12.30.09 ~ dog hats

Here are the adorable pictures Dan took of the girls last week. They love their little dog hats :)

Avery

Brelynn

Camille

12.29.09 ~ Six Months Old

Wow, the girls are six months old already. The time is flying by, but I have to say I don't mind right now because life is starting to get much easier as they get older. We are on a beautiful routine most days now. The girls wake up between 5 and 6 in the morning, drink a bottle, and go back to bed. They sleep for another few hours and are usually up by 8am. We play, change diapers, get dressed, take medicine, and get into the high chairs for breakfast between 9 and 10. They love to eat soilds. They eat cereal, fruits, and veggies now. So far, bananas and peaches have been favorites. After breakfast they all go down for a nice nap (usually 1-3 hours). They wake up and play, drink a bottle between 1 and 2, play again, and take a short nap before dinner. Dinner is usually at 5:00. They play for about an hour after dinner then take another short nap. They are very close to rolling over and love to stand and jump. While they are napping Dan gets home and we are able to finish our dinner just as the girls start waking up. We play for a few hours and then they drink one more bottle before bed at about 8:30. Jammies on, snuggles, and bedtime by 9:00 usually. If we're lucky they go to bed without too many protests and sleep until morning.


Their reflux is finally starting to get under control. We figured out what dose of medicine they should be on and it is working. I think the solid foods are helping, too. We had their 6 month check up on 12/28 and they all had a jump in their weights...woo hoo! As compared to other 6 monthers:

Avery was 12 lbs 10 oz (3%), 24 inches (5%), and head 16.4 inches (27%)
Brelynn was 13 lbs 8 oz (9%), 24.5 inches (12.5%), and head 17.2 inches (85.5%)
Camille was 11 lbs 10 oz (0.58%), 24 inches (5%), and head 16.2 inches (15%)

Avery

Camille

Camille

Brelynn

Brelynn

 

12.22.09 ~ Photo Contest

My mom told me about a local holiday photo contest for Snohomish County residents through Stadium Floral. I checked it out and there were only a few entries so I entered this photo of the girls.

We found out today that we won first place! We will be receiving a $300 gift basket tomorrow sometime between 10-2 :) I have no idea what will be in it, but it's pretty cool that we won. Thanks to everyone who voted!

12.21.09 ~ Christmas dresses

Wow, the time is sure flying by. The girls are almost 6 months old and they are keeping us really busy now. They continue to grow and learn new things. Weights as of last Wednesday were: Camille 11 pounds, 1 ounce. Avery 12 pounds, 0 ounces. Brelynn 13 pounds, 4 ounces. They are all reaching for objects, laughing, and standing with a little help. They love to play in the jumper in the kitchen, exersaucers, and the play mat. They can even wiggle their way off the mat at times. We have adorable little Christmas dresses for them this year (thanks Grandma C!). We got some other really cute pictures, but Dan is making me wait until after Christmas to post them. Some people may be getting copies at Christmas time :)

Here I am with Brelynn, Camille, and Avery (from L to R)

Avery, Brelynn, Camille

12.7.09 ~ 5 month check up

We had the girls 5 month weight check today. They're doing great but dropping a little bit in their weight percentiles. Height and head circumfrence are still tracking well. We're increasing their reflux medication to see if that will help them eat a bit better, and they are already on high calorie formula. Overall, not concerning but how are they gonna dunk a basketball if they're shorties??? Grow, babies, grow!!!

These numbers are compared to 5 month old babies, not adjusted for prematurity so they're actually doing much better than this!
Avery: ht-23.5" (4.67%), wt-11 lb, 3 oz (0.89%), hc-16.06" (18.45%)
Brelynn: ht-23.25" (2.73%), wt-12 lb, 7 oz (5.79%), hc-16.93" (79.09%...no, not a typo!)
Camille: ht-23.0" (1.51%), wt-10 lb, 8 oz (0.24%), hc-15.83" (8.29%)

12.1.09 ~ Mmmmm....rice cereal

Camille and Brelynn love their rice cereal :) Avery's working on it...she was too hungry last night to eat cereal...the bottle was much quicker.

