1st 3 DAYS IN THE NICU

The girls are in the NICU. They are small and fragile but doing well. They don't need any breathing assistance and from what we're told, this is nothing short of a miracle. When I visit them it's painful to see them in their little isolettes. It breaks my heart into pieces. We're not yet able to hold them because they all have an umbilical IV. If this IV is ripped out by accident, then they will need an immediate blood transfusion. I just want to hold them so bad but I do what I can. I open their little windows and talk to them and touch them and just admire them. Hannah and Emily are next to each other and Hailey is across the room. I'm thankful they're in the same room. I ask if they can be put together but the nurses tell me it's not allowed in this NICU. Some might allow it, but not this one. It's ok - they know the others are here. For the 1st few days so many people come to visit. It's overwhelming. I feel like I'm giving tours of the NICU.
They do a weight check every night on the girls. They are losing weight which is normal. But they assure us that they will put it back on once they start eating more. But Hailey isn't eating. She's not digesting the 1/2 cc of formula they are trying to give her. I've learned to appreciate ounces and cc's in a whole new way. These are no longer minuscule measurements to me. I keep asking if Hailey is eating and it's always the same answer...no...she wasn't able to digest it. We'll try again tomorrow. I am pumping but nothing is happening. I'm pumping around the clock and yet haven't produced anything yet. It's frustrating but I refuse to give up. I know that Hailey needs this and I'm determined to give it to her.
So many visitors. People I don't know are stopping me in the hallway to ask about the girls. My answer has never changed "They are perfect in every way." And to me - this is the truth.
The 1st 3 days I think were the toughest. It's not the way any 1st time parent dreams of it happening. But it's what we are given and we'll make the best of it. We have no idea how long the girls will be here but it doesn't matter. Pete and I will be here every step of the way with them. They are our life. They have changed us forever. And they have bound us in a way we never thought possible. They are our daughters.
Michelle

The Birth - Part II

and at 11:25 Hailey is born. I don't hear her cry, actually we don't even know she was born. They whisk her through the door to the next room where her team of doctors is waiting. At 11:26 Hannah is born, she makes the tiniest little cry and Pete takes a picture. He doesn't get the chance to take a picture of Hailey because she's in the next room. But he gets Hannah before she's taken to her awaiting team. Then at 11:27 Emily is born. They had a hard time pulling her out - she sure liked being snuggled way up in me! She comes out wailing. Screaming and screaming and screaming. It was music to my ears. They take her away too. The relief of pressure is amazing. I feel like I can breath again. I have no idea what they do "down there" after the fact. All I know is that it took forever. At one point I had Pete leave to go see the babies. "I'll be fine - just go with them and make sure they're ok." The anesthesiologist never leaves my side but at one point I did get nauseous and needed something. No problem - he just gives it to me through my IV and I'm good. He asks if I want something to relax me while they stitch me up. "No - I'm fine." Until the counting. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Over and over. Is it in my head? No...someone is counting. What is going on? Everything starts to get really confusing. I'm sweating again. I don't like it. SHUT UP! Click, clang, click, clang, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Instruments. They're counting instruments to make sure they haven't left anything inside of me. "I'll take something now. I need something. Give it to me please." I get a sedative. It takes until 12:30 before I'm in recovery. I don't know if this is a long time or not but it felt like forever. I haven't heard anything from anyone. How are my babies? Are they breathing? What's going on?!?! Finally Pete comes in. He hasn't seen them yet. "I told you not to leave them!" He says "They won't let me see them yet. They're still working on Hailey." What does this mean? What? Oh Lord help me. The nurse comes in and brings a slew of people with her. My family. I don't want to see my family right now. I want to know how my babies are. She says that Pete can go and see the girls now. GO GO GO! She tells me I can't leave my room for 2 hours. They need me in recovery for that long. She also tells me to let her know when I start to feel some pain and she'll give me something. I say I'm fine and I want to see the babies before taking anything. This was a big mistake but I won't learn that until later. My family is here and everyone is saying stuff but I hear nothing. Pete comes bursting back in the room a while later and he has a smile from ear to ear. "They're PERFECT! They had to work on Hailey for a little while but all 3 are great!!!" He took pictures with his cell phone so he can show me. I'm so happy for all of us. I'm also starting to feel some pain but don't say anything. The nurse comes in and tells me that the family can see the babies. She wants to know if I want the family to wait until I see them first. "No. They're here and have been waiting a long time. They can go see the girls." They let the family and friends see the girls in shifts. I'm actually fine with this. As long as the girls are healthy I don't care who sees them '1st'. I got to spend the last 31 weeks with them all to myself. God the pain is horrible. The nurse suggests I take something for the pain but I am determined to see my girls before taking any pain meds. Finally my time in recovery is up. They wheel the whole bed I'm laying on into the NICU. I don't even remember seeing the girls. All I remember is how much pain I'm in. I see the girls, they are beautiful and I want to hold them but I can't. That was the worst thing in the world. Not being able to hold my babies right after they were born. They wheel me back to my room and finally I tell the nurse I'll take something for the pain. It's too late. For the next 24 hours they are trying to get the pain under control. It's horrible. All the pain meds and nothing is working. They say I waited too long to take something. I won't do it again I promise! Just take the pain away! Why didn't anyone tell me how painful this was going to be? Pete stays the night with me. Luckily because the nurses come in to take my vitals at all hours of the night and they leave the lights on, move my tray away from me and just really didn't care that I couldn't move. Pete has to get up several times to fix what they've done. I make him wheel me to see the babies as soon as he can. I want to hold them but still can't. They're perfect. And small. Hailey is 2lbs 6oz. More than they measured during the growth scan. This is good. Hannah is 2lbs 9oz. Emily is 3lbs 10oz. They have so much hair. Dark skin and dark hair. They look like Pete. Emily has my lips. We knew this before she was born. We could see her lips on the ultrasound! My babies are just perfect in every way.
Michelle

