Triplets plus big bro

2010-02-05T05:15:00.001-08:00

Hello all,
It has been a while since we have written in our blog. This may be a bit long, but I wanted to be thorough. We have now been in our new home about 4 months now. The time has gone by so fast and the boys are getting bigger and stronger every day. The house still needs a lot of personal touches but it is just taking forever because we have no time to do it. I started finishing half of the basement around Thanksgiving time and I am still spackling. It is going to look great when it is finished and I know the boys are going to love it. I still stay at home with the boys and Tracey is at work. Logan is at school 2 days a week for half a day. It does break up the week, but it stinks when I have to pack up the babies in the morning and afternoon to drop him off/pick him up. But, in the end it is worth it because he gets out of the house and meets new friends. Playing with daddy and making pillow forts gets old after a while. We are bracing for the snowstorm this weekend calling for 12-18 inches. I am a bit of a cabin fever freak. I have to keep shoveling the driveway to make sure we can get out if we have to. Our driveway is very long so this really is not something I love to do. I am still enjoying staying at home with the boys and I cannot believe it will be a year in a few months that I have been home. I know it will be tough to get back to work soon, but that is still up in the air. Tracey and I are discussing me going back to school to be a teacher (preschool-3rd grade or up to 5th grade). I have a long way to go to get there, but now is the time for me to make a career change if I am going to do it. Tracey is still hard at work. She leaves in the early morning sometimes but makes sure she is home no later than 5:00-5:15 most days. When she stays later, I do miss her. Not so much for the help with the babies, but because I know she is going to be exhausted when she gets home. There are days that go by when I have to start writing things down to make sure I tell her or I will forget. It gets busy during the week but we have a great routine down.
The boys generally wake up around 6:00-6:30. Bottles and breakfast between 7:00-8:00, story time after that for about 15-20 minutes (depending on how many books Logan picks out). We generally go in the playroom or do some circle time. The babies go down for their 1st nap around 9:30 and sleep until 11:00. Lunch is around 12:00 for all 4 boys. Logan goes down for a nap from 1:00-3:00 and the babies go down from about 1:30-3:00. So, I get about 1 hour of quiet time which is mostly spent cleaning the kitchen up, cleaning up the toys, making some type of dinner for the babies for the next few days, or working on the basement to get ahead. The babies are on table food now which is great. They have had all sorts of pasta, ziti, meatloaf, veggies, fish sticks, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and whatever else I have time to make. When Logan gets up we generally have a snack and watch 1 or 2 shows that he likes. He generally picks Thundercats and pretends he is Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats and runs around chasing the babies. We head into the playroom after that and see who is in a good mood and wants to try walking or talking a bit. 5:00-5:30 I get dinner ready and feed the troops. 6:00 we start getting ready for bed and 6:45-7:00 the babies go to sleep. Logan generally gets to bed and falls asleep by 8:00 at the latest. Again, depending on how many books he wants to read. That is a typical day. So, by the time we get everything cleaned up, Tracey and I are generally in bed by 9:30 or so. Then just like the movie Groundhog Day, I wake up and do it all over again. I truly do love my job.
Logan is a little over 2 and a half years old now (June will be 3). He is adjusting to the new home and school great. He is such a joy to watch grow up and to watch him learn. Of course every parent thinks their kid is the smartest, so I have to say it. He is soooo smart! I catch myself talking to him like an adult sometimes and he listens so intently and asks so many questions. He asks them correctly and not just the general, why, how, what is that? He listens when you answer and then I test him the next night. He generally gets it correct. He loves to read books, color, paint, play ball (baseball and soccer). His speech is incredible for his age (So I am told by his school and a lot of friends). No bad words yet, but he recognizes a lot of words and uses them correctly. He seems to be a lefty with kicking the ball, but swings righty for now. He loves playing with his baby bros a lot more now. He yells at them to climb on him and drool on him. I do not love that part, but it keeps everyone playing together. There are so many things I could write about him, but I will leave it at this; He is doing great and I cannot wait until the next day to see what he will do or say to make me laugh.
Justin is doing much much better than 6 months ago. He was “problem” child with his reflux, not sleeping, and general discomfort. The only major change we made was putting all of the babies on whole milk on their birthday (Dec 16th) Since then he has pretty much been a different kid. He sleeps at night, he puts himself back to sleep, and he laughs so much more. He has the best belly laugh ever! He is the most advanced of the three at this stage. He chats a bit (not as much as Mason). He walks about 3-5 steps, and gets into everything! He is our explorer. One day, I could not find him and when I did he was at the top of the steps! Yes, the 2nd floor! My heart dropped and I immediately thought of what could have happened. Nothing did, and since then, the gate does not come down from in front of the steps. Justin loves and follows everything that Logan does. He laughs so hard when Logan talks to him. It is the cutest thing how he follows him around. He is the best eater right now as well. He eats everything and he is so clean about it. He hardly ever drops a bite of food. However, when he gets sick, man he gets sick. It takes him a few days longer than the other guys to recover and it is not pleasant during that time. He is definitely the least independent child of the 3.
Mason is our big meatball! He is the biggest of the three and the one that snuggles the most. He is a big teddy bear and loves kisses and hugs. He is also our biggest winer. If you take a toy away or something he is not suppose to have, man does he let you know with a scream louder than mine! He is also our swiper. He takes anything and everything from his brothers. He is cruising around on furniture and standing for longer periods of time now. No steps as of yet. He talks the most of the three. Mason is the most difficult to feed. He is constantly trying to grab your hand when you feed him or try to feed the baby next to him. He knocks the food out of your hand and it is sooo annoying! He thinks it is funny though. He needs a haircut desperately. His hair is over 4 inches! Mason plays the most independently. He just chit chats out loud and yells at his toys. It is very funny. He loves to look at himself in the mirror and just gets a kick out of it. It is as if he is admiring himself in the mirror. He loves rolling the ball back and forth with me. He sits up on his one leg like he is blocking a ball from going into a soccer net. That is his favorite stance.
Noah is our little pea. He is so damn cute when he smiles and laughs. Although it is not really a full laugh yet. He still grunts and makes the same sound. But, actually tonight I made him laugh a different sound for the first time. Tracey and I are a little concerned because he does not make other noises or sounds yet. He is the fastest crawler of the three. He takes off like lightning and puts his hand in anything that is near him. He has a death grip that does not let go. This is not so much fun when changing a poopy diaper. His hands wander into the cream, down his legs, he grabs his tushy..It can get very annoying!!! He is not standing on his own yet, but he is so close and you can see he wants to so badly. He loves playing with Mason and Justin. He eats their hands and tries to push them around. He is a little sneak. He will crawl by one of them and push them as he is passing by as if we don’t see him and then you yell his name and he just looks at you with his huge blue eyes and smiles and grunts (laughs). I could write a few pages on each kid, but no one would read that much, and my fingers would get tired. I mainly write this to keep a journal of sorts to go back and read. My sister-in-law got our blog made into a book with pictures for us for Christmas. It was an awesome gift and going back and reading it brought back so many memories that I forgot about. I hope all is well with everyone and stay safe

2009-12-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday the triplets turn one. I cannot believe a year has passed. It has been a difficult one in a lot of ways. But I never forget for a second how truly blessed we are. We moved in October to a beautiful house that we absolutely love. It has a huge yard, 4 bedrooms, an enormous basement, high ceilings, etc etc. We are so happy. It was amazing how stressed we were cramped in our old house. We were so lucky to have my mom up for 3 weeks helping us pack up the house. Every day was a new drama of something that could potentially fall through or needed to be fixed. At one point we were prepared to move all 6 of us in with my sister Allison. But, in the end it all worked out and we are quite settled in the new digs. Logan adjusted very well. Periodically he will ask to go home. When I say we are home he says no this is our new house. But it is few and far between and I think he really enjoys all the space to run around. My only problem is I desperately miss living close to Allison. My parents bought us a swing set for Christmas and Bob and our friend Carlos put it together. Logan and the babies were able to play on it before the weather got too cold. I am sure all the bys will enjoy that for many years to come.
Logan is 2 and a half now. He says the most amazing things. We really need to keep a better diary as we laugh everyday at how observant he is. Not to mention how good his memory is which can sometimes really bite us in the ass. After 2 months home Bob and I decided he needed to get into some type of activity with kids his age. HE gets bored at home. He is so social and loves to play with other kids. Unfortunately there aren’t very many his age in the neighborhood. He started in a school down the street from our house 2 days a week for 4 hours. He had a great time the 2 days he has been so I am glad we did it. Even though it is hard for Bob to leave him. I know it is good for him and for Bob! He is an amazing kid and Bob and I say everyday how awesome he is. We keep saying if we are blessed with 4 boys like this it would be a miracle!
Justin is the most advanced of the babies. He has been crawling for over a month now and is pulling himself up and cruising on the furniture. He has even climbed a couple stairs. He smiles all the time and has the best belly laugh. He is very ticklish. He is also our biggest challenge. He still suffers from reflux and has asthma. We have struggled with him most nights as he just doesn’t sleep. And he is not easily consoled. So we can be up for 2 hours just holding a screaming baby. It is the worst feeling in the world not to be able to calm or sooth your child. We have had him to several dr’s who continue to say he will grow out of it. Some days I am convinced there is something very wrong with him and other days I just think he is not easily settled and will give us the most trouble!! Last night was one of the first nights he actually cuddled with me. I was singing to him and he had his head on my shoulder. He lifted his head and just looked right at me. Then he laid his head aback down facing me and looked up at me and smiled. I just looked at him and stroked his head. It was an amazing feeling since most nights I want to jump through the window! It’s true, some nights I just cry. Our frustration level is through the roof and we feel like this is it, we just can’t do this anymore. But, you do and morning comes and it’s a new day and you just do it again. As I said though, he is so happy during the day. He has adorable dimples and hazel eyes. Very big head though.
Mason is our bruiser. He is like 24 pounds and solid as a rock. He is not crawling yet much to his dismay. He gets very upset when we all leave him sitting there. He lies on his belly like he is swimming and just yells. It is very funny. He is rocking though and I am hoping that by Christmas he is there. He does sit up and pulls himself up so I am not too worried. He says mama and dada while the other 2 don’t yet. He also claps his hands as does Justin but Noah isn’t there yet. So they all have their own pace. He is a bully during meal time and frequently takes toys from Noah and Justin. It’s funny because if a toy gets taken from him he screams and starts to cry. They are hilarious to watch at the table. Banging each other’s heads and pushing. Mason is Logan’s favorite. Every time I ask who should get something first, it’s Mason. They look the most alike too which is funny. Mason is extremely happy and smiles a lot. But it is harder to get him to smile than the other two. Most of the time he just gives this look like “what?” HE is very independent though and will sit and amuse himself and play for the longest time. He is a joy to put to bed or naps. Just give a kiss and lay him down and he just goes to sleep. He is very addicted to the pacifier though and he will wake up at night when he can’t find it. We put like 10 in his crib but they mostly manage to find their way to the floor. He is very cuddly and loves to snuggle.
Noah is our little peanut. He started to crawl about a week ago and is very proud of himself. He is starting to pull himself up and loves being mobile. He has the brightest blue eyes, almost piercing. He has a great smile and his whole face just light s up. His eyes squint shut and he just gets so happy. He is becoming much more aware of who mommy and daddy are and doesn’t take to strangers as well as he used to. He is still the smallest but over 20 pounds and eats as much as his brothers. As I mentioned he is not clapping his hands or making too many sounds other than his weird little screech but he seems to be fine and I am sure he will get there in his own time. They are 9 months adjusted and I don’t see him being too far behind that age so I am fine with it. He is a climber too and anytime I am on the floor changing one of the babies he has to try to climb on my lap. He is a great sleeper as he has been for a long time. Just lay him in his crib and he will amuse himself till he falls asleep. Such a joy. He rarely gets up at night and sleeps close to 12 hours. If he was my only baby I would truly not understand how someone could say it is hard. Bob and I often say what if we only had Noah? Cake. Noah is going to be the sweetheart and the little peacemaker.
My parents have been here since Thanksgiving and they will stay through New Year’s. It is always wonderful to have them around and it certainly is nice to have help. I am nervous when they leave Bob and I will have forgotten how hard it is when we are by ourselves. We hosted Thanksgiving this year with bob’s family. We had over 25 people and I think it was a success. I don’t remember much of it as I really was just taking care of the kids while bob cooked. We had a holiday party yesterday with my Mom’s family which went really well also. I just love the holiday season. It is so nice to see people you don’t see all the time and just be around family. Christmas day will be with my family this year and I am excited to just be home. Logan is anxious for Santa to come and loves to count the days on the calendar.
2009 has given us some pretty amazing blessings and also some not so great things and I have often felt that there is a black cloud over the world this year. My sister Chrisanne said that 9 is not a good number. Something about its placement, I don’t remember but it made sense when she said it!! I will not be sad to see it go. I have a good feeling about 2010.
I hope that if anyone is still reading the blog (since it has been so long since I wrote) that you have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy and healthy New Year.

2009-09-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone…Sorry it has been so long. It has been almost 2 months since this was updated. Where to begin…I will start with the present and work backwards…We are moving! We make settlement October 9th and move to Mullica Hill NJ to a beautiful 4 bedroom home, with a huge yard and a basement..Logan cannot wait and neither can we. This 3 bedroom rancher is giving me cabin fever! We are going to miss our neighbors terribly, but hopefully they come and visit. Logan will stay home with me from October until I go back to work around May (flu season should be over). It will be tough, but I know Tracey and I can do it.
The trips are doing great! They had their 9 month developmental follow up yesterday and they are on track with their adjusted age. Justin is about to crawl, Mason has two teeth coming in, and Noah is just happy as a clam…They smile most of the time and eat great. Mason is 19lbs 12oz, Justin is 18lbs 14oz, and Noah is 17lbs 8oz. They all have large heads for their age (so the Dr says) whatever that means..I know it does not mean they are going to be tall because no one in my family is over 5’8…Mason and Justin just got over having ear infections. I am not sure how they got them since they are at home with me all day. It cleared up pretty quickly. They had their baptism about 3 weeks ago and they were perfect angels. Logan wore a little suit and did not fuss at all in it. The celebration afterwards was a success and I think everyone had a good time. Mason and Noah are still sleeping through the night (7:00-7:30 until 5:30-6:15ish)…Justin sleeps through the night when he wants to. He had an upper GI, a milk scan (which sucked for him) and has seen a few specialists. The bottom line is he has reflux from his middle to upper esophagus. It does bother him from time to time, but more frequent feeds seems to have helped. Who know, everyone Dr has a different opinion. I just need to know that he is not in pain. We have a new triplet table that my in-laws bought for the babies for their baptism present. The table is great. It is one of the tables you see in a day care with 3 seats in it. The boys love it (so does Logan).
Logan is doing wonderful. He is the smartest 26 month old ever! Doesn’t every parent say that about their kid? He comes up with the funniest sayings and some things that he does just makes me laugh out loud. He is my little buddy and I love spending time with him. We went fishing for the first time about a month ago. He caught a little perch and he was a little scared at first to hold it, but then loved it. He asks to go fishing a lot now. It is great. I really missed my dad when I took Logan fishing because it made me think of the first time my dad took me fishing. I reminded Logan who taught his daddy to fish. It was a nice bonding moment. Thanks dad for those memories….Logan has taken up golf. He loves hitting the ball as hard as he can. He swings it like a hockey stick right now, so you never know, it could go either sport. His vocabulary is improving every day. As much as we talk in this house, this kid is going to learn a lot and never shut up! He listens and repeats everything but puts it in the correct context when repeating it which is great. He is still a picky eater and hates his veggies. I have to start making my own food for the trips. It is getting way too expensive. We go through 12 jars a day plus 18 tablespoons of oatmeal a day. I cannot wait until I can just make a huge ziti and just have them eat that all week! Logan wants to help us with everything. He loves prepping the babies food and calls them “my babies”. It is very cute. Overall he is doing fantastic and we are both very proud of him. He is adjusting well to the babies. Now we get to yank him out of his school and move him to a strange place…UGH!
We have to start packing! We have 29 days to go and nothing is even started. If anyone wants to come over and babysit a kid or two while I pack, please feel free to ask or come over anytime. Tracey and I are going away next weekend. My in-laws are flying up from Florida so we can go away. They are going to watch the kids. They are awesome. I want to thank everyone who has helped us up to this point. Every food dish, phone call, gift, words of encouragement, and assistance is greatly appreciated and is not forgotten. I wish we could pay everyone back and do something, but at this point we can only say THANK YOU. I know there is much more to write but a baby needs to be fed…Until next time…I am on facebook and update photos on there so you can friend me on there if you like. Bye….