11.28.09 ~ Go Huskies!!!

Dan and I are die-hard Husky fans so we had to get the girls in the action for this year's Apple Cup...

Camille ready to crush the Cougs

Go Huskies!

Brelynn's lounging in the recliner watching the game

Avery's a true dawg...look at the drool!

 

Avery cheering for the Dawgs

11.8.09 ~ funny things people say...

so we do venture out of the house with the girls now and then and we always draw attention. Here are some of our favorite comments...

~Oh my gosh, you have three babies. Are they twins? (we get this one a lot...I always want to say "count again")

~Are they all yours? (who else's would they be?)

~Oh bloody hell (from a really cute old man in the grocery store)

~Oh man, you could be getting arrested for indecent exposure and you just tell the officer, "officer, I didn't have time to get dressed. I have triplets." (from a potentially crazy man at Molbaks)

~Oh my gosh, how did this happen? (Dan's actual response was, "well, when a man loves a woman...")

11.7.09 ~ mama loves sleeping!

So since my last post the girls had a growth spurt and started waking up in the middle of the night to feed. No fun! That lasted just under a week and now they're sleeping like champs again. They usually eat between 8-10 pm depending on their schedules and then wake up between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning. Let's hope that continues for a long, long time :) Other events for us...they had their 4 month well baby visit to the doctor and everyone is doing great. Still gaining lots of weight and meeting developmental milestones. As of Monday their weights were: Camille 9 pounds, 6 ounces. Avery 9 pounds, 15 ounces. Brelynn 11 pounds, 4 ounces. Yes, Brelynn is quite a bit bigger than the other two. They are all eating well and life is starting to get a little easier. I managed to get through most of this week on my own and I'm happy to say that everyone survived. Thanks to those who were able to come help with feedings. Can you tell who is who in the picture?

10.19.09 ~ 4 months old!

the girls are 4 months old today! They are now sleeping in the same crib and love to snuggle with each other. We find them shoulder to shoulder in the morning and all happy as can be. Here are some cute pictures of them playing in the pack and play...it's getting harder to tell them apart, especially when they're wearing hats!

Avery, Camille, Brelynn

Avery, Camille, Brelynn

10.18.09 ~ happy girls

All the girls have officially rolled from their bellies to their backs at least once. Brelynn joined the rolling group on Wednesday this week but hasn't wanted to show off her talents again since then. They are so happy and smiley, especially in the mornings. They are sleeping amazingly well, often eating about 8:00 pm and then sleeping from 10:00 pm until 6:00 am! They wake up every 4 hours like clockwork during the day to eat and then either take a nap or play in the swing or bouncer while we try to get things done around the house. We're starting to get more sleep now and are feeling like the craziness may calm down a bit soon. At least we hope it will! I still need help during they daytime feedings because try as I might, they won't stagger their feedings. They all want to wake up and eat at the same time and get angry if I make them wait because I'm feeding someone else! On a good note, they can now eat a bottle in 20-30 minutes instead of taking an hour.

Brelynn, Avery, and Camille

We went to Jubilee Farms to visit our friend Farmer Ryan last weekend. Here's a picture of the girls in the pumpkins. They were getting sleepy but they were good sports with photo time. They're wearing their Halloween outfits, figured we'd better wear them as much as possible before they outgrow them.

10.4.09 Firsts

We have lots of firsts to report...all the girls started smiling and laughing last week which makes the 3:00 am feedings so much more enjoyable. It's very cute. We're trying to get pictures of the smiles, but so far just lots of funny faces. Avery decided to show off at the pediatrician appointment on Tuesday by rolling over for the first time! Then, not to be outdone Camille rolled over on Thursday. Brelynn needs to work on lifting her head a little more before she can roll over but it should be soon. They're all starting to coo and make fun noises, too. One of the greatest firsts of all...Brelynn and Avery slept through the night last night! They ate at 6:30 and were in bed by 8:30. They didn't wake up until 5:30 this morning for a total of 9 hours of sleep for both of them (and at the same time!). Of course Camille needed to eat, but she managed to sleep 6 hours until 2:30. I was able to sleep for about 5 hours, which doesn't sound like a lot, but for me is amazing! We had professional photos taken a few weeks ago by our dear friend Michelle(www.michellenewellphotography.com). Here's of my favorites of the family~

