What Day is it?

189 Diapers,
168 bottles,
very little sleep,
and one week later...



we are still alive.

I was surprised to learn that it was Thursday today. Really, I don't know what day it is 99% of the time. We are pretty blurry-eyed around here and luckily have a little relief every other night with the night nanny. Our schedules have been go-go-go around the clock and I'd like to say we are working on adrenaline right now.

Having three sweet babies at home is so much fun and truly amazes me everyday. We feel blessed that they are doing well so far. What also amazes me is how many diapers and milk these kids go through! I've started to cut back on my pumping so we are breaking into the freezer milk and will eventually switch them over to formula. When all is said and done I will have pumped for about seven weeks. Having to pump THEN feed is definitely too time consuming with three around. So I'm sad to give it up but I'm glad they have received breastmilk for the amount of time that they did.

All three are feeding really well, taking 2-3 ounces of milk every feeding. Caleb would eat double that if we let him. It's hysterical before he eats because he goes into a frenzy and will pretty much suck on anything. Clark likes to tease and laugh at him but I just think it's sad.

Caleb trying to eat Clark's nose...



Today my Mom went to the grocery store so I fed all three. Most the time doing it alone goes fine. However, sometimes Caleb has a freak out because he wants more. I set him next to Leah in the boppy so she could console him. They seriously sat like this for about 30 minutes.



We're still trying to figure Zachary out. He doesn't sleep much between feedings, maybe an hour and seems to have a more sensitive temperament. We thought maybe he didn't like the noise and stimulation so we've put him in the other room several times. However, today he sat in the kitchen after eating and was such a good little man! Wide awake as ever. He had his first outing to the pediatrician this week and weighed 4 lbs 14 ounces! He's probably hit the 5 lb mark by now. He'll go to the eye specialist tomorrow to check things out and hopefully he'll never have to go back.



Of course we are experiencing lots of 'firsts' this week. I won't picture them all but here is Leah after her first bath.



They also went on their first walk with Mom and Dad! Clark was so excited to take them out but it kind of stresses me out to throw something new into their schedule. I'm sure the flexibility will come. :) He loaded them all up in their car seats and off we went!

Home at Last

Today was the big day. The trio was reunited again after almost five weeks in the NICU. The NICU said to come back for halloween and dress the babies up. Probably won't. However, my attitude should not discount the care they received there. The doctor and nurses were great. I'm just happy to be gone after over three months of that place.

Last night I decided to 'room in' with Zachary although I didn't do it with the other two. I was so anxious about him having another bradycardia hours before he was able to leave like the last couple times. Rooming in allows the baby to be taken off the monitors. So I cheated a bit. Of course I don't want anything bad to happen.....but I just wanted him home. He was very good all night and ate well. We had our own seperate room and even got to order breakfast in the morning. The nurses were all excited about that but I told them I had eaten off the breakfast menu way too many times to get any sort of excited about it.

The babies eat every three hours.....regardless if they are awake or not. It seems wrong to wake them up from such peaceful sleep. Until they are on the normal weight and growth scales, they need to eat regularly. This ordeal takes about 1.5 hours. That leaves a little over an hour to get anything done we need to....like shower or eat. Add 30 minutes of pumping to my schedule and I barely have time to sit before starting all over. Not sure how long the three-hour schedule will need to be kept but it might eventually cause a little craziness here. We have a night nanny starting tomorrow night whose job is to get up and feed babies so hopefully that will provide some relief from the late-night feedings.

Today we put on their Dr. Suess onesies for picture time. I had this other cute idea in mind but the babies would have none of me putting them in certain positions. They are getting strong and feisty. Sooo....we just laid them there. Lots of laughing followed though to see them interact and touch each other. Notice the size different between Thing 1 and Thing 2. Caleb is over two pounds bigger!



Caleb's first bath. His weight for his one month check was 6 lbs 10 oz. Leah's weight was 5 lbs 3 oz.



More onesies



For some reason Caleb seems to be the only one pictured. We think he's hilarious and could just sit and laugh at him all day.

Two Down, One to Go...

Don't worry, the little bugger Zachary still isn't home. Both times we have been within hours of taking him off the monitors, he has a bradycardia. We think it's because Caleb asked Zachary to stay with him. So we'll let all this slide since Zachary is sacrificing for his brother.

So although Zachary is stuck in NICU prison until this Saturday (if he behaves), our other two are home!!! We brought Leah home yesterday and Caleb home today. Leah had a rough first night at home missing her brothers and not being used to a quiet house. Since Caleb has been home today she's been sleeping great. Clark took the night shift last night and had just as rough of a night as Leah. He has this week off of work so let the record state that he VOLUNTEERED to stay up. Needless to say, I think he'll opt out tonight.

She came home on antibiotics for her abscess and will continue those until Saturday. Other than that, all the babies are just on vitamins and breast milk fortifier! Zachary will have to see a special eye doctor next week because he was less than 1500 grams when he was born but the other two are off the hook.

