Happy 1st Weekiversary, Baby Luna!!!

Happy 1st week to our beautiful baby girl!!! Mommy and Daddy love you so much and are so proud of you!!!

Luna had a good day today. They were able to wean her dopamine all the way down and then off by the end of the day. Her ventilator was also down to 28. Luna is becoming more and more active. She is waking up more and trying to move around. Along with this increased activity comes her crying which we saw her do for the first time today. Because of her CDH, her cry was silent but nonetheless bittersweet for us. On the one hand, its great that she's crying because that is what she is supposed to be doing. But on the other hand, she is crying and we're not able to hold her and comfort her which is heartbreaking. So of course I cried my eyes out because I just felt helpless, but I have to remind myself that we are all doing everything we can to help her get better which is the ultimate goal.

Tita Leah paying Baby Luna a visit

The peanut gallery in the waiting room

Auntie Toya came by and hung out as well!!

Day 7

We are so blessed that Luna had a good day today. The umbilical arterial line on her belly button was removed so that is one less wire to deal with. Daddy also got to change her diaper for a second time.

sleeping Luna

Lolo visiting Luna

Lola so happy to visit her first grand baby

Tita Tess and Luna

Luna getting her baby tan since her bilirubin was high.

We were so happy to get to see Lolo, Lola, and Tita Tess today. We also wanted to say thank you to Tito Albert and Tita Vivian for the very sweet and thoughtful care package. 

Day 6

We spent a quiet day in the NICU watching Luna relax. We tried to be as quiet as possible so we wouldn't wake her but nosey little Luna opened her eyes several times when she heard us or her nurses talking over her bed. We tried to keep the noise and stimulation down to a very minimum but managed to sneak in some more pics...

the cutest little toes in the world

her nurse yesterday made her a cute little sign for her area

booties courtesy of the CHERUBS HOPE tote bag...unfortunately they are too small for her big feet

thanks to today's visitors: Tio Edwin, Tia Mari, Tia Lourdes, and of course Abuela

Once again, thank you to all who have sent up prayers for Luna's recovery. We continue to pray that she rests well and continues to fight the tough battle against CDH.

I also want to send up a prayer for ALL the babies and families who find themselves in a NICU. It is a very scary place to be in. May God give the families strength and restore health to their babies.

Surprise Surgery Day

Well, today we got an early morning phone call that the team found some air in Luna's chest and were not sure where it was coming from, i.e, her intestines, lung, etc. So they decided to go ahead and do the repair surgery while trying to find the source of the extra air. Boy were we surprised to hear that news. We were expecting to spend a quiet day in the NICU with Luna, instead we rushed to the hospital to make sure we saw her before surgery started.  We were able to see her, give her some kisses, and have her blessed before surgery. But to say were extremely anxious is an understatement. I spent the next few hours holding on tightly to my rosary and my Bible. Fortunately, Riq and I were quickly surrounded by family who accompanied us as we waited to hear how things went. Thankfully, things went well. The surgeon was able to repair Luna's hernia (close the hernia and place her liver and intestines where they belong) without a patch thanks to a sac that surrounded the hernia. That was surprising news since we expected them to have to use a patch due to the size of the hernia. They also performed a Ladds procedure due to a malrotation of her intestines and removed her appendix as well.

Nurses and respiratory getting Luna ready for her surgery

I couldn't wait to go back in and see my girl

Abuela visiting Luna after surgery

Getting oral care from Daddy

 

 

So our baby girl had a big long day. She is only a few days old and we are already soooooo sooooo proud of her. We will continue to pray that she does not face any complications from her surgery and recovers well.

Thank you all for all the prayers that have been said in Luna's name. We appreciate all the love and support we are receiving from our amazing friends, family, coworkers, etc.

THANK YOU!!!!

Quality Time in the NICU

Well today was another busy day. For starters, I was discharged from the hospital which was a great feeling. Although still exhausted I couldn't wait to spend more time with Luna. Speaking of which, she was moved to a conventional ventilator and was 40% oxygen by the time I made  it down to see her. We were able to interact with her a lot more today as you can see from the following pictures...

Doing some oral care using colostrum

Receiving a blessing from one of the chaplins

Daddy rubbing Luna's leg

Helping her nurse change her diaper

Placing a fresh new hat on Luna

Today was a tiring day but it was worth it because we got to spend more time with our daughter. We are so blessed.

Thank you again to everyone who has called, texted, emailed, etc. with well wishes, prayers, and positive vibes. We appreciate it ALL!!!

Day 2...

So its Luna's second day of life and we still can't believe she is here. Our beautiful little girl has wrapped us around her little finger the second she arrived. We are so blessed. Daddy is so in love with her it shows. He has taken hundreds of pictures and shows no signs of stopping.

Here are some pictures of Luna soon after birth...

Fresh out of the oven...

Saying "hi" to mommy before heading to the NICU

All settled in the NICU

We'll post more pictures tomorrow. Unfortunately my laptop is not cooperating with me and is not allowing me to upload more pictures at the moment. 

 

We'd like to thank everyone who has come by to visit so far including my parents, RiQ's parents, my brother, Lucy, Denia, Derrick Pia, and my half-brother. Thank you also to everyone who has called, texted, emailed, etc.

We have a long road ahead of us and ask that you please keep Luna in your prayers as she fights to come home with us.

Thank you!!

She's Here!!!!

Luna Fe arrived early this morning at 3:48 am. She weighs 8 pounds 12 ounces.

We will post more info and pics tomorrow.

Induction Date Set!!!

So I had another prenatal check up yesterday. This time we spent quite awhile at CHOP since we had several people to meet with.

