Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The babies are 10 weeks old and have been home for 2 weeks tomorrow. We are definitely exhausted all the time. Let’s see what I can remember. We have a night nurse who comes on Tuesday s and we count the hours till she arrives because we can go to sleep for 6 hours straight. We had been trying to stick to the 4 hour feeding schedule but it just isn’t working. They seem to wake up sooner and are hungry. We tried to just push them the extra time but it was tough. So today we are all messed up. They are eating around 3-4 hours but we are feeding essentially on demand. They seem to wake at the same time and if they don’t we wake them. We shall see how this goes for us. Bob and I each take a night feed while the other sleeps. It takes about 90 minutes to get it all done. It is hard but doable. This way we can sleep for about 3 to 4 hours at a time. We have been truly blessed with a lot of support. My friend Kim has come several days to help and not only has it been truly helpful but selfishly I have enjoyed spending time with her. Today we took a walk around the lake while Bob stayed with the babies and I have to say, the fresh air was such a gift. It really can be exhilarating!! Bob’s sister has come to help and of course my sister Allison has been amazing. Seriously we are not sure what we would do without her. Our neighbors have been great. Lorraine and John’s daughter Sarah visited last week and they played with Logan a ton. He adores them and it was so helpful to us since we cannot focus on him alone anymore. He is so good with the babies and just wants to play with them. The weekends are tough when he is home all day and we can barely leave the house. I know he just wants to go outside and play and since we cannot take the babies out he spends a lot of the day in the house. A couple times he has moped around almost like he is sad that we aren’t playing with him. It breaks my heart. Thank you also to everyone who has brought us food. It is incredibly helpful to have dinner prepared for us. We don’t have time or quite honestly the space to cook. Our entire kitchen is covered with bottles, nipples, and pacifiers. We are so blessed with amazing neighbors!!As for the babies, Mason is a sleeper which is really great because if we had 3 Noah’s I would be pulling my hair out. Noah is awake a lot. More than I have seen any baby at his gestational age. He grunts and groans a lot. He is definitely more needy. It is actually a little funny but not so much in the middle of the night. Justin is so sweet and calm for the most part. He is patient while we get his bottle ready and usually is willing to wait for us to feed the other two. They all have reflux pretty bad and projectile vomit around once or twice a day. I feel so sad when they spit up their bottles. It probably is partially why they eat more often. They are all so beautiful and I just love them. I cannot believe how far they have come. I think back to when they were born and how tiny they were with all those wires and needles and breathing tubes. It has been such a crazy few months and we are so blessed to have them home with us. As challenging as it is sometimes, and it is challenging, we are so lucky. I can’t wait for spring when I can take them all outside and Logan can play with them. I am so sick of winter.My parents arrive tomorrow and I am excited. I can’t wait for them to see the babies and how big they are and also to see Logan and how amazing he is. I spoke to my mom today and she said her and my father gave up sleep for Lent. Which is good since they won’t be getting too much! Bob goes back to work Monday. I’m not sure how we are going to do it. I know he will need sleep in order to function at work but I cannot do both feedings and not sleep at all. Guess we will just keep doing the best we can.I have one more month on the blood thinners and then I plan to have several very large glasses of wine. Reply Forward

