March 6, 2011

Day 48 in the hospital.  This morning we got to sleep in until around 6:45 AM.  We skipped the 5 AM feeding since Hayden was with us.  It was amazing to wake up with Hayden sleeping with us!  My Mom and Dad came over at 7:15 to watch Hayden since he was still sleeping so Sarah and I could go to the trips' 8 AM feeding.  We found out that all 3 ate great throughout the night and Hunter and Holden passed their car seat challenges!  Dr. K came by and said that the plan is for all 3 to discharge tomorrow!  Grandpa Don, Grandma Darlene, Bob and Nancy brought up my Grandpa and Grandma's truck to haul the trailer home.  They, along with my Mom and Dad, helped us pack most of our things up.  Hayden had fun with us today.  We have sure missed him!  Bob and Nancy took Hayden home with them and are going to keep him tonight.  My Grandpa and my Dad drove the trailer home and my Mom and Grandma did some errands for us.  This evening, Hadley passed her car seat challenge.  We had to borrow Katie and Kyle's car seat they have for Olivia in order to do Hadley's car seat challenge because the one we had for her is rated at 5 pounds (and she is not 5 yet).  Olivia's is rated at 4 pounds.  At 5 PM, all 3 trips nursed 18 ml from Sarah, then finished the rest with their bottles.  We love their Tommee Tippee bottles so far!  Sarah and I cooked some enchiladas Nancy made for us.  We cooked them in the common area in the guest housing.  We plan on going back to the 8 PM feeding to weigh them and feed them.  We plan on getting lots of rest tonight, so Sarah is going to pump throughout the night, and I will run over the breast milk for them.  That way, we can get lots of sleep tonight.  We will go to tomorrow morning's 8 AM feeding.  Wow, what a journey so far!  Tonight is our last night here at St. Vincent's!  We can't wait to bring our triplets home tomorrow.  Hayden will be anxiously waiting for their arrival! 
Current weights, which will be their going home weights are:
Hunter 5 lbs 11.6 oz (up 20 grams)
Hadley 4 lbs 14. 6 oz (up 55 grams)
Holden 5 lbs 3.8 oz (up 55 grams)

Hunter, Haldey, and Holden

Far to near: Hunter, Hadley, Holden

Hunter and Hadley

Thanks again,

Casey

March 5, 2011

Day 47 in the hospital.  Today was a great day because our trio all ate all day without any tube feedings, so the plan is for the doctor to decide tomorrow if they can come home early next week!  Sarah also got to discharge!  My mom was still here so she helped us move Sarah into the guest housing.  Sarah took a 3 hour nap, which was needed after her long road thus far.  The nurse today said that in her 11 years of working in the NICU here and at Legacy Emanuel, our triplets are only the 2nd or 3rd set that potentially could all discharge at the same time!  She was amazed how healthy they have been since birth and we were thankful that all they needed to do was learn to eat and grow.  The nurse praised Sarah for making it to 34 weeks 1 day.  My Dad and Ashley brought Hayden up to see us.  Hayden got to finally meet his 2 brothers and sister for the first time.  This was such a special moment!  When we held him up to their crib, he wanted to climb in with them.  When I was holding Hunter, he came over to me and put his head on Hunter's legs to snuggle and give him "loves."  This brought tears to our eyes because this was the moment we have been waiting for since they were born.  Wow, we have 4 healthy, cute kids!  We are so blessed!  Then, Katie, Kyle, and Olivia came too.  We all ate at the Olive Garden to celebrate Sarah getting discharged and the success of our trio so far.  My Dad and Mom stayed in the trailer and Hayden got to sleep with Sarah and me!  Sarah and I gave the triplets a bath around midnight, so we never got to bed until around 1:45 AM.  The plan is to do Hunter and Holden's car seat challenges.  In order to do this, they sit in their car seats for 2 hours and they watch their oxygen level to make sure it stays within normal limits. 

Hayden was so excited to see Sarah

and give his brothers and sisters a gift!

