Mission Impossible?

The target: SLEEP The obstacles: Three Newborns It's dark in the lakehouse. Only the light from the TV is flickering with low volume playing an episode of "Bones" to keep my eyelids from shutting. In my arms is a baby girl eating from her bottle and I am struggling to stay awake. Beside me in a boppy is a baby boy who, at the moment, I thought was fussing. Beside him, with his feet kicked back and slightly reclined, is my husband, holding the other baby boy. Across the room sleeping on a pallet is our four year old sleeping the way we wish were doing. As I am sitting there feeding one, I look sleepily over at the baby in the boppy (who I thought was fussing) to put a passy in his mouth. It is at that moment I realize it is not the baby in the boppy crying. I am slightly startled to a more awake state and look over to see the baby my sweet, sweet husband is holding, with his feet straight up in the air. I panicked and immediately begin yelling "Michael! Michael!" He then snaps up, throwing the reclining seat forward, baby still upside down. At this point I am on the verge of tears thinking that my sleep deprived husband has squashed our baby's head in the seat when he sat it up. I am yelling at him "get the baby, get the baby!" He is looking at me blankly yelling "what baby?!" I yell "the baby in your arms!!!" He looks down and grabs him up. I then begin to laugh hysterically as I am shaking, still feeding our baby girl, with the other baby boy still sleeping in his boppy and four year old snoozing on the floor. I know it seems a bit irrational to be laughing when the moment before you thought your baby's head might have been squashed, but when you are going on little to no sleep for seven weeks straight...laughing hysterically is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. At that point in time it was probably 3am and my husband had been up since 4am the night before. The story ends with upside down baby falling right back asleep in his daddy's arms. I tell Michael to lay him down and go to bed. My husband responds with, "yes, but if you need me, please wake me up by gently shaking my arm or something, and not yelling at me." Poor guy, I scared us both to death. So, end of story, we are tired. That about summarizes our seven weeks with triplets. :) We live for the weekends when mom and Clay come and give us some time to sleep. This past week Granny Shirley, Clay's mom, came and has been an AMAZING help with the babies, cooking, and washing bottles. This has definitely given us time to take turns napping during the day. Everyone asks if this is harder than I thought it would be and my answer is no, it really isn't. I, in no way, shape, form, or fashion at any point in time thought this was going to be easy. We are changing more poopy diapers, going through more formula, and soothing babies hour after hour all while trying to entertain a four year old who is feeling a little bit left out. At the end of the day though, I kiss four children's sweet heads and tell four sleepy children that I love them and my heart is full with more love than I could have known. The babies are growing and changing every day and we are so very thankful that we are all healthy (minus sleep deprivation). I am so very fortunate to have a husband who is right there with me changing diapers, washing bottles, doing everything I do and some things better. :) The babies have actually done better sleeping the past two nights. We feed them, swaddle them, and put them down. Last night they went about five hours in between feeds with only a couple of times of needing soothing. It would have been great, except Michael woke up to help feed with a migraine. He is feeding our reflux baby, Gabe, and he is not having a good feed with lots of reflux. I am feeding Ethan. Michael quickly gets up and places Gabe in his carrier and runs to bathroom. I hear Michael throwing up because of his headache and I look over and Gabe has formula coming out of his nose and mouth. Caroline is waking up and becoming fussy and the four year old wakes up from all the noise. I run to Gabe, lay Ethan down, and pick Gabe up. Michael comes back with a bath cloth on his head and finishes feeding Gabe. He is truly a trooper. After that the babies go back to sleep and stay asleep until about 6am. So, maybe just maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel with completely sleepless nights. Our conclusion is that maybe sleep is a mission impossible at the moment, but we figure in twenty years or so, we may sleep through the night, and while sleep is little, the rewards are great. That is just a quick insight into our lives at that moment!  It has been fun and already so many great memories.

