Philly Baby meets NYC

Since Daddy took the early part of this week off for the 4th of July we decided to spend the day in NYC. This was Luna's first trip to the city. It was a beautiful day, thankfully not as miserably hot as this past weekend was. We enjoyed a nice leisurely walk on the High Line, had lunch at Pop Burger, and bought dessert to-go at Chelsea Market. Overall, a beautiful day!

Strolling the High Line

Smelling the flowers



Family

Bottle break

Daddy and his girl

My beautiful baby



Our Lil' Blessing

I wanted to share this beautiful video that my husband created to share with family and friends at Luna's baptism. It shows the crazy ride we were on before, during, and after Luna's birth. The whole journey feels surreal at this point, but watching the video reminds me of how blessed we are to have Luna with us. I feel it every singe time I look at her. She truly is a miracle from God.

Here is the link to the video: Our Lil' Blessing

Hope you enjoy it!

Luna, meet Beach

Yesterday was a fun day (aside from the horrible parking mission). We took a trip down the shore to Belmar for the annual Seafood Festival. It was exciting because Luna got her first glimpse at the ocean. I think she liked it.

2 Months Old!

I can't believe my little miracle baby is two months old already. Although it feels like time has flown since the day she was born, I try very hard to take it appreciate each day as a gift from God. I just love waking up and seeing her beautiful face next to me every day. She is the best thing that has happened to me.

Here are some beautiful pictures of my Luna...

6 Weeks Old!!

Luna is 6 weeks old. Its amazing how quickly time flies. We have been home for a week now. It feels so good to be home. We have been trying to settle into a routine full of feedings, meds, diaper changings, naps etc. I feel like I'm finally starting to get the hang of all the little details that go into taking care of another human beings. I feel like we really took the NICU nurses for granted. They did soooooo much to take very good care of my little one. I know I still have a long way to go and I'm excited to learn something new everyday.

Here is Luna getting ready to go to church.

Hanging out with Abuela.

We're Outta Here!!!!

I haven't posted in a few days but we have been very busy. Last week was by FAR the most exciting week we've had in the NICU. Luna's doctors and nurses started throwing around the "D" word early in the week as they were getting ready to remove her NG tube and nasal cannulas.

This was Luna on her last day wearing her feeding tube and cannula.

Here is a picture of my daughter free of all tubes and wires (except those monitoring her vitals) for the first time in her short little life.

Luna on her way to get a routine MRI as part of her discharge requirements. Once there I was a very nervous mom as she was taken from my arms and placed in the MRI machine. Fortunately, I was allowed to stay in the room with her and the MRI only lasted like 20 minutes. She did well and only started crying as the machine was turned off.

Daddy arrived just in the time to hear one of Luna's NPs tell us that we could take her home on Saturday. We were excited, scared, and anxious since we wanted nothing more than to take Luna home, but unfortunately we arent exactly ready with all the "baby gear" one usually needs to welcome a baby home. When I was pregnant and was told of Luna's diagnosis, we decided we did not want a baby shower. I just did not want to jinx anything. The last thing I wanted was for something to happen to Luna and to have to come home to a house full of baby things. I would rather have to run around getting things at the last minute which is what we are still in the process of doing. LOL

Luna IS a rockstar!!! So much so that she was discharged from the NICU on April 28th, 2012. Just 5 weeks after being born with a severe right-sided CDH.

All dressed and ready to hit the road in her carseat.

After waiting all day, finally signing the discharge papers.

Can you tell he's happy? LOL

Walking off into the sunset. :)

After a veeeeeeeeeeeery long journey, it's finally "home sweet home" with Daddy.

I'll be the first to say that there were times when I didn't think Luna was coming home. I was scared, sad, and angry. But this journey has reinforced the power of prayer to me. My daughter is home. She beat the odds. God is so good and beautiful. I saw him in the doctors. I saw him in the nurses. I saw him at the Ronald McDonald house. I saw him in all our family and friends who have supported us. We thank you ALL!!!

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).