SMILE

So we decided to give in a little today and smile for mommy. After all - she did give us a nice long bath and then she was brushing our hair. We love to have our hair brushed so Hannah and Emily gave mommy a great big smile to let her know how much we like it.

Oh yeah - our visiting nurse came yesterday and we got weighed again. Emily is 8lbs 4oz. Hannah is 6lbs 8oz and Hailey is 5lbs 8.5oz. We sure do love to eat!!!

Just some pics...

1st Hospital visit...from Emily

Well. I don't even know what to say. I eat, sleep, grow and do everything I'm supposed to do. The only time I cry is when I want to eat and mom doesn't have a bottle ready for me. I'm a good girl when we go out. I don't get mad when mom puts me in the car seat and I don't cry when she's left me in the swing too long. I don't cry just because Hannah and Hailey are crying. I don't even spit up like Hannah and Hailey do all the time! I go right back to sleep after I eat in the middle of the night too. I do all of these things and yet...I STILL had to go back to the hospital. It's not my fault I'm too sleepy to breathe! They put those dumb stickers on my tummy and they kept waking me up to take my vitals. I don't even know what vitals are but I don't like them!!!! Sure - the nurses were nice and I even got held most of the time because it was just me and mommy all night. But they made me drink a nasty bottle to do some test and all I heard was beeping and alarms. I thought I left all that behind when I left the NICU!!! Well..I'm home now and mom better not even THINK of bringing me back to that place. I'm angry with her right now. She keeps begging me to smile at her. Yeah...she should hold HER breath for that one.

1st Hopsital visit

Yup...it's happened already. Emily and I spent the night at Children's Hospital. She has an apnea monitor at home with us and she's had a few too many spells so the doctor thought it would be best for her to have an overnight hospital stay for observation. The good news is that she has what's called "periodic breathing" episodes and it's something she'll eventually outgrow. The bad news is that she will have to continue to be monitored at home 24/7. (She has to wear leads and stickers and be hooked up to a machine). We can still hold her and cuddle her and do all the fun things with her!
Also...I now have an overnight bag packed with all my essencials. Apparently you never know when you're going to need it!

This is a picture of Emily with her great-grandmother Elaine. I love it!

Yesterday was mom and dads 7th wedding anniversary! A certain someone special sent a caterer to the house to have dinner served to them! It was very, very nice.

All 3 of us have an appt with the doctor today. We have to get shots today too. We're not so sure about this shot thing. Mom keeps saying it'll be ok but we're a little weary. Oh...mom plays this thing called a DVD for us. We love it! It's baby einstein and it's so colorful and full of pretty music. Emily says she'd rather watch the Food network but she's outvoted. We all have to go take a bath now...we decided to gang up on mommy and give back our vitamins this morning.

From mom: Wow. I have 3 babies! 3!!! Not one, not two but THREE! I still can't believe it. They are doing well. Better than I could have imagined. The past few nights we have let the girls wake us up rather than waking them up. And they've been sleeping 4 to 4&1/2 hours at a time! That means we're getting some more sleep as well. I think I may have even had a dream last night! lol The girls are going for their 2 month check-up and they need to get their vaccines. I wish I didn't have to be there to see them get their shots but at least I'll be able to give them a hug when it's all over. I have the best babies in the world. They don't cry unless they really need something. Lately they've been waking up in great moods and staying awake for longer periods of time. They are sooooo curious about things. I wish I could be in their little heads to see what they are thinking, seeing and experiencing. Their actual due date was 4/20 so I am now looking forward to all of their milestones. Smiling, laughing, cooing, 1st day of kindergarten...lol. They semi-smile now but I don't think it's voluntary yet. I want to wake up, say good morning to them and see them smile at me!!!!! It'll happen soon though.

