Quads Being Raised As Triplets: October 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!!! 8 Weeks Old Today!!!

Here are some updates.

Samantha - Weighs in at 5 pounds 13 ounces. She is working hard on feeding. Once she starts taking all feeds from bottle or nursing she can come home, she is up to about half. So in the next week or 2 we may be bringing her home.

Bridgette - Weighs in at 4 pounds 10 ounces. She is still receiving oxygen, very minimum assistance. She started bottleing and is the fastest eater. Bridgette still is listed as having Chronic lung disease, since she needs the help. There is a chance she could come home with oxygen. She is doing great!! Bridgette did not have an eye check this week, everyone will get one on Monday.

Teddy - Weighs in at 4 pounds 10.5 ounces!! Teddy is no longer listed as having Chronic Lung Disease. Since yesterday he has been taking the bottle and remembering to breath, YAY!! He has a preemie slow flow nipple, alot slower flow than the girls get. He also just working on taking all feeds himself to come home, he is up to a couple a day!! So it could be anyone home first.

As For Me - I have been busy getting things in order for the babies. Thanks to Ed for painting the nursery!!

We belong to such an amazing church. Last Sunday they had a Baby shower, Bake Sale/Fundraiser for our family. I cried tears of joy and could not believe the generousity of people, when I walked into Church on Sunday and seen the many things for our family, I am humbled. So many needed items (lots of diapers:) Thank-You!! Thank-You!! I found myself again brought to tears during the 9:00AM service when Pastor Phil introduced us to the congregation. I hope that I am able to pay it forward someday soon and help others as we have been helped!!

Tonight the Big Girls and I will be enjoying "Trunk or Treat" at our church. It is our tradition. Cars line up in the parking lot on we got car to car Trick or Treating. Inside they will have some yummy food to eat and some games to play. We Love It!!!

"Keep The Faith"

Friday, October 24, 2008

7 Weeks Old Today!!

The Trio is sure growing. Time has flown by, and we are a few short weeks away from the whole bunch finally coming home. Here are some updates:

Samantha - Weighs in at 5 pounds 4 ounces, more than double her birthweight!!! She has been doing well at taking several feeding from bottle daily. She is the most alert and active of the bunch, she makes noise all of the time. I am not sure where she gets all of that talking from.

Bridgette - Weighs in at 4 pounds 1 ounce!! Bridgette was moved back into a crib yesterday. She is doing fantastic. She is the quite one of the group. She had a nice day bonding with Daddy yesterday!!

Teddy - Weighs in at 4 pounds 4.5 ounces!!! Teddy has been fussy the last few days, I have found that he likes to be picked up and held alot when fussy. Teddy has a reputation with the nurses for getting them when changing his diaper, and not the usual thing you get when changing a boy. :)

As For Me - I am frantic at the thought of how fast these past 7 weeks have gone by and the realization that the nursery is not even started. I thought I would have all of this time to catch up with friends while the babies were in the NICU, I was wrong. I barely have time for myself these days. I do, however, love every minute of my chaotic life. I am looking forward to the whole family to be home so we can be together and busier than ever, but I will be smiling and enjoying it.

Dear God Thank-You for my many blessings, my family and friends. I know you only give each one of us no more than we can handle. Thank-You for believing in me that I am strong enough to handle these many challenges you have given me, some so much harder than others.

"Keep The Faith"

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A Special note on my little man!!

Teddy passed the 4 pound mark today!! He is officially 4 pounds 1 ounce. He is getting big!! YAY TEDDY!! He had an eye exam and eyes are immature, normal for this age. so that was good they will recheck in 2 weeks. They are not going to be trying bottles on him again for a few days. Apparently he can not remember to breathe while sucking and swallowing with the bottle. (Men and Multi-tasking) hehe :)

Bridgette - Still 3lbs 14 oz. She has the nasal canulas in but is getting very little assistance. Her eye exam showed minor vessal swelling possible begining stages of ROP. She will be re examined in 1 week. If ROP develops she will get lasar surgery before coming home. ROP is something with the retina pulling away preemies are at high risk for developing this.

Samantha - Took 2 bottle feeding in a row this morning!! Way to go!! Still weighs 4 pounds 15 ounces!! Her exam was immature, but very close to being mature. Excellent news she will be re examined in 2 weeks.

As For Me - Another great day got to hold the trio again. There is a great picture of Samantha & Teddy holding hands and Bridgette in the middle.

Grandpa - Is doing good today. I was told he ate breakfast at the table today and that he is carrying on conversations. I am so hoping he will be here next summer to meet the trio.

The power of prayer is amazing, I think about Maddie's last day. I stayed at the hospital over night, in Samantha's room, when I woke up I looked down the hall and seen the team of people. I hid behind the curtain in Samantha's room and began a prayer of sorts, more like begging over and over I said "Please don't take my baby" . As time passed, that morning, I changed to more of a prayer and said "God please if she is not going to make it, please don't let her suffer, please take her quickly" God answered my prayer, I parented her physical little body one last time and we let her go quickly. We had her Baptsed by the hospital chaplain, Daddy held her, and when she got into my arms skin to skin with me we had the life support removed right away so she could go home quickly. When they said they could give her a transfusion and we could keep her a few more hours, we said "no" this was our last thing to do for her as parents to end her suffering and let her go quickly.

