I'm feeling better today

Zoë is doing a lot better today. She seems like her old self. She has been more awake today then yesterday. She doesn't looked wiped out anymore. She is also eating like a champ. She has been eating every 2 hours. She has been taking down 75cc (2 1/2 oz) each time. She also takes it down from 4-5 minutes. This is much faster then when we were at home. She has even started doing her hungry cry. Her hungry cry is her being mad. She has such a temper.

Today they started to wean her oxygen down. This is going to be the kicker for us going home. She started out at 5 liters 50% and is currently down to 2 liters and 40 % oxygen. They are going to try to take her off of the low flow oxygen machine and put her on pure oxygen. We need to get to .2 liters with no apnea episodes. Her last apnea episode was late last night. She also needs to finish her rounds of antibiotics. Her XRay from this morning came back. The pneumonia is starting to go away, it is less then the other night but not fully gone. The antibiotics are helping. Since they are given by IV, she wont be able to go if the IV is still in her. Also since her veins in her hands and feet were week because of the NICU IVs, they had to stick the IV in her head. I know it sounds kind of weird, but this is done on preemies all the time. It is a bunch of tape and gauze covering it up, so it doesn't move. I call it her hair bow. She did not have to have her head shaved, I've already had that question asked. We did try her feet first, but the veins were too week. She is still in the PICU, we may move to a regular room but this is not for sure. This all depends on her progress

She currently has a cough and runny nose. She sounds so cute when she sneezes, its like she is trying to hold it in. We need to record it and post it. It seems like with her that every 12 hours we have seen some type of improvement.

We are here for another night and will possibly be here through the weekend. Sorry we will miss the pool party on Saturday for cousin Bryna and cousin BJ's birthday.

I have ran into several nurses that took care of Zoë in the NICU. It was good to see them, just not under these conditions. Her pediatrician also stopped by today to see how we were doing. This really meant a lot, since she came to see how we (Soilo and I) were holding up. Her pulmonologist also stopped by to check on her, they had been downloading the information from the apnea monitor directly to his office. Phoenix Children's is the best.

Since she is stable, I am off to work tomorrow. Daddy has the day off, so he will spend all day with Zoë. It is good to see her smile again and converse with us. Right now Daddy is holding her and she is awake looking around the room. Only a couple more days of this and we are back home......

Sorry so long....

Sorry the post below is so long, a lot has happened in 24 hours. I am spending the night at the hospital with Zoë. There goes the apnea monitor again. It is loud.

I'm sick and back at PCH PICU

That's right, Zoë has been re-admitted to the hospital and is at Phoenix Children's in the PICU. :( She has been diagnosed with Influenza Type A and the beginning stages of pneumonia. This all happened so fast, from one minute to the next. We are in just in shock that we are back in the hospital. Most of you already know that we are here and thanks for all your support this far.

So this is what happened. Yesterday we went to see her surgeon for our regular check up. Zoë was alert and being playful. She was talking to us and smiling. The Dr. even commented on how good she was doing. When we left, then it started. Her apnea monitored went off on the way home, we hadn't changed it so thought she moved them or they were dirty. Then it started to go off and throughout the day it was going off more often and for longer periods of time. She threw up once and was not her happy self. So Soilo went home early and off they went to the ER. Thanks to Tia Lissa who was able to notice that Zoë was not being herself and noticed something was wrong. As soon as they got to the ER, her temperature shot up. She was being very apnic and her heart rate even dropped. When I got to the ER I could tell that she was not the same baby that I saw that morning. She looked sick and that something was definitely wrong with her. We got her to the ER in time, since it could have been worse if we had waited any longer.

We were admitted last night to the PICU. We both stayed overnight with her since she was not doing so well. She kept going apnic and they were even talking about intubating her. This was the scary part. The intubation kit is here sitting on the cart in front of us, so they were ready to do it if needed. They did change her to a low flow oxygen cannula and this little help seemed to do the trick. Zoë fought her way through it and the apnea episodes decreased through the night. We even got about an 1 1/2 hour straight of sleep at one time. So right now it doesn't look like they are going to intubate her. The apnea monitor is really really loud that the entire PICU hears it. They think it is a fire alarm going off.

