Lincoln & Maya Maxwell: January 2011

4 weeks old!

We are 4 weeks old today!!
Lincoln reached the 4lb mark this week. She lost an ounce the following day and dropped just below, but we are still so excited that she is getting bigger! She is getting to spend quality time at the breast with Mom every day and really seems to be figuring it out. By the time she is strong enough to come off her feeding tube she will be ready! She is doing really well at keeping her temp and may even get to move into an open crib sometime in the next couple weeks.
Maya is still following behind a bit. Her blood transfusion improved her hemoglobin levels, but she is still having respiration issues. She is having a hard time keeping her O2 levels up and despite daily meds her lung x-rays are looking worse. We hope she can get better soon and be able to come out more like her sis. Keep her in your thoughts.

Lincoln has graduated to preemie pampers!

Maya - 4 weeks

Lincoln - 4 weeks

Lincoln's pic of her sis.

Maya's pic of her sis.

January 23 - 25

We are realizing that this experience will be full of ups and downs.
Maya had to get another blood transfusion due to low hemoglobin. She had to get stuck several times before they finally got a good vein in her scalp. Poor thing. But she did really well, and hopefully she will start to feel better soon!
Lincoln has been doing well with her breathing so they let us introduce her to the breast today. Not to eat, but just to get familiar. They are still too young to coordinate suck, swallow, and breath. So they have her suck while she is getting her feeding through her tube. She did a great job and Mom was so happy! It was such a nice reward for all this pumping.

Lincoln's cute duckie outfit.

Mom and Lincoln.

Dad and Maya.

3 weeks old!

Today seemed to fly by too quickly.
We looked so cute in our outfits. Mom and Dad held us all swaddled up and we got to meet up once again.
We had lots of visitors today including Grandpa Bob and Grandma Shirley.
Today Maya weighed in at 3lbs 5oz and Lincoln at 3lbs 8oz!!

Lincoln

Hey, I know you!

Lincoln peeking at Dad.

The Maxwells

1/20 & 1/21

We have enter a trial and error phase. We are both growing and showing signs that we can breath and keep warm on our own, so we are getting a chance to do so.
Maya got her IV out and is now getting almost as much milk as her sister at each feed.
Lincoln is trying to come off her oxygen all together. Yesterday morning she was off for a few hours and then went back on when she started struggling to keep her O2 levels up. This morning we tried again, and she was doing really well. She was having some spells, but we are going to let her keep trying on her own. Mom got some good pics of Dad holding Lincoln today with no cannula on, so you can see her cute face better.
Both girls are doing a pretty god job at keeping their temps up on their own. Today they got to be dressed for the first time ever!! It is so funny because they are still swimming even in the preemie size. We can really tell they are growing. It is funny things like their ears which look more defined and their heads which feel so much larger in our hands now.

Mom sneaks a kiss

What the heck are you doing down there? (Dad changing Maya's diaper.)

Dad, Uncle Jake, and Maya

Maya - no longer naked

Maya Jo

Lincoln asleep on mom

Lincoln cracking mom up.

Daddy and Lincoln

Maya - look how much she's changed already!

1/18/11 & 1/19/11

Just wanted to add some pics since I didn't get to it the last two nights. The girls are doing good. Maya is now 3lbs 2 oz!!! She came off the cpap last night and they keep increasing her feeds so she is no longer receiving TPN and lipids! She may even get to lose her IV soon! Lincoln continues to impress us. Both girls are being swaddled again so Mom got to hold Lincoln all bundled up for a long time yesterday. Today Mom and Dad both got to Kangaroo hold. Dad was trying out some of his prime material on Lincoln and we swear she was laughing :) There's much more where that came from.
Hope everyone is staying safe and warm in this blizzard.

Our New Pack'n'Play

Mommy and Lincoln

Sweet Lincoln

1/17/11

Just a quick update for you all. Not too many changes.
Maya reached 3 lbs at her weigh in last night!! She is still on cpap to help get her CO2 levels on track. Mom got to hold her for a bit yesterday.
Lincoln now weighs in at 3 lbs 5 oz. She is on full feeds, no more IV, and hopefully weening off her nasal cannula soon. Daddy got to hold Lincoln yesterday and today was Mom's turn.
We got a really cute pack'n'play that Adam and Jake set up in our bedroom. Since the move and not having much time to unpack, it is the first thing that we have really gotten to set up. It is definitely bittersweet.
Staying positive and hoping for the day when the girls are big and healthy and get to come home :)

2 weeks old!!

