Babies Bum

Hugs & Kisses

2009-08-12T15:06:00.002-04:00

Probably one of the newest developments in our house is giving kisses and hugs. The kids love to give each other hugs and kisses but when Jason or I want one they don't seemed to be interested for the most part. I like to think of it as Jason & I wear them out with kisses and hugs that they don't feel the need to anymore and that is fine. They can continue to love on each other and we will continue to love on them. I guess you can say we are good examples to them.

Another thing I have noticed is the eagerness to get each other their sippy cups. Sometimes when I get them up, the one that is already up will grab another's sippy cup and just before I can say to get their own sippy cup, they hand it to the correct person.

Collin also is very bothered when things are out of place (gets it from his mom?). For the most part, it is safety stuff. We put a gate up every morning so they don't go up the stairs. We have started letting them go in the girls room to play and we put a door stop under the door because they are very interested in opening and closing the doors. We unplug things and put the covers on so they aren't playing with the outlets, etc... These are just some of the things we put in place so they have free reign (or at least they think they have) over the house. Collin has taken special note of this and is bothered when it isn't done. I got him up out of bed and then proceeded to get Anniston out of bed and before I could even get to Bailey he was bringing me the door stop to put under the door. He usually lets out a little wine and points to the problem (in this case, no door stop). Sure enough after it is in place he is fine. I think this also comes some from how we have learned to survive so much on routine and it works for us.

We are so proud of each and every one of them. They are so well behaved and are learning so much about loving one another and sharing with others and well just a lot of good stuff.

We look forward to the many years ahead to see their little personalites continue to develop.

Thanks for staying updated on our kiddos. We will try to update again soon:-)

The Latest Updates!

2009-06-18T11:20:00.005-04:00

It has been a while since we have updated our blog. I keep apologizing and I am sure some of you have blogs of your own and you know as kids get older it gets harder and harder to update but, at the same time, you want to tell people about them. We'll try to get better.

Anyway, the kiddos have been very busy this spring and going into summer and a lot has happened since our last update in April. Some things I won't even mention, I am sure, because there is so much I can't think of them at this point.

All the kiddos are still on two naps a day which is wonderful. I need my time. They are wanting to go outside and play on a new swing set found by Grandma & Grandpa. They enjoy it very much although we wish they could make swing sets available with three swings instead of just two. They like the slide & little clubhouse too but their attention soon gets diverted when the other two are on the swings. We bought them a water table and they have had a ball with that. It is their favorite thing. We even took it on vacation with us this past week. They enjoyed that more than even the pool at our beach house. We will probably buy them a baby pool. They love their baths and with it being smaller than a big pool it won't seem so intimidating to them but we'll see.

We have taken them to the pool only once this spring/summer. They enjoyed the very small fountains so small they could just walk on them. They enjoyed the kiddy pool but just stayed at the very edge of it which is fine because there were only two of us to watch them. They especially like exploring the grounds for leaves, any kind of wrappers, used bandaids, people's shoes, etc.... so if you are ever at the pool and your shoes are missing or anything for that matter we may be present somewhere.

We still go for walks down to the nearby Dairy Queen, Danville square, Wiggles, local park, etc... which they enjoy. The only thing is that when both Jason & I go Collin seems to want me to hold him. When Jason goes by himself Collin seems to do fine. I feel that I need to walk behind them to keep an eye on them and they tend to throw their shoes and sippy cups out when they are done playing with them. We are trying to teach them to sit it in the cup holder when they are done and sometimes if I say, "Hold on to it...", it seems to help. They are noticed by everyone everywhere we go because of their brightly colored choo-choo wagon that we take them in and there are clearly three of them sitting in it looking the same age so everyone knows they are triplets. We have enjoyed getting to know a lot of people to and from the places we go. Everyone wants to know where we got the choo-choo wagon from and all the kids that see it definitely want one. I even heard one kid at the zoo say to his mom that he wanted a bigger one which would mean that it would have atleast 4 compartments on it. You can add on as many as you want. It could get pretty long (haha:-)). If you are interested in one (it is in one of the pictures on this blogsite) you can only get it at steptwo.com which they only have them some times so good luck. We enjoy it though and they do to.

The kids are starting to say words and they recognize things and point them out. The girls especially. I think they say girls learn faster. We'll see. Anniston says "meme" sometimes to tell me she wants food. Too cute. Bailey tends to say "nana" to tell me she wants food. Maybe from banana? Who knows. It is cute though to hear their own little language and the little things they pick up on. Among the three of them they can say tiger, bye bye, eyes, pretty, paw paw(grandpa), gaga(grandma), tree, cracker, etc.... They are also able to recognize trees, flowers, slide, swing, different kinds of food, ball, etc.... When we say, "Do you want to go for a ride?", they go straight for the door and waive their hands bye bye. They are really understanding what we are saying even though they can't necessarily say all of it yet. We are constantly having to figure out what they want and normally can when they take us to things and show us what they want. However, sometimes it can be challenging. Anniston will bring me my shoes when she wants to go outside which we can't always necessarily do at that moment but it is cute. The kids are at different levels with this but can put shapes in the correct holes which is amazing to me. Anniston is especially good at it. She can pick one up and put it directly in the correct one and will turn it directly to the correct side in which the shape is on. The others are good at it too. They also help me pick up the balls and put them in the basket when it is time to clean up for a nap or bedtime. Amazing kids. They also climb the stairs and go down the slide. Anniston will do it 20 times in row. The others are quite interested also. Although we have to teach them to climb up and immediately slide down so not to keep the others waiting because they will push the other down the slide if they don't. I am constantly amazed every day with new things that they say, do or understand.

Although there are new challenges at every stage of their life their is plenty of rewards that come from them too and more than make up for the challenges.

That is all I can think of for now. We will update pictures soon. I am trying to collect all of our vacation pictures before we do. Thanks for keeping updated on our kids.

JKABC

Spring is here!

2009-04-08T12:05:00.002-04:00

Hello all. The kids all say hi. OK, they can't say hi, but they can wave bye-bye. All three kids are doing well.
This last Sunday was the first time we put them in childcare at Kingsway. We put their nametags on and handed them over to the childcare workers. No crying, no fussing, this was way too easy. We hung around and watched them through the one-way window and they seemed to be enjoying the toys and exploring the new area. Kristy did think that Collin was looking around for us, but I didn't think he was. It was a bittersweet moment for us--nice to see our kids growing up and being independent enough to not need us around and sad to see that they are growing up so fast. We headed to service and began to worship. 15 minutes or so into it, our number came up on the little display. We both headed back (I was going to let Kristy handle it, but if more than one of our kids was having problems, I figured we'd need more hands) to find little Collin just crying and crying. The girls were content to play with the toys completely unphased by Collin's situation. Kristy was able to calm him down and told them to give Collin some food and his sippie cup. We didn't get called back anymore, but it was obvious when we picked him up that Collin had still been crying at least off and on.
We have been able to take the kids for bike rides in our two passenger pull-behind vehicle and our ride-on-the-back seat (thanks grandma & grandpa). We quickly found out that Bailey does not like the pull-behind vehicle. Once we switched her to the seat, she was fine. They have enjoyed going to the park or just riding around the neighborhood.
This last Saturday we went to the zoo with grandma and grandpa Bum. The kids enjoyed being out but weren't necessarily interested in the animals unless they could see them moving. They did seem to enjoy the dolphin show.
We've been very pleased with the warmer weather. It is so nice to get out with the kids and let them explore or just enjoy the scenery. We feel extremely blessed with our children!

JKABC

Spring is almost here!

2009-03-06T14:37:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to update everyone really quick on the babies well kiddos now. They have been very active lately. They are climbing, running, playing, banging, exploring (getting into things) etc... It is getting pretty noisy around the Bumgardner house these days. We can't wait to get them out to play outside. I let them out the back door one day last week and they absolutely loved it. Anniston just took off running. Collin was just taking it all in. Bailey was fine until she felt the grass and then it was slowly going down hill for her. She enjoyed being outside though.

The kids had a checkup recently to evaluate them on how they are doing in the area of development. They have caught up both based on their chronological age & adjusted age which is great. They don't have to go back for a whole year. We are so proud of them. I sat there and watched each of them and it was like getting a report card for each one of them and I couldn't be prouder of them. There were some things they did that I didn't even know they could do because they don't do it very much. Bailey lit up the stage though which I was pretty shocked about. Bailey is pretty lay low or at least we thought. She does things in her own time and no one can push that. She was being tested on her fine motor skills which is the area she excels in even more then the others. They were putting three blocks out, one at a time, to see how they would problem solve and figure out how to pick all of them up at one time. They put the first block down and she picks it up. They put the second block down and she picks it up with the other hand. When they put the third block down she put the second one in her mouth and picked up the third one. We all thought it was too cute including the therapists. They thought that was pretty clever of her. They are all walking (Anniston is running) now and are eating mainly table food. They are learning to use sippy cups now. We are trying to get them prepared for our trip to Florida this summer so we want them to be able to drink from sippy cups on the trip down so it will be easier for them and us.

We have explored a few places just to get out during the cold season. We went to Jump N Play which we highly recommend even for kids as young as they are. They had a blast. They loved bouncing around and it was an area for kids their age so they weren't trampled all over. They even seemed to rule the place since there are three of them. Bailey isn't quite so excited about the bouncing but she loved going down the big slide with mommy and daddy. Collin & Anniston did also. We look forward to visiting again here soon for their cousin, Xander's, 3rd birthday party. We also checked out the play area at the Children's Museum. Unfortunately we could only go in certain areas with the three of them. I was having to play the zone with them. There are three of them and only one of me. Cousins Xander & Riley and also Grandma Bum got to join us. We had lunch and then headed home so they could nap. We have also arranged lots of play dates. They tend to enjoy those even if the kids are older because it is something different. I have found play dates have helped keep us sane through the winter months and I think we will continue to do those in the spring summer but more of them outside of course.

We are having a great time with them. They are able to play more, they try to talk a lot, they want to explore more and it has been an amazing time watching them grow and become who they are today. You parents out their totally understand what I am talking about. It is a very unique experience that only comes in the raising of your children.

Thanks for keeping up with our family! We are so glad to have great friends and family that are so eager to hear about them and how they are doing.

Thanks again!

JKABC

Spring? Not Quite Yet

2009-02-10T15:50:00.002-05:00

Hello all. Once again, it has been too long since we updated this blog. The kids are all doing so well. All three are up walking around. Bailey was the last to get there but she is toddling all over the place with the rest of the crew! Since it was nice this last weekend, we were able to get out of the house. We went to Jump N Play on Saturday and turned the triplets loose on the inflatables. Anniston & Collin enjoyed the under 3 area. Bailey wasn't so impressed. They all enjoyed going down the big slides with mom or dad though. On Friday, we went shopping at Target. Mom & twin sister did some shopping while dad and the kids did laps around the store in the choo-choo wagon. The kids really enjoyed seeing new sights! We did try to get out and take some walks around Danville, but there was still too much snow on some of the sidewalks.
Anniston has been able to identify herself and her siblings in pictures on several occasions. She has also been able to identify a ball and a monkey. All three of them are jabbering a lot. We are working on words with them--I think they understand us, but just can't spit out the right sounds just yet.
We're enjoying the temporary heat wave and are looking forward to spring! We feel very blessed.

