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March 16, 2001
Today is the big day!. This is week 34 + 6 days. The delivery was scheduled for 7:30am, but got pushed back to 8:30am. They prepped Chris in her room and then wheeled her to the special C-Section operating room. There the anesthesiologist, numbed her from the chest down with a spinal anesthesia. There were 3 persons per baby, a neonatologist, a pediatric resident, and a neonatal nurse. I think there was a respiritory specialist present. I will update this when my heads cleared up from all the excitement. Suffice it to say, there were about 20 people in the room. Dr. Drake was assisted by Dr. Paulsen as Dr. Mahone was out of town.
The babies came out with no problems, baby A, the girl, was born first, since she was head down and was near where they made the incision. She immediately began to cry, no make that wail. The first team took her away and began to clean her up. Baby B, the other girl, was born next. Her feet were sticking out so they grabbed her by the feet and pulled her out. She started crying right away too. The last baby to be born was baby C, the boy. He was born rear-end first. All he wanted to do was cry. He definitely had strong lungs. All the babies got a little oxygen just from a mask that they held above their faces. None of them had to be intubated, where they put a breathing tube down their mouth. I was able to cut each of their umbilical cords. That was great experience but it was also weird. They did an APGAR test, but we don't know the results of that yet. It should be excellent though. I was able to bring each baby over to Chris and introduce them to their mother. After that they were all taken to the NICU. This was only because they were premature and their blood sugars weren't staying stable. The blood sugar problem is normal with triplets.
The NICU nurses commented on how big their cords were, that allowed them to get plenty of nutrients from mom. They started an IV to give them fluids to help stabilize their blood sugars. They also took several blood samples for tests, and checked the blood pressure from each limb to make sure they all were getting adequate blood supply. Adam was crying off and on, so they gave him a pacifier right away. He took right to that! He was just sucking away on that. Of course Megan and Kaitlyn wanted one also, and they also started sucking on theirs right away. They all look great and healthy. I'm guessing that they should only be in for about a week or two. They will have to prove that they can suck, swallow, and breath. They also will have to prove they can eat for an extended period of time, as well as show they are gaining weight. There is a chance that Chris will be able to feed them later today. I stayed with them for a couple hours while they were getting the babies situated, taking measurements, and testing them.
Mom is doing well. She is waiting for the the anesthetics to wear off. She has to be able to wiggle her toes and feet before she can go to the NICU. We hope to be going up around 2pm to see them together. Then we'll let the grandparents, aunts, uncles, family and friends come see them.
Now for the vitals. I'm sure all babies are cute when they are born. But, man our kids are cute. At least I think so. Maybe they can get a baby modeling job to help pay for this. Here are the measurements:
Baby A - Megan Elizabeth, born 8:58am, 18 in, 4 lbs 12 oz.
Baby B - Kaitlyn Nicole, born 8:58am, 17 1/4 in, 4 lbs 6 1/2 oz.
Baby C - Adam Michael, born 8:59am, 19 1/4 in, 5 lbs 7 1/2 oz.
Chris and I went up to see the babies around 5:00pm. We were excited to see them. They had been all given baths and had graduated to isoletes. This is the incubators that help to maintain their body temperature. If they continue to do well and start eating, the next thing they would be moved to is a hospital crib. This is a toddler size bed that is made like a crib. They would all share the same bed, because the NICU believe is co-bedding. They probably will share a crib at home at first also. Chris and I held Adam for a little bit. Megan and Kaitlyn were sleeping at the time. Chris couldn't stay long because she was still feeling a little nauseous from the anesthesia.
We got the APGAR numbers, but we don't know specifically what tests they got reduced scores on. Here are the results:
Megan - at 1 minute = 8, at 5 minutes = 9.
Kaitlyn - at 1 minute = 7, at 5 minutes = 9.
Adam - at 1 minute = 9, at 5 minutes = 9.
The babies got their first feeding last night. They were fed a premie formula
from Enfamil through a cerlage. We decided that we would like them to be
bottle fed, rather than via gavage feeding when Chris can't be there to breast feed them. A Lactation Consultant stopped by and brought a pumping kit and pump. Chris started pumping 12 hours after delivery. At her first attempt she was able to express about 36ml of colostrum. We'll take that down to NICU so the babies can be fed this when they are ready. She will have to feed or pump about every 3 hours now.
March 17, 2001
They have the babies under bililights, lights used for phototherapy, because they have a slight jaundice. It's not much and you can't even tell by looking at them. It is pretty common for premies to have a slight jaundice since their livers are not fully developed. They will probably be under the lights for about 3-5 days. They are all looking great. For those that are interested, we found out why they lost some points on the APGAR tests. Adam lost a point each time for color. His hands and feet hadn't gotten pink yet. Megan lost 2 points first for color, then later only lost 1 point for color. Kaitlyn lost 1 point for respiration, 1 for reflex and 1 for color for her first test. She didn't start breathing regularly right away so they gave her a little oxygen. And when they cleaned her throut and mouth out she didn't grimace or pull away.
