The Robinson's

Some of you may have seen comments posted on our blog from "friends of Jessy and Steve". I met Jessy and her husband at a Mom's of Multiples meeting earlier this year. We were both expecting triplets and due only about a week apart. We've kept in contact with each other these past few months and on May 15th, their triplets were born. One of their sons Nickolas spent a short time in a pod next to Lauren and Logan in the level 3 NICU but now, not only are we in the same level nursery (2), we are all in the "D" nursery and our babies are right next to each other...what wonderful roomates! Their triplets, Nickolas, Willem, & Emmy are all absolutely beautiful and are doing very well. We were touched to find that on their family blog, the Robinson's were asking that their friends and family also pray for our little ones (the first request was sent out with their "24 hours after birth" post when they probably had a million other things to think about!). We would like to return the kindness and ask OUR friends and family to add them to your prayer lists. Their blog address is http://robinsontrips.blog.com/ if you would like to read about their journey. They are a very special family and we are very blessed to have met them!

Our prayers are being answered!!!

Lauren is doing so much better! Each doctor that came around today told us how amazed they were at her progress. One of the neonatologist said that she couldn't believe Lauren made it through these past few days without having emergency surgery. She said that you just don't see x-rays like hers very often have happy endings. The pediatric surgeon even came by and when he saw her x-ray from this morning he said that he was amazed and that we must have had a lot of people praying for her because he had never seen a case as bad as hers clear up as fast as hers has. We sure do have one special little lady and one heck of a prayer team!!!

We are so fortunate that the timing of this weekend worked out like it did. For starters, Patrick and I had never been to a late night shift but decided that Saturday night we would like to be there and see the nightly activities. That's when Patrick and I (& Mom) noticed how sick she looked and don't know if it would have been that obvious if we had been with her all day. We were also extremely fortunate that the night nurse and the nurse practitioner knew us and knew Lauren and took our concerns seriously and also recognized themselves that Lauren was acting differently. Lauren's blood work and spinal taps both came back clear and her throwing up would not have set off any big red flags, so her acting strangely and the staff's and our funny feelings were really the only things that kept them watching and testing her. Apparently the first real symptom that would get them worried would be a bloody diaper which Lauren finally got late Sunday night (after she had had 3 rounds of very strong antibiotics, after 2 blood transfusions and after we had met with the pediatric surgeon). It very easily could have been too late for her if this had been the first sign. They told us that often times infants don't give indications that they're sick and by the time they do, the intestines have been too damaged for the baby to survive. Pretty scary stuff.

Lauren has now made it through day 3 and will be on antibiotics and no feedings for another 7 days. She has had 3 head IV's and probably 11 IV's in her arms and legs. Today she got a PIC line (central line) so hopefully they can stop sticking her so much. Not only will she need the IV's for the remaining 7 days of antiobiotics but she will also need IV fluids and lipids until she gets back up to her full feedings. She looks so much better and is moving around again (Sunday she barely moved at all) and she is even getting a little fiesty which is a good indication that she feels better. We even caught a couple of smiles!

And as for the boys, Logan is up to 40cc of formula and is packing on the pounds...he weighs 4lbs 10oz and is accumulating lots of cute baby rolls. We got to dress him yesterday and aren't sure he'll be in preemie clothes much longer, he is a chunk (a very cute chunk)! I think that they will let him try the bottle tomorrow and see how he does. He's doing great overall!

We gave Lathan a bath for the first time last night. I've never seen such fear on a baby's face!!! I told Patrick it looked as if he was signaling to Logan "I told you we were born too early...they never made it to the parenting class and learned how to bathe a baby!" We all survived though and I think that Lathan is thankful this is not an every night occurance. He too is doing very well and we hope to get to try the bottle with him tomorrow.

Thank you to EVERYONE for their continued support and for the daily and extra prayers that these babies are getting...it is definetly working!!!

Extra Prayers Needed!