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Hello everyone, it has been a week since the boys have been home. Yesterday was our first pediatrician visit. What a production. It takes us forever to get out of the house! Especially with Logan. Everything went well. The babies have gained a good amount of weight. Mason is 6 pounds 5 ounces, Justin is 5 pounds 13 ounces and Noah is 5 pounds 1 ounce. They are getting so big! They got shots at the Pediatrician which is always tough. Although, 8 week shots are better than the 18 month ones. I cried when Logan got his becasue he knew what was going on. The babies just passed out. Except Noah who of course needed to see what was going on. Monday night we had a night nanny come and help out. I slept and Bob was up with her until 3 and then he slept and I got up. It was nice to have 5 hours of straight sleep. Noah, however, was up for like 2 hours crying and fussing. It was a bad night. So it was good we had the nanny. She held him and Bob was able to take care of the other 2 when they got up.
This is Bob writing now. I cannot believe it has only been a week since the boys came home. I feel like it has been 3! It is harder than I thought it would be. We have a nice routine down right now. They feed at 4, 8, 12..Every 4 hours and eat about 13-16oz / day. They are gaining weight which is great. Mason is the big load who just eats and sleeps. He is probably the biggest because he does not burn any calories doing anything. He can pretty much hold his head up on the boppy right now during "tummy" time. He is pretty strong. He has only had 1 bowel movement since last Thursday. That is making me worried. We may have to provide some stimulation for him to go. Justin had his bloodwork and his hemoglobin was 7.9 when he left the hospital. The Dr. took it and it went up to 11.7! That was great news. He still looks pale, but we think that just may be the way he is going to be. Mason is olive color so they look much different. Justin is usually pretty calm and still has some reflux issues. We have to hold him upright for about 20-30 minutes after each feed. Noah is a little noise maker! All he does it grunt and groan. He sleeps during the day a bit and is up at night. He is the smallest of the 3, but eats the most and is awake the most. He burns those calories up so he never grows! They all look so different from each other. I miss playing with Logan and not having that much energy to do anything. Things are getting better as the days pass and we get more efficient with the feedings. Tracey actually let me sleep from 1:30-5:00 am this morning. She did the 4am feeding all by herself! I know she was motivated from the NICU nurse who stayed the other night and helped us out. I am going to try it tonight, but let's be honest. I know I will tell her that they were easier for her and they are being so difficult for me so I will need help! Just kidding. I am looking forward to trying it. We have to be able to do this because I go back to work in about a week. I have no idea how I am going to function. I feel so out of touch with work. I had intentions of working a few days from home, but I really just have no time and am so tired. Enough wining from me, I hear it enough from the boys all day. All of our friends and family have really made this past week tolerable and easier. Thank you is not enough for the time and help that everyone gives. I cannot wait for the weather to get better...All Logan keep doing is pointing out the window and front door and yelling "outside" but it sounds more like "side" with him pointing. It is so much fun watching him learn new words and develop more of a personality. Tracey is going to take a nap so I am on duty now. Talk to everyone later!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The boys have been hone for 3 days now. Bob and I are exhausted. We love having them home and not running around to the hospital but wow, it is tiring!! And they are sleeping a lot now so I am thinking it will get much worse before it gets better! We do have some help lined up this week so we should be able to get some rest. And my parents get here Feb 26th.
So far we have learned that Noah sleeps with one eye open. Looks like he is going to be the protector. He is awake A LOT for a little guy. That is probably why he is so small because he burns all his energy staying awake. Like his big brother he is afraid of missing something! Mason sleeps really well. He is much more mellow and and not as high maintenance which is good for us since we are running a zone defense. Justin is in between. He has some major reflux issues so we are trying to find the right nipple, the right formula etc for him. He does not do well with breast milk and throws up every other feeding it seems. We go to the pediatrician on Tuesday so we will see if they prescribe anything that might help him. He takes the longest to feed since he needs to stay upright for at least 20 minutes after eating and it doesn't work to put him in a car seat or anything. He has to be held on your shoulder. So we try to feed Mason and Noah first so we can dedicate more time to Justin since Noah and Mason usually go right to sleep afterward and don't spit up as much at all. We are on the 4,8,12 schedule which works around Logan's schedule. That way we have time to give him dinner and play with him while they sleep. Friday my friend Kim came to help us. She folded laundry, put in the bumpers and helped with feeding. What a difference it makes to have another set of hands. Yesterday we had a ton of help from my sister Allison and our neighbors John and Lorraine and their daughter who just flew over from England. They adore Logan and play with him while we feed the babies. It is so much easier when you have one adult per baby but that obviously isn't always possible.
Logan has been wonderful. He smiles and points to the babies and says hi and bye to them. He was very good this morning while we fed them but I can tell he is a little sad when we are not playing with him. He really is a great kid. My sister Chrisanne is coming down from NYC to help this afternoon and tomorrow. I have my leg ultrasound tomorrow and find out Wed. if I can stop the coumadin!!! That would be so great. Especially becasue if I don't I have to get weekly blood draws and will have to find help for my mom and dad so I can go out each week.
That's all for now. Lorraine took Logan to the park and the babies are waking up so I have to run.
I want to say thank you to so many people who have helped us, sent us gifts and good wishes. My neighbors Debbie and Joan who brought us food. I am very diligent about writing thank you notes but know it will take me a long time before I get them to you so please know how much we appreciate everything you have done for us.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Hooray! The boys are home and we had our 1st night...I think Tracey and I had 45 mins of sleep each...Can't wait for tonight! Here is a link to some photos!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=rzetzwg.2jbluo24&x=0&y=pqliuj&localeid=en_US

