Tuesday Night Update (12/4/07)

Jim had to work today so he can save some time up for when the babies come home. So, Alli and I just lazed around at home. I'm back into watching Elmo and Barney and Mickey Mouse most of the day. Its funny because I saw Sesame Street was on while I was in the hospital on bedrest, and I almost watched it because I missed her so much...then I realized how sick I am of Elmo and friends, so I changed the channel ;)

My niece Kelly watched Alli tonight so we could go up to the hospital. Thanks Kel! I held Jenna and Jim held Jimmy tonight. They are so sweet---all 3 of them. Cassie was wide awake and she has finally opened both of her eyes now. She was the only one that had her eyes fused shut when she was born, and up until now, she was only opening one. Oh, I got to change Jenna's diaper tonight! Seemed so weird doing it through the holes in the incubator, but wasn't as hard as I thought, and she really didn't seem breakable, like I think of her all of the time.

They are all being tested for their biliruben again tomorrow morning and they might have to go back under the lights, which isn't uncommon. Jenna and Jimmy are off the oxygen saturation monitor--it looked like a little boot or cast on their foot. They have all still been having a few heart rate drops, so they are all still on caffeine--they said nothing to worry about, only a few a day, which is normal for their gestational age. Jimmy and Cassie both have murmurs, so they are going to do an echocardiogram tomorrow morning. They told us this is also common, but within the first week of being born, they check for this and its called a PDA. Some opening in one of the arteries I think. It usually closes within a few days of being born, but if it doesn't close on its own, they will give some medication. If that doesn't work, then it will be a surgery, but that only happens in about 10% of preemies their age, so we are not getting too worried. We'll see what the dr's say tomorrow. And lastly, they will all get head ultrasounds tomorrow morning. This is to look for any bleeding in the brain that can cause or may have caused any long-term damage. Sorry I'm not being very technical with everything, but I don't want to bore everyone totally :) Oh, and there is a new set of triplets that came in last night, so ours are all back together now. And, they are running out of room in NICU North, and since our babies are pretty stable, they might move them to NICU South. Usually that is a step up (closer to going home), but they will still have all of the same care. But since it is for space reasons that they might be moved, I'm not really sure I would call it a step up right now. Picture time!

Me changing Jenna's diaper for the first time

Jenna relaxing with her clean diaper

Jimmy was wide awake tonight---we love this picture! Isn't he so handsome?

Cassie being her sweet self :) And we have pictures of Alli in all of their beds now.
And here is our big girl! Not only did she put on my shoes, but also managed to get my socks on! She is so funny! And she won't wear clothes at all at home!

Monday morning update

Jim just called and they are putting Jenna and Cassie on caffeine now also because of a few heart rate drops over night. They are all also going to get a central IV line (pick line?) that goes into their bodies quicker than the IV in the arm, and also they won't have to change it as often. I think the one in the arm they have to change once a week or so. This is because they are not eating too much yet. And now they are all three off of the phototherapy lights. Hopefully we are going to get up there sometime soon this morning.

Here are a few pics from over the weekend.

Jim holding Jimmy

Jim holding Cassie

Chrissy holding Jenna

Jimmy always looks so comfortable. Here is he holding Jim's ring.....not small enough to get it around his wrist! Yeah!

This was before we could hold Cassie, so we wanted to at least get some pics of her and show her some love. She is the smallest, but I keep feeling like she is the strongest.

Jenna seems to me like she will be the laid back one....she just always looks so comfortable and relaxed when we arrive. Of course, this was after mom held her for the first time...I like to think that is why she is so comfortable :)

Some of our visitors got the royal treatment. Since nobody ever gets to see the babies in the NICU but us and grandparents, the nurses held them up for some of our visitors to see better.

Jenna
Jimmy
Cassie
Jenna sleeping like Alli with her butt up in the air :)

HOME SWEET HOME!

Sorry we have not been able to update the past few days. The WI-FI at the hospital was moving VERY slow, so I just thought I would wait until I got home to update.

So, it is GREAT to be home---its only been a few hours, but I'm getting back into the swing of things! Well, not really. But we did get to stop at Bread Co. on the way home, then I pretty much have been playing with Alli as much as I can and I've been falling asleep on the couch. I'm pretty tired. Its weird because I couldn't wait to get home and I knew I was leaving the three new babies at the hospital, but I kind of didn't care since I got to see Alli. But now I feel pretty bad that they are there and I'm here. It just seemed that I didn't have much of a connection with them because we can't hold them all of the time, etc and I already know Alli and missed her so much. But, now I really miss them too and get sad and teary when I think about them being there. But, they will be there for a little while and I'm sure we'll get used to it and then we'll just be counting the days until the whole family can be together. Kelly and Mike, thanks so much for taking care of Allison since we had the babies. It made it easy to know we didn't have to worry about who was watching her and Jim could spend a lot more time at the hospital. And I think she had a lot of fun at your house, even if she resorted back to her 'Alli' ways as soon as I got back into the picture ;)