JKABC

Our 1st birthday!!!

2009-01-04T10:51:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe, but our little ones are a year old today. The time has been flying by. The triplets official birthday party won't be until next weekend, but we will celebrate with them today anyway. They all have their one year checkup on Monday to analyze how they are doing.

As far as new developments, Collin is now walking. He is pretty shaky but he can string several steps together and get where he wants to go. Give him a week or so and I'm sure he will be picking up speed. Little Bailey is standing independently and has even been seen taking a step here or there. She will join the other two soon.

Mom and dad enjoyed their first evening and overnight without the triplets. It was strange with no gates and doors left open. We didn't know how to act since we could leave things on the floor without fearing one of them would shred them and/or stick it in their mouth. We didn't have the monitors on or have to worry about getting up early this morning. It was good to get some extra rest and relaxation. Thanks Tim & Kathy!

Thanks for checking up on us.

JKABC

First Christmas

2008-12-28T20:07:00.002-05:00

Hello all! It has been a few weeks. The little ones and their parents all enjoyed the triplet's first Christmas. Kristy loaded some new pictures on the site last night, so be sure to check them out. The kids got lots of great presents. We got the kiddos a choo-choo wagon (see the picture with the multicolored wagon). They seem to love it. Collin enjoys going down a step in the wagon. He thinks it is hilarious. Bailey prefers a smooth ride. We were able to ride around the house and even get outside the day after Christmas for a ride through the neighborhood. The kids got lots of toys from their grandma/grandpa and their aunts/uncles. Thanks to all for the cool new toys. Aunt Sharon was able to help us paint our play room and get it ready for new toys.

Other than a runny nose or two, the kids have been pretty healthy this winter season. Praise the Lord! Life is so much easier when they aren't all sick. It's hard to believe, but they are almost 1 year old. Time has been flying by!

Anniston is walking around everywhere. She is a climber. We can't keep her off of the hearth (where she can access the Christmas tree, ottoman, etc). Collin is starting to take some steps on his own. He also does really well with the walk-behind toy. He can turn it anywhere he wants to go. Bailey can stand on her own and has been seen taking a step here or there, but she will do things in her own time (like normal for her). Anniston will give you "five" if you ask and hold your hand up. She will also sometimes clap her hands if you ask her to. Bailey is the best sound maker. She clearly can say mama or dada (and almost any other combination of consonants with the letter a). Collin and Anniston are talking too. We've found that Collin likes to get loud before bedtime--lots of loud incoherent sounds. Anniston prefers the word baba. They are all so different and sweet. It is neat to see three completely different kids interacting with each other. They often times think one (or both) of the others are hilarious. It is fun to hear them laugh!

Thanks for checking on us! We are staying really busy. We hope you all had a merry Christmas and that you have a happy new year!

JKABC

WALKING!!!!!!!

2008-12-11T21:27:00.004-05:00

Well, it is bittersweet but our little Anniston is walking. She has been building up for the past week or so and now she gets to the edge of things and just keeps walking. I almost cried when I saw her this evening and couldn't wait to tell Daddy when he got home from work. I guess we weren't too shocked because Anniston is just our crazy, energetic, spunky girl. She has been doing one thing and then on to the next. She has been an amazing child to watch. To think she was a preemie, who would have thought?

The kiddos are all doing great. They are feeling well. They had some congestion for a few weeks and are much better now. They play a lot together. I will be sitting in the living room and I will hear giggles and thumps all through the hallway. It is too sweet. They love playing together. They also have their time to themselves. Collin is just content to play by himself if the other two aren't in the room but if they are then he thinks that is great too. Bailey has to have her time to herself. She sometimes likes it when she can just play with something and not have it taken away. Anniston is a mommy's girl and loves to tug on my pant legs. Sometimes she is okay if I am just in the same room and their are some times when she will venture out with one or both of the others and play without me being there.

We have been enjoying the Christmas season. I love decorating and shopping (last year I had to shop on-line). The babies have enjoyed the Christmas tree and the merry-go-round their Great Grandma Thompson gave them. They have also enjoyed a stuffed snowman I have at the fireplace. They love to chew on it and have managed to bite off one of the buttons. Imagine that. We can't wait to see them opening up their presents on Christmas. We have decided they will like the boxes and paper much better this year, however, I think once the present is opened they will enjoy what is inside. They love their toys.

We hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas season. Thanks for all of your continued prayers and encouragement over the past several months.

JKABC

Ear Tubes, Check

2008-10-29T10:18:00.002-04:00

Well all of the babies now have had their ear tube surgery. I took Collin to get his surgery yesterday. He also had his ear tags (excess skin) taken off and his tougue clipped because he was tougue-tied (ouch!). I am amazed at how well he has done since the surgery. You would never believe he just had surgery. Yesterday, after we were finished at the hospital, we went to Grandma & Grandpa Bum's house where Aunt Tracy brought the two girls to hang out with everyone. She watched the girls for me yesterday while I was with Collin. Thanks so much Tracy. Your the best! Anyway, Collin was sitting with Grandpa and was just smiling and playing and he then was jumping in the jumperoo just having a great time. There has been no indication that any of it, even the tougue clipping, has been bothering him at all. How resilient are kids! They are amazing.

We have been trying to enjoy the fall season. I love it because it is when families gather the most. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is the best time of the year. However, it has been so cold lately that we have been unable to take the kiddos out. We have taken them other places to stroll around inside. The babies are enjoying playing together. They are so fun to watch. One will crack up at the other one because of something silly they are doing. It is too cute.

We are having so much fun with them. We thank all of you for keeping up with our blog even when we don't update as often and placing so much of an interest in our kids.

Thanks

JKABC

Full Mobility!

2008-10-17T12:36:00.002-04:00

Hello all. It's hard to believe that it is the middle of October. The big news is that all three of the triplets are crawling and pulling up on things. Bailey was the last to start crawling, but she has been able to roll around to about anywhere for some time now. Anniston managed to climb our staircase all the way to the top (with dad making sure she didn't fall backwards). She continued to explore the stairs from time to time so we had to install the gate. The other kids really haven't had a chance to attempt the climb. The girls got their ear tubes inserted last Friday. They seem to be doing well. Collin is scheduled to get tubes at the end of this month. The kids are eating a lot more solid food. They don't seem to be gaining much weight, but that is probably because they are expending so much more energy crawling around. They're getting taller and, compared to several months ago, their faces look so much thinner. It is fun to see the kids exploring their environment! Praise God for our little ones.

Jason

Another Anniston Tooth

2008-09-25T13:56:00.002-04:00

Greetings! Not too much news to report. As you can deduct from the title, Anniston has another tooth. She now has three of her front teeth (both of the lowers and one upper). Collin and Bailey both have their bottom front teeth in.
We just recently moved Collin's crib into the "extra" bedroom. He always wants to get up an hour or so earlier than the girls. Anniston continues to explore the house. She is pulling up on the couch and chairs (and anything else she can get her hands on). Collin and Bailey are working on the crawling, but still aren't there yet.
We recently met a great family that lives in our new neighborhood. Their daughters, Elizabeth and Victoria (twin sisters) have been helping to take care of the babies on a few evenings a week. It has been and is a big help to Kristy and I.
We visited Kristy's twin sister and family this last weekend. We enjoyed visiting a few orchards and got some good pictures of the kids amongst the pumpkins. Thanks for putting up with us!We're staying extremely busy these days. We really appreciate the help we have been receiving.

JKABC

September

2008-09-08T09:54:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone. It is time that we get another update out there. The babies have been battling some mild sicknesses. They all had hand foot and mouth disease a few weeks ago (including dad). Collin is still struggling with some coughing and excessive mucus these days. He isn't getting up every hour at night any more but it is still challenging. On the positive side, each of them all have their bottom right front tooth. Anniston has made the most progress. She can crawl and crawl over things including the step from our living room to our kitchen. She also can sit up all by herself. She has also decided to learn how to pull up and stand in her crib when she is ready to get out (we had to lower the bed). Collin is on this hands and knees, but no forward progress yet. Bailey and Collin both can roll about anywhere. These are fun times (minus the sickness). Continue to pray for them especially Collin so we can get him cleared up.

JKABC

The Latest

2008-08-24T12:15:00.006-04:00

Just to give you an update on the babies. They are growing up fast. Anniston is pretty much crawling although she isn't at the professional stage yet. Bailey & Collin are getting around pretty much by rolling and seem to be content with that at this point. One day they will just decide that they want to do what Anniston is doing but until then they will roll. I think all of the babies say "hey" especially Collin. He plays the "Hey Game" with Mommy and others. I think I am hearing him say mom. I don't think he connects that mom is me but he says it and he says it a lot and normally when he needs something so maybe he does connect it in some way. He says, "mmmmom". I keep trying to follow it up by saying it myself and I also throw in a couple of "dadas" here and there. I am trying not to be biased. I am sure it would mean a lot to Jason if he would say "dada". It would melt any of our hearts.

The babies have some ear infections. Who knows they may need tubes. They have already had 3-4 this year. Collin is finally over his and Anniston & Bailey are on antibiotics. All of the babies plus Daddy has caught the "hand, foot & mouth disease". It has been going around these days. For those of you who don't know what it is, it isn't fun at all. The babies have been fatigued although irritable. They have had little blister-like spots on their hands, feet & mouth. There have been fevers, sore throats, coughing, etc... Again, not fun. We are hoping we are nearing the end of the sickies.

The house is pretty functional at this point. There is lots we would like to get done but, with three babies, they are first priority. Everything else will just have to wait or get done at a slower pace than what we would like. We love our new home and the babies seem to be adjusting very well. With Anniston crawling a little, she will be in to things in no time. We have to keep a close eye on her.

We continue to take our walks to the park. The park is actually closer than it was before. We are closer to Dairy Queen. Woohoo! We love walking around the neighborhood as well. The people in this subdivision are so inviting and nice. Everyone waves. We enjoy that because we are pretty social people ourselves.

We are heading off to the NICU picnic today. There will be nurses there that we would love to see. They were a big part of their lives for the first 5 weeks. We would love to introduce them to the people that took such good care of them in the NICU.

Speaking of babies, please keep a couple in mind as they are going through the worst time in their lives possible. They tried for two years to get pregnant. Jason & I can relate to that and I am sure some of you can as well. They were expecting to be induced this past Wednesday evening. She went in that morning and everything was fine. Some time between then and when she was to get induced, something happened. Just before inducing her, they were setting the machines up to monitor the babies heartbeat only to find that the baby had past away. My heart just breaks for her. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through right now. I think I would just be tempted to crawl up in a corner and give up. They are staying strong to their faith even though they don't understand why and that is a great question. They got to hold her and get pictures of her which I got to see. What a beautiful little girl. I just cried for a while just looking at her and realizing that the parent's were so anxious to see her that evening and looking forward to taking her home to where they prepared for so long a comfortable home. It will be something I will not be able to forget. Please pray for this couple.

Thanks for your continuing prayers and encouragement. Publish Post

JKABC

We've Moved!

