Kellan & Garren's NICU Graduation Anniversary

Three years ago today (well this past Sunday now since I've slacked on getting this posted) Caden's time as the only child at home was up. Kellan & Garren joined their brother at home just 3 days later.mt was good we didn't have too much time with just one baby at home, because 1 was pretty easy compared to 3 & we wouldn't have wanted to have gotten too use to that, lol...

Garren

Kellan

Kellan, Garren & Caden ready to roll out of the NICU

Caden, Garren & Kellan in all loaded in the car heading home

This first few weeks are a blur, we literally just existed for the boys, pumping, feeding, changing, sleeping & doctor appointments was about we accomplished during that time. 

Kellan

Kellan & Garren have also grown into quite extraordinary little people. Kellan is still our baby of the group. He's sensitive, emotional & very attached to his moms & brothers. Kellan is super smart & like Caden learns things very easily & quickly. He's loves a good time & a good laugh & unfortunately has an electronics addiction. It's not that he has to be on his tablet or watching TV 24/7, it's that he can't not touch them. We will put a video in & just as the movie starts he runs over & opens the DVD player. He loves buttons I guess & just can't help himself when it comes to pushing them. He also loves Thomas the train, Woody & Buzz Lightyear & of course Cars. He's pretty artistic & will sit & paint or color the longest of the 3 boys & he's our biggest, pickiest, but biggest eater. Kellan can still be shy but will talk to any child that comes around, his first line is always "how are you doing?" It's funny to hear in his little voice. He is a lover & cuddler, he's likes to squeeze right in the middle of everyone or sit right on your lap. He loves his brothers and always tries to wake them up even though they sleep longer than he does.

Garren

Garren is our little spitfire! And that is putting it mildly, lol... He looks & acts so sweet & innocent at first & then his true colors come flying out faster than you know what hit you, and he has probably literally run smack into you! He's wild, fearless, loud, bossy, argumentative & funny but he is also so sweet & caring. He's quick to kiss a boo boo or help his brothers up when they've fallen. He always looks out for them with others & translates when needed. He calls everyone honey or babe. He is his Mom Mom's boy for sure, when Donna is home he doesn't let her out of his sight. He's smart & more mechanical than his brothers, he is usually our little mr fix it when a toy comes apart or one of the boys can't figure out how to work something. He also loves to color & paint bit only has the attention span to do so for about 3 minutes. He NEVER STOPS MOVING if he does then he's asleep in about 60 seconds. Garren is the only one of the boys that has taken to a stuffed animal & he still carries around a lovey (& sucks his thumb - I already know he will need braces!) when he gets hurt he insists he needs a bath to feel better but can usually be soothed with an m&m or 2 :)

I couldn't imagine what life would be like with triplet boys & now I can't imagine life without them. They keep us on our toes for sure but they fill us both with so much love & joy!

Caden's NICU Graduation Anniversary

It was 3 years ago today that we brought our first baby (who just happened to be the first born) home from the hospital. 

We never could have imagined the little person Caden would grow to be from that 5 1/2 week old, 5lb baby

He definitely keeps us on our toes! He is sweet & warm, he gives the biggest, tightest hugs. He's smart, creative, curious & funny. 

He pretends to be bashful but he's just playing hard to get, he is quite the charmer & flirt. 

He loves animals & is very gentle with them. 

He loves to draw & paint & put together puzzles. His speech therapist says he has the most patience & best concentration she has ever seen in a 3 year old. 

He is still completely fascinated with Thomas, well any train really & he also loves Cars & Buzz Lightyear & Monsters.

His favorite food as of late is mac n cheese, Annie's of course so I feel slightly better about serving it so often.

He loves to play at the playground & swim in the pool but I'd say the beach is the best place for him to get his fill of sand & water.

He's very caring & loving, always hugging & kissing both Donna & I & his brothers. If he accidentally (or intentionally) hurts one of them he always offers a hug & kiss along with an apology.

