Annie feeling much better after letting the spit up fly! Poor Gracie got soaked.
Here you can see where a little got on Ruthie and Ruthie's burp cloth under her head. Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Dangers of Three Babies in the Same Crib
After feeding the girls one afternoon, Annie kept crying. I went down to check on her and when I reached in to pick her up and try burping her again she let out a huge spit up all over Gracie. Gracie was sound asleep, but by the time I got the picture she was really crying. Annie had soaked Gracie's face, ear, onesie, blanket, and burp cloth we put under her head for any spit ups. A little of the spit up reached past Gracie and on to Ruthie.
Annie feeling much better after letting the spit up fly! Poor Gracie got soaked.
Here you can see where a little got on Ruthie and Ruthie's burp cloth under her head.
Annie feeling much better after letting the spit up fly! Poor Gracie got soaked. Here you can see where a little got on Ruthie and Ruthie's burp cloth under her head. 
Telling the Identical Triplets Apart
We've found a couple of ways to tell the girls apart. We've learned to look at their right eyes and their right ears to tell them apart. Below are some pictures demonstrating the slight differences.
Ruthie on the left doesn't have any "stork bites" or the little red marks that came at birth above her right eye. Gracie has some stork bites above her left eye. Annie has some stork bites just below her right eye brow and when her eyes are closed, her right eye lid is red with stork bites.
Annie's fold of skin in her right ear just above the ear drum looks like it was pressed down with a finger in the middle.
Gracie's fold of skin in her right ear just above the ear drum doesn't look like it's been pressed down at all.
Ruthie's fold of skin in her right ear just above the ear drum looks like it's all been pressed down and is smooth against the back of her ear.Their left ears all look the same.
This picture doesn't show this very well, but we attempted to show another way that we tell the girls apart. We have Gracie's toe nails painted purple, Ruthie's toe nails painted pink, and Annie's toe nails painted yellow.Fun Pictures!
The past month has been so much fun!! Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie are growing well. Today we learned from our nurse that Annie and Ruthie measure in the 95th percentile of their gestational age of two months and Gracie is at 80% of her gestational age (gestational age is measured from their due date which was Dec. 8th). The girls are over four months old now from their actual birth date of Sep 24th and measure about in the 35th percentile from that date. Gracie weighs just over 12 lbs now and Annie and Ruthie are over 13 lbs.
The past week Gracie came down with a little cold and Annie and Ruthie sound a little stuffy as well, but we have the humidifier going in their room and the congestion has slowed and they all appear to be getting better.
The girls are eating so much now! They each eat about five ounces every four hours, but at the 8p feeding they eat about 10 ounces and then sometimes skip the 12a and 4a feeding. However, with triplets their is usually at least one that is hungry at the 4a (which really varies from 2a to 6a), so the girls sleeping through the night doesn't always happen. Thanks to Grandma and Papa who usually take the 4a feeding, Mom and Dad are getting some sleep to handle the day.
Ruthie, Annie, and Gracie. When Gracie has her oxygen off and they are in the same clothes, it's very difficult to tell them apart.
The swings (and vibrator on the right) are getting lots of use!
Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie during nap time
Ruthie and Annie getting ready to eat
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie. So happy together!!
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie
Ann-Marie's cousin Jeni came to help one morning with the feedings. We are so grateful for her and others' help, we just hope the girls don't wear them out!! Also, Colleen Skaines helped us a lot while she was here. Thanks, Colleen!
Sweet Baby Gracie
Annie, Ruthie, and Gracie in purple
How could a Daddy be happier?!
A familiar sight. Sometimes it feels like Ground hog day since we keep the girls on a pretty structured routine.
The past week Gracie came down with a little cold and Annie and Ruthie sound a little stuffy as well, but we have the humidifier going in their room and the congestion has slowed and they all appear to be getting better.
The girls are eating so much now! They each eat about five ounces every four hours, but at the 8p feeding they eat about 10 ounces and then sometimes skip the 12a and 4a feeding. However, with triplets their is usually at least one that is hungry at the 4a (which really varies from 2a to 6a), so the girls sleeping through the night doesn't always happen. Thanks to Grandma and Papa who usually take the 4a feeding, Mom and Dad are getting some sleep to handle the day.