Our little Lauren has turned from the healthiest of our trio to now probably the most critical any of them have ever been. She has been diagnosed with a very serious infection of the intestines called Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). During our visit Saturday night we noticed that Lauren was not acting at all like herself. She was very lethargic and just didn't look right. We let her nurse know but her blood levels had recently been checked and came back fine so they just figured she was having an off day. Later that evening, we were in the level 3 NICU visiting the boys and we got a call saying Lauren was throwing up and so they were going to stop her feedings and draw her blood again. The blood test came back negative for infection but they decided to discontinue her feedings for the remainder of the night. We were told that she was probably fine and that her tummy more than likely just needed a break. However at 4:30am we got a call from the hospital saying that Lauren was really acting very sick and was having a lot of apnea spells (where she stops breathing) and they needed our consent to perform a spinal tap. They also took an X-Ray of her belly and that's when they saw the problem. Lauren was started on 3 very strong antibiotics and will have her feedings stopped for a minimum of 10 days. She was also given 2 blood transfusions and gets X-rays every couple of hours. When we got to the hospital this morning she had been stuck for IV's 8 times, had a spinal tap, had her blood drawn from her heel several times, was put on oxygen, taken out of her cozy isolette and moved to an open bed, and was left with an IV in her head and one in her arm.

These next few hours/days are extremely critical for Lauren. Hopefully the antibiotics will work and the problem will clear up without damaging her intestines at all, saving her from surgery. We had a consult with a pediatric surgeon tonight who said that if surgery is necessary, hopefully it can be postponed long enough for them to figure out what part of the intestines are the most damaged and would need to be removed. Otherwise they go in and aren't always successful in saving enough of the gut needed for survival. Lauren's last X-ray was at 8pm and showed some improvement. The neonatologist said that although we were no where close to being out of the woods, it was encouraging that the condition was responding to the first few rounds of antibiotics.

The good news for the weekend...Logan and Lathan are both doing very well, are CPAP free and were graduated today to the Level 2 NICU...YIPPEE!!!

What a great weekend!!!

Miss Lauren has now graduated to the level 2 NICU where the less critical babies stay! She is on her way to regulating her own body temperature and soon we will be able to dress her in cute pink preemie clothes...I know she is excited! She weighes just over 3 lbs and continues to improve each and every day.

Logan had his CPAP removed today and was given a nasal canula instead. He was so much happier, in fact, when we left he was laying flat on his face, something he was not able to do with the large CPAP. He was wide awake for most of our visit and taking in his unobstructed view of the NICU. His feeding have increased and so has he (3lbs 11oz)! He is now able to wear clothes and he is regulating his own temperature very well.

Lathan is way down on his oxygen (under 30%) and is doing GREAT! I think that if he weren't connected to all the tubes he would crawl his way out of the hospital...he is very strong and doesn't stay still for long. He still has his CPAP and keeps the nurses on their toes trying to make sure that he doesn't wiggle himself out of the pronges (which happens about every 5 minutes)!

One of the nurses in the level 3 nursery requested that she be the primary care nurse for our little ones when the babies all move to the level 2 NICU. Apparently she has completely fallen in love with them during these past three weeks...pretty cool that they are already so darn lovable!

FINALLY

We were finally able to hold Lathan for the first time Tuesday night (his 3 week birthday)! He was moved from a Hudson CPAP to the smaller one like Lauren & Logan have been on and his oxygen was turned down a little. We were only able to hold him for a few minutes before his monitors started alarming but we enjoyed every second of it. Since then, we have been able to hold him each day and he really seems to like it...YEA Lathan!!! He continues to improve each day and is growing like a champ. His head ultrasound today showed that his level 2 brain bleeds are smaller although not quite at level 1's...maybe next week!

Logan's ultrasound results weren't in by the time we left this evening so we will probably find out something tomorrow. Logan continues to struggle with his feedings although he is now the heaviest of the three babies weighing 3 1/2 lbs...that's over a pound heavier than he was at birth! His CPAP pressure was turned down today to a 6 so if all goes well he will be CPAP free within the next week! He was receiving blood transfusions earlier this week through an IV in his head which was finally removed this morning. Thank goodness...it looked terribly uncomfortable and couldn't have been much fun!

