A Few Months Later...

I find it unnecessary to post these days because its just easier to do a little each day on facebook rather than a lot every...(sigh)... few months via blog. However here I am- Sadly, only because what I wanted to post on facebook is too many characters for a comment. HA! The trio (I like having a singular word to use for them) had their 9 month check up, appropriately, Friday, on their 9 month birthday:) Their stats are respectively as follows- in birth order:
Lyla- Height-(nobody cares how many centimeters) 90th percentile, Weight-19.6lbs- 60th percentile, 2 teeth and 2 more appearing any minute now.
Scarlet-Height- 20th percentile (woohoo!), Weight-...ok, she fell off the chart for this
month, but only because of a very recent stomach bug. The girl normally eats like a cow. A really long skinny cow. 2 teeth and FOUR cutting through as we speak.
Porter-Height-85th
percentile, Weight-19.7lbs-30th percentile- the same bug to blame. 6 teeth!

The Babies are all doing wonderfully well. I'm so grateful for their health and well-being and I am amazed at how far they've come from the little 4-plus and 5 pounders that exploded into our lives 9 months ago. Well, not literally;) They have all been on solids since just before Christmas and it's been a lot of fun getting to feed them. Wait, let me back up, I "discontinued" my feeding help when my Mom came for Christmas and decided to take over on my own from that point on. I now use the help of the "The Bottle Sling," I just put their seats on the floor and they do the rest.



Speaking of the floor, everyone can finally sit on their own. Now we're working on crawling.



Porter likes "tummy time" the least. He'd rather hang out in his jumper all day and rock, rather than actually jump. It always worried me that they aren't crawling by now, but the doc says they're all doing great and there's nothing to worry about. More importantly, they've all been sleeping through the night for a couple of months now, and even since about 5 or 6 months they've had very few middle of the night- cries:)
Regarding the babies' feeding schedule- which has been very strict since birth- first every three hours, then every four, they are now happily eating three meals a day:)



On Christmas day we eliminated the 530am feeding for good. Craig was done- bless his heart. Then about a month ago we eliminated the 10pm bottle. Now they have a regular- 8am, 1230, 5pm feeding with a final bottle at 7 and then bedtime. It works fabulously, and its so nice to be on a regular 3 meals a day- schedule again.
Craig and I have two little angels who have offered to babysit whenever we need them, so we have been able to go out together from time to time. Its great to have these Women who know the babies so well, and whom I trust so completely with them. And I think they get to have a
little fun with them too:)
Life is good. We have come so far from the dark days of last spring AND summer. I have finally gotten to a point where I feel comfortable mothering triplets. I no longer dread the start of every day. I look forward to playing and feeding and changing and bathing and starting all over again the next day. The babies are at such a fun age and I love being with them. Craig is such a good Dad, and such a good partner in this journey that is parenthood. I'm just so grateful for my family and for the many blessings that we receive every day.

(this pic was not taken or saved like this so I have no idea why its sideways. It was such a cute pic that I had to post it anyway, so you'll have to turn your computers.)

Updates

Wow, its been ...3 months since I've updated this thing, and even as I sit here, I barely know how to write anymore. I'll get right to it. Babies are almost 4 months old and life has been much easier since the dark, DARK days of the first 2 months. The babies have been on a 4 hour feeding schedule for over a month and are doing very well. Scarlet is suffering with issues related to reflux, the poor thing, but the Zantac she is on has helped a lot. She has an appt with a GI specialist on Oct 12th. The babies haven't had their 4 month appt yet so we don't know what they weigh, but i know its a lot. Scarlet is still smaller than the the others by at least a pound, but she is doing well. Lyla is really the only one who doesn't do very well holding her head up, but she is ahead of the game with her communication skills- she is by far the chattiest, and also the best at self entertaining. Porter is physically the strongest and can now roll over from front to back. Unfortunately, he does this at night and since he hates being on his back he ends up looking like a cockroach flailing his arms and legs everywhere and screaming. And did I mention he can stand? (he's also discovered his tongue)
Scarlet is the kicker. She talks almost as much as Lyla now, and her "thing" is kicking like mad in the bouncy seat.Ok, you can't see her kicking, but isn't this just the cutest pic? And Who wouldn't be jealous of those lashes?
Recently we have introduced a new toy in the trios collection- the bouncy thing. They all like it for about a minute:
And then it wears off.Here's a photo pf all of them in action:
Lyla's favorite is the activity mat, she's happy there for...minutes!

A dear friend lent us her triplet stroller and for the first time I can take all of them on walks by myself. They love their walks! The stroller is 46 whopping inches wide and doesn't fit through standard doorways, but its worth it just because it pushes, steers and turns so easily, its a dream. I've been walking everyday and it makes me feel so much better being able to get out of the house during the day. And now that the weather is starting to cool off (gradually) I'll be getting out more and more.

They're still not sleeping more than 4 to 5 hours at a time during the night. Its been months since we've had to feed them at night, but they're just in the habit of waking every night around 330 or 4. They dont need to be fed, and they dont need to be changed so I just end up giving them a pacifier, or in Porter's case, turning him back over on his tummy, and going back to bed. They usually wake again around 430 or 5 but we usually just let them cry until they are fed at 530.If anyone has advice on how to remedy this issue feel free to chime in. Im told they should be able to sleep 8 hours by now so who knows. We are anxiously awaiting the day when they can all keep their pacifiers in their little mouths on their own. Right now they just continuously pop them out with their tongues so we prop them with rolled blankets.

We're going to Utah on the 24th to visit my family and we are so excited. The babies get to see their Grandma and their Great Grandparents and we can't wait. Also, my brother will be there from Japan with his family and we will meet my new little niece, McKenna! My older brother and his family will also be down from Idaho and we are thrilled that all the cousins will be together for the first time!

Skipping around a bit- the babies were blessed in July and we didnt take as many pictures as we should have. Sunday mornings are a whirlwind trying to get everyone ready. This was the only good shot we got.There's not much more to post, and Im sure everyone just wants to see photos anyway so I'll just post a bunch of random pics we have.

Craig with the babies!Sad Lyla after bathtime.
Scarlet has a question.
The poor kid.

Happy boy!

One Month and Still Alive

PORTER


LYLA


SCARLET

The triplets are a month old as of June 18th and we are all still alive. Believe me, I am more doubtful of Craig's and my survival than that of the babies at this point. Trying to meet the needs of these three little babes is frighteningly overwhelming and Craig has to constantly remind me to take it one day at a time. My life is like groundhog's day. Every day is the same, the routine is the same, and if I can go run through the drive-thru, or go to target, I feel just a little bit normal again.. at least for those precious few minutes. As most of you already know, we have had an overabundance of help from our ward family. My Mom has been with us since I was released from the hospital in April, and we never would have made it without her help, but when she goes at the end of this month, I know it will be the angels who come day and night to help that will sustain us until we can learn to do it all on our own. Thanks, Mom, thank you Susan and Linda, and thank you everyone who has been helping for the last month. I shiver to think where we all would be now without you.
The dogs have been great with the babies. All they do is sniff them and whine and whimper when they cry. And considering we have people coming in the house round the clock, they're doing exceptionally well. For all of you who said "are you going to keep the dogs?" Well, the answer is yes.
And then there was the infection! As if recovering from a c-section and caring for 3 week old triplets wasn't enough, I was cursed with a uterine infection 2 weeks ago that landed me back in the hospital for three days. After an ER visit that lasted from 10 pm to 4 am- only to tell me I had "slight bladder infection," I returned the very next day to say.. HEY, THIS AINT NO FREAKIN BLADDER INFECTION. Turns out I was right and after a 103.7 fever and many rounds of blood work, they finally believed me. All it needed was a couple more days in the hospital and every IV antibiotic known to man. Being stuck in there knowing that everyone else was at home doing my job was agony. I felt totally helpless. Thanks again everyone for the round the clock help that really helped put my mind at ease and let Craig sleep for once!
The babies are growing growing growing! Porter is well over 8lbs and the girls are gaining on him. Lyla was 7. 11 as of last friday, and Scarlet is not far behind. I guess we just keep feeding them? Ok then. Hopefully we'll all still be alive in another month.

