Two weeks old!!!

Well, it seems like time flies as fast after giving birth as it did before. I can't believe the girls are two weeks old!! I want time to SLOW down!!! Each and every day the girls grow and change and meet new milestones. They are beating all odds and progressing much faster and better than any of the staff at Maine Med predicted. And each and every day I fall more and more in love with them. Each day I spend with them in the hospital makes it harder and harder to leave them and head for home at the end of the day. Nobody ever tells you about the feelings that you have for your own children the second they come into your life. That is probably because it's an emotion that simply can't be explained... it just has to be experienced. I am so grateful that I finally found that emotion and will cherish it forever.

Onto the girls and how they are doing!! As I said in my last post, after 5 1/2 days in the NICU, the girls graduated to the Continuing Care Unit. Over the past 9 days, LOTS has happened. All

three girls are gaining weight at a great rate! They were born at about 3 lb 14oz and now they are weighing in at 4lb 5oz(Charlie & Reese) and 4lb 3oz (Maizie). All three girls have moved out of their isolettes and are now in bassinets. It's so great to have them out of those incubators because it's much easier to give fly by kisses as you walk by. :) They have all been put to my breast, but are still not quite strong enough to transfer any significant quantity of milk. My milk production is still a little behind as well, which makes it hard. I am pumping every 2-3 hours and am slowly seeing an increase. Hopefully that will continue.

Over the last few days, Charlie(pictured above) has taken all her meals via bottle and had

her feeding tube pulled. She is a little piggy! Reese(pictured below) happened to pull her tube

out last night on her own, but since she took her full meals from a bottle today, they didn't replace it. Hopefully she can keep up with her sister and not have to return to the tube feedings.

Maizie(pictured to the right) is slowly but surely catching up to her sisters. She continued to have some digestive issues after moving out of the NICU. Due to having to slow down her feeding progression, she fell a little behind her sisters. She tried her first bottle today and did really well! Hopefully she will have that tube pulled in no time!

Our neonatologist is absolutely wonderful and has taken such good care of our girls. I was chatting with her yesterday morning and said very casually... "so, how much warning are you going to give us before these girls are going to come home?" She looked at me and said, "well, I g

uess I should probably give you a warning about Charlie... she could go home tomorrow or the next day." What?!?!? That sure isn't much of a warning! I mean, we have been waiting for this moment for years and it's finally here and I wasn't sure if I was ready! I have had 24 hours to take it in and realize that we ARE ready and are so excited to welcome the girls home. It's not set in stone, but there is a real possibility that Charlie will be coming home with us tomorrow afternoon. If not tomorrow, then likely Friday. What a New Year's celebration we will have! As for the others, Reese is likely only a few days behind Charlie and Maizie is maybe another week after that. She is only behind because of her feeding schedule. She needs time to prove that she can take all her meals via bottle. Our doctor said she is

10-14 days out, but I tell you, with the way all three of them have blown the time lines recently, I bet she is home in a week.

So, there you have it! The Savage girls are getting ready to come home!!! Nathan and I are thrilled to finally welcome them into our home. The adventure is about to take on a whole new meaning! Love to you all...

Status update...

Hey everyone! Just thought I would say that I wrote this last night but didn't post it, so keep that in mind when reading it!

Wow! What an amazing five days we have had. I honestly don't even know where to begin. I have always had such an easy time writing these blog entries but my mind is so overwhelmed these days (in a totally good way!), that this may take a while. I apologize if I leave anything out, but so much has happened that I can't possibly remember it all.

Let's start with the girls...since they are the stars of this blog! All three are doing amazingly well. Charlie came off the CPAP (breathing apparatus) after about 12 hours. She has done really well and we are thrilled that she only needed help for such a short period of time. She and her sisters are on room air and should remain that way. The only issues that they have had respiratory-wise is that they all have "spells" of apnea (stop breathing). This is VERY common with premies. Maizie was having them often enough that was put on caffeine, which helps to stimulate the breathing and decrease the number of spells. She has done really well on that and only had one episode in the last 24 hours. Because of this, they will likely take her off

the caffeine tomorrow. Reese has the spells every once in a while, but they are very mild and not frequent enough to warrant any treatment. Charlie does not need treatment for hers either, but when she does have them, they are a little bit more significant in that she needs some mild stimulation (touching/contact) in order to come out of it. For babies of their gestational age and the fact that they didn't get steroids to mature the lungs... the doctors say

they are doing great!

In terms of feeding, they are all doing wonderfully. They get fed through tubes that go up their nose and down into their stomaches (NG tube). Reese has had no issues from the start and is on full feeds every 3 hours. Due to the CPAP, Charlie was a little

behind on the feeding, but is catching up and should be up to full feeds by tomorrow. Maizie was also just a little bit behind. Not sure why, but her tummy did not take to the formula very well in the beginning. For the first two days

she really didn't keep any food down. That was kind of scary, but then at the end of the second day, she made a turn around and hasn't vomited since. Who knows!

