Crap, crap, and more crap...

I'm sure you can tell by the frequency of my posts just how much time I have. Every single day feels like a replication of the last, with a few variations thrown in here and there. At the moment we have a system, though, which consists of someone being near the girls around the clock. This has proven to be a good thing since all of them have refluxed through their noses to the point of choking. Had we not been present to pick them up and suction them, who knows whether or not they would have recovered. We honestly have very few moments throughout the day when we can just enjoy the girls. Rather, we are constantly caring for them as if they are still in the hospital. It's a very clinical experience most of the time and we look forward to the coming weeks, during which we can transition into more of a family mode.

Our crappy and crappiest news revolves around our visit to the cardiologist yesterday. Olivia had a CT of her heart, the point of which was to provide a more detailed map of its structure in order to determine how to repair the problem areas. Unfortunately the CT showed that Olivia is missing her main pulmonary artery. Combined with her other heart issues, she essentially has one of the worst forms of Tetralogy of Fallot and thus her condition is more serious than we would like. She likely has only one functional lung as a result of the heart defect, which is fine; she can live with one lung. The very sad part is that in order to correct everything, she will need an open heart surgery. In fact, because the body often rejects the parts used to correct the problems, she will need multiple surgeries. Apparently some people have surgeries every few months and others as infrequently as every 5 years until adulthood, when the surgeries can decrease in number. There are so many more details, but these are the main highlights. Overall, she has a very very very long road ahead.

Makenna received some pretty bad news yesterday, too. She has an Atrial Septal Defect, which will also require open heart surgery. Fortunately there appears to be no rush at the moment. So long as her heart remains in good condition, she will not have surgery. Once it begins to enlarge, they will move forward and repair the problem. This surgery should be pretty straightforward, but it's still major surgery. Our cardiologist said that most children with ASD have a repair around age 2.

So FANTASTIC...we have two daughters with heart conditions. How exactly does that happen? It was not a result of the triplet pregnancy, not a result of prematurity...it wasn't even genetic. It was all completely random. I'm having a hard time believing that and a very hard time wrapping my brain around all of this. I absolutely cannot even fathom the fear and pain they will experience as a result of these surgeries. I cannot even begin to relate to these poor little girls, yet I will need to be there to comfort them and to reassure them that everything will turn out just fine. For now, I suppose the first step is to convince myself.

Olivia is home....we have triplets!!!

Okay, long story short, we're exhausted. Sorry to offend any parents of singletons out there, but we tried out having one baby for almost a week. Other than a lack of sleep, it wasn't so bad. Lauren was very well-behaved at the time, though, so maybe that's why it wasn't bad. Then we tried out having two babies for 3 days. That was definitely more difficult. We are now on day #4 of triplets and life is INSANE! I seriously don't know how quad, quint, sex, sept, etc parents do it. It is soooooooo time-consuming. Here's an idea of what our daily schedule will look like now that Paul is back at work (mind you, once we can start bottle-propping, this schedule will change).

1am - Crystal and Paul go to bed
2am - Paul's mom feeds Lauren
2:45 - Paul's mom feeds Makenna
3:30 - Paul's mom feeds Olivia & holds her for a long time (reflux issues)
5:00 - Crystal wakes up & Paul's mom goes to bed
5:30 - Crystal feeds Lauren
6:00 - Crystal feeds Makenna
7:00 - Crystal feeds Olivia
8:00 - Crystal cleans bottles and makes more
8:30 - Crystal feeds Lauren
9:00 - Crystal feeds Makenna
10:00 - Crystal feeds Olivia
11:15 - Paul is home for lunch and feeds Lauren while Crystal cleans something
12:00 - Paul's mom feeds Makenna & Paul feeds Olivia
12:30 - Paul goes back to work and Crystal holds Olivia
1:00 - Crystal cleans something and tries to eat
2:00 - Crystal and Paul's mom feed Lauren and Makenna
3:00 - Olivia gets fed
4:00 - Paul is home...we clean more stuff and maybe think about making some food (yeah, right
5:00 - We all 3 feed babies
6:00 - We all 3 try to relax...Paul's mom takes a nap, maybe...or maybe Crystal or Paul take a nap...who knows...maybe we all hold babies
7:00 - Baby bath time, change clothes for bed, do laundry...something of that nature
8:00 - We all 3 try to feed babies
11:00 - Paul feeds all 3 babies, Paul's mom probably helps, and Crystal gets everything ready for the next day.

