It's Not A Doll!

It's a magical, musical seahorse...and it's blue.

A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas 2008 was one for the books - all 3 babies were home and we had a ton of snow! Isaac was released from the hospital the day after his surgery. He impressed all of the doctors and nurses with his speedy recovery and the fact that he didn't forget how to eat. Little did they know that he had been practicing vigorously on a binky for the previous 3 weeks:) A swallow study (cartoon-like x-ray) showed that the little man would benefit from thickened formula though - a little concoction Casey and I like to refer to as "Tiger Milk", other than that we are trying to get back into the smooth, systematic routine we had before Isaac went to the hospital...ha ha....ok, A routine:)

Christmas was a lot of fun even if the little guys didn't know what was going on. They were so good and just sat there soaking in all of the festivities. Until later that evening I had never believed in over-stimulation:) Although I swore the boys were only getting diapers and wipes for Christmas, a last minute trip to the store by daddy, a visit from Santa, Grandmas & Grandpas, and Aunties & Uncles resulted in some serious spoiling! I'm not sure why Santa spent so much time wrapping the gifts just for Casey and I to open;)

Recovering

Isaac finally had his surgery this morning! He was transported to Children's Saturday afternoon (in hopes of beating the snow storm) and has been patiently waiting for surgery. After a long night of little sleep with mom and dad taking shifts to jump up and put his binky back in his mouth, Isaac had finally drifted off into a deep sleep when we got the news that they could get him in this morning instead of later this evening. The little man did great! The surgery was an "open" surgery instead of laproscopic and he may have a cool scar like Uncle Jeff. He was only in the recovery room for about an hour and is now back in his regular room snoozing away. The surgeon told us that Isaac's pylorus muscle was one of the biggest he had ever seen in a preemie! How did 4 doctors miss this diagnosis then, you might be wondering...don't get me started!

In a couple of hours we will get to try to feed him some pedialyte and graduate up to regular formula if he tolerates it well. Casey and I are confident he will do well because he is one scrappy little fighter. Isaac has not eaten from a bottle or had food in his belly for 3 weeks now and is pretty mad about it! The surgeon warned us not to let him make up for lost time and gulped down an entire bottle:)

Next step - getting out of here with a small child post-surgery in the worst snow storm in a decade. If Casey thought I was a nervous passenger before wait until we get Isaac in the car!!

Before surgery

Isaac and daddy

After surgery sleeping away with his faithful companion Wizard the dog.

Baby Updates

Evan and Drew recently had their 2 month vaccinations and check-up. They are big boys now weighing in at over 9 1/2 lbs each! They did not like getting the shots in their legs. Evan cried hard enough to almost make me start crying and Drew screamed like mommy - mouth wide open with nothing coming out...until he caught his breath and then really let it go!





Isaac is still at the NICU in Everett and being transferred to Children's today if all goes as planned for surgery on Monday. Since he is older now he requires a lot more stimulation so the nurses have had their hands full trying to keep him entertained. He gets to swing, listen to music, have a mobile on his bed, and sit in the vibrating chair in his doorway to watch the nurses work (and hopefully get tired). Hopefully he will recover quickly from his surgery and get to come home on Christmas. If not, Santa will have to make another trip out to the Lake.



Brewster is surprisingly a good big brother. He is only jealous of the babies pacifiers and will take off with any left sitting around. He likes to kiss the babies on their heads and often has to be told to stop as he tries to give them a bath. He does not like the unpredictable arm flailing and is confused as to whether or not they are trying to play with him. I do think that Brewster tries to establish his dominance by eating his treats in front of them though. He has no idea how bad things will get for him once these little guys are mobile:)

Some things that I have learned recently as a new parent...

Finger nails are good for getting baby boogies
Finger nails are bad when changing dirty diapers
Baby farts are funny
It is not funny when a baby can't fart
I should always have my hair pulled back when burping a baby over my shoulder
Babies can burp like grown men
I should never wear anything nice
It is so sweet when babies start to grab and hang on to you
It is not sweet when babies pull your hair
Babies know exactly when you get comfortable in bed
Babies hide cheese in their fat rolls
Babies like to pee when changing their diapers with no lights on
and many other things I can't think of due to lack of sleep...

Comeback Kid!

We are thrilled to report that little Isaac is doing much better. He is still recovering at the NICU from his aspirated pneumonia all the while winning the hearts of the nurses. The cause for Isaac's pneumonia has been determined the result of pyloric stenosis (enlarged muscle between his stomach and intestine) and is currently waiting for surgery to be scheduled at Children's Hospital in Seattle hopefully by the end of this week. He is still fragile with a recovering immune system but is 100% better than he was last Saturday!!