9.10.09 ~ Outings

Dan had the day off today so we got adventurous...after feeding and changing all the girls this morning, we ventured out for a walk around the lake (~4 miles in total). I should have worn real shoes, not my usual flip flops. Then after another round of feedings we took a few pictures of the girls and then ventured to the pharmacy and Target where we stocked up on more diapers. Upon returning home all the girls wanted to eat, so another round of feedings and that brings us to the present time. They're trying to sleep, but I keep hearing Avery every now and again letting us know she's not sleepy :)

Another 'outing' to report is that Camille's feeding tube is officially out now! We pulled it out last night because she ate from the bottle for two days. She had one rough feeding since pulling it, but is still generally doing well and I don't think it will need to go back in. Horray!

Avery didn't like picture time, what a face!

Avery, Brelynn, Camille

9.6.09 ~ What's new?

So much has changed since my last post... the best news is that we have all three girls home now! The official NICU counts were: Avery 28 days, Brelynn 49 days, Camille 62 days. It was a long 9 weeks of traveling back and forth to the hospital every day but we survived and now we can stay in our PJ's all day if we want to :) Since Camille was still having trouble eating enough, we had to bring her home with a feeding tube. She's making great progress and is starting to take full bottles a few times a day (as of this post it has been 6 in a row...a few more and the tube can come out!). The girls are all gaining weight and doing well. Avery and Camille are within a few ounces of each other in weight, Camille about 7 pounds and Avery about 7 pounds 5 ounces. Brelynn is our big girl, weighing 9 pounds already! They all have reflux...not fun. We have thickened their milk to help it stay down in their stomach a little better and it has helped, Brelynn doesn't throw up her whole feeding anymore. We can see their little personalities emerging. Avery is very alert, too alert sometimes. She doesn't like to sleep as well as her sisters because she doesn't want to miss out on anything. Brelynn is such a cuddle bug and she's so mellow. Camille is very social and smiles a lot. They all like to take baths and go for walks in the front pack. Here are a few pictures:

Avery, Brelynn, Camille

Me with Brelynn and Avery at a Hawaiian themed get-together.
Sorry, Camille...you'll get to go to the next one!

Dan with Camille

8.20.09 ~ Due date

Today is my official 40 week due date with the girls. They are now 7 1/2 weeks old and all are doing well. I couldn't imagine still being pregnant! Avery has been home for 3 weeks and sleeps 4-5 hours at a time. She's starting to have awake times during the day where she can look around and play in her swing and on her play mat. She also likes taking walks in the front pack and weighs just over 6 pounds now. Brelynn came home on Monday, 8/17. It has been fun having two girls home and I've been able to manage them by myself for the most part. The only hard time is if they both wake up and want to eat at the same time (or when I'm busy pumping). I figured out a way to feed them at the same time using a boppy pillow and putting them back to back facing outward. I need to get a picture of it, but when I'm feeding two at once there's no way I can get a picture unless someone else is here to take it (and then why would I need to feed two at once???). Brelynn sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time, just not always the same time that Avery does. Last night I was up from 12:30-4 and then again at 6 so it was the roughest night yet. I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep total with 2 hours as the longest stretch...think I'll need a nap this afternoon. Camille is making great progress. She's still in the NICU, but off oxygen and very stable. She just needs to eat more and then she can come home. She got to go on a field trip to Children's Hospital on Tuesday this week for a swallowing study. We found out that as she gets tired, the milk starts to go toward her lungs (for you SLPs, she didn't aspirate when I paced her but she had very deep penetration with thin liquids). We were able to thicken the milk a little bit (nectar thick using Simply Thick) and she did beautifully. Hopefully she'll start taking full feedings now that she is swallowing safely and then she can come home.