The Birth - Part I

It's snowing...again. Pete is here with me and we've told everyone that the c-section is scheduled for 10:00. There are a lot of people here. My family, Pete's family and a lot of our close friends. So many people. It's closing in on 10:00 and the nurse comes in to tell me I'll be a little delayed. I'm not the 1st one scheduled for a section and the one before me showed up late due to the storm. I lost track of time but at one point they finally come to get me and Pete. We're in a room where the nurse preps me (well - really she just checked to make sure I had shaved...lol). They give Pete a gown, mask and booties to change into. And the anesthesiologist comes in to go over some things with me. It's all happening so fast yet time feels like it has stopped. They eventually take me in to start the spinal. I'm more nervous about this than anything. I've watched way too many baby stories, welcome home baby and special delivery shows. I psych myself up for all this pain and in the end...it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be - yet. It took longer than it should have to do the spinal - he kept missing or something. It took 3 times. I don't care - just get it done. Finally, he gets it. I'm numb and one of the docs says "ok - swing your legs up on the table". Now maybe this was a test but come on...I can't feel anything from the waist down - no way can I swing anything! They help me get all the way on the table. Then they pin my arms down. Really - they strapped them down so I can't move them. I have an IV in one arm, a BP cuff on the other and monitors all around. Someone puts a curtain up so I can't see anything. Now there's oxygen on my face. I'm sweating bullets but shaking and have goosebumps. The doc makes an incision and asks me if I feel anything. No...but where's Pete? He has to be here. I can't see him. Someone leaves to get him and they both come back in the room. Thank God he's here. He sits next to me on a stool and I tell him for the 100th time "don't leave the babies. I'll be fine - make sure you go with the babies." The anesthesiologist stays next to me. He says he's going to give me some meds and monitor my blood pressure every minute. If I start to feel dizzy or nauseous to tell him. They make the incision...

Hand Washing

Ok everyone - listen up. This is going to be rant on behalf of mommy. She is not a happy camper right now. We had a GREAT 1st BDay party yesterday. And that was only Part 1!!! We have another party this coming weekend. However; we have to let everyone know that if you come to visit us it is ESSENTIAL that you WASH YOUR HANDS upon entering our home. Every time someone comes to visit us - mommy says as soon as they walk through the door "please wash your hands". Well just so you all know...this isn't a question. It's a statement. And we're pretty good with our English lately and we're pretty sure that questions and statements are completely different. You see...when a question is asked that means you have a choice to what the answer may be. But when a statement is made - there's no choice involved. Get where we're going with this? That means you don't say "well I washed them before I left my house" because this won't fly. Several people tried this yesterday and it didn't work. Let's think about this for a minute. If you did in fact wash your hands before leaving your house what did you touch after that? Your doorknob to leave your house, your car door, your steering wheel, your purse (if you have one like mommy does), our doorbell and probably our doorknob too. Then when you came in to our house you took your shoes off (another rule). When is the last time you've washed all these things? Exactly. Which means...now you're in our house and even though you've "washed" already - you need to wash again. It's not hard. It's a simple request. It's a logical request. And it's actually...no longer a request. If you feel you don't want to wash your hands when you come to our home don't bother coming because mommy gets upset about this and we don't want to see her this way. We were born 2 months premature...you're lucky she's even letting you in!
Ok - our rant is over. We're sure you've gotten the point. Now on to better things! We have so many picture of our 1st party but they're not on the computer yet. Once mommy gets her butt in gear we'll put the pics up. We had so much fun!!! And...we were so good that we got a NEW YORK YANKEES TOY BOX for all of our toys!!!!!!! Yippie!!!!
Love,
Hannah, Hailey & Emily

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY BABY GIRLS!!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY HAILEY, HANNAH & EMILY!!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!

Hailey Rose, Hannah Maria & Emily Michaela - you did it. My beautiful baby girls. I never knew I could love someone so much. Everyday I think my heart is going to burst from the overflowing amount of love I have for you 3. I can't hug you, kiss you or hold you enough.

