Friday, April 24, 2009

April 24th, 2009

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in updates, but I have been travelling and just now have been able to sit down to blog.

The triplets are doing well and have had a big week.

Here are their weights as of tonight:

Drew - 3lbs 13oz

Julia - 3lbs 6oz

Madison 3lbs 7oz

They are getting big and are all now at the point where they wear clothes and get wrapped! In fact, Madison is already out of her isolette and in an open crib! Drew should do the same tomorrow! It is crazy how fast things have gone. Also, they all started to take bottles! Julia is just starting out with about a half a bottle a day. Madison is taking about 2 bottles a day and Drew is taking all bottle and his feeding tube has been pulled out! It is so great to see him with nothing on his face! Madison just has the tube for now, but no oxygen help. Julia has the cannula still, but is doing great with it!

The doctors and nurses keep asking us if we are ready, as one or two of them could be coming home in less time than we expected. We are definitely moving at a higher pace, getting clothes washed, lists done, closets organized, etc. We need to still get some more things in order like getting all the supplies ready, getting the mini-van and all that! We can't believe that soon we are going to have babies in the house! How cool is that!!

The babies are 7 weeks today and 34 weeks gestational equivalent. They are doing great, but it is hard to fathom they are still 6 weeks early right now! They get bigger everyday and it is fun to watch them change. I have attached a new picture of each so you can see how they are doing.

Time for bed, but thanks again everyone for all your well wishes and support. Keep it rolling and keep checking back for the latest updates!




Drew




Julia



Madison

Here's an extra of Madison, having a "long day" ;o)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

April 16th, 2009

Hi everyone! So tomorrow is the SD3's 6 week birthday, making them the equivalent of 33 weeks gestation! They are doing well and growing like crazy! Here are their weights if you can believe it:

Drew - 3lbs 3 oz

Julia - 2lbs 15oz

Madison - 2lbs 13oz

Isn't that awesome? We are so excited to see their growth and you really can tell the difference in them week to week. This week has been a good one, with the exception of me having to travel for the first time since they were born. It was quite weird and hard to be away from Shara and the kids. I couldn't wait to see them, so we went straight from the airport to the hospital last night.

Everyone is doing good. Drew is actually not using any cannula for breathing as of now, and is doing very well. They tried doing the same with Julia, but it was too early for her. We have no idea why they did it, but she is back on cannula and much more comfortable. The doctors are also weaning Madison off her oxygen with the hopes of getting her to be off cannula soon.

The doctors are saying if they continue to progress like they are and the room opens up, they will likely be moving across the hall to continuing care in the coming weeks. It is so strange to think about them not being in the pod they have been the last 6 weeks. Also, once they reach about 3lbs 5oz, they would start seeing if they are able to maintain their own body temperature and be able to start wearing clothes. All leading up to the ability to move them into open air cribs. Who knows when that will happen, but it is so exciting to be talking about it!

Time seems to be crawling and flying at the same time. It seems like the triplets have been in the hospital forever and that it will never end, but at the same time, time is rushing towards the day they come home and it sometimes feels like we won't have enough time to get prepared! Weird, I know, but so is a lot of things these days.

Anyway, I attached new pictures of the three of them, plus an extra special picture. While I was traveling, Shara got to hold ALL THREE babies TOGETHER for the first time! Unfortunately, the picture is via cell phone, but how cool is that!!! It really hits home when you see all three of them together. We hope you enjoy the pictures and we will keep everyone posted on the SD3's progress. Keep those well wishes and prayers coming!!


Drew

Julia


Madison

Together again for the first time!


Monday, April 6, 2009

April 6th, 2009

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post a few new pictures of the triplets from today. They are doing good today and we got to spend a lot of time with them. Shara got to hold all three of them today for the first time! Not all at the same time of course! More pictures are posted on the SD3's photo album on Snap Fish. Talk to you soon!

Drew

Julia
Madison

Sunday, April 5, 2009

April 5th, 2009

Hello everyone! The babies are now a month old! Feels like it was just yesterday that Shara was rushed into delivery and the SD3 came into our lives. Things are going well. Julia had some issues over the weekend though. She caught an infection which caused her breathing to labor and she ended up on the ventilator on Saturday morning. As of now (Sunday night), Julia is off the ventilator and back on the nasal cannula. She has been doing well with it, and hopefully we will have this fully behind us soon. They started her on antibiotics really early and the medicine seems to be doing its job. She is doing better and acting like her old self (getting mad at her nurses and wanting to move all over the place), which is a welcome site!
Drew and Madison have been good, and overall behaving themselves. Madison has been a ball of fire and very active. We actually have to work on getting her to go to sleep sometimes! Drew has been steady and very funny, but now has been treating the NICU to his own brand of scent as his poops are quite awful, hahaha!
The triplets are doing a good job growing overall:
Drew - 2lbs 10.2oz
Julia - 2lbs 11.9oz (couple of those ounces are due to the added stuff on her she won't have tonight)
Madison - 2lbs 4oz
Once the babies reach 3.3 lbs, they will get to start wearing clothes! That is certainly going to be a site to see! You can really start to see them getting bigger and it is very exciting. They also get their first eye exam this week.
We have posted more pictures on the Snap Fish link, but here are some of the latest for everyone to see. We hope you enjoy!

Drew

Drew



Julia

Julia

Madison

Madison

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

April 1st, 2009

Hi All,
Today is Shara and my 3 year anniversary, and we cannot believe that we have 3 little babies now to celebrate with! The babies are all doing very well and gaining lots of weight...Shara keeps joking that we are going to have three little preemie baby sumo wrestlers:

Drew - 2 lbs, 7.8 oz
Julia - 2 lbs, 7.5 oz
Madison - 2 lbs, 2.4 oz

They are definitely starting to fill out a little more and looking bigger all the time. They are more alert than ever and like to look around a lot, especially just before feeding time! They are graduating to larger diapers this week, but we are not sure if it is because of their size or their size of their poops! Either way, they need more diaper! Madison actually ruined her entire bed a couple nights ago. The are infamous for their messy ways! all good signs though and we really love spending as much time as possible with them. We can't believe they are almost a month old.

Below are some more recent pictures. We are getting better pictures all the time, especially as they get stuff off their face, but we wanted to let you know that the stuff you see around their cannulas is just tape. I also have updated the SD3 book on Snap Fish, so keep checking back.

**NOTE: We also have a second post below this post that has pictures of the nursery, so ensure you check 'em out!!

Thanks again to everyone and talk to you soon!


Drew - 03/29/09 (3 weeks 2 days old = 30 weeks 2 days gestational age)



Drew - 03/23/09 (2 weeks 3 days old = 29 weeks 3 days gestational age)
Julia - 03/20/09 (2 weeks old = 29 gestational weeks)

Madison - 03/29/09 (3 weeks 3 days old = 30 weeks 3 days gestational age)

The Nursery - April 1st, 2009

Hey everyone! The nursery furniture has arrived! The cribs and the combo units were delivered and assembled yesterday. We had installed the valances over the weekend and once it was all together, we put up the kids' names over their cribs. There are a few things left to do, but we wanted to show you some pictures of the nursery.


Julia's crib is closest to the window and Mommy told her she has the best window view. Madison's crib is closest to the closet and Mommy told her she can pick out their outfits every morning. Drew's crib is right in the middle and we told him that he could be the boss! They all seem very happy with this arrangement.


We hope you enjoy! It is unbelievable to fathom, but in a couple months, the SD3 are going to be making their home here!!