2009-07-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

I decided I would take a little time and write an entry since I haven't really had time since I went back to work. I have thought of a million things I want to write about but I'm not sure I will remember it all now. Life for us is crazy. I don't know how else to say it. Every minute of every day is packed. Work has been fine. It is very hard because I am so exhausted all the time but each week gets a little easier. I have been flexing my hours a little so that I can get home in time to help with dinner and bedtime which is by far the most chaotic time for us. Everyone is exhausted. Logan eats dinner around 5:30 and we try to eat with him but that doesn't always happen. At least one person sits with him and eats. The other is usually tending to the babies who are exhausted and whiny. It is that period where you are doing anything to keep them awake until 7. I try to get Logan in the bath by 6:30 so he can sit and watch TV for 15 minutes while I feed a baby. Hopefully whoever I am feeding falls asleep quickly and I then put Logan to bed while Bob and either my sister or Skye (our 14 Y/O helper) feed the other 2 and get them all ready for bed. By 8 everyone is usually asleep. But not always. We decided last week to start to let them cry it out. We got Justin adjusted on his meds so he is actually doing a lot better. He is still a needy baby but at least he doesn't wheeze anymore which was what kept us from trying to get him to sleep through the night. As you know, Noah pretty much sleeps through most nights from like 7-7:30 through to 6:30 or 7AM. I know, a dream baby!! We had to have one! Mason got the hang of sleeping through the night pretty quick. He wakes up and fusses but not too terribly. Although he did have a cough the other night so we do give him some water to help soothe that. But he sleeps until around 6AM. Of course, since I am writing this they will both get up all night tonight but what can you do!! Justin has been a challenge. That kid can cry like I have never seen. When we planned to start the cry it out I was mentally prepared for him t cry forever. I really thought he could. He didn't but it was a good 2 hours. After the first hour he would sleep for like 10 minutes and then wake up and cry. Torture. Poor bob had to listen to it because it was Thursday and he was on duty. The poor kid was so tired he napped for 5 and a half hours on Friday. Friday night I was on duty. We put him to bed and he cried for about 45 minutes. Now, we do go in and check him and give him the it's ok, ssshhh. We start at 10 min. then 15, then 20 and so on. He woke up at 11:20. By 12:30 he was still crying but clearly getting tired. I was so exhausted I actually fell asleep while he was crying. Can you believe it? I NEVER thought I would be able to do that. I woke up at 1AM and he had stopped. I ran into his room to see if he was ok and sure enough he was out cold sleeping very soundly. Saturday, well, he went to bed a little easier but woke up around 3:30 (we almost thought we were home free) and he was up until about 4:30. I got up with Mason at 5AM and Bob slept in until 9 since he was up with justin crying. I really believed by tonight he would be almost there. Everyone I talk to says by the third night they get the hang of it. Not my Justin. My heart aches for him. he really was meant to be an only child. He is so smiley and happy during the day. I am still hopeful that this method will work if we really stick it out for a couple more days.
All 3 are eating their solid foods farely well and I am hopeful that they will be on 3 meals a day in the next 2 or 3 weeks. They don't like eating cereal that much but they are great with the veggies. Bob has a really tough job and I do appreciate the challenges he faces getting them to eat off a spoon. I know how hard it was to teach Logan and he was only one. This morning I had all 4 boys sitting next to each other and I was feeding them all oatmeal. Well, logan was eating his own but he wanted to sit in the row with his brothers. It was actually really cute.
We are currently negotiating a contract to sell our house. We will find out tomorrow if we are going to officially go under contract. Then we have 6 weeks to find somewhere to live. We saw a house in Delran that we really like. I am hoping it all works out. I do believe what is meant to happen will be.
Both noah and justin rolled from back to front this week!! They have all gone the other way but this was a big deal since they have such issues with their neck and back strength. Mason is almost there but since he is a little buddha he may take a little longer. They are all holding their heads up nicely and doing well in the exersaucers. Won't be long till they are sitting up!! We are baptizing them in August. I am looking forward to that especially since my parents will come up for it. W will really miss having popop there. But I know he will be watching over these boys every step of the way.
Logan is still doing wonderfully. He is quite a handful and can test you like the best of them but he is adorable and loving and kind to his brothers. I could not ask for a better family.
I have so much more to write but I have to go to bed soon and I have so much laundry to fold and put away. And I also need to go find the stupid puzzle in Logan's play room that keeps talking and scaring the crap out of me.
I hope everyone is doing well and having a fantastic summer.
Thanks to all of you who take such good care of us. Especially my sister Allison who I know spends more time here then she intends every day. And our wonderful neighbors. I tear up thinking about moving away from you. Good night.

2009-07-11T06:58:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. Sorry it has been so long. There is so much going on right now. I will update you on the babies.
Noah is doing great! Sleeping through the night. Goes down around 6:45-7:30 and gets up around 6:00-6:45. Mason generally gets up once a night. He has had a terrible cold/cough for almost 2 weeks. The night time sucks the most when he gets all of the junk in his lungs. Justin....Well, he still gets up every 4 hours or so. We took him to the pulmonologist. I feel so bad. He wheezes so much and has trouble breathing. He has reflux, bad cold, his esophagus is partially closed(causing wheeziness). Now we have to give him flovent, albuterol, zantac, zyrtec, and bethanechol. I know it is a lot and I told the Dr I would try this regiment for 1 week. Poor kid cant sleep because he has reflux, post nasal drip, and cant breathe. We have to start letting them cry it out, but it is so hard becasue they are in 1 room. That may not be for too long...It looks like we sold our house! We agreed verbally and we get the contracts next week with the buyers addendums. I am sure we will go back and forth, but we are looking now. It is so exciting and sooo nerve racking at the same time.

The boys had their checkup last week. They are almost 4 months old (adjusted) 7 months since they were born. Justin is 17lbs 1oz, Noah is 15lbs 2oz, and Mason is 18lbs, 2oz. They are getting heavy! Developmentally Justin is a rock star. He can stand up solid on both legs with only my one hand on him. He pretty much rolls over. He has to get than damn arm out of the way so he can go from back to belly. We are going to stop swaddling them now. This is going to suck because it is so easy to put them down when they are all bundled up. I took them all to the mall last week to get an oil change at Sears. I took them around the mall while I waited. They were perfect little angels. Of course I got stopped by every woman wanting to talk about the babies. It was fun, but it gets old fast. I just wanted to cruise around with my boys and not be bothered. It is the price I pay for having handsome boys!

Logan is doing awesome. He had his 2 year appt at the Dr's. She was very impressed with his cooperation and vocabulary. He speaks almost everything in full sentences now. He is becoming very bossy as he understands what he wants and when he wants it. It is pretty funny. I get so excited at the end of the day when I know he is coming home from school to see how his day was and what he did all day.

Overall, the Commack's are doing ok. The days are getting a little more organized. Tracey and I have planned our 5 year anniversary trip. My in-laws are flying up from Florida for the weekend so we can go away. How awesome are they! I cannot wait to go away. I am sure I will bring a web cam with me so I can see Logan and the boys from our hotel room. It is going to be hard to leave Logan and the boys for a weekend. They are in good hands. Until next time....

2009-06-23T23:47:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,
I want to start off my blog by saying hello to my dad and that I will see you later down the road. As many of you know that read this blog that my dad passed away on June 16th. I will miss him terribly, but will keep his memory alive through me and my 4 boys.

It is 2:50 AM and I just put Justin down to sleep. (again). They are all so off their somewhat loose schedule that I was trying to nail down for them. This past week has just been all over the place. They all generally fall asleep around 8:00-8:30 at the latest. Noah generally sleeps all night until around 6:00-6:30. Mason wakes up 50% of the time around 3am-4am, takes 2-3oz and goes back to sleep until 6:30-7:00. Now, Justin....He falls asleep after 20-30 mins of restlessness and leg kicking. Then lays down for 2-3 hours, wakes up, we rock him a bit, and place the binky back in his mouth. Then he falls asleep until around 3:00 am. He wakes up around this time 6 out of 7 days a week. We try to get him back to sleep, but end up giving him 3 oz then he goes back until 6:30-7:00. They all get up around the same time in the morning, have a full bottle, are up for about 1 hour and then sleep for 1.5-2 hours. We then get up and do some exercises. Mason needs to work on his neck muscles and symmetry the most. Justin is excelling faster than the other two. It is nice to see progress. I KNOW, I need to start letting them cry it out a bit and skip the bottle. Someone buy us a bigger house so they wont hear each other....

Today was my first full day as the stay at home dad by myself. My in-laws left on Saturday to go back home to Florida. They will be missed very much. Staying at home today was pretty much what I expected. It is going to be a tough road ahead with a lot of patience and ear plugs needed. There was only 1 time today when they were all crying. They had just eaten after waking from a nap. Of course this is the only time that Tracey called so I debated not picking up the phone, but I did. So, I am thinking now what do I do to get them to stop? They just ate and napped. I picked up Noah first because he was crying the hardest, and swaddled him up. They all just needed 1 more burp and then fell back asleep for 30 more mins. I took them for about a 20-30 minute walk around the lake and development. Most people walking by stop and stare and ask questions. The best is,"do triplets run in your family?" I tell people, actually quads do, so I got cheated! Out of all of the questions to ask, why is this the most curious to ask? I would have so many different questions to ask someone who had multiples. Or the question is, " is it tough?" I would love to respond, "nah, I have my servants enter from the east wing of the house after they take out my trash, cut my lawn, and wash my Ferrari. Then they tend to the babies all day while I go fish, golf, and sleep. They fill me in on what the babies did all day so I can tell my wife what happened during the day." Ok, so I am laying on the sarcasm pretty thick right now, it is afterall, 3:10am. I have to go to sleep. We have a showing for the house tomorrow. It is the girls 3rd time coming back! She better buy it now, after all of the cleaning I have to do each time. I am going to invite her to my neighbors Luau. It was his idea. She can meet all of the neighbors and help her decide. I am not sure if this is good or bad? Just kidding, all of my court is amazing and I would love to stay where I am at. Tracey and I are going to miss all of them so much.

Overall, the babies and Logan are doing well. Tracey and I are surviving. We have to get out on a date night by ourselves soon. It is tough, and we just high five each other in the morning as we pass each other with a diaper in one hand, bottle in the pocket, and a baby on our hip. We make a good team and I am looking so forward to so many memories with my family. I know my dad will be watching, so I have to make him proud.
Goodnight!!!

2009-06-15T18:36:00.001-07:00

(Bob's post)
Hello everyone,
It has been about a week since I last wrote so I am due to write some updates. Let's start with:

The Trips have been doing a little better sleeping through the night. We generally get them to bed between 7:30-9:00. I know this is a huge window, but we are working on it. Noah and Mason generally go right down, but Justin....Well, he is a different animal. I have never seen a baby kick and grunt so much to not go to bed. Then once down, I know that it is only going to be 15-25 minutes later and then he gets up and then gets rocked back to sleep for a few hours. He gets up 95% of the time between 2:55am-3:05am. I am not kidding. He has an internal clock. Once this happens I try to rock him for 15-20 minutes but then he just looks at me and smiles. I know what he is saying to himself (HA! sucker, now I get a bottle!) He does get 3oz and then he goes back to sleep until around 6:30-7:00. Mason gets up, but at like 4:00-5:00 am and sometimes goes back to sleep. Noah is the best. Right to bed and grunts a bit during the night and gets up around 5:30-6:30, gets a full bottle, stays up for about 45 minutes then goes back to sleep for about 2 hours! It is great. By this time I have already been up since 2:55am from Justin and then Mason. All in all it is going ok. I hope to have all of this chaos with bedtime licked in about 2 weeks. I know this is my ego talking, but I have to set goals. My in-laws (wonderful, helpful, I am forever grateful) will be leaving on Wednesday. I am on my own then. They have truly been so helpful and I am very lucky to have had them here for the past few months. I am having my nephew Patrick (he is 14) come over during the week to help out when he is not too busy with school, summer fun, and girls. He is a good kid and this can give him some extra cash over the summer.

Justin had his physical therapy appointment last week. He did great. He held up his head, grabbed at toys, kicked his feet, put toys near his mouth, and laughed and made noises the whole time. We were very proud. Mason and Noah have their appointments this week. Noah and Justing have both rolled over from belly to back. Mason is usually 7-10 days behind. Plus, he has such a big head with no neck, so he has trouble. He is pretty funny. He needs some serious work on holding up his head.

Logan had his 2nd birthday party this weekend at Jelly Bean Jungle
(http://www.jellybean-jungle.com)/in Mount Laurel. It was an absolute hit! He had so much fun with his classmates and his large family. He laughed, screamed his head off, ran around like a crazy person, and then crashed at the end of the day. I enjoy so much watching Logan play with his friends and interact with them. He is such an awesome kid. He got a bike and a lot of great toys and clothes. So, now I have to start all of the thank you notes. This is one job that Tracey is glad to get rid of and that I do not remember volunteering for. Hey, it comes with staying at home now I guess. No problem, I have it covered. I have 1 year to get them out right? Does that just count for weddings?

Fathers Day is coming up and all of us are headed over to my dad's house to celebrate being fathers. I am looking very forward to it. It is going to be a lot of fun seeing everyone together and watching all of the kids play together.

Our house is still for sale. We had one girl come back for a 2nd look last week. She seemed positive, but still no offer. My neighbor 5 doors down just put her house on the market for 25k less than mine. Oh well! Her house needs a lot of work. Hopefully people will see that. It is 10:00 now and I have to go to bed so I can get up with Justin in 5 hours!!! Thank you to everyone over these past few months who have helped with either food, clothes, gifts, prayers, and anything else that I may have forgotten. Our heads are still spinning. Tracey and I are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives. Goodnight!

2009-06-01T05:07:00.000-07:00

Another Blog entry from Bob:
It’s been a while since I wrote in the blog. Tracey usually does this. It seems that I will be taking over much of these duties now that I am going to be a stay at home dad. For those of you who do not know, Tracey and I decided that for the next 6-8 months that one of us should stay home with the babies. I drew the short straw. Just joking, but it is going to be one of the toughest things I have ever done. I keep hearing how I will start to talk to adults in baby talk, and start wiping people’s mouths while out to dinner with my spare burp cloth in my back pocket at all times. I am getting my holster next week that holds two 6 ounce bottles on each hip. I will be prepared!
We went for the developmental follow up last week. They are a little over 2.5 months adjusted age and it has been a little over 5.5 months since they were born. Mason weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs, Justin at 14lbs, 3oz, and Noah at 12lbs, 10oz. Justin would weigh more, but continues to have reflux issues and spits up quite a bit. The Dr. told us that their weights are off of the charts for being premies and to cut out the bottle or 2 they were getting in the middle of the night. It was getting crazy with no schedule and feeding on demand. We were also able to start to introduce solids, so rice cereal was started immediately. This is the 4th night that we attempted to cut out the bottle at night and get them to bed around the same time. It seems to go like this, Mason and Noah usually falls asleep between 8:00-8:30 and get up around 3:00 or 4:00. Have 3oz (dream feed) and go right back to sleep until 6:00-7:00. Justin usually falls asleep after much discomfort around 9:00-9:30, gets back up around 2:00-3:00, has 3oz, and takes some work to get back in his crib. He usually ends up in the swing at this point because it gets him back to sleep the quickest. It is going to be a slow transition, but each day they show progress.
Developmentally, they did pretty good. They all did well tracking, smiling, (Noah and Justin laugh all of the time, Mason is catching up) and pretty well on their belly. Justin is the worse of the 3 right now with his neck. It needs some work. We were showed quite a few different techniques on how to strengthen their necks and back. We are starting to get a routing down during the day for all of the babies 2x a day. We need to get a chart going because half way through the day I cannot remember who did what and when! I remember this being easier with Logan, but then again, it was just 1 baby to concentrate on and not share time with 3 at once. We go back in 30 days to the Dr. to see how they have progressed. This is going to be a test for the babies and for us. The day goes by so fast and we have to find time to do the exercises with the boys. I also have to start getting a routine down for myself. It is going to be a lot of fun over the next few months, but I know it is also going to be a lot of work!
Logan continues to amaze me with his language and athletic ability. I love when he comes up to me and points outside and says either, “outside…golf” or “outside, ball” of course this is baseball. I got him one of those big barrel whiffle ball bats and he puts the ball on the little red cone and whacks it pretty good. Then he runs around and hits it on the ground like he is golfing. I have to start looking for a golf cart that hold 5 so all of the boys can go golfing with me. They may want to walk the course, but no thanks. Where would I put my adult beverages? Logan’s birthday is coming up and we are getting him a bike. He is so excited. Tracey and I ask him all of the time what he wants for his birthday, and we ask if he wants a bike and he says “soon” as if he knows he is getting it and telling us to back off and just get it already. It is truly a blessing and more than I could have hoped for watching him develop into my little man. We are going to the zoo this Tuesday for the 1st time to see all of the animals that we have been reading to him about since he was born. It is going to be so much fun watching his face. I am going to video tape the whole thing.
This weekend flew by as usual. We still have not sold our house but it looks promising as people continue to look at it. The next year is going to fly by and the boys will outgrow this house very quickly or the walls will just come crashing down from all of the activity. Either way, the Commack family is doing well and we look forward to sharing more blog entries with all of you soon.

