Cernanec Triplets!!!

Me Want Pretty Toes Someday

2010-05-01T21:15:00.006-04:00

I suck at blogging. And if my kids ever want to go back and find out what their lives were like between 12 and 18 months of age, they will find NOTHING. Because I failed to blog about it. So, let me go ahead and recap: babies learned to walk, say a few naughty words, and they still use diapers instead of the toilet.

I should probably talk about the big open heart surgery that Liv will be having next week. Or maybe even mention the MRI Lauren is having on Monday because there's a chance she had a stroke. And it might be worth touching on the subject of Makenna's low t-cell count that has her immunologist concerned. But I'm way too stressed out, so I choose the subject of potty training.

I bought a toilet a few months ago. It's called the "Cheer For Me Potty". And to clarify, it's for the kids, not my husband (much to his chagrin). I'm gonna go ahead and admit that I have high hopes for this potty. I mean, look at it.

Did you notice the toilet paper holder thingy? Classy.

So, I have been letting the girls check out the potty. Sometimes I even take off their diapers and let them sit on it all nekked-like. Let me just say that the potty is a HUGE hit. HUGE. They LOVE THE POTTY. L.O.V.E. They flip the lid up and down, take the purple bowl out, climb on it, flush it, read books while sitting on it, push eachother off of it. I mean, they do just about everything...except make potty in it.

So I guess I just have to accept that my children are inferior to me because I knew how to use the potty at 18 months and they officially do not. I'm sure this will have lifelong implications, including poor self-worth and an inability to read by age 5...which we all know if you're not reading by age 5 then you'll be pregnant by 15 and will therefore not be accepted to any college, anywhere. And if you're pregnant by 15, you'll be divorced by 22, because that's just the way the cookie crumbles. All because you didn't pee in a potty at 18 months of age.

Or, is it that if you *DO* pee in a potty by 18 months of age, you suddenly are on target to achieve lifelong success...but if you don't, then you still have a chance...just not as great of a chance. Like, if you pee in the potty by 18 months success is pretty much guar-an-teeeeeed. Because that's how a lot of parents act.

Me? I just want to spend money on manicures and pedicures instead of diapers. So if my kids would please learn to use the potty, I would be most appreciative. As would be my feet.

Fat Free Vegan

2009-11-30T06:10:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Olivia's cardiologist, I have made the decision to change the way I eat. Although I will refer to this new way of eating as a "diet", The purpose is not to lose weight, but to improve one's general health and well-being. Meatless, dairyless, oilless (is that even a word, and how is my spelling), veggie-full, legume-full, whole wheat-full, and avocado-less. I think that just about sums it up.

While Paul is attempting to offer support, the carnivore in him is rebelling. Thus, I'm not pushing, and I'm making a slow transition to this new style of eating. My secret plan is to eventually convert my husband by refusing to cook anything with meat and oil. Muahahahahaha.

I started on November 4th. I went hardcore for about five days, and then I got really busy. Unfortunately, this diet requires some manor attention to detail in the kitchen. I was nowhere near the kitchen for about two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. Thus, my vegan diet became a vegetarian diet. Ooops. I'm getting back on track as of this last week. I even made some vegan Thanksgiving food.

So on Saturday night we had some friends over for dinner. I made a fantasic (I hope) piggy for Paul and our guests, whose privacy I am respecting by keeping them nameless. For myself, a lentil loaf (don't act like you don't wanna munch on THAT all night). I did a meatlovers mashed potato (butter and milk), and a slightly healthier version with oat milk, onion powder, pepper, and a bit of garlic salt. Vegan not so bad, I must say. And the best part, the hit of the night, my Fat free vegan green beans. I can't even explain how tasty these things are. Blanched, chilled, then tossed into a high heat pan with onion powder, pepper, soy sauce, and garlic. They were crunchy and just perfect. The highlight of my life was Paul declaring how yummy they tasted. Okay, not exactly the highlight of my life, but it was the first time he ever ate and liked a green bean. I may just be able to convert him, after all.

While I definitely am not putting pressure on anyone to try a new diet, I have been shocked by the number of people who seem genuinely interested in my new eating habits and the ratiomale behind the change. It seems that most people have a family history of high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Based on what I have learned, I firmly believe fat free vegan is the best possible way a person can eat. Check out www.heartattackproof.com and after reading, decide for yourself. Agreeing that this is the way I should feed my family was the easy part. Making the changes is the challenge.

For the record, my omnivore friends and family have said the vegan recipes taste pretty good. Kind of shocking that such healthy food can be so satisfying.

ps...the babies have eaten everything I have offered, too. Lola luuuuvs her lentil loaf!

A Whole Year...

2009-11-28T03:41:00.002-05:00

The last four months were apparently sucked into a black hole because this is my first blog post since July. Yes, I suck. And for those of you on facebook who are seeing this "note" pop up, I didn't actually create a FB note all about me and the girls...it's an auto update from my google blog, in which I write all about me...and the girls. Just had to clarify that, Lauren ;-P

On with the blog...

Well, October 29th came and went. One entire year of mommyhood. Not sure how it goes for "normal" mothers (ie, the ones who birth only one child a a time), but it's not such a glam life over here in tripletland. I had my hair trimmed only twice. Not one single mani or pedi. And when I go clothes shopping, it's never for myself, and often I pick something up in haste at Target or Costco. Shit, I rarely leave the house without at least one, if not two to three babies in tote. And on the days I do have just one, it's an absolute breeze. But, while I look like ass, I'm actually pretty stoked about our life with the girlies. Things couldn't get much better.

The girls will hit 13 months tomorrow. This is the point in time where I think it's a bit retarded to refer to one's age in months, but whatever. I think it's babymama law to use such measures of age, so I'll oblige. So, yeah, 13 months. Lola started walking 2 days before her first birthday. One month later, she is still trying to get the hang of it, but that's just her way. Makenna, on the other hand, appears to be months away from walking, but will surely come out of nowhere one day soon and just walk across the entire living room without looking back. Within a week, she'll start running. Unfortunately, I can't even predict what Livy will do being that she is just now starting to crawl a little. And it's not pretty.

Speaking of Olivia, today was an absolute blast. We have decided to change most of her docs so that we can stay within one healthcare system. Cleveland Clinic wins. Not because we think CC is totally awesome, but because we heart her Cardiologist and that's where he now works. Okay, it does go beyond that. We aren't blindly following our love of Livy's amazing doctor. Many of her current specialists suck. Okay, they don't totally suck, but members of their staff aren't so suckless. One assistant can't seem to wrap her brain around how to prepare a referral for our insurance company, while another can't seem to figure out how to schedule an appt within a reasonable time frame. Furthermore, Olivia has been having some strange choking/barfing episodes and we want specialists who won't stop until they get to the root of the problem. A 1-yr-old who barely crawls, only makes two sounds, can't lie flat to sleep, wakes up choking, and gags and vomits when anything other than a bottle hits her lips isn't exactly on the "normal" chart in my book. But her little heart seems to be in great shape thanks to her superfaboo Cardiologist. He worked some serious magic during her last cath in October. Prior to that cath, she couldn't sit up on her own, didn't even attempt to crawl, and was gaining very little weight because she just wasn't eating well. Post cath, we have the most energetic little pistol. We LOVE the changes we see and just need to find a solution to this choking/vomiting issue. Thus, I made many appointments today, all of which fall in the next two weeks. Cleveland Clinic, pretty awesome.

Also awesome is the fact that it's 4:30 am and I'm the only one in the house who hasn't slept throught the night. We finally just went cold turkey on Makenna's middle-of-the-night nonsense. She got the memo on night one and hasn't pulled any crap for the last two. I have decided that we will not be offering bottles until 6am and nobody leaves her crib until 7am unless she has pooped herself silly and needs a change. Go ahead and try to change my mind about this shit. But unless you have spent a year in my shoes, your opinion doesn't matter. Seriously, I don't care what you think unless you have a better way of helping my children sleep that doesn't involve me morphing into an octopus so that I can collectively rock them to sleep on a nightly basis.

Aside from the sleep and health issues, life is actually really happy around here. The babies are always laughing, have absolutely no fear, and just seem so well-adjusted. I honestly could not ask for anything more. Healthy and happy, happy babies are about as good as it gets. And while Olivia's health isn't stellar, it's so much better than it could be and I feel her "issues" are totally correctable...just a matter of getting the right docs involved.

1 year down, and life is pretty great.

ECI Tuesday

2009-07-28T21:11:00.002-04:00

For those of you who aren't familiar with the above acronym, Early Childhood Intervention is the long version...and they showed up today. Fellow triplet and preemie mommies should be more than familiar with ECI. If you aren't, do some research. This is a free service provided by the state/county and your children will benefit from their services. If your children appear developmentally delayed or if they were born prematurely, simply call ECI and request an evaluation. It's never too early. We started when the girls were less than 4 weeks old, corrected, in Texas. Today was our first evaluation since arriving in Ohio and we are very excited about the therapy our daughters will be receiving over the next few months.

The evaluation starts off with a question/answer session between the parents and the developmental specialist. In our case, this included questions regarding milestones achieved, verbal and non-verbal communication, eating habits, etc. In the midst of the question/answer session, the developmental specialist also works with each child individually, utilizing toys and objects to help determine how a child is progressing. Following the evaluation, the developmental specialist will then assess the information and determine the child's developmental "age". Based on the results, the child may qualify for occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, a nutritionist, etc.

Our evaluation went a little better than we expected. 29-week preemies are generally expected to reach milestones 2 to 3 months later than full-term babies born on the same date. We therefore only consider our daughters' due date in calculating their age when it comes to milestones. For example, although our daughters were born on October 29, 2008 and will be 9 months old tomorrow, their due date was actually January 11th, so their corrected age is 6 1/2 months. That said, they should be reaching milestones for 6/7 month olds right now. Fortunately, Makenna and Lauren are doing so well that they have not only reached milestones for their corrected age, but have also reached quite a few for their actual age. In other words, they are doing better than we expected. Olivia is behind her sisters, but is generally where she needs to be for her adjusted age. This was even pretty good news.

Makenna is doing so well that she requires no intervention right now. Lauren, however, needs to work on her attention span and focus when it comes to social interaction. Additionally, she has trouble initiating tasks where she is required to pick up and hold small objects. We have to pry her hands open to help her understand what she needs to do. Occupational therapy should help with the latter. Olivia will receive OT and PT to help her develop muscle strength so that she can gain more control over her movements. She rolls over fairly well and is technically very strong, but she is floppy.

So, that was our ECI experience for the day. If you feel your child may not be meeting milestones and especially if your child was born prematurely, please get in touch with your local ECI office. Do your child a favor and get an evaluation ASAP so that he/she may benefit from therapy sooner than later. For a general overview of where your child should be developmentally, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

Untitled

2009-07-24T23:03:00.002-04:00

We'll just call this another obligatory post. It's Friday night and I'm sitting alone on the sofa and taking advantage of the DVR. Livy is asleep in her bouncer, which is sitting right at my feet. On one side of her bouncer is Jake, on the other side, Chloe, and right behind is Riley. Lauren and Makenna are sound asleep in their beds upstairs and Paul is in the office working on logic games (ie, studying for the LSAT). I'm exhausted, but cannot sleep, so here I am updating the family blog.

So let's see....the girls are still completely toothless and I have been advised to enjoy the gummy smiles while they last. I'll take teeth, thank you very much.

Makenna is a little shit. In a good way...but also a very naughty way. Sometimes I stick her in the jumperoo or walker just so that I don't have to chase her all over the place. She hasn't even bothered to perfect her form when it comes to crawling because in Makenna's world, speed is paramount. So long as she can quickly get from point A to point B, it matters not how good she looks while getting there. Lauren, on the other hand, must value appearances because all she does is work on her form. Little Lauren pushes up into this perfect crawling position, then rocks back and forth...and just when it looks like she is ready to move forward, she collapses to the ground and has somehow moved back a few inches. Olivia just rolls around and although she tries to pull her knees up, she isn't yet strong enough to work on any sort of crawling.