We keep busy as a family. Making sure to go for walks, visit family & friends, go to the park and just staying active. We do have our days when we just hang out at home which is just as much fun sometimes. I just really thank God that our girls are doing well and are healthy. My favorite part of being a mom? Looking at them and knowing that Pete and I are responsible for creating such beautiful little beings and knowing that I'm going to be able to teach and guide them through their lives! My least favorite thing about being a mom? Right now is bottle making. I really don't like making bottles. Really. We're off to shower...as the girls have informed you - they were kind enough to give back their vitamins this morning.

Lots of love,

Michelle and the girls

Family Fun

We've been busy the past few days. It's been so nice outside that we've been making day trips and taking care of things. Mom went to the dentist the other day. She was planning on having a loose cap put back on and then having lunch with a friend. Haha...silly mommy thought she was going to spend some time away from us and have fun. But...she had to have a root canal and that was the end of her day. She came home cranky! We know what cranky means cuz she tells us that we have to leave our "cranky pants" in bed every morning. We're not allowed to bring them downstairs with us. We are usually pretty good about this rule. Yesterday our grandpa and our great-grandma came down from MA to visit us. It was special cuz we haven't seen them since we were in the hospital. We love company! It means we all get to be held at the same time. Mom and dad have also been house hunting so we've been driving around looking at houses for the past few days as well. Mom is starting to get cranky again cuz the Yankees are losing. This isn't good cuz they lost to the Stinkin' Sox last night.

Oh - Hannah has decided she doesn't like the car. Mom thinks she gets kind of car sick so we have to stop every so often to take her out of her car seat and hold her for a while so she doesn't get sick. Mom tries to tell her that she didn't give birth to a princess but Hannah doesn't listen. She has also caught on to the Elmo trick. Doesn't quite work anymore.

Well...we're gonna go help mom make bottles for the night. We like to sit in the kitchen and watch to make sure she's not giving one of us more than the other.

Emily

Don't even think about touching my lollipop! Do you know what I had to do to get this? I had to be good for the whole day at the doctor! I couldn't even tease Hannah and Hailey about how little they are or how they cried like babies when the doctor checked their ears!!!! Man...it's tough to be a kid these days. It was worth it though. Got my lollipop.

Today the girls had another appt with the pediatrician. All went well (as expected!). Emily is now 7lbs 2oz, Hannah is 5lbs 10.5 oz and Hailey is 4lbs 10.5oz. I was wondering why Hailey wasn't filling out like the other two but today answered that...she grew a whole inch in the past week! Emily tried eating the tongue depresser when the doctor put it in her mouth. Somehow...I wasn't surprised. The girls were good of course...as they always are! Now we're home and as you'll see from the pics...this is what being out for the day will do to them.

It's going to be nice for the rest of the week! We can't wait to go to the park again...and again and again and again. Did I mention I've been on bed rest since December 1st and now I can FINALLY get up and out?!?! Hope the girls are up for a nice long ride in their stroller!

A hug from Elmo

So because we have such loving family and friends that come around so often our babies rarely have to go very long without being held. This is great...when there are people around of course. There are times however when it's just mom and dad. Imagine? lol. Well our lovelyl Hannah has gotten to the point where if she cries she expects to be picked up. She has yet to figure out that she has 2 sisters and she's not an only child. As her mother - I have a lot of patience but there's only so much crying that one can listen to without feeling bad and giving in. It seems Hannah's more persistent than her mother because Hannah always wins. So I had to come up with another way to make Hannah think she's in someone's arms. So here it is. I have never loved ELMO so much in my life!!!!!!!!!!!

Daddy

This is our daddy and we love him so much! He really does take good care of us and we have him wrapped around our little fingers already (but don't tell him we said that please!). Mom says she's going to enter him into a daddy diaper changing contest because he can change diapers better than anyone she knows. We have to agree with her cuz he changes our diapers in his sleep at night and as much as we try...we still haven't been able to leak through them. Last night he told mommy he wasn't tired so she went upstairs with Emily to get ready for bed. Daddy was holding Hannah and Hailey and when mommy came back down only 5 minutes later he was sound asleep with us in his arms. Mom thought about taking one of us and putting us on the floor in front of him and then waking daddy up and saying "what happened?!?!" but she didn't. It would have been funny though. Well...we have to go because the Yankees and the Red Sox are playing and mom is making us repeat "Go Yankees!" a million times over. She better hope we don't rebel and become Red Sox fans!!!!!!!

