Running Tally

In the past 5 days with 3 babies, we have gone through:

5 packs of diapers
4 containers of wipes
2 cans of formula (since I'm BFing and pumping)
3 boxes of bottle liners (I use the Playtex)
6 loads of laundry (I do a daily baby load)
14 faxes and phone calls to the pediatrician and WIC to get more formula
200 text messages and phone calls from Daddy and DiDi with baby updates and calls for help (as well as a few mostly unanswered or unreturned calls from other family and friends)

Whew! What a week :)

And lest you should think that it is all sunshine and roses, I was awake with one to three of them last night from 1:30 to 7:30. I slept 3 half hour stretches between 11 and 7:30. This has happened twice, both times after I mentioned how surprisingly easy it was with 3 babies at home.

And, I learned another little Murphy's Law of babies: If you dress them, they will spit. The other day I changed them all into coordinating outfits before I fed them. And they all spit up half of a bottle worth all over those adorable little clothes.

Oh, and if you are already exhausted and a little hysterical, that will be the night you will lose a binkie, forget to refill the wipe container, and someone will spit up all over the bed so that you have to change the sheets at 5 am.

And, I'm having another bout of the gallbladder today (at least that is what we are guessing it is) with abdominal pain, nausea, and um, lots of trips to the bathroom.

I look forward to Saturday so Daddy can take over for a couple of hours and I might actually leave the house :o

Pictures

I'm finally updating with some pictures.

Here is the last one taken of me before I delivered (except one my mom took with her cell phone that day, which I haven't even seen yet). This is about 9 days before delivery. We went down to the hospital lobby for this little photo shoot.

I call this look "Science Experiment". You're seeing the contraction monitor (toco) and 3 separate fetal heart tones monitors. I actually had 2 huge cabinets with separate computer systems in my room, on either side of the bed, because each monitor only has enough for two babies. This is what I had to endure twice a day, for upwards of an 1 1/2 hours, every day for 2 1/2 months. I was often hooked up only to the contraction monitor which didn't look nearly as strange, lol.

I have some pretty nifty delivery pictures, especially a really great one of Emily just entering the world, but I'll spare you ;)

This is pretty Miss Molly. Isn't she beautiful?! This just makes me tear up; she's so fair and adorable. I had trouble getting everyone to settle down enough to remove the binkies, but it gives you an idea of how tiny they are when seeing them against that humongo paci.

Here is the Divine Miss Em. (I'm mad because my computer is acting up and I can't view half of the pictures, so this is the best of the pictures of her that would show up) She's so dark and petite and sweet and Peanut-y.

Finally is Cooper. I swear we never see that boy's eyes; he's just going to sleep his life away, lol. He's definitely the most laid back; I can't think if I've ever heard him cry. Hmm....

Compliments on my beautiful progeny are welcome ;)

Confusion

Probably the single most common question one gets as the parent of multiples is "are they identical?". I'm always amazed that people don't know that a boy and a girl can not be identical, but most people do not quite have the experience with multiples that I have, lol.

When we found out that the triplets were 2 girls and a boy, we wondered if they girls might be identical and if they looked like it, would we have the genetic testing done to confirm or deny it. Emily and Molly are decidedly NOT identical. Emily has a head full of dark hair and still lots of red tones in her skin; Molly is blond (almost strawberry blond) and very fair skinned. Their facial features are distinctly different as well. (I swear, I will post pictures SOON!)

Molly and Cooper, on the other hand, look very much alike. They have the same amount of hair (though Molly's is a touch lighter) and the same facial features. Apparently, though, I am the only one who thinks so. Everyone keeps telling me how distinctly different they are, though I would often have to look twice while they were in the hospital.

So, last evening Scott came home and was changing the babies in anticipation of their next feeding. I'm in and out of the room and listening to him talk to the babies. I hear him addressing Cooper:

"Hey buddy! What's up. Time to eat.... (etc, etc). Now Cooper, why did your momma put you in pink pants? Huh? What's that about?"

I, of course, know immediately where this little interaction is going.

Scott keeps talking and I hear the sound of diaper tape opening....riiiiiiipppp.

"UH! What the......?!? MOLLY???"

