It Was A Difficult Decision To Make.......

I get alot of people asking me, incredulously, "Are you really staying there with the babies?" Yes, I really am. And believe it or not, every Neonatologist and Nurse that I've asked agrees with our decision, even saying that it will help us to go home faster.

When we came into all this, we knew the possibilities of the girls being in the NICU. It was high. I wanted to avoid it but what can ya do? Never, in all of the discussions that Aaron and I had, did we ever talk about the fact that I would camp out in the NICU with the babies. The talk was always of how much it would suck to go back and forth to feed, bring milk and spend time with them. It's so easy to talk about what you will do when your not actually faced with the situation. Now that we are in the middle of it, and even immediately after the girls were born, we both knew, there was no way that the girls were going to be left alone. Ever. The first 4 days that I was in Postpartum Recovery, we talked daily about what to do. It always came down to the fact that no matter what our children's ages, we wouldn't ever leave them alone in the hospital. NO MATTER WHAT, one of us would stay with them always. Why do that to the girls just because "they don't know any better" or "they have great care there". I beg to differ. While I agree that the care is above and beyond what I could have hoped for, they girls DO "know better". For 34.2 weeks they have lived inside of me with our family. They have come to know my voice, my heartbeat and my movements. They know Daddy's voice and awaken whenever he comes into the room. They would kick inside if they heard either of their sisters cry. They know us. All of us. And we are supposed to leave them here, all alone with nobody that they know? I am very aware that this is hard on my other kids, and on Aaron. I feel it in my heart every single day. I cry when I hear their voices on the phone. Aaron is an amazing father and husband. I couldn't ask for anyone that loves me or our children more. This was an agonizing decision to make but we made it based on the needs of our kids, all 9 of them. Our kids have 2 great parents. We have 6 kids at home that need us and 3 in the hospital that need us. The realistic answer is for one of us to be with each "set" at all times. Since we breastfeed only, that pretty much lays it on the table. Aaron is with the 6 at home, and I stay here with the girls. I think it's a pretty obvious solution.

But believe me when I say, it was the hardest decision we've ever had to make. I miss my kids. I miss my husband. I can't wait to get home and be together again. In the long run, 14 days away compared to a lifetime together is easy. Now, to just get through it. Anything worthwhile is never an easy road. And these baby girls and our family, is worth everything in the world to us, as difficult as it may be, we are ready.

Are We There Yet?!?!

So ready to go home. So so ready. The Dr's say about 6-9 more days. Yay! The NICU has a few "rules" before the girls can go home.

1) Must be able to maintain their body heat on their own.
2)Off the Phototherapy lights
3)Must be gaining weight continuously
4)Take all feeding from a bottle and/or breast

We have passed them all but the feeding one. We just need to work on nursing. The Dr. says it will come. Soon. They have all gained weight. Alot in just 24 hours. 3oz. each!

Emilia is 4#11oz
Gwendolen is 4#3oz (Back to her birth weight already!!)
Rosalie is 3#11oz

So, all is good. Not alot to report. We are kinda like the boring NICU family. lol.

**One Week Old**

I can't believe they are one week old. Already. Time flies in the NICU that's for sure. I thought it would be very draggy and boring. I'm realizing that things will never again be boring. Not with triplets to take care of, that's for sure. I was thinking today, I do that alot here, that each of the kids have had a different "First Holiday". Madeline's was The 4th of July, Joseph's was Mother's Day, Noah's was Halloween, Juliette's was Labor Day, Annabel's was Easter, Delilah's was Valentine's Day and the Babies is Thanksgiving. (Happy Thanksgiving by the way) Kinda cool huh? As I said ALOT of thinking time on my hands.

