Triplets, 35 Days Old

12/09: Austin, Matthew and Emily are 5 WEEKS today!! We find it hard to believe that it has been 5 weeks!! It's amazing!! The babies looked wonderful today! All 3 Peas are bottle feeding very well! They are all very close in weight! Today we met with Robyn, our Nutritionist! All 3 Peas have "averaged" a ONE oz weight gain per day! Amazing! Believe it or not, all three are measuring exactly the same in length--44 cm!! There is not a single day that goes by that Rob and I are not thankful to our Good Lord who has made all this possible! We feel the power of everybody's prayer!!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 13 oz (2181 grams)
Matthew weighs 5 lbs 4 1/2 oz (2401 grams)
Emily weighs 5 lbs 2 oz (2330 grams)

It's All about ME!!!

12/09: Emily makes the cutest faces!! I just had to share her pictures!!

I have posted more pictures. Since I was not feeling well, I was behind in the pics! I posted them on the dates they were actually taken. (I have actually gone back and posted.) Some are as far back as Thanksgiving. Make sure you go back--cute pics of the babies and I know you don't want to miss a single one!

Triplets, 34 Days Old, No MORE TUBES!

Austin without Tubes!! YAY!! Don't I look adorable??? Austin Sleeping

Matthew SleepingEmily Sleeping3 Peas Sleeping!12/08: If you thought we were cute before, look at us now!! Our babies look amazing! It is so GREAT to see their sweet little faces without any kind of tube sticking out of their noses or their mouths!! They are growing and filling out! These pictures are great!!! Oh, Emily is also weighing a 1/2 oz over 5 lbs! YAY!!!

Important Updates:

Austin weighs 4 lbs 12 oz (2157 grams)

Matthew weighs 5 lbs 3 oz (2359 grams)

Emily weighs 5 lbs 1/2 oz (2287 grams)

Triplets, 33 Days Old

12/07: It is unbelievable to see our babies grow! They are gaining weight fast! Matthew made it to 5 lbs and we are quite sure that Emily will be 5 lbs tomorrow!!! Matthew is our little star! Now, not to be outshined is our little Austin. He pulled his feeding tube out and it was decided to leave it out and see how he does with his feedings! So far so good! He looks so much better now that he doesn't have any tubes in his sweet little face! Emily is looking great and is not far behind Matthew! She looks adorable and usually spends more time awake than her brothers while we are at the hospital. She has big beautiful eyes than follow your every move!!
My blogging was a bit slow this week because I haven't felt well and I have been resting in the evening! My boobie issues are not completely resolved but I am praying that it will continue to get better every day! Milk production is still very slow but I continue to pump and hopefully the meds the doctor has me on will start working soon! Keep us in your prayers!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 11 1/2 oz (2135 grams)
Matthew weighs 5 lbs 2 oz (2314 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 15 1/2 oz (2251 grams)

Triplets, 32 Days Old

12/06: Today is Saturday and we are hoping that we can spend more time at the hospital today. My boobie issues have had us going home early so that I can rest. I am feeling a bit better today but not much--boobies still hurting quite a bit!
The babies looked great and we had a great visit! We were able to do two feedings with our babies! They are so sweet and it really pains me every single day to leave. I can't wait for our babies to come home with us!!
After visiting with Austin, Matthew and Emily we left late afternoon. It sure was nice to be with my babies more than 3 to 4 hours! (It usually is NOT enough time for me!!) We then stopped at Walmart to pick up our Christmas cards. They turned out great!! It is our first holiday card! We also bought a couple storage containers to store all the bottles we have for the babies! Trying to be as organized as we can be!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 11 oz (2114 grams)
Matthew weighs 4 lbs 15 oz (2257 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 14 oz (2210 grams)

Triplets, 31 Days Old

12/05: I woke up with my breast hurting immensely this morning! Within a few minutes of being up and after suffering in pain all week despite doing everything that was recommended to help my boobie issues--I decided to call my OB and try to get an appt for today! Luckily, boobie issues are seen as priority and they told me to come on in asap. The doctor examined me and determined that I have an infection inside my breast! So, he gave me meds and told me that I might not feel relief for a few days! ARGH!!!
We then went to the hospital and spent about 3 hours with Austin, Matthew and Emily. I stayed as long as I could but I was in serious pain!!!
Tonight, actually morning--2am after I pumped I stayed up a bit to design our Christmas card. Lucky for me Rob didn't hear me get out of bed--he would have been upset but I really wanted to get this done!!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 8 oz (2059 grams)
Matthew weighs 4 lbs 13 oz (2196 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 12 oz (2167 grams)

Triplets, 30 Days Old

Austin holding Mommy's hand! Matthew

Emily and Matthew

Emily

12/04: I'm still in pain! My boobies feel like they might fall off! Don't laugh--it really hurts!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 8 oz (2056 grams)
Matthew weighs 4 lbs 11 oz (2126 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 10 3/4 oz (2118 grams)

Triplets, 29 Days Old

12/03: My whole night was spent in pain! My left breast was so swollen and engorged and believe me a really bad experience. I tried to sleep but I did get up and I pumped every 2 hours. My breast did not get better! It was awful! By morning I still did not have relief. Rob got up and made breakfast and then we got ready to go to the hospital. We spent time with the babies. I met with the lactation specialist once again. It was another hard session of pumping and massaging. My breast has started to feel better but milk production is extremely low! Austin, Matthew and Emily will be getting mainly formula today. We fed all three babies while we were there. I fed Matthew and Rob fed Emily and Austin! Austin is improving with his bottle feeding! Yay!! We were also informed that tomorrow they will start weening Austin off his vaportherm! This means progress!! Please continue to keep our family in your prayers!!
Happy Thoughts: One of our favorite nurses, Heather, brought gifts for our babies--she got our babies Christmas monkey stuffed animals that have a pacifier, little bibs that say, "My first Christmas" and they are holding a candy cane with their tails! They are so cute!! Mahalo Heather!!!

Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 7 oz (2035 grams)
Matthew weighs 4 lbs 10 1/2 oz (2115 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 10 oz (2105 grams)

Triplets, 28 Days Old

12/02: Today I woke up with my left breast hurting! I went through this with my right breast already so I knew exactly what the pain was--clogged ducts!! We have so much to do today and I can't stop to deal with my boobie today!!! Austin, Matthew and Emily are 4 WEEKS TODAY!!!Today is the day we are going to attempt to take a Christmas holiday photo. Today Rob has a doctor's appointment. Today our babies get their first eye exam. We got ready and made it to Rob's appt on time and then we headed to the hospital. When we got there, the babies had had their eye exam already and were resting. The eye exam was a bit traumatic for them-my poor little babies! So, we waited for a little while before trying to take pictures! Let me tell you, trying to take pictures of three babies at once and getting them awake is a hard task! With the help of our wonderful nurses we managed to take a few good pictures! For the photo shoot, the nurses took out the feeding tubes out of Austin and Emily (they had to be changed today) and once the shoot was over, they decided to leave Emily's out. So, just like Matthew, she is strictly going to bottle feed now. Let's hope this keeps up. (Austin will soon catch up!!) The lactation specialist came to speak to me. She showed me how to massage my breast and hopefully help clear the clogged duct! This was extremely painful! Peggy then advised us that I needed rest and to drink more water, take Motrin and to keep pumping! My breast actually felt better within hours but unfortunately, around 9pm another area of the same breast started hurting and by 10pm by whole left side of my left breast was one huge knot! I can not tell you how much this hurts. Rob tried to help me by massaging like Peggy had taught us and I was screaming in pain...and crying! We applied the warm compresses and I was pumping every 2 hours! I went to bed crying and hoping that I would have some relief by morning!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 7 oz (2015 grams)
Matthew weighs 4 lbs 9 oz (2080 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 9 oz (2066 grams)

Triplets, 27 Days Old

I am soooo ready to go home!

12/01: We arrived at the NICU this morning and the nurses were just plain giddy when we walked in. We always ask how our little ones are and if they have any updates for us. Well, the reason they were giddy is that Matthew has been doing so incredibly well that they took his feeding tube out (he is nippling all his feedings) and that IF and only IF there are no changes and he continues to progress he would be released from the hospital on SATURDAY!!! We could not believe it!! Of course, they advised us that this was a possibility and they hoped we would not be disappointed if it did not happen! We were also advised that in order for the babies to be released we had to take a CPR class and have each baby fitted to each of their car seats! Rob says well, the car seats are downstairs and he immediately went downstairs to get one. So, Matthew got fitted in his car seat and this was soooo cute! Laura, our nurse, showed us how to position the baby and how to safely use the car seat. Matthew was completely cooperative!!! The pictures are adorable!! He does look tiny in his car seat. (Remember he is under 5 lbs!!!) Austin and Emily are doing well also and they both have grown!! Oh, they did start getting 2 formula feedings a day. Today I am feeling a bit more tired than usual and one of my breasts has been hurting. I think I may be getting another clogged duct. UGH!!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 5 oz (1956 grams)
Matthew weighs 4 lbs 9 oz (2078 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 8 oz (2054 grams)

Triplets, 26 Days Old

Emily with Mommy Time

Matthew Sleeping

Austin with Daddy! Austin had a 2 oz growth spurt! Way to go Austin!

Mom with the Boys! Matthew on left and Austin on right--awake!11/30: This morning I pumped at 7am. Rob got up and took milk downstairs and then came back up and suggested we stay in bed a little bit longer. I agreed as I was feeling tired but no sooner had we gotten comfy again when the phone rang. It was Heather, one of the nurses, asking if we were on our way because they were out of milk! YIKES!!! I panicked! I asked her to please hold off giving Emily formula and that we would be there asap! The time is here that I can not produce enough breast milk! The babies are eating more and that is great because they are growing so I am preparing myself. Tomorrow will probably be the first day that at least one of their feedings will be formula. It is probably a good idea to start just in case one of the babies has an intolerance for formula-silver lining! The babies are doing wonderful!! Austin has much improved and we are happy to see him improving! Matthew and Emily are growing and doing extremely well also! Matthew is quite the showoff--he drank his whole bottle in 6 minutes! They are usually given 20 minutes to drink a bottle. If they don't finish it in 20 minutes, they usually give them the rest through their feeding tube...so, Matthew was quite the STAR today! There is nothing better in my day than holding each of my babies! We came home and I took a nap while Rob went to the commissary to buy groceries for the week! He came home and cooked a wonderful beef roast with lovely potatoes and carrots! YUM!
Important Updates:
Austin weighs 4 lbs 4 oz (1926 grams) (He gained 2 oz!! Yay, Austin!)
Matthew weighs 4 lbs 7 oz (2016 grams)
Emily weighs 4 lbs 7 oz (2013 grams)