Any Volunteers?

I'll keep this plea at the top of the blog for a bit...

If you have a few hours to spare over the course of your week and you'd like to give us a hand, please drop me a line at diagriene @ hotmail.com (**no spaces on either side of the the @ in the actual address**) and I'll forward my mother's telephone number. She's organizing a schedule and knows first hand what needs to be done.

Due to the babies' prematurity and their extreme risk for catching colds/flu/RSV, at present there probably won't be a lot of baby handling - what we need most is peripheral assistance with groceries, laundry, etc. However later on, we fully expect that baby cuddling will be on the agenda!

Reunited

Colin... being reunited with his bath at home in a small recycling bin (it is juuust the right size; for now!)
Grammy (Edward's mother)... being reunited with Keith
The babies... being reunited with each other on Edward's lap last night. From left to right, Evelyn, Keith and Colin.

Even Shorter Update... and Sad News

Evelyn came home today!! In fact, she was supposed to come home yesterday, but due to the doctor's admin burden, it got put off until this morning. We are soooo thrilled to see little Sweet Pea cosy in her bed under the window... she is eating well, and we'll see how she does over her first night. Pictures to follow!

The discharge did not go too smoothly, but not because of Evelyn. There was a crisis in the NICU overnight and everyone was extremely stressed. The doctors were delayed with their rounds and it took 2.5 hours to get to Evelyn, look her over and sign her paperwork. The baby who was in crisis was born just a day before our brood and we got to know his parents quite well over the past 5 weeks - they are a lovely couple and have a little guy at home, too. Their little one started to look "off" when his mother was feeding him last night, and by the time I got there this morning he was being prepped to be airlifted to CHEO. He is very, very sick. His parents are beyond distraught and the mood in the NICU was very somber. I managed to give his mother a hug as we both cried in the hallway, but what do you say to someone in that situation? It's an unspeakable sorrow. So please, keep the little one and his parents in your thoughts. He was due to be discharged today...

Short Update...

No pictures this time, sadly. We'll have to take a few more :)

The boys had their second pediatrician's appointment this morning, and Colin has gained a whopping 11 ounces since last Wednesday!? If they weren't recording it, I simply wouldn't believe it... that's absolutely shocking. Keith is now up over 5 pounds, and both are starving most of the time - we're trying to keep up with them. The NICU had suggested we start feeding them every 4 hours, but as the boys are demanding to be fed up to an hour before they're due to be fed, I doubt anyone of us could last that long!

Miss Evelyn is still in the hospital. She had another spell on Monday, and her release date has been changed accordingly. She looks so amazing and alert :) They aren't sure why she's still having her apnea episodes. It could be nothing more than her prematurity, but she also has a lowish hemoglobin count which could be a contributing factor. They would like to see her resolve this on her own and aren't planning to intervene medically at the moment. While most preemies are supposed to outgrown their apnea spells at 35 weeks (and the babies are now 36 weeks 3 days), the fact that she's one of three means that she generally acts about two weeks behind her gestational age. We'll see how she does over the next few days...

I'm up to my ears in overdue thank-you notes, and I'm hoping I can squeeze a few in before the 2pm feed. Edward's mother has been here since Sunday, and it's a great help to have food prepared, the mountains of laundry done and the house tidy so we can focus on getting our act together with the babies. Edward is starting his 6 months of leave on Monday and I can hardly wait!! It is a financial hit, because at the moment, EI will not allow him to claim parental leave alongside me but it's a sacrifice we're willing to make. We're very fortunate to even have this option, and I'm so thrilled that Edward will have the opportunity to spend so much quality time with the babies :)

Pictures!

Keith at the back, Colin in the foreground. Colin looks a little worried... he often does, and not necessarily without reason! Right over his ear you can see a little shaved patch where they had a scalp IV line placed in the NICU.
The choir...
Colin with Daddy
Keith with me
The other side of the nursery!

Babies in the Nursery...Finally!