She looked sad and you could tell that she was not feeling very well. You know this feeling when you have the flu, you do not feel too hot and just want to sleep, but you are hungry. Everything hurts. She definitely has the flu, you can see it in her face and her other symptoms. She is coughing and sneezing, her nose is now runny. However it is a good sign because she is able to get all the gunk in her lungs out herself. She has been crying, which is not normal for her. With preemies this affects them even harder because their immune system is already immature. Zoë also already had lung problems, so this flu just escalated the issue. You have probably gone through this, you feel sick then it levels off and you get worse again before you get better. Right now is a waiting game, since we need to see if she has reached her peak of the illness or if she is past that stage and starting to get over it. Since the monitors went off half the night, we didn't get much sleep. So we both spent the entire day with her today. The apnic episodes have decreased and she is coming around to her old self, she even smiled a little this evening. She finally got to eat after 30 hours of having nothing to eat. Within 1 hour she took in 146 CC. We are hoping she has passed this peak.

She is way better tonight then she was yesterday. We estimate to be here a couple more days. They are trying to get her back to how she was before she got sick. She is in the PICU which is a different part of the hospital and different then the NICU. We have a window and a TV (which we really haven't watched). Today her respiratory therapist was Anne, Zoë had her when she was in the NICU. This was comforting. We also saw ran into another Anne, the resident who had Zoë in March at the Good Sam PCH campus. For sure we are here tomorrow, after that it is day by day. The apnea machine really did its job and let us know that something was really wrong with Zoë.

Some good news before she got sick was that she had become a lot more interactive then the week before. We talk to her and she talks back. She also found her thumb. Before she would just suck on her entire hand. Last week she just started to suck on her thumb like a pacifier. I tired to give her the chuppie and she spit it out (she got some distance on it), she only wanted her thumb. She looked so cute just sucking her thumb. She was also 9lb 7 ozs yesterday morning. We also still think she is teething because she sometimes just chews on her hand to sooth herself. She is growing so fast.

Since Zoë does have influenza Type A, they did send it to see if it was the H1N1 virus. We wont know the result until after we are home. But they do not think it is. Because of her pulmonary problems she was put on anti-viral mediation. They also gave her a higher does of anti-biotics because of the pneumonia and this also takes care of her bladder reflux that she already has. They are will also try to ween her down to the oxygen flow she was at before she was admitted, this will be the item that keeps us in the PICU longer. Tomorrow they will be taking another chest XRay to check the status of the pneumonia. She does seem more stable tonight, so if she keeps this up, we both may go to work tomorrow.

So if you are a nurse from the NICU and are at Thomas, maybe we will see you around here or come by and visit Zoê.

It is just surreal that we are back here. We almost made it to 2 months out of the NICU, May 2nd we were released from the NICU. This is just another stage of her life as a preemie.

Again, thanks for all those that have texted and Facebooked us. We really appreciate your support and prayers. We will keep everyone updated on her progress.

Zoë loves to talk

Happy father's day Daddy!

Zoë has started to talk a lot. We noticed it at first in the mornings after she eats she will talk to herself for about 30 minutes. She doesn't do it all the time but she also started to talk to Mommy and Daddy. Today at the Auditory specialist office her and Daddy were having a long conversation. She has become so reactive to anyone that talks to her. She also discovered the TV and the ceiling fan. She stares at both for minutes on straight. She also follows us as we leave and enter the room. We pace in front of her sometimes to see how long she will follow us.

We went to the surgeon and pediatrician last week and she was 9 pounds. She does have reflux a little bit. Its not too bad but we did get medication to treat it. The pediatrician was pleased at her development. We even got the go ahead and let her sleep through the night because they were very pleased with her weight gain. Before we weren't able to let her sleep past 6 hours. We would have to wake her put to eat. She also estimates that Zoë is developing at a 3 1/2 month old pace. For preemies you are to go by her adjusted age for their milestone, which would put her a 1 1/2 months. So right now she is ahead of the game.

Zoë also started to fight her sleep. She gets fussy and you see her eyes are heavy, but she refuses to fall asleep. She'll take cat naps but she is still tired. We also think that the fussiness may be her starting to teeth. She chews on her hand and today she blew bubbles. Her NICU friend Jonathan already has his first teeth and he is a 1 1/2 months older then Zoë and he was born at 28 weeks. Her friend Scarlett was born on April 1 and she also has a tooth. So we are thinking to ourselves that it is possible. We will have to wait and see if this is one cause of her sporadic fussiness.