As for breast milk...I produced a small amount of colostrum and took every drop of it down to

the NICU where they split it three ways and added it to the girls formula. Three days ago my milk started to come in! Very exciting. It has been slow to come in, but that is totally normal

considering I only carried them 33 weeks and I had a c-section. My body just wasn't ready for

me to need the milk so fast! I am getting 1.5-2 oz per pumping session. The best part is today I

finally got to try breast feeding!! Maizie was the lucky first girl to try the boob. It was pretty entertaining to watch. She wasn't too successful, but seemed pretty happy to sit there and give it a go! I can say that it definitely stimulated me to let down more milk for that round of pumping! This evening, I gave Reese a go at breast feeding. She did really well... until she fell asleep! They will get the hang of it soon enough... in the meantime, the pump and I are getting very close. I think Nathan might be a little jealous. :) Just kidding.

Now to the good news report of the day... the girls were all moved out of the NICU!!! Yippee!!

They are now across the hall in the Continuing Care Nursery (CCN). There really isn't much difference in the two places, it's just that the babies in the CCN are healthier and closer to going home. I think the nurse/patient ratio might be little less since there are less complications with these babies. The nice thing is that the rooms are bigger and there are couches to sleep on if you so choose.

I am getting discharged today, after 5 days in the hospital. It has been so nice to be right here

and so close to the girls, but I have to say I am excited to get home to my own bed. The plan for the first few days is to rest at home in the morning, then come to the hospital before lunch and stay until Nathan gets out of work. It's a great time to have babies in the hospital, because

Nathan has so much time off with Christmas and New Year's falling during the week. It's really hard to leave them there, but I know that I have to get rest at home and I trust every nurse and doctor at Maine Med. They are all so wonderful and have taken incredible care of our daughters.

So, that's about all I can think of at this time. I am sure I missed a bunch, but I need to pump and then hit the hay. Thanks to everyone who has come to visit and brought up meals, gifts, flowers, etc. You are all so special to us and we can't wait for the girls to come home and get to know everyone.

Lots of love, Nellie & Nathan

The Girls are Here!!!

I can't even believe that we have gotten to the day that I am able to write this post. It's just so exciting we can hardly stand it! Due to being a little tired and sore, I'll give you all the abridged version of the story, then all the stats, etc.

So, after my appointment yesterday (as seen on the previous post), I was home resting, collecting urine, getting ready for the potential of being admitted to the hospital on Thursday. Around 7p we had a nice dinner and then I retired to my lounger. 45 minutes later...my water broke! Out of all the possible scenarios that we thought we were prepared for, this one was not on our list. It was pretty hectic in our little house for about 10 minutes while we tried to get our ducksin a row. Ten minutes later, we

were at Maine Med in Labor and Delivery. They confirmed that my membranes were indeed ruptured and said that it was go time. The babies all looked great on ultrasound and I was stable. We had to wait until 1am, due to the fact that I had just had dinner and they wanted me to have an empty stomach.

At 1am, they came and took me to the OR. Twenty minutes later I was numb from the chest

down and Nathan was ushered in right as they were starting my incision. Only moments later they

started pulling babies out of my incision. Nathan was such a trooper and got some great shots. It was so nice that he could get up and check in on each baby as she was born and get pics and bring them over to me to see. They let him cut the cords, the second time around. They all were crying the second they entered the world and looked pink and perfect! I got a chance to kiss each one of them before they were taken off to the NICU. After I recovered, I was moved to my new room, but not before getting to visit the NICU to see all the girls in their new rooms. It was so surreal.

Stats...

Reese Carrington Savage (Baby A)... born 12/16/09 at 1:27a, 3 lb 13 oz, 17 3/4" long, Apgar scores of 9/9 (1min/5min)

- Reese is in the NICU, breathing room air, no oxygen needed. Sh

e is doing great and just needs time to grow and get strong enough to move to the Continuing Care ward.

Maizie Wright Savage (Baby B)... born 12/16/09 at 1:28a, 3 lb 14 oz, 17 3/4 " long, Apgar scores

were 6/8.

- Maizie is pretty much in the same boat as her sister Reese. Doing great. At last update, they

had placed a nasogastric tube and was being fed through that.

Charlotte Meade Savage (Baby C)... born 12/16/09 at 1:28a, 3 lb 14 oz, 17 1/4" long, Apgar scores were 8/9.

