On our own

Yesterday would have been my due date... Today the tiny men are five weeks old! They are really doing well. They continue to eat and grow- Nik has got to be five pounds now, and Rowan is close behind. Nik has outgrown most of the preemie clothes, which has been fun because I've gotten to use some of Keaton's old newborn stash. It brought back a lot of good memories to go through them...I don't think they will need any clothes for a long time!

Next week will be Casey's first full week at work since the twins were born. I am nervous for him not to be here- especially on Mondays and Fridays, but hopefully I can handle it. De left last Thursday, so we have been without help from family members since then. Not going to lie- balancing three small children is tough. The times when the twins are both crying at once and Keaton is yelling for me have got to be the hardest so far. I follow the advice another Mom of multiples gave me, and attend to the most dire need first. The difference between Keaton and the twins is that I didn't let Keaton cry...I don't do the same with Rowan and Nik.  A little crying is fine, and I try to get to them as soon as I can. It's tough when I'm alone and have to feed them, though. Changing two diapers, getting my nursing pillow and supplies ready, picking both up and getting them to start eating, burping both, having them eat again, burp again, and then keeping them upright for thirty minutes either by holding them or putting them in their car seats so the don't spot up all over the place...the processed is a little exhausting. But somehow, I'm doing it. I still have to bottle feed them at least a few times each day so they can get extra calories through formula supplementation, so I'm not sure how I'll do that on my own yet, but we'll figure it out. I figure if I can tandem nurse them by myself, I can make it happen.

I will try to keep better record through the blog once I get a routine established. I am so tired when I sit down that I forget about blogging and just want to rest. It's rare moments like right now that I have the chance and actually take it.

Today the boys go in for head ultrasounds at 10. Casey is taking Keaton to school early so he can make a meeting at 8, so the twins and I will be on our own to get to the hospital and meet him for the appointment. Should be an adventure for us! I'm hoping for the best!

More later...hopefully not too much later, though.

Ash

One month old!

The little men at one month old now (as of Tuesday). Nik weighed in at 4 lb 13.5 oz, and Rowan is a hefty 4 lb 8 oz! I went to the lactation consultant yesterday and they had gained another once overnight. Grow, babies, grow!

They both latched yesterday, too...maybe we can be done with the shield soon!

So proud of my boys!  :-D More later!

Ash

PS: This post originally read "three little men"...I did not have triplets...my autocorrect changed "the" to "three". Autocorrect FAIL. Proofreading FAIL.

One week down!

I am such a slacker!!! Every day I think I will write, and every day I'm too exhausted to do it. I'm sorry, not only to anyone keeping up with the blog (I know there are a few of you!) and I'm sorry for myself because if I ever want to remember this time of life, it's only going to be fuzzy! Everything is fuzzy right now.

The first full week with the boys home has been good. We don't sleep much, mainly because they still have their days and nights flipped and tend to come alive as soon as we turn out the lights. Rowan is our fussy man... Nik can sleep with the best of them. Rowan has had tummy issues the past few days so sleep has been basically non-existent. We are going back to the Ped tomorrow for a weight check. I know Nik is gaining well- I hope Ro is too!! He's still such a tiny little guy... but he's outgrown a few of the tiniest outfits already! I am planning to donate some if not all of the preemie clothes to the NICU.. I remember how nice it was to see the boys in clothes instead of tubes and wires. I hope to be able to give that back to other parents, too.

Keaton is doing really well with his baby brothers. He loves them... not so much when they cry... but he's a great helper! He likes to help pick out clothes, get diapers and wipes, and try to console them. He will go up and kiss them on the heads and call them "cutie". He also loves grabbing the Purell bottle and making his hands 'clean'. I may have created a monster... but we are glad he'd rather be clean than put his hands all over the boys and get them sick.

