Friday in Maycee land

Beautiful Maycee


laying on her tummy being comforted by Mom

Today was the best day of Maycee's life. Granted it wasn't hard to improve on the previous three days. Darcy and I went to the NICU today quite nervous due to leaving last nights with all of her important levels a bit high. When we walked in she was on her tummy for the first time and was tolerating it quite well and they had even started to reduce the amount of one of her blood pressure medicines. This was such a huge relief for us as we had already tried to prepare for another emotional roller coaster ride but I am not sure we could have done another one. Maycee continued to generally improve throughout the day and by 8:00 pm when we left she was off of one of her medicines completely. Thi is a small step toward her overall recovery but a huge emotional boost for Darcy and I.

It is impossible to describe all of the different feelings we have been through each day and I am not sure that I would even want to. I am so thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers from everyone and can't wait until we can bring Maycee home to meet her siblings.

Thursday night Maycee update

This is Maycee's pee. I never thought I would be so excited for a kid to pee


Darcy holding Maycee's hand



This is during her heart scan




Darcy looking in on Maycee. This is as close as we can get to her most of the time.

Another long day in the NICU for us with Maycee. She is so wonderful and it is so hard for us to not be able to hold her. She actually does best when she is not stimulated by touch or sounds around her so we can only actually touch her a few times a day and even then it is very quickly.

Her medical update of the day is that she is still on the ventilator and a lot of different medications to keep her sedated along with helping to fight infection and controling her blood pressure, oxygen levels, and heart rate. Her lungs have shown improvement and are fully inflating again with the ventilator. Maycee's kidney had a scan today because they were worried she was not urinating all of the fluid they were putting in her. The scan appeared to be normal but will be re-done tomorrow sometime to be sure. A catheter was put in to drain her bladder and let me just say that I have no idea how she held it that long. They drained off a ton of urine. They have not yet determined what virus she has but are continuing to treat her with antibiotics that cover a broad range of things. It is quite common for newborns to show symptoms of being infected but not necessarily have anything. Until her cbc comes back within normal ranges they will continue to treat her as if she has a virus. Her biggest problem currently is Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN). In the womb the blood vessels around the lungs are tight and small and after birth should relax and open. Maycee's have not yet relaxed so she is having trouble getting enough oxygen. What the doctors are trying to due is to get her blood pressure up higher to trick her body into pumping blood to the lungs as the path of least resistance. So far we have had very little luck in getting her blood pressure up to where we want it to be for more than just short periods of time. She has had two different scans of her heart and we consulted with the pediatric heart specialist. Her heart appears to be fine other than the PPHN.

Maycee is considered to be the sickest kid in the NICU right now but her doctors, nurses, and therapist have been wonderful and I know that we are getting the best care possible for her.

Maycee Faith Swanson

Here are a couple of pictures of Maycee. We are headed to the hospital now to be with her and will update the blog later when we can.

Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate it and know that Maycee does too.

Ask and Ye Shall Recieve

What an amazing couple of days. First off, a tremendous thank you to the many many friends who have given us so much love, strength, and support. It is truly incredible to see how loved we are. I am now in Anchorage with Maycee and Aaron and am thrilled to be able to touch and talk to her. She is so beautiful and an amazingly strong little spirit. They call her the "giant" in the NICU because she is the biggest one at a whopping 7 lbs. 9 oz. I knew months ago that she was an extremely strong spirit because she was constantly kicking me. She is proving to be just as strong willed in the outside world too. She pushes away the nurses hands when they try to work on her and she is proving to be quite picky when choosing which ventilator she wants to be on.

As for her current condition (granted it can change within minutes), but she is on a ventilator which is breathing for her, allowing her lungs to become stronger. The other hurdle is that she is fighting some sort of infection that we hopefully will discover tomorrow when the blood cultures come back. She is already receiving 2 different antibiotics and the next 24-48 hours are very important. For now, her levels are good and we want them to stay that way.