- Charlie is also doing great. Unlike her sisters, she had a little bit of labored breathing and an x-ray showed a small amount of fluid in her lungs. Not unusual for premies, especially since we didn't get a chance to give them the steroid injections before they arrived. She is on CPAP, which is simply a nasal air flow. She is on room air, but the air flow helps to keep her lungs inflated. They expect her to be off that in no time! The pictures of her look more dramatic because they wrap cloth around her head in order to help hold the tubes.

All in all, all three girls are excellent! I am doing great as well... recovering really fast. Already on my feet here and there. In fact, it's time for us to go visit the girls in the NICU, so I am going to

sign off. Love to you all!!!

33 weeks...and things may be starting to happen.

Hello Everyone!

Here we are again and another week has gone by. I had my 33 week ultrasound this morning. Everything and everyone on the scan looked great! All three girls are moving around in there and looking as perfect as ever. Their fluid levels are excellent and all three were practice breathing the whole time. Still no sign of twin-twin transfusion syndrome, as their cord pressures looked great. Heart rates still right in line. Sadly, no weights today, as it's only been 8 days since our last growth scan and they are strict about the 14 day break between weight checks.

As for me, we did see

a little change this week. My blood pressure, which has been great all along, took a little jump up this week. It's not crazy high, but enough that they want to monitor me a bit more closely. For most of the pregnancy I was around 120/60, then for the last few weeks it's been more like 130/70. Well, today it was 148/80. The good news is that I am having no serious symptoms of hypertension... no protein in my urine, no headaches, no blurry vision, etc. I have, however, been accumulating more fluid in my hands and feet. They are pretty much swollen all the time and don't take much standing to make them look totally ridiculous! :) I put on 8 pounds this week, which is likely mostly fluid.

So, what does all this mean? I have been sent home with a 24 hour urine collection kit, which I have started. Tomorrow I will drop off the urine and have some blood taken, then Thursday I will go back in to go over the results and have a recheck of the ultrasound and blood pressure. If things look ok, they will send me home and probably just have me come in 2-3 times a week just to be sure all is ok. If for some reason things have gotten worse with my blood pressure or there are any changes on my blood work, they will likely admit me to the hospital for close monitoring. The good thing about this situation is that because I am 33 weeks along, they won't take any chances with my situation and if anything looks scary, they will just deliver the babies.

So, stay tuned! My bet is that things look just fine on Thursday and I get to come home, but you just never know. Things can change pretty quickly with these situations.

New pics and updates below...

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with aconehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Could it be? 32 weeks?

Well, here we are at 32 weeks. Yesterday marked the time point that is the average gestation for triplet pregnancies. I can't believe how far we've come. Every day after today puts us above average! Again, not much to report in terms of change. I continue to get more uncomfortable and sleep is hard to come by, but it is totally manageable, especially knowing how close we are to meeting our girls!! I am pretty much house-bound unless I have to leave for ultrasounds/doctors appointments. That's not due to doctor's orders but because my body just can't take it and I am learning how to read my body better.

Nathan and I got a tour of the NICU yesterday from one of the social workers at Maine Med. It is an absolutely gorgeous floor, which makes sense since it's only been open for about a year. Each baby gets her own room, although there are a few rooms that connect via a sliding door. The separation of rooms, as opposed to one big room for all NICU babies, is nice because it cuts down on noise and disease transmission. The down side is that we can't be with all three babies at once. All the nurses there were so nice and excited to see a brewing mother of triplets. They were impressed that I had made it to 32 weeks and said they hoped they wouldn't see me for another few weeks. As nice as that place was, it makes me realize how important it is for me to take good care of myself so that the girls stay inside me longer and don't have to be in the NICU too long. So far, so good on that front.

As for the baby update, I actually ended up having my ultrasound Monday instead of yesterday.

I got a little concerned because it seemed to me that I wasn't feeling a lot of movement on the right side of my belly, which is where baby B is supposed to be located. I have always had a harder time finding her by pressing on my belly, but it just seemed to be even harder. Baby A and C are pretty clearly located and I know when they are moving, so they don't cause me any concern. I think the other reason I get worried about B is because she is the one who has had issues in the past, so I am hyper-aware of her presence and wellbeing. I called my nurses yesterday morning and they said if there was ANY chance that I had decreased movement with one of the babies, that I should come in right away. Well, I went right in and thank goodness everything was fine. They explained that the reason I can't feel baby B as well is because baby C's placenta acts as a buffer between her and my belly wall. She also has her head buried down deep and part of her body lies underneath baby C's. She is pretty squished in there!! At any rate, her heart rate was great, she was moving throughout the ultrasound, and she was practice breathing just like her sisters the whole time. So, no worries there!

The other two girls also checked out ok. We didn't quite hit the 4 lb mark, but we are close! Their stats are below.