See, I told you they look just alike.

As if I would put my son in pink pants... at least not on purpose. What happens in the dead of night while I'm half asleep is fair game.

Notes on the first few days

I want to be able to go back and have some memories of these days recorded. However, my brain has been doped up on pregnancy hormones for the past few months so my thoughts are rarely cohesive. So this may be a bit rambling instead of witty and insightful.

Molly is shaping up to be one high-maintenance baby. Schedule, Schmedule, Who Needs a Schedule is going to be her motto. We're trying to go toward a 4 hour feeding schedule but Miss Molly is Not.Having.It. She did not get the memo that if you are born in a litter, you do not get the option of going your own way; that is reserved for Singletons and Only Children. I'd be happy if she (and hence, the others) were on a 3 hour schedule, but she won't even stay on that; it's more like 3 , then 3 1/2, then 2 1/2, then 4, etc. She is currently fussing after just 2 hours since her last feed and a mere 30 minutes since I finished the whole crew. Um, round the clock demand feeding is not an option, kiddo.

Part of the problem is that she is an inconsistent feeder. Because she does not always eat well, it is nearly impossible to stretch her out to 4 hours between feeds. But if she wakes up fussing and rooting, I try to hold her off at least a bit, until something near The Schedule, and then she's so tired from wiggling and rooting that she doesn't eat. I can't win. But she will learn, I am one stubborn and determined momma and this ain't my first barbecue, so I will prevail!

Did you know that 3 week olds can move? I mean like, "wait a minute, didn't I put you on that side of the crib?" move. Their new trick is to wiggle out from under the covers by scooting around. Seriously, I've been working with kids for 4 or 5 years and I've never seen a newborn that could scoot. This leads to a whole mess of unforeseen problems.

First, they don't stay covered. Now, there are 2 major rules for NICU babies: keep them warm and make them eat. We keep our house pretty cool so I'm vigilant about the individual swaddling, the bundling together, and the extra layer of blankets, but they are simply undoing all of that. Earlier, I had them all on their bellies and I went in to find Cooper half way across the crib and still moving. Unfortunately, he was partially using Emily for leverage.

Which leads to problem #2: They're practically crawling all over each other which makes co-sleeping in a crib in mom and dad's room a short-lived plan. I remember that Hunter and Hannah only co-slept for about 6 weeks so I guess we're on that same course with these three. I'm not looking forward to trooping up and down the stairs all night so I'll be researching a solution to this problem.

Cooper and Molly are snuggle-buddies. I think they must have come to an understanding while making do without Emily for those last few days in the NICU. If those 2 are next to each other, one or both of them will wiggle around until their head is against the other. Cooper will contort himself all kind of ways to get his head up against Molly, so I try to tuck them in pretty close together. I don't always put them in the same position in bed, so currently Emily is in the middle. She started fussing so I went in there to find Molly had scooted up against her and had her head in Emily's back, which Emily was trying to move away from. Seems like Em is going to be like Hannah and decidedly NOT a snuggler.

Nicknames: It's funny to me how nicknames evolve. Sometimes we think them up and they stick, sometimes they just come out and seem right. Here are the ones I/we are using.
Emily: Peanut (because she's so small), The Divine Miss Em, Em
Emily and Molly: M&Ms
Molly: Molly McButter, Precious, Pumpkin
Cooper: Cooper Pooper, Super Duper, L'il Buddy

That's all I can think of right now. Scott asked me yesterday if the "newness has worn off" and I'm used to having the three of them home, or if I still go to the crib and stare in amazement (which I did for most of the first 24 hours). A little of both I guess. Now I'm wrapped up in getting them incorporated into our lives, but I still stop and stare, too.

From this day on

Our lives are officially a lot crazier now. Today we brought home Molly and Cooper :) Getting them home was uneventful as was most of the day. They've all three had only mediocre feedings today but I'm confident they'll be back up to speed soon. We learned quickly that feeding all three at the same time may not be as simple as we hoped. Monday, with me here all by myself, ought to be very interesting.

