Welcome!

SOFIA

If this is your first time to Sofia's blog, Welcome! To read from the beginning scroll down to the post titled "Sofia" then scroll up to read the previous postings.

Thank you to all who have stuck by us through it all and continue to follow us on our journey. I don't get the chance to update much, so to be notified when I do update please enter your email address to the right.

Please keep reading for updates about Sofia, The Parker Reese Foundation and other CDH babies. I thank you all for your continued prayers for Sofia and all CDH babies. God Bless

Sponsor a Night

Imagine caring for an entire family by simply buying and wearing a t-shirt. That’s what “Sponsor a Night” is all about. Purchase your $16 t-shirt today and wear it to show your support for the families staying at Parker’s House. Each $16 purchase shares one night with a family that calls the House, “home.”

Click here to see the t-shirts

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

You may pay through PayPal, check or cash.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sofia!

These past three years have flown by so quickly...apart from the first 7 1/2 weeks! I still remember my pregnancy and Sofia's hospital stay like it was yesterday. That was the hardest time of my life, but also the happiest time of my life, especially her Birthday! She has changed so much and is so big! She is potty trained, in ballet school and is extremely excited about going to Disney World! For her birthday we are having a Neverland themed party at our house. It was supposed to be outside, but the wonderful Texas weather had other plans for us! So, since it is very muddy we have moved the party indoors, canceled the bouncy castle and figured out some games to keep the kids entertained inside. Sofia is just so excited that she gets to dress up in her Tinkerbell costume that she wore for Halloween again! We have asked the kids to come dressed in the Pixie and Pirate best, so I can't wait to see them all dressed up!

I need to figure out how to add videos cause I have some really funny ones of Sofie! She knows that she is a very special girl. She lifts her shirt or dress and rubs her scar and asks me what it is. I have always just told her that that is where she is special. So, the other day she asked me and I said that is where you had an ouchy...well she got so upset and told me no it wasn't an ouchy that that was her special! She also knows where her central line scar is and we talk about that one because her Grandfather has one and we didn't want her to be scared of it so she knows that her and Grandpa are special.

She is very loving and always tells me she loves me, but she doesn't say I love you, it's always, "I love you , too!" It's so funny cause she will just say it out of nowhere! The best thing she has ever said to me though was just a few weeks ago and she came home from the weekend with her dad and she gave me a hug and kiss and said, "Mommy, you're my happy." I just about cried!

I hope you enjoy the recent pics of Sofie, the soccer one is being published in something that is handed out at the games in Liverpool, England with a special Birthday wish for Sofie and the other is one of the ones that I took to put on her invitations. The last three are of Nana (my mom), Sofie and I last Saturday at Rainforest Cafe celebrating Nana's Birthday! We were in a silly mood!

I will update soon and post some pics from the party tomorrow. I hope everyone is well. God Bless

Happy Birthday my sweet Sofia! I love you baby girl.

Blogging Again!!!

I have decided that I really want to start blogging again. I have had several people tell me that they still check for updates and wonder why I stopped. So, we're back! I just bought a new computer, so I need to transfer all my pics over so that I can add some here. Sofia is so big now! I can't believe she will be 3 in a little over a month, OMG! I will have a full (but very long) update on here by Monday, so just give me the weekend to get it all typed! I love you all and I am still and always will be so very thankful for all of your support! God Bless

Love, Catherine & Sofia

Parker's Birthday

To Sweet Baby Girl, Parker, I wish you a very very Happy Birthday! I know that you are so proud of your Mommy for all that she is doing in your name. I am so honored to be a part of The Parker Reese Foundation. Many great things will be done in your name to honor and remember you and all other CDH kiddos.

Remember your Mommy today and be with her, I know how much she loves and misses you. I hear you are getting some great cupcakes! I wish I was there to try one! Mommy will just have to buy more in August when Lauren and I come to visit!

Jes and Ashley, the two of you are always in my prayers especially today and tomorrow. We love you guys!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Angel!

Love, Catherine, Yvonne & Sofia

Audrey's Birthday!

HAPPY 2nd Birthday, Miss Audrey!

I hope you have a wonderful day you little Super Star!

Canada Update:

Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I really had some issues with Sofia when I got back and have pretty much stayed away from the computer and everything else to devote all my time to her. She is doing much better now, though.

I had a blast in Canada with Jes and Lauren. Lauren was so totally surprised! I think it is so funny though cause other than the scary movie we rented the last night we were there and of course Grey's Anatomy all we ever watched was FRIENDS! As soon as we woke up it was on, and we went to bed with the TV timer on so that we could hear it as we fell asleep! The trip was too short though and we will definately make it longer next year! Yes, we are doing this annually! We have decided that we will get together at least 3 times a year, so that way we can all visit eachothers home. Lauren and I are planning our trip to North Carolina for August and I can't wait. Only difference is I can't do another trip without Sofia. Plus I am staying at least a week so we can go to the lake house and to the beach. I am so excited.

I know this wasn't much, but I am tired, so I will update more later with pics.

God Bless

Cat

We're in Canada, EH!

We are here! Jes and I flew into Canada yesterday to visit Lauren. She was expecting Jes, but I was a total surprise! It was the funniest thing, she had no idea! Today was Lauren's last day of school and she is officially a teacher! Yeah! Congratulations Lauren! We are on our way out to get pedicures, but we will all post pics soon I'm sure! It is beautiful here and the weather is wonderful. Hope you are all doing well. God Bless

Love, Cat

Welcome Baby Jadon!

Congratulations to my brother, Brian, and my sister-in-law, Kelly, on the birth of their baby boy Jadon! Jadon was born this evening and I rushed to go and get some food for my SIL who hasn't eaten all day adn by the time I got to the hospital they had taken Jadon to the nursery and wouldn't return him to their room for at least 3 hours. So, I did not get to hold him, but I did get to see him in the window. He is so cute and chubby! You can visit Jadon's Blog to see pictures and videos of him.

Sofia's birthday weekend was a lot of fun, ut I will have to tell you all about that later ccause it is late and I have an early flight to catch in the morning. I am pretty nervous cause this is going to be my first time away from Sofia that lasts more than 24 hours. I feel bad for her. I feel like she is going to be so confused, but again I will go into details about that later. She has just spent 4 of the last 7 nights with her dad for the first time. That was a big change for both of us. He will be moving here in August, so we have to prepare for this to happen every other weekend. My poor baby. I never thought that I would have children that would havet o go between their father and I. It really sucks!

At the same time though, I am really looking forward to my trip. I know that I am going to have a lot of fun and that everything here with Sofia will be fine. I will post again from my destination to tell you all where I am at and to post pictures! I can't wait! My plane actually leaves in 7 hours, so I am going to go cuddle my baby girl and get some sleep! I will post tomorrow night or Firday morning.

Love, Cat

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sofia!

My Sweet Sofia, I can't believe that two years have already flown by. My baby girl is 2! You are my wish come true. You are my everything, my inspiration. Without you in my life, God only knows where I would be. You have helped me in so many ways I hope you never have to understand. I have grown up so much over the past 2 years and 9 months and I have you to thank for it. You were a total surprise, but a very welcomed surprise. You came to me at a very hard time in my life, but you lifted me up. You gave me that little push I needed to get my life on track. We had a very rough start, but you taught me just how precious life really is. I have met some of my best friends because of you and I thank you. You have no idea the strength you have given me! There is something about you that is very special and when you enter a room everyone knows it. It is as though everyone knows how special you truely are. I am so honored to me your Mommy and so thankful God chose me to be your Mother! You are the greatest gift ever!

Happy Birthday, my beautiful baby girl! I wish for you all of life's happiness. You deserve it! I hope you have many, many more wonderful Birthdays! Never take life for granted. I Love You, Sofia!

Love Always and Forever,
Mommy

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Thank you to all of you who have followed our long journey. I still can't believe I have had this blog for over 2 years now! I had the most wondeful slideshow that I have been working on for today and now it won't download, so I had to settle with the one I got! I will keep working on it, so check back later today.

Again, thank you all for the years of prayers for Sofia and for all CDH babies, please keep them coming! God Bless

Love, Catherine

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANA!

I would like to wish my Mom, and Sofia's Nana a very Happy Birthday, today! We love you very much!

Thank you all for your prayers for Danny and his friends. Danny is alive and we of course are totally happy. He was actually moved to a rehab this morning. He was in ICU until last Friday and then was in a critical care room with a 24 hour sitter. He has suffered short term memory loss. We would be in there for an hour and he would ask us about 5 times where he was. Then when he was told he was in an accident he started to cry. Then he would forget. Last Friday he suddenly remembered he was in an accident told everyone where they were headed to and what the were going to buy. He then asked why his 2 friends were out of the hospital and he wasn't, then realized that only one of the friends involved in the accident was there visiting him. So, the doctors said it was time to tell him that his friend had died. The friend that was driving wanted to be the one to tell him, so he did. Danny cried, but was in shock and didn't believe anyone. His brother tried to take him proof the next day, but it was a bad day for Danny. He seems to also have multiple personalities right now. He can be totally fine and be the Danny we all know and then he turns into a very mean, angry and violent person. About an hour after he was extubated he kicked me in the chest and his brother, punched his mom and a nurse and also ripped a pocket off a nurese shirt. He was like that a lot. He was actually only awake and normal for about 5 to 10 minutes an hour, the rest he was angry or sleeping. I can't imagine what he is going through. He broke pretty much all the bones in the right side of his face and two bones in his neck. They docs are most concerned with the sinuses. So, they are going to give him some time to see how he heals before surgery. Please continue to pray for Danny and that he gets his full memory back.

I promise to have all the pics that I want to put up on here before Sofia's Birthday in a week! Can you believe it, she will be 2 in one week!

I hope you are all doing well. Please remember to keep all CDH babies and families in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Cat

Prayers Needed, Please!

Tomorrow, my mom, Sofia and I will be driving up to Kansas City to a cousin of mine who is in an ICU there. Danny is 17 and was in car accident today along with 2 of his friends. One of them was killed instantly and the other was also taken to the hospital. Danny had to be airlifted to a hospital in Kansas City where he is now in critical condition. The doctor said that he has a lot of facial fractures, especially around the sinus area and that there is a lot of irritation on the brain. The Nuerosurgeon said that there is a lot of blood around his brain. He is un-responsive when the docs ask him to do things, and is having a lot of seizures.

I have know idea how long we will be there, so I wanted to give you all a quick update.

Sofia is getting so big as I am sure you can tell from the photo with the Easter Bunny. She is very bossy, already, and knows how to ignore me! Her hair still isn't very long, but long enough that I am able to do different things to it. Right now she has a sinus infection and is on antibiotics, but that is all! Thankfully! I have so many pics I want and need to add and I promise I will get to them before her birthday. Wow, I can't believe she is going to be 2 already! It is happening way too fast!

I want to say Congratulations to our friends in Turkey who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on March 24! I bet Mert is a very proud big brother celebrating his new little sister in Heaven. Congratulations Akar Family!

Also, please keep Lauren, Avery's mommy, in your prayers. She had surgery yesterday and is now home recovering. Please pray that her test results from her surgery come back with good results. Visit Lauren's blog to find out more.

I also want to wish a very belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Drew, Jackson and Avery! I am so sorry that I have been so bad at blogging lately and that I missed your birthdays. I promise I didn't forget about them, I just didn't blog. You all are always on my mind. God bless you sweet Angels. And Jackson, we can't wait to see you again, you have gotten so big!

So, Monday March 31st is Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Day and a couple of weeks ago I received a Proclamation from Texas Governor Rick Perry. It is beautiful! I was so afraid that we wouldn't receive one before March 31st. But, we did! YEAH! So, wear your turqoise on Monday in support of CDH Awareness! I will post pictures of the Proclamation and other pics, soon.

Okay, I am off to bed. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I am going to work since there isn't anyone to cover me and then we are leaving right after I get off. The trip should take us about 12 o 14 hours, I hope. Please keep Danny and his friends and their families in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

P.S. For those of you in the Kansas City Area who are available, Sofia and I would love to meet you as long as Danny is doing well. Call me at 210-364-3307.

HAPPY EASTER!

Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Easter! I promise I will post an update this within the next couple of days. God Bless

Love, Catherine, Yvonne and Sofia

Merry Christmas!

I hope that each and every one of you are having a wonderful Holiday Season! I have had an extremely busy one. I haven't spent much time with Sofia since Thanksgiving since I have been working full time and going to school in the evening. It sucks! But, I know it will all pay off soon! I will be done with school this Spring so I am excited! Other than that we are doing wonderful! Sofia had another virus last week but it was just a high fever and loss of appetite. She is feeling much better though, still not eating too much. Her daddy is in town and is this is their first Christmas together. I am happy for Sofia. It really breaks my heart that she does not have her daddy here all the time. It is nice help for me, too!

I have added a slide show with pictures from last Christmas and as soon as I finish downloading all the photos from this year I will add another Slide for this year. I am so excited about CHristmas morning. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees all the gifts Santa brings! I took my Mom to see Trans Siberian Orchestra last night and that was absolutely amazing! It was such a beautiful show both to hear and to see their light show. I think we will start going every year. They are here every year on the same day. I just found out the night before that they were here and bought tickets at midnight. The show was where the Spurs play and we were in the very top row! It was kinda scarey, but once TSO started it was very relaxing. Until a drunk man showed up to sit in the seat next to me and cried about how he and his girlfriend got into a fight at the door and he wasn't sure where she was. She showed up a little later, but left soon after cause he wouldn't stop crying! Very strange! I think Sofia would really enjoy to see a mini TSO show. They played for us almost 3 hours. Great concert! They even have snow!

Well, I don't have any updates, but I will read up and then post again soon. I am sorry that I have left you all hanging once again. Life should be back to normal once I finish school. I have a lot to update on and will soon!

Have a very Merry Christmas! God Bless

Love, Catherine

Update on Baby Reese

Sorry it has taken me so long, but it has taken a while for me to actually get an update. Reese's surgery for 8am was rescheduled for Thursday and then the doctor said well, actually she has done real well, lets go ahead and do it today. So, Reese went in to surgery at 1pm. The doctors came out around 2:45 and said that surgery was just about over that they were just finishing up some stitches. Reese did very well and did not require a patch. They actually said the hole wasn't as large as they had suspected. That is all I have for now. Please keep up the prayers for Reese.

Catherine

Prayers for Baby Reese

Reese is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 8am. Please pray that her surgery goes well and she has a quick recovery. I will update as soon asI hear how surgery went.

Cat

Welcome Reese!

Baby Reese was born this morning at 4:49am and was 6lbs 10oz. She is stable and is doing well. I had the chance to go up to the hospital this afternoon and take some stuff for her Mommy to have while at the hospital. I saw pictures of Reese and she is absouletly beautiful! She has lots of hair, more than Sofie has now! Please continue to pray for Reese as her battle with CDH begins and please keep Phillip and Zach and all other CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Catherine

Welcome Baby Phillip Andrew!

After my last post I went to visit other blogs and saw that Baby Phillip had been born earlier today. There is a picture of him posted to their blog. Please pray for Baby Phillip and his family as the journey with CDH begins and also for a speedy recovery for his Mommy who had to have a c-section.

Prayers for Baby Reese & Zach Update

Baby Reese's Mommy, Lauren, was taken in to be induced earlier today after some contractions during a non-stress test that showed Reese's heart rate dropping. Reese was due November 14, then they scheduled induction for November 7, but now she will most likely be here tomorrow. Lauren is actually delivering here locally and me and 2 other CDH Mommies are going to visit her tomorrow. So, please say some prayers for Reese. I will update once she has arrived!

Baby Zach seems to still be recovering well from his surgery yesterday. He is a little swollen, but that is normal. His Mommy added a video of him to their Care Page, so please visit so you can see it, too! Please also keep on praying for Baby Zach, he still needs them!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers for all CDH babies. God Bless

Catherine

This is Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I just wanted to take a few minutes and update on Zach's surgery. So, since I am in a hurry I am going to just copy his Mommy's email. Please keep praying for Baby Zach!

UPDATE!!!!!
Surgery is over! just as i finished the last post we got the call...he is out! they had no complications, he was given a bit of fluid to keep him hydrated. his blood pressure has remained stable, his heart looks good. the only suprise was that we thought from the last mri only a portion of the liver, a small portion, was up. it turns out he was missing his whole left diaphram and the liver was nearly completely inside the chest.they were able to use muscle from his stomach i believe to close the whole. the doctor said he is doing extremly well for this situation. the next few days will be rocky since the surgery was so envasive. please keep the prayers going!! thank you all so much.
God Bless:)


Hope you all have a SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN!!! I will update later with pictures of Sofia from tonight!

Love, Catherine

Prayers for Baby Zach

Baby Zach is doing well and is stable enough that they are planning his operation for tomorrow. Please say some prayers that the surgery goes well and that Zach has a speedy recovery. I have changed the link for Zach from his mommy's My Space account to his Care Page. You can get updates from there. I will post as soon as I hear how surgery went. Thank you all so much for all your prayers. God Bless

Catherine

Welcome Zachary!

Baby Zach was born this morning a little over 33 weeks. He is 4lbs 7oz and is fighting! He was due on December 14. Please say some special prayers for Zach that he is strong and will continue to fight. The last I heard his Mommy, Dotty, still hadn't had the chance to meet her new baby boy. Dotty was life flighted to Houston last night and had a c-section this morning. Please also pray for a speedy recovery for her. Zach's battle with CDH is just beginning and will be a little tougher since he is so little, so please pray for this family as their journey with CDH begins.

God Bless

Love, Catherine

P.S. There is a link for Baby Zach to the right.

OOPS! & Sofia is sick, again!

First of all, I have not been on the computer at all until right now and I just realised that I accidentally saved my last post instead of publishing it. I am so sorry to all of you who have been checking every night for an update and I waited a week. I was just so exhausted that night. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of Sofia's issues. So here goes.....