First, we met with the lactation specialist. This lady was amazing. I mean she has a freakin' Ph.D. in lactation and I'm not exaggerating. She went over absolutely everything with us. She demonstrated how to use the hospital grade pumps that are available in the birth suites and the NICU. She went over the how/when/why of feeding breast milk to a baby with CDH. She also gave us our own kit to get us started pumping/freezing breast milk for Luna right after she's born. The lactation specialist was just great and left me feeling like I could really do this.

Then we got to see Luna. She passed another biophysical which is great. She's really breathing nicely in there. The ultrasound tech tried to get us another good 4D picture but Luna had her face deep down against my uterine wall and also had her arm up against the side of her face. However, we did manage to see some quick shots of her opening her eyes, yawning, and stretching her really long fingers which was adorable and so worth having the scope digging into my hip bone for.

Then the midwife checked me. I'm 1 centimeter dilated and 70% effaced. The midwife could feel the top of Luna's head! lol So we got down to business and discussed an induction date for next week. I chose next Thursday into Friday to make it more convenient work-wise for Riq. I have another checkup on Tuesday to check on things in the meantime.

So basically, we're almost down to the big day. I thought I was nervous before but WOW....I'm really nervous now. I can barely sleep or eat due to my nervous energy. But a big part of me is ready to get this show on the road and get Luna started on her recovery. In the meantime, I promised myself I would make a conscious effort to relax and rest as much as possible before next Thursday. Let's see how successful I am.

Keeping Busy...

So, we've been in the Philly area for a few days already. I thought that I would be bored stiff by now but I'm not. In reality, it feels like the days are flying by. Probably because we've kept busy since getting here.

For example, I had another prenatal appointment at CHOP yesterday. We got to see Luna in 4D again which is the BEST part of these appointments. My little munchkin is just too cute although she tried to hide her face with her arm as you can see from this picture....

my bashful little girl....AHHHH!!! she's just too cute!

And big! She's currently approximately 7 pounds, 10 ounces. She passed another biophysical so she is breathing nicely and her heartbeat sounds great. My amniotic fluid continues to look normal. So I will be checked next week to see if things have started to kick into action down there. However, a lot of people, including the midwives and doctors say my belly looks like it has dropped. This is my first time being this pregnant so I'm not sure if a dropped belly is supposed to feel any different. However, I will say that walking has become a lot more uncomfortable.

Aside from hanging out at the hospital, I've also had some visitors. My cousin, Denia, stopped by last night after work to say Hi. We went to get something quick to eat at 9pm and realized that almost every business in this area closes early. Luckily we found an open Chick-fil-A across the road and stuffed our faces there.

Tonight, I hung out with our friends, Derrick and Pia, who drove over from Atlantic City to hang out. We grabbed some dinner and had some fun shopping at Cherry Hill Mall till closing time. They then drove me around the mall parking lot until we found my lost car. Oh, good old pregnancy brain.



Full Term and in Philly

Well Cherry Hill, NJ to be exact. We weren't able to get into the Ronald McDonald House due to lack of room. Unfortunately, they have a long waiting list. Since I am officially full term now we didn't want to wait around anymore so we reserved a room at a hotel in Cherry Hill which is over the bridge from CHOP and offers their families a discount. Me and mom checked in yesterday and we've been slowly getting used to our temporary home. Everyone here has been very hospitable and really gone out of their way to make us comfortable as we play the waiting game.

Although I'm resting as much as I can, I can't help but feel my anxiety level increase tenfold. I could go into labor any minute!!! We've done everything we can to get ready for Luna's arrival, but the fact that I can have her any minute makes me sweat. But, I have to stop and breath and remind myself that I'm much, much closer to the hospital where she will be in great hands.

A Wonderful Sunday...

A few days ago I decided we should make this weekend a special weekend since its probably going to be my last weekend at home (for real this time) before I relocate to Philly next weekend.

Last night we hung out with our very dear friends, Derrick and Pia. We had a nice quiet dinner at their place with their beautiful boys. We then watched Twilight which was fun. We always have a great time at their place.

Today we headed out to church and then to get maternity pics taken. I originally did not plan on getting maternity pics done, but this past week I decided, "Why not?" I'm 9 months pregnant with our beautiful baby girl who we adore. Why not capture pregnant-me before its too late? Besides the last thing I want to do is regret anything about this pregnancy. So we went for it. Here some of our favorites:

me and Riq playing with blocks

the classic belly shot

and my fave :)

I think my mom must have read my mind about making this weekend a special weekend because she called me Friday and insisted we have Sunday dinner at her place. With all of the crazyness we've been dealing with lately, we haven't had Sunday dinner at my parents' for a while. So of course, we said yes. She then called me again yesterday to ask me if we had any special requests for the menu. She can't help it, she really is the best mom.

So after working up an appetite from all the posing we did, we made our to my parents' house for dinner. We had a great time pigging out with my parents, my brother, his girlfriend, my cousin, and my grandma. We also toasted to Luna's impending arrival and took some pics with my belly.

Mami finishing up dinner

my beautiful parents...still smiling together after all these years

Eddy and Lucy

poppin' bottles

none for me, thanks!

mi familia

three generations of strong women...with another on the way :)

Overall, a great day with my loved ones.

Sadly, however, I received some bad news tonight. I learned that my Godfather is in the hospital after suffering two strokes in his home in Orlando. Thankfully, he is stable and surrounded by his family. I pray that the Lord watches over him, heals his body, and returns him to his old self. I also pray that He watches over Padrino's family and gives them the strength they need to be strong for my Padrino.