2009-05-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

Another few weeks gone by. Where to begin. Logan started his new school in the midst of cutting a very painful tooth. He was miserable and up at night like every hour. Not to mention super cranky during the day since he was so tired. I brought him to the school and he would scream and cry. It was horrible. On Tuesday I had to go pick him up because they called to tell me he just wouldn’t calm down. By Thursday he was coughing. New school, new germs I suppose. The weekend did not prove to be any better. He woke up from his nap in a tantrum. He yelled “go away!” every time Bob and I went in the room. He wouldn’t get out of his crib, and was just crying and screaming. Not to mention coughing and practically gagging he was so upset. Finally I asked if he wanted to see if Marty (our neighbor) was mowing. That seemed to be moderately enticing and so he let me take him out of the crib. Of course, he wasn’t mowing so we knocked on our neighbor’s door and thankfully they are the best and asked us in so Logan could see Marty and play with the army trucks they have. Thank God for our neighbors. By the end of the weekend all 3 boys were getting sick and so was I. Monday I kept Logan home from school and Bob had to stay home as well. With all 4 boys we needed the help. Tuesday at school was no better so finally I said that Bob should do drop off for Logan. Seemed like me doing it was almost worse. I would stay for like an hour leaving my parents with the babies. By the end of the week, Logan would cry for only a few minutes at drop off and then have a really good day. So I am hopeful he is finally getting adjusted there. Plus he isn’t really sick and the stupid tooth finally came in! As for the boys, Justin was full blown wheezing by Wednesday and so I was at the Dr’s with him Thursday. His oxygen level was ok but he clearly needed some help breathing. So began the nebulizer treatments. For those of you who never had to give a baby a Neb, be thankful. It is about 10 minutes of screaming and kicking and crying. Although, he seems to have become more accustomed to them and actually smiles sometimes and dozes off. Those are the best treatments. I was at the Dr’s Thurs., Fri, Sat and mon. When they have respiratory issues the dr’s check them daily to make sure they are getting enough oxygen and don’t need to be hospitalized. The Dr thought he might have RSV again. But by yesterday he seemed to be doing much better. He still has a lingering cough but at least we can space out the treatment to every 6 hours instead of every 4. Mason and Noah have slight coughs and mild congestion but are otherwise doing great. Knock wood. I weighed Justin at the dr’s. 13 pounds 10 ounces. Can’t believe it.

Justin is nuts. He is the happiest baby; he smiles and laughs out loud. He is not sensitive to cold and doesn’t mind at all when you change his diaper. But when he cries, wow. His cry is like scratching nails down a chalk board. He is incredibly squirmy too. I think it is the dry skin which he has tons of. I try to lube him down daily with Vaseline as it is the only thing that seems to work. I have a hard time getting him on his belly since he starts wheezing and has trouble breathing. I am quite sure he will end up needing physical therapy because I can’t seem to get his neck muscles to where they should be. He is not so great on walks and is usually the one crying. He can’t seem to hold the pacifier in his mouth and gets all upset when it falls out. But he plays for long stretches by himself on the mat or in the bouncy seat smiling and cooing and batting at the toys. Which is welcomed considering it gives us time to tend to the other 2.

My dad wrote a little about each boy so I wanted to incorporate what he said too:

Dad on Justin—he was the first born, and continues to be first in nearly everything else. Justin has gained over ten pounds since birth and is keeping pace with Mason. What little hair he has is light auburn in color and his eyes lean toward blue. He has one dimple on his left cheek, and he shows it off when he smiles. He’s the most physical of the three, and always seems to be in constant motion while he’s awake. He’s been very vocal lately, cooing and ah-ing, and smiles spontaneously. He can remain by himself for extended stretches; exercising his extremities, and moving his head around focusing on anything and everything. He doesn’t like wet or poopy diapers, and will let you know when he’s uncomfortable or hungry. Justin is congested much of the time. Perhaps he has allergies (peak time in the spring) although he shows no other symptoms. He has actually laughed out loud several times, and enjoys playing “this little piggy”, or “peek-a-boo.”

Mason is solid as a rock and feels like he weighs 20 pounds. He is definitely more serious than the other two. It takes a lot for him to smile. Usually it is only when we play pat-a-cake with him. He looks like he has no neck and has a widow’s peek that makes him look like Eddie Munster! He is adorable though. He eats like a pig but still won’t sleep through the night. He is up more than the other two!! He is very laid back and is the kind of baby that will doze off anywhere. Which makes him the one I always offer to take with me if I am taking 2 kids and leaving 2 home. He is batting at toys now and kicks at them too. He struggles with tummy time also because he doesn’t have much of a neck so it is tough for him to lift his head so he just falls asleep. When he is hungry he screams like you would not believe. And if you take the bottle out of his mouth to burp him he freaks out. He will down 6 and half ounces in 10-15 minutes. It is amazing.

And from my dad…Mason—has always been the biggest, and has always been the most laid back. Mason has dark skin and hair, and his eyes are a definite brown. He sleeps more than his brothers, and can remain cool and calm for long periods of time. But, when Mason is hungry, there is no confusion about what he wants. He will cry loud and long until he gets what he wants—6.5 ounces of formula, or a diaper change (he too is not a fan of wet or poopy diapers). Like his older brother, Mason takes 6.5 ounces of formula, and has even tried solid food, although he didn’t seem to care for it. Mason is easy to burp, and rarely spits up his bottle. He has recently begun to smile and coo like his older brother, but still maintains his easy-going demeanor. Like his brothers, Mason enjoys going out for a stroll, but the recent weather has prevented very many excursions.

And Noah, the little professor. He is still the most curious and alert baby I have ever seen. He has the most expressive face. It’s like he wants so much to say something and tell you all these things he is thinking. He smiles and laughs a lot. He also sleeps the longest. Who would have thought? He will go 6-8 hours which is great except the other two don’t so we are still up. He rarely cries anymore. Even when it is time for him to eat he is really patient and waits for his bottle. That is especially helpful when you are trying to feed him and Mason at the same time. Noah will let you get Mason all situated and stop him from screaming and sit there with a smile on his face waiting patiently for his bottle. He will smile while you feed him and it is impossible not to laugh. He is very tiny with a small head and the most piercing blue eyes. I still believe he will be his brother’s keeper.

And Dad says…..Noah—is known as the “little professor”, because he has big wide eyes, and a penetrating stare. Noah is the youngest and the smallest weighing in a full 2 pounds less than his bigger brothers. Yet, he’s the most alert, and seems to be curious about everything. He finds his brothers very interesting, and will watch them for extended periods. He holds the record for the longest nocturnal sleep period, but much to his parent’s dismay has decided to only do that once. Noah has fair skin and dark hair with deep blue eyes. Noah has a small cleft in his chin, and can overwhelm you with his smile. He will definitely break a few hearts in the years to come.
Logan is so great with his brothers. He loves to kiss their heads and their feet and tickles them. When he makes them smile he gets so excited. One night when I had them all on my lap trying calm them he came over and sat with me. I said, “look - Mommy has all her boys with her.” So now whenever I am holding a baby he sits on my lap and says “mommy’s boys.” He is so amazing. He learns new words everyday and is the most loving warmest kid ever.

It has been 2 weeks since I started writing this blog entry and a lot more has happened. Logan likes school although he is still fighting whatever sickness he got there. He had a low fever yesterday and today but seems to feel ok. He talks about his friends at school and all the stuff he does. We took him to the circus where he was in complete awe. He loved it. We did have a small mishap though. He sat on a folding chair and it folded with him in it. It was very scary and he could have been really hurt considering there was a big bolt that could have gone into his head. Fortunately it missed him and once they shot the cannon off he was totally distracted from being scared (it took mommy & daddy a little longer to recover). Bob has been home for 2 days and we are trying to work on getting the babies onto a routine before I go back to work in 2 weeks. I can’t believe it has been that long. I will miss being home so much.

My parents will head back to Florida after Logan’s birthday. I will miss them more than anything. And Logan is going to have a really hard time without them here. It will be good to have some time with just Bob and I and the kids as the past 4 months it seems our house is always packed. But all I can say is how blessed we are to always have a packed house. So many friends and family that help us out. It amazes me everyday how blessed we are to have 4 beautiful healthy boys and such wonderful family and friends. I thank everyone who has been there for us through this entire experience. It has been one crazy ride.

2009-05-09T18:50:00.001-07:00

2009-05-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

Life has continued to fly by and be totally crazy. I actually fell asleep with my eyes open last week. It is possible. I was feeding Noah and all of a sudden dropped the bottle but my eyes were completely open. Very strange. The babies are doing really well. Getting so big. Mason has decided when he is hungry he is going to let everyone know. He wakes up and screams so loud. Then, if you take the bottle out to burp him he freaks out. Logan used to do the same thing. He is pretty much off the zantac and hasn’t had too much trouble with it. Justin is the antsiest baby ever. He is also the happiest. He lies on the ground cooing and smiling and actually laughing. He has adorable dimples. Noah is still the Professor. So wise beyond his years!
Logan started his new school on Monday. He is doing ok. He is teething really bad right now and has been super whiny and in pain for the past 5 days. He has been up every night every hour crying. It is horrible. He is exhausted, we are exhausted. Today the new school called and I had to go pick him up because he was so upset. I feel horrible that I moved him in the midst of this chaos. He is such an awesome kid and I know he is just not himself. He says he wants to go home all the time and my heart just aches for him. He is talking so much, putting sentences together, using possessives. He is obsessed with being tall and lawnmowers. One night when I was reading to him he would not stop saying mow, mow, Marty mow, Marty mow (that’s my neighbor’s name) Now every night I have to open his blinds and tell him Marty is sleeping.
Monday night we took everyone to dinner at Friday’s. It was great but truly exhausting. The babies were awesome. Only minor fussing. I definitely want to start getting out of the house with them as much as possible even though it is so hard. Plus, during this period they are so unpredictable. Like Noah slept 8and 1/2 hours the other night and then last night he was up twice. I am hoping by the time I head back to work they are all sleeping at least 6-7 hours a night or Bob is going to have a tough time. Did I mention Bob gave his notice? He will stop working the end of May and stay home with the babies. We decided that right now that is what will work best for us. They were really nice to him about it and he certainly didn’t burn any bridges so I feel a little better knowing he could go back if that’s what works better for us. I think he is excited and scared at the same time. It is quite a life change to just quit working and be a stay at home dad. I know it will be great for the babies and he will do a great job.
My parents are still here and help out everyday along with my sister Allison. I love having them here and we are so lucky. My sister Chrisanne came down from New York for my Mom’s birthday which was fun. We took Logan and the babies to Bob’s dad’s house. It is crazy getting everyone out. Packing the bags takes some serious pre planning!! Bob’s mom was over this past weekend and I was able to get some fun time with Logan while she and Bob watched the babies. For Mother’s Day I asked to sleep in. I just want to get up when I feel like it. That’s all. Then spend the day with my family. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.
Logan’s birthday is coming up and I can’t believe he will be 2. It just flies by.
I wish all of you mum’s out there a happy Mother’s day.

2009-04-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

The boys are now 4 months old and they are huge. We had their well visit Tuesday. Mason and Justin are both 11 pounds 11 ounces and Noah is 10 pounds 1 ounce. You'd think at that size they would all be sleeping through the night but no such luck!! They are all smiling now and make great eye contact. Although Mason is a little lazy about it at times! He is definitely a little lazy. But that's ok. It is helpful to have one mellow kid. Justin and Noah can be challenging especially in the evenings still. Our night help has decreased significantly because she has another job. I knew about it before we hired her but thought they would be sleeping better and so I wouldn't mind. The nights can be brutal. Last night I slept from 9:30-1:30 and when I got up i was never able to lay back down. One was either fussing or eating or needed to be rocked. It is really tiring. I know Bob is exhausted at work too and I feel bad but I just can't do the whole night by myself. My parents of course, are still so helpful. By the time they go back to Florida I am afraid they will never want to come back! Everyday is so busy. We found a house that we really love and put a bid on it but of course need to sell this one first. I am a little stressed about that and keeping the house presentable is tough with 4 kids. I am lucky if I get them in the bath once a week. I guess that's ok for now since they don't really get very dirty. I intend to bathe them everyday but something always happens to sidetrack me. Laundry is endless. The burp cloths alone are unbelievable. Thank goodness we have a good washing machine! One of the triplet moms I know came over for a few hours Sunday to help so Bob and I could sleep. She brought her former nanny. So I of course discussed with her working for us periodically. She is going to come Saturday to watch Justina and Noah and I am going to take Logan and Mason to visit my friend Kim. And Bob finally will be able to go golfing! I am so happy for him. It is always nice to have a day away from the kids. They are so wonderful but it is all consuming. They will be 8 weeks adjusted next week and I am hopeful that it will start to get easier. We'll see.
I know my posts are all over the place but I just write whatever pops in my head and I frequently get pulled away so I don't even know where I left off.
Logan is doing really well but is definitely entering the terrible 2's. He can be very defiant at times and since we are so exhausted our tolerance is lower than normal. I work really hard to be patient with him since he doesn't deserve to be the outlet for my frustrations or exhaustion. He is such a good kid and so loving and caring. He is pretty good with the babies. He kisses their heads and feet and one night even made Justin laugh. He was so excited and happy!! I can't wait till they can play and interact. We are switching his school soon. Hopefully very soon. One more transition for him which I am upset about bu I am not happy with several things there and it is just time to get him out of there.
Our house is being shown this morning so I must get the babies out of here and over to my sisters. Thank God she lives so close and doesn't mind our invasion for an hour. She comes home from Poland today. Yeah!!! I have waited to watch American Idol with her and I can't wait to see who was voted off. So don't ruin it for me!!!
Hope everyone is enjoying their spring. Even if it has been raining and miserable a lot. Here's to a beautiful May!!

2009-04-14T11:06:00.001-07:00

The babies are 4 months old this Thursday. I cannot believe it. And Logan is 22 months. Of course they are only 6 weeks adjusted so they are not acting like they are 4 months old. NYC was so much fun. Logan loved it. We went on the carousel in Central Park and went to FAO Schwartz. He was amazed by everything. We really had a great time and it was fun to visit Chrisanne. I don't get up to NY very often. The week was ok although Noah contracted some sort of GI virus and was projectile vomiting for several days. I was back at the pediatrician with him to make sure he was still gaining weight and didn't need to have his belly scanned. It's funny, with a full term baby I would have never thought to worry about a GI disorder. Turned out just to be a bug and he was over it by the end of the week. As soon as the bug was gone he was starving! He is now taking 5 ounces like his brothers and I think he is going through a growth spurt. He is sleeping better, probably because he is finally eating enough. He was so hungry when he had the bug but would throw up every time we fed him so he was generally miserable. Mason got the bug a little too but only for a day or so. We took the babies over to see Bob's father last Saturday. Their first trip out (except for the dr. visits.) Mason stayed home with my parents cause he wasn't feeling very well. It was nice to get them out but it was a little hectic. Bob's sister Marianne was there with her son Colin and Justin and Noah were a bit fussy. But all in all it was a nice day.
Easter Sunday was chaotic. Seems everyday is like that. We took Logan to church with us, Bob and my sister (who came down from NYC) stayed with the babies. He was pretty good. At one point when a song had finished and the church was completely silent Logan said quite loudly "All done" It was pretty funny. We had Easter dinner at our house. We actually were able to get all 3 babies to sleep and sit down for dinner together. It was short as Mason woke up to eat but it was really nice while it lasted. Logan had a little Easter egg hunt. 12 eggs took like 30 minutes!! I guess he is a little young:-) He also ate too much chocolate and got really hyper. That wasn't very fun but it's only once a year.
So far I have learned the following about the babies. Justin is super sensitive to everything. He doesn't like his brothers to be upset and he gets very bothered by his flailing arms. He needs to be swaddled and in his own quiet place to sleep. Mason sleeps a lot and fusses only when something is really wrong. He is what would be considered an easy baby. Noah is like the little professor. He stares very intently and always looks like he is deep in thought. Noah and Justin are definitely higher maintenance and get annoyed if you are holding the other one. Jealousy begins already!! They are all smiling and almost laughing. I hear a couple coos here and there but I have to say, I am constantly going from one baby to the other. I find it is hard to spend quality time playing with them. Since they eat at different times they are awake at different times and having a routine is just impossible at this point. They are only 6 weeks old really so I am not too worried about it for now. When they are 8 weeks old I am hopeful they will start to sleep through the night and I will be able to get them all on the same schedule. But who knows. It really is a crap shoot! It has taken me 2 days to write this as I am always getting up to get one of the babies.
Bob and I decided to put the house up for sale. I am scared to death and I am also so excited. We are looking in Mount Laurel . I can't wait to be in a place with more space. This house is just too small. So anyone looking for a house let me know!
My parents continue to come over everyday to help with the babies and my dad has done a bunch of stuff around the house getting it ready to sell. Allison is over all the time and helps so much. Chrisanne came down and stayed late into the night so Bob and I could get some sleep. My sister in law Lisa is coming on Thursday evenings to give my parents a break which is great. It can be so exhausting being here everyday. I am so lucky to have them and have really enjoyed spending time with them. To Lorraine and John who are across the pond, we miss you terribly. Logan yells John every time we pass your house!!