The one thing we really have to work on is the breastfeeding. I've been pumping all this time and just started really working on latching with Emily this week. She's doing pretty fair with it. Molly has had one good nursing session earlier in the week but because she is the poorest feeder, I haven't wanted to use up her energy by working on it too much. Cooper is just not having it, however. We'll see how much I'm really able to concentrate on breastfeeding when I'm handling all the day feeds by myself.

So it's likely that my updates from here on out will be few and far between. Not that they are not remarkably easy babies, but just the sheer time involved in round the clock feedings and changing for three will be suck all the energy out of me.

PS I got my hair done today and I'm fitting into my old clothes, so for the moment, I look less like I just had triplets and am the mother of six, and more like one hot momma, LOL :)

An exciting day, from pre-dawn to well past dusk

Yesterday was full of excitement, both good and not-so. I'll start at the beginning of the day instead of good news/bad news.

Monday night Scott and I went to the hospital to visit and feed the babies. I was having a lot of pain and soreness in my back and abs, which is nothing new, my back hurts every night. By the time we left, I was leaned back in the seat of the car and just could not get comfortable. I took some pain medicine and took a bath trying to get comfortable, though I was ok enough to fiddle around the house getting baby things ready and went to bed around 11:30.

At 1 I woke up in a more pain. It was almost time to get up and pump anyway, so I did that and tried to go back to sleep. I never could get comfortable and the pain was steadily getting worse and was obviously in my stomach area. I was thinking bad reflux/heartburn or an ulcer so I was popping Tums, as well as taking another dose of another pain medicine. At 3 it was so bad that I was doubled over and finally called my mom (oh, the advantages of having a doctor in the family!). She came over and we talked about the pain, etc and both decided it sounded like my gallbladder. So off to the ER we went.

We were right, of course. I have "multiple gallstones" though my gallbladder is "not acutely inflamed". The recommendation is that I have it removed, sooner rather than later, because I "will continue to have attacks". Since I just had major surgery and already had an appt with my OB scheduled, I talked with her about it and she said that yes, I could go ahead and do it now, but that most surgeons would tell me to wait 6 weeks. We're thinking that if I can get it done ASAP, then maybe I can be recovered before the babies come home.

So, I'm in the process (as if I didn't have enough going on) of finding a surgeon and getting ANOTHER appt for that consultation. BTW, the pain stopped while I was in the ER and I'm fine now. I probably passed a stone.

When it rains, it pours.

Well, after my trip to the ER and the various drugs they gave me for pain, nausea, etc, I called the NICU to a) tell them I would not be in at 11 for feedings because I would be sleeping, and b) was my breastmilk going to be safe after those meds or should I "pump and dump" a couple of times. Somehow, word got around that I was extremely ill, running high fever, etc and they put a hold on Emily's release from the hospital. So when I arrived at 3 (after my OB appt) they said she wasn't going home. Um, WHAT!?! But I told them about the ER trip, that I DID NOT have fever and was obviously feeling fine, so they put a rush job on processing everything and we were walking out the door with her about 4.

Everyone is so excited that she is home. We've had to really hold off on holdings and visits, etc so that she can get rest after the excitement of getting home (she was awake most of the couple of hours between feedings while we changed her clothes, loaded her in the car, etc).

Then things got a little hairy. Her first feeding at home was ok, but then next her temp was very low and she would not eat. So I sat up with her on my chest for a couple of hours trying to get her warm. Then she had only a so-so feeding so, of course, we're freaking out because she's not holding her temp OR eating, both of which were criteria for her to leave the hospital in the first place. At 2 am she finally had a good feeding and a good temp and since then all has been well. We agreed on a feeding schedule that has me up during the night, so that by the time I feed and change her, make/warm bottles, pump, clean pump stuff, etc, I get to sleep about 1/5-2 hours before the next feeding. Kinda hard to get good sleep that way.

Just wait til we have 3 at home :o

I'm bringing home a baby Emily

I'm bringing home a baby Emily
Won't my mommy be so proud of me...

Finally we are going to be able to bring home one of our babies. Everyone is so excited! Our little peanut Emily is to be the first home. Though she's just a bit shy of 4 lbs, she's the best eater. They're all holding their temperatures and gaining weight, but Cooper and Molly just aren't eating consistently. I'm still hoping we'll turn that corner any day and they'll be home a day or so afterward.