Ruthie, Annie, and Gracie. When Gracie has her oxygen off and they are in the same clothes, it's very difficult to tell them apart.
The swings (and vibrator on the right) are getting lots of use!
Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie during nap time
Ruthie and Annie getting ready to eat
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie. So happy together!!
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie
Ann-Marie's cousin Jeni came to help one morning with the feedings. We are so grateful for her and others' help, we just hope the girls don't wear them out!! Also, Colleen Skaines helped us a lot while she was here. Thanks, Colleen! 
Sweet Baby Gracie
Annie, Ruthie, and Gracie in purple
How could a Daddy be happier?!
A familiar sight. Sometimes it feels like Ground hog day since we keep the girls on a pretty structured routine.Thursday, January 7, 2010
Synagis Shot and Girls Growing!!
We went to the doctor's office today for the girls to get a synagis shot. Very few people we've talked to have even heard of this shot, so if you're interested go to http://www.synagis.com/faq.aspx. This shot gives them antibodies to help them through the RSV season (through April). They each get a shot once a month and each shot costs $1,700 (thank goodness for insurance!) Insurance companies don't usually cover the cost of this shot, but because the girls were born so early, studies have shown the cost of the shot is cost effective as the girls will likely be in the hospital if they get RSV. RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus and is passed like a common cold, but it can be deadly to babies.
The fun news at the doctors office was their weight gain. We were pleased to see that Annie weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces, Ruthie 11 pounds 4 ounces, and Gracie 10 pounds 3 ounces!! We were surprised as that was a full pound more than we thought they would weigh. The doctor asked with a smile on his face, "What are you feeding those girls?!"
As for length gain, Annie measured 22 inches, Ruthie 22.25 inches, and Gracie 20.5 inches.
Their growth charts are amazing to see. They start out obviously much lower than babies born in September since they were so early, but they growth line looks almost vertical as they are quickly catching up to common growth patterns.
Gracie is on oxygen, but she is needing it less and less. Annie and Ruthie have been off of oxygen for about three weeks. All three girls are on the monitors as they need to show consistent breathing (no breaks as was common when they were in the hospital) and consistent heart rate (no drops as was also common in the hospital) for two months.
Gracie, Ruthie, Annie
Gracie, Ruthie, Annie
The fun news at the doctors office was their weight gain. We were pleased to see that Annie weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces, Ruthie 11 pounds 4 ounces, and Gracie 10 pounds 3 ounces!! We were surprised as that was a full pound more than we thought they would weigh. The doctor asked with a smile on his face, "What are you feeding those girls?!"
As for length gain, Annie measured 22 inches, Ruthie 22.25 inches, and Gracie 20.5 inches.
Their growth charts are amazing to see. They start out obviously much lower than babies born in September since they were so early, but they growth line looks almost vertical as they are quickly catching up to common growth patterns.
Gracie is on oxygen, but she is needing it less and less. Annie and Ruthie have been off of oxygen for about three weeks. All three girls are on the monitors as they need to show consistent breathing (no breaks as was common when they were in the hospital) and consistent heart rate (no drops as was also common in the hospital) for two months.
Gracie, Ruthie, Annie
Gracie, Ruthie, Annie Monday, January 4, 2010
Family Photo Shoot
On December 20, 2009 we had a family photo shoot (thanks to Grandma, Papa, David and Karen who helped handle the logistics of doing so with triplets).
Ellis with Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie
Mommy with Gracie and Annie
Daddy with Ruthie, Mommy with Gracie and Annie, and Ellis with a great smile!
Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie
Annie, Gracie, Ruthie, and Ellis in their Christmas stockings
Ellis
Ellis with his gift for Mommy
Daddy with Ruthie, Annie, and Gracie
Mommy with Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie Babies' First Christmas
Here are the girls on Christmas Morning. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we thank you all (including those we don't know who acted anonymously) for the kind gifts, thoughts, and prayers. We love and appreciate you!!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Second Week at Home!
