3 weeks old!
The babies are three weeks old! Hard to believe it. Tom has been busy plowing snow and then coming home to dad duty, giving me a break. It’s been pretty exhausting for us both but we’ve got this! :)
We brought Molly and Samuel home on Saturday, 2/16. It was so hard to leave Elliott at the NICU but we knew he would be in great hands. I cried leaving him and also part of the tears was leaving the NICU and the nurses! They were amazing. I can’t say enough good things about them all! Having babies in the NICU is stressful and hard but they made everything so much easier for us. We were also so lucky our babies didn’t have any major health concerns and were basically there to learn to feed and grow. The hospital went above and beyond to make sure all our needs were met and we are so grateful. Elliott had to stay a few extra days to make sure he was able to get all his calories in from his feedings and was gaining weight. On Monday, 2/18 we got the call that he was ready to join us at home making our family of five complete and HOME! It was a great feeling!
The babies are on a pretty strict schedule and it’s worked out really well so far! They eat every 3 to 3.5 hours. The nights are rough! If Tom isn’t working, I will typically do the 9/10 pm feeding alone letting him sleep and we will both get up for the next two together, and then he will let me sleep in and do the 6/7 feeding by himself. This is just how it’s kind of worked out so far. By the time we get them up, changed, fed and snuggled we have about an hour and a half till the next feeding. One of the hardest parts about having multiples I’ve noticed so far is missing out on the snuggles after a feeding. We really just don’t have time to sit and cuddle them for as long as we’d like to, especially in the middle of the night when we just want to get back to sleep! Anyways- so far our schedule has worked out well. We have a giant whiteboard in the kitchen where we track who ate when, the amount they ate, etc. It’s worked out well. It’s nice because if someone comes over to help they can also just check the whiteboard.
I’ve also learned it’s crucial to be organized! We go through 24 bottles in a 24 hour period- and our bottles all have 5 pieces, which makes for a lot of dish washing! Per the advice of many, I keep a tub in the sink with bottles. During the day I wash bottles after every feeding and set them out to dry but at night they all just get thrown into the bin and washed in the morning. I am pumping every 3-4 hours so typically I’ll pump either during or after a feeding. I am not nursing at this time because the babies are so small and our pediatrician wants us to track exactly how much they are eating, so for us it just works that I pump and we bottle feed. Once they are a little bigger and it’s not so important they meet calorie goals I may try to nurse. To be determined! I told myself from the get go I didn’t want to stress out about breastfeeding and so far this has worked really well for us. I am producing enough to feed at least one baby breast milk at every feeding. However, because they are so small we have to fortify their formula with extra calories so we do need to add formula to breast milk or if using formula we have to add extra. For someone who sucks at math trying to figure out the right calculation is not fun, haha! Tom has gotten some laughs at my lack of math skills. I just blame it on being tired ;-)
The babies are starting to develop their own little personalities already, it’s fun to see. Elliott was baby A and born first, he is our chill guy. He will just sit and stare at you if he’s awake. Unfortunately the formula we have to be on doesn’t really agree with his tummy so he’s been pretty uncomfortable. I’ve been giving him breast milk and he seems to be a little better. Hes a very sweet, easy going little guy. Samuel, Baby B was second born and he is a total mamas boy already! He cries the most, sometimes we think it’s just to hear his own voice. He doesn’t like to be “messed”’with and hates diaper changes, baths and getting dressed but he loooooves to cuddle. He’s had a few nights where my patience has been tested! He’s on amoxicillin to prevent a kidney infection and we have a few follow up appointments with some specialists coming up. He loves to eat!! He’s our best feeder and we just bumped his amounts up again. Miss Molly girl is our little peanut! She is so small! She makes the funniest faces and definitely is dramatic ;) she puts her little hands up by her face all the time as if to say “I’ve had enough of these boys!” Haha. She has peed on me more than the boys have! She isn't eating as much as the boys but she does pretty well with feedings. She seems to be pretty patient and she doesn’t cry very often....so far.
We’ve had a few visitors, mostly family who has been here to help! It’s been so nice to have someone here a few days a week to help with laundry, dishes and to let us nap! But I also like my time with them too, so it’s worked out really nicely! We appreciate all the well wishes, donations and meals people have brought!! We are so lucky to have a great support system.
We are just so in love with our new family. It’s a whole new world and a new sense of “normal” but it’s all I could have hoped for. I had a doctors appointment this week for some pain in my rib, turns out I have some bruised cartilage from the way the babies were positioned. Anyways- the nurse who was taking my vitals said she couldn’t believe how vibrant I was for having three babies. She then asked (which EVERY SINGLE PERSON we meet now does) if we did fertility treatments to get the babies and I said yes. She said I think that really changes your perspective. I never really had thought about it but I think she’s right. We spent a good chunk of time not knowing if we would ever have this, if we would ever be able to have a family... and now here we are with three healthy beautiful babies. We are coming up on the one year loss of our last baby and I still get emotional sometimes. I think about what that baby would have been, but I also think I wouldn’t have these three. The road was long and hard but it made us stronger and I think it makes us better parents! We are so thankful we were chosen to raise and love these little ones, even if the nights are long, the bottles are never ending and we change more diapers in a day than we’d like to count :-)
We love you all and can’t thank everyone enough for their support and love to our family. We are looking for opportunities in the future to pay it forward and show others the love we have been given!!