2008-08-11T10:25:00.003-04:00

We have been keeping very busy lately. We have moved to our new house on Apple Way Drive! We have about half our stuff transferred to the new house. We spent most of the weekend cleaning and painting. A big thanks to all who have helped out! We will get the remainder of the stuff moved over in the next few days. Collin, Anniston and Bailey are all doing well. Collin is finally getting over his pneumonia and associated drainage. Collin got big news this last Friday. The cardiologist looked him over and said his little heart is normal. The hole is no longer there. Praise God for healing little Collin! Anniston is still at the edge of crawling. Once she figures out how to move the arms, we won't be able to keep her in one room anymore. Collin and Bailey are getting much more adept at rolling over and can get up on all fours, but they are not quite to the point where Anniston is. The babies are all back in one room in the new house. They seem to be adjusting well to their new living quarters. We'll have to get some more recent pictures on here soon.

JKABC

The Future House of the Bumgardners

2008-07-16T16:23:00.006-04:00

Well, as most of you know, we sold our house while we were on vacation a couple of weeks ago. Since then we have placed an offer on a house that we really really like. We countered a couple of times and were surprised when the sellers settled for $2000 less than what we were willing to pay. We were so excited. The house is on into Danville a little more than we are now. It is in Orchard Estates Subdivision. We know this is the right choice for us. It seems just right for our family. I am putting a picture of it on this site. The plan for now is to close on July 29th and to be moving in by August 5 (My birthday, Woohoo!). We don't have to be out of our house until August 12th so that gives us plenty of time to clean & paint before we start moving our stuff in. Thanks for all of your prayers. God is good!

As for the babies, everything is going okay. We had to take Collin back to the doctor. He hasn't been himself lately. He has been fussy and not able to sleep at night. He has still been wheezing and has had a high pitch sounding cough. We found out that he still has his ear infection. The doctor wants us to continue with his breathing treatments every 4 hours and decrease them as he gets better. They are also putting him on Pulmacor(don't know the spelling) which is a more long term solution for his wheezing. He will be getting this twice a day for at least a month. They will continue to evaluate him to see how he is progressing. This is a normal problem for preemies. It may be something he grows out of or it may be something he will deal with just like anyone else who has asthma or other respiratory problems. They have also decided to put him on a stronger antibiotic for his ear infection since the other doesn't seem to have helped. Please pray for Collin in this regard.

The babies are doing all kinds of stuff and surprise us every day with their abilities. Anniston seems like she will be crawling any day now. She is able to pull her self up to almost an all fours position. She tries this several times and then resorts to just using her legs to scoot across the floor. Anniston also loves the Jumperoo. Someone at Jason's work loaned it out to us along with an exersaucer (thanks so much). She talks a ton. Bailey seems to be the most advanced at grabbing at things. She loves to play. She is flipping from one side to the other a ton. Collin hasn't yet mastered rolling from his back to his tummy but he will get there. That is a lot of weight to throw around weighing a little over 18 lbs. The babies are all eating their fruits and vegetables very well. They love squash, sweet potatoes, green beans & applesauce the most so far. They will eat anything. They have made funny faces when they have eaten peaches, carrots & bananas but were okay with them the second time around. They are wonderful babies and we are enjoying so much to see them grow and show off what they can do.

Thanks again and again for your continued prayers & encouragement.

JKABC

Our House is SOLD After Only 28 Days!!!!!

2008-07-09T21:48:00.005-04:00

Yep, you got it. Our house is SOLD. We received our first offer on Saturday as we were heading down to Myrtle Beach and sold it by that Tuesday. We have looked at the house we are wanting to purchase a couple of times since we got back and have come to the conclusion that we still like it very much. We had to work out some details and will work on placing our initial offer tomorrow. Please pray, as we will be also, that this process goes smoothly and they are accepting of the amount we are willing to pay. We love this house and it has a lot of options for the kiddos in years to come. If this doesn't work out, we only have one other house in mind. Our other option is to build. We know this is a difficult process. We know many people who have gone through it. We want what is best for us whatever that may be.

We came back from vacation on Saturday night. We had a great time thanks to the help of Aunt Tracy & Grandma & Grandpa Bum. The triplets did awesome on the ride to and from Myrtle Beach. They are amazing babies. We went out to eat every evening and they were wonderful. They were given much attention by people around us. People just can't grasp the concept of three. The babies enjoyed, for the most part, the lazy river, the ocean & taking naps on the beach. It was a great time.

The babies had their 6 month checkup yesterday. They found that Collin has an ear infection. He has been placed on an antibiotic and he has also been wheezing since before we left on vacation. He is continuing his breathing treatments every 4 hours and is also on a steroid to help his lungs. He still seems like a pretty happy boy spite all of his sickness but please pray that he gets well soon. Collin is now weighing in at about 18lbs. Anniston is a little more than 13lbs and Bailey is about 12 1/2 lbs. They are all growing well. Collin was taken off of the special Neosure formula because he is in the 50th percentile for weight. The girls are still barely on the unadjusted charts and are expected to be, however, they need to continue on the Neosure to give them the extra nutrients and calories they need to grow. Overall the pediatrician is very pleased with their progress so they're no concerns at this point as far as their growth and their development. We will be seeing the Physical & Occupational Therapists again in August to see where they fall in that regard but they are expected to have some delays and we believe they will do well in catching up by the age of 3 if not before as expected by the doctors. They have already proven that at the last appointment. Collin will also be seeing a Cardiologist to determine if he still has a PDA (heart condition). If so, we may have to talk about surgery (will not be too invasive). Please pray for Collin in this regard also. Poor guy. He has been through a lot.

I will be seeing a general surgeon later this month for some muscle separation I have from the pregnancy. Please pray that this will be covered by insurance. Many cases aren't because they term it as cosmetic. I find it hard to believe that a 2 inch gap from your sternum all the way down your abdomen to be cosmetic. Please pray that I will be qualified for the surgery. If so, we will be trying to get it done this year due to the conditions of our insurance.

Mom & Dad are doing great. It is hard sometimes but we love our babies and they mean the world to us. We are really blessed to have them.

Thanks for your continued prayers & encouragement.

JKABC

Potential Buyer????? We'll see!

2008-06-20T21:31:00.008-04:00

Well, we put our house on the market a couple of weeks ago and have had nothing but great responses since then. Well maybe one bad one. You'll always have those. We have a possible interest in our house and will hopefully find out beginning of next week if an offer will be made. We have mixed feelings. We need a bigger home for our rapidly growing family but we will miss our little home. Jason & I were talking about what we would miss about our house. One thing would be that the babies will never remember the house we brought them home to after their 5 week stay in the NICU. Their are so many memories we have made since then let alone since we got married 5 years ago and even 10 years ago when Jason purchased it as his first home. What wonderful memories. It is a great home and we will miss it so much. I am sure a lot of you can relate as you have started your own families and found that the house that was big enough for the two of you was no longer big enough for your growing family. Please pray for us especially this weekend as a very important decision will be made. We pray that our house will sell at the right time and that we will find the best home for us to raise our family in for many years to come. We have one in mind but some details need to be worked out. Please pray that this will go smoothly.

The babies are doing great, by the way. They are growing well. Collin especially. He is now in the 50th percentile for his weight and it isn't on a preemie scale. He is rapidly catching up. He weighs 16lbs 3oz. He is eating like a champ. We started him on fruits and vegetables. He eats anything you put in front of him. No problem. Anniston & Bailey are weighing in at 121/2 & 12 lbs. They are in the 6th & 2nd percentiles. Anniston is now eating from a spoon. She is having a slow start but is progressing very well. She has also been eating her fruits and vegetables. Bailey is getting started on eating some cereal with a spoon also. She is progressing well. We will be starting her on fruits and vegetables soon.

The babies are still sleeping very well. We have never been able to complain in this area. They are still sleeping from about 9-9:30ish until 6 in the morning. I feed them and put them back down and am able to go back to bed until 9-930ish.

We think they are starting the teething process. We have heard that they can teeth for a while before they actually get teeth and we think that is what they are experiencing now. They have some fussy times. The evenings are becoming a little quieter. They haven't been getting really fussy until about 8pm. We are able to enjoy them a little more and they are as well.

All of the babies are attempting to talk. It is hilarious. Anniston starts jibber jabbing and then laughs and continues to jibber jabb so it sounds like she is trying to tell us a story. Maybe some day we will know what that story is but for now we can only wonder. Collin & Bailey try to talk also. They are too cute. They are always smiling. We are having tons of fun with them. Don't get me wrong. It is hard sometimes but the good times are priceless and those are the ones we will remember forever.

The family is leaving next Friday on vacation. Jason & I, the babies, Grandma & Grandpa Bum, & Aunt Tracy are heading to Myrtle Beach. Please pray for us for we are driving and we don't know how the babies will do. We are trying to arrange it so that we can console them a little better while they are in the car seats. I guess you can only do so much but we can at least try. Usually their car seats are all in a row in the middle seat. We will free up the middle of that seat so that I can sit between two of them if they get fussy and try to play with them, etc.... We may have one ride with Grandma & Grandpa Bum so someone can take care of the other one as well. Jason & I are looking forward to the trip. It will be fun.

Thanks so much for your continued support and encouragement!

JKABC

Short Update

2008-06-11T14:04:00.004-04:00

Hey all, a short update about the triplets. The kiddos are doing well. They are all healthy again after a brief time of sickness. We've been holding up pretty well with grandma and grandpa Bum out of the country on their European cruise. They arrive back tonight! Collin has moved on to the size 3 diapers since he seems to pee through all the size 2 ones. Anniston has started taking her evening rice cereal with a spoon! Collin continues to do well with the spoon fed rice as well. We will see when Bailey is ready to get in on the action. The kids continue to sleep well at night (from after their 9 pm feed until 6 am).

Our house is on the market! We had a showing yesterday evening. Couldn't have done it without a heroic effort by Kristy. Got the call around 2 pm that they wanted to come at 5 pm. She cleaned the house up, mowed the yard and loaded a good deal of the baby stuff in the van in time to vacate the house. Did I mention she took care of the three babies as well (with some help from Aunt Sharon)?!