Happy Mother's Day

Well we have officially survived our first three weeks of being parents of four children! All babies came home two weeks ago and we haven't had time to stop and think since. The babies are doing great and seem to be healthy. They came home on four hour feeds, but the pediatrician wanted us to kick them back to three hour feeds. Now, when you have one baby, feeding every three hours around the clock is challenging but definitely possible. Three hour feeds with three babies around the clock basically means you are constantly feeding, changing, burping, and washing bottles. Sleep really isn't an option and Michael and I are learning to survive on little to no sleep. Michael came up with a great system of documenting diapers, amounts eaten, etc. so that we don't have to try and remember everything. Focusing on anything is almost impossible, even sitting here trying to think straight while typing is hard! We attempted to use a home health agency to come in at night and stay up with one of us so the other could get some sleep, but when she came in smelling of smoke and no newborn experience...we opted out after the first night. We seem to have a pretty good system but of course the babies are more active at night right now which means we have some work to do with getting our days and nights figured out. Schedules are a big part of our day and we try and keep them all in sync...try being the key word. The fun part is when they all three wake up at the same time mad and hungry because with two people feeding the third one just has to wait. We have also learned we will never be in a hurry to get anywhere ever again. We sat an extra hour and a half after our pediatrician appointment just to feed all three babies. Schedules are everything. We have also learned to go anywhere we better be ready to be social. Everyone has something to say or ask which is fine but it does take up a lot of time to talk to everyone you see. :) Tripp is adjusting well and is an amazing big brother. He is eager to help put in a pacifier, pick up a blanket, get a diaper, etc. He loves his babies and says "I think we will keep them." We are very glad he feels this way, haha. I don't think the hospital has a return policy of any kind. My husband who was once weary of holding small babies has been AMAZING! He does just as much of the changing, feeding, etc. as me and never complains about it (except when all three babies made dirty diapers on his watch...haha). Ethan is still the biggest of the three, but the other two are gaining quick. Ethan turned over today from his tummy to his back, but wasn't very happy with himself about it. The other two are still adjusting to being on their tummys. Looking foward to seeing all three hit milestones and grow. Caroline is the soother and reaches out to grab her brothers hands when they are fussy. Gabe is still pretty laid back and low maitenance. All the memories we have already made and the endless ones yet to come. A year ago I never dreamed that Mother's Day this year would be me being the mother of four children. You never know what God has planned for our lives but I'm so thankful this is where I am today. Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there who spend endless hours sacrificing quietly and without complaint to love and raise their chidlren. Very thankful for my mom who has helped me have the confidence that I can raise four chidlren, three of which are newborns, and be a good mother. I'm not really sure if this all flows the way I would like, but give me a break, I'm running on fumes right now. :)))

Delivery Day and NICU, One Week Update

I can't believe one week has come and gone and my sweet babies are a week old tomorrow. Thinking back to this time last week, it almost seems like an eternity ago and life without my four children doesn't make sense. My c-section was scheduled for last Thursday morning at 8:15 and I was supposed to be at the hospital at 6:15am for prep. God definitely has a sense of humor because one of the last things I told my husband about getting there that early was at least we didn't have to worry about traffic. As soon as we got on 65-S that morning, traffic was at a stand still going absolutely no where. Quickly checking the traffic report at 5:30am, we found out there has unfortunately been a fatal accident shutting down the interstate. It did put things into perspective though. Here we are going to the hospital hoping to bring life into the world and sadly two people had lost theirs an hour before. We did make it to the hospital 45 minutes late, but they couldn't start without me. :) Once at the hospital, in an ironic twist of fate, we also learned that someone was supposed to have called me the night before and told me to be at the hospital at 4am because they had changed the time of my section to 7am. My poor doctor had been there since then and no one had called to tell me of the change. Regardless of the circumstances or the time, nerves set in as they began to prep me. The nurses tried to keep the mood very light hearted to keep me calm and I did good until they rolled me into the operating room. My whole body was shaking so hard, partly because of nerves and partly because of the epideral. There were a total of 20 people in the room with Michael and I, 23 once the babies came into the world. Once they started, things happened very quickly. Ethan and Gabe were born at 8:29am and Caroline was born at 8:30. Ethan weighed 5 pounds 10 oz 19 in long; Gabe weighed 4 pounds 5 oz.15 in long, and Caroline weighed 5 pounds 5 oz. 18 inches long. They let us get pictures and then Michael and the team of doctors and nurses went to the NICU. It took the doctors about another hour or so before they were finished with me and rolled me to my room. I was up and going to the see the babies by 2:00 that afternoon. The babies have made quick progress in their one week here. Everyday it gets harder and harder to leave them in the NICU as I see their great progress, but I know they are in good hands and am SO VERY thankful for the wonderful NICU nurses who love my babies when I am not there to. Caroline and Ethan are in isolettes which is a step up from an open bed. They get to wear onsies now which makes things look better to me. Caroline is bottle feeding 30 cc's with no problem and came off her oxygen yesterday. So far she is tolerating breathing on her own well. Ethan's breathing is still a bit rapid in the 70-80 range and they want it in the 60's before they allow him to bottle feed. For now he has an OG tube and is tolerating 30 cc's per feeding. Mr. Gabe is now in a crib and doing fantastic. He passed his car seat test and if all goes well he may get to come home as early as Saturday!! We have to spend the night in the NICU family room to assure the staff we can take care of him on our own. We anticipate Caroline to follow closely behind and if Ethan can slow down his respirations, for him to progress quickly too. I can not tell you how often I thank God for His miracles and His grace. The doctors and nurses can not tell me how well the babies are doing and how well I did during my pregnancy. I know that I did my part by staying in bed and having a wonderful husband to take care of me, but how long those babies stayed in place had everything to do with God answering prayers and continuing to answer prayers with the progress in all three babies. We are beyond blessed and have more to be thankful for than we ever imagined. What an amazing journey it has been and we are just so excited for the sleepless nights, screaming babies, and endless wonderful memories that are to come with our four children. Once Gabe comes home we are being told by the doctors that visitors will have to continue to be strictly limited. Overstimulation in a new environment can be harmful and casue a preemie to decline, as well as exposure to outside germs. The last thing we want is to get home and then have to take a baby back to the NICU. I know many are anxious to meet our three new additions and we ask for your continued to patience as we give our babies time to grow and develop physically and mentally. We will post pictures and give updates as often as we can. We love everyone and appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes.

Last Post As a Family of Three....

It has been a very busy week with doctor appointments. Monday we went to UAB for a growth scan to double check the babies' measurements. After my appointment today, I'm a little confused about which one is measuring what, because the report shows the weights for Ethan and Caroline, flipped from what we were told. Monday we were told that Caroline is measuring 6 pounds 6 oz.; Ethan measuring 5 pounds 8 oz.; and Gabe measuring 4 pounds. All fluids looked good and blood flow to placentas looked good as well. I left feeling blessed and a little worried about my Gabe being smaller, but the doctor said this was normal and did not seem to be worried. Tuesday we had an appointment with my doctor. Everyone looked good on NST and I was not dilated. We went over a few details about the rest of the week and next week. She wanted to see me back today, Friday, and Monday to check the babies fluids (especially Gabe's) to make sure they stay within normal limits. She said if they were low she would take them on that day, otherwise we would schedule for Thursday the 18th. We did not check fluids Tuesday because apparently there was a fire in the office on Monday caused by the ultra sound gel warmer catching on fire. The whole office was evacuated and closed for a couple of days. Needless to say, very glad we weren't there for our "normal" Monday appointment. :) Today was our last appointment for the week. I know it seems like nothing to most people, but three appointments in one week has about killed me. My legs are refusing to want to walk, but I refuse to use a wheel chair. A few people have called me stubborn, but that's just me. If I can walk, I will walk. The appointment today was good. During NST they had to give me a coke to wake the babies up, but once the coke kicked in, the babies looked great. We then went for ultra sound upstairs (where they are no longer allowed to use gel warmers, ha) and checked the babies' fluids. As the tech read the report today from UAB, they had Ethan listed as measuring 6 pounds 6 oz. and Caroline mesuring 5 pounds 8oz....so who knows which is which. Ethan and Caroline's fluid measured 13 and Gabe's was the lowest at 7. The tech said 5 and above is normal, so Gabe is on the lower side of normal, but the doctor was ok with his fluid. So what now?? Monday I go back for more of the same as today. My C-section is scheduled for first thing Thursday morning. She expects my surgery to take about an hour with an array of doctors, nurses, and a neonatologist (Dr. from the NICU). No major changes from my last C-section other than taking longer. The main concern is too much bleeding from me due to carrying three babies, but the doctor will be monitoring that pretty closely. The babies will be taken straight to NICU for observation and determine how well they are functioning. So, all we can say is here we go. :) After reading many women's experiences from being pregnant with triplets, I am so humbled and thankful that God has allowed this pregnancy to go this far. A lot of women have a lot more difficult and challenging pregnancies that result in micropreemies and complications. I don't have answers as to why God allows one thing for some and something different for others, but we are counting my blessings every day. My prayer now is to deliver three healthy babies and we can come home as a healthy family of six. I have gotten a lot of questions about visiting. Right now we just don't have answers. I am very certain that Thursday will be difficult emotionally and physically and we are not sure what situation we will encounter with babies in the NICU. Parents will be allowed in the NICU and one person from the family accompanied by the parent will be allowed. While 35 weeks is great, they are still premature and too much stimulation is not good for the babies. This means too much touching from too many different hands; too many different sounds or voices; etc. There is also the exposure to germs that will need to be limited. This is why visiting the babies at the hospital and once we get home will have to monitored closely. Again, once we know more in this area, we will share. We are excited to meet the babies and to let others to meet them as the babies' conditions allow. Our focus from here to next Thursday is having 30 fingers and 30 toes present and accounted for (40 if you count Tripp...that's a lot of digits!). We are very excited, nervous, and anxious. I'm not sure if we will have time for another post before they arrive. We will let everyone know as soon as possible about how we are all doing. Pray with us for God's will to be done in all things and that we will continue to put our faith in Him. Love!!

