Our First Family Vacation

Our first family vacation to L.A was great! Nayeli loves to travel. She did great on the drive to L.A and back. We had such a great time seeing our family and friends. We had the chance to meet Cadenne one Nayeli's CDH sisters for lunch. We had a great time meeting her and her family. We are looking forward to seeing them all again. Nayeli somehow knew we were on vacation because she allowed Shane and I to sleep in til 830am alot. We wanted to take Nayeli to the beach but the day we wanted to was not in the forecast for us. We took Nayeli to Travel town where they have trains. I used to go there when I was a kid. Nayeli enjoyed her first train ride. We took her to the mall during the week. I laughed when she couldn't stop staring at another little baby girl about her same age. They passed each other just staring at each other. It was very cute. We took Nayeli out to restaurants alot and she loved it. She liked to look at everyone walking by the table. We got alot of attention and had lots of strangers come up to us. Shane and I were very paranoid about them trying to touch her. We quickly would tell people not to. Shane and I did get a few stares when we would wipe the tables and chair with antibacterial wipes. Shane got to go fishing and was happy about that. Overall we had a nice relaxing time and are glad we got to get AWAY! Here is a slideshow of our trip.
Nayeli is so happy to be on her first road trip
The day of our 3 year Anniversary

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3 Years!

We are in LA for the week and celebrating our 3rd wedding Anniversary today. I remember last year being really sick while we were at Catalina Island. I remember being so sick that when I would cough I would not be able to control my bladder which is funny to think about now. We are going to go out to dinner with Nayeli tonight and celebrate!

We drove down to L.A on Saturday and Nayeli did great on the car ride down. The usual 4 1/2 hour drive turned out to be over 7 hours. Nayeli did great the entire time. Nayeli is enjoying her first road trip. So far we have been relaxing at our friends condo and enjoying seeing our friends and family. We love our friend Charlie's condo and feel like we are vacationing in Hawaii. He is from Hawaii and has decorated his house with pretty much all types of Hawaiian art, paintings, etc. We are so thankful Charlie let us stay in his home!!! We miss staying with Nayeli's California Grandma and Grandpa, but their home is currently unavailable. We miss their yummy home cooked meals and Shane misses drinking Jack Daniels with Grandpa Telly.

On Sunday we met Cadenne, (another CDH baby) along with her mom, grandma and older sister. Nayeli and Cadenne sat across from each other and enjoyed their lunch date.

We don't have access to a computer that we can load pictures right now. We will post them and have an update on our first family vacation when we get back home.

Nayeli's first outings!

This weekend was so much fun taking Nayeli out and showing her off. On Saturday we took Nayeli to Babies R Us and she loved shopping for herself. It is so much fun picking stuff out for her with her there. Shane and I filled the cart with alot of stuff. We love to spoil our little Princess!

We took Nayeli to church for the first time today. We weren't sure which service to take her too. If we took her to the 930am it is at the same time she takes her nap. If we took her to the 11am it's right when she is waking up or feeding time. We decided to go the 930am and if she showed any signs of being tired and wanting to fall asleep I would go into a quiet area. She shocked both of us. She loved the music and she was awake the entire time without a fuss. I was in tears when we were singing a worship song. I remembered singing that same exact song when I was pregnant. I had so many emotinons just having Nayeli with us at church today. Shane and I made a special prayer for all the CDH babies today, who are fighting the fight and for those who we have lost to CDH.

After the service I breastfed her and I was shocked that she fed away from home. It was now 11am and she still had not taken a nap. She was so happy to be out with us she wanted to stay awake. We were on our way to Target when she decided to take a nap. Shane and I were getting hungry so we decided to go eat before stopping at Target. We weren't sure how our first dining experience with Nayeli would be. We were excited to find out. When we got to the restaurant Nayeli was still sleeping so we let her sleep. Nayeli woke up right when our food came out. She sat in her stroller and played with her toys and enjoyed watching the waiters and waitresses walk by. She let us eat and was so happy. Since our day was going so well and we wanted to stay cool. We decided to go to Target. Nayeli was tired but wanted to stay up and watch everything around her. She showed no signs of wanting to go to sleep. Nayeli finally passed out in the car on the way home. She is a true shopper like her mommy! She will shop til she drops. Even though I have signs on her stroller that say wash hands before you touch mine on. People still touched her. I don't get it. Shane and I are being very cautious and wipe the shopping carts with antibacterial wipes and use our hand sanitizer each time we are going to hold Nayeli. We might be paranoid and extremely cautious but we think it's worth it.
Our Pastor John Meritt, he married us three years ago on May 27th
Nayeli loves her shades!Eating out!
Notice we are the only ones in the restaurant. Early birds!


Nayeli shopped til she dropped!

