Our own room!!!

Today when I went to see the babies they were in there new room, it holds three babies so we get our room  with one nurse. They have been waiting for the babies to get a little better to give us this room they said it was made for triplets ;)

Jace was on 4.0 liter @ 30-35% Hes doing really well and just slowly getting better with his breathing. Hes eating 31ml of food with the 24 cal of fortifier.  He did skin to skin with Mom today while Grandma Lori held Liam and Auntie Bre held Stella...Jace gained 80 grams weighing 3lbs 10oz! 

Liam was off his cannula when I came in this morning! He has been off before so I dont want to get too excited but I left today at 6:30pm and he was still off of it! So even if he has to go back on he is getting that much better to be able to have it off for at least one day! =) One of these times it will stay off for good! lol Liam is drinking 30ml of milk @ 24 calories of fortifier. He gained 40grams bringing him to 3lbs 12oz! 

Stella is still on room air but I dont know if she likes her new room cause after weeks of being on it she was having some issues with holding her breath...they said it takes about 5 days for the caffeine to wear off and its been about that long so now she has to get used to breathing with the caffeine completely out of her system. She is on 39ml of food now with the 24 cal of fortifier. She went down 15grams weighing 4lbs 6oz. They are getting Stella ready for a crib so they turned the temperature down in her incubator and she did great so she might be in a crib when I get there tomorrow...

*I seen this bible verse and had to post it, we are praying every day for the progress of the babies, we thank everyone for your continued prayers also and we are SO thankful to God for EVERY little step forward!


Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2 =)

another day in the nicu...

The babies are slowly making progress which we are very grateful for! Here is a quick update of them:

Jace was at 5.0 liters when we walked in at 25% oxygen, they had him weaned to 4.0 by the end of the day when we left, I called tonight and he was at 4.0 but at 30-38% oxygen. He is at 30ml of food with 24 calories of fortifier, they went down on that because he wasnt liking the extra calories, actually none of the babies did, they had a much better day on the 24 calories. Jace stayed the same weighing 3lbs 7oz. Dad did skin to skin today with both boys...

Liam was at 2.0 liters of oxygen at 23%, he's eating 32ml of food and they put him back to 24 calories too. He had fun while Daddy held him and he didnt even spit up this time! =) Liam is still 3lbs 10oz he also stayed the same.

Stella is still on room air, I got to hold Stella today, we practiced some breast feeding, and got to hang out for a long time...shes 4lbs 6oz she gained 85grams. Shes still eating 37ml of breast milk and getting the 24 calories also...They tried feeding Stella a bottle and she drank her WHOLE feeding! They said she did awesome and that they usually give them 30 minutes to finish it and she did it in 20! =)

The babies graduated to the other side of the NICU tonight also, Stella is for sure ready to be there and the boys are probably in between since there still on oxygen but they got transferred to a room with only 3 beds so we have the room all to ourselves and we only have one nurse now for all three babies, we used to have one for 2 and a different one for Stella and another baby...so it will be interesting to see how that is tomorrow, they didnt change them till we left...

The difference a month can make!!!

What a difference a month makes! I was going to post the pictures yesterday but I didnt have them downloaded =) Here is the difference between each of the babies and what a month has done!

Jace

(a couple days old)

                                                                               Jace

(a month old) 

Liam

(a couple days old)

Liam

(a month old)

Stella

(a couple days old)

                                      

Stella

(a month old)

It seems so crazy to me to see the difference! Today all the babies got there first eye exams and everything looked good, the Dr. said they looked like they were supposed to look so he will do another one at 3 months old to be sure. I had to plug my ears and close my eyes during the exam though cause they pry open there eyes put drops in them and something else I didnt watch but it was SO sad they were screaming and crying so loud and then there little eyes were all red afterwards, you can still see that in the pictures. They measured the babies today and when they were born they were all about 15 inches and they have all grown and are about 17 inches...

Jace was back on 5.0 liters of oxygen @ 30% when we went in there this morning they said he had a bad night of forgetting to breath, they gave him extra caffeine to remember to breath so hopefully that will help. He is on 28ml of food and they moved him up to 27 calories of fortifier by adding some formula to the breast milk and didnt like that, he spit up after most of his feedings so they were going to try and have a dietician come up with some way to add the calories just not with formula, I am still producing enough milk at this point for all babies to get all breast milk. Jace went up 57 grams bringing him to 3lbs 7oz! 

Liam was at 2.0 liters of oxygen at 27% when we came in he also had a lot of times during the night he forgot to breath, the nurse said sometimes they do really good for a couple of days and then they just get so tired of trying so hard then they forget, so hopefully they can wean them off soon! He is on 30ml of food and he also went up to the 27 calories of food and didnt like it either...I was doing skin to skin with him and he barfed all down me and him, poor little guy...Liam gained 49 grams which brings him to 3lbs 10oz!

Stella is still on room air, shes drinking 37ml of milk and also getting the 27 calories of food and she also threw up a couple times today...she gained 30 grams so now she weighs 4lbs 4oz! She just keeps growing and growing! =) 

Happy 1 Month Birthday!!!!!

Today the babies are 1 months old!!! Its hard to believe that it has been that long! It feels like it has been 4 days! Today on there birthday they made some more progress!

Jace was at 3.0 liters of oxygen @ 29-32% during the day doing really good! They cut back on his feedings hoping to dry up his lungs a bit and help him get off that oxygen. So he went from 31ml of food to 28ml still with the 24 calorie fortifier. He gained weight today, he is 1508 grams which is 3lbs and 5oz! We didnt get a chance to hold Jace today but I am going to hold him first thing in the morning. We had a CPR class today that we did with Jake, Lori, Jarred and Bre for babies under 1...Rick and I took a CPR class about a year ago and cant remember anything about the babies so it was good that we took it!

Liam was at 1.0 liters of oxygen @ 21-22% the whole day, he is still breathing shallow so not sure if they will try taking the cannula out or leave him on just for the flow that is hitting his nose to help him out a little while longer, but he is doing really well also! They also went down on his feedings for the same reason as Jace. He is also on the 24 calories of fortifier. Liam lost a little bit he is 1606 grams which is 3lbs and 8oz and he got to do skin to skin with Daddy today!

Stella is still on room air doing great, she gained 3oz last night bringing her to 4lbs 3oz! Poor boys need to catch up! Shes still drinking the 37ml of food with the 24 calories of fortifier. Also I forgot to mention in yesterdays post that she was able to get off all her caffeine which is huge! They are all put on that when there born to help them remember to breath, the nurse told me that is another huge milestone! They also have to maintain there body temperature before they can go home so they have been weaning her off of that in her incubator and said within the next couple of days they will probably put her in a crib!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Sunday! Love Sheryl

A huge milestone today! =)

Jace

(he was on his side while I was here so I couldnt get any straight on shots)

Liam

(Wide awake! =))

Stella

(in her bow Auntie Bre gave her) 

Today was another good day! Rick and I went on a date last night and then came back to the motorhome...For those of you that didnt know The DeGraafs let us borrow there motor home (it has been a huge blessing!) and we are staying in a RV park here in Fresno, its 7 miles from the hospital so A LOT nicer than 65 miles from Pixley! So this morning we headed over to the hospital...

Jace always has a huge gain then loses some after, he lost 15 grams bringing him to 3lbs 4oz. He is at 31ml of food still and the 24 calories of fortifier. He got to do skin to skin with Dad today for a long time! He did really well, his oxygen is still 4.0 liters @ around 33%. Jace and Liam are improving but still have the shallow breathing, I am guessing thats why Stella is gaining so much faster cause her breathing is so much easier for her...?

Liam gained a huge amount, 85grams bringing him to 3lbs 9oz! Hes also still eating 32ml of food with the 24 calories of fortifier. Hes at 2 liters of oxygen @21% for most the day so he still needs a little bit of help...Liam got to do skin to skin with Mom today!

Stella is the huge milestone I was talking about, one of the criterias they have to meet before coming home is being over 4 pounds, Stella gained 30 grams today bringing her up to 4lbs even!!! She is still at 37ml of food and 24 calories of fortifier. Still breathing at room air really nicely. Stella got to do skin to skin with Dad today too! She also tried breast feeding with Mom again just to practice, shes not quite ready, I think shes used to just getting fed and not having to try for it! =)

September 24th...

Today was another good day in the NICU...all the babies have gained weight and they are all eating well.
Today Jace was still on 4.0-5.0 liters of oxygen @ 38%-42%, hopefully with him gaining weight soon he can come down a little. He gained 25 grams so today he weighed 3lbs 5oz! He is eating 31ml of food and still having the 24 calories of fortifier added. I did skin on skin again with Jace today and he did really good...

Liam is still at 2 liters @ 21-24% of oxygen, both of the boys are improving with there breathing but there still breathing really shallow...Liam is eating 32ml of food they wanted him to start gaining more weight so they added to his amount and are keeping the 24ml of calories. He also gained 15grams and weighs 3lbs 6oz...I asked the nurse why are they eating a lot and not gaining as fast as Stella? They said because of there shallow breathing patterns they are burning so many more calories so its just going to take some time...I feel quilty when I leave one baby out but every once in a while its impossible to do skin to skin with every baby every day cause they like you to hold them for at least an hour because of all the work it is to get them out and all the calories the babies burn getting put in and out...so today we didnt do skin to skin with Liam but tomorrow Rick is coming so we will be able to hold everyone then!

Stella is still on room air, her feeds went up to 37ml and still getting the 24 calories of fortifier, she just keeps gaining and gaining, she is now weighing 3lbs 15 oz! She went up 15 grams from yesterday. We tried practicing breast feeding again and did do skin to skin with her...because shes not on the oxygen its so much easier to get her in and out of the isolate. 

So overall today was a good day, the babies seem to be doing what there supposed to be doing and we thank the Lord for that!!!  

I didnt put any new pictures of the babies today but I had to show you this picture of her little outfit, the babies always want to have one leg or one arm out of there little sunggie thing, lol I think its from being so squished for so long in the womb they just want to stretch! =) 

4 Weeks old and gaining weight!

JACE

LIAM

STELLA

The babies are 4 weeks old today and one thing I am excited about is that they are eating more and getting more fortifier and they have been gaining weight, and with weight gain comes lots of improvement, so we are on the right track!

Jace was on 4.0 liters of oxygen today at 35-39% He gained 65 grams which brings him up to 3lbs 4oz!  He is on 24 calories of the fortifier and drinking 31ml of milk every 3 hours, today Jace did skin to skin with Mommy for over an hour, we love our bonding time with each baby!

Liam was on 2 liters of oxygen at 21-23% so barely anything, I am hoping his lungs will get stronger and he can come off of it soon, they look SO much better with one more thing off there face and I think they start to do better once they get some stuff off cause they dont seem so annoyed...Him and his brother are in competition with there weights, he weighed in at 3lbs 5 oz and gained 40 grams. He is eating 30ml of milk every 3 hours with 24 calories of fortifier in it. Liam also got to do skin to skin with me today!

Stella is still on room air doing really good...She gained 50 grams which brings her to 3lbs 14oz! She is eating 37ml of food and they are adding 24 calories of fortifier to it. We practiced breast feeding again today, she drank 10ml in 5 minutes out of the bottle and they say breast feeding is harder, so we are working on it! =) We also did skin to skin!

I have really cute pictures but havent uploaded them yet, there coming! =) God Bless everyone!