We survived!

Addison and Bryce were finally discharged Friday about 7:00pm and slept the whole way home. Collin cried as we put him back in his isolette, I think he knew we were all leaving him :( When we got home it was time to feed Addison and Bryce, we've feed them before but I guess we were a little nervous without the nurses there with us. It took us sometime to get organized but we did it. Like most new parents we didn't get much sleep Friday night and the babies probably sensed our fears because anytime we put them down they cried. Between every 3 hour feeding we each slept with a baby on our chest and we survived the night. Saturday got a little better, we figured out our routine and discovered the babies love their bouncers. Saturday night also went a little better, both babies slept good in their bassinets and mommy and daddy got a little sleep between feedings. We really miss Collin but are kind of glad we came home with only two babies, they don't out number us yet! Tomorrow we take Addison and Bryce to their first pediatricians visit at 7:30am, wish us luck!
Collin not happy that we are leaving him! Not sure why I'm smiling because I was sad to leave him.

Bryce ready to go home!

Addison ready to go home!

Our first family photo!

Coming Home

Today the fun begins! Addison and Bryce are being discharged and get to come home with Mommy and Daddy after only 19 days in the NICU. As I type I am in the NICU holding little Collin. I've already shed a few tears that I will have to leave him here today. All three are very healthy but Collin is still a little small. He is still in an isolette and as soon as he can gain another 300 grams he should be moved to a crib. The child loves to eat and wants more but the doctors are increasing his bottles slowly. The doctor predicted that he would gain enough this week to be moved to a crib and possibly come home soon after that.

Labor and Delivery

I promised this story a long time ago and am just getting around to posting it. I've had several people ask how the babies could have two different birthdays when we had a c-section and no it was not on purpose. Everything started Tuesday June 2, my doctor came to check me and said I was dilated to 4cm and I could possibly deliver within the day so she advised for me to call my husband. Well by Thursday I still hadn't delivered and my contractions were becoming very painful but still no change in my cervix so they refused to deliver. Friday, Saturday and Sunday they were giving me morphine to help with the contraction pain and probably checked my cervix a total of 6 or more times to see if there was a change but nothing was happening. On Sunday I started to feel like I was running fever I had the nurse take my temp. and I was running a low grade fever, throughout the day it continued to go up even with medication. At 10:45 the nurse took my temp. before I went to bed and it was over 101 she said "I need to call the doctor I don't think she will like this". At 11:00 the nurse was back in my room checking the babies heart rates that were rising and by 11:15 the doctor and resident were in my room saying "it is time to do this now"! By 11:30-11:45 I was in the operating room receiving my wonderful drugs that finally put a smile on my face. A team of over 20-30 doctors, nurses, etc. were assembled and the delivery was underway. The doctor said we may have two birthdays and we thought no way, what are the odds of that happening! Well it did, later we asked the doctor if she did it on purpose and she said no. She said she told herself she would deliver like she normally would and if it happened like that she wouldn't stop it. It never crossed our minds to request that she wait and deliver on the same day, and now we think it is a pretty neat story that Addison has her very own birthday.

Baby updates as of yesterday:
Addison is now in a crib and there is talk of her coming home with Bryce by the end of the week or beginning of next week. Collin had another A&B Monday night so he gets another 5 days plus he is still in his isolette. He has a little more weight to gain and needs to maintain his temperature. Overall everyone is doing good. The nurse told me yesterday she has never seen a set of triplets that have done as good as ours. We have been very lucky and blessed!!!

Happy Belated Father's Day and More

Happy Belated Father's Day to all the Daddy's out there especially the new Daddy in our family! Even though our babies are not home yet Steven has already proved to be a great dad. He loves spending time with the babies and is usually changing diapers, feeding, or just holding one of the babies. When we found out we were having triplets I had to keep telling myself that God would not give us more than we could handle and let me tell you I would not be able to do it without Steven. I'm sure its difficult for two people to manage with one newborn but with three it is definitely a team effort! Addison, Bryce and Collin are in love with their Daddy and so am I, thanks for being a great Dad!

Over the weekend a lot has happened at the hospital. Addison, Bryce and Collin are eating all 8 feedings from a bottle. Addison is still receiving OT services because she holds her breath when she eats. She is getting better and will hopefully grow out of it soon. Bryce was moved to a crib Sunday so he is one step closer to going home. The doctors think he could possibly come home in a week just depending on how the week goes. Steven and I are scheduled to take CPR and the car seat test Thursday and Friday which is necessary before they go home. Collin is growing fast, he is usually the one that gains the most weight but is still catching up to the other two. He is on manually temperature control in his isolette and doing good at maintaining his own temperature. As soon as Addison and Collin can gain enough weight and maintain their temperature they can be moved to a crib and be home shortly after Bryce.

Addison without her feeding tube!


Bryce in his "big boy" crib!


Collin without his feeding tube!

