Baby updates!!!

Every time I sit down to post an update on the status of the babies, their status' change.  So far, thankfully, most of the changes have been for the better with only a limited few, minor, temporary changes for the not so better.  By the time I finish this post and by the time many of you read this, there will likely have been even more changes...

Our trio is 5 days old today...

Annie - the oldest but the smallest.  She is quickly proving to be the feisty one in the group.  The nurses comment on how her size and might just don't match.  Her 2 nicknames in the unit are "loud mouth" and "drama queen."  She hates having to wait 3 hours between feedings and isn't shy about letting everyone know it.  Despite her size, she is not receiving any respiratory support and is breathing room air totally on her own.  She has dark brown hair and a lot of it.  She is doing great with the breast milk she receives through a tiny tube in her nose and is moving her bowels well (this is very important at this early age).  She LOVES her binky and gets quite distraught when she looses it.  We laugh because the binky is about the size of her whole face!  Annie also LOVES her daddy!  She focuses in on him whenever he is around and when she gets upset his simple presence and voice quickly calm her down.  Needless to say he is over the moon for her and spends hours staring at her picture when he can't be with her.  I have graciously taken my place as the number 2 girl in his life.  :)



Elias - the "middle child."  He had a rough first few days.  His poor belly took awhile to get going and he spent a lot of time spitting up and generally miserable.  Bobby and I have voted him most improved because when we walked into the NICU on day 3 we hardly recognized him.  Unlike the others who seemed to shed their pieces and parts gradually, he seemed to improve overnight and got rid of much of the extra medical equipment all at once.  He is also not receiving any respiratory support and has been on room air the longest of the 3.  He has crazy blond/strawberry blond hair that we can't quite figure out.  Very cute!  Every nurse who takes care of him tells us that he has a very sweet and relaxed disposition and they love being assigned to him.  He is quickly becoming known as the "chill" one in the group.  He never cries out and loves to sleep with his arms and legs sprawled out wide.   Unfortunately, he often gets a bit too "chill" and needs to be reminded to breath.  The nurses reassure us that this is quite normal for his gestational age and the episodes should become less and less frequent with time.  (Still unnerving though!)


Michael - the youngest.  His was the only face we got to see when we first met the babies after delivery.  All 3 were intubated (breathing tube placed) in the delivery room but he had already been extubated (tube removed) when we saw them after recovery 2 hours later.  Despite being extubated first, he has taken the longest to fully wean off of the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure).  He also is taking the longest to tolerate his feedings.  Today they were finally able to increase his feeding volume and we hope it will go well.  While the other 2 have already started gaining weight (after their initial losses), Michael continues to loose weight.  We hope this will turn around soon.  Like his siblings he also has a full head of hair, sort of dirty blond.  He loves his binky and is already showing the nurses that he will be ready to try bottle feeding in a few weeks - he has a mighty strong suck!  Unlike Annie who has a meltdown when she looses her binky, he is just as happy to hold his binky next to his face and chew on it. 


Everything seems to be changing so fast and time flies by in the NICU.  Bobby and I are exhausted but having the time of our lives.  We still can't believe the 3 little miracles we have in our lives and while we aren't wishing away a moment of their lives, we can't wait to bring them home.