All three are still insanely vocal and as of this past week we are finally hearing new sounds. Their volume is collectively increasing, as well, which is really awesome, I must say.

So I have been seriously considering making some baby food for the girls. By "seriously considering", I mean that I picked up some veggies and they have now been sitting in the fridge for three days. I haven't even bothered to look for recipes...that's how lazy I am. I wonder if I really need a recipe, though? I am generally 95% successful in the kitchen when it comes to adult food. I don't use recipes for that, so do I really need them for baby food? Perhaps a brief consultation with one or two recipes will do the trick. Speaking of yummy adult food, who wants my recipe for guacamole??? Oh, and I guess I might as well throw in my chicken marinade since so many people ask about both. Disclaimer: I DO NOT USE MEASURING CUPS...I wing it. That means my "recipe" is really a list of ingredients and loose suggestions for the amount of which to add. My food is tasty. If yours isn't, it's not because my recipe is flawed. Here goes:

Guac:
3 avocados
1/4 cup sweet onion
jalapeno to taste
1 to 2 tomatoes (spring for the good ones...the ones on the vine, preferably)
a handful of cilantro, finely chopped
1 lime
1/2 orange
garlic salt
season salt
pepper
onion powder

Add all ingredients EXCEPT tomatoes. Use potato masher to mash everything together. Then add diced tomatoes and stir. Yummy!

Chicken marinade:
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup teriyaki glaze
3 tbsp honey
1/8 to 1/4 cup brown sugar
juice from 2 or more oranges
chopped green onions...an entire bunch
ginger...fresh or powdered
sesame seed oil (just a wee bit)
season salt
pepper
2 cloves pressed garlic
onion powder
cut with water if you need more volume

Update complete.

Wah!

2009-07-07T04:51:00.002-04:00

It's 5am. I'm awake. Livy woke up for a 3am bottle. We're okay with that because she's itty bitty and we prefer she not be. So when Livy gives a 3am hollar, I come running, bottle in hand. So at 3am she stuffed herself silly and took a trip back to dreamland. I didn't. I couldn't really, because I had been sleeping since 8pm and just couldn't fall back to sleep. So I decided to hang out in cyberspace. Do people even say "cyberspace" anymore?

4am rolled around and Makenna started chatting to herself. That chatting turned into crying pretty quickly. Why did she awake at 4? Probably because Paul and I gave up early and put them in bed at 7, rather than 8, last night. We were both too exhausted to keep them up for another hour and, frankly, so were they. So I did the bad mommy thing and gave her a 5am propped bottle in bed. She is now asleep.

Lauren, however, is kicking. She lifts both feet in the air and slams then down into the mattress. She does this while sleeping, but eventually will awaken herself with these little earthquakes.

Hopefully now that Makenna has been fed, she will sleep until 8am. I have places to be in the morning, so it would be really fantastic if they slept in while I shower and prepare their bags. Paul and his mom are taking the girls to the Neurologist while I attend a 2-hour meeting. I'm just hoping my appointment ends in time for me to meet with them at the doctor's office. This neuro appt is just a regular follow-up being that they were preemies. We expect to answer questions regarding their development and if all goes well, we shall never return. Fingers crossed.

Makenna is still walking with assistance. I'm not sure why this amazes me, but it does. I'm in awe everytime she takes a step. When we returned home from the family festivities on July 4th, she actually walked about 8 feet around the living room. She just took off and kept going, one foot right after the other, in a matter of 15 seconds, maybe. Her face absolutely lights up when she's on her feet...it's adorable.

Okay, so it's now 5:15 and absolutely quiet. I'm gonna go ahead and attempt to crawl back into bed now....

Mobile Makenna...

2009-07-04T07:04:00.000-04:00

At this very moment Makenna is on the floor next to me, wriggling her way over to the printer and grabbing EVERYTHING in her path.

So it's really cute when babies learn how to roll over, and then learn how to hold their heads up, and then learn to push themselves up into crawling position. That's about when the cuteness stops and is replaced by sheer horror. I have a mobile Makenna and I'm kind of happy that I don't have a mobile Lauren or Olivia. But it would be my luck that the first baby who starts moving all around would be the one who will pose the biggest threats to my sanity, her own health, and every object in her destructive path. Fortunately, she moves at a turtle's pace right now and I have time to start babyproofing, right?

So what exactly is she doing? Well, she can move 360 degrees in a heartbeat, she can roll her way around a small area, and she can army crawl a few feet. But all of that seems to take too much effort, so she would rather just stand up. Well, now when she stands, she bends over at the waist, does lots of squats, and lifts her foot forward in a marching motion...and then lifts the other foot...and then lifts the first foot again! Last night she took 4 steps. Oh my God, she's trying to walk. Thank goodness she has terrible balance right now and cannot even stand in place without holding onto someone...and although she can stand up while holding onto the sofa or other pieces of furniture, she hasn't figured out that if she lets go, she will fall....hard. So it's like her brain hasn't caught up with her physical strength. Right now, the girl is all braun and no brain. Well, wait, I take that back. She actually is very inquisitive. Now when she crawls over to objects, she looks up and actually lifts her body so that she can reach up and touch them. So I imagine pretty soon she'll be grabbing onto things and pulling herself into a standing position. It all just happens so fast with her!

Our other two sweet darlings are a bit behind Ms. Makenna. Livy did just start rolling over regularly a few days ago. She hates being on her tummy, but she's doing better and better now that she is making the choice to roll from her back onto her tummy. I actually gave up on tummy time with her a while ago because I learned with Lauren and Makenna that once they learn to roll onto their tummies, they have no choice but to be in that position...and at that time, they will gain fantastic upper body strength. So why rush it and force lots of unnecessary tears? So, Livy is a roley poley (how does one even spell that phrase?)

Lauren is just content to lie on her tummy and watch the world. She does try to push up into a crawling position, but she doesn't make much effort with actually moving forward.

Any predictions on when Makenna will start walking on her own?

And any predictions on when we may see some teeth out of these girls???? 8 months and not one tooth. This is driving me NUTS!

8 Months Old!

2009-06-29T09:43:00.000-04:00

I can't believe the girls are 8 months old today! Moreover, I can't believe how proud I am of these three little beauties. They are all three more perfect than I would have ever imagined them to be. Certainly that is just my Mommy bias, but I really feel so blessed to have given birth to my daughters. Just knowing them makes my life complete.

Makenna is sitting on my lap right now, just chatting away as I type. This girl gives me the biggest open-mouth, wide-eyed smiles every single morning. Incidentally, she also cries big, huge elephant tears every single afternoon. She just melts down throughout the day, and let's everybody know. But she goes from tears to smiles in an instant...and as frustrating as it can be, we love that she wears her heart on her sleeve. We also love how much she absolutely adores her two sisters. Makenna is the one who giggles with delight everytime one of her sisters is close enough to touch. She's just so much fun!

Livy is perfectly precious. She is quiet, happy, and always content. If she cries, it's for a very good reason...and usually due to physical pain. She does have a bulshit hour every evening. But that's it. The girl just goes all day, as content as can be...and then has an hourlong breakdown every night. It's like she just saves it all up for one big blow-up, and then she's happy again. She's just a doll, though, and her strength amazes us. And we love that no matter how much she has to go through medically, she still has an angelic spirit about her. Livy is simply an absolute pleasure to be around.

Lauren is just a cuddly little bear and she LOVES her mommy. I think Paul might be a little jealous over that one, but I need to revel in this because soon enough they will all be daddy's girls. Lauren is a lot like Livy in that she just doesn't cry and fuss unless she is really pissed off. In fact, sometimes when Makenna cries, Lauren just gives her a look as if to say "Are you freakin' serious, drama queen?" I think the best part of Lauren's personality is her sense of humor. She just lets out these neverending guttural laughs that can't be topped. And when she smiles, her whole face just lights up. How can you help but fall in love with 17 pounds of cuddly, smiley baby?

So I'm trying to remember dates of our recent milestones, but my memory fails all too often now. Thus, I'm using this blog as a diary of such events:

May 8 - Lauren rolled over for the first time
June 4 - Makenna rolled over for the first time
June 25 - Livy rolled over for the first time
June 27 - Makenna started army crawling
June 28 - Lauren and Makenna ate their first meat: Chicken...actually, it was Chicken and Apples...and ohmigod, did they LOVE it! Steak and taters, here we come!

Lauren is now waking up from her morning nap, so it's time for all of us to head downstairs and eat some brunch. I'll try to add some new pics later.

We Ferberized Them

2009-06-09T16:05:00.000-04:00

Shout out to fellow triplet mom, Megan, who directed me to her description of the Ferber Method on her website: http://johnsontripletgirls.blogspot.com/2009/03/sleep-training-update-ferber-method.html My husband and I owe you a debt of gratitude, not only for saving us cash and hours of reading Ferber's sleep training book...but for giving us the gift of sleep!

We ferberized the shit out of our girls this week. It all started last Monday when I told Paul "ef it...we're putting them to bed at 8:00. I don't care if they cry. We'll just walk back in a few times and reassure them that all is good." Well, the joke was on us because both Lauren and Makenna wanted to eat again by 10pm. Same thing happened Tuesday night. Wednesday night the girls stayed at Paul's mom's house and although she tried to put them down by 9, they all kept waking up until midnightish. On Thursday Lauren and Makenna cried for an hour straight, but finally slept until 6am. On Friday, they drifted off to sleep without fussing, but woke up for a 3am feed. On Saturday I realized that something wasn't working and I asked the triplet moms for help. Alas, Megan showed me the light. She directed me to her website, which gives a brief description of the Ferber Method.

Saturday night they went down at 8pm and fell asleep without a fuss. Then, when they awoke for a 3am feed, we ferberized. We went in after 1 minute of crying to reassure them, then went back after another 3 minutes, then went back every 10 minutes therafter. It took about an hour and a half. They finally fell back to sleep until somewhere between 6 and 7am. Then Sunday night they went to bed with about 15 minutes of fussiness, but slept all night. And last night they went to sleep with about 2 minutes of fussiness and slept all night...actually, they slept for about 11 1/2 hours!!! It's amazing...and it took only about a week. And since this is my blog and I can say whatever I want to say, I would like to say "why in the hell don't more of you mothers try this?????????????"

I just read about a mom who "doesn't believe in 'cry it out'" so she lets her kiddos climb in bed with her every night if they wake up. She's prepared to allow them to do this until they sleep through the night on their own. I suppose I don't really believe in "cry it out" either, because I would never just let my kid sit there and cry and cry and cry without addressing her needs. But I sure as hell would try the Ferber Method if it meant my kids would get a great night of sleep nearly every single night...and I would get a great night of sleep, too.

So, yeah, we're all very happy in our house with this new schedule. Just thought I'd share...

Up and Running!!!

2009-06-02T22:40:00.000-04:00

I'm the type of girl who can do without television...primarily because I can watch everything I want online. Take away my internet, though, and I'm not a happy camper. Don't get me wrong, I am quite content to leave technology at home while visiting my favorite little island (shameless plug for St. John), but I just don't like to be on the mainland sans google. Thus, I am happy to announce that our internet has been restored. All is right in my world. Paul is currently downstairs watching television while I sit on the floor of an empty office...Jake lying on my right, his monkey on my left, and Paul's computer on my lap. A cushy chair would be nice, as would a desk; however, it won't fit in this office. Rather, it won't fit through the door. It will, however, fit nicely on Craigslist now that we have internet again.

Oooooh! Just heard a baby burp. Paul must be putting Makenna back to bed. So tonight we tried the whole "in bed by eight o'clock" thing...and it worked soooooooooo well...for about 45 minutes. Let's just say that Makenna has a set of lungs, and quite possibly a tapeworm because she won't shut up and she won't stop eating. Is it too much to ask to have all three babies in bed at a decent hour? We are just so tired of ten and eleven o'clock bedtimes. The worst part is that it's different every single night. There's no consistency. It really doesn't help that we have had such an erratic schedule since the girls came home from the NICU, but I think it's time to create a routine. So today was day 1. I think we're allowed to fail miserably on day 1, right? Tomorrow will be better. I'll just go ahead and keep telling myself that.

