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
I,m so very proud of both of you .Goobd luck and God bless you both. Oh yea "get some sleep"
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