On Wednesday, Sofia was playing and somehow fell and busted her lip and chipped her front tooth. I couldn't believe it! She still only has 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. I heard her fall and ran to her to see her lips covered in blood and then I noticed something hard and white on her chin, I jsut knew it was a piece of her tooth. When Ivan came home from the gym I told him and he was able to get her to open her mouth and he saw the chip. He kept calling her Bubba! He is so mean! Then on Thursday morning Sofia's doctor called to tell me that her urine culture did not grow anything, so I could stop the antibiotics and that she wasn't going to need to do another urine culture or the VCUG. I was so happy. So, she went ahead and scheduled Sofia's 18 month check up for Friday. We went in and everything was great except Sofia had lost more weight. She said her tooth looked okay and that she didn't need to see a dentist for it. Sofia also got a mosquito bite the night before right under her eye. So, it looked like she had been punched in the eye. It was terrible! I told you all before that those mosquitos here are bad! Anyway, Sofia only had to have her Flu shot and the Hep A vaccine. She was terrified after being back in the hospital. She has been freaking out anytime it seems like someone may be walking her direction. It makes me sad. She was never really shy before. So, we left the appointment with our biggest concern being Sofia's weight loss. So, I decide to go back to work on Saturday and Ivan was flying out that morning, too. So, about 1pm my friend calls me and tells me that Sofia is feeling warm. I told her that I had Motrin and Tylenol in the bag and she could give her some Tylenol. My Mom was already off of work and on her way to get her anyway. My Mom took her home and she slept for about 3 hours and woke up and seemed fine. I was concerned that she took such a long nap, but then again she was with a friend that also has 2 kids and I figured she was just worn out. So, her and my Mom met me up at work at 6:30pm and we were going to go and have dinner. Then in about 20 minutes everything changed. We got out to the car and she was very cranky and kinda out of it. She started to feel like she was burning up and she was shivering. My Mom took her home, I ran and picked up some food on my way home and made a call to the on-call doc. When I got home I took Sofie's temp and it was 103.1. The doctor's concern was that if she caught something it was probably caught in the hospital. She said that she couldn't be sure and that Sofia would have to be seen to be positive. I decided that I would go thru the night and see how she did and then go in the morning if she wasn't doing well. At 5am she had fever again and was fine until about 1pm. I had gone in to work again, so I wasn' with her. My Mom called and said that her fever was at 103 again. She gave her Motrin and she slepted about 3 hours again. The doctor called me to see how she was and said for me to keep her fever under control and take her in to her primary doc in the morning as long as she didn't have any other issues. So, I did the best I could and this morning was the worst I had seen her. She fell asleep off and on for like 2 hours from the time we left the house to the time she was seen. It was kinda scarey. She had just woke up, too. The doctor thought she looked fine, but her temp was 103.2 when we got there. Her throat was red so she swabbed for strep and that came back negative. She then took some blood and said she would call me with results later. Of course I was thinking probably what the rest of you are thinkg, why did she take her off the antibiotics in the first place! Well, she explained that to me. Since Sofia's urine was so concentrated from her being so dehydrated, which was off the charts, they couldn't even measure it, but that showed a false negative. It contained a lot of bacteria and white blood cells. But, then the culture was totally negative. So, it wasn't a UTI. Anyway, about 4pm today they called me with the results and said that it was just viral and that I just need to keep treating the fever with the Motrin and Tylenol and that if by Thursday the fever wasn't gone to take her back in and that they would have to admit her again for observation. So, lets just pray that the fever goes away. I have given up on taking it. She is so scared of the thermometer now. She is fighting me now and refusing the Motrin and Tylenol, she even gags on them and throws them up when I fight her to take them. She was looking good this afternoon, but then not so good again tonight. So, hopefully it will start going away.

We went from having hot Texas weather yesterday to very windy, rainey 50 degree weather this morning. It was great, but not having to take a sick toddler on a 45 minute drive to the doctor. But, we made it safely and it cleared up this afternoon. I don't watch local news very often and so I missed the weather report. I had to unpack a box of 18month clothes this morning hoping to find something for Sofia to wear! The girl has more clothes than I do, but we forgot about winter clothes! Actually I haven't had to buy her any clothes until today. The box I unpacked was full of clothes from her Birthday. She is just now starting to fit in her 18 month clothes. She did have one pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt we had bought for her for Halloween. Her Grandma and Papa immediately went out and fixed that problem for us and bought her some new outfits and shoes for the winter. She loves Dora, but calls her "backpack - backpack!" Dora, Boots and Backpack are on the shoes that her Grandparents bought for her. She is talking so much more now, it is too cute!

Well, I am going to go and try to start checking the 300 emails I have. Before I go though, I want to congratulate my Brother, Brian, and my Sister-in-Law, Kelly, they are expecting and are due right around Sofia's Birthday. We are all praying for a very healthy baby boy! They have 3 girls and 1 boy already and for Kelly's sake I hope it is a boy or else my brother will make her try again! We keep referring to the baby as a girl, though! My fingers are crossed Kel!!!

Thank you all again for your prayers for Sofia and I am sorry, again, for the posting mistake.

Love, Cat

Sofia is Home!

Sofia was discharged earlier today. Her Pulmonolgist said that her over inflated lung is normal in babies with CDH and that as long as it is not causing her in problems that they wouldn't do anything about it. She was very dehydrated and her urine culture was still very concentrated after 12 hours of IV fluids. Her doctor did say that she has another UTI and that she is really concerned since this is the second one within a year. It was actually this time last year that she had the first one. So, they gave her antibiotics thru her IV and she will be starting on oral antibiotics tomorrow. Then next Friday her doctor will be testing her urine again and doing a VCUG to check for reflux. So, we have to wait another week before we know anything for sure. I will update as soon as I know something. We also can't have her 18 month check up till all this has cleared up. Thank you all so much for all your prayers and support. You are all amazing!

Love, Cat

Sofia's in the Hospital

Sorry again that it has been so long since the last update, and I am sorry that this is going to be short, but Sofia has been admitted to the hospital. Friday evening I noticed that the left side of her chest was swollen. I took her to the ER and the doctor said that she was fine and that that was just made that way! I was pissed he was a little rude about it and left it at that. He said that if I was so concerned then I should take her to her normal doctor on Monday. Well, Sofia did not eat the whole weekend and has been sleeping a lot more than usual. I called her doctor as soon as we woke up this morning, and they asked for me to bring her in right away. I did and the doctor agreed that Sofia's chest was swollen and that it was not like that the week before when she saw her. She was also very concerned cause Sofia had lost a little over a pound and was not wetting any diapers. As we talked she was able to download Sofia's xrays from Friday night's ER visit. She was shocked and asked how could that doctor think they were normal xrays cause they were not normal at all. She then checked Sofia O2 Sats and she was satting at 90%. She sent us to the hospital immediately and had Sofia admitted. I only wish the rest of the day and testing had gone as quickly! It took about 2 hours before they took some blood and hooked her up to an IV and then about another hour for them to take her to have a CT scan. Then we got down there and I asked where they were going to sedate her and the nurse looked confused and said why, it is only a 2 minute test. And I told him that they told me they were going to and that is why I asked. So the guy that was going to do the scan said lets just try to lay her down and see how she reacts. Well, she totally freaked out and wouldn't let go of me. So, they sent us back up to her room and said it would be about another hour before the doc to sedate her. Then I got a call from her doc saying she was having to fight them to even sedate her to do the test today they wanted to wait till tomorrow and she said no cause she thought there was a chance that she may have re-herniated. So, she had to call her surgeon to get him to back her up. They did, but the guys nurse was so rude to uis when we finally went down. She just wanted to go home. It was so weird having them sedate her while she was in my arms. She got so heavy! Then they asked me to leave and to go the another floor and wait for them in the Pediatric Surgery Waiting room. So, we did. They were done in about 20 minutes and took us into recovery to sit with her till she woke up. She was so grouchy when she woke up and then about 2 hours later was totally wired! I got the call about three hours after the scan from her doc to tell me that her left lung is over inflated and that it looks like her stomach may be starting to re-herniate. She is waiting for the other two docs to go over it and they will call as soon as they find out. Then at about 10pm they took Sofia to do a urine analysis. It took 3 different sized catheters and 4 nurses for them to finally get it. Then, when they were done we went back to the room and my poor baby passed out. Her daddy showed up aobut 30 minutes ago and that is why I had time to run to the playroom where the computer is to post. I am going to go back now and try and get some sleep. I will update as soon as I can, or I will have someone do it for me. Please keep Sofia in your prayers. God Bless.

Love, Catherine

Grandparents and Update

HAPPY GRANDPARENT'S DAY!!!!!

I am so sorry it has taken me almost 2 months to update again. I totally missed Sofia's 16 month update! We moved on August 15th and so we have been super busy, especially with me in school. Well, that Sunday after we moved into our house that is totally tiled except for Sofia's room which is wood flooring, Sofia had a wipe out and bit completely thru her tounge. It was horrible and disgusting and sad. She was hungry and would try to eat and then she would just scream out in pain. It was heartbreaking. Then the next day her breath was horrible it smelled like something was decaying. We called her doctor who told us to come in cause it sounded like Sofia may have an infection. We took her in right away and were told that it was totally fine and healing great and the smell was just from the dry blood in her mouth. She will show you her tounge now when you ask to see it and she liked to play with it, gross! It has finally closed so she can't stick her finger in it anymore, yuk! Okay I am done with that topic! But, that day the doctor also decided to try Sofia on just Soy products to see if that would help with her bowl problems, so we did for two weeks and it didn't make a difference. Hopefully one day we will get it all figured out.

The Monday after that which was the 27th, Sofia graduated from the ECI program! It was so cute! The even brought her a cap and gown and a diploma! The cap and gown were a little big since most kids don't graduated until they are 3, but we managed to make it work for some pictures that she screamed thru!


I will post some pitures of the house once we finish painting and getting everything set up. This week I am taking Sofia to a trial class at The Little Gym and a trial at Soccer Tots to see which one she and my friend's little boy, Jun, enjoy more. Then we will decide where we will enroll them. Jun is Sofia's boyfriend! They are cute together and play very well together. I need to post some pictures of them, too. I will try and update after her classes to tell you all what we decided on and how the classes went. I am very excited! They are both "Mommy and Me" classes, so they should be fun!

There are so many baby updates, I am just now changing it, but Baby Jack has been born and is doing well, please visit his blog and keep him in your prayers. Please pray for Jaslyn, she has been having a lot of seizures and they aren't sure why. And there is a Mommy on BOH that just had fetal surgery, so please keep her and her unborn baby in your prayers and that the surgery will be successful. There are also several Expecting Mommies whose blogs I need to add and will do soon, please also keep them in your prayers as their battle with CDH begins.

I also want to congratulate my brother, Brian and my new sister-in-law, Kelly! They ran away and got married in Vegas last Saturday!!! And, also I would like to congratulate my cousin Tony and his wife Perry on the birth of their son, Corbin!

Well, I have to go and get ready for work now. I will post soon, I hope!

Love, Catherine

15 Month Checkup and Pictures

Sofia's checkup went really well. Sofia is 23lbs 4oz and is 32 inches long! I still don't know how she got to be so tall! Her daddy was in town this past week and we went and had some more pictures done. I hope you enjoy the slide show, it is pretty long! They took over 100 pictures, but there are a lot that I didn't post because of security reasons for her daddy's job. They are some of my favorites, though! Those of you that wish to see them let me know and I will email them to you. Thanks for still keeping up with us!

God Bless

Love, Catherine

15 Months, Baby Idol Contest, & More Birthdays!

Sofia turned 15 months today! We don't have her check up scheduled until later next week, but I will update once we go to tell you how BIG she is now! She says so much now and runs around everywhere! Sofie loves to be outside and in water. She gets very angry if you go out and leave don't take her with you.

One of our local radio stations, Mix 96.1, is having a Baby Idol Contest and I entered Sofia into the contest. 50% of the voting is by public votes. So, please, please vote for Sofie! The voting isn't the easiest, but you just go to voting area and click on number 483 and vote! 483 is Sofia's number for her picture. After you click on 483 you have to enter your email address and then they send you a confirmation email and once you receive that and then click on the link they send you, your vote is counted! I told you it wasn't an easy process! You are only allowed to vote once per email address. The prizes are gift certificates and we could REALLY use them! There are about 700 contestants!

We have two very special Birthday's to celebrate today. Leigh turned 1 today and she is the daughter of a High School friend of Ivan's and her and I have become good friends. Today is also Auntie Meaghan's Birthday!

I will update some more later. I am in school now and I go Monday - Friday from 6pm to 10pm. So, I am pretty busy now! Please vote for Sofia! Thanks

Birthdays!

Tavo, I hope you had a good Birthday, sorry we couldn't stop and see you today, your Beautiful Niece was sick once again! We love you and I can't wait to celebrate on Saturday! You are a teenager now! WOOHOOOOOO! I love you little brother!!!




Please keep Mert's Parents and family in your thoughts and prayers today as they celebrate His First Birthday! We love you, sweet little Prince!

Watch Sofia!

One of Sofia's pictures was chosen to be on one of our local News Station's Morning Show. Tomorrow morning between 5am and 7am Sofia will be one of Kens 5 Morning Mug Shot Winners! We won a gift certificate to IHOP and I know she will enjoy her pancakes! Here is the picture I submitted. I don't think I have ever posted it here.

Now for a mini update: Sofia is 14 months and 1 week. I had to take her in to the doctor today cause her allergies have been horrible over the weekend. Also, she has a mosquito bite the size of an egg on her head. I keep telling people that the mosquitos are so big that we can keep them on a leash if we could catch them! I swear they are! Anyway, it turns out she has a bad ear infection to her allergies and of course allergies. She was put on Amoxicillin for the infection and Zyrtec for her allergies and a sterroid cream for her bite. The doc said it was just so big cause her body isn't used to the bites yet! Sofia now weighs 23 lbs 5 oz. Here is a more recent picture of Sofia.

Welcome Baby Claire!

Claire was born June 7, 2006. She was a few weeks early, but they had to induce her Mommy cause she had pre-eclampsia. Claire was born weighing 5lbs 8oz and 19 inches long. She cried after she was born which is pretty rare, but she was heard out in the halls! She was only on O2 for a while, but then had to be taken to the Children's Hospital to be intubated, but is still at room air. Please say special prayers for Claire's Mommy who hasn't had a chance to go and see her baby girl because she is still being treated herself. Claire is off to a great start, but please keep the prayers coming!

We also have another CDH baby about to arrive, Baby Luke should be here any day now, but his Mommy is scheduled for induction on Monday. Please keep Luke and his family in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

Time Flies

Sofia has been home with us for one year now! I can't describe the emotions that I have about today. I am more emotional about today than I was about her Birthday. I plan on getting Sofie a little celebration cake and will take some pictures and post them later tonight. Here are some pictures of Sofia 1 year ago. The first is during the car ride home and the last two of of her in the hospital right before we leave.



I know I still need to post some updates and I will, I promise. We have just had a lot going on lately, but I wil get to it next week cause I am off for the week.

Thank you all again so much for your continued support and for all the support you have given us over the past couple of years. Wow, I can't believe it has almost been 2 years since Sofia has been a part of my life! Please continue to keep all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

One Year Ago...

Need to Update

I am so sorry, I haven't been able to log into my blog and finally today I was able to! YEAH! I have so much to update on and a ton of photos to share but for now this is all you get! I will try and update more tomorrow.

Balloons for Jolee Jean

Prayers for Papa!

Tomorrow morning my Dad will be going in to have a Nissen Fundoplication done. The surgery should take about 3 hours and he should only be in the hospital a couple of days. He can't drive or do much or even eat much for the next few weeks. It should take a about 6 months for him to completely heal, though. The crazy thing is that this is something Sofia's surgeon is having us go in for some more tests to see if she needs it done, too. She is such a Papa's Girl! She is really going to hate that he can't hold her for a while. It is going to be hard. I will update tomorrow when I have a chance. Please say some special prayers for my Dad. God Bless

Love, Catherine

WalkAmerica

I am participating in WalkAmerica because I believe in the March of Dimes mission to save babies. Please support my fundraising efforts by sponsoring me in WalkAmerica today. Contributing to my walk online is fast, easy and secure. You can donate directly from my personal webpage with a credit/debit card or PayPal. If you prefer, I can also accept cash or check. Just click the appropriate box on my webpage.

Last year I did the walk while Sofia was in the hospital, and this year I am so happy to have her joining me. Our team is Team Forever Our Sunshines started by a dear friend who lost her daughter, Kaleigh, to CDH and also lost her son, William Logan, to Non-immune Hydrops Fetalis. CDH occurs in evey 1 in 2,500 births, which may not seem like a lot to many, but when you are the parent of a child born with it and you meet someone new almost every day who is either expecting a CDH baby, has a CDH Survivor or has a CDH Angel then you know it is just way to common. Researchers still don't know the cause or have a cure. Doctors can never predict the outcome of a CDH baby until they are born and most of the time not even then. So, please donate so that we can have more research done and find the cause so that many more babies can be saved.

I’ve joined with millions of compassionate people across the country who support WalkAmerica each year. Won’t you please help me in this worthy cause? Visit my webpage and sponsor me in the walk that saves babies!

With your support, there’s hope.

Thank you all again for all your love and support this past year and during my pregnancy.

God Bless

Love, Catherine

The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Mother's Day 2007 & 1 Year Ago

I am curious to see what surprises Sofia will have for me today. Last year my surprise was my Mom calling me in my room at the Ronald McDonald House to tell me that Sofia was no longer in the NICU and that she was now in the Special Care Nursery! So, now this year she has to pull off a really big surprise in order to top last year's! Maybe she will just get up and walk! She tries so hard and it is the cutest thing! When she is actually taking steps she gets so excited and has the funniest grin ever! I wish I could catch it on tape, but it happens so fast and only like once a day! She is pretty lazy! Her Daddy was too when it came to walking, so I guess she takes after him! I will share pictures from our day later on. Here are a couple from last year.