Spring Fever!

This was our 1st time at the park! It was such a nice day yesterday that mom and dad took us for a walk at Mill Pond park to walk around the pond and see so many new things! It was a huge success and we can't wait to do it again. Maybe next week when the weather is nice again. Oh yeah...please note that finally mom is wearing jeans again. We were sick of hearing her say "grrrr...I still can't fit into them!" ;-)

Uncle Joey

This is our Uncle Joey. He comes and hangs out with us a lot and now he's our "Cool Uncle Joey" cuz he got this car. We can't wait to go for a ride!!!! We love you Uncle Joey!

Hannah, Hailey & Emily

Nightime routine

So a few nights have come and gone and somehow Pete and I are still sane. We work well as a team. (most times anyway..hehe). Before bed at night we actually do make all the bottles for the night. We have a cooler that we pack full of their bottles and this way we don't have to walk up and down the stairs while we're 1/2 asleep. Each bottle is labeled with a sticker...has the name of the baby and what time they are due to get it. This system works out very well for us as we don't have to measure liquids or guess who is getting what bottle. We do manage to feed them in a "wandering sleep" kind of way...lol. Although last night...I gave Emily Hannah's bottle (Emily of course didn't mind...but Hannah was kind of pissed). lol...it's ok though - I just took Emily's bottle and gave Hannah back what was owed to her. It was only fair. And the lesson learned there would be that I can't have 2 bottle in front of me (even though they're labeled!) at one time. Anyway - we have a written schedule of when they are due to eat so we set the alarm to go off 15 minutes before they eat so we can wake them up (changing their diapers are a sure fire way of doing this) and get their bottles ready. At that point I usually feed Hannah, hand her off to Pete to hold and then start feeding Hailey. Then Hailey gets handed off to Pete so he's now holding both of them and then it's Emily's turn depending on the time. At the end of it all I usually pump and by that time we attempt to put Hannah and Hailey back to bed (Emily will be sleeping soundly by this point as she is our sleeping beauty and when the food is gone she's back to sleep). Crib or chest? Yeah - this all depends on the spit factor and how tired we are. If all is going well and they aren't spitting and we have the patience to watch them in their crib for a little while - that's where they'll go. If we're exhausted and they're spitting too much...they benefit because then it's on our chest they sleep. Hannah on mine and Hailey on Pete's. We try (yeah...try) to not let this happen but sometimes it's a must. And on this note...I'll say that comments aren't welcome. I don't want to hear how dangerous or unhealthy this is nor do I want to hear how you put your children right in their cribs from birth. I'm happy for you but these are my babies and we'll do as we please. When you have 3 babies at one time - feel free to comment on how well you were able to get them all to sleep at the same time. ;-)
And the bottle warmer. WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE FILL ME IN ON THIS EARLIER?!?!?!? It was only last week (and yes...our babies are 6 weeks old now!) that one of the doctors I work with asked if I had a bottle warmer. I said "huh? those exist?!?!" Yeah - that prompted an immediate trip to Babies R Us and now it is on my "can't live without" list.
I'll post a "can't live without" list soon.
I love my babies so much. I still can't believe they are so beautiful and healthy AND they're ours!
Milkshake time for Emily soon so off we go. Maybe we'll go for a walk tomorrow since it's going to be 70 degrees!!!!!!!!!

