The boys are now adjusted age 1 week.  The "Go home" date has been adjusted to June 24th for Dylan and Hunter.  All three boys are doing very well!

 Dylan

Weight: 3352 grams/ 7.83 lbs.

They want to watch Dylan's growth. He looks great but he is still not finishing bottles and they are watching his growth curve and adjusting this feeds.  Just adding a little extra fat to the milk.  Dylan loves to sleep (like any baby)  and yesterday he started to make little 'cooing' sounds!  The doctor wants to watch his growth over the next few days and send him home early next week.

Hunter

Weight: 2570 grams/ 5.67 lbs.

Hunter had some breathing difficulties last friday.  It was tough because the doctor decided we needed to do a full work up to make sure he did not have an infection. Luckily, he did not have an infection but they had to put him on IV, do a spinal tap, etc.  It maded my heart stop for a moment, reminding me of the tough times we had in April.  He is back to normal and racing to eat his bottles down.  His lungs are still very damaged despite he looks fantastic so we have to be careful not to let him do too much because he then wears himself out and starts retracting his chest really badly when he breaths.   The team wants to watch his breathing and eating and see if he is ready to come home next week as well.

 Matthew

Weight: 2725 grams / 6.0 lbs

Matthew is just beautiful. He seems the more serious of the three boys.  Yesterday, they turned his CPAP down to 6 which if he can handle that means we are one step closer to nasal canula.  Matthew loves to be held (like the other two).... He is smart and its really cute to watch him fight to take off his nasal CPAP when the nurses aren't looking.   Matthew will stay in the hospital.   The cardiologist would like to wait 3-6 months to do heart surgery (if it is needed).  It would be a full open heart surgery so the bigger and stronger he gets the better.  We hope that doesn't mean he has to stay in the NICU that whole time... if he could get on nasal canula he could come home but since the heart and lungs work so closely together it may make it hard for him.  Another cute thing about Matthew is that he is a pro with his pacifier. He loves to suck on his pacifier so it is a good sign that he will take well to bottles!

June 9th, 2008 was our original due date so we are moving to the newborn stage!

Dylan and Hunter are planning to come home on June 18, 2008!  Dylan is breathing room air and he's newborn size.  He's still working on doing all his feeds by bottle.  He can finish some bottles.  We are hoping he will learn to eat 8 times a day by bottle before he comes home. If not, we have been trained on inserting a feeding tube down his nose to his stomach.  NOT FUN! 

Hunter is doing fantastic. He's eating all his bottles so he's not needing a feeding tube. Due to his lung damage, he is coming home on oxygen.  It will take a few months to have his lungs strong and not need a bit of support. He also has 2 hernias which we are going to have to take him back to have surgically fixed.  After the rough surgery he had in April, we decided to wait and have the hernias fixed later when his lungs are stronger.  Luckily, they are low risk and we will just need to monitor them closely to make sure they are not getting compacted.

Matthew is amazing.  Despite his heart issues, he's very stable. He's still on CPAP oxygen but he tolerates it.  He is so happy when he doesn't have the strong force of oxygen blowing up his nose.... but he still needs the support.  The cardiologist are pleased that he is strong and not needing immediate heart surgery.  They would like to hold out for at least 3 months.  We hope that maybe he can wean off of oxygen and come home and then go back for surgery.  His heart might be contributing to his need for oxygen so we will just have to wait and see.  I have loved the NICU team but it will be hard to leave him there... but he's in the best hands and I know I will look back on this time and think it was a short period in the big picture of life.  Matthew is just so sweet and such a fighter! 

Starting Week 12 since birth

Gestational week 37

Guy got sick so we both had to stay away from the boys for a few days this week.  I used the time to catch up on cleaning and doing other errands but we missed the boys so much.  It was amazing that after 3 days away they had grown so much in such a short time!

Hunter

Weight: 1825 grams (4 lbs, 2 oz)

Hunter had two more big milestones.  He’s over 4 pounds and he was moved to a crib on May 22.  He is very social and just like people to talk to him and be with him so he really likes his crib.  The nurse also got him a musical aquarium and he like to listen to it and watch the lights.  He’s doing very well on nasal canula; he has tried just room air but since he is recovering from chronic lung disease he seems to do better with just a little oxygen support.   

