Busy Dad, Busier Mom…

The girls finally came home on Friday!  I have to say, it was an afternoon of mixed emotions.  While Jill and I were ecstatic that Maddy and Keri were coming home, it was tough to leave JD behind.  We joked that he just wanted more time to flirt with the nurses.  After signing a bunch of paperwork and getting a final run-through of care instructions, we were finally on our way home.  As is tradition, the girls’ first stop was the McD’s drive-through for a Diet Coke.  The rest of the afternoon was surreal.  It wasn’t until later in the evening that it hit me………we have triplets……….and they’re really real!  It’s tough to explain, but in the NICU it’s really difficult to grasp the idea of multiples.  Because each baby is in their own isolette, you never really get to see all of them together.  At some point in time on Friday, I wandered over to the crib and saw both of the girls laying there.  I kind of froze for a moment as it sank in that I was truly the proud father of triplets.  While a bit tiring, the rest of the weekend has been wonderful.  The girls are and us are adapting very well to the change in surroundings.  It’s so wonderful to now have all four of my girls here at home.

In other news, JD had his MG tube removed this weekend, is no longer on oxygen, and is now wearing a onesie.  He is also eating very well, taking over 60cc at every feeding.  It is wonderful to see him doing so well again.  Based on what we’ve heard today, I’m thinking he will be home by the end of the week.  I miss you JD………and I’m drastically outnumbered here!  Can’t wait for you to come home!

I apologize that I’ve fallen a bit behind on my updates.  Here goes nothing…

We finally got over our colds and have been visiting the NICU again!  Last Friday the Trips had some out-of-state visitors when my cousin Dawn and her husband Joe (not the Dawn and Joe that just had a baby) came back to MI to visit the family.  My aunt Sharon was also able to come up with them.  It was great that they were all able to stop in for a visit.

The “playoff beard”:  What started as a lack of shaving on my part while I was at the hospital quickly transformed into a fun tribute to the NHL.  Similar to the proverbial playoff beards that are sported by many hockey players during the playoffs, I have decided that I would not shave until all of the Trips were home.  So, I guess I now have a NICU beard.  Who knows, maybe other NICU Dads will follow suit and it will become a new tradition…

Little JD continues to have a little trouble breathing.  It doesn’t appear to be anything serious, but he did have a precautionary echocardiogram today to rule out a few things.  We haven’t received the results yet, but we know that the tests were completed.  Hopefully the fact that the doc did not call means that everything came back normal.  We’ll find out for sure tomorrow when we can talk to the doc.

And the best news of the week…  Keri and Maddy are coming home tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!  Jill and I are so excited and nervous.  It’ll be great to have them home, but it’s also kind of a bummer that JD will still be in the NICU.  Scheduling visits for JD will become a bit more difficult, but hopefully he won’t be too much behind the girls in coming home.  Tomorrow should prove to be the beginning of an exciting weekend…….I better get a bit of sleep tonight while I still can.  Take care everyone, and thank you all for your support and prayers.

Shortly after Lindsay’s ER stint for RSV, both Jill and I started to come down with colds.  So far this darn cold doesn’t want to let up.  I’m hoping that a nice peaceful weekend will help knock it out once and for all so that I can go back up to the NICU.  I haven’t seen my little munchkins since Monday evening……and it’s starting to wear on me.  Yesterday we also heard from the nurses that the triplets were displaying some minor cold symptoms.  Apparently it’s nothing real significant right now, but they are keeping a close eye on it due to our recent colds.  Apparently we’re the first case at the hospital in which the parents of NICU babies have had a child come down with RSV while the babies were still in the NICU.  As such it sounds like they are trying to figure out exactly what policy guidelines to follow for our nursery, which has now been placed in a sort-of lockdown state.  The grandparents are still allowed to visit, but now everyone (including the nurses) has to wear gowns, masks, and gloves when interacting with any of the babies.  So for now we plan to just lay low for a bit and let things settle down.  As painful as it is to not see the Trips, we have to do what’s best for them.   At least Lindsay is feeling much better and being able to watch her cruise around the house is at least some positive news, though Jill and I are now struggling to keep pace with her replenished energy level.  Just need to hang in there for a few more days…

 JD

I apologize that it’s been so long since I provided an update.  It seems that the time has been flying this past week.  The Triplets continue to do very well.  All of them are done with the photo-therapy and now they are wearing little onesies.  They are gradually lowering the temperature of the isolettes to help facilitate self-regulation of the Triplets body temp.  All of them seem to be responding well the adjustment so far.  As of yesterday, Maddy was at 4lb 5oz, Keri was at 4lb 6oz, and JD was at 4lb 9oz.  So, for the most part they are finally all back to their birth weights.  Great job little guy and gals!  

Maddy 

We have also reached another big milestone, in that all 3 are beginning to eat on their own.  They have all made great strides in the suck/swallow/breath reflexes and it appears that they may soon be able to have their feeding tubes removed.  One step closer to coming home!

 Keri

I also want to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone that has helped us over the past few weeks.  It has been a challenge to keep up with all of the hospital visits and whether it was driving us up to the hospital or watching Lindsay, we couldn’t have done it without the help extended to us by family and friends.

Well, I survived my first full day back at work.  I was only able to make it up to the hospital once today, having just returned.  For the remainder of the this week and next week I have adjusted my work schedule to allow for NICU visits over lunch.  I’m happy to be home, but it just seems that my precious little ones are so far away.  It feels a bit strange every time I leave the hospital after a visit, almost as if I’m forgetting something.  But……there’s always the next visit to look forward to.

The best news of the day was that they will allow Jill to visit the NICU with a surgical mask.  Previously they had told us that her cold sore would have to be totally gone before she could visit.  Jill hasn’t seen the Trips since Friday, and having to wait another 3-5 days would have been pretty rough on her.  That info just made my day!

Maddy and JD are now off of the photo-therapy and Keri will likely be done tomorrow.  They all gained weight today, which is the first time that they’ve all gained.  They are now all over 32cc per feeding and today they started to add additional calories to help foster growth.  They also had their first vision test this morning and they all appear to be fine, with another test scheduled 3-4 weeks out.  Tomorrow they have a ultrasounds scheduled to check for any signs of brain trauma.  I know the odds are pretty low (though I’ve discovered that even bad odds are still not certainties) and that the test is standard procedure for preemies, but I think I’ll rest a whole lot easier once the results are back.  My little munchkins are doing so well……..we’ve truly been blessed.  Keep up the good work Maddy, Keri, and JD!