Their weights today were:

36 weeks 5 days (4 weeks old)
Leah: 4 lbs 15 oz
Zachary: 4 lbs 5 oz
Caleb: 6 lbs 5 oz

Here are some of the cute onesies that were made at my baby shower so long ago. Can't believe there are finally babies in them! :)

Leah


Caleb


Zachary will get to wear his inaugural onesie soon but until then....here's a picture of Dad taking a nice nap after feeding him.



I can't hardly wait to get them all home and bid farewell to the hospital. Five more days....

Five More Days...

Zachary, our smallest, was going to surprise us all and be the first one to come home tomorrow!!

We were just on our way out the door tonight to head to the hospital. I was going to 'room in' and spend the night with Zachary in a separate room free from monitors and see how everything went but still having the nurses close by. Literally as we were out the door the hospital called and said he had just had a dip in his heart rate. Shouldn't be a big deal right? Well in NICU land this buys you FIVE MORE DAYS at the hospital. He had previously gone seven days without an episode and happened to misbehave tonight. Honestly though, I'm not upset. I was excited but the other two are still there so it's not a big deal. He's obviously telling us he's not ready.

When we THOUGHT he'd be coming home soon, he had to pass a car-seat test. It was hilarious to see him in his car seat....all 3 lbs 15 oz of him. He had to sit in it for 90 minutes without any episodes and also keep his oxygen saturation high.



He passed with flying colors as did Caleb. Caleb had a dip in his heart rate yesterday morning so he's stuck there until at least Saturday if he behaves. So Leah is the front runner for coming home next! She has gone two days with no episodes so we'll see. As for her mystery chin lump, it's been concluded that it is an 'abcess' full of inflammatory cells but free from bacteria. This means no serious infection. She is still receiving antibiotics and will probably come home on them. Once the doctors feel the lump is decreasing in size, they will take the IV out and start giving the medications in her bottle. The ENT who took the biopsy also examined her left nostril because they haven't been able to put a feeding tube down it. Apparently the opening back in her nasal cavity is too small and will probably need to be surgically opened. Just like her Dad, she'll have little ability to breath out of one nostril. The other one is fine so this issue is not an emergency and surgery can wait.

In good news, all babies no longer have feeding tubes because they are all taking bottles for every feeding! YES! Also, they all passed their hearing tests and had clean head ultrasounds.

Like I said, there is so much good happening and so much disappointment. It's hard to be in the NICU seeing all the other parents taking their babies home. I'm ready to be free from nurses and do things our own way here. Not for at least five more days though. :)

Here's a cute picture of the boys conspiring to see who will go home first...

Got Milk?

Well I do!! About 55 oz every 24 hours to be exact. I take up the whole bottom half of the freezer at the hospital! Right now I'm keeping up with the babies daily feeding needs but eventually they will pass me up and we'll need to supplement with formula. Plus I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the demanding pumping schedule once they come home. I'll need the extra 4-5 hours of my day!

The babies are progressing and growing well. Their current weights are:

35 weeks
Leah: 4 lbs 4 oz
Zachary: 3 lbs 12 oz
Caleb: 5 lbs 8 oz

Right now we are working on increasing their number of feedings from a bottle. We don't want to push them to far too fast because they will burn up all the calories and won't gain weight. Surprisingly enough, Zachary is going to surpass the other two with the amount of bottles he takes! He's been doing great. Here's a snapshot of the little man after we just filled his belly...



As any parent would know who has had their baby(s) in the NICU for an extended period of time, there are good days and bad days. Some days the kids will doing well with their feedings and it seems like they are close to coming home. Other days they regress and have more dips in their heart rates. We had a really exciting day a few days ago when the nurse put all the babies together in an open crib!! Here's the babies behind bars...



Don't worry, the front of the crib doesn't have bars. This picture is from the side. I just think it's funny. Anyway, that was a fun day and all the babies held their temperatures well. Caleb, the biggest, had to be between the two others to stay warm! We always have a good laugh at him.

Yesterday while I was feeding Leah, I noticed a hard abscess underneath her chin. I had the nurse feel it and she seemed concerned so she called the Doctor. He seemed equally concerned and immediately ordered blood work and an ultrasound to get a better idea of what it is. Of course, like most things with preemies, the results still raised some uncertainty as to whether it is an abscess, salivary gland, cyst, lymph node, or a myriad of other things. We then had a surgeon come consult then an Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) specialist came and looked as well. She's been very popular. Just to be sure before a diagnosis can be made, she was started on antibiotics just in case there is infection in there. Soooo, she has an IV in her head again which I HATE. On Monday the ENT will do a biopsy to get a better feel for what's in there although those results still might be inconclusive. I just feel so bad for her and get frustrated with the uncertainty. However, the lump doesn't seem to be affecting her eating, sucking, or breathing so that is good.

Here she is with that terrible thing in her head. Apparently the veins are better up there for an IV.



So another day concludes. She is no longer with the boys and is in her own bed. We're hoping we can get some answers but holy cow...stress a mom out!

No idea as to when they will come home so for now, I still can't quite break away from that hospital! Clark will be glad when he doesn't have to drive there anymore. Oh....I finally saw Eclipse. Loved it!

