A Day in the Life of Toni Studer

The Rio Linda mom shares her routine,
and why she'll "March for Babies" April 30th in Sacramento                         

When Emma Studer was born, at 27 weeks, her tiny body weighed just 1 pound, 1.5 ounces. She spent the next 423 days (you can bet mom and dad were counting) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PCIU) at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento. Emma faced many challenges (including infections, underdeveloped lungs and short bowl syndrome). Her course of treatment was very difficult at times, and her parents, Toni and Eddie, knew that there was a real possibility she might not make it.

But Emma did survive, thanks in large part to research made possible by March of Dimes. Now—several procedures later—Emma is a happy and thriving 2-year-old, and her parents have her home at last. She still has some challenges, but every day the Studers celebrate her progress.

In celebration of little Emma, the Studer family will walk in the upcoming March of Dimes March for Babies: Saturday, April 30 at the State Capitol in Sacramento. It will be a big day for the Studers, marking how far they’ve come, but we were curious about Toni’s everyday trials and triumphs, too.

She graciously agreed to give us a peek inside her crazy-busy (but happy) routine, becoming the first local mom in our Mommy Log series:

4:15 a.m. – Emma’s pulse ox machine alarms. I get up to see if she is okay. She’s fine, she just moved around and the machine lost signal. I make sure that she is covered up and resting comfortably. Okay, she’s fine—I can stumble back to our room and back to sleep.

6:00 a.m. – Alarm goes off. Hit snooze. It’s morning already?

6:15 a.m. – Get up and get dressed for the day. It will be a hectic morning!

6:45 a.m. – I go to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and make Emma’s formula for the day.

7:00 a.m. – I wake Emma up singing silly songs. I love to watch her wake up in the morning. She stretches, smiles at me, and claps her hands… She is such a happy girl! After disconnecting her from the ventilator and pulse ox machines, I grab her clothes, feeding pump, suction pump, and various medical supplies from her bedroom and head to the living room... I have turned on the TV there, so that Emma can hear one of her favorite shows, Olivia. This will lure her to walk to the living room, leaving me one less item to carry (lol).

7:30 a.m. – Emma is dressed and strapped into her high chair. I have about 30 minutes before we have to leave for our appointments. I give Emma her first breathing treatment, stopping every few minutes to suction her trach. I try to get Emma to hold still while I comb her hair, but like most 2-year olds, she is not interested in sitting still. At last! I win this battle with a barely-secured barrette in the front. Oh well, it will have to do.

7:45 a.m. – Prime Emma’s feeding pump with the formula. She will have to get this feed on the road (hopefully it will be done by the time we get there).

7:50 a.m. – Load all of our supplies in the van: suction machine, diaper bag, feeding bag. Check for spare ventilator, oxygen tank and regulator, battery, etc… Okay, I think we have everything we need. Time to get going!

8:00 a.m. – First stop: Emma’s feeding/speech therapy session (across town near the hospital).

8:40 a.m. – Next stop: the hospital. Search everywhere for a good parking space, and of course there isn’t any close to the building, so we head to the back of the main lot. Unpack the stroller and load everything that we will need into it. Don’t forget to grab her food for food play!

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. – Feeding and speech therapy. We discuss different ideas on how to get Emma to use her voice around her trach, see how she is progressing with her receptive language, and work on getting her to make vowel sounds. Feeding therapy was much better, Emma let me put a spoon with applesauce to her lips a few times without fighting me, and she even licked her lips, which is a big step. We played with food on our hands, clapped, and sang songs to get used to different textures on our hands. Things are going great; we will have another appointment in a few weeks.