He's also very polite & charms everyone he meets, once he warms up to them :)

Flash Back Friday

Kangaroo Care with Kellan

NICU Reunion

Every year Forsyth Medical Center has a reunion for families that had a baby or babies in their NICU. I had been looking forward to it every since the boys were released form the hospital. Well the reunion was this past Saturday & I was pretty excited to see some of the nurses that had cared for our boys during their 6 week stay in the NICU.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that there were not more nurses at the reunion. We did see a couple of their nurses & the PA that cared for Caden's foot when he had the IV infiltration, she also happens to be the head of the entire Women's Center at Forsyth.
We did see quite a few families that had babies in the NICU the same time the boys were there & it was nice to see their babies happy & healthy & thriving. There were also a couple of families we had met through Mothers of Multiples. We met another set of triplets too. They were 13 months old & not much bigger than the boys as far as weight goes.
Overall it was a nice day & we had a good time visiting, I just wish we could have seen more of the nurses, especially the ones that took care of them the most.

One MONTH Old!!!

I cannot believe a month has gone by already!!! I told Donna that if the next 11 months are going to go by as fast, then we need to start planning their first birthday party NOW.

Well the boys are all good, but no one is coming home tomorrow :(
Garren is dropping his oxygen levels again & Kellan is doing the same but he has also dropped his heart-rate. The doctor and the nurses agree the boys are refluxing, same thing with Caden, who has added excelerated heart-rates to his bag of tricks. They have added a little rice cereal to Kellan and Garrens milk to thicken it in hopes that that will cut down on the reflux. They did x-rays on Cadens chest and abdomen, and did an EKG to check his heart, and ran a bunch of labs. Everything came back good, his EKG just showed a fast heart-rate. So Garren they have decided to watch for a few days, Kellan is now on a 7 day countdown, & Caden is continuing on his countdown with an extra eye on his heart-rate.
We were really looking forward to bringing them home, but we really want for them to be healthy and ready when they do come home. We definitely don't want to be rushing babies back to the hospital.

On a funny note...
The boys each decided to give Donna a treat when she was changing them tonight. It started with Garren, Donna had just got his dirty diaper off and his tiny little heiny clean when he decided to poop again, lol... good thing she did have a new diaper under him, but he still managed to get his feet in it. Next up was Kellan, he didn't poop, but instead fired off some really stinky gas just when she lifted up his legs to put a new diaper under him, lmao... Then Caden decided to chime in with his extra loud poots, just as she undid his diaper. All of us were cracking up including their nurse!!!

Our sweet little stinky boys...

Garren, 4 lbs 5.5 oz

Caden, 4 lbs 14 oz

Kellan, 4 lbs 8.3 oz

26 & 27 Days Old...

Tuesday, before my very scary incident, I went to see and feed the boys their mid-morning bottles. They all were doing fantastic and were on their 4th bottle in a row, well on their way to all bottle feeding!!! It was also Kellans turn to try "actual" breast feeding, Monday I tried it with Caden, he did latch and he sucked for 10 minutes, but his weight did not change, so it was determined he got no milk :( Kellan latched and he sucked for 15 minutes, he gained 24 grams which is counted as him getting 24cc of milk, then he took another 15cc by bottle, little porker, lol...
All three of them had eye exams on Tuesday and did well.

Garren, 26 Days old, 4 lbs 1.2 oz

Kellan, 26 days old, 4 lbs 1.9 oz

Caden, 26 days old, 4 lbs 7.9 oz

Today the boys are on all bottle feeds. That they are doing really well with :)
Unfortunately it doesn't look like Caden will be ready to come home Sunday :( He had an "episode," we weren't there when it happened but from what we were told he choked during his feeding just after midnight and that caused his oxygen level and heart-rate to drop and he had to be stimulated (pat on the back) to bring it back up. Now he is on a "countdown" he has to go 7 days without an episode before he can come home. Garren and Kellan still seem to be on track to come home Sunday...

Notice anything different about the boys???

Kellan, 27 days old, 4 lbs 3 oz

Caden, 27 days old, 4 lbs 9.7 oz

Garren, 27 days old, 4 lbs 2.3 oz

Garren hiding his face

THEY DON'T HAVE FEEDING TUBES ANYMORE!!!

The 4 Pounder Club...

