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Hi crew!

The 'Ber months are almost here, making it the perfect time for crafting and reading 🍂

To bring some cozy vibes and cheer to families spending the holiday season in the hospital, 2livenicucrew is hosting a "Books, Beanies, and Blankets" event for Lurie Children’s NICU. This cause is very close to my heart; during our stay there in 2024, I spent a lot of time crocheting and reading to my girls, and I love the idea of babies being nice and cozy while enjoying a book.

Here are the details on how you can help:

- What: Books, hats, and blankets.

- How: You can crochet, knit, sew, purchase items directly from our Amazon wishlist, or donate via Cash App or Zelle.

- When: The deadline for contributions is 11/13/26.

Please see the attached flyer for more extensive details.

Thank you!

Marita

#nicu #babiesblanketsbooks #fundraiser #parentadvocate by @2livenicucrew

Hi friends!

Many of you know of our NICU journey and just how difficult it was. The kindness of our community helped to make things a little more bearable.

Akua and Atarah both required a NICU stay for prematurity. Due to Atarah having Cri Du Chat (deletion of the short arm of her 5th chromosome) she required a much longer stay, needing a vp shunt and tracheostomy with a ventilator. Cri Du Chat and Tracheostomy awareness are in May.

NICU families are near and dear to my heart. I'd like to pay it forward by collecting donations for NICU families (see flyer for more details).

Feel free to message me with any questions ☺️

Thank you for sharing or donating 💐

#fyp #nicudonations #nicu #trachawareness #criduchat by @2livenicucrew

I can't believe two years has passed! The girls are growing by leaps and bounds. We couldn't be happier with how far they've both come.

In October 2024 one day after Akua came home I got a call that Atarah wasn't doing well. She was requiring 100% oxygen and still only had a blood oxygen level of 85 (not good) so we made the decision to medically sedate and paralyze her so her body could rest and become stronger. Akua was my sidekick while visiting her twin 🧡🧡

Akua absolutely adores Atarah. Atarah is starting to interact with Akua more. She is also more aware of her when she's in Atarah's space.

All of the stickers have been carefully removed from Miss Diva's face to the Queen's dismay...

Thank you to the @jacksonchancefoundation for providing parking passes for both @luriechildrensnicu and @prenticewomenshospital. We were able to come and go as often as needed without worrying about parking 🅿️

#spookyseason #twins #nicugrad #nicutonow #nicumom by @2livenicucrew

📚 These 14 Board Books are on their way to Marita to donate to Lurie Childern's NICU. 🎉

She's a former NICU mother, having spent 335 days at the Lurie Childeren's NICU with one of her twins. She uses her platform, @2livenicucrew on Instagram, to share resources and raise funds for NICU families. 💕

She's currently accepting donations from now until November 13 for children's books, blankets, and hats for the Lurie Children's NICU unit in Chicago where she spent 335 days with one of her twins, who are now two.

📃 Tuma's Books curated a Bookshop.org registry with diverse board books. This week I purchased 14 of the books from the list using my Free Diverse Reads Fund to support Marita's current donation initiative.

If you would like to support this project as well, let me know and I will DM you the direct link to the registry.

Here's to helping amazing books find new homes! 🥰

#NICU #BookDonation #DiverseBooks #DiverseBabyBooks #BabyBooks by @2livenicucrew

😷 Happy Monday 😷

Looks like we won't be out of here till Wednesday 😔

Atarah is better and getting back to her spunky self. She had a case of tracheitis due to a viral infection.

I have to be trained on the new Vivo vent and our DME (durable medical equipment) company has to deliver all the supplies needed for her new vent.

I miss being home with all the family. An upside is I've had a little more time for reading and crocheting.

Being in the hospital has been triggering but we've had lots of support. Thank you all 🥰

#picu #medicalmom #coldandfluseason #interstitiallungdisease #craftymom by @2livenicucrew

💚 Happy Tuesday 💚

We are still accepting donations through November 13th for books, blankets, and hats to support NICU families at Lurie Children's NICU .

