More Progress

We have so much progress, I feel like beaming ear to ear.
Let's start with the most progress.... GREY!!!
Grey is doing spectacular. He is doing well on his nasal canula. He is getting feedings, and is also stooling. He still has a ways to go with increasing the volume of feedings. Right now he is getting 10 cc every 3 hours (1/3 of an ounce). He needs to be at about 2-3 ounces before we can consider bringing him home. That is, he needs to be stooling, and tolerating the feedings by gaining weight, not vomiting, not heaving... etc. Either way, it's progress. They did an echocardiogram today to see why his heart looked a little big on xray. It was absolutely normal. Again, more great news! Apparently he just has a lot of love! :)

Owen rolled over tonight in his pack n play. I think he got so mad he wasn't getting picked up, he rolled from his tummy to his back. Wow... he gets mad!

Lillian... well, no progress. But not having progress is okay for little Lillian. As "Aunt Brooke" would say, she's perfect anyway!

Nurse Erin is coming over tomorrow to visit and play with Lillian and Owen. It will be nice to have expertise in the house!

I have a goal to get done this week. I need to go through the clothes that we have aquired from both my neighbor(THANK YOU JEN!!!) my inlaws and parents (AGAIN THANK YOU!) and showers and put away the preemie stuff. Lilly is comfortably in newborn stuff, but Owen is in 0-3 month clothes. Grey is still in newborn right now. I need to organize and mark things so we can keep them all straight etc. hmmm... yeah, just thinking about it makes me tired!

good feelings

Grey is off the vent. Not really as planned however, it seems it kind of came out early this morning, and he has been doing well since then. I was able to hold him today and spend some precious time with him, and he opened his eyes a bit, and made his little chipmunk noises... which is so good to hear again. I feel pretty good about where he is right now. They started feedings!!! YAY! It seems to be digesting, as it isn't still left in his stomach when they are done. His liver numbers were down a bit, and his kidney numbers and CBC looks great.

Lilly and Owen are going through some colic I think. Seem to be really fussy in the evenings. I think I finally have enough formula until it will be back on the shelf.

We went ahead and hired a night nanny agency. I figured we needed to get it secured for next week.... and go from there. SO, 2 nights of a night nanny, one night my mom is going to do the night shift, and my inlaws will be here the next day to take over until my mom wakes up etc.

Tomorrow Todd works from the NICU, and I think we might be able to have lunch and visit with Grey. Looking forward to that!

status quo

Everything is status quo with everyone.

Grey- he is doing well. He is still on the ventilator, they are just slowly weaning the pressures. I am hoping that he will be off by the end of the week. I am also hoping that the surgeons start feedings this week as well. The sooner the better.... as long as it isn't too soon.

Lillian, well, she was awake nearly all day today. I don't really know why, but she was a bit cranky. She is now warn out and sleeping.

Owen is just Owen. They are an hour late on their schedule because I foolishly thought that they were going to go 4 hours on a feeding, which they did.... but now they are back on their every 3 hour schedule, just late.

Reinforcements are here tonight, so I am off to bed. I wish my inlaws luck with them, hopefully they aren't as rowdy as they have been all weekend.
Next week it's back to work for me, so this is my last week off. We are still trying to work out the logistics of all of that. Since I work at home, it will be nice. However working at home, still requires sleep... hmmmm...
Anyone know a night nanny that would come for under $25 an hour? That really may be our only option, atleast until we are on 4 hour feedings. Imagine 2 less feedings a day?? Paradise!

Hurdles

Grey continues to improve. He is weaning on the ventilator, his wound looks great, his kidney numbers have normalized. We now wait for him to poop so we can start feedings, and get his liver happier. Hoping he gets off the vent this weekend.

