Happy 3-week birthday baby boys!

So many changes over the last 3 weeks! We are now fitting in Newborn diapers, Preemie is too small. We have outgrown almost every Preemie sized outfit too. Some of our Newborn clothes are still too big, but I doubt that will last very long. They didn't fuss for our second bath, but that may be more due to mom's learning curve than theirs. They are staying awake and alert for longer during the day, even enjoying some time without a swaddle. During tummy time they can move their heads from side to side and they have a lot more head control in general. Plus, they are just growing!! They seem so much bigger than they did 3 weeks ago... It's a little sad that they will never be so little again. The biggest change that affects us is that we have dropped a feeding overnight! Instead of 9, 12, 3 and 6, for the last 3 nights they have switched to 10, 1-2, and 5-6. It makes a huge difference for us, and we hope it continues.

One thing that isn't going quite so well is my pumping breastmilk for them. I just can't keep up with them! We are trying a few things to help, so we'll see how long I last. I'm really sick of pumping around the clock, but I know it's best for them regardless of how much they get. I'll be a lot more motivated if I can provide more for them. We'll see how the next week goes...

Some new pics of tummy time and unswaddled time... Ironically, even though they are taken on different days the boys are in the same order. Left to right... Ryan, Collin, and Evan.

It's been a week...

Collin came home a week ago last night, Ryan came home a week ago this morning. We have been solely responsible for 3 baby boys for one week. I say solely responsible, but we have had a LOT of help. My sister stayed with us last weekend and was able to help a ton, even with some of the overnight feedings; I cried when she left. Both grandmothers have been incredibly helpful, with meals, helping around the house, and helping me at home now that Sean is back at work.

So this is how it goes... we live in 3 hour increments. The babies eat and are changed at 9, 12, 3, 6, and so on, thankfully the NICU had Ryan and Collin on a tight schedule and Evan was already used to eating right before, after, or during those times. The babies are on breastmilk, but from a bottle. We need to be able to reliably track how much they are eating, so that means I am attached to a pump all day long. So every three hours we repeat the pump, change, feed routine, which lasts 1-1.5 hours each time. That leaves 1.5-2 hours for anything else... sleeping, eating, showering, whatever.

Here are some pics:

Evan

Ryan in the NICU

Collin in the NICU

Evan, Ryan, and Collin a week ago

Happy 2-week birthday babies!

So Collin came home last Thursday night, and Ryan on Friday morning! Everyone is home and doing well. We went to the pediatrician today for their 2-week check-up and they are all gaining weight and getting bigger by the minute... Evan is up to 5# 5oz., Ryan is 5# 10oz., and Collin is 5# 11oz. They are all bigger than they were at birth, a big goal for 2 weeks.

I also had my post-surgical appointment today, I'm doing great. I've lost 39# from my max and I'm only up 14# from my first pregnancy appointment! My incision doesn't hurt, I don't have any complications, etc. We also found out that two of the babies are identical! We had wondered about Ryan and Collin, and now it was confirmed by the pathology report on the placentas. Apparently they all had separate placentas but the membrane/sack separating Ryan and Collin was incomplete, they are triamniotic and dichorionic. It makes a lot of sense, they look a lot alike (I think their expressions are very different and think I can tell them apart, but I haven't tested that yet), their mannerisms are extremely similar, and they were both the same size, etc.

We are all doing well at home, both grandmothers have been a huge help, and Auntie Stephanie was in town last weekend to help as well. We struggle with lack of sleep, but we love these little munchkins and they are going to be big before we know it!

Evan, Ryan and Collin have arrived!

Wow, what a blur the last week has been... We'll tell the story with a paragraph per day.

Tuesday... I had a hair appointment and had arranged for one of the dogs to be groomed, the other would go in Wednesday. I felt lousy all day, didn't feel like eating, in and out of the bathroom every hour, and much more fatigued. I still went in for my flu shot at Walgreens that afternoon, and by the time I got home I was done. I started to feel more uncomfortable that evening, and feeling crampy and more frequent contractions. I did sleep for an hour or two... until Sean woke me up before midnight to tell me I was snoring! The rest of the night was horrible... cramping and contractions all night; I moved from bed to couch to recliner to bed to bathtub and could not get comfortable.

