Alyssa's Car Seat Challenge

Well, it wasn't much of a challenge. Alyssa won fair and square :) We took the girls to the pulmonologist this morning and Alyssa sat in her car seat for 30 minutes hooked up to lots of monitors. During that time they watched her oxygen saturation, her respiration rate and her heart rate. She did great and passed with flying colors. She is now allowed to be in a car seat just like her sisters! Yea! Julianna and Rachel were oblivious to the test and slept through the challenge in their own car seats. All of them also slept through the admiration of strangers. Wonder how long it will take them to notice that and take advantage? Hmmm... we have a lot to look forward to! At least no one asked annoying questions this time :)

Soon we will post pictures of so many who have come over to help and have held the babies. Should be good fun. We also have the babies first Christmas to look forward to! Yikes, Christmas - no, we're not ready :) But it will be great fun to enjoy our first Christmas as a family of 7!

1-Month Check Up

Wow! The girls could not be doing better. It is amazing how well they are doing and how fast they are growing. The doctor was very impressed by the girls progress and weight gain. This was our first visit with this particular doctor and she was just shocked at how well the girls have done and that they didn't need any extra care in the hospital and that they don't need any now. Praise God for His goodness. It is only by His blessing that they are doing so well and we couldn't be happier about it!

The big news:

Julianna weighs 7.6 lbs
Rachel weighs 6.4 lbs
Alyssa weighs 6.14 lbs

None of them are big enough to really be on the charts. Julianna is about 10th percentile for height and 5th percentile for weight but we're getting there. They are all good full-term weights. My actual due date was this past Friday and believe it or not much of their lives is still based around that date. Essentially their current weights are really good singleton birth weights and since I was due a few days ago that means great things for the girls.

It also means that Julianna will come off the preemie formula completely. Good and bad for us since we got 9 cases free from the formula company!! The other 2 will stay on it for another month so we will try to use up those cases with them :) The girls are eating well. All of them about 3 ounces every 3 hours and going 4-5 hours at night which is good for us as we are now getting about 3 to 3 1/2 in a row of sleep. Yea! Julianna will also be getting about 4 ounces from now on as she drains her 3 ounce bottles very quickly.

I'm finally recovering and feeling better. I wouldn't say 100% which is very frustrating to me but Lord willing by the time my mom goes home (if we let her!) I will be back to "normal" and be able to care for the girls better by myself. Yikes, don't want to think about that!

Tomorrow Alyssa will go for her car seat challenge and hopefully after that she will be cleared to also ride in a car seat and not just a car bed. This will make life for us a lot easier as we will finally be able to use the stroller that holds the infant car seats and fits through doors. (Our other stroller does not fit through the church doors!) However, the doctor did confirm today that the girls should be flat more often then they are in carseats or swings as this can cause problems for their breathing. Fun.

It's always something and we're always busy but praise God it's nothing major!

Farewell Faithful Friend

Yesterday my beloved canine reached the end of his time on this world.

The dog that once leaped fences without hesitation could no longer climb a single step.

The animal that could once snap leashes and drag picnic tables could hardly stand.

The companion that used to chase deer up steep mountain trails, couldn’t even cross the floor for a bit of steak.

The animal that once took a car fender to the face and shrugged it off now had to drag himself to the water bowl.

Once the very image of canine regalia, now couldn’t even control his basic body functions.

He was but a shadow of the proud, noble creature he once was.

X-rays revealed a spinal disease that was eroding the cartilage and nerve endings in his lumbar region. In an attempt to regain stability his vertebrae were beginning to fuse together. Even with surgery and extensive therapy it was unlikely he’d ever do more than hobble.


I made the decision to end his suffering and he breathed his last in my arms.

Rest In Peace Duke Von Eldey, noble guardian of Nelson Manor.

You served us well.

Another Good Bye...

