This week we have our 18month checkups! 

Dylan

Height:  32 1/4 in  50-75% percentile

Weight:  21 lb 8 oz  3 % percentile

Head:  48  50-75 percentile

Matthew

Height:  32 in  25-50% percentile

Weight: 20lb 2 oz <3% percentile

Head:  46.5 25-50 % percentile

Hunter

Height:  31.75 in  25-50% percentile

Weight: 22lb   3-10% percentile

Head:  47 25% percentile

This week we have our 18month checkups! 

Dylan

Height:  32 1/4 in  50-75% percentile

Weight:  21 lb 8 oz  3 % percentile

Head:  48  50-75 percentile

Matthew

Height:  32 in  25-50% percentile

Weight: 20lb 2 oz <3% percentile

Head:  46.5 25-50 % percentile

Hunter: TBD appt on Friday

The boys are 18 months now on September 6th.

They are all walking and evening almost running.  They are doing well at communicating and have caught up on most areas to kids their age despite being born 3 months premature. Way to go Hodgson Triplets!  We have a great team with of course me and Guy who love, love, love having triplets.   Then there are the wonderful grandparents on both sides of our families.  Uncle Kevin (My brother) has been such a big help from day one of bringing them home and Guy's brothers have been able to come over and spend time with the boys.  We also have Bekah, who is the boy's nanny during the day while we are at work.  She is a wonderful young woman who is like part of our family now.  We also have had huge help from the ECI program that provides in therapy to help the boys catch up with other kids their age and it has worked incredibly as you can see from the pictures!  We are also so thankful for all the love and support of our friends and even our coworkers that have been so helpful and understanding through out this roller coaster of premature babies.

One year ago today Matthew had his open heart surgery that lasted about 6 or 7 hours. He was 6 months old then and still only weighed about 8 or 9 pounds.  It's hard to believe.... He did great after surgery but he was very confined for about two months not able to learn to roll over and move too much.  Now.... just look at him.  He's walking and doing everything his brothers are doing.  We are so blessed and fortunate.  All three boys are doing just fantastic and have such amazing personalities.  One funny thing about them... they love watching American Idol the Finale from May 2009... they will drop all toys and watch it and dance to Jason Mraz and Queen's "We are the Champions"  

• Hunter: Often the leader of the pack but he is very cautious in new surroundings and with new people.  He likes to roar like a lion.  He's been the first to say words... he loves to say 'Baby'.  Hunter is cuddly.  He also hates walking in the grass.  He loves getting a piggy back ride.  Hunter doing great at eating solids but he also is great at wearing solids especially in his hair.  He has the best laugh... one of those deep belly laughs.  When it's time for bed and he's tired.. he comes to you and puts his head on your shoulder.. just so sweet and lovable.   Hunter loves to eat spinach nuggets. 
• Matthew:  The comeback kid. After being quite far behind developmentally due to his heart surgery and lung damage... he's caught up and doing fantastic.  Matthew is similar to Hunter in that they are a little shy around new people. Some people Matthew just doesn't like but when he likes you... he rewards you with a smile that just warms your heart.  He's eyes sparkle when he smiles.  He loves both his grandmothers...he's a grandmother's boy no doubt.  Matthew loves books and will go off and read and just flip pages looking at pictures.  He loves pictures of ducks and even makes a sound like a duck.  Matthew is a very good eater... but hasn't put on weight very quickly due to his lungs still healing.  He is the neatest eater, he sits nicely and then opens his mouth like a patient baby bird taking his food.  Matthew like his brothers loves music.
  
• Dylan:  Dylan is the bold one... not shy... just plows through the grass, first to take control of the water hose and spray everyone down.  He also is a climber.  You must keep your eye on this one. He has already learned to push his red car next to the Pack n Play and he climbs on top of the car and then into the Pack N Play.  He also will climb on to the chair and then on to the table.  He plays peek a boo himself and covers his head with a blanket and walks around and then yanks it off laughing.  Lately he has been the dominant one ... especially when it comes to toys.  He definitely has a temper if someone takes his toys away. Dylan loves to take his clothes off and run away from you laughing.  Dylan is improving at his eating... he has been the first to eat solids but he's a picky eater.  He loves yogurt and frozen pees.  
  

The boys are almost a year and a half old!  Amazing. We just had our developmental review with ECI and we remembered back to last year at this time... feeding tubes, throw ups, heart surgeries... the boys seemed so far behind at that point.  They are now even ahead of their age in some areas!  

They boys are all walking... and they love going on horsey rides on mommy's back.  

Here are their measurements at the end of July: 

Matthew

29 3/4 inches 

18 lbs 11 oz

Hunter

30 1/2 inches 

20 lbs

Dylan

31 1/2 inches

20 lbs 7 oz

Thank you to everyone for your love and support, we are so very lucky to have three healthy boys! 

