Last night we had the opportunity to "room in" with Ryan. This means that Thomas and I spent the night at the NICU and took care of him ourselves. There are specific rooms for this that contain a microwave, mini fridge and a pull out couch/bed for 2. There is still an assigned nurse for the baby, but the parents are in charge for the night. If the parents have questions or need help, the nurse will be right there to assist them. It's almost like a trial run before you actually take the baby home. Since Ryan is so close to coming home we jumped at the opportunity to room in for a night and test the waters! Everything went just fine! We are tired (of course) but made it through the night with no issues or concerns. We took turns with his overnight feedings. It's hard to sleep in the hospital since the bed isn't comfortable and in our case last night, Ryan's leads weren't on or working correctly or something because his monitor kept going off saying that his heart wasn't beating, which was clearly not the case. We could have done without the sporadic beeping! All in all, we felt good about it and are looking forward to when he can come home!
On that note, it looks like tomorrow is the big day! Ryan had an MRI today to get a better look at his brain (follow up from cranial ultrasounds showing brain bleeding) so the doctors can get a more conclusive idea of what's going on. I got to go in the room with him and was definitely more upset than he was. Thankfully, he is such a laid back little guy that it really didn't bother him. He got swaddled in to this vacuum sealer thingy to keep him from moving and took his paci and was totally fine! I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck and was so worried that he would open his eyes and get scared. It lasted all of about 15 minutes but it felt like an hour that we were in there. We did not get the results back today but should hear something tomorrow. In addition to his MRI, Ryan took a car seat test this afternoon but did not pass. The monitors were indicating that he was having some issues, but his nurse assured us that he did not appear to have any problems at all! His coloring was good, his breathing appeared good and he was calm. It's those darn leads, I tell ya! Anyway, his nurse felt like it was definitely an error with the monitor/leads and said he would retake his test either tonight or tomorrow. We all think he will pass once his leads are changed out and are accurate. Assuming he passes his next car seat test, he will be moving home!
I am so proud of my sweet boy and want to have him home with us, but truth be told, I am really nervous! The whole time I've been a mom I've had nurses around to help do whatever needs to be done. They answer my questions, calm my fears, give me advice, assess the babies and essentially take complete care of them. When I'm at the NICU we will tag team, as in "you get William's diaper and I'll get Stokes and Ryan's" so we share the load of work. If a baby is crying and I don't know what to do, I look to the nurse for my instructions. Our nurses have been wonderful and have taken such good care of our triplets and I wish I could bring them home with us! I keep worrying that I won't be able to do it, to keep up, to take care of these little guys, especially when all 3 babies are at home. The anticipation is killing me because I am such a worrier. I keep reminding myself that I will do it because that's just what has to happen. I will figure it out. I certainly don't have all the answers right now and honestly have no clue as to what it will actually be like (how can you until you actually bring your baby/babies home?!?!).
This post has been all about Ryan, but just to let you know, Stokes and William are doing great, too. Their nurse practitioner told me today she thinks they each have about another week before they're ready to come home. They are not far behind! Their only hold up right now is bottle feeding. Stokes has moved to every other feed from a bottle and William is getting 3 bottle feedings per day. They got moved to the hallway with the rooming in rooms yesterday as well so we're all getting used to a new and slightly different environment in the NICU.
I will update tomorrow with MRI results and in regards to whether Ryan gets to come home. Stay tuned!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Baby Shower
Thomas and I both work at the same awesome company and have the best co-workers! Some of our sweet friends from work decided to throw us a baby shower since so many of our co-workers know both of us and have known us since before we even started dating. The shower was originally going to be during the summer, but I got put on bed rest and the shower got postponed. We ended up having it on Oct. 29th, which was perfect timing...right before the boys start coming home!
The shower was incredible! Our hostesses made the conference room look so cute and went above and beyond. They had a slideshow playing that showed pictures from when Thomas and I were dating, our engagement, our wedding day, an ultrasound picture and then lots of pictures of the sweet babies. There was a clothesline hanging as well as pendant banners spelling out the boys' names. There were cupcakes with three little green dots (3 peas in a pod!), some delicious punch and pretty flowers. I loved going to the shower because I got to see so many of my work friends that I hadn't seen since I went on bed rest on July 22. That's a long time since I was used to seeing them everyday! Over the years Thomas and I have become really close with lots of our co-workers and I really missed them during bed rest and my maternity leave. It was just cool to get a chance to catch up with so many of them.