Matthew

Weight: 2040 grams (4 pounds, 8oz)

Matthew had two more big milestones.  He’s over 4 pounds and he was moved to a crib on May 23.  Matthew definitely has the most hair of the three.  He is doing well – still on CPAP but they are talking about weaning him off of CPAP next week. 

Dylan

Weight: 2730 grams (6 pounds, 1oz)

Dylan continues to do well.  He’s breathing room air with no support.  He is still showing that he is a preemie because he is not eating from the bottle consistently. 

Starting Week 11 since birth

Gestational week 36

Hunter

Weight: 1665 grams (3.67 pounds)

Hunter had two big milestones this week!  On Thursday, 5/15, he was moved to nasal canula from CPAP.  He is doing fantastic on nasal canula and was even moved down to the lowest support 25cc of oxygen.  Now that he is on nasal canula he can try bottle and breast feeding.  So, on 5/16, he had his first bottle feeding lesson but he showed that no lesson was needed. His first attempt he ate 24 out of his 28 ccs.  He impressed everyone!  Preemies often take a while to figure out how to suck, breath, and swallow but Hunter did it his first attempt!

Matthew

Weight: 1740 grams (3.84 pounds)

Matthew had is ECHO of his heart on Thursday.  It came back showing that the PDA has closed some and is a smaller hole.  The issues are still there of him having a PDA and VSD and a slightly narrow aorta but the good news is they are a little smaller and he isn’t showing that they are bothering him.  Matthew is on low oxygen support (low 20s) on his CPAP but they are taking their time to wean him to nasal canula because they want him to focus on growing  and not stress his heart at all.  The good news is that Matthew is growing well and has now passed Hunter in size!  They need Matthew to grow to at least 2000 grams so they can have a better look at his heart.

Dylan

Weight: 2395 grams (5.28 pounds)

On 5/16/08, Dylan got his big boy toys.  Nurse Katie got him a bouncy seat and a musical mobile for his crib.  Dylan is doing better at his bottle feeding and breast feeding but he’s not taking to it as quickly as Hunter did,  This is normal for preemies but he is getting the hang of it and eating 3ccs to up to 13 ccs of milk via bottle. Dylan thinks sleeping is more fun than eating most of the time. Haha.  We are having so much fun with Dylan in his crib. The crib makes it so easy to hold him and play with him rather than being in an isolette. 

5/12/08, Monday

Starting Week 10 since birth

Gestational week 36

What a great first Mother’s day to have all three boys doing well.  Guy and I spent the day holding the boys and enjoying the fact they are all doing well!  I’m beginning to realize how much these boys look alike even though they are fraternal triplets.  They all are looking like Guy!

Hunter

Weight: 1615 grams (3.56 pounds)

Length:  40.5 cm (15.94 inches)

Hunter is starting off the week great!  His CPAP pressure has been turned down to 5 which is the lowest. He continues to be on 21% oxygen (room air). It’s still just so amazing to see him doing so well in such a short time.  He’s seems to have a strong personality…. He lets you know when he’s not happy which is usually when he’s hungry or when he has a dirty diaper. He loves to be out of his isolette and he really loves when the CPAP comes out of his nose and no one notices so he can just breathe normally without any CPAP pressure.

Matthew

Weight: 1620 grams (3.56 pounds)

Length:  41 cm (16.1 inches)

Matthew continues to do well.  His feed has been increased and he is now about the same weight as Hunter.  Matthew started out the smallest of the three and now he’s catching up.  He’s also breathing low oxygen from 23 – 26% and is on a CPAP pressure of 10.  They are going slow on weaning him on the CPAP and the increase of feeds due to his chronic lung disease (which is greatly improved) and his Heart issues (PDA, VSD).  They plan to do an ECHO of his heart next week and see if the holes have changed or closed on their own.

Dylan

Weight: 2295 (5.059 pounds)

Length: 43.5 cm (17.13 inches)

Today Dylan was moved to a big boy crib out of his enclosed isolette.  He is completely maintaining his own body temperature.  He also has broken the 5 pound mark!  He looks like a full term baby with chubby cheeks.  He is doing great and is in level 2 status (less critical).  He’s now just learning how to eat and then he can come home. 

