More "firsts"

Again, more pictures and not a lot of "talk" as I am supposed to be getting some rest while Aunt Marsha is visiting with us and helping out with the babies.

Clark's first bath - and Daddy being silly once he's warm in his lion towel. Kendall's warming up after her first bath. Emma has survived (or we survived) the first bath. Kendall looking in the mirror on the mat. Everyone on their mat during "activity time" for the first time.

I'll post more pics in a day or two. The blog limits me to this many pictures at one time. Once I've given people time to view these, I'll post another set of pics.

Everyone is doing well. We are thankful for the help of family and friends as we get used to this new life full of babies.

A few "firsts"

Pictures: First time in their own crib at home - Clark then Kendall; Uncle Tom's first time holding Emma; "Uncle" Tommy (technically cousins, but who cares) and "Aunt" Teff visiting for the first time and holding Clark; Emma's first time in her own crib at home.

Here are just a few pics to hold everyone over. I don't really have time to write much, except to say that everyone is doing fine. Our first visit to the pediatrician is this afternoon, so wish us luck. We are still working to get into some sort of routine, but more for logistics than anything else.

I'll post again soon. I hear babies stirring.

We're Home!!!!!

Pictures: All three getting their group shot at the hospital before we left. Daddy snuck in a few on our camera. Then there is a shot of the car seats all loaded in the van as we were leaving the hospital yesterday. And there there are pictures of each baby at home as Daddy unloaded them. I promise to get more of the babies on here soon!

Well, much to our surprise, we got a call yesterday afternoon saying that we could do the monitor training, stay for about 4 hours and then we could go home - with all three babies! We were there before 1pm and did the "training" and also got the pictures done (the hospital ones). We pulled out about 5:15pm - just in time for Friday 5 o'clock traffic, but we made it home safely and we are SO glad to be here.
So far, we have only had a few alarms with Clark's monitor and they were all because of a loose lead, not anything to do with a brady (heart rate decrease or that he has stopped breathing). The alarm is quite loud, but still it has not been as bad as we were told and feared.
We are working to try to have the babies on some sort of schedule - preferably 4 hours as the nurse had been working on that as well. We've heard all sorts of advice from other parents of multiples, but they all say that a schedule is not only important, but really necessary in order to save your sanity. It will just take us a few days to get in the "groove", start getting them to know day vs night and also learn what the babies are crying about, etc. Last night was long as they all seemed to need to eat right after the other, so there was never more than a 30 minute break. We are both pretty exhausted (as Troy also had a work emergency at 3:30am, so that called him away for a couple of hours). We are hoping to squeeze in a nap whenever we can, but also realize it could be a few days before we can get settled in.
I figured everyone might be ready for another picture or two. I'll get more out here shortly as we are taking lots of "firsts" pictures - first diaper change at hoe, first bottle feed at home, first time in bouncy seat. I know...a little extreme, but what can I say, we are HAPPY TO HAVE THEM HOME!!! Check back soon for more pics.

Change of Plans

Well, it doesn't look like they will be home tomorrow (Friday) as we were told yesterday. Hopefully we will get definitive information tomorrow. As of this afternoon, we will be able to bring them all home together on Saturday, but Clark will need to come home on a monitor. We will have to get "training" on the monitor tomorrow afternoon and there is a chance that we will have to room in again (with just Clark in order to get used to the equipment). Again, all this is sort of up in the air at the moment. We are confused and frustrated and hope that things will look better tomorrow. But we are still happy that it isn't too much longer until they come home.
I'll post again tomorrow once we find out something definite about their discharge situation. Again, please pray that they will come home quickly and without any monitors. We are hopeful that Clark's brady issues will resolve themselves quickly so this will all be a non-issue. Thanks.

Everyone's Coming Home FRIDAY...or Thursday!!!!