Our co-workers were extremely generous with the gifts as well. We had a table full of gifts to open as well as a large pile of cards containing gift cards. We loved opening the gifts and were so excited that right when we got home after the shower we immediately started putting things away in their place so they would be ready to use! It is an understatement to say that we are blessed. For any of you that came to the shower that are reading this...it was so great to see you! We both had such a wonderful time and thank you, thank you for the gifts! Y'all are wonderful!
Here are some pictures of the fun event!
The shower was incredible! Our hostesses made the conference room look so cute and went above and beyond. They had a slideshow playing that showed pictures from when Thomas and I were dating, our engagement, our wedding day, an ultrasound picture and then lots of pictures of the sweet babies. There was a clothesline hanging as well as pendant banners spelling out the boys' names. There were cupcakes with three little green dots (3 peas in a pod!), some delicious punch and pretty flowers. I loved going to the shower because I got to see so many of my work friends that I hadn't seen since I went on bed rest on July 22. That's a long time since I was used to seeing them everyday! Over the years Thomas and I have become really close with lots of our co-workers and I really missed them during bed rest and my maternity leave. It was just cool to get a chance to catch up with so many of them.
Our co-workers were extremely generous with the gifts as well. We had a table full of gifts to open as well as a large pile of cards containing gift cards. We loved opening the gifts and were so excited that right when we got home after the shower we immediately started putting things away in their place so they would be ready to use! It is an understatement to say that we are blessed. For any of you that came to the shower that are reading this...it was so great to see you! We both had such a wonderful time and thank you, thank you for the gifts! Y'all are wonderful!
Here are some pictures of the fun event!
The clothesline...isn't it cute?!?!
Pendants with names...love it!
Cupcake table
(Must mention that the cupcakes were made by a co-worker that bakes on the side and they are the BEST cupcakes in the world! Go Jill!)
Gifts!
Good crowd
Opening gifts
Love these bibs!
A special thank you to our wonderful hostesses! We love y'all!
Meaghan Wentzell, Adrienne Horne, Stephanie Mays, Pressly Yost, Wendy Thacker, Shea Little & Ruth Robinson
A happy and thankful Mom and Dad!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Music to my ears
All 3 of my boys can hear! Stokes passed his hearing test today. The reason he got to take his hearing test??? He's in an open air crib! William got back off oxygen last night and has done fairly well. Ryan is holding steady and got his feeding tube taken out since he taking all bottles. To summarize, all 3 boys...
-passed hearing test
-are in open air cribs
-are breathing room air on their own
-are working on bottle feeds
-are fighters
-are my sweet miracles
Here are some pictures from today.
Stokes in open air crib
Ryan sans feeding tube (and all facial tubes)
William in his crib and no oxygen tube
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Another 5 Pounder
It's official...William has joined the 5 lb club with his brothers!
The babies are 9 weeks old today. I cannot even believe how fast time is going.
Burping
More eating :)
Thomas and I have a baby shower with our awesome co-workers on Tuesday and are really excited about it! It got postponed over the summer when I went on bed rest. I am looking forward to seeing everyone I haven't seen in so long!
We have had a busy week and are continuing to improve and grow and get stronger. Here are the updates for each little Peery.
Stokes
He is on 3 bottles per day and is doing well with his feeds. His isolette has finally been turned down to 28 degrees so if he maintains his temp for the rest of the day, he can go to an open air crib at midnight tonight. This big boy no longer wears many preemie sized onesies. He has moved on to newborn sizes. He gets 50 cc's at each feeding and weighs 5 lb, 6.8 oz.
Ryan
Ryan is our champion eater at this point and is very close to coming home! Our nurse wants us to bring in our car seat within the next few days so he can have his car seat test before going home. The test is just for the baby to sit in a car seat for 90 min without de-sating or bradying. It's one of the final things they do before discharge! Did I mention that this guy is no longer on any oxygen?!?! He is breathing room air on his own and is doing great. Ryan is getting 2 bottles out of every 3 feedings per day and will probably move to all bottles tomorrow if he does well for the rest of the day today. He has 30 min to finish his bottle but he almost always finishes in 15 min, if not faster! He gets 50 cc's at each feeding and weighs 5 lb, 8 oz. His preemie diapers are getting a little snug and he will be wearing newborn size very soon! Same goes with onesies.