Lilly and Owen are doing well. The formula issue continues to be a hurdle. Everywhere is OUT of formula. Thank goodness for the NICU. Erin H that was taking care of Grey today gave me a days worth. I got 2 days worth at CVS and that was all they had. Heather gave me enough to get me through... maybe another 2 days. CVS said they wouldn't have another shipment in until next Friday. Marsh said the same. Hell will freeze over before I get my formula at Marsh again. I went there today to return what I had bought, and the manager was "on break". I knew complaining to a high schooler would fall on deaf ears, nonetheless someone that didn't give a crap... nor would I have at 18 years old. Interestingly enough, all of their formula was off the shelf with signs all over about the recall. hmmm.. think I'll call them tomorrow on the phone and give them a piece of my mind. But, that might just take more energy than I have. Dr. Simon the neonatologist taking care of Grey is going to give me the Similac rep's cell phone number, in case of issues like this again. That will be helpful. If all else fails, little Owen will go back on Neosure (Lilly's high calorie formula) for a while. I just hate switching him back and forth. Dogs don't even handle that, let alone an infant.
I was up alot last night, for obvious reasons. My mom took over at 9am, and I slept from 10 or so til 2pm. It was quite nice. What was really nice was hearing Erin's voice on the phone cause she was taking care of Grey. It's nice to call in to the NICU, and know for sure that he is well taken care of by someone that cares for him. Again, thank you primary nurses for that piece of mind!

Self pity....

Allow me to have some self pity for just a second.
First of all the kids are good. They are slowly weaning the vent on Grey. We set a goal to get off the vent by the end of the weekend.
Owen and Lilly are fine, no real issues...

Similac.... I'm not a big fan of Similac right now. I saw on the triplet mom message board at 1045 pm that Owen's formula (some of it) was being recalled. Looked at our supply, after trying for 2 hours to check online because the site was busy, and calling repeatedly to the number... I finally got through. Yep, our whole stock, recalled. So, if I don't want the possiblity of Beetle larvae in the formula, I'd better find him some. Off to CVS (24 hour... cause they are all closed). CVS, wasn't aware there was a recall.... Walgreens, had no formula left... Off to Marsh. I asked when I got in there because they were stocked to the gills... Was this all gone thru to see if any of it was recalled? Manager says "Yep". Super, I think.

Got home, thought, well,... I have some time before they eat, I'll look these cans up. To my dismay, they are ALL FLIPPIN recalled. All $90 of the formula I bought. By this time, it's 2am. I call a friend that I knew would be up to vent, and see if she had any suggestions, and Heather Myers a triplet mom I met in the NICU of course was up, and has some samples. SO, we met at the 96th street McDonalds at 245, and back now just in time, the kids are just now waking up. Heather, if you read this... THANK YOU....
And then I wonder to myself. Why? Seriously.... I want a break. Can't you just give me a break for one week. Please LORD cut us some slack for just a little while. I try not to ask why... I try not to, and I am DONE asking... but there was just a few moments in the car, on the way to get formula for my little Owen that I just asked God, please, please, lower the drama threshold for a few days. Then I laugh at myself, crying in the truck, realizing it can be much worse. And, it can be. So my self pity is over.

A good day

Grey had an excellent day today. He successfully got off the jet vent, and is now on a regular ventilator, with moderate support. I walked into his room this morning to him laying there with a sign in his bed that said, "I am going to get off of the jet vent today." Becca, his nurse was practicing positive affirmations with him. Once he was off, she crossed out the GET, and wrote STAY off. There is nothing better than the creativity of a NICU nurse!

He got his wound vac put on. I was telling Todd about it, and he google imaged it before he came to see Grey. Just a word of warning.... don't do it. They are some ugly wounds. Little Grey's wound is clean, not ugly like those. Here is a picture of the machine and the sponge.

Here's the principle of the wound vac. It is a machine, that is connected by suction to a sponge that is cut and molded to the inside of the wound. There is a clear dressing that is placed on top of it, that creates suction when connected to the machine. The suction is there to put negative pressure on the inside of the wound, and it creates new tissue by stimulating more circulation in the wound. It keeps the wound clean, as any secretions of the wound are sucked into a canister, and it keeps it dry. It doesn't hurt him, just likely feels weird once the initial suction is established. It's changed daily by the physical therapy at Peyton Manning Children Hospital. They come over to the NICU and change it. I think this will heal the wound much faster than it would have normally. It is a clean wound, and really has great tissue formation on the inside from what I've seen. (This is when I'm the nurse, and not the mom....)