And D-Day is......

We are now in the middle of our 33rd week. I have had two doctor appointments this week and both have gone really well. A growth ultra sound on Monday showed that the babies weighed between 4 1/2 and close to 5 pounds each which is really exciting. Caroline is still head up. The other two decided to get cute and confuse everyone. Last week Gabe was head down in the middle and Ethan was head up on the side. Well this week the one in the middle is head up and the one on the side is head down. Either both boys flipped 180 degrees or Gabe went under Ethan and they switched sides. There is really no way to know for sure. So, now we don't know who is who in there. :) I guess we will just figure it out when they get here. I am continuing to contract which is not much fun (as any woman will tell you). However, I am not dilated at all which is pretty amazing considering how far I am. My blood pressure was up slightly on Monday but I'm pretty sure that is because she took it during a contraction. :) It was much lower today, so that is good news. Dr. Christine continues to be pleased with the babies and how they are doing overall and on the NST. She wants me to go back to UAB on Monday for one last growth scan. UAB's equipment is a bit more accurate in their measurements than St. Vincent's. She is hoping to get a clear look at what the babies are weighing just to double check everything before delivery. If everything goes as planned and my body and babies cooperate, the c-section is scheduled from two weeks from today which is Thursday April 18th. I will be 35 1/2 weeks along at that point. This would definitely be really exciting for us because I never anticipated that I could/would make it as far as I have, especially at home. I am so thankful to the Lord for His hand being on us this pregnancy. No matter the outcome, I know all things have been done and will continue to be done in His time. At the moment life at our house is good but a little chaotic. We are down to the wire and Michael is working hard to get everything done. However, I'm beginning to realize that no amount of preparation is going to be enough for what is to come. :) Some things we will just have to figure out along the way. My body is hanging in there. It is difficult to do much of anything. I am definitely front heavy and I can tell the babies are growing. I was walking through the living room the other day and sneezed. My sneeze literally propelled me into a run because of the extra weight in the front. You can't help but laugh. We have been talking and thinking a lot about our hospital stay and everything that will come with it. This C-section will be a bit more involved because there are three babies. The recovery for this will be longer and more difficult than my first. I can only imagine I am going to be an emotional, hormonal basket case with everything that will be happening. Because there will be so many unknowns, we will have a couple hour window set aside for visitors. We will obviously give more details as we know more. Please keep in mind, that there is a chance you will only get to see Michael or one of our moms. While we have no idea what the babies' conditions will be, there is a good possibility they will be in NICU and visitors will be limited to immediate family only. If you are trying to get in touch with us or do try in the future, please know how much we appreciate your love and concern, but that it may take some time to return calls, messages, etc. :) There are truly no words to express everyone's love and support and our hearts continue to be overwhelmed with the kindness of others. Your continued prayers are appreciated more than you realize and have kept us going throughout this process. We look forward to things to come!!!

Triplets on Tax Day??