Pictures of dad feeding Ryan from Thursday night
William
Yeah for the little guy gaining weight and getting in the 5 lb club! He has been a little fussy the last few days, partially due to some immunizations the boys got recently. He was de-sating some last night and got put back on a very small amount of oxygen (probably also due to immunizations). He will probably be back on room air by tomorrow. I'll tell ya, those immunizations are a real doozy for these little guys. :( William weighs 5 lb, 0.8 oz (just barely but he made it)! He gets 44 cc's per feeding and 2 bottles per day.
Pictures in the soother seat! This helps his tummy feel better when he has reflux.
All 3 boys had follow up cranial ultrasounds on Friday and we got the results today. Stokes and William's ultrasounds were normal. Ryan's showed no changes from before, ie indicating minor bleeding and potential PVL. We still aren't clear on what that actually means for his future and development, and none of the nurses or doctors have a definitive answer for us either. Our nurse is going to check with a different doctor on Wed. and see what he wants to do. Ryan may need an MRI to get more info for the doctors to analyze. Keep it up with the prayers! Although his ultrasound shows no changes, he is making huge strides in his development and is doing even better than his brothers in almost everything and will most likely be able to come home first. We feel like that is a very good sign!
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Important Request
Ahhhh, FALL. What an amazing season. The leaves begin to change colors, the air gets crisp and cool, we get options for pumpkin flavored everything and of course, it's college football season. It's great! The negative side of the Fall season? The FLU and COLDS. Yuck.
Guess what? The common cold for an adult is not fun and can knock you down for a few days, but for a preemie it can be catastrophic. My babies that are breathing so well right now could have to get back on a ventilator and start over if they were to contract some cold germs from an infected adult. And the flu???? I shudder to think what would happen to them if they got any flu germs.
Cold and flu germs are just one area of concern about the babies, their health and their immune systems. The babies are underdeveloped due to their prematurity and their immune systems are immature. Thomas and I are dedicated to doing whatever we can to protect them and keep them safe from germs and illness. While they are in the NICU, Thomas, our nurses and I can keep people away that are sick or even may be sick. If we hear a sniffle, hoarse voice, even the hint of any sort of illness, we can turn people away. Hopefully we are able to do this in a nice way that our friends and family can understand, but ultimately we have the say so.
We are lucky enough to have lots of offers for people to come over and help us with the boys once they are discharged from the NICU and are finally at home. I'm sure we'll also get a lot of visitors and requests for a visit from people that just want to see the babies!
Here's the important request: FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS OR PLANS TO COME OVER TO VISIT/HELP WITH OUR BOYS, PLEASE GET A FLU SHOT!!!! I cannot stress enough how important this is.
I am intentionally writing about this in advance of when the boys get to come home so that you will have time to call your doctor or visit a minute clinic to get your flu shot taken care of. While you're there, please get the PERTUSSIS vaccine. Pertussis is whooping cough and it's highly recommended that anyone that will be around the babies get vaccinated for this as well.
Do not be surprised if Thomas and I ask you about your flu shot and pertussis vaccine before scheduling any visits or even on our front door step. We are very serious about this and want to make sure that our babies stay healthy! We hope you can understand. Please know that we are not intentionally trying to hurt feelings or keep well-intentioned family and friends from the boys but want to make sure that we are effectively protecting them.
Here's a letter I got from an online triplet group to which I belong. We may not have all the same rules at our house (TBD), but I am including this to show what other NICU parents say to their visitors and to drive home the importance of this request. Thanks!
****************************************************
Dear Family & Friends,
As we prepare for the trio's discharge from the hospital we wanted to send out an email to friends and family regarding visiting. We know that everyone wants to see them but because they are preemies, we need to set some parameters. I know not everyone will be happy with these requests but as parents we have to do what is best for the babies.
The main thing is that because of their gestational age they are susceptible to RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, this is a mild common cold in adults and school aged children that can require hospitalization for newborns, especially preemies. As such we met with the neonatalogist who provided us with some ground rules for visiting during the cold and flu season.