2009-04-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Another week flown by! The boys went to the dr. this week. Mason is now 9 pounds 14 ounces, Justin is 9 pounds 5 ounces and Noah is 8 pounds 8 ounces. They are getting so big. Noah still looks like such a little peanut though. Mason is a ham. They adjusted their Zantac dosage and I am hoping that will help. Seems they have gotten worse with spitting up as they gain weight. It's like you are constantly chasing the right amount since they are growing so fast. I'm not complaining though. I am so glad they are growing!! My mom and dad were here everyday helping out this week. They come early in the morning and help all dy into the night. We also have a teenager coming from 5-8 after school to help while I get Logan to bed. Our house is always crowded. But, I apprecitae all the help so much and know it would be so hard without it.

I had one of the worst nights so far with the babies. I think it was Wed. night. I went to sleep at 8:30 and Bob got me up at midnight. They had been really good for him. I got out their and Mason was due to eat. Once he finished and went to sleep it was Justin's turn and then Noah woke up. While I was feeding Noah, Justin decided to freak out for about an hour. I ended up feeding him another couple ounces because I couldn't figure out what the heck was wrong. He sucked it down and kept screaming. In the meantime, 4 hours had passed and Mason was waking up to eat. I finally had to wake up Bob. I just couldn't handle all three freaking out at once. It was really the first time I have just been done with it. The sleep deprivation makes it hard but I am just tired of the infancy stage. I remember feeling this way with Logan. The first 3 months are just so hard and we have it longer since they were so premature. The first month was really 2 months. I wish I could take maternity leave when they turned 4 months old!! Don't get me wrong, I love my babies and am blessed beyond belief but I really prefer when they are a bit older, sturdier, can hold their heads up and are distractable. Plus the walls of our house are closing in on me. I am so sick of winter and cold weather. The days that it has been nice out it is so windy I can't really get them out of the house. Or I am so tired I can't motivate. So Thursday night I went out to dinner with the triplet moms in South Jersey. They are so amazing. The kids range in age from 4 to my babies. They have all been through this and they really made me feel like I wasn't crazy! They gave me really good suggestions and assured me it will get better! That and several glasses of wine and Friday I was a new woman. It really does help to talk to people who understand what you are feeling and don't judge you for it.

Today Logan and I went to an Easter egg hunt in Moorestown. It is so windy though and the egg hunt lasted like 30 seconds. Oh well. Tomorrow we are headed to NYC with my mom and Allison to visit my sister Chrisanne. I am very excited. I think Logan will love it and it will be a nice road trip for the girls. Bob and my dad are staying with the babies. Should be an interesting day!!

All 3 of the babies have started to smile. Haven't heard too much cooing yet but I am hoping that will come this week since they are about a month old. Their development milestones are so hard to predict since you really don't know what their age is.

I am hoping that the weather will be nice now and we will get the babies outside as much as possible. We still will not take them to any public places or around other children as they still have suppressed immune systems and have a tough time fighting infection. Even full term babies have no immune system until they are 3 months old. They go to the dr. on April 17th for their second set of shots. At that point the weather should be good and they will be a bit bigger.

I am posting a more recent picture where you can really see their faces. They are getting so cute. Mason is just like Logan was. Justin is totally a McCoy and Noah is definitely his own man.

Hope everyone is doing well. Happy Easter to you all!!

2009-03-27T09:32:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe it has been so long since I wrote. I don't even know where the time has gone!! I have never been so tired in my life. The boys are doing really well. I can't believe how much they eat. Mason and Justin are up to 5 ounces every 4 hours and Noah is at 4 ounces every 4 hours. We try to keep them on the same schedule but that doesn't always happen. Mason is such an easy baby. Thank Goodness. He sleeps A LOT but is alert and content when he is awake. The zantac has done wonders for all of them and Mason has stopped throwing up for the most part. He has got to be well over 10 pounds at this point but I won't get him weighed until Tuesday. He is huge! I can't believe he is 3 times his birth weight. He looks a lot like Logan did as a baby so I wonder if they will end up looking like each other more than he does with the other 2. Justin and Noah are definitely more fussy. Seems the witching hour is from 5 to 10 at night. It is absolute chaos when Logan comes home and all the babies are awake. Justin gets really fussy around 8-10 at night. He cries and screeches and acts like he is starving. We always end up feeding him a little more even though he might have just eaten and then he seems fine so maybe he is gearing up to have a full belly before bed. He has red hair which is a McCoy trait and I think he looks a lot like my sister but no one else seems to think so. He has beautiful blue eyes (thanks to the Commacks) and an adorable dimple. His face is really filling out and he is about 9 and a half pounds. (I weighed him yesterday) . Noah is still a screecher. He is one of the loudest babies I have ever seen! He is over 8 pounds now but won't know his weight till Tuesday also. He still looks like a preemie but is really starting to fill out. He went to the urologist last week about the duplicate collecting system and he said he is perfectly fine and won't need any follow up unless he develops an unexplained fevers. Great news!! He has the biggest and brightest eyes and perfectly curled eyelashes. He gets fussy sometimes and has this loud screeching cry. It can be piercing especially when he is sleeping soundly and he all of a sudden yells out. He is also bothered by everything. If you switch positions while holding him he gets all annoyed. And he hates the hiccups.

But all in all they are wonderful babies and it is so awesome to have them.

Logan is doing well. He is having some issues sleeping that I am sure are related to all the chaos that has become our house. I feel so bad for him because I know how tired he is. He is such a great kid. He really is pretty good with the babies. He tries to give them fishies (the food) and I have to tell him they don't have teeth. He cheers his milk to their bottle and tells them to eat. He is adorable.

My parents went back to Florida this week and a friend of the family Leslie came ans has been with me all week. It has really been fun. She has raised 4 really great boys and I have learned a lot from talking and watching her. We have had a really good week and I will miss her when she goes back to Florida. My parents are back tomorrow and I can't wait for them to see how much the babies have grown. My sister as always has been a huge help and comes over in the evenings to help out. She cooked us dinner twice! What a huge help that is since I never feel like cooking! I have hired a very nice 14 year old girl to help out after school when Logan gets home and Bob and I decided we needed more night help so we got a night nanny with experience with multiples to come 3 nights a week. I know the sleep will make me a better mom.

All in all I feel so blessed to have all 5 of my boys. Bob is a really great father and he is so good with the babies. I know he is exhausted at work and I feel so bad for him so I am glad that with this help he will be able to sleep. Last weekend was the worst. By 6:30 on Sunday morning when Logan got up Bob and I could not keep our eyes open. I just thought there is no way I can begin my day right now. I had to call my sister and Mom to come over so we could sleep for 2 hours. When Logan is home all day it is just impossible to nap. Plus I don't want to. I miss him and want to hang out and play with him. So I am hopeful that all of this will make things a little less chaotic.

That's all for now. I am posting a picture of the boys taken this past week. Thank you all for your support!!!!

2009-03-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

The boys are home!!They were discharged on Friday. Both turned the corner pretty quickly but still, 2 weeks in the hospital was a long time! The nurses and dr's at Virtuaa were wonderful. They took such good care of the boys, loved them and held them knowing that we had to be home with the other 2. I went with my dad to pick them up. Logan was very exc ited to have his brothers home. He is so cute. I was very nervous the first night. My sister Allison stayed until like 2:30 in the mroning and helped Bob. I was able to sleep for a bit and got up around 4 to help with the morning feeding and be up for Logan. My mom came over at 5:30 in the mroning and my dad shortly after. What would we do without them?? The weekend is a blur. Allison stayed Sat. night also and all day Sunday. My dad left to return to Florida Sunday for 2 weeks. Logan misses him so much. He calls him uppa and my mom amma. Too cute. When he gets up in the morning he asks for them. He hasn't quite gotten Allison down but knows as soon as I ask him about her who I mean. The boys have been doing well. Justin and Noah are both on zantac. They still reflux and we go through A LOT of burp cloths, bibs and clothes. Laundry never ends. But we seem to have quickly gotten back into the swing of it and although we are alwasy tired we are so glad they are all home. Bob's brother and sister in law came over Sunday while I took Logan to a birthday party at my friend kim's. It was nicwe to spend the afternoon with him and to see Kim and her family and friends. Many of whom I have not seen in quite a while. Her daughter Kyra was Christened 2 days before I ha the babies and I was not able to make it even though I am the Godmother. my sister stood in for me but I am still sad I missed it.
Today we followed up at the pediatrician. My mom and I went this morning and as I am sure it will alwasy be, it was a production. The dr's office is great. They take us right back so we do not have to sit in the waiting area with bunch of kids. Even though they got RSV their immune systems are still weak and so they can't be around other kids for another month. Then flu seson will be over and they will have their second set of shots under their belt. I am counting the days till spring. Mason weighs 8 pounds 10 ounces, Justin is 7 pounds 15 ounces and Noah is 7 pounds 4 ounces. All still growing and doing really well considering the setback in the hospital.
Noah is still really noisy ALL the time. He grunts and groans more thanany child I have ever seen. My mom stayed over last night and pulled an all nighter with me. She could not sleep a wink because he kept groaning. I told her she needs to ignore him. Hopefully she will bring ear plugs wednesday night! She stayed all day today and we cleaned the house. She will sleep well tonight. So lucky to have her!!!
I have been going to bed around 8 or 9 and sleeping until about 1 or 2 and then Bob goes to bed and I do the rest of the night.
I have to go now becasue Justin is crying and needs a bottle and Mason will be up soon. I don't have a ton of time to write but am committed to continue this blog as long as possible. Thanks again to everyone who has helped and prayed for us. We appreciate so much each and every one of you.

2009-03-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

Noah and Justin have been in the hospital for 8 days now. Noah has improved dramatically. He is down to room air with only ½ liter of flow. He has been moved out of the ICU and sounds so much better. The cough is minimal now and his lungs are clearer. He is still a bit tachypnic and so they will keep him until that is under control. They put both him and Justin on zantac to try and help their reflux. They were on neosure in the hospital instead of the sensitive formula at home and they really had a hard time with it. It was awful, you could actually see how uncomfortable and painful it was for them both to eat. Noah did have a feeding tube for 2 days. He pulled the IV out of his neck himself and so they decided not to put it back in thank God. He is feisty! Justin is kind of hanging not getting worse but not quite better. He still sounds like crap, congested and coughing. He is eating like a pig though. He too is tachypnic and tachacardic at times still on half liter of oxygen at 30 percent. The dr. thinks they will be home at the end of the week or the weekend. I can’t wait to get them home again. I miss them so much! I do not, however want to have them home too early and end up back there. They have both lost a little weight which is a bummer.
Mason is still home with us. I am constantly watching him and making sure he is ok. I don’t sleep. I feel so scared all the time. He is a little congested and I feel like he is breathing fast. The night nurse is coming tonight. Even though we only have Mason it will give me a night to sleep. I know I wouldn’t sleep if he was with anyone else. Hopefully she can tell me whether he is “tugging” when he is breathing. I have to say, I thought I would be so scared when I first brought them home but I really wasn’t. I felt really good. And now I am afraid all the time.
Logan is feeling better thank goodness. He is so much fun. He is talking up a storm and so incredibly happy all the time. Well, except for the occasional whining session.
My sister was here over the weekend which was nice. She was able to see all the boys and it was good to have my whole family around me. I feel like I have been out of touch for the past 2 weeks. I am so consumed by what is going on I have barely talked to anyone. Thank you to everyone for the emails and support. I am sorry I have been out of it.

2009-03-06T10:22:00.001-08:00

It has been 5 days since Noah was admitted. I am hopeful that yesterday was his worst day. He has been on oxygen at 3 liters, 40% and unable to be weened off. He is just having such a hard time and my heart is breaking for him. His lung collapsed yesterday which sounds worse than it is. Sort of. Basically there is a clump of mucus in his lung that he cannot cough up for obvious reasons and as a result his lung is unable to inflate with air. They are doing chest PT every hour and had to stop feeding him because he just couldn't breathe and suck at the same time. They had to put an IV in but could not find a vein so the Dr. ended up placing the line in his neck. When I saw him yesterday I just lost it. I couldn't stop crying and just telling him how sorry I am. I am so sorry that I couldn't keep him in me longer so he would have more time to develop and that he has had to do all this growing on his own. I am sorry that he has to go through all this crap again when he finally was done with the monitors and sticks and pokes and prods. He is such a fighter. The worst part is there is nothing I can do. They will likely put a feeding tube in because he is clearly hungry and miserable. I went to see them this morning and his lung had resolved but the other then collapsed. He is so pale.
Justin is hanging in there. His case is not as bad but I am not sure he has hit his worst day yet. He had to go on oxygen this morning because he was having blue spells while he was eating. He is only on half a liter and hopefully will be off it in a day or so. He is still eating. The dr. said his case is much less severe as Noah's and hopefully he will fly through with this being as bad as it gets.
Mason is still home with us. He is doing well (as I knock wood). He is a little congested but basically doing well. He is eating and seems to be breathing fine. I watch him like a hawk waiting for him to get sick. Since he was able to get his second shot I am hopeful that he will pull through this with an incredibly mild case if not get through without getting the virus. But that is probably wishful thinking.
Logan has been home all week sick. He has a nasty cough still but has been improving. He is completely discombobulated. Since the paramedics were here Sunday to today his whole routine is totally disrupted and he just doesn't know what to make of all of this. He stopped eating for a couple days. probably his way of acting out. I am trying to spend time with him so he doesn't feel left out but I am torn between him, Mason and the hospital. I cannot cross contaminate him and Mason so I have to have different clothes on when touching both of them. My parents are in scrubs everyday and they usually take care of Mason since I am constantly covered in Logan germs. (not that Logan is a germ, that sounds bad but you get the idea). While i go to the hospital my parents have stayed with Mason and Logan and each take a kid rotating since Logan can be exhausting. He really is such a great kid though. So loving. He wants so much to play with Mason and I feel so bad yelling for him to stay away. He does get to kiss his feet though since Mason can't stick those in his mouth yet. Logan went to school today for a half day just to get him out of the house and to play with other kids. He is definitely bored at home and was glad to have the diversion. I missed him though and so he is home now napping. Which is really what I should be doing:-)
As I said, my parents have been amazing. We are so blessed to have them here to help. My sister Allison as well. They are so supportive and have been a God Sent. Our neighbors and friends also. Everyone has been so helpful bringing us food and helping with anything we need. We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. I know I say that all the time but it really is true. I am thankful everyday for the people in my life and for the beautiful children I am blessed with even if this has been the longest winter of my life. Only 4 more weeks of flu season. I cannot wait to take these babies out in the fresh air and show them off!!