Baby A... Heart rate 149, Fluid levels normal, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 3 lb 11oz (38th%)

Baby B... Heart rate 148, Fluid levels normal, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 3 lb 13oz (42nd%)

Baby C... Heart rate 144, Fluid levels normal, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 3 lb 15oz (46th%)

Here is a new pic of the super pregnant mamma(I took them myself) and the baby center update. Keep checking in frequently, as it's only a matter of time before things start to happen over here! Of course, no promises that I will be able to actually update the blog, but hopefully the whole thing will be nice and controlled.

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

31 weeks...sorry it's late!

Hey everyone...

So, I have been lazy this week and am a few days late on my update for our 31st week. I didn't want to leave any of you hanging that check the site regularly or make anyone worry that something was wrong...it's just that I am tired and uncomfortable and didn't feel like doing it. I am going to try to muster up the energy to get it done today, but no pictures of me this week. Sorry.

It's been a pretty uneventful week in terms of the babies. They are doing great! No trips to the hospital or concerns in that way. I am DEFINITELY swollen and uncomfortable all the time now. My feet are about the ugliest thing I have ever seen, but we try to keep the mood light around here and just make funny jokes about them. Let's just say the word "cankles" doesn't really do them justice. They look a little better now that they have been pampered. Joy and I went and had mani/pedis yesterday and it was the BEST!! I would have paid just to have the foot massage that came along with it. So relaxing. It's been great having Joy here this week. She has taken away the boredom and has been so helpful around the house. I will be sad to see her go home tomorrow.

Oh right! And I guess I shouldn't forget to tell you a little bit about our Thanksgiving. I have to

say, that although it was different being without any family or friends, Nathan and I truly had a wonderful holiday. Nathan got out of work Wednesday at noon and we had 4.5 days together at home which was just what we needed. On Thanksgiving day we went all out and made a full turkey dinner... turkey, stuffing, cranberry, garlic mashed potatoes, pea puree and the best gravy that I have ever made! We sat by candlelight and had a huge feast, but not before expressing our Thanks for all that has transpired in the last year. We spent most of dinner talking about how only a year ago we were faced with some very difficult news that we may not even be able to have babies and here we are have three of them at once! It has been an unbelievable experience and we are thankful for everything and everyone that has taken part in our journey. We can't wait to meet our three precious girls!

Speaking of the girls, our ultrasound went well this week. No growth measurements were taken(every other week), but they all were moving around, had heart rates all in the 140's, had great fluid levels and cord dopplers and did their practice breathing. Baby B was a little slow with the practice breathing. She just wasn't feeling up for it I guess. For a moment, I was a little concerned because the tech said that they might want to put me on a monitor to see if she was ok, but instead I just went into my office visit, ate a protein bar and then came back to the ultrasound. At that time, she was practice breathing just like her sisters. I guess she just needed a little snack. The docs reassured me that it was totally normal and I shouldn't be concerned, especially since she looks great in every other way.

So, that's about it. We will have our next ultrasound on Tuesday and will get weights on them. They should at that point be approaching 4 pounds, but may not be quite there yet. Hope everyone had a great holiday! Love you lots...

Nellie

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Holy Moly, 30 weeks...

... and it's Nathan's Birthday today!!! It seems as though the number 3 is a lucky number for us this year, and hopefully for a long time to come. Nathan is turning 33 on the day that our 3 girls are 30 weeks along... and check out their weights today, they all reached 3 pounds!! Did I ever mention that my birthday is on 3/3? Once again, I am amazed at how another week has managed to slip by. I had a very uneventful week. Wednesday was my last day at work and thank goodness for that. It was just getting to be too much and my doctor's were strongly encouraging me to stop.

We took our last trip out of town this weekend. Our great friends down in the Boston area get together every year for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving party. We pulled off a full seated turkey dinner. I think it started with maybe 8 of us 4-5 years ago, and this year the group ballooned to 28 people! It was pretty impressive to say the least. Sadly, Nathan came down with the same head/chest cold that I went through and both of us had to retire right after dinner. It was still nice to see everyone!

I had my 30 week ultrasound this morning. Everything continues to look great. We were both excited that all three girls are at least 3 pounds. Fluid levels are good with still no sign of twin/twin transfusion syndrome. My blood pressure went back down to 120/80 which was nice and my doctors continue to be thrilled with how everything is going. Ultrasound results are below, along with my weekly picture, and the babycenter update.

I just want to end with saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HONEY!!!! It's going to be a great year and I love you very very much.

Baby A: Heart rate 149, Femur Length 57 mm, Fetal Wellbeing Assessment 8/8, weighing in at 3 lbs 0 oz (42nd%)

Baby B: Heart rate 148, Femur Length 57.6 mm, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 3 lbs 1 oz (46th%)

Baby C: Heart rate 136, Femur Length 60.2 mm, FWA 8/8, weighing in at 3 lbs 6 oz (59th%)

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)