Brelynn on L, Avery on R

Brelynn coming home

7.27.09 ~ Avery comes home

Avery is a big girl and got to come home on Monday, July 27th. After a typical morning at the hospital she was finally discharged at about 3:00 in the afternoon. Here's a picture of her in her carseat :)

Of course, she had to come home during the hottest week in Seattle history...it was 91 degrees in Monroe according to weather.com. It felt much hotter. At least we have AC in our bedroom and we could all keep cool and sleep...well, kind of. Having Avery in our room we heard all her little noises and squeaks all night. We didn't jump up for all of them, but we have learned a lot since the first night and now we're all able to get 3-4 hours of sleep at a time. Somehow Dan is able to sleep through her cries, but he's great about getting up if I wake him and ask for help.

The other girls are still in the hospital. They are making progress but are both still on oxygen and have their feeding tubes. Brelynn is starting to eat more and more by bottle and took 4 full feedings in a row the other day. She tried to breastfeed today and did well for her first time. Her oxygen needs are down and she had a trial without oxygen today for about 2 hours before she needed it back on. Baby steps :) Oh, and she's now over 6 pounds!!! Camille is also growing like crazy and she's now over 5 pounds (and almost as much as Avery now...she gets lots of extra calories to help her gain quickly). She's eating a little more by the bottle, but still not taking full feedings. All the girls are starting to look alike as they gain weight. Dan & I will be able to tell them apart, but others may have some trouble in a few months when they're all home and healthy weights.

I'm still doing battle with this PUPPS rash that is now spreading to my legs. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy...the itching is so horrible. I try to distract myself by visiting the girls and playing with Avery at home. They all love to snuggle! Dan likes to take Avery out in the yard in the evenings and she helps him water the garden. He's teaching her the botanical names of all the plants...very cute. That's what's new with us for the week... hope everyone is doing well.

7.24.09 ~ updates for the week

Okay, so I'm getting busy and not posting as often... I'm sure it will only get worse :) Several people have asked what the girls need to do to come home. First, they need to maintain their temperatures in an open crib. Second they need to go 5 days without any drops in heartrate or oxygen levels. Third they need to eat all their food by the bottle or breast (no tube feedings). We haven't had a lot of big changes this week but each girl is growing, getting stronger, and working toward their goals. Let's go backwards today so Avery doesn't think she's the favorite...

Camille hit 4 pounds on Thursday this week. She's starting to get a little chub on her and her face is really filling out. She has met her goal of maintaining her temperature! She's starting to eat a little bit by the bottle but gets tired easily and still gets most of her food by her feeding tube. She is getting better about keeping her oxygen and heartrate up but does still have a few 'events' each day. Other than that, she's still got blonde hair and looks the most like Dan. I'd guess that she'll be home in another week or two.

Brelynn hit 5 pounds on Wednesday. Definitely got some chub on her as compared to the others. She has met her temperature goal, too. Same story with the feeding as Camille...eating some but gets tired easily (who knew it was so much work to take a bottle!). She still has a little bit of oxygen via a nasal canula and isn't ready to give it up just yet. I suspect she may have a bit of reflux because she tends to drop her oxygen level after she finishes eating/getting her feedings. She has the darkest hair but is a little bald on top :) With her chubby face I think she looks most like me. Best guess is that she won't be home for another two weeks, but who knows.

Avery is about 4 1/2 pounds now. She's leading the pack in all areas and is still on track to come home in the next few days (Sunday-Wednesday most likely). She's met her goals for temperature and oxygen/heartrate and is just trying to get all her food by mouth. She's getting close and eats by bottle most every feeding but some of them she doesn't take the full amount so a little bit still goes in the tube. I'd guess she's taking about 2/3 of her total for the day by bottle now. She's also trying to breast feed and took most of a feeding today and yesterday by breast. I think Avery is a combo of Dan's features and mine. I can't wait for the girls to all grow a bit so we can see their features and personalities really come out.