Night 3...wasn't as smooth as the past 2. Hannah seemed to be up spitting up all night long. It didn't help that we had to get up early to be to the doctor by 10:00a.m. At one point in my life 10:00a.m. was the middle of the day. Now...it's more like early morning and if the phone rings you'd better have a good reason to be calling! lol. The doctors visit went well. Hailey weighed in at 4lbs 3oz. Hannah is now 4lbs 14oz and Emily is 6lbs 8.5oz. It's hard to believe that they should all still be inside of me for another 2 weeks! Pete and I couldn't imagine life without them...it's amazing.
Emily has let me know under no uncertain circomstances that prune juice is in no way equivilant to pear juice. Let's just say - I hope prune juice doesn't stain. Emily also said to me today that she'd like for people to stop referring to her as "the big one". She's developing a complex. (although you'll be forgiven if you deliver your apology in the form of a bottle). On that note...I'm off to once again make bottles for the night. I found out quickly that it's much easier to have a bottle ready for the baby before the baby is ready for the bottle.

Bath day!

Night 2 at home with all 3 was smoother than night 1. I think things will progressively get easier as we find a routine that works for all of us. Thankfully Pete is off for the next 3 weeks to help find said routine!
Today was bath day for all 3. Easier said than done...that's for sure. But they all love their bath so it wasn't bad...just that mom got wet. Next time bath time for the girls will be BEFORE I take a shower. Lesson learned.
And as you see from the pics below we put the same outfit on the girls. They are very cute and we did make an attempt to have a "photo-op" but let me tell you...getting all 3 to pose at the same time is next to impossible! We tried though...and they were good sports about it. Emily is my practice baby and she's happy to do it too. She seems to love having her pic taken as long as you promise her some ice cream...lol. I'll have to find a website to post just pics of them...I haven't had time to figure out how yet though. Maybe that will be on this weeks agenda.
Off to hang out with Emily now...she's wide awake!

Pics

We share secrets already...

Hehe...and it's only his 1st night home with all 3!!

Our 1st night went well. It's more time consuming to have to feed 3 of them but it's worth every minute of it! Hailey and Hannah are sleeping in the same crib and Emily is sleeping in the pack and play for now. Emily moves so much that she can't really be with the other two...she's been known to kick them a few times! The visiting nurse came this morning and the score is in: Hailey weighs 4lbs 1oz (this is up since we left the hospital yesterday!). Hannah weighs 4lbs 12oz. And Emily weighed in at........6lbs 5oz! If I know how to do anything it's to feed my girls! Hannah and Hailey are on the same schedule - eating every 2 hours. Emily eats every 3 hours and they are all still getting a high calorie formula...mostly at nightime since it helps them to sleep better. And at this point I think all 3 are very well adjusted and it seems they like their new home!

If you look closely at the picture above...Pete is holding 2 babies...Hannah and Hailey (Emily was on my lap laughing with me while we were taking pictures).

We're off to play!!!!!!!!!

Big car seats...little girls

Has anyone seen Emily? lol

We're ALL home!

Here we are! We finally got Hailey home with us today. The car ride home was very exciting! I just couldn't believe that I had all 3 of my babies and they were all coming home. She's doing very well with the transition so far. It's still amazing that they all spend most of their day sleeping. Although there are moments when they all are awake and want attention at the same time! So far so good though. We'll see how the night goes...

Today was a good day! Hailey weighed in at 3lbs 14.2oz!!! She is also in an open crib now instead of the isolette. This is great news...it means she's that much closer to coming home! Hannah and Emily decided that at 4:00 this morning it was play time...for an hour and 1/2! Lol...so that means it was play time for mommy too. Hopefully tonight they know the difference between play time and sleep time! :-)

We're here!

Hannah, Emily & Haily!