Well we are down to the wire and I think everyone is sitting on pins and needles at this point. The absolutely wonderful news is that we are 32 weeks today!!! As my doctor said today, "32 weeks is a great place to be." After being told all the risks involved in this pregnancy and all the things that might go wrong or could go wrong, it is really nice to hear we are at a good place. I'm not naive enough to think there may not be any problems to come, but I feel very blessed to have come this far. With all that said, last Monday I began having regular contractions. Luckily, I was at the doctor already so they were able to watch me on the monitor. My primary OB was out of town all week, and the OB I saw was one familiar with my case. She has a very different outlook on things than I do. Her line of thinking was "you have made it this far and it is farther than a lot of women carrying twins. I don't think we would stop you if you go into labor." My way of thinking is, if my body is handling everything ok, the babies are ok, then I want them to stay put for as long as possible. Luckily, my primary OB feels the same way. After last Monday things settled down and my contractions have not been as frequent. They still come and go, but not nearly as intense. Today, everything looked great! It was the quickest NST I have had and we were done with monitoring in about 30 minutes. Via ultra sound today, the fluid looks good, babies look good. Caroline and Ethan are head up and Gabe is head down and sitting pretty low. I feel he is the reason for a lot of my discomfort. I am not dialted, which to the doctors and nurses is shocking, but they are pleased. My cervix is softer than before, but not by much. Next Monday they will do a growth ultra sound to see approximately how much the babies are weighing. Dr. Christine says this will go a long way in helping us determine where we are headed with delivering them. IF all looks good then she will let me go unil week 35 which happens to fall on tax day. She will not let me go past Wednesday of that week. IF I make it until week 35 there is a possibility of not having a NICU stay. IF the babies are not gaining like they should or something looks unusual on the ultra sound Monday, then she will schedule me for week 34. So let's all be happy for once about April 15th and pray for tax day!!! :) We are all taking everything one day at a time. Michael is working, what seems to be, around the clock to make sure everything is perfect. Tripp is getting more and more excited. He is also a lot more clingy and knows that changes are happening. He loves Ragball and I think it is a great distraction for him and will continue to be. He kisses the babies often and tells me that my tummy is getting so big and it is going to pop. :) Thank you all so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. It means the world to us. Keep the prayers coming, they have gotten us this far!! Love!!!

Four weeks or less

Today I am 30 weeks and 1 day!! Big accomplishment. :) We are very excited about how far we have come, but pray we can make it a few more weeks. My appointment lat Monday went well and there was really no change to report, but last Wednesday I began relapsing with the respiratory infection and by Friday definitely knew I had to see the doctor. After a few tests it was determined I had bronchitis and a sinus infection. Neither of those surprised me. They gave me more medicine...not overly fond of taking medicine, but I knew if I didn't I would end up with pneumonia and then I would really be in trouble. Since Friday I have been feeling better, not great, but better. I am learning the art of sleeping sitting up. I literally have to stand up to switch sides in the bed. I will never take being able to roll over for granted again!! I woke up this morning feeling especially light headed and dizzy. It really was strange. We went to the doctor where I get monitored first. The babies' activity and my stats looked good. No real answer for shortness of breath or feeling woozy. They did a growth ultra sound today which We were excited about. Ethan is weighing about 3 pounds 3 oz.; Gabe is about 2 pounds 13 oz. Caroline was laying in an awkward position that made her difficult to measure. They measured her at about 3 pounds 13 oz., but she is probably not quite that big. Either way, very happy at their weight gain. When I talked to the doctor she seems concerned that my respiratory situation is not better than what it is. She is happy with babies' growth and weight gain. The doctors in the group are having a meeting tomorrow to discuss "complicated patients," which I guess includes me. :) Ideally, she wants me to make it to at least 32 weeks. Ideally, I would like to make it to at least 34 weeks. My stomach is measuring between 42-44 weeks. She is supposed to call me later this week and tell me what they are all thinking. Please say a prayer they let me keep going until 34 weeks. I know two weeks may not seem like a lot, but every day right now is better for them. Even if she has to monitor me in the hospital for a couple of weeks, I'd rather they do that than take them earlier than absolutely necessary. I am so thankful God has brought us this far and pray He will let us go a few more weeks. Keep us close in prayers as we get very close to the big day. We will know more of a plan in the next couple of days. It is hard to believe that we are already at the end of this journey and about to begin another. Love!