Mind you, I have to pump breastmilk in here, which can take a good 30 minutes to an hour...which is when I can go online. Or sometimes while I pump, I have to feed a baby. I also have to do diaper changes, meds, refill med syringes, blah, blah, blah. It's really like running a 24-hour daycare. We're so lucky Paul's mom is here at the moment to help us through the next couple of weeks. I have a triplet mom friend in Hawaii who has been doing all of this pretty much alone being that her husband had to go back to work before the babies even came home from the NICU. It's doable, but completely overwhelmingly exhausting. So having help is a really really good thing. I think the reflux issues should improve a bit over the next few weeks, which will make feeding MUCH MUCH easier, and will allow us more rest. Because right now, it takes a good hour to feed and hold Makenna and Olivia. Lauren is a bit easier, taking only 30 to 45 minutes. Also, in a couple of months, if they start sleeping for at least 6 hours at a time, we will also have a much easier time. We have learned that Makenna and Olivia can easily go 4 hours between feeds, but Lauren gets hungry very quickly...and they all still need to keep gaining weight quickly, so we keep them on a 3 hour schedule.

So, that's about all for now. Again, life is insane here...I just wanted to update all of you.

Here is a pic of the 3 girlies as they are sleeping right now.



ps...since having them all home, we have already had 2 emergency suctions of Lauren's nose when she was choking while refluxing. And I had to call the pediatrician last night when we found blood in Livy's stool. All of that actually happened in a 24-hour period.

Okay...really need to go now.

Makenna is Home!!! That makes 2 babies!

We brought Makenna home last night and everything is going pretty well. We are really really really sleepy, but that's okay. I did my first feed alone with two babies at 3am. I figured that if I let Paul sleep through that feeding, then I could sleep through the 6am feeding. Turned out to be a great idea because Lauren fed really easily...finished her bottle, including burps, etc, in 30 minutes. I then fed Makenna and she somehow did really well (she has been spitting up a whole lot). She had a couple of mild wet burps, but overall did just fine. They were both sound asleep by 4:15. And I multi-tasked by using the breastpump during Lauren's feed. So they had full bottles for their 6am feed...which I happily slept right through.

Anyhow, I'm really tired and need to take a short nap. Here are some pictures from yesterday:



Lauren so happy to have her sister home

Makenna & Lauren together again!






Lauren

Lauren is home & doing well

We brought Lauren home on Thursday night and so far, so good. She is such a good-tempered little baby and hasn't yet begun to freak us out. She has only cried on a couple of occasions, but mostly she just kind of fusses when she's upset. Nothing earth-shattering, though. Her feeds are every 3 hours, same schedule as her sisters in the NICU, so we just wake her up when it's eating time and thus she never gets overly hungry. We can tell that it's almost time for her feedings, though, because about 30 to 45 minutes ahead of time she starts smacking her lips and stirring a little, and goes to town on her paci. After mealtime she wants nothing to do with the paci. And we have also learned that with her, it's best to do the diaper change after she eats. When she is all swaddled up, she is less likely to do her business. The moment we take off the blanket, though, the toots set in. Sometimes it's just gas, but by the time her bottle is finished and we lie her down for the diaper change, the real stuff starts coming out. We often have to let her lie down and stretch out for a few minutes before we can even change her diaper; otherwise, we end up going through more than one. Major pooper here. Really, everything is going perfectly. Having only one baby home means that we have a lot of time to sit and stare at her, watch television, clean, make dinner, etc. I'm sure all of our free time will disappear in a few days when we bring home baby #2 and baby #3.

By the way, we were told that Makenna should be home in the next few days, too. Olivia had a couple of Bradycardia episodes and some reflux (through the nose), so she has been delayed a tiny bit. They still want her home in a few days, but they are keeping an eye on her for right now. Makenna, however, broke 5 pounds yesterday. In fact, today she weighed in at 5 lbs 3 oz. Our little porker is doing well and once she is up to full feeds for a few days, they will likely send her out the door. Possibly by next weekend we will be totally exhausted from caring for 3 babies. Should be interesting.

Here are some pictures of Miss Lauren from yesterday and today.

Superduper News...and a sweet present from hubby

Today we received some really fantastic news, which I'll get to in a minute.

So Paul and I usually meet up at the hospital on his lunchbreak from 11:15 to 12:30. As we were driving there separately, we were chatting on the cell phone. He told me that a few weeks ago he had ordered a special present for me and he was so excited to give it to me that he couldn't wait until x-mas. He therefore got it all ready in his car and gave it to me in the parking lot. It is a pink bracelet with a charm on it that says "Mommy"...very cute and very sweet. But the part that made me bawl was the matching mini-bracelet with a charm that says "loves me". The only bad part is that we have 3 daughters and one bracelet. Hmmmmmmm.....is this his underhanded way of making me choose a favorite? Seriously, though, the gift was so sweet and such a perfect start to our perfect day.

