Ok, so I know it's been a while since I posted an update...things have been a bit busy so this is the first time I've gotten online in a while.  I'll try to catch you up on the main events as best I can!

We took our discharge class on June 27 (a Monday) and they started talking to us seriously about taking Timothy and Elizabeth home that coming weekend.  When I showed up at the hospital Friday (July 1) they had everything ready to discharge them.  Unfortunately, Elizabeth had a spell that morning where she dropped her heart rate and oxygen levels into the 60's.  As a result, they wouldn't let us take them home because they wanted to watch her and make sure everything was ok.  Long story short, she kept having spells so they kept postponing their discharge.  Finally, on Tuesday (July 5) they were cleared to come home! 

Timothy and Elizabeth have both been doing really well at home!  We've kept them on the schedule they had at the hospital, so we're feeding them every three hours.  They each take about 2 ounces right now.  When there's only one of us here it takes about an hour to get them both changed and fed.  Even though the triplets are 2 months old, they're not at the same place developmentally as other 2 month olds.  Premies have an adjusted age that's calculated by taking their actual age and subtracting how many months premature they were.  Based on that, our kids are negative 1 month old.  As they get closer to being "newborns" (adjusted age of 0) they'll get better at feeding and should start taking their bottles faster. 

Things really have been going pretty smoothly at home.  We're getting a system down that seems to be working for us.  Timothy and Elizabeth mostly sleep between feedings.  Occassionally they get a little fussy, but it hasn't been too bad.  Paul and I alternate feedings during the night so we've actually been able to get a decent amount of sleep!

We went to the pediatrician today for their first check up.  She was amazed at how well they're doing considering they were born at 28 weeks!  When they were discharged, Timothy weighed 5 lbs 6 ounces and was 16.5 inches long.  Now he is 6 lbs 0.2 ounces and is 17.5 inches long.  Elizabeth was 4 lbs 14.5 ounces and 15.7 inches long when discharged.  She now weighs 5 lbs 9 ounces and is 17 inches long.  The doc said they're doing great and to keep doing what we're doing! =)

I think that's about it for news on Timothy and Elizabeth.  We're enjoying having them at home and can't wait for Mary to join them!                                                              

I don't have a whole lot of new info, so I'll just update all 3 kids at once.

Timothy is still doing really well!  He's up to 4 lbs 13.3 ounces and is still getting 40 mL of milk at each feeding.  He is now up to 4 bottles a day and they're trying to wean him from using oxygen when he bottle feeds.  He was having some gas issues this week so they have him back on Reglan and have added Mylicon drops. 

Elizabeth is also doing really well!  She weighs 4 lbs 7.2 ounces and is getting 37 mL of milk at each feeding.  She is getting fed by bottle 4 times each day (without oxygen) and is finishing her bottle feeds faster than Timothy!  She is also on Reglan.

Mary is working hard to catch up to her brother and sister!  She now weighs 3 lbs 3.7 ounces and is getting 30 mL (1 ounce) of milk at each feeding.  She is starting to get the hang of bottle feeding so they're letting her get 2 bottles a day.  She still needs oxygen occassionally to help her take her bottles.  They have started giving her caffeine and Reglan again to help with some breathing issues she was having after her bottle feeds.  Mary had an eye exam this past Monday and we are happy to report that she passed!  She will not need another eye exam for 6 months!

As you can see, all 3 kids are doing great!  Dr. B has started talking to us about taking them home.  She said that Timothy and Elizabeth are getting really close.  Basically, once they get the hang of bottle feeding they will be ready to come home.  They've signed us up for a discharge class this coming Monday to help prepare us for their eventual release.  We don't have a set date but we are encouraged that it could be coming soon!  Mary is a little further behind, so there's a chance we might be bringing Timothy and Elizabeth home before Mary.  We're hoping that doesn't happen, but if it does that's fine.  We're just excited that we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! =)                                 

Elizabeth hit a big milestone today...she now weighs 4 lbs!  In addition to that, she's been working on her bottle feeding.  She is getting 2 bottles a day and is doing ok with those feeds.  She has no problem sucking, it's just the pacing and the breathing they have to work on with her.  She likes to suck 5 or 6 times, then swallow it all at once.  Unfortunately, this usually causes her to choke/cough.  So they've got to get her where she can suck, swallow, and breathe all at once (which is why the physical therapist gives her her bottles right now).  Once she starts to get the hang of it better they'll let her take more of her feedings by bottle. 

Elizabeth is getting 36 mL of milk at each feeding.  They started her on Reglan today to help with some reflux issues she's been having.  I got to help with her bath last night.  She didn't have bathroom issues during it like her brother did so it was pretty uneventful.  Still, it was nice getting to help with that. 

That's about all the news for Elizabeth.  She's doing really well! =)                                              

Elizabeth is continuing to make progress.  She is now up to 3 lbs 11.4 ounces, is off of all her medicines (except her vitamins) and is getting an ounce of milk at every feeding.  Like her brother, she got to try bottle feeding for the first time today!  Since Elizabeth got fed after Timothy the physical therapist knew that she'd have trouble breathing while feeding.  So, she blew oxygen in her face during the whole feeding.  This helped a lot.  Elizabeth forgot to breathe a few times but didn't have near as much trouble as Timothy did.  The physical therapist said she did great for her first time and gave her an A! =)  Like I said with Timothy, it's exciting to see all this happen because it means she's slowly getting closer to going home!                

As I mentioned with Timothy, this week has been rather slow so that's why I haven't updated in a while.  Most days they're just sleeping, so there's not much to write about (which is good!). 