For those of you with an interest in such matters, I took the girls to California on the 19th to visit my mom and grandparents (yes...I flew alone with 7-month-old triplets). I am so relieved to say that the flights went quite well. We flew nonstop and the girls behaved perfectly. I mean, they were so content on those flights that people were complimenting us as they walked off the plane. I won't lie, it was hard work. I had to figure out a way to feed all three at once, change diapers without leaving the seats, play musical carseats, and keep those girls happy...but they were all three so content and we were a fantastic team.

Our visit went very well and we all had a really nice time. Olivia had so much floor time that she can now roll onto her side. Makenna is still working on the whole rolling over thing. I'm thinking she's going to me more chatty and less athletic since she's quite happy just lying on the floor and making loud noises. Lauren is totally opposite. She wants to move and hardly makes a peep. They are all laughing, giggling, and engaging us more and more each day. We did have some professional pictures taken during our trip, but I'll have to load them another day.

In the meantime, all is well and I'm loving my internet.

No Internet...

2009-05-14T08:15:00.001-04:00

We just really haven't had a chance to get our internet up and running at home and so I haven't updated a thing. Technically, we have internet. In order to finalize the set-up, though, I need to call India. I don't like to call India. I'm procrastinating.

Livy is back in the hospital right now, but should be heading home tonight or tomorrow. She had a heart cath yesterday and is recovering nicely. I have tickets for Lauren, Makenna, and I to fly to San Francisco for a family visit next week, but we are awaiting the thumbs up from our doctor prior to adding Olivia to the trip. I'm looking forward to taking them out to Cali, though I'm sure the travel will have its challenges. I am just envisioning myself sitting in a row with three babies at the front of the plane...passenger after passenger walking by in fear of a five hour 3-baby chorus. I'll really be surprised, though, if there are many tears. These three girls just don't fuss much and so I'm hopeful that all will go smoothly.

Big news this week is that Lauren rolled from her back onto her tummy. All three of them abhor Tummy Time, so I have no idea when the rolling from tummy to back will start...or when they will attempt to push up and crawl for that matter.

All three are grabbing at thing, chatting, etc.

Now...lots of pics from the last couple of months....

Makenna

Makenna & Lauren & Jake

Makenna and Lauren after the zoo

Lauren, Makenna, and Olivia

Makenna, Olivia, and Lauren

Lauren, Makenna, and Olivia

Olivia

Lauren

Home At Last...

2009-04-14T08:37:00.000-04:00

...well, not quite yet, but very soon. The plan is to pack up Livy and all of our belongings...and leave this hospital today. Today marks 3 weeks from the day of her surgery and we cannot wait to get home. From a cardiac standpoint, everything looks great and she is recovering nicely. Unfortunately, we had some hiccups along the way and we are now working on eating.

Basically, because Olivia was intubated for 10 days, she needed to be on Fentanyl and Ativan longer than anticipated. When she was extubated, she began withdrawing from the meds and was eventually placed on morphine to help with weaning. Long story short, she became very constipated and stopped eating. She was placed on an NG tube and there was talk of her coming home on tube feeds. After quite a bit of discussion, we came to the consensus that we would see how well she could feed without the tube and just monitor her weight gain for the next couple of weeks. If she doesn't eat well enough and starts to lose weight, then we will have to re-visit the NG tube. For now, her coordination is poor and we struggle to get 1 to 2oz of 27-cal formula in her belly every 3 hours. We are working with Occupational Therapy to rectify this. Sounds like it may be a slow process, but at least we can get our girl home and work from there.

As for our regular baby updates, Makenna and Lauren are doing very very well. Lauren just loves to eat and eat and eat. She will eat an entire container of Gerber 1sts, while Makenna re-eats the same bite over and over again. In terms of chattiness, Makenna won't stop talking. She gets really loud and excited and makes all sorts of crazy noises. Lauren is much more subdued and quiet. She smiles all day long and rarely fusses. Olivia has actually started smiling a lot and has given me a few little coos here and there. All three are ridiculously happy babies. I'd say Makenna is the most temperamental of the three, but we really have it pretty good being that they are so content most of the time.

Not much else to report at the moment. I am currently awaiting a warm day so that we can pack up the girls and head to the zoo. I know they won't care too much, but Paul and I will love it, and they will enjoy the fresh air. So if this awful Ohio weather will cooperate, we will be "zooing" shortly.

Two big anniversaries coming up: first is the one year anniversary of the day we found out I was pregnant (May 1, 2008). Hands down the best day of my life. And on April 23rd Paul and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary. Actually, I have no idea when we are actually celebrating that anniversary, but the anniversary itself happens to fall on April 23rd.

Thanks to everyone for your support. We are so happy to be heading home!!!

One Step Back

2009-03-30T10:53:00.000-04:00

Over the years I have developed this theory that everything in life happens exactly as it should. Most of the time I can't really make sense of why life takes the course it does, but in retrospect, everything happens for a reason. I have learned to take something positive from every negative situation and doing so has provided me with the necessary tools to get through life. All of this seemed to start with the death of Paul's father. Although it was mostly Paul's journey, I learned a lot along the way. In the midst of the chaos, I vividly remember telling Paul's mother "I don't know what this is preparing me for, but it's preparing me for something." One week after Paul's father passed away, my uncle was involved in a serious accident resulting in a severe traumatic brain injury. Five years later, he remains confined to a bed or wheelchair, entirely dependent on others to feed, clothe, and bathe him. He really cannot even effectively communicate other than a yes or no response to basic questions. Thereafter, life went smoothly for a while. Then came the infertility. And then came the triplets. The 6 weeks of hospital bedrest. The 7 weeks in the NICU. And somewhere in there was Olivia's diagnosis. Although during most of my pregnancy there was no indication that anything was wrong with Olivia, I had this feeling that Paul and I would become parents to a child who needed more care and support than a "normal" child would. I knew we had the hearts to love such a child, regardless of her level of "normalcy"...and I knew we had the life experience to handle her needs with confidence and grace. If given a choice, we absolutely would have wanted Olivia to be medically perfect. But we weren't given a choice...nobody is given a choice. The only thing we are given are life experiences that provide us with every tool possible to succeed in handling all future life experiences. And so far, Paul and I have plenty.

Last night we were given the unsettling news that Olivia's temp had spiked. Immediately we knew this meant she likely has an infection. Well, long story short, this morning they think it is proably pneumonia. But as odd as it sounds, this is apparently good news. The bad news is that she is still on a ventilator and although they had hoped to have her breathing on her own by tomorrow, we are now delayed. The pneumonia has delayed the weaning process and for the next few days she will just have to remain completely sedated and on the vent. To combat the infection, Livy has been put on two potent antibiotics and they are using a heavy-duty suctioning machine to help clear her lungs. They have cultured everything, and will continue to do so until she no longer has an infection. For now, though, we worry...and we hope that this really is just a short delay in her recovery. We know how serious pneumonia is, but we must remain hopeful. Olivia is a fighter. She has more strength than she knows what to do with...and so while we all know she's on the sick side, you'd never know it by looking at her. As for her mommy, I just can't wait to see her little peepers again. I miss looking into her eyes, so much that it hurts, but I keep telling myself that it will just be a few more days.

Paul and I are doing fine, but only because we have had so much preparation for this. I thought our time in the NICU was rough, but seeing our little girl like this is so much harder now than it was back then. Had we not experienced the NICU, though, we wouldn't be so well-prepared for what we are experiencing now. So, in a way, we were blessed to have that experience. We are better parents, and better advocates for our daughter as a result.

Before I sign off, I just want to thank all of you who have been following our blog for all of your support. It feels so good to know that there are so many people out there sending positive thoughts and praying for our family. So thank you!

Long Overdue & Livy's TOF Repair

2009-03-24T21:49:00.000-04:00

I have neglected this blog for what I would consider to be obvious reasons, the least of which is the fact that I am a mother to 5-month-old triplets. I need not elaborate, but such brevity would make for a rather uninformative blog. That said, long story short, we just received temporary orders to relocate from Corpus Christi, Texas to Cleveland, Ohio. Following receipt of those orders...and by following receipt, I mean following said receipt by approximately one week...we are now Clevelanders...or Strongsvillers...whatever floats your boat. Did I mention that our house was packed up and moved within a week of receiving those orders? Need I remind you that this happened while caring for 5-month-old triplets? The truth is, we were more than ready to get the hell out of Corpus Christi. Having spent eight of the last nine years in San Diego, California...and having pretty much grown up in Cali, those 15 months in Corpus elicited about as much excitement as a silent movie to a blind man. It didn't help that 7 of those months were spent pregnant with triplets and confined to our house...but on the other hand, it probably didn't hurt, either. So away we went to Cleveland, Ohio...and here we are. It's comfortable, strange, and not home. Although Paul grew up here, he no longer feels an attachment to this place, and we are both left longing for San Diego. That's the only place that has ever truly felt like home to the both of us and we can hardly wait to return with our girls some day. In the meantime, here we reside, and for the best reason: our little Livy and her broken heart.

Olivia is currently settling into her Pediatric Intensive Care Unit room here at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. We have yet to see her following an 8-hour surgery to repair her heart. As you may recall, she was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot one day after birth. We chose to head North in order to seek the best possible medical care for our daughter, and more pleased we could not be. Livy's surgeon performed a number of repairs on her heart and it should now function normally. With any luck, she will require no further surgeries, though the likelihood of further catheterizations is high. She certainly has a long road ahead, but she is off to such a great start. Following recovery, our next step is to fully diagnose any complications arising as a result of her chromosomal deletion, DiGeorge Syndrome.

As for the trio, they are doing amazingly well overall. Makenna doesn't stop smiling and "talking"...she's as chatty as her mother. Lauren is always wide-eyed and stares at EVERYTHING. Livy is less generous with her smiles and has a tendency to reserve them for the most deserving of people and occasions. She has mastered the "dirty look" and has a real knack for flashing at anyone who doesn't meet her standards. Mommy, however, always elicits smiles and if Livy's in a good mood, so does Daddy.

The only other real "milestone" any one of the girls have reached is starting solids. We haven't even attempted this with Livy, but Makenna and Lauren have both tasted their first solid foods. Makenna tries to suck her spoon and thus feeding her is a giant pain in the ass. Lauren, however, is so freakin' hungry all the time, that she has figured out how to eat like a big girl. In other words, she swallows more than she spits out.

So that's about it. I suppose I should update with some pics at some point soon, but for now I'm exhausted and dying to see my little girl.

Big Baby Smiles

2009-02-16T21:27:00.000-05:00

Lauren is smiling and Makenna is smiling and Livy is maybe a week or two behind. We feel like we finally have some little human beings who are ready to interact with us. All three girls LOVE Paddy Cake, although my version of said nursery rhyme is suspect. I cut out a few lines and cut right to the chase:

Paddy Cake, Paddy Cake, Baker's Makenna
Bake me a Lauren/Livy as fast as you can!
Roooooooooolllllllllllll 'em
And put 'em in the pan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They love that I get down to the business of just rolling their hands and tickling their bellies.

So back to the smiles. No giggles yet, just big grins. Fortunately, Olivia is on a new formula that she is tolerating quite well. That means no vomiting...and that means that we can actually play after she eats. So now that we can interact with her w/out her barfing all over the place, she is starting to progress a bit more. She has given us a couple of smiles on demand, but not quite as many as her sisters. So, yeah, another week or two and we'll be a family of grinning babies!!!

Tonight was fantastic. We did big girl baths for the very first time. I loaded up all of the Bumbo chairs into the bathtub and put all three girls in together. They looked a bit stunned, but really had a great time. Of course, someone had to relieve herself about halfway through the bath. Tonight, that someone was Livy. We actually smelled it before we saw it. So, yeah, first big girl bath...and first time Makenna and Lauren had to bathe in their sister's poo. I'm sure they will all pay one another back at some point.

