August 22, 2011 - Four Pounders!!

Well, the girls are still doing great!  Marly & Chloe have now hit 4 pounds and Elia (pronounced 'e{as in elbow}-lee-a' as we get asked) is a fraction of an ounce behind.  She'll be there tomorrow :)  The big thing for the girls right now is just to grow, grow, grow!!  It will be another week or two before I can start nursing them and work on learning to eat on their own (instead of the feeding tubes).  Other than the feeding tubes (which run through the nose and down to the stomach) though, they are only hooked up to the monitors!  So they continue to do great each day!

We are allowed to hold each girl once a day for an hour.  It may stress the girls out to do much more than that at this point.  We have to coordinate it with their every 3 hour feeding schedule as it causes stress to get them out of their isolettes (incubators) and we don't want to add stress when they are feeding.  Some days it can get a little tricky to get our snuggle times in...but, we appreciate every moment we get to snuggle them as an hour just seems to fly by!  So onto more fun...here are the latest pictures of the girls:

August 17, 2011
Chloe (left) & Elia (right) both bright eyed!

August 18, 2011
Almost the whole family...
Elia (left) & Chloe (right) with Garin, Mommy & Daddy

August 18, 2011
Garin with Nurse B Listening to Chloe's Heart
~ Thanks Nurse B for being so great with our little girls and letting our big boy help too! ~

August 19, 2011
Marly (left) & Chloe (right) with Daddy & Garin

August 21, 2011
Elia (right) really checking out her sister, Chloe (left)

August 21, 2011
Elia looking up at Daddy



August 21, 2011
Marly (left), Chloe (middle) & Elia (right) with Mommy
The first time all 3 have been lying close since birth.


We appreciate everyone being understanding about seeing the girls.  Eventhough they look absolutely adorable in these pictures, we all (including us) have to remember that they were born about 2 months premature and are still very little.  They are still working on developing their ability to maintain their body temps, breathing, and controlling their blood pressures & heart rates (among many other things).  The girls are in the 'Newborn' Intensive Care Unit (NICU) because they need to be watched closely to ensure they are growing properly and do not have any additional health concerns.  We understand that everyone would like to see them, but right now that is not always possible.  The hospital really tries hard to safeguard them from the transfer of germs and disease by not allowing many people into the room where they (and other babies) are located.  They also have a secured or locked down floor that only allows visitors to us or the girls if we are at the hospital.  If we are up at the hospital, we are happy to help facilitate seeing them through the glass windows.  For now, that is the safest way to introduce them to the world of people who are so excited to see and meet them!  We appreciate your understanding during this time.  :)

August 17, 2011 - Update & More Pics :)

The girls are 11 days old today and doing wonderful!  All of the nurses say that they are making remarkable strides for how early they were born.  None of them need additional oxygen, so they are breathing the same air as we are.  They still are getting some additional heat pumped into their isolettes, but they are all clothed now and working on learning to control their own body temperatures.  All of them are on tube feedings and yes, mama is still keeping up with the milk they demand.  They each are getting about 8 ounces of milk per day, but it is split up into feedings every two hours.  So they are doing great and we haven't run into any problems.  They are in the 'growers and feeders' room and basically need to just keep doing that.  Things are pretty steady each day as we wait for them to grow and mature more.  The next step will be working on feeding them, which won't come until they are 34-35 weeks (that is gestational weeks or weeks that I was pregnant).  We are at 32.5 weeks gestationally right now, so a couple more weeks to go till we can try feedings orally!

Anyways, onto the new pictures!!!

August 13, 2011
Garin getting to help hold one of the babies for the first time!
Daddy and Garin are holding Chloe

August 14, 2011
Chloe all dressed up holding Auntie L's hand

August 15, 2011
Chloe is a Sleeping Beauty

August 15, 2011
Elia is a Sleeping Beauty
(Thanks Auntie N for the cute onsie!)

August 15, 2011
Marly is a Sleeping Beauty

August 16, 2011
Elia is wide awake

August 16, 2011
Mommy got to hold two babies - Elia (left) & Marly (right)
This is the first time that two of the babies have been together since leaving Mommy's tummy

August 16, 2011
Two of the Girls!
Marly (left) & Elia (right)

Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we do!  It was so exciting to get two of them together again yesterday.  It was neat to see them open their eyes and really check each other out.  It was adorable that they held hands without any positioning from us :)

August 13, 2011 - One week old :)

Wow!  So it has been a week since the girls were born and the time has just flown by.  We are really learning what the word 'busy' means these days!