JKABC

House On Hold

2008-05-24T23:22:00.004-04:00

It has been a busy week. We worked some more around the house to get everything ready to put the house on the market. Unfortunately there are a few things that have been put on hold due to unexpected circumstances. I took the babies in for a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and found that Anniston had an ear infection while the other two just had some congestion. No big deal. Anniston was put on an antibiotic and, as for the other two, nothing we could do but to let it run its course. Just a lot of runny noses, including me. Jason somehow avoided it all. However, on Wednesday night, I noticed Collin was breathing very hard and fast (you could see his chest retracting). I called the doctor emergency line and they suggested I take him to the emergency room. They gave him a breathing treatment and took a chest x-ray that showed Collin just had a viral infection. No pneumonia which was great news. Due to Collin's labored breathing, they admitted him overnight. They would give him breathing treatments through the night starting out every 2 hours. They were expecting to have them spread out to every 4 hours by the next day. That didn't happen until Friday night so Collin had a 3 night stay at the hospital. It was rather strange for me to be taking care of only one baby. Collin & I (Mom) got to spend some quality time together. The doctors loved him. He was a very happy, cooperative patient. I would have to say that Collin got rather spoiled in those 3 days. He is having to get use to sharing the attention with his sisters now that he is finally home. Grandma Bum bought Collin a bear and a balloon. He loved to stare at the balloon. It was the only thing that I could get him content with so that I could get something to eat. His Gigi and Aunt Stephanie got to come and love on him a ton. He enjoyed them very much. He smiled a ton.
The pediatrician thinks a couple of the babies may be teething. Their gums were a little swollen. Collin has tried on several occasions to put his whole fist in his mouth (so sad:-(). The babies are still doing the same kinds of things they have been. They are still cooing, rolling over from tummy to back, lifting their heads up at 90 degrees. Their little personalities continue to form.
Grandma and Grandpa Bum were over this evening and we had to say goodbye to them for 16 days. They are going on a cruise. This trip is well deserved. They have been a tremendous help. We will miss them a ton.
I believe that is all for now.
Thanks again for your support and encouragement.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.
JKABC

House Cleaning & House Hunting

2008-05-13T22:47:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to update you all on what has been happening at the Bumgardner house over the past few weeks. The babies have been appointment-free. They had their 4 month checkup which I updated you on in the last blog. I still need to schedule an appointment for them to get one of the shots that wasn't in at the time of their appointment. The babies have been very healthy lately. That is always good. We have been attending church the past few weeks. We have been sitting in the balcony and last week for baby day we sat in the back with them. We haven't taken them to the nursery yet. We want to make sure that RSV season is definitely over.
It has been so fun to see the babies' personalities come out. They all have been doing a lot of cooing. They all have turned over several times. Anniston can bear weight on her legs. Sometimes when we are trying to burp her she wants to stand up to burp or so it seems. They smile a ton and are becoming very playful. It is too cute. Daddy and I got a little sad a few nights ago as we reflected on a picture book that Jason's mom put together for us while I was in the hospital. We talked about how big they were getting and how fast. I cried and let's just say that I ended up sleeping with the picture book. It is a bitter sweet thing to see your babies grow up.
Jason & I have also decided to put our house on the market. We feel it is time to make the move so I have been busy getting the house ready to show. The plan is to have it on the market by some time next week. Please pray for us as we look for the right house and for our house to sell at the right time also so that we don't have to move twice.
We have also been dreading Grandma & Grandpa Bum leaving on a well deserved vacation. They will be gone for 16 days starting on May 25th and it has been nice to have them around to help. They have been wonderful.
I also got to celebrate my first mother's day with my babies actually outside of the womb. I consider this to be my 2nd mother's day. Jason helped the babies make their fingerprints and footprints in clay. Too sweet.
I think that is about all for now. I will update with some new pictures hopefully tomorrow. You will have to check them out.
Thanks so much for all of your prayers and encouragement.

JKABC

Little Swimmers

2008-04-27T16:17:00.010-04:00

We went to a doctor's appointment last week and Collin is now almost 13 1/2 lbs. The girls pretty much stayed the same. They also got their 4 month shots which is always sad. They cried. We will have to go back soon to get another shot because they didn't have one of them in.

Our nights are becoming even more peaceful. The babies are sleeping well into the night after their rice cereal in their bottles at the 9pm feed. They have slept as late as 6am. Woohoo!:-) They are also good nappers so I am able to do some relaxing myself or get things done around the house. How did we luck out with 3 great sleepers.

Good news also! This is a first. Collin is now taking his rice cereal with a spoon. I decided on Friday night that I would try him out because we would try them with a spoon of cereal before we put it in their bottles and Collin seemed like he was ready. He ate it like a pro. I may try Anniston tonight. Bailey doesn't seem ready yet. We'll keep trying but not in a hurry. She doesn't even seem to know their is anything in her mouth. She just isn't use to not getting food through a nipple I guess. She will do it when she is ready and we are just fine with that.

We continue to take them on walks. They love the outdoors. We did take them swimming like I mentioned in the earlier blog. They loved it. Anniston could probably float if you would let her. She is so relaxed in the water. Bailey is okay with the water. She just likes to be held close although she isn't scared. Bailey is always that way. Collin seemed to do fine. He just had to figure out what was going on but it didn't seem to bother him at all. They love their baths so I wasn't shocked when they enjoyed the pool. It was a heated pool so that was a plus also. We will probably make it to the pool a little more often as people are available to help us out.

The babies are continuing to make cooing sounds. Collin is more than the girls but they have their times too. They are smiling a ton still and just showing those little personalities. Collin has now rolled from tummy to back several times. We put him in his crib for his nap and he sometimes immediately rolls over. He pulls himself up with his arms and flops to his side and rolls to his back. It is pretty funny. I will have to videotape it. It almost seems when you are watching them, they don't seem to perform. I'll see what I can do. Anniston continues to rollover sometimes also. She performed for the doctor the other day. The doctor put her on her tummy and Anniston followed the doctors hand motions and she rolled over on her back (the doctor was expecting her to do that). They are also noticing each other more and more. They just lay or sit and stare at each other. That is great to see. They know who their mommy and daddy is. You can tell. They will let anyone hold them though. They love to be held and talked to.

I plan to update the pictures so you will have to check them out. We plan to get their pictures taken again here soon. We can't wait because we know they will know a little more of what is going on. They all seem to be looking at the camera more.

Thanks so much for the prayers and encouragement. We definitely feel them through it all. It can be trying sometimes but overall we cannot complain at all. God gave them to Jason & I for a reason and we thank him for our precious little ones every day. We love them so much and we know that they also are comforted in knowing that we do.

JKABC

They Just Keep Growing

2008-04-19T11:15:00.003-04:00

We took the babies to their pediatrician appointment. They had to get their ears looked at to make sure their ear infections were gone. They are which I wasn't surprised. They seem to be much better. Collin is now weighing a little over 13lbs, Anniston is almost 10 1/2 lbs & Bailey is pretty much 10lbs. They're getting big. I reviewed some videos of when they were first born and even before then when I was admitted for my final hospital stay and had to cry a little. I noticed how big the preemie diapers were on them and now Collin has grown out of the size 1 diapers:-( It is definitely bitter sweet.

We have been on a lot of walks in the past week. The weather has been great. Grandma Bum, of course, has helped out a lot with that. She lives pretty close by so whenever we get a chance to take them for a walk, she is usually able to come along. We walked them to the park and also got to walk to Great Grandma Thompson's house. She was excited to see them. She says that Collin has changed a lot. She couldn't believe it was him. We also went to a park in Plainfield with their Aunt Tracy. Jason roller bladed with Anniston and the other two hung out with Mom & Aunt Tracy. It was a beautiful day. We visited our friends, the Carrs, yesterday. The babies, mom, Kelly & Owen went for a walk while the dads got to go and play some frisbee golf. They were pretty happy to get away to do something physical. We also visited their Great Grandma Foster and they showed off their easter outfits she bought them. We plan to take them swimming for the first time late this afternoon. I can't wait. It is a heated pool so I am expecting them to like it but we will soon find out.

Some great news is that we gave the babies a little rice cereal in their bottles last night before bed. We decided to let them sleep through the 1am feed. They haven't been eating much during that feed and haven't really been awake too much either during that feed so we knew they could sleep a little longer so when one of them woke up we would feed all of them. My big fear was that all of them would wake up screaming because they weren't use to waiting that long for food and when they would wake up they would all realize how hungry they were. It wasn't that way at all. Collin woke up and then I had to wake the other two up. I think the girls could have slept a little longer but we will wait a little longer before we let them do that. Our babies are just great babies. We really can't complain at all. Even if they are fussy some in the evening, we are grateful that they sleep during the night and they sleep well at that. Praise the Lord for that for I know their are families out their who deal with kiddos who can't sleep well at night. The babies amazed us last night with their sleeping skills. They slept through the 1am feed and all the way to the 5am feed (a straight 8 hours, Woohooo!) Daddy was especially blessed because I got up to feed them all and he got to sleep till sometime after 8am. It was a great thing for me too. The 1am feed is sometimes rough.

Well, I think that is all of the updating for now. I will try to update the pictures. The babies are napping right now but if they wake up I will have to upload them later. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!

JKABC

Appointment Update

2008-04-09T15:34:00.002-04:00

We went to the appointment today where the babies were evaluated developmentally. They evaluated them on motor skills (fine & gross) and also cognitively. All babies are doing well given they are preemies. There are some areas where they are right on track and some they will need some time (should catch up before or up to 3 years old) to naturally get on track or in other areas, will need some encouragement to get on track.

The way the babies performed was very fitting to each one of their personalities. Anniston was very strong in gross motor skills. She is our curious one so it makes sense that she would do anything it takes to see everything. She has rolled from her tummy to her back three times now. The first time being when she was about 2 1/2 months (not even a month old adjusted age, I'm impressed). Anniston also raises her head 90 degrees for an extended period of time. I have posted some pictures for you to see with her Aunt Tracy and there is also one with Grandma Bum. She will also use her little arms & hands to raise herself up to see things higher than she is. It is very cute to watch. She also lifts and turns her head very well and very often.

Collin shows very strong cognitive skills. This makes sense because he is very laid back so he is able to focus on something for a longer period of time than Anniston. We are very proud of him.

Bailey was good in both areas but wasn't the highest in either. This makes great sense because Bailey isn't out to impress anyone. She will do things on her own time and that is fine with her. I love that about her.

This was neat to see because it just confirms our view of each one of them. They each have their own special looks & personalities and we are loving it. I don't think we would want it any other way.

I am including some new pictures so check them out.

Thanks for your prayers!

JKABC

The Latest Weights are in

2008-04-08T14:30:00.004-04:00

We took the babies to the doctor today for their last RSV shots of the year and we have their weights & lengths. Collin is about 12lbs 5oz and approaching 23 inches. Anniston is 9lbs 14oz and is almost 22inches and Bailey is about 9 1/2 lbs and somewhere around 21 inches. All continue to grow. They seem to be over their ear infections and congestion for the most part. Collin & Bailey are still on their antibiotics and will finish those in a few days. We will go in for a follow-up appointment next Thursday. Tomorrow we are off to Dr. Escobar. He will evaluate them developmentally due to them being born prematurely. We will update you as soon as we know anything. Like I stated before, I don't think they are slowing down on the weight any so I think they are good there. There are other things they will be looking at though so it will be a little more involved. Please pray for them as they undergo this evaluation tomorrow at 8am.

Other than that, I am sure you will be seeing us more often with the triplets as the month of April comes to an end and their isn't as much sickness going around. We will come out of our so called hibernation and the triplets will start seeing and exploring more of the world. As for now, we are enjoying our walks when it is nice and sunny outside. We have taken a couple this week. My sister, Donna, & her boys were able to come out this past weekend and the boys were so eager to help out with their care. They helped feed them, console them, & put them to bed for the night. We were happy to see them and spend time with my family. We also took another walk down to the park with Grandma & Grandpa Bum this past Sunday. What a beautiful day it was. The babies enjoyed it. We had to venture back sooner than we wanted to heat up their milk. They weren't liking it too much being cold.

I think that is all the news we have for now. Thanks for all of your continued prayers.

Enjoy the Spring weather.

JKABC

Happy Easter!

