100 days

Well we were hoping to never have to write this post but our babies have now been in the NICU for 100 days. When you walk up the long NICU hill there are photos lining the walls of other NICU graduates where they are now and the stats of where they were then. When we first read the inspirational captions we were amazed at the babies that had spent 2 weeks - 30 days in the NICU, how sad we thought! But now as we read through the captions, we smile at our own ignorance as we now fall into a very small category of babies who have been there 100 days +. I will say though that the fact that our babies, as tiny as they were, are ALIVE and thriving, makes every single day worth it. We'll take what we have to to ensure a successful transition home and a lifetime of hugs and smiles.

With that said, our 100 day birthday was terrific! Slade has been doing so well on his feedings that today his feeding tube was removed! From now on, he will eat as much as he is hungry for and can have more if he wants more and less if he wants less. So if he doesn't finish a bottle, it won't be tube fed to him, but rather he will have to hopefully make up for it on his following bottle. This is a huge step and we couldn't be more excited. The girls are still only eating 4 of 8 bottles per day and aren't quite ready to lose there tubes, but hopefully they catch up soon. Also, all the babies have been on caffeine since their birth to help with heart rate drops. Well Claire was removed yesterday and Ella/Slade will be removed tonight. So far so good with Miss Claire and we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for the other two!

The only downside to today is that to ensure that the babies aren't getting the thrush from my milk, I must begin taking some medicine and for the next 24 hours must dump everything I pump. It already looks like their thrush is clearing up but they want to take every precaution to make sure there is no cross-contamination. Arg....the agony of flushing oz's down the drain, I couldn't even do it, but Brian took care of it for me:)

Unfortunately before we could get a picture of Slade without his feeding tube in, the eye doctor came to inflict his bi-monthly torture so instead below is a video of him and Claire hanging out with their aunt Heather...

Still Waiting...

A nurse made a joke the other day asking if they trio was walking yet and I think that's what our once tiny babies are waiting for, they want to be able to walk out those NICU doors:) Nah, but Ella is now 8lbs and it really is time they came home. And they are steadily improving at their eating, just not there yet. They still have the thrush so the doctors are now going to treat it with an internal medicine rather than just the topical ointment. Supposedly thrush is painful so hopefully when it clears up the babies will take all their bottles. Yesterday the babies also got all of their vaccinations and did really well with them. I'm amazed at the difference of opinion on vaccinating babies out there but I decided to side with the neonataligists and get them done (if I trust them to do my babies heart surgery, I better trust them with a shot, right?) Ella's brain bleed has resolved which is terrific, however whatever damage it did is done and we will just have to wait and see if there are any lasting effects. Luckily there are some great early intervention programs out there if there are any motor skill delays. All the babies eyes are looking great and only Claire is at any increased risk of future vision issues like glasses(although due to poor eye genes, I think they are all at risk for glasses).

Brian and I are doing well and trying to be as patient as possible. Our cats have found a perfect new home (Thanks Melissa!) and we are beginning to get some of the stuff set up that we had to wait on due to the cats (i.e. bouncy chairs, swings, etc). I've decreased my pumping to 8x per day so I can get a little sleep before the babies come home and so my emotional stability increases as I wait for them. So all in all we are good, just ready.

Ella - 8lbs (18.9 inches)

Slade - 7lbs 11oz (18.3 inches)

Claire - 6lbs 14oz (18.9 inches)

Divided

All the babies are doing well and getting a little bit more consistent with their bottles. Unfortunately its consistently about 1/2 bottle per feeding rather than an entire bottle per feeding. Claire is still pretty variable from an entire bottle one feeding to 1/8th the next. One of these days they'll catch on....or so they tell me...

Once again Ella & Slade have thrush and are being treated with this blue/purple goo that makes there whole mouths purple. Its very halloweenish. Because they are having a hard time getting rid of this, they have been separated into different cribs rather than the big triplet crib. This way pacifiers and such won't get accidentally shared and the infection spread. Once that is cleared up they will move back in with each other as there are studies that prove the benefits of co-bedding such as increased bonding, more self-sustaining comfort and even developmental benefits.

On another note, their personalities are definitely changing again. Our once "chill" Claire is now our "if you put me down, I'll cry" Claire. Our "easily irritable" Slade is now our "chill" Slade. And Ella, well, she remains our sleepy little girl that varies from one day to the next. I'm guessing this will continue to change for many years to come...

Goodness

Goodness, I don't think that the doctor meant that the babies would be giving cues almost every single feeding, but today they did just that. Ella and Slade attempted 7 out of 8 bottles and Claire 6 out of 8. Now they didn't finish all of those bottles and in fact sometimes only drank 15 out of 65 ml's, but its definitely a step in the right direction. Just the fact that they were alert enough to make the attempts is great news. As one doctor told us, "its the process that is important, the volume will come." Way to go babies!

Miss Claire is almost always wide awake when we are there...

Cue Based Feeding

Well, my hopes are up again today after the babies were upgraded to a new type of feeding structure called cue based feeding. This is where at every feeding if the babies are awake, alert and showing signs of being hungry, the nurse will attempt a bottle feed. This is to ensure the babies get all the chances they can get to learn rather than be just scheduled to 3 distinct times per day. Already Slade has now finished two bottles in a row, although they said he was pretty sleepy through the second one. This is so great as we really feel it will give the babies a better chance of increasing their bottle feeds and hopefully come home sooner. I'm still doubtful on the Halloween prospect, but very optimistic about Thanksgiving. Yeah for progress!!

Ok, so this is the funniest picture of Ella ever, the kind of picture your kids beg you not to show their boyfriend when they are 16...

Neck and Neck

Claire has been upgraded to 3 bottles per day so the babies are now all on the same amount, go Claire! Some days its a real struggle for them to eat and then others like today are no problem. We are so ready to have them home, its getting really difficult to leave each day without them. I don't have much to write as not much has changed, although we are hoping it soon changes for the better. It doesn't look like we'll have any babies home for Halloween after all and it makes us very sad. Now we are just hopeful for a baby filled Thanksgiving at least... They are all just so wonderful and beautiful and we are so thankful to have them in our lives.

13 Week Stats
Ella - 7lbs 7oz
Slade - 7lbs 1oz
Claire - 6lbs 5oz

Thrush

Its been a long week. I feel like the days have gotten shorter or something, because by the time Brian and I finish work, go to the hospital, drive home, eat dinner, sterilize pump pieces, and wash baby clothes, its time to go to bed and start all over again. Oh well, it will soon be over and the fun will begin!

This week all the babies have developed thrush. Thrush is a common infection found in infants mouths that usually clears up without any treatment. However, ours are getting some cream to resolve things a little quicker as it can interfere with eating. Due to poor performance yesterday, Ella was downgraded to 3 bottles a day as not to create an aversion to the bottle due to her thrush. On the other hand, Slade has been doing great and has been increased to 3 bottles per day. Claire maintains her status as the laid back baby and is staying on the 2 bottles per day for now. Hopefully once this clears up all the babies will begin to increase in their bottle feeding tolerance again...

We have a lot of hats. We have so many hats that we've decided to bring a few to the NICU to give the babies a new less institutional look. Thank you to all of you that donated your used hats, we are having lots of fun with them!