Busy Dad, Busier Mom...

The Busy M.O.M.

jnsella — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:01:54 +0000

The busy dad thinks that the busy mom will be able to help keep this up to date. I will give it the old college try. The kids are getting so big and rolling around a lot now. Lindsay is growing by leaps and bounds these days. She is starting to put together sentences and says so many words now. She can count to 14 (she skips 5 every time though!) Where does the time go? The kids are eating all fruits and vegges now, soon on to Stage 2 foods. I will try to get an update out here at least once a week… but I make no promises.

Now Featuring…

mdsella — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:34:54 +0000

In an effort to keep everyone up to date (and actually update this site), The Busy Dad has recruited The Busy Mom. Hopefully now that the two of us are teamed up, we’ll be able to keep things rolling. The past few months have been absolutely crazy! It seems like each day ends before it even starts. Things are beginning to settle down a little bit and hopefully we’ll have some pics and updates out here shortly.

An Update Long Overdue

mdsella — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:29:30 +0000

Sorry it has been so long since I last updated the blog. The kids have been keeping us pretty busy the past couple months. The triplets had their 4-month check-up last week and everything is going great. Keri is now 13 lb – 3 oz, JD is 13 lb even, and little Maddy is 12 lb – 10 oz. Man are they ever growing up fast! All three are beginning to smile a lot and we started to get a few little laughs over the past few weeks. It is so fun to watch them as they begin to interact with us and their surroundings. Since JD’s trip to the hospital, all of the kids have been pretty healthy. Last week all of the kids got a little cold, but nothing much more than the sniffles. We’ve been counting our blessings every night that things have been going so well.

Over the past months Jill and I have pretty much become self-sufficient. We still welcome our help when available, but it is really nice to know that we can go it on our own without a problem. Somehow Jill even manages to take the Trips to daycare on her own (she has figured out how to carry 3 car seats…). The last couple weeks, the girls have slept through the night pretty consistently and JD has been getting up only once. That alone has done wonders to keep us rested. All in all things have been going pretty well.

It’s been a challenge keeping pace with Lindsay lately. That little bugger has a seemingly endless supply of energy. Some days I feel that I am just stretched too thin to give her all of the attention that she deserves. We’ve been making it a point to at least take her out with just Jill and I on the weekends and that has been wonderful.

Well……off to bed for some much needed rest. I hope to keep the blog updated weekly now that we’re getting settled into a routine. Thanks for reading!

Thank You Abbott and Similac!

mdsella — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:06:30 +0000

My family and I would like to extend our thanks to Abbott, the makers of Similac brand products. Upon discharge, we enrolled in the Similac multiples program in which Abbott sends some of their product to assist the families of multiple births. This week we were delighted to receive the first shipment of Similac Neosure. With three babies that are quickly gaining a healthy appetite, this generous offer is greatly appreciated.

Once again……My family thanks you, Abbott!

A Long Week

mdsella — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:09:29 +0000

Last Monday started out nicely. I ran a few errands in the morning, dropped by the Schmuck Grandparents for a quick visit and then back home to watch the Trips for the afternoon with Sherri (the former owner of our house). The afternoon was going very well until about 3:00, when JD had some trouble breathing during his feeding. He turned very pale and his lips started to turn a slight shade of blue. After rubbing his chest and back for what seemed like forever (but likely only 10-15 seconds), he soon recovered from his little episode. At this point I was just a bit shaken up… Although he seemed ok for the most part, it seemed that his breathing was a bit labored and JD wasn’t really himself. Before long, Jill, JD, and myself were off to see his pediatrician. Luckily Sherri and my mother-in-law were available to watch the girls. After a quick visit at the doctor’s office, JD was admitted to the hospital for observation. After getting situated at the hospital, I caught a ride back home from Jill’s aunt to pick up my Jeep and pack some clothes and gear for an overnight hospital stay. That stay stretched into 72 straight hours for me at the hospital and an eventual discharge for JD on Friday afternoon. We’re still not completely sure as to the root cause of his problems, but it appears that he has a moderate case of reflux that was aggravated by a bad cold. The combination of the reflux and subsequent pain, the congestion, and the fatigue associated with both all seemed to contribute to his apnea episodes. On top of that, he dropped from 8lb-1oz to 7lb-9oz the first three days……not good. Because of the reflux we had to change his feedings to every 2 hours with a smaller quantity, after which we were supposed to keep him upright for 30 minutes afterward. It seemed like once we got him situated after the feedings, it was almost time to feed him again. Thankfully we only had to fight through this routine for about 4 days, before he began to return to his normal self. He’ll be on an apnea monitor for about a month and is currently taking Zantac, Reglan, and caffeine, but all in all he’s doing much better.

The girls are still doing great. After getting a bit more educated on the symptoms of reflux, we decided to cut the girls’ feedings down by an ounce as well. So far, it appears that they are not very fond of this change. I’m hoping that they will adjust soon. All three kids have been more alert this past week, absorbing their surroundings for a while after every feeding. They all seem to be developing good neck support and have done well on the boppy, so we’re planning on starting some tummy time with them this week to see how they do. Keep up the good work kiddos!

Happy 0th Birthday!

mdsella — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 13:05:09 +0000

Happy Birthday Kiddos!!

Today, Maddy, Keri, and JD are officially “zero”…….according to their adjusted age anyway. Today would have been their official term due date. In reality, the Trips are now just shy of two months old and the time has just been flying by. Jill is baking the kids a birthday cake this afternoon and we plan to throw a mini party to celebrate this funny little milestone.

Our family has finally managed to ditch all of these bugs and things are starting to roll smoothly again. The kids are up to 3-4 oz feedings and are typically making it to 4 hours between feedings. They are doing so well at this point that they don’t even seem like preemies any more. We have been so very blessed that things have gone so well for the kids.

I would also like to extend a huge “THANK YOU!” to all of our family and friends for all of the help and continued prayers for our family. Caring for Triplets and a 15-month old would be quite an adventure (to say the least) without the wonderful support that we have been blessed with.

Quick Pic

mdsella — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:19:08 +0000

As promised, here’s a quick photo of our triplets. From left to right: JD, Keri, and Maddy.

AWOL…

mdsella — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:55:02 +0000

I’ve been off the grid for a bit too long…. I’ve been getting a few questions about the Triplets lately and realized that I hadn’t even written a post about the big news from last week. Talk about a bad blogger Dad.

Last week on Wednesday, we brought little JD home! He seemed a bit disappointed that he would no longer be able to flirt with the nurses, but I think he’ll get over it. Finally……..the whole family is under one roof! After a rocky start to the weekend with both Jill and Lindsay coming down with the flu, we are finally getting things back on track. All three kids passed their follow-up check-ups with flying colors last week, which is also great news. At the appointments, they were all well on their way to 7 lbs and the doc estimated that at the rate they were going, that they may creep into the normal growth metrics for term babies by the 4 month mark. It’s pretty cool that each baby has two plot points on the growth curves, one for real age and one for their adjusted age. Technically, the Trips aren’t even age zero (adjusted) yet, so their first plot points for adjusted age are currently off the left edge of the chart. As they grow, the points will eventually merge into a single set, indicating an informal exit from preemie status from the growth perspective. Keep up the good work kiddos!

Somehow I haven’t managed to get a picture of all three kids together yet, but that is on my agenda for this weekend. Once I get a good pic, I’ll get another post out. Today I at least wanted to give everyone a quick update and hopefully I’ll keep things a bit more up to date.

Welcome Home Girls!

mdsella — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:04:32 +0000

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!

Updates…

mdsella — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:41:19 +0000

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.