He's Home!

It is officially official...Anderson is home!  He is with us finally!  It was actually kind of hard to leave the NICU knowing that we were leaving 2 of our kids there, I think it will be harder to come back now that we have one at home.  It is awesome to get our kid home though.  I really empathize and feel really badly for those families that have to spend months in the NICU, that is not easy.  Hopefully now, given that all goes well for the next 2 days, and knowing that Bennett and Taya are jealous of Ander, they will be coming home on Monday.  That would be so good, VERY overwhelming, but good in the sense that we don't have to go back and forth daily to visit our kids.  Again, we are very lucky that the hospital is so close and they really haven't been there too long, I have really gained an appreciation for you out there that have to be in NICU for long periods of time, and sometimes in areas you don't know.

Coming Home:

And he's our big one!

Home!

Taya and Bennett are still doing fabulously!  That is one of the reasons it is hard to leave them.  Taya is 1 ounce shy of being 5 pounds, and Bennett is up to about 5 and a half pounds!  Anderson left the NICU at 6 lbs 8 oz.  The younger 2 are still on oxygen.  All 3 of them are VERY gassy!  The nurses have said that they have dry-heaved because of the stinkiness of our kids!  Those of you who know us will know exactly where they got their stinky bowels from.

Taya:

Mini-Fro!

Bennett:

The Brothers (Cooper, Luke and Ethan) were SO excited to see "Ander Boba Fett".  Remember, this was the first time that they have seen their younger brother.  They were so cute with him.  Every one of them wanted to hold him, or pet his cheeks and head, and give him cheek kisses.  You could even tell that Ander felt he was somewhere familiar (it took a second for all of the loud excited noises from the brothers to die down, but finally it looked like he felt home).  I think that these triplets will be very well taken care of!  Just look at the pictures and you can see their excitement.  So, until something amazing happens...

2 Weeks Old Today!

Well, we have made it to 2 weeks!  HUGE thank you's to the doctors and especially the nurses at Rust Hospital, they have been awesome and so great to the babies!  They are awesome!

Anderson's Goal is to "get ready for big brother".
If they only knew what a great goal that is, nobody can be ready for his big brother Ethan!

It is looking like we are going to be getting one of the babies home tomorrow.  Mr. Chunky Monkey is the winner.  He has just been doing awesome!  He passed his official "Carseat Test".  I guess that is where they put the baby in their carseat for 90 minutes and make sure the baby is good.  Good thing he passed it because that boy will definitely get to know his carseat!  He has gained 6 ounces above his birth weight, he has gained a total of 13ish ounces since he has been in the NICU!  Most of that has come over the last couple of days it seems like.  We are excited for him, we do wish that Bennett and Taya would be coming then too, but Monday will come soon enough (of course that is if they don't have any more Brady Episodes).

Anderson:

Bennett and Taya have been doing awesome too.  They are still on oxygen and will more than likely have it when they come home, and their pediatrician will have to wean them off of the oxygen.  They are eating like champs and have putting on weight.  Bennett is about 1-2 ounces above birth weight, and Taya is at about 4.12.

Bennett:

Taya:

Again I forgot the camera, so you will have to do with the phone camera which isn't the greatest quality.  Who can complain about camera quality though when it is attached to your phone!  Phones run our lives now, it will be interesting to see what happens to all of us when (and if) we lose them, talk about mass chaos.  Scary!  Well, tomorrow's post may have pictures of Anderson in the house!  Till then.

Mommy and Babies:

Holding Taya

Today's Winner is...

Anderson!  He is scheduled to be home first now, Friday.  Taya and Bennett both had Brady Episodes today, and qualify to come home on Monday.  Taya actually had 2, and because of that they put her on oxygen.  For the first time she now has a nose hose, poor little girl.  Other than that, just about everything is the same.  They are all about 2 ounces above their birth weight, which means they are eating great!  I went over there tonight and saw them for the first time today, and Anderson was feeding so I got to see him with his eyes open and played a little bit with him, it was so fun, mainly because I haven't seen them with their eyes open for a couple of days.

Emily has made the decision to stop breastfeeding because she has such bad anxiety, and she has decided to go on some pills that you can't breastfeed with.  Other than that, not much happened.

Anderson

Anderson

Taya

Taya 

Bennett

Bennett

Bennett

 

Countdown

I have decided to write this for all of my fans out there (I know how dedicated you are to this blog!), because I am very tired, and I almost decided to not write!  They finally told us today that it will be officially Friday for the boys and Taya will be coming home on Saturday.  Now, before everyone gets too excited, that is of course hoping that they don't have Brady Episodes.  Taya actually had one today, but the doctor said that they weren't going to count it because her breathing didn't stop so he didn't want to count that one.  I also think that the staff is ready to get rid of them!  We are probably getting a little too hopeful about them coming home, but we want it so bad!

Advancements for the babies today:

Anderson is a very gassy boy, and it stinks!  He finally breastfed for a whole feeding!  They didn't give any followup formula so he did great.  Emily said that he was very awake and alert today.  At one of his feedings he took 90 mL, that's 3 ounces!  He is definitely the chunky one.  He is doing great, no oxygen tubes still, no feeding tubes, just doing great!

