Another Busy Weekend

We enjoyed another busy weekend in the NICU. This weekend we continued bottle feeding Luna. She is doing very well with that. We also experimented with breast feeding on Sunday which also went surprisingly well. Daddy and I also attended a NG tube class which is part of the discharge process. We learned a lot during the class but are hoping and praying that Luna continues to do well with her feedings and will not need her NG tube for much longer.

Here are some fun pictures from this weekend...

Snuggle time with Daddy.

Getting pretty for my weekend visitors. Thanks for my cute little outfit, Tia Denia!!!

Time for my bottle!!

Kuya CJ and Ate Serena played in the waiting room while the Pormentilla-Dumapit family visited. I also saw my Abuelo, Abuela, Great-Abuela, and Tia Lucy this weekend.

Looking adorable. This is also the moment when Luna decided she wanted to roll to her side. LOL

I wonder where she got her sleeping pose from (btw, he's just pretending to be asleep, folks).

Waiting patiently for Daddy

Well, Luna and I spent a rather quiet and mostly uneventful week in the NICU patiently waiting for Daddy to come home on Thursday night. Here are some pictures from this past week.

Lifting her head and staring at her physical therapist.

Holding her bobo in place.

Trying to get rid of the stuff on her face. She was actually able to pull out her feeding tube a few times this week. I can't blame her. I'd try to get rid of it too.

Sleeping like an angel.

Daddy left work on Thursday and drove straight to the hospital to see his princess.

Then Daddy then got to participate in the most exciting news of the week....he got to give Luna a bottle!!! My baby girl is feeding out of a bottle!!! This may sound trivial: just another baby drinking out of a bottle, right? But NO! This is a HUGE accomplishment for Luna considering the severity of her CDH.  She was able to take 1 to 1.5 ounces at each feeding today (the rest went through her feeding tube). She continues to amaze us everyday. We are sooooo proud of her. We just pray that she continues to do well on her bottle feeds so that we can get rid of her feeding tube soon.

Busy weekend

I haven't had a chance to post in a few days. We've just been pretty busy around here in the NICU. For starters, Luna's feedings have been increased all the way to 70mls every three hours which means lots of pumping on my part. Daddy and I also had to take a CPR class as part of our eventual discharge. We also had a ton of visitors again this weekend. Here are some highlights from the weekend.

Lola, Lolo, Father Jude (who married us), Tita Lee, and Tita Inday came to see Luna.

Tita Joanne, Tito Francis, and Tita Ivy paid Luna a visit also.

Although my little cousin, Ada, was unable to go in and see Luna she was lucky enough to get a chance to meet Hot Chelle Rae who were at CHOP visiting the kids.

Tita Jenn and Tito TJ also got to meet Luna this weekend.

Mama also got to meet her great-granddaughter for the first time.

"Look, Mommy! No picc line!!!" Luna is now getting her meds orally and can move both her arms freely. We're sooooooo happy!!!

QT with Daddy before he left for work. Bittersweet :/



This is new...

Luna continues to make slow and steady progress. Her feedings are up to 30mls. Her oxygen has been weaned down to 5 liters. She is becoming more and more alert and active. It is amazing to see her do something new each day. She is our little miracle baby.

Trying out an infant seat for the first time yesterday while keeping an eye on her nurse.

Using her hand to make sure her bobo doesn't go anywhere.

LOVING her infant seat today.

Kicking up a storm.

Big yawn after another busy day.

Good night, princess!!!

More milk, please!!

Luna had a good day today. Her feedings continue to be increased each day by 5 mls. Today she was up to 25 mls every three hours which resulted in some very yucky diapers which Daddy took care of. She was also started on Lasix to help get rid of a little bit of fluid around her lungs.

The physical therapist also came by to meet Luna and was very impressed with how alert she is considering everything she has been through. We will work on slowly getting Luna sitting up on our lap more and perhaps some tummy time depending on how her breathing responds to it.

We enjoyed an overall happy day with our little munchkin.

Good morning, Mommy & Daddy!!

Tito Albert paid Luna a visit

So did Tita Vivian :)

Happy Easter!!!