He's very swollen today, that should improve in the next few days. Becca arranged it so I could hold him today too. I can't describe what it was like to hold him again. He tried to open his eyes, but they were too swollen to open them. Honestly, I really think he is passing gas. Every once in a while you get a wiff of something that smells like stool in his diaper... but it comes and goes. THAT would be excellent if he was passing gas. That means that his bowel connection is good, it's getting good blood flow, and it is trying to get moving again. We should expect a bowel movement in the next week. He needs to have a bowel movement so that they can start feedings again. Once they start feedings they can decrease his IV nutrition, and this will help his liver not be so angry. It's all a chain reaction.

Lillian and Owen are doing well. Owen doesn't even realize that he changed formula. He sucks it down, and doesn't even acknowledge the change. Lillian is eating better, but is a bit constipated this evening. Normally it's not even worth mentioning, but.... it has upset her since about 7pm.... meaning, she has cried since 7pm. The prune juice was given... just waiting on it to work. I never thought my life would revolve around the bowels of my children:)

The changing of the guard is tomorrow. I think my mother in law is going to stay and help my mom out this week, so I can be free to go to the NICU. I still feel like I need to be there a few hours a day to know what is going on, and not feel guilty!

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts! Keep em coming!

Progress

Progress.... with all 3 of them.
Grey is doing well. They opened up his wound Sunday, and are going to put a wound vac on tomorrow. This is something I am happy about. It will heal much faster, and less chance for further infection with the vac. I have extensive experience with this from transplant, and feel comfortable about that decision. They are also going to try him on a regular vent tomorrow which is huge progress if he does well. Praying he does well, and his bowels start working soon.

Lilly and Owen had a peds md appt. Owen is 10'7 and 22 inches long. Lilly is 7'15 and 20.5 inches long. Owen is being taken off the preemie formula, and Lilly will remain on it. They did get their 2 month shots, and seem to be fine so far.

Looking forward to Grey's progress the most I must say. Should have an update tomorrow on if he did well or not. Let's hope he does!

another good day

Today was another good day for Grey. There is a little improvement, and his labs look great. They did open up his wound, and are now packing it to make it heal from the in side out. Although it doesn't look great, the wound itself looks much better. He has quite a ways to be weaned from the jet vent, but stable is good.... and we will take it. I just called tonight, and they were able to wean him again. Maybe by the end of the week he will be off the vent, although that may be aggressive.
Lillian and Owen have an MD appt tomorrow. I am looking for them to change Owen off his preemie formula, and to a regular lower calorie formula because he is growing quickly... although I bet he is still in the 20% percentile for wt. Afterall he is 3 months old.
That's all I got!
Big thanks again to my mom, sister, and in-laws for holding down the fort while we were at the hospital!
Have a good week!

Looking better

Grey is looking better. He is oxygenating much better today, and they were able to wean his oxygen rate a bit. His incision looks GREAT compared to yesterday, and his vitals are still stable. YAY! Since his incision is draining a little bit, they may open it up tomorrow a little bit at the bedside with some local anesthetic and let it heal from the inside out, with some packing.
I am happy with his progress. So thankful for his progress!
Lilly and Owen are truckin along. We have a peds appt on Monday for 2 month shots. Hopefully they won't be fussy that evening.
My cold is going away too, so that makes the world all look much better.