Maddie had 8 great days 1 really bad day and now an eternity of good days. The next time I see her, in 90 years, I get to hold her forever.

God is so very good.

"Keep The Faith"

Monday, October 20, 2008

Good News Today!!

Samantha - Miss over acheiver took a whole feeding from bottle this moring!! :) She is up to an ounce and a half at feedings now. WOW!! This afternoon we are going to work on nursing!! She weighs in at 4lbs 15 ounces!!! The nurse today said there is a chance that she could come home her 35th week (gestationally) that is in a week and a half.

Bridgette - Sweet little princess is off the highflow!! In fact she has no breathing assistance right now!! The nasal canulas that give oxygen assistance are ready if she needs them!! She weighs in at 3lbs 14 oz. Quite a big girl now!!

Teddy - They tried a bottle on Teddy this morning. He basically said no thank-you, so the first bottle was not a hit. Teddy weighs 3lbs 15.5oz!!! :) Big Boy!!

"Keep The Faith"

Friday, October 17, 2008

6 weeks old today!! :)

The Riepe Trio is 6 weeks old today!! There is a chance that babies could start coming home in as soon as 3 weeks. I have so very much to do before they come home.

Here are the 6 week updates:

Samantha - She weighs in at 4 lbs 10 oz. She is still in room air with no breathing assistance. She still has occasional spells with feedings, has reflux. All normal things for preemies.

Bridgette - Weighs in at 3 lbs 9 oz. Bridgette is still on high flow for breathing assistance. They hope to try her on nasal oxygen canulas after the weekend. She also has spells and will most likely be the last one to come home on her current path. She had Chronic Lung disease, which sounds scary but kids grow lung tissue all of the time. They expect her weight gain to increase more rapidly once the tissue has finished growing. It takes alot of energy to grow the tissue so it makes for slow weight gain.

Teddy - Weighs in at 3 lbs 11 oz. He was on no breathing assistance for 3 days and has the nasal canulas back in, but has very little assistance. He also had the Chronic lung disease, thus the slow progress on weight gain. He also has been running a little cold on temps, both these things cause calories to be burned rather than stored. He may end up back in an isolette for a few days to work on weight gain rather than using so much energy to maintain his temperature.

All babies are doing great!!

As For My Grandpa - A week ago the Hospice Nurse told my Dad if people wanted to see Grandpa they better do it soon. Well he has been doing well and hanging in there all week. In fact he has color back, on less pain medicine and has been eating. I so hope he is making a long term turn around and will be able to meet the Trio next summer. THANK-YOU all for the many prayers for Grandpa!!

God is good!!!

"Keep The Faith"

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

All three at once!!!!!

God smiled on me today I held all three pumpkins at the same time!!! :) Here are some updates!!!

Samantha - She is up to 4 lbs 5 oz. She is in the 50th percentile for gestational weight. (Where a baby should be at inside)

Bridgette - She weighs in at 3 lbs 4 oz.. Bridgette is less than 10th percentile fpr gestational weight. Starting tomorrow I will be giving her what is called the "Hind Milk" for her feedings. This is the last bit of pumped milk that contains the most nutrients. So the last few minutes of pumping I will switch bottles so she gets the most nutrient rich milk!!

Teddy - Weighs in at 3 lbs 9 oz. He is in between Samantha & Bridgette for percentile. So he may end up also needing the "Hind Milk".

As For Me - I was told again to keep what I pump at home in the freezer/ They are fully stocked. Right now I am producing almost twice as much as they eat. YAY me!!

Thank-You for all of the thoughts and prayers!!

"Keep The Faith"

Friday, October 10, 2008

5 Weeks Old Today!! :)

Today was the day I was hoping to carry the babies until, but God had another plan for us. God wanted us to meet Maddie, see her beautiful face, learn her spunky personality and to feel her warmth before he called her home to Heaven.

Here are some 5 week updates!!

Samantha - She finally did it and today made it to 4 pounds!! YAY!! She is doing fantastic and just feeding and growing. Today was the 3rd day in a row that she latch on during practice nursing session. Way to go!!

Bridgette - Has made it past the 3 pound mark, she is 3 pounds 2 ounces. Way to grow Bridgette!! She is still in the Isolette, had a blood transfusion today, most likely her last one. YAY!! The transfusion is completely normal at this point and not a major concern. She will most likely remain in the isolette until late next week. She is doing great. Daddy held Bridgette today!!

Teddy - He stopped trying to keep up with Samantha and his weight is 3 pounds 6 ounces. Teddy also had a blood transfusion, most likely his last one. His hemoglobin was slightly low. I got to hold Teddy for a long time today, took some great photos of him with eyes wide open!!

Yesterday my Dad called me to let me know how very ill my Grandpa is and said that I should try to see him if I can because he will not be here much longer. My Husband and Dad had not let me know how extremely ill he was, they wanted to protect me during my bedrest and when we lost Maddie. Tomorrow we will be taking the 3.5 hour drive (one way) to see Grandpa for a couple of hours and come back home.