The girls are all doing really good!  They have made so much progress in the past week that we are absolutely amazed.  Each of them is getting mommy's milk through a feeding tube and seem to really like it due to the long naps and complete contentment.  So far so good with the milk.  I seem to be able to produce more than what they are needing, so maybe I could actually build up some reserve for later!!  Marly is on full feedings which is about 7-8 ounces per day and her two sisters will be up to full feeds later today.  Prior to this they received all of their nutrients via a line that was run through their umbilical cord.

The isolette (or incubators) controls the temperature and amount of oxygen that the girls receive.  By the end of the weekend they will all be down to 21% oxygen, which is the same as what we breathe.  The girls will all be sporting some onsies by the end of today, which means that they are able to control their own body temperatures without the help of the isolette.  So they are making remarkable strides to adjust to their environment!  Now we just need to focus on getting big!

The girls are all really long (16.5-17 inches), but still very slender so they are adding additional calories into my milk to help 'fatten' them up.  I keep getting teased about how long their fingers and toes are!  I never realized mine were so long!  Gee thanks mom and dad!!  ;)

Mommy got to hold Marly on Thursday (8/11).  I realized that they are so much smaller than I had thought before.  You can see that they are small lying in their beds, but when she was a few inches from my face she was so much smaller than I imagined.  Her little fingers feeling my skin was so amazing.  It is crazy how light three pounds of baby feels.  But they are all fighters and will be getting bigger in no time!  Daddy got to hold Marly and Elia last night and Mommy got to hold Chloe.  So now we've held all of the girls and cannot wait to keep holding them everyday until they are able to come home.  They say that most babies don't go home till closer to their due date, which would be on October 9th.  So we will have quite a few weeks of visiting them in the hospital for now.

Garin absolutely loves his sisters!  He begs to go see them and does really well.  He likes to touch them and sing his songs to them.  They all seem to really enjoy him too!  When he sings their eyes watch him and their heads move as if they are trying to listen really closely.  It is fun to watch and see the bond between them grow each day.  He has impressed the nurses with his sleeping abilities as a couple times now he has napped in a stroller to let Mommy and Daddy spend more time up at the hospital with them.  The second day that he was able to see them, he begged so hard to be able to bring them home.  Daddy tried to explain that they had to stay in the hospital due to the cords that are hooked to them to make sure they are all doing ok.  He responded with, "we can take the cords home too, Daddy!"

Here are some of the more recent pictures:

Garin is checking out Elia in her isolette. 
The girls all had to be under the bright blue bilirubin lights to help prevent jaundice.

Mommy, Daddy & Marly after the first time of holding one of the babies!
Yes, you can see the teary eyed Mommy after waiting 5 days to hold her baby.

Our train of Daddy, Mommy still in a wheelchair
& Garin sleeping in a stroller going to see 'the sisters.'

Daddy getting to hold Elia.
You can see how little she is before she gets
all snuggled in and covered with blankets.

Daddy with Elia.
Looks like she is loving her snuggle time!

Daddy holding Marly

Mommy holding Chloe for the first time.
We are 'kangaroo-ing' them, which means holding them with skin to skin contact.

Garin fell asleep when visiting 'the sisters.'

I also added some of the final belly pictures to the belly page:
http://bigbrotherx3.blogspot.com/p/belly-pictures.html

August 8, 2011 - Some pictures of the girls!

The door to my hospital room!

Daddy and Mommy with Elia

Daddy changing Elia's diaper



We finally got to see Elia's eyes!

Elia with her light blocking mask
(to decrease stimulation and simulate a dark room for sleeping)
is busy sucking her little fingers.



Mommy and Daddy with Chloe



Chloe



Mommy and Daddy with Marly



We also got to see Marly's eyes for the first time!



Daddy's first time of changing little Marly

August 7, 2011 - We finally get to see them!

Shortly after midnight, after all of our visitors went home, Craig and I finally could go visit the girls in the NICU and see what our little girls look like.

They looked amazing!  Of course, they were little, but they had all of their fingers and toes.  Each one of them had been placed on a ventilator to assist them with their breathing efforts and were being given Dopamine to help increase and help them stabilize their blood pressure.  The best news was that they were stable and looking good!  We went to bed late that night and had the sweetest dreams that any parent could ever have!

August 6, 2011 - They're here!!

