33 weeks and 4 days = 1 week and 2 days old!

Time already seems to be flying by!! We are very fortunate that things, for the most part, have been moving in a positive direction over the past 9 days. The weekend went great as well, and we were happy to arrive this morning to find Payton off of his CPAP and doing well, yahoo!! Might as well jump in to additional updates:

Evan: now 4lb3oz! Evan also practiced breastfeeding for the 1st time this morning and the lactation consultant gave him an A++. They are still so young and get very tired really quick so having him latch on and do his thing a few times before tuckering out was awesome. Dad then fed him about 5cc's from a bottle and he finished up through the NG feeding tube. Evan looks more and more like big brother Brody (not to mention identical to his brother's...with Riley still being a "mini-version").

Riley: now 3lb6oz! Riley also practiced BF'ing this am and earned himself an "A" (not as successful as Evan, but had a terrific 1st practice). He then had about 3 cc's from a bottle from Mom and finished his feeding through the NG tube. Riley and Evan are off the bili-blanket for the 2nd day now and we are optimistic that they will not have to be put back on this time (Payton also looked great and will hopefully be off tomorrow).

Payton: Payton's weight is not as accurate at this point, he is weighing in at 4lb6oz but has a lot of additional water weight right now as he looks pretty "puffy". The Drs believe that this should all pass soon as he is off of the CPAP (hooray!!!) and feedings are being increased and the IV fluids being decreased. Payton is still being watched very closely but we are happy for the progress he is making. They had to re-do some labs today to rule out possible bacteria in his blood, which they believe to have been contaminated during the long, strained process they went through to get the blood drawn. Please pray that this next draw comes back normal and no possibility of an infection.

We did get moved into a private room, but it is rather cramped and not exactly what we were expecting. As soon as Payton is stable off of his CPAP for a few days we expect to be moved from the level III NICU to a bigger room in the level II NICU.

Mom and Dad feel like the adrenaline phase has now worn off and we are hoping our bodies will adjust to our new schedule very soon so we do not feel like zombies the majority of the time! The commute to and from the hospital and trying to pump at least every 3 hours to try and get the supply to increase really takes a toll when you also want to give your oldest Son the attention he needs too! Uncle T continues to be a great support for us and Brody got some extra attention from more family over the weekend as well.

Brody came into the NICU for the 2nd time today to visit his brothers and was very excited!! He hung up a picture he drew and talked to each of them. He asks to see them everyday and we can't wait until they are home so he can do just that :)

 Uncle T holding Evan

 Daddy kangarooing Payton...CPAP free!! And Big Brother B saying hello <3

 Riley getting weighed, "horn" (IV) free!!

 Evan and Riley (with paci)

 Evan looking pretty happy now that his belly is getting filled!

This is Riley, I can really only tell because of his blanket and I know he was wearing this shirt today, we are going to be in trouble!!

 Daddy holding Payton, feeling pretty good to not have his CPAP on!!

 No, Daddy...don't put me down!!!

Update From Dad

Payton had his follow-up echo done today and we just received a call from Dr N with the results.  The open PDA vessel he was being treated for looks considerably better.  Which means the medicine has been working and is on its way to being closed.  They are going to discontinue the meds for it and even better news is that surgery is out of the discussion.  The other thing they found was that he does not have a bicuspid aortic valve like they told us previously.  He has a normal tricuspid aortic valve just like his brothers.  This eliminates the need for follow-ups with cardiologists in the future.  Payton is still on the cpap, but they lowered the settings earlier today and he is going to starting feedings again now that he is off the PDA meds.

Evan and Riley are still kicking butt and taking names.  They are going to be off their IV's later tonight and will be taking full feedings following that.  They did have one small set back however that they both needed to be placed back on the bili-blankets.  Their bili levels increased a little overnight which is common and they need to be back on the lights a little longer.

The other big news is that they are moving.  All 3 will be moved from the location in the NICU where they have been since birth, to a spacious private room in the NICU.  All of them get to stay together and we get the additional privacy for kangaroo care, breast pumping, etc... 

That's all for now.  Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and prayers!!

Ben.