Here are some bathtime fun pics!!!

We all got RSV

2009-02-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

Well, we all have now officially had RSV. Livy was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago. By the time she came home, I felt HORRIBLE. Paul also got sick, and so did his mom. Now Makenna and Lauren are doing terribly. They are coughing, not eating, eating and vomiting, constipated. You name it. The RSV SUCKS!!! I'm sure all will be well by next week and within another month we'll all be sick with something else.

So our fantastic news is that Lauren has been sleeping through the night fairly well. A few nights ago she went 7 hours, then 6 hours two nights in a row. Last night was around 5, I think. Maybe it's just because she's sick, but whatever, we'll take it. Makenna is going about 5 to 6 hours. We haven't waited around to see how long Livy goes since she needs to eat as much as possible. We may start letting her go 5 hours at night, though. We'll see. Either way, it has been a welcome change in our home. I just hope they sleep as well when they are feeling better in a week.

No big fat smiles yet, but we have gotten a few teeny little grins out of Makenna and Lauren. Livy is more serious, though. She smiles a lot in her sleep, but while awake puts on her serious face. I hope she develops a sense of humor!

Current weights:
Makenna - 8 lbs 10oz
Olivia - 7lbs 5oz
Lauren - 9lbs 10oz

The following are the most recent pics:

Makenna

Lauren

Olivia

Little Grunts

2009-01-22T08:25:00.000-05:00

Livy is still grunting. I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but apparently preemies do this grunting thing and while it's marginally cute, it's also fantastically annoying. They do it while sleeping. Strange. They can be dead asleep and suddenly break out into a grunting chorus. Fortunately, Lauren and Makenna are quieting down as the days progress. Livy, on the other hand, is still going strong. One triplet mom described it as sounding like farm animals. She hit the nail on the head. So, yeah, sounds like we live in a barn. Not only did I birth a litter, but I now live in a barn. With a new mother's ears, these grunts are impossible to sleep through. Ugh.

So we passed their official due date and we now have little "newborns". The girls are staying awake more during the day and we actually get to have a little play time now. Play time mostly consists of them sitting on our laps being talked to and kissed repeatedly as they stare back in awe. Every so often I get what looks like a smile, but since it cannot be replicated, it's probably just gas. We also keep them in their swings sometimes so they can listen to music and watch their mobiles. A few days ago we brought out the boppy pillows again and started tummy time. Since the girls sleep so well on their tummies, we actually let them sleep on their tummies in the boppies quite a bit during the day. So tummy time starts out with the best of intentions, and suddenly they drift off to sleep.

This weekend brought lots of gas, constipation, and an umbilical hernia for Lauren. We have started offering gripe water and will be changing up their formula today in hopes that they will poop again. Livy's formula costs $30 for a small can. Can you say "insurance"? We'll be requesting an authorization for that crap ASAP.

Our big milestone moment of the week was a couple of nights ago when Lauren held her head up for longer than just a few seconds. First of all, she has a GIGANTIC head, so this was a pretty big fete. Granted, there was lots of bobbing, but you would bob, too, if your little neck had to hold up an abnormally large dome. Anyway, her little trick was replicated again last night sans bobbing. She actually pushed herself up with her arms and held her head high, then turned it side to side to look around. She had so much control (I feel like an American Idol judge when I say that). So I'm officially considering that a milestone. Lauren can hold her head up. Yay!!!

Below you will find some pictures of the past week or so...Oh, and we are all losing hair (even me), so please don't make fun of our bald spots.

ps...I turned 30. 'nuff said.

Livy

Lauren

Makenna

Still unbelievably sleepy...

2009-01-08T23:11:00.000-05:00

It's incredible. I barely sleep. Somehow, though, I manage to be more productive than I was before I was pregnant. Kind of.

Seriously, there is always laundry to be done. I could wash every single article of clothing, blankets, and towels. Yet by the time it's all folded and put away, there is about another one quarter load just sitting and waiting to be washed. Then there are the bottles. No matter how often I wash them, there is always a pile of dirty bottles sitting in the "dirty bucket". Yes, we have a dirty bucket. Dirty bottles sitting on the countertop drive me nuts. On top of all that we have about two different kinds of formula, as well as breastmilk to divide out between the girls. Olivia is on the gentle formula to help her poop. And it helps, lemme tell ya. Makenna is on the sensitive formula because she pukes up just about everything else. Lauren can take anything because she's a little piggy with a stomach of iron. Then I have my breastmilk, which I try to divide out between them just because. I am barely producing anything and have so little time or energy to think about pumping. I literally start to fall asleep almost every time my butt hits the sofa or the bed. However, I really enjoy breastfeeding and like to have the time to bond with them when I have the chance. Additionally, I'm just not ready to cut that final tie of them relying on my body to sustain their lives. I know that sounds crazy, but providing them with breastmilk feels so important in the bonding process. So as much as I just want to give up, I'm having a very hard time doing so. So my whole point is that 3 babies require a pretty decent amount of attention and it's exhausting. If we didn't have so many doctor appointments, life might be a little more manageable. And if I had a housekeeper, I could spend more time with my girls. But it's fine. It's going well, all things considered.

So I made my first big outing alone with them in the "triplet tractor" today. Technically, I took them out on my own to the doctor a couple of weeks ago. Paul met me there on his lunch, so I really wasn't alone too long. Today, though, I loaded them up in the sweet minivan and headed to the hospital to get bloodwork done on Olivia. Afterwards, we stopped at the doctor's office to get their 3rd Synagis vaccinations. Everyone kept looking at me like I was insane for being out in public with triplets and no assistance. People kept asking me where my help was. Honestly, today I didn't need any help. I could have used a different shirt since I broke out in a sweat pushing that giant stroller around in a sweatshirt, up hills and all...but the girls were so good. They kind of crumbled at the doctor's office, though, because they were hungry. You should have seen me. I was holding Makenna with one arm and feeding Olivia with my other hand as she sat in her carseat. Then Lauren started screaming, so I had to prop Olivia's bottle and set Makenna down while I made Lauren's bottle. I then propped Lauren's bottle while I changed Makenna's diaper. Next I changed Olivia, and then Lauren. I made Makenna's bottle, but by the time I was ready to give it to her, she fell asleep. Oh, and then I had to burp them all in between. Then the nurse came in and pissed them all off with their shots. And then we went home and they ate for real. About 2 hours after that I finally took a nap. It wasn't nearly long enough.

Medically, things are progressing. Livy's doctors are meeting tomorrow to come up with a gameplan for her surgery. We'll find out what they want to do on Monday. This week we met with a gastroenterologist and immunologist. Nothing of interest to report on those visits yet, but at least she is getting the consults she needs.

Did I mention how tired I am? Here are some pics. I have to go clean something...

Crap, crap, and more crap...

2008-12-30T08:06:00.001-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

2008-12-22T08:41:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay...really need to go now.

Makenna is Home!!! That makes 2 babies!

2008-12-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

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

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

Lauren so happy to have her sister home

Makenna & Lauren together again!

Lauren

Lauren is home & doing well

2008-12-13T07:11:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

Superduper News...and a sweet present from hubby

2008-12-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

5 Weeks Old

2008-12-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

1 Month Old & Better News

2008-11-30T17:45:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

Worn Out

2008-11-28T01:00:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

Another step back...

2008-11-26T10:38:00.000-05:00

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

Olivia

Makenna

Lauren

Little Graduates...

2008-11-23T07:19:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lauren

Lauren

Olivia - pay attention to her hands in the first pic

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

3 Weeks Old!

2008-11-19T06:12:00.000-05:00

Today the girls are 3 weeks old, and would be at 32w4d if still in my belly. As of last night everything was going pretty well.

Olivia's feeds are no longer continuous. They moved her feeding tube into her stomach (rather than her intestines) and are feeding her over a 2 hour period, then letting her rest for an hour, then another 2 hour feeding, rest for an hour, etc. She is at about 27ml at every feeding. At 6pm last night she had 9ml of residual and we don't know if she had any residual at 10pm. Hopefully she will tolerate these feeds so they can continue to move forward. The other great news is that they removed her pic line, so no more iv's and stuff for now. She still breathes well on her own, so everything is fantastic with her.

Lauren was up to about 10ml of food last night and should catch up with her sisters by tomorrow if everything goes well. She hasn't had any residuals and is tolerating her feeds very well for now. She is still puffy, even while on the lasix, but her breathing is improving quite a bit. We are really looking forward to getting her to a position where she can lose the canula. Through it all, she is the biggest of the bunch at 3 lbs 11oz...part of which is water weight from the swelling.

Makenna weighed in at 3 lbs 3 oz yesterday, just shy of 4oz, actually. Generally they like to see a gain of about 1 oz/day and Makenna is doing this, for the most part. Her weight was actually higher a few days ago, but she was in an isolette that we believe was measuring her a bit incorrectly. The day she was switched to that isolette she gained 100 grams, which is really odd. Then when switched out, her weight dropped. So it sounds like the isolette's scale was faulty. She is doing well on her feeds and breathing very well on her own right now. She tried to remove her feeding tube the other night and her nurse was none too pleased. That's pretty standard behavior for our girls, though. They like to remove everything. And speaking of removals, Makenna's pic line was also taken out yesterday. Mommy got to kangaroo with a practically wireless Makenna!!! The only things attached to her were the feeding tube, temp monitor, and the 3 leads that monitor her heartrate and respiration.

So everything continues to move right along. We're really really hoping we can bring one of these girls home by Christmas. That's 5 weeks from now, so maybe it's a realistic hope, especially if they do well on their bottle feeds. We shall see...

3 Pounds

2008-11-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

As of last night, all three of our girls are now over 3 pounds!!! Well, Livy is exactly 3 lbs (and that was following a big poo) and Makenna and Lauren are around 3lbs 5 oz. Updates are as follows:

Makenna - Feedings were up to 23ml every 3 hours last night. We aren't yet sure what her "max" is for now, but we are certain she will soon reach it. The doctors set a maximum amount of food for her to consume for her weight. Once she hits her max, they level out until she gains more weight, at which point he feedings will increase. For now, I need to pump at least 8oz/day for Makenna. The goal is to get her off of the nasal canula in the next couple of days. She had gone solo a week or so ago, but had a bit of trouble, so they put her back on the lowest setting. Hopefully she will be able to stay off this time. As for her weight gain, we can see a huge difference in her chubby little face. She has really piled on the fat and looks like a puffy little baby. She's still under contact precautions due to the staph, so we're hesitant to hold her right now. We just don't want to take her out and possibly transfer something to the other girls. Instead, I will use the gloves and robe when I want to touch her. Last night, after her bath, I cupped her head with one hand and let her hold my other hand (well, my finger, really) at the same time. Her eyes had been wide open and she was on full alert, but when I held her she was comforted enough to try to drift off to sleep. I'm looking forward to being able to comfortably hold her again without fear of passing something on to Livy and Lauren.

Olivia - The doctor said that her immunological tests are actually coming back normal right now. So even though that IGG test measured low, I guess it wasn't significant. They are a little shocked that her immune system is testing so well since they expected that to be a problem with her. However, some research has shown that results from such early testing should not solely be relied upon, and that testing must be performed later to ensure a proper diagnosis. So before coming home, they will repeat all of these tests. As for food, Livy is on continuous feeds of 8ml every hour. So she, too, is receiving about 8oz of milk/day. Her max is 24ml for now, so she won't increase until her weight picks up. She is breathing well on her own, still, and everyone comments that she is doing the best of the three. Strange, considering her heart condition. We have a theory that she just absolutely hates all of the tubes and wires, so she just functions better without them. Last night Livy had her first spa bath. One of her nurses filled her bucket up with water and instead of a sponge bath, he placed her inside the bucket and let her have a full bath. She was sooooooo relaxed by the time it was all over. Then I got to kangaroo with her while her nurse made up her bed. She fell asleep within about 30 seconds! So all is well in Livy's world.