Garren has reached 4 pounds!!! When Donna went into their room this afternoon she went to Garrens crib first, thought she had the wrong baby, she had to go look at Caden to be sure she had Garren, lol... This is going to be interesting when we get them home, I thought it would be easier to tell them apart by now, but it is just getting more difficult. I am going to crochet them little bracelets with a bead that has their initial on it, I guess they will be anklets, I want to put them on their ankles so they don't try to eat them :)

The boys are doing great with their increased number of bottles. If they continue to well through tonight and tomorrow morning the they will go to all bottle feedings :)

Garren, 4 lbs!!!

Kellan, 4 lbs 0.9 oz

Caden, 4 lbs 6.9 oz

We had a great time with our new friends from Twin City Mothers of Multiples tonight!!! It is so nice to be able to talk with others that have been in our shoes and know what we are about to embark on :) Thanks ladies for welcoming us to the group!!!

A Week To Go... Possibly...

Well we had a busy weekend. The boys went from 2 bottles a day to 4 bottles a day, thats a bottle every other feeding :) They were little champs with the increase, so tomorrow they will go to 6 bottles a day. The goal is to get them to all bottle feeds, 8 bottles a day, by the end of the week. If they get it done
THEY WILL COME HOME NEXT WEEKEND!!!
We have so much to do before we are ready!!!

When the boys were born and first went into the NICU we were told that when it got close to them being ready to go home they would have a 7 day countdown. They would have to go that 7 days maintaining their body temperatures, eating all meals by bottle, breathing on their own, and not have any episodes (apnea.) Well our boys have been doing all that with the exception of the bottle feeding, so we will not have a 7 day countdown. We also wouldn't have known this if we hadn't asked about the countdown this weekend, HA!!!

So after asking the countdown question, the "paperwork lady" showed up with consents for us to sign for the boys circumcisions and to have their photos done. We were also asked to bring in their car seats for their car seat test (they have to sit in the car seats for 90 min. without having any episodes.) I was also asked if I would consider being a breast milk donor. I make more than enough milk for our boys and have a surplus of milk at the hospital. Funny they asked, Donna and I had talked about it earlier that day and once I have enough of a back-up supply stored, I would be more than happy to donate my excess milk.

We wanted to do something to show our appreciation for all of the amazing care we all have received from the hospital, Donna has looked into volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House/Room a couple Saturdays a month. I would love to volunteer, but I don't think I will have the time with 3 babies at home, so donating milk is how I will pay it forward :)

Here are their 23 & 24 day old photos... (they are 33 weeks gestation today)

Garren napping on his side, 3 lbs 14.3 oz

Garren stretching it all out

Kellan, our newest 4 pounder!!!

Caden, 4 lbs 6 oz

Caden, stretching his legs one at a time

Kellan stretching it all out

Kellan, 4 lbs 0.4 oz

Twenty-Two Days Old...

Our beautiful boys took all of both their bottles today!!! Tomorrow they will get 3 bottles...
Garren also came off his nasal cannula this morning and is doing pretty good without it.

Caden, 4 lbs 3.9 oz

Garren, 3 lbs 12.5 oz

Kellan, 3 lbs 13 oz

Haddie hanging out in the boys room...
I think she is ready for them to come home.

*Three Weeks Old!!!

I can't believe how fast the time is going... time seemed to stand still during my pregnancy & now our babies are three weeks old already!!!
They are doing great though, growing and changing every day. They are developing little personalities and we are learning what they like and dislike. They are each very funny, Garren will open his eyes when we say his name and he will smile and move his mouth around like he is telling you something. He also flirts with the nurses when they stop to see him, they are stunned that he smiles like he does. Kellan likes to play bashful, he is very bright eyed for us and the nurse taking care of him, but if someone else comes in to see him he instantly closes his eyes. He will open one eye halfway to see if they are still there before he opens them both again. Caden is our noise maker and he makes lots of facial expressions with his eyes open or closed. When the doctors are making rounds I'm usually feeding him, when they arrive he starts grunting and sometimes he makes a funny sound like he's trying to talk. He's made his presence known so well with one doctor, he actually shakes Cadens hand when he leaves.

Here are some 3 week old photos...

Caden, milk drunk :) 4 lbs 2.6 oz

Kellan, annoyed that I woke him with a flash
after he was deep in a milk coma :) 3 lbs 10.5 oz

Garren, he caught up with Kellan :) 3 lbs 10.5 oz

Twenty Days Old...