2008-03-30T12:34:00.005-04:00

We have been updating you on how the babies are doing health wise but haven't updated you much on what they have been up to these days. They keep their mommy & daddy very busy. I am home with them during the day. The babies are on a pretty good schedule with naps. They take one between about 11-1 and then again in the late afternoon. Of course, they are having a fussy time in the evening which is great for dad to see when he comes home. The positive side of that is that I have some help in holding them when they are going through this time. They say all babies have a time period when they get fussy and it is usually a specific time of day. This is theirs and hopefully it will end sooner than later but until then we will just try to love on them, as usual, as much as possible with two sets of hands. We have tried to switch things up a bit in the evening by taking them for a ride in the van. Jason & I actually get a chance to talk to each other then. We will give them a bath when they get home, feed them & put them to bed which, of course, usually requires us rocking atleast one of them (usually Bailey these days). Whatever it takes for them to get their rest.

All of the babies have been running low grade temps. We had a scheduled appointment this past Tuesday. Collin & Anniston are just congested and Bailey is congested and has an ear infection. They are pretty good sick babies. They rest very well but are still fussy which makes sense. I wouldn't be too happy either.

The babies made their first trip to church on Easter Sunday. We dressed them in their Easter attire and headed off to church in the family van. We were able to sneak into the side door and up to the balcony with them. They did very well during the service besides a few grunts from Collin or should I say several. He is a very loud boy. He is very peaceful when he sleeps though and he slept a lot of the time. After church we were able to sneak out the side door again with only a stop or two of people wanting to peek and headed to Grandma & Grandpa Bum's house. The babies opened their gifts and Cousin Xander had dyed some eggs for the babies and Jason & I also. That was too sweet. They enjoyed being held pretty much the whole time they were awake. It is good to spoil them with that every once in while. We definitely can't do that at home. They squirm too much now. We do our best though.

Jason & I have been able to get out a few times with Grandma & Grandpa's helpful watch over the babies. Sometimes we have to run some errands and sometimes it is an enjoyable evening of dinner, shopping, and/or catching movie.

Aunt Sharon got to make it out for the first time since they have been home. She has 4 boys of her own (one being born shortly before the triplets) so she has been busy being a newborn mom too. The babies enjoyed her a lot. She gave them baths and swaddled them and held them and just loved on them all day. I got to see my new nephew for the second time since he was born and he is just beautiful. I am including a picture of him & I on this blog site. You will have to check him out. He is absolutely beautiful and is a very good and happy baby.

Gege got to watch them not too long ago while I went to the dentist. She really enjoyed seeing them. She got to love on them for a while and her & I got to visit for a little bit while they were resting.

Aunt Donna is coming up to see them hopefully this next weekend. She hasn't been able to see them either since they have been home. Her boys are dying to see them. They weren't very happy when we had to cancel on them this weekend because of the babies being sick. We hope it works out this next weekend.

We were also planning to visit with Gege, Aunt Stephanie & the rest of the family this weekend but were unable to. We were all looking forward to visiting with them and were very bummed that we couldn't.

Aunt Tracy is going to try and visit with them a little this week. She is on spring break which is pretty cool. I will enjoy the company.

We have also had several friends come by and help feed them & love on them which is awesome. Thanks to all of you.

The babies have an appointment on April 9th with a doctor who will evaluate them developmentally. Please pray that this goes well. They are definitely not slowing down on the weight side of it all and they seem to be doing well overall so we strongly believe that it will.

Thanks for all of the prayers & support. Check out the latest pics.

JKABC

New weights!

2008-03-27T07:11:00.002-04:00

These are the updated weights from our last pediatrician visit: Collin 10 pounds 15 ounces, Anniston 9 pounds 6 ounces and Bailey 8 pounds 14 ounces. They are all now on a normal weight chart (not the premature one). Little Bailey has an ear infection that we are treating with antibiotics. Other than that they are all doing well. Thanks for your continued prayers.

JKABC

Warmer Temps

2008-03-22T08:13:00.002-04:00

Hello all. The babies are all doing well. We have been out on several walks with them lately. It is nice to get outside the house. We have moved to a 4 hour schedule on feeds. This seems to be OK with them and it gives mom and dad a little extra time to relax or get something done. It also helps to remove one night feeding time--yeah! The kids are getting so big! We don't have any official weights, but I'm pretty sure Collin is over 10 pounds. The girls must be around 9 pounds. We praise our risen Lord for the three little blessing we have. Enjoy Resurrection Sunday!

JKABC

2008-03-12T20:08:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

We apologize for not updating as often as we were when we were in the hospital. We definitely don't get the breaks we did when we were there. This is the real life of parenting as most of you already know.

The babies are doing fine. They are just growing so fast. Jason updated you on the weights on the previous blog. We have another pediatrician appointment on March 25th. It will just be a normal checkup. With the way the weights are going, they will weigh about 20lbs by then. Just kidding. They are just growing too fast for me. It is definitely bitter sweet.

The babies have been sick for the past couple of days. They have all had the big "D" if you know what I mean. Sometimes it takes 3 diapers to get through a change. They decide they need to go just when we are changing them and when you think they are done, they really aren't. They are all running a low grade fever so they have been a little fussy and when they are sleeping, they usually sleep well because they are just zonked.

We have been enjoying them so much. It is fun to see their little personalities come to life. They really haven't changed from what we thought they would be from the beginning. Anniston is still the social one. When she is awake, she wants to check everything out and she loves for people to talk to her and she looks at you as though she is listening very carefully. Bailey is a very very peaceful sleeper but when she is awake and she is upset, you know it. Collin is pretty well laid back but is a very loud grunter. He isn't a baby we could sneak into church service with.

Jason & I are finding that parenthood finds very little time to enjoy just each other but we are enjoying our little ones. We wouldn't wish them away for the world. They are our babies and we love them so much.

We will update again soon.

Thanks for your continued interest in our family!

JKABC

Updated Weights

2008-03-07T22:03:00.002-05:00

We have updated weights! The babies continue to grow. Collin is 8 pounds 13 ounces, Anniston is 7 pounds 13 ounces and Bailey is 7 pounds 6 ounces. To me it seems like Collin is really getting big. All the children also got their synagis shots (to protect against RSV) yesterday.

Jason

March is here!

2008-03-02T22:09:00.002-05:00

Hello all! The babies are all doing well. No big news at this point. They seem to be eating and growing well. We still feed them every three hours. We may attempt to stretch things out a little more at night if we continue to see them asleep when it is time for the late night feeds.

Kristy is going back to work tomorrow for her last day at Redcats. She is sad to resign, but really can't go back to work with the three little ones to be cared for. Redcats has been good to us and we really appreciate all that the company has done for Kristy. She has really enjoyed working there. We are also really thankful for the help of so many of her coworkers. Their generosity has been overwhelming to us! We can't thank you all enough.

JKABC

Pediatrician checkup

2008-02-26T07:00:00.002-05:00

The babies each got checked out by the pediatrician. They each got several shots. The biggest news is the weigh-in: Collin at 7 pounds 12.8 ounces, Anniston at 6 pounds 13 ounces and Bailey at 6 pounds 7 ounces. They are all doing well. Mom and dad have managed to get out and do a few things here and there (thanks grandma and grandpa for babysitting or should that be babies-sitting?!). Thanks for your continued interest and prayers. Sorry it has been so long on the update.

JKABC

Weekend Update (not the SNL version)

2008-02-17T13:53:00.002-05:00

Hello all! We are just hanging out at home feeding the three hungry mouths. When you feed them once every three hours and it takes a half an hour to feed each of them, it is amazing how quickly the next feeding time rolls around! I think we have a schedule worked out for the weekdays so that mom and dad can get some sleep (and dad can get to work). Thanks grandma Bum for helping us out at the 8 am feed time.

We did take them out yesterday for their first (very brief) walk in the triple stroller! It was a little cold, but they did fine.

Praise God for taking good care of our family. Thank you for your continued prayers. We have a scheduled eye doctor appointment this week. Other than that, it should be relatively quiet.

JKABC

Collin's Ped Checkup

2008-02-13T21:08:00.002-05:00

Collin went with his mom to the pediatrician for his initial checkup yesterday. They weighed him in at 6 pounds 4 ounces. He is getting so much bigger! The whole family was going to go to the pediatrician, but the pediatrician's office is one place where there are usually sick kids. Didn't want to take more chances than necessary. So daddy and the girls hung out at home during that time. Mom has her 6 week checkup tomorrow. Hopefully all will be well and she will get the green light for increased activity. We are looking forward to heading out tomorrow evening while grandma and grandpa watch the crew for a little while. Thanks for the prayers and meals. We couldn't make it without them.

JKABC

Staying Busy

2008-02-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

Hello from home again. We are getting settled in and used to taking care of our three little ones. They are doing a very good job of staying on schedule. Most of the time they are waking up to take their feeds (but not too early). They are all eating a fair amount more than when they left the NICU. We have a pediatrician visit today for Collin. We'll get to see if he has surpassed the 6 pound mark. It has been nice the last few days to stay inside and avoid the very cold temperatures. Stay warm.

JKABC

It Just Keeps Getting Better

2008-02-09T11:16:00.001-05:00

Great news!!!! Our little guy is home. Collin came home yesterday evening. Just another example of things changing at the last minute. We took the girls to their first pediatrician appointment. All went well. We then headed up to the hospital to see Collin and to get all of their pictures taken together. It was too cute. We were informed on Thursday to go ahead and schedule Collin's pediatrician follow-up appointment mid to late this week so we did. However, when we got to the hospital they informed us that he would be going home tomorrow (today) sometime in the morning or afternoon. We were really excited about that because it was a whole day sooner than what we thought. We got back from getting the kids pictures taken and they came by again and informed us that he would be going home that day (yesterday). They felt that since we were already there, why not take him home. They didn't feel like keeping him for another 12 hours would make a difference. The only thing keeping him was him feeding orally and he was doing excellent. They got the discharge papers together and we were off in the van with our sweet Collin. It was the greatest day to have all of them in the van with us to go home. Collin gets to be with his sisters finally. Dad had to make one stop before we went home, well two, but one wasn't too significant. Dad had to stop on Dunkin Donuts. Hmmm. He says he is eating them for the kids and I say, "Why don't you let me eat them then?". I think Dad is playing with us. He really is eating them for himself.

Anyway, the night was great. Collin sleeps very peacefully so it wasn't too much different in that regard. Just one more mouth to feed and another sweet cheek to kiss on. The kids have really enjoy their swings a lot. We are just wondering what else we can possibly fit in our living room. We are outgrowing our house but it has been great.

Well, I am sure it has been a shock for everyone, including us, finding out Collin was coming home yesterday. We thank all of you for the prayers and support. Please continue to pray for their growth & development as they start their life at home.

Thanks again:-) We'll continue to keep you posted and we will keep the pictures coming.

JKABC

A Special Day

2008-02-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

It has been a big and special day for us. Collin & Anniston received their blood transfusion and took it well. They will do another blood test this morning on Collin to see if his levels have responded the way they should. Please continue to pray for little Collin & Anniston.

Also some big news, Anniston & Bailey are home with us this morning. We brought them home last night. It was kind of bitter sweet for us. We hate that Collin was not able to come home too but expected that they all wouldn't be coming home the same day. It doesn't make it any easier though. It isn't that he really knows too much different. It is more us feeling like he should be home too with his sisters. We are confident that Collin will come home soon. We are thinking that this blood transfusion will give him some strength back and he will be able to take full feeds orally. He has completed one full day of feeds up to this point and is working on his second. We are so proud of him. He has been a strong little guy. Please pray that he continues on with his full feeds and that he will come home soon.