Haily Rose - you are my strong willed fighter. From the day you decided you wanted to stay with us you showed that you would give 110% in everything you do. You don't let anything get in your way. You love to snuggle, especially after your naps. This is by far -my favorite part of every day.

Hannah Maria - you are my princess. Things need to be just right for you baby - and that's just fine with me. You also love to cuddle...but all the time. Anytime I need or want a hug I know I can count on you to snuggle right up to me. You'll give up a toy any time of day just for a hug.

Emily Michaela - you are my laid back easy-going baby. You are your daddy's girl. Even when mommy gets you up in the morning - you're looking around the corner for your daddy. If you wake up in the middle of the night - it's daddy that must come and help you fall back to sleep. Your smile melts my heart and I love it.

I can't promise that life will always be good to you but will make these 3 promises to my 3 girls:

1: I promise to tell you every day I love you - and I'll mean it.

2: I promise to

3: I promise that with every step you take, no matter what journey you decide, when you turn around I'll be walking right beside you ready to take your hand.

Growth Scan

This post will be a little off date wise because it's going to be a busy weekend for us due to the girls 1st bday on Sunday.
It was Thursday Feb 21st, 2008 and I went in for the growth scan. My heart is racing because I know today is a big day. The scan was scheduled at 11:00 but the nurse comes in at around 9 and asks if I'm ready. "No way!" I tell her I have to wait for my husband and that he won't be able to make it until 11:00 because he's working. She says something along the lines of "well - you'll just have to give him the update because they're ready for you now". Lol...nooooooo...it doesn't work that way in my world. I like my world. As anxious as I was to have this scan - I wasn't going without Pete. I told her to give me a few minutes to see if I could call Pete and have him come sooner. He can - so it's a win-win situation. I don't have to tell the nurse to take a flying hike and she doesn't have to threaten to cancel my scan. At this point I'm nervous, anxious and now a little pissed. I know where we need to go so as Pete is wheeling me by the nurses station I tell her "I'll find my own way there and back - no need to over work yourself trying to get me where I need to go". I'm sure the nurses are just as tired of me as I am of them. They're 'suppose' to be nice. I know they're over-worked but still...I'm pregnant...with triplets. Give me a break. We get in the room and usually a nurse does the scan and then the doctor looks it over but this time the doctor walks in and he's doing the scan himself. I've seen this doctor before but he's not my regular doc. The scan takes about 45 minutes and then the doc leaves. He sends a MED STUDENT back in the room to tell me that "Baby A still hasn't grown but we're going to continue to watch you for another week." My heart sinks because I know that I'm going to have babies soon. No way am I leaving Hailey in there one more week. I thank the med student but tell her that she needs to go get the attending...and NOT the one that did the scan. I give her the name of who I need to see. The doc that did the scan comes back in the room about 20 minutes later and says the same thing the med student said. I have a few choice words with him over his lack of bedside manner and say I'm not leaving without speaking to MY ATTENDING PHYSICIAN. He explains that my attending is covering other parts of the hospital that day and isn't on this particular rotation. "I know this you moron...I work here and I know where the fk these doctors work. Get the fk out of my room and go get him N O W." I'm telling Pete that there's something seriously wrong with the way things are going at this point. Not with the babies but with how things run in the hospital. It shouldn't be this way. I wanted a much more positive experience of having babies. This is far from what I expected. Not more than 10 minutes goes by when my attending comes in. I start off by telling him how unhappy I am with the previous doctor and how unacceptable this is and blah blah blah. He's not listening...they never do. They're too busy with more important things. I don't push the issue...I have something more important on my mind too. "Why isn't Hailey growing?" " What are we going to do?" "What are her chances of survival if we leave her in as oppose to taking her out?" He doesn't have specific answers...again - they never do. But he thinks that Hailey is growth restricted and wants to talk it over with the other attendings at the University before making a final decision. That's fine - I love that more than one doctor is involved because the more people = more brains. Pete and I go back to my room...I wave to the nurse on my way by. "I made it all by myself!" I'm laughing at her in my head. I'm sure she's cussing me out in hers. The same med student from earlier comes into my room about an hour later. "Sorry for what happened earlier. I had no idea that you had a scan last week and...." blah blah blah. "We were debating delivering you today - but we would be better prepared if we wait until tomorrow. We called all of the docs & nurses and it looks like everyone will be able to make it in tomorrow. We are going to schedule you for a section at 10:00am." Here's my 'oh shit' moment. I'm not ready. They're too little. The scan is showing Hailey is weighing in at just 2lbs. I'm not 32wks yet. This isn't happening now. But at the same time - I know I can't wait. The doctor is still talking "and it's better if we get Baby A out sooner than later. We have a very good NICU here and the team of doctors and nurses are well prepared to deal with this kind of situation." Me: "Her name is Hailey. Her sisters are Hannah and Emily. I hope you can meet them." She will...she's part of my team of doctors doing to the section. The girls each have a team of their own. They've all been contacted and will be ready to go by 10:00am the following day. The date will be February 22, 2008. Pete...what's he thinking? I don't know. I can't even ask him. We just sit there in silence knowing that what we're about to face isn't going to be an easy road. We also know we can't do it alone. We've been together long enough that we know what the other needs. The only thing we need right now is each other. The strength we pull from the other is going to get us through the next 24 hours.