Today they had an appointment with the ophthalmologist to make sure their retinas did not get damaged during their time on oxygen. While the retinas are still premature, the doctor didn't think they were going to have any issues since they weren't on oxygen very long at all. We go back in two weeks for a recheck. They had their eyes dilated so they got to wear the big shades... I'll try to include a picture I took... it was pretty funny. Hopefully everything pans out and they get a clean bill of health in the eye department! Their ears check out fine, too. So far it looks like their biggest obstacle will be size. Tiny but tough!

Home life has changed quite a bit since I last wrote. Mom is back in Kansas, and had a few health scares before leaving last week. We are glad she is home now, resting and getting better. She deserves time to recover... I think we kind of ran her ragged. We miss having her here and are thankful for all the help she gave us since November. De is here this week to help, then next week we will be on our own. Casey goes back to work the week after... not gonna lie- I'm nervous for him to go. It's been great having him here to establish some good habits and be my partner in sleep deprivation. :)

I am certain I'm leaving out tons of things. Hopefully I'll remember them for next time, but I'm having a tough time remembering my name these days, so no promises.

-Ash

Rowan sports the one-size-fits-all shades from the eye doctor.

Our little leprechauns! (Keaton didn't wear green yesterday. Don't worry, I pinched him.)

Homecoming

What a week. I'm bummed that I didn't write more last week, because a TON of things have happened.

*Nursing moment ahead* The boys ate well. (Understatement... Rowan has gone from 3 pounds 8 ounces to now 3 pounds 12 in just a few days.) I nursed them early in the week and they both did amazing! The lactation consultant has been one of my biggest cheerleaders during all of this, and it's paid off tremendously. I tandem nursed them on Thursday and they kicked butt again. Tandem nursing is going to be tricky, and I'll need someone to help me at first, but I think they are going to do great!

*** I started writing this before the boys "graduated" from the NICU...they are home now and thriving. I really have a ton of catch up to do! More soon!

-Ash

Trading Places

Two weeks ago, I was a totally different woman. I had no idea what life would have in store for me within 24 hours. Now I have three boys. Visits with my doctors have turned into visits with my boys and their doctors. Procardia and progesterone are a thing of the past. Instead of celebrating the clock striking midnight and another day of being pregnant, I now celebrate every ounce of breast milk and getting any amount of sleep I can before the boys come home. Worries about how they are doing in the womb are now worries about what time I can go visit them in the hospital...who is taking care of them...if they are gaining weight and growing...when they will come home...if Keaton is feeling left out...how I will handle the three of them... What life will be like soon.

I've traded maternity pants for my old jeans. I can drive again (and love the minivan!). I can go to the grocery store by myself...shop again...EAT AGAIN!!! No more blood rests, NSTs, ultrasounds, or cocky OBs. No more Bed Rest Club, hours of Words with Friends, or Solitaire. Facebook updates are not as frequent and there are no more countdowns. Questions have been answered...new questions have come up. Life is a polar opposite of where it was two weeks ago. It is real now. Awesome, scary, amazing. Real.

-Ashley

Together at last!

I will get the pictures from Casey's camera today, but here's a sneak peek... The boys were able to be next to each other last night for a few minutes, and definitely reacted to each other! They both got more active and even tried to hold hands! It was adorable. If I hadn't been holding Nik (who did a great job nursing yesterday!) I would have tried getting a better picture of it. It was one of those moments I had been waiting for, and I'm really happy Casey and I were able to witness it together. :-D

Here's another picture of the boys right before we got them side by side. Rowan is really starting to fill out more, and they are certainly are identical! There is talk of them moving onto one room soon. They haven't had any episodes for almost a week now, and the doctors are continuously pleased with their progress. I'm so proud of my littlest dudes.

I think that's all for now! We've got a busy weekend ahead so I'm glad to be feeling better. Hopefully Keaton will as well...I took him to the doctor yesterday because of his nasty cough ... We just have colds. I wore a mask while visiting the boys yesterday. I'm glad I was still able to go!

More later!

Ash