Okay, so updates on the babies as of about 7pm tonight. We finally got to hold them all! I guess starting this past Friday, I held Jenna and Jim had Jimmy. Cassie was still on her central IV lines, so we couldn't hold her until Saturday. So on Saturday, I held Jimmy and Jim held Cassie. Then today after I was discharged, we switched it up and Jim held Jenna, I held Cassie. So, we each got to hold them once so far. They call it 'kangarooing' and they just let the babies lay on our chest, skin to skin, inside of our shirts. We usually get to hold them 30-45 mins. The nurses in there are very friendly with us and very informative, giving us updates all of the time. Today, Jenna and Jimmy both came off of the nose cannulas (the forced oxygen), so they are totally breathing on their own with no help at all. Cassie was taken off of the phototherapy lights for the biliruben tonight, so that is good. Jenna and Jimmy will probably be taken off tomorrow I think. So, their biliruben levels have decreased, their skin is looking better and they are all pooping (which helps rid their system of the biliruben). So, the more poop, the better....at least while the nurses have to change them ;) Jimmy is the only one on any medication, and that is a little bit of caffeine because he has a few heart rate drops, but they said nothing major. I think the only other thing to mention is their feedings (through feeding tubes), which they are tolerating very well and they get 3-3.5 cc's every 3 hrs (girls get 3, jimmy gets 3.5). 5cc's is equivalent to a teaspoon! crazy! Oh, and I guess that brings me to they started gaining weight again since they are being fed now. Silly me forgot all about all babies dropping a few ounces after they are born. But, yesterday, Cassie was back up to 2lbs 4oz, Jimmy back up to 2lbs 110z, and I didn't hear about Jenna. Okay, now if you stuck with me through my book, you can see some pictures now :) I'm off to sleep in my own comfortable bed! Its been 39 days!

Thanks everyone for all of the prayers for our family. We know its going to be a long journey until our babies get home, but with the help of God and our family and friends, we also know that everything is just going to be perfect.

Okay, so its not letting me post pictures now. I promise I will put some up first thing in the morning :)

Big Sister Alli

With all of the excitement this week, we haven't really said much about our original little angel. Alli has been such a good girl throughout this entire pregnancy! Her world has been turned upside down for the past couple of months and we are so proud of her for dealing with the situation so well. She has REALLY missed Chrissy. She's staying with family right now and has not been able to visit us for a while. The post below is a video that she taped for her mom today. She's going to be SO excited & happy come Sunday when Chrissy finally gets to come home! We miss and love her so much. Here are a few pictures of the new big sister.

Alli's "I Miss You Mom" Video

Day 2

Things are going good so far. All three of the babies came off the ventilator yesterday afternoon. I thought they were going to use a C-Pap, but they didn't need to. They are all using those nose cannulas but they have already been lowered a notch also. They all moved into incubators by the end of the night on Thursday. That is a step up from the open cribs (which I was unaware). Jenna and Jimmy had their first feedings last night. The NICU told Jim that we can hold Jenna and Jimmy, but not Cassie until her central IV lines are out. Jenna and Cassie are under the biliruben lights. Sorry these aren't the best pictures, but we wanted to include some.....I guess these lights don't work well with cameras :)

Jenna

Jimmy

Cassie

One of These Gifts is Not Like the Other...

Our friends Toni and Andy have given the triplets the funniest gift so far. Take a look and see if you can tell why. We love them! Thanks! :)

More Pics

Here is another picture of each baby to appease the masses. I'll give an update on their conditions a little later in the day. All three seem to be doing really good right now though.

For those of you who may not know this, if you click on the pictures they will get bigger.

Jenna



Jimmy



Cassie

Names Have Been Chosen!

- See Previous Post -

Okay Already! Here are Some Pics!!!

Hey everybody! Sorry for the delay on getting pics posted. It's been a crazy day!!!

We still don't have names for the little girls (well, actually we do but they aren't assigned yet so we aren't telling). Our little boy however is James Lynn Clauser III. They are all so beautiful! I know I'm biased but I swear they are.

Here are some stats & pictures of the babies:

Jenna Catherine - 2lbs 12oz - 15 inches long - She's the oldest by a few seconds (12:08pm)



James (Jimmy) Lynn - 3lbs 1oz - 15 1/4 inches long - Also born at 12:08 pm



Cassandra (Cassie) Lauren - 2lbs 8oz - 14 1/2 inches long - Born at 12:09 pm


These pictures are a little light. I've got some better ones that someone in the NICU took for us. I'm hoping to get them scanned into my computer tomorrow and posted on here. No promises though! Anyway, we'll keep updates & pics coming so check back often. Also, we want to thank everyone for all of the prayers and well wishes. Please keep them coming too!