Life is Sweet

Well, we did it. We have three beautiful, tiny miracles that are healthy and feisty and we couldn't feel more blessed. The C-section was a breeze (as major surgeries go) and the trio only had minimal assistance with oxygen and iv's in their first day. After day one, they were all bottle feeding and breathing completely on their own. How grateful I am to have stayed pregnant for 36 weeks. Considering how tiny they still are, I can't imagine them being any smaller at birth. Docs have talked about them coming home everyday since Saturday when I was discharged, but we're just trying to get them to consistently finish feedings without getting so sleepy. I never knew it would be so difficult to get a baby to eat! Moms, don't take for granted your ability to have a newborn eat as much as you want him/her too. Its scary thinking of bringing them home and not getting them to eat as well as the nurses do, especially because their health is totally based on them growing and gaining weight. Currently they weights are: Lyla-(baby A) 4 lbs 8 oz, Scarlet B-(formerly C) 3 lbs 15 oz, and Porter, baby C(formerly B) is 4 lbs 15 oz. Scarlet is still the teenie weenie one, but wow, is she feisty! I knew she would be. We think Lyla and Porter are coming home today and Scarlet hopefully tomorrow, but every morning we go in is a new story.
Thank you so much to the friends of ours who helped my mom get our house (and yard!)all ready for us to come home to. It looks beautiful and we feel so relieved to have a clean house for the little ones. My mom went on and on about how nice and how helpful you all were. I can't thank you enough.

Ok then. I'm off to the NICU for the 11am feeding. Lets see if I can try and successfully upload these little video clips of the babies. They're just... PRECIOUS!

Holding Steady!

So all of a sudden I'll be 32 weeks on Monday! I cannot believe I've been here over four weeks. At this point when I go into labor, the docs wont even try to stall or stop it. We can finally go back to being excited about the trio's arrival rather than being scared and apprehensive. AND even if they came today, they would most likely only have to be in the NICU for 3 to 4 weeks max, which is way less time than we had anticipated.
We are so lucky to be at this point, and its amazing what a difference 2 weeks makes in the prognosis. I still can't believe that we're about to have three babies. Its insane. Why has this not occurred to me until now???

Speaking of three babies, they are still moving and squirming and kicking like crazy. Even the sonographers can't believe how active they are for how cramped they are. I love feeling them bouncing around. It makes me laugh as I wonder what the crap they could possibly be doing in there.

I still have a constant stuffy nose that I think will stick around as long as I'm pregnant. Its beyond annoying and Im afraid of blowing my nose too hard for fear of knocking something loose. Someone finally noticed the nearly empty bottle of tums on the nightstand and said "why didn't you tell us you were having problems with heartburn?" They ordered Pepcid for me twice daily and I feel much better. Now I dont have to worry about getting tums dust on my remote and computer keys anymore! I still feel really good. I do have some bouts of discomfort- mostly trying to get comfortable or just prop myself up more when Im sitting in bed. All things considered, though, Im dang lucky. WAIT- I did have fat leg syndrome for about 2 days. My right leg was literally a size bigger than the left. To be sure, they did an ultrasound to make sure there was no blood clot, and there wasn't. There's probably a baby sitting on something that is restricting the fluid return from that leg. Now I wear these leg massage/wrap things while Im in bed to prevent swelling and clots.