A set back

Well, it's been a long 48 hours. Thursday early morning, I called the NICU, and Grey had been placed on another ventilator and was having low blood pressure problems. I got to the NICU about 4am Thursday morning, and just now getting home from that.Laura was his nurse that night, and I knew he was in good hands. I ended up staying Thursday night there.
After going on a vent called the oscillator, which theoretically should have helped, he had to go to a vent called the jet vent. The jet vent gives him about 300 breaths per minute in order to keep him oxygenated. Thursday during the day he required maximal support with the vent, and multiple medications to keep his blood pressure up. He was basically a patient that needed 2 nurses to take care of him. Thanks Shelly, and everyone that helped!
Thursday night, he seemed to turn a corner, and they were able to wean off the blood pressure meds. Today he was up and down. Although his vitals are mainly stable, his respiratory status is a little less stable. He is still requirying a lot of ventilator support, and not able to wean down the support at all... but maintaining his own on what he is on. His incision from the surgery is red, might have a little infection below the skin, or it just might be inflammation from being pulled so tight from the surgery. Surgery is aware, and increased his antibiotic coverage and doing a few different labs to watch it a bit closer.
I just called, and his blood gases are better and stable still... which is a definite plus. I think looking at Halloween for a discharge date is a little unrealistic right now. His bowel isn't even remotely thinking about working, blood flow to the bowel right now, is our main goal. Going to set a new goal of Thanksgiving. As long as my Grey is healthy and well, he can stay as long as he wants.
I just want to thank Becca, Brooke, Erin, Shelly, and Laura for taking care of my little Grey. Even the nurses that weren't there taking care of him, took time out of their schedules and called in to the nurse taking care of him to see how he was doing.
It is a set back for Grey. In times like these, I find myself being the old ICU nurse. The person that puts up a guard to protect my emotions. I'm having a hard time not doing that, and just being a mommy to him. I think he knows it's me talking to him, as when I did a few times today, his heart rate went up, and he squeezed my fingers. But he needs to heal, and that will come from rest which will help his lungs be more compliant with the ventilator. Gosh I love that little man, but walking into that room is heart breaking at times. I pray that he will be ok, and will come out on the other end of this a healthy, happy little boy. Please join me in that prayer. I'll update as time allows. Please also pray for my mom, sister, and in-laws that have taken on Lilly and Owen duty! They have done a great job so far! Thanks to them as well for helping us out and letting us be where we need to be!
Thanks again everyone!

post surgery

Not a good night in the NICU for Grey.
His blood pressure dropped, his urine output has dropped. He is now on a ventilator called an oscillator which delivers 700 breaths per minute to keep his oxygenation where it needs to be, and IV medication to keep his vital signs stable.
This can definitely happen after surgery, we knew it could happen.... it doesn't make it any easier to wait it out. Please pray for him, and us. He is a strong little boy, but, Dear God, please help him through this, and quickly!

surgery is done!

Surgery is done. Grey did fine. It's nice to see him without a bag on his belly. He is still on the ventilator, which is the plan for a few days to allow pain control medicine to be stronger. The surgeon said it was a fairly difficult surgery, but that it went as good as can be expected. We now wait for him to poop, and slowly wean him off the vent. Then they will slowly start feedings, and go from there. Still in need of thoughts and prayers that he continues on the right path, and that he has no complications!
I think I'm getting a cold.... urgh!
Got the Traverse back.
Very tired....

Looking ahead

First of all, Todd brought to my attention today that there wasn't a "solo" picture of Hendrix on the blog. This is a dog we got from Northern Lights Sled Dog Rescue in 2004. http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/northernlights.html So, if you want a good northern breed, and are a good pet owner... or just want to donate... they are a great organization. He is a very good dog. As you see, he doesn't miss a meal but is otherwise very patient. He doesn't have a lick of sense... but gosh, I love that dog!


OH, we get the Traverse back tomorrow. I will appreciate that truck a lot more. I missed my XM, OnStar, Navigation, back up camera and sun roofs.... That little dodge crossover just wasn't cutting it! ;)




Now on to the kids...


We went to see Grey today. He was good. Kind of emotional when we left. I made Owen and Lillian give him a smooch good bye.... well, in preemie standards it was a kiss. Here is their last picture together with Grey when he has a bag. Grey has an IV in his arm, so he can only have one arm in his sleeve. I staged them wittingly I might add, with their NICU orange pacifiers, which Owen really doesn't like, Lilly prefers them, and that's all Grey knows. I thought it was cute.
Wish us luck tomorrow.... his surgery was bumped up to 1pm.... please pray all goes well, he comes off the ventilator quickly, and he has no complications. I'll update when time allows.

Surgery is set!

Grey's surgery is set for Wed at 2pm. I spent the morning with him today, as he was supposed to have a procedure. They were unable to pass a catheter through his stoma.... so they will do it in surgery instead. I read to him, and rubbed his little head. Brooke had him yesterday, so he was still sporting a mohawk!