We are 2 weeks old today! Everyone thinks we look bigger.
Miss Maya has had a rough couple days. She was really laboring to breath and had to go back on cpap, but now she is doing much better. Poor little lamb just needs some extra lovein.
Lincoln is still doing great! Her umbilical cord fell off and now she has a cute little belly button. Mommy got to hold Lincoln today and it felt so good for both of us. She finished her last round of antibiotics so she got her IV out and Mommy got to wash her hair.
We all love Saturdays & Sundays. It is when we both have our favorite nurses. The girls feel so much better when they are here and Mommy and Daddy are so relieved. We are so lucky to have them taking care of all of us.
We were so glad to see Mamma Joy today. Thanks for coming to see us.
Aunt Emily & Amy, we love our pictures, drawlings, and melt beads! We put them up above our beds to decorate our area. We can't wait to meet you!
Morgan, thank you so so much for going to get the pump. I love it! It really means alot to us that you would take time out of your day to run errands for us. You are such a good friend!
A huge thanks to Uncle Jake who hooked us up with some groceries and even went to get Mommy a part to her breast pump. What a good guy! We love him so much and are already planning to use him as our human jungle gym :)
Grandma Chicky and Linda, thank you so much for coming over to clean and cook for us! You have no idea how much stress that takes off Mommy! It feels so good to come home to a clean house and not have to worry about a few meals. You are the best mommys yourselves and you have taught me so much about what it means to be a good mother.
Nikki and Leslie, that was the best dinner!! We want both recipes. And thank you for the magazines and care package. I'm not going to lie, I have almost ate all of those biscuits.. YUMMY!!
You guys are all too good to us! We are so lucky to have all of you in our lives.

Maya's sweet face before she got switched back to CPAP.

Lincoln with her Momma

1/13/11

Today was a good day. Lincoln had to go back on her nasal cannula, but neither girls were having bradycardia spells or apnea as much today. The girls were all swaddled up. This is a step towards getting them to self regulate their temperatures so that they can eventually be out of the isolette. Lincoln had a pretty bow in her hair today and she looked so sweet. Lincoln is back up to her birth weight of 3lbs 2 oz, and Maya is almost there at 2lbs 12oz. Maya is still not tolerating her feeds as well as her sister so she gets only 11cc of milk every 3 hours plus TPN and lipids. Lincoln is all the way up to 25cc and is getting a human milk fortifier to bump up her cals so she will gain.
They are both so sweet and we can not believe it has almost been 2 weeks now.

Lincoln's cute bow.

Sleepy girl.

Maya Jo.

Lincoln

Maya

1/12/2011 - A cold and quite day

We were resting peacefully pretty much the whole day today. We are both doing well. Mom and Dad got to do "Kangaroo Time" today which really helped us all feel a little better.
We hope Grandpa Bob is feeling better and cant wait to meet him.
A HUGE Thank You to all the NMOMers who have been sending their birth stories and kind words! You have no idea how much it helps to hear that you all have survived very similar circumstances and that your children have all grown up to be healthy and wonderful! It is also so helpful to hear how you all coped yourselves. We are doing our best to rest and eat so that we can be as strong as we can for the girls.
I am certain that we could not be doing this with out all of your support!

Maya Jo

Lincoln Elizabeth

Lincoln's Home

Maya's Home

Mommy and Maya

Daddy and Lincoln

1/11/11 - Hanging in There

Today was quite a different experience for us today. It is quite difficult for dad and especially mom to adapt to this new mindset.
The girls both continue to do well. The usual preemie complications can seem so overwhelming when the doctor is telling you about something new every time they do rounds. Over all the general opinion of our physician and resident is that the girls are doing exceptionally well for their gestational age. We are grateful that they are such strong little things. We are confident that they will continue to grow and improve every day.
Thank you so much to everyone for all your support! Adam and I are truly blessed to have such a large and loving support network. Everything you all are doing for us really makes this difficult time mush easier on us and I can not even beginning to tell you how much it means to us to know that we are cared for so much. The meals and errands are favors that are being done for us are so much more than what they really are. So thank you!!!
No new pics for today, but the ones from yesterday are finally up on shutterfly if you are interested.
We also want to let our cousin Taylor know that she is in our thoughts. We are so sorry about sweet Tuckie and so sorry that you have to go through this loss. You are the best pet mom I have ever met, and just know that Tucker was so lucky to be your baby. We are thinking of you!! Wish I could give you a big big hug. Love you so much!!!

Our first snow.

Love you all. Hope everyone is staying warm and safe in the snow.