PROUD Big Brother Brody Meets the Trips!!

Yes, Brody got to meet his little brothers today, more on that later!

Mom, Dad, Uncle T, and Auntie D went to visit the boys today for their 11am cares. (There is a new "donation only" daycare that recently opened where we have taken Brody for a couple hours each day and he has adapted to it really well. When I asked him yesterday what he wanted to do today he said "go play with my "hospital friends!" Such a sweet boy!!) We have found that if we go to the 11am cares it times it perfectly for getting an in-person report from the neonatologist and allows us to ask any additional questions we may have. Updates:

Evan and Riley: (funny how they are on the same page with everything, can't wait for P to join them!) Both removed from the Bili-Blankets and are now sunglass and glow-warm free!! Oxygen monitoring has been discontinued and their IVs will be soon to follow as their feedings continue to increase. Currently they are only getting additional nutrients through their IVs which will no longer be needed when they reach 25 ml of breast milk (via feeding tube) every 3 hours. They started at 3 ml and are now at about 17 ml and increasing daily. I can't believe these 2 will be almost completely cord free within a matter of days, they have progressed so fast and are doing great!

E and R also had echocardiograms today "just to see" and both checked out great. No PDA issues or bicuspid aortic valves instead of tricuspid aortic valves. I may have forgot to mention that Payton had an incidental cardiac finding during his echo that showed him having bicuspid valve, which happens and most of the time we don't know this until much later in life or not at all. Payton will follow-up with Cardiologist regarding this within the next year they say.

Payton: We got to hold him last night for the first time each, it was magical! Ben snuggled him first while I pumped and then I had the pleasure and he tolerated it all extremely well, such a relief at last. While I was holding him I put my hand on his chest and told him how special he was and that he was named first and the other names had to "fit" with his and that we loved him so much! He then reached both of his hands around my index and middle finger and squeezed them before simply holding them for the next 30 minutes, it melted my heart! It was like it was he way of reassuring me that he was ok and knew that we have been there for him this whole time, even after all the "hands on" care we have only been able to provide for his brothers. This is something Ben and I have struggled with this whole time, feeling like we were caring for "twins" :( But we have to admit that doing a 3rd set of cares of snuggle time was completely different last night and A LOT more time consuming, haha. I guess we were able to ease into the whole triplet parenting!!

Payton is still on the overhead bili-light but his labs decreased as well, so he is on his way. His lungs keep looking better and his CO2 labs were improved, which is great and means he is progressing without the help of a vent- go buddy!! They had to stop his tube feedings while on the PDA medicine which the last dose will be given this evening and a repeat echo to check on the PDA will happen Friday morning. We all feel he will continue on this positive trend, thanks for all the prayers!!

Mommy is also feeling better with everyday and I feel that I today has definitely been my best so far. I am starting to ween off of the pain meds, but still have a way to go. The flood gates have been open....my milk is in!! Trying to pump every 2-3 hrs is hard work, especially when I am so tired and sore from the c-section but it is definitely paying off. I get great encourage from Ben and all of the nurses who congratulate me when the boys get their entire feedings from just me and the extra calories that now add as well. (Oh, forgot to mention that all boys have "bottomed-out" and are now back to gaining weight!! Thatta boys ;) hopefully they get back up and past their birth weights very soon.)

THE BEST part of today was when Brody met his little brothers! He did such a great job, just like we assumed he would. I was holding Riley in my shirt "kangaroo style", Evan was swaddled in his side of the crib and Payton was in his crib with his sunglasses and CPAP covering most of his face. Ben carried Brody in and introduced Big Brother to the NICU. When Brody saw me holding Riley Ben brought him over and let him touch his back and say hello, immediately Brody said "I want to meet Evan!" so Ben brought him over to Evan and Brody touched his head and then said "I want to meet Payton!!" so Ben brought him over to see Payton to say hello. (It was so cute that he had to "meet" everyone before he settled in to really see what was going on <3 ) Brody was truly a PROUD big brother when he told them each that he loved them, read them a story and told us all that HE had 3 little brothers that he was going to take care of!

