NICU Follow-Up

The girls had their NICU follow-up appointment today at Northwestern. They were checked out by a physical therapist--actually the same one that saw them while they were in the NICU. According to her, they are doing great and she has no concerns. They are doing more than what she expects them to be doing at their ages. She is such a nice lady, she gave us an A+ on our parenting! They are strong on their tummies and there are no flat heads! It is great to hear these things. The girls did great during the exams, especially considering it was 11am and feeding time. They were full of smiles and good at cooperating with the tests. They also are part of a research study about predicting speech delays in premature babies. Today, they were tested in speech and social and also did great.

Superstars

Kate turning her head towards the rattle

Kate looking for the noise from the bell

After the appointment, I had to go into Northwestern Hospital to get my parking pass validated. Since I was already in the hospital, I decided to take the elevator up to the 14th floor to maternal-fetal medicine clinic and see if any of my doctors were there today. It was just past noon, so I wondered if they would be at lunch. The practice has probably 11 doctors, and I didn't even see all of them during all my prenatal visits. Besides the one that delivered me, there was one doctor I saw quite a bit towards the end of my pregnancy and was actually the one who was on-call both times I was admitted to the hospital, Dr. Peaceman. He happened to be the only doctor in the clinic today, so it was nice he was able to see the babies for the first time. I also saw two of the nurses who I got to know really well during all my visits. It was great to see them.

Tomorrow they are five months! I'll try to get a good picture of them and post it.

Southern Visitors

We had our good friends visit us from Louisville today! Amy and I have been great friends since we attended Vanderbilt for our MSN degrees in 2001--Yikes, it has been that long! After graduation, Amy married Chris and moved to Boston right before John and I moved out there for John's law school. So we spent a lot of time together while we were both living there as well. When we lived in Columbus, we would meet half way in Cincinnatti since they had moved back to their home state of Kentucky by then. Amy and I talk at least once a week, but we haven't seen each other in a year and a half. During that time, both of us were pregnant and had a baby girl/baby girls. We both had our first children (boys) within a few months of each other. Jack and Alexander like to talk to each other too! They were in town for the Oprah show tomorrow and stopped by for a visit--and were a great help with the girls too.

Here are the babies--Ellie was born ten days after the girls were born. She was a few days late. We didn't really think I would have the my girls before Amy would since she was due almost two months before me.

Kate, Ellie, Anna and Elizabeth

For some reason, other babies like the way Anna's hands taste.

Amy with Jack

Having a "talk" with Ellie about her sleep habits

Good friends are hard to live without

Chris feeding Ellie

Since Alexander had to stay home, Jack was asking if we could go visit him tonight...maybe we will have to take a trip down south this summer when the girls are older.

A Day in the Life...Part Two

I recently had my blog printed into a book for a Christmas gift for my parents. Since receiving it, I have read my entire blog from the beginning. What a year! It was funny to look back at all the ultrasounds and read about "fire cracker" and "spark-plug" Baby B and think of how Elizabeth acts today-- the same! And our mellow Baby C--Kate who is still the same today. Big Baby A is still the biggest, too. And all the doctors appointments and visitors last summer! Then, once the girls were born, the road they took in the NICU and being home all together for the first time. I read my post of "A Day in the Life.." when the triplets were two months old and realized how much their schedules have changed and how much easier they have become! So, I decided to continue with this post, "A Day in the Life" today, when the triplets are five months old and Jack is three years old.

My day starts around 6-6:30am (better already). Jack usually gets up around then too. We both go downstairs and I pump while he likes to sit next to me and talk my ear off. We sometimes play a card game or other game. Once finished, I try to get my shower in before the girls get up although this doesn't always happen. I will then feed Jack breakfast and get the girls' bottles ready. Then I will bring them downstairs, change, weigh and fed them a bottle of breast milk and Neosure formula 22 cal., usually about 5.5-6 oz. They will play well after eating, entertaining themselves under the play mat, sitting in the Bumbo, tummy time or in their bouncy chairs. Sometimes they will sit propped on the couch, too. I straighten up the kitchen, clean the breakfast dishes and shower if I didn't get it in earlier. I will get Jack dressed. I then will pump again. Jack likes to play Candy Land with me every morning while I pump. I will finish all this around 9am. The girls will usually take a nap around 930 or so, most of the time only for an hour. I have been trying them out in their cribs for this nap and the problem I am running into is one waking the other two up. But, they have no choice in the matter, they are going to have to learn to sleep through the noise. I try to get my bottles made for the next day during this nap--12 bottles each day.

