Valerie Maurin & Deanna Maurin came to visit yesterday. Valerie said he is doing good and is in great hands...it was great to have a friend who is also a NICU nurse come to visit and give us some encouragement.

We're still here....and waiting...

Lincoln is hanging in there...they are increasing his food every 9 hours until he can get a full bottles worth. That should take a few days. We still have not seen any evidence that the Chylothorax hasn't healed...there is still no "milky" drainage from his chest tubes...Praise the Lord! Continue to pray for that as they increase his food because it could still show up. Some of you have been asking how Lincoln's heart has been doing. Lincoln's heart is doing great. His cardiac function (which means the strength, pace & mechanics of his heart) is good. However, the pulmonary artery band Dr. Plunkett put on might not be tight enough still. We determine this by how much blood flow goes to the lungs, water on the lungs (adema), saturation levels (oxygen in the blood) and perfusion (blood circulation throughout the body). Lincoln's chest x-ray has been a little cloudy which means there is a little water on his lungs. His saturation levels have been around 90%. They want it between 75-85%. However, if he continues to look and sound good and has good blood gases the Dr's are willing to accept his high saturation levels. If he continues to tolerate it they probably wont have to go back in to adjust the band...but there is still a lot of variables in the future that could affect that...like eating a full meal, chest tube removal, switching from IV meds to oral meds. His levels have to remain the same or get better as he transitions through these steps for him to stay away from the OR to fix the band. Lincoln is still infection free...another HUGE praise! Please continue to pray against infection. For all of you who care about the little, fun & gross things...Lincoln is pooping great. He has figured out how to burp after a meal. He likes back rubs, baths and He loves to eat! Well, that's all for now...Thanks for all your continued prayers...We love you all! J&K

Grandma & Grandpa Carter came for a visit and it was a real treat for Great Grandma Maine to come since she had not seen him until this week.

Lincoln had a bunch of visitors this week. George & Linda Posthumus, Danielle Bohr, Jaime Angel & Chris Espedal all came to see the little man.

No Drainage Yet

Well it's been 24 hours since they started feeding Lincoln his low fat formula...and there hasn't been any drainage yet from his chest tubes. Depending on the Dr. you talk to...the drainage would either show its self within 24 hrs of feeding OR take time to build up because they are feeding him such small amounts every 3 hours. If the 2nd was the case...it could be another day or two. We are just glad that the first 24 hours have gone by without any evidence of the chylo leaking into the chest cavity. It as also driving Lincoln crazy because they are going sooooo slow. He only gets 3 cc's (about 1-2 tablespoons) of formula and then he has to wait for three hours until the next batch. It is a major tease to him and he cries because he is like..."That's mean guys...I'm still hungry". Well, if we go another day without seeing any drainage, they will consider taking the chest tubes out and we will be one step closer to going back to Fresno. We will keep you informed as we hear! We love you all! J&K

Over the weekend Nana & Papa York, Uncle Keith, Auntie Tina, cousin Kyler & cousin Sydney came to visit and hang out with Lincoln.

Matt & Kim Souder and the kiddos also came to visit and got to see the little dude.

Happy independence Day!

Yesterday was a great day for feeding. They decided instead of giving him low fat formula to see if the chylothorax is healed, they would first stimulate his gut by giving him some Pedialyte. This does not have any fat in it so it wouldn't leak from the lymphatic system. There is 3 reasons they did this: 1 - Simulate his gut and get it ready for food. 2 - Give him one more day of healing before introducing fat into the lyphatic system. 3 - they were thinking they would have to give his formula by NG (nasogasteric) tube through the nose down into the stomach....but maybe if he could drink the Pedialyte by bottle and swallow it he would be able to do the same with the formula and not have to have the NG tube. Well, when the nurses gave Kristen the bottle with a few cc's of Pedialyte...Lincoln took it into his mouth, sucked on the bottle and guzzled it down! No Prob! So that was a huge success for being 3 weeks old yesterday and never have had any thing to eat. So the plan today is to give him the formula and watch and wait to see if any thing comes out of his chest tubes. So pray for another big miracle today...no drainage! He also had a lot of family come to visit him so he was exhausted....these are some pics we took after everybody had left..."I'm tired now...I think I'll sleep".

BIg Feeding Trial Run...Pray!

Lincoln is doing good. Today they are going to attempt to feed him a little bit of formula. We watch and wait if any fluid leaks into his chest cavity during the digestion process. If it leaks, we will see drainage through his chest tubes and we will have to wait another week or two. If not, they will build up the feeding slowly and will be able to remove the chest tubes. Please pray today for a successful trail run! Here are a few pics we took yesterday...his nurse wanted to be a little patriotic and lay some red and blue blankets under him since he cannot wear any clothes. We will post a bunch more pics tonight! We will let you know how it goes asap! Love you all! J&K

Hey everybody....
Sorry for the no post today....It's been a very busy day. A lot of family came down for the weekend to visit so its hard to get to the computer. Also no pics today....sorry, I know that's the best part. Tomorrow I will post a bunch! Lincoln is doing good! We are still just waiting to see if this chylothorax will heal and he can begin his feeds. They have decided to wait only 5 days instead of 7-14 days to let the duct heal before they to a trial run with his feeds. Today was day 3 of the 5. So Monday they will stop the medication (Octreotide) used to help it heal and then begin with small amounts of a nonfat special formula through NG tube. If it has healed there shouldn't be any drainage from his chest tubes. If it hasn't healed, we stop feeds, wait another week, try again and the chest tubes stay in until the problem is fixed. Pray that the chylo is healed by Monday and he can tolerate getting food! The presence of the chest tubes are so painful and such a huge risk for infection...plus he needs the calories to put on a few pounds which will just help the all around nutrition aspect too. Today Lincoln's chest x-ray was a little cloudy. This means he is getting a little fluid on his lungs. This is caused by high pulmonary flow to his lungs. He seems to be handling it ok since his vital signs and chest sound are good. Pleas pray that his lungs become & remain clear! Other than those two things, Lincoln is doing great! Well, that's it until tomorrow...we will talk to you then. We love you all! J&K