On Saturday Twinkie and Molly were pampered with a Spa Day. I had to get Nayeli a new tub because her old one had the shower pump break. I bought Nayeli the same exact one but she now has a pink background instead of blue. I went ahead and used her old tub to give Molly a bath. Molly enjoyed it! Shane gave Twinkie a bath in the big tub. Now we have clean doggies in the house. I don't think that will last very long. They get stinky quick.

CDH Clinic at UCSF

Nayeli had her follow up with UCSF today. When we first arrived they took xrays of her chest. They placed Nayeli in this weird looking tube. She didn't like it at all and was screaming and crying. I cried along with her. Shane took pictures. It was over pretty quick. We then went to the clinic and met with Dr. Keller, Dr. Nobahara, RN Barb and the nutrionists. They weighed Nayeli and she now weighs 16 lbs. and measures 26 inches. She is 25% in her percentile. They were very happy with her growth and weight. Nayeli was so tired from having her xrays taken and being measured and weighed she decided to take a nap. The Doctors came in to examine Nayeli and she slept right through it. We were so pleased that she was very cooperative. Nayeli finally woke up when the stethoscope touched her, she wasn't happy. We tried taking a group photo. Dr. Nobahara increased her Rinitidine to 1 ml and her Reglan to .7ml. Everyone was so happy to see Nayeli and were pleased on how great she is doing. They are having us schedule a hearing test for Nayeli with her pediatrician. Nayeli has sensitive hearing so we know she can hear. The Doctors went ahead and told us it's ok to start taking her out to crowds and have visitors. They told us to still be cautious. We are so excited! We will have to go into hybernation again in October. The first visitors we wanted to go see were Nayeli's nurses in ICU. We picked the perfect day to go. Nayeli's first day nurse Christina and night nurse Ana were working today. They were so happy to see Nayeli. We were afraid how Nayeli would be with everyone she was coming in contact with since she only sees us. She did great! She flirted with Gabe who has always been a great help while we were there. She would not staring at him. We also saw my lactation consultant Fritzy and our social worker Stephanie both of them were a great help during Nayeli's stay at UCSF. We were so happy to see everyone today. We had a great appointment.
Family photo before her xrays.
Tube Baby!
Nayeli's nurses Ana and ChristinaOn a side note we met Hayley and Tim today. Their son Collin was born in April with CDH at UCSF. Collin was doing well and was discharged and went Kaiser three weeks ago. Collin reherniated yesterday and was brought back to UCSF. Collin had his repair surgery today and he is doing very well. Shane and I got to meet Collin. He opened his eyes while I was there. He has the most beautiful blue eyes. Please keep Collin in your prayers. Please pray that he will recover from his surgery and that there will be no more setbacks so he can go home.

Mamamama!

Nayeli should have her own fitness show. She amazes us on how strong she is each day. She is lifting her head up while she lays down alot lately. She gets frustrated when she can't sit her self up. For a few days Nayeli would get upset during her diaper change or anytime we would lay her down. She wants to remain sitting up. When we are changing her clothes she gets upset too. Changing her sitting up is a challenge. We have her sitting up alot but she hasn't mastered it yet alone without our help or with pillows.

I am so glad I got the sleepy wrap. I got the idea from Carter's mommy Kellie. I saw her post with Carter sleeping and he looked so cozy. I got one and Nayeli and I love it! It has been great for witchy hour. As you can see in the picture. Nayeli has been doing great eating solids. We have given her sweet potatos, carrots, squash and sweet peas. Her favorite so far is squash. I think it's because I ate that alot while I was pregnant. We bought a travel baby food mixer. You can turn anything into puree. It's funny now that she is eating solids she is breastfeeding longer and is boycotting the bottle. Shane feeds her with a bottle once a day for daddy bonding. Nayeli has tried to breastfeed on Shane when Shane is feeding her. I spoke with the lactation consultant at UCSF. She told me that Nayeli is boycotting the bottle because she smells me and would prefer fresh milk. She said sometimes it's good just for me to leave the house when Shane feeds her. I left to do an errand the other day during the time Shane fed Nayeli. She ate the entire feed. I guess that worked! So now what I do is go into another room while Shane is feeding her or go outside with Twinkie and Molly.

We have an appointment on Thursday at UCSF for CDH clinic. We will be meeting with the surgeons, nutrionist and nurses. They will pretty much do a head to toe examination to see how she has healed. We hope it goes well. We are anxious for our house lockdown to be lifted so we can finally live like a "normal" family.

Our First Mother's Day!

I love being your mommy Nayeli. I am so happy every morning seeing your beautiful smile. You make my heart melt. I never knew this kind of love until you came into my world. I am so grateful to God that you are here with us. You have taught me that 5 hours of sleep is sleeping in, I don't really need coffee or wine. My hair looks great if it's not brushed and its in a ponytail. You don't care if I have time to brush my teeth, you are too hungry to tell if I have bad breath. I am beautiful to you if I have no makeup on. The simplest thing in life is the best like going around the block in a stroller with Twinkie and Molly. I have waited all my life to be a mommy and here I am today celebrating this special day with you. I hope that I am the best mommy I can possibly be to you.
Thanks for being our Mommy too!

Sponsor a Night

Parker's House belongs to the Parker Reese Foundation and Parker is a little girl who did not survive CDH. Her parents started the Foundation to help families who need a place to stay to be close to their baby while in the hosptial. Parker's House is open to CDH families FREE OF CHARGE!

The Parker Reese Foundation is currently selling T-shirts as a fundraiser. The t-shirt is $16, you can choose your color, and wear it with pride to help spread awareness about CDH. Best of all...that $16 funds one night at Parker's House.

For more information and to see the t-shirt, see
http://theparkerreesefoundation.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/sponsor-a-night/

If you are interested please email at info@theparkerreesefoundation.com for more information and/or an order form.

You may pay through PayPal, check or cash.

Happy Birthday Luc

Today would've been Luc's 1st Birthday.

Shane and I were pregnant twice before we had Nayeli. We had a miscarriage in January 2007. Then on October of 2007, we lost Luc when I was 14 weeks pregnant. He was diagnosed with Spina Bifida along with other anomolies. There was nothing the Doctor's could do for him to survive out of utero. We were both devastated.

Shane and I both knew God had a plan for us and that plan was Nayeli. We never turned our backs to God especially after finding out about Nayeli being diagnosed with CDH. I think God trusted us. I sometimes felt like we were tested....we used to philosophize that God only gives you what you can overcome. I look back now and wonder....if Luc was here......chances are Nayeli would not be here with us right now.

We also have met so many wonderful people that were strangers before Nayeli and now have become our closest friends and are like our family. We have praised God through so many storms and know that he has been there for us the entire time. I know that Luc is watching over our family.....and his little sister....and is being taken care of by the best up in Heaven. Shane and I think of Luc often and will never forget him. Happy 1st Birthday Luc. We love you and look forward to seeing you in the years to come. For now we only see you in our dreams.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Grandma and Grandpa visit

My parents came to visit for the weekend. We are always so happy to see them. They are the only ones that visit Nayeli. Nayeli was not too happy to see them at first because she is only used to seeing me or Shane. It took Nayeli a couple of hours to finally warm up to my mom and dad. She was like this last time they visited too. It didn't take as long for her to warm up to them last time. We hope we are able to get her out and soicalize her soon. My parents and Nayeli always have a great time together. Nayeli hardly wants to take a nap while they are around because she doesn't want to miss all the fun. We always love having my parents cook their home cooked meals for us. We took turns going to Church on Sunday. Shane and I were so happy to go together. Our Pastor was surprised to see us both there. We are looking forward to the day we can take Nayeli. My parents left today and it's always sad to see them leave. Can't wait to see them again.

Nayeli tried Sweet Potato for the first time yesterday. She made faces and didn't like it as much as her rice cereal. She is up to 4 1/2 TBS once a day on rice cereal. She has puked twice. We are amazed on how well she is doing on solids.Nayeli's new bouncer! She loves it! Nayeli's front bottom teeth started peeking out last week. We have been trying to get a picture. So far this is the clearest one.

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6 month check up

Nayeli had her 6 month check up on Friday May 1st. We called her Doctor ahead to make sure it was safe to bring her in because of the swine flu. When we arrived they immediately put is in a room. I had Nayeli covered pretty good in her stoller like I always do. Nayeli is only used to seeing Shane and I. Last time we were at her RSV shot in March she was very upset over the nurses looking at her or talking to her. The same thing happened this time. We were shocked when Dr. Hahn came in to the exam room. We thought for sure she would start crying. Nayeli just stared at him and allowed him to examine her. Nayeli was so smitten by him that she posed several times while Dr. Hahn took pictures of us. Nayeli is a total flirt.
Dr. Hahn examining Nayeli

Nayeli now weighs 14 lbs. 13 oz and measures 26 1/2 inches. She is 20% percentile (for weight) and 75% percentile (for her height). She is doing great. She received her shots after her exam. In the past, she has screamed and cried when she got her shots. This is always preceeded by a reddening face, and then the scream! This time, Nayeli got upset and cried, but it was nothing like it has been. We think she is getting used to the shots. Pretty soon, we expect her to laugh when she gets a shot. Dr. Hahn said she will not need anymore shots until her 1st Birthday. What a relief.

Nayeli has been doing alot more tummy time on her own time in her crib when she wakes up from her naps. Shane likes to call it self initiated tummy time. She has been doing push ups and is showing us how strong she is. She is almost ready to do P90X with daddy! She is trying to sit up on her own but still needs help by us or pillows to prop her up. Nayeli's bottom teeth are coming in. I haven't been able to take a clear picture. She shakes her head back and forth when she has her teether in her mouth. She looks like a dog jerking a toy, we think it's funny.
Onesie II
Last summer at our baby shower in L.A our friends made onesies for Nayeli in all different sizes. Here are the ones that fit her now.