Chris is doing much better today. They took her IV and catheter out. She still can't eat solid food until she passes the gas that is building up in her stomach. They may give her something for that tonight if she hasn't done that. We both went down to see the babies around 2:00pm. By this afternoon she was totaly worn out and is taking a nap. She's been through a lot, and needs her rest.
March 18, 2001
The babies continue to do very well. The NICU nurses have commented on how peaceful the babies are. They don't compain about much. We'll see how long that lasts. At first, when they cried, it seemed so cute. I have a feeling that will pass in time. Their Bilirubin count was up slightly today, so they will have to be kept under the phototherapy lights a little longer. Nothing to be concerned with at this time.
Chris was up and walking around a little more today. She walked all the way to the NICU and back. I don't think she was supposed to walk that far, but she likes to push herself, as you can tell by holding out for 35 weeks. She let the girls try to breastfeed today. They won't get anything but they can practice latching on and sucking. Both Megan and Kaitlyn did very well. It took Kaitlyn a while to get interested. Adam didn't do so well today. Even though he did great last night, he just wanted to stare at mom.
Both Grandparents got to spend some time with the babies this weekend. I think Megan, Kaitlyn, and Adam enjoyed that.
March 20, 2001
Today was Chris's last day in the hospital. She doesn't have to leave her maternity suite until midnight, so she is going to leave her things until later in the evening when I come to pick her up.
The lactation nurse went to the NICU with Chris to give her some pointers.
Chris's milk is starting to come in now, so the babies might be a little
more interested. They all have their good and bad moments of breastfeeding.
They seem to be getting better. Starting tomorrow, we are going to start
some bottle feeding along with some breastfeeding. They won't take the
neogastric tube out until after they have shown they can feed for 24 hours on bottle or
breast. There is a chance that Megan, Kaitlyn, and Adam will be moved to
the other side of the NICU for those babies that are just waiting until
they learn how to eat and gain weight. It's a little more of a relaxed
and family atmosphere.
It was very weird for Chris to be leaving the hospital. She hadn't stepped outside for 3 weeks. The only thing we left behind was the attachment for the breast pump. Luckily, we had an extra kit. We'll just pick up the other one tomorrow. I hope to get some new pictures out soon, because it is amazing how much they have changed in just a couple days.
March 21, 2001
The babies were relocated to a "step down" nursery today. It is still part of the NICU, but is located on the other side of the hospital. They are still being monitored, but are now focusing on their feeding and growth. They are going to try to bottle feed them when possible to encourage teh babies to develop their sucking reflex. Chris will also try to breastfeed when she is able to. If there is enough breast milk from pumping they will use that in the bottles, otherwise they will use the premie formula from Enfamil.
All three babies have gotten over their jaundice and no longer need to be under the phototherapy lights. They had to turn in their Oakleys and RayBans. They will soon be out of the isolettes and all placed into a single crib. Before that can happen they will need to start dressing them, and they will lower the temperature in the isolette slowly so as not to shock their system. If they can maintain their body temperature and still gain weight, then they can move out of the isolette.
March 22, 2001
Everyone is still doing great. They are now dressing everyone in little outfits, and they don't necessarily need to be bundled in a blanket when they are out of the isolette. We are going to bring some clothes from home for them. The hospital ones are okay, but the kids are already asking for nicer clothes. I put a couple pictures on the Web site of Adam and Megan. We'll put some out of Kaitlyn tomorrow.
Chris is feeling a lot better these days. She actually slept through the night last night without having to get up to go to the bathroom. That sure is different than the last 7-8 months. Chris's back still is a little sore. That's probably from lying down for so long and from the c-section, since it cut through her abdominal muscles. Her incision isn't hurting that much, not more than a couple ibuprofins can't take care of. Dr. Drake wrote her a prescription for Pergosete for any pain she might have, but Chris doesn't want to take it because of how it might make her feel.
I've noticed that Megan's head is still a little lopsided from being smashed into Chris's pelvic area. The doctors have not said anything, but it looks to me like Positional Plagiocephaly. But I'm not a doctor, I just play one on the Internet. She does have torticollis or wry neck, though. A Physical Therapist has been checking on her and doing some stretching of her neck muscle. Her neck is showing signs of improvement. She has to lay special ways so that it forces her neck to go to the right so it stretches the muscle. This was all from being head down, cramped and pushed into Chris's pelvic area by her siblings. Babies heads are maleable, so her head should round out on it's own. If her head doesn't round out in a few months, there is a product that the pediatrician can prescribe called a DOC Band, that is for positional plagiocephaly.
March 27, 2001
Everyone has been doing fine these last few days. The nurses have been increasing the amount that the babies are fed. Chris is Nursing them during the day. They all have been doing well to varying degrees. Sometimes they'll nurse a lot, other times they will get tired. We have started to bottle feed them a couple times a day. The babies are being bundled in blankets when they sleep in the isolettes, because they are beginning to lower the temperature in preparation for moving them to a common crib. They brought the crib down tonight, and they all should be moved into the crib by sometime on Wednesday.
Craig has been changing the kid's diapers when he is available. He's got the hang of it and has yet to be peed on by Adam. Luckily, he has not had any bad ones yet. Chris on the other hand, had a very bad one today from Adam.
Chris had a follow up appointment with Dr Drake and Mahone. Their nurse checked her incision and said it looked good. Chris inquired about being able to drive. The nurse checked with the doctors and gave her a thumbs up. Craig's not sure he wants to give up the Isuzu Rodeo for his Amigo quite yet. But oh well, the boss has spoken.
March 28, 2001
They got rid of the isolettes and put all three kids in a large crib today. This is normally called co-bedding, but we like to call it tri-bedding. They look so content and happy to be back together again. It seems like when one girl cries, the other girl starts to cry too. But Adam has already learned selective hearing because it doesn't even faze him.
They are all continuing to do well at nursing. Megan finished a full feeding (45 ml) from a bottle twice today. We can never seem to get a good picture of Kaitlyn when she is awake. It is hard to get a good picture of any of them. They tend to fall asleep as soon as they have a full belly.
March 29, 2001
The girls are doing well with the bottle feeding. The nurses are going to try to bottle feed the girls at each feeding when we are not there. Adam is doing better at nursing than bottle feeding. They all passed their first hearing test. Megan got her first real full bath today and Chris was the one to give it to her. She didn't like it and cried a lot during it. Megan that is.
The Discharge Coordinator and nurses went over the discharge list with Chris today. They mentioned that Adam would be getting a circumcision either Friday or Saturday. They typically only do that when it's really close to the day that they would go home. We are speculating that they could come home by mid next week. Although, they can't tell us for sure.
March 30, 2001
Today was a big day for the Severson males. At least for the youngest one. Adam was circumcised today. Dr. Drake performed the circumcision. Dad watched, but mom could not bare to watch. I think it was harder for her than Adam. They are giving Adam Tylenol for 24 hours to ease the discomfort. So, hopefully by tomorrow he will be feeling better. To top of his day, all three babies had shots for RSV Protection. Even though it is toward the end of the RSV season, this is a worthwhile measure.
It has been two full weeks since the babies were born. They all have gained weight since then. Megan weighs 5 lbs 9 oz, Kaitlyn weighs 5 lbs, and Adam weighs 5 lbs 15 oz.
April 01, 2001
Kaitlyn pulled her neogastric tube out last night. They decided to leave it out for now since she has been doing so well feeding. Both Megan and Kaitlyn are on an ad-hoc feeding schedule. This means they can be bottle or breast fed at each feeding, and whatever amount they want to take is what they get. So, no more measured amounts, if they take 30 ml or 60 ml, that's fine. Adam hasn't progressed to that point yet. He needs to work on being able to bottle or breast feed at each feeding. We left for a couple hours today to go eat and run by the mall, and when we got back the nurse told us that Kaitlyn pulled Megan's neogastric tube out. I guess she didn't want her sister to have one in either. They are going to leave Megan's out for now.
April 02, 2001
I got a big birthday surprise today. The Neonatologist decided that it was time for the girls to go home. We had no idea until Chris got to the hospital. I found out when I went over for lunch. It was a big shock, we weren't expecting them this soon. We didn't even have any clothes for them. Luckily, we brought their car seats up on Sunday to get checked out. If this was Sunday I would think someone was pulling an April Fools joke. Reality sunk in pretty quickly.
Adam has to stay for possibly a couple days. He didn't finish all his feedings last night. He is doing pretty good today, and if he nurses or bottles for 24 hours, then they will put him on an ad-hoc feeding. Then, as long as he still can gain weight, he will be able to come home on Wednesday at the earliest.
I had to go back and wrap things up at work so I could take a week off. I got back to the hospital about 4pm and the doctor went over some of the discharge briefing. It was hard leaving Adam behind. I will be bringing Adam breast milk for him to nurse on and Chris will stay home with the girls. We're hoping to get Adam home in just a couple days so we don't have to be going back and forth between the hospital and home.
It's a lot different when there aren't any nurses around. We've survived the first couple feedings. But, they seem to cry more than when they were in the hospital. I wonder if they gave them something in the hospital? Or they just miss their brother.
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