1. Please don't visit if you have a cold, virus or infection, fever, diarrhea, cold sore or fever blister, feel just plain lousy or run down, or have been exposed to someone else who is sick recently (includes sick spouses).
2. Anyone that has been sick must be symptom free, no sore throats, fever, coughing or sneezing, for 7 days prior to visiting.
3. Everyone visiting should have had the flu shot. Anyone that is staying overnight with us or helping to care for the babies must have had the whooping cough/pertussis vaccine booster.
4. Please wash your hands upon entering the house and use hand sanitizer prior to touching the babies each time, even if you haven't touched anything else in the meantime.
5. Please keep your face a few feet away from the babies. Germs spread through the air when people speak too closely to them.
6. Please refrain from touching the babies, especially no kissing the babies faces or hands. No one besides parents and the grandparents will be holding the babies until at least their due date. This may change to an even later date depending on if the babies come home on any sort of monitor.
7. The babies will not be able to meet other children until cold, flu and RSV season is over, late April. We also have to limit the number of visitors per day so please contact me in advance. I would suggest no more than 2 or 3 adults at a time.
There may be additional rules as the babies are discharged. We hate that we have to be so strict but we just love them so much and know that you won't mind because you all love them even if you haven't met them :)
Guess what? The common cold for an adult is not fun and can knock you down for a few days, but for a preemie it can be catastrophic. My babies that are breathing so well right now could have to get back on a ventilator and start over if they were to contract some cold germs from an infected adult. And the flu???? I shudder to think what would happen to them if they got any flu germs.
Cold and flu germs are just one area of concern about the babies, their health and their immune systems. The babies are underdeveloped due to their prematurity and their immune systems are immature. Thomas and I are dedicated to doing whatever we can to protect them and keep them safe from germs and illness. While they are in the NICU, Thomas, our nurses and I can keep people away that are sick or even may be sick. If we hear a sniffle, hoarse voice, even the hint of any sort of illness, we can turn people away. Hopefully we are able to do this in a nice way that our friends and family can understand, but ultimately we have the say so.
We are lucky enough to have lots of offers for people to come over and help us with the boys once they are discharged from the NICU and are finally at home. I'm sure we'll also get a lot of visitors and requests for a visit from people that just want to see the babies!
Here's the important request: FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS OR PLANS TO COME OVER TO VISIT/HELP WITH OUR BOYS, PLEASE GET A FLU SHOT!!!! I cannot stress enough how important this is.
I am intentionally writing about this in advance of when the boys get to come home so that you will have time to call your doctor or visit a minute clinic to get your flu shot taken care of. While you're there, please get the PERTUSSIS vaccine. Pertussis is whooping cough and it's highly recommended that anyone that will be around the babies get vaccinated for this as well.
Do not be surprised if Thomas and I ask you about your flu shot and pertussis vaccine before scheduling any visits or even on our front door step. We are very serious about this and want to make sure that our babies stay healthy! We hope you can understand. Please know that we are not intentionally trying to hurt feelings or keep well-intentioned family and friends from the boys but want to make sure that we are effectively protecting them.
Here's a letter I got from an online triplet group to which I belong. We may not have all the same rules at our house (TBD), but I am including this to show what other NICU parents say to their visitors and to drive home the importance of this request. Thanks!
****************************************************
Dear Family & Friends,
As we prepare for the trio's discharge from the hospital we wanted to send out an email to friends and family regarding visiting. We know that everyone wants to see them but because they are preemies, we need to set some parameters. I know not everyone will be happy with these requests but as parents we have to do what is best for the babies.
The main thing is that because of their gestational age they are susceptible to RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, this is a mild common cold in adults and school aged children that can require hospitalization for newborns, especially preemies. As such we met with the neonatalogist who provided us with some ground rules for visiting during the cold and flu season.
1. Please don't visit if you have a cold, virus or infection, fever, diarrhea, cold sore or fever blister, feel just plain lousy or run down, or have been exposed to someone else who is sick recently (includes sick spouses).
2. Anyone that has been sick must be symptom free, no sore throats, fever, coughing or sneezing, for 7 days prior to visiting.
3. Everyone visiting should have had the flu shot. Anyone that is staying overnight with us or helping to care for the babies must have had the whooping cough/pertussis vaccine booster.