I could go on forever, truly. I will post a few pics and be done for today though! (I am in the habit of taking an afternoon nap in bed and writing this on our mini laptop in bed when I wake up if anyone is wondering how I get this done ;) and also because we have great support helping us out so we can do things like this!!)

UPDATE*** Pics have to wait :( Sorry!! I just spent FOREVER picking a bunch out and then lost all the hard work I did uploading each of them, UGH! I must pump now and head back to the NICU....OK, I will post a couple- but not the story line I was hoping for!!

 Evan and Daddy, Riley and Mommy (in our "Kangaroo" chairs)

 Sweet Payton (under his bili-light)

 Mom and Dad doing "baby cares"

Riley on the left (IV currently in scalp :( ) and Evan on the right....roomies :)

Payton's PDA

Dr. N (neonatologist) just called with results from Payton's echocardiogram. He has patent ductus arteriosus, (more PDA information here), or PDA. When we met with Dr. N this morning during rounds she showed us his chest x-ray which showed a slighlty enlarged left side of his heart and still "hazy" lungs. She was now believing that one of Payton's heart vessels did not close off at birth like it should have when those 1st deep breaths are initially taken. This may be associated with his lack of surfactant in his premature lungs as well. Payton will be treated with indomethacin every 12 hrs for the next 36 hrs and have a repeat echo this Friday. We are hoping that this will show a closure of the vessel and we will not be considering any further treatments.

On the bright side they did take out Payton's ventilator today and he seems to be doing just fine on the CPAP only. We are hoping when we are in tonight that this will mean that we can finally hold him, but will understand if we need to wait until tomorrow. When determining holding they also take into consideration the baby's mood and the state of the surroundings. They do pick up on a lot of commotion at times and their side of the NICU filled up yesterday so our privacy has dwindled a little bit.

Evan and Riley are now "roomies!" They started sharing a space sometime last night and I think really enjoy each other's company. Riley was even reaching out his hand to Evan this morning, it was precious. They have also increased E and R's feedings to 11 ml every 3 hours, this is huge since they started out at 3 ml! (Payton just started 3ml feedings today and is doing great, go buddy!!) All 3 of their bilirubin labs decreased today (hoot hoot!) and E and R have even been switched to bili-blankets rather than the overhead lights. Some of you may remember when Brody was a "glow worm" with his bili-blanket. This is an improvement as we can now swaddle these wild men with the bili-blanket on the inside! Wild Men? Yes, these 2 need to be tamed at times and swaddling seems to do the trick! They like to know what is going on at all times, with everyone, and also let you know if something is bothering them. (Hopefully Payton will stay mellow and we won't have 3 feisty babes, haha)

Now, time to go feed Brody and give him some special attention before we return to the NICU.

xoxo, Brooke and Ben

Trips Day 3!

Evan posing for a pic during "baby cares." This is about every 3 hours when they would get off their CPAP and get cleaned up, fed, diaper changed, etc. You can still see his hat ring as it has to be worn very tight in order to hold the CPAP in place (which Evan and Riley no longer have!)

Daddy and Payton. Payton is still on his vent and they are all currently getting a suntan under the bili-lights. We hope to be able to hold Payton very soon, they are weaning him off of the vent slowly.

Lil-Big Man Riley ;)

Riley, Dad and Mom

Riley and Evan are proving to be very feisty! They are so vocal and rather rambunctious! I have called in the middle of the night to check on Payton and had to laugh hearing the 2 of them chatter (ok, squeal) like 2 billy goats! Getting to know their early characteristics is so much fun and they are all shining through in their own way ;)

Pics to come of Day 4 (today) soon, Mommy needs a nap. More updates soon too.

xoxo, Brooke

Updates

The easy one- Mommy is doing well! I am getting around, yesterday a bit too much as my legs are pretty swollen this morning, but I got 4 boys to take care of!! My time is either spent in the NICU or resting in my bed, so I am following Dr orders ;) Ben is a pro at baby cares and is teaching me the NICU ropes, he is the best Daddy!! Uncle Tyson has been amazing taking care of big bro (T calls him "bubba" it's too cute) Brody. Unfortunately he is also experiencing a fussier side of B as this new (temporary) schedule is really throwing him off. We hope to get B into the NICU soon to meet his brothers, but we have shown him pics and he already shows favoritism towered Riley, too funny!