Hayden pointing down the haul to the trips' room

Hayden wanting to climb into their crib with them



Thanks for all your prayers,

Casey    

March 4, 2011

Day 46 in the hospital.  Last night was a huge milestone and memory we will never forget.  Hunter, Hadley, and Holden all drank their entire bottles at the 11 PM feeding.  Today we had our awesome nurse Angie back and we got a lot of things done today.  Hunter also got his NG tube out early morning today.  Then, Holden got his out today too!  So, they are all eating and growing good!  Hunter and Holden got circumcised today, and they did great.  I watched, and I was glad I did so I could help comfort them after they were done.  Hunter fell right asleep, but Holden had a harder time, so we got both of them Tylenol.  Hayden was with Bob and Nancy this morning until my dad took him this afternoon.  We may get to bring Hayden for the first time to see our triplets!  As far as Sarah, she is staying another night to make sure the Labetalol is working even when she is up and about more.  Her swelling is better too, so we are thinking she can discharge tomorrow, then we will stay in the guest housing until we get to take our trio home.  My mom stayed last night and all day today to help out.  She is going to stay again tonight so she can help me move Sarah's things into the guest housing.  Bob, Nancy, and Amy came up tonight.  Amy got to finally meet our trio and got to see Sarah for the 2nd time since Sarah has been here.  I ordered Dominos pizza for us tonight, which brought memories of the ante partum room where Sarah was forever before delivery.  Sarah is still busy pumping every 2-3 hours to make sure our trio gets mostly breast milk, fortified with some formula.  We took an infant CPR class today with another couple that had twin boys born on the same day our trips were born (in fact I remember seeing their twins right next to our trio in the level 3 NICU. 

I decided to "tandem bottle-feed" Hadley and Hunter

Angie, the trips' nurse was phenomenal!

Thanks again for your continued thoughts and prayers.  We finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

    -Casey

March 3, 2011

Day 45 in the hospital.  My mom and I stayed in the guest housing and I got the best rest I have since being here.  Hayden stayed with my dad last night.  Sarah was up all night pumping every 2 hours to send the milk to the NICU.  This morning my mom and I went to the triplets 8 AM feeding and Hunter drank around 43 ml, Hadley drank her full bottle (45 ml), and Holden drank 23 ml.  Dr. K said that all 3 triplets are "the healthiest and cutest triplets he has ever seen!"  He is going to trial having Hunter and Hadley's NG tubes out today.  Holden is not far behind.  Dr. M. saw Sarah this morning and they are going to keep her another day, give her more Lasix IV, stop the magnesium, and watch her blood pressures.  After 24 hours of not getting to see the babies, Sarah got to nurse all 3 babies.  Hadley got to get her NG tube out.  The goal is for each baby to eat 400 ml in 24 hours.  They are getting 50 ml each feeding.  If Hadley is not able to eat this full amount, then they will put down the NG tube and give a feeding through this, then take it out.  This will be the same case for the boys.  This afternoon Sarah's headache was bad and her blood pressure was still high, so she was started on Labetalol 200 mg BID.  My mom is staying again tonight to help us, which is really nice.  My mom and I brought Sarah Best Teriyaki food back to her room and ate with her.  Then, we went to the 8 PM feeding and Hadley drank her whole bottle (45 ml) so she still does not have her NG tube in.  Hunter also drank his whole bottle (50 ml).  If he drinks one more full bottle, he can get his NG tube out too!  Holden is close behind.  He drank 16 ml.  Sarah started to feel better tonight. Hayden is at his Grandma and Grandpa Bradford's house. 

Hunter is getting more and more alert every day!

Our tiny Hadley, notice that my thumb is almost as long as her head!

