Two home... one to go!

Just wanted to let you all know our exciting news that Anna and Natalie came home late yesterday! We are so happy to have them with us, and are eager to have Elisabeth join them. It all happened very quickly this week... the doctor was going to release all the girls since they were doing so well and all three took all their feedings for the day. They all passed their car seat tests and we did all their discharge training and papers, but the night before they were going to be released Elisabeth had a little spell. She hadn't had any in 10 days, but that night she had two while trying to feed. They said it was a normal thing that even full term babies do- they sometimes don't get enough oxygen when feeding, but because she is still so small (3 lbs, 12 oz) they couldn't release her. We know that is where she needs to be, but it broke our hearts to leave her behind. We'd hoped if she didn't have any more she would be released this weekend, but the doctor said this morning that she had another one last night, so we just need to pray that she does not have anymore, and continues to grow.
We made it through the first night- just Chris and I. It was actually pretty nice to just be us and the girls (and Alex) since we haven't had a chance to be alone with them yet! We are feeling very blessed... we just need Elisabeth home soon, too!

Our first family photo

































Ready to go home!

































Finally Grammy and Gramka get to hold them!














...and big brother

Just wanted to update everyone- the girls have made some good progress this week!
Elisabeth has joined the girls in the crib! She curled right up with them, and has done well at maintaining her temp. I'm sure cuddling up with her sisters helps with that. She is now 3 lbs 7 oz.
Natalie was taken off the caffeine yesterday morning and has not had any breathing spells so far so that is also great news. Both she and Elisabeth are bottle feeding once a shift. They are still getting the hang of it. Natalie is now 3 lbs 14 oz.
Anna is now bottle feeding every other feeding as she has picked it up very well. I also was able to successfully nurse her yesterday, although she had a little trouble today. She is now 4 lbs 2 oz. She is continually to do so well and we know they may send her home before the others. I'm not sure what we will do if that happens, but hopefully it will just be a matter of days between them coming home.
Here are some pics of the three reunited!

l-r Anna, Natalie, Elisabeth
























































and a cute one of Natalie and Anna before Elisabeth joined them...

We are so proud of our girls! All three girls did great on their bottle assessments so they will start to introduce it more and more. We were able to feed Anna and Natalie their bottle yesterday and today. Anna did well for me, but Natalie had a harder time staying awake for both me and Chris. Elisabeth just got to try the bottle for the first time late this afternoon so we were not there, but heard she did well!
We are also so excited as they were able to put Anna and Natalie together in a crib. They are both out of the warming beds so they were able to put them together (and wear their cute outfits). This is something we really hoped they would be able to do as it really benefits them to be together (and will help them stay warm). Elisabeth is growing fast, and will hopefully be able to join them in the next few days.
Natalie is still needing her caffeine every morning to keep her breathing well (like a lot of adults I know :)). They tried weaning her off it a few days ago and she was not ready. Pray that she will be able to breathe without it soon.








Feeding Natalie














Feeding Anna













Anna and Natalie together!

We had a great day today! We were able to take and hold all the girls at the same time today! It was so sweet to have them reunited again, and it made some great pictures!














l-r Elisabeth, Natalie, and Anna




























Natalie and Anna







The girls are all doing well. They are gaining weight, but just now getting up past their birth weight. Anna maintained her body temp by herself for a few days but then had a setback one night. They will try her again soon, but today Natalie was off the warmer getting a chance to maintain her body temp herself. Go Natalie!! Today they were also going to introduce the bottle to Anna and Natalie and see how they do! Elisabeth is still too small to try either, but she is gaining weight the best of the three so she should be there soon!





A sweet pic of Elisabeth holding her hands together






















Since Anna was doing so well at maintaining her body temp we got to bring her an outfit. Unfortunately it only lasted one day- she had a cold spell that night.







Anna looking up at daddy













Natalie found her thumb!







We have settled in at the Ronald McDonald House, and are so thankful that we are able to stay there. I stayed there all week and Chris came up every other day. We spend our mornings at the NICU, take a break early afternoon, and then go back to the NICU for the rounds around 4pm. Alex also spent a few nights with us this week and visited with the girls. He has been having a lot of fun with his grammy and gramka, though.
They still think the girls will need a few more weeks in the NICU. We can't wait to get them home, though!!