Fingers crossed nothing changes and by tomorrow night we'll be on baby duty :)

If you are local, you may be seeing some of these pics in a small-town newspaper near you next week. They were taken by Baylor to send out with the article about us. I'm just glad to have a disc of them for a record of the first time the twins were able to see the babies. Noone under 12 is allowed in the NICU during RSV season (October - April) but our neonatalogist allowed this exception since a) it's publicity for Baylor, b) at the time the triplets were in a little private room off of the main NICU area, and c) she said she's the medical director and she can change the rules if she wants, LOL.

I've been patient long enough

I spent 3 months on bedrest, 11 weeks of that in the hospital. I am overdrawn at the patience bank.

I'm ready for my babies to come home. We were given hope that it could be this week, and it still could be, but the nurses think that is overly optimistic of the doctor to say so. I've been home 3 days and managed to get 95% ready for one or more of them. I lay in bed and look at the empty crib. I get up at 2 am to pump and end up fiddling with baby stuff for a few minutes instead of going back to bed right away. I've been to Target every day just to look at baby things. I'm ready to parent these babies that I worked so hard to get into this world.

I only get to see them during their feeding times, during the daytime hours that I am able to be up at the hospital. Like today - I was exhausted and ended up going home to rest instead of hanging around for the next round of feedings.

And there are just so many things to feel guilty about: sleeping in instead of being up there for the early feedings, opting to snuggle with one baby while the nurse goes ahead with diapering and feeding another, having someone pick up the older kids from school so that I can stay at the hospital.

This evening seems especially rough for me. Emily and Molly were put in the same bed together tonight and I haven't seen them yet. I called for an update and the nurse said they looked at each other for a while, but eventually went on to sleep. I'm dying to see it! I'm so afraid something will happen, one of them doesn't tolerate it, and they will separate them again.

Anyway, just the ramblings of a new momma denied the joy of her new babies at home.

Everything is going great!

Scott and I just can not stop smiling and saying how blessed and thankful we are. The babies are doing absolutely fabulous; even the NICU staff is amazed.

I'll post as much info as I can remember right now. We only have a few minutes to grab some dinner before heading back to the NICU for their next feeding.

The c-section went OK. Without going into too much detail, I could feel way more than I thought I should have, so I was yelling throughout, which was freaking Scott out. So as soon as the babies-being-born portion of the surgery was over, they put me completely out for the rest. But I don't remember or care about any of that; as soon as I heard each baby cry, all that was forgotten.

Molly Katherine 4 lbs 2 oz, 15" long, 7:37 pm
Cooper Benjamin 4 lbs 8 oz, 18", 7:38 pm
Emily Claire 3 lbs 15 oz, 18" long, 7:39

They were, and have been, all breathing only room air, which was a shock to the neonatalogist and nurses. They started nipple feeding (trying from a bottle vs. formula pushed into a tube into their stomach) the next day and have steadily been able to tolerate and increase several times a day, so that by tomorrow we expect them to get their IVs out and take all formula feedings (may still get some by tube if they aren't able to suck/nipple all of it). Again, this is unusually outstanding for just 33 weekers. They are all 3 on photo/light therapy for increased bilirubin, which is not uncommon; this should last a few days only.

The neonatalogist told us to go home and get things ready, because they may be coming home as early as 7-10 days!!! We were shocked, not prepared (lol), and thrilled that it could be that soon.

My recovery is slower than I would like, but probably actually pretty normal considering the level of deconditioning I was in, followed by a major surgery. I was supposed to go home tomorrow, but I told them I was going to make certain my pain is well under control before I leave.

And finally, our excitement was compounded by this little tidbit. Take a look:
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5951072&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1

So much has happened this week; I hope I covered it all :)

The babies are coming! The babies are coming!

After 2 days of near constant cramping and contractions that the meds would only stop for an hour at a time, they agreed to deliver me tonight! So we now have a c-section scheduled for 7 pm, March 3rd. We'll post details, updates, pics as soon as we can .

Thanks for everyone's continued prayers, love and support.