I wish each and every one of you a very Happy Mother's Day!

Love, Catherine

Remembering Parker Reese and Dakota Mae

Please say a prayer for Parker and Dakota's Parents today as weall remember their beautiful baby girls. Both Parker and Dakota became Angels in Heaven one year ago, today. Please light a candle in their memory.

Balloons for Parker

Please keep Parker's parents Jess and Ashley in your thoughts and prayers today and tomorrow as I am sure they will need them. Please visit Parker's Website or Jess' Blog to leave Birthday wishes for Parker and Prayers for her Mommy and Daddy.

Parker, you are truely loved and missed. Happy 1st Birthday, Sweet Princess!

1 year ago...

Just wanted to give you a little update on Miss Superstar! Audrey and her Mommy, Jenn, were asked to be a part of their hospitals campaign. So, I wanted to share their campaign pic with you. They are so beautiful! You can see their campaign adds on buses and billboards in parts of Dallas. They also have a radio add. Visit Audrey's site for more info on the campaign. Audrey has come so far. I have posted some pics of Miss Audrey and I hope her Mommy doesn't mind!
Happy Birthday, Superstar! We love you!

Love, Catherine

P.S. I need to post pictures of Sofia's gift from Audrey. It is a Cabbage Patch Doll named Adrianna Annette and she is also a CDH baby. She actually has the same scars as Sofie! It is too, too cute! She smells really good, too! Sofia loves her and pats her to sleep and says "ba-ba" for her baby! I will post the pics as soon as I can! Thanks Audrey! (and Jenn)

Upgrading

Blogger has changed some of their template settings, so I finally did the upgrade. Some of the links may not work, but I am working on having them up and running soon. So, look for some new changes over the next few weeks!

Sofie's Steps

SOFIA TOOK 3 STEPS!

Today Sofia's Therapist came out for her bi-weekly visit and she was working a lot with Sofia on standing. Which she stood for the first time witout assistance last Monday, April 23! So, she was working with Sofia and said she thought she would deffinately be walking in the next 3 weeks. So, tonight my Mom came home from work and was playing with Sofie. I told her that she stood a lot for Michelle and I was surprised cause she is pretty lazy with me. I try all day to get her to stand and she gets so mad. So, my Mom decides to try and get her to stand. She stood her up and Sofia started giggling and stood for a while. My Mom called me out of the kitchen and I cheered Sofia on and she turned and took a few steps towards me and fell. It was so cute! She seemed so happy, but I don't think she knew what was going on. Both my Mom and I started crying! We have some concerns with her left leg, but the therapist wants to wait and see what she does with it when she is walking on her own. She turns it in when she is walking with her toys or holding our hand, and she drags it some, too. Hopefully it will correct itself, but she told us that PT can get her a brace to help straighten it out. When she stands it is fine and doesn't turn in, so we will just have to wait and see.

I still have so much to update on, but I will post it soon, I promise! I also have a ton of pictures I want to share with you.

Please continue to pray for all CDH babies, we had 2 born yesterday that really need your prayers. Also, if you haven't donated to our Walk America for the March of Dimes fund please do so. Every penny counts!

God Bless

Love, Catherine

Sofia's 1st Birthday Party!

Sofia's Party was a BLAST! Her party was on April 21st. We had between 80 and 100 guests, we couldn't keep up! Here are some of the pictures that we have so far. My camera kept taking fuzzy pics, so this is all I have for now. The small ones I downloaded from a MySpace page so they saved smaller then the rest. Sofie did really well most of the day with the exception of Cake time. She was just so tired and cranky. She even slept for about and hour and a half before we did the cake, but I think all the people freaked her out. I hope you all enjoy the pics. There was also a slide show and once I figure out how to get it on here, I will!
Gifts for Sofia
Birthday Princess
Auntie Jazmin (Gingi), Sofia & Daddy
Sofie's Guest 1
Scared, tired and crying Sofia!
Mommy and Soifa
Sofie's Guest 2
Opening Gifts
Mommy, Daddy & Sofia on Pinata
Daddy and Sofia
CANDY!
Sofie not so happy!
Birthday Girl
Sofia
Sofia's Cake

Happy 21st Birthday, Uncle Jordan!

Sofia's 1st Birthday Pics! and Baby Carson!

Baby Carson is here! Congratulations to the Jana and Raymond his proud parents and to Elizabeth and Drew is big sister and brother! You can see pictures of Carson on Drew's Blog.

Sorry about that last post, the pictures just wouldn't save! So here they are!
Sofia and Jaylyn with their Mommies and their Neonatologists
Sofia and Jaylyn in front of Christus Santa Rosa Hospital
Singing Happy Birthday
Sofia and her cake!
Sofia digging into her cake!
Sofia finished with her cake

Princess Sofia's Birthday!

Well, today was absolutely beautiful! We started the day off by meeting with Jaylyn (other CDH baby who also turned 1 today) and her family at the hospital and visited with the NICU Staff and the girls Neonatologists. We took LOTS of pictures and they even had the hospitals PR staff there too! After we walked across to the park which is also beautiful and took more pictures there and in front of the mural on the hospital. Let me remid you that it is almost Fiesta time here in SA and it was crazy Downtown. For those who don't remember last year we had to have police passes to get to the hospital! Anyway, after the pictures in the park we went and had lunch in Market Square. We all had Fajitas! We then took Sofia and a cousin who is in town from England, Tom, for the first trip (Sofia her first of many trips) to the Alamo! While we were waiting for Tom to sign the guest book the guy that worked there sang Happy Birthday to Sofia! He was very nice! Then we came home and took a quick nap and went over to Papa and Grandma's for cake and ice cream. Sofia made no where near as big of a mess as I thought she would. She is definately her Father's daughter and didn't like to get her hands dirty. She did end up pretty messy after about 15 minutes or so! It was fun! We took her straight to the sink and bathed her right away! It was a fun day! Thank you all for your Birthday wishes and for all the calls we received! I have been extremely emotional today and it just blows my mind still to see how many care and pray for my Sofia! I hope you enjoy the pictures! God Bless

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MY SWEET BABY GIRL! I LOVE YOU!

Love, Catherine

1 year ago....

More to come tonight!

Remembering Drew

Please take a moment to light a candle in Drew's memory and say a prayer for Drew and his family. Drew became an Angel a year ago, today. Please also say a special prayer for his Mommy, Jana, who is due today with Drew's little brother Carson. Jana posted yesterday and Carson still hadn't made his debut appearance, you can keep udated on Drew's Blog. God Bless you sweet Angel.

Baby McKenna; June 24, 2006 - April 15, 2007

I am saddened to right that another sweet baby has become an Angel. McKenna Lynne passed away today in her Mommy's arms. Pleas keep her parent's, sisters and family in your thoughts and prayers. Please visit McKenna's Site and sign her guestbook. God Bless you little Angel.

Sofia's Trip to the Zoo!

We took Sofia to the Zoo today and she loved it! She meows at our cats, so when she saw all the animals she would meow at them! It was hilarious! She would also get so upset and cry as we left each exhibit, but was fine once we got to the next one. The flamingos were her favorite. I think it was the bright colors that she liked and the fact that they were the loudest animals we saw today. It was a lot of fun! I went last year while I was still pregnant with her, so this was actually her "second" Zoo visit!

I do have a lot to update and actually have them all saved as drafts and just not published, so I will complete them all and hopefully have them all up tomorrow. I know it will be a little confusing, but I will let you all know what the dates are that I added.

Please if you can donate to the March of Dimes if you haven't done so yet. Thanks to all who have already donated! Click here to go to my site. Thanks again!

Love, Catherine

Remembering Avery

A year ago sweet Avery Mae passed away. Please keep her Mommy, Lauren, in your thoughts and prayers today. Also, please take a moment to light a candle in Avery's memory. We love you precious Angel.

Donny's Birthday!

P.S. Donny, your balloons are also on their way. You and Riley can play with them together. Our weather is supposed to stay bad until next week, so look for them then.

Riley's Birthday

Please keep Riley and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Today will be Riley's Funeral. Please pray for strength for her Mommy and Daddy. God Bless Sweet Angel!

P.S. Riley, your balloons are on their way. The weather is pretty yucky here, so once it clears up you will get to enjoy you Birthday Balloons in Heaven!

Baby Riley; March 29, 2006 - March 24, 2007

I am deeply saddened to write that we have lost another precious CDH baby. Riley Jane passed away yesterday at 11:45am. I can't imagine what her parents and sisters are going through right now. When I read the email this afternoon, I cried and ran to hold my baby. I can't even begin to think about the chance of still losing Sofie. My heart is just breaking. Please keep Riley and her family in your prayers. You can visit Riley's site by clicking on the link at the right that says "Angel Riley."

Sofia is 11 months!

Wow, it really is only one month before my baby girl turns 1! This year has gone by way to fast. I haven't checked her height lately, but Sofia is now 21 pounds! Sofia is doing good, she has been a little under the weather for over a month now, but the doctor started her on some oral sterroids last week, so hopefully we will see a change. Today is the last day and she doesn't sound too much better to me. I will call tomorrow and see what we can do next. She is also being treated for Pink Eye, an ear infection and she has a virus and everything that goes along with it! It has been a crazy Spring Break! Sofia now has two bottom teeth and one on top. She can stand for a few seconds and then lets herself fall. She can walk with her toys and along the couch and she tries to climb up on the couch! She is everywhere and into everything! I take care of my Sister-in-Laws kids now during the week and Sofia loves it! She really enjoys beign with other children. Lilli, her 3 year old, is really determined to get Sofia walking. The other day I had left the gate open to the stairs and Sofia crawled to the stairs, so I just got behind her to see what she would do and she climbed all the way up! She was so proud of herself!

We have spent our Spring Break trying to get everything organized and ordered for Sofia's Party! It is going to be huge of course, but she deserves it! I chose the Supergirl theme. It just seems to fit with everything she has overcome and of course the "S" emblem! Her party will be the Saturday, April 21. We will have a bounce Castle and an inflatable waterslide. My brother wants us to have a snowcone machine, so we will! (he loves to make them, he is 12) I am really excited about it! Baby Jaylyn, who was born the same day with CDH, will be joining us and and her Mommy and I and the girls and our families will be going to the hospital on the girls actual Birthday for a little party there. I am not sure if you all remember, but I had told you all the in the NICU Sofia was next to a 14oz baby whos Mother Ivan and I new from the summer we met, anyway, I went to Academy last week and she works there! I was kinda scared to go up to her cause I did not know how her baby was. But, she saw Sofia and I and started crying cause she was so happy to see us! Her baby Akasha is doing well and finally got out of the hospital on September 26. She is 2 days older than Sofia. So, we plan on getting together with them sometime soon. Then Melodie , Jaylyn's Mommy, called me on my way home from Academy, strange huh! She said Jaylyn is doing well, but she only weighs 13 lbs 7 oz and is 29 inches long. So, hopefully she will start eating well and catch up. She was larger than Sofia at birth.

Okay, well Sofia will be waking up soon, so I need to get things done. Thank you all for your continued support and for reading. I have "met" several new Mommies expecting CDH babies, so please keep them all and their little ones in your prayers. Please keep all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Balloons for Avery!

Balloons for Drew

1 Year Ago, Today...

Sofia is 10 Months!

WOW! In only 2 months we will be celebrating my little Miracle's 1st Birthday! This past year has gone by way too fast! Sofia is doing well, she has been battling a cold for about 2 weeks now and it is just no fun. Her poor little nose is starting to get raw. We have been to the doctor so many times this past couple of weeks, too. I guess I am just a little paranoid! Sofia is back on the Pulmicort twice a day and on Xopenex every three hours. We were able to stop the Xopenex for a few days and then all of a sudden her wheezing started back up and the runny nose did, too. But, the good thing is that if she wasn't coughing, wheezing and didn't have a runny nose you would never no she was sick. She is just a ball of energy!

Sofia finally got her second tooth about a week ago and did so much better teething than she did with the first one. I guess since she was sick it just masked the teething. She still isn't saying much more than "dada." Well, not anything that makes since! She says a lot, if only we could understand her!

I don't remember if I said how well Sofia did on the trip to and from Dallas? She did amazing! Well, we just got home from another 4 hour trip this evening! We took Sofia down to the Basilica of the National Shrine of our Lady of San Juan De Valle in San Juan, Texas. The Basilica is absolutely beautiful! It has a room of "Milagros" or "Miracles" where you go to ask for a miracle and make a promise. I have family that went down before Sofia was born and while she was in the hospital. So, we went down to pay our promise for our Miracle. They had a glass table to put pictures in and I left one of Sofia's pictures that the hospital takes. I don't think I have ever posted one on here! It was all a little emotional. I walked into the church fighting back the tears because I knew of the Miracle I was holding in my arms, but when I was writing a message to go along with Sofia's picture, it all hit me again. We have decided that we will make this an anual family trip. I would love for Sofia to grow up knowing this church. Around the outside of the grounds they have about a 3/4 mile path called The Way of the Cross. Along this path it has 14 stations of the cross in life size bronze statues. It was just beautiful! We attended mass last night and it was completely full! This church holds about 1800 people and it was full! I am really looking forward to our next visit!

There are a couple of babies I am asking for prayers for. First, please pray for Baby David who will be born tomorrow with CDH. There are some other complications that David will be facing, too. Please pray for strength for David and for his Family. Also, I have met another expecting Mommy who will is due with her baby Claire Elizabeth on July 1, 2007. Cindy has set up a blog for Claire and I have added a link to her blog at the right. Please keep these babies and all CDH babies in your prayers.

I will update again, soon! Thanks for reading! God Bless

Love, Catherine

P.S. Once again blogger isn't allowing me to upload some new picture, so check back for them soon, I hope!

Sofia's 1st Valentine's Day!

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Madeline Paige; Dec. 13, 2006 - Feb. 5, 2007

I am writing to this to tell you all that Baby Madeline passed away this afternoon at 2:40pm. Maddie was almost 2 months and would have finally reached full term on February 12th. Madeline fought long and hard but her tiny body just couldn't take any more. Her doctors told her parents that her body weight naturally would have been around 3 pounds, but because of all the fluid in her body she was over 14 pounds. Please, please keep Madeline's Mommy, Daddy and Family in your prayers. God Bless you sweet baby, girl!

Birthdays! Birthdays! Birthdays!

Love, Sofia

And Happy Birthday to Donna and Kristallyn!

Prayers Needed

I have just received an email update on Baby Madeline. Madeline is the baby that was born December 13 which was 2 months early. She was born with Downs Syndrome and a heart defect. Over the past few weeks Maddie has been battling an infection. Yesterday they tried a new medication on her to help blood flow to her kidneys, well, that med hadno effect on her. Her parents are meeting with her doctors today to discuss everything. The nurse told her Mom that the next couple of days should show them what direction her health is going to go (better or worse). One doctor told her Mommy that most babies at this stage don't pull out of it. So, I am asking you all to please keep Madeline Paige and her Parents in you prayers. Please pray that Maddie proves them wrong! Please pray for strength for her Mommy and Daddy. I will update as soon as I hear more. Thank you all, again!

Love,Catherine

We Finally Meet!

We have had a wonderful weekend! Yesterday morning we drove with Karen and her daughter Aubrey up to Dallas for a CDH get together. Jenn and our Hostess, Marcelled were the only ones who knew that we were coming. When we rang the doorbell, Lauren and Jess answered the door! What a surprise! It was a very emotional meeting, but I am so glad that it finally happened! Thank you so much Marcelle for opening your home up to us and having this wonderful gathering for us! In the picture is: top row, Karen (Angel Kaleigh's Mommy), Amanda (Angel Conner's Mommy), Julie and Big girl Kylie. Bottom row: Kimberly and Jackosn, Jenn and Audrey, Me and Wild girl Sofia, and Lauren (Angel Avery's Mommy). Jess and Ashley (Angel Parker's Parents) were there, but left before that picture was taken. Lauren, Jess and Ashley are actually coming for a visit later this week. So, I will post more pictures then. We made it back today just in time to get to the airport ot pick up Ivan. Yeah!!! Daddy is home, safely!!! It was a wonderful weekend!

PS SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH MY BLOG AND I CAN'T ADD PHOTOS! PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR THE PICTURE!

Sofie is 9 Months!

I just can't get over that I have had Sofia in my life for 18 months now! 9 months of living with my beautiful baby girl has gone by so much faster then 9 months of being pregnant with her. I would do it all over again! We go next week for her 9 month check up and I will post afterwards. Also, we are waiting to take her 9 month portraits until Daddy is here, yes it should be real soon!

Hello 2007!

I know it is a little late, but
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I can not even begin to tell you all how glad I am to see 2006 go, but at the same time I am a little saddened cause that was the year I had the biggest life changes ever. 2006 was an extremely hard, dfficult, sad, depressing, and emotional year I have ever dealt with, but it had the happiest ending ever! My life with my sweet Sofia. Sofie has definately made me a much stronger person than I thought I could be. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have met some of the world's strongest Parents and Grandparents and some of the best, most supportive friends I could have ever asked for. I thank you all for all your love and support throughout this past year. Most of these wonderful people are from an online support group for CDH called Breath of Hope. I have mentioned this group before. I have been a part of this group for almost a year now and I don't know how I would have made it through some of the things I did last year without them. We recently have had a few expecting Mommies who are all expecting around this Spring. It reminded me so much of Jana, Kimberly, Lauren, Jenn, Jess and myself last year. I really miss being pregnant, but I am so glad that the hard part is over and done with. I wish each and everyone of you all the best for 2007!
Sofia is doing awesome! She is getting so big! New Year's weekend her cousin, Gisela who is a month older than her, was in town and since then Sofia has been crawling the right way, no more commando crawling. Sofia also learned how to get herself to sit up on her own, it is the cutest thing ever! The biggest news of all is that on New Year's Day we saw Sofia's first tooth and it poked through the next day! It is her bottom left tooth. There still isn't much of it visible yet, but she can sure bite with it! Today was the first time that she smiled and you could actually see it. It is just adorable! Yesterday, I took Sofie to the park for the first time and she loved it! She enjoyed watching all the kiddos running and playing and really loved when Mommy and her friend Laura attempted going across the monkey bars! I have to admit it was pretty hilarious. A lot harder than it looks and harder than I remember! I guided her down the slides a few times and then we went to the bigger playground for 5-12 year olds and Mommy and Laura! I got on the swings and held her then we found the baby swings. She loved them! Gavin, Laura's son, was in the swing next to her and they both were cracking up. They were so pooped they both fell asleep on the walk home. My biggest problem with Sofie right now is that she falls 2 or 3 times a day! There is a new bruise or bump everyday! Now with her tooth I am so scared she will bite through her lip. She can pull herself up to stand and tries to walk from one thing to another, she just doens't get that she can't do it yet, that is where we get most of the falls from. I feel like she is trying to do things too fast! Where did my little baby go??!!!!!

Well, Sofia took a late nap and just woke up, it is 9:30pm! Good job, Mommy! Anyway, I will post some more soon. The top picture of Sofia is Christmas with ALL her toys! She is wearing the beautiful dress that my Nan in England had made for her. The middle one Sofie is gumming her favorite teething snack, Twizzlers! The bottom one is a picture of all the Christmas cards we recieved this year, most of them from BOH. Thank you all for the wonderful cards! Thanks again for all your prayers! God Bless


Love, Catherine

Sofia's First Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sofia is 8 Months!

Well, my Sofie is already 8 months! I can't believe it! She is doing much better than she was last week. The bottom picture of her is on Friday morning after she had all those shots she didn't need. It was 6am and she had a fever and was not feeling well at all. I forgot to mention, I think, in the last post that Sofie has started sucking her thumb and she now takes a pacifier due to teething. It is really cute, but I do hope she grows out of it. Most of the time Sofia sleeps throug the night. She usually goes down aroun 9:30pm unless she takes a late nap. Last night she went down at 10pm and woke up at 10:15am this morning. It was so nice to get that much sleep although I wake up a lot when she does that cause it scares me sometimes! But, it was great!

Baby Madeline is doing very well. She still has a long way to go, though, so please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers.

I will post again soon. Thank you all again for your prayers for Sofia and all CDH babies.

Love, Catherine

Lots to Tell (This is Long!)

Sorry that this post has taken so long to write and I am sorry at the length of it! Actually it is going to seem longer than it is cause I am going to try and post all of Sofia's Christmas portraits. So, please bear with me!

First of all I have to ask you all for some very strong prayers for a baby girl named Madeline Paige. Madeline is the daughter of a friend of a friend! Recently Madeline's parents found out that her amnio showed that Madeline had Downs Syndrome. Then a couple of days ago in a sonogram they saw that Madeline had a heart defect and that there was fluid in her heart. Madeline was not due till February 12, 2007, but was delivered last night, December 13 at 8:45pm. She weighed 2lbs 14oz. They did confirm that she has Downs and she also has an enlarged liver and the fluid in her heart chamber was threatning to drown her. I did receive an update this afternoon and so far she is doing okay. She is breathing on her own and is pretty active. Madeline has a long way to go before she can go home, though. Please say some extra special prayers for Madeline Paige and her family. I will keep you all updated.

Sofia is doing well. We have run into some wheezing issues and she has been put back on the Pulmicort twice a day and Xopenex every 4 hours. She was taken off the Zantac cause it was making her sick and put on Prevacid. As of today, Sofia weighed 19lbs 2oz. I am not sure of her length, but I will measure her myself and let you all know! She is LONG, though! She is in 18mth sleepers! She hasn't cut any teeth yet, but her doctor told us today that her bottom right gum is very swollen, so that we should expect a tooth very soon! She has been soooooo cranky, I feel so bad for her. Well, we went to the doctor today for the flu shot and for her last of the Hepatitis B shot. Then they came in and told us that she never received her 6 month vaccinations! WHAT?!!!! They are crazy! I remember that day very well! I am sure Sofia does, too. I think I even posted about her shots and how none of the nurses wanted to give them to her cause she was so happy and they didn't want to upset her. So, since it was never charted they gave her all them over again today! UGH.... I just wanted to scream! Plus she just got her RSC shots last Friday and that is 2 shots, one in each leg. With those she gets two nurses and they count to 3 and both stick her in each leg at the same time while I get to hold her down. And those she gets once a month until April. But, she needs them. I would much rather her be upset for 5 minutes then to be back in the hospital. I also found out today that they are having a lot more babies coming down with RSV right now than ever before. So, I am taking all precautions that I can. But, Sofia is doing great! She is still commando crawling everywhere, but taking a few "real" crawls here and there. She can pull herself up to stand, usually with the couch, but has done it with other things too. She loves to try and get to the kitty food and water and puts anything she can in her mouth! She is finally getting some hair! I am so happy especially since it is starting to cover the bed sore on the back of her head. Sofia loves to eat! She eats almost 3 jars of food a day and is starting to drink from her sippy cup. She likes her juice, too! She is also good about drinking plain water. Now Sofia is in number 3 diapers! It makes me so sad how fast she is growing! I can't believe we will be celbrating her first Birthday in just 4 months! WOW!

Congratulations to Jared and Donna Pietras on the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Freya Louise! Freya was born December 11, 2006 in England. We can't wait for you all to meet Sofia and for us to meet Freya in April. We love you guys!

I am sure there was more that I wanted to write about and forgot, so please forgive me when I remember and post some more in the next couple of days!

Here are Sofia's Christmas Portraits and her portraits with my best friends son, Gavin. I hope you all enjoy them!

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers and please keep baby Madeline in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

Sofia's Christmas Portraits

Sofia's 7 Months!

Not much has changed since my last post. Sofia is doing great! Her appointment on Wednesday with the developmental Pedi went well. He said that she is doing things that a 9-10 month old does. He said he doesn't want to discharge her until she is walking, though. Her next appointment isn't until a week after her 1st Birthday. She was 17 lbs 1 oz and just a little over 27 inches. Sofia's favorite game right now is peek-a-boo, it is so much fun to hear her giggle!

I would like to wish Happy Birthday to two very special people:

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, MAYA!

&

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, ALBERT!

We love you guys!

Love, Catherine

P.S. For some reason my pictures won't download, so check back for new pictures!

Sofia Says....

Well, on Halloween Sofia decided that she would spend the day saying Dada! I couldn't believe it! I am so jealous, but I keep telling myself that that is usually most babies first word. I will look at her and say Mama and she just smiles and plays with her toes and says Dadadada! I finally got her on video doing it today and was able to play it for Ivan to hear over the phone. While I was taping her she decided to get up on her knees and started rocking back and forth. This is the first time I saw her do it, and she kept doing it. Her therapist came out today and was surprised that she did it so fast! She sees Sofie every week and can't believe how much she changes from week to week. She has a baby girl a week younger than Sofie. Sofie is just changing too quickly for me now, it is scary how fast she is growing!

Now for another baby update! Baby Julia is finally going home after a little over 5 months in the hospital. Go Julia Go! I am so happy for her family.

This past Tuesday, my Uncle David passed away at the age of 47. We are having his funeral this coming Tuesday. Please keep my family, especially my cousins Lana, Davie and Jason (his children) and my Grandparents in your prayers. We love you, Dave!

Thank you all again for your continued prayers for Sofia and for all the CDH babies. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Sofia's 1st Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here are Sofia's 6 month portraits in her 1st Halloween costume as Princess Leia! I know that there are a lot of them, but I couldn't pick which ones to post so I just decided to post them all! I hope you like them! Enjoy!

Sofie & Shamu!

Well, Sofia met Shamu and all the other Sea Life and scary Creatures at Sea World this past Saturday! She did very well and seemed to love it! When we were waiting for the Shamu Show, Believe, to start she got very excited because of all the water! We sat right behind the platform that Shamu jumps up on and when he did she just gave him a look like what the heck are you! It was too funny! I think she enjoyed the Viva show the most, though, that is the show with the Dolphins and beluga Whales. She was bouncing up and down and singing! Sofia also too some pictures with some of the scare Halloween Creatures walking around. Of course I cried that day cause before the Shamu Show started they did a tribute to the Military and asked for all members of the Armed Forces and their families to stand up, so I held Sofie up in the air! For those of you who live near a Sea World or any Busch Gardens theme park and are active duty, you can get in free and so do dependents. You just have to show your id's. We actually bought season passes cause they are only $10 more than a daily ticket and are good thru December 2007! I think we are going to try and go back the first weekend of November cause Jack Hannah is going to be there.

Sofia is 100% herself again and is actually a little more active now. She is very independent! She thinks that she can get down and just go on her own! She also yells at you when she doesn't get her way, sometimes it sounds like a growl! But, she is adorable!

Thank you all again for the prayers for my Grandfather, he was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon.

Please continue to keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

Sofia is 6 Months!

Time is just flying by! I wanted it to fly by in the hospital, now I just wish it would slow down. I love the stage Sofia is at right now, she is so much fun!

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Baby Girl!

Today was such a busy, irritating, painful day for my baby! We first went to pick up her Halloween Portraits from JCPenny and I have to tell you they are too cute! I can't wait to share them with you all, but you have to wait till Halloween! Then we went to her Check up and the nurses had so much fun with Sofie! They asked me to undress her down to her diaper and as I did the nurse tickled Sofie and she cracked up! The nurse couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe how interactive Sofia was. Sofia is very ticklish when she doesn't have clothes on. She asked me if she could take Sofie to show her off to all the nurses. Of course I said yes!!! Anyway, then we got down to business. Sofia weighed 15lbs 12oz and is 27 inches long! This is the 90th percentile for length and just under the 50th for weight. She is sooooo long! When the doctor came in she said all the nurses for out there trying to get one another to give Sofie her shots cause they didn't want to upset her cause she was so happy! Well, they decided and Sofia got 3 shots. We will go back once they have the flu shot for her. I guess the way it works is that each insurance sends out there own supply of it. So, we have to wait for our clinic to receive it from our insurance. Well, I am not sure if I wrote this last time, but on Saturday the hospital call and said that Sofia's urine tested positive for Ecoli. This freaked me out cause I wasn't sure what it meant. Well it turns out she has a urinary Tract Infection. So, today her doctor told me since she is under a year and has a UTI she wants to check that her kidneys were functioning okay. So, we had to take her to have an ultrasound done of her kidneys and then they did a test where they put a catheter in and put in a dye to make sure that she urinated all the fluid out and that none of it whent into her kidneys. She passed! Everything is okay. It is just an infection. Her fever is gone though, so I am very happy about that. She was in a lot of pain this evening, though, so I gave her more tylenol. She is now asleep for the night!

Thank you all for the prayers for my Grandfather. His surgery that was supposed to only last 2 hours ended up being an 8 1/2 hour surgery! It was pretty scary though. They were placing stints and were only supposed to put in 2. Then they called and said they were placing a third and then a fourth, but that they couldn't get the fourth in and that 2 of the others were leaking. They then brought in another surgeon and said they were going to try got another 30 minutes and that if they couldn't that they were going to have to open him up. Well, about 2 hours later the surgeon came out and said they were done, they had to place a fifth one, too, but they didn't have to open him up. They also decided to keep him intubated since he was under for so long. He seems to be doing well today, but is still intubated. I will keep you posted on his recovery.

I have another prayer request for a new CDH baby. Katie Isabelle was born on Monday, October 16. She is doing very well and will be having her repair surgery any day! Please keep Katie and her family in your prayers.

Thank you all for your prayers and please keep them coming!

God Bless

Love, Catherine

Prayers Needed

Today Sofia met her Great-Grandfather for the first time! I just pray that it wasn't the last. My Grandfather, my Mother's Dad, is having surgery tomorrow and the doctors are saying that he only has a 45% chance of surviving. It has been years since I have seen my Grandfather, but we have been talking with him again for the past few weeks now. Now that he is back in our lives I want him to stay. Please keep my Grandfather in your prayers.

I also wanted to ask for prayers and healthy thoughts for Baby Audrey. Audrey will be having another surgery this Thursday. She has been through so much, more than Sofia, in her life. Her parents, especially her Mommy are so strong! She is now battling phnemonia, but even with that, the little SuperStar has rolled over a few times, and even giggled for her Mommy for the first time! Please keep Audrey in your prayers that she gets over her phnemonia and recovers from her surgery quickly. We love you AJ!

Baby Jackson is doing well, he is now off his O2! Yeah Jackson!!! Baby Julia just had surgery again on October 12, but is recovering well. The doctors tell her Mommy that she could be home is possibly 3 weeks! Go Julia Go!!! Julia's Mommy posted some Fun Birthday Facts on Julia's Blog that just freaked me out! So, I thought I would adjust them to Sofia and then share them with you, even though most of it is the same for both girls!

Sofia will start kindergarten in 2011, be old enough to drive a car in 2022, finish high school in 2024, and will graduate from college with the class of 2028, give or take a year. Can you imagine?

That really makes me feel old when I think of it! Speaking of my beautiful baby girl! Sofie did wake up with a fever still this morning, so I called her Pedi who asked us to come in. I told them that Sofia is now holding stuff in her mouth and won't swallow and that sometimes it looks like she has something in her mouth when she doesn't. Oh, and when she "talks" she does it with her mouth closed, so it sounds like she is humming! So, I thought that maybe she had a sore throat, but it turns out that she doesn't and the doc thinks it is just her latest trick! Sofia's urine test came back showing that she has a bladder infection. So, the doctor said to have her go until tomorrow morning and that if she still had a fever than he will change her antibiotics. She did still have a fever this evening when I put her to bed, so I just hope it is gone tomorrow. She has started acting more like my Sofie today, though. She has started her yelling for fun again and was a lot more playful. She was also full of smiles and giggles again this evening. She is so much fun, even when she isn't feeling well. We do have to go back to the Pedi on Wednesday cause it will be her 6 month birthday and she has her wellness check up and immunizations, my poor baby! Then she has to go back the next week for the Flu shot. Can you believe that they give the Flu shot according to your insurance? I think that is crazy! So, they are "serving" our insurance this week, so we will have to wait till next week if that is even when they will have it for us!

This picture is of Sofia giving me kisses!

Thank you all again for all your thoughts and prayers for Sofia and all the CDH babies.

Love, Catherine

In Remembrance of Our Littlest Angels

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I would like to take a moment to honor all the babies that have been lost, especially the CDH babies. My thoughts and prayers are with their familes. I also have 2 friends that I went to school with that have lost babies. Mari and Maria, I think of the two of you and your little angels all the time.

Please keep these families and their Angels and all CDH families in your prayers.


Update on Sofie:

Sofia still has a fever. She was put on antibiotics yesterday and I was told to take her in tomorrow if her fever wasn't gone by then. So, I will update tomorrow.

Love, Catherine

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

If you click on the link below you can see the video I had made for Ivan for his Birthday. I am trying to figure out how to get it on here, but until I do you will have to go to the site to see it. Thank you Shawn for the time you put into our video and all the other videos you have made for CDH families.

http://www.mediamax.com/lamarpye/Hosted/SOPHIA%20VIDEO.wmv

Sofia's 1st Virus, UGH!!!

I am sorry that it has been another long period of time since I last posted. A lot has happened since my last post, but I am sure you all kinda figured that since it has almost been a month!

Well, to start Sofia has been to the ER 3 times this week! On Wednesday, Sofia woke up from her nap and seemed like her normal self I got her dressed and we left to got to the store with my Mom. We got to the store and my Mom said to me that she thought that Sofie was cold casue she thinks she is shivering. So I put socks on her and I had a sweater in her bag and I put that on her too. It was in the 90's outside! We put a blanket over her, too. I walked away from them to go and return some stuff and when I found them again my Mom said that she thinks that she was still shivering and told me to hold her to see. When I held Sofie she just laid her head on me and that is not like her at all. She is a very, well to put it nicely, curious baby! About 10 minutes later she started burning up. We left and while my Mom was putting her in her car seat I tried to get ahold of her doctor so we could go straight there. They kept putting me on hold. Well, Sofia shut her eyes and wouldn't open them. She was moaning and thrashing her head back and forth. I decided to go to the emergency room on base cause it was closer than any of the children's hospitals. Sofie startting crying at the gate of the base. We got there and she finally opened her eyes while we were checking in. They took her temp and it was 102.9. They brought us Motrin and left us in the waiting room. Well, we were there for six and a half hours and Sofia was never seen. Her fever went away with the Motrin and since I ran out of formula and diapers and the hospital said they didn't have any we left. I planned on taking her in to her doctor in the morning. She was fine after the Motrin and seemed like herself. She woke up at 2:30am for a bottle and was fine. Then at 7am she woke up crying and I knew something was wrong cause she never cries when she wakes up, she normally just plays. When I got to her she was burning up and moaning. I made her a bottle cause I didn't want go give her anything on an empty stomach. I then checked her temp and it was 103.6. She was alert and wanted the rest of her bottle. So I gave it to her and then we drove to her doctors office cause I knew they opened at 8am. I didn't bother calling cause I didn't want to be put on hold. We got there and found out that her doctor was on vacation and saw another. He said that there was nothing wrong with her throat or her ears and that it was possibly a bladder infection or a UTI. He sent us to the hospital for labs. We left and went home. She seemed fine the rest of the day until about 9pm she starting warming up again. Her temp was 105.4 and she was grunting. We went straight to the ER at the hospital where she had labs done. When we were in triage and she threw up all over me! I had to wear a hospital gown the rest of the stay and home. That was the only time she has thrown up, though. We were dishcharged at 3am and they said that she has an upper respitory infection and a viral infection. This morning at 6:30 am she woke up moaning and wouldn't open her eyes again and she was shivering for about 30 minutes. I just held her and gave her Motrin until the fever broke and she could fall asleep comfortably. She has only had little fevers throughout the day today, but I have been giving her Motrin and Tylenol to keep them that way.

I also found out that Sofia has an umblical hernia. I haven't done much research on it so I am still not quite sure what that means. I just know it isn't anything that the doctors were immediately concerned about. Sofie also got her RSV shot las Friday and will receive it once a month until April. THe Pulmonologist wants to doa sleep study on her next month. Other than that he said she looks great! We go in for her 6 month check up this coming Wednesday.

Sofia is sitting up and rolling over, and even starting to get up on her knees. I am so happy, but sad at the same time that she is growing so fast! She is now eating the Number 2 baby foods and seems to love them!

Last week, we lost Sofia's Great-Great Auntie Kitty. Her funeral was yesterday and we were told that her casket was pulled by a horse drawn carriage. Auntie Kitty lived in England. We are hoping to take Sofia to England next year to meet the rest of her family. We are also hoping that some of them will make it here for Sofia's first Birthday!

Well, I am going to go for now to take care of my little one! I will write more soon. Thanks to all who continue to read. Please keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

Sofia is 5 Months!

Okay, I know I say this every month, but OMG...I can't believe my sweet Sofia is already 5 months! Boy how the time does fly! Sofie is doing great! She held her bottle for the first and only time the other morning at 4:45am. She grabs at it and kinda holds it, but not for a full feed like she did that morning. Sofia is also really working on sitting up. She can hold herself up for about 15 seconds and then it looks like she just folds in half at the waist! Or, she falls to the side! I am having so much fun with her. We have now added Peaches and Sweet Potatoes to her diet. She made the cutest face when she tried the Peaches, they are pretty sour especially for a baby. But, she seems to like the Sweet Potatoes. I just realized I hadn't tried her on Applesauce, so we will do that next. I just wanted to introduce her to vegetables so that she wouldn't only like sweet stuff! I made the mistake of adding oatmeal to her Peaches and now she gives me a hard time if I try to feed her plain oatmeal. She gives me that look like I am just absolutely out of my mind if I think she is going to eat that! Sofia has an appointment in October with a Pulmonologist, so I am hoping he will help push for her to get the RSV shot. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Baby Jackson and Audrey are both out of the hospital and home now. Thank you all for your prayers.


Congratulations to my Cousin Ryan and his Girlfriend, Kayleigh, on the birth of their son, Ryan David! Enjoy him while he is little, people really mean it when they tell you they grow so fast! We can't wait to go to England to meet him!

Congratulations also to Jana and Raymond, Angel Drew's Parents. They just recently found out that they are expecting! Jana told us that her due date is April 16, 2007, that is exactly one year to the day that Drew passed away. Isn't it crazy how things work out. I am so very happy for them! Please pray for a healthy pregnancy and baby for this wonderful family. Jana is really doing so much for CDH Awareness and the hospital that cared for Drew. A Rainbow of Hope was designed by Jana. I wish you all the best, Jana, you deserve it!

Thank you all again for your prayers and please continue to keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

1 Year Ago...

Exactly one year ago today, I found out that I was pregnant with my beautiful Miracle, Sofia! I can't believe that I have had her in my life for over a year now. I was 8 weeks when I found out. I am so very, very blessed, Sofia is my everything!

Happy Grandparent's Day!; Prayers Needed!

Happy Grandparent's Day to Sofia's Nana, Papa & Grandma Alvarado, Grandma & Grandpa Ruiz and to her 3 Great Grandmothers. We love you all!

I feel so terrible cause I haven't been on the computer in a couple of days and haven't read any of the other blogs, and there is so much news and prayers needed. Babies Jackson and Audrey are both back in the hospital after both having another surgery this week. Audrey went in for an infection and found out that she had a partial obstruction of her bowl, so they had to operate. Audrey had to be placed back on a vent, but is off and is now on a cannula. Jackson has re-herniated, again. This is Jackson's second re-herniation, poor baby. He had surgery yesterday and is doing well, but is on a vent, again, too. Hopefully he will be extubated by Saturday. Please send prayers and positive, healthy thoughts out to these babies. Also, say a special prayer for their parents. I can't imagine what the are feeling having to go through the whole hospital, surgery, my baby is on a vent thing again. Kimberly, Adam, Jenn and Nate, please know that you and Jackson and Audrey are in my prayers.

I also wanted to let you all know that Baby Jaythan has gone home! Yeah!!!!

Thank you all again for reading and please keep Sofia and all other CDH babies in your prayers. They still need them even after they go home!

God Bless

Love, Catherine

Happy 50th Birthday!

Happy 50 Birthday, Aunt Cathie!

We Love you!

Prayers for Daddy

We just received our first of hopefully many phone calls we will receive from Ivan while he is gone. Ivan said he and the others are doing well and that they just got to their "destination." OMG....they left on Saturday! WOW, thats a very long trip! The call was only about 3 minutes long, but he got to hear Sofie "talking" away! I don't care how long the call is, it is just great knowing he is okay. Please keep Ivan and all of our men and women who serve in your thoughts and prayers. God Bless

My daddy is a soldier he’s often gone away to some far off country where he has to stay. I really miss my daddy and I’m not sure what he does except he helps other people who need him very much. At night when I say my prayers I ask to keep daddy safe so that he can come home to us and sit in his favourite place. Some nights I can hear mommy cry when she thinks I’m asleep I know she misses daddy and her sadness hurts real deep. My daddy is a soldier he’s often gone away And I am so very proud of him each and every day. Come home to us daddy when your job is done I know that those people needed you, but they aren’t the only ones.

Love, Sofia

Joseph August 25, 2006 - August 25, 2006

Baby Jospeh was born by c-section on Friday, August 25, 2006. He took three quick breaths, but his little heart kept on beating for an hour longer. Joey spent this time in the arms of his Mommy, Carole, his Daddy and his Big Brother and Big Sister before he was taken into the arms of Jesus. I know Joey was welcomed into Heaven by many other precious little Angels and that they will show him the way. Please, please keep Joey's family in your prayers at this difficult time.

God Bless

Love, Catherine

Crazy Life!

Life has been a little crazy lately! I feel like I have been running a million miles an hour! Sofia's Baptism and Baptism Party were both a huge success! Thank you all who came to share Sofie's special day with us, even though she slept through the party, and thank you to all who could not be with us, but were thinking of her. Sofia did awesome in Church! I was very, very surprised. The pictures I posted are 2 from JCPenny when I took Sofie in to have pictures done in her dress. Then there is one of everyone who came out to Celebrate with us. Then there is one of Sofia when she had her emergency Baptism in the hospital when she was a day old and then the other is at her Baptism this past Sunday.

Ivan left yesterday to go back to Georgia to get ready for his deployment. Sofia just lights up when she sees him or even just hears his voice. I am going to have to show her pictures and let her hear his voice somehow everyday until he comes back. Please keep Ivan in your prayers. I have posted 2 pictures of Sofie with her Daddy!

Things with my new Pampered Chef business are really starting to look up! I am so excited! I am really hoping that this works out for me so that I can stay out of a full time job a little longer. For those of you who are interested it what the Company has to offer let me know. It is a very flexible business and you work maybe an hour a day plus your shows the day you have shows. I am shooting for a minimum of 2 shows a week to make what I would like to make and of course the more shows the better. So, if you are interested in having a Cooking Show, a Catalog Show or becoming a Consultant, please let me know!

Again, I want to ask you all to please say some special prayers for Carole, Baby Joseph and their family. Baby Joseph is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, but the doctors are telling Carole that he probably won't be with her longer than 20 minutes. The doctors will only be providing compassionate care for little Joey. I can not imagine what Carole is feeling or going through right now. My heart just breaks for her. Please keep them in your prayers.

Thank you all, again. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Sofia is 4 Months!

Wow, it has been a while and I have so much to update on some is good, some is not. Sorry it has taken me so long.

First of all, I can't believe my little Miracle is already 4 months! Sofie is doing awesome! She had her appointment with the High Risk Clinic at the hospital where she was born on Wednesday and the doc said that Sofia is doing great, she is doing everything a 3-4 month baby should be doing. The PT was so surprised at how well Sofie is doing and how much she has improved and changed since she left the hospital. Sofia is finally using her thumbs and I am so happy! Sofia weighed 13lbs 3oz and is 25 inches long! Sofia has been eating rice cereal for a little over a week and we are able to try her on baby food now, but I haven't yet. She does really good at spoon feeding. We have her 4 month check up on Monday. We are still Baptizing Sofia this Sunday and having a celebration after. Ivan got here on Wednesday and is here for a week, then he leaves and we won't see him again till January.

My sister, niece and nephew left this past Monday to Germany where they will live for the next 3 years. It was a very sad weekend for us. We love you guys and can't wait to come and visit!

Now, for my exciting news that you have all been waiting to hear about! Sofia has a new Uncle and I have a new Brother! About 20 years ago my Stepmom, Beth, had a baby boy, but was unable to give him the life she wanted him to have. He was adopted by a family that lived not too far from where we are. Beth saw a story on the news about a lady who found her child that had been adopted on MySpace. So, Beth thought she would give it a shot and set up her own account on MySpace so that she would be able to search for him. His account was the first account to pop up! When she went into it she saw that he was the exact age that her son would be, he even had comments from friends on his Birthday which was the day she had him. In his pictures, he had pictures of himself as a little boy and he looks exactly like her when she was little! She called me and told me that she thought she found him and didn't know whether to send him a message or not. She was scared that he may not know that he had been adopted. Well, she sent the message and got a message back asking for her to call if this wasn't a joke. My Dad called him and told him it wasn't a joke and that she was his birth Mother. Jordan has known all his life that he was adopted and told his girlfriend that when he turned 18 that he wanted her to help him find his birth Mom. So, they have been looking for about 2 years! Jordan only lives about 20 minutes away, and has been on commercials and billboards for a local water park! Isn't that crazy, so we have probably seen him before! Anyway, they are so happy to have each other. I have never seen Beth so happy, her life is complete. I have a posted a picture of Sofia and Jordan together.

Baby Updates!
Congratulations to our friends Donna and Jared who just found out that they are having a baby girl! Baby Audrey, Julia, and Jackson all seem to be doing well. Baby Leah turned 1 on the 11th. Happy Belated Birthday, Leah! Baby Brooklyn was born July 24 and is already home! Go Brooklyn!

I need to ask for lots of prayers for Baby Joseph and his family. Carole, Joey's mommy was told some not so great news about his prognosis. She is scheduled for a c-section on August 25, but the doctors have told her that the only thing they can offer for Joey is compassionate care. Please pray that a Miracle happens for this baby and his family. Pray that Joey can prove those doctors wrong. Carole, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this very difficult time. Expect a Miracle!

Thank you all for reading. Please keep Sofia and all other CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Even More News!

They Did It! Both Baby Jackson and Baby Jaylyn have gone home! Yeah! Jaylyn went home on Sunday and is doing well. She hates the car seat just as much as Sofia, though. Her Mommy says that she can't go anywhere cause she cries. I know exactly what she means, Sofia cries as soon as she touches the seat. Jackson went home on Monday. He had a 4 hour trip home, but his Mommy said that he did great and only fussed a little.

We are completing Sofia's Baptism on August 2o. I would love for anyone who would like to come to be there. After we will be having a bar-b-que. So, if you would like to come please call or email me and I will give you the details.

I got a bill from the hospital and one was for $428.00 just for them to tranport Sofia from the delivery room to the NICU. The second was for $418,000.00! And that isn't even the whole thing. Isn't that crazy! Sofia is worth every single cent, though! I am definately keeping a copy of this for her! I want to get a copy of her medical records, but it is .33 a page, so I will wait till I want to spend that kind of money. I will get them, though. I am also getting a disc with all her xrays on it. I want to have all these things for her when she is older.

Well, I can't go back to work full time, yet, but I decided that I want to start selling Pampered Chef. I attended a training tonight and it got me really excited and pumped about selling it. So, if any of you are interested in buying some products or hosting a show let me know. I really love this stuff! If you have never tried it or been to a show, you really need to!

I have a prayer request for another baby girl born with CDH. Brooklyn Elizabeth was born July 24 and is doing awesome! She has already had surgery and was also already taken off the vent! She is really a Superstar!!! Please keep Brooklyn and her family in your prayers. Also, I have added a link to another CDH Survivor. Silas was born on April 10, 2006. Visit his site to read about his battle with CDH.

I am going to bed now. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for Sofia and for all CDH babies. God Bless

Love, Catherine

More Good News!

Congratulations to Baby Jackson and his Family! Jackson was given an offical discharge date of Monday, July 31. I am so happy for them. Jackson has been in the hospital for almost 5 months. I haven't heard back from Baby Jaylyn's Mommy, but she also should be getting discharged on the 31st. Again, Jaylyn is the CDH baby born at Santa Rosa the same day as Sofia. Congratulations to both these families!

Yesterday, I took Sofia swimming for the first time and she loved it! I just know that little girl is going to be a fish! Her daddy and I both love to swim. Did I mention that is how we met? Ivan was a lifeguard at the pool in the neighborhood I lived in. Ivan and I both want to get her started with swimming, so her and I are going to start taking Mommy and Me swimming lessons. When I brought her home I gave her a bath and she was still splashing all around! I guess she didn't have enough at the pool. I will take her againg tomorrow.

Tonight, Sofia will be attending her first Wedding. I hope that she does well and doesn't scream the whole time! I think she will do just fine, though.

Well, I need to start getting ready, I just wanted to post the good news and Sofia's swimming. The 2nd picture is of Sofia with her Uncle Tavo.

Thanks again for all your prayers.

Love, Catherine

P.S. I am still not able to share the other "big" news, but I just want to let you all know that the news isn't that I am getting married! I can't believe how many people thought that that was what it was! Thanks guys! I guess it would be great if 3 months after having a baby I could already be engaged to someone!

Sofia's 3 Month Portraits

So Much News!

Wow! It has been a while since I have posted and I feel like I have so much to tell! I will start with the picture of Sofie in her new swimsuit. Isn't she cute?!!! I haven't taken her swimming yet, but we are definately going Friday and maybe before then. She loves her bath, so I think she will love the pool! Sofia has figured out that she can splash and she does it all the time.

Now I will start off with Saturday. Saturday started off pretty normal, Sofia woke up to eat about 6am, but only drank an ounce and then went back to sleep. She does this every now and then so I wasn't alarmed. Then I was getting Sofie dressed and was playing with her and she laughed! She finally laughed! It was the cutest thing ever! I had to call everyone to let them hear and by the time I got to my best friend Laura, who is also a kinda new mommy, I was just balling cause I was so excited! Then everything changed... Sofie wouldn't eat, wouldn't stop crying, nothing I would do or could do made her stop. Finally, I called her doctor's office and was told to take her to the emergency room. Surprisingly we were in and out of there in about an hour or less. All the ER Doc said was that Sofia may just have a sore throat. Sofia also had had thrush and I asked if it was gone she told me it was. So, we went home and she was totally fine after that. What a Drama Queen! So, from 6am till 9pm Sofia only had 2 ounces of formula. After that she was eatting normally.

Sunday we went over to Papa's and Grandma's for dinner and Sofia was licked on and loved on by her Uncle's doggie, Tootsie. She loved it! Tootsie was a little jealous, though. Then we went outside to watch her Uncle's and Papa play basketball. And then we went home.

Yesterday we had a follow up with Sofie's doctor to see how she was doing with the nebulizer treatments. Sofia weighed 11 lbs 13 oz on Saturday at the ER and weighed 12 lb 5 oz yesterday! The treatments are working and she is breathing easier. We are going to continue with the treatments, though. And we were told that Sofie does still have thrush! So, she has to start taking the medication to treat that again. But, other than that she is healthy and doing great!

Now, in other baby news....

Congratulations to the Jackson Family on the birth of the daughter , Leigh Kathryn. Leigh was born on July 18, 2006. Her Mommy and Daddy are friends of Ivan's from High School. I think that it is so neat how many of our friends from school have babies the same age and they will grow up together. Ivan and I went to rival High schools about 5 miles apart, so I am curious to see where we will end up living and where Sofie will go. Right now we live in her Daddy's school district, but hopefully that will change!

Baby Jackson is doing really well, and is still working on his way home! Baby Audrey is still doing great, but still not liking the bottle! Say a little prayer for her Mommy that Audrey will soon accept the bottle! Baby Julia has been extubated! Go Julia! Baby Jaythan was born on July 19, had to be put on ECMO on July 20 and also had his hernia repair surgery that same day. He is doing well and is already being weaned from ECMO. For those of you who aren't sure what ECMO is you can click on the link at the right "What is ECMO?" and that will take you to the Rainbow of Hope website's page on ECMO. Jana has done an awesome job on this website and I am so glad that it has been done. Since we are on the topic of Rainbow of Hope I wanted to let everyone know that there is so much great info there. Also, I hadn't looked at it in a while and just saw last week that there is a store on there to buy CDH awareness like, shirts, bumper stickers, and even a link to buy CDH awareness bracelets. You can also just make donations there. The money helps to maintain the website, to purchase the book Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby by Deborah L. Davis to be given to families leaving the NICU without their babies, to help with the creation of a non-profit organization to help raise funds for CDH research and awareness and assisting families who have lost children to CDH with incidental costs. So, please visit this wonderful site and check it all out. Now back to babies...
Jaylyn, the CDH bayby born the same day as Sofia will hopefully be discharged from the hospital by the 31st. We are so happy for her family!

I also have some exciting news that I want to share, but I can't just yet! So you will all just have to keep reading until I can tell you all about it!

Okay, I really think that is all I had for today! Sorry it was long! I still haven't received Sofia's portraits to view online, but I will post them as soon as I do. Thank you all for you prayers and please continue them for all CDH babies. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Baby Lisa-Beth June 19, 2006 - July 20, 2006

Again, I am saddened to have to write that we have lost another CDH baby. Baby Lisa-Beth passed away after battling CDH for 1 month and 1 day. Baby Lisa-Beth was in the same hospital as Baby Julia and that is how I found out about her. Please keep Lisa-Beth's parents and family in your prayers.

