Thur - April 2 - "Triple 5" - 5 pounds, 5.5 ounces

Sofia is getting bigger and stronger. She is now 5 pounds 5.5 ounces; she gained one pound the first week and an half at home.  We were very happy with the news but Sofia didn't seem to like it, she decided to do sit ups when we got home from the Dr :-) (see pics below).

Tue - March 31 - "The Eyes Exam"

Sofia had her follow up eyes exam and it was horrible. She was on my lap and I had to hold her through it... 

Step 1 - Drops are put on her eyes to dilate them. 

  Sofia didn't like this much but it was no big deal; just drops.

Step 2 - A little metal thing is put on her eye to open it and keep it open. It puts so much pressure on her eye lid that marks it for a couple of minutes.

   Sofia really doesn't like this and she's trying to move her head. I have to hold her still and her arms are all over the place. Mommy feels bad she has to have this uncomfortable thing on her eye.

Step 3 - The Dr uses a little spatula type instrument to move the eye ball around as he checks her eye... as the baby is trying to move her eye to one side, his moving it to the other side... horrible thing to watch.

    Sofia is now screaming, she's crying as hard as she can and Mommy just wants this to end. 

Then I have to suffer through it again as the Dr does the same thing to the other eye.

The good news is that the development of her eyes is progressing as required. 

The bad news is that we have to go again for two more checks one a month from now and the other one 3 months from now... Anyone wants to volunteer to hold the baby next time?

 

Mon - March 30 - "Just Hanging Out"

Sofia is doing great... her cheeks look fuller to me, we should have hit the 5 pounds by now. We will confirm later this week when we go back to the Dr to weigh her. We had visitors every day this weekend; Titi Sonia on Fri, The Negron clan and Noemi on Sat, Shani and Karen on Sun. It was nice to spend some time with family and friends ... 

Sofia's nails are longer now and she started scratching her face, since mitts fit too big, we tried socks and that works well. Mommy will ask the nurse on Thursday to help her give Sofia her first mini manicure. 

Fri - March 27 - "All About Feeding."

Sofia is spending a little bit more time awake after her feedings. She doesn't fall asleep in the middle of her meals now. She has discovered the joy of  being held... Mommy and Daddy put her on their chests and she "falls asleep"; as soon as she is back on her crib she opens her eyes. She has not linked crying to "come get me" yet, she just gives us a look of "come on, your chest feels so much nicer". She only cries when she's hungry or when she's not happy about a diaper change.  She has been eating 15 to 16 ounces of milk a day, 3-5 ounces more than what she was eating last Friday when we brought her home. She usually takes 2 ounces per feeding but she's been taking one or two 3 ounce feedings every day. During the day sometimes she eats every 3 hours and today she was asking for milk every 2 hours;  luckily  at night she has been sticking to her 4 hour schedule and I get to sleep a little :-)

Auntie Sonia came to visit today and got to hold Sofia for the first time... Sofia enjoyed the visit and was awake for a little bit. 

Wed - March 25 - "Nurse Visit & Dr Visit"

The Hospital assigned us a home nurse to visit once a week for the next two weeks. The nurse spent about an hour with us yesterday, checked Sofia's vitals, weighted her (4 pounds, 11 oz) and answered questions. I first thought it was going to be a waste of time since we were going to the pediatrician today but it turned out to be useful. 

Today was our first time out of the house with Sofia; we went to the pediatrician. The visit went well, Sofia is doing great. 

At home things are under control, it is amazing how fast time passes by when you are taking care of a newborn... I'm really enjoying my time with the baby and even Chula found something she liked about Sofia too :)

Mon - March 23 - "Having a Wonderful Time"

We are having a great time at home with Sofia. She is in a 4 hours routine pretty much and we are learning her cues on how much milk she wants as it varies.  Sunday we gave her a bath and Mommy and Daddy teamed up great. 

Sat - March 21 - "Home Sweet Home"

We've been at home with Sofia for a day and a half and we've decided she is a keeper :) ... We are all doing well enjoying each other...

Sofia has been eating 2.5 ounces in almost every feeding and she is waking up hungry every 4 hours. We are visiting the pediatrician for the first time on Wednesday and I suspect Sofia will have gained a good couple of ounces... Mommy and Daddy's energy levels are still high; Mommy is lucky to have 2 good helpers, see pic below.

Fri - March 20 - "Graduation Day"

Spring started today and it brought Sofia home.... YES, WE ARE HOME!!

Sofia has graduated from premie to newborn and was discharged from the hospital today. 

Mommy has been doing so good with her milk supply that we came home with a 111 bottles of frozen milk... I'm not exaggerating, we had to count them during discharge... maybe even Chula (the dog) will get fed milk now.

We'll keep you post it on how things turn out at home ... and look forward to everyone meeting Sofia after the sneezing season is over at the end of April (according to the nurse).  

Wed/Thur - March 18/19 - "4 Weeks Old"

Sofia is four weeks old now and she is in an open crib. Her body temperature has been within the required levels. She has been consistently eating 2 ounces of milk  every 4-5 hours and she now weights  4 pounds 5 ounces.  If she continues this way Mommy and Daddy will have their hands full at home very soon... She had a car seat fitting and try out today. They monitored her on the car seat for an hour and she did well.

