Yo Gabba Gabba Live 2011: The Realization of Dream Come True

Hee hee, I don't know if I mean my dream come true or Noah's!  Today we had the pleasure of going to see the Yo Gabba Gabba gang at the San Diego Civic Theatre.  Thanks to the YGG Street Team, we were able to get VIP passes to meet them in person after the show too!  In exchange for posting a few flyers around town and talking about the show to friends and family, the great folks at Yo Gabba Gabba set up this sweet deal.  Noah had fun, albeit in a more calm manner than I had predicted, I owe it to him not getting his normal nap beforehand.  He was mesmerized and they had his attention the whole time.  He danced a couple times while he sat in our lap and when it was over, the fun began.  He had a blast getting to meet the characters in person afterward and the Food Network show "Cupcake Wars" was even filming at the meet and greet.  I think Mike and I had just as much, if not more, fun than Noah and I'm hoping next year will be even better!  Here we go, "Yooooooo Gabbbbaaa Gabbbbbaaaa!!"

She's a Bad Mamma Jamma (and not in the good way)

August?! Really!?  That was my last journal entry!!  This starting off every blog apologizing for the lag time since the last one is becoming a habit that I just can't kick.  I am hoping it will get better, just give me some time.
I plead insanity!  And I'm really not kidding!  I guess you could say it all started when we... MOVED INTO OUR NEW HOME!!!  Yippee, we are so beyond that this became a reality and that Noah finally has a place to call home, forever.  Here she is, and our street name is fitting since we like to party (whether it's we're doing it like it's 1999 or singing a favorite YGG tune "There's A Party in my Tummy"): we live on Luau St! Hula time! LOL!  Added bonus, we are directly in between my parents and sister's house on the other side of the highway.  Noah has been having a blast being so close to his Nana, Tata, Tios/Tias and cousins.  Here she is, isn't she a beaut?!  Did I mention we practically have a football field sized backyard that we plan to do some great things with?  We live on a cul-de-sac with great young families and have a toddler park adjacent to the house!  Double bonus, we are certified green and have solar panels that generate energy!  Woo-hoo!

Ok, so aside from this major life event I don't have much to report.  It's been all consuming really.  It's taken Noah a little time to adjust to the change and his schedule was really off there for a while with new surroundings,  furniture deliveries, and various appointments for house stuff.  We finally cleared out the garage today (almost 2 months after being here).  Remind me to never move with a toddler, EVER AGAIN!  And now, it's just a matter of hanging some stuff up, painting a couple more rooms and having a major garage sale to sell some stuff we've been wanting to get rid of for a while now.  I can't believe we're in our forever home!
Let's see, what else?   November is Prematurity Awareness month and on that note I thought I would share a couple things that I've been doing to help families of premature babies and babies who were born with special medical needs.  I have teamed up with the lovely and wonderful Dr Daneshmand and his organization Miracle Babies who helped Mike and I while Noah was in the NICU.  Another fellow preemie mom whom I met while trying to set up a smaller preemie support group for central San Diego, decided to start the Miracle Babies Family Network- San Diego Chapter.  We are basically a support group for the Miracle Babies organization.  Here's a little spiel from our flyers which we plan on posting in every hospital in San Diego:

I am so excited about this wonderful opportunity to help Dr Daneshmand and Miracle Babies support families who are going through a very tough time in their life.  Having walked that path almost 2 years ago, I can't tell you how much I would have loved to have a group of people to commiserate with, people who knew exactly what we were going through.  Tanya and I make a great team and I am lucky to have crossed paths with her this past July.  This is going to be a great thing and I hope to expand this to the Temecula/Riverside area now that we're up here.
On the Noah front, what can I say about this special peanut?  I mean I probably sound like a broken record at this point but this is both the hardest and most beautiful experiences of my life.  No one ever goes their whole life planning on raising a preemie child.  I sure as heck did not.  No one can ever truly grasp the heartache and triumphs one experiences while raising these precious angels.  I don't know how many people pick up something that weighs 1 or 2lbs and thinks, "I can't believe my baby used to be this small".  Sometimes I'm taken back when I look at his NICU pictures and realize how far he's come.  This is overshadowed a lot by how much further we still have to go.  Noah is doing pretty well given his crazy entrance into this world.  But we struggle, mainly with gastrointestinal issues such as GERD, poor digestion, vomiting, gagging, constipation, food refusal, trouble chewing and swallowing, weaning him from his Pediasure, etc...
This is the longest amount of time it's taken him to gain a pound and he is hovering at 24lbs 14oz and 25lbs 2oz now.  I really can't wait for the day when I look back on these blog entries with relief that these days are over and these mountains and molehills are a thing of the past.  I know I'll be able to do that one day, I just don't know when.  If you're there God (and I know you most definitely are) sooner would be so much better than later.  ;)
On a much more positive note, Noah's personality is really starting to come through lately.  I think we are entering the dreaded words every parent doesn't want to hear or acknowledge: The Terrible Two's (which will now be referred to as TTT)! He has always been, shall we call it, strong willed.  It's this stubbornness that helped him win the fight for his life.  It's the same thing that has me pulling out my hair and rubbing my earlobes while chanting "Wooo-saaa" repeatedly throughout the day.  He is obsessed with other people's shoes and tearing out pages of his books.  He is still going strong with his "eyes/ojitos" which he still is convinced carry limitless mind power, making even the strongest succumb to his every demand.  He loves to hurt himself on purpose (only with the smallest touch or bump into something because we all know what a sensitive guy he is) so that I can kiss it and make it better by singing an old Mexican song and then proceeding to punish the offender (whether it's a wall, the floor, or a toy) by 'spanking' it.  This has lead to another issue in which he raises his eyebrows, lifts his arm, cocks his hand back and wants to "spank" everything in sight, including his poor innocent mother who almost gave her life to save him (I warned you all that I would be using this little tidbit whenever the situation warranted).  I've created a monster!  He is still very much into cleaning up with baby wipes and his little broom and vacuum, I wonder if he'll still be this way when he's 15?  A girl can wish, right?!  His new thing is spitting and watching his spit fall to the ground, I know, yay!  Typical boy stuff that I have to be prepared for I guess.  He's still in love with his regulars: Yo Gabba Gabba, Fresh Beat Band, Oobi, and Elmo.  He still loves his baths and anything having to do with his beloved "Wa-Wa".  Here is a list of words I can think of off the top of my head...

He says:
Dada
Mama
Nana
Tata
Mia
Tia
Ball
Bird
Wa-Wa (water)
Shoes
Bye or Bye-Bye
Go (as in Go Chargers, which he yells at the TV screen.  That's our boy!)
Light
Num Num (food)
Ba Ba (bottle)
Kitty
Oobi
Elmo
Gab Gab (Yo Gabba Gabba)
Lola
Hot
Muah (kiss)
Mimi
Nite Nite
Up/Down (usually in that sequence, back to back so you to pick him up)
Outside
Juice
Bath Time
Knock Knock
Push
Cookie
Baby
Pank (Spank)
Bounce (Jump)
Eyes
Bee Bee (Beep Beep)
Fi (High Five)
Wee (Swing)
Pee Pee
Poo Poo

He signs:
More
All Done
Thank you

We had an amazing block party for Halloween (I love our new neighbors/neighborhood) and Noah was a super cute Elmo.  His cousin Isaiah was Woody from Toy Story and Mia was Alice from Alice in Wonderland.  And of course, the two older cousins are too cool for school and this was the first Halloween they didn't dress up.  I knew these days would come, but I didn't think they'd come so fast!
Ok, I am going to pass out talking about this crazy kid and our hectic life as of late!  I will post soon, and by that I mean sooner rather than later! ;)

24...

Pounds! Baby boy reached 24lbs yesterday and we have proof:

What does this mean exactly, you ask?  Well here's some stats based on the assumption that he hasn't grown taller since he was measured last month when he was 2' 6" tall and adjusting for his corrected age (or what he really should be since he was a preemie):

Length for Age = 25th percentile
Weight for Age = 25th percentile
Head Circumference for Age = 85th percentile *he is rather smart
Weight for Length = 60th percentile *yes, you read that correct, ABOVE AVERAGE!

So proud of my honey bunny!  We will continue to practice until he gets this whole 'eating' thing down and we can throw away his bottles and Pediasure for good! God is good and prayer pays off!