Lauren - She is finally back on feeds!!! I think she was up to about 2ml last night. So we'll see how she tolerates everything over the next couple of weeks. A couple of nights ago when we came in we noticed that she looked really puffy in the face. Her nurse also noticed that her legs looked very puffy. Also, she had gained 100 grams in a day, which is very unusual. Her respiratory rate had been extremely high for about 4 days prior and combined with everything else, her doctor was worried that she may have some fluid in her lungs which is causing everything to go out of whack. So he placed her on lasix for two days to see if it clears everything up. They also want to try to get her off the nasal canula in the next couple of days so that she can breathe on her own. Not much exciting news on Lauren, though we did get more videos the other night. See them below.

Overall, everything is going well. Those other triplets haven't yet arrived, so I think the mom must be holding out. Once they do, our girls are in line to get moved down to the less critical "other side" of the NICU. Here are some videos:

Lauren

Lauren

Makenna

Random Updates

2008-11-14T11:03:00.000-05:00

Well, we have barely gotten to see the girls in the last 36 hours, so I thought I would take this opportunity to post some completely random updates. Basically we popped in yesterday around noon and were told that they were low on milk. So I thought it best to do a quick pump so that they would have some fresh milk prior to bringing in more of the frozen stuff that night. By the time I was finished they were putting a new IV into Lauren. Not knowing how long the wait might be, and because we are not allowed to be in the NICU for these types of procedures, I decided that we should run some of our errands and head back in later. Now, the NICU shuts down from 6-8 in the mornings and evenings for shift change. So by the time we got back there it was around 9pm. We had called prior to arriving to make sure they weren't closed for any procedures and were told all was quiet and that we could come immediately. By the time we arrived all hell had broken loose and people were running about trying to get everything ready for some new admissions...3 new admissions, to be exact. Apparenly just 10 minutes prior they had gotten word that they were expecting another set of triplets that night!!! And while I know none of you really have an appreciation for the size of the NICU, just imagine a room not much bigger than the average master bedroom. The entire level III NICU is actually a decent size, but there are two sections to it. Our section is the most intense of the two and it's not very big. As of last night they never had more than 6 to 7 babies in there at once. With 3 new additions, space is going to be VERY VERY limited. That said, we were told they are considering moving Makenna over to the other side because she appears to be pretty stable right now. So if that happens, it's kind of exciting news, because it means she is moving forward. We know it's just sort of by default, but it still feels good to think that she is in the less critical area of the NICU.

As for me, my leg/ankle/foot swelling is probably 99% gone. My feet still have their issues here and there, but I can wear a couple pairs of normal shoes, so that's a really good thing. My blood pressure looks excellent again, so I was taken off my meds. I was worried about that one, but all looks good. As for my weight, I am now a good 5lbs under my pre-preg weight. Gotta say, I'm kind of enjoying the "you don't look like you just delivered triplets" comments. And the "my wife is hot...you should get pregnant more often" comments from my husband don't hurt, either. I'm sure it's the gigantic milk jugs I'm lugging around which make my tummy look smaller, but I do feel incredibly fortunate that my tummy held up so well. Of course, my ab musles are completely useless right now, but my belly is flat and I fit into my clothes, so what else could I possibly ask for?! And I think the weight loss has really contributed to a fast physical recovery. My muscles are sore from having been on bedrest for so long, but I am able to get up and move around with ease compared to when I was pregnant. I just have a lot more energy and it feels fantastic. My only complaint is that the joints in my hands are KILLING me at night, when I wake up, and a little during the day here and there. They feel arthritic, but after doing a tiny bit of research, I think it may just be swelling (even though they don't look swollen to me). Something about fluid in the joints...I don't know. I'm just hoping this one goes away soon because I can't even close my hands when it happens.

I'll update later when we get more news on the girls. For now we know that Olivia tested low on an immunity blood test, so it's safe to say that the DiGeorge is going to affect her immune system (really scary and hopefully treatable). We have to meet with a doctor or nurse to fully understand the impact of these results...and we are still awaiting more immunological test results, so not much news quite yet. Makenna tested positive for MRSA, which is a staph infection that apparently is easily transmitted in hospitals, schools, etc. They think it cleared up on its own already, but are awaiting results from a second culture in the meantime. For now she is under contact isolation and we have to put on gloves and a gown just to touch her. Lauren also tested positive for something (something popped up on a culture), but they are still trying to identify it...kind of wondering if it could also be staph. As of yesterday she still wasn't on breastmilk and they are still awaiting everything to normalize with her stomach before starting feeds again. So, as I said, more complete updates later when we get more news.

Difficult news about Olivia

2008-11-09T07:04:00.000-05:00

Last night we learned that in addition to Livy's heart condition (Tetralogy of Fallot), she did test positive for DiGeorge Syndrome. Basically, part of chromosome 22 is missing. It affects only 1 in 4000 babies, but is still the second most common chromosomal abnormality in infants. In my research, I found that the infant mortality rate for DiGeorge babies is as high as 55% in the first month and 86% in the first 6 months of life, largely due to the heart defects and immunological deficiency which accompany the disorder. For now the only thing we can do is feed her like crazy and hope she grows quickly enough to have her heart surgery ASAP. Down the line, we won't know how severely she will be affected by DiGeorge until time progresses. She may have delays in developing speech and fine motor skills, she may be on a feeding tube depending on her digestion and how well she can learn to eat...by the time she is 7 or 8 we should know if she has any learning disabilities (children with DiGeorge often have an IQ between 70 and 90, though this is skewed b/c their only trouble is with reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning skills). I think there are other possible issues, but these are the ones that seem to be most common, from what I can gather.

For now, we plan to talk to the doctors to see what type of immediate steps we must take to ensure her health. We also need to talk to a geneticist to see if we should test the other two girls and to get ourselves tested to see the likelihood of passing this on to future children.

The good news is that Paul doesn't feel the slightest bit overwhelmed by all of this, but I'm having so much trouble accepting things. We went through so much just to become pregnant and now the next few years of our lives may be filled with even more doctor visits and medical complications than we ever imagined. My heart is breaking for my little girl, who has a complicated future ahead of her. And the worst part is that I can't seem to find any information on how DiGeorge affects people into adulthood. I know the complications of infants and children, but I don't know how adults function. Can they hold jobs, support themselves? Will she be emotionally and psychologically capable of dating, getting married, having children? It seems like it could be promising, though I have no idea b/c I can't find any information about adults. I do know that she will have a 50% chance of passing this on to her children, so she will likely have to undergo genetic testing when she gets pregnant...which would mean IVF...something I wouldn't wish on any of my girls. And apparently there is a 30% chance of psychological disorders like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in adulthood.

I just hope that Paul and I can figure out a way to take the very best care of our little girl and give her enough love to make up for the challenges she will face.

Mommy & Livy

10 Days Old

2008-11-08T17:04:00.000-05:00

Everything continues to go well today. Lauren was taken off of all feeds a few days back because she was having some green residual and an x-ray showed extra air in her abdomen. She was taken off CPAP and moved down to a lower setting on the nasal canula to reduce the amount of air getting into her abdomen. They tried letting her breathe on her own, but it wasn't working out so well yet, so she remains on the canula at the lowest setting and as soon as they feel her system is ready, they will start her over on feeds. They just want to be careful so that she doesn't develop any serious gastrointestinal issues. She is gaining weight, though, on IV nutrition. Her brain scan came back the same and so we will do another on the 28th day of life. Chances are good that all will be fine, but they will need some good imaging when she's a little bigger to make sure.

Olivia is breathing completely on her own and taking in 12cc of breastmilk, increasing by 2cc every 12 hours. Although she was off to a very slow start compared to her sisters, she is "eating" more than both now and breathing very well on her own. She is back up to her birthweight and with these feeds, we expect her to begin gaining more weight soon. Livy's heart condition is fine for now. They continue to do EKG's as needed to make sure the situation doesn't get worse. In the next few weeks we will probably come up with a plan to move forward with further imaging and surgery.

Makenna is up to 10cc of breastmilk, and increasing. She had a difficult time with the feedings at first because she wasn't digesting anything. Everything seems to be going well now and she is barely having any residual. She, too, is still breathing on her own and gaining weight.

Here are some pics...

Lauren

Makenna

Olivia

Olivia Video

2008-11-08T08:29:00.001-05:00

Olivia put on a little show for us last night.

Lauren Videos

2008-11-07T21:27:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a couple videos we took of Lauren this afternoon. She has been opening her eyes quite a bit lately. Everything she sees is a complete blur, but she moves her eyes around quite a bit, taking in whatever she can see. So the first video is just of her face with her eyes open. The second video is of her sucking on her paci for the first time. Notice how absolutely relaxed she appears to be, with her little legs completely spread open. We love staring at our silly girl!

1 Week Old

2008-11-06T02:30:00.000-05:00

The girls are 1 week old today!!! Here are some quick updates:

Olivia - Little Miss Livy thought it would be really fantastic if she extubated herself last night. The nurse heard some crying coming from her bed and knew something was up (they can't make crying noises when they are on the ventilator), so she headed over to check things out. Turns out our feisty little monkey finally got ahold of that tube and yanked it right out. Should have been no surprise, I suppose, because all she did last night was try to grab at it during our visit. So now she is on a high flow nasal canula, set at the highest setting. Hopefully she can deal with those tubes being in her nose for a little while. As for feeds, she is on 3cc of breastmilk and they plan to hold her there for a while. She is on Erythromycin to help digest her food, so hopefully she can start picking up on the feeds. With her heart condition, we really need her to start gaining weight so that she can have her surgery when the time is right.

Lauren - Lauren is taking 12 cc of food right now and increasing by 1cc every 12 hours. She is tolerating her feeds pretty well for the most part. She is also on Erythromycin for digestion and increasing by 1cc every few hours. They did a brain scan on her today, but we haven't yet received the results. Last week they found a spot on one part of her brain and so we are hoping that spot is absolutely nothing to worry about. We should find out more by tomorrow. Lauren was on the highest setting of the nasal canula, but they moved her back up to CPAP because she wasn't doing as well as they would hope. The girls will likely move back and forth between "levels" of breathing assistance, so this is no surprise that she slightly regressed.

Makenna - Well, Makenna is outshining her sisters on the whole breathing thing, but she has some major catch-up to do with the feedings. She is on the very lowest setting of the nasal canula and we won't be surprised to find her breathing completely on her own anytime now. Of course, once those tubes are out, they can always go back in, but she seems as if she's really getting ready to fly on her own. Feedings are a different story. She is still only taking 2cc of breastmilk per feeding and a lot of it doesn't ever get digested. So they placed her, too, on Erythromycin. She has only been feeding for maybe 48 hours now and it's totally normal for them to have difficulty making the transition...so we just need to wait it out and hope for the best. We know she makes really good poops, so it's just a matter of turning my breastmilk into that poop and she'll be good to go.

All three girls really have their own personalities, which we can see coming out just by their sleeping positions. Makenna sleeps like a froggy, on her belly with her legs bent up underneat her. Lauren prefers her back or side with her arms wide open above her head or her hands closed in against her face. Olivia tends to keep her hands folded nicely over her chest, though it's unclear which position she most prefers at the moment. And they are all incredibly feisty. If they are unhappy, you'll know about it. They scrunch up their faces, stretch out their legs, and pull like hell on their cords.

Last night Olivia was particularly upset during our visit. She couldn't make any crying noises, but her face was scrunched up as if she was crying and she couldn't stop moving around. Then she coughed up some food and she just wouldn't relax at all. I tried cuddling her while she was in bed, but it just didn't help at all. So the nurse decided that mommy needed to hold her to calm her down. She pulled up a big comfy glider and placed my baby girl against my chest, inside my shirt. It was so amazing how quickly she settled down. She even opened her eyes off and on for about 10 minutes, which she rarely ever does. It was such a great experience.

Here are some pics of the last few days:

Olivia

Lauren

Makenna

We Held Makenna!!!!!!!