Today we went to the audiologist. When she was in the NICU, her right ear didn't pass the hearing test. For today's test we had to put her to sleep, she fought it for almost 1 hour (she had to be asleep for the test). Tia Lissa had kept her up all day to prepare for the test, so we knew she tired. Finally she went to sleep and the good news is that she passed. Everything looked normal. So out of her many doctors and specialist, we get to cross one off. This feels good, since it is one less office visit we have to make. We have literally had at least 1 doctor/specialist visit a week (Sometimes 3) since she came home. We had so many that the nurse at the pedestrian's office tried to make a joke when she saw all the future appointments that Zoë had. She said " You are here so much, we should just pull out a bed here in our office so that you can sleep here." Ok well I freaked out on her. I was like, NOOOOO, we were next door for 11 weeks, we will go home and come back (Zoë's pediatrician part of Phoenix Children's so her office is right next door to the hospital). My heart dropped when she said that.

We also want to thank those that help celebrate Zoë's homecoming. She is very blessed to have so many people love her. If you did not get to see her reactions, she loved it. We also apologize for the short notice, that is how it has been with her since she got here. She doesn't like to wait for our time table. She has her own agenda.

Also her room is not done yet, we are about 3/4 the way finished. It is starting to look like her room.

Today I am 4 months old

Today was Zoë's 4 month birthday. She is also still on oxygen, we return on July 16 for the next evaluation with the pulmonologt. She still struggles through the feedings, we think she may have reflux. In the middle of her feedings, she sometimes throws herself back, grunts and sometimes starts to cry. She is a feisty little girl. She gets mad when she doesn't like something. We already told her pediatrician, so when we go to her next appointment, we will talk about it more and see what is really going on. Besides this, she is a really good baby. She cries when she is really hungry, usually she just coos and whines when it is time to eat. She is a whiner when she is hungry.

She is getting really big. We had to adjust her car seat. She is also starting to out growing some of her newborn clothes and the newborn diapers. She is in the body of a 6 week old baby but the mind of a 4 month old. She was 8 lbs at the end of May. We also had to move her out of the basinet she was sleeping in because she moves around so much. We put her one way and she turns her body in the opposite direction. The last straw was when she got her little leg stuck between the bars of the bassinet. She screamed when she couldn't get it out. The poor baby was so upset, that when we left to work, she looked sad from the trauma. After this Tia Lissa set up her Pack N Play playpen, so she is now sleeping in that and now has a lot more room to move in. I cant believe how much she moves. She still hasn't turned over on her tummy but it is only a matter of time.

Her room is almost done. Tia Ashley has been putting the finishing touches to the walls. She is painting the flowers by hand. One more session and she will be done. After this week her room will be completely finished. Thanks Tia Ashley!!

Zoë is also starting to react to us. She follows us when we move around the room and reacts when we talk to her. I think I saw a dimple on her cheek, but wasnt 100% for sure. Need to see the next time she smiles. She dreams when she sleeps because we will see her smile and then frown then smile again.

Zoë is doing really good and so are we :) It is really good to have her home.

I am still on oxygen

My lungs are still not strong enough, so I will be on oxygen for at least 30 more days. We went on Friday and Zoë still need a little bit of help so that she can grow and not lose so many calories. This way she can grow new lung tissue and get off the machines sooner. Good news is that on Friday, she weighed in at 8lbs. She is getting big and we even had to adjust her car seat so that she can fit right. It was getting a little tight.

Zoë has also been out on the town. She went to Mommy's work, where she met everyone in person. She had been around them for the first 6 months that she was getting ready to be born. She also went to Macy's, CPK and to Juan and Vero's house for their baby shower. She wanted to give Daniella a present, since this will be her play mate when Daniella is born and comes to Arizona to visit. She also went to Pei Wei and Pita Jungle. She did really well and didnt mind those that held her. This is result of the NICU, since she had different nurses take care of her, she got used to different people holding her. Which is a good thing. But she does love it and has even screamed for Mommy to hold her.

