HAPPY 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!

I really cannot believe that it has been six months already since Sarah came into this world. It seems like only yesterday that I got that crying phone call from Erika at oh-three-hundred. "I think it's happening," she said. And it certainly was. I can remember, not so long ago, counting the days and weeks. Now, without even realizing it, six months have passed. Sarah and Erika are absolutely incredible.

Last night we had a great experience. I had just come home, and Erika had just finished feeding Sarah. I made some smiling faces at Sarah, and she responded with a definite giggle. I laughed a little, and she responded with a laugh of her own. This went on for at least five minutes - me smiling, her giggling, me laughing, her laughing. She is so alert and has such a personality.

Happy six months, Sarah!

Play Date!

Sarah and Mommy have a play date today at the park with another baby from the NICU. She promised to take lots of pictures so that Daddy and everyone else can see what fun they had. Hopefully some videos too! Hopefully Mommy will post pictures as soon as she gets home today.

First Birthday as a Daddy!

29 YEARS OLD TODAY!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

March Update

Sorry for the long gap in between postings.  Things have been a little rough for us that last few weeks.  It started about 3 weeks ago when Sarah's reflux seemed to be at it's worst.  Constant vomiting, crying, discomfort....you name it.  It was heart breaking to see.  So bad we almost took her to the ER.  After many doctor's visits, lots of mom's tears, and even more personal opinions, we decided to try a new food.  We took Sarah off breast milk and put her on a formula that is made especially for baby's that spit up a lot.  

What a difference folks.  Sarah is a completely DIFFERENT baby.  While we still have the occasional spit up or puke, it is NOTHING like before.  My only regret is not making the change sooner.  While I agree breast-milk is the best of babies for weakened immune systems, I did learn a valuable lesson in all this.  TRUST MY INSTINCT.  I had been talking for a few weeks about making the switch, primarily because I was, um, OUT OF MILK!  All the doctors kept saying "no, no, no".  Well, when I finally just did it, with the help of our physical therapist's recommendation, I notice the difference within minutes of her first feeding!  

Yes people, it was THAT good!  Sarah finishes bottles on a regular basis now, it is completely amazing. We hope and pray that soon the feeding tube will be a distant memory.

As far as weight is goes, Sarah weighed in last week at 7 lbs 4 ounces.  No, not a great increase since the last time I updated, but again, she had a rough couple of weeks.  I am confidant her next weigh in will be a good one.  We have to wait until next Monday for the official scale.  

On a  side note about her weight, I was recently "reminded" about my weight gain as a newborn.  I was born at 5 lbs 9 ounces ( I think!) and I was born at nearly 41 weeks.  Yes, yes it is true, I was ALSO a tiny little baby even at full term.  So if Sarah takes after me, she is right on track for her weight gain. Grandma Mimi told me I barely hit the growth curve as a newborn but I eventually caught up and look I turned out fine (no comments from the peanut gallery please).  

Tomorrow Sarah will have been home for 2 months! Wow how time is flying. 

Sarah got to meet her Cousin Lily for the first time yesterday.  We were all so excited to introduce them to each other.  They are 3 weeks apart on the calendar but supposed to be 4 months apart.  No pictures as I am not sure my brother wants his families picture on our blog (I will ask though). In the mean time, here are a few others from the last few weeks.  

Happy Purim And Easter

We played dress up today in honor of Purim (the Jewish holiday) and while we couldn't go to temple, we still had fun.

I had to fold this outfit in half to make it look ok on Sarah!

Hanging Out in My Bouncer

Home For 6 Weeks Already!

I can't believe it has been six weeks since we brought Sarah home! The NICU seems almost like a distant memory, though it was just 6 weeks ago.  She weighs 3.2 KG or 7 lbs 1 ounce!

We had a rough time this week with Sarah's reflux. She has been vomitting a lot and we are trying to make her a little more comfortable, though nothing I try is working too well.

We are starting Reglan today, which I hope gives her (and me too!) some relief. The Reglan is on top of the Prevacid. I have done a lot of research and found that a lot of preemies have acid reflux, mostly due to their immature digestive system.

With the exception of her being unhappy when her tummy hurts, she is a very happy baby. She loves being held, going for walks, car rides, taking baths (yippee), and listening to her music.