This and That...

Did I cry when I came to the hospital and saw this??



Yes.

Tears of joy though because my boys were snuggling together keeping each other warm. I can't wait until all three of them are together. The nurse started crying too because I was crying. It was kind of funny. Caleb is big enough that he doesn't need his own isolette but he needs a little help staying warm. Being with big brother Zachary seems to help. It's interesting how much a 1.5 pound difference can make in head size.

All my boys...



Leah making gang signs that her Dad taught her...



We stopped by the hospital after church today. Hence the shirts and ties. Just showing the boys what they can expect... Three-generation picture.



Think we have enough??



Just want to give a GIGANTIC 'Thank-You' to my friend Kate and sister Darla for generously donating their bottles. Surprisingly enough, I've been told we might even need more! Oh boy! Seriously though, we are so grateful.

Lastly, here's my AWESOME new glider from my Dad!!! Can't wait for all the late night feedings I'll be doing in it. :) So comfy.

Did That Seriously Just Happen??

I keep asking myself that about my summer and all the time I spent in the hospital. I now have the knees and joints of a 90-year old and can't use my back and neck muscles for very long before they get fatigued. Combine that with swollen ankles and c-section pain and I'm a hot mess!

However, it all seriously happened. Fast and furiously. I'd still be counting down until my scheduled c-section if our little Zachary hadn't caused so much commotion! :) Clark did a good post of all our excitement and today it's the triplet's one-week birthday! Lots has happened in just one week so I'm going to try and keep up with it all and document what I can.

Well, nothing can prepare you for leaving your new babies at the hospital and coming home empty handed. Although coming home after 10 weeks was pretty monumental, it felt wrong. I was admitted to the hospital so unexpectedly and have been totally consumed with this pregnancy for so long. So driving away without any babies in my belly or in their car seats....just felt wrong. Heartbreaking. Clark and my Dad had cleaned and prepped the house so it looked spic and span. I also had a gorgeous bouquet of roses on the table. I toured the house looking at all the wonderful projects Clark had completed while I was gone. Pretty amazing. All in all it was a good homecoming.

After the c-section I was totally out of it. Once my epidural wore off Clark took me down to the NICU but I couldn't keep my eyes open for more than 5-10 minutes. The nurses there were totally overloading me with information too so I didn't get much out of that first visit. We've been back everyday though and it's fun to see how quickly they change, progress, and how much more we love them everyday.

All babies were immediately put on CPAP to help them breathe right away but were taken off about 48 hours later. Little Leah wore a nasal cannula for a few days to give a little bit of oxygen to remind her to breathe. She no longer has that or her IV so the only wires stuck to her are the monitor wires and feeding tube! She has the normal preemie apnea and dips in her heart rate but she always resolves it herself. She is now big enough to wear a t-shirt and be swaddled and I think that has made her a little happier. She loves to have her binki and her hands near her face which makes me think that's how they were in utero. She's doing great and looks just like her mama! I try to do kangaroo care (skin to skin holding) with her every morning and she seems to like being close and warm with me.

Weight: 3 lbs 11 oz

She, along with the others have lost weight since arriving but are slowly gaining it back.


Grandpa Nelson




Zachary, the smallest, is feisty and doing so well! He had to be on photo therapy for a couple days because his bilirubin levels were high but those have resolved and he doesn't have to wear those terrible eye covers. I think he liked being under the light though, getting his skin all tan. The light certainly made all his hair very noticable! Boy is he hairy. He likes to stretch his legs out and is REALLY strong. He, like Leah, is just hooked up to the monitors and a feeding tube. No more IV! I felt so bad that they all had to have IV's and be poked so many times. My nurse prepping me for surgery failed on her IV twice!! The third one finally worked but seriously, it wasn't pleasant so I'm glad these guys no longer have them. Zachary likes his binki too and seems to have the sucking mechanism down. He has the least bouts of apnea and heart dips and we're always so surprised with how he's doing considering he is the smallest.

Weight: 3 lbs 5 oz





Last, but NOT least, is Caleb. Some of the same story for him. No IV but still hooked up to feeding tube and monitors. Normal preemie apneas and heart dips. Because of his weight he's able to wear real clothes and was actually taken out of the isolette to an open crib. However, he had difficulty maintaining his own body temperature so today he was put back in the isolette. That's fine with me. I want him to be nice and toasty warm. He tries with a bottle twice a day. Sometimes he's into it, other times he's so sleepy that he forgets to breathe. So depending on how alert he is dictates whether we try the bottle. He could care less about the binki and seems to be able to soothe himself well enough without it. He's very mellow and rarely cries. Just sleeps....ALOT! He eats twice as much as the other two and is doing great. So cute...and smells so good. We kangaroo'd today and he was out!

Weight: 4 lbs 8 oz





The little white thing in my shirt is called a cuddle doll. You stick them against your skin for a while and then put them close to the babies nose so they can smell their mom and dad. I smell it and can't smell anything but apparently they can! :) None of them will be coming home very soon but they are all stable for now and we are moving forward!