Baby A/1/Evan: doing great! Still the biggest of the boys, but down to 3lb11oz, which is normal. Is under bili-lights for jaundice (to be expected), being weaned off of the CPAP breathing assistance, and getting 5ml feedings that he is able to partially keep down. Evan likes attention and isn't afraid to tell us about it!

Baby B/2/Payton: needs some support and prayers! Payton has had the most difficulties breathing since birth, although he was doing so much better yesterday afternoon and impressing everyone, he did take a few steps back last night. We went down at 8pm thinking we were going to be able to hold him for the 1st time after Ben did his baby cares, but he ended up with some blood being suctioned from his lungs and Dr. R (awesome neonatologist) and NP Dawn having to put him on a ventilator and is now critically stable. Dr. R is optimistic that this is all due to premature lungs and not something worse, we should know more as he monitored closely today.

Baby C/3/Riley: doing awesome!! He is our lil guy but has the most fight! When I called to check in on them at 5am (I figure if I am up to use the bathroom I might as well call their nurses to get a report ;) ) they had told me he had been off of his CPAP for a couple of hours already and was doing great! I could hear him chattering in the background, we couldn't decide if he sounded more like a goat or a horse! I am hoping when we see him this morning he is still off of it, that would be so great!

OK, I am getting anxious to see them all just sitting here typing this, so I must sign off :) We have missed a TON of phonecalls but appreciate the voicemails and your understanding that it may be Spring 2012 before we are able to return the calls, haha!

The trips arrived!!

As many of you know the trips arrived on 1-22-11 at 8:45-8:48am! I was actually discharged on the 21st hoping to at least enjoy being ho e through the weekend, but they had their own agenda. I spent the 21st catching up on DVR'd shows, watching Brody play, being well fed, and a much need looooong shower at home to revive my spirits!

I woke up at 4:30am on the 22nd to have my usual Fiber One bar (I was still on the hospital schedule of course!)within 20 minutes of being up I started having consistent contractions that were "crampier" than usual. I laid in bed hoping that they would settle down, I really did not want to end up being re-admitted so quickly! I think I woke Ben up at 6:30am telling him to get in the shower as we needed to at least go into L&D triage. I was very firm that if I wasn't dilating we would come home, I didn't want to believe that these were actually the real thing. At some point while Ben was showering I went in and told him that we needed to go "now" as I was being doubled over in pain by this point. We repacked the same bags we just unpacked the night before and were out the door by 7am.

I emailed my Dr from the car ride as she was on-call and was a fellow BB addict like myself ;) I told her if this wasn't labor I didn't know what was! As we were checking in she was on the phone with secretary prepping them with order a as she drove in, I love her!

As soon as I was changed the chaos started. Dr. L walked in to check me and sure enough I was already at 6cm, progressing quickly and in a lot of pain! Dr headed to change and we weren't far behind in meeting the rest of the team in the OR. Since this was just meant to be a quick update as I will just say for now that by 8:45am we were meeting Mr. Evan Lyal, followed by Payton James and then Riley Warren!! It was (and continues to be) a very surreal experience.

Many more details to come, but for now thank you all for your prayers and support! They have brought us so far as all 3 boys are doing great and so is Mom!! Ben has been amazing, as usual, he already has the "baby cares" down like a pro and I get tears just watching him take such great pride in his boys. My recovery is allowing me to become more involved today and I can't wait to get back down there (NICU) after we have some time with Brody before Uncle T takes him home :)

**sorry for any errors as I type this on my iPad and fully medicated with no proof reading or editing! I am sure you can understand, haha

Day 27....UGH

For those of you that are fellow triplet Moms-to-be reading this, if you are looking for inspiration you might want to stop reading now! I have definitely been having a "poor me" phase the last couple of days :( I am hoping that I can get out of this funk soon and it's not here to stay. I did go back and look at baby pictures of Brody today and at least had some happy tears, which was a nice change from the I-am-about-to-crack tears I have been having the last 36 hours or so.