We brought Molly and Samuel home on Saturday, 2/16. It was so hard to leave Elliott at the NICU but we knew he would be in great hands. I cried leaving him and also part of the tears was leaving the NICU and the nurses! They were amazing. I can’t say enough good things about them all! Having babies in the NICU is stressful and hard but they made everything so much easier for us. We were also so lucky our babies didn’t have any major health concerns and were basically there to learn to feed and grow. The hospital went above and beyond to make sure all our needs were met and we are so grateful. Elliott had to stay a few extra days to make sure he was able to get all his calories in from his feedings and was gaining weight. On Monday, 2/18 we got the call that he was ready to join us at home making our family of five complete and HOME! It was a great feeling!
The babies are on a pretty strict schedule and it’s worked out really well so far! They eat every 3 to 3.5 hours. The nights are rough! If Tom isn’t working, I will typically do the 9/10 pm feeding alone letting him sleep and we will both get up for the next two together, and then he will let me sleep in and do the 6/7 feeding by himself. This is just how it’s kind of worked out so far. By the time we get them up, changed, fed and snuggled we have about an hour and a half till the next feeding. One of the hardest parts about having multiples I’ve noticed so far is missing out on the snuggles after a feeding. We really just don’t have time to sit and cuddle them for as long as we’d like to, especially in the middle of the night when we just want to get back to sleep! Anyways- so far our schedule has worked out well. We have a giant whiteboard in the kitchen where we track who ate when, the amount they ate, etc. It’s worked out well. It’s nice because if someone comes over to help they can also just check the whiteboard.
I’ve also learned it’s crucial to be organized! We go through 24 bottles in a 24 hour period- and our bottles all have 5 pieces, which makes for a lot of dish washing! Per the advice of many, I keep a tub in the sink with bottles. During the day I wash bottles after every feeding and set them out to dry but at night they all just get thrown into the bin and washed in the morning. I am pumping every 3-4 hours so typically I’ll pump either during or after a feeding. I am not nursing at this time because the babies are so small and our pediatrician wants us to track exactly how much they are eating, so for us it just works that I pump and we bottle feed. Once they are a little bigger and it’s not so important they meet calorie goals I may try to nurse. To be determined! I told myself from the get go I didn’t want to stress out about breastfeeding and so far this has worked really well for us. I am producing enough to feed at least one baby breast milk at every feeding. However, because they are so small we have to fortify their formula with extra calories so we do need to add formula to breast milk or if using formula we have to add extra. For someone who sucks at math trying to figure out the right calculation is not fun, haha! Tom has gotten some laughs at my lack of math skills. I just blame it on being tired ;-)
The babies are starting to develop their own little personalities already, it’s fun to see. Elliott was baby A and born first, he is our chill guy. He will just sit and stare at you if he’s awake. Unfortunately the formula we have to be on doesn’t really agree with his tummy so he’s been pretty uncomfortable. I’ve been giving him breast milk and he seems to be a little better. Hes a very sweet, easy going little guy. Samuel, Baby B was second born and he is a total mamas boy already! He cries the most, sometimes we think it’s just to hear his own voice. He doesn’t like to be “messed”’with and hates diaper changes, baths and getting dressed but he loooooves to cuddle. He’s had a few nights where my patience has been tested! He’s on amoxicillin to prevent a kidney infection and we have a few follow up appointments with some specialists coming up. He loves to eat!! He’s our best feeder and we just bumped his amounts up again. Miss Molly girl is our little peanut! She is so small! She makes the funniest faces and definitely is dramatic ;) she puts her little hands up by her face all the time as if to say “I’ve had enough of these boys!” Haha. She has peed on me more than the boys have! She isn't eating as much as the boys but she does pretty well with feedings. She seems to be pretty patient and she doesn’t cry very often....so far.
We’ve had a few visitors, mostly family who has been here to help! It’s been so nice to have someone here a few days a week to help with laundry, dishes and to let us nap! But I also like my time with them too, so it’s worked out really nicely! We appreciate all the well wishes, donations and meals people have brought!! We are so lucky to have a great support system.
We are just so in love with our new family. It’s a whole new world and a new sense of “normal” but it’s all I could have hoped for. I had a doctors appointment this week for some pain in my rib, turns out I have some bruised cartilage from the way the babies were positioned. Anyways- the nurse who was taking my vitals said she couldn’t believe how vibrant I was for having three babies. She then asked (which EVERY SINGLE PERSON we meet now does) if we did fertility treatments to get the babies and I said yes. She said I think that really changes your perspective. I never really had thought about it but I think she’s right. We spent a good chunk of time not knowing if we would ever have this, if we would ever be able to have a family... and now here we are with three healthy beautiful babies. We are coming up on the one year loss of our last baby and I still get emotional sometimes. I think about what that baby would have been, but I also think I wouldn’t have these three. The road was long and hard but it made us stronger and I think it makes us better parents! We are so thankful we were chosen to raise and love these little ones, even if the nights are long, the bottles are never ending and we change more diapers in a day than we’d like to count :-)
We love you all and can’t thank everyone enough for their support and love to our family. We are looking for opportunities in the future to pay it forward and show others the love we have been given!!
Oh my, Jessica, I treasure your "Our Lives Loudly" dialogue so much. Gives me a peek at the highs and lows, laughs and tears, etc. that you and Tom have faced on the journey to expand your family. I'm thankful for your words and reflections. I look forward to reading more as your angels grow. Please continue to think on and tell us how we can support you, Tom, and the babies. Sincerely, Mary
ReplyDeleteKee - you and Tom are such great parents! We are impressed with how organized you are and find it so awesome that you are facing the significant task of having triplets as a great blessing- not just a great challenge! When in any person’s life will they experience the addition of 3 people in the same moment who they will love forever? While I know it has to be exhausting, this is also a great privilege and you’ve both embraced it with such love and enthusiasm! We’re proud of you and we love you all!!
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