Although 3 babies are a handful we can't wait for Isaac to get home and get back into our chaotic routine. I think Evan especially misses his identical twin and talking to him in their secret language (which sounds like dolphins). Things just aren't the same without Isaac at home where everything comes in 3's.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Isaac sure is a lucky guy to have so many people thinking about him!!

Thoughts and Prayers Please

We are hoping that everyone can keep Little Isaac in their thoughts and prayers as he is very sick. We had to take him to the emergency room Saturday morning and he has been admitted back into the ICU. Isaac either aspirated a lot of fluid into his lungs or has pneumonia. In any case he is on a ventilator and receiving antibiotics, all of which are helping keep his little body going. It is slow going to clear fluid out of the lungs but our little Mighty Mouse has made progress every day and I'm sure will continue to do so.

Something's Missing

I've looked the boys over and almost everything is there...

3 button noses

3 little mouths

6 bright eyes

30 fingers...

30 little toes...

3 cute bums...

but no eyebrows!

They're Home!

Ok. So this is old news that the boys are all home but it is the first chance I have had to write about it. Isaac and Drew came home on October 30th and Evan came home on November 2nd. All boys are healthy and getting bigger every day. They are actually 4 weeks old today and still not even officially "due" yet (due date November 26th). We are enjoying our time with them and getting to know each boy's personality.

Evan (baby A)

He is a guy who knows what he wants. He can really let you know when he is hungry and also really enjoys his tummy time and exercising his limbs.

Isaac (baby B)

Our little thinker. He currently gets the prize for fussiest. He is still the smallest but catching up quickly. I think that because of his small size that his gas bothers him more than the other boys.

Drew (baby C)

Mr. laid back. He eats hard, sleeps hard, and plays hard. I can always count on Drew to wait his turn at meal time - thank goodness!!

We are still getting the hang of logistics with 3 babies. Bath time is a little tricky but we are working on it. Grandma and Grandpa have been a huge help with the boys. It is nice when the adults can out number the babies. Evan, Isaac, and Drew sure are lucky little boys to have so many people who love them!

To make up for lost time I have posted some pictures. They are a mix of the boys at home and at the hospital.

A picture of the boys' room at the hospital once they were all moved in together.

Here is a picture of the boys napping. One can be squirmy and yell and not bother the others. I think they are used to living in tight quarters.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Isaac. He is the attentive thinker.

I was in the hospital for over 7 weeks and this was the craftiest thing I could make for the boys. Hats with their initials on them. Yes, that is a "D" not an "O". They are going to be so embarrassed of their mom!
Here is Drew after a nice bath. He sure was relaxed after his spa treatment.

Here is a little reminder that even angels (Evan) can get upset:)

Jail Break

I am finally out among the real world today. I was discharged from the hospital last night and my departure was quite anti-climactic. I guess I was expecting a parade of sorts to celebrate my extended stay at Hotel Providence. So now begins the days of traveling back and forth to the hospital to hang out with the boys. Poor Casey has a very busy work schedule right now and fighting off some germ bugs. He stops by to admire his boy band every chance he gets. Every day I go to see the boys the nurse has some new task for me to practice. So far I have completed temperature checking, diaper changing, and putting on clothes (with a little help due to all of the wires). Casey was actually the first one to attempt these tasks and did a great job. By the way, the diaper changing is not bad as far as stinkiness, but what in the heck is that sticky goo the nurses call poo? The boys sure think it is funny to watch me try to wipe that stuff off:)

Here are some pictures of the boys. They continue to grow and develop by leaps and bounds everyday. Evan was taken off of the C-Pap on Sunday and Isaac was taken off of his little nose ventilator on Tuesday. Drew continues to be our big eater. He just needs to remember to breathe at the same time:)

Evan

Isaac

Drew

Special Delivery!

Let's see here; I'm quietly posting a blog for Jenny as she is completely wiped out from an insane amount of narcotics. The kind you get when you give birth to 3 baby boys!

Today, 10/18/08, Evan Arthur, Isaac Austin & Drew Aiden got to take their first breath of fresh air after spending 34 weeks and 3 days in mommas belly. Evan came first at 9:18 am, then Issac officially at the tail end of 9:18 am, and Drew at 9:20 am. All three boys came out trumpeting and in sync sounding like quaking ducks. They had the entire room of doctors and nurses cracking up. Admittedly their quaking/crying was funny, but also the best sounds a new father or mother could hear. Truly amazing.