Great while it lasted

Well, the girls are still doing well. However, we found out today that we have not really been following the usual standards of the NICU. We were told that the things the nurses were letting us do or sometimes even encouraging us to do thus far, are not conducive to a healthy environment for the girls and they are being over stimulated. I guess we were all just too excited and under the impression that they were doing much better than reality. Although the girls are well and making improvements, they should still not be here for 11 weeks. We should be creating a womb like environment. This means many changes.
From now on, the girls isolettes will have to be covered at all times to shield the light. We will also not be taking as many photos, if any, so please enjoy the ones we have so far.
Most importantly, we are no longer supposed to have guests. Thank you to everyone who was lucky enough to meet us already. Everyone else will have to wait until our homecoming.
Grandmas and Grandpas, you are still welcome to visit. We just have to cut back. Also, there is no more touching by anyone other than Mom, Dad, and the NICU staff. Please adhere to these new rules if you are visiting without us, and feel free to read this protocol outline the nurse left out on her desk for more details.
This news was really difficult for us as we had been encouraged to initiate these behaviors. We are glad to have had these first few days to meet our new baby girls, and understand that these protocols are in their best interest. Mom will continue to keep you all updated, and try to take a picture as the nurse allows. Grateful for all your kind thoughts.

Here are a couple pictures from today, which was actually a really great day for both girls. Lincoln no longer needs a nasal cannula so you can see her face much better now. They are both feeding and gaining!

1/9/11

Lincoln looking right at me.

Lincoln's big yawn.

Lincoln wide awake.

Maya holding Chicky's hand

Little lamb Maya.

Maya- sleepy head.

We were both so awake and alert today. We are both gaining weight and doing really well otherwise. Maya did have to get a blood transfusion today, which was scary, but immediately had an effect on the bradycardia episodes. Mommy and Daddy got to hold again today, and should get to every day now as long as we continue to improve. Mommy is pumping right along too... literally.
Our visitors today: Chicky, Grandpa Dean and Papi, and Morgan.
We are all really going to miss our nurses that we've had the past few days! Without them we would not be doing so well.
Mommy and Daddy have been researching prematurity and life in the NICU. This is not something we had ever imagined we would have to plan for. Even though we had been reading baby books throughout my whole pregnancy, we feel behind. Click on the links here if you are interested in info about premature birth or about the NICU. The March of Dimes is a wonderful resource with info on premature birth as well as volunteer and donation opportunities.
Thank you so much Tones and Anthony for helping get fruniture into the house! You have no idea how much stress it takes off me to get the house in order. You guys ar the best!
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers!

1/8/11 - One Week Old

We are 1 week old today and it was another one full of improvements.
Both girls had low enough billirubin that they are off their lights for now - which means no more sun glasses. Maya didn't have any residuals, so she is now feeding every 3 hours just like her sister. Daddy got to change Mayas diaper twice today. Both girls are also gaining weight now and Maya is catching up. Currently Lincoln weighs 2 lbs 10 ozs and Maya is 2lbs 8 ozs. And the best news of all... we both got to do "Kangaroo Time" today! It was wonderful! Daddy got to hold Lincoln while Mommy held Maya.
We had lots of visitors again today: Papi and Grandpa Dean, Aunt Saundra and Aunt Judy Maxwell, Aunt Andrea and Taylor with Grandma Chicky, Mama Joy, Aunt Karrie, and Aunt Judy Trimmell, and Tony.
Thank you Mim and Gaga, Mim and Grandpa John, Uncle Johnny, and Aunt Amy for coming to visit mom and dad last night. Going home is the hardest thing we have ever done and it doesn't get any easier (at least not yet). The evenings have been very emotional for us, so it was so nice to have you all there.
Maya has been having little episodes of bradycardia. Her nurse suspects that she may have low blood volume. They are keeping an eye on her for now. If she is low, she will end up getting a transfusion. That being said, I am a member of the Northland Mothers of Multiples group. We are having a small blood drive on Thursday 1/13 from 4:00 - 7:00pm. There will be a mobile donation clinic in the parking lot at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church (9555 North Oak Trfy). I would love to donate but can't just yet. We would love it if anyone who has time to go give blood on our behalf.
Also, we have started a shutterfly page where I will post all of our pics. Click here or go to lincolnmayamaxwell.shutterfly.com. The password is the girls birth date: 010111. It is much easier to upload whole albums so you all can see much more than just the ones I put on here. I have not had time to label or delete the duds yet. If anyone wants you can also order prints.