We arrived on February 22nd 2008. Hailey Rose was born at 11:25am and weighed 2lbs 6oz. Next came Hannah Maria at 11:26am and weighed 2lbs 9oz. Then came Emily Michaela at 11:27am and she weighed in at 3lbs 9.8oz!
I'm going to use this blog to keep everyone posted on how we are all doing. It's very hard to keep everyone updated considering we have our handsfull now. We do want everyone to know that we are thankfull for everything...all of the support and prayers - it's what has helped us through these past few difficult months.
Emily came home with us on 3/17. Hannah followed a week later on 3/24. Today is 4/1 and Hailey is still in the hospital. She needs to be 4lbs before they let her come home and today's weight was 3lbs 12.8oz. We're hoping she'll be home for the weekend but we'll see. She seems to gain weight a little slower than the other 2 girls...but she's gaining and that's what's important.
First I'll start by answering some of the most asked questions. Am I tired? HELL YES! What are people thinking? I have 3 babies!!!! I don't know why this is one of the most popular questions but there it is in black and white...I am absolutley tired. How's the laundry situation? Well...for some reason laundry doesn't wash itself and it seems to always be there when I get home. So I can safely say that the laundry is part of my life in a big way now. We wash about 2 loads of baby clothes, burp clothes and blankets a day. How's Pete? He's doing well. Still working for now. He'll take some time off when Hailey comes home so that the 2 of us can have some quality time with the 3 of them for while. It's been hard to get any kind of quality time since they were in the hospital for a few weeks. He's also taking his role as a father very seriously and there's no way the girls could have asked for a better Daddy. He's one of a kind and these 3 girls are very lucky to have him. He loves them more than life itself and it shows.
Another comment people seem to pass quite often is "it must be so hard on you!" To this I say...no way. I have nothing else in my life that is as important to me as these girls are. It's not hard at all. Time consuming? Of course! But not hard. I don't know what I did to be blessed with such miracle babies but they are my life. It's tough to deal with Hailey in the hospital and knowing that she's there without her sisters though. We go and visit everyday and we pray that she continues to grow and gain strength so that one of these days we can take her home with us when we leave! The last question I'll comment on for now is "how do you do it?!?!" Easily. I wake up in the morning and I look at my baby girls and I think to myself "wow...I don't know how it's posible that I deserve you but I love you so much!" and then I pretty much pick them up and smother them with kisses and hold them so close and there are times when I just don't want to put them down. Then...as a family - we start going about our day of bathing, washing clothes & dishes, making bottles and getting ready to go visit Hailey. It's nice that Pete works at the hospital where the girls were born because I know that he goes and checks on her throughout the day. Plus - when we all get there we can go visit Daddy as well as Hailey!
Hailey and Hannah both have acid reflux (due to being premature). They do take some medicine for it and hopefully it's something they'll outgrow by the time they are a year old. Other than that...they don't have any other medical problems. This is a miracle in itself as they were born 2 months premature. The weeks spent in the NICU were more difficult in the fact that we saw so many sick babies and ours were perfect in every way. I didn't do much talking to the other families there...I just concentrated on my girls. It sounds harsh but no one else is my responsibility. There was a time when I would have been curious as to what was wrong with this baby or how much that baby weighed but when my girls were born they were (and are) all that matter. Right now due to Hannah's reflux it's very difficult for her to get comfortable to sleep. She spends a lot of her day sleeping on my chest where she seems to be the most peaceful. She has to eat small amounts of food every 2 hours until her little tummy can grow a bit more and be able to handle digesting larger amounts. Emily is a very content baby...she can pretty much be anywhere doing anything and be happy. Since Hailey isn't home yet...we really don't know how she'll transition but as I've said...hopefully we'll find that out this weekend.
All 3 are bottle fed but they do get breastmilk. I pump - I just don't breastfeed. I'm crazy but not insane! I'd never have time to feed all 3 and still keep up with their everyday needs. It's ok...we'll bond at the mall. ;-)
Oh yeah...another popular question to answer. Yes...they are sharing a crib. They shared a very small space in my tummy for 8 months...a crib for the 3 of them should seem like a mansion!
That's all for now...(I can't believe Emily and Hannah slept for so long as to let me be able to create and start this blog!). I'll do my best to make daily posts but please know that we're a busy family now! There are books to read, toys to play with and songs to sing. Not to mention the bottles, laundry, dishes and errands! We're now off to get ready to go and visit Hailey. We're going to bring her some french fries and milkshakes to see if we can fatten her little butt up!!!!!!!
If anyone wants to post comments, ask questions or give some useful advice...feel free!
Lots of love,
Peter, Michelle, Hannah, Hailey and Emily