4. Please wash your hands upon entering the house and use hand sanitizer prior to touching the babies each time, even if you haven't touched anything else in the meantime.
5. Please keep your face a few feet away from the babies. Germs spread through the air when people speak too closely to them.
6. Please refrain from touching the babies, especially no kissing the babies faces or hands. No one besides parents and the grandparents will be holding the babies until at least their due date. This may change to an even later date depending on if the babies come home on any sort of monitor.
7. The babies will not be able to meet other children until cold, flu and RSV season is over, late April. We also have to limit the number of visitors per day so please contact me in advance. I would suggest no more than 2 or 3 adults at a time.
There may be additional rules as the babies are discharged. We hate that we have to be so strict but we just love them so much and know that you won't mind because you all love them even if you haven't met them :)
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
We're kind of a big deal
Updates all around!
Stokes in his isolette
Close up! 
Just look at that sweet face :)
He is doing well with his "wall air"! I fed him a bottle at his 3:00 feeding and he took the whole thing! He is getting 4 bottles per day, at each 9:00 and 3:00 feeding. Not sure if I have mentioned this before but the babies are on a schedule and get fed at 12, 3, 6 & 9 throughout the day/night. Ryan is getting 48 cc's per feeding and weighs 5 lb, 2.5 oz. Nurses & drs keep talking about "when he goes home", so I think we may be getting close! 
Pics while I was holding him after his 3:00 feeding. He was very alert & very handsome!
William in his new home
Close up!
Sweet baby!
This is a pic of Ryan and me with Dr. Ohning, our neonatologist. He was "all dressed up" today so I wanted to capture the moment! Thomas and I both love Dr. Ohning.
Stokes
I fed Stokes a bottle for his noon feeding but he didn't take the whole bottle and about 1/3 of it had to go through his feeding tube. That's ok though, he will get it eventually! He is still on 2 bottle feedings per day, gets 48 cc's per feeding and weighs 5 lb, 3.6 oz.
Ryan
Ryan's low flow oxygen was changed to wall air. I am not 100% clear about what that means but it's a slight upgrade. His air tube is literally plugged into the wall...
William
Big changes for Mr. William today! He is off all oxygen and breathing room air on his own! Now both he and Stokes are totally off O2. You may remember that William stayed on CPAP way longer than his brothers and really struggled with breathing, but look at him now! Not only that, he also got a new house! He moved out of his isolette and into an open air crib. I am so excited for him! He just needs to maintain body temp to stay in open air crib and keep his breathing regulated to stay off oxygen. So far today he has been doing great with both. I am supposed to feed him a bottle at 6:00 this evening and with the 2 big changes he has had today, I am a little nervous about how his feeding will go. Too many changes can stress these little guys out, so fingers are crossed that he will take his feeding like the fighter that he is! He is currently getting 44 cc's per feeding, 2 bottle feedings per day and weighs 4 lb, 13.3 oz.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Busy post
Lots going on today! And it's gameday (a BIG gameday)! Stokes, Ryan & William: "Go tigers!"
This is just too cute. I was holding Ryan yesterday and I can't remember if I put his hands together or if he did it on his own, but it looks like he is praying and it melted my heart.
Today has been a good day. Thomas fed Stokes a bottle & I fed William and Ryan a bottle.
Their Friday alligator pictures from last night...
Stokes
Ryan
William
Thomas giving Stokes a bottle
Thomas and I gave William a bath for the first time and got some gameday pictures with each baby. Here are the updated stats:
Stokes now weighs 5 lb, 1.5 oz. He was bradying last night. We've gotten to the point that bradys are fairly rare so we were bummed to hear that!
Gameday pic with Stokes
Ryan now weighs 4 lb, 15.7 oz and is up to taking 3 bottles a day (both brothers still working on 1 bottle per day) and is taking them like a boss!
Gameday pic with Ryan
William now weighs 4 lb, 10.4 oz and is very close to getting an open air crib!
Gameday pic with William
Also my Uncle Duncan is here visiting & brought a dresser/changing table and a crib with him. Yayyyy! Here is a picture Thomas snapped of my dad & Duncan putting the dresser together.
More nursery pics to come once I get it organized. :)