Anderson:

Bennett has been constipated for a couple of days now, and so they gave him a little suppository to help with the relief.  It worked!  He had 3 blowouts in the space of about 2-3 hours!  He's not clogged anymore.  He seems to be doing well, he continues on oxygen, his feeding tube is out now, I think he's ready to face the real world (well, whether he's ready or not, WE are ready for him to face the real world).  Now, the real world is a crazy household with 3 older brothers that have no boundaries--good luck babies!

Bennett:

Taya must not like the feeding tube going through her nose because she ripped it out again!  She was fun to see tonight because she seemed like the Taya from a couple of days ago, very alert and reactive.  She was a champ at breastfeeding, she had a good feeding today, and then a half feeding this evening.  She is eating 60+ mL a feeding now, which is a lot given her small stature.  She is such a sweet little girl, Emily hit the nail on the head when she said Taya is "dainty".

Taya:

Update

It really is seeming like the babies are all going backwards instead of forward.  However, that said, they are all still doing really well (I know that makes no sense).  Taya seems to be a little slower now.  She had 2 Brady Episodes early this morning, and whenever we are in there she is just kind of there now.  She is not as "spunky" as she was the first few days.  She is still doing well as far as the numbers are concerned, she is eating everything through the bottle, she is on room air, she is doing great...just seems very sleepy.  On the flipside to that, Anderson is doing the opposite, he started off very slow and sluggish and very sleepy.  Now he is the one that is awake and alert seeming to want to jump out and come home.  He has been eating like a champ (from the bottle).  If that bottle nipple gets within an inch of that boys face he will do anything he can to get it in his mouth.

Bennett unfortunately had to go back on oxygen.  His breathing was getting really slow and he wasn't getting all the oxygen he needed to his body.  This should also cure any of his Brady Episodes.  He may have to come home on the oxygen which is normal for a lot of babies here in ABQ because of the high altitude.  Just so you know, ABQ is just as high in elevation as Denver.  The doctors have been trying to make it so we didn't have to have any of them come home on oxygen, but that may not be the case, and honestly, that is fine by us.

Not much else happened today, I guess the boys had baths.  It was a pretty chill day for the babies.  The doctors told us that best case scenario is the boys could come home on Friday or Saturday, which is exciting!  Hopefully they don't have any more episodes!  I didn't have the camera so I only got pictures with my phone which aren't quite as spectacular!

Anderson

Bennett

Taya

 Their "Boards":

A Couple More Days! NOT!

Emily went to the hospital today while we went to church.  She showed up and noticed that Anderson and Taya had no hoses or tubes on their faces!  The nurses told her that the boys should be able to come home in the next couple of days.  Awesome!  The nurse had Emily watch a couple of videos on how to care for your preemie when they come home, and how they need to avoid everything including siblings.  My thought is they should just keep the kids in the NICU until they can be touched by something.  That is pretty much going to be impossible in the Hutchings' household with 3 very busy body boys that are VERY excited to see their new siblings for the first time!

This evening we all went to the hospital to see the babies.  The nurses had asked Emily to bring the carseats next visit because they have to do a 90 minute test in the carseat to make sure everything is still good with them.  So, we walked into the hospital with our 3 kids, and carrying 3 carseats.  We must have been a sight! While Emily was with the boys in the waiting area, a guy said to her, "You're the one with the triplets, aren't you?"  She said she was, and he then asked, "How old are these triplets?" pointing to the boys, he was very shocked that someone would have 2 sets of triplets!.  She said that they weren't triplets, but they were close!  He was floored and wished her luck!

I think I'm overwhelmed now!

Taya had a Brady Episode this morning before Emily got to the hospital--5 more days for her.  Other than that though, they are all doing great!  They were all on "shift minimums", that is where they give the kids whatever they can handle in the bottle on demand, instead of a certain amount on a schedule.  All three of them did really well, they had to gavoge (tube feed) Taya a little bit this evening, so she got the feeding tube back in today, however, she was sleeping the whole time I was in there so I didn't get many pictures of her.  Anderson is kicking butt on feeding, that is why he is the chunkiest!  He is above his birth weight now, not by much, but he's above it.  Taya is right at her birth weight and Bennett is getting closer, he is about 3-4 ounces short of it still.

Taya, the sleepy head:

When I first went in to see the babies, the nurse said that it looks like it would be another 5 days.  She said all 3 of them had a Brady Episode this afternoon!  So frustrating!  5 more days!  AAAGHH!  We thought for sure that Bennett and Anderson would be coming home by Tuesday, the nurses thought so too.  Today was Bennett's 5th day without having an episode, and then BAM!  5 more days.

Bennett:

Other than that horrible news, they are all doing great.  Anderson is off the oxygen, no more nose hose for him, and he has no more feeding tube, he is the only one with nothing going into his nose!  First time we have seen him with nothing impeding our view of his chunky little face.  Hopefully they will have no more episodes, and Bennett's one little episode today was a fluke.  I guess we'll see!

Anderson, and his faces:

No tubes!

Gotta love the double chin!

"Blue Steel"