Lilly and Owen are doing well. Still having reflux, but nothing much new with them. Lilly is feeling much better on her Neosure with cereal. I am going to take them in to see Grey tomorrow so they can all cuddle before he goes to surgery on Wednesday. Here is a pic of Owen with his collar "popped" given ya the PEACE sign!

Lilly is stretching.... getting ready for her Neosure and cereal!

This is Jasmine on the couch.... zonked because she is on benadryl for her allergies.... well, and 2 crying babies!

Grey and his intestines......

There once was a boy named Grey.... Grey Nolan Maurer to be exact. He was born to give his parents a run for their money from day one!

About 3 days after birth Grey stopped having bowel movements, and had upon looking at the xrays of his belly large intestine that was inflammed and distended. On June 22nd, they did a barium enema, which is a test that looks at the intestine with xray after the contrast barium is injected per his rectum. It showed that something wasn't right in his intestine, and needed to go to surgery. He was, on that day, 1lb 13 oz (he lost wt after birth).

Once in surgery they found that he had a small hole in his mesentary. Mesentary is the tissue that holds the large intestine in place in the abdomen. It was just a freak thing, that many newborns may be born with, however.... his small intestine (jejunum) had gotten looped into it, and had started to cut off the circulation to his small intestine.

There are 3 parts to the small intestine. The duodenum, jejunum, and illeum. After the ileum, there is a valve called the ileocecal valve, and that leads into the large intestine (colon)... which is broken up into the asending, desending and transverse colon.

SO, long story short, they took 1 cm of his jejunum out because it was damaged. That is a short amount that was resected (or taken out). When he was brought back up from this surgery, they said that just proximal (before) to this area, the jejunum looked "ugly". Meaning it didn't have very good blood flow. But, as the surgery went on, it looked ok, and they were going to give it a chance to get better.

On July 23rd, it declared... it wasn't going to get better. It died. Making Grey septic, and near death himself. So 10 more cm of the jejunum was removed. After both surgeries Grey was left with an ostomy.

After parts of the intestine are removed, a lot of times patients are left with stomas and ostomies. This means that if part of the intestine was removed at the jejunum, it is cut there, and the healthy portion is brought to the surface of the skin and a bag is put on it. So food goes from the mouth, then stomach, then duodenum, then the jejunum.... and out into the bag. The reason they do that is usually DISTAL to the injured area (in Grey's case the ileum, and the whole colon) gets inflamed due to restricted blood flow etc. At that time, the part of the intestine that is no longer connected together(remember the bag is now where it would be connected)... that portion is brought up to the skin too. Usually this is to rest the portion of the intestine that was damaged because the intestine proximal, or before it had alot of problems.

SO, after all of this rests, and 6-8 weeks later most of the time it can be re-anastomosed. Meaning he is put back together. The two portions of the intestines that are brought up to the skin, are just now put back together to allow the food to go from the mouth, stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, to the colon... and of course out.

This is a picture of almost what it looks like, but with bags on both of the pieces of intestine that are brought up to the skin.

Some of the issues with this surgery are scar tissue. Scar tissue forms because of the manipulation and previous surgeries. This can cause injury to the bowel, or accidental injury during surgery. Also, since Grey hasn't eaten really.... he has to learn to bottle feed and his intestine that hasn't been used for a long period of time has to get used to be active, and has to move like it's supposed to, to expell feces.

In the meantime, the liver has been injured because of the IV nutrition. It is high in calories and fat. Which doesn't make the liver happy. So, slowly but surely that will recover once Grey gets to take more and more nutrition by mouth, and using his intestine to absorb it, instead of having it thru his IV.
I think I explained this as layman as I can..... email or comment if you have questions. The date is set for WEDNESDAY!!!! I can't wait to hold my little man without his little bags hanging off of him!

We got our happy baby girl back!