After eating a cafeteria lunch, we made our way up to the NICU and were pleasantly surprised to find Makenna in her own open crib! She was taken out of her isolette, taken off antibiotics, and they started her on breastmilk again. So she is moving right along. Then came the best news. We were told that Lauren and Olivia should be able to come home by the weekend!!!!!! Livy has been having some reflux issues, which could delay her departure, but Lauren is doing so well and there seems to be nothing stopping her from coming home.

So now we have to take their CPR course, meet with someone to learn about the apnea monitor (Olivia is required to be on one and we are opting to have a second one for Lauren), they have to get their hearing tests, and they have to do the carseat challenge. So we will have quite a busy week preparing the girls to come home and we couldn't be more excited!!!!

Here are the first pics we have of all 3 girls together:

5 Weeks Old

The really big news for this week is that Lauren was moved out of her isolette and into an open crib! She is regulating her temperature very well and doing a great job sleeping like a "big girl". Also, we had an opportunity to try putting her to my breast for some "practice feeding", where she kind of sucks, but nothing really comes out. She pretty much slept the whole time, but she did participate a little. So we'll just keep practicing until she starts feeding that way. It will likely take some time. She is taking some feeds by mouth right now, though she tires out, so they are doing the majority of her feeds using the tube. Again, this may take some time for her to have enough energy to take all of her feeds by mouth. She is doing very very well, though and we love being able to just pick her up and hold her at any given moment. Her weight is currently 4 lbs 9 oz.





Olivia is all wrapped up in her isolette, but the temperature control is turned off. So she is kind of preparing to go into an open crib; however, she doesn't yet have enough fat on her to keep her warm enough. As soon as she can hold a normal temperature she will move into the open crib. At 3 lbs 15 oz, it might be another few days, though. She is taking her feeds by mouth and by tube. She isn't yet on breastmilk, and instead is eating a partially digested formula. Once she does well enough on this, they will try to transition her to breastmilk. Everything else is going well with her and we're just waiting for her to grow.




Makenna is our little sick one for now. They found blood in her stool a few days ago and stopped all of her feedings again. Her x-rays aren't coming back normal on her abdomen, so they just want to be careful that whatever is going on doesn't develop into anything too serious. She has had some blood transfused a couple of times over the last week, she had a spinal tap at one point, and has been given a few antibiotics. We really aren't sure what is going on, but she is being treated in such a way that regardless of what is going on, the meds will help. They are awaiting some test results, though, which could alter the treatment. Either way, she appears okay...not too sick...but she just needs some extra attention at the moment. Hopefully her belly issues will clear up very soon and she can start feeding for good. She is gaining weight, though, and was at 4 lbs 4 oz last night. I'm confident everything will be just fine...she just needs some time to heal.

1 Month Old & Better News

Yesterday marked their 34 week gestational age, as well as their 1 month birthday! Both are kind of a big deal to us. Lauren tipped the scale at 4 lbs 2 oz yesterday, too!!! Livy and Makenna aren't too far behind.

So the "better news" is that Makenna is back on pedialyte because her abdomen is looking better. Livy kind of followed Lauren and Makenna's lead when she got sick a couple of days ago. However, she seems to be improving a bit, too. They still aren't certain, but it kind of looks like whatever is ailing them may be viral. Thus, the antibiotics were making no difference. Just in case, they will remain on them, but Makenna was taken off of two of her meds since they are probably no longer needed. Hopefully within a few days she and Olivia will be back on their breastmilk feedings. Makenna was at least taken off of her canula, but Livy is still on hers.

More great news is that Lauren started bottle feedings!!! She took 12cc today at noon, and by 6pm she will be up to 14cc. And let me tell you, she sucked that stuff down in about 30 seconds. That girl wastes no time...she eats just as quickly as Mommy & Daddy. So the plan with Lauren is to do all of her feedings via bottle, every 3 hours, all day long. This is a little different than what they would normally do. Typically babies will start one bottle/day, then two/day, etc. Because Lauren hadn't been taking her normal 1oz plus and was only on a very small amount of pedialyte orally every 3 hours for the past few days, they decided to just switch out the pedialyte and use the milk. The nurse said once she starts taking more than an ounce (she will reach this on Tuesday), she may tire out and they may have to re-insert a feeding tube so they can give her whatever is left over. With Lauren, we'll be shocked if they have to do this. Also, more nurses are commenting that she will be in an open air crib soon. Today our nurse said that the crib thing won't come until they feel comfortable with her taking all of these feedings. They only like to introduce one new change at a time. So maybe by next weekend if she continues to do well, she may go into an open crib. And all I have to say is that we had better purchase our carseats because that's the last major step before they send our little girl home!!! Of course, that's barring any set-backs...which we know could arise at any time. And she still has to pass all of the "tests" to make sure she is ready...but if she's piling on weight and sucking down her food, I am thinking we may be kind of close to finally bringing home our first baby. And with any luck, Livy and Makenna won't be far behind!!!