Aaron, as if you all didn't already know this, is THE.BEST.DADDY.EVER. A few days ago, he realized that outside the babies windows is a courtyard that you can get to from the 2nd floor. He decided that he needed to bring the kids to the courtyard so they could actually see the babies, not just in pictures. So the babies nurse and I got them all ready, Aaron and the kids were waiting in the courtyard and we held all 3 babies up to the window at the same time. It was awesome. Annabel and Delilah were so excited. You could see them pointing and smiling and saying Momma, Babies, Momma, Babies over and over again. Then after we got the babies laid back down, I met them downstairs and we had a treat. It was so good for the little girls to see the babies, see me and the babies together and see where we were staying. I mean, this has been a lifetime to them. I've never been away this long and I was so worried that they thought I just left them forever. So now, I've seen all the kids and it has settled my mind and heart so much. I still can't wait to get home but now I feel so much better knowing that they are more settled too. And Oh Man, after being with 4# babies for a week, Delilah sure looks big!

As for the babies, they are good. Perfect. Growing. Emilia is up to 4#12oz, Gwendolen is at 4#2oz and Rosalie, is the only one that didn't gain or stay the same today. She lost an oz. That was hard to hear, but as the Dr. reminded me, she is very tiny and has alot of catching up to do. He upped her caloric intake by about 4ml's to see if that helps. She is my best nurser though so maybe she's using a few too many calories trying to outdo her sisters. I sense another competitive child here. Nursing is going well. All babies latch on, they just have a hard time staying on and awake. I have 2 visits scheduled with lacation this weekend so that will be helpful. The Dr. did mention that maybe giving them a bottle or two a day, would not only give me a break, but it might increase my milk supply since I will be nursing two of them more, but it will also help Rosalie gain weight a tad faster thus moving us outta here faster. All 3 Dr.'s have given us a guess-timate of 7-10 more days. That means I have just 7-10 more days to get these baby girls nursing like pros. Wish me luck.

One Week Old:

SUN Anyone?

lol. I thought it would be fun to show everyone how the girls like their lights. I think they are pretending that they are in Jamaica. :)

Emilia:

Rosalie:

Gwendolen:

35 Weeks Today.....

That is how old the girls are gestationally. Which means they are starting to do more. The Dr. ordered today that they can start nursing whenever they look like they want to! Yay! We tried Emilia today and she just got too tried to suck alot. Then Amber had me move to Gwendolen and that little princess shocked us all. She sucked, swallowed and breathed perfectly and nursed for almost 3 minutes straight! I'm so proud of her!! We could hear her swallowing and breathing and it was the best thing EVER! That is almost their last step to come home. They are all holding their body heat, weight loss is minimal, and they will be done with the lights within a few days. So basically, we get the nursing down good and we are HOME BABIES HOME!! The Dr's also ordered that they can come off monitors to eat at the same time if 2 of them want it at the same time! That is huge! Way to go baby girls! We are so proud of you!

Quickie Update

All is still perfect. Babies did lose some weight which is perfectly normal. Up to 10% is expected, they are at about 6%.

Rosalie: 3#8oz

Gwendolen:3#15oz

Emilia:4#11oz

So so good!!! The Dr's are very happy with their progress. They are even starting to show signs of rooting and suckling, so will be nursing very soon! More awesome news? They don't even need the donor milk anymore! I'm providing enough milk for all 3. I'm even a feeding ahead. There is about 8oz of milk stored in their fridge at all times. And I'm sure it will only get better and better.

The girls have totally won the hearts of every single nurse on the NICU floor. They get alot of nurse visitors that just want to see the "beautiful triplets". They have one nurse in particular that I love, that is already very attached to them and loves to show them off and tell everyone how cute they are. The care we have received here has been amazing. These nurses truly love our baby girls and take such good care of them. I'm so impressed.

Here's where they sleep :) The quilts are donated by a group of ladies that sew them for the preemies. It's called the Linus Project and they are so pretty.

