much they love this little miracle baby.

Day 5- – Sugar levels are still elevated today so more adjustments will be made to control her levels. They have dropped since yesterday so we are headed in the right direction! Still hoping for that poopy diaper! We have had a few smears but we can tell she’s really working to pass that build up. It will be so beneficial for her after. She will get rid of more of the bilirubin and take more milk which will help her sugars and weight gain. We are still at 1lb4oz but put on a few grams from the last weight in. Daddy had his first encounter with a Bradycardia episode and boy did he get freaked out! We almost needed a heart monitor for him. It was right after he got there for his visit and he had just reached in to the isolette. It only lasted a few seconds and just a little rub on the back from the nurse got her to pop back up. This is a common preemie thing but still unnerving for us as parents. She got some Kangarooing in with Mommy and Daddy today! We love snuggle sessions with Sofia!

October 1st thru 5th

Day 1- – Sofia spent less than a full day on the ventilator. We were told prior to delivering that we shouldn’t expect to hear her cry or make any noise after birth because her lungs may not be mature enough just yet. Just as they were taking her from the room to the Neonatal team she let out just a tiny little squeak! I guess she needed to let us know she was stronger than we may expect! Later on the first day she was placed on a CPAP machine and she tolerated that really well. This little miracle is quite the little fighter. I also was able to do some kangaroo care time a little over 24 hours after she was born for about 40 minutes. That made me a really happy Mommy, it was the longest first day till I got to see her.

Day 2- – Sunday she was placed under phototherapy lights because she had raised bilirubin levels due to jaundice. We keep telling her that this just a little tanning bed experience…and that she will not be allowed to tan like this when she’s bigger. She is still doing well with the CPAP but she is NOT a fan of the headgear. She’s a feisty little thing and tries to take it into her own hands to push the mask and tubes off her face. Just a little glimpse of her personality I think. I was discharged from the hospital today and that was just about the hardest moment I’ve had so far. It’s devastating to walk out of the hospital during discharge with all of the other Moms’ who have just delivered but not be able to take your little home.   

Day 3- – Daddy got to kangaroo for the first time and he loved it as much as I did. Feeling her close is so relaxing and comforting. We hope she feels the same way! Bili levels came down and she was taken off the phototherapy session. It was a boring day in the NICU…we love, love, LOVE boring NICU days! Mimi and Papa Farsaci and Kumpa B all went home today. We were so sad they had to go but we know that they wish they could be around the corner. Sofia will miss them but knows they send their love everyday. 🙂

Day 4- – We are back under phototherapy because her bilirubin levels went up again today. So the tanning session is back in effect. She is still only digest small amounts of the 1ml of breast milk she is receiving. She has a little back up of meconium into her tummy at this point and we are hoping for a poopy diaper any day now! Her sugar levels are elevated and her blood work is showing she is hyper-glycemic. They are adjusting her fluids levels to balance this out, fingers crossed they get the right levels quickly. Glama and Grandpa Fox went home today, so now all the grandparents have gone to FL. We miss them so much and we all wish we were a lot closer during all of this. They have been an amazing support system and we know how much they love this little miracle baby.

Day 5- – Sugar levels are still elevated today so more adjustments will be made to control her levels. They have dropped since yesterday so we are headed in the right direction! Still hoping for that poopy diaper! We have had a few smears but we can tell she’s really working to pass that build up. It will be so beneficial for her after. She will get rid of more of the bilirubin and take more milk which will help her sugars and weight gain. We are still at 1lb4oz but put on a few grams from the last weight in. Daddy had his first encounter with a Bradycardia episode and boy did he get freaked out! We almost needed a heart monitor for him. It was right after he got there for his visit and he had just reached in to the isolette. It only lasted a few seconds and just a little rub on the back from the nurse got her to pop back up. This is a common preemie thing but still unnerving for us as parents. She got some Kangarooing in with Mommy and Daddy today! We love snuggle sessions with Sofia!