Mommy also went back to work on Monday and Daddy was out of town since Sunday. He came back yesterday. We all survived but we both missed Zoë. She has had a good time with Tia Lissa taking care of her. She is a really easy baby to take care of. She does fight with Tia Lissa when she is trying to fix her nasal cannula for the oxygen. Zoë tries to swipe her hand away. It was weird leaving work and going straight home. I was going the opposite direction of the hospital. But it felt good when I got home and she was there waiting. However we have not lost some of our NICU habits. We are still counting everything and have a set up sort of like it was at the NICU. We count every CC and diaper change. We even dim the lights and try to emulate the environment we had there so that Zoë can feel like she did when she was in the NICU. Even when we talk to the doctors we use terms that no other new parent would even use or think to ask. Like "how many CCs per kilo should we be at now that she is 8lbs" or "Is she getting enough calories and will that stimulation make her loose calories". Another good one is when they weigh her, the nurses give us the lb and oz, we ask for her weight in grams. We have even started pressing the buttons on the scale without asking the nurse if she was ready. They are the same scales from the NICU that we became experts at. We have caught ourselves at our many doctor visits doing one of the above.

Zoë's room is almost ready. We just need a couple of more things to finish but it is looking like her room not the storage/office room that we had before.

Zoë is doing really good. She is happy baby. Thanks for everyone's well wishes. I will post some pictures this week.

I am a big girl!!

We have been home for 2 weeks now and we have already had 3 follow up appointments. At our last pediatrician check up, Zoë was 7 lb and 9 ozs. She is a big girl now. Preemie clothes do not fit anymore. She is wearing Newborn sized clothes. We can tell she has gotten bigger.

Next week to are taking another visit with the surgeon and the pulmonologist. Hopefully he will agree with us that Zoë doesnt need the oxygen any longer. We like the apnea monitor since it lets us know when she stops to breathe. Luckily it has never gone off while she sleeps and only when she is eating, but it has not gone off in a week. When it used to go off was when she was half asleep and trying to eat.

She is doing really good and we seem to have her routine down packed. Zoë also took 2 trips besides the Drs. On Thursday we all went to Home Depot to get tape to start painting her room (it will be done by Memorial day, right Daddy!). Then she took her first trip to Pei Wei. This will be her first of many trips to Pei Wei as Daddy is starting to train again to run another marathon in the fall. Today we went to eat lunch, went to Baby's R Us then to Ikea. She had a very busy Saturday. She did really well. I also swear that Zoë laughed the other day. She smiled really big and then it sounded like a giggle. Daddy thinks that I imagined it. She is a 3 month old stuck in a newborn body. She holds up her head and is awake during the day, more then your average new born.

All three of us are doing really well. More to come as things happen. :)

Zoë's home

Zoë has been home for one week now. It is really nice to have her home. The three of us have adjusted to being together. The first night we were really sleepy but both Mommy and Daddy got up to take care of Zoë. It took her one night to get used to her new surroundings. Now that a week has passed we have seemed to find her patterns and we are all doing well. Family nap time during the day really helps. Zoë also was able to meet all of her cousins. They weren't able to go to the NICU. Since all but 2 were under 12 years of age.

She did come home on .2 liters of oxygen and an apnea monitor. I think this is why we are able to sleep in peace, when we do fall asleep. If she stops breathing for 18 seconds the alarm goes off and it is loud. So far it has only gone off a couple of times, all when she is eating. So we have had no scares while she is sleeping. She seems to suck and suck on the bottle and holds her breathe. It like she is too busy eating to take the time to breathe. We also have an oxygen concentrator in the house with portable oxygen tanks when we need to leave the house. She is way over her daily volumes that we need to watch for in her feeding. She is supposed to get 220 cc every 12 hours and she is eating about 260 cc every 12 hours. We have a lot of Drs. to follow up with. We have an appointment every week with a different Dr., this is ok, since it is to make her better and she is home now.

We have always wondered what Zoë used to do when at the NICU. Now we now. She eats, sleeps and when she is wake she looks around at everything. She it awake about 3-5 hour straight during the day. She likes cuddle time. Noises don't even bother her. She is also a big chatter box when she is awake. She loves to look around

And for all those that ask, her room is still not ready. Even though it is not ready, Zoë has taken over all the other rooms in the house. She sleeps in Mommy's and Daddy's room in her bassinet. We haven't left the house, only to go to her pediatrician's visit and the follow up with the surgeon. Maybe we will all leave the house next week. Daddy's says he'll have it ready by next week.

The surgeon follow up visit was a good one. Zoë is healing very nicely and everything looks like it should. Mommy is home from work for the rest of the month. She will go back to work the first week in June. So this time is being spent to be with Zoë.

We will continue to post items here since Zoë's recovery is not 100% complete. Plus a lot of you want to know how she is doing. We are taking visitors at home as long as you are not sick. Just call us, if it is during the day, since we may be away at one of her appointments.