March 6th 2009 ... It's amazing to believe the boys were born a year ago today. They were actually born at about 2am.  What a journey it has been this year.  It was not easy watching each of the boys have a life threatening situation... Dylan the first week he was born with his lungs, Hunter when he was a month old and his lungs collapsed after PDA Heart surgery, and then Matthew having open heart surgery at 7 months old.  BUT... what a Celebration we can have now!  

The boys are growing and developing well:

Dylan

• 17 lb 1oz
  
• Height: 28.5 inches

Hunter

• 17 lb
  
• Height: 28 inches

Matthew

• 15 lb 1oz
  
• Height: 26.5 inches

Hunter and Dylan are crawling and pulling to standup.  Matthew is sitting up now and on the verge of crawling. He can stand if you help him up and he loves it. He only wants to stand.  They are saying mamamamama and dadadadad... as well as many other sounds.  They are wonderful happy babies.... and I think the best sound of all is their laughter.  

Thanks everyone for caring about these boys!  I can't wait for you to meet them in person!  We still have to be careful with them.  After flu season we'll have more outings and visitors but we still can't have anyone sick around them.  Their lungs won't be full strength until age 2.  Think of their lungs as trees that have not grown all the leaves on them yet.  So, they will get there!  

Love,

Kim & Guy 

The boys enter 2009 in excellent shape.  On Jan 2 they had their pediatrician appointment:

Matthew 

• Height: 26 in
  
• Weight: 13 lb 2oz
  
• Head: 17 1/4 in
  

Hunter

• Height: 26 in
  
• Weight: 15 lb 4 oz
  
• Head: 17 1/4 in
  

Dylan

• Height: 27 1/2 in
  
• Weight: 15 lb 2 oz
  
• Head: 17 1/2 in
  

If you notice, Hunter and Matthew have the exact same measurements but Hunter has passed his two brothers in weight.  Dylan while he gained less than a pound this past month, he's length and head are actually in the 50%percentile of all babies his birth age (10 month olds)  Isn't that amazing.  Matthew and Hunter are both doing well. Matthew is putting on weight but still not as fast as we would like.  Feeding with Triplets tends to be tricky.  Matthew and Dylan tend to like to eat smaller bottles.  We've even been feeding Matthew every 2 hours during the daytime to help him put on more weight.  

But they are all three doing fantastic... they are catching up developmentally and size wise.  

Hunter can actually stand now as long as he has something to hold on to. He plays in the jumper toy and I swear he is going to take flight one day he bounces so hard!  Hunter likes the exersaucer which we have nicknamed "the command center."  Matthew likes both toys so we bought another exersaucer so we can line them up in their toys.  They are not crawling fully but they can scoot themselves a good 5 feet if you blink.  

Matthew is doing well... He is not needing oxygen we still have it just in case. His oxygen levels still desaturate at times at night when he is sleeping very deep... which is normal and he then bounces back.  As he grows, his lungs will get stronger and stronger and will fully be repaired when he is probably 1.5 -2 years old.  The amazing thing is that lungs heal themselves at this young age.  

The boys look to 2009 with great enthusiasm. We don't let a day go by where we don't stop and remember the scary months in the NICU and we thank God that these boys made it through.  They are so much fun and it is the best present just to hear them laugh and see them smile.  

It's hard to believe they are now almost 10 months old (7 months adjusted).  We look forward to flu season being over in March.  At that point they will be one year old and won't be at risk for RSV.  We will have to plan a big 1st birthday celebration.  It is a huge milestone for preemies when they hit the 1 year mark!  I know many of their NICU nurses want to come to their 1st birthday.... they will be amazed at how big they are after they held them when they were so tiny they could fit in one hand.  haha

We wish everyone a happy and successful 2009.  

We wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We have so much to be thankful for.  I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed everyones comments in the Guest book.  I'll be able to print the comments out and put in the boys baby books.  It has meant so much to Guy and I that we have such wonderful family and friends out there cheering these 3 boys on.   It's such a warm and happy feeling as we approach the boys first Christmas.  We have the tree up and the boys just love to touch the branches and look at the lights.  

The boys are now 9 months old (6 months adjusted).  

We are enjoying this special time with them and everyday they fill our lives with smiles and laughter... and the occassional scream.  We had our pediatrician checkup and they got good school reports

It's not fair to evaluate the boys as a 9month old but even doing so (see percentiles below) they are doing actually well. They are small for 9months but Dylan is now making ground and doing well on the growth chart. Hunter and Matthew are just at the lowest part of the growth curve but it's just amazing that they are catching up with their actual age group.  They have come a long long way from the 2 pounders they were.