Things that originally (say during the initial 3 weeks) use to not really bother me and I could overlook are now over the top irritating/frustrating/depressing/etc. Just to name a few:

1) THE FOOD SERVICE (besides the food being yucky and loooong delivery waits, they can't even get the orders right!)
--I ordered a toasted English muffin as part of my breakfast yesterday, they forgot to toast it. This may seem like nothing, but when you really don't want to order anything ANYTHING off of the menu because you have had it all and it is all mostly awful but you order anyways because you need to feed the babies, it is a really big let down when you don't get what you ordered (an hour later!) Fast-forward to lunch, still in a funky mood, again not feeling like anything on menu (I did know that my Ben and brother were bringing pizza for dinner, so I figured I better get some protein since breakfast was bust). I chose the Asian Noodle Salad with Grilled Chicken, I figured at the very least I would get 3-4oz of grilled chicken down. The tray was delivered and when I sat up and took off the cover I searched the salad and could not find a trace of chicken- they forgot it!! This instantly brought tears, I hate having no control of most everything! I called the menu line for the first time reporting the mistake (I usually overlook food-related mistakes once every-other-day and I don't even order all my meals from here, thank goodness!!). I sat on the edge of my bed and tried to pull myself together before the delivery person returned, about 20 minutes later. The chicken finally came only for me to realize that they sent a spoon instead of a fork with my salad! The tears came back and I think I scared the poor delivery guy, he panicked and found a small plastic fork from one of the nurses. I couldn't help myself, as he was leaving I muttered "You know I have been here for almost a month and this is getting really old, they didn't get my breakfast right this morning either!" The nice guy took some notes and said he would make sure my tray was checked from now on. We will see how that goes, I haven't tested it yet as Ben brought me breakfast (more about that in a bit) and I ordered something they couldn't screw up for lunch: cheese and crackers and a vanilla shake.

2) WI-FI
--Seriously, for a long timer and someone as addicted to the Internet and my iPad as me, a bad Wi-Fi connection is beyond annoying. Other people have had to have complained about this before?? I usually give up with a huge sigh and throw my iPad. I have a separate Verizon wireless card that I can use on my laptop (thank you KP-IT!!! You could teach Prov a thing or two!) but it is not as accessible, as I need to actually sit up to use my laptop, which is not the easiest, hence the less frequent blog posts.

3) TV REMOTE CONTROL
--It just plain sucks.

4) DVD REMOTE CONTROL
--Wait, there isn't one, you have to get out of bed and use the buttons on the TV. I have not watched one DVD without Ben being here (we had a "date night" and watched The Social Network, it was sweet).

5) LAB DRAWS
--Lab results only take 30 minutes for the Dr to get (I asked) but yet they come between 5 and 7am even though my Dr rounds at 9am at the earliest, usually much later. Some of the lab techs are thoughtful and turn on minimal lights and try not to fully wake me, while others turn on every light and talk to me like it's 4pm. Don't they get the hint that I am not interested in small talk when I don't even move my eye mask to look them in the eyes??

I will stop at 5 so that maybe I will have some motivation to post again in order to continue my venting ;)

The babies continue to be FABULOUS! We are truly grateful and appreciative of this. Mom continues to be stable most days and in a gray zone every few days. The gray zone is an annoying zone, kinda like a roller coaster of emotions too. Take this morning for example, they held my breakfast after seeing my labs (except for platelets, they weren't back yet) just in case I had to deliver today due to worsening preeclampsia. My Uric Acid is very high, which isn't worth delivering over by itself, but I have also had a headache since yesterday and they were afraid my platelets were going to come back drastically lower and those 3 combined would have probably called for a delivery. I called Ben and told him the scoop so he jumped in the shower and was on his way. Well, my platelets came back stable (still low, but haven't changed over the last week) so they started a 24 hr urine collection on me (again, ugh) and told me I could have breakfast as today was not the day (great news, but still an emotional roller coaster in my condition). I called Ben and luckily caught him on his way and he brought up breakfast, thankfully this averted another meltdown ;) (I do also still have a headache, but extra-strength Tylenol makes it more dull so they are much more comfortable with this)

OK, need to lay back down before the boys get here...I need to be able to sit up to play "cars" with my Brody for a few minutes, so I need to rest up!!