That is Colin under the hat! Here he is at home, fast asleep, holding his pacifier in his mouth (perhaps coincidence, but he does this very often) and striking a stylish pose. One of the reasons we call him Monkey is because he's very tactile - as you may recall from some of his NICU pics, he has to have his hands on something!

Keith chilling at home on his puppy blanket. The NICU told us that fleece is the best at keeping the heat in, so Edward went to Fabricland and bought enough in several patterns to make nine blankets of a very generous size.
Evelyn in the NICU. She was the first of the three to hold her head up. She is one curious and alert little girl :)

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Just a quick update - Keith came home Monday afternoon and Colin came home Tuesday. The first night was a bit wild, as Keith had some "intestinal issues" and was very hungry, not to mention trying to cope with a completely new environment. They both did well last night, although the intestinal issues persisted until this afternoon, so they weren't very comfortable. But they didn't stop eating! In fact, at their first pediatrician's appointment yesterday, Keith had gained an incredible 4 ounces since he was discharged and Colin was up to 4lb 4 ounces.

We're feeding them on their 3 hour schedule. Edward and I usually take turns doing the feeds on our own, with the exception of the 8am and 8pm feeds; the latter because 2 nights out of three we have to squeeze in a bath. I usually do the 2am feed and Edward does the 5am, which means that once everyone is fed at 8pm I have an hour and half to rest before the 11pm feed, and another hour and a half until 2am and then a blissful 4 hours or so until I get up for the day. It's been working out quite well (knock on wood) in part because we have a great nursery set-up, a workable (but rigid!) routine, and because the babies are unusually good feeders in spite of their age. Last night, our doula took the 11pm feed so we got to bed at a really reasonable hour and I even got to read a few pages of a magazine. Tonight, Edward is taking that feed and I'm envisioning a longer shower!

Edward is in charge of preparing and sterilizing 16 bottles a day which takes the better part of three hours to complete. Keith and Colin are on different formulas and the bottles are colour-coded to ensure that Keith doesn't get Colin's milk-based grub. Our kitchen looks like some sort of commercial production outfit with pots boiling away at all hours, cookie sheets, tongs and clean tea towels neatly arranged on almost every counter.

And what about our Sweet Pea, Miss Evelyn? Unfortunately, she had an apnea spell last Thursday which was her first in 12 days. It took everyone by surprise, and meant that she had to stay an extra week to ensure it was safe to her to come home. She had two more yesterday and last night, so the clock has again been reset for another week. I managed to get in to see her this morning (oh, to be able to drive again post c-section! Perhaps on Monday...), but we miss having her here. It's hard to get our scheduled meshed to feed her when we're doing feeds at the same time at home. She looked at me so soulfully this morning, and my heart broke. She is the most alert and developmentally advanced of all three, and I'm positive she knows she's alone in the NICU. This is truly the hardest part so far :( Obviously, we don't want her having spells at home, but our family simply isn't complete without her sleeping in her crib alongside her brothers.

Well, I'm off to take advantage of my early night! 2am comes around sooner than one thinks...

The Nursery... Finally!

The fabric book slings that I sewed... by hand. For some reason, the photo is crooked. At least, I hope it's the photo and not the slings! Those books will look familiar to some of you. We looove books, so thanks for adding to our fledgling library :)
The nursery at night. I chose the fabric for those huge pillows (they will go on the floor once the babies are home), and I made the paper star mobiles. Hanging them was a bit of a chore, but I think they look pretty good. There are another three stars on the other side of the room. I found the organic pillow fabric, the custom-made quilt and the adorable animal prints on the wall on Etsy (aka my secret ingredient!). The cribs are IKEA, and were very easy to assemble. They will convert to toddler beds, too.
A more telling shot. We only have fitted sheets on the cribs at present. At the advice of the hospital staff, we're going to wrap the babies in fleece and cover them with one blanket. The basic rule of thumb for preemies is as much clothing on the baby and as little covering the baby as possible.