Gwendolen's Isolette

Rosalie's Isolette

Emilia's Isolette

Day Four

Hard to believe it's been 4 days already. Amazingly, time flies when you taking care of three babies in the NICU. They are on a every 3 hour eating schedule so by the time we start one on a feed, do vitals and change clothing (if needed) and diapers all the way down to baby #3, its almost time to start again. The babies are all on gavage (sp?) feedings. This is by our choice. They could do bottles, but Aaron and I want them to start breastfeeding asap, and this way, as they are getting their food, I can bring them to breast so that they get the idea. You cant really do that with a bottle. The 2nd day, Rosalie nursed for almost 30 minutes, but hasn't been able to stay awake to try that again. Gwendolen is not showing too much interest yet and Emilia, today tried for the first time. She did pretty good and stayed latched on for about 5 minutes but then fell asleep. I continued to hold her as if she was nursing while they started the feeding, that way she associated the taste of the food with the breast.
They tested all the babies Billirubin levels and they are all high. What does that mean? It means that they are just not eating quite enough food for their body to process the billirubin levels. Another term for it is jaundice Normally a baby will poop out all the billibrubin. Since her food levels aren't quite that high, she's not pooping it all out. So she gets phototherapy. Basically looks like she's laying in a tanning bed. It's not uncomfortable for her but she hates that she can't be swaddled. She has to have as much skin exposed as possible so its just a diaper and some really cool foam sunglasses. Which she keeps pulling off. She's keeping her nurses on their toes, that's for sure. Emilia and Rosalie have lower levels but not super low. They will probably needs lights too, but the Dr. will check their levels tomorrow and Gwendolen's again too, to make sure her levels are lowering. Gwen's seem to be since her diapers were a bit green and that's the first sign that the lights are working.

Here's Gwendolen with her lights:

Kangaroo Care is my favorite time of the day. For 2 hours each day, an hour at a time, we get to hold the babies, skin to skin. It helps them with their breathing, heartrate and heat. Their little bodies don't have to do as much since our bodies are doing it all for them. It gives them a much needed break. Aaron even jumped in and as you can see, Emilia loves her Daddy and even sleeps just like him. Little mouth hanging open and all. And here's Emilia right after her nursing session. It made her a bit milk drunk. :)

Rosalie is still trying to steal the show. Anytime she hears a voice, especially Mom and Dad, but pretty much any voice will do, she starts fussing. She just wants to be held and touched all the time. It's so hard not to grant her every little thing she wants. I have a feeling she will get her way. Alot. Here she got Auntie Noelle to hold her. With a little whimper, she's got her wrapped around her tiny little finger. (is blurry because I didn't want to use flash)

They're HERE!!

Our beautiful baby girls are here! They arrived November 19th, 2009 around 9pm. They are all doing perfect. I'll keep the birth story short so I can get to the good stuff (the babies!), plus I'm pretty doped up on painkillers so I don't want to ramble. lol.

Thursday afternoon, I started to just feel "not right". I didn't think anything was wrong but I had a weird premonitious feeling. Hard to describe. Aaron and I decided to head to the hospital to "check things out". We got there around 7:30pm. As soon as the nurses hooked me up to the monitors, I started having mild contractions. Within 15 minutes, they started coming stronger and about every 3-4 minutes and lasting almost 2 minutes each. With 2-3 of the contractions, Rosalie's heartrate decelerated to about 50. SCARY. It's supposed to be about 160's. It didn't recover until the contraction ended. The Dr's decided that with labor starting to progress and it looking like Rosalie didn't seem to do well with the contactions, it was safer to deliver than to try to stop labor. Talk about things happening fast! So with the decision made to deliver around 8:15pm, the girls were born a little after 9pm. The surgery went well, better than I thought it would.

Now, for the best part. The babies. I'll give them each their own paragraph. :) Seems fair.

Rosalie Charlotte 3# 13oz. 16" long. Beautiful, tiny, dainty and feisty!

Rosalie is making up for her time on the bottom of the pile in utero. She's very feisty and vocal. She's awake alot and loves to hear mommy and daddy's voice. The minute she hears us talking, she looks for us. She is already melting family and friends hearts with her big blue eyes.

Gwendolen Lucy 4# 2oz. 17" long. So pretty. Dainty and sweet. Very calm and patient.

Gwendolen is very calm. She likes to just lay in her isolette and listen to the world. She does have her moments but for the most part, she is very content.

Emilia Jane 5# 1oz. 17" long. Tons of hair and a very round face. She is beyond cute and reminds us of a little teddy bear.

Emilia is a pretty happy and content baby too. She seems to float in the middle of the other 2 personality wise. She's awake alot and loves to look around and listen, but she can get mad if you mess with her too much. lol.

