Baby boot camp update!!!

Sofia with her 2nd cousin Vanessa Flores. Sofia was not happy with the 2 sessions she has been through this weekend. What a trooper.

4th of July Celebration

Every year my Aunt Mary has a huge bash at her house for the 4th. Well wouldn't you know it,we are under a firework ban because of the drought that we have going on. We were supposed to set off a ridiculous amount of fireworks but couldn't. Instead we had more time to socialize with family who only get to visit at this time of year. It was so much nicer. Sofia was of course on display and everyone commented on how extremely cute she is, I was thinking "of course she is".
I know family who know of Sofia's story were curious but you could tell they sincerely thought she was too cute for words.

I have a cousin who just months before Sofia was born found out his son Jesiah, had Autism. We talked a bit about his fears for his son and how he came to terms only to have those fears come back after hearing about Sofia. He was incredibly encouraging and said anytime I wanted or needed to talk to give him a call. I love my family. I don't know what I would do without them.

Of course,I wanted to take tons of pictures but because of parent brain I grabbed the most important items leaving the house first (the kids) and left the camera at home. BUMMER!!

One out of town visitor that I wanted to get a picture of was my cousin, Vanessa Flores. She is an OT and was so helpful the last two days. We don't have PT yet and she gave us great exercises to do with Sofia to get her core stronger. She told Sofia that's she was going to go through baby boot camp. I thought it was hilarious, because Sofia just looked at her like she was crazy.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!! I can't say enough how lucky I am to have family who surround us with love and support. The best 4th of July celebration yet.

Baby Food!!!!

Today was the first time Sofia had baby food.  Her reaction?   Well, her face said it all she actually liked it.  However, we had a little problem or should I say a big brother problem.  We have only one highchair in our house and today he has claimed it.  He cried like we just gave away all of his toys.  Man oh man, that little boy cried for a good 1/2 hour.  All the while I kept feeding Sofia and telling Aidan that he was so nice to let Sofia borrow his chair to eat some baby food.  Ha, it didn't work.  Well, Sofia and I decided to give in and sit in her swing to eat the rest of her food.  I was so proud and excited for her. 

 

FREEDOM!!!

We can officially say good-bye to any oxygen tanks and apnea monitors in our house.  Thursday Sofia went to see her Pulmonologist and he gave her the thumbs up and ordered her oxygen and monitor be removed.  It was like a sad, long chapter in her life has been closed and finished.  She hadn't been using the oxygen since April when her feeding tube was placed and the monitor hasn't been used since May, when she had a good download.  So naturally I thought they would be removed but it just seemed as though we might get bad news to go along with her checkup.   We have been in the hospital twice since Sofia was born (that's including her NICU stay) and I don't want to go back anytime soon.  I should be thankful that we haven't been there any more than we have like so many other kiddos.  Well, we are still working on getting that feeding tube out and it may take awhile but that is ok, we will deal.

A-OK

So we went to get Sofia's ouchie looked at and the nurse and doctor said we have been doing a good job taking care of it. That makes us feel good. Instead of putting acid on the skin they decided to just give us pads to put in between her skin and the button. This padding has antibiotics on it so it should help with redness and drainage we have been seeing. We shall see.

One doctor appointment down only about 3 more appointments (scheduled) to go this summer.

Ouch!

So Sofia has developed a minor ouchie associated with her feeding tube. When anyone gets a feeding tube they end up developing tissue that turns out of the opening of the tube (?). Well when that happens it is painful and sometimes parents wait too long and it can get really bad (believe me when I say REALLY BAD because we have seen the pictures). Well luckily for us we have caught it at a point that it is just starting to do that so we are taking Sofia in on Friday to essentially get the tissue burned off. Not looking forward to that and thank goodness over our short stays in the hospital I have developed a thick skin to things they do to her, just as long as they aren't doing too many painful things at one time.

Shopping Day

Sofia had her first shopping day. This little girl got quite a bit of clothing. Aunt Angie and Grandma love looking at clothes to dress Miss Sofia up.

Carter's had a great sale and we were able to find some bodysuits that Grandma will alter for Sofia's button. If Grandma couldn't alter clothes we would have to be very selective about what to buy. Thank goodness for Grandmas ;)

Rough day for little one :(

Looking at this picture it makes me think about how beautiful Sofia's eyes are.  Those almond shaped eyes looking at me with such seriousness.  My little observer. 

She has had a rough day.  Vaccinations yesterday = soreness + fever today.  Hopefully she bounces back tomorrow. 

4 mos check-up

4 mos old and she is getting so big. Sofia just had a great checkup. She is just about double her weight. The only thing I have to complain about is the feeding tube issue. She just had some brownish stuff come out of her burp tube and the doctor said it is nothing to worry about. Try convincing this worried mom. Well we are working hard at trying to convince Sofia that the feeding tube really sucks and that she needs to work hard on not aspirating. Her response...raspberries. Hmmmm...I guess I'll take that as an ok.

Sofia's Birth Day

Feb.24,2012 Sofia is now a month old and everyday I look at her and think I still can't believe she is here. She is so precious to me and I wouldn't trade her in for anything in the world. Here is our story.... On January 21, 2012 I went into labor and was actually thinking that it wasn't supposed to be happening so soon at the time. Sofia was making an appearance 3 weeks early and it was a little concerning for me. I had hoped it was a false alarm but it wasn't. Since she came quickly it was a great relief seeing as how my son took 24 hrs. to be born. As soon as I saw her I knew in my heart she had Down Syndrome and oddly enough I was ok with it. Yes, my dreams I had for her might never happen like becoming a lawyer or a doctor, but I started thinking that they would just have to be replaced with new dreams. My biggest fear was how my husband would handle it. At one point I mentioned it when they took her to the nurser but my husband told me not to assume anything until the doctors say she does. I also remember after the doctor said he had his suspicions a day later that I told my husband that I felt as if I needed to apologize for our baby being born that way but I knew it was no ones fault. We just sat and cried and he told me he loved me and I knew then that everything was going to be ok. He proves to me everyday that he doesn't see her any differently than our son, we love her unconditionally and will always.