Here is a video is her playing in her swing, on an empty stomach of course!

Sarah is 5 Months Old Today!

Well technically, I guess.  Though she is only supposed to be 7 weeks old, corrected age.

Things are settling down nicely into a routine for us here at home.  We love every minute of having Sarah with us at all times.  Her eating continues to improve little by little .We try not too push her to take the bottle if she clearly isn't interested.  She has begun to coo and smile a lot and recently discovered her hand.  

More Pictures

Sarah and the Bean

A Family Picture taken a few weeks ago

Mom and Sarah this morning

Sarah's Debut

Sarah made her debut on Sunday and everything went off without a hitch. It was an absolutely magnificent day (if I do say so myself) As usual, Sarah was the beaming star of the show and loved all the attention.

We are so grateful to everyone who came to see Sarah. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to express how important each and every one of you are to us for supporting us through our mission to get Sarah home. We could not have goten through the last four months with out you. Sunday was the perfect culmination of our long journey.

A special thanks to a few people: The NICU staff that were able to make it -Sharon, Cindy, Astri, Karen (and Teresa who was working on Sunday and couldn't join us). They took care of Sarah on her first few hours of life and it meant a lot to us that came.  Great-Aunt Paula, who was here from Honolulu. And of course to both Grandma's for planning out the day, from the food to every last decoration. It was a party we will not soon forget. 

Looking Forward to Sunday

We are looking forward to Sunday and finally having our welcome home party. It is supposed to be a gorgeous day out so we should have a nice gathering on the patio. As the doctor reminded me, Sarah is not allowed to make her official debut at the event, though she will be in her bedroom and you can go upstairs and take a peek at her if she is awake. Especially with this bad flu season, we just can't take any chances. We hope you all understand.

It should be a nice afternoon. We hope to see you there.

6 lbs. 6 ounces Today

Happy Birthday Auntie Castine

Mid February Report

Sarah continues to thrive at home.  She weighed in today at 6 pounds exactly.  Her pediatrician says she is doing wonderful.  She also got one of her set of shots.  We are spacing them out a bit to not overwhelm her little body.  She seemed to tolerate it well.  She continues to eat from the bottle better and better each day.  

We also swung by the NICU today to give them an invite to our little welcome home party.  We hope that some of the people that helped save her life would join us in our celebration. 

All in all it was a nice day. Sarah and I were on our own and while it was a bit exhausting, it was fun spending the day alone with my girl. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Welcome Home Open House Details...

It is with great gratitude to G-d Almighty that I am pleased to present to you the invite for Sarah Chaya's welcome home party. As you can imagine, we are overjoyed to have our princess home after 114 days in the Tarzana NICU.

Both Grandma Carol and Grandma Mimi have planned a little open house in Sarah's honor. In order to protect Sarah's immune system, she can be not in crowds of people. Therefore Sarah will not be making her debut at the event. However, hopefully you will be able to peek in at her and say hi that way. Thanks grandma for making this pretty invite!

As the date is quickly approaching, formal invites will not be going out in the mail (I don't have too much time to put together an address list), so this is your invite!

The open house is at our home. If you need our home address you can send an email to:

 sarahchayarees (aat) gmail (dawt) com

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. We hope to see you March 2nd.

 No RSVP required

As with any picture on the blog, you can click on it to enlarge and save or print if necessary.

4 Months Old Today!!!

We took Sarah to the Doctor today for her weekly checkup. Dad, Grandpa and Grandma and I were taking bets as to what Sarah weighs. We can really start to see signficant weighs changes daily so we were all excited to find out how much she actually weighed. I won the bet with the weigh in of 5 lbs 8.5 ounces (I guessed 5 lbs 9 ounces) ! She has nearly gained a whole pound in the 10 days since leaving the NICU! The Doctor was amazed. It is all the hamburgers we feed her.
The baby girl is 4 months old today! I can not believe how time flies! We were praying so hard to have her home by this time and are so grateful she is home now! She is our little miracle. Happy 4 months old birthday sweet baby girl.

Do's and Don'ts - Containing Baby

Who Does Sarah Look Like?

Sarah

Mom

Dad

Do's and Don'ts - Fun Games for Baby