Happy Halloween!

I love this day! Happy Halloween to everyone and here are a few pics of Ruby in her Tiny Dancer costume that I made!

More Halloween outfits to come...

Dammit Oprah!

As if I couldn't be more grateful for my daughter than I already am, after seeing this you tube video blog I just had to hold her tight and tell her how much I love her... This was shown on today's Oprah show about miracle children.

Be careful, it's a tear jerker...

99 Balloons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Cutie Pie!

Some babies babble... Ruby likes to yell! I think she wants to make sure you're listening =) She still likes to nap a lot, but when she's awake she is staying busy trying to eat her hands and loves to be sung to. She's such a little cutie pie and makes me feel so lucky as a mom. Here are few more pictures from the last few weeks with more to come!

A few more...

Here are a few more shots from Ruby's 3 month photo shoot. I think they turned out pretty good considering Ruby was all over the place and Mom and Dad were not planning on getting their pictures taken too. ha... I think the last one is my favorite.

Home Again

Louis, Ruby, and I are recovering from our trip in the bay area. Ruby had a wonderful week spending time with her family, staring at her ceiling fan, playing Wii with her Daddy, and just being a cutie pie. As always, it was hard to leave but wonderful to be home too. Ruby seemed a little out of sorts today, which I think is a combination of having been in the car all night and adjusting to being back at home. Mom and Dad could use a good nap too!

Louis and I will be celebrating our dating anniversary this Friday... 5 years! What a journey it has been, and I can only imagine what the next 5 will bring! My life is so full of love and I have Louis to thank for that. I'm a lucky girl =)

A New Angel

Ruby has a new guardian angel... Louis's grandfather, Poppa, passed away last weekend. As many of you know, he was a wonderful man who meant so much to his family. I am blessed to have known him and he will be missed dearly!

Louis and I came back to the bay area to attend his services and to spend time with family. Ruby has done so wonderfully and has brought many smiles to everyone here. I couldn't be happier about that, and am also thankful that she was able to meet many more members of her extended family.

In our absence, our photographer sent us a couple of pictures from last weeks session, and I'm happy to say that they look lovely and I am very excited to see the rest!

Model Behavior

Ruby had some pictures taken at our house yesterday, and boy was it funny! I guess your asking for trouble when you're dealing with a naked baby. She threw up at least five times and peed on daddy once! He took it like a champ, but I'll never forget the sound of it hitting the carpet HAHA... Frankly, I'm surprised it took three months to pee on one of us. After the first group of pictures Ruby started crying, which as you know, is totally not like her! She had a melt down for awhile before we were able to finish. Poor thing! I'm sure we got some cute pictures though, and we had a wonderful experience with our photographer Vikki. We should get them next week and I'll be sure to share!

Ruby seems to be growing up so fast. This week she started smiling much more and is starting to make cute little baby noises. She likes to yell at the monkey on her activity mat, and she was talking to the curtains earlier this morning. Good times!

3 Months Old

Ruby will be 3 months old tomorrow! It is truely joyful to watch her grow and change, and I cannot believe how quickly time is passing by.

We took Ruby to see the pulmonologist last week. He wants her to be on the apnea monitor for at least another month because of the severity of her issues in the NICU. I was bummed, but I understand. He also doubled her Prilosec dosage since she is over 8 pounds now. I think she's doing better though because of that!

After the appointment, Louis and I took Ruby to my work for another visit. I think she puked on everyone that held her HAHA... oops... But it was still nice to see everyone! Speaking of how great my coworkers are, I recently reached the end of my sick and vacation time. Because of the circumstances of Ruby's birth, they were able to donate sick time to help cover my maternity leave. Within 2 hours my boss had received almost double what I needed to cover my leave! I am humbled by the generosity of these wonderful people, and so grateful to them for this amazing gift. We continue to count our blessings...

8 pounds!

We had a visit from our home nurse today, and little Miss Ruby Marie weighs over 8 pounds now! She has moved from the 5th percentile for her adjusted age, to just under the 25th. High five!

We are meeting with the pulmonologist tomorrow for an assessment. We're hoping that he'll tell us we can officially ditch the apnea monitor, since we've already unofficially ditched it. She is off of her caffeine and still breathing, right? =)

In other news, Ruby is wearing cranky pants today and I think it is because of the heat. This is one family that is looking forward to Fall!

A few more pictures for you guys-->

My mom babysat Ruby last Saturday so Louis and I could go to the Adams Avenue Street Fair for Michelle's birthday. We got out of the house, at the same time! Hooray!

Home

We are back at home and doing great! The trip up North to visit Louis's grandfather went wonderfully! We left for the trip at 9pm last Saturday. We did the drive at night so Ruby would be less stressed, since she'd be sleeping most of the time. We also avoided traffic and heat. Thankfully Ruby did great and we made the journey in 7.5 hours, and her alarm did not go off once =)

Louis and I were so happy to be able to introduce Ruby to her great grandfather, and the rest of Louis's family. Ruby handled the new environment pretty well, but had a few meltdowns which is unlike her. But we understood that meeting everyone and being in a new place can be stressful, and were very proud of how great she did.

We stayed until Monday, and came home with a new fall wardrobe for Ruby and an extra 5 pounds from all the food we ate! It was hard to leave, but we know we will be back to see everyone soon.

It's Working!