The girls will eat again at 11am, 2 pm and 5 pm. One is nursed each feeding and the other two get bottles. They usually are awake in between the 11am feeding and 2 pm feeding and then will nap 3:30-4p or 5pm. At least that is the goal. Some days they seem to take three 30-45 minute naps (between each of their feedings). We are working on this to get them asleep all at the same time each day. They love their swings, play mat (Elizabeth will lay under it for an hour at a time cooing at herself and laughing in the mirror) and being read to, sung to and talked to. They are also getting so much better at tummy time and in the Bumbo. The evenings have started to get easier, too. The 'witching hour' isn't so bad anymore. I don't feel like I NEED a second hand--although it is always nice to have someone else around. I put Jack in bed around 645pm (he doesn't nap anymore so he has an earlier bedtime) and then start getting the girls ready for bed. Bottles are given at 7pm and they take 20 minutes to an hour to eat them (Elizabeth can sometimes take an hour when she is extremely sleepy) and we put them in their cribs, turn on the fish tank and close the door. Then there is silence! I pump again and by 745pm, I can do anything that needs to be done I usually go to bed around 1030-11p and pump again before I do.

We still have Madeleine eight hours a day and she is a HUGE help in getting the girls fed and bathed (Monday, Wed. and Friday), doing laundry and cleaning, cooking and doing anything and everything else that needs to be done. On Monday, Wed and Friday when she leaves at 430pm, I will usually have a volunteer from church that comes over to help feed Jack dinner at 5pm and help with the girls' 5pm feeding. I have made it out of the house for a run on most afternoons and actually signed up for a half marathon in September. Jack is going to school on Wednesday and Friday from 9-11am and we are still attending our playgroup together on Mondays. Nicholas--Jack's 5 year old cousin--and Jack have been playing so well together, we usually have Nicky over one afternoon and Jack will go over to his house one afternoon.

We are enjoying the kids being indoors this winter. Jack is a little mini-me and repeats our sayings to the girls. He loves his kitchen and is really into card games and board games. He really is a sweet boy. The girls are laughing and cooing and so smiley! I have to get used to all the smiles around the house!

Cuties on the Couch

My parents visited today and my mom had the girls propped up on the couch she got them. They were in great moods this morning and she took some cute pictures.

Learning to Sit

I had the girls practice their sitting today against the couch. They loved that they could play with toys at the same time! Kate eventually tired out and fell asleep, but the other two played for quite a while.

Meeting of the Minds

A few pictures of the girls during a tummy time meeting

Anna and Kate

Elizabeth joins in on the meeting

"The Hardest Thing I Have Ever Done"

If you didn't hear me say this phrase this past summer, believe me, I did. And, even though I didn't voice it that often (or tired not to), I thought it multiple times a day. Probably starting in late July and through August until the girls were born, I was miserable. I remember having a conservation with my doctor about it. I remember thinking I couldn't make it another day being pregnant--but knowing I had no choice in the matter. I remember not being able to sleep, or eat or move very well. Not to be the complainer, but I believed at that time the last month of the pregnancy was the hardest thing I have ever done. How can it be that bad when someone else is cooking, cleaning, and taking care of your child?

I have come to realize that I may be using that phrase more than once--is that allowed?

Today marks the end of me being able to supply my girls with ONLY breastmilk. I have officially run out of my vast frozen supply I was using to supplement my daily pumping for bottles each day. Currently, I make twelve 5.5-6oz bottles each day. I nurse each baby once a day and pump four times a day. That means I am doing one of those things every 2-3 hours from 6am to 10pm at night. But, I can't keep up with my little piggies :)

Normally, what I pump each day is made into the next day's bottles--and I usually can make six to seven bottles with my fresh milk. So, I have been thawing out enough frozen milk to make five to six bottles each day--so that is around 30-35 ounces. If you saw my freezer in the middle of October, you would be shocked to know the milk is gone! I wish I would have counted the ounces of milk at one point, but never had time. Up until mid October, I was pumping seven times a day and nursing each child twice a day--don't ask how I managed to do much else. But, once I cut back pumping, I wasn't able to store any more breast milk and my girls have been eating more and more, too. Hence, the supply dwindled and now is gone.

Most people I talk to can't believe I am nursing the babies and still pumping. I have to say, I am glad to have made it this far, but still disappointed that I won't make it through their first year without bottles of formula. I was at least hoping to make it to six months. But instead, I made it nine days shy of five months. I am taking comfort in the fact that each baby will still get 2/3 of their intake as breastmilk and rest as formula. Nursing and pumping for triplets is not easy...is it the hardest thing I have ever done? I don't want to make that mistake and say that again.