And as for Lauren...she is now CPAP free! This morning they decided to take her off and she has been breathing on her own ever since. They are going to monitor her closely but at the very most they would just have to add a small nasal tube instead of the invasive CPAP. So far though, she isn't acting like she needs any assistance and is showing off to her brothers! We were able to do Kangaroo Care with her today ("skin to skin" hold) and she did really well. Can't wait to see what she'll do next!

We've added some pictures to our shutterfly page...ENJOY!
http://www.guinntriplets.shutterfly.com

Sunday

The past few days have been fairly good for all three babies. Here is the latest from our visit today!

Lauren is on full feeds so she no longer has a PIC line in her arm (which was used to deliver lipids and nutrients). She is right under 3lbs and is still a very content baby. Early this morning her temperature got high so they were watching her throughout the day to make sure that she hadn't developed an infection. More than likely she was just laying too long on her temperature probe that is stuck to her belly. Her CPAP pressure has been turned down to an 8 and if we can get her down to a 5 or 6 they will be able to remove it and give her a much smaller tube in her nose. We'll keep our fingers crossed!!!

Logan had a rough day today. He began feeding again a few days ago but this morning his tummy started rejecting it and he started throwing up. His feeding were stopped and when they drew his blood they found that he was anemic. He had an IV started and received blood transfusions throughout the day. His temperature was off in his isolette so we were asked not to open it and were not allowed to hold him since he had had such a tramatic morning. Poor baby. We got good news though regarding his weekly head ultrasound. His grade 2 & 3 brain bleeds have not gotten worse and appear to be stable. He will be monitored again next week and hopefully they will have shrunk!

Lathan is looking really good...if only his lungs would cooperate! He had gone down to about 48% oxygen but the amount has slowly made its way back up to 59%. We need for him to get below 30% so that we will be able to hold him for the first time...the wait is killing us!!! He had an x-ray and it still showed quite a bit of fluid in his lungs so they are increasing his meds to clear that up. He is almost on full feeds and weighs over 3 lbs! He also received his weekly head ultrasound and his brain bleeds have not gotten any worse however one ventricle seems to be enlarged so they will watch it closely (measure the circumference of his head each day and weekly ultrasounds) to make sure it doesn't cause any problems.

That's all I can think of...more to come this week!

Tuesday

Quick update on the babies...

We still have not been able to hold Lathan. He remains on the Hudson CPAP and his oxygen need is too high, although it has come down from 70% to about 57%. Apparently it needs to be closer to 30% before they are comfortable moving him from his cozy bed. He is tolerating his food well and has progressed from 3cc's a day or two ago to 10cc's (I think he is trying to make up for lost time!). He continues to look more and more comfortable each day in his isolette which makes us really happy!

Logan has developed some sort of stomach problem so he has been off feedings since yesterday. They were giving him another x-ray when we left tonight so hopefully that has come back clear and he can get some more food on his belly...poor guy! He had both of his eyes open for a good part of our visit which was really fun to see. Most of the time he only opens one or the other and even that "peeking" is not as frequent as what we get with Lathan & Lauren.

And Lauren, as usual, was asleep most of the afternoon and is continuing to do very well. She is up to 19cc's of milk (more than 1/2 ounce)! Two nurses have told us that it is common for the girl in a group of multiples to do a little bit better than the boys, especially respiratory wise. She sure is proving that theory right!

Pictures

For pictures of the babies visit...

www.guinntriplets.shutterfly.com

We'll add pictures frequently so be sure to check back often...ENJOY!!!

An update...Lauren and Logan are doing very well, both have increased their feedings (Lauren 12cc's every 3 hours, and Logan 9cc's). Lathan has had some trouble with his CPAP so he has had to move to a Hudson CPAP which involves longer pronges in his nose. He is on quite a bit of oxygen (about 70% whereas Lauren and Logan are now on room air 21%). He received his first feeding today through the feeding tube and was moved to an isolette. Hopefully those "upgrades" will improve his lung situation. We are hoping that we can hold him for the first time tomorrow...can't wait!!!

The babies' journies so far...