Dan & I are doing well. We are still at the hospital visiting the girls everyday. One major highlight for the week is that the girls each got their first bath (Brelynn & Avery last weekend and Camille will get hers tomorrow). They all smile a lot and are much more alert now. I ended up getting a PUPPS rash which is very rare in pregnancy and goes away when you deliver...well, of course I got it after I delivered. The dermatologist said she's never seen anyone get it after delivery...lucky me. There's nothing that I can take for it that won't pass into the breast milk but I can use an anti-itch cream (I can't describe how badly it itches at times). Should be gone in the next 6 weeks or so :( Another huge blessing is that since the girls will be in the hospital for 30 or more days we will qualify for a program that will pay all their hospital copays for a full year!!! That means that we won't have to pay for doctor's visits or their NICU stay! We'll also be able to get WIC which will give us formula and baby foods for the first year. We are so fortunate.

We really appreciate all the support and prayers we're getting. Thanks to everyone who have dropped off meals, diapers, and other baby stuff. They say it takes a village to raise a child and I definitely feel the support from everyone. These girls are already so loved!

7.16.09 ~ new pictures

Here are some recent pictures of the girls...

Camille



Brelynn





Avery



7.16.09 ~ Cribs

So, not much had changed over the last few days... the girls are doing well and continue to gain weight and get a little more stable each day. We came in this morning to a huge change, Avery and Brelynn are out of the isolettes and in open cribs! They are both over 4 pounds now and are maintaining their body temperatures so they don't need the isolette :) Woo hoo! Camille is still a little to small to keep her temperature up on her own, but she's getting there. Brelynn is still on just a teeny puff of oxygen but other than that, they just need to eat a better and they can come home. Still guessing Avery may come home next weekend or early the following week. Brelynn probably won't be too far behind her but she's still not eating much by bottle. All the girls are trying to take a bottle now, it is just a little confusing for Brelynn and Camille to remember to suck, swallow, and THEN breathe! Way to go girls!!!

7.11.09 ~ good news

Avery took a full feeding from a bottle yesterday! She doesn't do that every time, but she's making progress. Brelynn is on just a little oxygen via a nasal canula because when we feed her or change her diaper, her oxygen levels drop a bit. When she's just sleeping, she doesn't really need it. Camille does not have an infection! Praise God! She's doing well and the blood draw that they took was contaminated somehow because the second one was fine and she's not sick at all. She had a few doses of antibiotics, but she didn't need to keep on them. All girls now have their IVs out so it is much easier to hold them with one less tube attached to them. They are all up over their birth weights and gaining weight well. Other than that, I'm doing well. Off my pain meds and I've lost 30 pounds so far. We've been to visit every day, changing lots of diapers and holding the girls when all the conditions are right (temperature needs to be good, high oxygen levels, etc.). The neonatologist (babies' doctor) told me yesterday that we may be able to bring the first one home at 36-37 weeks (we're now 34 1/2) so maybe another week or two and one of the girls will be home! Wow, seems like it's going really fast!

7.9.09 ~ progress

quick post because I've got to go pump (again!)...
--Avery is very stable and is starting to take some of her feeds from a bottle. I was able to feed her 1/2 of a few feedings today and then she got the other 1/2 from her feeding tube. Dan got to hold her for awhile after work and she is starting to smile now which is really cute.
--Brelynn is status quo. gaining weight, a few little breathing episodes here and there, but overall doing well
--Camille had a great day. a few episodes, but not nearly as many as yesterday. She had an exciting morning because one of her lab cultures came back positive from yesterday's blood draw suggesting that she may have an infection. The doctor attempted a lumbar puncture, but couldn't get it so they just repeated the labs to confirm there's an infection and if there is then they'll do the LP again tomorrow. It may be a contaminant because she did really well today and doesn't look sick. Just to be safe, she started taking antibiotics today. I got to hold her for 3 hours and she was great...just slept the whole time.

