Sun- Feb 29 - "Business as Usual"

Mommy came to visit Sofia early today to go back to Jersey for the rest of the day.  She is now getting mommy's milk before she was been fed breast milk from the milk bank, yes there is such a thing, no ATM required. Her weight is 1466 grams; ~ 3 pounds 4 oz.

 

Sat- Feb 28 - "Practicing Sucking"

Business as usual today in the NICU... Sofia is tolerating her feedings and "behaving" according the Dr. (... about time). We started giving her the pacifier while she's fed to start practicing sucking... her gestational age today is 33 weeks; at 34 weeks we would start trying to feed her with a bottle...

  

Fri- Feb 27 - "Compliments Day"

Sofia is doing great and today the nurses and her Dr were given her compliments for the great progress... The nurse she had today didn't think it was good for Sofia to start working on her temperature this early, therefore she turned on the warmer for her again... not an issue, we'll work on it in a week or two. 

She continues to tolerate her feedings, the milk was increased to 28ml and is now fortified with fat and nutrients. She is gaining weight, she needs ~800 grams to hit 4 pounds.

Thu- Feb 26 - "Good, Good Progress"

Sofia's progress continues full speed ahead; her milk was increased again today. Her feedings will continue to be increased, as long as she continues to tolerate the milk and fully digest her meal before the next feeding; we are at 25 ml every 3 hrs. 

She came off the IV this afternoon and she also started working on maintaing her body temperature. Controlling her temperature is one of the things she must master before leaving the Hospital. The warmer in the isolette was turned down to 31.5 ;  Sofia needs to keep her body temperature on or above 36.5. The temperature in the isolette will be turned down daily until it reaches 28, once there Sofia must maintain her temperature for ~3 days, she then would be moved to an open crib just like if she was at home... 

Wed- Feb 25 - "Growing...Growing"

Sofia continues to develop at a normal pace. Her feedings were increased again, now she is up to 20 ml every 3 hrs. The Drs are comfortable with removing the IV now. She also started to gain weight (newborns usually lose weight the first week) and is now at 3 lbs 1 oz almost her birth weight .... from now on we should see her gaining weight steadily.   

Tues- Feb 24 - "Grandma Meets Sofia"

Grandma flew in from Puerto Rico and got to meet her granddaughter today... Sofia was changed to an enclosed crib to have a quieter/darker place to rest and grow... She is done with the UV lights for now and she is also done with the oxygen support which is a great accomplishment ... Her feedings have been increased and she is tolerating the milk and digesting every feeding... Overall she is doing great... 

Sun- Feb 22 - "Busy, Busy Day"

Auntie Shani drove Mommy to Delaware to visit Sofia. We spent some time over there and we were able to do her 12pm and 4pm care times. During the 12pm care time Sofia was awake, she was making faces and sticking her tongue out at Mommy; she probably was making fun of my singing... 

During the 4pm care time, she didn't want to be bothered and was fussy, crying and trying to push me away with her tiny hands...

Sofia's cannula is now set to 21% oxygen, room air; she is on the right track to get off her cannula this week. She is also considered stable and as a result she will be moved to an enclosed "crib" to provide her a more private and quiet "suite" to eat, rest and growth. 

Back in New Jersey, Daddy had his hands full bringing home the furniture for Sofia's room, especially getting the bulky boxes up to the second floor and assembling the crib... Mommy was happy to miss the project ... :-) 

Sat- Feb 21 - "Mommy Leaves the Hospital"

Today I was discharged from the Hospital. Sofia has to stay 2-5 more weeks until she can do three things; control her breathing, feed from a bottle or breast and hold her temperature.

Sofia continues to be fed breast milk and she is digesting and tolerating it. She stayed under the UV lights again today. The oxygen mask was changed to a cannula, a little tube on her nose to supplement her oxygen. Her settings are at 23% oxygen, room air is 21%. Sofia is doing great with her breathing and holding her oxygen level. The nurse believes she does not need support anymore and will be off breathing support by Monday. 

Overall she continues to do well and everyone is happy with her progress....

Fri- Feb 20 - "Sofia's Progress"

Sofia continues to do well... Her breathing is good but she continues to get support from the oxygen mask. She has been controlling her oxygen level better even during care time when she doesn't have the mask on. As a result the Drs believe she will be ready to use a less invasive device starting tomorrow... She was under UV lights this morning to help with her jaundice.

Last night her IV fluids were changed to include heavier liquids with more nutrients, she tolerated it well and had her first stool this morning. In the afternoon they started feeding her breast milk, she is being fed thru a tube directly into her stomach. She is tolerating the milk well and had two additional bowel movements in the afternoon. Tolerating the milk is a good step forward as the breast milk provides the nutrition she needs and accelerates her weight gain helping her continue to growth stronger.

Auntie Noemi came to visit today and got to change Sofia's diaper and take her temperature... Mommy got to hold Sofia for a good while... Sofia took a hold of Mommy's finger while she was being held and didn't let go until she was put back on her bed...

Thur- Feb 19 - "Visiting Sofia in the Afternoon"

Sam and I went back to visit Sofia during her "care" time in the afternoon. During care time they change her diaper, take her temperature and clean her up. They do this every 4 hours and sometimes during this period she can be held... Today I changed her diaper and took her temperature and Sam held her for a little while... after Daddy held her I thought we have bothered her enough and let her go back to bed, I will hold her tomorrow...

 Here is a picture of her head full of hair and videos of the visit...

   

Thur- Feb 19 - "Mommy Visits Sofia for the 1st Time"

This morning Daddy and I went to visit Sofia. She has to wear a little mask over her nose to help her breath because sometimes she forgets. Her ventilator is on the lowest possible setting and she does well with the mask on... her skin is red due to jaundice... both of these common in premature babies... overall she is doing well...

I am recuperating well too, mostly pain free if not moving and able to walk around with minimum pain (but what isn't minimum pain now after labor pain)... mostly I am having a hard time not scratching my hives, the result of the alternative antibiotic given to people allergic to penicillin. During the surgery the Drs found out I am allergic to that one too... I'm also trying to  keep laughing to a minimum to avoid pain from the incision and there is plenty to laugh about around here... 

Wed- Feb 18 - "Baby Sofia Arrived"

Today I was looking forward to Frank and Tiffany's visit; we were going to have Philly cheese steaks for lunch; the baby had other plans...

At 9:30am I started having contractions; at 11:30am I was put on an IV and by 1:30pm I was moved to the High Risk Area...the pain increased as the day progressed. A couple of minutes before 7pm  I called the nurse because the pain was unbearable; I was 5 centimeters dilated...At 7:30pm Sofia Angelica Munoz was born at 31 weeks and 3 days... her weight 3 pounds, 2 ounces, her length 15 inches; her head full of blond hair...

Daddy got to the Hospital later that night with Auntie Sonia and Uncle Marlo, they went to visit Sofia at the NICU and found a very active baby, Mommy had already been told the baby was so active she extracted the tube they put on her earlier that night...  

Tues- Feb 17 - "What a Morning"

Today I had another ultrasound, I will be having two "Biophysical Profiles" done every week... this ultrasound is done to check for movements, heart activity and fluid level...the results were good (8 out of 8)... the experience was a nightmare... 

I wasn't well awake when they came to take me downstairs for the test and it seems the baby wasn't either, she didn't care to move much for some time, the test took longer and I almost passed out, maybe because I needed breakfast or because my uterus was putting pressure on my blood vessels since I had to lay on my back for so long... once I got back to my room the day got better as breakfast was already served...

Then it was time for the morning strip... today it took two nurses to finish it and almost an hour instead of 20 minutes... at the end the baby cooperated and I got to rest...

The afternoon strip was good and was completed easily and quickly... I guess my child won't be a morning person.

Attached is a video of a strip to give you  a visual, the background noise is the baby's heart beat...

Mon- Feb 16 - "The Aunts Came to Visit"

The morning was interesting; the nurse on shift was young and somewhat weird.... she came to get the morning strip done but the baby didn't seem to care to stay still at that time. The nurse would find her with the monitor and the baby would move away. Any other nurse would've gave the baby some time and try the strip later but this nurse was determined.... she pulled a chair, sat next to me and held the monitor on my stomach for the next 20 minutes while the strip was done... who knows maybe she just needed a place to hide for a bit...

The strip was good... in the nurse's words ..."the baby was as reactive as can be"

My aunts (Awilda and Sonia) came to visit in the afternoon and they left me a friend to cheer me up and Boogie during the week; see video.

Sun- Feb 15 - "The Girls Came to Visit"

My girlfriends (Jenny, Karen, Noemi and Rashonda) came to visit today; they brought me chocolate covered strawberries, cupcakes, flowers, books and a sweet, sweet vanilla shake.... I was happy to see them, it was great to chat with them for a while and my window view got prettier as you can see in the picture...

The baby's strips in the morning and the afternoon were good, there has been no contractions, pain or infection, we are on the right track... 20 more days to go.

