Happy Due Date!

12 weeks old (and 1 day). We've finally made it to our due date! We were told at the beginning that we shouldn't expect the boys to come until around their due date. Well we've made it to our due date . . . but no one is home yet. And that's ok. We don't want them home before it's time. They need to be ready. I can wait for that (not really but I don't have a choice I guess!).

This is definitely not where I thought we would be at this point when I first found out I was preggo. I mean I didn't think I would actually make it to my due date (even with just 1 baby) because I didn't make it close to my due date with Addison but in no way could I have been prepared for this crazy journey we've been through! But it's our journey. Our story. And I'm kind of learning to enjoy it. I have learned to enjoy every moment spent at the NICU holding one of my boys, every minute talking to doctors, nurses, and therapists of all types. Don't get me wrong - I can't wait for my boys to come home. But for now I'm pretty comfortable with where we are right now. I couldn't imagine a better place (except home of course). The NICU experience has been wonderful (and terrifying at the same time) really. I can't really imagine anything else at this point. I just hope that the people who have done so much for our boys can stay in their lives. Is that possible? I hope so.

So because it's our due date, here's everyone's stats:

Mason: 6 lbs 1 oz., 17.7 in. (at birth 2 lbs. 2 oz., 13.5 in.)

Logan: 5 lbs 9 oz., 18.1 in. (at birth 2 lbs. 4 oz., 14 in.)

James: 6 lbs 13 oz., 18.7 in. (at birth 2 lbs. 6 oz. 14.1 in.)

The boys are getting big! All 3 boys are now wearing newborn size clothes! (Logan can still wear most of our preemie clothes too). And they're growing like they should. They're starting to look like full term newborns finally!

Mason and James are starting to look a lot alike! Logan looks different to me. Maybe it's his blond hair!

And we are finally starting to see some eye color. All of their eyes are still dark but they are definitely getting lighter! They all look grayish blue right now. I'm sure they'll keep changing colors but I really just started noticing color this week.

Some ways to tell the boys apart: Mason has the biggest chubbiest cheeks. And a double chin! James is the biggest. And he has the most hair. Mason and James have dark hair for now. Logan has blond hair and a different nose. And Logan is the smallest. No chubby cheeks on Logan! 

We're still in the NICU but all 3 boys are making good progress. It's slowing down but that's normal and expected. Basically we just need to get our oxygen requirement down and learn how to feed orally. Remember, this is the part where it starts moving at a snail's pace.

Some general updates for all 3 boys:

• We still don't have any major long term issues. Just normal preemie issues. Yay! 

• All 3 boys got their 2 month immunizations last week. They did great and had no problems. 

• They all got their term head ultrasounds last week too. And they all looked good. Logan's and James's IVH (intraventricular hemorrhage or brain bleeds) has completely resolved so they have normal newborn brains now. Mason's IVH is resolving and looks way better too! Yay! 

• All 3 boys got eye exams today. We didn't get the results we wanted on this one. Preemies are born before the blood vessels in their eyes finish developing all the way to the outside of the eye. So they get eye exams to make sure these blood vessels grow properly. Until today we have had all good results. We were zone 3 grade 0 last time. This means that the blood vessels have grown almost all the way to the outer edge of the eye (zone 3) and the vessels are normal size, shape, etc. (grade 0). Now we are all zone 3 grade 1. That means that the vessels are a little abnormal (like getting puffy or thick or something like that). This can resolve itself. I did some googling (I know I know better!) and found that the chances of this getting worse or needing treatment (more surgery - yikes!) are very small because the blood vessels have grown all the way out to zone 3. We get a follow up eye exam next week so we will know more then. I haven't talked to our doctor about this yet so I really don't know much. But please send us some prayers, happy thoughts, or whatever you do for good results!

Here's the update on each baby:

Mason:

Mason is currently on 2 liters of oxygen and getting all of his feeds through his NG tube straight into his belly. He was on 1/2 liter last week and we started oral feeds but we took a step backwards. His co2 has been high on his blood gas tests since last Monday so the doctor decided to go back up on his oxygen flow. It's a minor set back. But it is working. His co2 was better yesterday after turning his flow back up.

Because we had to turn Mason's oxygen up, we also had to stop his oral feeding attempts. I hate it! He was doing great with a bottle. We were starting to work on nutritive breast feeds too. He wasn't very good at it yet and seemed to get upset (I think because the bottle spoiled him) but I liked that we were at least trying. But I don't want to rush things (yes I do) so I'll let him take his time. 

Here's some new pictures of Mason and his chubby cheeks:

Talking to Daddy

We realized this weekend that Addison still hadn't held Mason so she got to do that finally! She's the best big sister ever! So sweet!

And Mason and I took a selfie tonight too:

Logan:

Logan is having a great week! He's taken the lead in the race to go home first! Everyone is surprised! Go Logan! 

Logan is down to 1/2 liter oxygen flow and he's on the "oral feeding pathway." This means that as he meets certain goals he automatically gets to attempt more oral feeds. Basically he has to take 75% of each feed by mouth, gain weight, and not have any episodes with his breathing. We're at the first step right now but he's doing great! He gets 1 feed per shift (or 2 per day) so we're doing 1 bottle and 1 breast feed. He's taken the entire bottle the last 3 or 4 days! And he's doing great at breast feeding too! He latched on all by himself. And today he took 34 mls, which is exactly 75% of his total feed! So if he does it again tomorrow we can probably move up to the next level. Go Logan go!!

Here's some new Logan pictures:

James:

Mr. James has had a pretty good week too. They took out his tpt and started feeding him into his belly again finally! Yay James! They are slowly getting him back to normal gravity feeds. He started with continuous feeds at 11 hours on 1 hour off. As of today he's down to 3 hours on 1 hour off. So he's getting closer. 

James is also doing better with his breathing. He's on 2 liters oxygen flow now and he's not really having many episodes anymore. His co2 is also a little high but it's getting better. We're focusing on his feeds first anyways though so hopefully once they get his feeds back to normal we can go down on his oxygen too. 

James also seems a lot less cranky over the past week. He still has his moments but he's much calmer in my opinion. We discovered that James loves to swing. I may need another swing if he's going to hog the only one we have! 

James is also the strongest of the triplets! We can see him lift his head and look around from across the room! The physical therapist even commented about his strength. He rolled over in his bassinet last week. That's not easy to do. If you've noticed from the pictures, the bassinets aren't very big. But James found a way. He was pretty surprised! He's so advanced! Ha! 

I only got this 1 picture of James this week! He's usually on his belly! I'll make up for it next week I promise! But doesn't he look like a big boy now?! 

We also had some visitors this week. My whole family came in town Sunday. We're almost never all in the same place at the same time except at Christmas. So Mom made us take family photos at the hospital. This was the best we could do. We're a special group!

Me and my brothers and sister. We're almost in order by age (me, Alan, Joey, John, Lizzie). My sister is actually the youngest. 

Two of my brothers also held babies for the first time!

John with Mason

Alan with James (I guess I got 2 pictures of James this week!)

Thanks everyone for your continued support! It's been a long 12 weeks. But it still seems like the boys were just born. It's both I guess - it seems like we've been in NICU for forever but I also can't believe it's been 12 weeks already! 

Sorry I posted a day late this week! I wanted to post on our due date so I didn't post yesterday too. I thought that would be too much! But I scared my mother in law! I'll let her know next time I do something crazy like delaying my weekly blog post by a day!