They're all home!

Yesterday (Sunday) Sarah got released from the hospital. We brought her home and got her settled in just in time for her 5pm feeding. She and the boys are on the same feeding schedule so it was easy to blend her in with their routine. I can't believe they are all home now. No more trips back and forth to Northside Hospital! What a relief it is to have everyone home but scary all at the same time. Now this new journey begins! We had our first visit to the pediatrician this morning. All the babies are doing fantastic. Sarah weighs 4 lbs. 10 oz. Jake weighs 5lbs. 15oz. Luke weighs 5lbs. 14.5oz. This was Kurt and I's first chance to take everyone out of the house and to use our triple-decker stroller. Everything worked out great. Here is a pic my mom took of all the babies at home. Enjoy!

Jake and Luke are home

Yesterday was a very big day. Luke and Jake got to come home! It was so cool to have them here but we are sure tired! Both boys have been taking all their feedings by bottle for several days. So the doctors released them to come home. They were released around 5pm yesterday (yes Friday rush hour traffic) and we headed straight home as it was past their dinner time. The boys both did very good eating and sleeping overnight but getting up every couple hours has already taken its toll on us. I know it will get better and we'll get into a routine. But it sure is hard to get up every couple of hours!

How I spell S-T-R-E-S-S

This past weekend was a great one (well mostly). Both families came out to the hospital and saw the babies. It was a lot of fun. Kurt and I even got our first "triplet perk" in the form of free rice krispie treats at Fuddruckers. And then Sunday night things fell apart. Kurt started to cough and feel achy all over. Within a few hours he had a full on illness. Monday we went to the doctor and they confirmed he had the flu. Likely even the swine flu. He had a fever of 103 degrees. He is really, really, really sick. We called the hospital to tell them what happened since Kurt had been at the hospital all weekend. As a precaution they moved all 3 babies back down to the 2nd floor NICU and put them in isolation. So far as of Tuesday evening the babies do not have any symptoms of any illness. I am so thankful for this. They can go back up to the 7th floor in 5-7 days if they do not get sick. I also do not have any flu symptoms and am praying it stays that way. Kurt has been banned from the hospital for at least 7 days.

The babies are doing so well, Jake and Luke may be on their way home as soon as this weekend. There's so much to do before they come home and I'm trying to get it all done on my own and still trying to recover from my surgery. I have very little energy and stamina from my weeks on bed rest. I'm exhausted from pumping around the clock. My belly is still tender and sensitive but I can't take pain meds anymore so I can drive. Oh, and joy of all joy, the baby blues decided to land on me this week. I cry in the bed, in the shower, on the phone with friends and family, in the kitchen, watching tv, at the hospital. Basically everywhere. It has not been fun. Thankfully, Kurt's folks came out yesterday and helped us out more than they will ever know. Kurt's Dad went to the grocery store and came back and cooked us lots of "heat and eat" meals we can have this week. He also made a chicken noodle soup from scratch that was amazing! Kurt's Mom worked on our laundry which was a huge help. Those things took a big burden off me and allowed me to get some rest yesterday. Hopefully now Kurt is on the mend and will soon be back to capacity. I need my partner in crime. Especially if our boys are on their way home. Please say an extra prayer for Kurt's recovery.

Feeling Better

I went to the OBGYN on Thursday to see what the doc had to say about my BP and symptoms. My BP was actually in a high-normal range (130/90) which is a lot better than the home readings I was getting. I brought my meter to the doctor's office and used it right in front of her. The reading was off the chart. So we have determined the meter is not giving me accurate readings. So it is going back to the store. The doc thinks my symptoms are actually fairly normal and will eventually clear up on their own and that my blood pressure is not that bad. Just to be on the safe side she ordered blood work to make sure all my levels are returning to normal. I made an appointment to see the doc again the week after next. Hopefully by then I'll be much more myself. Today (Friday) I do feel better. I don't have that bad headache and I can actually stare at the computer for more than a few minutes at a time. Progress!

All 3 babies are doing fantastic. Jake is up to taking 4-6 bottles per day. Luke is taking 3-4 per day. Sarah is still taking only 2 but she's working hard to catch up. All the other feedings the babies get are from the tube. It's hard work for them to drink from the bottle. They can actually sleep right through a tube feeding. Each baby must be taking all their feedings from a bottle before they can be released from the hospital. Today I fed both Sarah and Luke bottles of breast milk. It was so great to see them actually enjoying milk I made instead of formula. It is so hard to get up every 3 hours in the middle of the night to pump but it makes it worthwhile to see my babies getting the milk. Tomorrow and Sunday the triplets will have lots of visitors. None of the grandparents have seen them since last weekend. They will be surprised how much they've changed in just one week. They are so much more alert and awake now.

Mommy's First Diaper Change

Yesterday was a fun day visiting the trips. Sarah had a little surprise for me when I changed her diaper. It was my first shot at it and as soon as I opened the diaper up Sarah started peeing like crazy! Luckily it didn't squirt up at me (like her brothers' might) but I did get a handful- lol. Then I changed Luke and as soon as I got him all cleaned up and his clothes back on, he decided to take a big poop. Thanks son! The babies are all doing better feeding and gaining weight. Sarah now weighs 3lbs. 12oz. Jake and Luke are both 4lbs. 10oz. The nurse says they are more awake and alert during the day. They've come along way in just one week!