2009-03-03T00:29:00.001-08:00

Apparently we just can’t stay away from the hospital. It al started Thursday night. Logan had been starting to cough a bit with a runny nose. We had an eye dr. appt for the boys Friday morning. We dropped Logan off at school and headed o the appointment. I felt so bad leaving him there. I knew he didn’t feel good but I couldn’t take him with us. About halfway to the appt I called my sister Allison and asked if she could pick him up and watch him for the day. My parent flew in Thursday so the 3 of them picked him up and kept him at Allison’s for the day. I felt better knowing he was with family. He started to get a fever and slept on my mother’s lap for a few hours. He came home and was definitely warm. Friday night was horrible. Logan was up all night crying with a fever and a horrible cough. My sister stayed overnight to help because bob was in bed sick with a stomach virus. Saturday Logan was a bit better. At least his fever had broke. Fortunately my parents and sister were able to help us because we were both so tired. Saturday night was tough as well. Logan was up a lot and Bob was on triplet duty so neither of us slept much. Sunday morning we were feeding the babies and all of a sudden Noah turned blue. Bob was holding him and patted his back. I jumped up and started yelling his name moving him around. He was breathing but his color was not coming back. We kept talking to him and trying to get him to come back. He spit up a lot and burped which helped a little. I dialed the pediatrician and while I was on hold he had 2 more episodes turning blue and going a little limp. When I finally got through after 10 minutes on hold the nurse told me to call 911 and have them evaluate him. They came quickly and after looking at him determined he needed to get to the hospital. He wasn’t acting like himself. He wasn’t waking up and was generally lethargic. I rode in the ambulance with him. His color did start to come back on the ride but he still wasn’t waking up. We got to the ER and they started to evaluate him, had him on a monitor, drew blood etc. The dr. felt it was likely reflux related. As I was sitting there he did it again, started to turn blue and needed a lot of stimulation to come back. They decided to test for RSV even though he wasn’t presenting with RSV symptoms. Shockingly, he was positive. For those who don’t know, RSV is a respiratory virus that to adults is simply a cold but to infants it can cause a lot of breathing problems. Tons of snot and generally total anxiety for parents. They decided to admit him, repeat the sleep study to see if the brady’s were in fact related to feeding and evaluate him. Once we got him up to the room and settled bob and I decided to go home and get ourselves together. Shower, eat and then I would come back to the hospital and sleep over. My parents would stay overnight and help Bob out since Logan still wasn’t feeling well. About 30 minutes after we were home the dr. called to say that Noah had a couple more episodes of turning blue, dropping heartrate and oxygen level and they were going to move him to the PICU (pediatric ICU). I headed back to the hospital to stay with him. Around 10:30 I realized I had forgotten my coumadin. Since that is definitely a problem I had to drive home to get it, through the snowstorm. We decided Noah was in good hands and I had better just stay home. I spoke to his nurse and she told me she would stay in the room either him since he was her only patient.
I spent the entire night staring at Justin and Mason to see if they were going to start showing symptoms. Justin was definitely starting to get congested and I knew he was getting RSV. It is very contagious. I cannot thank my parents and sister enpough for all they have done over the past few days. Not sure what Bob and I would have done without their help. We decided to take him into the ER Monday morning and since we were taking him we would have Mason tested as well. Sure enough, Justin was positive and the dr. said it won’t be long before Mason is too even though he was negative at that point. He planned to send us home since Justin seemed to be doing ok but wanted to watch him for a little bit. He gave him an albuterol treatment and his heartrate jumped to 220. Very high. And it wasn’t coming down. Plus he was breathing faster. The dr. came back in and decided to admit him just to be cautious. Noah’s dr. was kind enough to take Justin onto his service so they are now in the same room. We have Mason at home and are trying to keep him from getting sick. It is strange not to have the babies. Logan is still sick. He was up at 3:30Am this morning and would not go back to bed. His cough is so bad and it just breaks my heart. Bob and I are eon our own tonight. Bob has to go back o work tomorrow so he will feed Mason at 11 and I will do the overnight shift. Mason goes to the pediatrician in the morning for his RSV shot and my parents will watch Logan who I refuse to send to daycare. It is so germ infested there and I wish I could just keep him home till spring. As I write this I am listening to Mason starting to get congested. I am really not sure how much more I ca n handle. I doubt I will sleep much tonight because I will wake up every so often checking his breathing. I am hopeful that Logan sleeps through the night or Bob is going to be very tired at work.
Thanks to everyone for their support and prayers. I have to get to bed now so I can get up around 1 for the night shift.

2009-02-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-13T12:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-05T20:06:00.001-08:00

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!!

2009-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

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!!

2009-01-31T19:47:00.001-08:00

It has been a couple days. I don't even know what day it is anymore. I am exhausted. I cannot update the blog from my laptop for some reason and so I am falling behind. Bob has been so busy with work he is on the computer every night.
The boys are hanging in there. They ended up transfusing Mason because he was not improving with the canula. That happened Thursday I think. I was ok with it because I really felt like it would push him along. I saw him Friday and he didn't seem to do any better. His color is better but that's about it. Today I saw him and he still continues to dsat even on the canula with like 30% oxygen which isn't good. Especially at 35 weeks. I spoke to Melinda his nurse tonight and they bumped him up to a liter and now he seems to be doing better. They lowered the oxygen to 21 percent which is room air. I am glad about that but am still concerned that he needs to be on it. He is up to 5 pounds 2 ounces.
Justin is doing well. He is looking very pale and had a couple brady's today./ He sats at 96-100 but he is periodically tachachartic or however you spell it. Basically his heart rate is up in the 160's and 170's. If that becomes consistent, they will transfuse him also. So that is kind of hanging out there. He takes his bottles every other feeding which is good. I was there today to give him a bottle and I liked feeding him. I am the worst at burping them though. I sucked at it with Logan and am even worse with these tiny little peanuts. It feels so strange to try to move them around. I am afraid of hurting them. Their necks are very fragile and I have to be careful not to move it the wrong way because that can actually cause them to brady.
And little Noah. Well, yesterday I was holding Noah and he had a very serious brady. In fact the nurse had to take him and they could not get him to come back up. He turned blue. I thought I was going to die. I felt like screaming for someone to save my baby. I have never been so scared in my life. Except maybe when they told me I was going to have to deliver my babies 12 weeks early. I must have called 3 times after I left yesterday to check on him. He has been doing ok since then. I saw him today and he looked good. He is dsating also and I wonder what they will plan to do. While I sat there today Noah's nurse was feeding him while I fed Mason. One of the leads that measures his heart rate came off. As a result the monitor alarmed. For anyone who has had a baby in the NICU you know that sound. For 7 weeks I have seen all of my babies brady, dsat, get stuck with needles, have tubes coming from all over, get pricked on their heals, lay there with masks on their faces and on and on. But something about what happened with Noah yesterday scared me so bad that when the monitor went off today my whole body froze. I wanted to scream for it to stop. The alarm really meant nothing becasue the lead was just off but I couldn't stand the sound of that alarm.
Monday Bob and I are having a family meeting with the doctors, nurses and social worker to discuss the next steps, when the babies may come home and what to expect when they do. Including how to care for them since they are so susceptible to illnesses and they will be released at the height of the flu season. I hope that we will get a lot of answers. I am afraid that they are not where they are supposed to be and that these issues are an indication of long term problems. Maybe I am just overtired and trying to do too much. Anyway, I will keep you all posted on the meeting.
Tomorrow is the superbowl and I am routing for Arizona. I wish I could have a bottle of wine and just relax for the game. Unfortunately the coumadin doesn't allow me to drink so I will just focus on relaxing without it. Yah, right.
Hope everyone enjoys the game.

2009-01-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

First off, Mason's elevated lab was an error. They repeated the test Monday morning and it was normal. The blood cultures also came back normal. They stopped the antibiotics and took the canula off. Better safe than sorry. That was great news. Monday and Tuesday I was able to get to the hospital. Today I worked all day so I didn't see them. Basically they are all doing very well. Mason is up to 4 pounds 11 ounces. He is taking the bottle periodically but gets very tired and isn't quite up to it all the time. Which is normal. I spoke to Christine today and she said he is still sating at around 91 which is low for his age. They are 35 weeks and he should really be up around 95-96 consistently. I noticed it while I was there too because I watch all 3 monitors and Noah and Justin hang around 98-100. They really only drop if the pulse ox isn't picking up right or right after they eat which is related to reflux. He is great otherwise and so she didn't indicate there is concern for chronic lung disease or anything. I asked why she thought it was happening and she really thinks it is because he is tired. She said we are asking him to do a lot which is so true. He is in a crib now so we are asking him to breath on his own, hold his temperature, take a bottle, and basically function like a full term baby. So as a result he is back on the canula but only at a half liter which is good. Hopefully that will get him over this hump and in a couple days he will be strong enough to come off. It is a little upsetting since he is so big and we tend to have such high expectations for him. I still keep thinking they aren't even supposed to be here yet and we are asking them to "grow up so fast" in a sense. Tomorrow I will talk to the doctor in a little more detail. My fear is this is some sort of indication of something seriously wrong. Although, he doesn't brady, tolerates his feeds, is taking the bottle a lot, pooping, peeing etc. So we will wait and see how he progresses.
Justin is doing great. He is still at 3 pounds 15 ounces. Hopefully he won't lose weight now that he is in a crib. Sometimes if the babies are moved too soon they expend too much energy trying to stay warm and so they burn calories and lose weight. He looks a little pale but he is pretty fair so that may be it also. He is just too cute and I think looks a lot like Logan. I breast fed him the other day. The lactation lady came to help me . I have to say, it was weird. I didn't really like it and I think it may be because they are so small. It just doesn't feel natural. I prefer to give them a bottle. It makes me feel a little guilty since it is supposed to be such a bonding experience for a mom and I didn't feel that way at all. I feel more bonded when I am snuggling with them and their cheek is next to mine. But it's fine since I have no intention of breast feeding 3 babies. That is way too ambitious for me. I continue to pump and so they are getting what they need. I was formula fed and I turned out fine. Relatively speaking anyway:-) I do feel guilty telling the nurses. Some of them clearly think i should try to do it with 3. Please, that lady who just had the octopluts is going to breast feed. Seriously, she will literally do nothing else all day and night. I'm not sure it is even possible. But I digress..
Noah is fabulous. He is up to 3 pounds 7 ounces. He is filling out nicely and is a bottle maniac. He is in a crib as well and maintaining his temperature. Who would have thought he would be the one progressing the fastest.
One thing I forgot to mention about my postpartum visit....apparently they test all placentas of premature babies. Turns out Justin had an infection. They don't know what it was or where it came from. It could have been that I was slightly dilated and bacteria got in or something. Anyway, the point of me saying this is Noah's water is the one that broke. I firmly believe that he knew they needed to come out. He was in a way protecting his brother because he knew if the pregnancy continued and Justin had an infection he may not have survived. As my friend Sue said it will be interesting to see if that continues as they grow and Noah is the protector.
Tomorrow I am bringing my sister's new camera and taking pictures. I am hopeful that they will find a big crib and get them all in the same one. How fun will that be to get a picture of them all together snuggling in a crib!!
I have gotten so many emails from people letting me know they keep up with the blog. I know I have said it before but I cannot express how much it means to me. With all of the craziness of the past 2 months we are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family. Please keep the comments coming. I love to read them. They keep my spirits up and my energy too.

2009-01-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

The weekends just fly by. I can't believe it is Monday again. Friday the TV guy finally came only to tell me he couldn't do anything becasue he couldn't lift the TV. I can't even go into it becasue I will spend 10 minutes complaining about how annoying it was. Needless to say, I went to the hospital late but was able to hold all 3 boys together for an hour. Noah had a pretty serious Brady while I was hoilsding him. I couldn't tap his back becasue my arms were pinned holding all 3. Theresay, Mason's nurse came over and had to actually flick his back to get him breathing again. It was one of the scariest moments I have had in the ICN. But he came back and all was well. I must have looked petrified becasue Theresa was like are you ok? Other than that, all was well and I got that beautiful picture of all 3 of the boys.
Yesterday Bob visited them during the day and he fed Noah and Justin their bottles. Noah is sucking them down like a champ. Justin is not so interested. Looks like he might be the lazy one of the crew. But we will keep trying. Mason had been moved into a crib which was pretty exciting!! Bob and I went to dinner with our neighbors Sat. night so we took them to see the babies before we went out. The visit was short but I was glad they were able to see them. They haven't been there since I was in the hospital with the clot. When we got there Christine, Mason's nurse came right up to us to let us know Mason had to go back on the nasal canula. It was a little upsetting. He had been dsating a lot and just needed the help. I tried not to ponder it and just figured he needed a little longer to get there. We had a wonderful dinner and I actually had my first glass of wine in 8 months. Lovely!!
Today I went to the hospital this morning with my sister Allison. She has a had a cold so she hasn't seen the boys in a while. She got some good pictures and had a good visit with the nephews. Unfortunately, the Dr. approached me while I was there and told me that Mason had bloodwork done and one of te levels that indicates infection was elevated. They were going to start antibiotics immediatley and send blood out to be cultures and try to find out what is going on. I was and am so upste and worried. Christine made me feel a little better becasue she said his CBC was niormal and he was just slightly anemic which they really all are. We will have the preliminary results tomorrow afternoon but won't really know what is wrong for 72 hours. As a result he went back into the isolet. I am scared for him.
On a positive note, I actually breast fed Noah today. For such a little guy he sure has a big apetite. He did great and it was a nice little bonding time for us. After I sat with Mason and held him after they put the IV in his tiny little arm. It amazes me that they can find a vein. He cried so hard when they stuck him and it broke my heart.
Justin was a little neglected today I feel like though he slept peacefully through the whole thing! Tomorrow I will have some one on one time with him and possibly try to breast feed him.. Since he doesn't really like the bottle I am not sure he will be very interested but we shall try.
We called for the update tonight and all 3 have gained weight. Mason is 4lbs 9oz, Justin is 3 lbs 15 oz and Noah is 3 lbs 5 oz. All really good news. Minimal brady's and Mason is only dsating after he eats. Hopefully the cultures will come back normal and it will all have been a fluke lab result. Suhail, Mason's nurse said he looked great and realy was acting like himself. So whatever is going on maybe we caught it early.
I am exhausted today. Logan is nuts nd keep me on my toes. He is such a sweet boy. My sister Allison babysat last night and she said he was absolutely perfect. I love nights like that and I am so glad she had one with him.
I am off to bed so I can get a little sleep before getting up to pump. Ahhh, the joys of motherhood:-)
Hope everyone has a wonderful night.

The Boys

2009-01-23T16:51:00.001-08:00

left to right is Justin, Noah and Mason

2009-01-23T09:58:00.001-08:00

I posted a few more pictures. As you can see our camera is just horrible! So this weekend we will get better pictures as I am going to convince Bob we need to get the best of the best cameras. I mean we have a lot of moments to capture!

I have not seen the boys since Wednesday. Yesterday I worked which was ok. Today I am waiting for the stupid TV repairman who I am sure will show up at exactly 2 which is the latest he can possibly come. Sigh. I am going right to the hospital as soon as he is done.

I called for an update and everyone is doing great. Mason is 4 pounds 5 ounces and taking a bottle every other feeding! They decided not to put him in a crib yet becasue the isolet is still needing to warm him. They wait until it is 28 for over 24 hours. Basically it is a temperature reading that says this is how much warmth is needed to keep the baby at the right temp. They don't want them to come out too soon becasue if they start burning too many calories trying to stay warm then they will stop gaining weight. As excited as I am to see all 3 in a crib, I need to be patient!

Justin is 3 pounds 10 ounces. He is growing fast. He isn't quite as interested in a bottle yet but getting there. And little Noah is 3 pounds 1 ounce!!!! Finally over the 3 pound mark. I know he will look bigger even from 2 days ago. It is so amazing how all of a sudden they are growing so fast. I felt like in the first 3 weeks everything just stood still. It was like nothing moved forward and then all of a sudden here they go!!

All 3 have had a few Brady's here and there but mostly they are drifts and usually when they need to poop or have big boogies in their noses. They have definitely grown out of a lot of the brady's and it is nice when I get through a whole visit without one alarm going off.

I have met some other moms there and I feel like an old pro. They seem to come and go with their babies staying only a week or 2 and here I am 5 and a half weeks later and still there. I like to think I make them feel a little at ease if that is even possible when your baby is in the NICU. I knew my babies would be there for a long time but I couldn't imagine how they must feel giving birth to a full term baby and having it end up in the NICU. I hope I have helped some of them.