Zoë was 3 months old yesterday. In some ways she acts like a 3 month old, but is in a body of a newborn and has a lot of newborn behaviors. She also is wearing newborn diapers and has grow out of her preemie clothes. She is wearing newborn and 0-3 month old clothes.

We do want to thank all the nurses, Drs., respiratory therapist and nurse practitioners that took care of Zoë, we do miss all of you. That was the hard part of leaving. We left a lot of new friends. You know who you are and have our information. We are glad that we met you all. Zoë also misses you and sends you kisses.

Here are some pictures of Zoë from this week:

Here I am in my bassinet

I love to sleep in my stroller.

I was sleeping on Mommy's lap

I am sitting up like a big girl playing with Mommy

It's Go Time....

That's right, today is the day Zoë comes home !!!!!

We're waiting on the discharge process which should take a couple of hours. Mommy has been with her for most of the day, daddy had a few meetings but managed to figure out the car seat base with Tio Naz. On her last day she had a bath that Mommy gave to her all on her own and she had a play date with a couple of babies in the NICU. We have a bassinet ready that we got from Tia Bere and Tio Rick. Zoë is coming home on oxygen and an apnea monitor, the oxygen is at .2 liters at 100%. The monitor is cool, it is loud, so if she holds her breath for more than 18 secs. the alarm goes off. She's been doing well, hasn't beeped in awhile, she only holds her breath when she's eating, still working on the suck, swallow, breath thing. She has done well with her ad-lib feedings she takes in anywhere from 65-75 cc's per feeding, about 2-2.5 ozs. They did find a bit of reflux between her bladder and kidneys they said that she will eventually out grow it but she is coming home on a few medications. She weighed in at 3085 grams about 6 lbs. 13 ozs. and is about 20.5 inches long, this would have been her birth stats had she gone to term. OK we are ready, I think, the neonatologists just came to give us our discharge papers !!!!!!

Mommy & Daddy I'm ready !!!!

Today is my due date............

As the saying goes careful what you wish for cause you just might get it, Amy and I came in on Thursday night and she was doing well so as we were leaving the nurse practitioner stopped to talk to us and said that she may be home in less than 2 weeks with oxygen which is normal. This the first time that anyone has talked to us about going home so it was a bit surreal. We went to dinner and we were both in a state of shock. We devised a plan on her coming home in 2 weeks, so we woke up early and went to register at Babies R'Us which was interesting explaining our situation to the clerk. So we take care of that and we eat lunch and then take Amy back to see Zoë since Daddy had a work function. Today Zoë's central was to be taken out and she was going to begin ad-lib feeding, i.e we feed when she gets hungry not on pre-set schedule like has been on since birth. So Amy calls me as soon as she talks to the nurse and says guess what, they gave us a window for her discharge, between THIS Tuesday and THIS Thursday, holy crap !!!!!!!

Amy and I have been waiting for this day and we always knew it would get here but this has been a roller coaster ride and this came out of left field (which I will playing for my men's baseball team on Sunday). She's currently on .6 litters at 21% oxygen which is just like room air. It looks like she may not come home with oxygen but they are going to start to test her out tomorrow without nasal cannulas. This will be cool because it will be first time she doesn't have anything cover her face. She has taken well to the ad-lib feedings , she's taken in more than the what's required in a 12 hour shift. As I type we're waiting to see if she wakes up for a feeding, she had her 2 month vaccinations today, which she hated, yes like the U of A, so she may be out with the tylenol the gave her for any side effects.

Are we ready ? YES !! is the house ready NO !!! but we will manage as my mom put it she brought us all home in worse situation and we turned out just fine, I think.

Amy and I have been waiting for this for 77 days and we will only be here for no more than 5 more days and then Zoë is coming home !!!!!!!!!!!!

Please stay posted we will update more frequently as news breaks.

What Happened ????

This what I think she's is saying to us.....

Well, it has been over a week since her surgery and she is now looking like the little girl we last saw on the day of here surgery. The above picture was taken on Sunday, we've been bad and haven't updated the blog in the last week, amazing how time flies.

Zoë came of her breathing tube on Thursday night, she didn't like that thing she tried to take it out a couple times. her Dr.'s even said that if she took it out they wouldn't put back in, luckily they took it out for her Thursday night. After the tube came out, she was a bit wheeze because the tube irritated her throat so she got strider, basically her throat was inflamed. They put her on some breathing treatments to help her out with her oxygen level and high-flow pressure. She started out at 60 % oxygen and 4 liters per minute. Friday and Saturday were a rough few days for her but with the breathing treatments it made things easier. On Sunday, the proverbial light bulb just turned on, she was active and trying to figure out "What Happened ?"