2008-11-03T19:41:00.000-05:00

When we arrived in the NICU tonight, our nurses told us they were thinking perhaps we could hold Makenna this evening. Of course we jumped on that opportunity. While I was holding her, she got the hiccups, coughed a bit, and kept moving her eyes around under her lids (we still haven't really seen her eyes). It was really fantastic!!!

Good news is that Makenna and Lauren are both off their ventilators and on cpap. They are breathing on their own, but have room air blowing on their noses to help them along.

Last night Olivia was getting really fussy, so Paul placed his hands over her body to calm her down. Everytime he moved his hands away, she became fussy again...so it was obvious that she loved having her daddy's hand on her. We took a video below:

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!

2008-11-02T05:16:00.000-05:00

This post is a few days overdue, but our three little angels were born on October 29, 2008. First was Makenna Elizabeth, at 4:27pm, weighing in at 2 lbs 12 oz. She was taken right out of the delivery room before we had a chance to even hear her cry. As she was entering the world, Paul was standing and looking over the drape. My most memorable moment of the entire birth was him looking back down at me with so much love and pride, telling me how beautiful she was. It was a moment we shared that I will cherish for as long as I live.

Next came Miss Olivia Lyn, at 4:29pm, weighing in at just under 2 lbs 12 oz. This little one came in screaming and appeared to do very well from moment one. Her sister, Lauren Avery, was born last at 4:30pm, weighing 2 lbs 13 oz. I honestly cannot remember if we heard Lauren cry, but I do remember her sweet little face as she was wheeled out of the OR, right behind her sister, Livy.

My c-section experience was mostly a good one. For those wanting a play-by-play, here you go. If you don't, just skip this paragraph. I was taken into the OR and sat up on the table. I was very nervous, so they gave me some anti-anxiety meds in my IV. I instantly relaxed a bit and they began my spinal. As you can imagine, with 3 babies inside, it is very difficult to arch one's back well enough to get that spinal in. I'm not sure how long it took, but I know they had to poke a couple of times before it all worked out, and we had to reposition my legs about three or four times until we found a good position. I felt bad and kept apologizing for not being able to bend over well enough, but in the end we got it, so no biggie. Next they helped me lie back on the table and put in my catheter. I could feel my body, but I mostly just felt a mild tingling all over. I thought that would feel irritable, but it didn't bother me at all. After the catheter, everyone started really filing into the room. They put the oxygen tube thing in my nose (and it kept falling out during the surgery, so we kept having to help it back into place), and put the drape up over me. The drape was actually very irritating b/c it kept falling into my face. One of my big fears was having my arms tied down and out to the side, but they didn't use anything to secure them to the table, so that was no biggie, either. My blood pressure dropped often during the surgery (not too low, though), so they kept giving me meds to keep it elevated so that I wouldn't drift off to sleep. I honestly could have closed my eyes at any point and slept so well, but I fought to keep them open the entire time. As for the pulling and tugging, it wasn't so bad. There was one point where there was a lot of pressure pushing up into my chest, but it was bearable. And although I couldn't technically feel anything, I could definitely tell when they were closing me up. It didn't hurt a bit, but I could feel the sensation of my belly being put back together. After all was done I was wheeled into recovery and had a nice little nap. The worst part of the entire surgery actually came at this point. The nurse had to make sure I was bleeding properly, so she had to press down really firmly on my belly to expel blood at least twice during my hour plus recovery. This process continued for the first 24 hours, but the pain lessened every time. It was quite intense during that first hour, though. The whole experience was actually fine and my incision is healing very well. Everyone comments on how great it looks and how small it is. One of my docs even said it was the best-looking one she has seen. So I suppose I should pass on compliments to my OB for all of the great feedback, haha. He really did an outstanding job getting us through this pregnancy and he continues to check on our girls in the NICU to follow their progress. He just goes above and beyond what we would ever expect and so I know we are all in good hands.

So, back to our babies! The first few days are really difficult with preemies because that's when we get a lot of bad news. There's good news, too, but some of the scariest news can come early on. It was on Thursday, I believe, that we learned our little Olivia has a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. The cardiologist assured us that it has nothing to do with her prematurity or the fact that she is a multiple. It is something she would have been born with no matter the circumstances. Her prematurity just makes treatment difficult since we must wait until she is at least 4lbs prior to having it surgically repaired. But the good news is that surgery is effective 95% of the time. Babies often will require multiple surgeries, but she can live a very normal life once the heart is repaired. The one thing we are keeping an eye on right now is the pathway in Olivia's heart that sometimes functions as a PDA. Normally we are all born with a PDA pathway which closes up during birth. Preemies are often born with PDAs that remain open and require meds or surgery to close. Olivia was born with no PDA at all, but instead her heart grew a completely different pathway in the same general area. Sometimes this "fake pda" acts like a normal pda and closes off. The problem is that Olivia needs this pathway to remain open so that her blood can continue to flow throughout her heart and into the proper areas of her body. If it begins to close then she will need to take meds to keep it open. Those meds have some bad side effects that will make her treatment difficult. For now the pathway remains wide open and no meds are required. She will continue to be monitored every 2 days with EKG to make sure the path remains open. Then, when she is big enough, we can focus on having the surgery to begin repairing her heart. If she continues to do well, we may even be able to bring her home before moving forward with surgery. It just depends on how her body does as time progresses. Everything else seems to be going fine for Olivia. They can't give her any food yet, so they just use an IV to supply her with nutrition. She is definitely having the most trouble of the three, but it seems to be due to the issues surrounding the heart defect...and honestly things are going fine considering the circumstances.

Makenna is doing fairly well overall, but her PDA still hasn't closed. That means that she cannot yet begin to be tube fed any of my breast milk. She will have another EKG on Monday. If the PDA is closed, we can be happy and move forward with some feedings (again, through a tube). If it is open, however, we will need to consider a course of action to close it. Often docs like to use meds, but it sounds like ours will surgically close it off if it's still open on Monday. We are told this is a routine bedside procedure and nothing to worry about.

Lauren's PDA was closed at her first EKG exam, so she was able to start tube feedings a couple of days ago. Since she is so small, it's difficult for her to digest the food, but they are finding that if they place her on her right side, that things go well. They did find a dark spot on her brain scan, but aren't really worried about it right now. They will run another scan in a week and then in a month, I believe. If it's still there, then we may have cause for concern. Sounds like these things are kind of common in preemies, though, and may not lead to anything serious. Overall, Lauren is doing the best, so it's hard to imagine there is anything wrong with her brain...but I guess you just never know.

All of the girls are still on oxygen, though Lauren and Makenna may be weaned down soon. They will all have breathing assistance in some fashion for a while, but there are many steps they can take in the NICU to decrease the amount of breathing help they receive. This is the area of their care that Paul seems to have a better understanding of than me, but now that I'm getting a bit more rest I'm able to learn a bit more about everything.

One of my big goals with these girls is to breastfeed in some capacity. I would love for them to eventually take to the actual breast, but my primary concern is that they receive breastmilk rather than formula, if possible. That said, I started pumping milk for them six hours after my c-section. The first pumping session went well as we gathered 5cc...which is about a teaspoon full of milk. After that I got 1/2 to 1cc of milk for a day or so. Then by Friday night I was getting about 2cc of milk. We had signed consents on Friday for them to receive donor breast milk since I wasn't producing enough for Lauren's 2cc feedings, but only had to use it once, I think. You can imagine my delight when I was able to pump 6cc at once by Saturday night. Well, my last pumping session was 2 hours ago and I knew it was going to be a good one because when I woke up I could feel that my breasts felt fuller and firmer than they have. I looked at Paul and said "well, I'm certain my milk has finally come in". Sure enough, I got 18cc of milk this morning!!! It sounds ridiculous, but I'm so happy to have gotten so much at one time. Paul and I have these little celebrations when my production increases. This is really my only way to contribute to my babies' health at this point in time, so the more milk I can provide, the more I feel like I am helping them to grow strong and healthy.

So that is my extremely long update on our situation. I should mention, too, I suppose, that my legs are extremely swollen (typical after a c-section, we're told) and that I cannot stay on my feet for longer than 15 minutes or so. Even sitting in a chair is bad. I really have to keep my feet elevated to keep my lower body from swelling too much. So visiting the girls is going to be a challenge once I'm discharged tonight. We're going to have to come up with some creative solutions to sitting around the NICU. Also, my blood pressure has been high. I was put on blood pressure medication yesterday and it's helping. Hopefully this is very very temporary and I can get off the meds soon.

I'm going to post some pics here for you. Enjoy!!!

Belly shot about 1 hour before the c-section:

Olivia Lyn crying as she is coming out of mommy's belly

Lauren's birth

Makenna resting with her shades on. They left them on after her time under the bili lights b/c she is so much more comfy with less stimulation.

Lauren sleeping so peacefully. She always has her arms and hands in such cute postions near her head.

Little Livy stretching out. She has her daddy's hair!!! I call her my hairy little monkey.

I'll post more pics and updates as time progresses.

29 Weeks - Is it time????

2008-10-27T06:50:00.000-04:00

It's almost 6am. I have been tossing and turning since about 1am. I have been contracting. Big deal, doesn't really hurt. But the cramps have kept me awake. The back pain has kept me awake. Please hold. I need to lie back down for a minute and take a break from typing.

I spent Saturday (really, started Friday night) in tears from the pain. My doctor walked in on me crying. We chatted. He got nervous and ordered more blood work, a urine test, and at 10pm a NICU nurse came to visit my room to let me know what to expect after delivery. She seemed optimistic about the girls being born this early. I honestly didn't detect any worry. My doctor doesn't seem too worried, either. I mean, they would all love it if I could get to 31/32 weeks...but they seem so thrilled that I have made it this far. I'm not as thrilled. But I am in pain. Enough pain that I'm literally taking everything day by day, sometimes hour by hour, because I'm not sure how much more my mind and my body can take. Oh, and then there's the whole breathing thing. That isn't the easiest thing to do sometimes.

My doctor doesn't seem suprised that I'm in this much pain, though, for the following reasons:

1. Turns out my 4th fetal fibronectin test from last week came back positive (30% chance of delivery in 2 weeks)

2. I gained 9lbs in one week!!! Mind you, as of week 28, I was only up 15lbs from my pre-preg weight. It took me from week 24 to 28 to gain 10lbs. Then suddenly I shoot up 9lbs in one week! Something isn't right.

3. This could be the reason for the weight gain: Baby C has about double the amount of amniotic fluid that she should. She's floating in a damn pool and the other two are getting squished out...hence the reason baby B is stuck in my side/back causing me the worst back/rib pain of my life. The extra amniotic fluid may be no big deal. It could be a sign of a lung, neurological, or brain development disorder, but most of the time there seems to be no real explanation. We're too far in the pregnancy to do an amnio to test this b/c results would take 2 weeks anyway...and draining isn't the best option since the sac can just refill and I will likely deliver very soon anyway. So my doc says "lets leave everything as is and see how long you can endure the pain". And it's definitely painful.

What else is awful? Oh yeah, showers. I will now be requesting sponge baths. I thought my last shower was on Friday since it wiped me out, but Paul convinced me to give it another go last night. Uh, yeah, officially done with that crap. Felt like I ran a marathon after a 15 minute shower. I seriously thought I might pass out from breathing so hard. Probably not a good thing. So sponge baths. Really looking forward to those, lemme tell ya.

Aside from my discomfort, the babies really do seem to continue to thrive. There honestly doesn't appear to be much space for them, but their heart tones are good and they are growing.

Here are some 29 week belly shots and a couple of pics of two of the girls (Baby A is too low and face-down, so we can no longer get shots of her):

Baby B Profile & Baby C Yawning:

Baby C Face - Not sure if that's her Halloween face, but she looks pretty pissy...

28 Weeks

2008-10-20T11:09:00.000-04:00

I'm still here. I just don't feel like typing much on the computer, so I haven't replied to many emails or updated my blog. It just hurts way too much to sit up and my belly is getting in the way of my short arms reaching the computer to type while lying down.