Quick Update

Tuesday Mom and I made a trip to see the babies. I was surprised to see Bryce off the bili lights so I was able to hold him. I took him out of his isolette and had him laying in my lap suddenly I felt something warm on my lap. You guessed it, he was peeing on me :) It wasn't much and I didn't care, I was just glad it wasn't poop! I did put him back in the isolette and let him finish his business then I changed his diaper for the first time. After he slept on my chest for a good hour I woke him up to feed him his bottle. He did pretty good but had a hard time staying awake, we eventually finished the feeding through his tube. Collin was still under the bili lights and kept taking his shades off. I feed him his bottle so he got to take the shades off during his feed but I felt bad when we had to put the shades back on and put him back under the lights. Mom sat with him a lot to keep putting his shades back on when he took them off. Collin did finish all of his bottle during his feed, the little guy needs more food! Maybe that will be increased today. I was also able to feed Addison her bottle with the occupational therapist, they did a few test on her. She did pretty good but had to finish the last few cc's through the feeding tube.

Today I just called to check on them. They all gained weight and Collin is off the lights now. Let's hope that this is the last time for the lights! I can't wait to see the babies tomorrow and hopefully I can talk Steven into going the next four days. I just can't get enough of them!!!

One Week Old

It has been a busy week and everyday we see the babies I think we learn something new about their personalities and the adventures we have to look forward to. Addison is very laid back and getting spoiled already. The other day she threw an unexpected fit and the nurse came and pulled Steven from Bryce to go hold her. As soon as he held her she stopped crying and was happy as can be. Bryce is also very laid back, it cracks me up to watch him stretch because he will stick his legs and arms straight out and just leave them sticking straight in the air. Collin is definitely going to be our funny guy, the nurses always have a story to tell us about him. Friday the nurse said he had a dirty diaper, stuck his hand in his diaper and smeared his belly and probably all of his cords and wires with his own poo, glad we weren't there for that one!!! We decided to stay home Friday to have some time to unpack and get some rest but Saturday and Sunday we made the trip and spent most of the day with them. Sunday was an exciting day all three got to eat from a bottle for one feeding. Addison and Collin's nurse saved that first bottle for Steven and I to do and they did great. All of them finished a whole bottle without any problems so today they were bumped up to two bottles a day. The other six feedings are still done by the feeding tube. Sunday I also changed Addison's diaper for the first time but luckily it wasn't a messy diaper, I'm sure we will see plenty of those in the near future. When I called to check on them today Collin and Bryce had elevated bili levels and are being put back under the bili lights this afternoon. We still have a long check list of things to do before the babies get to come home so it maybe a couple of weeks before they are discharged. Steven and I both admitted to each other yesterday that we just wanted to sneak them out so hopefully they will continue to do well.

I'm home and the sobbing wasn't too bad!

Yesterday morning the doctor gave the okay for me to go home, it didn't take Steven long to have everything packed and ready to go. I think he was more excited to get out of there than I was. He stayed with me for a week and a half and started to go crazy about 3 days of being "trapped" there! He did make me feel better by giving me credit for "living" there for 2 months, he said he didn't know how I did it. The sweetest part of his "I love you" spill was "I'm sorry I when I didn't answer your phone calls", that little comment meant a lot.

Well back to leaving, after we got packed we went to the NICU to see the babies. Steven's aunt Dorothy came to visit so she made the trip to the NICU with us. Addison and Collin are still on the bili lights and Bryce came off the lights while we were there. We both held Bryce and got him to open his eyes for us. After holding him a while Steven thought we should put him back in his isolette. As we went to put him back he made the biggest chooing sound. Steven and I both stopped and enjoyed his "talking", it was so sweet and made it a little harder to leave. I teared up a couple of times saying bye to the babies but I know they are in the best of care. After visiting the babies we headed back to my room for the discharge paperwork. When my nurse came in with the paperwork all of the nurses had to come in and say their goodbyes and of course I cried again. You know you have been some place too long when the cleaning lady and the security guard all come to tell you goodbye too
I told Steven I was "trapped" there for so long and now I had the best of both worlds. I had my freedom, the nurses taking care of me, and I have my babies that I could go see at any time, now I didn't want to leave :( When we finally left I did pretty good until we drove past Texas Children's Hospital and I made the mistake of looking back. It only took a couple of miles for me to settle down. Trying to think of where I wanted to eat and the scenery helped distract me. I think I got teary eyed a couple of times on the way home but overall I think I did pretty good. !


We came home to "Welcome Home" signs in our front yard from our nieces and nephews, that was so sweet of them. I quickly realized I would have to readjust to somethings, the funniest was sitting on the toilet, I felt like I was going to fall on the floor. I guess I got used to the handicap toilets at the hospital. I hope that made everyone laugh and not think I'm crazy! The best part of the night was actually laying in my own bed with my husband. My thoughts quickly went to "who's going to make my bed in the morning?". I became so used to the nurses doing those "little" things for me that I guess I got spoiled. Steven quickly reminded me that we can make our own bed if we don't have residents waking us up at 5am, he's probably right!

Mommy & Daddy with Collin on bili lights

Daddy and Bryce

Addison on bili lights