Music, breastfeeding and horror stories

Music is a very important part of my life. It always has been and probably always will be. While I was on bed rest at home I spent many hours downloading & listening to music. (this is probably part of the reason my laptop isn't working so well these days...too many songs!). I'm on bed rest in the hospital and I use my laptop to listen to my music. I play it for the girls and they kick up a storm (mostly Hailey). It's useless to try and use the internet - the connection is so slow that I just get frustrated. But it's ok - as long as I have my music. No song really sticks out in my mind. Oh - there was a commercial running at the time. It had the lyrics to Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" and this commercial makes me laugh every single time I see it. Everything is funny to me these days - especially this commercial. Here it is on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL9KMm9XItg I download the song and listen to it over and over and over again. So I guess this is the one song that I can connect to being pregnant. Although it's an old favorite anyway. It's not a song that is played often on the radio but I notice that no matter who comes in my room when I have it playing - they start singing along or at least know the song and comment "oh...good song - I haven't heard this in forever!"
I have a meeting with the lactation consultant. Do I want to breastfeed? No. It's not that I don't want to - I can't. I have 3 babies on the way. I've done my research and I know that Pete needs to be connected to them and one way of this happening is by him being able to feed them. Plus - I need the help feeding them. I can't really breastfeed 3 babies can I? No...not without giving up some other important things. I'm going to pump. They don't need my breast to bond with me. We'll bond at the mall. They need the nutrients of the breast milk and I'll give them that by pumping. The consultant is very understanding about this decision although many others aren't. I don't care. It's not their life. Pete and I talk about it some more and we decide this is what's best for us. I guess it doesn't matter though. People always have an opinion. Some of the nurses and even family members are stressing how important it is to put the baby to the breast. This makes me mad but I let it go. I figure this is just one of the many speed bumps I'll come across as a parent. Although I'm tired of hearing "well I breastfed for..." and "oh I wish I could have but what happened was...." I don't care. I don't care about you or your stories or what happened to you 30+ years ago. Did you have triplets? Oh. I didn't think so. When you do have triplets - then you can come to me with your stories of heroism. For now - leave me alone.
That leads me to the stories people tell. Why do people feel the need to tell me about the worst of the worst while I'm pregnant? I hear stories about babies being born deformed or still born and then usually it's followed up with "oh - but don't worry...that won't happen to you!" I'm pregnant...tell me something good! I've perfected the "tune it out" ability at this point.
Lessons are learned of course. I know now that I will never tell someone that I don't like the baby name they've chosen for their precious little one. We chose names and we chose to tell people the names. And people decide that they will say things like "well how about ___ instead?" or "oh...really that's what you're going to name them?" We got a lot of "Well why only 2 H names?" I have also learned to be very positive to pregnant women. I am pregnant and emotional. I can't take sad stories - they make me cry! I will in turn do my best not to do the same thing to others. I guess that in the end I can thank the people that weren't so nice or had some pretty ugly things to say. Why would I thank them? They have shown me how NOT be and that's a life lesson.

Reading

Every night before bed mommy & daddy read to us. We love books. Usually we have our own book while they're reading but tonight we were really into daddy showing us the pretty pictures. The pictures in this book a shiny and pretty. It's all about ocean creatures. Mommy and daddy are going to take us to Mystic Aquarium this summer to see some things that we've been reading about. Maybe we'll see dolphins!

Love,

Hannah, Hailey, & Emily

Preview of the NICU

While in the hospital I made an appt for Pete and I to visit the NICU. We needed to get a preview of where our babies would be and we needed to be as prepared as possible. Although we learned quickly that nothing can prepare you for what you're about to go through as parents of preemies. Wow...this post is making me emotional and I'm not even 2 paragraphs in. It's bringing back memories that I try to keep buried deep in my unconscious. Anyway - we had a nurse bring us through the NICU so we could see what was coming. The nurse is wheeling me in a wheelchair and Pete is walking next to me. We go into the NICU and there are a lot of babies in there. Many more than I thought would be. It's 11:00 - I remember the time because I remember thinking 'it's not early - where is everybody?'. By everybody I mean the parents of these precious babies. I'm wheeled up to an incubator and I see this tiny little being all hooked up to tubes and machines and beeping. Oh Lord...the beeping. I don't know this baby but I want to hold her. I want to pick her up and tell her everything will be ok and how beautiful she is. But of course I can't. She's not mine. Mine are coming soon. I ask if we can see a baby this weighs around 2lbs so we can know what ours will look like. She says there is only 1 baby in there that is in that weight range and we can't see her - she's too sick for any visitors. I understand. We go back to my room and I ask Pete what his take is. He is fine. He knows our babies are going to be just perfect. He is stronger than I am when it comes to feeling this way. But he's the rock at this moment and it's good because I need that. I'm still confused by the emptiness of the NICU though. I ask him "where were all the parents?" I mean...here are all these babies and there wasn't a single parent in that room. He says something like maybe visiting hours haven't started yet but I know better. I have had time to read the rules and I know that parents can come and go any time of day or night. I let it go. It's not my business where the parents are.
Flowers, flowers and more flowers. My room is full of floral arrangements. People kept sending flowers. At one point the nurses are saying that I've made the entire floor smell really good. Pete's aunt and uncle from MD have sent a huge floral arrangement. I'm convinced these are the flowers making the entire floor smell so great. I'm thankful because they bring so much life and color to an otherwise boring hospital room.
Everything to this point is fine and under control. Even my heartburn. I have to monitor every few hours and I'm pretty good at finding the babies heartbeats right way with 3 separate monitors. Usually the nurse comes in and I just get myself hooked up and sometimes the nurse stays to chat. One of the nurses has twins and she has her husband bring them in one day. They are adorable. While I'm monitoring I'm suppose to be calm and quiet but it's hard when people are visiting. If I laugh - it makes a mark on the strip and makes it look like I'm having a huge contraction. I have to mark every one of these little blips so they know it was just me laughing. Usually my little brother Joey or my friend Kim are the biggest culprits of my laughing. I'm counting down the days until the next growth scan.
Michelle