Well Garren is getting the hang of his bottle, he took the whole thing this morning & took almost all of it tonight. Kellan apparently took his whole bottle last night for the nurse, but today he just didn't want to work for it, he did take about a 3rd of both bottles today, but that was it. I think maybe we need to take his pacifier away for a little while before he eats because he sucks it like there's no tomorrow and then he is exhausted when it comes time for the bottle. Caden is still doing great with his bottles, he took all of it this morning and most of it tonight.

Garren is doing better with his nasal cannula so he is not going back on caffeine. He will just stay on the cannula until he is maintaining his oxygen better and then we'll wean him back off of it. He took himself off of it the first time, he just kept pulling it out and was maintaining his oxygen on his own. So maybe he will let us know when he is ready this time too.

The boys were all pretty sleepy for our visit this evening, but we held them and fed them and Donna told them her own version of "The Lady with the Alligator Purse" story. I need to find the book for her!!!

Caden, comfy little guy :)

Caden, 4 lbs 1.6 oz

Garren, 3 lbs 9.7 oz

Kellan, 3 lbs 10.5 oz

It still seems unreal sometimes that we are actually moms to 3 little boys...

We have a 4 pounder...

The boys did great today with their bottles. They are getting 2 bottles a day (they still get the rest of their feeds through their tubes) Garren is still trying to get the whole suck, swallow, breath thing down, but he is doing well. Kellan doesn't seem too sure about working so hard for his milk, lol, but he is also doing good. Caden seems to have it down, he has taken all of his last two bottles :)

Garren has been having some trouble maintaining his oxygen levels. This past weekend he had a lot of big changes and the doctors and nurses all seem to think it has to do with that. Sunday the boys turned 32 weeks gestation so their O2 perameters were increased, his feeds were increased, he's never had an apnea episodes so his caffeine was stopped, and we started bottle feeding. They originally thought he was having a hard time because he was refluxing so they cut his feeds back, he's still refluxing and it didn't help with his oxygen levels, so today they started him back on a cannula with just a slow flow of room air to see if that helps. They also did a chest x-ray just to make sure there wasn't anything in his lungs. If he hasn't improved by tomorrow they will put him back on caffeine.

Our 19 day old sleeping beauties...

Caden, our BIG 4 pounder!!!

Garren, 3 lbs 9.1 oz

Kellan, 3 lbs 10.4 oz

Eighteen Days Old...

Today the boys were amazing!!! It was day #2 trying out bottle feeds. I gave them their bottles this morning and Donna gave them their bottles this evening. Garren drank 23cc of milk this morning and 13cc tonight. Kellan wasn't feeling the bottle this morning, he didn't want it at all, Donna has been reciting "The Lady with the Alligator Purse" for the past 2 days, so I think this morning Kellan just wanted to hear it again :) He did drink 19cc tonight. Caden was a rock star with the bottle today, he drank 25cc this morning and tonight he drank his full feed of 34cc.
Also today the doctor decided to take Kellan and Caden off their caffiene. They have not had any apnea episodes in 4 days.

Garren, 3 lbs 8.2 oz

Caden, 3 lbs 15.3 oz
I think he wanted more milk, this was his expression when he finished his bottle tonight

Kellan, 3 lbs 9.8 oz

The Boys First Bottles...

The boys did great today with their first bottles.
Garren was first up, he drank 10cc from the bottle. That is 10cc out of 30cc, and that is a great start according to the nurses. He got the remaining 20cc through his feeding tube.

Donna giving Garren his first bottle...

and burping him

Kellan was next and he drank 11cc out of 30cc.

Me giving Kellan his first bottle

Caden was last, but definitely not least! He drank 15cc out of 34cc.

Donna giving Caden his first bottle...

and burping him

So we are starting out with 1 to 2 tries at the bottle a day, when they get the hang of it, we will increase the number until they are taking nothing but bottles. We were told it is usually a 2 week process.
Anyone want to bet on how long it will take our guys???

Todays 17 day old photos (32 weeks gestation)...

Garren, 3 lbs 7.4 oz

Kellan, 3 lbs 9.1 oz

Caden, 3 lbs 14.5 oz