She's started back on her feedings on Monday, after going a week with out eating. She was started on 9 cc's, she was up to 60 cc's before surgery so she was a little agitated once she realized that was all she was going to get. They have been increasing her feedings by 3 cc's or so every 3rd feeding, she is up to 24 cc's about a half an ounce. Before she struggled to take in her feedings but last night she sucked down 18 cc's in a few minutes and she was still looking for more. She has gotten wise to the "chupi" method, nothing ever comes out !!! It's pretty funny when she spits back out at you in a act of defiance which I'm certain is one of many that Daddy will have to deal with it.

On a side note: Did you know for 135$ you can get a Burberry trench coat for an infant. Damm you Kanye !!!

As of last night she was back up to her pre-surgery weight, 6 lbs 7 ozs., Nana Lola go to hold her, she answered yes even before I finished asking her if she wanted to hold her. Zoë was amused with Nana's voice and was happy to finally got to hang out with Nana D.Lo. She has had 4 good days, no major issues, her surgeons have said she is healing well and is being monitored very closely. A few nurses have already begun to toss around the H word (home). My guess it will be sooner that we think, before Memorial day is my guess-timation. Amy and I think she is on the home stretch and barring any major set backs she should be home soon. Which is cool but daddy has been loligaging, which makes him a loligager, and hasn't finished her room.

Currently, she is on 25% oxygen and 2 LPM, which is great, by the end of the week she'll be back to full feedings.

Also, with the swine flu situation PCH has changed it's visitor’s policy and put the hospital on lock-down. Starting this morning, she can have only 2 visitors in the hospital at one time, that means only 2 people can be in the hospital visiting her, everyone else has to wait outside of the hospital, even Mommy and Daddy. All visitors will be screened at the front desk for any flu symptoms and no visitors under the age of 18 years will be allowed. Hopefully this won't last very long but better safe than sorry. That's it for now, sorry for the delay in the updates, thanks to everyone for the text messages and support we definitely couldn't not have gotten this far with out your support.

By the Way, Zoë is always being watched by Sparky , Go Devils !!!!

Update on Zoë's surgery recovery

Zoë is still recovering from her surgery. The actual surgery went very well. Her surgery couldn't have gone better. We had the best case scenario in all aspects of the surgery. Everything went beautifully. Our surgeon checks up on her every day. The specialist that was here actually did other surgeries besides Zoë's and some of those kids were worse off then Zoë.

Zoë still has the breathing tube in. They are trying to wean her off of it. We hope that by tomorrow it is out. She had a lot of surgery done to her and for a long period of time for a little baby. So this is something that was expected, plus she is doing the same things she did when on the nasal prongs and CPAP. She drops her stats but then comes right back up on her own. Yesterday she needed more help to bring up her numbers, but today she is doing most of it on her own. She also gets build up from the breathing tube, so some of the drops in her stats are from this. So they suction her and she does a lot better. She looks better then she did yesterday. She is not as puffy as she was before and seems more at ease. She isn't as mad as she was yesterday. She is on pain meds as she needs them.

The surgeon is waiting for her to heal and get off the ventilator before she can begin to eat again. She did say this can take up to 5 days. Zoë is getting her nutrition by IV. We call this her gatorade and fat. Since one is white and the other looks like lemon-lime gatorade (the original one). We estimate that she can eat again on Sunday.

Once she overcomes this, we are one BIG step closer to being home. Hopefully they remove the breathing tube tomorrow and she goes back on the nasal canulas. We will keep you updated

Zoë is Recovering.....

Well Zoë is now in her room recovering from the procedure. She had both of her hyenas, I mean hernias :) taken care of as well as her other issue. She still has her breathing tube in but the nurses are waiting for her to begin t breathe more regularly before they take it out. Sh looks good, not to puffy she may be bit agitated over the next few days since she won't be getting her normal feedings. She will be drugged on pain meds which may take off a bit the hunger edge. Mommy will be spending the night again while I go home and try to clean. We are waiting on the surgeon to come a give us full briefing on the surgery. All is well, she is one big step closer to coming home........

She's now in her room....

