From left to right: Daphne, Fiona, and Stella.
6.16.09: No more isolettes
Here's Fiona!:
Here's Daphne!:
Here's Stella!:
Today was the first official day of the new 'Intermediate' room and so far so good. As we arrived this morning, Daphne was already removed from her isolette (isolettes are the plastic mini-greenhouses used for a premie) and resting comfortably in her new open crib. Stella and Fiona also graduated to this new open crib soon after. It is fantastic to have them out of the isolettes - it means we can simply walk up to them and pick them up - no more need for help from the nurses. All of the IVs have been removed for the girls and now they are just hooked up to monitors for basic vitals.
Eating will be the biggest challenge for our young ones. I have been trying to nurse each girl several times a day but as with all things some of them are a little better than others - but hey we are all still learning here (and will be for a while). Also with the removal of the IVs brings a challenge to make sure everyone gets the needed intake. When bottle feeding or nursing, the girls tend to wear out / fall asleep and stop eating therefore not meeting their needed intake. The solution to this is to add back the feeding tube. It is only used when the girls get too tired to finish their food (via bottle or nursing) - we have to remember they would have been 35 weeks old today and at such a young age, sucking/swallowing skills are still developing. Also now that they are in the open air beds, they must use some of their calories to control their proper body temperatures.
They are doing great, I can't reiterate enough how wonderful it is to have them out of the isolettes. We are tired but thrilled our little girls are doing so well.
Here's Daphne!:
Here's Stella!:
Today was the first official day of the new 'Intermediate' room and so far so good. As we arrived this morning, Daphne was already removed from her isolette (isolettes are the plastic mini-greenhouses used for a premie) and resting comfortably in her new open crib. Stella and Fiona also graduated to this new open crib soon after. It is fantastic to have them out of the isolettes - it means we can simply walk up to them and pick them up - no more need for help from the nurses. All of the IVs have been removed for the girls and now they are just hooked up to monitors for basic vitals.
Eating will be the biggest challenge for our young ones. I have been trying to nurse each girl several times a day but as with all things some of them are a little better than others - but hey we are all still learning here (and will be for a while). Also with the removal of the IVs brings a challenge to make sure everyone gets the needed intake. When bottle feeding or nursing, the girls tend to wear out / fall asleep and stop eating therefore not meeting their needed intake. The solution to this is to add back the feeding tube. It is only used when the girls get too tired to finish their food (via bottle or nursing) - we have to remember they would have been 35 weeks old today and at such a young age, sucking/swallowing skills are still developing. Also now that they are in the open air beds, they must use some of their calories to control their proper body temperatures.
They are doing great, I can't reiterate enough how wonderful it is to have them out of the isolettes. We are tired but thrilled our little girls are doing so well.
6.15.09: Intensive to Intermediate
After spending the day at the NICU, just as we were about to leave we learned that the girls were being transferred to a different section of the NICU. Turns out they were in the Intensive - Level 3 section of the NICU and have already been upgraded to the Intermediate section of the NICU. This is an excellent sign although it is still hard to get information. One would think that due to this upgrade in status and decrease in need of critical care, that they would be coming home soon - however depending on who you talk to the departure date varies quite a bit. The standard answer to predictions of departure date is - when they were due (which is 7/21 for us). However, sometimes you hear that they consider 37 weeks to be full term - in which case they would be coming home in late June early July. Then sometimes you hear people say in could just be another week or so. Basically this means we have no idea, but the move from NICU (Intensive) to NICU (Intermediate) is a positive step in the right direction.
Sorry to everyone as we have been struggling to balance our time. Wanting to spend every moment possible at the NICU while still attempting to conduct semi-normal basic tasks (ie shower and sleep) has left us behind in our blogging - although we have been good about taking pictures. In the next week or so, we will figure out a routine and a balance but for now we are just enjoying that chaos that is the arrival of the three newest Robertsons :)
Sorry to everyone as we have been struggling to balance our time. Wanting to spend every moment possible at the NICU while still attempting to conduct semi-normal basic tasks (ie shower and sleep) has left us behind in our blogging - although we have been good about taking pictures. In the next week or so, we will figure out a routine and a balance but for now we are just enjoying that chaos that is the arrival of the three newest Robertsons :)
6.14.09: Released!
