12 weeks old!

38 weeks, 4 days :)

Cadence, Aria, and Jude turned 12 weeks old on Thursday and are now on day 86 of life! I am so amazed of how far they have come from being under 2 pounds to Cadence and Jude being a little over 6 now and Aria being 4 pounds 10 ounces. It has been interesting since the last time I posted because Aria is now in the "lead" to go home! I can't believe it- a month ago, one of the neonatologist was  examining her and said to me "I can't figure out why she is not growing like her siblings and why she needs more respiratory support. I thought perhaps she may have a chromosome problem but I look at her and she looks fine." So, I guess we just have to chalk it up to her being petite. She had earned the title "sassy" and "Ms. Attitude." See, I guess I did get it right from the beginning because I specifically named her Aria because I couldn't sleep at night because she was always moving and Aria is a diva-like name :) Aria graduated to a regular canulla a week ago today which gave her the green light to start nursing (the doc team was not sure how she'd handle being off high flow oxygen but I insisted she was ready- glad I was right because she is doing very well off and has even been weaned since she was put on low flow 1Liter to .5L. She is always right around 21% so the docs are now thinking she will be completely off in a few days!) Aria gets very excited about nursing and we started bottles yesterday and she is very excited about that too. She took almost her entire bottle for me three times yesterday and she took a few full ones for the night nurse last night! She must really want to blow that pop stand!

Cadence is doing pretty well too. We did a "room air trial" last week to see how she would do without oxygen and unfortunately she just wasn't ready yet. Her oxygen saturations would get into the teens where they should be in the 90s.  We also really started to work with her on eating last week so I think it was too much thrown at her all at once. Cadence is so funny - she gets to the bottle or breast, acts all hungry, and then falls asleep (she's a deceptive Cadence- lol, my music peeps will understand). I don't think the lightbulb has turned on yet for Cadence like it has for Aria. Cadence looked like she would be the first one home but now she is too relaxed and chill to eat and she has to be able to eat 80% of her feeds being offered to her to go home. Her oxygen should be off next week as well though so that's good!

Mr. Jude is not eating yet :( he has horrible reflux. He still gets fed through the tube with a pump to regulate how long it takes to go in. Right now it takes an hour and a half to go in and he still has reflux even with it going in that slowly. We are fortifying his breast milk with a fortifier specifically for babies with a milk protein allergy even though we are not sure that's what's going on. I am also on day 2 of no dairy in my diet. I hope it helps because I don't want to leave Jude too far behind his sisters. He is still on high flow nasal canulla to 2Liters. The nurses are still hearing a murmur in his heart so maybe his heart not closing up as it should is giving him problems too. The doctors are trying to figure stuff out so he can start eating too. He keeps getting "spells" and the big red button has been pushed a few times and all the doctors come storming in to resuscitate him. He also gets bagged at least once a week. That's how bad his digestion is. It causes the milk to come up and get stuck in his airway so he can't breathe. Poor little guy. I have 100% confidence that he will be okay though and he will make it out just fine. He just needs time for his systems to mature. Noah had really bad reflux and he was a full term baby and if just took him about six months to outgrow it.

I prayed that the babies would have an easy nicu stay and I can honestly say that's what they have had. Thank God! All three had no head bleeds which I hear is HUGE. All three have no major issues with their eyes (Cadee has a very minor form of ROP- stage 1, zone 2- which I hear is nothing). All three have made it almost three months surgery-free. It's truly amazing. They have all had ups and downs but they are doing remarkable well collectively. I think it is interesting that Jude was the front runner first, then Cadence became the front runner and now Aria is. I'm so proud of my babies and how far they have come! The girls may be 3-4 weeks away from coming home. It's hard to gauge Jude. His lightbulb may come on soon and we are praying that it does because I do not want to leave him behind too long after the girls come home.

Noah is hanging in there and looking forward to the babies coming home but he doesn't really know what he is in for! He comes to see them a couple times a week and gives them kisses. He is such a good boy and he is already a great big brother but I worry that he won't get as much attention though and he will act out. Praying he adjusts well!

Tim and I feel very nervous about caring for the babies at home. We need lots of prayer regarding our confidence in our ability to be able to take care of three micropreemies and a toddler. We are particularly nervous about cold and flu season and them getting sick and ending up back in the hospital. I guess the first year is the biggest on making sure they stay well. We have to quarantine ourselves from the outside world until March or April. The babies are going to receive Synagis once a month which will minimize the symptoms of RSV in case they do get it. Please, Lord, keep our preemies healthy! We are also nervous about night time feedings and we are currently trying to find a night nanny a few times a week so we can be well-rested to be able to take great care of the babies during the day. Praying that The Lord shows us the right person/people soon. Tim and I just have a lot to worry about and so much on our plate right now so we are asking for prayers for strength and courage as we face everything.