Sat- Feb 14 - "Valentine's Day at the Hospital"

31 Weeks
One week down!!! … 3 more to go…. Valentines Day at the Hospital started as a very lazy day; All I wanted to do was sleep, probably because the nurse I had last night woke me up like 4 times in the middle of the night…
I thought I would have a day without visitors but it turns out they had a little dog visiting patients and they came to visit me… it was a tiny female dog, ugly little thing and a bit stinky; but I had a nice chat with her trainer, they are supposed to come back on Monday, maybe she’ll get a bath by then :-)
The Baby’s "strip" (20 minutes of continuous heart beat monitoring) this morning was good, she seems to be fine couping well with her dry environment … hopefully that will continue for at least 21 more days, but who's counting.

Fri - Feb 13 - " Another Ultrasound"

30 weeks, 6 days
First order of Business today was an ultrasound to check baby’s movements and the remaining fluid around her. She got 8 out of 8; they look for movements, practice breathing, fluid and anatomy if I remember well.... she still has some fluid around her, I read the results and there is a 2X2 pocket of fluid still on my bag.
The baby continues to be in a breech position; most likely I will be having a c-section when is time to deliver her.
My husband came to the Hospital with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a nice card; it was so nice it made me cry a little... luckly I bought his Valentine's card early, he has a card at home waiting for him.
They put some hydraulic boots on my legs today, they are meant to promote circulation and avoid blood clogs since I am not walking around…

Thur- Feb 12 - " My Right Hand is Free Again"

30 weeks, 5 days
This morning the baby was moving a lot again like nothing happened… I guess she just got lazy yesterday afternoon, or maybe all the food I had knocked her out most of the day. I got visitors today, Gina and Janet came by.... It was nice to have their company for a little bit.
Today my right hand was freed from the caterer they had on me for intravenous fluid and antibiotics... such little things make such a big difference these days.

Wed - Feb 11 - " Out of the Hight Risk Area"

30 days, 4 days
Today I was moved out of the high risk area into the regular maternity area, that means I am not hooked to the monitors around the clock and I am allowed to get up to go to the rest room and take a shower... (a much needed shower after two days stuck to the bed!!)
The baby’s heart beat was ok in the morning but in the afternoon, she stayed high between 157 and 170…I was put on an IV again.
Sam got here last night and will spend the week with me, he came to the Hospital today with a bunch of fruits, a sandwich, orange and snacks.... he saw me yesterday when I was not allowed to eat.... more than 24 hrs without food makes for very unpleasant Suleyka....
Sam is staying with friends, Julius and Kate who live close by… I've gotten multiple calls and had multiple email exchanges with coworkers, friends and family.... We are lucky to have so many people who care and are close to us ... It means a lot to me, Thank You!!

The night was tough for me because after an afternoon nap I stopped feeling the baby, they put her in the monitor and her heart beat was in the upper 150-160 which was not her normal rate the day before… the DRs were not worried but I was since I couldn’t feel her movements… around 9pm I couldn’t take it anymore ... I just went to sleep. The poor nurse was frustrated because she couldn't say or do anything to console me ....I just wanted my little one to start moving again.

Tues- Feb 10 - "What's Happening?"

30 weeks 3 days
The goal now is to stop labor and allow the baby to stay in the womb for at least 4 more weeks. It is best for the baby to be in the womb without fluid for the next 4 weeks rather than delivering her.
I have to stay at the Hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy. We'll be closely monitored on a daily basis by the medical staff ...

I spent the night on antibiotics, magnesium and steroids in case the baby had to be delivered... they are not letting me eat ... By the time I'm allowed to eat again 33 hrs would have passed which made for a very unpleasant afternoon.

The key thing this morning was a level 2 ultrasound, they took a complete look at the baby; she looks healthy, they have no concerns about her anatomy and her heart beat is strong. She has little fluid around her, the two main concerns are;
1 -Risk of infection due to the broken membrances
2- Umbilical Cord Compression due to lack of fluid

Today I will stay in the High Risk Area under observation....

Mon - Feb 09 - "My Water Broke"

30 weeks, 2 days
The day started as any other day, me taking the train to Wilmington, DE to go to work… I was planning to stay home today but work is crazy these days; I headed south on my usual train... to my surprise I didn't need a return ticket this day.

My water broke around 2:30 pm as I finished a meeting; I had another meeting at 3pm and decided to go to my meeting and then head home... I told a co-worker "I am heading back home I wet myself"...
I will spare you the details, it turned out I didn't pee on myself, my water broke and I ended up at the Hospital in Delaware, 2.5 hrs from home :-(