Today we took Ruby to her 2 month appointment. We finally got to meet with her pediatrician, and he was wonderful. I'm so happy he was recommended to us!

Ruby had developed a rash yesterday, and I spent the day feeling like a bad mother since I assumed it was an allergic reaction to something I had put her on that hadn't been properly washed with hypoallergenic laundry soap. Yesterday it was all over her back, and today had spread to her arms and a little on her chest. Her doctor, however, said it just looked like a non-specific heat rash. Either way, the treatment is the same... nothing. If is seems to bother her we can apply hydrocortisone creme.

In good news though, Ruby is now 7 pounds! I couldn't believe it. She's 19.5 inches long. Her doctor kept saying, "she's doing better than her friends," meaning better than expected for a 32-weeker. He said if she keeps going at this rate, she could be caught up by 6 months! Louis and I are very proud of our little weed.

She had her first round of vaccinations, which consisted of four shots in her legs and one oral. She cried for as long as they were giving her the shots and then stopped, what a trooper. We followed up with a bottle and some tylenol and she's been sleeping since.

The doctor was wonderful, and took time to answer all of my questions, and develop a plan for Ruby to taper off her meds and get off the monitor. We're stopping her caffeine to see if she is still event free, and next will start tapering off the Reglan. He also recommended probiotics to help with her digestion, which I'm really excited to try.

All in all, it was a great visit, and we left knowing that Ruby is doing fantastic, and continuing to exceed everyone's expectations. The doctor told us to keep doing whatever we were doing, because it's working =)

Good times

Ruby is 2 months old now, but her adjusted age is only 10 days. I try to think of it as being blessed to have had an "extra" 8 weeks with our peanut. I just love her so much, how can you not? We've started venturing out of the house, with much success so far. I'm still concerned about germs and such, since she's so susceptible to getting sick. And getting sick could likely mean going back to the hospital, so we're still being careful with her. Anyway, we're all doing well, and are planning our first trip up north to visit Lou's family. Now THAT will be an adventure.

Hanging out with Mommy Grandpa Murphy and Grandpa Whites Look at those eyes!

Ruby's opinion on "tummy time"... Is this normal for a 10day old??

Ruby's Due Date

We celebrated Ruby's due date on Saturday by taking our first official outing. We went to my dad's house to celebrate his birthday. She did great! It's funny to think that this is how she could have been when she was born. There is no way to say whether she would have been this size or acted like she is now, but it's still makes me wonder. I guess I'll always wonder.

After a few hours of socializing and hanging out at the pool, we headed home. She seems to like being in the car, although it doesn't make her sleep like I thought it would. Once home, she still didn't sleep, and that's when it happened... SHE CRIED. Almost 8 weeks old and on her due date, Ruby Marie cried for the first time! 10 minutes of actual crying! She fusses all the time, and has cried for a moment when she was in the NICU and in her sleep, but has never REALLY cried before. Not since she was born. Louis and I didn't know what to do haha... It made me so sad to hear it, but happy at the same time. I think it was her way of celebrating her un-birthday =)

So things are moving along, and we're all doing well. I'm happily dealing with normal baby challenges (and a few special ones) and watching our little one change everyday. The home nurse came today and Ruby now weighs 6 pounds! She's in the 10th percentile for weight and length. (Hooray! She's on the chart!) She also hasn't had an event in over a week. We're still dealing with the challenges of reflux, and managing medications, but I couldn't be happier...

Here are some pictures from the weekend, I hope yours was as good as mine:

7 Weeks Old

Ruby seems to change everyday! It's amazing! My first week at home with the little one went great over all. She seemed to be fussy with an upset tummy so we tried a few things to soothe her. The winning combo seems to be Gripe Water, a natural remedy for upset tummy/colic/hiccups, and a new bouncer designed for newborns. Ruby seems to be sleeping much better between feedings, and so are Louis and I! But I have to say, even when she does get fussy, Louis and I both realize how lucky we really are. Ruby is such a good baby! She never cries and is full of personality. I think we paid our dues with having to be away from her for so long while she in the NICU =)

As far as the bouncer goes, it keeps Ruby at an incline which is recommended for her reflux, but also keeps her supported and contained. She really isn't big enough for her swing and the bouncer we already had, but once she is, those will work great too. And the best part is, I got it off Craigslist for 15 bucks, instead of the 60 that it retails for!

To end the week, on Friday, our friends Elizabeth and Tony had their baby girl Isabella Blu! Liz and I had the same due date, so it's funny to think that Ruby is 7 weeks older and 2 pounds lighter than her newest friend! ha! We also had a house full of visitors this weekend, including our friend Marc who is in town from Japan.

Here are some pictures from the weekend, I can't believe how big she's getting!

Aww my little peanut!

6 Weeks Old!

Ruby turned 6 weeks old yesterday, and we survived our first day home alone! Hooray! Staying home with her went really smoothly, and I think I successfully managed to let Louis sleep during the night. Having to move the monitor around from room to room is kind of a pain, and I'm already wishing it was gone. In time I know it will be, and things will be that much less complicated.

That being said, I missed Louis while he was gone and was excited to see him when he came home! He held his daughter for hours, and we were both happy =) Aunt Nickel also stopped by to get her dose of Rubyness, and she kept her entertained while Louis and I ate dinner.

Today is going just as smoothly and I'm feeling very content with my life...