Well, the (sort of) verdict is in. All three will be coming home TOGETHER and WITHOUT ANY MONITORS!!!! We just aren't sure if it will be tomorrow (Thurs) or Friday. They said to plan on Friday and if they can get all of the paperwork done by tomorrow then it will be a pleasant surprise.
We are headed to the hospital this evening for another dreaded rooming-in session, but it will be with all three, so it's worth it. They will also have their first chance at co-bedding (all three in one crib) this evening and we are hopeful that it will go well.
We are SO excited that they will be home with us in just a day or two! Tomorrow is picture day at the hospital. Clark also passed the "fit" test for a regular carseat, so he won't need the car bed after all....another bit of wonderful news!!!!
That's all for now. I need to run as it's time to get to the hospital. We'll keep everyone posted. Thanks for your prayers!

Just Clark ...and a little update

So here he is...just Clark. Don't mind the washcloth under his face - a little preventative measure to preserve the outfit should he decide to spit up. He didn't even flinch at my evil flash, so he was out cold at the time.

He is now up to a whopping 4lb 14 oz....just shy of the 5lb mark! We are so pleased. Emma hit 5lbs last night and Kendall is up to 5lb 3oz today, so they are all still working hard to get a little chubbier.

We are still waiting to hear if and when they are coming home and if they will all be coming home together. We are still sort of expecting that Kendall and Emma are coming home either Thur or Fri, but hope to know for sure by tomorrow.

We are busy getting last minute things done around the house and even had dinner out last night as sort of our last "date night" before we have to worry about making arrangements for the kids when we go out. It was nice to be out and at a quiet restaurant and, of course, we still ended up talking about the babies. Funny how things change.

Check back tomorrow sometime to see what we find out. If you don't mind, please pray that we will be able to bring all three home at once. We are really concerned about having to leave little Clark behind and hope that it won't be necessary.

Another Day Closer to Home

FORGIVE ME CLARK, as I didn't get a picture of him yesterday. When I took these of the girls, he was being changed and fed and I didn't want to interrupt the process with my evil flash on the camera.
Emma has her fist close to her face and is pretty in pink (though you can't really see it). Kendall is wearing the green flowery outfit (I'm starting to become a fan of those little flowers) and has her little hands up. (No picture of Clark, I'm sorry.) And the last one is part of the huge rainbow we saw in West Knoxville earlier today. Sort of a reminder (see the dark clouds in the background) that things are going to be OK - babies will be home soon and nothing else matters more to us right now than that. We are ready to be full-time parents to these amazing little miracles.


Today was a good day in the NICU again. The nurse was very sweet and the babies were adorable....OK, they are always adorable, but it was worth mentioning.
At this point, we are still working towards a Friday discharge, but it could be sooner. Apparently we are waiting because of Clark's brady eps. All three have eps occasionally, but his are more frequent. Our understanding was that they aren't necessarily too concerned as mostly they occur during feedings and he always self-corrects.
Aside from that issue, Clark is feeding well - or at least eating quite a bit - and he's gaining weight. For the time-being, we have nicknamed him "Little Pants" since he is the smallest, but we know that he will outgrow that nickname soon. We still think he's most likely our "zen baby" as he seems to be the quietest of the three.
Emma (AKA "Fussy Pants") is still the screamer when she is ready to get some attention - or is it just food that she wants???? We haven't quite figured out what is keeping her up between feedings when we are there, but it seems that she is always hungry. She ate her 2pm bottle in 4 minutes and later nursed for 9 minutes and then proceeded to suck down the entire 5pm bottle as well. We also think that she's pretty lonely in the room by herself. We are hoping that when the babies come home, she might be soothed by having the other two in the room or in the crib with her (we are planning to have them co-bed for a while).
Kendall, whom we affectionately call "Piggy Pants", is still spending her time growing and putting on weight. She had lost a little weight day before yesterday, but then was back up over 5lbs again yesterday. She is still pretty quiet until she is ready to eat and even then, she is easily comforted with the bottle and some snuggle time.
We are supposed to talk with the dr or nurse practitioner tomorrow to get a better idea of when to expect them home and the status of the car bed for Clark. Again, while we are planning for Friday, we are still hopeful that it could be sooner, so we will see what they tell us. There is a chance that we will room-in again for one night this week before they come home, but again, that's up-in-the-air.
I know that our babies are doing well because of the prayers of so many people, so thanks again for your continued prayers.