7.8.09 ~ Getting on a routine

It's so nice to be able to spend the whole day in the NICU and help take care of the girls. We're getting into a routine where I take temperatures and change diapers before most feedings now. In the morning I pump (8:00-8:30) and then get Avery ready and out to the breast and to snuggle for about an hour while she gets her feeding through her NG tube (8:30-9:30). She tried to latch on today, but was a little too tired to stick with it so we just had some good cuddle time. Our nurse takes care of Camille's feeding during this time. Then it's Brelynn's turn so I put Avery back and take Brelynn's temp and change her diaper and get her out to snuggle for an hour (9:30-10:30). Then pumping (10:30-11:00), a trip to the bathroom, a quick lunch, and it's Camille's turn. She's still a little to small to try to go to the breast, so she gets to have kangaroo care for about two hours (12:00-2:00). After another pumping session, I take a nap or read for awhile, wash all my bottles, and have a snack. Dan comes up at 5:30 and visits for awhile then we head home, have dinner, and after another pumping session it's off to bed.

Avery is tolerating her NG feeds really well and was pretty content today. I dressed her in regular preemie clothes since her IV is out now and they are HUGE on her! Brelynn is tolerating her feedings well, too. She is about 50/50 for oral feeds and IV feeds and making good progress. She is generally remembering to breathe, but occasionally still forgets for a few seconds then figures it out. Camille is doing really well with her feedings, too, and if she continues to do well she'll be off the IV by tomorrow night. She was having a bit more trouble remembering to breathe today and had quite a few 'episodes' where either the nurse or I had to go and wake her up to remind her to breathe. Scary, but I guess this is still pretty normal for preemies.

7.7.09 ~ a quiet day

I spent the day with the girls again. they pretty much just slept and were peaceful. No more bili lights for Brelynn and Avery did get her PICC line out last night. After I pumped this morning, Avery and Brelynn each got a chance to go to the breast. They were amazing and figured out how to latch and actually nursed a little bit! It was amazing that they knew what to do right away. I changed lots of diapers and took lots of temperatures today. Dan came up on his lunch break and took some pictures of Camille since she was out of the isolette...

check out the blonde hair! She's so tiny...today she weighed 2 pounds, 14 ounces. She's almost back to her birth weight.

7.5.09 ~ growing and gaining

7/4/09. Day 6: Happy 4th of July! Camille is now off CPAP and on a nasal canula. She's tolerating her oral feeds. Brelynn has a pneumothorax (air that leaked outside her lung), but the air is aspirated out and she starts breathing much better. Brenda gets to change Avery's diaper today.

7/5/09. Day 7: Woo hoo... all girls are off CPAP and are on nasal canulas on room air! They are now all tolerating some oral feedings, although Avery is the chow hound and is taking 14 ml of breast milk every 3 hours. Camille gets 6 ml and Brelynn gets 4 ml. They get the rest of their nutrition via the IV (called TPN). Brelynn is back on her bili lights, but the other two don't need them anymore. Dan worked today so I spent the whole day in the NICU. I got to kangaroo each girl for a few hours and it was wonderful having them out of the isolettes for that long. All are breathing much better and we may be able to d/c the nasal canulas soon!

7/6/09. Day 8: We went to visit the girls for a few hours this afternoon. They have a new apartment now, all three girls are sharing two conjoined rooms in the NICU. They like sharing a room because they were all doing awesome today! They are still in isolettes, but no more breathing tubes! Brelynn is under bili lights for another day, but the other two are off. The big news is that Avery should get her IV out tonight because she's able to eat enough through her feeding tube so she doesn't need the IV anymore. Tomorrow she gets to try to breast feed (after I've pumped so she doesn't get too much) so that will be exciting. Brelynn and Camille are moving along with their feedings, too. Brelynn is getting 6 cc of breast milk every 3 hours through her feeding tube and Camille gets 10 cc. That should continue to go up pretty quickly then they can get their IVs out like big sis. I'll be spending the day there again tomorrow while Dan works so I should get lots of cuddle time with them. Did I mention they're beautiful? I'll get some more pictures tomorrow.

7.3.09 ~ first few days

6/30/09. Day 2: So, just a few hours after they're born, the girls are all in the NICU in separate isolettes. They each have an IV, feeding tube in their mouth to help vent the stomach, and have little tiny CPAP masks to help them breathe easier. They each get their first chest x-ray to check for respiratory distress syndrome. It's hard to tell what they look like because most of their faces are covered by the CPAP mask. We can see that they all have hair, Avery's is the longest and brown with some red. Brelynn's is the darkest brown. Camille's is the lightest...she may be a strawberry blonde!