I'm planning on posting more pics later, I just wanted to get these out here as quick as possible. I'll update with baby info, how they are doing and all that in a few days. :)

**34 WEEKS!!**

We did it! We made it to the.most important milestone yet. 34 weeks is HUGE. The babies can come out anytime and be perfectly fine. I'm still holding out for 12.01 but I'm certainly not going to complain if they decide they want to meet us earlier. :) Dr. appointment today went great. All 3 babies scored 8/8 on their BPP's. Mia's fluid looked ok still and Rosalie's looked a tad low but not worrisome. It is normal that their fluid levels start to drop from here on out since they are getting so big. We have another Dr. app Friday for BPP and again Tuesday for growth. Tuesday's appointment will tell us alot. If Rosalie hasn't grown as much as they like, we may have to think about delivery. BUT, it's still a day-today, wait and see type thing. I could easily go into labor or the babies could break their water, although with the amount of Vitamin C I'm taking, the Dr's may have to saw through the sacs to get them out. My cervix is still good at about 2.5cm and I'm only slightly dialated, less than 1cm, so basically, all is very very good. The Dr. even called me amazing. :) I'll take that.

And I'll post pics tomorrow. I'm wiped (after de-con'ing my house, long story, I'll explain later)

EDIT: Ok, I'll explain the De-Con now. Alot of people have asked. No, we do not have mice. I meant decontaminate. My little sister was here babysitting and left very sick. Ick. I didn't want to take any chances so I Lysol'd and scrubbed. Alot. I haven't gotten to a belly shot either. Those stairs suck.

I Stumbled Upon A Quote...

And I just fell in love with it. I did change it a tad. The we's were originally I's. It felt more right with we's.

"Before you were conceived we wanted you
Before you were born we loved you
Before you were here an hour we would give our lives for you
This is the miracle of life"

-Maureen Hawkins

TGIF...

I love Fridays. Why? Because everyone is home. Aaron and all the kids. And life is so much easier when the little girls and I have other people to visit with besides ourselves. We are all much happier.

Annabel seems to be getting sick, although I can't say with what. Yesterday she started a fever of 102'. By evening it was at 100'. Hot/cold all night on and off. This morning it was 99.5' and down to 98.8' by this afternoon. Got back up to 101' this evening and now it's back to normal. WEIRD. I am a tad worried that it's H1N1 and the Dr's (hers and mine) called in scripts for Tamiflu, which we have not yet taken. For one, I'm not convinced it's IS H1N1, 2nd, she has zero other symptoms, 3rd, have you read the side effects for Tamiflu? Oh my jeez, I think I would rather have the flu. Plus, even though my Dr. says that Tamiflu is safe if your pregnant, I can't find anything positive about taking it while pregnant on the net. THAT worries me. So, for now, we are just being cautious. Tons of fluids, vitamins and rest. Hopefully the fever stays at just that, a fever.

Dr. appointment went good today. Aaron surprised me and was there waiting for me when I got there! I almost cried! He's not usually the surprising type. He must have known how stressed I was about this appointment. Anyway, Mia's fluid is lower (2x2 pocket) but Dr. B. didn't seem as concerned as Dr. C. was. He said that although they could only measure a 2x2 pocket, the tech did see numerous other other pockets, they just weren't measurable so he's convinced that she has enough fluid. It's not low enough to consider delivery at this point. Basically a lower fluid level could be an indicator of the placenta starting to deteriorate. BUT, she scored 8/8 on her BPP. She's breathing regularly and HR is good. So that tells him that the placenta is doing ok. He did say that her size and position could play a part in the lower fluid too. Plus, she wouldn't be growing so well if the placenta wasn't working. The other 2 babies both scored an 8/8 too. This Dr. is pretty confident that I will make it to 36 weeks. Only 18 more days!! That's sooooo close! And we are soooooo ready! I'm really thinking that we are going to have take-home babies. That will be THE.BEST Christmas present EVER.