Laundry

I will NO LONGER be a victim to my washer and dryer. This picture says it all. Over the weekend I spent way too many hours on this. I keep complaining about laundry and my mom (who raised 5 of us) always says "it will never end and you will always complain about it". Well...that might be so but - I'm fixing it! At least my way of fixing anyway. Pete's cousin just had a baby girl. So I decided to finally go through all of the girls clothes that no longer fit so I can send them some stuff. As you can see in the picture...I waited way too long to take on this chore. Here's my "fix it" solution. After all was said and done - I decided that 3 baskets of laundry was plenty for the girls. If it doesn't fit in 3 baskets - it's gone. I don't sell the clothes because most of them are given to us and I feel that I need to give back. And I did keep the preemie clothes so that the girls will have some dress up outfits for their dolls when they get to that age. But enough is enough. This will force me to do laundry everyday and not let it build up until there are 8 or 9 loads of laundry in the basement screaming my name. And I'm sure I'll receive some "hate" mail for this next statement but - there are in fact times when I come home from work and the girls laundry has been washed, dried, folded and put away. Well - with a max of 3 loads - I plan on being able to keep up with it myself! But if the laundry happens to be done when I get home...I'm happy with that too. :-) And a side note on this subject...if you happen to be one of the many people who give us clothes please don't stop! The girls grow out of things so quickly that I would never in a million years be able to afford to buy them new outfits everyday. Pete and I have set up a spot in the basement where we keep bins of clothes for future use. It's just that I will no longer be using every piece of clothing at the same time! Ah...life is just so much better when there isn't any laundry to do.

Michelle

I'M ON THE PHONE!

Can't you see I'm on the phone?!?! Keep the noise down!!!!!!

Hannah Maria

Helicopters and Heartburn

We're a little over 1 full week in the hospital on bed rest. I have my own room (very wise choice on the hospital's part) and I have a window. I can see the main entrance way to the hospital (the hospital is up on a hill - my view is down the hill). We have a helipad and in the week I've been here, I've seen a helicopter land at least 3 times. My curiosity gets the best of me and I ask the nurse "Why does the helicopter keep landing here? We're not a trauma center so I don't understand." She says "We have a level III NICU here. Babies are being flown in from all over the state that need our level of care." Sadly - this makes me feel better. I knew we had chosen a good place to have the girls - this just reassures me that everything will be ok.
It's midnight and I have heartburn so bad I feel like I'm going to throw up. This has been ongoing and probably the worst part of my pregnancy. (I told you that my pregnancy was very uneventful...heartburn is as bad as it gets for me). I need something so I ring my call bell. Hmmm...still waiting after a few minutes. Call again. Still waiting. Finally the nurse answers my call and says "can I help you?" Now I'm thinking 'I know that voice'. Yeah - sure enough it would be the very nurse who I told days previously not to let the door hit her @ss on the way out. I ask for something for my heartburn. She says "I have orders not to enter your room until 6:00am. I'll be sure to bring it then." Really?!?! I say calmly "ok - that's fine". I have my own Zantac - I don't need the hospitals. I was just trying to be the good patient and make sure they had everything documented. I get up off my bed and get my own heartburn pill and make a mental note to let the docs know I'm taking it. I keep repeating that I have said things "calmly" and this is intentional. Because during one of these upcoming posts you will read about a day that I went from calm to seeing red in the middle of the NICU. Trust me when I say - it wasn't pretty and the post will shock you. I promise that much.
During my hospital stay I wear my own clothes (those that would fit anyway) and put on makeup everyday. I try to look as normal as possible. Oh - and I take the longest showers of my life. (After getting orders that it would be ok for me to shower of course). I miss those showers! Because nowadays I'm back to what I refer to as 'boot camp' showers. In and out in 5 minutes and hope you've got it all!!!!
Michelle

Moving on....

