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.