Lately

Nothing too crazy to report in our neck of the woods.  It's August now which means that my favorite time of year is almost upon us, Fall!  It have to say that this Summer went by really fast!  Time seems to be flying lately, it's almost surreal to think about sometimes.  Noah wasn't walking but two months ago and now I can't get him to sit still!  We're still working on his balance and core strength and I know those things will come with time.  Before I know it, I'm going to forget about how it looks like he's marching when he walks or how he falls down when he tries to turn around too fast.  I still think of him as my little guy but as evidenced by our visit to Stride Rite yesterday where we found out he's now a size 6 (he was only a 4.5 back in April), he is becoming a bigger boy everyday.  Here's that double-edged sword coming out to poke me in my butt again.  I'm so happy that he's growing and catching up from his preemiehood.  But at the same time, I catch myself wondering in awe about how far he's come and how much of toddler he is becoming.  He craves independence, has a mind and attitude all his own (where did he get stubbornness from, I wonder ;]), learns new things everyday, and most of all makes us fall more in love with him.
This little guy is super social and even more hysterical when he's in a silly mood.  He knows what buttons to push and how to get anyone to give in to him.  I love it when he rolls his arms/hands at just the right time during pat-a-cake or how he brings his little fingertips together to copy us signing more.  This little boy has got some moves when he dances to the Fresh Beat Band or hears a song with a good beat in the car.  Have you seen him do his "eyes" or "ojitos" at you?! It's pure comedy.
These are just a couple things that get me through the daily struggles of raising a half-baked early birdie preemie.   In between all of his doctors appointments and therapies or the struggles with his feeding and bowel movements, I close my eyes and thank God for everything he's given us. I think it's important to remind myself that we are fortunate souls that God has blessed and given the most important job in the world to.  Yes it's hard.  Yes, there are days when I want to compare our journey with others who appear to have it much easier than us (whether they deserve it or not).  But ultimately, this experience has brought more wonderful things into ours and our families lives than bad and I wouldn't change anything for the world.  We have a deeper understanding of the preciousness of time, health and life.  We are more grateful, loving, compassionate, and stronger people.  We have a constant reminder of God's grace who's eyes we can look into everyday.  We are, if anything, undeserving.  That's all that I've been able to think about, lately.

Noah's 1st Driving Lesson

Ok, before I start getting reported to CPS, this was in a gated parking lot, in the middle of the day when no one was around and we went approximately 300 feet.  /Disclaimer.

23lbs!

I think this was his birthday present to me...

Hi!

Noah's new favorite word, "Hi!".  Said to: mommy and daddy all day long, his doggies, random strangers (especially people walking on the street below our balcony, that poor captive audience thing, LOL), his toys, my cell phone, and the air... to name a few!

A Numbers Game

Today Noah:

Weighs 22lbs 11.5oz (almost 25th percentile adjusted)
Stands 2' 7.5" tall (almost 50th percentile adjusted)
Has a noggin that is 18.7" around (almost 50th percentile adjusted)
His weight for length (something that is really looked at by the docs and pretty important) is in the 30th percentile.

So we're pretty happy with these numbers, I'm not going to lie, we'd love to see him in at least the 50th percentile for every category.  But, given his many gastro issues, we will gladly take it!
We had his follow-up appointment with his new GI (Dr Taylor suddenly vanished from Children's and we were never given an explanation or reason why) and she gave us the results of the DGE Scan they performed a couple weekends ago.  It came back NORMAL! Double-edged sword of course because that means that we still don't know why Noah is puking all the time or why he can't transition to solids and away from his bottle and Pediasure all day long.  I'm not too fond of this new doc so we're going to try and switch to someone else.  She wasn't super helpful or knowledgeable about Noah's history (which I think she should have been given this was his first visit with her and she could have looked at his chart more closely as to be prepared to answer any questions or concerns).  It seemed like we were just another number and she needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.  Her only suggestion was to increase his Prevacid dose (we weaned him off a couple months ago but recently started him up on a very low dose) because he was refluxing during the stomach scan.  When I asked about things like digestive enzymes to help get his gut going and hopefully aid in his digestion thus preventing the larger volume throw ups, she looked at me like I was crazy and said that they wouldn't help him.  Ugh, ok, well nothing has until this point so shouldn't we at least try?  They're natural and don't have any negative or long-term side effects, as a matter of fact they don't have any at all!  I guess I'm just crazy!  So, the long-term plan is to keep continuing with his feeding therapy (see below for more specifics) and see how he does in a couple months.  They want us to do a urinalysis and see how his kidneys are functioning and then eventually do an MRI to rule out anything neurological.  Yay, more tests I have to subject my poor son to.  The MRI is last resort or if he gets worse, I am not sedating my son and exposing him to more radioactivity than he already has been in his short little life.  I only want him to dress up and think he's Spiderman not actually turn into him.  So pretty much a waste of almost 2 hours of our lives today with no help or answers.  Surprise!
We also had the first part of his speech evaluation this afternoon.  2 good things came of this, the first is that the therapist is going to talk to Sunny Days and request an OT that specializes in feeding (something I have done in the past but with no luck so far), and second is that he will more than likely qualify for speech therapy even though she was pretty pleased with his vocalization and words.  I am happy about this because this is just another way for him to get therapy for his oral sensory issues.  Hooray!
And finally, we started seeing Dr. Peter, a chiropractor that comes highly recommended from family and we're hoping that this is just another step in the right direction as we seek for answers 'outside the box'.  Noah cries for a few minutes as the adjustments are made and then he is fine.  Mike started getting treated and after watching Daddy go first and not cry (Mike's good at hiding it and wipes his tears away pretty fast, LOL) he is getting more comfortable.
I think that's it, once again, I have to say how proud I am of our little guy.  He's come a long way!

Practicing for the Tooth Fairy

What better way to follow up after our most recent post about ice cream!  Good job Noah, the Tooth Fairy is watching and she approves! ;)

Ice Cream!

What do parents with kids who can't/won't eat solids resort to?  Yeah, ice cream.  It works. ;)

Noah digging into his first bowl of anything! 

Nose dive, I like your style!

Go baby boy!

Guess he's been watching me eat too many Skinny Cows, the impersonation is spot on! ;)

The List

A friend of mine on FB had recently posted a list of words her baby was saying and it got me thinking... What can Noah say?  As of today, here is "The List":

Mama/Mom
Dada/Dad
Babe (synonymous with Mom and Dad, we're trying to break him of this, LOL)
Tata
Ball
Go
Bird
Hat or Hot
Bye Bye
Guaow Guaow (sp? dog in Spanish)
Woof Woof (prnounced oooof oooof, LOL)
Yeah

If I Could, I Would!