So after a very frantic effort on my part, the nursery is pretty much finished! Well, this side of the room. You may recall we added a built-in unit on the other side. It's fully loaded with diapers, blankets, bath stuff, bibs, baskets for booties, sweaters and hats, etc. However, it still needs some final tidying up before I post a few pics, so stay tuned.

The only nursery project I didn't finish was the sampler. I'm really sad about that, as it features one of my favourite poems, Children Learn What They Live. It is very labour intensive, and although I plugged away for over 50 hours, it's only half done. I doubt at this point it will ever get finished, but such is life - and the mere beginning of many unfinished projects to come, I'm sure! But apart from that, I'm really pleased with the finished product. Many people told me that gender neutral nurseries would have to be green or yellow (read: boring), but I knew that I could pull it off with a myriad of bright colours, and even a little pink and blue. I wanted a cosy and vintagey feel, and of course, knowing the number of hours I'd spent staring at those walls, I'd have to love it. And I do!

Birth Announcement

http://legacy.celebrating.com/can-ottawa/Celebrations.asp?Page=Announcement&PersonID=146003749

The paper version is in Saturday's Ottawa Citizen.

Brothers

Taken this evening. Keith and Colin are now sharing a crib... although they have quite a bit of space on their own sides, they seem to wiggle towards each other when they have the chance. Evelyn is also out of her heated water bed and is enjoying her single cot :)

Look Ma! No Tubes!

Colin doing his best Grumpy Little Old Man impression, being burped by Edward.
Evelyn being burped by me, wondering who let these two buffoons in the NICU - and, more urgently, who agreed to let them care for her?! She wants a word with the Management.

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Well, the inevitable happened and both Keith and Colin ripped out their nasal feeding tubes over the past day - sibling rivalry! Edward and I were surprised it took our little Monkey (aka Colin) so long to accomplish this feat. He has a near-simian ability to grasp onto pretty much anything and everything and yank. Hard. Keith (aka Pumpkin) is a little more sedate, but he obviously doesn't like being one-upped by his older-by-one-minute brother.

While this is a huge accomplishment, it does mean that I can't breastfeed Colin at the moment. Keith appears to be allergic to cow protein, so he's on a special formula and needs to be on it exclusively for two weeks, so he hasn't been breastfed for several days. He gets the bottle each time.

Because Keith and Colin don't have the tube anymore as a back-up feeding mechanism, they now need to be changed and have their feeds started within 20 minutes of being awoken otherwise they might not have enough energy to get through their meal. And because Colin would get breastfed before he starts his bottle feed, we simply cannot waste his energy with such pursuits. It makes me sad, because I'm having a heck of a time getting my milk supply up, and breastfeeding the babes works like a charm every time. Evelyn still has her tube in for now, which means that we can dilly-dally on the breast for about ten minutes before she starts on her bottle. If she runs out of steam before she finishes her feed with the bottle, she can have the rest via her tube. I absolutely love that ten minutes with her on the breast. I'm hoping that once they're home and established on their feeds, I can do more breastfeeding, but it will be up to the doctor. My breastmilk is just not as calorie-laden as their fortified formula, and when it comes to tiny babes with tiny energy reserves they need to eat the most fattening food first. Sigh. Pumping it is :(

We've been warned by the nurses that until the babes are "term" (ie. 40 weeks old), there will be no room for a lot of handling. They desperately need their rest, and they need to sleep for a minimum of two hours between feeds so they have the energy to eat at their next session. As they are fed every three hours, it leaves only one hour for them to be up, but the faster they get done the more sleep they get. It's a delicate balance between wanting to cuddle them and knowing they're better off sleeping. We've been practicing a lot over the weekend, and can get all three babes changed and fed - and at least one bathed - in an hour and a half. The nurses are very impressed by this, but it means that we only cuddle them for about ten minutes minutes after they eat. We've been told again and again that caring for preemies is not like caring for full-term babies, and we need to be properly trained. We're getting a LOT better at the specialized tasks at hand, but it can be nerve-wracking to be "on the clock" to the extent that we are. The bathing is also a little stressful, because they all hate it so much and use up lot of energy screaming their lungs out... and they get all wiggly-worm on us! Happily, they all drain their bottles pretty quickly (30 minutes is the goal, and they can all rip through theirs in 5-15 minutes flat) which makes our live a lot easier :) We're getting there!