I thought that I had already added the link to Baby Julia's site and just realized that I hadn't. So, once I finish this post I will be adding it. Sorry, Heidi and Julia!

I still have not heard how Baby Jaythan is doing, but please continue to keep Jaythan and his family in your prayers. I will update on Jaythan as soon as I hear something.

Please continue to keep all CDH babies and their families in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

Sofia's 3 Months!

I can't believe my baby girl is already 3 months! Time goes by so quickly! Sofie is doing great. The past few days have been pretty busy and I can tell she is worn out. So, we will take it easy the rest of the week. I took her to JCPenny today for her 3 month pictures and they came out soooooo cute! She has the prettiest smile! I will post them in about a week once they are available online.

I have a prayer request for another CDH baby, Jaythan. Jaythan should have been born sometime today, but I haven't heard when exactly or how he is doing. Please keep this precious baby and his parents in your prayers as Jaythan's battle with CDH begins.

I know that this is short, surprised! It is late and I am pretty tired. I will write more soon. Please continue to keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers. Thanks for reading.
God Bless

Love, Catherine

Baby Mert; July 11, 2006 - July 14, 2006

Once again, it kills me to have to post that we have lost another baby to CDH. Baby Mert passed away today. His parent's are too heartbroken to post any of the details or even that it was today that he passed away. I believe that it was today, though because they posted a comment on here last night to me. My heart just breaks for Emel and Aytekin. Please keep Angel Mert's parents and family in your prayers.

Mert

July 11, 2006 - July 14, 2006

I can't even express how much this upsets me. It drives me crazy that there isn't something that can be done to save all these babies. It seems that the doctors are there just to give the babies a chance and they do every possible thing they can do and there is nothing to say for sure that just because you are at a hospital with ECMO that your baby will make it. Those of us who's babies survived this horrible defect are so lucky, that is really what it is, luck. The babies can be doing great, awesome and then things can change in an instant. Every single CDH baby has a completely different story, they don't even know what causes it. It is so hard when you are told your options, the first was to terminate, the second was inutero surgery which is only done at like 3 hospitals in the US, and the third is to just go thru the rest of your pregnancy wondering what will happen to your baby who only has about a 50% chance of surviving. Of course, I didn't even hesitate. I knew what I wanted and boy am I glad that I made the choice I did, but it still hurts that Sofia had to go thru everything that she went thru. I could't help but feel guilty and helpless. There was nothing I could do for her, but pray and beg her everyday to keep fighting and not to leave us. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at her and cry at least once. I don't know what I would do without her. She is everything to me.

I am sorry, but I needed to vent. I know that what I just wrote may not make sence, but I am a women and I am upset a million things are going thru my head and I wrote what I was thinking! I am so thankful for my daughter and the fact that she is "healthy," but the pain of CDH will never go away. I can remember the day I found out that Sofia had CDH like it was yesterday and also the days in the hospital. I will never forget it. My heart goes out to all families that have ever had to deal with CDH. Please pray that one day they will find a way to save all these innocent little babies.

Thank you all for letting me vent and reading all about it. Please say a special prayer for Mert's Family and please keep all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Prayers For Grandma

Grandma Ruiz, Ivan's Mom, is having another back operation today. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers and pray for her speedy recovery.

Also, today is Jazmin's Birthday (Ivan's Sister). We hope that you have a wonderful day and we love you!

Happy Birthday, Gingi!

Update on Sofia & Mert

So at first I felt like one of those crazy new moms who takes the baby to the doctor for every little thing, which I guess I am, but this time there was something wrong. Sofia has been having a hard time breathing. I feel so terrible cause I didn't know, but there was really no way for me to know that that was what was wrong. She would be asleep for about 10 minutes and then would wake up screaming. She did this for about 24 hours. The doctor said that her breaths are too long and that she is struggling to take a breath. My poor baby. So, now she is back on Nebulizer treatments. She gets Pulmicort twice a day and then Albuterol as needed up to 6 times a day. I have already had to give it to Sofie 2 times today cause she keeps wheezing, coughing and sneezing. The doctor says that her breathing problems are of course due to the fact that she has weak lungs and they have been thru so much trauma. We go back for a follow up in 2 weeks. I feel so bad now that I got her ears pierced cause that means that she was working herself harder to cry and she didn't even need to go thru that pain. Ugh.... Anyway, since her last appointment 6 days ago, Sofia gained 8 ounces! She is now 11lbs 8oz! She is such a little piggy! Sofie's doctor is happy with the weight gain, though, especially since a lot of CDH babies have feeding problems and weight gain issues. Not my little chunk!

Please say a special prayer for Baby Mert. I just read that he is now in surgery. From what his parent's have posted he is doing quite well, and must be if they are already doing his repair surgery. Please pray for a speedy recovery for this precious baby. Mert's Daddy usually updates when it is the middle of the night our time, again, I am not sure of the time difference between here and Turkey.

Sofie just woke up so I will write more later. Thanks for all prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Baby Mert's Here!

Congratulations Akar Family!

I don't have any of the details, but I do know that Baby Mert did arrive today and that his Daddy has posted a picture of him on his blog. Please visit their site for updates and to send your thoughts and prayers out to this family. Please keep Mert and his family in your prayers.

I have added many links to other CDH Babies and will continue making changes throughout the week.

Sofia and I want to wish my little brother, Uncle Tavo, a very Happy Birthday! He is celebrating his 12th Birthday in Hawaii swimming with doplhins and then going to a Luau. We hope you have a wonderful day and can't wait for you to come home!

So...

Happy Birthday, Uncle Tavo and Baby Mert!

Sofia doesn't seem to be feeling well, so I am going to take her to the doctor now. I will update on Sofie and Baby Mert this evening. Thanks again for continuing to follow our journey and for your prayers for Sofia and all CDH Babies. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Movies, Earrings & Updates

Okay, I know I promised that I would post after Sofie's appointment on Wednesday, but I have had absolutely no time. I am sorry, once again. Sofia's appointment went well. She weighed 11lbs and is 23 inches. She seems to be tolerating the Lactose Free Formula well, so we aren't going to make any changes there. We are now giving her an ounce of Gerber Apple/Prune Juice diluted with an ounce of water a day to help her poop easier and the doctor wanted us to try this first instead of putting her on another med. I know that is exactly what you all wanted to know! She doesn't seem to like the juice much, but I do manage to get her to drink it all throughout the day. So, since everything seems well we don't see the doctor again until her 4 month wellness check up.

Ivan left on Friday and won't be back until sometime in August. Then he leaves again and won't be back until January. That is going to be pretty hard. I love watching them together, he loves her so much and I know that she thinks the world of him, too.

Anyway....

Grandma and Papa Alvarado and Uncle Tavo are in Hawaii for a week! We talked to them today and they are having a great time, but then again who wouldn't it is Hawaii! They miss Sofia, though! I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my Sister Maggie, her husband Mike and thier kids are moving to Germany. I am excited for them cause I know how much I loved living overseas and the experiences I had, but it sucks cause I am really going to miss them. We all are. Mike leaves this weekend and Maggie, Isa and Noah leave next month. Now I get to see Germany again and take Sofie with me!

My baby girl has had a crazy weekend! Yesterday, my Mom and I took her to her first movie actually movies. We went to the Drive-In and saw Pirates of the Carribean and the beginning of Cars. I couldn't make it through the whole movie, I was too tired. Sofia did really well! Then today I played the role of the mean, cruel Mommy! I took my poor, innocent baby girl to have her ears pierced. I am not sure who cried more, Sofia, Mommy or Nana! I felt so bad. Then like 10 minutes later she passed out. I guess all the crying wore her out. I felt better though once she woke up and gave me one of her big, beautiful smiles! I knew she still loved me! She has done great with them since. She let me clean them and turn them and didn't seem to care. Sofia loves her baths so I decided tonight that I would give her a bath in the big tub and get in with her. She loved it! I think she thought it was funny that I was in her bath with her. She figured out that she could kick her leg and it would splash and she kept doing it over and over and would just sit there and stare at it with a big smile on her face. I knew that my baby was dark, but it wasn't until bath time that I realized how white I was! When she was sitting on my legs I couldn't believe how much darker than me she was. Keith, you would be so proud of her!

Baby Audrey is still doing great at home, it will be a week tomorrow! Baby Jackson was finally extubated and seems to be doing great! Tomorrow Baby Julia will be having heart surgery, so please say a special prayer for her and her family. Baby Mert's Mommy will be induced on Tuesday, July 11. So, he should be here sometime that day. Please pray for strength for Baby Mert and his Family as their battle with CDH begins. I also want to ask for prayers for another CDH baby. Baby Gabriel was born on July 6 and passed away after spending only 30 precious minutes on Earth with his family. Please keep his family in your prayers.

I am really going to try and add some links and make some updates this week. So, keep checking in. I feel like there was something else I wanted to say, but I am sure this is long enough for now! I will write some more soon. Please keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Happy Independance Day!

Sorry I again have taken so long to post. I have found it is pretty hard to have to time to get on the computer with my little Diva! But, Daddy is here now and so I get some free time! Ivan got here yesterday and we went to the airport to pick him up. He couldn't believe how dark she is and finally realized that she really does look like him! He got up with her for every feeding and did great! Although, this morning he brought Sofie to me when it was her time to actually be up for a while and said he was going to sleep a little longer! When he wasn't here he didn't understan why I was always tired and now he does and that was just one night!

Sofia's appointment with her surgeon last week went really well. She weighed 10lbs 7oz. The only concern he has is that her breast bone in kinda caved in so it looks like she have a dent in her chest. This can move and press on her lungs or heart and that is where the concern is. Most of the time that doesn't happen and the only problem with it is a cosmetic problem. But, then it is usually only a cosmetic problem in boys because girls eventually get boobs and it won't be noticed. It will acutally make her look like she has a lot of clevage! I don't even want to think about her being that big yet!

We do have another appointment with her doctor tomorrow and I am going to try and get copies of her xrays so that I can post them and show you all her before and after shots. So, I will update after this appointment, I promise!

Baby Jackson got through is surgery and is making major progress now. They will try and extubate him again this week. Hopefully he will do great and prove that he only failed last time cause he had a rehurniation. Go Jackson Go! Induction for Baby Mert has been changed. His parent's were able to talk the doctors out of inducing them yesterday cause they felt that was too early. The longer Baby Mert stays in the better!

Now for the biggest news of the day......

Baby Audrey is home!

Audrey was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon and seems to be doing great. I know her parent's and her big brothers are all so happy! Congratulations Miller Family! Can't wait for your next trip to San Antonio so we can finally meet!

Well, I am going to go for now. Sofia and Ivan should be waking up from their naps soon! Take care and God Bless.

Love, Catherine

Prayers For Jackson & All CDH Babies

Baby Jackson has had a reherniation and will have another repair surgery tomorrow. Please say a special prayer for Jackson and his family.

Also, please keep Baby Mert's parents in your prayers, too. They found out last week that they will be induced on July 3rd. This is about 15 days early. Again, the hospital they are at in Turkey does not have ECMO and the only have 1 High Frequency Oscillator Vent. They are expecting another CDH baby soon and that is the doctors reason for wanting to induce. They have an appointment tomorrow, well actually they are probably there now with the time difference, to finalize everything with the doctors and for the final checkup.

Last week, Baby Joseph's parents got some very disturbing news. They found out that Joey's CDH is actually on the right side and not the left. Right sided hernia's are worse than left sided ones. When Joey is born they will do exit to ECMO which means that Joey will be put on ECMO before the umbilical cord can be cut. With the hernia on the right side it is sometimes harder to get the canulas in the neck. Joey needs ECMO to survive. After Joey is placed on ECMO he will be operated on immediately. Being operated on while on ECMO is also very dangerous. Please keep this precious baby and his parents and family in your prayers.

Audrey and Julia both continue to do very well. Audrey needs to increase the amount of her feedings and put on a little more weight in order to go home! Julia may be off the vent in about a week! Please continue to keep these baby girls and their parents and families in your prayers, too.

Tomorrow we have Sofia's first folow up appointment with her surgeon. Again, I really hope that they do some xrays. It will really put my mind at ease. This weekend has been so crazy since we have been moving into our new place, but it has been so much fun finally putting her nursery together. I will post pictures of it once I have it complete! I will write more tomorrow after Sofia's appointment. Thank you all again for continuing to keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

A Rainbow Of Hope

Just wanted to let you all know that Jana, Angel Drew's Mommy, has created a new informative website for CDH. Please check it out when you have a chance. It is www.arainbowofhope.com. I will add the link to the right, also.

Sofia is doing great! Please keep praying for all CDH babies. God Bless

Love, Catherine

2 Month Check Up

We had Sofia's 2 month appointment today with a new Doctor. I wasn't comfortable with the one we saw last week, so I made sure I found a new one before this weeks appointment. I love her, she seems great and made me feel comfortable. Sofia now weighs 10lbs and is 23 inches long! Sofie is on track developmentally. I have been asked to try and go back to complete breastfeeding and I will, it will just take a few days to get back on track with it schedule wise. But, the Doctor thinks Sofia may be lactose intolerant, so I have to watch what I am eating and drinking now. I have been given a prescription for lactose free formula, too for when I need it. Her Doctor also had me take her off the Reglan. Sofia has only ever spit up 3 times and that was in the hospital when they were making her complete her feeds by bottle and she didn't want to, so they basically forced her to take the rest. Anyway, I have not given her any Reglan since 6am today and she is doing great. Today Sofia decided that it was time for us to increase the amount of milk she was getting, too! So, now she is eating almost a whole 4 ounces. Last week at her follow up the Doctor gave her the first Hepatitus vaccine in the series of three, so today she had to get four individual shots even though they now have a combo of all the vaccines, but it includes the hepatitus and she couldn't get that again just yet. I felt so bad and it made me dislike last weeks Doctor even more! So, she got two shots in each thigh. That was only the second time I have ever seen my baby cry and have actual tears! Sofie has been sleeping most of the day, she wakes up about every three hours to eat and be changed and then sleeps again. She is really worn out and plus I gave her some Tylenol. I hope she sleeps thru the night, though!

Well, it is almost time for her to wake up so I will write more soon. Sofia has her first appointment with the Surgeon next Tuesday and then has another follow up with her Pediatrician in 2 weeks. Thank you all so much for continuing to follow our journey andfor keeping Sofia in your prayers. Please also keep all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

Happy Father's Day - Happy 2 Month Birthday, Sofia!

I want ot wish you all a very Happy Father's Day! Sofia spent today with her Grandfathers and her Uncles. It was a great day! Papa (my Dad) got a new BBQ for Father's Day, so he grilled for us all. It was soooo good! I know Sofia really wanted to try some! Sofia told her Daddy Happy Father's Day in her own special way, crying! He loved it, though. He loves any noise that she makes just as long as he gets to hear her.

Happy 1st Father's Day, Ivan!

Today was also Sofia's 2 Month Birthday! Yeah Sofia! She continues to do well. We are having some issues with her formula and her having really bad painful gas! I don't know what else to try to make her pain go away, so hopefully the Doctor will help with this when we see her on Tuesday. Sofie isn't going to like her very much once she gets her shots! She is getting so heavy that I am scared to see what she weighs now!

Now for some updates: Baby Jackson is doing very well. They have his O2 down to 28% which is great news. Baby Audrey is a little Superstar! She has been off the O2 for a couple of days now and is hoping to be home by the 4th of July! Yeah! Baby Julia is just doing amazingly well! I will post the link to her site, but it is a site that you have to set up an account to view. So, please do. Baby Mert will be here soon and so will Baby Joseph. I will also be adding Baby Joseph's site. I will continue to update on all of our CDH Families as the updates come in!

Well, I am going to go to bed now. I will write some more again soon, probably after her appointment on Tuesday. Please continue to keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

First Week Home!

Our first week has been going great! Other than a few gas issues Sofia seems to be doing really well! I have gone back to nursing her and only supplementing formula a couple of times a day for the extra calories she needs. I have also bought a can of Gentlease formula to se if that would help too. It seems to be helping her out. Can't remember if I posted this already or not, but Sofie is no longer on Sodium Chloride. Now it is just Reglan and Multivitamins with Iron. She takes both of those without any problem.

I have posted some pics of Sofia with a couple of visitors. The first is of her and her cousin Gisela who is a month older than her. Gisela is Ivan's brother's daughter.

The other is of her looking and smiling at her new friend Maya. Maya's Daddy works with Ivan and we met in Georgia when we lived there. They are now in Arizona and will hopefully be moving here sometime next year! We are so excited!

The other picture is of Sofie with one of her Doctors, Dr. Holler, on her discharge day. The first picture is of her this evening, can you tell Mommy has been feeding her well?!!! There are more pictures in a new album called Going Home, just click on the link to Sofia's Pictures on the right side.

I now want to send Birthday wishes to someone very special, Baby Jax. Jax is his Mommy's third CDH baby and her only CDH survivor. Today is Jax's 1st Birthday. I am so happy for them!

Happy 1st Birthday, Jax!

Thank you all for keeping all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Update from Home

Sofia has been doing great since she has come home. She sleeps through the night, but doesn't sleep much during the day unless she is in arms! Sofia came home on Reglan which is a medication for reflux, Sodium Chloride, and Mulitivitamins with Iron. Yesterday we had Sofia's follow up appointment with her Pediatrician and Sofie's has gained almost a pound since she was discharged on Thursday! She now weighs 9lbs 10oz! She is my little piggy! She had her first hepititis shot and also had labs done to see if we could get her off the Sodium Chloride and I just got the call from the doc saying that we can discontinue the Sodium Chloride! I know Sofia will be happy that she won't be getting any more salty milk! We go back on Monday for her 2 month check up and shots. She is not going to be happy!

I will be adding some links over the next few days to some of the other Expecting, Angels, and Survivors sites. Please look at these when you can.

Thank you all again for your continued prayers for Sofia and for all CDH babies.

God Bless

Love, Catherine

We're Home!!!