Reach around and spank myself for not posting in over a month!!  Or turn back the hands of time! Tsk tsk tsk!
Ok, ok, we did have a cross-county move and Noah was sick back to back with a stomach bug and then a cold that lasted almost 4 weeks.  Nonetheless, there just isn't a good enough excuse in the world for not dropping a quick note about Noah.  My goal for this blog has always been to create a snapshot of Noah's life as an infant, toddler and child.  I want him to be able to read this (God-willing) one day and be amazed at the journey we were on, raising our little miracle baby.  But how can he do that if I neglect this blog?!  I must try harder, and I will.
Okay, so what have we missed since May 20, 2011?  Not a whole lot to be very honest with you.  As I mentioned previously, we moved from Temecula back to San Diego because all good things must come to an end and all of Noah's appointments for Early Intervention and his specialists at Rady's were draining our gas tank and ultimately our bank account.  We thankfully have our condo in San Diego still, although we are still trying to do a modification our loan since our home value has gone down more than 50% of what it was when we bought it.  Yes, the house we paid $335k is now selling for anywhere between $125k-$150k!  So, we're hoping after the dust settles with the estate we can hopefully do a short-sale and get out of here and into our forever home.  We've lived the life of a vagabond since college, and we just can't do it anymore! LOL!
So back at the lecture at hand, what's new with Noah.  He is definitely cruising around a heck of a lot more.  We went from a few steps in the video below to walking around the house.  Granted, it's a 1,000 sq/ft condo, but hey, he maneuvers from room to room, turning corners and all!  He is so very timid, and I think this has hindered his progress in this respect.  He likes to feel the comfort of pushing his toy around and having something to lean on rather than falling and getting back up again.  But, he's improving and if he can be fully independent by the end of the summer, I will be one happy mommy.
What else?  He is yelling up a storm, mostly at Bella and Lola and the occasional passerby he notices from atop our balcony here.  He is really starting to mimic us in the way we talk and what we say.  He has gotten into the habit of calling Mike and I "Babe" because that's all we call each other. So I recently made a post on FB pleading our complete sanity should anyone overhear Mike and I call each other "Dada" and "Mama".  LOL!  The lengths we go to for our children!  He is also doing a lot of things he previously struggled with like putting balls/toys in containers (specifically his little 'gum ball machine" toy) as well as pushing things to start them or turn them off (like his bath fountain toy).  He also loves water, whether it's in a bathtub or in his water table we got him, he can't get enough of it.
On the eating/stomach front his vomiting has improved a bit and we think it has to do with not allowing him to guzzle down a bottle and burping him more often so that he doesn't forcefully burp and spew.  We also made the decision to spread out his bottles further and feed him more at one sitting.  We were previously doing a 5oz bottle every 2 hours to meet his minimum requirement of 30oz/day.  And now we're doing 6oz bottles every 3 hours.  He seems to show a little bit more hunger but not much.  We haven't been able to breach the 30oz/day mark or get him to take more food.  I can say that he is tolerating more bites at one time but the tiny morsels we can give him (because of his out of control gag reflex) are not sufficient to be anything close to a meal.  And therein lies the dilemma.  I hate having to give him nothing but Pediasure all day but he won't take anything else and won't meet his caloric minimum.  We've been searching for answers for so long now, and we've been looking for someone to help us but we haven't been successful.  I scour the internet for hours every week and it's so disheartening.  I mean, I never knew there was something called Pediatric/Infant Anorexia, but it is a real medical problem.  They have countless studies of babies and toddlers who simply refuse to eat and their hunger mechanism doesn't develop properly, a majority of these children are preemies.  So, our next step is a DGE (delayed gastric emptying) scan to see if he has any motility issues wherein his stomach is not digesting food/liquid properly and it sits there for longer than it should causing things like (and not limited to) constant satiety , nausea, vomiting and constipation.  All things, Noah has.  Like so many times before, we are really hoping that this new test will reveal something, anything.  If he does have a motility problem then we can begin to address it and treat it.  Most likely he will go on a low-dose antibiotic called Erythromycin which has a side effect of increased motility/digestion.  Once that aspect is addressed we can see if his hunger cues increase.  If they don't, we will look into either Domperidone or Periactin, two drugs that cause increased appetite.  And that's another dilemma.  I don't want to have to give my child medication to do what should come naturally.  He is currently not taking anything but occasional Prevacid for his reflux and probiotics which are natural.  I know so many preemie moms that have a slew of drugs that they have to administer to their children daily so I am aware of exactly how blessed we truly are in that arena.  But I feel like we have to exhaust all our options to help Noah with his Gastro issues and help him grow and develop.  A couple medications a day sound 100x's better than him having to go the route of a G-Tube placed into his tummy.  If it weren't for his eating/stomach issues, I think Noah would be in such a better place right now.  If we didn't have to worry about him constantly gagging,vomiting, and refluxing through his nose (yes, he still does this where we have to clear his airway with the Nose Frida and do a nasal irrigation; and it scares the bejeezus out of me), poor weight gain, etc, I believe that we could be like any other family. And unlike so many doctors who insist on giving the "behavioral" label to things they can't figure out, I have to believe that there is a logical/scientific reason why my son can't eat like a normal 1.5 year old.  
Enough of my best impersonation of Debbie Downer, Noah has come such a long way and I am so proud of this courageous, resilient, head-strong little boy.  I love it when he calls me "Mom" or "Mama", I love it when he does his angry eyes and ojitos (he blinks/bats his eyes at you), I love it when he dances to any kind of music he hears (even the iPad jingle on the commercial), I love it when he points to the birds outside when he hears one chirp, and I love that I can kiss him goodnight every night in our bed because there are so many parents who never even got that chance.  We are gonna fight the good fight and hold his little hand every step of the way.  It's our life mission and the hardest and sweetest job I've ever had.  As always, please continue to keep him in your prayers because we can't and will never be able to do this alone.

Some recent pics for your viewing pleasure

Okay, so he's still not eating but he is doing this...

Color me happy, ecstatic, elated, jolly, content, thrilled, and anything you want!  My baby is on the road to walking!  Praise God!

Eczema & Allergies

We took Noah to his pediatrician today for a little rash on his shoulder that turns out is eczema. He has also had some congestion over the last few weeks that has not cleared despite his nasal rinsing and humidifier. We had the adenoidectomy back in Feb so it's too soon for his adenoids to have grown back and we were hoping this would be the last of his "nasal" issues. But unfortunately he's been having that little congestion in his nose as well as a bit of snoring during his sleep sometimes. 
Nonetheless, she prescribed him Atarax and I'm not very familiar with it. It's an anti-histamine that is used for itchiness and can also be used for nausea from motion sickness as well as anxiety. It causes marked drowsiness so we're going to just try and give it to him when he's really bad or at bedtime. I don't know, just seems weird to me. We decided to spray some Nasonex as well to see if that helps a little. He's been having some vomiting episodes the last couple of days where his throw up looks like (perhaps TMI, I apologize) globs of phlegm and he's really bearing down/retching to bring it out. So something's definitely going on. 
I think it's time to start getting some allergy testing in order. It's allergy season around here and I'm just wondering if he has severe seasonal allergies that are onsetting this vomiting.  So he now has 3 more meds added to the long list of medications he's on at any given time.  This preemie thing is no joke.

A Couple of Milestones to Report

It's been too long since my last post.  I guess I've earned a couple more ballot entries for Bad Mother of the Year Award.  Things have been pretty tame as of late and I'm just counting down the days until I can write 'that' blog entry.  We bought him some new kicks at Stride Rite that he seems to love but obviously not that much because he's not walking yet!
Some pretty cool things happened this Easter weekend.  There wasn't any Earth-moving events like last year when we thought the world was coming to end as we crouched into the fetal position during that 7.something quake, but it's crazy to think how far we've come since this time last year (see the pics).  My little bunny is a big ol' rabbit now!

Some pretty neat things happened this weekend starting on Saturday.  While we were having an early Easter get together at The Palacio's (good times BTW, I can't tell you how much we've been blessed with amazing family and friends), Noah decided to take 6 steps as he rushed towards the open front door.  We have yet to replicate this.
Then on Sunday our big boy decided to take over one of his cousin Isaiah's Easter basket gifts we got him (an egg shaped cup with a straw) and he learned how to suck from it!  Yippee!  So now, I'm going to head to BRU and see what kinda new cups I can get him.
Finally, today he reached the 21lb mark!  Whoot whoot!  Keep on growing peanut, or take your time, mommy doesn't mind! ;)

Agony and Ecstasy

Okay, so a couple days ago I posted this picture on Facebook asking my friends and family if they needed a reminder to take their Birth Control pills:

Then little booger goes and does something like this and makes the whole anti-contraception argument a little bit more stronger:

How many posts like these are left???

I know I'm asking for trouble by wanting him to walk, I mean little dude gets in enough trouble on all fours as it is, but it would just be one step closer (pardon the pun) to a little more normalcy around here.  Afterall, that's all us preemie parents want for our munchkins...

Take Some Baby Steps, Baby Steps, Little Tiny Baby Steps...

In the spirit of one of Noah's favorite episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba (see video below of a baby with the same hankering for these obnoxious monsters who enter my dreams every night), Noah is in the beginning stages of leaving infancy and entering toddlerdom.  *sniff sniff*
This morning at 11:22am Noah took 3 unaided steps in the Family Room leaving Mike's arms and walking towards the couch where Diego and Sara sat.  I was in the kitchen making bacon and eggs and I thankfully turned around to see him in the nick of time!
It's just like this kid, to make me look like a butt head, since I just posted yesterday that there hadn't been any major events with regard to his milestones.  Guess, this is just the first of many times I will eat my words with this little guy!  Go Noah Matthew, mommy is so proud of you!

Bad Mother Alert

It's been almost a month since my last entry, yikes!  Given what we had to endure between the horrible stomach virus that wreaked havoc on Noah's GI Tract and caused a 5% body weight loss AND the subsequent cold he caught from the two visits to the ER during the aforementioned, WE WERE BEAT!
The good news, Noah gained that almost 1.5lbs back and he is getting over the last bit of the longest cold that he's had to date.  On another note, it's a double-edge sword of relief and panic because Noah's Synagis shots are over until October (so long as we get approved for this last round).  So he's more susceptible to RSV and similar viruses but we'll manage with our constant helicoptering over everything Noah puts into his mouth which is pretty much everything these days (oh, yeah, I forgot to mention he's also teething something awful right now as well) and the handy bottle of hand sanitizer we always carry.  If I could somehow manage to get my hands on that hardcore stuff we just ran out of from the hospital, I need to contact one of the girls from Sharp... but I digress...
Not too much has happened since my last post.  His therapies obviously got put on hold because of how sick he was so he hasn't seen anyone in about a month.  We also found out that he will be seeing a new OT now because his old one has left the agency who handles Noah's case.  I'm a little sad obviously because she is so familiar with Noah but I'm a kinda relieved at the same time because I was a little concerned with his progress and her techniques (or lack thereof).  She indicated to me that she left the agency all together but I have my suspicions and truly hope she just didn't give up on our NoNo and all his difficulties with eating/vomiting/reflux/etc... In any case, we're still gonna fight the good fight in hopes that we can wean him from his 6-7 bottles of Pediasure a day and get him to start eating more than a couple nibbles before losing interest.  Keep praying for us!
Something we're very excited about is attending the Miracle Babies 2nd Annual Casino Night on 5/14/11 at the Ronald McDonald House.  It feels so good to give back, in a small way to an organization who does so much for families in need.  We were so blessed that Dr. Daneshmand was the doctor on call that day when they decided to do the emergency c-section, he's an angel on Earth.  We've also scheduled a family mini-vacation with my parents, sisters an aunt and cousin to Palm Springs in... July!  I know, we're crazy right?!  It should be fun and hot enough to spend all day by the pool, drinking a number of concoctions.
As far as milestones are concerned we haven't had any biggies around here lately.  Noah is seeming more and more interested in trying to stand alone for a second but as soon as he realizes that he's doing so he freaks out!  He's also playing with Isaiah a lot more.  He's still not that interested in eating but we try all day long.  I'm hoping that this horrible bout of teething he's going through explains why he's extra sensitive to things put in front of him because he was doing pretty good there for a while.
As far as doctor appointments, we had a good visit with Pulmonary last week and they don't need to see him for 6 months!  We were going every 2 months!  Woo-hoo!  He has a delayed gastric emptying study scheduled for May to see if his stomach contents are taking longer than normal to digest and empty to his intestines, which might explain his lack of hunger and vomiting.  It's very non-invasive, all he has to do is drink liquid with Barium in it.  We also scheduled a speech evaluation for the end of April to see where he's at in terms of his language.  I, personally think it's a little early considering the fact that he'll only be 14 months adjusted in a couple days.  But, I like to think that early intervention and therapy can't hurt anyone so we'll just have to see what they say.  He's only really saying "baby" or "bebe" with consistency and mostly babbles randomly.
Let's see, what else?  Lots of things going on with the selling of property and a new home purchase in the future as well as some of the not-so-fun stuff involving litigation that I can't say too much about right now.  I'm also trying to get approved for SS Disability because of my paralysis and they're making me jump through hoops, understandably so, being that I'm only 27 and requesting it for something that I shouldn't have ever had to deal with in the first place.  I applied back in November 2010 and still don't have an answer.  I went to a Psych appointment yesterday and have an Internist appointment next week so hopefully I will know something soon.  There is nothing more that I want than to be able to get up in the morning pain-free and walk without my foot dragging behind me.  I had dreams, I've worked since I was 14 years old, I went college, I wanted a career and even more, being able to go to Q-School and get my LPGA/PGA credentials to teach and give lessons (which is what I was planning to do and arranging our move to FL when I found out I was pregnant).  What I wouldn't give to be able to play, jump and run after my son one day.  It just isn't going to happen.  Ok, pity party over!

Screw you throw-up!

We had to take Noah to the ER yesterday because he was vomiting every feed.  We think he may have caught what Mike and almost every other member of this family had the last couple weeks, a flu bug or virus that wreaks havoc for a couple days and then goes away.  Nonetheless, we can probably say good bye to the short-lived world of 20 lbs because he has not been eating well, understandably, and throwing up a lot.  Damn, I can't wait until we can move and I don't have to worry about all the germs.

1-Year Anniversary

A year ago today, on a rather cold and rainy afternoon, we brought our little peanut home after a very long and agonizing 3-month stay in the NICU at Sharp Mary Birch.  Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and specialist that made that day possible.  And a huge thank you to my husband Mike and my wonderful family for all the support you gave me, I don't think I would have made it out of there with my sanity intact without you.  And most importantly, I would like to give all glory to God.  Without his grace Noah and I wouldn't be here today to share our miraculous story with whoever is willing to hear it.  I made a promise to him upon waking up from my coma to share my love and gratitude for Him every chance I got and I am thankful that this blog is helping me do that today.  Amen!

Off to the Races!

Momma always warned me about those fast boys... should I be scared about how much trouble he's going to get in with his big cousin when he's off that push-toy?!

Entering the world of deuces!

So the last time Noah had a 2 at the start of his weight measurement was back in January of 2010 while he sat in an isolette in the NICU of Sharp Mary Birch Hospital.  I still can't believe the set of circumstances that brought us to the point where I had given birth to a 2lb 8.4oz  baby boy.  I still don't think the magnitude of everything registered to me in my just-came-out-of-a-coma haze when they told me that Noah was okay, that I was okay.  I do, however, remember how I felt the first time I held all 2 pounds of him in my arms that had to be propped up by numerous pillows because of my atrophied body and subsequent weakness.  Hearing his tiny little cry, seeing his tiny little hands and feet, looking into those big eyes and knowing what complete and perfect love was.  And today when the scale read out something with a 2 in front, I was reminded of that love and how Noah continually shows me what a strong and determined soul he is.  This journey, this path, that we walk on everyday can be so challenging.  But it's moments like this that make it all worth it.  I am so proud of my little boy.  He inspires me and reminds me of how blessed we are, everyday, and that is a gift that cannot be quantified.  I thank God everyday and pray for the ability, patience and promise to be the best mother I can be, now and always.  I love you Noah Matthew.

Feeding Clinic & Adenoidectomy Update

We've had a busy couple of last weeks with appointments.  First, I am happy to report that Noah made a full recovery from his adenoidectomy and the results have been amazing.  He no longer snores at night or sounds like he's struggling to breath in and out peacefully.  It also looks like he's tasting things a little better.  So we're very happy with our decision to proceed with that. We were even able to cancel his follow-up appointment with Dr. Magit because of how well he's doing, and well, because if we can avoid a germy office visit anywhere during RSV season we will.
And finally, something we had been looking forward to for a long time was our evaluation with Children's Hospital's Feeding Clinic this past Thursday.  Sufficed to say, we were very disappointed with the outcome.  Basically after they watched us feed Noah behind a double-sided mirror for approximately 45 minutes the Speech Pathologist, Gastroenterologist NP, OT, Nutritionist, and Feeding Behaviorist/Psychologist met with us afterward to tell us that we were basically doing everything right and that because of his good weight gain we just had to keep doing what we were doing.  Great, validation that we're doing the best with the circumstances we were dealt and Noah is following his own growth curve and will eventually 'catch-up'.  Not so great that we have to distract him every time he eats or feed him every two hours or deal with his constant gagging/vomiting.  Oh well, he's growing, be strong.  Believe me, I didn't have any false notion that going to this visit was going to be a totally life-changing thing.  That we would walk away with all the answers about why our son doesn't ever want to eat.  No.  What I had hoped was that a plan would be put in place, that they would collectively rally around us and say that they could help.  Instead, 'keep up the good work' and 'this is a very long process that will only get better with a lot of time'.  Well yeah, duh.  I still don't feel better but thanks for trying.  I still feel like we wasted 2 hours of our life having these strangers watch my poor son, and us for that matter, struggle with a life-sustaining activity that should be as simple as breathing.  It's just not a reality for us. I left feeling really defeated and a little sad.  Mostly sad because of this recurrent theme that repeats itself everyday of my life.  The thing that pops into my head after I repeat to myself just how blessed we are that Noah is even here and doing as well as he is.  It's a feeling of being cheated.  Of knowing what it's like to raise a child who is medically fragile.  Of being familiar with terms like RSV, vestibular stimulation, oral defensiveness, etc... When your child's life is measured in things like mL's of medication and ounces of weight gain.  It's a sense of loss because I feel like I can never really enjoy my baby's childhood when it's bogged down with so many fears of the unknown and devastating realities of what-if's.  I learned a long time ago to stop comparing my preemie to the only other world of I've ever known of full-termers.  I've learned to ignore people's ignorant comments or well-meaning advice about things that they have no clue about.  But I'm still here, waiting for the day to come where all these lonely feelings and worry will be a thing of the past but also knowing that that day may never come and I'll have to pick myself up off the ground and move forward because my son deserves nothing but my very best.    

Everyone Poops

We all knew the day was coming, we just didn't know who would be the winning recipient of Noah's prize.  Turns out it was only half-awarded to Mike.  Yup, that's right, Mike had the honors of being pooped on in the bath tub, sorta.  As I was preparing Noah's bath after a big poop and resulting puke from said poop, Mike decided to hold Noah on the ledge of the bath so he could watch the water level and bubbles rise.  Well, apparently Noah got a little too excited perched high above the tub and decided he wasn't done.  You heard it here first folks, Noah went poo poo on Mike!  Two little logs trickled down his hand and into the bathtub!  Man, that was a sight.  Noah, thank you for the endless hours of laughter!
We also had Noah's hair cut, only his second in his whole little life but this time instead of Tia Grace doing the clipping we went to Toon Cuts because of the last-minuteness.  That was his first and last time there and we'll file the experience under the tag: traumatic.  He cried the whole time and I fear we may have created a life-long fear of clippers.  The only upside, he looks like a cute little man now!
After his bath we decided to have a talk on the floor about said doo-doo and later broached the topic of bebe.  Don't get any ideas everyone, I think we're about to place a permanent "Closed" sign on mine and Mike's reproductive systems.  This whole experience of preemie parenthood will also be filed under tag: traumatic.

Happy Love Day!

Tomorrow would have been Noah's due date and thus, his 1st B-day, and we would have been celebrating our little love bug's first year.  But alas, you all know the story of how that went and we'll look at this date as the day that should have been.  So in honor of that, here's his stats from today's visit where we got the results of his biopsies (more on that below):

weight: 18lb 14oz
height: 29.5 inches or 2' 5.5''

So, Dr. Taylor advised us today at our follow-up appointment that Noah's biopsies came back clear and that he doesn't have any new damage or trauma from his reflux.  Great news!  The only downside to this "great" news means that Noah's eating and vomiting issues are behavioral and will only be able to be fixed through feeding therapy and with a lot of time.  Basically, she said that somewhere along the line, most likely in the NICU and as a result of all the OG (oral gastric) and NG (nasal gastric) tubes being inserted and removed to feed him and keep him alive, his gag reflex was triggered and is now overly sensitive.  This leads him to vomit and be afraid of things going down his throat aka swallowing.  I can totally see this point but where I'm more concerned is the fact that Noah just downright doesn't like to eat, period.  He doesn't hold his bottle, he doesn't like to eat purees, he doesn't self-feed with food on his tray, when he does eat table foods he only takes it from my fingers (absolutely hates spoons) usually only take 3-4 bites and then he's done, and he can only take 4-4.5oz max at a time and he usually has to be watching his favorite cartoons to cooperate.
So obviously, we have a long road ahead of us and we're waiting for our evaluation at Children's Hospital Food Clinic which is scheduled for 2/28 to know exactly where we're going here but at the very least we know that Noah isn't suffering inside from effects of his reflux.  The plan is to wean him from his Prevacid over the next 2-3 months, taking a quarter of his Prevacid solutab away each month until he doesn't take it at all.  Wish us luck in this department because this might help with his digestion since Prevacid is a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) and takes away a lot of the acid that is used in the digestion process.  He's taking probiotics to help offset this.

I will leave you with some favorite pictures from Noah's 1st Valentine's Day home:

Yo Baby!

Okay, so when I say it like that my mind automatically goes to that scene in the beginning of 'Pretty Woman' when Laura San Giacomo is yelling back at that guy soliciting her from a car driving by but that's not what this is about.  I never thought the word baby (pronounced beh beh) would be such sweet sounding music to my ears.  Yup, Noah is definitely saying it now, and often!  Go Noah!

Drool, Boogers and Vomit... Oh my!

Ok, so it's almost been a week since Noah's procedures and let me tell you, I really didn't think that the recovery would be so crazy.  The day-of went very well and I've come to realize that it probably had more to do with the fact that he probably still had some of the heavy pain killers in him that day because we were all amazed at how well he had done.  Fast-forward to the last few days.  I don't even know where to begin, whether to start with the constant mouth breathing and how congested and mucousy he's been, to the bad breath and vomiting, or maybe the weight loss...  Oi vey!  It's been one crazy week.  We've been able to figure out that doing a nasal rinse with Neilmed Sinus Rinse and a small suction before every feed, is really helping him.  I think those first couple of days were touchy because I was so concerned with the pain and healing in his nose that I was afraid to do a lot of rinsing and suctioning for fear of disrupting the healing process or causing him more pain and irritation up there.  This lead to accumulation of mucous and the onslaught of that horrible gag reflex Noah struggles with.  Since doing this, he's been able to hold his feeds down (knock on wood).  The biggest thing I struggled with I believe, was his almost instant weight loss.  He got up to 19lbs 5oz in the few days before his surgery and eventually ended up at 18lbs 11oz by Wednesday, this sent me into panic mode.  My train of thought here was that it took him one month to gain that almost 1lb and there he had lost that in just over a weeks time.  How was this even possible?!?!  I'm relieved to say that when we weighed him tonight he was at 18lbs 14oz so at least he hasn't loss more.  But nevertheless, I was hoping that Noah was going to be 20lbs on his 1 year old due date (2/15) and that just isn't a reality anymore.
So I'm left praying and hoping that this congestion and mucous goes away soon because he is having such a hard time breathing well and I think this is ultimately burning more calories, not good for the weight gain he so desperately needs.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
On a more positive note, Noah is doing wonderful with learning how to pull up on everything!  Mike and I were talking about this and we're so proud of the progress he's been making in his gross motor development lately.  He's also babbling a lot lately which I'm sure is related to all the new movement as of late, his new favorite phrases include doo-doo and babe.  He even started really kissing me today and it just melts my heart.
Did I mention that even through all this craziness and worry about my little preemie baby I feel so blessed in the ways that my son teaches me patience and gives me lessons in strength and perseverance.  He makes me so proud everyday in ways that most people would take for granted.  I hope that one day he can read this and know that I am a better daughter, wife, sister, friend and ultimately mother (a title I hold precious) because of him.  I love you Noah Matthew.  

Post-Op Report

So, yesterday was the big day.  Here's a run-down on how it went:
We checked into Children's @ 8:50am
Sat in the pre-op waiting room for about an hour and a half where they checked his vitals and we changed him into his gown.  There were separate nurses who took his vitals, another who checked us in and asked us questions about Noah's health history and then the last one who would be in the OR with Noah.  All of them were very nice.  We talked to his anesthesiologist first, Dr. Wong, and she explained to us how everything would work.  She was super friendly and really loving towards Noah so that made me feel very much at ease.  Then we spoke to Noah's Gastroenterologist, Dr. Taylor, and she basically filled out paperwork with us, looked at Noah and listened to his breathing and briefly explained what she was going to do and what they would test for with the biopsies she collected.  Then his ENT doctor, Dr. Magit, came in and looked at Noah and explained what he was going to do and what to expect.  Before long, it was 10:30am and the OR nurse walked into our "room" and said they were ready.
At 10:35am Mike and I kissed and hugged Noah and watched as the nurse walked him down the hall to the OR.  I couldn't help but cry as a flood of memories from our NICU days came over me.  I remembered how I felt walking away from my son and wondering if he was going to be okay.  I was surprised at how overwhelmed I felt in that moment.  Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who knew what I was thinking and respected my feelings at that moment and gave me my "time" to gather myself.  He hugged me in the waiting room and in only the way that he knows how, completely quelled my fears.