We just wanted to share with everyone that today we lost our dog, Duke. We have had him since he was a puppy and he was 8 1/2 years old. He contracted a spinal disease that left him essentially unable to use his back legs. When the vet did the X-ray she found that some cartilage between his vertebrae was gone and his body was growing bone in its place causing him to be unable to walk. Apparantly this is a rare but deadly disease that is very aggressive. The vet stated he only lasted as long as he did because he was lean and in good shape. He will be missed.

Please pray for our family. I know Duke wasn't human but the kids were very attached to him and this is hard for them. It will be a hard adjustment to us all - Duke has been around a while.

Just a quick note about Rachel - we saw the doctor again today and she added another medication to Rachel's Zantac to try and control her reflux. Please pray this works - we can tell that she's in a lot of pain when she eats. The good news is that she now weighs 5.11 lbs!! Yea, go Rachel! The girls go back to the doctor next Monday and we will see how they have all grown but according to our home scale Alyssa is around 6 lbs and Julianna is around 6.8 lbs so they are all doing very well.

Finally, Some Pictures From Home...

Tired Mommy!

Life At Home

The girls are continuing to do well at home which is great. They are an exhausting group. We have them on a schedule and they eat every 3 hours during the day. They all seem to be really good eaters though Julianna probably packs it in the most :) They do pretty well at night. We make them every 3 1/2 hours if they don't wake us first. We do this partly because it's hard to hear them from their room (we turn the monitor off if someone's awake after a feeding - yes, they do have to cry a little at night - I'd go insane otherwise!) and partly because they can't go a whole lot longer without being fed. I really want them to grow!

Kaitlyn and Caleb are still doing well. Caleb said yesterday he only wants sisters. That's a good thing! But he also thinks he's going to turn into a girl at some point. I can understand the sentiment given the number of females in our house but thankfully that will never be the case. I try to assure him of this but he is not convinced.

We also want to say thank you to everyone who has brought diapers and gifts. We are truly grateful. I promise individual notes are forthcoming as are birth announcements/Christmas cards. They may be a bit late - I hope you can forgive me that! I'm still feeling very sore and having a very long recovery. When I feel better I plan to do more so thank you for your patience.

More pictures soon...

Weight Check/Doctor's Visit

If you can believe it the girls are 2 weeks old on Thursday! Amazing how time flies. Okay, probably more for you than us. I've felt every long day and am still very slowly recovering. I've never had a C-section before and had no idea until now how painful they are! Not to mention all the bed rest before hand and the fact that it was a triplet pregnancy it is taking a long time to recover and that is frustrating to say the least.

As for the girls they are doing surprisingly well. Whether it's because I'm not a first time mom or because my mom is still here (thank God!) it's going smoother than I expected. Exhausted, yes but they are good girls. If I could just recover things should be perfect. Ha ha!!

We went to the doctor today a bit early for their 2 week appt. but who cares? All the girls are beyond their birth weight which is awesome.

Julianna now weighs 5.8 lbs
Rachel now weighs 4.10 lbs
Alyssa now weighs 4.15 lbs

They are growing well which is a blessing and usually eating okay. Rachel does have reflux and we have increased her Zantac dosage so Lord willing that will help. She spits up a lot and arches her back in pain when she eats. I feel so bad for her tiny body.

Julianna got some bloodwork done for her low blood count (it was low when we left the hospital last week - this is a re-check) so hopefully things will be okay there.

Personality wise - they are so different! Julianna is still so laid back. Rachel is feisty but very sweet and Alyssa is loud and loves to cuddle. This is crazy amazing but Alyssa has already rolled over. I know it doesn't even make sense or seem possible but the child did it from her back to front twice at the doctors and front to back once! I have no idea how but she is a mover and can move herself off things already. It's a bit scary.

Kaitlyn and Caleb are adjusting pretty well. Kaitlyn has been a huge help as a big sister - she fed Julianna all by herself tonight. Wow! Caleb is trying to figure out his place but being the only boy and the life of the party helps. Nothing will stop him :) Can't wait till I can play with him more.