Hey Everyone! I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have last posted, but with Ivan gone I didn't feel right leaving Sofie at the hospital alone. It was easier when he was here and could be there with her. But, we no longer have to worry about that cause I got to bring my baby girl Sofia home today! We have been out of the hospital for about 6 hours now and Sofie is having some trouble adjusting to the changes. She is not use to the silence! I am sure I will be up all night tonight cause I am so paranoid now that she doesn'e have a moniter hooked up to her any longer. I will write some more tomorrow and let you know how these past few days have been.

Thank you all so much for all your thoughts and prayers for my little Princess! She smiles when you call her that! Please continue to keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers, especially Baby Julia who was born a few days ago. I don't think they have a blog for her, but her Mommy posts to Breath of Hope regularly, so I get my updates from there.

God Bless

Love, Catherine

Just saying hi....

Well hopefully we will have some good news in the next day or two. All I'm saying is that our little princess is doing great and ready to come home...its a matter of days now the doctor says. Here's a couple of pictures of my two girls looking very cozy together. They both send their love and will talk to you soon. We want to thank all of you for your prayers and good thoughts you have sent our way. Please keep them coming as we will for all our babies, angels and their families. God bless and good night.
Love,
Yvonne
 

Baby Jolee; May 17,2006 - June 04,2006

I am writing to tell you that Baby Jolee passed away yesterday, she was eighteen days old. Please keep her mommy Krista and daddy Joe and big brother blake and the rest of their family in your prayers! You can read about Jolee's battle with CDH by clicking on the link to the right and go to her website. Our hearts and prayers go out to Baby Jolee's family! We will think of her everytime we see a rainbow! Please continue to pray for all CDH babies!!

Children's MIracle Network

Nothing new to report, they are slowly increasing Sofia's nursing and bottle feeds! Once all of her feeds are by bottle and nursing she can go home, right now she is at four feeds out of eight! Her eye is doing much better and will be tested again this week to see if the infection has been cleared up!
Just a reminder that the Children's Miracle Network Telethon is on tonight on channel 3 NBC, we believe it starts at 6:00 pm, this is local time and channel. Catherine and Sofia and another CDH baby Jaylyn and her mom Melody will be on when they cut to the local stations showing them in the NICU at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital. They have already showed a preview of it on a local show called San Antonio Living, if you have on demand you can watch this show again, it is on channel 989 and click to the living show and then scroll down to friday's show it will come up about twenty minutes into the show. Please just remember to give what you can anything will be appreciated to help out this wonderful hospital, they are a non-profit organization and this is the only way they get money to pay for the equipment they use to help out our babies!
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the doctor's and nurses who have worked on and helped my beautiful baby to get where she is, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Sofia is praying you will give to help out other babies like her to get better!! Catherine could not make it home today to post so she asked me to post and make sure everyone watches the Children's Miracle Network and to update how Sofia is doing! Sofia get's more beautiful everyday and has the most precious smile, we all love her very much and can't wait to get her home!! Thanks again to you all who have prayed and sent your wonderful thoughts to Catherine and Sofia! Hope you all have a blessed Day!
Love, Grandma Beth

FINALLY!!! (an add on to tonight's earlier post)

Miss Sofia finally got to meet her Uncle Tavo thanks to a sweet night nurse. He's been patiently waiting to meet his neice and from the looks of this picture the wait was worth it!

BABY STEPS....

Hi Everyone!
Yes it's me again...
Catherine still has
not left the hospital
long enough to get
to a computer and
post to the blog. So
I'll catch you up on
what's been going
on with our little
Diva. Well she's a
little over 8lbs 2.50z
now. But best of all
Catherine is now able
to nurse her. The first
time was on Memorial
Day. Sofia took to it
very well and wanted more!

She still being
feed by bottle
65ml and gets
65ml thru her
NG tube. But
hopefully it will
all be Mommy
soon. We had
a scare yesterday,
after one of her
x-rays they had
to do a sonogram
of sorts because
they thought her
right diaphram
may be paralyzed.
Turns out a nerve
was swollen. Thank
the Lord. So now
we need to get the
staph infection cleared
up and her nursing
and or bottle feeding
and we're on our way
home! Other news
Daddy had to go back
to Georgia for work,
please keep him in
your prayers. It's
hard for him to be so far away from his little sweetheart, but he calls
her everyday. Also we've heard good news from Super Baby Audrey,
she's doing so well! So check out her blog as well as our other babies.
I'd like to welcome the Akars, Aytekin & Emel from Ankara, Turkey.
They are also expecting a CDH baby. You can join them on their journey
at ayem06.blogspot.com. Please add them to your prayers and welcome
them to our growing family. Is'nt it amazing that no matter the distance
between us how close we feel to each other. God indeed does work
in wonderfully, mysterious ways. Oh! I also wanted to tell you that
I finally got to hold my lovely grand daughter for the first time! I'm
completely hers, what more can I say?! Catherine also let me help
her bathe Sofia, I think Grandma Beth will get that honor tonight.
The photos are of Sofie in her Memorial Day outfit, kisses from
Daddy and bathtime with Mommy. Check out her other photos
if you like. I'll let you go for now, Cat sends her love. As always
pray for our babies and angels. God Bless and good night.
Love,
Yvonne 

Busy Day

Poor Sofie has had a very busy day, some of it good some bad. It started off with being the morning that everyone, PT, OT, X-Rays, Docs, Surgeons had to mess with her. Of course she had her daily heel prick which I know she hates, who wouldn't? Then, we found out that Sofia has an infection in her right eye. But, not just any infection it is MRSA. Ivan and I have been asking them since before she left the NICU if it was an infection she had and they just kept telling us that it was just a clogged tear duct and it would eventually unclog itself. Well, finally a few days ago we bugged a nurse enough that she got the doctor to order a culture of her eye and now we know she has an infection. Staph infections are common in hospitals especially to ICU patients. So, now she has been moved to the "infection room" of the Special Care Nursery and we were told that she would be in that room the remainder of her time in the hospital. I am not too happy about this cause I don't want my baby to stay in a room full of infections when she doesn't have one any more. So, one of the nurses told me that in a couple of weeks when the infection should be gone to keep bugging them to do another culture so that they will move her. To find out exactly what MRSA is go to http://www.webmd.com/content/article/113/110688.htm. Now for some of the good's! They did remove the central line today which I am totally happy about because that means that the doctor and surgeon are pretty confident that Sofia will continue to eat well. But, I know that that was probably a painful procedure for Sofie hopefully it doesn't stay sore for long. I can only imagine how it must feel, regular IVs are pretty painful and this one is huge compaired to them. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but PT has been working with Sofie on her thumbs because she doesn't move them very much. They said it is from having her hands clenched for so long during the time she was paralyzed. She is getting better with them now and opens them every once in a while. Also, OT came in to work with Sofia today on her feeding with a bottle. They have to work with these babies cause they may not be able to suck, swallow and breathe and could choke. But, not my baby girl!! She loved it and screamed for more! They only gave her 5 ml in the bottle which is pratically nothing! Her feedings through her OGT is at 58 ml over 2 1/2 hours and then they shut it off for half an hour. She gets pretty cranky in that half hour though!

A nurse today told me that Sofia thinks she is a Diva! They said that she cries and as soon as you walk over to her she is fine. She loves to look around, too. So, they have managed to get her a swing and she loves it! It was donated to the hospital and is pretty worn out, but like the nurse said that Sofie doesn't know the difference and just loves that she is sitting up and can see everything!

Well, today was also a sad day for us. Ivan left this morning to go back to Georgia. It was really hard and heartbreaking. She is such a daddy's girl already and he is just so in love with her. I couldn't walk out with him when he left cause I knew it would make things harder on us, especially him. We will hopefully see him again in July, but she will change so much from now till then and it hurts me that they won't know eachother. Hopefully this next year will fly by and he will be living here before we know it.

I want to tell a friend of mine, Karen, that her and her family will be in my thoughts and prayers tomorrow. Especially her Angel, Logan. Tomorrow would have been Logan's first Birthday and it is also his Heaven Day. Happy Birthday, Logan! I know his big Sister and all the other Angels are taking care of him and celebrating his Birthday with him. Shine bright Sweet Angel!

Thank you all again for reading and I apologize that this one was a little long. Please continue to keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers. And tomorrow take a moment to tell Logan Happy Birthday, thanks. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Forever Our Sunshines

This Morning Ivan and I did the March of Dimes Walk America 2006. The team we walked with was called Forever Our Sunshines. Karen's goal was to raise $1000.00 and she raised double that! I am glad that we did it, and all I could think about the whole time was Sofia. Next year Sofie will be able to join the team and hang out in her stroller! The picture on the left is of the team.

Today, Sofia has had some things changed! They turned off her O2 and her sats stayed at 100% so they were able to keep her off and remove the canulas from her nose. So now the only thing on her face is her feeding tube which is in her nose. They are continuing to increase her feedings by 1 ml every twelve hours and are decreasing her TPN also by .05 every twelve hours. She is at 15 ml on feedings and that will incres at midnight and her TPN is at 1.5. So at midnight tomorrow night she should be taken off the TPN. Right now that is the only thing they are using her central line for, so that should be removed in a couple of days. They have also started back up on weaning the Methadone and Sofie seems to be tolerating it very well. The nurse said that she should be more alert now. She can be given Morphine on an as need basis, but they have not had to give her any at all. They have a rating chart that they have to follow and she got real close a couple of times, but has not needed it. We haven't been told anything about going home, but I was told once before that when they schedule you for the infant CPR class that that is a sign that

the time is coming near and we have been scheduled to take it on Tuesday! So, I am pretty excited about that. The picture of Sofia and I is one we took on Mother's Day and I just now downloaded it and wanted to share it with you all.

I have added the link to Baby Jolee who was born on May 17 with CDH. Please check out her site and keep her and her family in your prayers. Thank you all for reading and keeping updated. I will post again soon. Please keep Sofie and all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Home for a While

Well, I came home this evening to watch the Spurs game and so I have a little time before the game to update. There really isn't anything new going on, Sofia is still doing awesome and continues to get stronger everyday. Today she stayed awake with me for about 3 hours! She would doze off and I needed to lay her down and make an insurance call before they closed and she screamed the place down! I was outside of the door telling the man on the phone to please hurry cause I could hear my baby screaming! So, he did. Then Ivan got there and she woke up to see him. I left to go pump and he came up about an hour later saying that she woke up every time he tried to lay her down. She is really getting used to us holding her. I love holding her. I love when she just stares at me and cracks a little smile. She is so beautiful. Sofia is up to 14 ml per hour and her TPN is down to 2. They also took her off the lipids today. So, now we just need her to get off the TPN so that they can take out her central line. I can't wait for them to remove it cause I am so scared that I may accidentally pull it when I hold her. She is still on O2 but it is at room air which 21%, but they think that will come off in the next few days. They should be trying bottle feeding her sometime this week and then once that goes well and they see how much she is actually getting each feeding then they will let us try actual breast feeding. I really think she is ready for a bottle cause she really likes her pacifier.

Ivan and I have had a huge headache this week with trying to get all of Sofia's paper work done for the Military. We have been told different things from 3 different bases about what exactly it is that we need. I can't believe how much this stuff costs either. Hopefully we can get it done before Ivan leaves. Ugh...Like we needed all this on top of everything else. I can't tell you how many hours a day this uses up of the time we could be with Sofie.

The game has started now so I am going to go and watch it. Tomorrow morning we are doing Walk America 2006 for the March of Dimes. We will be walking with a friend of mine, Karen, who lost her daughter to CDH and also lost a son last year to Hydrops. Karen had team shirts made for everyone walking and then for all the mommies of the babies listed on the shirts. I will take pictures of them and post them when I have a chance. Thanks Karen!

Again, thank you all for thinking of our little Sofia and for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers. Please pray for all CDH babies. Oh, a few posts back my Mom had mentioned that we received a comment from Krista who was expecting a CDH baby and asked for a response from her. Well, I have found out that Krista had her baby girl on May 17th and she seems to be doing well. Please keep Krista, her daughter and her family in your prayers as they begin their battle with CDH. I will add the link to their site as soon as I get their permission, she is a beautiful baby!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAUREN!

God Bless

Love, Catherine

Go SPURS Go!

HAPPY 1 MONTH BIRTHDAY!

Hi everyone! Yes it's Sofia's first month birthday and we are so blessed with how good she is doing. We thank God for his blessings and we thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. Sofia is really amazing us with how good she is progressing. She really is a little fighter. Today they moved her feeding tube from her mouth to her nose. She had pulled it out of her mouth twice when Mommy and Daddy were with her. Maybe she wanted to announce her birthday or maybe it was a little gas but Cat said she sure was exercising her lungs today and let everyone know she was there. God bless her little heart.
Catherine says she'll get home sometime this weekend and update the blog but sends her love to you all.
Tonight when you say your prayers say a little extra special one for Lauren, Angel Avery's Mommy. Tomorrow is Lauren's birthday and we wish her love and peace. As always keep praying for all our babies and their families. God bless and goodnight.
Love,
Yvonne 

Really Quick!

Sorry that this is going to be short, but the hospital ran out of my breast milk and didn't bother telling me beforehand that we were running low. So, Ivan and I had to come back home to pick up some more and I only have a few minutes.

Well, I am so happy that Soifa has been moved to the Special Care Nursery. She is in bed 1 which is the most critical bed in the unit, but she is out of the NICU! She is right by the door, so if she is crying we can hear her the moment we step off the elevators! Her lungs seem to be working very well!! The hours are different there, too. Now we can see Sofia from 8am to 6pm and then from 8pm to 6am. So, are schedule is busier now.

I will update again soon, but I really have to get back to the hospital. Thank you all for all your thoughts and prayers. I love you all! God Bless

Love,

Catherine

A WONDERFUL GIFT!

Hi everyone! I hope yesterday was a good day for all, it was wonderful for us. It seems I was the first to get to the NICU to see Sofia. I was meeting Catherine there and then we were going to have lunch together. Well was I surprised not to find my granddaughter there! They had moved her to Special Care Unit. Wow! I quickly called Cat, who was in the shower, so I left a message then went to find Sofia. Her crib is right up front when you go in. I was anxious to see her but had to meet her new nurse and scrub in. Catherine wasn't far behind. They didn't realize we hadn't been notified. But we we're so happy that she'd "moved down" as they call it and that's a good thing, that we didn't mind not being informed in advance. What a lovely Mother's Day gift for Catherine.
She quickly made herself at home as much as possible and proceeded to dress Sofia in a cute two piece that Grandpa and Grandma Beth had given Sofia. She looked adorable headband and all. Cat decided not to tell Daddy but let him be surprised too. He was. I know it was Mother's Day and I could go on and on about how good Catherine is with Sofia but I have to tell you all that Ivan is turning out to be a wonderful father. He's so good with Sofia and she always has a smile for her Daddy. It does seem though that she saves the stinky diapers for him too cause I know he's changed quite a few. lol


I bought her the "Fisher Price" aquarium today for her crib. We think she'll like it cause she loves to look at the lights and drawings on the ceilings. She likes her "Winnie the Pooh" mobile too but we don't want her to get bored. Grandma Beth and Uncle Tavo went to see "Lion King" musical yesterday and they gave her a plush "Nala". So she's getting quite a collection in her crib. Well I just wanted to let you all know the great news, sorry about not mentioning it yesterday but I thought Cat may have stopped home and wanted to tell you herself. Either way we thank God for our little miracle and we thank you for all your prayers. Know that you are in ours too. As always we all will continue to pray for our babies and their families. God bless and goodnight.
Love,
Yvonne

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I watched you as you held your child so gentley to your cheek, I sensed the love and pride you felt--there was no need to speak. Then you asked me if I'd felt that way as my arms had cradled you when you were just a little girl-- and I answered, "I still do."
Happy first Mother's Day to my beautiful daughter, Catherine. You are and always will be my pride and and joy. Sofia is a very blessed child to have you for a Mommy. God bless you my own "Angel Baby".
And to all the other Mommies out their who have been so wonderful along this journey I want to thank you and wish you a very happy day. God bless and goodnight.
Love,
Yvonne 

Quick Update!

Sofia continues to do very well and amazes me ,as well as the Doctors and Nurses, every minute! Her feedings are up to 3 ml an hour now and she seems to be tolerating it. They do have her on Zantac now, too. Yesterday, Sofia was completely taken off the Fentanyl and they continue to wean the Methadone. So, now Sofia is only on 3 medications and will hopefully be off them soon. The Zantac she will most likely go home on though. She is always wide awake and is full of smiles! Sofia loves attention and cries till someone talks to her or even till they pick her up! The Nurses call her a Princess Bottom cause she has to be immediately changed after she wets her diaper. Then she refuses to poop in a wet diaper, so she will cry to be changed then we will put her dry diaper on and she poops like 5 minutes later! I think it is pretty cute, but that will probably change once we are having to pay for the diapers ourselves!

Well, that is about all I have right now from our Baby Girl but we will update again soon. Just incase I don't make it to a computer tomorrow I want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day! Especially to three of my closest friends who are also celebrating their first Mother's Day, Laura, Corina, and Jessica. Laura and I met in 2nd grade and have been friends since. Her son Gavin is about 7 months. Corina and I have been friends since High School but the Military has kept us apart for the passed few years. She is now living in Alaska, but is here visiting till Monday. Her daughter, Aubrey is about 9 months. Jessica and I met a little over a year ago thanks to the Military ( and of course Ivan and Anthony) and she is now living in Arizona. Hopefully we will meet her daughter, Maya, this summer when they come and visit. I hope Sofia wil be home by then. Maya is about 5 months. So, Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mothers we know.

Thanks you for your continued prayers for Sofia and all CDH babies. God Bless

Love, Catherine

Time to Eat!

Sofia finally started her feedings today, though it is only 1 ml an hour! at least her little tummy will stop feeling so hungry. Tonight Sofie will graduate and be moved to the "Not so Sick" side of the NICU. I think she cries too much for the other babies around her! I love to hear her cry, though. When you don't hear your baby cry for almost 3 weeks it is one of the most welcoming sounds ever! She still doesn't seem to understand what is going on when we hold her, but I think she is getting used to it. They started her on Methadone last night to help wean her off the other meds. I am not sure I spelled that right, so I apologize! This has really helped her to calm down and sleep better. Sofia was camera shy today and cried the whole time the Children's Miracle Network was interviewing! But, her nurse put some grape flavored sweet stuff on her pacifier and she loved it and calmed down! She is spoiled already!

Today I found out that Baby Parker, who was expected June 20, was born Sunday, May 7 and passed away Monday, May 8. I don't have any of the details of what happened, but please keep her parents, Jessica and Ashley, and their Family in your prayers. I had posted Parker's Link only a couple of weeks ago, but you can go to it to post comments to her Family.

Well, I am going to go back to the hospital now, we will update soon. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and please keep praying Sofia, Audrey, Jackson, Jaylyn and Andrew and all CDH babies. God Bless

Love, Catherine

P.S. I have tried several times to post pictures to the blog, but it isn't working. So, if you want to see the newest pics go to Sofia's Pictures on the right hand side of the blog and click on the photo album titled "Big Girl Bed!"

OUR THREE WEEK OLD MIRACLE!

Hi everyone, yes our Sweet Sofia is three weeks old today and getting stronger and more lovely each day. Thank you Lord and thank all of you for your prayers. Our baby is definitely blessed with the Lords love and smiled upon by many angels. (Thank you Angels Avery & Drew). Well my Catherine finally got to hold Sofia and I finally got to see her hold her. What a beautiful site, my heart is so full of love for these two. As some of you already know CDH babies are given strong medication for different reasons. When they are weaned off they go through withdrawal symptons including sleeplessness, shaking, flinching and frustration. It's hard to watch and we have to keep reminding ourselves that this is another step on their journey to come home I had to pull a 13 hour work shift today but when I got to the hospital no one else was waiting to see Sofia. I walked to her little corner (Catherine had told me Sofia had been put in a little crib) I saw 3 nurses between Sofia and where another baby lay but I didn't notice what they were doing. I walked around the crib and it was empty. Wow! Did I get a jolt! I asked where Sofia was and one of the nurses turned around in her chair. She was holding Sofia. Two thoughts went through my head at the same time. First, I'd never seen my grand daughter sitting upright, she looked adorable, and second how jealous I was that this person was holding her. But then she put the baby back in the crib and I got to be with her all by myself for almost an hour. She was fussy at first, she's really so tired and hungry. Cat got to put up her Winnie the Pooh mobile so I turned it on and sang the song to her. She stared at me and I patted her bottom till she fell asleep. It was wonderful! Of course I cried, I do that alot lately for the littlest things. Like she actually had a little tee shirt on today, how cute is that?! All of a sudden these two men came in and one of them in a very loud "Rush Lindberg" kinda voice, asked if we'd met. I said no and he asked if I was the grandmother. I told him I was and he introduced himself as the surgeon who did Sofia's operation. I immediately forgave the loud voice and thanked him for all he'd done for Sofia. Instead of moving on he removed the little towel I'd used to shield Sofia's eyes from the lights and said he'd not seen her since she was extubated. Sofia woke up and looked at him with her big brown eyes for a moment then started to cry. OK doc time to move on...wait he then said what a lovely little girl she was. Forgiven again. Sofia is pretty feisty according to her nurses. She pulled the tube out today that is suctioning her tummy and she lets everyone know when she's not happy in her little froggy voice. I love her. If all that wasn't enough, the hospital asked permission to use Sofia's photo along with some of the other babies in NICU for the children's Miracle Network and they are interviewing Catherine. I'm not sure what Cat will be wearing but Sofia will be wearing Winnie the Pooh, pink of course (though Daddy wanted her to wear her first Harley Davidson Tee) I took photos of Cat holding Sofia and with the three of them together so they will be on blog soon. Well I have gone on tonight and tomorrow will be another long day. I haven't even checked the other babies sites yet but I hope all is going good. Any one hear from Krista yet? Pray for all our babies. God bless and goodnight.
Love,
Yvonne

Still Fighting!

Sofia has had another great day! Her O2 is at 26 and the nurse said that we could wean that more, but she doesn't want to push Sofie. The Dr wrote orders today for them to no longer sedate Sofia and they are weaning her pain meds every 12 hours, so she will be off that by Wednesday morning. They took out her art line today and now are doing her blood gases only once a day by getting the blood from her feet. The only problem we are having is that when she cries she cries and turns blue cause she gets so mad! But, the nurses said that she is just really upset and it is hard to comfort her because she is hungry. Hopefully we can start feedings in the next couple of days. They said they will probably try and bottle feed her since she really likes pacifier. If she takes to a bottle well then they will let me breastfeed. Sofia is holding her own body temp so her heater is no longer on her bed. They will be graduating her to the other side of the NICU in a couple of days and said she may go into a regular crib since she doesn't require a heater. I get to take a mobile for her bed tonight. They have fish painted above her bed and she really likes to stare at them, she even smiles at them. Maybe it is the glitter they are outlined with. I did get to hold her up last night while the nurse changed her linens, but have not held her close to me yet. Hopefully tonight I will get that chance!

We will update again soon. Thanks for reading. Please keep praying for Sofia and all CDH babies especially Jaylyn, Audrey, Jackson and Andrew who are all fighting strong! Stay strong little Miracles!

Love, Catherine

OUR LITTLE LADYBUG!

Hi again just a quick update to let you know that Sofia is doing really well. I actually got to hear her cry, she sounds like a little croaking frog, sweet but sad, you know what I mean? The nurses said that give her a few days and she'll be one of the loudest in NICU. She finally went to sleep and I got Catherine to leave for awhile. We took the trolley car down by the Alamo and had dinner. But then right back to baby! This photo was taken today, she looks so lovely with her little bum in the air and of course that huge bow. Fingers crossed for Cat, she may get to finally hold her baby tomorrow. I noticed on the comments a new name, so I'd like to take this time to welcome Krista, she's expecting a CDH baby 17 May. Hopefully she will share their story with us. We will add this little baby and her family to our prayers. Cat may pop home tomorrow so she will update Sofia's blog, if not I will. Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day. As always keep on praying for our babies and God bless you all as well.
Love,
Yvonne

P.S. Special love and prayers for you Lauren. xx

WONDERFUL WAKEUP CALL!

Hi everyone! Just heard from Catherine and she's so excited! She had called to check on Sofia and her nurse told her that they had extubated Sofia (removed her breathing tube) and she is off the ventilater! Then she told Cat that Sofia was resting comfortably on her tummy. Of course we who are lucky enough to be able to get in to see this wonder will have to wait till Mommy and Daddy get first peek. Cat also talked to Jenn and both Mommy and Audrey are doing terrific! Check out the new photos of both these little beauties. Once again thank you all for your thoughts, comments and prayers for all our babies. I'm off to hospital now but will update soon. Have a lovely day, God bless.
Love,
Yvonne

P.S. My Mom and sister made it safely back to Liverpool. The visit was short but sweet.

Doing Great!

Well, I have finally come home for a few hours and now have the chance to update. Sofia is doing GREAT! Her vent frequency is at 5 and her O2 is at 23. This means that the vent is only giving her 5 breaths per minute and she is doing the rest herself. The O2 only needs to go down to 21 because that is what we breathe. So I think sometime in the next few days Ivan and I are going to walk into the NICU and get a big surprise and Sofia will no longer be on a vent. We are pretty excited!

Last night we got a copy of the Surgeon's Report from her repair surgery. We haven't actually had a chance to talk with him, so we weren't sure of the details until now. So here they are... Sofia's stomach, intestines, spleen and liver were all up in her chest. Fortunately she does have a good amount of lung tissue and had enough diaphram that they were able to just suture it up rather than having to use a patch. The incision is very thin and doesn't look like it will leave much of a scar. Yesterday morning we got a call that they were going to have to do another surgery to place a central line in Sofie's chest. We had already signed a consent form for this to be done the day as the repair surgery, but for some reason they didn't do it. So, the Dr had tried 2 different times to get a line herself just like they would a normal IV, but was not successful. So, they had to do it surgically yesterday. This time they actually took her to the OR to do the surgery. It only took about 30 minutes. When they brought Sofia back she was wide awake! This little girl never wants to sleep! They are trying to wean her off the Fetanyl which is the pain medication and a sedative, so she is awake quite a bit. Ivan and I always get her to sleep and then she wakes right back up, it is like a game for her! We love to see her big beautiful eyes, though!

Baby Audrey seems to really be making some progress. Keep up the fight Audrey! They were able to wean her off one of the blood pressure meds today. Jenn also got to hold Audrey while they changed out her linens. I am so happy for them. Please keep both Audrey and Jackson in your prayers. One day Kimberly, Jenn and I will be able to get are three little miracles together.

Today, I was able to check my email for the first time in a while and I received an email from someone I feel I can call a new friend. This wonderful women found a link to Soifa's blog from Drew's and she emailed to say that she would love to make a quilt for Sofia and that she would like to start a quilting organization for CDH Babies. I feel so honored to have her make a quilt for Sofia's Nursery. I also wanted to tell any of you that are quilters or who know quilters that would be interested in joining this amazing group to let me know and I can get you in contact with her.

Well, I don't know when I will have the chance to update myself, but my Mom will continue to keep you all posted. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and please keep them coming cause the fight is not over yet! Please keep all CDH babies in your prayers. God Bless

Love,

Catherine

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUDREY!

Congratulations to the Miller family on the birth of their beautiful daughter, Audrey! She weighed in at 8lbs 8oz and is in stable condition at last report this evening. Please say a special prayer for Audrey and her mommy Jenn. Go to Audreys link to view photos of her and to read more on her first day and journey to this point. As for Sofia, she is doing wonderfully well. We found out that the hole in her diaphram was small enough that they could stitch it together and not use a patch. She's hardly been sedated at all today and seems reasonably comfortable. She was taken off nitric oxide today and her 02 is down to 28. They removed one of her umbilical lines and may start central line tomorrow. She was also given a pacifier with a bit cut out to fit around her tube. She looks adorable with it and her big pink bow and teddy bear slippers. They want to try feeding her breast milk in the next couple of days and also told Catherine that she may be able to hold her next week. All around this has been a good day. Once again HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUDREY GOD BLESS YOU SWEET BABY. Thank you for your continued support and prayers for all our babies. God Bless & good night.
Love,
Yvonne

A VERY LONG DAY...

Hi everyone, well seems our little Sofia is quite the fighter. After a couple of postponements they finally started Sofia's surgery at around 4:30 pm and the surgeon came out to speak to us about 5:18 pm. Surgery went well and Sofia was actually awake with eyes wide open a couple of hours later to greet Mommy and Daddy. The rest of us will have to be satisfied with the good reports and wait till tomorrow to see our baby. I don't know all the details and Cat is really tired so I'll find out all and update you tomorrow. We'd like to ask that you say a special prayer for Jenn and Baby Audrey. Jenn is being induced tomorrow. Once again we thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Sofia and all our babies. God bless and good night.
Love,
Yvonne

HAPPY TWO WEEK BIRTHDAY SOFIA!

Hi everyone! Yes our Sofia is two weeks old today and looking more beautiful than ever. Her Great-grandmother and Auntie Teri arrived this evening from England. We had a really bad hail storm just before arrival time and they had to circle for almost an hour before landing. After a 15 hour trip they are finally resting and will meet Sofia tomorrow. Of course that depends on what Sofia's schedule is like. Catherine was told tonight that Sofia is scheduled for surgery around 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. We've been waiting for the go ahead on this for three days. While we are all very nervous about the surgery I think we're also glad it's finally happening and will be another (big) step in Sofia's fight and bring her closer to coming home. Once again we thank you for all your prayers. We'll get back to you asap on Sofia's condition. God bless & good night.

Love,
Yvonne

Another Quick Update!

Well, still no word on whether or not surgery will be tomorrow or Wednesday! I did speak with the surgeon this morning and he said that if there was room on the schedule than it would be tomorrow, if not Wednesday. Sofia's Neonatologist wants it to be tomorrow, though. I have not signed the consent forms for surgery yet, so I am thinking it will be Wednesday. Although the nurses tell me that the surgeons are known for coming in the evening to talk to us and to have us sign the forms, so we will see. Sofia is now off the Magnesium Sulfate and the Dopamine. Her third chest tube was removed this morning, too. We had a bit of a scare last night and my baby turned blue in front of us and stopped moving and crying. It was pretty scary especially when Ivan looks at me and tells me to go to the front of the NICU so I am not watching what is happening to Sofie. But, she is better now. She had a plug of blood blocking her vent tube and it was so large that they were having a hard time removing it. Her heart rate dropped to the 30's and her blood pressure went up and her sats really dropped. They thought I was having high blood pressure problems before, I can't even begin to imagine what it was last night. They didn't have to sedate her after the procedure and she has only been sedated once today at 9am, so she is tolerating everything pretty well.

Now, to update on the other CDH babies we have been following. Baby Jackson seems to be doing great! His Mommy has pictures posted of him in a bouncy chair! I can't wait till we can take Sofia out of her isolate. They are weaning Jackson off of his vent. Go Jackson! Baby Audrey is coming very soon! Also, I have added a new link to Baby Parker who is expected around June 20. Lauren, has a new blog that she has done to update on how she is doing and what she is feeling. Jana, also continues to post on Drew's blog. These two Mommies have been so strong. Please continue to keep all CDH babies and their families in your prayers.

Well, again we will update as soon as we know something. My Nan and my Aunt Teri from England have decided to fly in from England! They will be here tomorrow and I can't wait for them to meet Sofie. Thank you all for your prayers, please keep them coming! Take care and God Bless

Love, Catherine

Quick Update....

Hi Everyone! This is going to be quick cause I want to get back to the hospital. Sofia has had another great day! They are weaning her Dobutamine and Magnesium Sulfate and she should be completely off both of those by tomorrow morning if all goes well. They removed one of the right chest tubes this morning and have water sealed the third and final chest tube. It will be clamped tomorrow and removed on Tuesday if there is no more drainage. Sofia's Dr told me this morning that surgery will be either Tuesday or Wednesday. They want her off those two blood pressure medications before surgery if possible, so hopefully she does well and will be off tomorrow. I love when she is awake and she just stares at me, well only if she is not distracted by the lights or the beeping of machines! But she just stares at me and has the most beautiful eyes! Someone will update tomorrow with more information on Sofia's progress and on the surgery. Please keep my beautiful daughter and all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine

P.S. I am feeling much better now that they have put me on meds and I also wanted to tell you that Nana finally got to see Sofia with her eyes open today!

HELLO MOMMY!

Hi everyone...sorry for taking so long to update but its been a hectic few days. It's "Fiesta" time in San Antonio and downtown is one giant party with the hospital situated right in the middle. We've had to get passes and go through police barricades to get in to see Sofia. Thank goodness it's over tonight. Catherine hasn't been feeling well at all with headaches and swelling and pain in her abdominal area. So Ivan had her in ER last night. Good thing they went turns out she has an infection and her blood pressure was so high they kept her four hours finally releasing her around 2:30 am. Her blood pressure was still at 197/102 but they had given her medication and prescribed more medication. So she left and went to see Sofia. Ivan had left for home so she was there by herself. She was talking to Sofia's nurse when all of a sudden Sofia opened her eyes and looked right at her Mommy! You can imagine Catherine's joy and surprise. But let me back up and catch you up on Sofia's progress. She is doing quite well actually. Yesterday, Friday, they removed her left chest tube and water sealed one of the right chest tubes. Today they clamped it. If she tolerates it it will be removed Sunday morning. The third chest tube is still draining so we aren't sure when that will be removed. Also yesterday Sofia was put on a conventional vent. Wednesday Sofie was taken off the pavulon and is occasionally awake. They still keep her pretty sedated because she gets agitated and cries and her sats drop. They have completely taken her off the
dobutamine and have weaned the magnesium sulfate. She continues to have a good amount of urine output, so they have not had to treat her with any diuretics. Sofie's surgeon saw her this
morning and said that surgery would possibly be this Monday. He is supposed to meet with Catherine and Ivan on Sunday. I may stay at hospital Sunday night with Cat if so we will update as soon as possible. Ivan swears Sofia said da da, I said that was Nana! ha ha Today she was looking back and forth between her parents as they spoke to her. Unfortunately I have yet to be there when her eyes are open...hopefully tomorrow. Well I shall sign off for now, Catherine sends her love. Please continue to pray for our baby as well as all of our CDH babies and please say a little prayer for my baby, Catherine that she will feel better soon. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. God bless, good night.
Love,
Yvonne

Good News!

Today they have weaned the Pavulon down half way. That is the medication that keeps Sofie paralyzed. If she continues to tolerate it they will completely take her off of it tonight at 9pm. So, hopefully we will finally get to see our baby awake! She will still be sedated, though. They were weaning her Dopamine every hour and by now she should be off that, too. Now they are weaning her Dobutamine. Sofia has 3 chest tubes in, but her left one isn't doing anything anymore, so they are going to clamp it tomorrow morning and if she tolerates it they will remove it on Friday morning. She will still have her 2 right ones in, though. The Doc told us today that we are getting closer to surgery, but no time frame for that yet. Since they weaned her Pavulon Sofia has had tears coming from her eyes. It makes me so sad when I see them and wipe them up. Ivan even wanted to keep the gauze I wiped them with! Her temperature was low last night so the nurse found some booties for her that were made by Threads of Love. Her nurse this morning said she was surprised that they found a pair that fit her cause the things they make usually only fit preemies! Sofie has some big feet! I don't have any pictures of her from today, but I will post them tomorrow. I do have the pictures that her Daddy has taken and those will be in Sofia's Pictures if you want to see them. We will be staying with her tonight, so that is why I am posting early. I will update again tomorrow. Please keep Sofia and all CDH babies in your prayers.

Love, Catherine