June 30, 2009 - 4 Days Old

The Peacock Trio are 4 days old today!! It has almost been a week since my babies made their surprise grand entrance into this world. Today has been one of the best days since I have been in the hospital (2nd to the day that the babies were born). A lot of GREAT things happened today.

Jason and I were able to hold and feed two of the babies two times today. Our first feeding was at 11am. I fed Cooper and Jason fed Landon. They were both able to drink from a bottle today. Yesterday Landon had a feeding tube put in because his breathing was to rapid for him to drink from a bottle, but today he made a huge improvement. Landon and Cooper both went from 9 ml. to 19 ml. of formula in one feeding. Landon is pretty slow when it comes to eating, but we are just happy that he is actually eating from a bottle and not having to be fed through a feeding tube. It took him 15 minutes, BUT he ate from a bottle and finished it ALL. Cooper was not able to be removed from his isolette because his temperature was to low, but I was still able to feed him. He finished his bottle in 5 minutes. This little guy has NO problem at all when it comes to eating. He LOVES his bottles and he does not waste anytime drinking them up. We were not able to feed or hold Aiden this time because his temperature was to low and we could not removed him from his Radiant warmer. Aiden DID take 5 ml. through his feeding tube which is a HUGE improvement for him. Also, Aiden went from having to be on 100% Oxygen to only 60%. We are SO happy to see that he is slowly making improvement when it comes to breathing.

Right after the first feeding, I had three WONDERFUL visiters. I was SO happy to be visited by someone other than family members and my nurses. Don't get me wrong, family is great and the nurses here are THE BEST, but is sure was nice to see familiar faces and talk to great friends. Thank you Chris, Gabi and Michelle! It meant a lot to me that you guys came to visit and brought beautiful flowers. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!

At 8 pm, we got to feed Landon and Cooper again. This time we were albe to hold all three babies. Aiden's temperature was normal so we were able to remove him from his radiant warmer and spend some extra time with him. We love and cherish the time we get with Aiden, because we are not able to hold him much due to his circumstances. He LOVES it when we are albe to hold him and is such a cuddle bug. Hopefully he will be able to be moved to an isolette soon so that we can at least hold him more often.

Below are a few pictures from today. There are LOTS of picture of the PROUD daddy and his three baby boys.

Daddy and Aiden

Aiden

Aiden

Aiden

Daddy and Landon

Landon

A very tired Daddy and Landon

Daddy and Landon Again......

And Again.

Landon

Mommy feeding Cooper for the first time

Daddy and Cooper

Daddy changing Coopers diaper for the first time.

Cooper

Cooper

Daddy and Cooper

Babies 3 Days Old

Daddy holding Cooper for the first time.

The first time Mommy held Cooper.

The first time Mommy held Landon.

Sweet Baby Aiden

Aiden

June 27, 2009

Well, they are finally here!!!

So, about 1 a.m. Saturday morning I stated having contractions that were about 2 min apart. They once again gave me a pill to try to stop the contractions which did not really work. At 3:15am I was moved to labor and delivery where I received more medication to stop the contractions. After 4 and a half hours of trying to stop the contractions, I got a really high fever, my blood pressure went WAY up (195 over 120) and Landon's (Baby B) heart rate dropped. So my nurse Ashley called Dr. Reiter and the next thing I know I am being sent to the OR for a C section. It was really crazy how everything went by so fast. I ended up in recovery for six hours because my fever and blood pressure would not go down, not to mention I lost a lot of blood during delivery.

All three babies were breathing on their own when they were fist born. They are all in Level II NICU. About 2 hours after Aiden was delivered he started having trouble breathing so they have him under an oxygen hood. There is a chance that Aiden will have to go to level III NICU if he continues having trouble to breathe. It breaks my heart watching as he struggles to breathe, but he is a little fighter and I know that he will be ok. Cooper and Landon are very healthy babies. Landon is known as the little trouble maker in the NICU. The Nurse says he throws fits when he is not getting all of the attention. Cooper is the calm one. As long as he has his pacifier he is one happy baby. I will try to post more pictures.


COOPER 4 lbs. 9 oz. 17 and a half inches









LANDON 4 lbs. 1 oz. 17 inches













AIDEN 4 lbs. 4 oz. seventeen inches



Mommy, Aiden and Dadddy
Daddy and Aiden

Day 2 in the Hospital and Happy Birthday to Jason

I first want to start out by wishing Jason a VERY happy birthday. He has been so great throughout this entire pregnancy. He has taken such good care of me and the babies and I could not ask for a better husband. The babies will be so lucky to have such a sweet and caring daddy.

All was going SO good until about 9pm last night. I started having contractions that were 2 to 3 minutes apart. The nurse gave me a pill called Ventolin which actually completely stopped the contractions. The medication has a lot of side effects. It increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure, causes nausea and dizziness. SO needless to say, I only slept for a hour and a half last night. I have had a few contractions today, but nothing to be worried about.

Today a Neonatologist came to my room to talk to me. He told me a lot of GREAT information about what to expect when babies are born premature. He said that they will not be going home until they are 36 to 37 weeks gestational no matter how big they are when they are born. He said that a baby born at 34 weeks is developmentally NOT ready to go home and need some time to develop more in the NICU. At 34 weeks a babies brain is not developed enough to remind them to breath when they are asleep. Also, their cheak muscles are not developed and causes them to have problems sucking which in turn causes feeding problems. Also they have not learned how to breath and eat at the same time. I was told by the Neo doctor that these are all just developmental issues and that as they have time to grow in the NICU with proper care that by 36 to 37 weeks all of the babies will be ready to go home with us. It made me feel SO much better to learn all of this information so that we will know what lies ahead once the boys are born. He also said that there is a chance that may not have any of these problems and they may be perfectally fine, but again they will NOT go home until they are at least 36 week gestational. I just had to share this information with you because it was really interesting to hear the dr tell me all of this stuff.