Week 9 since birth

Gestational week 35

All three boys are just moving forward!  The boys enjoyed a visit from Guy’s brother and Kim’s mother and brother on Monday.  We have been enjoying being able to hold both Hunter and Dylan.  Now, Matthew is ready to be held as well…so we will have our hands full taking turns holding each.  Haha. All three boys resemble their Dad!  I even got pictures of me out from when I was a baby hoping I could see some similarity but no... they all look like Dad!  haha.

Hunter

Hunter’s CPAP pressure was turned down to 8 today from 10.  At 6, they may consider going to the nasal canula. So, Hunter is doing great.  He also loves to be held.  He actually is calm and happy when held and when he’s left alone he gets very upset.  He looks great and is very active.  Everyone is amazed at his recovery. He's definitely a fighter and doesn't give up!  Hunter is now wearing preemie clothes now too.  He's big enough to start regulating his own temperature so he can wear clothes and not have the isolette heater on so high.

Matthew

Matthew decided the doctor’s babysteps were not working for him. At about 2am on 5/7, Matthew extubated himself by pulling the breathing tube out of his throat.   He was on low ventilator support and he apparently decided that he was ready for the CPAP oxygen through the nose.  He’s very active and he would prefer to be on the nasal canula. CPAP is very irritating to babies.  CPAP of 10 is like have your head out the car window going 100 miles an hour … so the force of the oxygen in your nose is quite strong.  I’m sure this will be a good motivation for him to move to nasal canula which is much milder.  Matthew is doing great…. And while he is still the smallest of the three, he’s very strong and has the strongest grip when he holds your finger.  The doctor even said that Matthew isn’t showing that his heart is causing him problems right now.  So, that means there is a small chance that maybe his heart issues will resolve and he may not even need heart surgery.  After watching Hunter struggle through recovery, we are definitely hoping that will be the case. 

Dylan

Dylan is just cruising right along.  He’s probably going to move to a crib from his isolette on Friday, 5/9.  Dylan is so big now… because he’s been healthy the last month, he has really progressing quickly. He’s nearly 5 pounds!  He looks like a newborn now and is got baby fat!  Dylan is now just needing to figure out how to eat and he will be coming home. 

5/2/08, Saturday

End of week 8 since Birth

End of Gestational week 34

We are having so much fun with the boys. All three are stable and making good progress so we are having fun.  Dylan is now almost 5 pounds and Hunter and Matthew are doing well and on the race to catch him.   

Hunter

Weight: 1545 grams (4.6 pounds)

WOW! Hunter had another fantastic week and made an amazing recovery.  I don’t think I can put into words what the last 3 weeks have been like.   It has been quite a roller coaster with the intensity of hard times with tears and worry…..to the joy, the relief, the celebration of survival.  It is hard to believe Hunter was in a life or death situation just two short weeks ago.  Today, 5/3, Hunter was extubated off of the regular ventilator and moved to CPAP where he gets oxygen through his nose.  This is absolutely amazing since his chronic lung disease had caused his lungs to collapse just a short while ago.  We had braced ourselves and even set our expectations that Hunter might be on the ventilator for months…. Not weeks!  We had even thought that best case scenario might be Hunter eventually coming home with a tracheotomy.  BUT….He showed us that with the doctor’s and nurses excellent medical help.. he had other (better) plans.  Hunter is doing great on CPAP and already back to his feisty self where he tries to take it off.  Hunter has also lost all the swelling in his body and is now very active looking around and wiggling.  I can’t tell you how happy we are that Hunter is back!

Matthew

Weight:  1410 grams (3.11 pounds)

Matthew is still stable and showing baby steps of improvement.  This week the doctors were able to wean his ventilator oxygen pressure/support down which is great news!  He is now on 33-34% oxygen.  They are still very cautious with him because of his heart.  Matthew is being fluid restricted because they don’t want to push him to fast.  He hasn’t been gaining weight as fast as his brothers as a result but Matthew has lots of energy and is very active.  He likes to suck on his pacifier and has an amazing grip when he squeezes your finger.  Yesterday, he even picked up his entire head off the bed (he was on his tummy) and turned it to the other side… with his oxygen tube and all!  Not a good trick to play on the nurses but it shows how strong he is getting.  You can’t help but notice this wonderful sweetness to Matthew when you spend time with him. He seems happy and just likes you to sit with him and hold his hand.  It was fun to see his reaction to putting a tiny drop of milk on his pacifier… he first puckered his face to the first sensation and then he decided he liked it and just wanted more! 