So I never really get through the "food" issues at the hospital. They either forgot to bring my food, didn't get the order right or delivered my food to the room next door. I actually started ordering extra food to store in the fridge on our floor so that when they did mess up my order...I would still be able to eat. Mmmmm. Those were the days. Now it was my understanding that being on bed REST was to get REST and make sure you were giving the babies all of your energy so they can grow and be healthy. WHY then did the nurses feel the need to wake me up at all hours of the night to take my blood pressure and monitor the babies? At one point I had a nurse wake me up at 3:00 in the morning to monitor the babies. I asked if she could possibly do it later and she said "well not really - my shift ends at 7 and I have orders to monitor you one more time tonight." I'm like "Really? At 3 in the morning?" And she replies "well I won't have time later. I'll be busy with the shift changes." I kindly replied "well I don't have time right now because as you can see - I'm sleeping. Have a good night and don't let the door hit your @ss on the way out." When the docs came through for rounds the next morning I informed them that on my chart they were to erase any orders that may include waking me up between the hours of 11pm and 6am. I thought that was fair and the docs agreed. No more midnight intrusions.
When I was admitted to the hospital they did a growth scan on the girls. This is something they had done throughout the pregnancy to make sure the girls were growing and to this point...all of the scans went well. After the scan this time - they had a medical student come to talk with me. He said "blah blah blah blah blah, Baby A is growth restricted, blah blah blah blah...we'll do another scan in 2 weeks time." Lots of medical jargon. I work at a hospital and I know a lot more medical terminology than someone that doesn't work in the medical field. So I calmly say "Baby A - her name is Hailey. Would you please explain what you mean by 'growth restricted'?" And I can't quote what was said but basically he told me that "Baby A" hadn't grown much at all since the last scan and that they would just "keep an eye on things" and do another scan in 2 weeks. If she still hasn't grown - they will deliver the girls. I'm not a patient person. And there was no way in hell I was waiting 2 weeks time to see if things had changed. If Hailey isn't growing inside of me - I know that she'll be better off outside of me with some medical interventions. I speak to the attending physician in charge and they agree to do another scan in 1 week rather than 2. This makes me happy. I haven't yet hit the "OMG" moment of being a mother to triplets at this point. I think I was still using every ounce of my energy making sure I was doing everything right so the girls had the best chance of a healthy birth. My pregnancy was really uneventful. At one point one of the MFM docs said to me "you were meant to carry triplets!" The only thing I could say to this was "Maybe - but only once."
More visitors, more food, lots of reading, some TV & only Lord knows how many hours spent on the phone. I keep the cleaning lady in my room longer than she should be - she has a sweet nature about her and she keeps telling me how lucky I am to be having 3 girls. She has 3 boys, not all at once, but she's always wanted a little girl. I should count my blessings...this is what she tells me everyday. She also says she'll pray for me. I can't remember her name (add it to my every growing list of things I can't remember since pregnancy).
Michelle

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

We hope everyone is having a sweeeeeet Valentine's Day. We sure are! Mommy & Daddy are showering us with lots of hugs and kisses. AND...Mommy just told us that we are going to be flower girls in Nick & Sara's wedding next year!!!!!!!! We're so excited! They're getting married on 10/10/10 (they'll never forget their anniversary). So we're going to start practicing now. We're going to work on walking 1st. Then...mommy is going to show us how to throw rose petals...and not eat them. Then maybe (just maybe) we'll work on getting rid of Hannah's "mad" camera face before then. Oh we have a lot of work to do! We're going to go practice right now!!!!! Have a great day everyone! Thanks Nick & Sara!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Hannah, Hailey & Emily

PS

I won't be taking over the girls blog for long. Their 1st birthday is approaching and I'm just recounting the short time in the hospital before their arrival.