After several intense days and many, many tests, I have been released from the hospital. The discrepancy with my vitals has been manageable via medication and a couple more tests. Please keep in mind I was in the hospital from May 29th until today - a good two weeks, but it was obviously worth it. Being able to carry the girls for an additional couple weeks probably made a big difference in their size and stability.
The girls are still in the NICU but doing really well. Occasionally when someone gets really worked up, they will be put on some oxygen. If someone has trouble eating then they get help with a temporary feeding tube. They all have IVs as the fluid intake is critical to get correct when they are so small. Overall, things look great. We hear over and over again how wonderful our triplets look and we are very thankful for that. The just need to stabilize their body temperatures and learn to eat a bit better and of course 'beef up' a bit more.
The girls are still in the NICU but doing really well. Occasionally when someone gets really worked up, they will be put on some oxygen. If someone has trouble eating then they get help with a temporary feeding tube. They all have IVs as the fluid intake is critical to get correct when they are so small. Overall, things look great. We hear over and over again how wonderful our triplets look and we are very thankful for that. The just need to stabilize their body temperatures and learn to eat a bit better and of course 'beef up' a bit more.
6.12.09: Introducing
Fiona Verna (previously known as Alpha)
Arrival time: 9:35am
Weight: 4lbs 13oz
Length: 18 3/4 inches
Daphne Buelah (previously known as Beta)
Arrival time: 9:36am
Weight: 4lbs 14oz
Length: 18 inches
Stella Mae (previously known as Gamma)
Arrival time: 9:39am
Weight: 4lbs 9.5oz
Length: 17 1/4 inches
Our little girls received the names in the evening of June 12th after Brant and I were able to travel to the NICU together and hold each of them. By the next morning, the night nurse had already made each of them a sign with their names and information - this NICU is great!
While recovering from the surgery in the middle of the night, my vitals were significantly off. I ended up getting a chest x-ray in my bed in the middle of night to identify if I had fluid or a clot in my lungs - turns out it was the better of the two (fluid) and I was put on more medication to help lower my blood pressure. I also had a significant decrease in my oxygen level and was put on oxygen for several days to come. All recoverable, but an intense couple of days to say. Poor Brant spent several days running from the NICU to my room trying to take care of all of us.
Arrival time: 9:35am
Weight: 4lbs 13oz
Length: 18 3/4 inches
Daphne Buelah (previously known as Beta)
Arrival time: 9:36am
Weight: 4lbs 14oz
Length: 18 inches
Stella Mae (previously known as Gamma)
Arrival time: 9:39am
Weight: 4lbs 9.5oz
Length: 17 1/4 inches
Our little girls received the names in the evening of June 12th after Brant and I were able to travel to the NICU together and hold each of them. By the next morning, the night nurse had already made each of them a sign with their names and information - this NICU is great!
While recovering from the surgery in the middle of the night, my vitals were significantly off. I ended up getting a chest x-ray in my bed in the middle of night to identify if I had fluid or a clot in my lungs - turns out it was the better of the two (fluid) and I was put on more medication to help lower my blood pressure. I also had a significant decrease in my oxygen level and was put on oxygen for several days to come. All recoverable, but an intense couple of days to say. Poor Brant spent several days running from the NICU to my room trying to take care of all of us.
6.11.09: BABIES!!!
Brant here. 3 Girls! They are stable and in the NICU. Kari's comfortably resting on drugs. When she is feeling up to it, we'll go visit our babies together and give them names. I've been over to the NICU a few times, and checked in on them, so they've been well-loved so far.
Wish us luck!
Wish us luck!
34 weeks, 2 days: D-day
Brant guest blogging here. We've been notified that Kari will be delivered at 8am CST on June 11th. Wish us luck! We'll post again with an update after things have calmed down. Thanks for everyone's support!
