Sonia is still doing very well. She spends most of her day sleeping with small wakeful times to look, smile, and coo at mommy. Although she is still very chubby, she gets many many compliments on how sweet she looks. She is still without extra oxygen – which is so good – and still eating everything through her tube. She is also still refusing to take anything by mouth. The speech therapist is starting to think outside of the box, however, and has given us permission to offer Sonia lolly pops – just anything yummy that will make her want to put something in her mouth. It is an odd thing to not feed your baby – it leaves us with lots of time to just look at one another and find other ways to pass the time.
Our big thing now is taking baths in a real baby bath tub. She really enjoys it – or at least doesn’t mind – and we have a nice time bonding. The biggest change is that we got our own room this week. Up until now we have shared a room with at least 3 other patients, 2 nurses, and all of the other parents and visitors. Not only was this environment very loud and busy for us both, but it provided little time for us to bond. Now we have our own private room where we can coo at one another and smile and just be together. It is also so much quieter and less stimulating for the two of us. I spent much of this first day in our new room just watching my daughter sleep. In the other room I would have felt compelled to talk with the other people in the room. Now Sonia can have my undivided attention. It is such a blessing.
The situation now is that we are waiting for a date for Sonia to go to the Cath Lab where they use a catheter to take a very good look at her heart before the surgery. Once the surgeon gets the results from this, he will be able to add her to his surgical schedule – hopefully for the 30th or 31st of this month. Until then, we are planning to enjoy Sonia as much as we can. Jason will be coming to see her this Thursday for a few days and then after a short time home will come back with Faye for a longer visit. I cannot wait to have my entire family in one room. We only did this once or twice before and it was rushed because of Sonia’s condition. Now that Sonia is doing so well, we will be able to have a much more “normal” time together.
My computer is still on the fritz, so it will be a few weeks before I get back on a good schedule of updating. For now, I hope I can add some pictures. Keep an eye on the photo album and I will do my best to update.
Shannon-I am so glad that things are going so well with Sonia. I’m sure the private room makes all the difference for the two of you and having the rest of your family there is surely going to lift yours and Sonia’s spirits. I will keep praying for you and Sonia and hope for good news for the next surgery.
It must be nice to finally have some privacy and quiet time with Sonia. Knowing you though, you’ll still be visiting the rest of the patients and staff and chatting them up. How did the lolly pops work out? That really is a great idea to get Sonia to want to eat by mouth again. Call me when you get a chance.
That is so great you have your own room. It sounds like things are going well. Your family continues to be in my thoughts and I hope that the lollipops will be helpful in getting Sonia to put stuff in her mouth.