33/3/3

Yes, those numbers actually mean something. Today I am 33 weeks pregnant. I have 3 weeks left until delivery date (exactly 21 days) and there are 3 beautiful baby girls in there. :) I just thought it was a cool title. :)

Today's appointment went "ok". The babies are fine, I am fine. They all scored 8/8 on their BPP's again. I'll divide the info up so it's easier to read :)

Baby A, Rosalie. Her estimated weight is 3#12oz. She hasn't grown much since 3 weeks ago, although she has grown some. The Dr. does think the fact that she's very hard to measure has something to do with it so he's not too concerned. Yet. He's going to do another growth scan in 12 days. Sooner than that doesn't give us enough comparison since they don't grow that fast anymore. But she is tucked down in my pelvis and hips so getting great measurements are harder with her than the other 2.

Baby B, Gwendolen. Her estimated weight is 4#1oz. She's doing fabulously. Her BPP was 8/8 also. Not much else to report with her. :)

Baby C, Emilia. Her estimated weight is 4#15oz!!! Huge! Her BPP was 8/8 also but it was a stretch. She's doing great on her breathing. Her placenta and cord looked good. It's her fluid that we are watching now. As I've said before, the Dr. likes to see a pocket of at least 2x2. Mia's is 2x3. We are pushing it. It could be because she's so big, or her position, but after almost 20 minutes of trying to find a pocket at all, and having me roll on my side to try to move her, we finally found one. It was hard to find though. Now, she will be fine, even with the low fluid. Babies can even stay in there with little to no fluid for a few days, it just isn't ideal and it usually signifies that it's just time for them to be born. We don't want her stressed out, we want her happy.

So now we do BPP's twice weekly. If her pocket drops anymore, we will be having babies. Soon. When I asked the Dr. if we were going to make it to 12.01, he said "Probably not". Between Baby C's fluid, and Baby A's growth, they are probably coming sooner than later. I just need to be prepared every 3 days for the possibility that they could be born, given no waters get broken and no labor starts. As it is now, the contractions are getting VERY frequent. I get them about 3-4 times an hour most days. Not fun.

So, I will update after Friday's appointment and post a belly pic tomorrow.

How Are The Babies Even Fitting In There?

I get asked this all the time. How on earth are there three babies in there? I'm not totally sure myself, since my brain has yet to grasp this fact. I'm pretty sure I won't truly believe it until I see them. So, to the point, I tried to make a drawing showing everyone where they are in there but I'm not that great with photo editing so here's what I came up with: Baby A, Rosalie, is riding very very low. Her head in on my right hip and her feet are at my left hip. Her butt is on my pelvic bone, and yes. it hurts. Badly. She's what they consider transverse. She is spread out a bit too, so that alot of her body is in my back. Transverse is not an ideal position for a singleton to be born vaginally since the babies have to come out head first, but it's been very ideal for us. She's basically plugging up the exit with her bum. There is very little room for her to turn at this point, which is again, not ideal for a singleton but perfect for us. If she stays where she's at, nobody can get out. Given my history of fast labors, this again, is perfect for us. If one of the babies breaks her water or I go into labor, I don't have to worry so much about a quick escape from them. Thus, reducing my stress, alot. And we don't even have to consider hospital bedrest anymore. I made it. Thank God.

Baby B, Gwendolen, is head down. Her head is sitting, also, on my right hip. Yep, my right hip is SORE. From there, she goes up. her butt is in my rib cage and her feet go along the top of my belly under my boobs. She's pretty much a uterus hog. I feel her the most since she's sucking up the most space.

Baby C, Emilia, is also head down. Her head is in my left hip. Her butt is under my ribs. But since Baby B is hogging the space along the top of the uterus, Baby C has her feet straight down from her butt so that her feet are next to her head. Sound cozy? She's basically folded in half. Poor little girl. She also sits a bit to the back so the US tech said she has more room than we think, but still not a ton. Amber told me that she probably will have a tendency to flip her legs behind her head for a few days after birth if she stays that way. Guess we will swaddle her good for awhile.

So, hopefully, that helps, although I still have a hard time believing that they are all in there. Especially when I think that I have organs that have to be somewhere. But where?

Busy...Busy...Busy....