(Kari's comment added in October 2009: My blood platelets had been decreasing dramatically which can cause serious issues when having a c-section. Additionally my blood pressure had reached an unhealthy level and the swelling in my body had become concerning. Basically I think my body was tired of supporting four people and the babies were tired of being squished - both understandable.)
(Kari's comment added in October 2009: My blood platelets had been decreasing dramatically which can cause serious issues when having a c-section. Additionally my blood pressure had reached an unhealthy level and the swelling in my body had become concerning. Basically I think my body was tired of supporting four people and the babies were tired of being squished - both understandable.)
34 weeks: Let the countdown begin
So as of Tuesday at 2am, I am officially off my medicine to control contractions and still about 3cm dilated. The doctors have explained that they have a very low tolerance for me with contractions - as soon as they start making me dilate, my time with these kids in my belly is through. From what I understand, this means if I go into labor at this stage, they won't try to stop it. I am still feeling several contractions an hour and occasionally have episodes of strong contractions which probably don't make me very fun to be around. As these contractions are not causing me to dilate, the cure is more IV fluids and rest.
Likely from all the fluids and lack of activity I have finally developed cankles. Up until now, just the tops of my feet have been swollen but now there is little differentiation between my feet, ankles and calves. I have to say though, my only real pregnancy issues have been cosmetic (dental issues, stretch marks and swollen limbs) so for this I am VERY lucky. My blood pressure has slowly begun creeping up a bit, but luckily I was blessed with low blood pressure to begin with so this gives me some more wiggle room. I remember a time when my family all went to get our blood pressure checked to show my grandma that it wasn't scary - I had the highest blood pressure and was the only one to break 100 - and I barely did. Who knew that this would help me later in life when pregnant with multiples.
Also yesterday, I finally toured the NICU. Brant had seen this area before as it is one of the key reasons we picked this hospital (in addition to our doctor). It is very high tech yet each area can be personalized. I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't prefer to just take everyone home right away, but if they have to stay somewhere it seems like an excellent place to be. All of the nurses who we chatted with were thrilled that I was 34 weeks and still going - I suppose the mostly see the other end of the spectrum - super early babies. Still it was really hard to see such small babies. I think my vision of newborns is skewed as Brant and I were both over 10lbs, but I need to learn reality (especially for triplets) is not to have such beefy kids.
33 weeks 5 days: Labor and delivery visit #2
Just around midnight I woke up to some super strong contractions. When tracked they turned out to be 3-5 minutes apart and the strongest I have had to date. After attempting to give more fluids and medicine, we were sent back downstairs to the labor and delivery area. This is where we started at last Friday. Thankfully, I wasn't dilating and my water was still in tact. If either of those two things change, I will almost surely be headed for the OR. Instead we spent several hours getting monitored and eventually we were sent back upstairs. It made for a very long night - but we are thankful to get just a couple more days before these little ones arrive - the longer the better. The maternal fetal doctor on call mentioned that this will likely happen several more times before 'the real thing'. When having multiples, apparently your body gets into these spells of contractions and with some time they subside.
33 weeks 4 days: Flotation devices
I am happy to report that I am still pregnant. There have several 'extra' monitors done when I have had 4+ contractions in a half hour or so, but the contractions seem to be irregular and eventually calm down a bit to just a couple an hour. It's weird, I can tell by the increasing number of contractions when I am due for my medicine....I think these babies are getting ready. The plan is still to stop taking the medicine on Monday - hopefully we will make it to Tuesday (34 weeks).
In the meantime, my feet have become flotation devices. Even flipflops won't fit because my foot is too tall/fat - but hey one only needs to wear flipflops if you are going outside and I have been inside the hospital since last Friday.
Bonnie came to entertain us this weekend and was even able to enjoy the music of our new neighbors last night (she is staying at our house while Brant stays with me at the hospital). We haven't met those neighbors yet, they just moved in 2 weeks ago, but boy do they have a surprise coming to them when we bring home three newborns. For now, we will let them think we are nice, quiet people who don't mind music until 2am :)
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