That's it for this tired and sore body. Hopefully our next post will include pictures of the girls at home! I also hope everyone continues to check the blog for progress reports on the girls - we're very happy to have them and have them home. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support during the pregnancy and to everyone who has helped and will help since. We can use all the hands we can get and are soooo thankful for all of you!! Praise God for your generosity and kindness.

More Pictures...

I just wanted to add more pictures of the babies and friends:

Julianna, Rachel, Alyssa, 3 bundles of joy.

Three bassinets made for a crowded hospital room.

Conniijo looks happy!

Tired babies make for happy Mommy! Triplets are a LOT of work.

We called in reinforcements! Carrie is holding Rachel, Joanna is holding Julianna, and Lea is holding Alyssa. At least that's what we told them. (:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our family has much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving though after last night sleep is not one of them :) The girls were discharged from the hospital late yesterday and we brought them home. They did great in the evening but of course when we were ready to go to bed Rachel and Alyssa were not! They fussed most of the night. I am a tad worried that Rachel has reflux like her big sister and we will discuss that with the doctor tomorrow when we go in for our appt. Thankfully we do have a lot of family in town to help and they can babysit while we nap :)

That is the update - the girls really are doing great. They are eating well and love to be held. Julianna is the most laid back and rarely cries - she slept through all the chaos last night. Rachel is the most vocal thus I'm worried about the reflux - lots of spitting and screaming. Alyssa is kind of in the middle and I think she just wants attention. So far they've held true to their personalities inside of me. I always knew Rachel was the most active and Julianna the most laid back! We all think because of Alyssa's position that she'll be the most cuddly. Of course, she may also be the most girly and photogenic. She was the easiest to capture pictures of before she was born. I'm writing all this down for everyone so we can see in a year or so how true my predictions are.

As for Kaitlyn and Caleb they are both doing well. All the extra family means extra attention for them which they like and Kaitlyn has just loved holding her baby sisters. She still gets excited about it. Again, we'll see how she's doing with in a few weeks!

Can't wait for all of you to meet them but just remember if you come over you will be put to baby work! They need lots of holding and feeding and I am still very, very sore from the surgery so I'm really trying to rest. Not always going so well though.

As soon as we can find the camera in all of our mess we'll post more pictres.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Mommy's Home!

Finally after almost 7 weeks in the hospital (47 days to be exact) I am now home from the hospital. Praise God! It was a very long haul. Physically I am still very sore and recovery has certainly been hard but I am glad to be out of the hospital and certainly my family is glad to be back to "normal".

As for the girls they are still in the hospital but may get to come home tomorrow. We will keep everyone posted. They are doing excellent but just not eating as much at a feeding as the pediatrician wanted plus they were all a little jaundice. So, they were under the lights for that and had tubes for feeding though they were mostly taking their feedings by bottle. The tubes are just for whatever formula they didn't finish in about 15 minutes. They were transferred to the NICU yesterday for the first time but again they shouldn't be there long. Please pray that they come home soon although I'm enjoying the day to get back into the groove here with my other kids as well as the extra chance to rest :)

The Girls meet Big Brother and Big Sister

Yesterday, Kaitlyn and Caleb came in to meet the girls. They had their "Sister of Triplets" and "Brother of Triplets" shirts. Grandma got to hold all three of them, doesn't she look proud?

Health wise, the girls are still holding on just above the borderline to keep them out of the NICU. This morning Julianna had to go under a special light treatment for jaundice, Alyssa isn't eating as well as the other two, and Rachel still won't nurse but will take a bottle. Dorinda is slowly recovering, lots of pain and moving slowly. Hopefully everybody will be well enough to come home on Monday.

Delivery Account

Hello! I am still alive though a lot sore and a bit groggy but the girls are doing great. They are still in the regular nursery though if anyone has trouble with their temperature or feeding they will be moved to the NICU. Alyssa seems to be having the hardest time with keeping her body temp regulated but she's been doing really well today. Yea! Praise God!

