Today Lia is 5 months old! This last month has been very busy for Lia and her parents. Lia started the month helping her Momma celebrate her 28th birthday. Then when Momma went back to work, Lia has been spending some quality time with her Daddy and her Abuelita. Last week she celebrated her first Halloween dressed as a ladybug. She also went on her first trick-or-treating trip with cousin Jack.

Lia has been officially sleeping through the night for the past 3 weeks - getting 9-10 hours of sleep each night!! Her parents are especially happy about this!

We are also so happy to say that Lia is also starting to get over her 'fussy' part of the day. Each night, there is occasionally fussiness, but the hours of screaming has finally ended!!

At Lia's last appointment, on November 3rd, Lia weighed in at 14 pounds, 5 ounces. She remains the same at 22 inches.

Overall, Lia has been doing very well! She is becoming a very happy baby!

Today Lia had her fourth month check-up. She continues to gain weight rapidly and is now up to 12 pounds and 14 ounces!! She is also 22 inches long. The doctor has, once again, lowered her calories in her formula - one more step and we will back to 'normal'. Lia also received her 4-month vaccinations at this doctor's appointment.

We are afraid that Lia may be a colicky baby. She has become more and more fussy, especially in the evening hours (by fussy we mean SCREAMING). We spoke to the doctor about it and, unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it, but wait until she grows out of it...so we are patiently waiting (with earplugs on)!

On the brighter side, when Lia is not fussy (about 1 hour a day), she has been smiling a TON more! It is so nice to see!

Today Lia is 4 months old! She is doing very well. At last check, she was 12 pounds 7 ounces! On Friday she will have her 4 month check up, so we will know more then.

Today Lia had her monthly check-up with the pediatrician. Lia weighed in at 10 pounds, and 6 1/2 ounces!! She was also 20 inches long. Because she has been gaining weight very rapidly, the doctor has reduced the calories in her formula.

Because Lia was a NICU baby, she favors her right side of her head. This means that she always turns her head to the right. As a result, the right side of her head (in the back) is flatter than the left side, and the muscles on the left side of her neck are a lot tighter. The doctor told us that we have to work on strengthen the muscles on the left side of her neck so that she will be more willing to turn her head to the left, which will result in her head becoming more round. If this doesn't work, Lia may have to wear a helmet to help her get her head back to being round. We are hoping this doesn't happen, so we have been working hard with Lia (although she does not like it!)

All in all, Lia is doing a great job, and she continues to be a very healthy baby!

Today Lia is 3 months old!

Today we went for our monthly check-up with the endocrinologist. There we found out that Lia now weighs 8 pounds and 11 ounces!!! She is gaining weight at a great pace and is doing really well. Lia also has grown, length-wise, and is 19 1/2 inches long!

Today Lia is 10 weeks old. She has officially passed her original due date (August 15th), and she is doing extremely well!

This past weekend, Lia took her first (of many to come) trip to Maine. Lia spent time at the beach, and relaxed at Nana and Papa's house with Momma, Daddy, Aunty Amy, cousin Jack, and Nana and Papa. We are looking forward to next summer when Lia is able to have fun in the sun with cousin Jack!

At Lia's last weigh-in (August 13th), Lia weighed 7 pounds, 5 1/2 ounces!!! She is getting so big!

Today Lia is 2 months old! She has adjusted well to being at home. She is gaining weight very quickly - yesterday she weighed in at the doctor's office at 6 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces! She should be up to 7 pounds today!! It is amazing how far she has come!

Lia has been doing an OK job with sleeping. She is very fussy and moves a lot in her sleep, which keeps her parents up at night!

At first we were very worried about Lia eating. We certainly aren't worried about that anymore! She is taking her feedings without a problem, in a short amount of time, and she is even looking for more after her bottle is done!

Overall, Lia is doing a great job! The doctor's say she is right on track and she is a healthy baby!

We survived our first night at home with flying colors! Lia had a great night sleep, only waking once for a feed. Other than that, she made some funny noises during her sleep that kept her Momma awake! Lia is also progressing very nicely with her bottles - almost drinking a full bottle at every feed!!

Today Lia had her first pediatrician appointment. She now weighs 6 pounds, 7 ounces!!! The doctor said that she is looking perfectly healthy, and that she is moving in the right direction. Today she had her first three shots which she took like a champ! The immunizations resulted in a little fussiness, but other than that, she is doing very well!

