Feeders and Growers

It's been another good week for our triplets! Our doctors and nurses now consider Graham, Avery, and Grayson "F & Gs" or "Feeders and Growers". This might not sound like a very official medical term, but it actually means a lot. The main focus for the babies has shifted from stabilizing their vitals and monitoring respiratory ability to helping them eat more and gain weight. Well, they're gaining weight!

Graham hit a milestone this week when he broke 3lbs for the first time! He now weighs 3lb 9oz and is making great progress.

Avery girl is also gaining weight and is now at 3lb 14oz! She's just 2 oz away from 4lbs!

Like his older brother, Grayson also hit a weight milestone this week - he broke 4lbs! Gray now weighs 4lb 8oz. Grayson made some additional progress this week: he was moved from an isolette to a bassinet (an open-top plastic crib), and he tried out bottle feeding. Gray's been able to maintain his body temperature in the open air of the bassinet, but it looks like he isn't quite ready for bottle feeding. The doctors said we can try again later this week.

The medical staff have commented several times that the triplets are doing exceptionally well. One doctor even said, "They must have read the text-book. They're the textbook case!"

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. More updates to come!

Shannon and Graham. (9/10/11)

Shannon holding Grayson. He's doing well with the pacifier, and will have another shot at bottle feeding later this week. (9/11/11)

Avery and I. She still squirms so much - you can see her working her little hand out of her blankets. (9/17/11)

Shannon holding Graham. He seemed to really like sitting with Shan. I think he kept his eyes locked on her the whole time! (9/17/11)

Grayson's no longer in an isolette - he's keeping his body temperature regulated, and we're loving him being more accessible. (9/17/11)

Graduation

It's been a busy week for our triplets! All three babies "graduated" from Room A, the most intense and critical room in the NICU, to Room D - a quieter room in the NICU for babies who don't require respiratory support. It's been great - for the first time all three of our kids are right next to each other. When visiting we don't need to walk down a separate aisle to see one of the three anymore, and we don't need to scrub-in a second time to enter a second room (the babies were separated in different rooms for a few days).

Graham, Avery, and Grayson are all doing very well. All three are completely off of respiratory support and are breathing room air just like you and me. Graham no longer has any IVs, and Grayson and Avery are scheduled to have their last IVs removed tonight. All three babies are eating increased amounts of formula and milk via feeding tubes, and their little bodies are doing a pretty good job of processing the food. Each baby initially lost weight this week (normal for preemies), but all three gained the weight back and are now over their birth weights!

This week Shan and I were able to change diapers, take temperatures, and hold the babies! Our level of physical interaction is still very limited, and it really varies day-to-day based on how the babies are doing when we see them. We really love the opportunities we get to hold our kids, and we can't wait to take them home in the weeks to come.

We continue to thank God for his kindness to our family, and we trust Him with our little ones. Thank you for your continued prayers and support - we're so grateful to have friends and family like you!

The first time I held Grayson. His little eyes were open for the longest time just staring up at me. I loved getting to hold him, and I love this picture (in part because it doesn't show him spitting up on me 30 seconds later.)

Shan at work changing Avery's diaper. In six months we may be going crazy with diaper changes, but right now it's an opportunity interact with our children. I don't know if there have ever been two people so eager to change diapers! Shannon's quick, does a great job, and is already a pro!

Room D, the triplets' new home. Avery and Gray are on the left, and Graham is on the right. All three of our little ones in one room, on one aisle! We'll take it!

This was the first time I held Graham. We sat like this for just under an hour and his vitals didn't dip at all. He loved it!

Catching Up

I mentioned in the last post that I'm staying in the hospital to deal with some contractions I've been having. I thought I'd give a little more of an explanation and catch everyone up on recent goings-on.

Today is my three week anniversary of being in the Prenatal High Risk Unit at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. When I got here three weeks ago I was twenty-six weeks along in the pregnancy, and my doctor wanted me to come get checked out because I was feeling a lot of contractions. They were able to get the contractions under control fairly easily with some medication, but I can't go home yet. My body is irritated from having three babies growing and kicking around inside, and without close monitoring and medication I could go into pre-term labor any day (no thanks). So it's likely that I will stay here until the babies are born, and I hope that they won't come for a while!

I'm nearly twenty-nine weeks into the pregnancy right now, and we're really hoping to make it to at least thirty-two weeks (September 2nd) before delivering the babies. That's only another three weeks away! I would really love to deliver some time closer to thirty-six weeks - we'll see how things go. The doctors are very happy with how the babies are looking right now, even though they are still very little. Each of the babies is estimated to weigh over two pounds and is developing without any complications. We're so excited to meet them, and we're thankful for every day that they get to "cook."

I like to tell Tom that I'm punishing the babies for putting me in the hospital. They're grounded, and they're not allowed to come out of their womb for at least three weeks! :)