As for the delivery it went pretty smoothly even though our time kept getting pushed back due to emergency C-sections - those pesky people coming into the hospital in labor :) Funny thing though I got put on a contraction monitor every morning that I've been in the hospital and have hardly had any contractions but yesterday I got on and was contracting regularly. In fact, I continued to have contractions every 5 minutes until after the C-section! It seems that yesterday would've been the day no matter what. I was in labor and the girls were ready to come. I'm very thankful for the reassurance because the doctor came in Wednesday and asked how I felt about waiting another week! Since 37 weeks is not preemie he was thinking I could hold out a week more. He said it was up to me and obviously I opted to keep my date for yesterday. This pregnancy has been long enough - my hospital stay was forever (or so it seemed though I get comments often about how just being in here 6 weeks wasn't bad).

I've never had a C-section before so that was all new to me but it was easy for the most part. No pain and the pushing around just felt like the babies did when they were moving in me so that didn't bother me either. The only side effect I seem to have is itching which I'm told should go away soon.

We will post more pictures later - Kaitlyn, Caleb and grandma will be meeting the babies in a few hours so we will certainly have photo ops then!

Thanks again to all for your prayers and support during this pregnancy. We couldn't have done it without you!

And then there were three...

Hey folks, Kirk here with all the stats and pics from the delivery today. Dorinda will post later with her account of the delivery. But right now let us proudly introduce:

Julianna Mabel was born at 2:12 pm. She's 5lbs, 2 oz and 18 3/4 inches long.



Rachel Gabrielle was born at 2:13 pm. She's 4lbs, 6 oz and 17 inches long.




Alyssa Elaine was born at 2:16 pm. She's 4lbs, 12 oz and 18 inches long.



Everybody is doing well, none of the girls are in the NICU which is an answer to prayer. More pictures below:

Last Pre-Babies Post

I have made it through the weekend and feel like I will make it to the big day on Thursday. My C-section was scheduled for 10:30 on Thursday but has been moved to noon. Not a big deal except for the not eating before surgery part!! I'm going to starve!! If something happens to change and the girls come early then we will let everyone know but otherwise please expect news on Thursday. We appreciate all your prayers in this matter and the days ahead. Our family is nervous and excited - we don't really know what to expect. Please pray that the surgery goes well and that all the girls are born healthy and strong. We have no idea if they will be in the NICU after they are born or not.

Caleb had a nice birthday here - as nice as a birthday in a hospital can be. Kirk brought in a few gifts and we watched a movie together as a family. No, Caleb doesn't sit still too well but he enjoyed it anyway :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Caleb!

Well, I have made it to the dreaded day without event. Caleb is 3 years old today and although the girls have made a really good effort they have not made an appearance as of yet. Yesterday Baby C (Rachel) was quite uncooperative in the sonogram and did not breathe or move in the time allotted her. She had a good heartbeat and a repeat sonogram shows everything to be fine. The doctors are not concerned. She was trying to get out and bug her brother :)

Today, they drew blood for my preclampsia and had me wait on breakfast just in case things didn't look good but so far everything is fine and there will be no surgery today. At least the doctors are aware of Caleb's birthday and are not choosing to take the girls today unless I go into labor which I have no plans on doing!

So, the good news is that Caleb will not have to shrae a birthday with his sisters which is wonderful and that his birthday will actually be before theirs which should be nice for him as well. It is also Kirk's grandmother's birthday so he's really already sharing :)

Today is 35 weeks! Amazing that we have come this far. I will post some pictures of my birthday boy later.

Goodbye to my Grandma

I know I posted yesterday but this morning at 4:30 AM my grandmother passed away. She was my father's mother and my last living grandparent. While we were not extremely close, I do love her and will miss her. Thankfully I have been able to talk to her while she was in the hospital and we were able to spend time with her in June when we were in Florida which was a wonderful visit. She will be greatly missed and I pray that she is in heaven with the Lord!!