Worn Out

I think the lack of sleep has caught up with me because I now have a cold. It really snuck up on me. Started as a little, tiny cough on Tuesday and by Wednesday I was sick. My body apparently doesn't enjoy sleeping for only 2 to 3 hours at a time during the night. So now I'm trying to take lots of naps during the day so that I can recover sooner, rather than later.

The girls are kind of doing better. Makenna and Lauren started back on feeds this week, but it was just a few ml's of pedialyte by mouth. Yes, that means they are bottle feeding the pedialyte. Makenna's x-ray today didn't look so hot, though, and she was taken off food again. Olivia is our little superstar at the moment. She had her very first bottle of breastmilk today. It also happened to be her very first Thanksgiving Dinner!!! She did very well and managed to get down a little over 2/3 of her 1oz feeding. The rest was given via her feeding tube. She didn't spit up at all and although she desatted a bit during the feed, she really did quite well overall. Perhaps they will keep increasing her feeds over the coming days.

Our nurse did mention that they may try to move Lauren and Makenna to open cribs sometime over the next week or so. I believe when this happens they can begin to wear clothes, as well. I can't wait to see the girls dressed, although they do quite enjoy being naked.

That's about all for now. Enjoy the videos...

Another step back...

Well, the girlies may have moved over to the other side of the NICU, but they have made it very clear that they still would like some extra attention. Makenna and Lauren have both been displaying some tummy/intenstinal issues and their feeds were stopped. They are on antibiotics, back on iv nutrition, and getting daily x-rays to see how their tummies are doing. As of yesterday Makenna and Olivia were both given blood to help their oxygen saturation. Livy seems to be doing well on feedings, though she is having some reflux issues. Still, while her bowels and tummy look good, she will continue to feed. She was up to 3lbs 9oz yesterday, so she is gaining very well!!! Hopefully the cultures on Makenna and Lauren won't show a bad infection and they will be able to resume feeds in the next few days. The only nice part about them not feeding at the moment is that their feeding tubes were removed, so they have a nice little break from facial tubes. And, of course, we get to see their pretty little faces. Here are some pics:

Olivia






Makenna






Lauren

Little Graduates...

We have 3 little graduates who just moved to the step-down unit of the NICU!!! We arrived on Friday to find Makenna and Lauren on the "other side" of the NICU, which is used for less critical patients. By Saturday Olivia was moved over, as well. While there are other step-down NICUs in the hospital, chances are good that the girls will be released directly from NICU III. Our nurses told us that they like to keep their long-term babies in NICU III, if at all possible, and avoid them moving over to other NICU suites. Additionally, they really like to keep the multiples together, so they prefer to move them all at the same time, if possible. All of that said, this may be their final room before coming home with Mommy & Daddy!

There really aren't too many other important updates. All 3 girls are breathing with no assistance and are up to a good ounce plus of tube-fed breastmilk every 3 hours. Rumor has it that Makenna will start bottle feeds early this week. Lauren shouldn't be far behind. Not sure of the plan with Olivia yet. Their primary focus with her is weight-gain. Bottle feeds may be too taxing right now, so they may wait on those. We'll see, though.

So the way bottle feeds will work is that they will start them on one feed/day. As they tolerate that, they will increase to 2/day, 3/day, etc. Apparently as soon as they start bottle feeds, I need to let the doctor know that I want to breastfeed. I should then be able to put them to the breast fairly quickly, so long as they are tolerating their feeds.

It sounds like once they master feeds, we can try to move them out of isolettes and into cribs. They usually don't do cribs until they reach around 4 plus pounds, so we do have a while on that one. Currently they are weighing in at:

Makenna - 3 lbs 8 oz
Lauren - 3 lbs 13 oz
Olivia - 3 lbs 5 oz

If everything continues to progress as well as it has, Paul and I anticipate bringing some babies home by Christmas...maybe even mid-December!!!

Here are some pics and videos of the last few days:

Lauren


Lauren




Olivia - pay attention to her hands in the first pic



Hopefully we can get some pics of Makenna tonight. There never seem to be many lights on around her, so it's hard to get anything since we refuse to use the flash. And she always seems to close her eyes during picture time. Tonight is her bath, though, so perhaps Paul can play photographer while I bathe her.