Oh, our Lillian....
So, 6am yesterday I called Dr. Riddell... who was on vacation. I called the on-call doc, and ran everything by her, and indeed she thought we should try Alimentum. At 7am sharp, I was waiting in CVS parking lot to get it. Wow, it gives a new meaning to liquid gold.
She took Alimentum all day, and decided at 6pm that she didn't like it anymore. At 9pm, she cried thru the whole feeding, and took 1 ounce. That is way too low for her.
Todd and I talked, we decided to go back to the first formula we tried, and add more cereal. (Neosure) Glad we decided to do that, because in the middle of the night, she had 2 completely dry diapers, no urine, nothing. She has since picked up her eating, and her diapers are better. No more diarrhea either. We are going to have to just deal with the reflux unless it gets too bad. Wow, that truly was not a fun experiment. 3 weeks of playing with formula... ugh. If this doesn't continue to work, we're going to have to have a Lillian intervention. She's gonna have to just take the Alimentum... because it was working, til she stopped drinking it!

The rest of the crew is fine. Grey is hanging in there..... counting the hours until we get him put back together. I will post about that surgery and the physiology of it. It will be easier to understand that way.

Owen is doing fine. He is starting to smile when you talk to him, versus just for no reason. It's quite funny. Although, I still think the funniest thing that he does is farts in the pack n play, and since it is a plastic like material, it sounds so loud..... it's loud enough that he startles himself at times and starts to cry! lol

Tomorrow is the triplet mom outing on Morse Lake. I am really looking forward to it. I thought that I would never say that. I was actually thinking it was like a cult the first time I heard about it, because everyone was asking if I had joined, and who my mentor was blah, blah, blah. But I have to say, it's a bunch of down to earth women that have been there, and done that. I'm looking forward to spending the afternoon floating in the water without a baby monitor!

Fussiness

Yes, I'm up.... Yes, I've been up all night. Not Owen, no, little Owen is happy as a little clam.
Lilly is beside herself these past few days.
Her reflux is not good. There is nothing to do for that. Sit her up after she eats, we've changed her formula to one that supposedly thickens when it gets to her stomach. Her reflux cannot be avoided. BUT, now we have diarrhea. It's gone from small frequent stools, to now 10 diapers of diarrhea in 24 hours. I even tried putting some cereal in her formula. She then acts like she is SO hungry. constantly. She's not a happy camper.
I'm going to call the pediatrician at 6am, he has "call hours" from 6-6:30 am every morning. The good thing about that, is that he normally doesn't just have you bring her in. I can tell him there is nothing significant on assessment. Her belly is fine, she has a small rash, but I think it's from milk around her neck, just like Owen has every now and then, and it comes and goes just like his. She doesn't appear to be dehydrated (YET).... she has no temp... I'm wondering if she needs a hypoallergenic formula. It seems that, that is a more common diagnosis now a days. Something like Alimentum maybe?? ugh... my poor little princess. Her crying last night drove the dogs upstairs to lay instead of clinging to me like usual.
She's asleep now as we speak, off to get 30 minutes of zzzzz's before calling Dr. Riddell.
Wish me luck on both!

T minus 1 week..... Operation put Humpty back together!

Grey's surgery is 1 week from today. I have a lot of anticipation, anxiety, excitement... etc. The list goes on. We went to see Grey today, and he was awake a little, but mostly comfortably asleep. He had therapy today, so that usually wears him out, plus Todd held him for quite some time.

We know that Grey's surgery should be the easiest he's gone through. If all the pre-surgical testing is good, then likely he will lose no more bowel unless things get ugly. The issues with Grey after surgery could be one of many. He will have to learn to suck all of his food thru a nipple of the bottle. He has limited experience with this, as he gets it through his tube mostly right now. Toleration of food is an issue. He's gonna most likely have some issues with that. Not dumping all of his food into his lower small intestine, and causing lots of diarrhea issues. He will undoubtedly have reflux, and that could cause some issues with his desire to eat, or keep things down. I'm still looking at a goal of Halloween to get him home. I think that is still realistic. Only time will tell. Right now since his large intestine hasn't been used since day 2-3 of his life, it is pretty atrophied. He is getting enemas every twelve hours to stimulate some growth and function to the large intestine.... that in itself doesn't sound fun. The kid has been through so much! I can handle feeding issues. I just pray to GOD that we don't have other issues like we have in the past, like sepsis, dead gut, infection of any sort, more gut that needs to be resected etc..... I pray this is as smooth as it can possibly be!

