NICU and Week 1

Penelope was 5 pounds and 14 ounces.
Meredith was 6 pounds and 1 ounce.
Sophia was 6 pounds and 14 ounces!

Tuesday, after they were born the girls were rushed off to the NICU. I got to see one of the girls, Penelope, for just a minute. All the girls initially needed CPAP assistance breathing and they got NG tubes. Penelope came off first after only about an hour or 2, her sisters had to remain on all if it for closer to 24 hours.

After I got done in recovery (5 whole hours post surgery) my sweet nurses arranged for me to roll (huge bed and all) into the NICU to see my girls. I was very emotional. I only got to glimpse art Meredith in her isolette. The NICU nurse caught me completely off guard and actually handed me Sophia to hold. I cried years of pure joy.

It felt like forever until I got feeling enough to move around. I wanted out of that bed and into the NICU so bad I thought I was never going to make it. I had to pass the time with pictures that people took. It was heartbreaking to be the last one to see and touch my own babies. I finally made my way down there around 8, but want even able to get out of my wheelchair. The babies were all still over stimulated so at the nurse's advice I didn't hold then again that night. I made sure I pumped every 2-3 hours.

Wednesday we got up early and went to the NICU. Jeremiah went down and had breakfast while I sat with our girls. All the girls were now breathing on their own and had no more NG tubes. They were also all holding their temperatures perfectly. I finally got to hold Meredith and Penelope. The doctors gave very good reports. Bilirubin levels have to come down more and the girls have to learn to eat better in order to come home. The bilirubin was low enough to not need phototherapy, but still elevated enough to hold them in the NICU. We spent the day between the NICU, pumping, and sleeping.

Thursday was pretty much a repeat of the same. Meredith needed a new IV put in so the nurse snuck her over to snuggle with me and Sophia. My friend Morgan came and took some photos of the girls for us. Lactation said that Meredith has a lip tie and it was preventing her from latching on, but because she can take a bottle it was not severe enough for them to clip it. All the girls have murmers and we are taking a wait and see approach since the doctors estimate about a week more here. Penelope and Sophia kind of latch on, but they struggle to keep it. They said bottles and continuing to pump would be the fastest way to get them home at this point. I am leaving in 2 days with or without them, so I want to do whatever it takes to get them home.

Friday we went and delivered milk and had breakfast before returning to the NICU for a while. The girls were doing well enough they were able to start wearing clothes and they all were in 1 crib together instead off the isolettes! The bilirubin is continuing to go down, just very slowly. They are supplementing formula with my breast milk. The girls have really picked up eating. I am still pumping, but its very little coming out, I get a lot more by hand expressing. It takes twice as long to hand express though. It was another day of NICU time, eat, sleep, and pump. Friday night my milk really came in and I started pumping ounces quickly. Every pump almost doubled in volume.

Saturday was a very sad day for me. I hated the thought of leaving my girls, even though after more than 6 weeks I was so sick of the hospital. To make matters worse after lunch the nurse practitioner said that 2 of the girls had very bad sounding murmurs and needed echocardiograms done, Sophia's murmur was completely gone. Felicia and Dilip drove in to see the girls and we spent a few hours together. We stayed longer than planned to get the girls through their echos, but the results would take hours to overnight to come in. I cried so hard leaving my tiny little girls all alone in the big hospital. As I pulled up to my house I saw all the flowers my family planted and the beautiful bows my husband's grandmother made and my heart was calm. Allen was standing at the door with a sign that said welcome home the momma. I have never seen him so happy. All he wanted was his momma. I snuggled and played with him. He was so happy. I slept in the recliner to keep my pump and all handy, especially since I could not climb into my bed without extreme pain.

Sunday we had to go in to do CPR and NICU discharge classes. We spent all day there between that and enjoying the girls. Meredith has a PFO and a PDA murmur and Penelope has a PFO murmur. Both of those types of murmurs should clear up on their own as the girls grow. We finished all our training and headed home. Allen was super happy to have momma home.

Monday morning we loaded up to go and get my girls. The big day was here and they were coming home. Allen cried so bad, he didn't want momma to leave. We got to the hospitalto feed and change the girls in time for photos, but there was a mix up and no photographer was scheduled by the hospital. :( We were not going to wait until 2pm (3 hours after our appointment was supposed to be.) We changed the girls into going home outfits and poached all their stuff. I got all the paperwork signed and we loaded the girls into our big stroller to head home. We got quite the stares, questions, and comments going out. The most upsetting thing was people pulling out their phones and taking our pictures without asking. One of them was even a hospital employee.

We made it home safe and sound. Allen was so excited and wanted his babies right away. We let him hold then with or help and just enjoyed our first evening together at home. The girls did not sleep very well at all, we think it was all the formula they got in the hospital. They had upset tummies. Me and Natalie had such a very very long night.