As for me, it turns out that I do have a mild form of preclampsia. It doesn't change much except that if I do go into labor they won't try to stop it and they will watch me very closely over the next few days - if there's a sign that anything gets worse they will take the girls right away. We'll see what happens.

No News

I know everyone is waiting to hear a big announcement that I have gone into labor and the girls have been born - believe me, no one wants to have that announcement more than me!! But here I still sit. Nothing is happening unless you consider being woken up at 6:45 in the morning by a med student who didn't knock and felt the need to turn on the light exciting!! Yes, that was annoying. And then he's followed by an OB who I don't know asking the same stupid questions, followed by the "real" doctor. And then I find out that if I start having contractions they will try to get them to stop with drugs but if that doesn't work then they will take the babies. Isn't the idea at this point to go into labor??!! I'm really getting frustrated. I have contractions all the time but they just don't progress or go anywhere.

I know it's only 9 more days but sitting here just waiting for something maybe to happen is the worst feeling in the world. Please, please pray for patience for me and even the chance to actually go into labor on my own some time after Friday. Also pray for trust in the Lord and His timing. Right now I'm having a very hard time with all of it!! Thanks!

34 Weeks

Today is 34 weeks which is a HUGE milestone. Most triplet pregnancies do not go this far so it's pretty amazing that I'm still pregnant and that I'm not on any medication to keep contractions from coming. I'm still having a few contractions but still nothing regular enough to be called labor. This weekend is a full moon. Hmm... We will see.

As for going home, the doctors have said no. :( Not surprising but I was told it was the office policy to keep triplets here till the end. Figures. So another 13 days with babies followed by 4 days after babies unless I actually manage to go into labor on my own sooner. I can hope - except NOT November 10th - I hope all of you out there are praying for that!!

I did have another sonogram yesterday - no weights and measures - but the babies are still looking good. Baby A is very, very low - if her head was down she'd probably fall out :) Maybe that's a sign that they'll be out soon. Yea, I can hear you - you're all saying of course it is, in 13 more days!!

November

Today makes it official that we will have 4 kids all born in the same month. Poor Caleb! Today is also 4 weeks since I was first checked into the hospital and I would say that I wouldn't recommend it. In fact, I have asked the doctors today if I can go home on Friday. I have had a few contractions but nothing regular in weeks and weeks so I don't see the point of staying here if they're not going to stop my labor anyway. Plus, there's the fact that I don't believe I'm going to go into labor so I might as well get my final week pregnant to spend at home with my family and be home with Caleb on his 3rd birthday. Please be in prayer about the last 15 days of this pregnancy - you can of course pray that it ends sooner than that!

Also, we wanted to share that my parents have come up to visit! My mom is here to stay (till Christmas) which is going to be a HUGE help - allowing Kirk to go to work at a normal time rather than having to take Kaitlyn to school something he hasn't been able to do for 2 months. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped with Caleb over the past 2 months - we couldn't have done it without you!! I hope that my mom being here will give everyone a break and that you'll be ready to jump in and hold a baby when the girls come home probably later this month (provided they do ever come out!!).

Not What I Wanted to Hear

Well, it looks like my C-section will be scheduled for November 16th - another 17 days away. Nov. 17th is my 36th week but I requested a day early so that I could leave the hospital the Monday before Thanksgiving and be able to spend the entire week with my family (Kaitlyn has no school that week).

Of course, the doctor says I could give birth at any time but I'm finding that harder and harder to believe. In fact, I logged on to the Triplet Connection and asked if there was anyone who had not been on any anti-contraction medication if they had ever gone into labor. I got 5 responses and all of them made it till well past 35 weeks and some even past 36 weeks - none of them went into labor and all made it to their scheduled C-section. That to me was certainly disappointing. I had hoped to give birth in October but I had certainly hoped to give birth and be home by Caleb's birthday!

Please pray for patience for myself and our entire family - this has been a much longer and much harder process here at the end then we would have expected.