We tried to include Collin as much as we could last night without putting him into the van and taking him with us too. We took pictures with him and the girls and we hung out with him a little more before we left. Dad is going up to the hospital today to spend the day with Collin. He will also probably try to get some work done too while he is there. Jason & I will probably switch off going up to the hospital to be with Collin. We don't want it to be any different for him. They have also told us that the girls can come back into the NICU to visit so that we can all be there. We will probably still try to limit this though because of the cold and just the traveling back and forth for them. I am sure it is hard on them being preemies.

The girls have their first pediatrician appointment tomorrow to check weights, etc... I am wondering if they will also check Anniston's levels to make sure her levels are also where they should be. Please pray that they are. Thanks for all of the referrals for pediatricians. It has really helped us narrow the interviewing down and has given us more time to be with the babies at the hospital.

I think that is all for now. The girls will need to be fed soon so I probably need to relax for a while and/or get some things done. We'll keep you posted with anything new and any new pictures.

Thanks so much for all of your encouragement and support.

JKABC

Transfusions

2008-02-06T06:57:00.000-05:00

Short early morning update: Both Collin and Anniston will be receiving blood transfusions today. Their red blood cell counts were very low and have been dropping. We've been assured that this process is very safe and that the blood is screened for many issues. Dad is still a little nervous. They each get about 15 mL of blood. Please pray for this little ones as this will be happening sometime this morning.

JKABC

Test Results

2008-02-04T22:50:00.000-05:00

Anniston, Bailey & Collin all continue to do well with their feedings. Collin has been a little tired again today. We found out this morning that his blood test came back a little lower than the last test. The doctors will do another blood test on Wednesday. If Collin's numbers are the same or lower, they will do a blood transfusion. Anniston will also be getting a blood test done due to her levels being low. She will get a blood transfusion, along with her brother, if her levels are below a certain number on Wednesday. Although not as low as Collin, they want to make sure her levels aren't on a continuous drop. This will shut off the bone marrow from producing the red blood cells which is the reason why the doctors have been so conservative up to this point so that his body would do it itself, however, since it has continued to drop they are needing to make a decision to give him a little help. They believe that this will help him in the short term and eventually his body will mature enough to do this on its own. Please pray for Collin's test on Wednesday that it will come back higher than the last one so that the transfusion can be avoided and that his body won't be interrupted in doing what it should do naturally. If he does need the transfusion, we pray that it will improve his strength. On the positive side though, Collin has shown much improvement. His blood oxygen levels have been much better over the past couple of days. We are glad for that.

All of the babies got hearing test done today and they all came back normal. I don't think we were too concerned about this test. It seems as though they all have responded well when we are talking with them but it is a good affirmation. I think that is all of the definitive news we have at this point. We will keep you posted.

Thanks again for the continued prayers!!!:-)

JKABC

The Triplets Continue to Improve

2008-02-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

The feedings continue to go well. We are so proud of all of them. They are working so hard. Collin has even shown signs of improvement. He seems to be doing so much better than even a couple of days ago. He has almost done a complete turnaround. Today they will do another test that shows whether or not his body is starting to make more red blood cells. He was kind of pooped out there for a while, however, the last couple of days he has been doing excellent. His coloring is better, his saturation rates are better, and he seems to have his strength back. Jason & I feel that Collin's test for the red blood cells will come back much better. As far as the PDA, we don't know. The doctors are still hearing a murmur and when they did the EKG a couple of days ago, they found that he had a moderate PDA. I am not a doctor but this seems to be doing better also. We wouldn't be able to know that for sure unless they did another EKG. I would think they would do another one before we go home because of the prior one showing he had one. I would think they would have a follow up but we will have to ask the doctors what the plan will be. They are still hearing a murmur in Anniston but she is doing very well and we are hoping this will resolve itself in time.

Thank you everyone for continued prayer for the babies. We feel them here at the NICU and we see the evidence of them in our babies as they grow stronger and stronger every day.

JKABC

PDA is back

2008-02-01T23:01:00.000-05:00

Hello friends and family. The results for Anniston's EKG came back with a clean bill of health. Collin's came back indicating that he still has a moderate PDA. The doctor talked like they would wait and see how things go to decide what to do about it. The worst case is surgery to close it up. While this would fix things permanently, it would also require him to undergo the risks of a surgery and place him back on the vent again. We would appreciate your prayers for baby Collin. We are praying that God would just close up the PDA, but we will trust him regardless.

They are all doing pretty well with their feeds. The girls gulped down the majority of their bottles. Both of them are over 4 pounds! If all goes well tonight with little Collin, he should hit the 5 pound mark!

JKABC

Circumference, circumvent, circum-something

2008-01-31T13:43:00.000-05:00

Hello again. It has been a few days. Yesterday was a fairly good day. Collin didn't desat too much and the girls did pretty well too. They were all a bit tired though. Collin did have his little boy surgery yesterday. He seemed to do pretty well with it.

Today has brought and will bring several more tests for the children. All of them passed their eye exams. They have followups in two weeks (that is normal). Collin had his red blood cell count done again. He was still low (even a bit lower than last time), but they did see that his count of young red blood cells was up (indicating that his bone marrow has started producing new red blood cells). On the previous test, they didn't see these young red blood cells. So hopefully in the next week or so we will see his red blood cell count go up. Collin and Anniston are going to have EKGs done to make sure they don't have PDAs (the lung bypass blood vessel that should close up after they are born). Results for these should be available tomorrow.

Mom is still working on nursing the kiddos. The bottle feeds are going OK, but the kids have seemed to slow down a little bit (they seem to do very well at night but have more trouble finishing bottles during the day).

Thanks for all the pediatrician recommendations. Thanks for your continued prayers. The Lord continues to bless us daily.

JKABC

Feeder Growers

2008-01-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

Hello again! The children are doing fine. The girls have been placed on a feeding minimum. They get 35 mL of feed and if they are still wanting more, they get more. Collin is getting his normal amount (40 mL). He is having some trouble keeping his blood oxygen level up all the time. We have been concerned about little Collin. The neonatal nurse practitioner assured us that all the things Collin is experiencing are normal for preemies and that he will outgrow them. Poor Collin has the disadvantage of being compared to two sisters who seem to be doing very well. We are bottle feeding or (Kristy is) nursing each of them at feeding times unless they seem too tired to feed that way. If they are too tired, they have the feed dropped down their feeding tube. If Anniston can keep up taking her bottles, they may take out her feeding tube in the next several days.

We are currently in the process of interviewing pediatricians. If anyone knows of a good pediatrician on the west side that they can recommend, please leave us the name in a post.

Please continue to pray for our little ones, especially Collin.

With love,
JKABC

Another weekend complete!

2008-01-27T23:34:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update. The bottle feeds and/or nursing continues. All are doing fine with their feeds. Bailey and Collin have finished some bottle feeds, but usually take partial bottles (the rest is fed to them through their feeding tube). Anniston has been doing very well, especially the last two bottle feeds tonight. She has finished them in 15 minutes and is still up and wanting more! Mom is going to continue to nurse as she has the opportunity. The kiddos will get bottles as long as they don't show signs that they are getting too tired. All are gaining weight. Collin is just over 4.5 pounds, Anniston is just over 4 pounds and Bailey is quickly approaching 4 pounds. We are very happy with their progress.

JKABC

Bottle Feeding

2008-01-26T08:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a busy day with bottle feeding but Anniston, Bailey, & Collin showed us their stuff. They all took well to the bottles.

Collin has finished three full feedings as of 4:30 this morning. They were offered bottles at every feeding (every three hours). If they were tired they were tube fed. They want to offer them bottles by cues (showing some sign of interest). He was just full of energy yesterday. He has amazed me with his strength. The first feeding he finished about a third of his feeding and I (mom) and our nurse was telling him how proud we were of him and how good of a job he was doing and he was smiling from ear to ear. He definitely enjoyed having an audience. I guess so much that the next time he was determined to finish it all and he did it like a pro. I am so proud of him.

Bailey finished most of a feeding and made great attempts on all of the other offered feedings which was great. Bailey has been very tired lately during the day and wide a wake at night for the most part. I haven't noticed it much with the other two. She was just out of it yesterday. Sometimes she would be fully awake in the beginning and it wouldn't take her long before she was asleep. She did an awesome job though. While she was feeding, she showed good control & good pacing. She didn't seem to spit it out at all for the most part. I am confident that if she was fully awake she would have done a tremendous job. She has also had some gookies in her eyes and hasn't been quite herself. She hasn't been running a temperature or anything but we are watching her to make sure she isn't coming down with something. She may just be on the wrong schedule and getting her night and day mixed up or she may just be a sleeper. We'll see.

Anniston finished most of each of her feeds yesterday and completed a full one last night. Again, what an amazing accomplishment for a 34 weeker. I am so proud of her. She seems pretty comfortable with her bottle but we have a hard time creating that seal around her mouth to keep some of it from coming out. Our nurse gave a great tip for this last night. Collin does the same thing so we will try that on them to see if that helps them. It really isn't anything they are doing it is just they are not getting a good seal around their mouth to get a good suck. Even with this, they did a great job keeping up with it. Anniston was our little all-star at the very first feeding yesterday.

I am sure we will see improvement with the bottle feeding every day but I know their will also be times when they are just tired or just don't feel like taking some of the feedings. They aren't use to having to work for the food so they will have to build up their strength. We know it will take a little bit to get their stamina up to take full feeds orally. This is a new thing for them and the docs have started them on the bottle at the earliest they thought they could do it so we are proud of them for the first day of accomplishment. We were truly amazed.

Thanks for everything.

JKABC

Another Step Forward

2008-01-25T10:19:00.000-05:00

Today is yet another special day. I (mom) came in this morning to find out that we will be trying to bottle feed the babies today. Like Jason said, this is just another hurdle they will have to overcome before they are able to come home. I know we are all anxious to get them home and a lot of people want to know when but we don't know the time when they will be discharged. Each baby is different and we don't want to push them too hard. We will let you know as soon as we know that they are going home. That will be some exciting news that we will not be able to keep in. Each day is different and things can change in just a matter of minutes or even seconds. That is one thing we have learned here in the NICU. We just want to be patient with each one of them and we don't want to think that each one will accomplish certain goals at the same time. They are triplets but they all have their own time tables. Thanks for all of your enthusiasm in this regard.

Collin is continuing to do well with his feeds. The docs believe he has a reflux issue which is not uncommon with preemies or even term babies. He will probably eventually grow out of this. He has been taking his feedings very well. I am so proud of him. Several people have mentioned that he is a fighter and he is. I tell him and the girls how proud I am of them every day.

We have enjoyed spending time with the kiddos in their cribs. It is so much easier to see them and talk with them. We no longer have to peer through little holes in an isolette to see them. They are all too sweet. They are always giving us tons of smiles which helps us to know that they are feeling good. That makes the days so much more special and gives us the strength to get through each day in the NICU.

Thank you all for your continued prayer for Jason & I and also for Anniston, Bailey & Collin. We feel your prayers and we see the evidence of God in this place. Thank you so much. We will continue to keep you posted on their progress.