The miracle of the day is this. Maycee received a healing blessing from her dad and our friend, Shayne, a few hours after she was born. She has been on temple prayer rolls, and many friends and family are fasting and for her. I felt strongly today that she needed another preisthood blessing, but didn't know how to get her one because only parents are allowed in the NICU. Aaron had also been thinking he wanted to give her another healing blessing. I was literally on my way out of the NICU to go pump for Maycee and I said to Aaron "We need to get Maycee another blessing." I turned around, walked three steps towards the door, when I saw the back of a young man dressed in a white shirt and black slacks. I immediately knew it was a missionary and sure enough, I saw his badge and there he was. He and his companion had been called in to give another baby a blessing and I almost shouted, "Elder! I need you!" Here was this young kid, and a huge smile came across his face and said he is companion was waiting in the foyer. Elder Oka is a missionary serving in the Spanish speaking mission here in Anchorage and he was thrilled to be able to help us. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows my needs and the desires of my heart. I simply asked, and the way was provided. I know that through our faith, Maycee will be okay, and ultimately she will be apart of our family forever. Please keep up your prayers, because they are heard and answered! We love you all.

Darcy and Baby Update

This is Darcy's sister Bobbi giving an update on Darcy and baby Maycee.

Maycee Faith Swanson was born September 29, 2009 at 4:18 am weighing 7lbs 9ounces.  She is 37 weeks and 2 days.  Upon delivery, Maycee was experiencing problems breathing.  Ultimately, Maycee was placed on oxygen and more tests were run.  Her lungs turned out to be that of a premeeies and she had to be medi-vacked to Anchorage to Providence Hospital and their NICU.  The life flight team intibated her before she and Aaron took flight and she responded positively to the treatment before the flight and started have a much needed rest.  Aaron and Maycee landed safely in Anchorage and she was checked into the NICU and immediately started improving.  She is not out of the woods yet, and prayers are still needed, but we are very happy with her improvement.  

Darcy is doing very well considering.  She is healing quickly and preparing to drive up with me tomorrow to Anchorage to be with Maycee and Aaron.  Maycee will be in the NICU for 3-7 more days.  Thank you to all of you that have expressed your thoughts and concerns and volunteered to step in and help.  The family is truly grateful for everyone's help, the gift of the priesthood, and the power of prayer.  

Fair Fun Part 1

Okay, I am finally forcing myself to update the blog. Between being to the tired and miserable stage of pregnancy plus the chaos of trying to get this house finished, I have found blogging to be on the bottom of the priority list. However, I know that I will really want these posts in the future, so it's quick and simple for now. 

We decided to take the kids out of school for 2 days a few weeks ago to see the Broadway showing of The Lion King, and do the State Fair the next day. It was well worth it as we had a blast and the weather was incredible!! I managed to drag Aaron to the fair (this happens about once in three years) and we made it through about $300 bucks poorer, but had a great time. These pics are of the 2 girls getting colored extensions in their hair, now a fair tradition. It has been about three weeks since, and they both still are sporting their colors.  

 

Here is Chloee getting ready for her extensions. Notice the chocolate/ketchup stains on the shirt. 

 

Getting glued...

 

...and VIOLA!! Too cute.

Here is big Sis getting some SoHi Blue in her doo.

Poor little Sis missed out on the extensions, passed out from her sugar high, but next year she will be sporting a few colors of her own.

Chloee's Big Adventure

Yes, it's official. We now have 4 kids in school! Crazy how time flies and things change, isn't it? When we dropped our first off to kindergarten, I must admit I cried. After dropping off the fourth, I cheered! Why is that? Anyway, Chloee has LOVED being in school and is so eager to learn new things. She has already made lots of new girl friends and loves her teacher. Here are some pics from her first big day of school.

 

Big sissy showing little sis her new digs. Jolee really misses Chloee during the day, but she will be the big sister in about 6 more weeks.

 

Chloee is showing us where the class does "calendar time". Doesn't she look so grown up?

Chloee standing if front of her cubby. 

Here she is trying to figure out the marker lid. We are so excited for Chloee's new phase of life as a big kid in school. She has been waiting for this for a while and we are eager (and a little scared) to see what adventures she takes us on.