She just came out and they rolled by her by use, we have to wait until she gets settled in, she looked good. She still had her breathing tube until she wakes up and gets her rhythm back. She was opening her eyes as she rolled by......

UPDATE

Zoë surgery went well, we are waiting for her to come. Our surgeon said she did really well and her issue has been taken care off. They expect a full recovery and normal progression once she begins to potty train. We will continue to update as we get info.....

UPDATE

UPDATE: The nurse just came out and told us that they done the major work on her and now they are fixing her hernias. She said it will be about 30 to 45 mins. She said she is doing wonderful and is handling the anesthesia just fine. I will update as soon as she is back in her room for recovery.

Zoë just headed in...

Zoë just headed in to the surgery room, she looked alert but very hungry. They stopped her feedings at 9 AM yesterday morning so she was a bit agitated, she did weigh in at 6 lbs 7 oz.. last night and she looks big ( compared to when she was born). We also got a very good surprise this morning, Zoë's nurse that she had when she was born actually got floated to the main campus and has her for her post-op recovery. This makes Mommy and Daddy feel so much better, here is to hoping she gets her favorite night nurse floated over to main later tonight.

Amy and I will be here all day today so please feel free to visit besides the food is way better here that at Good Sam.

Please stay tuned to for Updates.

Tomorrow is the big day

Tomorrow is Zoë's big day. She is having her surgery. Today we talked to the surgeon and she gave us the run down. They already started to prep her today. She got another central line put in. This will be for her IV fluids. Her feedings have stopped and wont start up again until 5 to 7 days. They will be giving her nutrients through the IV, just like when she was first born. The surgery will start around 10a. It will take about 2-3 hours.

Zoë is now 6 lbs 2 ozs. We wanted her to be over 6 lbs before the surgery, so we are very happy that she is so chunky. We have all gotten settled in with the new nurses. Everyone is really nice here. We have even seen some old friends from the McDowell campus. :)

We will keep everyone posted through the blog on what is going on. I will be spending the night with Zoë tonight so that she wont be alone before the surgery.

Thanks for everyone's prayers

Zoë is now at Thomas !!!

That's right Zoë made it over to my new home PCH Main - Thomas, it was a fun ride (see picture). We left Good Sam about 2 PM via non-emergency ambulance. Mommy got go along for the ride and recorded the whole that adventure which Daddy will edit for everyones enjoyment. The medical team that transported her was very nice and very skilled, Zoë slept during the actual ride which is cool. The whole transfer took about 45 minutes from crib to crib. We did get a private room and a big girl crib which is nice considering there are only 12 private rooms, at Good Sam there were over 100. Zoë did stress out a bit once she got here, she was just looking around trying to figure out her new environment. Today we brought her ASU gear and set up her plush animals. Currently, she is still on her nasal cannulas but her added oxygen is down to about 23%, normal room air is 21% and she has about 2 liters per minute,which is good. At one point she was at 30% at 4 liters. Her feedings are up to 57 cc about 2 ounces, she is getting better at the suck, swallow, and breath rhythm .

We are hoping to get more information about the surgery which is scheduled for Tuesday but we don't know the time yet. We've been advised that surgeries usually are scheduled early in the morning right after shift change. We will update the blog as soon as we hear anything about time and hopefully real time updates on the surgery.

I've updated the visitor procedure for PCH main if you wish to visit.

I'm going to Thomas

Today is Zoë's last day at the Good Sam Campus of PCH. We are leaving between 12:30p and 1p. We will really miss the nurses and Drs that we met here. Zoë hopes that they float them to Thomas so we can see them again. We really appreciate all their help and support. We met some really nice people. They made it really easy for us here.

We are getting one step closer to Zoë coming home. Her surgery is on Tuesday. We do not have a time yet, but will keep you posted. I will be taking Tuesday and Wednesday off to be with Zoë.

Zoë is been doing really well and is off her antibiotics. She weighed 6lbs last night. She looks like a new born. She continues to feed from a bottle for most of her feedings. Sometimes she finishes and sometimes she doesn't. They don't want to push her too much because they will be stopping her feeds for the surgery. She is up to 57ccs. (60 cc =2 ozs.) . She is becoming more interactive with us and the nurses. Zoë is a big girl now. She is at 38 weeks gestational age and 9 weeks (2 months) old.

We have to go finish packing up the rest of her room. Next time we post, we will be at Thomas PCH. See you there....