I have never been surrounded by such nice people in a hospital. ALL of the nurses that I have had so far are AWESOME!! I am so happy that I chose to have my babies at The Woman's Hospital of Texas. I know that my babies and myself will be very well taken care of.

32 weeks and 5 days

I had a doctors appointment this morning and so far the babies are doing GREAT! Aiden (Baby A) is 3lbs 9oz, Landon (Baby B) is 3lbs 11oz and Cooper (Baby C) is 4lbs 4 oz. Dr. Reiter was VERY happy with their weight. He said that he thinks that they will be here in the next 7 to 10 days if not sooner. They all had very strong heart beats and great movement. My feet are a bit more swollen then they were last week, but I had no trace of protein and my BP was 122 / 65. Higher than last week but still good.

He decided to admit me into the hospital (Texas Woman's) so that they could monitor the babies more closely. Also, if I start having contractions they can give me a shot called Ventolin right away to slow them down and hopefully stop them. I will be monitored two times a day for contractions and they will also monitor the babies heartbeats two times a day and make sure they are all good and not in distress. Especially the identical twins since they share the same sack and do not have much more room to grow.

I have had some contractions since being admitted this morning but nothing to worry about. They already gave me a steroid shot to help speed up the development of the babies lungs and I will have another shot tomorrow. I have only been here for 4 hours and I already want to go home. I know that I am very lucky to have made it this far. I know that most women who are expecting triplets are usually on hospital bed rest way before 32 weeks so I guess I should not complain too much.

I want to thank all of you for your calls, emails, texts, prayers and thoughts for us. The support had been amazing!!!

32 Weeks...... Another Milestone Down And One More To Go

We are getting very excited to meet our three little baby boys!! It has been a very long road to get them here safe and healthy and I know it will be well worth it. I am 32 weeks today so that means only 14 more days if all goes as planned.

My next doctors appointment has been changed to Tuesday, June 23rd at 9:20 am. One day earlier than expected.

Another Successful Week!!! 31 weeks and 5 days

Today was my regular weekly doctors appointment. I am 31 weeks and 5 days pregnant!! We have almost made it to 32 weeks which is a HUGE milestone. We had another ultrasound and the babies are getting bigger and they all look healthy. Dr. Reiter was very impressed with the progress that me and that babies have made. He has been telling me for the past 3 weeks that I would be in the hospital on bed rest by June 19th. Well, he decided to let me go another week at home since the babies and myself are doing so well. When I was 12 weeks pregnant my Dr suggested that I get a cerclage which is a stitch used to keep the cervix closed. He said today that having the cerclage is probably the main reason that I have made it this far.

Dr. Reiter was concerned about the swelling in my feet and hands. I gained 7 pounds so that should tell you how swollen my feet and hands are. He did a urine test to check for signs of protein. I gained 7 pounds so that should tell you how swollen my feet are. The test came back showing no sign of protein and my blood pressure was low but good. It was 90/64 which is the lowest it has been since I have been pregnant. He said that the swelling was normal and would probably only get worse until I have the babies. Although it is getting really hard for me to get around because of the swelling in my feet and the horrible pains in my knees he said that I would be more comfortable at home.

He did not measure the babies today since he did a measurement last week. But he said over the next few weeks they should really start to grow. He really wants me to make it to 34 weeks so that at least maybe one if not all of the babies will be able to come home with us. If they are born to early they will have to stay in the NICU for several weeks. Although I am not getting my hopes up on bringing any of the babies home even if I have them at 34 weeks. I know from reading other triplet stories that babies born at 34 weeks usually have to spend a short time in the NICU.

We are getting really excited knowing that within the next two weeks we could be parents of three baby boys. If all goes as planned our babies will be born July 3rd.

Better late than never

I guess I should have started this months ago, but I guess it is better late than never. I follow two blogs of two other families who have just given birth to triplets and I think its a great way of communication. Since I will not have time to make all the phone calls and answer emails, I figured I could keep everyone updated on this blog.

As you may know, Jason and I are expecting triplets within the next few weeks. We are having three boys!!! Two identical and one fraternal. We have decided on the names Aiden and Landon for the identical twins and Cooper for the fraternal. We are both super excited and scared at the same time. When you find out you are pregnant you would never dream that they would tell you weeks later that you are having triplets. We have everything ready and now we are just waiting for them to get here.

I have been on bed rest at home for almost 12 weeks now. I am so lucky that I have not had to be on hospital bed rest so far, but I know it is coming really soon. Dr. Reiter has taken really good care of me and the babies so far. He said that he would probably put me in the hospital by June 19th. So, if he does, that only gives me 5 more days a home. I am 31 week and 2 days as of today. Dr. Reiter wants me to try to make it to 34 weeks which would bring us to July 3rd.

I had a doctors appointment last Wednesday and he said that so far everything looks great. Aiden and Landon are 2lbs 14oz and Cooper is 3lbs 3oz. We are hoping that by July 3rd that all of the babies are at least 3 and a half to 4lbs. The bigger they are the less time they will have to stay in the NICU. I have another doctors appointment this coming Wednesday so I will give you an update then.