The babies are here

This is Kelly, Jim's sister. I am updating the blog for him today because he's a little busy. The babies were born (not sure of time). As expected, they are all on ventilators, but seem to be stable. Chrissy is still in recovery, but is doing fine. He wasn't sure of the lengths, but said that he would update the blog later with more information and hopefully post a few pictures. They haven't decided on any girls names yet, but have a few that they are considering. So, if you have any suggestions, you better get them in now.

Baby 1: Girl weight 2 lbs 12 oz - no girl names yet
Baby 2: Boy weight 3 lbs 1 oz - James Lynn Clauser, III
Baby 3: Girl weight 2 lbs 8 oz

"The babies are coming!

I just received a phone call from Jim at 10:47am. The babies are coming. Chrissy just called from the hospital and they are prepping her now. I don't have much more info than that right now, but will update as soon as I hear something. Please start praying that all are healthy.

Wednesday Morning Update

Well, the contractions are back in full force this morning. Chrissy just called me at work and said that they are coming about every 4 minutes. The doctor on duty did a physical exam and said that she is dilated to a solid 4 now (it has been 3 - 4). They are administering a shot of Tributalene right now to try and stop the contractions again. Hopefully it works. Chrissy hates these shots though. One of the major side affects is that it makes you really shaky. She always feels really crappy and emotional when she gets it. Anyway , that's all we know right now. Stay tuned...

30 Weeks...Here We Come

Dr. Vlastos just came in and checked Chrissy. Her cervix is holding steady at 3 - 4 so November 27th is not going to be the birthday! WooHoo! Also, she has not had any contractions since early this morning. If she continues to hold steady, she may get to move back up to the antepartum floor tomorrow. She's really excited about that. The Dr. also told her that she could get a shower tonight since her condition hasn't changed. I'm really excited about that! I've had a couple of stinky roommates in my day but holy cow! ;)

Just kidding Chris! I love you! You are doing GREAT!!!

Doctors vs. Cable Guys

What's the difference between a doctor and the cable guy?
Answer: The cable guy shows up sometime in a four hour window. Doctors make you wait ALL DAY!

The doctor still hasn't been back in to check Chrissy's cervix so the verdict is still out. We are both pretty anxious today so we're hoping that we hear something soon. I know a lot of you are waiting to hear too. We've had around 350 hits on the site since this morning! We feel really blessed to have such great family and friends!

Chrissy's best friend Janet just stopped by to visit before her shift starts. She's been working here at the hospital for about 6 months or so and is training in the NICU tonight. That means that if we do deliver this evening, she would get to assist! Pretty cool!!!

The nurse just stuck her head in and said that Dr. Vlastos hasn't forgotten about us. Hopefully that means he's going to come in soon. I'll give another update as soon as we know something. Even if that means a quick "Babies are Coming Tonight" blurb before we go. Keep the prayers coming!

Tuesday Morning Update

It was a pretty uneventful night. Chrissy had a few contractions early on but they subsided as the night went on. They took her off of the Mag about 7:00 am this morning. She's starting to come down from the drug now. The Magnesium really wasn't bad for her though. With the exception of feeling hot for the first hour or so, she felt fine. As a matter of fact, she was doing so well with it that the Doc gave her unrestricted access to food and drink. That was really nice considering the drug gives you cotton mouth so bad.

They are going to re-evaluate her cervix sometime this afternoon or evening. If she's dilated more than she was yesterday, then we are probably going to meet the babies. If not, then we will keep the marathon going. Let's all hope for at least another day or so. Tomorrow will be 30 weeks!

I'll update the site whenever something happens (even if I have to get someone to do it for me).

It's 11:30 am and Things are Going Well

We've been getting a lot of phone calls and emails from people wanting an update, so here you go.

It's been about twelve hours since they started the Magnesium Sulfate and the contractions have reduced substantially. She is still having a few though. Dr. Moore just came for a visit and was her optimistic self. She thinks we will be able to hold out longer. They have administered another round of steriod shots however just in case. This will help develop the babies lungs in case of delivery. Dr. Moore said that this is pretty much overkill (since we had a round of steriods a couple of weeks ago) but better safe than sorry. She reiterated what Dr. Webb told us last night night. She said that if Chrissy dilates past a 4 or 5, it's going to be baby time. We're excited but hope that it doesn't happen for a while yet.

It's Midnight and Time for Mag (29 Weeks, 5 Days)

Hi Blogger friends! It's Jim with a late night post. I haven't had many opportunities to update the site myself for the past month or so. Chrissy's had a little more free time than me. :) I've been playing the single dad role since she's been in the hospital. We all have our roles to play though!