Tonight Lia had her first tubby time at home (bath). She was very fussy, but she is now a clean baby!

Lia is finally home! As of now, Lia is just barely taking her feedings, so we have to carefully monitor her. The nurses were unsure if it was really time to take her home, but they decided that we were capable to continue with her care. So, we need to be extra careful the next few weeks. As of now, we were told by the doctors to continue the same routines as in the hospital. For now, we are only going to allow Louie and myself to hold her for the next two weeks, until she reaches full term. We also need to keep noise/activity levels to a minimum, just like when she was in the hospital. We hope everyone is understanding of this because we surely don't want Lia back in the hospital.

So today we got the word that Lia is going to come home TOMORROW!!! The nurses said if she continues to do well today and tonight, she will be able to come home tomorrow. We are so excited and can't wait to have our little one home with us! Hopefully all goes as planned and by Thursday night, Lia will finally be at home!

Last night Lia weighed in at 6 pounds!! It is amazing how much she has grown. Lia is also progressing nicely with her bottles. Today the nurses said that if she continues to do well, she may be heading home sometime this week!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed!

Lia has been making great progress with her bottles. On Wednesday, she took a full bottle for the first time! Since then, she has been averaging about 3/4 of her bottles. The nurses say that she is doing a great job considering that she is anemic, which causes her to tire faster than normal. We are hoping that this progress continues, and that she will be on full bottles in the upcoming week. When she is on all full bottles, the feeding tube comes out, and she comes home!!

Today Lia is at 5 1/2 pounds! Just by looking at her you can tell she is starting to fatten up! Everything is going well. We are continuing to work on the bottles, so hopefully that will start clicking soon.

Today Lia weighed in at 5 pounds!! She is steadily gaining weight, and you can start to see her 'fattening' up!!

Lia is doing very well, but we are still working on the bottles. She averages drinking about 1 ounce every time she is bottle fed, but the goal is to be drinking about 2 ounces, consistently, per feeding. She has made progress with the bottles over the last few weeks, so we are hoping this will only take a few more weeks. According to the nurses, one day it will magically click! We continue to wait for that day!!

Today Lia hit 4 1/2 pounds! She is gaining weight steadily and she is doing very well. Yesterday she had her eyes examined and they were found to be "very healthy eyes". Otherwise, we are still waiting for her to start taking bottles. It is a tricky process because she has to coordinate how to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time, without tiring herself out.

Today Lia is one month old!

Today Lia is 4 weeks old! She is progressing nicely. We are still working on feeding from a bottle. This is a slow process which will take a few weeks to perfect. She needs to be completely fed on bottles before she is able to come home. We are keeping our fingers crossed that maybe she'll be home before July is over.

Today Lia hit the 4 pound mark!! She weighed in late last night at 4 pounds, 2 ounces. Her gain was 82 grams which is her biggest to date. We are hoping that this kind of weight gain continues!

Last night Lia tried a bottle for the first time. Although she was only able to get a little out of it, she showed us that she is ready to begin. Everyday we will feed her once with a bottle, and gradually we will increase all her feedings to a bottle. Once she is able to take all feedings through a bottle (and at a good pace) she'll be ready to come home!

Lia is now settled in at Newton Wellesley Hospital!! She is doing very well, and continues to gain weight. They have even taken her out of her isolette and are trying to keep her in an open crib. She must maintain her own body temperature to remain in the crib, so we will see how that goes.

Many have asked about visiting Lia - there are a few rules! Louie or I have to be there, and they only allow 2-3 visitors at a time (so try to call us to 'schedule' a time to see her - she is a very popular lady!!). Please also know that only Louie and I can hold her - they do not want her exposed to anything extra that could make her sick, and she is still a little peanut. And also, when entering the Special Care Nursery (6th floor), you must wash your hands (for sanitary reasons), and cell phones must be turned off (there are many other babies around, so sounds should be limited). Lia can't wait to meet everyone!!

Today Lia is going to be transferred to Newton Wellesley Hospital! We are very happy because this means no more trips into Boston and no more dealing with the crazy parking situation! Although Mass General has been very good to us, it is very nice to see them go!

