Wednesday, August 31, 2011

First Days in the NICU

Well, like we said in our last post, our babies are here! We're so excited to welcome Graham, Avery, and Grayson into the world and into our family. As much as we'd love to take them home, we won't be able to for quite some time. Shan carried the babies to just over 31 weeks, which is excellent for triplets, but it's still less than the 40 weeks of a regular pregnancy. Because they're premature, the babies are now working to sustain themselves and catch-up on things that would normally develop during their last few months in the womb. They're working extra hard to develop their immune systems, lungs, and their ability to digest food.

To make sure they have proper care they're staying in a unit at the hospital called the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU. The NICU is broken up into three sections: A, B, and C. New babies and babies requiring the most attention stay in Room A, and as they progress they "graduate" to Room B where they require slightly less observation. From Room B they move to Room C which is the last stop before they're discharged. Graham, Avery, and Grayson are all currently in Room A.

Because they can't regulate their body temperature yet, our babies are in isolettes - small clear boxes that regulate the air temperature and humidity. They also have multiple IVs in their hands and feet and feeding tubes that go into their bellys from their mouths. To help with Jaundice, Graham, Avery, and Grayson are under a bright light and wear coverings over their eyes that look like sunglasses. All three babies are also on respiratory support. Avery and Grayson have masks over their nose connected to machines that deliver additional oxygen and help them remember to breathe. Graham has a nasal tube that helps give him a little additional oxygen.

This all looks pretty scary, but it's our understanding that this is more or less par for the course for premature babies. We've been encouraged as we've seen slow progress over the past few days and the babies seem to be slowly getting stronger and stronger. The NICU medical team has been amazing and they've taken excellent care of our kids. We're thankful for them and we continue to thank God for his kindness to us and our children.

We'll keep you updated!

A picture of Shannon reaching through the isolette and holding Graham's hand. When born, Graham was Baby A and was rushed to the warmer in the adjacent operating room before Shan got to see him. This is the first time they met.

Graham sleeping. The splints on his arm and leg protect his IVs, and the cover on his eyes protect him from the bright light. Graham is currently breathing on his own, but has a small nasal tube to give him a little more oxygen.

Grayson sleeping with his mouth open :) The mask on Gray's face is connects to a "SiPAP" machine. The machine ensures positive air pressure in his lungs and helps him breathe if his lungs get too hired.

Avery Mae. Like her little brother Grayson, she's also getting some help from a SiPAP machine. She's very active and moves a lot. In the womb she was by far the most active and, being in between both brothers, would frequently wake everyone up when she'd start kicking around.

Avery and her fashion shades stretched out and sleeping.

4 comments:

  1. Nice. They look great, and well taken care of!

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  2. Oh my goodness, I can't get over how cute the babies are! I am so happy to hear that they are doing good. You all are still in mine and Tom's prayers.

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  3. I'm a little behind but couldn't resist reading all the updates I've missed. You are doing such a great job of journaling along the way. Precious babies!!!

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  4. Thank you for your encouragement! We appreciate all of your support and prayers.

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