Baby Fun

Addison with her first bow/headband. She looks so cute thanks to Aunt Dorothy!

We can even change the bows on the headband. She doesn't look very impressed but I know she loves it!

Collin found out first hand that Addison also has a mean side. See the scratch on his nose, that would be from Addison grabbing his nose with one tight grip!

Bryce is no longer our quite laid back baby, this is his new attitude that is not so cute at 3:00am!

Nursery

Now that the babies are 7 weeks old I finally have the nursery decorated and put together like I wanted it. It's simple but with three beds in a small room I figured I shouldn't do too much. The walls are a pea green color, the boys have blue/green/brown bedding and Addison has pink/green/brown bedding. Each baby has their own shelf that I can add things to later. The crocheted blankets draped over the bed were made by one of the volunteers that would come visit me in the hospital when I was on bed rest, she made a different color for each baby and they are beautiful. I still have a few pictures to put in frames and I need to find little knick knacks for their shelves but for now it is done.


Above the changing dresser I framed some of our maternity photos.

Difficult decision

Steven and I have made a difficult decision for me to take a year or two off from work and stay at home with the babies. I had every intention of going back to work because I loved my job and financially we thought it would be better for me to work. Well after Collin came home and we had a few sleepless nights we realized how difficult it would be to work and function both day and night. Originally our hope was to find someone to come to our house and care for the babies but that did not work out. Our next option was to take them to a day care in town but it was difficult to find a day care with openings for three babies plus we would spend our nights getting bottles, etc ready for the next day and our mornings would start early to get everyone packed up and where they needed to be. Although I will miss my job and know we will have to budget a little more I don't think it is a decision we are going to regret. I am so excited that I have this opportunity to spend this first year with our babies and think it will be a very rewarding job!

Due Date

It is hard to believe that today is my actual due date! I have to admit that it has been kind of strange thinking they shouldn't even be born yet but I couldn't imagine carrying them to full term or the size they are now! Our babies are 7 weeks old and about the size of a "normal" newborn baby. We are so thankful that they have grown so much since their birth. For the next few years the doctors will go by their birth date and by a corrected date which is counted from 38 weeks gestation. So right now the babies are 7 weeks old but 2 weeks corrected. Basically this means they expect them to be doing what a 2 week old baby would do and about the same size as a 2 week old baby would be. Around age 2 or hopefully before they should be caught up to their actual birth date and not have to go by a corrected date anymore. As you can tell by the pictures I posted they are all filling out pretty good. I looked back at some pictures I had from the NICU right after they were born and I can't believe how much they have changed. It makes me want to take pictures every day so I can remember what they looked like in 5, 10, 20 years!

Pictures

Collin our wided eyed boy who likes to lay awake and look around and check everything out! Bryce our chunky monkey! Addison our sweet baby girl!

Reunited with Dr. Schutt-Ame

Thursday I had my six weeks follow up appointment with Dr. Schutt-Ame who delivered the babies. We took the babies with us so the doctors and nurses had a chance to reunite. We were definitely the talk of the office because just about every nurse in the place came by to check them out. This was our last trip to the Houston doctors for me and I can start seeing Dr. Appleton in College Station again. Dr. Schutt-Ame was a wonderful doctor and very sweet but we can't wait to see Dr. Appleton and introduce her to our new family!

Dr. Schutt-Ame with Addison, Bryce and Collin

Pediatrician appointment

To be discharged from Texas Children's they require that you see your pediatrician within 48 hours after leaving the Hospital. Monday we had Collin's pediatrician appointment. Addison and Bryce also went along so we could see how much they weighed. The appointment doesn't consist of much besides the doctor meeting the baby but I went with a list of questions that he was very good about answering and taking his time with us. He probably realizes we will be frequent customers in the future! Overall the appointment went well and below are the current weights of all of the babies. They have all gained so much weight, Dr. Baker said they are gaining faster than normal right now to "catch up" but I think they are "catching up" pretty quickly!
Addison 6 lbs. 1 oz.
Bryce 6 lbs. 11 oz.
Collin 5 lbs. 5 oz.

A very happy anniversary!

Friday, Steven and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and we were able to bring home Collin! If someone would have told me that we would have 3 kids by our 5 year anniversary I would have said "you are crazy" but I couldn't be happier with our family of five. Steven is my rock and has put up with me through the good times and bad. Addison, Bryce and Collin have made our days longer but I'm soaking up every minute of it. Before we know it 5 more years will pass and they will no longer want to cuddle with me. I love Steven and our babies so much and am so happy to have our family of five at home and all together! Now the fun begins, wish us luck :)

Packed up and ready to go, our last picture in the NICU!


Bryce, Collin and Addison ready for the ride home!


This is the view I looked back at the first day I left the hospital and it was so upsetting knowing that I had to leave my babies in that building. Friday it was so nice to take that final look back and know that I had all of my babies with me!

One Month Old

I cannot believe our babies are already a month old! It seems like just yesterday I was laying in the hospital just praying they would come and now they are growing so fast and I am again reminded of how blessed we are. Addison is such a sweet baby who rarely cries but when she does she lets you know she is not happy, most of the time its to let you know she wants food! Bryce is still a very laid back baby and he is becoming our little chunky man, I'm not sure how much he weighs but he is definitely heavier. I probably shouldn't worry because he is gaining weight but Bryce has become difficult to feed, half of his bottle ends up down his chin and on his clothes and he gags like he is choking. I've switched to slow flow nipples to see if that helps. Collin is putting on the pounds too and catching up with the other two. Now that he gets more food per feeding he sleeps better, lets hope things stay that way when he comes home (hopefully FRIDAY)! Basically our kids like to eat! Mommy and Daddy don't get much sleep but love our babies so much. Daddy keeps hoping that the babies will sleep through the night soon but I think we have a while before that happens, I keep reminding him we will get sleep again one day.

Because of Collin's low birth weight all three babies had to have eye exams so Wednesday we took Addison and Bryce to the ophthalmologist at Texas Children's and the doctor went to Collin's bed to examine him. The doctor checked to make sure the veins in their eyes are fully developed and all three passed. They will have to have a follow up appointment in two weeks but if they show signs of growth they will be released from ophthalmology. During our visit to TCH we also realized we are not going to be able to go places with our triplet stroller! We had a double stroller that we pushed around Wednesday and we had so many people commenting "are they twins", "what cute twins", "oh, look at the twins". We finally got to the point we stopped correcting people and telling them they are really triplets. I can only imagine what it will be like when we bring out the "limo" (our triplet stroller).

Together Again!

Thursday we loaded up the crew and made a trip to Houston to see Collin. I have felt really guilty for not going to see him before now but I know he has been in good hands and my focus has been on getting adjusted at home with Addison and Bryce. Collin was excited to see us and this was the first time we were able to lay all three babies next to each other since they were born. Addison and Collin did really well laying next to each other and eventually fell asleep. Bryce on the other hand doesn't really want anything to do with his brother and sister. He didn't fuss or cry but he wiggled and squirmed until we took him away from the other two. Below is a picture of all three together. We have really tried to see if any of them look alike and after putting them next to each other I think they all have their own look.

Bryce, Collin and Addison

Collin update:
He finally gained enough weight to get out of his isolette and is now in an open crib and maintaining his temperature. He took his carseat test yesterday and passed so the only thing he has to do now is take 3 formula feeds a day and do well with that. If all goes well he should be home sometime next week. YEAH!

Mommy, Daddy, Addison, Bryce and Collin