37 Weeks

This week has brought some progress, but also some of our first setbacks.

Everyone is still off of their nasal cannulas so it looks like they will be able to come home without oxygen tanks. This is great news as it will make life simpler and also I had no idea where we were going to put tanks in this house as we will already have baby paraphernalia everywhere.

Everyone is also now on "shift minimum" feeds, which means instead of trying to eat a certain amount every three hours they have 12 hours (which includes four feeding times) to try to meet a certain goal.  Jack was put on a shift minimum several days ago and he has been doing great.  In fact, Jack is doing such a good job eating that he no longer even has a feeding tube so we have been able to look at his cute face without any tubes! The girls were both put on that schedule yesterday morning, and so far have been doing well.  Since there is not a specific goal each feeding time, they do not receive any additional food through their tubes if they come up short.  Of course, if they are unsuccessful at the shift minimum feeding plan (by eating less than the minimum amount determined by the doctors and nurses, or by losing weight over a period of time) they will be moved back to a specific amount each feed and whatever isn't eaten will be given through a tube again (their feeding tubes will not be removed until they prove they can eat enough). 

Last night their weights were:
Alexis: 5 lbs 5 oz
Jack: 5 lbs 1 oz
Faith: 5 lbs 1 oz

We were so surprised when Alexis passed Jack in weight, but it probably has to do with the fact that he has been eating all of his food by bottle instead of part of it through a tube for a longer period of time, so he has been burning more calories.

There are some things that need to be done before the babies go home, such as an eye exam (since they were on oxygen for awhile and this can cause issues with their eyes), a hearing test, and a car seat test.   Strangely enough, Alexis and Jack passed their eye exam and hearing test without a problem, but it was determined that Faith is not as developed and therefore needs follow up testing for both.  It seems crazy to me that although all three are the exact same age, Faith's system is somehow less mature, but I guess this happens with multiples. Jack is the only one that has had his car seat test so far (to make sure he can sit in his car seat for 1.5 hours without having a spell), and he passed.  The girls will get tested in the next day or so.

Last weekend we were thinking that Jack might be home yesterday as he was eating well and he had gone a couple of days without having a spell, but then on Sunday he ended up having two spells which means he must go another five days without a spell.  Supposedly, once a baby goes five days without a spell the doctors feel confident that he has outgrown having spells.  If he continues to go without a spell, he would be discharged Friday night or Saturday morning.

Although Alexis is a bit behind Jack in eating, she was doing great in the spell department and she had gone six days...until last night :(.  I was feeding her and she was doing a great job of pacing herself and taking breaks to breath.  She was getting to the end of her bottle and she suddenly became very still.  Although I tried to react by pulling the bottle out of her mouth and rubbing her back, it was too late as the monitor went off and showed her heart rate drop.  We were so disappointed as we were thinking she would also be home sometime this weekend, and now her five day spell count has restarted.

Faith had gone 3 days without a spell and then had one early yesterday morning.  Although it is disappointing to hear that any of the triplets are having spells, this news was not quite as disheartening as Alexis's and Jack's spells as we know Faith will have a longer hospital stay since she has had more spells in the past and she isn't consistently eating as much.

Yesterday the OT's came for "play time."  They brought a couple of mats and a large boppy for the triplets to lay on. We were planning on doing tummy time, but Alexis, Jack, and Faith had just had their eye exam and they were exhausted, so instead it turned into a photo opportunity as we haven't had all three together many times. It was so cute watching them interact with each other.  They also looked so relaxed being together (most of the time).

Jack and Faith before Alexis joined...

Alexis (left), Jack, and Faith (right)...

This past week I have been working on getting things ready around the house for the triplets' homecoming.  I have been running errands for the first time in months, cleaning (it's amazing how good it feels to vacuum after not being able to do it yourself for several months due to Braxton Hicks and C-section recovery!), reorganizing the kitchen to make room for bottles, and buying last minute things that will make the triplets more comfortable at our house (like a humidifier for their bedroom).

Micah and I are feeling a bit burned out on spending time at the hospital, which is hard since we want to spend time with our babies. The spell that Alexis had last night definitely did not help our morale.  Overall, we know that everyone is doing great, but I truly thought they would all be home by now so it has been difficult to watch them all have slight setbacks this week.  Thank you for all of your prayers for us and the babies as we continue on this NICU journey.

Here are some photos from the past week:

Faith

Alexis

Alexis (left), Faith (right)

Jack

Alexis

Faith

Me with Alexis (left) and Jack (right), Micah with Faith