Wednesday... I'm 34 weeks, 3 days. By 5:3oam I knew I was in labor and woke Sean up to have him get ready and help me. I wanted to wait to call the doctor because I wanted to go in to the office and not labor and delivery, but Sean caved and called the emergency number after I threw up. I was in enough pain that I wanted drugs, I'm not ashamed to say it. We got to the office by 7:45, by 9 we were being wheeled to the hospital, and by 10:30 I was in the OR. There wasn't anything wrong that necessitated the hurry, except for my level of discomfort. The surgery was great, I was so much better once I got the spinal, and the atmosphere was so relaxed and everyone was excited for us. There were at least 20 people in the OR between us, the doctors, and nurses (some of which had been called in just for us). At 11:07 Evan Patrick was born, Dr. Stanley said he was going to have an attitude because he came out butt first. He had a perfect apgar score, weighed 4# 15 oz and was 18". Ryan Jackson was born at 11:09, 9/9 apgar, 5# 5 oz and 18.5" (his head was a little molded from my hip bone/pelvis and his butt had been bruising my ribs for days). At 11:10 Collin Avery was born, he had stuck his little hand and arm out when they were pulling out Ryan and really wanted to be second. He was 5# 4.5 oz and 18", but his apgar scores were 7/8 and he was grunting more, he went straight to the NICU for them to monitor his breathing. All the babies were crying and really loud in the OR and the other two went to the transitional nursery, though Ryan quickly joined Collin in the NICU because he was breathing fast as well. Sean went to the NICU with the babies, and I went to recovery without babies. It took a few hours before they could wheel me to see them, they had IVs and nasal cannulas, but otherwise were fine, just breathing a little too fast so we couldn't stimulate them too much. Evan got brought to my room for a 30 minute trial to see how he would do, and he came back for good not too much later. He never went to the NICU and did great!

Thursday, Friday, Saturday... The babies continued to improve, coming off oxygen, maintaining body temperature, going on and off bili lights and bili blankets, and moving from critical care NICU to intermediate care NICU to the satellite NICU (in a different wing, least critical). Evan stayed with us and did fabulous, I am so grateful we were able to have a baby to cuddle and love in the room. Evan and Collin were circumcised, but they didn't want to stress Ryan. Collin was gavaged through a nasogastric tube until his respiratory rate improved; Ryan was eating well and then not, he was gavaged and bottle fed, and seemed to improve a little slower than Collin.

Sunday... We get to take Evan home! I really didn't have any problems with the c-section, I was up and walking the next day and as long as I took my pain meds on schedule I didn't even feel like I had had surgery. By the end of the day both Collin and Ryan were in the satellite NICU, we were so happy to not have 3 babies in 3 different rooms. Our first night at home went well, Evan is such a good baby.

Monday, Tuesday... The home/NICU madness has begun. We worked out a schedule where Sean and I would go to the NICU for 9 am and 3 pm feedings, either my mom or Sean's mom would babysit Evan during those times and then go to the next feeding afterwards (12 or 6). Things are fine and work well, but they are crazy. I'll just be thrilled when we don't have to travel back and forth. Tuesday we also took the Infant CPR class as part of the NICU discharge protocol and had a visit to the pediatrician for Evan (he's doing well, gained 1 oz since discharge from Mercy). And Tuesday I didn't bring my pain meds with me, didn't plan for the extended absence, and suffered for it. Everyone at the hospital has heard of them, one even said "oh, you are the one with the old triplets". Apparently they have never had a triplet skip the NICU and room-in, I'm so proud of these boys!

Wednesday... Evan did so great last night, he is on a schedule and does really well: eats, sleeps and poops like a champ! At the NICU Collin doesn't have a feeding tube anymore and they are working on pre-discharge, we find out later that he can go home tomorrow evening!! Ryan is probably 24-48 hours behind him :) Pictures to come... Happy 1 Week Birthday Evan, Ryan, and Collin!

Last ultrasound...

It's a little surreal, we had our last ultrasound today. That means the next time I see the babies they'll be 3 dimensional! The doctor still can't believe it is all going so well, he called me his "star patient". I have to say, I'm happy to oblige. I feel so blessed, Sean and I cannot believe we are halfway through September and we're still going strong. I hope everything continues to go as smoothly...

Here are the stats... Baby A is still breech, sitting on his feet with his bottom as low as it can go. His head is right in the middle of my belly. A was approximately 3# 13 oz. 3 weeks ago, now he is estimated at 5# 2 oz. Baby B has his head low on my right side, as close as possible to my right hip/pelvis. His butt is up against my ribs on the right. Last time he was measured at 4# 2 oz., now he is 5# 11 oz. Baby C is transverse across the top, his head is right next to Baby A's but on the left side of my belly, his butt and legs are across the top. Previously he was 4# 2 oz., the guesstimate today was 5# 10 oz. That makes essentially 16.5 pounds of babies! Plus 3 placentas, fluid, etc. and you get the 53 pounds I've gained so far.

All the fluid levels look good, it is definitely getting crowded in there. My blood pressure is still behaving, 108/60. So unless something changes, I'm still set for September 27th!

TMI beware...

So, a warning, this is a little personal. It's not that I'm complaining (though Sean says I am doing more of that lately, and I admit it), but I thought that since the end was nearing I should maybe mention some of the things that I won't miss about pregnancy.