Joshua 1:9 ESV 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Jude getting a bath!

Cadee in her big girl bassinet!

Aria on her big girl bassinet!

Aria enjoying her mamaroo!

Cadee when we did her room air trial!

Jude in his big boy crib. He needs a Danny sling in it to keep him elevated to help with the reflux.

Sister love.

The six of us :)

72 days old!

Just a trip update :)

Cadence, Aria, and Jude turned 10 weeks old on Thursday and are on day 72 of life today. I finally got to hold all 3 of my babies on my birthday (I pulled the birthday card in order to get the respiratory therapists to move Jude and his equipment on the girls' side of the room). It was so awesome. Everyone from the NICU that we have come to know from the Neonatologist and residents to the nurses and therapists came to peak in. The triplets are quite popular in the NICU. They all really care about my 

babies!

Everyone is doing pretty well and all three finally have the tops of their isolates popped up! Here is a synopsis on all three:

-Cadence had her tongue clipped on Thursday because it was tied and now she is feeding much better. She has been nursing for a week now once a day and we just for the green light to start bottles and she took two bottles in the past 24 hours so we can really start weaning the gavage feeding. She is still on 1Lflow of oxygen at about 25%.  She still "surfs" a lot with her oxygen saturations so hopefully that will improve very soon. She weighs 5lbs3oz. What a big girl! We found out her eyes did develop stage 1 ROP in zone 2 which I guess should work itself out without surgery (hopefully!) Cadee reminds me so much of Noah when he was a new born. She is definitely the darkest of the three.

- Aria is still on high flow nasal canulla at 21% and should we weaned to a low flow in the next day or so. Low flow is exciting because that means she can begin nursing! She is doing much better with her spells. She is such a feisty little girl! She has no ROP in her eyes which is amazing. Go Aria! She joined the 4lb club tonight. She is still my little and petite peanut. Her Feedings are condensing and are now over a 2 hour time period so they will keep condensing til they are over a half hour time period. Aria is very light compared to her siblings. I have a feeling that she will be a blondie with light eyes :)

-Jude is doing pretty well except he had one very large spell during the night on Wednesday night. I got a call at 4am with the news. They think he aspirated on some milk but what he did was not pretty and he was almost intubated and he almost needed chest compressions until he came out of it on his own (thank God). Since then, his flow of oxygen increased from 1.5L to 3L and he was just weaned to 2.5L today and he is doing okay on it. He is still on room air (21%) so that's good that he is not requiring extra oxygen. Another unusual thing was that his head grew 2cm this week which is more than they'd like to see so the doctors were fearful of a brain bleed but thank God it came out normal and it just means he has a big head :) He has no signs of ROP with his eyes as of now so that is good too! His feeds are now condensed to an hour and a half. He is a big boy at 5lbs2oz. Jude looks a lot like his daddy from his shape eyes to his feet. He is Tim's mini me :)

Tim, Noah, and I are doing pretty well. Tim and I are very busy preparing for them to come home from deep cleaning our house to buying things like car seats and organizing and decorating their room. Three babies equals a massive amount of things. I spend about 6-8 hours at the hospital daily bonding with the babies so when I am at home it is very hard to get anything accomplished preparing for babies because Noah needs love and attention too (which, of course he is getting from grandmas but he needs it from mommy and daddy too! If only Tim and I both had a personal assistant to help us with cleaning, cooking, and organizing). 72 days going back and forth to the hospital is starting to weigh on all of us. I cannot wait until my family is home! Cadence may be about 3 weeks from now if she stays on the path she is on with her eating and oxygen. She still have spells though so I am anxious for those to go away for all three. I want them to come home around the same time so I don't have to leave any behind for a long period of time. Come on babies- you can do it!

I am really loving being a mommy of four! I still cannot believe it. Triplets are just so rare that I can't believe that I am in this club. I went from thinking that I may never have biological children to having four within 2 and a half years. I feel so abundantly blessed. Thank you, Lord! I have so many worries about being a mother of multiples but I know I can do it. I want my children to have a fun upbringing and most importantly, I want them to know The Lord. The Lord says to be fruitful and multiply and to spread the good news. 

We are so thankful for our wonderful support system. Thank you, everyone, for the gifts, food, and visits. I am so behind on thank you cards so I wanted everyone to know that they are coming (some day, lol!)

Psalm 150:6

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Happy birthday to me!

Cadence, Jude, Aria.

Cadence, Jude, Aria.

Mr. Jude getting cuddle time.

Sisters- Cadence and Aria.

Cadence getting a bath.

Aria getting a bath.

Grandma holding Aria for the first time.