Please pray for strength for my Grandma as they have shared over 62 wonderful years together.

Thank-You for the many prayers for our family.

"Keep the Faith"

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The next day.......

The next day, after I posted about Bridgette in her own room, Bridgette was moved in with Samantha and Teddy. YAY!! Much easier for Mom & Dad having them all together. All babies are doing well, on Monday I was told by the Dr. that the babies are moving to the "Green Team" because they are not sick enough to stay with the other Doctors. This was great news!! They are now labeled as feeders and growers!!! Here are some idividual tidbits:

Samantha - Little miss All-Star has been sucking on a pacifier for up to 20 minutes with her feedings, so today I was able to start teaching her to nurse. She latched on and even practiced sucking!! YAY!! In a few weeks she should start getting it, the 2 main things they need to do to go home is maintain body temperature and feed. Way to go Samantha!!

Bridgette - Being the tiny pumpkin she is, was having a little trouble maintaining body temp so she is back in the isolette and doing fabulous!!! She is in room temp and has her cute outfit on. And she was iffy anyway, they usually need to be close to 4 pounds to move out and she isn't even 3 pounds. So maybe in a few days they will try her in the crib again.

Teddy - He has been such a good boy!! Doing fabulous!! They found a crib for him so he is not in that tiny basinette any longer. I really can not call him Mr. Moody Pants lately, he is being great. He is on a daily dose of Amoxicillion due to inflamation near his kidneys from the urinary track infection. This is a normal thing that can happen because of prematurity and not something too concerning.
Maddie is sure watching over her siblings.

Thank-You Lord for my many blessings.

"Keep The Faith"

Sunday, October 5, 2008

What a difference from last weekend to this weekend!!

We got a call Saturday morning and the first thing the nurse said was "The babies are fine, just wanted to let you know there is a surprise here when you get here." We arrived to find our Samantha in a Crib!!! YAY Big Girl!! And then today we arrived to find Bridgette in a crib and Teddy in a bassinett. YAY Big Boy & Girl!!! Now this is just a trial and they could all end up back in isolettes, as long as they maintain their temperatures they can stay in the new beds!!

Current weights are as follows:

Samantha - 3 lbs 8.5 oz

Bridgette - 2 lbs 14.5 oz

Teddy - 3 lbs 4 oz

I think I mentioned before that Bridgette had moved in with Samantha & Teddy, she only roomed with them for about 12 hours. But may move back in with them, in a few days!!! YAY!!

I have added new photos to our Kodak Gallery Link so check them out!! :)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=cjgib2z.bafojckr&x=0&y=rltu6r&localeid=en_US

Thank-You all for the many prayers!!

"Keep The Faith"

Friday, October 3, 2008

Four Weeks Old Today!!!!!

4 Weeks Old Today!!!

Wow, I can hardley believe the babies are 4 weeks old today. Everyone is doing well and recovering from the colds. Here are the updates:

Samantha - Back to her perky self. She is currently on the high flow for breathing, but will be back to having no breathing assistance this afternoon. I held Samantha for over an hour today!! Samantha weighs in at 3 lbs 5.5 oz. On Sunday she was 15 3/4" long!!

Bridgette - She is feeling much better. Bridgette had the worst of the cold, she is on high flow as of this afternoon!! I held Bridgette for over an hour today!! Bridgette weighs in at 2 lbs 11.5 ounces. On Sunday her length was also 15 3/4" long!!

Teddy - He is doing much better. He is actually on high flow for breathing assistance, WOW!! Still on antibiotics for urinary track infection, which having the infection can cause sleep apnea problems, so apparently the antibiotics helped with breathing as well!! Teddy weighs in at 3 lbs 4 oz and as of Sunday was 16 3/4" long!! I held Teddy for an hour today!! :)

As For Me - Maddie is in my every thought all day. Maddie's short life has blessed our family and has inspired several parents to hug thier children a little tighter and longer, I have had many Moms' tell me this. Praise be to God for the gift of children, they are a true blessing.

Thank-You Dear Lord for allowing our Maddie to inspire others. May you always hold your children tight and may they always know how very much they are loved!!

Thank-You for the many prayers for our family.

"Keep The Faith"

Here is the link to the Pioneer Press Obituary for Maddie: http://www.legacy.com/twincities/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=117605180 The funeral home link for Maddie: http://robertsfamilyfh.com/obit-display.jhtml?DB=update/obits/dbase&DO=display&ID=1221594354_12289

Madeline

Our sweet Madeline Jean, had 8 very good days in the NICU. By day 3 Maddie had moved to high flow nasal cannulas for breathing, she was taking feeds and as spunky as ever. On day 8 she became ill, her stomac became enlarged, she was critcal, on day 9 the Doctors took a look inside and found all of her intestines and half of her stomac had died. We had her baptised and held her, as soon as she was in my arms skin to skin with me, we removed her breathing assistance and let her go very quickly and peacefully. We would later find that the cause of her death was NEC (Necrotizing Entrocolitis). We feel blessed to have had her for 9 days.