Luna had a very nice weekend. She continued to have a ton of visitors.

Lolo, Lola, Tita Gee, Ate Sunshine, Tita Lorna, and Tita Lea stopped by

The Guanzon's dropped by again to see Baby Luna and play in the cool waiting room

Happy Birthday, Abuelo! Te quiero mucho!!!

Out with the Olivo's to celebrate Abuelo's birthday, Luna, and the Easter holiday.

Tia Laura came to meet Luna

Sweet Easter sign from the very caring NICU nurses

Happy Easter to ALL!!!

Big Baby Girl Crib

Today was a busy day. Luna was upgraded to a crib which was pretty exciting. She looks so tiny in her big new crib. Also, her feedings which were started yesterday at 5 mls via feeding tube through her mouth were increased to 10 mls today. Luna also had a lot of visitors today. Here are some fun pictures:

I think she likes her crib

Getting more acquainted with her bobo

Tita Crystal, Tito Vinnie, and Tito Mark came by to meet Luna

Thanks to Kuya Sam and Kuya Ben for stopping by and making sure all the toys in the waiting room work. And Happy Birthday to Tito Derrick!!!!

Thanks also to the Alimario family for coming by to visit Luna and dropping off some snacks for us.

We are so incredibly blessed to have the love and support of so many.

Thank you!!!



Extubated!!!

We arrived to the NICU just in time for Luna's extubation. It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I was excited for Luna to finally have the ET tube removed from her mouth but I was also very worried as to how she would react to not being on the ventilator. But our little Luna did well and seems to love her being free of her ET tube and is moving her head around a lot more. Our slick little girl even tried to remove her nasal cannula a couple of times.

ET tube out - Nasal cannula in

Pretty girl

Daddy holding Luna for the first time....beautiful.

Putting clothes on for the first time...not fun for Luna...LOL.

Bundled up and ready for a nap. Time to rest up from another exciting day.

Ba-bye Nitric Oxide

Luna greeted us with the side eye this morning. Silly girl.

Shortly after we arrived this morning, Luna's nitric oxide was removed. Ba-bye, nitric!!! Hope we don't have to see you again.

The neonatologist and nurse practitioner also believe that she might be extubated tomorrow. In other words, she might have her ET tube removed from her throat and consequently be off the ventilator. I'm super nervous about this and am praying that if it does happen tomorrow that it goes smoothly.  

And then, 10 days after she was born, I was finally able to hold my daughter. I was so scared to have her removed from her bed due to all the wires but once she was in my arms, all was perfect. She loved it just as much as I did and slept most of the time.

Daddy and I celebrated by venturing outside for lunch. It was a beautiful day. Thank God.

Chest Tube is Out!!!

We had another small victory today. When Daddy and I arrived to see Luna this morning, we were told that she was having a good day and had just had her chest tube removed. YAY!!! Although it was being used to prevent fluid from collecting in her chest, I really didn't like the chest tube and I know Luna didn't like it either. We are both happy it is gone. That is one less thing poking her. We were also told that her nitric oxide might be removed tomorrow.

Other than that, we had a quiet day in the NICU. Luna was much more active today. She was awake for quite awhile and enjoyed looking around at her Mommy, Daddy, and her nurses. We also saw her yawn for the first time which was pretty exciting. :)

Luna looking at her Mommy

Happy Palm Sunday!!

Daddy and I attended a Palm Sunday prayer service at the hospital while waiting to go in and see baby Luna (her pod was closed down while doctors performed a procedure on one of the other babies). When we walked in to see Luna we were happy to be informed that we no longer have to wear our gowns and gloves anymore since Luna's mrsa screening was negative. YAY!!! We then enjoyed lots of wonderful company from some of Luna's fans.

Uncle Rob and Auntie Rosey came by

So did the Quezada Family, Tia Angela, Tia China, and Abuelo y Abuela

Tita Steph and Tito Dale swung by too

Then our little stinker got her first official bath...YAY!!!

Good night, sleep tight, princess!! Tomorrow is a new day :)