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Looks like Thursday the 12th is the new goal date. Both Bob and I spoke to the dr. yesterday and she felt like they should wait the 5 days from their last brady's. Which we are fine with. All 3 had one or 2 slight ones over the weekend so waiting until Thursday would work for all 3. Originally I wanted them to come home staggered but the thought of trying to coordinate pick up for one at a time and get a babysitter for Logan is nuts. So initiation by fire it is!
I spent the day with Logan yesterday. For the past few days I just don't want to be without him. I guess because I know once the babies are home my time with him will be limited. I am going to miss spending so much time with him. He is at such a fun age. A bit defiant but mostly really fun. I just can't hug him enough.
I went to the hospital today. While I was holding Justin and Noah, Mason had a brady. The nurse said it wasn't "real" because at this age their heart rate can go down to 80 at times. I still didn't like it. And Justin had a brady last night and threw up a bit. They decided to change them to a sensitive formula to try and decrease their reflux which they all have a touch of. Justin mostly. So they are switching between that and the breast milk. I am trying to stop pumping but it is not easy. I built up quite a supply and I find I am in pain quite a lot. It will probably take me 3 weeks to stop completely and I have to say, I really can't wait.
Tomorrow I will go to the hospital early and spend the afternoon with Logan. Thursday Bob and I will be at the hospital most of the day. Judy said discharge can take a long time. They do a lot of training and instructions etc. I will be glad when I don't have to go to the hospital anymore. I am happy to be able;e to spend the days at home with the babies. Even though I am scared to death. But whatever will be will be and all we can do is the best we can do.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Turns out no one is home yet! What a crazy couple days. Justin and Mason both passed their sleep studies but Justin had a brady yesterday morning. Noah has had 2 Brady's in the last 24 hours. They have not needed stimulation and come out on their own but the Dr. is being cautious. Which I really appreciate. I don't want them to come home if they aren't ready. We spent the day yesterday getting everything ready to pick Justin up in the afternoon. We found out around 1 that he wasn't coming. My sister Chrisanne had come down from NYC and Allison came over to help as well. My friend Kim came down Friday and gave me an infant CPR and choking class since I haven't had my certification yet. We got the house pretty much ready which is a good thing so we won't be stressed when it really happens. The not knowing is a little difficult. Bob has to give some notice at work that he needs to take off and it is hard for the people who are going to help to have such short notice. I felt so bad because Allison asked what she could do this week and I just don't know. I guess I just have to plan each day that today will be the day.
All 3 of the boys are doing well they just have these small setbacks. It is interesting that some of the dr's are really aggressive and try to get them out of there and others are more conservative. I have to say, I was glad the conservative one was on yesterday. Tomorrow it is a dr I don't know so we will just have to see what happens. I spent a lot of time with Logan today. I am feeling so scared about how he is going to react and deal with this. He is such an awesome kid and I never want him to feel left out. Tomorrow he has a dr appointment so I am going to keep him home and spend the day with him and then go to the dr. in the afternoon. I will probably go to the hospital tomorrow night. I am supposed to call around 10 to find out what the deal is. At this point I would almost prefer they just release them all together at the end of the week. Giving them a couple more days to mature shouldn't be such a big deal but the insurance company is all over them to get them out. It pisses me off. They were calling all day Friday trying to get info from the nurses about whether they were being released.

Leslie, I read your comment, thank you so much. I would love if you came in March. I know that I will need the help especially with my mom gone. I have lined up some help 3 overnights per week and am hopefully going to have someone with me during the days too. I know I will need to have someone with me all the time at least for the first couple months.

I am feeling less scared but I don't know why. I guess because I believe that whatever is going to happen will and all I can do is the best I can do.

I got some great pictures today that I will post tomorrow. They are on my sister's camera because of course, I never bought a new one. Need to get on that.

Thanks to everyone who has asked what they can do for us. I will say that once the boys come home any help is appreciated. As soon as I figure out what the heck is going on I will let you know!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Well, it looks like Justin is coming home!! They are looking at Sunday but I might ask for a Tuesday discharge since Logan has a dr’s appt Monday and I obviously can’t take Justin with me! He is 4 pounds 10 ounces, eating like crazy and hasn’t had any brady’s. He was circumcised today and will have his sleep study tonight. If he passes he will not come home on a monitor. Tomorrow I will bring in the car seat and they will do a test to make sure he can tolerate sitting in it without his neck slumping down. I can’t believe it!! I am so nervous and excited!
Noah had his test today on his kidney and he passed! No reflux which means he will not be released on antibiotics. Yeah!! He will need to be followed by a urologist but so far so good! He did have a brady on Tuesday this past week that required stimulation so the earliest he can be discharged is Sunday but since he is still small they will wait a few more days. I also told the dr. I wanted them discharged a couple days apart. Bob has to arrange to take off work and my mom isn’t here until the 26th so I would rather wait a couple days.
Mason is lagging a little behind which is so funny since he is the biggest. I am going to go out on a limb and say he might be a little lazy! He is off the canula and still doing well. He had a couple brady’s the other day that required stim so they did do blood work and everything was ok so he will need to stay a little while longer He is eating ad lib and so far doing ok. I will see him in the morning and hopefully he will take a bottle from me. He always seems to fall asleep when I try to feed him. Maybe he just gets too cozy with me!
I have lined up a couple nurses to help out which will let me sleep a little. I know I will not sleep much but having a nurse will ease my mind. I went to Babies R Us tonight with my friend Rita who has 11 month old triplets. We got all the things that I will need that I have put off buying so I think we are ready for them to come home. It was great sharing all my fears with her since I know she was in the exact same position as we are. I also went to dinner with the South Jersey moms of Triplets which is a group I belong to on line. They all have triplets at varying ages. What an incredible support system they offer. I got to hear all the stories about when their babies came home and their fears about the bradys. It helps to know they all have healthy happy babies who have been through it too.
I have started to reduce my pumping. I had to leave dinner early because I went like 5 hours and was in a little pain. I am hoping I will sleep through the night tonight and not wake up in pain. They have given them formula at the hospital to make sure they tolerate it and they all are so I feel better. I am glad I was able to pump and give them milk for their entire stay in the NICU. I feel like it was the one thing I could do for them.
Today was my last day of work and I have to say I am happy. I can now spend the weekend preparing for the arrival.
I am very nervous about Logan and how he is going to deal with this. He is so cute and fun and I want to be able to play with him. I hope he likes helping and we are able to make some time for quality bonding. I know he will get a lot of attention from my sisters and the rest of our family who are so good with him but I know he will need his mommy and daddy too.
I cannot believe this is happening. It is so strange because I almost feel like I was never pregnant.
I will know more tomorrow so wish me luck!!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