Elizabeth is doing really well!  They checked her eyes on Monday and did a head ultrasound on Tuesday.  Both tests came back fine.  They're going to re-check her eyes in three weeks to make sure everything's still ok.  Her eyes aren't as mature as Timothy's so they're going to be checking them more often.  Like Timothy, she is also getting vitamins with extra iron to make sure she's getting all the nutrients she needs. Today Elizabeth was in an open crib with Timothy.  It was a little earlier than we were expecting; usually they wait until the babies are 4 pounds to put them in an open crib.  Timothy and Elizabeth have been regulating their own temps for about a week now though, so I guess they thought they were ready for an open crib.  They will try to start bottle feeding them sometime next week but have warned us that it might take a while before they can actually feed from a bottle.  Elizabeth's weight (as of today) is 3 lbs 6 ounces and she's getting 29 mL (almost an ounce) of milk at each feeding.  She is not having any apnea episodes and has been growing at a good rate so we are really pleased!                                                            


 

Elizabeth has had a very uneventful weekend.  Every day when we've gone to see her she's just been sleeping.  It seems that putting her in clothes has really calmed her down.  One exciting thing happened Saturday.  When we showed up at the hospital we found that Elizabeth had a new roommate!  They had moved Mary into the same room as Timothy and Elizabeth so we were able to hold all 3 babies at once!  It was a tight fit in my lap, but we made it work! =) 

Today was pretty much the same as far as her demeanor; Elizabeth just slept while we were there.  One new thing did come up when we spoke with the doctor.  The doctor said it looks like she might have a hernia on her leg, but that they weren't going to do anything about it right now.  If it turns out to be a hernia then they'll wait to treat it until she gets a little bigger.  The doctor we spoke with was not our normal doctor, so we'll check with Dr. B tomorrow and tryt o get mroe info about this.  Other than that, she's doing great!  Elizabeth is getting 26 mL of milk at every feeding and is now up to 3 lbs 0.1 ounces.

The past couple of days have been busy for us as we've been enjoying visits from various family members.  So, I have a few days to catch you up on!

On Tuesday we arrived to find Timothy and Elizabeth back in the "intensive" area of the NICU (right next door to where they were before).  She wasn't on oxygen or having any problems, so we think they moved her because of Timothy's breathing episodes.  We also arrived to find that she had pulled her feeding tube out of her nose!  She kept alternating between waving it around and pulling on the tape that had been holding it in.  We thought it was pretty funny but the nurse didn't seem amused! =)  Tuesday was also the first day Paul got to change her diaper.

On Wednesday  we showed up and found Elizabeth in clothes and sharing an isolette with Timothy!  She was pretty calm even though Timothy was grabbing her shirt and putting his hand in her face!  She got him back later by pulling on his feeding tube! =)  Her weight was up to 2 lbs 12 ounces and she was getting 25 mL (5 teaspoons) every 3 hours.


Today Elizabeth was still in clothes and sharing an isolette with Timothy.  Her oxygen saturation was dropping occassionally but nothing severe (still not on oxygen).   I got to help with her diaper change and temperature check then later on Paul and I both got to hold her.  Her weight had dropped a little bit (2 lbs 11.3 ounces) but she's still getting 25 mL of food every 3 hours.

The updates for Timothy and Elizabeth are similar, so I'm just going to put them both in one post.

Timothy is still doing well.  He is up to 2 lbs 15.5 ounces (just shy of 3 pounds) and they're now feeding him 26 mL (just over 5 teaspoons) every 3 hours. 

Elizabeth is also doing well.  She is up to 2 lbs 9.9 ounces and is now getting 24 mL of food (just under 5 teaspoons) every 3 hours.

Both of them have had a few breathing episodes this morning where their oxygen saturation dropped just below 90%, so they're keeping an eye on that.  If it continues to be a problem they'll put oxygen in their isolettes to help out.  If that happens, they'll have to move them out of the grower pod and back to the front part of the unit where they were before.  They put both Timothy and Elizabeth on their stomachs earlier and that has seemed to help with the breathing issues.  Hopefully things will continue to go ok and they'll get to stay back here in the grower pod! =)    

So, when we showed up this evening we were surprised to find Timothy and Elizabeth's room empty.  It turns out they'd been moved to the "grower pod".  Basically, it's a different area of the NICU where they put babies who are just trying to grow and put on weight.  The room is a little smaller, but it has a TV so that's nice!  It's also a lot quieter back in that area...no alarms going off constantly like before.  The only thing I don't like about it is that they're no longer near Mary.  But, it's good for them because it shows that they're doing really well and now the only concern is getting them up in weight. 

Elizabeth is now eating 22 mL every 3 hours (they base the amount the feed her on her weight, so this is a good sign because it means her weight is continuing to increase).  Paul and I both got to hold her tonight, so that was great!  (It was Paul's first time to hold her so he was excited)  Other than that, not much new to report.  Elizabeth is doing really well!                            

                                                 

Once again, not a whole lot to report with Elizabeth.  She is up to 21 mL of food every 3 hours (that's just over 4 teaspoons every feeding).  She weighs 2 lbs 7.3 ounces, so she's about 6 ounces above her birth weight.  You can tell she's putting on weight because her face looks fuller.  She was pretty active when we were there yesterday.  She loves to kick and move her legs around.  The nurse said she kept kicking off her oxygen sensor (which is on her foot) all day long.  She's still not in clothes, but I think she's getting closer to being able to wear them.