Dylan

Height: 26 1/8 inches (10-25%tile)

Head: 44 1/8 cm (10-25%tile)

Weight: 14 lb 4 oz (lower 3%tile)

Hunter

Height: 26 inches (3%tile)

Head: 42 (3%tile)

Weight: 13 lb, 13 oz (3%tile)

Matthew

Height: 25 5/8 inches (3%tile)

Head: 43cm (5%tile)

Weight: 12 lb 1 oz (3%tile)

I wish we didn't have to be so careful about getting these boys sick. They are just so cute and I know there are so many people that would love to play with them.  Just to put it in perspective, Matthew is doing very very well. He is pretty much doing fine without any oxygen support... but this week he's been struggling a little.  He's still so skinny so we are trying to really get him to eat more and it requires him to need a little oxygen when he sleeps.  So, he's doing well but his lungs just don't have a lot of reserve.  He just needs to grow now and in a few months his lungs will be so much stronger.  He had his Cardiology follow up a few weeks ago. His heart looks perfectly normal!  They even said his lungs were showing improvements (which we knew because he is able to go during the day without oxygen) But it was great to get the tests done and Dr. Ing gave his stamp of approval.  

Dylan is still the social butterfly. he would rather talk than eat.  He just loves to be with his brothers.  You can sit Hunter on top of him and he thinks it's the best... even if he is being squashed.  Dylan is eating cereal and some veggies now.  All three are eating cereal.  Dylan also just loves to laugh.  You can tell a joke and it is as if he understands and he busts out laughing.  It's adorable.  I keep saying to him, like a mobster... "Forget-about-it"  Thanks to my friend Elana who told me her son came home from playschool saying that.  I was telling Guy the story and Dylan just burst out laughing.  Dylan is also the loudest.  He's a happy baby but when he screams... he really screams.  Dylan will have brown eyes (like me) and it looks like he will have brown hair. Dylan is rolling over and so very close to sitting up.  He would much rather sit up than lie down 

Hunter can only be described as "The wild man"  He is a character.  He adores his Dad and has this mischievous grin.  He eats the most of the three... he is eating over 1000 ml per day.  He is the least patient of the lot... when he gets tired of a toy or hungry - he expects results.  While Matthew as born with the most hair... Hunter now holds the record for the most hair.  It's hard to tell what color it will be.  His eyes look blue or green and his hair looks brown or maybe even blonde.  He is rolling over in lightening speed and while he isnot crawling yet... he can roll to get himself places or get to a toy he has his eye on.  

Matthew is very friendly and sweet.  He's catching up with his brothers.  He's starting to eat better and better.  He actually has eaten more than Dylan the past two days.  haha.  We do our best to feed him every 2 hours during the day just so he gets more food in him.  The more he grows the more his lungs will heal.  He is doing great and also rolling over. His head control is good and he's getting stronger and stronger. He loves to cuddle and be held.  He also has both his grandmothers love of music.  He is so happy when we turn on music.  He is a very observant little boy.  He doesn't just play and bang on his toys.  He looks intently and studies the different parts of the toys.  I always say he has the face of an angel.  There is just something about him that is just so angelic... or maybe it is just knowing all that he has been through with this heart surgery.  

This boys are little miracles and we are having so much fun watching them grow.   

As for Guy and myself - we are doing great.  Some days we get tired but we always remind ourselves that it is better than the alternative.  We love having three boys and we are so glad they made it through the rollercoaster ride the first few months of their lives.  We are blessed.  

It's my 36th birthday today.  What a present to have 3 healthy boys and such wonderful friends and family.  I am very blessed.

The boys are doing fantastic.  Hunter eats the most 950ml /day as if he is challenging Dylan who is still the biggest of the three.  They all three have such fun personalities.  Hunter is seeming to be the type A personality.  He has this deep belly laugh that is just priceless. Dylan is the most social and just wants to be with people. He has an easy smile and laugh.  Matthew is sometimes serious and very observant.  He is also very very happy and smiles alot. 

Milestones for this week:

Matthew: We had been a little worried because the last two weeks he had gained very little weight (1oz per week).  He has been off the feeding tube but he just didn't eat as much volume as we wanted him to (600 / day)  This week it's like he came to the party to play.  He is eating 750ml /day and he gained 5 oz!  He is also talking alot more - his vocal chords are still healing from the months of being on the ventilator so it's good to see him starting to make lots of different sounds.  

Hunter:  He can sit up almost on his own... in the what I call the frog position where he leans forward and holds his feet.  He now wants to be upright all the time as if he realized there is so much more to see in the world from higher up. haha.  He's the super star of eating - you offer him a bottle and even if he is not hungry he sees it as a challenge that he must meet. 

Dylan:  He still has the most adorable grin that just melts hour heart.  He can be a bit loud when he is tired and he is the only one of the three that likes having a pacifier.  He and Hunter both love being in the new toy where they sit and use their legs to bounce up and down on the floor.  Dylan also loves to be lifted high above your head and fly him around.  He is doing the best at eating cereal and in the next 2 weeks will probably get to start veggies!