November 26th Update

Madison had a little set back on her weight today. She went from 4lbs 5.7 ounces to 4lbs 3.2 ounces. However, she's been using a lot more energy on practicing bottle feedings. The NICU nurses often remind us that its a "2 steps forward and 1 step backwards" process.But,overall, it was a good day for little Maddie. Mom & dad had a good day too as they got to hold little Maddie and love on her a little. Daddy got to put little Maddie in her crib and tuck her in. Mommy enjoyed watching as daddy smiled from ear to ear as he did it. It's amazing how much joy and happiness this little one brings.

November 25th Update

Happy 1st Thanksgiving to our little Madison! We can't think of anything we're more grateful for than you. And, we're so grateful to our wonderful Father in Heaven for blessing us with such a precious little girl. We're also grateful at this time for the wonderful nurses and doctors at St. Marks who have been so wonderful. And for sweet family and friends who have been praying for you and asking about your progress and who've been there all along the way offering their love and support. We are so blessed and truly recognize the hand of the Savior in helping our little family during this time. We are so humbled and so grateful.

Today mom, dad and grandma Barksdale spent their Thanksgiving with Madison. We spent time holding and loving her. It was such a special day. Madison is so adorable and sweet. We just love her. The nurses took Maddie's O2 off last night, and told us today that ironically her oxygen-saturation levels were better now with the O2 off than when it was on. She also ate 20 cc's from the bottle at 2am this morning, and then let mommy feed her 16 cc's from the bottle at 2pm, and then again at 8pm she ate another 16 cc's from the bottle. She is really pushing to get to the next level. She is continuously amazing mom and dad of her progress and with how strong willed she is. She is amazing to us. She is now up 36 cc's per feeding, and her weight today is now up to 4lbs 5.7 ounces. She's growing stronger..the nurses tell us also that she has strong legs. She is always kicking her legs and throwing her blanket off. We are thrilled with her progress and look forward every day to having her home soon.

November 24th Update

Maddie continues to grow like a weed. Her weight is now at 4lbs 4.7 ounces. Today she ate 12 cc's from the bottle. She is really trying to work on those sucking skills.Now to just regulate that body temperature so she can move from her glass condo, isolett, into the open crib. This will be soon if she keeps up her volume of eating and digesting. As Madison increases the volume of her food intake her body is more able to regulate it's body temperature.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we're not thinking about cooking or eating till we're stuffed. All we can think about is our beautiful daughter and what a gift she is,and how grateful we are and how blessed we feel. She is our special little angel and we are so humbled to be her parents.

November 23rd Update

The day's visits with Maddie were cut short as a major storm threatened to hit Northern Utah. Daddy was rushing to get to the hospital from Tooele where he was working for the day and was only able to see her for a few minutes for the day as he was worried about the looming storm. But Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma were able to spend a little time with her and Kim held and fed her. She ate 10 cc's from the bottle which is the most thus far. We are really proud of her.

Maddie is growing consistently and she weighed in at 4lbs 3.1 ounces. She is growing so fast and one of the concerns we have is that she would be ready to leave the hospital before she hits 5 pds because our car seat is a min of 5 pds. But at the rate she is growing we may not have to worry about that.

The nurse tonight mentioned Maddie has really strong legs as she has been kicking her legs out of the blankets and up against the door of the isolet. We believe this as we have seen those little legs go when she is excited. :)

November 22nd Update

Baby Madison is GROWING... today she weighed in at 4 lbs 1 ounce, she gained 2.2 ounces in 1 day! She is still maintaining her feedings at 34 cc's with no residual; she is digesting it all. She was still in a slumber all day today, and has been really sleepy the past 3 days. We're told she grows when she sleeps... and this little girl must be dreaming about being BIGGER because the scale is showing just that. Mommy got to hold little Maddie up to her skin for todays visit and it was a special bonding moment. Baby Maddie seemed to like it too as she cuddled up to mom, and gave a big yawn and stretch when the nurse took her back to her little warm house. Daddy said today, that he thought it was just him, because he was definately bias, but everytime we go to visit Madison someone new is telling us how beautiful or how cute our sweet little Maddie is. We definately think so. We love her and can't wait to have her home.

November 21st Update

Madison is such a sweetheart. She continues to get bigger and cuter everyday. Today she weighed 3lbs 14.8 ounces and her feeding has gone up to 34 cc's. We learned that her recent setback on having to put her back on oxygen is due to her increased food she is being given. The nurse explained that as she is getting bigger and having to digest more food it requires more oxygen and her little lungs aren't able to pump as fast to keep her saturation levels up. Although we also found out that the oxygen they are giving her is very small she is averaging about 10-15cc's which is almost their lowest setting.

She was really lethargic when we visited her today and we tried to feed her but she only took in 4 cc's. I guess she just wanted to sleep she only opened her eyes a few times to make sure we were still there watching her.