Lastly, we've been told to get everything in order because Keith *might* be home as of next week! We still have carseats and monitors to buy, and the nursery is still not done. It's so hard to fit everything into the day when you spend 6 hours at the hospital, and are pumping every 2-3. I have to buckle down and plough through, because once one of them is home there will be absolutely no time to accomplish anything else! We are so very, very nervous at the thought of having someone come home, but we are really looking forward to getting on with our life together.

Our Family....

Taken last night. Babes from left to right: Keith, Evelyn and Colin :) Minus Sprocket, of course!

What a Difference a Week Makes!

Keith last night, sucking on his chicken mitten. He really enjoys his practice breastfeeding sessions! That is his feeding tube going into his nose.
Evelyn and her pacifier, last night.
Colin, last night. We didn't want to disturb any of them! They looked so peaceful :)

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for all their best wishes, thoughts and prayers. It's been a very busy week, as Edward has gone back to work and we're still getting to the hospital three times a day. I'm being encouraged to stay for most of the day to get in some practice breastfeeding, diapering and bathing. I'm trying to get over the last vestiges of my cold before I spend more time with the babes - both Edward and I are wearing masks and having them on for hours on end isn't that pleasant, not to mention our fears that we're still contagious.

That being said, I have spent the past few days alternately holding all three and putting them to the breast for a bit to see how they do. All three of them have managed to latch as best they can, given their tiny size. While they're all still being fed through a tube in their nose, that and their vital signs monitors are all the wiring they have left!! We are so thrilled and amazed at their progress, as is the medical staff. If you consider that we asked their immature systems to function as full-term babies two months before their actual due date, the whole thing becomes a miraculous achievement. With their umbilical IV lines out they can lie on their tummies, which holds the preemie stamp of approval; and it can also help ease digestion. Both Colin and Keith have some issues keeping their feeds down (resulting in some full on out-the-nose-and-mouth spit up sessions), but that's to be expected for preemies, particularly boys. Colin and Evelyn have surpassed their birth weight, and Keith is only a few grams under his. Once they are able to regulate their body temperatures to 36ish degrees celcius, they will be removed from the isolettes and placed in heated water beds.

Now back to pumping!!

Belated update

Sorry for the delay in updating. Life has been hectic with a lot of trips back and forth to the hospital. Sandra has been home since Wednesday and the babies have now got names and are doing well.

The babies are named Colin Alfons (Baby A), Keith William (Baby B) and Evelyn Rose (Baby C). Despite initial difficulties Keith has made significant progress in the past couple of days and I got to hold him today. Sandra got to hold Evelyn a couple of days ago. All the babies are being weaned off their breathing assistance and none are intubated at this point. They are all also being fed through tubes to get their innards working, and Evelyn is actually almost up to a full feed by this point.

Here are some pictures of the three of them:

This is Colin, with quite a number of tubes and wires. He has twisted his hat around his head, so you can see his blonde hair.:



This is Evelyn off of her breathing assistance. The little thing on her nose is to prevent irritation from the prongs that they put into the babies' noses for the CPAP (which is a positive pressure breathing assistance).:



Here is Keith looking at the cold, cruel world through a jaded eye. He is wearing his chicken mittens because he likes to unhook himself from his machines. As you can see, he was born with a significant amount of blonde hair.:



This is Colin, looking surprisingly casual. It is rare to find him not in motion. He is under UV lamps to get rid of jaundice that occurs in premies because of immature liver function: