Look out!!!

I'm back on the road tomorrow!!! I am excited because Caleb has a field trip at the Magic house that I get to go to and then I will head to the hospital. (Don't worry, I won't over due it) Good times. Now I can catch up on the radio. For those of you who know me, I have not really listened to music in 11 weeks and hardly recognize the music on my favorite station which is quite odd for me. I'm sure I will be back in the groove before long.

Quick update...

It is late and I am tired :) All of the babies are off oxygen and they are weaning them from the isolettes to little cribs. When they do this they are actually dressing and swaddling them. They think they will be in cribs in a couple of days (possibly Cohen tonight) but they have to be able to maintain their body temperature before they can move to the crib. They are also increasing their food intake at just about every feeding and started bottle feeding them today as long as they looked interested. They all look like fish at feeding time so they are definitely showing signs that they are ready. All of their IV's were taken out today so they are getting all of their nutrition from breast milk/formula. They still get tired out when taking a bottle so if they do not finish it they are given the rest through their feeding tube. I actually got to feed Christian and Cohen their afternoon bottles, but Cecilia was not interested at that feeding so she snoozed while they filled her belly :)
All is well but I think they will be there for at least another week, but no real estimates from anyone official.

One more thing...

On the night before I left the hospital, Mark wanted to say good night to the babies so we went down to the NICU. We were able to get Christian out and Caleb was literally giddy with excitement. I held him and he sat on the edge of the chair and just giggled. Christian's hands were out and Caleb sang him this little piggy using his fingers several times and it was so adorable. Then, he went and gave Cecilia and Cohen's 'boxes' (Caleb's words) hugs and kisses. Mark has pics on the video camera, so I will upload them as soon as I can. He also told me today that he wanted to feed them.

Baby Update

The babies are doing so great! Each day they seem to be making some sort of progress. Since the last post Christian was taken off his oxygen and Cecilia and Cohen's levels have been reduced each day and they seem to be responding well so hopefully they will be off soon as well. Cohen forgets to breathe every now and again, but always catches himself so they don't seem to be too worried. They are still being fed by the tube through their nose and the amount they are being fed is now about 1/2 an ounce. This is double of what they were receiving yesterday and everyone still seems to be digesting it well. When they increase their food intake they adjust their IV levels accordingly and are in the wien off phase. They said today that they usually introduce bottle feedings about 34-35 weeks and since they will be 35 weeks this Sunday we are thinking that they might try the bottle soon. I think when they introduce the bottle they still have to do some feeding through the tube since they get tired easily from being so small.

Last night they actually moved them to the South NICU which is so much nicer. In the North NICU they had been moved into a little room by themselves since there was no room on the south side, but it was very small, cramped and not very private. Their new room has a couch and two recliners so it is much more relaxing and comfortable there than on the other side do to all of the hustle and bustle.

They have been checking their jaundice levels and last night they were all put in the tanning bed (under the blue light) which is to be expected. Mark and I were actually surprised that it had not been done sooner.

Let's see, what else....Christian peed on Mark last night, Cecilia hates getting baths and cried the entire time, they all still conk out shortly after their bellies are getting full, Cohen and Christian's IV's were moved from their hands to their feet, their weight is increasing again and they are all almost back up to their birth weight and they are still very adorable. Whew, I think I am up to date now.

Home Sweet Home

I must tell you that it is SO nice to be home. I think Mark, Caleb and even the cats are excited I am here as well. I am feeling better as the days go by but still trying to get as much rest as I can. I am pumping breast milk for the babies so even though they are not here I am taking the 'good stuff' to them at the hospital. So, between being up half the night and trying to visit all the while regaining my energy it might be a little tough, but today was not so bad. I went and saw the babies for their lunch time feeding and then Mark is there tonight. As hard as it is to be away from my babies, I am glad to be home. I still need to unpack from my extended stay at the hospital and do some organizing in the babies room, but it will all fall into place.

Going Home!!!!

I am going home today after 65 days of residing at the hospital. I am very sad to leave my babies behind, but eager to get home to my family there and regain the energy that I have lost while on bed rest for 10 weeks. I must say that I am not a fan of major stomach surgeries and at this point I am still very uncomfortable. The whole stabbing pain when I try to sit/stand or lay down/sit-up is so enjoyable along with my stomach feeling like some beat it with a bat is just lovely. (sense the sarcasm!!!)

Baby Update - day 4

I know you have all been dying for an update but surprise, surprise, we have been busy. The babies are doing awesome! They have all been off the CPAP for a couple of days but still have the oxygen prongs in their noses with a regular flow of what we breath. Last night they all started eating at 5pm and have all tolerated it well. every 3 hours since. When I say that they are eating, they are actually being fed about a tablespoon of formula/breast milk via a tiny tube that was inserted through their nose and goes down to their stomach. They actually seem to like when their bellies are full and go into a food comatose shortly after receiving their dose of the good stuff. Since they are tolerating the food, we have been told that they should start introducing the bottle in a couple of days. I got to hold Christian yesterday afternoon and last night I got to change Cohen's diaper and kangaroo him. Today at feeding time I was able to change and hold Cecilia. Mark has still only held Christian, but has been spending as much time as he can by their bedside, which has been really hard for him to leave at times. Cohen and Christian both had their eyes open a lot today and Cecilia was trying, but decided that sleeping was much nicer.

Mark and I couldn't be more excited about the progress they have all made over the last few days. We have been so blessed with healthy babies and they are so damn cute to boot. Everyone says that Christian and Cecilia look a lot a like, which we agree with but we also think they look like Caleb. Although all 3 of the babies have blonde hair which Caleb did not so we will see if that sticks around.

Happy 4th Birthday Caleb!!!!

Baby Pics right after birth.

Christian

Cecilia

Cohen

They're here!!!!!!

Yesterday was a big day!! After almost 9 weeks here at the hospital, my body finally gave in. I am extremely exhausted but the bambinos are all doing well. In fact the babies look awesome. They were all on the CPAP breathing forced room air but Christian and Cecilia were taken off that and placed in their 'cages'. They are expecting Cohen to be off the CPAP either tonight or tomorrow and then he will be upgraded to the isolatte as well. They are all so cute and look a lot like their big brother!!

Christian Xavier 4lbs 6oz inches 16 and 3/4 inches long born at 8:07 pm

Cecilia Louise 4lbs 1oz inches 16 and 1/2 inches long born at 8:08 pm

Cohen Alexander 4lbs 15oz inches 17 and 1/2 inches long born at 8:09 pm

I am so exhausted so I will post a couple of pictures tomorrow. As of this evening we were told that we may be able to hold Christian tomorrow.

Baby update 33 1/2 weeks

Today was a big day. This morning the babies were monitored and they all did well...all within 45 minutes which was nice. This afternoon I went for their measurements and everyone looked great. Christian was 4lbs 1oz, Cecilia 4lbs 1oz and Cohen 4lbs 14oz. Now, these are all approximate weights so they could be off in either direction, but we are pretty sure that Christian and Cecilia are off since since she could not get good measurements of either of their heads based on their location (they are most likely bigger). Based on those measurements I have approximately 13lbs of baby inside of me, not to mention all of the placentas, fluid, etc. No wonder I have a huge front loader!

As excited as we are, weight does not dictate how well they will do on the outside world, but know that every little bit of fat (if you can call it that) is bonus. The key is gestational age and we are good there too. It is hard to believe that at the beginning of February they were all just around 2 1/2 lbs. I feel like my 'lost time' in the outside world has been so worth it.

Last night they increased my dose of contraction medicine from 30mg to 60mg however at 9:30 I was having a lot of contractions. They gave me a shot to stop them, but are not going to do that any more. They checked me and I am dilated to 3 cm so from this point on if I start contracting they will only check to see if I am dilating any more and then it will be off to delivery. I tend to contract more in the evening and at night so we will see what tonight brings. I panic ed about the blood pressure a couple of weeks ago and that has held out so hopefully things will stay calm. If something happens though, as my doctor said, it is a win win situation since I have made it this far.

Still no babies :)

We made it through St. Patty's day and are still truckin'. I sure hope everyone had a great green day yesterday, the weather was awesome (at least here in STL). I did wear the only shirt that I had that was remotely green and was able to get outside to enjoy the weather. I didn't eat or drink anything green, but I will survive.

Today there is not much happening except I have a couple of visitors which is always nice. I am anxious for tomorrow to get here so I can see how big the babies have grown. I'm not looking forward to spending most of the day in the perinatal center for the growth scans and biophysical exams, but it will be worth it. I will update the blog at some point, but my guess is that it will not be until late in the day. I did have a rather funny dream last night that the babies came out really big and one of them was rolling over already and the other had teeth. Strange, I know.

My doctor did stop by early this morning and I had him measure my belly again and I am measuring 48 weeks and I am only 33 1/2 today. The last time I was measured was a week ago yesterday (3/10) and I measured 44 1/2 at that time. I told him that I would not mind if he got rid of some extra skin when he sewed me up and he laughed and said I'm sure it will go back. Liar :)

Still Cookin'

I'm sure you may have figured it out, but I still maintain my title as 'the oven'. Things are still going well however I feel my clock is definitely winding down. It is getting more difficult for me to roll over and get out of bed. My back still occasionally hurts from laying certain ways, but I think that is all of the extra weight on my belly. Everyone says that I am getting around very well and my blood pressure continues to fluctuate.

The babies did well on their monitoring today...well after 2 hours everyone did. Cohen had to have an ultrasound to check him out since his heart rate was not showing the fluctuations they were looking for, but he did fine in the end. I had expected that the babies would all be measured tomorrow since it is the 3 week mark since they had been measured last, but it does not look like that is on the schedule. I am anxious to see what their guessed weights are, but it appears that they are going to keep me guessing and torture me.

Belly Shot 33 weeks

31 1/2 weeks

.......33 weeks and still growing. I think I look sleepy or swollen or something.

What I know

Ok, I will tell you. What I know is that they sell Jelly Belly's in the store here at the hospital (along with many other fun things that Caleb likes to get). What I will tell you is that I do not like black licorice, popcorn or root beer. I hope you all feel enlightened now.

Caleb's Day

I'm sure Caleb had no idea what he was in for today after they visited me at the hospital. He and Mark went to Jacob's soccer game and then Mark had planned to take him to St. Louis Mills shopping mall to go ice skating for the first time. Mark said that he did really well and made it around the rink twice. He had to hold his hand, but other than that he did really good and was able to balance all on his own. Mark forgot all of the kid stuff that was there so after the ice rink they played some more. They went to the Nascar area and rode some rides, rode the merry go round, did some sort of bungee jumping thing, played on the playground and had pizza for dinner. I think they had a great time but I was sad that they did not have a camera to capture all of these firsts for Caleb. I'm sure they have some more 'guy stuff' planned for tonight and if I know Caleb some part of the evening will include popcorn and a movie.

Exceptional

So at 31 weeks my doctor told me I was average. At 32 weeks she said I was above average and today she said that I was exceptional (since tomorrow I will be 33 weeks). I don't exactly feel exceptional, but I will try to remind myself as the longer I am here the harder it is getting. I think I am just having a bad day and need a new project.

No protein here

The results from my blood work and 24 hour urine test came back and everything looked good. No protein in my urine means that I do not have preeclampsia. My blood pressure has been good all day and I have not had any significant swelling. The good thing is that if my blood pressure does go up they can treat it with more medicine since they know I am not 'spilling protein'. Still shooting for more time before the babies arrive!!

Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma

Wishing her a wonderful birthday!!

Bambinos/BP

The babies did well on their monitoring today. Christian was the over achiever, Cohen was next and then Cecilia had to be buzzed several times to wake up.

My blood pressure today has been up and down. Some good levels and some so so. They did go ahead and start the 24 hour urine collection to test today at 12:00 for protein and they are also collecting blood in the morning to make sure everything looks ok. The good thing is that if the blood work comes back ok and I do not have protein in my urine, they will just try to monitor my blood pressure with medicine. I will know more late tomorrow or Saturday on the results of the test.

Calebisms

I haven't posted much about Caleb lately since our time is limited to the hospital and he has been doing so much other than here, but I will fill you in on the hospital side. When I first got here we ventured out to the lounge a lot and Caleb would paint or make stuff. As of lately we have moved on to other fun things now that I can be a little more mobile.

He for awhile was really into going on secret missions to the snack room to get different things for us. The hall had to be empty and he would run as fast as he could so that no one would see him. He still does this, but it is not quite as exciting as it used to be. Now he likes to go to the nurses station to ask for things. The two main things that he goes for are push pins and a dry erase marker. Mark needed push pins to hang my flag and we sent Caleb on that mission so from then on it has been fun. There really isn't anything that he can put the pins in other than my mattress or the chair, but he still likes to get them. In order to play school which is one of the new things that we do we have to get a dry erase marker from the nurses. Caleb is the teacher and Mark and I are the boys and girls. We have to write things on the board and then he points to them and we have to tell him what it is. Somehow we need to get those roles reversed, but hopefully in the meantime it will help him with identifying letters and numbers. Once he is the teacher, he is the teacher for the remainder of the time he is here.

Paper airplanes, or as Caleb likes to call them, rockets. The rockets are made and sail through the halls. If they go in the nurses station or anywhere near it, that is always a bonus as Caleb gets to go in there and tell them about it.

Karaoke, yes you heard me correctly. I am borrowing Caleb's radio that he got for Christmas that is also a karaoke machine. Mark loves to sing on it and if the right song is on, Caleb will sing too. He really likes the hokey poky.

On the days we went outside we had to race Caleb. The problem was that Mark and I were always sent on the 'slow' side (Caleb would call it that) and he would take off running. Poor Mark not only had to take the slow route, but he also had to push me in the wheel chair. Needless to say we always lost, but Mark always gave it a fair shot.

Caleb likes to take the Alligator (elevator) to the Capateria (cafeteria) to get food or the store (aka gift shop) to get candy. I showed him where the jelly belly's were so that is his new favorite thing. Sometimes they are distributed as medicine if he thinks we are ill.

Needless to say Caleb has made himself at home here and all of the nurses think that he is really cute. We have been having fun which is really nice. Hopefully while we are playing and having fun no one will get kicked out :)

50 days???

Yes, the nun that comes to visit me every day reminded me that today I have been in the hospital for 50 days. That just seems like so much longer than 7 weeks and 1 day.

Also, I wanted to wish Danielle (Scheve) Reynolds a Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Grandma S

Wishing my Grandma Szachnieski a wonderful birthday!!!

On the rise...

The babies did well on their monitoring on Monday. Each time it is someone different that takes a little longer to cooperate. First it was Christian, next it was Cohen and this past time it was Cecilia but in the end they all seem to do well.

I also wanted to mention that I have noticed that my blood pressure is on the rise. I noticed it about a week ago and had tried to ignore it since that was the cause of my early delivery with Caleb. Last week it was not that bad but the last day or two it has gone up quite a bit and I have started to swell. This is a very common reasons for multiples to be delivered so these little guys may be here sooner rather than later. They usually have bench marks for the nurses before they call the doctors on me and for my blood pressure it is 160 over 105. My bottom number has been between 85 and 95 from yesterday to today so I'll let you all figure out the math. Keep in mind too that the medicine that I am taking for my contractions is also used to control blood pressure so I don't think they will give me any further meds, but the nurse did say that they may pay closer to my blood work and protein in my urine so who knows.

I also asked my doctor to measure my belly today and I measure 44 1/2 weeks. Yep, that is pretty big! It is getting difficult to type around my belly :)

We will see what tomorrow brings but in the meantime I need to make another hat so the boys will match.

Birthday's

March is full of birthdays!!! I did not post these, but my Aunt Marilyn's was the 2nd and Dani Glass' was the 6th. Today is Julie Thomson and Bill Kiphart's and there are still more to come. I hope everyone has/had a wonderful day!!!

How long???

I guess the big question at this point is how much longer before these babies come out. Honestly, I wish I knew. All I know is that as of today I am 32 weeks which is pretty amazing considering what happened at 25 weeks. We are so thankful to be this far and any additional time from this point on is awesome.

A couple of things have changed in that they are no longer monitoring me for contractions. I am feeling them now and the doctors have said that at this point it is completely normal to be having them more frequently. What the contractions do is make me feel like I have to pee really bad. I can still breathe/talk/walk through them so they are really not a nuisance just yet. They have also said that if I go into labor they will not try to prevent like they had previously.

I am going twice a week (Monday & Thursday) to the perinatal center for a modified biophysical exam for the babies. This means that they do an ultrasound to check the fluid around the babies and then put me on the monitors and watch the babies heart beat fluctuations. I haven't heard a 'score' for the modified version so it seems like they get a little longer to perform. I think this was changed since they have defined fluctuations that they are looking for at the 32 week mark.

You might hear me complain a little more. From the pictures I am sure you can tell I am getting pretty big. The skin on my belly seems really stressed these days and is painful to the touch at times. I continue to treat it with lotion and oils to ward off stretch marks, but it looks like I have a bad sunburn at times since it is so red and irritated. My back is also starting to hurt from the bigger belly and laying down for so long. Changing positions and going for a little walk down the hall does help. I have asked for Tylenol two times too but it is nothing I can't handle at this point.

The good news is that I can still walk and get around very well. My nurse told me tonight that a lot of women have a hard time getting up at this point which is what pushes their deliver date up. Reality is setting in that they will be here soon. 32 weeks is average and most people have them by 34 weeks.

SO....as long as I continue to do well and the babies look good at their monitoring each week and I do not go into labor I could be here for awhile longer. Really though at this point I think it is day by day since anything could happen at any time. And, as nice as it is, I am getting tired of being here. Give me a break, it has been 7 weeks!!

Pictures

Here is a picture of Emma and Caleb swimming at Grandma's. I think Logan was busy checking out everything else on the deck since this was his first time since he is now mobile.

More room decorations. The flag is from Denise and is so cute. Everyone loves it. I also added St. Patrick day decorations. When I put up the decorations that Sam sent from FL I joked that I would not be here for St. Patrick's day...well, I made it to March so I had to put up something for the doctors to make them duck. (Yes, I am standing on a chair for this photo :))

Escape to the outside!!

Today it was so beautiful that I actually went outside. It was so nice to feel the sunshine even though it was short lived. I was definitely jealous of everyone that was able to enjoy the day to the fullest. Caleb was at my moms and played outside all morning and then they went to pick up Emma and Logan (niece and nephew) after lunch. When I checked in later in the day I was told that the Barfield pool had officially opened. My mom has a little blow up pool that she has on her deck and she filled it with warm water from the sink so the kids would not get cold. Yes, she spoils them. Emma has also been planning a slumber party for a long time so instead they had a pajama party and then everyone went home. Caleb called me on his way home to tell me that he got to go swimming in his underwear and that he had a lot of fun.

I asked Mark to post some of what they have been up to at home. Some of the stories I hear are so funny, but Mark really needs to tell them.

Bling and babies

So I have been meaning to post that Caleb

definitely loves him mommy. When he and Mark were at incredible pizza a couple of weeks ago he used his tickets to get me this lovely ring. Of course I wear it and have actually even received compliments on it. Not having to do anything also does wonders for my nails. Mark even asked me if they were fake one day.

I also wanted to update that the babies did very well on with their monitoring today. I was there for about an hour and a half, but they all passed. Cecilia was the one that took her time today.

More Belly pics

So, another request was made for same shirt side by side. The picture on the left is 26 1/2 weeks and the one on the right on is today, 31 1/2 weeks. I grew just a little.

Happy Birthday Chunky Monkey!!

Nolan is 2 today!!!!

Happy Birthday Julie!!!

Of course she is 29 again and looking as lovely as ever. Wish I could celebrate with my prego friend, but that will have to wait :)

Hump day

So it has been a pretty low key week so far. Monday went well with the monitoring and hopefully tomorrow will as well. I am half way to being 32 weeks and I am very excited about that. I think being in the hospital is starting to annoy me a little, but who wouldn't be annoyed after 7 weeks of being here. Since it is supposed to be nice this week/weekend my plan is to have Mark and Caleb take me outside for a little while. I may not want to come back so I'm not so sure it is the best idea but I guess I can't get too far.

Mark has the camera so I don't have my 31 week photo posted yet, but someone asked that I post the last couple of weeks pictures so they could be easily compared.

1/28/09 - 26 1/2 weeks

2/9/09 - 28 weeks

2/15/09 - 29 weeks

2/23/09 - 30 weeks

8 out of 8

The babies had their monitoring today and they all behaved and received an 8 out of 8. They each get 30 minutes to 'perform' and Christian and Cecilia took hardly any time at all and then Cohen decided to take a nap. He was in his 28th minute before he decided to breathe. BTW, the breathing that they are doing in utero is not a sign of how well they will do when they come out, but it is one of the indicators of fetal well being. Needless to say I was relieved to not have to be sent have them monitored. I initially thought that this would only be done once a week, but my doctor came in tonight and said that I will probably be going back down again before the end of the week but she would look at the orders and get back to me. She was in a rush because she had to deliver a baby.

I think that I mentioned that I have been feeling and having more contractions. Well last night they were pretty consistent at 5 minutes apart. They gave me another 10 mg of my medicine and that helped. They asked if I had a high pain tolerance since they don't seem to bother me and I sort of laughed since I think I am a baby when it comes to pain. Apparently I am better than I thought. From what they tell me if my contractions go on consistently for 2 hours they will probably check me to see how dilated I am (which has not been done yet) and then make a decision on what to do. They do not want to check to see if I am dilated because they think that will make everyone nervous. Hopefully things will just stay calm and I can keep doing what I am doing.