Craig's Parents were so nice to bring the entire Easter dinner for all of us to eat together here in my room. As much as I whined and said it was "totally unnecessary," it was really nice and I'm glad that they did that for me. And in celebration of the new Clash of the Titans, I ordered the original on DVD and Craig and I watched it together after dinner. A dang nice holiday for being hospitalized:)


Craig continues to work hard on getting everything painted for the babies' room. I just have to get home to decorate, wash all the babies' clothes and set everything up. Thank heavens I'll have a little time to do it all before they come home or I'd go nuts. Bless Craig for coming every night to visit me even when he's exhausted and has so much to do at home and at work. Hopefully the next few days or weeks (EEEK!) will go by fast and we can be together as a family soon:)

The Latest

Well believe it or not they almost sent me home the other day. Results from the latest tests on baby C show that although she still has restricted blood flow in her cord, she is gaining weight enough that she's in no immediate danger. We still have her on 24 hour monitoring, but she has already exceeded the doctors' expectations. Good girl:) So for about a day I had dreams of being pregnant, if not stuck in the hospital, for many more weeks to come. And THEN... they checked my cervix. When I was admitted it measured 1.7cm. I think normally its like somewhere between 4 and 6 cm. As of Wednesday it was down to .57cm. So the doctors are back on the "you'll likely deliver within the week" boat. Although Dr.Morgan- my big wig perinatologist said "if the babies come now they should do just fine." Its amazing what a difference a couple weeks makes. When I first came here they were all doom and gloom and talking about how extremely early it was and how sick little baby C was...etc. I knew the situation was serious, but it just seemed like nobody would accept the idea that baby C could hold out. Now its my cervix that they don't think will hold out. I just sit around every day until I start having painful contractions and they decide to check me to see if I'm dilating. When that happens they'll give me something to try to stop the labor process- which I think can only be done for like 2 days- enough to administer a second round of steroid shots to help the babies' lungs to mature. So we'll just have to see what happens. We're still looking at at least a 6 week NICU stay if the babies come within the week. Everyone is still under 3 lbs. And thank you everybody that has come to keep me company, it really makes me feel loved:) Stephanie Adams even came to give me an amazing mani/pedi! I felt bad for everyone else here that couldn't receive the same treatment. I think for a hospital stay, this couldn't get much better. I have shower privileges, I dont have to resort to the use of a bedpan or even a bedside commode, I have a great view from a private room- which was so generously decorated by my Mother-in-law, and three people have said that I win the prize for best smelling room! Best of all- babies and I are healthy and doing well. So we just keep praying that the babies will come when they need to and that they will be healthy and strong when they do. We know it's because of everyone's fasting and prayers that we've already come this far. We are so grateful.

29 Weeks

Ok, Ive made it another week. 7 more days and everyone will relax a bit about the trio coming so early. Baby C is still doing well. Her heart rate is strong, and she continues to score perfect 8's on her daily Biophysical Profiles. The doc mentioned today that they dont expect to see a sudden drastic change in her status where an emergency c-section would be necessary. It would be more gradual and be indicated by a change in her heart rate. Also, they plan to check the weights of all three babies a week from today. If it shows that despite the strong heart rate, baby C is not growing, they will schedule me for delivery. So there are a few determining factors. For now she continues to look really good, just small. Baby B is the hog. He is the biggest and has the most fluid. Maybe he knows that boys do statistically worse than premature girls and he's trying to get everything he can while he can. Hmph. Smart kid. Baby A continues to be the laid back and tolerant one down at the bottom of the heap. Her heart rate is always lower and she's always in a lounging position despite being sat on, stepped on, and squashed into a tiny corner. I guess there has to be one like her in there or it just wouldn't work.
I continue to feel perfectly fine. I haven't shown any signs of preterm labor and I'm still not so big that I'm feeling awful. I have tons of contractions during the night, to the point that the nurses come in and ask "are you sure you're not feeling those? You're having like 20 and hour!" I feel them, but its just that tightening feeling. No pain. The doctors have to reassure them that with triplets, and all the activity in there, contractions like that are totally normal. If they start to hurt, though, that means trouble.

Craig continues to work on the nursery at home. There's no hurry, really, because the babies will be in the NICU for 2 months at least, but understandably he wants to get it done. I miss my house and I miss my dogs and I can't believe I've been here 2 weeks already. Again we are so grateful for our many blessings, and for all of your prayers on our behalf. We can't wait until we can introduce our three little ones to everyone:)