Haha

So I've gotten a few phone calls already about the pic of me below. "Why on earth would you put that on the internet?!?!" Lol. It's ok really. I don't mind showing the world what I looked like...in my view - it was all worth it in the end.
Anyhow - to continue the story from the time Pete and I had to "rush" to the hospital (we really didn't rush...and neither one of us was in a panic). After I was contracting so much the nurses gave me some meds to stop the contractions...and they worked. They also started steroid injections to help the girls lungs mature quicker than normal. Silly me - I was still thinking that I was going home the next day. But then the doc finally broke the news that no...I was not going home...I would be in the hospital on strict bed rest until the girls arrival. Now I know that I'm lucky because some people end up in the hospital on bed rest way before this point. Plus...I was admitted to the very hospital where Pete and I both worked at the time. (I still work here...but he has since found another job elsewhere). I felt so lucky because people came to see me all the time everyday. Pete was there in the morning before work, he would have lunch with me and then come hang out to watch TV after work until it was time for him to go home and sleep. My friends from work staggered their lunches so they came up at different times. Then the docs would randomly stop by during the day/evening when they were up in the hospital. The BEST thing was that my friend Kim (we work in the same office) told all the docs they weren't allowed to visit unless they brought food! I love her for this. As time passed I was able to get 3 steroid injections for the girls lungs. I knew this was great. I knew that these injections were really going increase their chances of not having breathing problems when they were born. I'm not contracting as often - and they're monitoring me all the time now. Ultrasounds, measurements, scans and so on. They're keeping a close eye on the girls and I was all about letting them. Plus...the more ultrasounds I had - the more I got to see the girls!
Now moving on the food aspect of the my hospital stay. They didn't let me eat for the 1st 24 hours I was there. They weren't sure if I was going to need to deliver so they were playing it safe. When I finally did get the green light to order some food I called down to the kitchen and started to tell the girl what I'd like for dinner. After a minute she said "Listen...you're not ordering 2 meals. You know you're not allowed to share food here." OMG! At this point...I'm starving. And if one person in the world thinks I'm sharing food they're out of their minds! So I calmly say to her "I'm pregnant with triplets - I think I should be able to order as much food as I'd like." She replies "well you'll have to have special orders sent to the kitchen then because we don't let people order that much food" Now - not only do I feel like a whale but I'm pissed. And you don't want to piss off a pregnant woman who hasn't eaten in 24 hours. Especially one that works there. I don't pull strings or call in favors...it's not my thing. But you better believe that I called some people that day! By the very next day I was visited by the hospital nutritionist. I was explaining how I need to eat 4,000 calories a day and I was NOT going to fight with people in the kitchen for my food everyday. I was given full access to order whatever I wanted in the kitchen and upon reviewing the "menu" I decided that it wasn't healthy enough and was then given full access to the kitchen and cafeteria (we have outside vendors cooking fresh food everyday in the cafeteria). This made me very happy. Until.........I called the kitchen one day and the guy answers the phone and before I can even say who I am he says "Oh hi Michelle! What can I send up for you now?" Any dreams of eating french fries quickly diminished because now EVERYONE knows. I'm pregnant with triplets and I need to eat healthy. Hehe...what they don't know is that I have a fast-food-super-junkie-eating little brother who made sure I got my fries and Taco Bell when needed. And let's not forget the docs who brought food. No worries...I'll post total weight gain in another post. I'm sure you're all just dying to know how much a pregnant woman gains when she's eating for herself + 3!!!!
Michelle

One year ago today...

I went on bed rest at home when I was 5 months pregnant. That was Dec 1st 2007. Once I went on bed rest I got this cool little contraption to use called a "home monitor" to see how many contractions I was having. When you have 3 little babies growing inside of you the doctors like to know exactly when the babies are going to make their grand entrance into the world so they keep a very close eye on every little thing. I would have to take this belt with a monitor on it and strap it around my ginormous (that's a word when you're pregnant with triplets) stomach and stay still for one very long hour, twice a day. After I was done monitoring I would have to hook up the monitor to a machine and send the information to a nurse. She would then call me back and tell me how many contractions I had and ask me the same gazillion questions I was asked when she called the last time I monitored. "How many contractions did you feel? Did you feel the babies move? What was your blood pressure? Are you staying still? Make sure you drink water!" That last one killed me...they would tell you to guzzle water all day long and then when you had to get up to pee 50 million times during the day they would yell at you for being off the couch too much! Ugh...I learned early to tell the nurses ONLY what they needed to know. These nurses that called me back would panic at the smallest things.

Which brings me to a year ago today. I was home (duh) and bored (duh again) when Pete came home from work. He went upstairs to do something and I dropped my chap stick and it rolled under the couch. I look at the stairs, debate calling Pete, decide it's stupid to make him come down and fish for my chap stick under the couch. Now logically...I should have left the chap stick right? I was pregnant...and logic was not part of my vocabulary. So I sit up on the couch and bend over to feel for the chap stick when I feel something happen inside of me. I don't know exactly what it was but I knew it was a different feeling. Pete comes downstairs 2 minutes later. Couldn't I have waited? I tell him what happened...he calls me an idiot and says to just call him when I need something. For the next 2 hours I think I'm feeling contractions every 15 minutes. So I call the nurse and she tells me to monitor for the next hour and send her the strip right away. I did just as I was told. She called me back and this is how the conversation goes:

Nurse: "Michelle! How many contractions did you feel?!?!"

Me: "I think I felt 4...but they weren't very strong so I could be wrong."

Nurse: "WELL YOU HAD 10! GET TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!!!"

Me: "Are you sure I had that many? It didn't feel like that many..."

Nurse: "WHY ARE YOU STILL ON THE PHONE!?!? IS YOUR HUSBAND THERE? GO!!!!!"
Now I'm thinking to myself "if I wasn't in labor before talking to you...I am now!" These nurses are always over reacting. But I oblige and tell Pete that we need to go to the hospital. I don't even pack a bag because in my head...I'm coming right back home. Hahaha....