As of now, we are still waiting for a 'bed' to open up at Newton Wellesley Hospital. The tricky thing is that we are waiting for a bed in an isolation room. Lia has an eye infection (nothing serious, just a gooey eye), and they don't want to expose her to other babies, so she needs to be in a room by herself. Supposedly the baby that is in the isolation room is due to discharge any day now. So, we were told the wait could be 1-4 days...stay tuned!

So, the good news is that Lia was ready to be transferred to Newton Wellesley Hospital today. The bad news is that they didn't have a bed available for her. The plan is to try again tomorrow, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that space becomes available!

As of now, Lia is off of CPAP and the IV line has been removed. She currently has nasal cannula to help with her breathing, but today the nurses are working on weaning her off. She is now up to full feeds and she is tolerating them well. We are still waiting for her to gain some weight, but it looks like this week she may be transferred back to Newton Wellesley Hospital!!

Everything is starting to look up for Lia. Her feedings have increased and she has been tolerating them well. By tomorrow she will be up to full feedings and her IV fluid will be removed. We are playing the waiting game now - just waiting for her to gain weight and strength. Once that happens, the CPAP will be removed, and if she remains stable without that support, she will be transferred to Newton Wellesley Hospital. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this will happen soon!

Today we got some good news...the heart murmur is gone! An echocardiogram was done, and sure enough the duct has closed. So, as a result, every 12 hours her feedings will increase, and so far she seems to be tolerating them well. So, hopefully she will fatten up soon! We also found out more information about her under-active thyroid - since her thyroid hormones are so low, her levels will have to be maintained through medication. The endocrinologist said that, unfortunately, she will probably have to take medicine every day for the rest of her life. So, as of now, we are just waiting for her to fatten up and get stronger!

During the night Lia had difficulties breathing so she was put back on CPAP (tubes in her nostrils). It turns out that she may have a collapsed lung, so she needs the CPAP to help keep the lung open and functioning. The nurses assured us that this is common among preemies and once she gains some weight and becomes stronger, she should be able to keep her lungs open herself. Some good news...the doctors can't hear the heart murmur anymore, so it looks like it may be closing. They are going to continue to monitor it and if she has any symptoms of it still being present, they will do an echocardiogram to look at it more closely. They have also increased her feedings to help her gain weight and become stronger.

Today we got to bathe Lia for the first time (sponge bath)! Lia also made Daddy a Father's Day card in honor of his first Father's Day! As for health updates, we are still following the heart murmur - we will know more in the next two days. Today when we left, she had to go back under the photo therapy lights. Her levels are still high because she is not moving her bowels which helps deescalate her levels. So hopefully in the next two days we will get some good news about the heart murmur. Once the heart murmur has cleared, her feedings will increase and we'll be able to start "fattening" her up!

Today Lia showed a lot of progress. Today she was taken off of CPAP (breathing tube) and she was removed from the photo therapy lights (for jaundice). The doctors did find a heart murmur, so she is now being treated with a baby version of ibuprofen. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the heart murmur will clear up with medication over the next three days. Otherwise, Lia had a great day today, and she looks beautiful!

The last two days have been trying for little Lia. At first, Lia responded well without the breathing tube, however, she was exerting herself too much, so they decided to put her on something called CPAP. Now she has two breathing tubes in her nostrils to help her with her breathing. She is also a little jaundice, which is common for preemies. So, she is now under photo therapy lights. Hopefully she won't be needing the lights in a few days. Today we found out that she has elevated thyroid levels which can be cured with medicine. The doctors also think they found a heart murmur which will be determined after an ultrasound today. All in all, Lia is a fighter and is slowly, but surely, doing well.

Today Louie and I went to see Lia. Louie got to change her diaper, and I was able to hold her for the first time (kangaroo style) for about 1 hour. When we were getting ready to leave, we got the news that they were going to remove her breathing tube! So far, she has responded well to breathing on her own, but we have to wait and see how the day continues.

On the morning of June 8th, 2008, Lia decided that she couldn't wait any longer. She joined us via emergency c-section at 9:53am. She weighed in at 3 pounds 9 ounces and was 15 1/4 inches long. She was able to stay at Newton Wellesley Hospital for a few hours, but was soon transferred to the NICU at Mass General Hospital in Boston for more intensive care - particularly with her breathing. At Mass General she has a suite to herself with a beautiful view of Boston! She currently is doing well for her age.