The babies are all in the level III NICU at Texas Women's Hospital and will remain there probably until around mid July. For the first few days they had normal preemie problems including breathing issues, blood pressure fluctuations, etc. We found out last Friday that all three babies had PDA's which is when the fetal connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery don't close properly. Lathan and Lauren's PDA's were large and Logan's was moderate so all babies had heart surgery that night. All three surgeries were done at their bedsides and took only 54 minutes. The surgeon said that their hearts were the size of pecans and that their bodies only hold 2 tablespoons of blood...pretty amazing!

Lauren's condition improved immediately. She was off the ventilator a few days later and switched to a CPAP (tubes in her nose that produce pressure but allow her to breath on her own). Her tubes were removed from her umbilical line and she was switched to a more permanent PIC line in her arm. She was also promoted to an isolette, given a pacifier and rolled on her tummy which she seems to really enjoy. She got her first feeding of breast milk through a feeding tube earlier this week and so far she is tolerating it well. Go Lauren!!!

Logan was right behind Lauren getting moved to the CPAP on Tuesday and to an isolette yesterday. He hated the CPAP at first and looked extremlely uncomfortable but once he got used to it and rolled on his tummy he seems to be a much happier baby. He too has a pacifier and with the ventilator removed he is able to cry and voice his opinions easier. He too has started receiving milk through a feeding tube and has graduated from 3cc's to 6cc every 3 hours. We found out today that he has 2 IVH's (brain hemorrhages). One is considered a 2 (on a scale of 1-4) and the other is being considered a 3, although they can't rule out yet that it isn't a 4. He will be monitored weekly with head ultrasounds and hopefully the condition will resolve on its own. If not, there are medications they can use and as a last resort he would be transferred to Texas Children's to have a shunt put in. We are praying obviously that this resolves on its own and that there are no long term consequences.

Lathan has struggled a little more than the others but the doctors tell us its pretty normal. Poor thing has had terrible luck when it comes to getting poked and proded. All babies required a spinal tap and Lathan had to have 2 because the first one they were unable to get any fluid. He has been stuck 3 times for a PIC line, the last of which finally worked in his foot. His heals are all bruised from all the sticks and he flinches now when you touch him. I'm sure he's just scared of what's next. The radiologist who finally got the PIC line started said that they gave him a good dose of pain medication and sedation medicine, neither of which seemed to phase him. His lungs have had more trouble than the other two babies and for the past few days he has been given asthma medications to help them out. Today he was finally moved to the CPAP and hopefully he will be promoted to his isolette within the next few days. He, like Logan, has 2 IVH brain hemorrages although his are fairly mild, both being graded 2's. He will also get weekly head scans with the hopes that the condition resolves on its own. He sure is a fighter!!! He has not started feeding and is still in an open air bed but hopefully soon he will graduate like his brother and sister!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers...please keep them coming!!!

Our triplets have arrived!!!

Lathan

Lauren

Logan

Our triplets were born on April 25th...12 weeks early. We had an ultrasound that morning and all looked great. In fact, Dr. Kirshon had said that he thought we could make it another 7 weeks. The babies must have heard that and thought otherwise. Late that afternoon I went into labor that couldn't be stopped and was prepped for a c-section. Logan was born first at 7:42pm weighing 2lbs 10.7 oz (13" long), then Lauren at 7:43pm weighing 2lbs 12.3oz (15.75" long) and last but not least was Lathan at 7:44pm weighing 2lbs 14.2oz (15.5" long).

What beautiful blessings!!!

Week 28

Week Twenty-Eight

* Eyebrows and eyelashes are now very noticeable!
* Hair on baby's head is growing longer. Some babies are born with almost none at all, while others appear to be ready for their first haircut!
* Eyes are completely formed now. Quite a view from inside!
* Your baby's body is getting plump and rounded. Most of that increase is muscle tissue and bone. Fat will be added during the third trimester.
* Muscle tone is improving. Preparation for the Olympics feels like it is taking place in your womb!
* Lungs are capable of breathing now (but baby would still struggle and require medical attention if born now)
* Talk to your baby often, reading stories, singing songs and more. He or she can recognize your voice now and will often calm to it later on!