Lilly and Owen are doing well. We weighed them today in the NICU, and Lilly was 7'5, and Owen was a wopping 9'6. I was stunned by both of those!

We are still battling the issues with the wreck. I got the police report today. I am still having back and neck pain, although it seems less severe, it's more nagging. Everytime I get up and feel the lower back ache, I am mad... mad that it is one more thing added to my plate. Mad at the inconvenience of having to go to the doctor and get adjusted, and heat and ice, etc. All because of someone not paying attention. I try to tell myself it's good nobody was hurt.... but it sure doesn't feel like nobody was hurt when my back aches at 4 am. Already being sleep deprived, backpain pushes me to the edge of the ledge..... However, there is no good that comes from stewing over it.... Getting mad just makes my coping a little harder. So, we keep trucking. Ibuprofen, don't fail me now!

Lillian... then and now!

Lillian Kate Maurer, my little princess. Lillian was baby B. She liked to be transverse in my belly just like the boys, but Miss Lilly would flip back and forth from transverse to breech. I could always tell, because when she did it, it made my very nauseous. Lillian gave us a scare right before delivery as she had what was called "absent end diastolic flow" in her umbilical cord. Easily stated, it restricted the flow of oxygenated blood back to her. She was born second, but in the same minute as Grey. On ultrasound, we have several pictures of her sucking on her toes, and what looks like her looking at her hands! She was 2'6, and 14 inches long I believe. This is her first picture.

Brooke was her primary nurse in the Nicu. Brooke could be heard in the NICU telling her that "I caught you Lillian...." and also "Why are you so pretty?..." Brooke said that when she was born, she was wide awake with her eyes open. She continues that to this day. She is a looker. Loves to be awake, and looking around. Unlike Owen, she has a calm awake time that she just looks around. She watches you going about the daily routine, likes to look at her mobile etc. She was a good little baby in the NICU. She did have a heart murmur, but they both have resolved for her. Lilly makes noises like a billy goat. There is no other way to discribe it. She is going to be a talker. She likes to swing in her swing. She is currently having issues with reflux, so sitting in her boppy or carseat is currently where you will find her most. Lilly loves to stretch, and she stretches for a couple minutes before she is actually "awake".

Last week she was 6'8 and 19 inches long. She is growing like a weed! She has petite little features. On our walks, or in the car, she DOES NOT like the sun. She prefers to use the pacifiers that she used in the NICU, and is rather particular about them.

Todd and I were discussing personalities, and who we thought as a teen would give us a run for our money..... my vote is Lillian, and he agreed. She is just a delight most of the time, but when she is hungry, she is barely consolable. Of course, she will continue being a beautiful little girl, and I cannot wait to get her dolls, and dress her in frilly stuff as long as she will let me.

I also like putting her in pants and shirts, rather than her sleepers or rompers!I love this little girl!

Dog drama and a good test for Grey

Saturday evening during the 9pm feeding we heard the dogs outside fighting. They never fight outside, and haven't really fought in quite some time, we have found their triggers, and have avoided fights.
Well, one of them killed a rabbit. Yes, they kill things here in the fence, so little animals BEWARE!
Hendrix ended up with the poor thing, luckily, I think it went fast. Then for the rest of the evening they obsessed on the yard, sniffing, and looking for more, digging around the trees. SO, during that obsessing and digging Hendrix tore his dewclaw. I'd like to think the rabbit bit it, and gave one last good fight and revenge... but that I'm sure isn't the case.
Off to the vet we go. Yes, he tore it ok. It was then numbed, clipped all the way back, wrapped, and it was infected. Antibiotics, pain meds and a bandage is now added to our regimen. He walks around with his little bandage like it's broken. It's pretty funny. He is carrying it, and it hurts far less than it did because he is now on pain meds and abx. "Leave it to a husky to act like a bandage broke their leg", that's a quote from our vet! lol Perhaps he will leave little defenseless animals alone now!
Grey had a barium enema today. Basically this is testing that has to be done before he is reconnected. This will make sure that there is no bowel injury in the colon from not being fed down there or used. It looked great. No issues. I was able to cuddle with him today, and feed him his breakfast. It was a good morning.

Idle mode

We have been status quo the past few days.