7/1/09. Day 3: We get to hold the girls for the first time today. I held Avery and Brelynn and Dan held Camille. They're beautiful. We decided that while the girls and I are in the hospital, Dan should work and save his vacation time. Well, he got in trouble today because the girls needed more x-rays and Dan came up to the NICU to visit the girls. The per-diem neonatal nurse practitioner thought this was a conflict of interest and she and Dan didn't communicate very well. I'm sure both were upset. Oh, well. At least now we know his roles as a daddy and as an employee.

7/2/09. Day 4: The girls all got a PICC line late last night. Camille went to NPO because she wasn't digesting her food. Brenda was discharged from the hospital

7/3/09. Day 5: Avery comes off her CPAP for about 8 hours then goes to a nasal canula for the night. Brelynn is now NPO because she's not digesting all her food. Camille resumes oral (gavage) feeds. Kangaroo Care starts...Brenda holds Avery and Dan holds Brelynn each for about 2 hours skin to skin. Dan changes his first diaper ever (lucky for Brelynn the nurse walked him through it...he's a natural!)

6.29.09 ~ Happy Birthday!

So, it's been awhile since our last post. Here's why... On Monday, 6/29 I went in for a routine doctor's appt to check on the girls. Here's a breakdown of the day's events:

11:00-12:30 non stress test. Baby A and Baby C were laying on top of each other so the ultrasound couldn't pick up their different heart beats. After about 90 minutes of trying, I was sent down to the radiology department to get a better view.

12:30-1:30 wait for radiology to get me in

1:30-3:00 finally get in to ultrasound. it was hard to see the details we needed since the babies are getting crowded in there. The tech took some measurements to compare to our last ultrasound. Turns out that Baby C didn't grow in the last two weeks. Time to be a little concerned.

3:00 wait to see my OB again to see what to do about Baby C's lack of growth.

4:00 ate a cookie and drank some water (this is significant)

4:30 OB able to finally get ultrasound results and compare to two weeks ago. Baby C really didn't grow much. Decision time. My OB called my perinatologist at the UW to see what we should do.

4:45 OB came back and told me we're having a birthday party that night. Since I ate a cookie, we need to wait for the c-section until 10 or 11 at night.

5:30-10:00 admitted to Overlake, met nurses, signed consent forms, got prepped for surgery, waited around. A whole team is starting to arrive, including Dr. Waller from the UW (yippee!). Dan, both sets of grandparents, and Chelsea also arrive. Dan gets dressed up in a big white jumpsuit so he can come in the OR with me.

10:00 Dan and I walk to the operating room. I get up on the table and the anesthesiologist explains how he's going to do my spinal. Everyone is getting ready for the babies to come. There are at least 18 medical personnel in the room, two surgeons for me, a neonatologist, neonatal nurse practicioner, anesthesiologist, respiratory therapist, and a team of nurses for each baby. I start shaking uncontrollably. Adrenaline is kicking in...


10:05 the anesthesiologist starts my spinal. I'm numb from the chest down. I get a catheter placed. The big blue sterile drape is placed and I can't see anything anymore. Surgery starts.

10:26 Baby Avery is born weighing 3 pounds, 5 ounces. She's 16 inches long. Cries immediately. The nurses bring her by me before taking her to the nursery to be cleaned up and stabilized.

Avery Hope

10:28 Baby Brelynn is born weighing 3 pounds, 14 ounces. She's 16 3/4 inches long. Cries immediately. I get to see her for a quick peek before she heads off to the nursery, too.

Brelynn Grace

10:29 Baby Camille is born weighing 3 pounds, 0 ounces. She's 15 1/2 inches long. She cries after about a minute. Since she was our little one, we didn't get to see her in the operating room. She was taken to the nursery right away.

10:30-12:00 Dan bounces back and forth between me and the babies in the next room giving me updates and taking pictures. I get my tubes tied and get all stitched up.