Holden doing "kangaroo care" with Sarah

Sarah holding Holden and Hunter while I was feeding Hadley

Thanks for your prayers,

Casey

March 2, 2011

March 2, 2011, Day 44 in the hospital.  Today was the first day since the triplets were born that did not go good. The triplets are great, but Sarah is not doing so well. We went for a lactation consult and the nurse took her blood pressure and it was 164/93. The nurse called Dr. Pandipati and he wanted to see her asap. I took her to his office and her bp was 160/100, so he readmitted her to the hospital and he is giving her iv magnesium and some iv Lasix. He said that in some cases preeclampsia gets worse after delivery, which is Sarah's case. Now she can't see the babies until she is off magnesium, which won't be until tomorrow afternoon. I am exhausted and this brings more stress, so lots of prayers are needed. However, we got into guest housing today because the trailer we have stayed in for 2 nights has a 1/2 full gray water tank already, and we have no place to dump it.  The guest housing is within walking distance and is like a hotel.  It has a common area for cooking and our room has a tv, fridge, microwave, shower, and queen bed.  This will be nice for us once Sarah gets to discharge.  My mom came up tonight to stay with me and she helped me move stuff from the trailer to the guest housing.  Sarah's parents then came up to see Sarah and Nancy got to see the triplets.  Hayden stayed with my dad tonight and had fun with him.  My mom stayed with me while I fed the trio at their 8 PM feeding.  Tonight they all ate the most they have at the same feeding!  Hunter ate 42 ml, Hadley ate 45 ml, and Holden ate 25 ml.  Their current weights tonight are:
Hunter 5 lb 6.8 oz (up 14 grams)
Hadley 4 lb 10.8 oz (up 46 grams)
Holden 4 lb 15 oz (up 28 grams)

Thanks for all your prayers!
-Casey

March 1, 2011

Day 43 in the hospital.  Today we decided to spend most of the day in the NICU.  We got to sleep about 1:30 AM and then got up at 4:45 AM.  This is our longest stretch of sleep we get since we skip the 2 AM feeding.  Sarah nursed again today and one feeding Hunter got 20 ml, Hadley got 12 ml, and Holden got 14 ml.

They are getting closer to their birth weights:

Hunter 5 lb 6.3 oz (up 38 grams)

Hadley 4 lb 9.2 oz (up 26 grams)

Holden 4 lb 14 oz (up 28 grams)

Tonight we finally got to see Hayden, after a week of not being able to due to his sinus infection.  It was awesome!  When he saw Sarah and I he smiled great big and ran around laughing.  My parents and Grandma Darlene and Grandpa Don brought him up along with our Excursion so we have the car seats here.  My Grandpa then took us out to dinner at Red Robin.  Hayden had a blast with all the balloons there.  He also ate really good!  The neonatologist said that she thinks they should all be able to come home in 10 more days.  This seems like a long ways away, but this is nothing compared to how long Sarah has been here.  Hadley is getting closer and closer to getting her NG feeding tube out because she ate her entire feeding twice today and almost a 3rd time!  Hunter and Holden are taking in about 1/2 their feedings at times too.  We can't wait to be home!

Thanks again,

Casey

February 28, 2011

Day 42 in the hospital.  Today is Sarah's discharge day!  Sarah was discharged today, but it was bittersweet since out triplets are still in the NICU.  However, Sarah got to finally breathe outside air after 42 long and hard days on bedrest.  We stayed in my grandparents' trailer, so this was also our first night "camping" since we have 4 kids!  The triplets are still learning to suck and swallow and doing much better!  Their current weights are:

Hunter 5 lb 4.9 oz

Hadley 4 lb 8.4 oz

Holden 4 lb 13 oz

They are getting closer and closer to their birth weights!  Sarah was sent home with knee high compression stockings for her severe swelling.  Our friends Drew and Jenn (along with their cute son Krew) came and met our trio for the first time.  This was a lot of fun.  Our nurse today did not seem to really help Sarah with breast feeding, so Sarah was quite upset.  Therefore, we decided to nurse them at 11 PM and they all got the most they have by nursing!  Hunter got 10 ml, Hadley got 14 ml, and Holden got 12 ml!  This shows that Sarah's milk is coming in at a perfect rate!

Thanks for all your prayers,

Casey