Our life in 3 words. I'm still trying to figure out how 3 newborns are going to fit in here. Actually, probably pretty well, they will just add to the chaos and we obviously thrive on that. Today, in the lovely NW weather, we had 3 soccer games, to which the kids came home soaked. Then, as soon as they got home, it was time to clean up to go the Tompa's Happy Birthday. He is 80. And believe me, he sure does not look it. The kids had a great time, but they are tired. Of course, the night didn't stop there. Joey started an indoor soccer team so we had to tie-dye 8 men's large tee shirts for his teams uniforms tonight. 10pm and we are just starting to wind down. Aaron fell asleep reading to Lilah upstairs, again. He does that so frequently now that he is Mr. Mom and Dad. Poor man. We do seem to live day to day, waiting for these babies, but nothing stops. Take 3 deep breaths and relax. Ahhhhh....Bedtime for all. Maybe a hot tub for Mom. And I think we shall let Daddy sleep.

More From Rebecca....

Rebecca was here again today. Thank goodness she is fast because with how I've been feeling lately, just getting into "wardrobe" is alot of work. I've been working on trying to get pics with the babies positions up on here, but I am so photshop stupid, that I can't figure it out. As soon as I can have Madeline help me, I'll get to it. Hopefully.

CONFUCIUS SAY....

Again, another thoughtful post from my wonderful friend on Facebook. It's very appropriate and I needed to share it here.

"To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right"

32 Weeks/3 Days

Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been exhausted lately, and swollen. The joints in my fingers are swollen so it's hard to do much. I can't even make a fist very well. And mornings suck. The Dr. says it's not concerning. As a matter of fact, He said "Welcome to a real pregnancy". lol. He's very impressed that I've come so far with zero problems. I did decline the H1N1 vax and I didn't get too much crap for it, thankfully. I'm just not sold on it. At all. I need to have faith in my body. And I do! But, today's appointment went very well. On the BPP all 3 babies scored an 8/8 again. They are all breathing regularly inside and all the fluid levels were good. Even Baby C was at a 3x3 pocket still. Yay! I had my steroid shot today and go in again for the 2nd dose tomorrow. This will just ensure that IF they come in the next 2-3 weeks, their lungs will be even stronger. But they won't. We are going all the way to "Eviction Day" which is December 1st. 2009 at high noon. It's Aaron's birthday so they are going to have to share, not only with each other, but also with Daddy. Aaron is ok with it, but I'm sure spending your birthday watching your wife get cut open to deliver 3 babies isn't the dream day he had in mind. lol. Oh well. It's the day I turn 36 weeks so that's the day we will have them, provided one of them doesn't try to break out sooner.

Next week is another BPP and a growth scan. I'm excited for this, we will get to get some approximate weights! I'm praying for over 3#8oz each. 4# would be ideal, but I'm sure that's reaching a tad high for 33 weekers.

We are on "OFFICIAL COUNTDOWN" now. Just 26 more days until we are holding our babies. Twenty-six days!! That seems so close, yet so far away. I feel like we have so much to do yet we don't. Car is clean (thanks Joey!) little girls carseats are in, (thanks Miranda!) babies carseats have been measured and DO FIT 3 across in the middle row!, (thanks again, Miranda!) clothes are all washed and folded, diaper stash is ready and clean and our hospital bag is packed. The only thing I still need is some bottles. (just in case my "One baby will have to be patient and wait for a boob " plan, doesn't work. ) I think I will order them tonight, but for the most part....

WE ARE READY FOR BABIES! Excited, nervous, happy yet anxious. 3 BABIES. All at once. My dream of multiples is finally coming true (although I will admit, it was more of a dream at my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies and I was thinking more along the lines of twins, but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?) Just goes to show you that "good things come to those who wait". I've waited a long time and 3 beautiful newborn baby girls are a very good thing. I can't wait to meet them, see who they look like, kiss them, hold them, nurse them and inhale their intoxicating newborn smell.

OH! I forgot to mention, on the US today, Baby C, Emilia, has SO MUCH hair, that the tech could see it on the US. There was a halo of hair around her head. How cool is that? Thank you so much Daddy genes! (For those who don't know, all my babies are born with lots of black hair, no thanks to my genetics!)

And I'm working on that baby placement pic. I'll get it up tomorrow. They still haven't changed positions so it's pretty unlikely that they will at this point. They are pretty squished in there.