We were given assurances prior to birth that each baby would be spotted, marked and named immediately. So, in spite of the massive rush of baby, with our crack team of nurses and doctors we are certain they each carry their given names. My "quezzzy over eazy" training paid off as well and I was able to verify each son was properly identified. I even had it in me to cut their umbilical cords. Who would have thought the guy who tossed his cookies during "sex-ed" could have tolerated so much.

The little champs are resting now in NIC as anticipated. With so many potential risks in triplet birth, we are fortunate that so far Evan and Isaac (identical twins) are only dealing with small breathing issues. It's tough work for those little guys to do it all on their own now, so a little assistance is needed. Drew on the other hand was kicking the doctor on the way out and shortly thereafter doing pushups. He will no doubt be the protector. Currently they each have their own room and their own nurse, but cant wait to be back together again.

They are all very handsome and have heads of hair that some of my premature balding friends would pine for. It's brown now - just like their moms. Speaking of mommy, Jenny is doing really well, but very nautious and extremely tired. Did I mention she was tired? She was able to muster enough strength to go down to the second floor and visit the boys while carrying a plastic tub for immediate liquid evacauation. The liquid was on lockdown, but when we got back to the room she let the dogs out. It was amazing to see how quickly bright green gatorade turned into orange soda. I wonder if it was the absorption of electrolytes! I know yuck; well get used to it I'm a guy and the proud daddy of three boys! Doody time rules!

34 Weeks!!

We made it to 34 weeks!! This was our biggest goal and we did it. I don't have a specific surgery date yet but my doctor is scheduling one in 2 weeks. Nobody thinks I will make it to 36 weeks but you never know:)

Enjoy the awful picture of me at 34 weeks. Yes, that is was 12lbs of babies and 35lbs of belly looks like.

Baby face

Today during my BPP ultrasound Casey and I were able to see a pretty good picture of Baby C's face. He had chubby checks and pouty lips. Casey said he has seen that face before - on me! He would know because I have probably made it a lot lately. Have I mentioned recently that I am gigantic, uncomfortable, and ready for the boys any day now?

In The Dark

So for about the last 45 minutes I have been sitting in the dark because the power went out at the hospital. Apparently a transformer blew somehow. Good thing the computer was plugged into the "emergency" outlet so I had something to do. My air mattress/bed thingy went flat (it runs on a continuous electric pump) so I have been able to remember how uncomfortable my first few days here were without it. Although I've checked several times, the tv does not run on the generator:(

Visit from the doctor...

Dr. Brewster made a visit to the hospital to check on me last Saturday. We went on a wheelchair ride outside so Brewster could run around and then Casey wheeled me (with Brew on my lap) down the street to a convenience store where he parked me on the sidewalk and purchased me an orange soda. Although I looked like an escapee from the hospital with my mismatched sweats, t-shirt, messy hair, big jacket, slippers, and a dog it was totally worth it. After our outing outside we came back to my room where we met up with mom and dad and had a pizza party. Orange soda and pizza in one night!! Needless to say, my ankles were quite puffy from the pizza, but again, it was totally worth it. I got lots of kisses from Dr. Brew and am re-energized to make it one more week with minimal complaining:)

Growing, growing, growing

We recently had another growth scan on Monday and learned that the boys are still growing really well.

Baby A - 3lbs 12oz

Baby B - 4lbs 2oz

Baby C - 4lbs 4oz

Add it up folks. That is over 12lbs of babies!!!!

33 Weeks!

We made it to 33 weeks!! Another weekly milestone and another week of no action. I think my body might be getting ready as my fingers and toes are becoming little sausages. I'm also guessing that my belly is at maximum capacity due to the fact that drinking water is now causing indigestion:)

Casey and I had a fun weekend of celebrations. First we celebrated my 30th birthday (ba -humbug) by watching the Seahawks get their butts kicked and eating Subway sandwiches - yum! We also had visits from my mom and dad who brought some cheesecake! And a visit from the other Eggers (Casey's brother's family and his sister) who brought birthday cake! I ate very well on Sunday!! We also celebrated out 7th wedding anniversary on Monday. Casey smuggled in some of Everett's finest Italian cuisine (Olive Garden) and we watched a movie. It was relaxing and a really nice couple of days. Thanks everyone!!

We can finally upload pictures now!! Enjoy.

Mom and dad visiting me at Hotel Providence.

Mom and Casey.

Jen serving some delicious birthday cake - yummy!

Party girls, Grace and Ella.

This is my impression of an old man who still wears size 32 jeans even with a huge beer belly.