bye bye poopy bag!

Evan had his appt. with Dr. Z yesterday and he gave us the green light to schedule the takedown surgery for next week! We are so relieved and quite ecstatic to get rid of the ol' poop-in-a-bag. I will be forever grateful if this 2nd surgery is a success and we can kiss the ostomy bags goodbye forever!! Poor Evan's skin has turned into leather from having to change the bag due to leaks so many times daily. No matter how perfect of a seal we have initially he has a little hernia that bulges and eventually breaks the seal (usually at about 2am) and then you have a screaming baby covered in poo and have to start the 5 (feels like 20) step process to get a new bag on. I believe the other problem that is causing the leaking is that his stoma is almost flush with his skin, so once a little bit of liquid makes its way under the seal the strong acidic poo eats away and finds a path out. We will update again but will be asking for your prayers next Wednesday morning as Evan enters his 2nd (and hopefully final) surgery on his belly. They will be taking his stoma and the mucous fistula which are currently sticking out through his abdomen and connecting them back together and hoping that the next time he eats it will exit his bum! There are some major risks with this surgery but he is going in MUCH healthier than he did the last time so we are hoping the recovery will be much easier on him. He has to be on clear liquids (pedialite) 24 hrs prior, that is going to be tough!!! Especially since he seems to have his appetite back :)

They are anticipating his post-op stay will be about 5 days, but could be as many as 10. We have been having a really sweet Doula (from Renaissance Doula) who was looking for experience with multiples come to our house a few days a week to help out. We are the same age and have a lot in common- so I really enjoy having her around! This has allowed Ben and I to get out of the house together to run a few errands (with Evan in tow, we will let D handle all 3 when E gets off his feeding tube and poops in a diaper).We had our last night Doula help (from ABC Doula) last weekend (and were really spoiled with a warm breakfast and a spotless house! And even tulips and a Mother's Day card, C is the BEST!!! She thinks it was her last night but I am hoping we will see her again too!) Ben's brother, Uncle D, will be out here next Friday for a week so he will be getting a crash course in diaper duty and bottle feedings for sure :) Brody is pretty excited to see him (although he reeeally wants to see Auntie H too!!)

I can't believe how much the boys change with every new day. We are eating up all of the smiles and coo's that come with their more alert hours. Riley is especially strong and isn't much for napping, he is definitely going to keep us on our toes! Payton really likes to nap (just like his daddy did as a baby) and seems to follow a bit behind his brothers with his milestones ( I know, quit comparing!) Evan is right in between- just easy and laid back! I am going to miss his feeding tube when he gets a bit stronger because the continuous drip he receives for 8 hours over night allows him to sleep through the entire night! Feeding 2 babies at 2/3am is SO MUCH easier than feeding 3. Ben and I have joked about putting in the extra NG tubes we have into Payton and Riley- they should automatically do that for multiples, tee hee.

Here are some recent pics. I have about a 1,000 more that I will upload into our Picasa web album. 

E-P-R (notice the blanket behind Evan; we had just finished getting everyone dressed for the day and I wanted to take some pics bu of course when I picked up Evan his bag was leaking for the 100th time!! I didn't care at that point, a wanted a picture! He didn't seem to mind to spend an extra few minutes before getting cleaned up smiling for the camera)

Payton having sweet dreams

Riley, wide awake per usual

Brody taking a picture of me while I was taking his

Dad and Easy E

R-P-E (You can tell who is the one I am trying to get stop crying for the pic (there is always 1!) by the paci in his mouth. Taking pictures of 3 boys is quite the task!)

This is what happens when there are 3 screaming babies and bottles need to be warmed; they get swaddled, paci'd and snuggled! (Note Payton, that kid will sneak a nap in whenever he can!)