It took over an hour to make a 20 minute trip because it was snowing. I get to the hospital and the nurses are looking at me like I'm crazy when one of them blurts out "what took you so long? We've been waiting for you!" Apparently - crazy, over reactive, home-monitor nurse called the hospital and said we'd be "right there". Not my fault there's a snowstorm. They hook me up to a monitor and I didn't even have 1 contraction for the next hour. I'm thinking 'yeah...I'll be home - this was waste of time'. But then I started contracting every 5 minutes for the very next hour. Out the window were any dreams of remaining on bed rest at home. The hospital became my new home until the babies arrived.....

Wow

We really love when we get something in the mail. Not only because we love "things" but because it shows that someone was thinking about us. And mommy always says it's the thought that counts. BUT we must really have been good to get this in the mail from Auntie Lucy & Uncle Bryon! Can you believe it?!?! THANK YOU!!!!!

Love,

Hannah, Hailey & Emily

Sunday

We did so much today that we didn't even have time to take an afternoon nap. (Well...Hailey found time to sneak one in but not the other 2). Grammie came over this morning and hung out for a while. We had more fun in the tunnel and then Uncle Joey & Kristin came over and took us for a long walk in our choo-choo wagon. It was the very 1st time we used it and it was great. It attracts a whole bunch of attention...but that's ok - we love every bit of it! Then Grandpa, Grandma and Titi came over. We're so tired now...but it was a great day! Hope you guys had as much fun as we did this weekend!!!

Love,

Hannah, Hailey & Emily

YIPPIE!

We woke up this morning and this was in our living room just for us!!!!! Can you belive it?!?! OMG! It's a Disney playhut with a tunnel and it is soooooooo much F U N! Mommy had to keep pulling us out of it when it was time to leave. We went to visit at Auntie Lucy's house today. We had fun but once again we were overwhelmed with the # of people there. It's just so overstimulating and we seem to have a hard time adjusting to those kinds of situations. Maybe it'll get easier as we get older (at least mommy is hoping it does). Anyway - we really love this new playhut and tunnel. It is just amazing! And check out the new video on the blog of us playing peek-a-boo in it!

Love,

Hannah, Hailey & Emily

Brushing our teeth

It's our new favorite thing to do.

Brushing our teeth

It's our new favorite thing to do.

Post from Hannah

Everyday mommy kisses each of us goodbye before she leaves for work. Today we were all sitting on the floor and just like usual she kissed us goodbye and when she turned around to wave goodbye I was standing all by myself at the toy box. I didn't think this was such a big deal. There was a toy in there that I wanted and the only way to reach it was to stand up and lean way over to get it. But mommy freaked out. She was yelling and screaming and clapping so loud that it scared the poop out of me! I started crying and she hugged me...but I think I'll hold back on this standing thing for a few more months now.
On the teeth count...I still don't have any. Hailey and Emily both have 2 bottom teeth. It's ok though...I still get to eat what they eat too. This morning we had a bagel with cream cheese. It was soooo yummy. Then mommy gave us some juice but instead of putting it in our sippy cups she let us drink out of a straw. It didn't work so well for Hailey and I but Emily got the hang of it right away. We're moving right along in this milestone climb!!!!! We'll post pictures soon. Mommy's laptop crashed (whatever that means). So Daddy's working on fixing it for her. Once he fixes it we'll have more pics up.
Love,
Hannah Maria (please note that my middle name is NOT banana!)

Before conception

As the girls approach their 1st birthday I've decided I'm going to do a countdown by recounting. I'm going to recount the days before conception, days of pregnancy and day of their arrival! Not all at once because that would be one very long post. So it'll be over the next couple weeks until their birthday. No worries...I will still be posting pics on the girls because in the end...I know that's what everyone wants anyway!!!

We'll start early...way early. Pete and I met on a blind date in 1995 (Thanks Kelly & Dan!). We got married in 2001 (in Vegas). In 2003 we decided we were going to start our family. Two years goes by and we decide to buy a condo. We know time is passing but we're not concerned. We've told so many people we're "trying" and the question of "are you yet?" is getting more and more annoying with everyday. I'm regretting telling people. After another year we start thinking "hmmm...". We see doctors. So many of them. We have test after test. No answers. We're not concerned. We'll just adopt! We go through the classes, background checks, start a profile, buy a nursery and paint the room a neutral color. One day it hits me. My heart isn't in it. I tell Pete and he says he feels the same way. We go back to the doctor. (It's been almost a year since we've seen the doctor at this point). Throughout all the testing I had 2 surgeries that "could" be the problem. They want me to have another. I say no. What's the point? It didn't work before and it's not going to work again. We're starting to feel the pressure of a problem at this point but more because people wouldn't leave it alone. You just can't imagine how insensitive people really are. Not knowingly of course, but still. "Try standing on your head. Go on vacation. Get drunk! Stop thinking about it so much. Stop working so hard. Quit school." This was all advice? We start telling people we're no longer trying. But in reality we're still seeing doctors and trying to find the "problem". We're still not broken about all of this. Pete and I both know it's a new era and there are many options. Our doors haven't closed completely - we just have to choose another one...