JKABC

Thursday

2008-01-24T23:19:00.001-05:00

Howdy! Not near as much exciting stuff to talk about today. All three kids are still in their big kid cribs. They seem to be maintaining temperatures pretty well. Kristy is still continuing to work with each child to help them to nurse. In the next several days, we will probably be introducing them to bottles. Taking all their feeds from breast or bottle is a hurdle they have to pass before heading home. They have a ways to go, but I am confident that they will be able to figure things out in relatively short order. Today was somewhat different (we had three separate nurses for our 3 kids) since our day nurse Cathy had to head home for a family emergency. Please pray for her and her family.

Thanks for your continued interest in our family!

JKABC

We are big kids now!

2008-01-23T23:03:00.001-05:00

Greetings. It has been a good day with the kiddos. Each of them made a big step today! Anniston and Bailey both graduated to their big kid cribs! They have been maintaining their temperatures pretty well. Little Collin got rid of his cannula today! He seems to be doing very well with keeping his blood oxygen levels up without the extra flow of air. We just want to praise God for these steps forward. Each of the triplets has been working on nursing. Anniston seems to show the most interest at this point. I've seen Collin and Bailey practicing at the end of their feeds as they are falling asleep. They are all growing and learning how to nurse. It may not be as quickly as mom and dad would like, but they will get there soon. We are meeting with a pediatrician tomorrow morning, so pray that that goes well. Collin, Anniston and Bailey say hi!

JKABC

Tuesday

2008-01-22T13:42:00.000-05:00

Hello all. The babies are doing fine. The girls are working on nursing. They are both doing better and better with it. Anniston has been having some Bradys lately. Bailey has been having some feed residuals. Nothing to be too concerned about for either of them; they should outgrow these issues. Collin is still on his cannula. They are talking about taking him off of it tomorrow to see how he does. The doctors seem to think he is struggling with some reflux issues (can see him sort of coughing during his feeds). They think he will outgrow this issue as well. Collin took a big step today--he moved to a big boy bed! We have to see if he can maintain his temperature, otherwise he will have to go back to the isolette. That's all for now. It's care time for the kiddos!

JKABC

Weekend Happenings

2008-01-20T23:27:00.000-05:00

Greetings all. We had a very busy Saturday and a relaxing Sunday. At this point, the kids have been cleared on the holes in their hearts. The doctors and nurses have heard murmurs from time to time on each of them. This is pretty normal and their is nothing they would do about this anyway. This condition should remedy itself as the kids get bigger. We did get to take the girls out to meet for the first time outside the womb. Anniston was rearing to play; Bailey slept through the whole thing. They did hit each other in the face with their little hands. It was cute. Collin is still on his cannula and doing fine. His oxygen desaturations seem less frequent and less critical. We will talk with the doctors about it over the next several days. All the babies are starting to try to nurse. Their interest level and/or ability to nurse is not real high right now. They will learn soon. The only lines that are attached to our children are the feeding tubes and the heart/breathing/oxygen monitors (Collin has his cannula as well). The girls have made some progress in gaining weight. Collin has been in a holding pattern. Pray that they all continue to grow, learn how to nurse and remember to breathe/maintain a consistent heartbeat (don't skip a beat every once in a while). Thanks for your prayers, visits, calls, posts, cleaning and food. You don't know how beneficial it is for us to be able to concentrate on the kids. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

JKABC

Friday Evening Update

2008-01-18T20:13:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update. Collin seems to be doing better. We have just let him rest today. He is still on just a flow of air. No oxygen at this time. I did his care (diaper change, temp, etc...) and he seemed to respond well. His numbers looked good through it all. He also responded well to the feedings. He just seems to be doing better all around since the last post. The docs will repeat a white blood cell count tomorrow just in case the infection is in its early stages. They also sent a culture off so we will hear the results of that in a couple of days. The docs also mentioned that they had heard a murmur again. It is very faint which may be the PDA he had before. If they hear this tomorrow, they will do an ultrasound and depending on results they will come up with a plan of action. They also have heard heart murmurs in the girls. The nurse tonight said that Bailey's was the most apparent. I don't know what their plan is for the girls. Obviously they aren't as concerned with the girls because they are doing so well. We will talk with the doctors in regards to them also so please pray for the girls too.

Some other good news. The girls have been moved next to each other. The reason being that there is limited space in the NICU. They are getting another set of triplets and some other babies so they moved Bailey in with Anniston. We so wish that all of them could be together but only two can be at a station because of outlet space. We will try to get some pics of the girls together and post them on the website.

I think that is all for now. We will continue to keep a close eye on Collin. We don't know why he is having such a hard time without the help of some air flow and the docs will continue to try to figure it all out. We will keep you updated. Please keep praying for him and the girls too.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

JKABC

Friday Afternoon Update

2008-01-18T14:12:00.000-05:00

It has been a couple of days since we have updated you on things. It has been a little busy here at the hospital. Some great news is that Collin is now at full feeds and I was able to start trying to nurse him yesterday. He showed great signs (he latched on, had a couple of sucks, etc....) but he was very tired during the first attempt so not too much activity. Jason mentioned that he had 13ml residual left from the prior feeding so he probably was very content and not very hungry at that time. We were thinking he would be hungry because that was the time when he would have been fed and were trying to nurse him before the feeding but with all of that residual, it probably wasn't a true attempt for him. They are telling me to try to nurse him 2-3 times a day. They are holding no expectations at this time. This is just to see what he does with it and if he is ready then he his. If not, we will just keep trying. No pressure. The girls will be on full feeds tomorrow so I will be able to attempt to nurse them tomorrow or Sunday.

On a little lower note, we are needing some prayer for Collin. He is doing fine overall but he is struggling just a little and, as a mom and dad, we want him to be as comfortable as possible and he isn't quite there yet. They had taken him off of the cannula and he was doing fine. Yesterday, however, he was working a little too hard again and they put him back on the cannula this morning. They had him on low oxygen and now he is off the oxygen and just on a flow of air to help him relax. His readings are looking good right now. Yesterday we could tell he was exhausted especially when I tried to nurse him. He was so tired he didn't wake up the whole time I was holding him. He seems to be doing well on the flow of air that he is getting. However, Jason tried to hold him earlier and he didn't do too well. He was struggling and was quite pale so we put him back in his isolet to let him rest. He seemed to be very comfortable after we did that. This is not typical Collin. They are running the same tests that they did before. They will look at his blood count and do a culture to see if he has an infection. They will also do a chest xray. Please pray for little Collin. We just want him to get well. It is hard to see him struggle and also very very hard to leave him at night or at all. Who knows we may stick around at night. We'll see. We will keep you posted on the test results.

Thanks for everything

JKABC

2 Weeks!

2008-01-18T09:07:00.000-05:00

Morning Update: I talked with the nurse early this morning and they ended up placing Collin back on the nasal cannula. He is still having trouble maintaining his blood oxygen saturation. I hope that this time they won't try to take him off of it too soon and then we have to go through this all again. Collin has been working very hard to keep his vitals on target. This can be seen by his lack of weight gain recently. Hopefully this change will allow him to gain some weight and grow up.

The girls are doing well and gaining weight. They will be making some (positive) changes with them today as mentioned in the last post. More to follow...

JKABC

Thursday #2

2008-01-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

Late Update: The feedings for the girls got moved up to 21 mL for Anniston and 19 mL for Bailey. Both are now off of the lipids (fats) they were receiving intraveneously. Tomorrow they will transition off of the TPN (IV nutrients) to a sugar solution. If that goes OK, they will go completely off of IVs. Collin continues to have some blood oxygen desaturation issues. They often occur during feeding, but sometimes occur at random times. The kids still have Bradys (heart slows) from time to time, but they seem less frequent. Those need to disappear before we have a chance to go home. Kristy got to test nurse Collin. He did OK. We will try a few more times tomorrow. His feeds are up to 31 mL (just over an ounce). The kids look cute in their pants. It has been a hectic day and we are tired. Please continue to pray for our little ones.

Thanks,

JKABC

Wednesday Update

2008-01-16T18:55:00.000-05:00

Just thought we would fill you on how the day has gone. It was sort of uneventful which we look at as good.

Feedings continue to go up. Collin is now at 28ml which is considered full feeds. I will start attempting to nurse him as soon as tomorrow. It will be some time this week otherwise. Anniston is increasing by 1ml per feed until she gets to 16mls and Bailey is increasing by 1ml per feed until she gets to 15mls. Bailey has had a lot of residual which means what is left in her stomach by the time of the next feeding. She had 9ml out of 13ml left in her tummy. They don't seem to be too worried about it. They said they can build up saliva, etc... and with that mixed with milk, it can look like a lot more than what it is.

Some funny moments we have experienced with Collin involve some rather loud hiccups which we videotaped. Also, he likes to fill his pants after you change him. Today I used three diapers and it isn't because I didn't wait a few minutes because I know this has become a regular thing. Today he just had a wet diaper. I changed it and waited for a couple of minutes. We were in the process of turning him on his stomach because he had just gotten a feeding and they digest better on their tummies. As I was placing him, I smelled it. I turned him back over and found that he filled his pants. I changed him again and just as I was closing the diaper it happened yet again. He has absolutely no problem in this area.

Other than that, like I said, not much of anything new to report. They are resting really well. They sleep most of the day.

We will keep you posted on anything new.

Thanks for everything.

JKABC

Tuesday Afternoon Update

2008-01-15T16:48:00.000-05:00

The nurse practitioner updated me with a few things this afternoon so I thought I would fill you in on the latest. The babies, of course, have been growing pretty well. Collin is now weighing in at 4lb 4oz. Anniston is weighing in at 3lb 7oz and Bailey is weighing 3lb 5oz. They all look and are very healthy.

Their was an infant screening that was done a while back and the results have come back. Collin & Bailey's both came back as normal and Anniston's results came back abnormal with something that is not serious at all. They will continue to repeat these screenings throughout the time they are here and the nurse practitioner is confident that Anniston's results will turn to normal. It will just be something that will work itself out.

The kids also had a head scan done which is normal procedure. Again, they didn't expect anything to be wrong but it is procedure. All kiddos look good. They look for bleeding on the brain, etc....

Since the last update on feeds Collin is now going up 1ml each feeding until he gets to 24ml. They are going to fortify his milk to up the calories. Anniston & Bailey are going up each feed until they get to 12mls. There has been no decision to fortify the girls milk at this time. All of them are handling the feeds very well.

I also spoke with the nurse practitioner in regards to bottle or breast feeding and what the plan is in that regard. She said that they are waiting until they are on full feeds. Collin is very close to that and will be ready in a couple of days. The girls are a couple steps behind but it won't be long. They are thinking that they may wait for all of them to be on complete feeds before they start. They will also speak to the doctor to see if he wants to start them on a bottle to see if they have their suck/swallow reflex yet or take them straight to breast feeding. I am open to whatever is best for the babies.

Well, that is a lot of information and I am sure as soon I get back there, there will be more to tell. We will definitely keep you informed.

Thanks again for everything.