It seemed like only a few minutes passed, so shortly in fact that when Dr. Taylor walked out into the lobby I had to call Mike to get back from getting me a drink at McDonald's in the next building.  Dr. Taylor went to change her clothes while Mike came back.  At that point an administrator from the hospital called us back into the counseling room and my mom stayed behind to tell Dr. Taylor where they had taken us since she planned on meeting us in the lobby after changing.  We sat in there, the two of us, scared out of our minds and unsure what exactly what had been found, if anything.  It seemed like forever before Dr. Taylor entered the room and sat down to talk to us.  She said everything actually looked pretty good in his esophagus.  It wasn't until she got down near the bottom and by the duodenum that she noticed a couple inflamed areas and took biopsies from there.  She showed us four pictures and illustrated one area that she noticed had 3 small bumps which she suspected to be prior "damage" or swelling from what, she did not know.  She indicated that swelling can linger for months and years so she wasn't overly concerned.  His coloring was pink and everything was very smooth so she said those were all positive signs.  There wasn't anything that showed damage from reflux so that was also very good news.  At this point she said we just have to wait for the lab results for the biopsies, I am going to call and see if we'll find out before our appointment next week.
At the very end of our conversation Dr. Magit walked in and waited for her to finish.  After she did, he sat down and shared his information with us.  He said that his adenoids were very large, something we had suspected from the xrays but couldn't confirm until they actually got in there to take a look.  He said the procedure went very smoothly aside from a small blister he got on his lip from one of the instruments.  He gave us some antibiotic ointment to put on his lip along with a post-op informational sheet on adenoidectomies.  I was saddened to learn that he would still be congested because of the swelling for at least another 1-2 weeks, but we're hoping that he heals up and this whole congestion thing will be a thing of the past.  He wants us to return in two weeks for a follow-up.
After that, we went back to the lobby to wait with my mom and share the news with her while we waited for Noah to wake up from sedation.  We were surprised with an unexpected visit from Mike's brother Al, something that was very nice and appreciated.  It's good to know that Mike has real family that he can count on in times like this.  We waited for what felt like forever (but was probably around 45 minutes to an hour) before a nurse came out to retrieve us, Noah was finally awake!  I can't tell you how anxious I was to see my monkey.  As I rounded the corner to his curtain I was shocked to find Noah flirting with his nurse and kicking the mattress in his crib bed.  The relief I felt cannot be put into words, there he was, my crazy little kid acting like he just hadn't gone through two surgeries.  Are babies resilient or what?

His recovery room nurse was changing shifts but before she introduced us to our new nurse she told us she had been giving him an albuterol treatment for some weaziness and that's what he woke up to and was not happy about that so she had given him some demerol, I believe, for pain and help him relax a bit.  I proceeded to pick him up and give him a hug and kiss before they watched me feed him (one of the requirements to release him) and monitor his ability to swallow and hold his bottle down.  Noah only took a little less than 4.5 oz and I thought he was going to take more than that because he hadn't eaten since 11pm the night before.  But he was sleepy and wanted to go back to sleep so we let him.  When he woke up about 30 minutes later we sat around and waited to have his IV taken out so we could dress him and they could give us the discharge papers.  We walked out of the hospital at around 1:40pm!
After we got back home, it appeared as if Noah's meds had worn off because he got very cranky quickly.  We gave him Tylenol and plan to keep him on it around the clock for the next couple days.  He didn't sleep well last night because he sounded so congested and mucousy(sp?).  After calling the nurses line and speaking to someone in Dr. Magit's office today, we got the go-ahead to do a nasal rinse and suction him so we've been doing that and while it helps for a little while, it eventually starts all over again. My poor guy.  He's eating fairly well considering all that he's been through but hasn't increased his intake or anything.  He has been losing weight these past couple of days before the procedure because of his lack of appetite and I'm hoping he starts going the other direction here very soon.
I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our family and friends who took time out of their nights/days to say a little prayer for Noah.  We are continually amazed at the work God is doing in our lives to bring us closer to him everyday.  He's got big plans for this little guy and we feel so blessed to have amazing people surrounding us.  God is good!

In my best Queen impersonation: ...and another milestone is met!

Dun dun dun dun dun, and another milestone is met, and another one, and another one, and another milestone is met!
In the last 3 days starting on Wednesday Noah started to transition from crawling into a sitting position, something we have worked on for a while.  He's only done it a couple times all by himself but it's a start!  And then today little dude crawls to the fireplace ledge and pulls himself into a standing position right next to Isaiah!  He then proceeded to crawl up my mom's legs and then mine so he could stand up!  This is huge!  I am so proud of my mini-mister (remember that name from when he was in the NICU and Isaiah was the mister-mister, LOL!!!)?!  Oh and I must not forget to mention that he entered into the world of size 18 months pajamas at the end of January, guess my little guy is getting less and less little. :(

Looks like Mike might actually have a chance at winning his notorious walking by June bet.  That is a bet I will gladly surrender to!

A Big Thank You to the Man Upstairs

As many of you all know, Noah has been having feeding issues related to reflux since birth and after trying everything under the sun to treat and prevent his vomiting and poor eating habits, his Gastroenterologist decided it would be best to do an endoscopy and take some biopsies. So we scheduled this a couple months ago for this coming Monday. Fast forward to earlier this week. Noah has been having congestion since his birthday in early December and no matter what we do it won't go away. From saline and suctioning to sinus rinsing and allergy meds it hasn't abated. So we got in last minute with his ENT this past Monday and voiced our concerns. She ordered an xray to check his adenoids and sure enough, they were huge. We mentioned that he had an endoscopy scheduled a week from that day and asked if it would be possible to do it at the same time. We'd been waiting to hear back from the surgery coordinator at Children's to let us know whether or not Noah was going to be able to have his adenoids removed at the same time of his endoscopy to avoid having to intubate him on two separate occasions. The main problem was obviously the last-minutedness and the fact that the ENT specialists schedule out at least 2 months in advance for surgery and this was coupled with the fact that there might not be enough time allotted in the surgery room for two procedures. We got the call this afternoon and by nothing but the grace of God they were able to coordinate and Noah will have both done. Call me crazy or anything else you want but I know that God is watching over this little guy because it was only possible because of a last-minute cancellation that day for a ENT surgeon at the same time Noah's endoscopy was scheduled. Our prayers were answered. And now I don't have to stress about my poor son's inability to sleep well at night because of his honkey nose and snoring or wonder why my son isn't eating well and can't transition to solids as I wait another two months for a new surgery date. God is good and if you were wondering that right now, here's proof!  And, if you wouldn't mind, maybe a prayer or two for this worried mom and a quick recovery for my baby that has had to endure too much already. ;)

The Saga Continues

Oi vay, it's been to long since my last update.  Nothing much has happened since then.  We got Noah a chair to sit at the table with us and watch us eat.  So far so good.  He likes to make a mess but is having success with Cheerios, Graham Crackers, cheese puffs and freeze-dried mangos.  He still likes rice and guacamole from Chipotle and fried rice from anywhere.  He also likes the Stuffed Baker from Claim Jumpers as well.  That being said, he still will only take a couple bites max and then his is over it.  Nothing we can write home about and clearly not anything that would constitute a 'meal'.  We had an appointment with ENT today because he is still very congested despite our efforts to treat what we thought were allergies with sinus rinses, saline, suctioning Nasonex and Claritin all to no avail.  He had a soft-tissue X-Ray done on his face this afternoon to look at his adenoids and see if they are enlarged.  Dr. Bothwell will call us tomorrow with the results.  For the first time ever I am hoping for a positive result because if that is what is causing all this congestion it may possibly be resulting in trouble eating and loss sense of taste among other things.  If he does have enlarged adenoids, the procedure to remove them is very easy and can be done at the same time he does his endoscopy next week.  I read this article and was surprised to see how common it is and how unnecessary the tonsils and adenoids really are. Oh good Lord, please help us find some answers because we still haven't gotten any to this day.  I found this cool tool to put in the blog: 
By infantchart.com

Please say your prayers for Noah tonight.  Good night and God Bless!

In other news: pounds and ounces!

... Mister Noah Matthew Pacheco has crossed the 19lb threshold as of tonight!  So proud of our 'little' guy. If we use his previous height measurement at the doctor's office in mid-December with today's weight, on the growth scale he is @ almost at the 10th percentile adjusted for weight, @ the 75th percentile for length, and @ at the 50th percentile for head circumference!!  So looking at the big picture, he's a tall skinnyish kid who holds our hearts in his little hands. <3

Tick Tock...

Noah's endoscopy is right around the corner (2/7) and I can't help but feel anxious.  On the one hand, I really hope that we can find some resolution as to why Noah is having such a hard time with feeding and transitioning to solids but on the other hand I really don't want him to be intubated again.  It's a requirement for this surgery just like it was when he had his hernia repairs done.  And while he didn't have a problem getting extubated last time I always worry about situations involving his oxygenation because he was on O2 for so long in the NICU.  Please say your prayers for our little mister.

Mike says he'll be walking by June...

And I say that is a very lofty goal considering it took him until he was 12.5 months actual/ 10 months adjusted to crawl.  But we shook on this little bet and we'll see who's the winner of the chicken dinner in a few months time.  As a result, Mike has this poor kid walking all over the place!  He holds his hands and walks around with him and now has him pushing his activity walker/trainer around too!  I have to say I am impressed with Noah's ability to take a couple steps pushing the walker, but we have to stay very close because he likes to forget to hold on or just topples to the right and almost falls!  They have these little walking assistants at Babies R Us and I'm thinking of purchasing one of them out of mercy for Mike's back.  But then again, this might help his odds.  Hmmmmm.... decisions, decisions!  

Hello!

I decided to start a new blog about the adventures of being a preemie parent.  I started a blog when I found out I was pregnant to document our journey into parenthood and when I got gravely ill in October 2009 at 24 weeks pregnant and fell into a coma, the idea of continuing that blog made me sad.  No longer was I a "normal" mom.  I had joined an exclusive club, one of which I didn't necessarily want to be a member of, that of parent to a premature child.  Here is the link to my post about that whole ordeal Swine Flu.  
I have used Facebook as a way to kind of track milestones and events and I feel like Noah deserves much more than that.  I want him to be able to look back at a bigger picture of what his life was like in the early days.  With that, I am posting the events/milestones that I posted on Facebook up until now...


1/12/10: Noah is in an open crib now!! No more isolette for him!!  So proud of my little boy!!  (NICU)
2/6/10: Guess who reached the 5lb mark today?!?!  Mr. Noah Matthew Pacheco that's who!! -Signed Proud Momma Bear
2/8/10: Noah is on low flow nasal cannula and drank his first full bottle yesterday!  Hopefully he continues doing wonderfully and can come home.
2/9/10: Good news- Noah is off his oxygen all together and doing wonderfully.  Bad news- My Nana had what appears to be a brain aneurism and is being life-flighted to a hospital in Phoenix as we speak.  Everyone please pray for my grandma.  Heading there tonight.
2/11/10: Noah is a superstar! Dr D Found His Niche
2/14/10: Trying to research vaccinations and the link to Autism, I'm so scared! Anyone have opinions they'd like to share? We have to let Noah's doctor know soon...
Proud new owner of a 2010 Honda Pilot!!! Who cares if we used Noah as an excuse for needing more room! LOL!

2/16/10: Ughhh, Noah's surgery scheduled for the 25th (inguinal hernia). Everyone keep him in your prayers. Can the little guy catch a break?

2/25/10: God blessed us with a great surgeon, anesthisiologist, and nurse at Children's. Noah's surgery went great and he's recovering well. Thank the Lord and thank you all for all your thoughts and prayers. Amen!

2/27/10: Hoping and Praying that Noah Matthew gets to come home tomorrow!!!!

3/2/10: Another night without our little mister. Ay, will this guy gain some weight so we can bring his little booty home already?!?!?!

3/6/10: Sunday funday! Our little peanut is coming home!!!!

3/13/10: Finally home from an overnight trip to Children's. So far all tests are negative for infections but one of his surgery sites is irratated and after an x-ray and a suppository, our peanut is a little "lighter". IV fluids having him acting like a new man! ;)

3/17/10: Going down to SD...Noah has an Optometry and Peds appt. Hopefully little peanut gained some weight! ;)

3/18/10: Has decided that it's time to take pro pics of Noah as a "newborn" even though he's technically 3 months old!

3/24/10: Our little porkie pig is fast approaching the 7lb mark. He is 6lb 14oz today! Doc says he looks great!

3/29/10: Noah starting cooing yesterday! Momma's big boy!

4/1/10: CNN is probably going to do a story about Noah!!! WTH, this kid is having multiple 15 minutes of fame! I guess we're all blessed to be witnesses of God's miracle work. I love you Noah Matthew and I thank the good Lord above everyday that you're here with Daddy and me.

4/5/10: Our NICU Experience here

Still can't believe CNN will be in our living room on Thursday! Ahhh!!! Thanks again Miracle Babies, it's all for you. I hope this gets the word out about this wonderful organization.

4/8/10: Hey guys! CNN left a bit ago, went well and they're going to get back with us about the air date... stay tuned!

4/9/10: Forgot to tell everyone that Noah was 7lb 9oz on Wednesday!!!!

4/12/10: Yay, Noah is taking his 'newborn' pictures today, even though he's technically 4 months!! Like Joy Behar says, "So what, who cares"!!!

4/21/10: Alright folks, looks like Noah will be on CNN tomorrow during Larry King Live so long as there isn't any "breaking news"!

4/22/10: And oh yeah, with all this CNN excitement, I forgot to tell everyone about Mr Porky Pig's weight today! Drumroll please:::::: 8lbs 7oz!!!! (Gained almost a full pound in 2 weeks) Yup, my Dad says we're gonna have a 10lb Christmas turkey here in no time! I love you Noah Matthew!

Well, it was a little disappointing because I don't recall them even mentioning the name of the organization, Miracle Babies. 59 minutes about a dumb cartoon show and 30 seconds about a wonderful man and his efforts to make our world a better place, I guess that's what this world is about. But I do hope that it helped in some way and the word gets out about MB. The interview on the website is a little bit more in-depth. You can check it out below. Thank you again Dr. Daneshmand and Miracle Babies! Dr's Love, Money Help Families

4/24/10: Is thinking tonight that I am so lucky to have two great loves of my life right next to me. I love you baby, and I love you Noah! I live and breath for you two.

4/27/10: On the way down to SD. Day of needles for the Pacheco's. Blood check for me and round 3 of Synagis for Noah. No!!!!

4/28/10: Thinks Noah's fascination with fans is too funny! He can be screaming his head off, see those fan blades start going and get so excited!

5/5/10: Just heard that we're going to be doing a segment on KUSI tomorrow, I will have more details about air date/time soon! p.s. Someone have a name of a good agent? J/K!!! Yay for Miracle Babies, please remember to donate on spare change you might have on their facebook or website!!!

Ok, so maybe TMI but exactly 1 year ago today we conceived our little miracle Noah after one too many peach & raspberry margaritas @ the Bank here in Old Town Temecula! Must have been the switch from the first kind (Patron) to Casadores! LOL! Who would'a thought that one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me could result from some liquor & fruit? I love you Mike Pacheco and Noah!!

5/7/10: Set your DVR's for Sunday (Mother's Day) @ 10am on KUSI 9/51!!! They did such a good job and we're excited that the word about Miracle Babies is getting out. Please pass along to your friends/family and donate so MB can keep helping families here in SD and all over the country!

5/9/10: Ok, here's the prequel to the interview on San Diego People... www.kusi.com'>CNN Hero

For booking inquiries please contact Mommy @ 1-800-ILUV-NOAH

5/10/10: Noah just started reaching out to touch his toys on his play mat!!!!!! OMG...doing the happy mommy dance!!!

5/13/10: Busy day today... Noah's shot(s), tinting the car windows and thenSusanne Chavarria Pedro's Pampered Chef party. Looking forward to the last two, hoping he's ok from the picos!

5/14/10: Dying to see what Noah's birth announcements are going to look like!! So what if he's almost 6 months old!

5/16/10: About to go watch Ironman 2 and leaving Noah for the first time.. Even though I know his Nana will take great care of him, something just tells me I won't remember what this movie is about afterward. Between the worry and texting every 5 minutes...

5/19/10: Teething = Mommy Hell

5/21/10: Looking forward to getting Noah's birth announcements out today and tomorrow!!

5/22/10: Excited for the Centennial Portuguese Festa tomorrow. We have to expose Noah to the cultural learnings and traditions of the Portuguese side of his Mexi-Port"ism"!!

Noah started laughing today!!!!!!!!! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!

5/31/10: Noah in the Bumbo for the 1st time!!!

6/5/10: Noah in the big boy stroller!

6/6/10: ‎1 year ago today, we found out we were preggo with our peanut. And to my family, all I have to say is, "How did this happen?!?!" (inside joke about my shock and stupidity that day) LOL!!!! I love you Noah Matthew Pacheco, you were the best surprise of my life!

6/8/10: Great news! Just got back from Noah's physical therapy eval and he is doing great for his corrected age (3.5 months)!! His neck is real strong and he's on his way to start rolling over real soon!!! Yippee!! And a very happy belated 1/2 year mark to Noah (yesterday)!

6/11/10: I need a vacation from my vacation!! No more relaxers in store for the Pacheco's! Just go-go-go with NoNo!!! LOL!

6/12/10: What a day to spend our 5-Year Wedding Anniversary... Noah woke up @ 3 am with a lot of congestion and general yuckiness so off to Children's Urgent Care we go, ah the joys of parenthood! Happy Anniversary Mike Pacheco, I love you so much!

6/13/10: Noah's trip to Children's. The mister is ok now.  Getting another albuterol treatment, xray looked good, update soon

6/18/10: OK, it's official: Noah has cut his bottom right front tooth! There are ridges and all! Oh, and just in case you didn't know, when a baby bites down with a solo little tooth, sometimes if feels like a little razor on your pinky! LOL!

6/21/10: It was Mother's Day too in our house yesterday. Noah rolled over from tummy to back on the bed!!! Woo-hoo!!! I'm one proud preemie momma!

6/25/10: One of the many sacrifices I'll make in my lifetime as a mother: Noah got into a pulmonology appt that we've been waiting for (earliest would have been end of August) and it of course lands on the day that Eclipse comes to theaters! So instead of watching my Edward on the big screen we'll be at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego having our honey bunny's lungs looked at. Grateful nonetheless.

I've created a band for Noah... Noah's Band

6/30/10: Eclipse was great, but I can't tell you how much better Breaking Dawn is going to be. I've officially been awake for 36 hours straight now. Focus is on wishing my Dad Ojeda Charlie a happy birthday and not worrying about the not so great stuff we learned at Noah's pulmonary appointment today. Putting everything in God's hands...

7/6/10: Noah's swallow test is this Thursday, we finally got in. Please say your prayers and hope that NoNo is not aspirating when he swallows. We need those lungs as healthy as possible.

7/9/10: Update: Noah's swallow test went wonderful. He's not aspirating! He even got to try some bananas and he did well with those too! Looks like he's going to be having solids by the end of the month! Go Noah!!

7/16/10: Just in case you don't check your email, we have to cancel our party this weekend because me and Noah are feeling under the weather and don't want to get anyone sick. Plus, the 100+ degree weather up here won't make for the best of conditions! Sorry for punking out but our little monkey is 1st priority. Love you all!

8/1/10: Noah has the hives for a second day in a row. WTH?! Hoping it gets better in the next couple day or back to the ped we go...

8/19/10: Uuuuughghghhghgh! Just found out Noah has a high milk allergy! Maybe that's what's been wrong this whole time and not aspiration, reflux, gastro issues! Going to get some EleCare right now! Damn you Neosure!

8/22/10: Noah's having watermelon in his mesh snack bag right now. And so far he's had peaches and sweet potatoes today. Learning to eat like a big boy! Oh and did we forget to mention that he's learned how to avoid tummy time completely now?! Yup, little dude is rolling over in both directions in 2 seconds flat!

8/29/10: Going on our first "official" grocery shopping trip for Noah, it's time to start making some yummy foods for him to enjoy! Trader Joe's and Henry's here we come!

8/29/10: Little Dude is being funny today so we decided to capture it on film! Noah Laughs @ Mommy

8/30/10: Taking Noah to see his great great grandma in AZ this weekend. Better bring our papers! LOL

9/2/10: Noah is getting his 4 top teeth! Aaaaaahhhhhh! Jesus take the wheel!

9/3/10: Noah just pulled me in for a besito for the 1st time ever!!! Awww, true love!

9/15/10: Today is Wednesday September 15th: Noah had his first Gerber Puffs today with success (only gagged once!) and now weighs 14lbs 12.5oz! Could we reach 15lbs by this weekend?!?! Let's hope and pray! I love you Mr. NoNo!

9/16/10: Mommy and Noah being silly again! La La La La

9/23/10: OMG, Noah is seriously watching Superman with Mike Pacheco right now and talking to the TV and all! Smallville is right around the corner and then it's more weenie power around here. So this is what it felt like to be outnumbered Dad/ Ojeda Charlie?!

9/24/10: Noah has officially started talking to himself. It's too funny!

10/2/10: Noah had some beef stew for dinner and now he's enjoying desert, a teething biscuit!

10/6/10: Oi vay! Long day! Pulmonologist says that Noah's lung and breath sounds are great! Don't need to see him for another 3 months! Woo-hoo! He now weighs 15lbs 8oz and is 2' 2" tall. Go Noah, mommy and daddy love you!

10/8/10: Noah got his flu/swine flu combo vaccine today. Let's hope and pray he doesn't get sick.

LOL, just broke out the Glow Worm and Noah love's it! Next throwback to debut: a Monchichi!

10/18/10: Bought Noah's costume online, so excited for his first Halloween!

10/23/10: One year ago today... Life Anniversary

10/26/10: Noah has started to rock back and forth on his hands and knees, so what if it's only for a few seconds and us putting him in that position! A precursor to crawling!! Go Noah Matthew!

10/31/10: Can't wait to dress Noah up in his Tootsie Roll costume!

11/5/10: Noah started using his finger to make blubbering sounds! It's too funny!

11/13/10: Taking Noah out in the crisp morning of November tomorrow for theMiracle Babies 5K walk/run. I'm so scared he's going to get sick, he's gonna be one little bundled up portumex burrito!

11/15/10: Noah's invites are going out in the next couple of days! I hope everyone understands that this party is just IMMEDIATE family only because we have to keep it small for the sake of Noah's lungs in the middle of cold and flu season. Next year EVERYONE can come! My apologies in advance.

11/25/10: Feeling extra blessed this year because I'm not in a coma like I was this time last year. Instead I'm stuffed, blessed with memories made by family and friends, in love with my best friend and mommy to a crazy little boy named Noah. Thank you Lord! ♥

11/27/10: The Christmas tree is up! Had a blast with the whole family!

12/7/10: Thank you guys for your emails, texts and posts! My Little NoNo-meister is 1 today and I'm so happy we could celebrate that. I thank the good Lord above for giving me all my birthday wishes wrapped up in this heaven sent little boy!

12/12/10: Realizes how blessed we are to have amazing family and friends who are there for us and our son. Thank you to everyone who made it out today to help us celebrate our miracle's 1st birthday. Much love!

Noah's 1st B-Day Slideshow... Noah

12/14/10: About to start opening Noah's B-Day presents, finally! LOL!

12/24/10: HE BABBLED DA-DA AND MOM YESTERDAY AND TODAY IN THAT ORDER!!!! So what if it might have been happen chance we still heard it, yup that’s right, we were there together both times and we both heard it!!! So proud of our little guy! Don’t want to get too excited and jinx it so I’ll shut up now.

12/28/10: BREAKING NEWS: Noah Matthew Pacheco, 10 months adjusted/ 1year actual, has started CRAWLING!!! Took off for about 7 paces after his Zsu Zsu Pet started going away from him!!! Never thought I'd see the day!! Love you baby boy!

1/10/11: ♥ 's hearing Noah babble non-stop "ma ma ma ma". When I go to him he's totally happy and content playing or crawling but thinking of his mama (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it)!!!

1/12/11: Noah has suffered his first "boy" injury and there was blood!!! Ok, it was only a couple dots but still! Guess I still have that PPP (Preemie Parent Paranoia), LOL!

1/18/11: Anyone know how to tame a cowlick? I'm getting ready to break out some Tres Flores on this little boy! LMAO!