Mon - March 16 - "A whole lot of Progress"

Sofia is no longer fed on a schedule, she eats on her own terms. She can sleep as long as she wants and she is fed when she wakes up crying for food (I wish I could do that...). At 8:30 am she was fed her usual 34 ml. She slept until 1pm and ate 54ml, almost 2 ounces. I'm sure she was screaming "what the heck is going on, no one woke me up to eat". At 5:00pm Mommy got to give her a bath, weight/measure her (4 pounds 2 ounces /17 inches) and feed her (she ate a whole 2oz bottle).  

The Hospital started doing the routine hearing and eye tests they do before discharge; she did well in both of them... she didn't enjoy the eye exam much, she was crying the whole time. They put drops on her eyes to dilate them and she could hardly open them when I fed her at 9pm... :-(   

She does not have the feeding tube anymore!!! She will now be taking all her feedings thru the bottle/breast...  Below is a picture of her celebrating, heeey! hooo!

Sun- March 15 - " Daddy Feeds Sofia"

Sofia is now 4 pounds and is taking more bottle feedings every day... Daddy got to feed and burp her today;  he really enjoyed the time with our little princess. He wouldn't have given any time to Mommy to hold the baby but while he was holding Sofia after her feeding, a strong smell surprised him. He asked if that was the baby behind us ... but I had to break the news to him; the stinky one was his little princess who had thanked him for her meal...

 

Sat- March 14 - " Baby Shower"

Today we had the baby shower ... We had a great time playing games including guessing what was on a diaper by smelling/tasting brown substances, drinking beer from a baby bottle, matching famous parents to their babies and baby pictionary .... We also got a bunch of essentials including diapers, wipes, feeding and bathing items; also much needed premie clothes....Thanks to everyone that came to the party for their time and gifts... also Thanks to everyone that has sent the baby gifts by mail; we are very Thankful...

Special Thanks to Noemi and Rashonda for planning and hosting the party. 

You ladies did a great job and everyone had a good time... Also, thank you to Karen and Jenny for helping with the decor and the cooking.

Thur- March 12 - " 3 weeks old... Surprise! Surprise!"

I provided feedback the other day to the staff coordinator and told her the Hospital could improve their continuity of care; Sofia has had a new nurse every shift for the last week or so which makes it tough for someone to know her routine and understand what she needs when... well it seems they listened and it paid off... this morning Sofia had the same nurse she had yesterday and guess what.... she knew we are working on sucking and she knows Sofia has been doing well but she's been sleepy when I've been here offering her the breast; she also knew Sofia has been offered a bottle only once last Sat... Today she found Sofia wide awake in the morning and she saw the opportunity to try the bottle.... Surprise!! ... Surprise!! Sofia took her full feeding from the bottle!!!! 

Of course she has to be able to do it 8 times a day but it is a great step to celebrate.... 

Tues- March 10 - "Progressing, slowly but surely"

Nothing new going on in the NICU, we have entered a phase of slow progress... Sofia has to gain more weight to have enough fat to keep her warm in the open crib and she has to get bigger and stronger to figure out sucking... so we are just working on these... expect to hear from us less often... like every other day...

Sun- March 8 - "Bye, Bye Grandma"

Today we said goodbye to grandma, she went back home to Puerto Rico. Sofia's weight is now 3 pounds 10 oz, she has been digesting all her feedings completely... she is been fed 8 times a day and pooping 16 times a day... 

We had her try the breast today since she didn't care much for the bottle before and she did much better... She does not stay awake for a full feeding but she latched on quickly, did some sucking and stayed latched on for a while... the nurses were very pleased with how well she did... 

Sat- March 7 - "3 Ounces in Two Days"

Sofia's weight was 3 pounds 8 oz last night; she gained three ounces in 2 days. She has been tolerating her 32 ml of milk,  increased yesterday.  The Dr also gave the order to start feeding her with a bottle/breast since her gestational age is 34 weeks today. She was lazy the first time around and didn't try sucking much, we'll try again tomorrow... 

Fri- March 6 - "Eating, Growing, Pooping and Pooping"

Sofia continues to do what is expected of her. She has been controlling her body temperature steady, she got a little bit cold last night, so her move to the the open crib will take a little bit longer.  Her feedings will be increased today from 30ml to 32ml since she has been digesting her feedings (she has been pooping a lot too!!! and yes it is very stinky even when they are this small :-|)... She weight 1540 grams ~3 pounds 5 oz yesterday; gaining weight slowly but surely ...

Wed- March 4 - "Two Weeks Old"

Sofia continues to do great; Since she has kept her body temperature within the required range, her warmer was set to the lowest setting this afternoon. Once she controls her temperature on that setting for a couple of days, she can be moved to an open crib. She also continues to digest her feedings completely. She outgrew the little hat from the Hospital and is now wearing a hat from one of her outfits... Here is a picture of her on her "big baby" outfit... 

Tues- March 3 - "Wearing My Clothes"

Sofia is two weeks tomorrow and is growing fast ... She lost her umbilical cord today and has been holding her temperature since Sunday so she gets to wear her clothes in the isolette. Mommy bought her little, tiny premie clothes because newborn or 0-3 months clothes are too big... she is now ~ 3 pounds 5 oz and more georgeous every day. She seemed to have figured out the pacifier and can now hold it longer even when sleeping.

Mon- March 2 - "Controlling My Body Temperature Take II"

Mommy was happy the snow storm didn't stop her from getting to Delaware. 

Sofia's warmer was turned off again last night and she has been holding her body temperature successfully.... 

Sofia's feeding was increased to 30ml as she has been digesting her 28ml fortified milk fine for the last couple of days... she has been digesting her 30 ml all day today too.

In the words of the nurse "she has been a super start today"...