Tomorrow, Monday, Dec 7th, marks the two week mark to when the triplets came home. Can I just say these sweet girls are little champs! The first week they did great on a 3-hour eating schedule, meaning they ate in about an hour or an hour-and-a-half, and then slept well for for the remaining two hours or one-and-a-half hours respectively. The second week they are doing pretty good on a 4-hour schedule which is giving Mom and Dad a little more sleep. Sometimes one of the girls will wake up before the others, and that gets interesting. All things considering, we feel like things are going really well.
The top questions we get are 1) How is Ann-Marie doing? 2) Are you getting any sleep? and 3) What can we do to help?
To answer these FAQ's, 1) Ann-Marie is doing extremely well in my opinion for being a Mom of triplets. I call her Super Mom, a term that was coined in the NICU by the nurses. She is of course tired and hungry, and each day she has to decide whether she is more tired than hungry or more hungry than tired. To all of her friends out there that may be feeling bad that she hasn't talked to them in a while, thank you for understanding that she hasn't talked to hardly anyone and has spent her energy on the family. She still loves you and appreciates you deeply.
2) We each get about four hours of sleep total at night now that the girls are on a 4-hour eating schedule. Both of us participate in the feedings as it's nearly impossible for one person to feed all three in any reasonable amount of time. Ann-Marie feeds two and I (or someone else in the family) feeds the other with a bottle. After they eat and we clean-up from one feeding there is usually two hours where we can get some sleep. Then the cycle continues...
3) Friends and neighbors have been absolutely amazing in helping out. They've been extremely respectful of our request to keep the girls in "quarantine" until their immune systems are stronger. Furthermore, despite our neighbors being so busy with their own family matters, they have brought meals which has been a tremendous help. Meals at this point have been the most helpful.
Ellis with Ruthie
Gracie and Ruthie
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie
Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie being so cute for the camera!
Annie didn't move, but Gracie and Ruthie kept doing fun poses
So fun!
Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie in their comfy jammies
Tummy time after feedings during the day!
Mommy and Ellis making gingerbread houses
Making gingerbread houses is a family tradition (thanks to a ton of work from Grandma). Ellis thought of the candy cane hearts himself. What a cutie!
Bath time is quite the effort with three little ones
The girls are still on oxygen, so it goes with them wherever they go:)
The top questions we get are 1) How is Ann-Marie doing? 2) Are you getting any sleep? and 3) What can we do to help?
To answer these FAQ's, 1) Ann-Marie is doing extremely well in my opinion for being a Mom of triplets. I call her Super Mom, a term that was coined in the NICU by the nurses. She is of course tired and hungry, and each day she has to decide whether she is more tired than hungry or more hungry than tired. To all of her friends out there that may be feeling bad that she hasn't talked to them in a while, thank you for understanding that she hasn't talked to hardly anyone and has spent her energy on the family. She still loves you and appreciates you deeply.
2) We each get about four hours of sleep total at night now that the girls are on a 4-hour eating schedule. Both of us participate in the feedings as it's nearly impossible for one person to feed all three in any reasonable amount of time. Ann-Marie feeds two and I (or someone else in the family) feeds the other with a bottle. After they eat and we clean-up from one feeding there is usually two hours where we can get some sleep. Then the cycle continues...
3) Friends and neighbors have been absolutely amazing in helping out. They've been extremely respectful of our request to keep the girls in "quarantine" until their immune systems are stronger. Furthermore, despite our neighbors being so busy with their own family matters, they have brought meals which has been a tremendous help. Meals at this point have been the most helpful.
Ellis with Ruthie
Gracie and Ruthie
Ruthie, Gracie, and Annie
Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie being so cute for the camera!
Annie didn't move, but Gracie and Ruthie kept doing fun poses
So fun!
Annie, Gracie, and Ruthie in their comfy jammies
Tummy time after feedings during the day!
Mommy and Ellis making gingerbread houses
Making gingerbread houses is a family tradition (thanks to a ton of work from Grandma). Ellis thought of the candy cane hearts himself. What a cutie!
Bath time is quite the effort with three little ones
The girls are still on oxygen, so it goes with them wherever they go:)
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