That's all for now. The TV man is still not here and I am thouroughly annoyed. I want to leave now!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! Here is a picture of Logan. He is addicted to the balls!! He is just so cute:-)

Noah

2009-01-23T09:56:00.001-08:00

Justin

2009-01-23T09:55:00.001-08:00

Mason

2009-01-23T09:53:00.001-08:00

2009-01-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, in just 2 days so much has happened!! Forgive me if I repeat myself. First, all 3 are off their cannulas!! I couldn't believe it. I went in yesterday and they decided in rounds to try Noah and Mason. They are doing great!! They have little drifts, mostly during feeds but don't require stimulation to get them back on track. Mason is a whopping 4 pounds 1 ounce, he is HUGE!! Who would have thought I would ever say that about a 4 pound baby. It is all relative. Justin is up to 3 pounds 8 ounces and Noah is 2 pounds 15 ounces. So close to 3 pounds I can't believe it!! It is so wonderful to hold them and not have so many wires. All they really have on them are the leads that monitor their heart rates, temperature and breaths per minute. plus the pulse ox on their foot. Seems like a lot but considering everything they had before that's nothing!
All 3 are sucking on their pacifiers and so they have begun to start bottle feeding them. Well, trying to. Justin took a little bit yesterday and today I fed Noah almost a whole bottle! I couldn't believe it. It was so amazing!! It was awkward at first because he is so small. i had to learn how to hold him and then try to burp him. Wow, that was not easy. I was so afraid to hurt him. Theresa, one of their nurses was like, you can hit him a little harder. It was funny. Theresa is great because whenever I come in she comes right over and asks what do you want to do today? What's your time frame and she tries to squeeze in as much as possible in the couple hours that I am there. I often think about what I can do to thank the nurses for giving my children such care and love. I really believe that even though my babies came so early it was truly because God knew those nurses would be the angels taking care of them and helping them to thrive.
Anyway, I loved looking right into Noah's eyes while he ate. he was wide awake. It really tuckered him out but he didn't brady at all which is really great. Think about all that he has to accomplish just to take a bottle. he has to remember to suck, swallow, and breath. Quite a lot for just a little guy! There was a guy there while I was feeding him. i guess he is the dad of one of the babies. He was so annoying. He would not stop talking and he was so damn loud. I was annoyed because i felt like that was supposed to be such a bonding experience for me and Noah and he was intruding. That is the one thing about being in the NICU. Most of the time it is quiet but there are times when it is just bustling with activity.
I tried to give Justin a bottle as well but he was asleep and really not interested so i will try again Friday. Mason didn't take to the bottle at all. They tried last night and i guess he brady'd and just didn't tolerate it. So funny that he would have trouble at 4 pounds and Noah would suck down the whole thing. I guess he is just trying to catch up to his brothers!!
I had my postpardum follow up appointment today. My OB is just the best. He said I am healing well and gave me a clean bill of health. My blood work is stable for the most part though being on the blood thinner has caused me to bruise very easily and the bruises from the injection sites not to heal. So I have a lot of black and blue marks. Very attractive. But a small price to pay.
Tomorrow I am headed into work for a full day. I know I will be exhausted as I get up in the middle of the night to pump. But it will be worth it to have the time when the babies come home. I can't believe it has been 5 weeks. It has flown by. I won't be able to go to the hospital tomorrow and I am so sad. How can I not see my babies!!! But I know it is important that I have the time with my babies when they come home.
I took some new pictures with my crappy camera and will upload them. This weekend our first order of business is to get a new camera.
That's all for now. I will think of 10 things i forgot to say as soon as I post this!

2009-01-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

I have to start today by bragging about Logan. He hasn't gotten enough press:-) Today he said his second 2 syllable word. well, does Elmo count? He says that and apple. And Oh my God, it is the cutest thing!! Plus he tried broccoli and a pickle. For him that is a huge deal. Maybe we are on the way to eating meals!!!

As for the boys, I saw them today and I cannot believe how much they are growing. At this point you can see the changes day to day. Bob went to the hospital yesterday and I spent the day with Logan so i had not seen them and I could see a difference. Mason is 3 pounds 15 ounces. yup, almost 4 pounds!!! which is huge! His (fabulous) nurse Sharon also told me he is 19" long! I haven't thought of asking about their length because i have been so concerned with weight. He was 16" at birth. He is having fewer and fewer brady's, in fact he will go almost 24 hours without one. He still has dsats and so they have decided to keep him on the nasal canula for a little while longer. Since he is at 21 percent I really don't mind the extra days. Apparently excessive oxygen can cause damage in preemies. I asked about it today and Tanya, Noah's (wonderful) nurse explained that it usually only happens if babies are on vents for extended periods of time. Oxygen is a drug and can cause problems in the retna. Anyway, 21% is room air and so there is no extra being pumped in. The canula simply adds pressure to make sure the lungs are expanding. He looks adorable and I held him today along with little Noah.

And Little noah is up to 2 pounds 13 ounces!! He is getting up there chasing his brothers!! He is still on the canula and having fewer brady's. he still has a few but they are decreasing everyday. While I was holding both of them Noah reached his little hand over and held Mason's hand. It truly brought tears to my eyes. I love when I hold them together. They are always separated in their isolets and so when i can have them right next t eachother skin to skin I feel like they make each other stronger.

Justin is now 3 pounds 6 ounces and hopefully on the upward swing with the weight. He came off the canula again today and seemed to be doing really well. Barely any brady's. Since he had just come off shortly before I came in his nurse Lisa didn't want to take him out. I don't mind when they do that. I always want to do what is best for the babies even if it means I don't hold them that day. He will get some extra love tomorrow!!

All three will begin to get wheened off the caffeine and both justin and Mason will come off the feeding pumps. Since they are coming up on 34 weeks gestational they will begin to take a bottle soon. How exciting is that? I can't wait to feed them. They are also starting to maintain their body temperature better and that means they will come out of the isolets soon.

I keep waiting for the bomb to drop as each day seems to be better.

I feel like I might be getting a cold and that makes me very nervous. I am torn about whether I should go in to visit tomorrow or wait and see if a cold develops. I would be devastated if i gave any of my babies anything!! I guess I will see how I feel in the morning.

Thanks for the comments on the pictures. Bob and I need to get a new camera so we can take some good ones. Ours is now broken and so most of the pics are looking horrible!

Hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for all your support!!

2009-01-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

Last night Bob and I went to the hospital together. Our wonderful neighbors John and Lorraine came over and played with Logan and put him to bed. All 3 boys were doing well. We spoke to Sahetta (sp?) who is Mason's nurse. She is great. I think I have mentioned her. She loves Mason. She said he was a little cold earlier that day and so she wasn't going to bathe him. It turned out something was wrong with the isolet and it wasn't warming him properly. As I sat there waiting to bathe justin I noticed that he was breathing really fast. I was watching the monitor and he was taking over 100 breaths per minute. way too many. I asked his nurse about it. She said it is called tachypnea. At first she thought it was probably just intermittant but he kept it up for a while. She decided to check him out manually and see if the monitor was accurate. He was on his belly and she turned him over and took his temp. he was a bit hot which can cause the rapid breathing. She took off his tshirt and put him on his belly. He seemed to calm down but she promised me she would keep a close eye on him. As a result of that, she decided not to bathe him. So that left Noah. I was able to give him a nice sponge bath. It was very cool but also a little sad. All I kept thinking was he isn't supposed to be here. He shouldn't have to endure all of this yet. I felt so bad for him. Imagine the trauma this is to them. I remember when Logan was a newborn and the least bit stimulation exhausted him and he was full term. I can't imagine how exhausting all of this is for them. And little noah is so tiny. He is 2 pounds 11 ounces now which isn't even justin and Mason's birth weight.

After the bath I held Mason and Noah and Bob held Justin. Mason felt so heavy! He is 3 pounds 12 ounces. Justin is now 3 pounds 5 ounces. he gained weight!! I have to call in a little bit and see if he lost tonight. he went up like 4 ounces so i expect he won't maintain that. They are still having brady's and dsats but the nurses tell me that will continue and decrease as they mature. Mason may try a bottle next week as they approach 34 weeks gestational.

I saw them today for a little while and held justin. They are just getting so cute looking like babies now instead of preemies.

Bob will head to the hospital tomorrow and I will spend the day with logan. I am looking forward to that. He is such a joy.

Monday I am headed back to work. It will actually be a good distraction for me.

Me and the Boys

2009-01-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

Noah's Bath

2009-01-17T13:33:00.001-08:00

2009-01-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

I saw Noah's face!! He is so cute. I had to hold him today. I felt like with all he had been through he needed some mommy time. Of course he had like 5 brady's while I was holding him. I was so nervous they were going to put him back on that damn CPAP. But his nurse Tanya said they would try a couple other things first. I called back later in the afternoon and she said he had been doing fine. Guess he just wanted to totally freak me out! They all had their heads scanned again just as a follow up and they were all normal. So good news!! They had eye exams yesterday and Justin has an infection. Of course I feel like I gave him pink eye but the nurse was like there is no way. Still, I felt like crap. When I called back in the afternoon Judy told me justin drank from a bottle! Only like 2cc but sill that is a huge step. She said it completely knocked him out and she said we might need to wait a little longer before trying again but he was able to breath while sucking which is a huge undertaking for him. She kept the bottle so i can have a souvineir for him. I was glad Judy was the first to give him a bottle. I mean if it couldn't be me of course. They are 33 weeks gestational today so they are really maturing fast.
We called tonight for an update and Mason is 3 pounds 11 ounces!! He is huge. Well, it is all relative. Justin lost a little weight again. Very upsetting. We also found out he has a hemangioma (however that is spelled) on his face. It's not a big deal but it could get really big and he would need to have it removed surgically. That wasn't very good news. He has one on his leg too. They are not positive that's what it is but you can't really tell at this point since he is so small.
Noah has been doing well on the canula and they did not put him back on CPAP. good news:-) He did have a few brady's but nothing significant. Seems like the transfusion really did help him so I am quite happy they did it. He looked great today. Very pink!!
I will be going back to work until the babies come home. I will work part time so that I can still see the babies everyday. i cannot imagine not getting to see them at least for a couple hours.
tomorrow Bob and i are going to go at night so we can help bathe them and meet the night nurses. we talk to them all on the phone but don't really know them.
Logan ate really well today which is quite a feet for him so all in all a good day!! I keep reminding myself to celebrate days like today because who knows what tomorrow will bring.

2009-01-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today was a much better day. Theresa and Tanya were the babies' nurses and they are both wonderful. I held all three of them together again. What a great feeling. They decided to transfuse Noah today (thanks to Tanya). I just called to check in and he is doing great. He is on the nasal canula and tolerating his feeds. he is up to 2 pounds 10 ounces!! I can't wait to see him tomorrow!! Mason is doing well. only 4 brady's in 24 hours. I spoke to his nurse tonight and she said that is more than normal for his gestational age. (32 weeks) He is at 3 pounds 9 ounces, and doing well with his feeds. Justin gained 50 grams last night but stayed the same today. He needs to start gaining. They started again to fortify his milk up to 22 calories. i am hopeful that will start to bulk him up. I told him today he needs to start gaining.
I asked the nurse today what the criteria is for them to come home. She said that weight plays a part, most of the time 4 and a half to 5 pounds is the general weight but they have to go more than 24 hours with no brady's in order to go home. They have to be taking a bottle and able to maitian their temperature. They also make sure they can tolerate sitting in the car seat. most seats are not made for babies so small. It never occured to me to check the weight requirement on the car seats. Generally they go home between 36 and 40 weeks gestational. So that will bring us to between the beginning of February to the beginning of March. So about 4-8 weeks.
My friend kim came to the hospital with me and saw the babies for the first time. I was so glad to have her there. I do wish we lived closer together.
Logan is doing fine. Bob had to work late tonight so our neighbor Lorraine came over to help me with logan. I try not to lift him too much as I do not want to split my incision. Although it is feeling much better. logan adores her and was very happy to play with his Antie lolly. Plus she brought me English chocolate which is heaven!!
Tomorrow I have to get my labwork done and I am really hoping it is stable and I will only have to go once a week going forward. We'll see!!
Hope everyone has a great night. again, thanks to everyone for their support. It really gets me through each day.

2009-01-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

I didn't feel like writing last night. Sunday was such a great day and then I walked in yesterday and every alarm was going off. I tried to hold Mason but he just kept dsat'ing and they had to put him back. When he eats he can't seem to get enough oxygen. They are going to extend his feedings over 40 minutes to see if that helps. he digests it all but for some reason during the feed he can't get it down. Justin had to go back on his canula. he was having a significant amount of brady's and just needed the help again. He also has not been gaining weight and actually has lost some. Not a good sign. So they are going up on his feeds tonight. He didn't tolerate the fortifying but seems to burn through the breast milk and so the other option is to try to give him more. Noah is looking incredibly pale. He is very anemic and they still haven't transfused him. I get why they don't want to do it but I can't stand seeing him so pale. His vitals are ok on the CPAP but he is still having brady's now and then. I was very unhappy with his nurse yesterday. It annoys me when I walk in and am standing by the isolet and the nurse sees me and doesn't acknowledge that she is taking care of my baby. even if they are busy it is nice for them to say I will be right there. Most of the nurses do. It is a select few who I don't care for. For some reason Noah seems to have a different nurse everyday. I don't know if no one has picked him as a primary or what but i really feel like he needs some consistancy. I feel like they don't know him and therefore won't know if he is acting different. I will call tonight and see how their weights are and see how they seem. I guess I am just having a bad day. The ups and downs are like a roller coaster. 2 steps forward and one step back. I keep reminding myself. Yesterday Noah's nurse told me they were putting him on amoxicillan prophilactictly. I asked her why now, today. he does have a kidney isse. It is called a duplicate system and basically he has 2 tubes going from the kidney to the bladder instead of one. She had no clue why they were doing it. I told her I wanted to talk to the dr. When the doctor came she told me the nurse must have misunderstood. They were not starting antibiotics. I was so annoyed that the nurse misunderstood. I mean really, get it together. Read the chart or take better notes. That's the kind of stuff that gets me upset.
One good thing is I do not have to continue the injections for my blood thinner. I am very happy about that. So now I just have to take pills once a day and then get bloodwork twice a week for 3 months. Great news. Although I would really like to have a few glasses of wine and I am not allowed to drink on the blood thinners.
Logan is doing well. we are trying to get him to eat a little better. Wow, what a pain in the butt. All he wants is crackers and applesauce. He ate 2 bites of chicken tonight. I was so proud he actually tried it. I am hoping he is eating well before the babies come home or he will probably want to go back on a bottle!!!
Anyway, I am hopeful tomorrow will be a good day. my friend kim is coming to visit and to see the boys. She has been sick and unable to visit so I am excited for her to mee them.
I hope everyone is doing well and I promise tomorrow not to be such a downer!!

2009-01-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

As you can see I posted some pictures from the past 2 days. I can't believe how big Mason is getting! He looks like a baby now! Today I held all 3 of them together! It was the coolest thing. I do have a picture but have to scan it in. The nurses are so great. I of course didn't bring my camera so they took a picture and printed it for me. They were so cute!! Theresa (Mason and justin's nurse) took the nasal canula's out of justin's nose. He did great breathing on his own!! They are going to try taking them off Mason later today and see how he goes. Noah is still on the CPAP. Deb (his nurse) made a plea for him to come off again but the Dr. wants to wait a couple more days. probably later in the week. Noah was pretty antsy again today. They are going to do bloodwork tomorrow and they will see if they are going to transfuse him. It is good he is antsy instead of lathargic but I feel like he is uncomfortable for some reason. Although, he settled down and finally got comfy with me. Feeds are going well. Mason may have a little reflux too. he dsat's during his feeds which can be related to reflux. I guess I will ask tomorrow if they are going to hang his food too. Anything to make them more comfortable!
Tomorrow I get my labs drawn again so hopefully I can stop the injections. I feel like I have said that way too many times!! Bob can go back to see the babies starting tomorrow, his eye is much better. But he has to work and so it is tough for him to get there. hopefully one night after work.
Hope everyone enjoys the pictures. I love them!!