First though, despite all complaining that does happen, I will really miss carrying these babies. They are such a blessing, a gift from God, and I hope I can give them their best chance by carrying them as long as I can. There is nothing like feeling them move, and I'm the only one who will ever know what they feel like. I think feeling their movements is what I will miss the most when they are born. I will also miss eating whatever I want, even though I do try to make healthy choices. I will miss the quiet and the calm. And I love the expression on people's faces when I tell them there are three, priceless.

Now for what I won't miss... in no particular order, and I think these are true of most pregnancies, though some may be just mine. The 50 pounds I've gained so far. The laughter that erupts when I tell people there are three, and that continues when they learn it is all boys. Swollen feet and ankles. Constant lower back pain. First not being able to eat (morning sickness first trimester), then not being able to eat enough (second trimester), then not being able to eat everything that you want to because your stomach is squished and fills up fast (third trimester). A GI system out of whack... constipation vs. diarrhea. Hence, hemorrhoids. Heartburn, didn't even know that's what it was when you wake up in the middle of the night with the taste of vomit in your mouth. Not being able to sit with your legs together. Difficulty wiping. Barely fitting in a booth. The attractive moans, groans, and grunts that I make when I have to move a certain way or get up. Waddling. Not being able to sleep more than an hour at a time because of pain, discomfort, having to go to the bathroom, etc. Stretch marks. Lovely huh... that's all for now, maybe I'll add more as I think of them :)

And, a picture of me at my shower at 32 weeks...

A little excitement...

We had a little scare this weekend...

Friday night we toured the Mercy Level III (highest level) NICU and birthing area with our friends Charlie and Krista, they set up the tour for us with their nurse friend who works in the NICU. It was so helpful. I feel a lot more prepared, and it was so calm and not as intimidating as I thought it would be. But it drove home to us how important it was for these babies to be at good weights and at least 34 weeks, if not the 36 we are hoping for. So many babies there are smaller than ours are supposedly now, and were born earlier than ours will be, so that was reassuring (though sad for those kiddos).

Saturday morning I had NOT slept well, up every hour or so, and my abdomen felt so tight that I wondered if I was having contractions. So Saturday at 7:30am I gave up on my misery and got in the tub, the only way I thought I could make myself comfortable. I wasn't experiencing pain, but just very, very uncomfortable. While I was in the tub for an hour and a half I was able to track the contractions, some were every 20 minutes, but others would come every 5-6 minutes! I got out to watch Game Day and some football, and continued to track them, still irregular but some still 5-6 minutes apart. And I started to cramp with them and have intermittent to persistent lower back pain. Great, I had heard stories of not realizing contractions were significant until it was too late, so around noon I called the doctor. My doctor wasn't on call, but his partner had me go to the hospital (we knew he would, why we were still a little reluctant to call).

We got to the hospital, ran into a friend (small world), and they got us set up in a room. He wanted my cervix checked (nurse said it was closed, yay, though they didn't ultrasound it), wanted me to get betamethasone injections for the babies' lungs just in case they did come before 34 weeks, and then a nonstress test to track the contractions and monitor the babies' heart rates. The babies and my blood pressure still looked great, thank goodness. But I was definitely having contractions every 6 minutes, much more regular than even I thought they were. And for the most part I could definitely feel them, still not painful, but definitely a presence that was uncomfortable, and definitely still involving cramping. So they gave me an injection of Terbutaline to stop them, which it did really well. I only had one or two more in the hour after it kicked in, and those were much less significant and more comfortable. The injection did give me a little headache and make me a little shaky. The doctor also ordered a fetal fibronectin test, which detects a protein in the cervical secretions that is typically present within a week or so of labor, and that was negative.

So I got to go home! Yay! Since we still don't have a bag packed... it's on my to-do list :) I was really afraid Saturday morning that the babies would be coming, or I would be heading to the hospital for a longer stay, and I was so relieved that everything checked out. I got sent home with oral Terbutaline, which I took Saturday night, and thank goodness I'm only supposed to take it as needed because it severely messed me up. It made my heart race, made my whole body tremble, and a few other side effects, which persisted much longer than with the injection, at least 8 hours. It did stop the more infrequent contractions and also helped the cramping, but I haven't taken another dose! Sunday I had to go back for another betamethasone injection, and they repeated the nonstress test, which again looked good. Hopefully I won't be back for a while...

So I'm officially taking it easy now. I called work, I'm stopping a week earlier than I hoped. And poor Sean is really having to pull most of the weight around the house. I feel good now, still periodic contractions, but nothing like before, and no repeated cramping. My back hurts, I don't sleep well (or at all really, last night I was up for good at 2:30 and finally gave up on bed and got up at 4:45), and I tire really easily. I feel really good that we'll make it to 34 :) and I'm still hopeful for 36 weeks, barring anymore scares!