I am also progressing day by day but am still taking pain pills to deal with the pain and soreness from the c-section. Also, my blood pressure has still been an issue. I'm headed back to the OBGYN tomorrow to see if they can put together a better plan to regulate it. I'm using a home monitor and have gotten some pretty scary readings. I'll post again after I hear what the doc says. My body is so swollen and the rising BP makes it worse. You know the swelling is bad when your extremely loose undies leave indentations on your body. And my feet look like big sausages. Gross!

Enjoy some new pics of the babies (Sarah, Jake, then Luke) my friend Kelley took. Thanks a million Kell!

Meet the Trio

The babies did in fact arrive as planned Wednesday evening, January 6, 2010. Sarah was the first out arriving at 5:54pm and weighing in at 3 lbs. 11ozs. Jake was soon to follow at 5:55pm and weighed 4 lbs. 10 ozs. Luke was the stubborn one but finally made his appearance at 5:57pm and weighed 4 lbs. 9 ozs. The c-section went very smooth although Luke was very entangled in his umbilical cord and so the doctors had a hard time getting him out. All the babies were sent up to the NICU and were put on CPAP to give them oxygen and IV fluids for nutrition. Within the first 12 hours all babies were off all oxygen and IV fluids. Since then they have been given formula via a tube in their mouth/nose and from a bottle. The babies were progressing so quickly that they moved them up to the graduated NICU on the 7th floor. Now they are all side by side and loving it! It makes visiting with them so much easier! Yesterday (Friday) was the first day we really got to do a lot with them. Kurt and I took turns with feeding and changing and snuggling with the babies. We even tried letting Luke breastfeed although he was not quite sure what to do with it. Sarah was not interested in her first bottle feeding and ended up sleeping through almost the entire thing. Kurt changed Jake's diaper which made Jake so mad that he reached up and yanked out his own feeding tube. Then he began to sneeze making him even angrier and totally freaking out Kurt and I. The nurse easily put it back in and Jake was fine. But it was a scary moment for the new parents! While the nurses are upstairs working on getting the babies to eat from a bottle, Kurt and I are trying to figure out breast pumping. It's not as easy as it looks but I am now successfully getting some milk at every pumping. It's not a lot but the nurses assure me my vigilant efforts will soon produce more results. I am proud to say Kurt cleans and assembles all the pieces of the pump so I can quickly and easily get down to business. I would be so lost without my partner in crime! Today (Saturday) both sides of the family got to visit with us and the trio in the babies's new rooms. It is so much more private and comfy in the graduated NICU. I am so glad they are there! Kurt and I took turns feeding each baby and they all did great. Nana (Kelly's Mom) even got to feed a baby (Luke) for a few minutes. Later on this evening Kurt and I will head back to the NICU for some more feeding and snuggling of the babies. I can officially say Kurt and I are both is love! These little miracles are so amazing. I am just in awe of how amazing they are! Here are the first few pics we took of the babies- first Luke, then Jake, then Sarah.

Today is the big day- 33 weeks & 1 day

This morning over breakfast we got a big surprise. Today is Baby Day! I was contentedly eating my omelet and toast when the nurse came in and snatched away my tray. She told me my labs had come back and that my platelets had dropped to 122,000 down from 137,000. After the doctor and the perinatologist reviewed the labs as well as my entire chart they made the decision it's time to get the babies out. So today Kurt and I will become the proud parents of Sarah Grace, Jacob William, and Lucas Richard. We just snapped a few pics before we head down to Labor & Delivery. These are the last pics before the babies are here. I am 33 weeks and 1 day pregnant. As of this morning, I am 14 lbs. heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight. The babies are estimated to weigh between 4 1/2 and 5 lbs each. We shall see in a few hours!

Kelly the Rock Star

Just wanted to pop in with a quick update. All my labs have come back showing an improvement in my platelet count. So there will be no babies today! Today we are 32 weeks and 5+ days along. In just 33 hours we will be at 33 weeks. That seems like a totally doable goal. Then we'll turn our attention to the 34 week goal line. We're in a day by day waiting game to find out when we'll get to meet our little miracles. The doctors and nurses on the HRP floor have nicknamed me "the Rockstar". They say it's for two reasons- first, I have a lot of groupies (visitors) and second, they are amazed at how far we've come and that I am still carrying these babies. I've taken a liking to this nickname. When you struggle with infertility and fear you will never be able to carry a child, being a maternity "rockstar" is quite an honor.

Welcome New Year!

Happy 2010 everyone! This year is going to be a fantastic one! What am I most looking forward to? Of course the birth of these 3 little miracles I've carried for the last 32 1/2 weeks. And we just found out from the doctor that we may be meeting them sooner rather than later. When I first got here the doctor was monitoring my urine once a week and my blood twice a week. Now the blood work has been stepped up to daily monitoring. Apparently my platelet counts have reduced considerably and stand today at 138,000. If the levels get below 100,000 I can no longer have an epidural which is a necessity for my c-section. So the doctors are carefully watching the levels. If they even get close to that 100,000 cutoff they will have to throw in the towel and deliver the babies. Also my uric acid levels are elevated indicating decreased kidney function. So for now we ride this balancing act between growing the babies in-utero and keeping their mom healthy. The doctors don't want to do anything to jeopardize my health. Every day we inch forward is another blessing. I am praying we can make it to 33 weeks and then maybe 34 weeks if we're lucky. No matter when they come the babies will be strong and healthy. Four days ago they were all between 4 and 4 1/2 lbs. in weight and are just getting bigger every day. Babies can gain an ounce a day at this stage. Please continue the prayers for our family. Happy New Year! May 2010 be a year of abundant blessings for you and your family!