It's Sunday night (scratch that, Monday morning) at 1:55 am. Chrissy's 10:00 pm monitoring revealed that she was having some pretty good sized contractions at regular intervals. The Doc on call (Dr. Webb) came in and examined Chrissy and told her that she was dilated to a 3 or 4. He decided right then that it was time to move her down to Labor and Delivery and start the Magnesium Sulfate. Allison and I had just walked in the door from visiting Chrissy when she called and gave me the news. We called Gen (Chrissy's mom) to come over and stay with Alli so I could come stay at the hospital. Thanks Gen!

Dr. Webb came in to brief us once the Mag started flowing. He informed us that they were going to be very aggressive with the Magnesium Sulfate. He said that he expected the treatment to stop the contractions however if she progressed further and dilated to a 5 or 6, we were going to deliver. Yikes! Is it really time already!!!

Chrissy has now been on the medication for about two hours and it appears that the contractions have subsided. Oh, by the way, she was actually starting to feel them this time. That's something different from the ones she was having before. She just closed her eyes and dozed off. I hope she can get a little bit of sleep. God knows it's not easy with all of the tubes, wires, and monitors that she has hooked up to her. Not to mention the staff coming in and out every couple of minutes.

To be continued....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am most thankful for making it to 29 weeks this past Wednesday. Day by day we are getting to where we need to be. It was a good day, as good as it could be here at the hospital. I think everyone in my family came up to visit and spend some time with me. Of course, my room is small, so they took shifts. Jim was up here for a while and then Ann brought Allison up. That way Jim was able to spend a few hours, rather than just 45-60 mins up here. And she was sort of cranky because she didn't get a nap. I did have a few bouts of feeling sorry for myself yesterday.....I kept thinking how I've been here longer than Paris Hilton spent in jail...and at least she got to walk around her cell....I'm supposed to stay in bed. Anyway, I know its best for the babies to be here...sometimes I'm just a baby myself :)

Today I missed out on all of the good shopping with my sisters. Its our tradition that we go every year. But I keep calling them to check in and see if they are getting some good deals. And they brought the sale ads to me yesterday, so I circled a bunch of stuff I wanted. That way I can still get some of the specials....and even though people think we are crazy, I'm so jealous that I'm not out with them right now. But, I've already had 3 visitors today, so that is good. I forgot to get my wheelchair ride, so hopefully someone else will be up. I hate to miss out on my 3o mins of freedom!

Jim is having people over to watch the Mizzou game on Saturday, so anyone is welcome to stop by. I'm sure it won't be much of a party without me, but you guys can try to have fun ;)

NICU visit

Jim and I took a tour of the NICU today. Our multiples class is doing it the Thurs after Thanksgiving, but they suggested we take it beforehand, just in case. It was a little scary. Jim was a little worried because there are some babies that are carriers of MRSA (that staph bacteria), and I think they said two of the babies showed symptoms. But, they are being proactive and taking care of the issue, so I feel safe. They didn't take us to that side of the NICU.

Anyway, we saw such tiny babies in there. One was 2lbs 4oz (which is about the size of ours right now) and she was sooooo tiny. They gave us a diaper the size she wears and its smaller than the palm of my hand. Even though I saw the babies, I can't imagine then now (12hrs later) how small they really were. Its hard to grasp the idea that they can function so well being that small. But, I'm hoping we hold out a few more weeks and ours will be at least 3lbers. It was amazing to see how much bigger a 3lb baby was than the other little girl. We also learned that with the MRSA bacteria being such an issue right now and it being RSV season, the only people that will be able to see the babies are the parents and grandparents. I know its safer for the babies, but I feel bad that Alli won't be able to see them, or all of their aunts and uncles, etc. So, say some prayers we hang on for awhile and then maybe they will be so big and mature that they won't have to spend much time there.

The weekend was good. Had a lot of visitors and Jim brought Allison up twice. I always love when she comes because she is just so cute :) I finally made my 28 week sign for my door...I was being lazy...its not like I have anything better to do. So, I'm going to be more timely with my 29 week sign. I was just going to change my 27 to a 28, or just skip 28 and make a 29, but the nun who gives me holy communion every morning says I'm so creative and I really should make one, blah, blah, blah. I promised her I would, so of course, I couldn't lie to a nun. So, the new sign is hanging up--FINALLY. I'm still waiting with the 29 week sign because I don't want to jinx anything.

OH, and one more thing---I found out today that I'm supposed to be getting wheelchair rides every other day. That would have been nice to know! I've only been outside about 5 mins in the past 3.5 weeks! So, I was a little upset that I didn't know and nobody told me, but I'm excited about getting out of my room a little more often :)

Have a good day!
Chrissy