The girls are still growing and doing well. Last time they were measured they were all around 2.5 lbs each. That was a little over a week ago. I'm hoping they are around 3lbs at my next scan later this week.

I'm growing more and more uncomfortable. Over the past 3 or 4 days, baby B has moved further toward my back and into my right side. Everything on my right side now aches all day and night. Baby A has moved really far down into my pelvis...so far down that measuring her is difficult and she is lying right on top of my bladder. It's so uncomfortable that I feel like I need to pee all the time...think bladder infection urgency. Right after I go, I feel like I need to go again. Baby C is still in the same place and although I get slightly irritated by her position, it's not nearly as bad as the other two. Everything is so squished that when my stomach growls, I can feel it growling right underneath my left breast. Kind of odd. My doctor mentioned last night that he thinks it may be about two more weeks or so until I get to the point that breathing is difficult...and at that point, we will be delivering. Otherwise, if I can still breathe, then we'll just wait for something else to happen. It's all very unpredictable, really, but my body is definitely feeling the pain.

For those of you interested in my weight gain, I'm up 15lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. I had lost 15lbs in the first trimester, so technically I have gained 30lbs from my lowest weight. Not bad, though, considering I have 3 in there. I literally eat whatever and whenever I want, so I'm amazed that I'm doing so well. I'm very curious to see how much I lose after the c-section.

Here's my 27 week belly

Why the hospital can be so much fun...

2008-10-02T10:25:00.000-04:00

...where else could a girl be asked on a daily basis about her bowel movements? On a positive note, we get to listen to the girls twice/day with the fetal monitor. Sometimes they are so active that it's difficult to locate the heartbeats. We have little gymnasts in there. I get an ultrasound at least once/week and the girls are always looking great. I get to order all of my meals off a menu if I don't feel like the regularly scheduled meal. That probably sounds a lot better than it actually is, though. I get my bedding changed as often as I want and there are people here who offer to bathe me every day (though I choose to wait for hubby and have him help me shower). There is probably so much more to brag about, but my mind is drawing a blank.

As of Tuesday, I have been taking Procardia for my contractions. It hasn't been holding me as well as the Indocin or Terbutaline, but so long as I have less than 10 contractions/hour, then we have no need to worry. Mind you, these contractions are really really mild. They don't hurt and I barely notice them anymore since I've been having them for weeks and weeks. Last night, however, I was having about 15 an hour. They are not regular, so they come every 2 to 6 minutes, apparently. And they are still plentiful this morning. So I have no idea what we're doing next, but I'm just hoping I don't have to get back on that nasty Terbutaline.

That's about all the excitement I can muster up today. I'll be 26 weeks on Saturday, so everything continues to move right along...

25 Weeks & A New Home

2008-09-27T12:27:00.000-04:00

Today I hit 25 weeks and considering recent events, our big goal is about 30 weeks. I was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday at the request of my doctors. I actually received a phone call around 9am asking me to pack a bag and come on in for the duration of the pregnancy. I was given an IV and started Terbutaline injections. I was also given Betamethasone injections (the steroid which helps the babies' lungs produce surfactant in case they are born early). My contractions were 1 to 2 minutes apart when I was admitted and slowed to 6 to 8 minutes throughout the day. My cervix still measured over 4cm and the babies weighed in at 1 lb 9 oz to 1 lb 11oz, all within a week of their due date. On Wednesday I was given ampicillin via IV every 6 hours. Then on Thursday my high risk doctor made a visit and switched everything up. They removed the IV, d/c the terbutaline, started Indocin, d/c ampicillin, and I have been doing that ever since.

Sleeping has been nearly impossible with all of the pain I have had (pain from this horrible bed)...I have even been taking Ambien and it barely helps. My mom offered to buy me a memory foam mattress yesterday and I was able to sleep for 8 hours last night! I feel fantastic today for the first time all week!!! I did start contracting again in the middle of the night, so they gave me one terbutaline injection, but things have been great all morning.

So other than just sitting in bed with a belt wrapped around my abdomen measuring uterine activity, I'm doing pretty well. My nurses are fantastic and I am being well cared for, as are the babies. With any luck, we'll sail through the next 5 weeks in this hospital and maybe even buy ourselves 3 or 4 more. Hopefully I won't go crazy in the meantime.

Growth Scan & Other Updates

2008-09-23T07:39:00.000-04:00

Our high risk doctor did a growth scan on the girls yesterday and they are all measuring about 1.5 lbs. He estimated that to be the 35th percentile, but from what I have read, that weight seems a bit more average than that. It's hard to say, though, because the ultrasound measurements offer a weight that is rarely consistent with reality. In other words, it's a good guess, but not entirely reliable. The main thing is that the girls are all about the same size and growing well.

We were able to see the girls on the 4D ultrasound, but only one offered us a profile shot. It's not very good, but I'll try to load it on the computer for you to see. In another two weeks we can take another look and see how they cooperate.

As for names, they are possibly changing. After seeing his girls yesterday afternoon, Paul decided that we needed to reconsider some of the names. At this point I think we will be keeping them to ourselves...and honestly, I'm not entirely convinced we will finalize them until the girls arrive. Prior to learning that we were having triplets, I had wanted to only create a short list of names and decide after giving birth which name to choose. However, knowing that triplet pregnancies are such high risk, I changed my mind and decided that it would be nice for the girls to all have names in the event of a poor outcome. In mentally planning for the worst, I at least wanted my children to have names while alive (alive being in my uterus and possibly during birth). Now that they are all viable and have an excellent chance of coming into this world full of life, I don't feel so desperate to call them by their names while in utero. All of that said, we are going to take our time in making our final selections and will share the names with everyone when the girls make their debut. For now, we will go back to Baby A, B, and C.

To those of you whom I have neglected communication-wise, I apologize. One would think that bedrest would increase one's desire for social interaction. Soooooooo not true in my case. I avoid phone calls, often because I'm too sleepy or depressed to have a conversation. It's nothing personal...it just takes a lot out of me to be social right now. As for emails, I love reading them, but typing is hugely difficult. I have mentioned before that the only comfortable position for me really is lying flat on my back. In order to type, I have to open my laptop up almost 180 degrees and prop it just below my belly, on my pelvic bone. But if it rests on my body at all, Baby A gets all pissy and starts kicking it (no joke). So I have to use my hands to elevate the computer and attempt to type at the same time. It's all doable (obviously...I'm updating this blog), but I procrastinate for obvious reasons. So I'm not ignoring your emails, I'm just dreading the workout of responding and the back pain that ensues thereafter.

That's all for now.

24 Weeks!!!!!!!

2008-09-19T19:34:00.001-04:00

Big, fat, huge milestone!!! Our babies are viable and have a 70% chance of survival if born right now.

At our ob/gyn appt on Tuesday we toured the NICU. I didn't expect it to affect me so much, but the minute I turned the corner and saw those tiny little babies I just burst into tears. I can't believe our girls will be THAT small, all alone in their little isolettes, possibly with tubes coming out of them. It's one thing to see pictures of preemies, but it's an entirely different thing to see them in person. My sadness doesn't come from guilt that my body can't carry them to term. I am really good about not blaming myself for anything that has happened during this pregnancy. I'm just sad that these girls will likely come into this world fighting harder than any baby should. I guess I am also sad that I will not be allowed to see them for the first 24 hours. Paul can visit them as much as he would like, but I must wait a full 24 hours after my c-section before I can be wheeled in to meet my little girls. I'm sad that I will barely be able to touch them for the first few days...and may not be able to even hold them for a while. I'm sad that they will be fed through a tube at first, and that it may take days or weeks before we can try breastfeeding. But through all of my sadness I am thrilled that they will receive the very best care and that all of these sacrifices will be distant memories as the weeks and years progress. I'm sure this will be a rough ride at first, but I am confident that Paul and I will handle everything as well as two people can. I couldn't ask for anyone stronger, kinder, or more loving than my husband to take this journey with me. So in that respect, I feel very fortunate.

On a lighter note, babies are still moving around like crazy and Peyton has gotten really good at kicking mommy in the ribs. My most recent craving for ice has been satisfied by Sonic, being that they actually sell entire bags of their crushed ice for just $1.65. I get a few glasses of ice each day and just eat it by the spoonful. Sick, I know.

Here are a couple of 24 week pictures:

23 Week Update

2008-09-13T16:08:00.001-04:00

The girls are still doing pretty well in my belly and I am measuring 38 weeks pregnant (should I be carrying only one child). We got the report from the level III ultrasound and all are definitley looking great so far. At 21w5d their weights were:

Ashlyn - 15oz
Peyton - 17oz
Olivia - 14oz

I have started feeling a lot more movement this week, especially from Olivia. Peyton has quieted down a bit...likely because she has so much space over on my side. Ashlyn has been doing more than kicking, though, as I can feel a lot of movement from her...especially in the mornings. All of the girls seem to wake up around 7am to stretch and play "kick my sister in the head". I haven't yet been kept awake at night by their movements, so hopefully that's a good sign of things to come. I am, however, kept awake at night by my severe discomfort. I can't lie on my sides much and am most comfortable on my back, but my legs hurt so much at night that it's difficult to fall to sleep. I'm sure this will only get worse, so I'm trying to enjoy my sleep while I can.

As for how my body is handling things, my cervix is still 5cm. I also had a fetal fibronectin test this week, which came back negative...and that's good. Basically it's a vaginal swab and they look for fetal fibronectin, which should not normally be secreted after week 22 of pregnancy until very close to delivery. If the protein is not present, then one has a 99% chance of NOT delivering in the next 2 weeks. If it is present, there is a 30% chance of delivering in 2 weeks.

Next Saturday is the big 24 week milestone. Then I'll start focusing on 28 weeks, which is October 18th.

22 Week Update

2008-09-05T10:21:00.000-04:00

I had a big, fat, level III ultrasound yesterday. The tech measured the girls' parts, looked at their brains, hearts, kidneys, bladders, spines, umbilical cords, etc. At first glance, they appear to be perfect!!! Now, we never did the down syndrome screenings, so we have no idea about that, but at my age, risks are low. As for the level III u/s, we won't get the final report until next week, but it really appears that all 3 girls are looking great.

I'm only 2 weeks away from the big 24 week mark. At 24 weeks the babies are considered viable. Our doctor said that our NICU has a 70% survival rate for babies born at 24 weeks. That goes up to 100% by 26 to 27 weeks. So while it's nice to reach that 24 week mark, I would hope that if we're going to have issues, that they not arise for at least a couple of weeks after that.

For those of you interested in my cervix, it's still holding out at 5cm. I'm hugely impressed with the strength of that sucker. I know Ashlyn's head is constantly hitting it, but apparently it doesn't matter. At what point do you think I should tell her that her first pillow was mommy's cervix?

Baby movement/kicking is in full force. I am 99% sure I can feel all 3 now. Peyton has planted her butt directly in my left side and Olivia's butt is up under my breasts. The u/s yesterday confirmed that Ashlyn and Peyton are still head-to-head and that Olivia is in perfect position to be kicked by the both of them. Apparently she kicks back, though...so it's nice to see her standing up for herself.

Here are my 21 week belly pics...

19 Weeks

2008-08-19T19:19:00.000-04:00

About a week and a half ago I had a fun night in the hospital. Everything is fine, I just learned that I have an irritable uterus. Apparently it's pretty common for a uterus to get irritable when it has 3 babies to deal with on a daily basis. I was sent home on Terbutaline, which I couldn't stand, and fortunately my doctor approved its discontinuation. I won't go into details, but if you google it, you'll see why I was hesitant to remain on it. As a result of all of that, I am now on bedrest. I can use the restroom and shower...and I do a few other things, but for the most part, I need to take it easy. And that's fine by me b/c everytime I stand up for 5 minutes, I feel like I have to pee.

At my doctor appt last Thursday we learned that my uterus has now stretched to the size of a 30-week uterus in a singleton pregnancy. Yes, that does mean that my uterus will stretch well beyond a typical 40-week measurement by the time the babies are considered full-term. But for now, I'm 30 weeks...and I have to say, I don't look that big for 30 weeks. So I'll take it.