Grey is set for his surgery on Sept 15th. He has some tests this week and next to get him ready. We are praying that he will do fine with the tests, and then also the surgery.

Lillian has been our challenge the past week. She started out with some reflux, (which is common, and she's had it) but that turned into spitting up, when then led to vomit. So, we changed her formula to Isomil, that didn't work. We then added cereal, which was a challenge to get her a nipple that would allow her to suck, then she started diarrhea. We then changed to Similac Sensative RS. She is still having some diarrhea, but was also arching her back, and her face was turning red when she ate, along with fussing while she ate. So, we added some Zantac twice a day. I think that is working well. She is still a little fussy, but not while eating, and she is eating much more than she was than a week ago. We will see. If the diarrhea continues it's back to the doctor we go.

Owen is doing better. He is taking more in his bottle at night, which helps I think is helping him sleep better. He is sleeping between feedings at night. (YAY!!!!)

Still waiting for the police report to make sure that the insurance stuff for the truck gets submitted to the other dude's insurance. Lawrence police administration is less than helpful. My back is still tender to say the least. It doesn't help that resting isn't in my near future. The rental car is fine, it just smells like it's been smoked in a time or two.

Help is doing well at the Maurer house. My inlaws are staying Sun-Wed, and my mom is staying Wed-Fri. That does allow for some consecutive sleep, and help getting back and forth to the hospital to see Grey.

Here are some recent pics.

Here is Owen ready for the Colts season!

Lillian in her bouncer

All 3 laying in Grey's bed .... all of them crying!

You're gonna miss this....

Grey's latest pics... He loves his pacifier!!!

You're gonna miss this

You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this- Trace Adkins

I heard this song today, and I have thought long and hard about it. I will miss this. I will miss the NICU when Grey comes home. (even though we will celebrate like no other!) By the way GI surgery didn't budge on the surgery dates... SO, Sept 15th is the day that Grey will be reconnected together. Prayers for that day are definitely needed. He is doing great.

I'm gonna miss Lilly's little cry. It will soon get louder, and more adament. I'm gonna miss changing formulas, adding cereal, taking it out, making 1000 bottles a day, making her sit up in the carseat for about 18 hours a day (a little exagerated). I'm gonna miss trying to figure out if she has a belly ache, or just wants to cry, or what nipple works best for her and her formula.... and on and on!

I'm gonna miss Owen's squeel. Miss his little face that scrunches up when he's mad, and how he is so insistent on the his bottle right when it is due. I'm going to miss his little moans after every gulp of his bottle, and his smiles that occur so randomly.

I'm gonna miss the chaos of both of our families coming in and out. Sleepless nights, laying on the nursery floor, listening to my babies cry.... wishing that the hours would tick by until Todd gets up to takes over. Holding their pacifiers in their mouth because they aren't quite that coordinated yet. WOW, there is a lot I am going to miss.

Because, let me be clear, these are the only children I will birth! After a hellish pregnancy, when I think REALLY hard, there are things about it that I miss. Triplet pregnancies are no joke as I said before, but I really didn't fair well. I am NOT going to miss the pain... pain all over my body, every joint that moved, and muscles I didn't even know I had. I will not miss the carpal tunnel, the reflux, the sleepless nights from not being able to breathe unless I was sitting up. But, I miss the movement in my belly and trying to figure out which one it was. I miss the ultrasounds, because I got them a minimum of every 2 weeks. I miss the anticipation of meeting them, and what they will look like. But I do not miss any of that enough to do any of it again!!! lol

So I guess I am posting this to remind myself that even though these last weeks have been hectic, I need to savor the moments that I have with each one of them. Sooner or later, they will be grown, they are already mostly out of preemie clothes, and Lilly is finishing up the preemie diapers.... so yes, I need to savor the moments.

One thing is for sure. I love those kids. Although my husband and I have been through the ringer with just regular life, his brother passing away, infertility, the pregnancy, and our NICU ups and downs that continue, he is certainly the man I was meant to marry and I know it is corny but is my knight in shining armor when the going gets tough.

Here are some pics from recent days....Owen is sleeping on a pillow on my sister's lap, and Lillian is practicing her cheerleading on the pillow too!