Dylan

Weight: 2030 grams (4.48 pounds)

More fantastic news about Dylan.  He is getting so big and we are having so much fun with him!  This was a week of great milestones for him.  He is becoming a ‘big boy’ and was taken off all oxygen support and is breathing just room air on Friday 5/2.  He’s doing very well and is able to maintain his oxygen saturation and only desats when he gets really active which is expected.  Dylan also has been doing bottle feeding lessons once a day and he’s doing well and eating about 5 ccs (a tablespoon) by bottle.  Preemies take a little time to learn to suck, swallow and breath at the same time and get the coordination down.  Dylan also had his isolette heater turned off and is showing us that he can now maintain his own body temperature.  This is very exciting for me because now I can dress him in baby clothes!  Dylan seems to have passed an invisible milestone of preemie to baby… because now he is growing like a weed and just progressing so quickly!    Guy loves to sit with him in his lap and play horse back riding him by holding Dylan’s hands as if Dylan was holding the reins of a horse.  Then Guy makes little horse noises.  Yes, we are starting them young telling them about horses!  Dylan seems to enjoy it…. He opens his eyes big and looks around.  Dylan also is starting to smile which is just beautiful! 

4/26/08, Saturday

End of week 7 since Birth

End of Gestational week 33

This week was Fantastic!  Thursday was the boy’s 7 week milestone since birth.  Our days are filled with hospital phone calls, driving to the hospital, and then spending hours at the hospital.  Guy is trying to work part of the time and still trying to ride the horses occasionally. I’ve recovered from the C Section and feel great.  I’m off of work right now and I’m spending my time at the hospital and going out to the barn with Guy a few times a week. The boys made great progress this week – which is such a relief after the tough week we had last week.

Hunter

Weight: 1820 grams (4 pounds)

After a very tough week last week where his lungs collapsed after his heart surgery, Hunter stabilized and took a turn for the better.  He was moved off the oscillator to the regular ventilator which is what he was on before surgery.  This week he was taken off steroids and the paralyzing drugs and now he’s now moving and opening his eyes.  He’s at 46% oxygen and he’s very consistent with his oxygen saturation which is good.  Now that he’s on the regular ventilator he can move more which will help reduce his swelling from the last week. He opens his eyes occasionally and is gaining strength each day.  It is such a wonderful feeling looking at him and knowing that he fought his way through and he’s alive. Hunter still has very damaged lungs and will have a slow road to recovery due to chronic lung disease but time will heal his lungs and he will be just fine. 

Matthew

Weight:  1365 grams (3 pounds)

Matthew is hanging in there and showing improvement.  He, like Hunter, has Chronic Lung Disease so he has to take baby steps to wean off the ventilator.  On 4/24, the doctors weaned him from 40 to 35 breaths per minute.  So this means that he is taking about ½ of his breaths on his own.  He is very cute and likes to look around. He has nice big eyes and he moves them side to side trying to look at everything.  Matthew’s heart has a PDA, VSD and a potentially narrow aorta but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him too much.  I still hope and pray that his heart will just be fine and he won’t need surgery but the doctors all say he will need surgery but he needs to wait until he’s grown bigger.   On other cute thing to mention is that Matthew learned to suck his thumb this week!  He is finishing his antibiotics this week from his last infection he has been battling. We hope we are done with infections now!

Dylan

Weight: 1820 grams (4 pounds)

Dylan could not be any better.  He is doing fantastic.  He was changed to ‘Level 2’ classification which is not as critical as ‘Level 3’ which he and his brothers have been in.  He’s breathing with a nasal canula and doesn’t need much oxygen support. He just gets a little breeze of oxygen to help him when he gets tired.  He’s so happy on the nasal canula although he’s already figuring out how to get his fingers in there an pull it out.   He is doing so well he is trying a preemie bottle for the first time Friday 4/25.  He still has to learn to suck, breath, and swallow at the same time but he did a great job his first try.  Dad held him for his 2^nd try on 4/26 and Dylan ate 3 cc’s by bottle!  We both held him for about two hours and it was such an awesome feeling to look down at him.  I can’t wait until his brothers are doing better and I can hold them too.