10:25 a.m. – Okay, it’s time for our last Synagis injection of the season! Thankfully this next appointment is next door. Emma is onto this whole nurse/doctor thing, so she starts to cry as soon as the nurse opens the door and says her name. Poor baby! She doesn’t like anyone in scrubs or anyone holding a stethoscope! I get Emma undressed, so they can weigh her to get the dosage right. Emma throws a fit anytime the nurse walks in, so I get instruction on how to operate the digital scale so that I can weigh her by myself in the next room. “Come on, Emma!  Let’s sing a silly song while we weigh! If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands….”  Okay, I think I got it. Back to our room where I try to distract her with my iPod. Hmmm…maybe she won’t feel the shot? No such luck. Poor baby! “It’s okay, sweetie, that was the last one! You were so brave! Let’s get dressed and get out of here!” Hopefully cold and flu season will be over soon, and we can go outside and play. Just a few more weeks, and we will be free!

11:30 a.m. Home at last!  We get everything back into the house from the van, and settle in for some serious play time. Emma goes between her piano, dolls, and anything that makes noise. I take this opportunity to check e-mail and grab a bite to eat.

12:00 p.m. – Time for Emma’s second breathing treatment; she would rather be up playing than sitting still for me. (Typical toddler!)

March of Dimes March for Babies
 Join the Studers in walking together for healthier babies!
Saturday, April 30 at the State Capitol in Sacramento
Registration starts at 7:30 a.m., festivities kick off at 8:30, March begins at 9 a.m.
To sign up, start a team, or for more information, call 916-922-1913 or visit MarchForBabies.org.

12:15 p.m. – My mom calls and invites us over for dinner tonight. I love my mom! This saves me from trying to figure out what to make for dinner!

12:30 – 12:45 p.m. – Draw up all of Emma’s medications. Most of these are only once a day, but there are six of them, and some of them have to be mixed up with liquid before administering.  All the meds are ready—time to fill the feeding bag with more formula and chase down this busy girl.

1:00 p.m. – Play time is paused again; it’s time for her next meal. She’s so not interested. (Sigh…) Okay, let’s try Despicable Me (her current favorite movie). She smiles at the screen. (Phew!) With her all strapped into her high chair getting her feed, it’s time to change the laundry out and straighten up the kitchen.

1:30 p.m. – Door bell rings. It is a delivery for all of Emma’s enteral and feeding supplies for the month. Okay, inventory time… Everything is here; unpack all supplies to get rid of all the boxes.

2:30 p.m. – Time for Emma’s nap. She looks so sleepy!  I suction her one more time for good measure, and tuck her into bed. Attach the pulse ox probe onto her foot to monitor oxygen saturation and heart rate. Turn on and connect Emma to the ventilator so that she can get a good rest. She snuggles right down with her blanket and binky. It won’t be long.

4:00 p.m. – Emma wakes up from her nap. Time to get her disconnected from all the machines (ventilator, pulse ox) and change her diaper. She is in a good mood… I can’t help but laugh at her as she smiles and claps her hands.

5:30 p.m. – Waiting for Eddie to get home from work so we can leave for dinner. I have packed Emma’s pajamas, just in case we get back home a little late.

6:00 p.m. – Arrive at my parent’s house for dinner. It smells so good! Pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad and green beans—and biscuits! Oh. My. Goodness.

8:00 a.m. – Home from dinner, I’m so full that I can hardly move! We had a great time, as always!

8:45 a.m. – Emma’s last feed of the day is complete, and it is time to tuck this little lady into bed. By the time we get her all hooked up to the ventilator, pulse ox, and get her snuggled in, she is already drifting off to sleep. One last peek at my miracle baby, and then I turn on her music, turn off the light, and close her door.

10:30 p.m. – It’s been a long day, time to get some rest. I was just getting ready to drift off when Emma’s pulse ox machine alarms. Quick check: She is fine, just getting comfortable. (Sigh…) Time for some much-needed sleep!

Tomorrow’s Saturday! Thank God for the weekend! Hopefully we will have a less hectic morning routine, and maybe a drive to get some fresh air!

Care to share your own mommy log? Send your “Day in the Life” diary to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . (Submissions are penned voluntarily by local moms (and dads), without payment or endorsement by Sacramento Parent, and are subject to editing for space considerations, etc.)