I know my last entry was not particularly positive. I guess I just had a rough couple days. Thank you to all of you who reached out to me and helped me through. The boys are doing much better and I had a good talk with the Dr. which helped me to feel better about where they are.
Noah is over 4 pounds and feeding on demand. Basically that means he wakes up on his own to eat. He is a little piglet and they actually stopped fortifying his milk because he is gaining so well. The dr. said he thinks he might come home first! Can you believe it? He does have one issue that they did see when I was pregnant. He has what is called a duplicate system in his kidney. It means he has 2 tubes running from his kidney to his bladder instead of one. It can cause infection because the urine can travel back to the kidney. He has a test scheduled for Thursday and that will tell us if he will need to be on antibiotics basically forever. He will need to See urology pretty soon after he comes home. I am unsure of the potential long term affects but I am sure I will find out soon.
Justin is moving right along. He is at 4 and a half pounds and eating on demand also!! That just started today. Judy said he is doing really well. He took 2 ounces! He is maintaining his temperature and keeping his pulse and heart rate normal.
Mason came off the canula today. He was doing well when I last checked in but I will call one more time before bed to see how he is doing. He is starting to take bottles at almost every feed but is still on the 3 hour schedule. He is 5 pounds 2 ounces!
They moved all 3 of them into one crib so they are all lined up next to each other. It is so cute!!
We did not get to have the family meeting yesterday because of scheduling conflicts but I did speak to the Dr. for a while. I asked him about Noah’s bradys and if he thought they were an issue. He really didn’t seem worried. He said it can happen and it is not necessarily an indication of anything except immaturity. I asked him about Mason still being on the canula and he said the same thing. Basically they are 28 week triplets and they are going to progress at their own rate. Do’t get too caught up in the few setbacks especially since they really have done so well. Apparently white males have the highest risks when born premature so for all 3 to have progressed so well is amazing.
The dr. seems to think next week the boys may start to come home. I am scared to death!! We are going to meet with the dr. on Sunday and talk about what that will mean. We will need to get things in order this weekend. We have so much to do!! I am glad it is going to be warm. Then I can take Logan outside with me as I go through all the stuff in our garage.
Logan is doing well. He had a nasty reaction to his flu shot and got hives all over. It was so sad!! Then he got a bad cough. I kept him home yesterday and we hung out together. My sister Allison who always comes to my rescue came over at 4 to babysit so I could at least get to the hospital for a little while. I knew I couldn't’t go today because I worked so I needed to get there!! They looked so amazing in the crib. I still can’t believe they are my babies. It is hard to only be pregnant for 28 weeks. Seems like I didn’t quite get used to it.
I just called for an update. All of them are doing well. Mason had 2 brady's this morning that required stimulation. Sharon didn't tell me about those. Probably because she knew I couldn't come in and didn't want me to worry but I am concerned. They ordered a CBC tomorrow I guess to make sure he is making enough red blood cells. And to make sure he doesn't have an infection. His nurse tonight told me he doesn't fit in the preemie clothes anymore cause he is over 5 pounds! I wasn't prepared for that!! What a ham.

I am very nervous for them to come home. I want them here so bad but I am so afraid they will have a brady here without monitors and I won't know. I have a feeling I am never going to sleep again!

My parents are coming back from Florida soon and I am excited for them to get here. It always seems better when you have such great support.

I am going to try to sleep a little longer tonight and maybe not get up to pump. I am starting to get very tired of it and am considering stopping. I know I won't keep it up and it would be nice to sleep through the night one last time before they all come home!!