Last night I think we may have finally agreed on name number 3. Problem is that now Paul wants to nix one of our original names; however, he cannot come up with a replacement. So we have agreed to settle on 3 names for now, and if Paul comes up with something better by the time the girls arrive, then we will change a name or two. For now, we have:

Baby A - Ashlyn
Baby B - Peyton
Baby C - Olivia

Middle names are pending.....

And now, a photo of me at 18 weeks with little Chloe in the background

And a 19-Week belly shot

17 Weeks!!! Nursery & Belly Shot

2008-08-06T02:46:00.000-04:00

Here's my 17 week belly:

And here is the girls' nursery so far. There are still a few more finishing touches to add, but this is about how it will look:

Baby Videos

2008-07-18T22:19:00.000-04:00

Gender Scan!!!

2008-07-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

Well, the bummer news is that Baby A woulnd't give up the goods. We couldn't find the girlie parts, and we may have seen a nub...but that nub wasn't anything to write home about, so maybe it was just a bad image. Either way, the tech wouldn't make a judgement call.

However, Baby B and Baby C were both pretty girlie, and the tech said she was 85% sure they were girls!!!

So we should get another u/s in about 2 weeks and hopefully A will have sprouted a full on penis by then!

Here are some pics:

Baby Room

2008-07-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

Here's an updated colorboard for the babies' room...

Baby Furniture!!!

2008-07-15T19:23:00.000-04:00

We received our cribs and mattresses today and, of course, I have already started putting them together!!! Here are a few preliminary pics. My mom will be here for a visit at the end of the month and we plan to spend the week sewing. We're making the bedskirts, sheets, window coverings, blankets, changing pad cover, letters for the wall, and maybe some pillows. I found a few fabrics today, but the line is discontinued, so I'm not sure if we'll be able to track down enough of the same fabric to make everything...so the patterns may change. But for now, here is what we're looking at for the girls (if we have girls, lol).

Also, went to the doctor today and although I'm 14 weeks 3 days prego, my uterus is measuring 20 weeks! So all is moving right along with the triplets. Yay!!!

14 Week Fetus

2008-07-12T15:33:00.001-04:00

Here's about what they look like today...

Belly Pic...

2008-07-10T11:12:00.000-04:00

I just realized I haven't updated the belly shots on here. That's because there isn't much to update. This recent one was taken after a weekend of pigging out. Now, 4 days past the weekend, I'm smaller again. I've lost 15lbs this pregnancy, so my belly doesn't appear to be too different, but here you go anyway. Oh, and the babies are each about the size of a fist right now. I would think I'd be bigger...

13 Weeks

12 Weeks

7 Weeks

13w5d

2008-07-10T11:01:00.000-04:00

Nothing new to report, really. I made an appt yesterday with a private ultrasound place to find out the genders of our babies. The appt is set for next Friday. Since I'll be one day short of 15 weeks, it's still a bit early, so the tech is just going to give us her best guess. So, basically "I'm 75% sure it's a boy"...something to that effect.

For anyone looking for a good puke story, I've got a couple. Let's see...Thursday night I crawled in bed around 12:30, I think. I felt kind of nauseated after lying down, so I turned over to sleep it off. Unfortunately, before I could even make it out of bed, I barfed. I tried to catch it with my hand, but all that did was splatter it all over my face and force vomit out my nose. Paul had to change the sheets and I had to shower at 1am. Fun!

Then on Tuesday I was feeling horrible all day with a headache. By 6:30 that night I was puking up frosted mini wheats. Not such a horrible thing to barf except for the fact that it was as thick as oatmeal. But, at least I made it into my bucket (yes, I now carry a bucket around the house)...more than I can say for all the other times. Gross!

I have to say, though, that our dog, Jake, is quite the caretaker. Everytime I barf he stands there staring at me....not sure if he's concerned for my health or if he's just looking for leftovers....

So, yeah, being pregnant is soooooo much fun...can't wait until December! I wonder, though, if by the end of December I'll just want to go back to being pregnant? What's worse: barfing all over myself or trying to calm 3 screaming babies?

12 Week Update

2008-06-27T19:34:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow marks our completion of the 12th week! That's great news since the chances of survival are so strong after the first trimester. Of course, with 3 babies, anything can go wrong at anytime. The next big goal is to hit 20 weeks without any issues...but most importantly, 24 weeks. At 24 weeks there is a pretty good chance for survival if they are born. Not fantastic, but pretty good.

We had an ultrasound yesterday...just a very quick one to make sure all 3 were still looking good. We didn't get to spend nearly enough time watching them, but it felt good to know they are all still alive. We saw some giant heads, legs, arms, feet. One of them was bouncing all over the place and the other two appeared to be pretty calm. I wish we knew which was was doing what, but the doctor didn't tell us anything...he just did some measurements and shut off the machine.

So we don't have any new pics, but here's what our babies should look like right now:

9 Week Ultrasound

2008-06-27T19:27:00.000-04:00

This post is long overdue, but here are the pics from our 8w6d ultrasound. The babies were moving all around and one even kicked his/her foot!

Baby A

Baby B

Baby C

First Belly Pic

2008-05-30T12:30:00.000-04:00

7 weeks 5 days pregnant...starting to pooch out.

Why one of these babies MUST be a girl...

2008-05-29T10:12:00.000-04:00

...because I absolutely MUST have a few things from this collection!!!

http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/browse_by_pattern_detail.aspx?pid=390

Here's a preview:

7 weeks 4 days Pregnant

2008-05-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

Just thought I'd share that this is what the babies should look like today.

Doctor Appointment

2008-05-22T14:22:00.000-04:00

Today I met with our doctor to get final confirmation of the ultrasound results. He told me that my spotting was likely from a small hematoma near baby A. It should go away on its own sometime soon.

Also, I was told that I'm not allowed to travel or do much at all after week 16. Then I'll be on half-day bedrest starting at week 20, and 3/4 day bedrest starting at week 24. In addition, I will start meds during week 24 that will help the babies' lungs develop in time for an early delivery.

Although the due date is January 11th, we can expect delivery around November 15th. Of course, the longer my body can hang on to these little babies, the better.

3 Heartbeats!!!!

2008-05-21T16:00:00.000-04:00

I had another ultrasound today and that little empty sac from Friday has done a lot of growing, because we now have three perfect little heartbeats!!! All babies are measuring within about 6 weeks and 3 days, on average...which is just perfect for right now.

Here is what they look like right about now:

First Ultrasound @ 5 weeks 6 days

2008-05-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

Well, we had an unexpected ultrasound today following a scary gush of blood this afternoon. I must say that following the ultrasound, I feel so much better and all this spotting and nausea are making some sense.

At an early ultrasound like this, one would expect to find a small gestational sac with a round white yolk sac inside. As the pregnancy progresses a few days, one can find a fetal pole and eventually a heartbeat.

That said, our ultrasound tech found two gestational sacs without any hesitation. She had quite a bit of trouble locating a yolk sac in the first one, though, and so she moved on to the second. She found that yolk sac right away. Then she went back to the first gestational sac and was eventually able to locate a yolk sac. As she was finishing the ultrasound, taking one last look, she came across a 3rd gestational sac! Unfortunately, she was unable to locate a yolk sac there. It's not uncommon to have trouble finding all of the right parts this early on, so it may or may not mean anything. All we know for sure is that we have three embryos that implanted from this embryo transfer. All gestational sacs are measuring a day ahead of schedule at exactly 6 weeks.

We have another ultrasound on Wednesday, the 21st, at which point we should be able to see more details. Hopefully we'll even see some heartbeats!!!

For right now, though, we're saying that we have 2 1/2 babies in there :-)

2nd Beta HCG

2008-05-13T09:02:00.000-04:00

I had my second beta HCG run yesterday. It came back at 20,701. The doubling time was 1.33 days, or every 32 hours. This should be at least every 48 hours, so everything is looking fantastic!

I'm still taking tons of hormones to sustain the pregnancy, but I feel pretty good overall. I'm not yet moody or emotional. I started getting little waves of nausea yesterday, but it was nothing bad. I am definitely sleepy a lot of the time, but have trouble sleeping in very late...and naps are almost out of the question. I can fall asleep quite easily at night, but otherwise, It's not so good.

Next big hurdle is the first ultrasound, scheduled for 4pm on May 23rd. Can't wait!!!

Beta HCG Results

2008-05-06T15:40:00.000-04:00

Of course everything MUST have a story. Nothing can just be simple anymore, especially with us. So I had my first beta done today. The nurse was supposed to call me with the results. By 4:30 I still had heard nothing, so I figured I would call them. Apparently they had not yet gotten the results from the lab via fax, but had spoken with someone via the telephone. They told me my level was 17.70. What??? I was expecting something around 100-200 or so. My home pregnancy test an hour before the beta was as positive as positive can be...and it's only supposed to measure hcg higher than 25. So I'm like "no, there's something wrong. I have been getting positives for 5 days. There must be a mistake." So the nurse called the lab and then called me back. She told me that the number was definitely wrong and that new results were being sent to my Cleveland doctor....and that she wasn't allowed to tell me the results. So we hung up and I freaked out, called the on-call doc in Cleveland so they could call the lab and get my results for me. Then, in the meantime, my local nurse called back. She said she felt really bad for me and that she would give me the results and that if she got fired, I'd have to help her find another job, haha. So the number was 915. Pretty darned good! I have another one in a week...and an ultrasound in 2 weeks.

4 Weeks Pregnant!!!

2008-05-03T14:10:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning with some pain in my left ear and on the back of my head. Being that my headaches are going on 4 days now, I figured it was time to check it out with the doctor. We made a last-minute appt this morning and quickly made our way over to the base. Prior to even examining me, the doctor, upon hearing of our pregnancy, sent me over to the lab to confirm with a blood test. Although it was unexpected, it was a relief to have blood confirmation of the pregnancy. As for my head, they felt a bit of fluid behind the ear, but since everything looked pretty good, said it's probably nothing to worry about. Plus, because I'm pregnant (still can't believe I get to 'say' that), they can't give me anything to take down the inflamation. Tylenol only. So they said just drink a ton of water and try to sleep a lot...and it should hopefully go away in a couple of days.

That's about it. My actual beta hcg test is still on Tuesday. Then it's off to Modesto for Mother's Day weekend.

Finally Pregnant!

2008-05-02T14:06:00.000-04:00

After two years of trying to conceive, I am finally pregnant with our first child! We did a frozen embryo transfer while visiting family in Ohio in April. On the 22nd, we transferred three embryos and on May 1st we received the good news.

We had gone to a movie that afternoon, where I drank about a gallon of Sprite. On our way out of the theater I was whining to Paul about how badly I had to pee, when he started whining back "pee on a stick, pee on a stick!" 'Pee on a stick' means take a pregnancy test. So we went to the store and bought some tests. On the drive home, I told Paul that the test would be negative because we were testing too early. I had just used the restroom four hours prior and diluted every bit of hormone in my bladder...so there was just no way the test would pick up anything. I was nervous about getting a negative test, but for the first time ever, I was actually nervous about getting a positive one, too. Suddenly I started thinking about all of the new worries we would have to consider as future parents and I became overwhelmed. I teared up as I mentally prepared to accept the good or even the bad news....but I fully expected bad news this early on.

Upon arriving home, I rushed into the bathroom to finally pee. Before I could even flush the toilet, a line indicating a positive pregnancy test appeared! I was shocked and immediately in tears. I rushed out of the bathroom and met Paul in the entryway to our home, where I showed him the test. He held me as I sobbed and sobbed...and the dogs joined in the party, jumping on us and barking. They were just as thrilled.

I proceeded to take another few tests over the next 24 hours to confirm and all are positive. I will have a blood test on Tuesday to make sure the hormone levels are adequate, and if all goes well, we should get our first glimpse of our little baby (or babies) at the end of the month.

We're gonna be parents and we couldn't be happier!!!!!!!!