Mommy Noah and Mason

2009-01-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

Noah

2009-01-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Mason

2009-01-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Justin

2009-01-11T11:06:00.000-08:00

Justin

2009-01-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

I went to the hospital this afternoon with my sister Allison. I was so excited becasue I knew I was going to hold at least one of the babies! I could only stay for a couple hours becasue of course I still have Logan and want to spend time with him as well. So when I got there I immediatly held Justin. He looked great. He is 3 pounds 1 ounce still but doing well. He is getting better with his feeds and didn't have any aspirates today. They had to stop fortifying the milk because he just couldn't tolerate it so they will wait a day or two before trying again. It is pretty common in preemies to have reflux issues but they say they do outgrow it. We put Justin back in and Theresa, Mason and justin's nurse asked if i wanted to hold Noah and Mason at the same time. I hadn't even considered that since I was so used to them having too many wires and IV's and stuff. Now that they don't have IV's and Mason is on the nasal canula's it is easier to get them out. I was so excited. That was the first time the two of them had been next to eachother in life. Theresa took a picture which I will post tomorrow. It was really cool. Kind of sunk in that I have more than one baby coming home!! When you are only holding one at a time, even though they are differnet babies it is almost like you have one. But when I was holding both of them it really sunk in. It was the coolest feeling!! Both Maosn and Noah have very dark hair. I can't believe how much Mason has!! They were both so cozy and comfy lying on my chest. Before I held him Noah was really antsy in his isolet. He just looked uncomfortable. Then when I held him he totally relaxed. After about a half hour I had to get going. Allison was great. I can imagine for guests it can get a little boring sitting there with me while I hold the babies. I can sit there for hours and it flies by. Once Noah went back in he seemed uncomfortable again. he really is very pale and I felt horrible leaving. When I called tonight his nurse kim said he had a huge poop!! When I told her how uncomfortable he had been she said that was probably why. she said she wouldn't be surprised if he lost an ounce!! Of course i don't want him losing weight but she said he was happy as a clam and so I feel much better! Oh, I forgot to mention that Sonetta (not sure how to spell her name) who is Mason's nurse, told me that everytime she has him he poops all over the isolet and tonight he pooped all over her arm and hand!! She is so funny. I can tell she just adores him and it makes me feel so good when they are like that. I know they are taking good care of them. She also told me that they were working on getting Mason to take the pacifier. She said they would probably try moving him to a bottle soon!! I am so excited. I can't imagine how it will feel to actually feed him myself!! She also said he is up to 3 pounds 6 ounces!!! He is huge compared to noah. he is almost a whole pound bigger!
So today was a good day. I still worry about them all the time but am glad i am able to go see them again. I will go there again tomorrow morning and then spend the afternoon with Logan. Today Bob took Logan to his friend Jay's house who has a dog. he had such a great time. he loves dogs!! he misses my parents dog Murphy so much. when he goes to my sister's house he runs around yelling dog and looking for him. I would love to get him a puppy but have zero interest in taking care of one. Maybe when they are all over 3 I will consider it. And when we have a yard. Who wants to walk a dog in this miserable weather!!

2009-01-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

I got to see the babies today!! I was so excited. I didn't want to hold them. Just paranoid of giving them anything. Tomorrow I am definitely holding them though. Mason and Justin are doing well. Mason weighs 3 pounds 4 ounces!!! He was dressed in a little outfit today. He looked so cute! It was a preemie outfit and it was still huge on him. Amazing that I actually thought he looked like he had fattened up! It is all relative. Justin looked good too. I could see his face for really the first time. He is still having his feeding issues. He threw up this afternoon but seemed to tolerate his 6 PM and 9 PM feeds well. He had a big poop and that seemed to be one of the reasons for the feeding problem. not sure why he threw up today but i guess we will see how it goes. They are still feeding him over 30 minutes and have just started to fortify the milk with calories. Noah is up to 2 pounds 7 ounces which is great! He is back on the CPAP and that seems to have helped the Brady's. He is paler than the other 2 and is definitely anemic. I spoke to the Dr. today and he explained that as they get older their bone marrow starts to make the red blood cells. At this point if they transfuse him it could comprimise his ability to make his own blood. So they will wait as long as possible. He is not acting or looking particularly sick and since the brady's have decreased they would rather try to get him to correct the anemia himself. Obviously if he needs the blood they will give it to him but he seems stable right now. he still looks so tiny especially compared to his brothers but he is just our little peanut. I know he is going to start gaining weight andthat is going to help him. he just needed a little extra time on the CPAP. It is so hard. I know I am supposed to expect setbacks. 2 steps forward one step back. I tell myself that over and over. It is still devastating when there is a step back. I know I have a lifetime of worry ahead of me and it has clearly started already. Thankfully the nurses are taking good care of them and I know they will make sure he gets what he needs.
I got my bloodwork results and unfortunately I am still not therapeutic. Which means I get to keep giving myself the injections. I am bruised all over becasue of them and I have to say, I am a bit depressed about it. I am hopeful that Monday will be my last day. 20 days of injections. yuck. Bob's pink eye is getting a little better. he rubs the crap out of it and so it continues to swell. He should be able to go back monday to the hospital.
Logan had a good week at school. He is having some bedtime issues. doesn't want to go to sleep. I guess he is afraid he will miss something. he has been waking up in the middle of the night also. Bob and i are pretty tired. But i guess we should get used to that! He is getting to be a pretty good dancer and loves to play ring around the rosie. He is truly a joy and he makes everything worthwhile.

2009-01-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

I was in this morning to drop off milk and saw the Dr. He said all the boys had been doing fine. He also said they go through caffeine like he has never seen I asked if that was a problem and he said no it just means they digest faster than most. I said so does their father so that explained that! Anyway, he said they all had their occasional brady's but that was to be expected. When I called this afternoon Judy told me that Noah had several brady's this morning and that he had one pretty significant episode where he stopped breathing. I was a little upset that the dr had not told me. Apparently that had continued through the day and he has been getting paler so they deceided to put him back on the CPAP. I know I should be prepared for set backs but they seem so devastating. I just called back to see how he was doing on it and his nurse said he was doing ok. Before she fed him she suctioned his mouth and found that he had a significant amount of gook and since she had cleared that he had been fine (about 2 hours). Made me annoyed that he had not been suctioned well prior to that. Especially since he normally has a lot of secretions and his nurses know that. Anyway, I am so upset. Mason and Justin are both doing well. periodic brady's but nothing significant. The Dr. did say I could see them tomorrow although I have a slight sore throat so I am not sure if I will feel comfortable going or not. I will see how I feel in the morning. I am nervous now about all of them especially Noah. His labs were low and I almost hope they transfuse him since it seemed to do so much for his brothers. Every dr. is different though and I get the feeling the one on service now waits longer than Dr. Wade when she had them. I do miss her. I am exhausted and am going to try to get some sleep. I really hope they all have a good night and are doing well in the morning.

2009-01-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

Just got the latest update and the boys are great. I call thoughout the day and thankfully they have been boring updates!! Around noon Justin and Noah came off of the CPAP!! The are both on the nasal canuals (however you spell it), basically nasal prongs!! I can't wait to see them!! They are tolerating them well. Brady's here and there but nothing so far to be concerned with. Justin is doing well with the lengthened feeds and noah and Mason are eating well also. Noah is up to 2 pounds 6 ounces! Finally over that hump. Hopefully he is going to go up from here. Both Mason and Justin are at 3 pounds 2 ounces tonight. They are going to look so big when I am finally able to get back to the hospital. Other than that, no new news. My eye is looking better so I am hoping I can go back by Friday. Bob definitely has pink eye now too. They actually sent him home from work. I go in for my bldwrk tomorrow so fingers crossed my INR is up and I can stop the injections!
Logan is back at school and doing well. His favorite word is no. He is so cute I can't stand it. He makes iteasier to deal with having the triplets in the NICU. He keeps me busy and on my toes. The past 3 weeks have flown by but in so many ways it has been the longest 3 weeks of my life.
My OB called today to check in. he is such a great guy. He checks in on the babies and that really means a lot to us. I like to know that everyone is looking out for them.
Thanks as always to everyone following the blog, the wonderful emails and comments. They mean so much to us and get us through each day knowing we have so many wonderful people in our lives.
Good night.

2009-01-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

We just called for the last update of the night. The boys are doing well. justin continues to have some feeding issues. He had a fairly large aspirate at 9 so they are waiting to see if he digests it before the midnight feed. They changed his feeding so it is given to him over 30 minutes to help with reflux. Mason is at 3 pounds one ounce still and eating like a champ. They fortified his milk with extra calories so hopefully he will put on the grams! Noah is up to 2 pounds 5 ounces again. He seems to go back and forth but now that he is geting the extra calories also I am hopeful he will start to increase consistantly. All 3 had limited brady's today which is great news!!

As for me, I spoke to the hematologist today and I still have to continue the injections. Very depressing. But my eye is clearing up and I am hopeful I will be back at the hospital by Thursday or Friday at the latest. I can't wait to see the boys. I miss them so much!!!!! The nurses are so sweet about everything. They are taking such good care of them. Bob is now complaining of an itchy eye but I am hopeful it is sympathy pain:-)

2009-01-06T04:53:00.000-08:00

I spoke to the ICN a couple times last night. My doctor said I will likely have to stay away for 5 days. It is such a horrible feeling to not be able to go see them. I know they are being well taken care of but I just want to hold them and see for myself how they are doing. The nurses updated me and all three seem to be doing well. Justin threw up his 6 PM feed last night. Not quite sure what happened there. He tolerated his 9PM and only threw up a little of his midnight. I asked the nurse ifshe thought he had a problem and she didn't think so but of course I will know more when I call this morning after rounds. He is holding steady at around 3 pounds which is great. his IV came out yesterday and that of course casued him to lose 40 grams. He is back on CPAP and doing well with that. When I called at 3 AM his nurse Ellen said he looked like he was relaxing on a beach. Mason is doing great. They added calories to his food so hopefully he will start putting on the weight. he is doing well on the nasal prongs at around 24 percent oxygen. Room air is 21% so considering he is on the prongs, that's pretty good. Noah is doing better. They didn't change anything for him other than making sure that the secretions are suctioned more regularly as that seems to coincide with the brady's. he had a good night with no brady's. He is up to full feeds and they have started to add calories. He is hovering at 2 pounds 4 ounces so they are really wanting him to gain some weight.I hope the addd calories do it. He is such a little peanut. I am a little worried about justin and his feeding but hopefully he doesn't have an infection or anything and it was just a random event.

Tonight there is a support group for parents of children in the ICN. I am going to go and see what it's about. Maybe it will be good to talk to other parents going through the same thing.

My parents are headed back to Florida tomorrow. I am so sad to see them go. They have been such a tremendous help to us along with my sister Allison and Chrisanne when she comes down from NYC. They have been here for 3 months and I have gotten used to having them around. I know they will be back when the babies come home (i will certainly need the help) but it has been nice having them so close. I know they are anxious to get out of this cold weather though. I am sick of winter already!!

That's all for now.

2009-01-05T05:11:00.000-08:00

I called the ICN this morning and Justin and mason are doing well. Noah had a lot of brady's last night. They drew some blood and will decide on rounds this morning what the plan will be. I unfortunately have contracted pink eye. I asked if I could visit and just not hold the babies but they told me I am not allowed. I am devastated. They are going to call me back and let me know how long I have to stay away. I am waiting to call my doctor and see what I need to do. I have not had this since I was a child. I only hope that I did not have it when I last held the babies. I am so glad I did not hold them Sat. and that I stayed home yesterday. I had a slight sore throat and thought it would be better not to bring any virus to the ICN. I am headed to the dr. as I will need clearence from them to go back to the ICN. Plus I have to get labs drawn to see if I can stop with the injections for the clot. Hopefully it will be a good day!!

2009-01-04T17:56:00.001-08:00

Bob's Entry
Another weekend has passed and the triplets are doing pretty good considering they were born 12 weeks premature. I spent most of my weekend with Logan, but got to the hospital today. I held Mason for about 30 minutes. He had his eyes wide open looking up at me. I said hello to him and I could have sworn he smiled. I am sure he was just passing gas or something. It was a smile to me. Mason is 2lbs 15oz. He was born at 2lbs 14oz. Noah is almost at full feeds along with Mason. He is still on the CPAP for his breathing. Mason is on the nose tubes. Noah still looks like the little peanut he was 2 weeks ago. He is back at his birthweight. I will try and go to the hospital tomorrow night and hold Noah. I try to spread it out so I rotate the order that I hold them. Justing is 3lb 1oz. He was born at 2lbs 14oz so he is gaining nicely. He was taken off of the CPAP this morning but put back on later this evening because he had 6-8 brady's. He needed help remembering to breath. Other than that, he is doing great and all of my boys are on track for another healty week. So far so good, but a long way to go.

I took Logan for his haircut this weekend, which he did not like at all. So, I took him to Toys-R-Us and bought him whatever he pointed at. Actually, I got him a little powered quad and a new little chair for him to sit in. He likes them a lot. We had a good weekend together. Tracey is feeling better and has started driving. It was tough for her to have to depend on others to take her when she wanted to go anywhere. She is vey independent as most of you know. Overall, we have had a few stressers over the past weeks, but nothing that we cannot handle together. I truly love being married and having a big family to have fun with in the future. Life is looking good for 2009. It has to be a little better then that last few months of 2008 (other than the birth of the boys). Tracey is going to see the boys tomorrow after her follow up appointment so more to come tomorrow. Goodnight to all.

2009-01-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

I tried to write last night but bob accidentally changed the settings and everything I wrote was translated into arabic or something. Anyway, I went to the hospital and was able to hold Mason for about an hour. He was so comfy and warm and it felt so good to just rock him. My mom and dad were there with me. All the boys are doing well. Noah had his pick line taken out and they did not have to put a peripheral IV since he is on day 10 of his feeds and tolerating them well. So hopefully he won't have to get another stick. Although he has not been transfused at all and I fear that may happen soon. Justin got his pick line out also but they did put in a peripheral IV for his fluids since he is not quite as far as Noah and Mason in the feeds. He should be at full feeds in the next day or so and they will think about taking it out if he continues to tolerate them. Mason had a bit of a scare overnight. His belly swelled up quite a bit and he threw up. They think it is related to the cpap which can push air into their belllies. They gave him a supository and held his next feed. He was able to go to the bathroom and they switched his cpap to the 2 prongs in his nose and the swelling went down and he is fine now. They did an xray to be sure and it was normal. When I saw him today he looked good adn comfortable on his belly. That is definitely his favorite position. When I saw them today their nurses were very busy the whole time I was there and so I didn't get to hold anyone. Which is ok, they really were so comfy I hate disturbing them. I didn't love their nurses today. Judy was there who is one of Justin's primary's but the other 2 were new to me and they just weren't quite as kind as the usual ones. I know I have to get used to different nurses but like the ones that normally are there and I will be happy when they are back. It still is part of the holidays so a lot of them have off. Other than that, thing were quiet which is nice. Logan is feeling better and back to his old self. He will not be happy to go back to school having gotten used to being home so much. Hopefully I will be able to spend some more quality time with him over the next couple weeks.
That's all the news for now. Hope you are all having a nice relaxing weekend!

2009-01-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! We are so looking forward to 2009! Yesterday I went to the hospital with our friend Rita. Rita has triplets also and delivered at 28 weeks. Her babies are 10 months old now and Bob and I took great comfort knowing they are strong and healthy. Before i delivered the babies Bob kept saying to me, Rita's babies are healthy and beautiful and ours will be too. It was nice to take her to see them. I know it brought back memories for her and it was good to talk with her about everything. The boys were good and i held justin for a bit. I knew bob was going after work and so I asked them to hold mason's feed so he could hold him. Justin had a couple brady's while we were there. Noah and mason were fine. Bob went to see them with his dad and held Mason. We called after midnight to wish them a happy new year. Justin had been having a rough night. he had a several A's and B's as they call them. (that refers to Brady's and Apnea's) The nurse said he looked like a dishrag. i didn't appreciate the reference. Bob actually told the charge nurse she had said that. It's just not appropriate to make that reference to a mother. The charge nurse apologized and said that she was one of their best nurses. Still, it wasn't very nice. But she meant he looked pale and sick. They were waiting for the blood to transfuse him. Noah and Mason were fine. This morning i called and the transfusion had helped Justin a lot and he was having a much better day. Bob went to see them this afternoon with his mom, sister and brother. I spent the day with logan which was really nice. He is finally feeling better and I knew he was having a hard time this week. eveytime the doorbell rang he would yell NO because he knew it meant I was going to leave. It felt good to stay with him. All 3 of the babies were doing well. They are all increasing their feeds which is great. I can even bring in more milk which has taken over our freezer!! They all have minor episodes. A's and B's here and there but nothing to be concerned about. I love boring updates!! I just called to get the night time update before I go to bed. Noah had a bit of an aspirate at 9 so they held his feeding but we'll see how that goes at the midnight feed. he is on day 9 of the 10 day advance which is great. Both Mason and justin are doing well. the nurses said they felt like they had no news. Which again was fine with me!!
Tomorrow I will go see them early in the morning while my sister watches Logan. That way I can spend the afternoon with him. I feel so torn. Starting next week I will be able to drive and that will help so i don't have to rely on people to drive me around.
Happy NEw Year to everyone. I hope you all have a healthy and happy 2009!!