Almost 11 pounds of baby!!

Yep, 10lbs 15oz to be exact! (Well, exact as an US can get) We had our 30 week 4 day growth scan yesterday and we are the talk of the L&D floor with the weights of our boys :) A and B are both each 3lb12oz (82nd percentile) and C is doing great at 3lb7oz (65th percentile). The scan also showed them all doing their "practice breathing" so we really couldn't ask for anything better!! We were quite relieved after this scan, but know that each day at Mama's Inn will allow them such a better start to their new life outside.

As for Mom, I am hanging in there...at times, barely! Today is my 20th day, not that I am counting or anything. My contractions have been quite manageable the last week as long as I am lying down and taking my meds. I have a feeling my dropping platelet count or increasing protein might cause delivery and not a baby health scare (both platelet and protein are abnormal right now and trending, but at least not doing so drastically everyday). I am sitting up right now because my back is killing me, but I think that is more than likely due to my constant horizontal position and not labor brewing up.

I have met about million nurses during the last 20 days, and of course have my favorites, but am always well taken care of. The one nurse that had me over the weekend told me that I needed to start acting out so that she doesn't have to fight for me when she comes back next week. Apparently I am one the favorites (not bragging or anything ;) ) but it is probably due to the fact that I am pregnant with identical triplets that none of them have delivered before! Or because I have the cutest lil boy that they like to be entertained by. Or probably because I have a super sweet Husband and Mom that have been taking turns taking care of me and making the nurse's lives easier :) (Or Ben's charming personality and good looks that are now getting him homemade meals from said nurses!!)

I am pretty sure blood flow has been cut off to my feet since I have been sitting up writing this, so I must "resume my position!"

Brooke

30 Weeks!

We made another HUGE milestone!! and it feels good :) Something about 30 weeks makes me more at peace being here (if I keep saying this maybe I will feel it too..but really, I would rather be HOME!!!!)....just waiting for the big day. Of course we want to keep on truckin' along, but I also believe that the path is already laid and they will now come when they are suppose to. But if labor does start within the next couple of weeks again they will put me back on the Mag to try and squeeze an additional day or two out, also for the fact that the Mag helps with the babies brain development.

It has been a while since I have posted (sorry!!), I have good OK days and I have less than OK days. Yesterday was not-so-good. It seems my body was getting use to the Procardia and I was no longer able to keep the contractions to less than 5/6 an hour so we switched to Terbutaline to mix things up a bit. The switch made me feel pretty crappy but I am happy to report that I feel much better today. The boys have looked great on every non-stress test (minimum of 2/day) that we have done, the RNs say they are their favorite patients! I am well taken care of here by a great nursing staff and wonderful doctors, I couldn't ask for more.

We have been lucky to have constant support over the last 2 weeks. Initially by my brother Alex and his girlfriend Rachel who spent their Christmas between our house and the hospital when I was at my worst. Then my Aunts Debby and Cathy came down from Washington for 5 days and were a huge help!! They washed baby clothes (and more), cleaned up a lot of gear/car seats, loved Brody to pieces and made some really yummy dinners for us!! And now, we are blessed to have Grandma Sharon here since last Thursday, taking care of her baby and her grandbaby (and the husband too!) Grandma, Ben and Brody spend a lot of "shifts" visiting me which really helps get my mind off of this "room", even when we just sit and do nothing :)

My last "official" day of working remotely is tomorrow, so I should be up to posting more frequently- even if they are just to tell you that I am still pregnant :)

Here is a pic Ben took a week ago, although we all think I definitely had a "growth spurt" the past couple of days so I will have to have him take another.....and I am happy to report that I still have avoided stretch marks, YAHOO!!! (Not that they are bad or anything,  I just think it would be pretty impressive to pull off!)

                                                           What a beautiful backdrop!!

Brody is such a good boy when he visits, I love it! He just plays all around the room and takes time out to also cuddle with me in bed. He is such a ham when it comes to the staff here too, they just eat him up.