12:00-2:00 we wait in the recovery room for the anesthesia to wear off so I can go to my real room for the night. When I can move my legs, we go by the NICU and see the girls and then to my room. Unfortunately, one of my pain meds (tordol) makes my vision do funny things so I can't see the girls very well.

2:00-3:00 we get settled in to the room and the nurse brings by a breast pump. I pump for the first time. I get pain meds.

3:30 time for bed. we sleep a few hours and are up by 5:30. What a crazy day. Our girls are finally here!

More updates to come...

6.26.10 ~ 32 weeks

We made it to 32 weeks...and still doing pretty well. You may notice the time and wonder what in the world I'm doing up at 2 am...well...I accidentally fell asleep today reading and took a little nap. That pretty much guarantees that I won't sleep that night. I'm still hoping for a few hours tonight...

The babies are all doing wonderfully, growing and kicking up a storm. It took a lot of work during my non stress test (NST) today to get all their little heartbeats because they were turning in sumersaults! That poor nurse! For those of you not familiar with a NST, they place a ultrasound (?) pod on my belly over each baby's heart and it records their heart rate. One machine only has two pods, so for the three babies plus a pod to measure my contractions we need two machines :) Everyone passed, but we couldn't monitor my contractions because the nurse (and the doctor for about 20 minutes) had to hold pods carefully in place to keep the heartbeats on the monitor. The test usually takes an hour for me, 20-30 minutes for a 'normal' pregnancy, but today was closer to 90 minutes.

After my NST, I went to the injection room and had my first steriod injection to help the babies' lungs develop more quickly. This is given anytime the doctor thinks the baby may be born before 35 weeks. Since that's our goal, there's a good chance these girls will come before then. I have one more tomorrow and then that is done. The only bad thing about the shot is that it can increase your blood sugar levels so I have to test my blood sugar a few times a day now. Of course, the first test I did tonight was high so I had to call the doctor to see what to do. Naturally, this isn't my doctor so he tells me I'll be fine tonight and to call my doctor tomorrow to come up with a plan on what to do over the weekend since it will likely continue to go up for a few days. Oh, boy! I think the worst case scenario would be insulin shots, probably will just have to watch what I eat for the next few days/weeks.

Other than that, things are going pretty well. I'm not on doctor ordered bedrest, but am kinda putting myself on some sort of bedrest since every time I stand up I have a contraction. I guess that's normal when you're uterus is stretched to the size of a house :)


Dan took some pictures of the nurseries (yes, plural) so here's a sneak peek:


This is what we have affectionately named the 'brown room' because it is light and dark brown with pink accents. Creative, aren't we? This is the storage room for all the clothes, diapers, swings, book shelf, bouncers, toys, and just general baby stuff. The frame will eventually have a photo in it, we just haven't printed it out yet.
This is 'the nursery' since it will eventually house the three cribs. Right now only two cribs in there and we'll have one more either in our room or downstairs for convenience since they can share a crib for a few months. It is the same light brown as in the 'brown room' but has pink on the bottom half of the room. The wallpaper and valence in both rooms match the bedding. I love the nurseries! Just need some cute little girls in there to make it complete :) Soon enough...

6.20.10 ~ above average :)

Whew, we made it to 31 weeks which is the average delivery time for triplets. So, I figure these babies must be above average! So far, so good. I'm having a few contractions here and there, but nothing consistent or concerning. My belly measures at 41 weeks gestation meaning I look like I'm ready to pop and I get lots of comments asking when my baby is due. I tell them 4 more weeks and people just kinda look at me funny. Don't think they can figure out how I could get any bigger :)

6.9.09 ~ Maternity Photos

Big Belly!

I love this picture...



Avery, Brelynn, Camille



Welcome to our blog!

Where to start??? Well, I'm almost 30 weeks pregnant with three (yes, three) little girls. They are doing amazingly well. We've decided the names Avery Hope, Brelynn Grace, and Camille Faith. If all goes according to plan, they will be born on July 17th via c-section. Dan & I can't wait for them to arrive! Here are some pictures from our maternity photo shoot on May 31st. Our friend, Michelle, took some terrific photos. Check them all out at www.michellenewellphotography.com/raymaternity/. Thanks, Michelle!!!