2008-12-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

Noah at 2 wks old and Justin at 2 wks old

2008-12-31T13:40:00.000-08:00

Justin, Noah and Mason

2008-12-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

Today the babies are 2 weeks old. I cannot believe all that has happened in those 2 weeks. Yesterday and today I went to the hospital. They are all looking great! When I walked in yesterday I was excited to see that Mason is off the vent! They had just taken him off and he had been doing well. Today he is still doing well with minimal brady's. He did get a transfusion and who knows, maybe that is what helped him. He just needed a little push. He is back up to 2 pounds 14 ounces and he is tolerating his full feeds well. They will look at adding some calories to his milk in the next day or so rather than increase the amount. Breast milk only has like 20 or 21 calories and preemies need more than that. Justin and Noah are boht doing well. Justin is at 2 pounds 13 ounces and Noah is 2 pounds 3 ounces. Both gaining weight appropriately even though it does fluctuate. They said it is ok if they lose a little and then gain as long as overall for the week they are gaining. Both are on good feeding schedules and tolerating the feeds well. When I was there yesterday all three looked so peaceful and cozy. I really felt like they needed their rest and so did not ask to hold them. When I spoke to the night nurse and told her that she said that the nurses appreciate when we recognize that. Today I was able to hold both Justin and Noah. Justin's pulse ox went down a bit after I was holding him for a while which is always a little scary. But he was quite comfy with me. Noah is so much tinier than Justin. his head is probably the size of a nectarine. He opened his eyes a lot while I was holding him. At one point he started crying really hard which i always think is good. He is excersing his lungs!! But then he had an apnea episode which scared the hell out of me. His heart rate dropped and we had to pat him hard on the back to get him back to breathing. His nurse told me that is completely normal and that as he gets older and stronger he will be able to bring himself out of it. It doesn't happen a lot. It still was not fun. But, by the time I was leaving he was fine and comfy again. I can't leave if there are any alarms going off. They all have to be quiet and comfy.
Tomorrow bob will be able to go see the boys. He has unfortunately had to work this week and since I am still not totally functional and logan is still pretty sick he has had to come home. I am hoping that we will get to hold Mason tomorrow since he got left out today. We are going to have many years ahead of us trying to make all things equal for the boys!!
Logan, as I said is still pretty sick. i feel so bad for him. But it's good he is home and has the oppurtunity to get well. I am hopeful that today was the worst day and that he will be better by Friday. I know all of this wears on him as well.
I am going to upload photos tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone for your comments. We look forward to reading them and appreciate all of you so much.
Happy New Year!!

2008-12-28T17:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a tough day. Logan has been sick the entire weekend with a fever on and off, runny nose, cough and gooky eyes. Poor guy. I decided not to go to the hospital yesterday and stay with him. My family came over and helped clean up the house and take down all the Christmas stuff. I thank God for family. It was very hard for me not to go. I feel so torn between going to the hospital and spending time with logan. Since i was pretty active the past few days and was having some pain I thought it best to take the day off. Bob took his mother to see the babies. Mason had a pretty big setback. He had been having quite a few brady's. They were unable to stabilize him on the cpap and so he is back on the ventilator. Both Bob and I were pretty upset but the doctor had told us that could happen. He had just been moving along so well. Justin was doing really well. Had a few brady's but nothing major and so they started the 10 day feeding schedule again. Naoh had a few brady's as well. They drew more labs to see if he had an infection. Today Bob and I went to see the boys together. We were so surprised to see that both Mason and Justin had been taken off the photo therapy lights!! Since Mason is on the vent now his nose was clear and his eyes no longer covered. It was the first time I saw his face. I cried. It was so amazing to finally look at him and see what he looked like. Justin was off too and so we were able to see his as well though his nose is still covered but how wonderful to look in his eyes when he opens them. He even had on a little t shirt. So adorable. We spoke to the doctor and she updated us on everything. They xrayed Mason and his lungs and stomach look fine. The bld vessel is closed as well. He had labs drawn and everything looked good. His count was a bit low which means within the next 24-48 hours he will be getting a transfusion. She assured us that it was very common in preemies to get transfused. They only get about 2 teaspoons of blood. She explained that they really don;t know why he is having issues breathing through his nose. She thinks it is likely due to some sort of blockage, like secretion or actually a dried booger. Sometimes the nasal cavity can swell from the suction also and that could be causing him problems. He has been doing very well on the vent and they started his feeds up again. They only needed to put a peripheryl IV in for fluids and not a new pick line. If he stays on course with his feeds, the IV will come out after the transfusion. They will use saline drops in his nose and hope that he is able to clear whatever is blocking. If he pulls the tube out tonight they will try to put him back on cpap and see what happens. Justin is doing well. A couple brady's here and there but nothing significant. He is continuing his feeds and will increase tomorrow I think. He will need a transfusion as well but not for a couple days. They cannot transfuse in a pick line so they will need to give him another IV. Noah came off the lights while we there and opened his eyes before we left. He had a few brady's while we were there. They did blood work and it came back just OK. They started him on antibiotics in case he has an infection which could be the reason for the brady's. His bld count was higher than the others so they will wait on transfusing him until he is done with the antibiotics and they get the cultures back. They think the brady's are likely due to the secretions that settle in their nose and throat as a result of the cpap. All 3 of them have a lot. They attempted to take Mason out so Bob could hold him but he did not tolerate it well and we had to put him back in the isolet.
It is so hard to be there and hear all the alarms going off and know that there is nothing you can do to help. I'm not sure which is worse, being the for the alarms or not being there for them.

One of the teachers in logan's school is coming to help me out tomorrow since Logan is off from school for the week. My parents will take me to see the babies for a couple hours and hopefully there won't be any news. sometimes boring is a good thing.

2008-12-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

Today I went to the dr. to get my bloodwork checked. If it comes back ok I can stop one of the meds and just take the coumadin for 3 months. Which is good news since the other med consists of giving myself 2 injections a day. Which really sucks. After the dr. i went with my dad and sister Chrisanne to see the babies. Noah has been tolerating his feeds well and is up to 2 pounds 2 ounces which is almost his birthweight. It is normal for preemies, just like full term babies to lose weight the first week or 2 of life. He is still under the lights and Probably will be for another few days. Which apparently is quite normal. he isn't esating enough to pass the billirubin on his own yet. Mason is doing well also. He is almost at full feeds and as long as he tolerates his feeds tonight his pick line will be pulled. This is great news since the pick line is a long tube in his arm that goes into his belly I think with all the fluids and nutrients he needs. Once he is eating full feeds he doesn't need the fluids anymore. Plus the pick line is one more wire attadhed to him. He will be much more comfy without it. He has a little bit of puss in one of his eyes so they are giving him some ointment. They aren't sure what it is. Hopefully it will go away. I was able to hold him today. I wear a zipped up sweatshirt when I visit and I am able to put them inside my sweatshirt and hold them skin to skin. It is a truly amazing feeling. The nurse told me that if the baby needs any kind of antibodies or is fighting an infection the skin to skin contact makes me create what he needs in my milk. Pretty amazing huh? Plus my body has the ability to determine the temperature that he needs. If he is too cold or hot my body will actually adjust my tempertature to eiterh warm him or cool him down. Pretty amazing. Mason is up to 2 pounds 12 ounces, almost his birthweight as well. Justin had his echo today and his vessel is completely closed!!! Great news. So he started eating again today and will hopefully be able to tolerate it a little better. He was having some issues before the medications He gained a little weight also, he is 2 pounds 11 ounces which is good. I saw Dr. Wade today. She has been their primary for the past week and a half. She goes back to CHOP for a rotation so the primary dr. will change. I will miss her. She has taken such good care of them. My dad got a new camera for Christmas and he was able to take some pretty amazing pictures. As soon as I get them I will post them on the blog.
Bob and his sister Marianne went to see the babies tonight. No major changes. In this case, boring is good:-)
Logan is getting used to the fact that I can't pick him up. he is such a good boy!! I can't wait till I can run around with him again. Seems like it has been forever since I have been able to do anything!! Considering how big I got when I was pregnant moving around was not easy! I definitely walked a lot today and am hurting a bit tonight. I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow since Bob will be off from work.
Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!! I can't believe 2008 is almost over. I am certainly looking forward to the new year.

2008-12-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

Bob's Entry

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hello everyone! Today was a good day. It was a little busy but worth it at the end of the day. We woke up this morning and opened some gifts up with the family. We then over over to Allison's (Tracey's sister) house for brunch with the family. We opened some more gifts for Logan and everyone. Tracey and I then went to the hospital to see the boys and wish them a Merry Christmas. Noah is doing well and back on his food again. Mason is up to 16cc's (1/2 oz) of food every few hours and is doing well overall. He had a few brady episodes(bradycardia is defined as when the baby's heart rate slows down to less than 100 beats per minute normal is around 120-160 beats per minute and stops breathing). A shake or caffeine jolt gets it going again. They had to up his oxygen a bit just as a precaution. They will monitor it like this for 24 hours. Justin is not back on food yet and is still getting IV fluids until they check his heart again tomorrow. We stayed for a few hours then went to my families house for dinner. It was a great dinner and Logan got to play with his cousins and a few of them put on a play and acted out the 12 days of Christmas. It was very cute and entertaining. Logan got to bed later than usual, but it is Christmas so, oh well... Tracey is going to see the boys tomorrow and I have to go to work. I am going tomorrow night after work and give them a bath with the nurse of course. That is all for now. Everyone is doing great, but still unwinding from a pretty stressful and busy week. Thank you again for everyones support which is definitely needed.

2008-12-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

Bob's Entry
Tracey came home last night! Logan and I were very excited to have mommy home. He smiled for what seemed like an hour. Of course, Logan passed on to me what he had the day before. I was sick all day yesterday. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug. The boys are doing great. Tracey got to hold Justin skin on skin last night before she left the hospital. They are starting to gain weight 1 gram at a time. Noah and Justin get their echo done today so hopefully everything will come back ok and the vessell on their heart closed. They will start eating again after that instead of the IV fluids they have been getting. I also think they are coming off of the phototherapy for the jaundice either today or tomorrow. The CPAP (tube on their nose) should be coming off next week as they are progressing perfectly. It has been a pretty stressful week, but we are getting though it all with a lot of help from family and friends. We are looking forward to a nice Christmas Eve dinner, opening up gifts on Christmas day with Logan, seeing the babies in the hospital, then having a relaxing Christmas Dinner. Now that I am typing all of this out it seems like a lot. Oh well, it will be fun. More to come soon.

2008-12-22T16:41:00.000-08:00

Bob's Entry-
Ok, so we just got some great news! Tracey is coming home tomorrow. She has to do injectables for 3-5 days then go on coumadin for 3 months. Everything looks promising as far as the clot clearing up.
The boys are doing great. The Dr. did not hear any return of the heart murmurs on Noah and Justin. They will get an echo in 2 days to see if the blood vessell closed on the heart. Mason is doing fantastic. He had his eyes open and was looking up at me. It was a great feeling. I finally got to hold Noah this evening. He is such a tiny peanut. It is getting a bit easier to go and see them and looking at their tiny fingers, toes, and head. I still cannot believe that we have 3 boys to take home in about 2 months. Talk to everyone soon.

2008-12-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

Bob's entry-
Hello everyone! Here is the latest. This morning Tracey woke up with severe leg pain. She went to the ER and found out she had a blood clot that went from her ankle to just below her knee. So, we are back at the hospital. She is getting a treatment of heparin. Once this regulates, she will get a treatment of coumadin for 3-6 months. We will be in the hospital for a few days of monitoring and hopefully be home by Christmas. Our families have been very helpful and supportive and we both thank you. Logan is feeling a bit better. He was up last night and this morning throwing up and diarhea. The throwing up has subsided, but he still has the "runs". He was in better spirits this evening.
One benefit of being here is that we get to see the babies more often. They are doing well. Noah and Justin had echo's done because of a murmur. They are on some meds to close the blood vessell that did not close on their heart. This closes normally in full term babies, but seems to be pretty common of not closing in preemies. They will get their blood checked every once in a while to make sure it is not affecting thier kidneys (side affect). Mason is up to 6.5 ml of food and is eating great. Noah and Justin cannnot eat until they are done with their round of meds for their heart. They all cried (squeeled) a bit today and it was cute. We are going down to see them around 8:00 pm and hopefully we get to hold any one of them. I know it will help with everything that has been going on.

2008-12-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

I left the hospital today. It was very hard to leave the peanuts behind but I was so excited to see Logan and Bob. I really missed being away from them. Justin has been having some feeding issues. Basically spitting up a bit so they xrayed his belly which came back normal. Looked like he needed a good poop. They gave him a supository. Generally the nurses will let us hold them only when they need to bother them for somethineng else. So when they gave it to him his nurse took him out and both Bob and I were able to hold him for about 30 minutes. He opened his eyes a couple times which just makes your day. His eyes are so tiny!! When he went back in the isolet I was able to change his diaper and he pooped! So they were able to remove the suction tube that was in his belly. The plan is to stop feeding him until probably Monday, giving his belly a rest. Otherwise he is doing well. His oxygen is still at 21 which is the same as you and I breathe.
Mason has been doing well. They increased his feedings to 4cc at 6 tonight and he tolerated it well. He still hasn't pooped again so fingers crossed that will happen tomorrow. He is actually looking like he is filling out a bit and has started to gain weight.
Noah had some feeding issues last night but pooped several times so they think it was probably related to the strain of that. They didn't xray him and by this morning he was eating again and tolerating it well.
All three are still under the lights because of their billirubin. The nurse thought that Noah might come off tomorrow since it had gone down a lot. That will be great because when they are under them they have to wear eye covers and you can't really see their faces. so it will be nice to see him open his eyes. It is likely he will go back under them which is normal but it will be good for him to get a break.
Unfortuntely Logan threw up tonight and has quite a sour stomach. Hopefully it was just something he ate and he will be fine tomorrow. he didn't have a fever and is sleeping now. I felt so bad for him. It was quite an eventful day for him too.
Tomorrow my friend Kim is coming to visit and we will go to the hospital in the morning to see the babies. Since Logan is sick Bob will probably stay with him in the morning and Then when I get home he will go see the babies in the afternoon.
It is so strange to be home without them. I wish there was more I could do for them. I feel so helpless and that is the hardest part. We met some of the other mothers with children in the ICN. It is quite a bonding experience since we are all going through the same thing.
It will be nice to sleep in my own bed and hopefully I get a good nights rest.
Good night.

2008-12-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

This is Bob writing. It is 9:00 Friday night 12/19. I just hung up with Tracey (still in hospital). She is coming home tomorrow and I am very excited to have her home. Logan and I miss her very much. I am going to the hospital tomorrow to see my 3 boys. I have not seen them in a couple of days because I have been coming home and taking care of Logan. I have only held Justin so far and it was very emotional for me. I cannot wait to hold Mason and Noah. I get updated reports from Tracey everyday. They are all doing very well. They are all breathing on their own and the brain scans came back negative. Noah has two tubes connecting his kidneys to his bladder. So far, that is all that has been discovered. The coming weeks will be scary and exciting as we get more news on their development. I have 10k thoughts running through my head about so many things and all I want to do is be at the hospital with Tracey and hold my new boys. I will have more to write tomorrow after my visit and pick up Tracey.

Logan is doing great. Tonight we read the "HUG" book and the monkey in there is named Bobo. He says it everytime I point to the monkey now. It is so incredible to watch him develop and learn. I have so much to teach him and I have to remember to slow down and that he is only 18 months old. We have to start interviewing nannies next week. So, anyone reading this who has anyone they know please let us know. I am headed to bed now. I know, it is so early (9:30). Logan gets up at 5:30-6:00 so I have to rest so I am ready to play. Goodnight...

2008-12-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

OK, I am not so good at this blogging thing but I thought I would give it a try so everyone can keep updated on the babies progress.
Noah, Justin and Mason are all doing well. They had their heads scanned today and everything came back normal which is great news! I am going home tomorrow which is bitter sweet. I miss Logan so much but cannot imagine that I will have to leave here without my babies.
The nurses here are amazing and take great care of the babies. I know over the next 10 weeks i will be spenidng a lot of time with them and i appreciate the care they are giving to my little peanuts!!
I will try to keep this updated as much as possible and appreciate all oif you who check in on how they are doing. Happy holidays!
the Commacks

My thoughts. . . .

2008-09-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

As most of you know I'm expecting again. . . triplets! Our son Logan is so adorable and such a joy; we've decided to add more delight to our family. I will be updating you from time to time with my thoughts and feelings. . . And please feel free to comment too. . .(the blog as well as wording was created by one of my employee's and son)