35 Weeks

This past week was full of changes and growth.  Alexis, Jack, and Faith are now all over 4 pounds!  They are actually starting to outgrow some of their preemie clothes, which looked huge on them when we first got them. Today I tried to hold Jack and Faith skin-to-skin at the same time and it was quite difficult as they are so much bigger and more wiggly, so I think I'll have to stick to one at a time from now on.

Each of the babies is on 24 calorie food (breast milk is fortified to add calories) so that they gain weight faster, and that stuff makes for some stinky diapers (and gas which makes you think you'll soon be changing a stinky diaper)! Micah and I have both had our fair share of changing "endless diapers" which involve getting 5-6 diapers dirty while trying to change a diaper.  This has made us glad that we are getting our diaper changing lessons at the NICU when we're not actually paying for diapers as that really adds up with three babies!

A few days ago all three were moved from isolettes to bassinets.  We had talked with their nurses about keeping them in isolettes for an extra week, but the NICU has been overcrowded and the isolettes were needed for new babies, so the triplets were moved.  I love the bassinets as it's so much easier to pick up the babies and hold them.  They also look so much more grown up!  One reason isolettes are used is to help babies maintain their body temperature, but none of the triplets has had any difficulty with this since being moved to the bassinet.

Since the NICU has so many babies right now, all three are currently sharing one bed space.  Faith and Alexis have been sharing a bed space since the first week, but now Jack has joined them.  This is fun as it's now possible to get all three in pictures (although it really doesn't work to hold three squirmy babies at once), and Jack has been held with each of his sisters for extended periods of time.  All of the nurses have commented about "poor Jack" as he's been "so far away" (he was a whole 10 feet away from the girls), but now his bassinet is between the girls so he is getting lots of quality time with his sisters.  We are hoping this is a temporary situation, though, as the bed spaces aren't very spacious so there isn't a lot of room for us and the nurses to work with the babies.

All three are now taking a bottle every three hours!  They still aren't drinking much liquid (10 ml for the girls and 15 ml for Jack), but they are getting much stronger and they are all getting better at coordinating their sucking, swallowing, and breathing.  Tomorrow they will probably all be bumped up to 20 ml every three hours and if they do well with that they could potentially be bumped up another 10 ml the next day.  Their bottle volumes will continue to be increased as each baby shows they can successfully eat the amount every three hours without growing overly tired.  Currently, each is being fed about 40 ml every three hours so the remaining amount is fed through their tubes.  The total amount they are fed is increased as they gain weight, so they could be on 50 ml or 60 ml every three hours by the time we leave, but we've been told that once a baby learns to eat the amount doesn't make much difference as they are efficient.

Two other requirements for being discharged, in addition to maintaining body temp and eating by bottle, is being spell-free for five days and being off caffeine for ten days.  They have all been off caffeine for over a week and although each of them has had 1-2 spells a day, the lack of caffeine does not seem to be a problem.  We've been told that the spells (decrease in heart rate and oxygen saturation) are due to their prematurity, and as the babies develop more each week they spells should disappear.  Although it's a bit nerve wracking to hear the monitor go off and see the red lights flashing, we haven't been too worried about the spells as the doctors and nurses have assured us they will grow out of it.

This past Sunday my mom came for a visit. My parents flew out the day the babies were born, but since they were in the NICU and the nurses stressed that the babies really needed to rest and grow, my parents did not get to hold any of the triplets before they left.  This time, though, my mom got to hold all of the babies multiple times.  It's still a little hard since they still need to rest and grow and we try to hold for at least an hour so that we don't disturb their tube feeding and rest, but my mom didn't mind sitting for extended periods of time and staring at her grand babies. I also had a lot of fun with my mom during the few days she was here as the NICU can be a somber place and it was great to have her company for a few days.  She will come back to help when the triplets are all home from the hospital, which we were told today will probably be about two more weeks.

Here are some pics from this past week:

 Grandma and Jack

Grandma, Alexis (left), and Faith (right)

Grandma, Alexis, Jack, and Faith (brown blanket)

Jack trying to suck his thumb

Me realizing how difficult it is to hold two at once (Alexis and Jack) as they move so much now

Faith's bath (Alexis in her isolette in the background)

Bath time for Faith

Micah, Alexis (left), Faith (right)

Faith in her isolette

Micah and Faith

Alexis (left) and Faith (right)

Me and Jack

Micah and Alexis

Alexis

Micah and Jack

Alexis, Jack, and Faith - together for the first time since being born (although Alexis should be in the middle as that is how they were in the womb)

Faith

Jack in his bassinet

Faith in her bassinet