So after my last post of being in the hospital last Wednesday with contractions, I just didn't feel so great.  :(  On Thursday night, we were pretty sure that I had lost my mucous plug.  After talking with the doctor, we thought the end was near but we thought we would make it into this week when we would see her again.  But we were wrong...

On Saturday morning, I woke up feeling OK (still not great though), but that changed very quickly.  I had diarrhea and threw up my breakfast by about 9:30 am.  We made a call to Craig's brother that something might be going on and making sure they were still on call for G man if we needed.  About 12:00 (noon) the contractions started becoming more regular and by 1:00 they were down to about every 5-6 minutes.  So we headed into the hospital.  They tried my favorite drug - terbutaline, which decreased the intensity of the contractions but didn't fully stop the contractions.  They tried a second dose of this med and now it seemed to increase the intensity and speed of the contractions.  So then some calls were made to the doc's.  Of course, my favorite Dr. I is out of town for the weekend and will not be able to make it in.  By this time we find out that the doc on call, Dr. O and the obstetrician, Dr. O have been called in to prep for the c-section delivery of these babies.  Dr. O checked my cervix and it had continued to dilate, so we knew there was no turning back or stopping things now.  It was about 5:30 pm when we found out that they would be getting ready for the delivery.

At 6:31 pm, Baby A was welcomed into the world.  She let out a great cry and was shown over the drape to us for a short moment before being whisked off to the NICU to be stabilized.  She weighed in at 3 lbs. 7 oz. and 17 inches long!  She was in the best health of all of the babies.  Her name is Marly Jane (Jane is Craig's mother's first name).

At 6:32 pm, Baby B was welcomed and also let out a cry.  She weighed in at 3 lbs. 8 oz. and 16.5 inches long.  She was named Chloe Marie (Marie is mommy's middle name).

And finally at 6:33 pm, Baby C was welcomed and let out a cry.  She weighed in at 3 lbs. 9 oz. and 16.5 inches long.  Her name is Elia Kay (Kay is Trish's mother's middle name).

I would have hit 31 weeks tomorrow, so the babes were born at 30 weeks and 6 days!

The best part about the day that the triplets were born...they share their birthday with Daddy!  Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and to the most amazing dad!

August 4, 2011 - More Contractions!

Today we are at 30 weeks and 4 days...and still pregnant!  I also have 12 weeks and a day of bedrest down!  Yikes!  I never imagined that I would be able to survive this long on bedrest.  I am not a sitter, but a do-er.  I have however found a new appreciation for sitting still and quiet to enjoy the very simplest things in life.

We had a doctor's appointment this past Tuesday that went well.  I still cannot seem to gain any more weight at this point, but at least I am maintaining the weight I have been able to put on.  My cervix seems to be holding out this week with similar measurements to last week.  Another BPP was done one the babes and they all seem to be moving, practicing breathing, etc. quite well.  We still see the swollen kidneys in Baby B, but it has not gotten any worse.  So we felt like we could take on the world after this appointment.  I don't really know why I even decide how I feel because it usually changes within a couple of days anyways...

Last night, I sat down to eat supper and my hip pain was getting the best of me.  (I began seeing {in April} and still see a physical therapist twice a week to attempt to keep the hip and back pain at bay in order to keep me comfortable throughout the pregnancy.)  I tried lying on the couch to eat my supper to get off of the right hip (my right leg goes numb if I sit up straight for very long).  Shortly thereafter, the contractions came on.  I tried going through my lovely list of things to try to stop the contractions, but they weren't letting up.  After about a half hour of this, I finally attempted to 'time' these contractions before we called the hospital.  From 8:00-8:12 pm I had six contractions, so I knew it was time to call and get moving!  By the time we got to the hospital and got me on the monitor the contractions were then a minute and a half apart with only a 20 second break in between.  So within an hour they had become this fast and hard!  I always thought this usually took quite a while to progress to this point, but I was very thankful that we didn't have an hour and a half drive down from Garrison anymore...whew!  With one shot of terbutaline the contractions stopped...whew again!  We thought we were out of the woods, but then we found that my cervix was 70% effaced and starting to open.  In other words, my body was preparing to push these babes out.  The contractions began again and this time only five minutes apart.  With some time and lots of fluids, the contractions finally let up and we were able to come back home this morning.  Yet another close call...

So what now...we keep waiting and paying attention to what my body is saying.  The doctor said at this point, modern medicine can only do so much and the rest is totally up to my body.