Sorry we haven't posted anything in a few days. It has been a very busy time for us- and we are pretty worn out (especially me). I was released from the hospital today and we are spending one night at home before we return tomorrow to our new room at the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital. They offer free lodging and meals to families whose children are at the hospital. It looks like a great place. I will stay there most of the time, Chris will come up several times a week, and Alex will stay between us and his grandparents.
We hope the time will go by fast until the girls can come home. The doctors at this time say 3-4 weeks and they may come home at different times. The babies have to be able to do several main things before they are released- they have to be at least 4 1/2 lbs, they have to be able to feed from a bottle or breast, they have to be able to breathe on their own, and they have to be able to maintain their body temperature on their own. They doctor say they are all healthy it is just a matter of them developing to reach each of these goals.
Anna is doing great. She is the biggest has not had any breathing problems. She is doing so great they were even trying her out without her bed warmer and just swaddled up one night. She wasn't able to do it that night, but she is getting close. She is fun because she is also the most active. She has her eyes open more and will look at you! She is also the bigger complainer.
Natalie still has a few times where she forgets to breathe and so, of all things, they give her caffeine! She started that last night and has not had an episode yet so hopefully she will soon grow out of that! She has the cutest cry!
Elisabeth is our smallest one, but she is gaining the most weight now! Soon she will get out of her incubator and into a bed. She had a little jaundice so was sunbathing under the blue lights for a few days, but they took her out of their today. We were so glad- she just looked like she was cooking under there.
They are on a rotation every 3 hours for diaper change, checking vitals, etc.. so we can be with them at that time and do those things for them. That is the hands-on time a the NICU- otherwise they discourage you from touching them too much because of the stimulation. We have also finally been able to hold them a little more lately which has been wonderful. That was the hardest thing for me.
Here are some pictures:





changing Natalie's diaper for the first time



















Here is our little Anna looking at us
Isn't that a big pacifier?














Grammy got to hold Natalie's pacifier






Here are several pictures of Elisabeth






Sunbathing














Holding Mommy's hand













Mommy and Daddy both have a hand on her














Elisabeth with her eyes open

All babies are still doing well. Natalie has been having a little trouble breathing and needs some help from time to time. Elisabeth is having to spend some time in the incubator due to her size, but she is doing well. Anna so far has had no major issues. The doctor is impressed with how well they are doing so far. They will need to stay in the NICU for approximately one month before coming home. Kim is steadily on the mend.









Alex, the proud brother

Anna

Elisabeth

Natalie

Natalie

Chris changing first diaper (Anna)

Here are some pictures from the day. Our girls are finally here!

Anna (a couple of minutes old)

Anna

Natalie and Elisabeth

Anna in NICU

Natalie after her first bath

Natalie after her first bath

The babies were born on 4/7/09 at 3:47, 3:48, and 3:49 p.m.

The babies are here!!!!! Anna Laura Snow came out first weighing 3 lbs. 9 oz. Natalie Joy Snow came out second weighing 3 lbs. 7 oz. Elisabeth Kay Snow came out third weighing 2 lbs. 13 oz. All are doing well in the NICU. Kim is also doing just fine. It has been a whirlwind of events and just now started to slow down long enough to write. We'll try to put some pictures up later tonight if possible.

The C-Section has been moved up to 3:00 p.m. today!
Chris

Today is the day!

We had our ultrasound this morning. Baby c has not improved- she has no fluid left and her blood flow continues to be not good. They have decided that the risks of them being premature at this stage are much less than the risks for her to stay in my belly- so they are going to perform the C-section today! I am one day short of 32 weeks- the average for triplets- so we did pretty well, and the babies should do well, too.
They are planning it for 6 pm tonight! We are excited to meet our little girls!

This is Chris. I'm doing the blog tonight. Kim has been admitted to the hospital this evening. Everything is O.K. They want to start monitoring the babies and Kim a little closer now. She is probably going to give birth in the next few days. Today, the babies weighed 3 lbs. 9 oz., 3 lbs. 13 oz. and 3 lbs. 1 oz. Baby C is still a concern because she is falling behind in weight and not getting adequate bloodflow. They are going to run regular tests, and when the results determine that Kim needs to deliver, then that's when they will do the C-Section. The earliest would be tomorrow afternoon. Everything is going fine, except it's a little less comfortable now that we're in the hospital. I'm sleeping on the couch and Alex is staying with Kim's parents. Please continue to pray that God will see us through to the end and continue to bless us as He has done so far.

Dr update- 31 weeks

Had my high risk doctor appt today- nothing has changed with my contractions or cervix since last week so that is good news. He says I could last a few more weeks or I could go into labor today- there is just no way of telling. He is going to have me go ahead and get the steroid shots tomorrow and the next day to help develop the babies lungs. I feel better about going ahead and getting them, also, as it just seems like waiting until I go into labor would be too late. He said babies over 3 lbs that have had the steroid shots should do great in the NICU so that was good news.
His only concern is over our smaller baby "c". She is having some umbilical cord issues and doesn't seem to be getting as much blood flow, etc.. through it. Since it has been 2 weeks since they were last measured he wants me to come back Monday (after I have had the shots) to measure and check on her development. As of the last measurement she was a good size and only a little bit behind the other two so he just wants to make sure she isn't falling more behind. It is very common in triplet pregnancies that one of the babies has some placenta/cord issues and falls a little behind. He said it's not anything major to worry about, and at the worst if they check her on Monday and there are significant issues they will just go ahead and deliver the babies- and they should be just fine.
Pray for our little baby "c" and I'll let you know what happens on Monday!