Our goal is 64 combined cozy items (books, blankets, hats, etc) and 64 books. Right now we have about 40 cozy items and about 20 books.

You can help us meet our goal by using our Amazon wishlist, Zelle, or cashapp.

Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1KCRPC1YNKXHT?ref_=wl_share

Zelle: anderson.marita1985@gmail.com

Cashapp: $maritaankobiah

We appreciate you helping us to support NICU families.

Thanks to everyone who has donated and shared or has the desire to give and are not able to.

Happy NICU Awareness Month

#nicuawarenessmonth #nicumom #nicusupport #nicudonations by @2livenicucrew

Happy 2nd Birthday Atarah and Akua!

Today I'm full of emotions. Mostly happy because the girls are truly a blessing and I'm happy they are home together. There were days in the beginning of our NICU journey that I wasn't sure it was possible. But God 💫

Both girls are so full of joy and surprises. They truly have a great bond 💜💜

#birthday #twinsofinstagram #nicugrad #twinlife👫 #medicalmom by @2livenicucrew

💚 Happy NICU Awareness Month 💚

This time two years ago I was on the antenatal unit quite a bit 🤰🏾

We were concerned with preterm labor and I was hoping to get to 34 weeks.

The girls came at 32 weeks and that first month was unimaginable. But we made it.

I felt so angry and hopeless. I was sad and lost all while saying "I'm ok"

To distract myself from all the pain I read, crocheted, listened to music, and took all the pictures I could of my precious babies 👶🏿 👶🏿

#nicuawarenessmonth #nicugrads #twins #medicalmom #twinmom by @2livenicucrew

⚠️ TW: description of emergency trach change with mention of child turning blue and being minimally responsive ⚠️

I hope this video can help someone 🤍

My worst fear about Atarah being home came true today. I'm thankful for my nurse, my training from Lurie, and having an emergency trach bag.

I was taking a nap when our nurse called out to say she thought her trach was out. Immediately, I jumped into action. Baby girl was sleeping but also limp and turning blue.

Having an emergency trach kit bedside helped us to get her trach back in quickly. She regained consciousness with a patent airway, vigorous taps, and 3L of oxygen.

Whether your child has a trach or not practice for emergency situations, individually or as a family.

#trachlife #caregiver #luriechildrenshospital #trachbaby by @2livenicucrew

It's kinda chic to...
Celebrate my 1 year Homeiversary today!

Miss Diva has been home for 365 days 🥳

I am beyond overjoyed. Atarah has blossomed so much since coming home from the NICU.

Every day she amazes me with her determination and resilience.

Our family is complete ❤️

#nicugraduate #nicutohome #caregiverlife #criduchat #luriechildrenshospital by @2livenicucrew

🤱🏾 Happy World Breastfeeding Week 🤱🏾

As a mom who breastfed four children before the twins, I was not ready for what breastfeeding in the NICU would look like.

I had to pump for the girls since they were premature. In the beginning I was going between two NICUs to visit both girls, this made pumping regularly difficult. Both of their journeys looked different. But I'm so proud of what we all achieved ♡

While Akua learned to latch at 35 to 36 weeks, Atarah remained on TPN for a few months before being fed via an NG-tube. Atarah did attempt to latch but was more successful at bottle feeding and would often side eye when we attempted to have her latch 🤣🤣

After 23 months we are still going strong but coming to the end of our journey 💜💜

#worldbreastfeedingweek #twinmom #preemies #nicu by @2livenicucrew

Can anyone relate!?

Send coffee, send a cocktail, send cookies 😆

This morning was rough but now it's nap time 😴

Dealing with insurance authorizations and requests is draining.

Hope you all have a great weekend 😀

#momlife #relatable #medicalmom #bigfamily #socialbatterylow by @2livenicucrew