JKABC

Tuesday Morning Update

2008-01-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

Today it is just mom here at the hospital for the first time. Jason went into work today just to get some things taken care of and then he will be done for atleast a little while. We don't know how much time exactly that he has but we will take all we can get for Jason to be able to be with the babies while they are in the NICU.
I miss him already. He has been so much help in so many ways to me, Anniston, Bailey & Collin. I am so proud of him for his strength & support as a husband, loving & gentleness for his babies and his emotional side that comes out at times. We both have grown a lot through this experience and we have also grown together as a couple in so many ways and I am so blessed to have these three babies and to have Jason standing beside me as my husband. I really couldn't ask for more.
As far as updates on the kids, Collin is now off of his cannula and doing quite well. Thanks for the prayers and support. The girls have been on caffiene to help with their heart rate dipping down at times. They have been self resolved up to this point which means their heart rate dips down for a second and immediately comes back up with out any stimulation. Collin also has had these. It is very normal for preemies. As they grow and mature this will eventually go away. This is just one of the things that needs to be resolved before they go home. They can't be having any of these episodes.
There isn't much of anything else to report. They are all resting well and growing as expected. We are just enjoying their little personalites. We have experienced a ton of little side-mouth smiles which are too cute. It is always nice to go home at night knowing that, when we leave, they are all snug & warm in their little blankets and fast asleep after Daddy reads them their nightly story and says a prayer for each one. Then we both whisper to them that we love them and good night.
We will continue to keep you updated on their progress as we find out more. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support. We feel them everyday as these babies continue to make great strides and continue to make steps until the day they are able to come home.

Also, just to let everyone know who is interested. The birth announcement for the triplets is in today's Indianapolis Star paper under Births, of course, and then under St. Vincent and it will be the only one under the triplets. I had to go around this morning and snag several for each kid's babybook and one for us so if you don't get one yourself and want a copy, call someone to keep it for you.

Thanks for everything.

JKABC

Monday #2

2008-01-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

Lunchtime Update: The feeds are being increased across the board. The girls will be moving up to 7 mL feeds, Collin will be moving up to 18 mL feeds. We should begin to see some bulking up soon. Collin still has his canula on. They will be watching him to see if it is still necessary and, if not, take him off of it. Bailey has been sucking on the pacifier. Collin and Anniston are still thinking about it. Mom & Dad are looking forward to a dinner out this evening!

JKABC

Sunday

2008-01-13T16:39:00.000-05:00

Late Night Update: Collin is off the oxygen (using room air) but still is using the canula (for extra flow). Rumor has it that the girls' feeds will be increased tomorrow. Little Bailey seems to be getting upset (heart rate way up and crying) when feeding time is approaching. I'm pretty sure she is hungry. She is taking to the pacifier the best too. I may have stated it before, but Bailey is the most vocal of our children (so far).

Lunch Update: The girls are doing fine. Little Collin has a canula (tube in his nose to provide some extra pressure and oxygen) now so that he can rest a little more. He was working pretty hard last night to breathe. A chest x-ray this morning revealed a little cloudiness and his white blood cell count is up a little (maybe starting to fight off an infection???). He is doing fine and resting pretty well. Collin's feeds are being increased again up to 13 mL per feeding. He is eating pretty well. The gals are in a holding pattern for feeds until they confirm that all the digestive tract is working properly. It has been a fairly quiet day (and that's OK with us).

I finally was able to get our videos on our home computer. I may be able to get some of those on the site in the near future.

Thanks for keeping up-to-date!

JKABC

Saturday Continued....

2008-01-12T20:19:00.000-05:00

The docs have informed us that Collin's feedings will be increased each time he feeds. He started out at 4 ml and will increase 1 ml each time he is fed (every 3 hours) until he reaches 9 ml. He will then stay on 9 ml for a little bit until they decide to change it again. As far as the girls, we haven't heard specifically what the plan is for their feedings. This requires a little more work from mama so pray that I can keep the food supply going. We were talking to a doctor the other day and he had mentioned to us that some men take hormones to try to help in feeding their babies. I am thinking this may be a good idea, especially in our case. What do you all think? Just kidding. Jason does enough for the babies and me that we will enjoy that for now.

Tonight is bath night! We just bathed Collin. Anniston is getting her bath right now. Bailey will be up next. We are videotaping the first baths. Check it out some time.

Other than that, I think everything else is going very well. Personalities are coming out and we are just enjoying our time with them. We will update you on anything else we find out this evening before we leave.

Bye for now and thanks for your continued prayers and encouraging words.

JKABC

Weekend begins

2008-01-12T12:26:00.001-05:00

Lunchtime update: All the babies are doing well. They have all surpassed their birth weights as of last night. They are all just eating and trying to get bigger at this point. We will be talking to the nurse practitioner about (increasing tube) feedings today.

OK, so who looks like who? We placed our baby pictures on the site today.

JKABC

Friday Continued.....

2008-01-11T17:45:00.000-05:00

It has been a good day today. I think Jason & I are feeling more and more like mommy and daddy each day that we are able to play a more active role in their care (changing diapers, taking temps, reading stories, loving on them, feedings, pumping, etc...).
As Jason mentioned, we were able to clothe them today. Last night we had fun picking out there little outfits to wear for the day and some extra for later. Anniston has already wet on herself while her mommy wasn't thinking to get a diaper ready before taking the other one out from underneath her. Just one of the many lessons to be learned in this journey called parenthood. We even brushed their hair today after clothing them. Grandma Bum, Great Grandma Bum & Aunt Phyllis came to visit this afternoon. Aunt Tracy came to visit early this evening & later tonight Gigi & Aunt Stephanie are coming to spend some time with the little ones. We are always so proud to take family & friends back to see each one of them and show them off with their ever changing personalities. Jason & I have noticed all of them smile a ton when we are holding them. I know people say they don't smile when they are that little but I do know one thing, they are definitely letting us know they are feeling pretty good hanging out in mommy & daddy's arms.
Anniston has had another dirty diaper since the last update so we feel she is doing well in that area. Well, Jason & Aunt Tracy just informed me that Bailey has also had a dirty diaper. Yeah Bailey! They do just enough for us to keep us on our toes but have always managed to pull through. Woohoo!!!
Well, I guess that is it so far this evening. I am sure there is still more to come. We will keep you posted.
Thanks to everyone for the encouraging comments and your prayers.

JKABC

1 Week!

2008-01-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

Morning update: The babies are all doing well. Collin managed to fill his diaper pretty well last night. I don't think they will have to do the ultrasound this morning, but I haven't talked to the doctor yet. We are still waiting on the first dirty diapers for Anniston & Bailey. Everyone put on clothes last night and they are monitoring the kids to see if they can maintain their own body temperature. We should be able to put some of our clothes on them today! Our nurse Susan worked hard last night and made some signs and scrapbook pages for each of the triplets. Our little areas are starting to look more cozy. Kristy got the staples removed from her incision today. The incision looks good.

Afternoon update: Dirty diaper for Anniston. Bailey is still holding out on us. We will see what happened at this evening's care time (take temperature, change diaper, feed, etc). Sounds like they may increase their feeds tomorrow.

JKABC

Suntan lamps off

2008-01-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Short update: Everyone is doing well. They turned off the jaundice lights for Collin and Bailey. We're all just hanging out.

JKABC

Late night update: Not too much going on. The doctors only concern right now is Collin's kidneys. He hasn't been urinating as much as they expect (since the treatment for the "hole in his heart"). If his wet diapers aren't better tonight, they will schedule an ultrasound for tomorrow morning. Please pray for little Collin.

Kristy gets the staples out of her incision tomorrow. Pray for her healing as well.

On a more mundane note, I think I have found a better route to the hospital with many fewer stoplights. Yeah! I hate 86th Street.

I'm sitting here getting the keyboard wet with tears looking at the pictures of our little ones. I just can't believe that God has blessed us with such beautiful little ones. I love them so much. Time for bed.

JKABC

Wednesday Part II

2008-01-09T15:35:00.001-05:00

We got great news back today. Collin and Bailey do not show signs of the "hole in the heart" anymore! The doctors were writing instructions to put them back on tummy feeds. We just want to praise God for this good news. Thank you for your faithful prayers.

JKABC

Wednesday

2008-01-09T13:21:00.000-05:00

Today's update: We got here around 10:30 am. All of our babies are off of breathing assistance (and we hope they will stay that way). Little Bailey and Collin had the follow-up echoes today to check for their heart condition. We don't know the results yet. Little Anniston is the only one of our babies receiving belly feeds right now. If all goes well with the heart checks, Bailey and Collin should be back on belly feeds tonight. Momma is starting to be able to pump meals for the little ones so we are especially anxious to get them on belly feeds. They turned off Annistion's UV light. We'll see how the other two are doing later. I finally got to hold little Collin last night for 15-20 minutes. We are working on getting mom in today.

We finally got home last night a little after midnight. Boy was it windy and cold then. We had to go to CVS in Avon since the one in Danville isn't open 24 hrs. In the trip from the Avon CVS to our house, the temperature dropped 10 degrees! It took us a while to get settled in last night, but boy was it a big help to have everything clean and stocked. Thanks Carr's and Bumgardner's (and any that I may have omitted who helped out). I will update later with any new news.

JKABC

By popular demand, here is a small addition. The tummy feeds are provided by a tube down to the baby's stomach where they are fed formula or breast milk. All of our babies are currently also being fed intraveneously (IV). Collin and Bailey are only on IV feeds right now. Anniston is on a tummy feed (every 3 hours she gets 3 mL of mommy's milk) and IV feed (at a predetermined rate based on several factors). Collin had the IV removed from his umbilical cord yesterday. He now has a IV line in his arm like his sisters. Hope this answers some questions.

Tuesday

2008-01-08T10:43:00.000-05:00

Just a short update. We found out last night late that both Collin and Bailey still have the "holes in their hearts". They have both been started on treatments of endomethycin. We should know tomorrow whether the first treatment was successful on either of them. Anniston is on tummy feeds, the other two are not right now because of the medicine they are on. All three are being fed intraveneously--Collin and Bailey have a higher rate since they aren't on tummy feeds right now. Collin is still on the CPAP and it sounded like they were going to remove his umbilical line (for feeds) today. We are looking forward to holding our little guy.

There was request for an update on Kristy. She is doing well. She is up and about. She is still on some pain meds but will be discharged from the hospital today. Mom is enjoying hanging out with her children. She is also learning the joys of pumping.

That's all for now. We have appreciated and continue to appreciate your prayers.

JKABC

Monday, Monday

2008-01-07T16:17:00.000-05:00

Greetings. It has been a hectic day. Just lots of stuff coming together. I've never really seen so much information tossed at us that we need to understand/remember. Collin is still on CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). The girls are on room air. All three are on the light to reduce jaundice. The doctors ordered ultrasounds of Bailey and Collin's hearts. The results of Collin's exam are in and he will be starting some meds tonight (week long regimen) to help the hole in his heart heal up. Haven't heard back on Bailey. This hole is the normal hole that is present in utero. It most often heals up before babies are born. Our kids were born early so we will have to see if it closes by itself (or with a little help). Worst case is that the child will have to have a small surgery to close up the hole. I'm wondering if I'm seeing the beginnings of the personalities of Collin and Bailey. During the same ultrasound procedure, Bailey was extremely upset--heart rate 200+, arms and legs flailing and lots of crying. When Collin got his done, he was just fine with it. In fact, I'm almost certain he fell asleep. Please continue your prayers especially for little Collin's heart and maybe little Bailey's.

JKABC

End of Weekend

2008-01-06T22:22:00.000-05:00

Hello! The babies are doing well. Baby Collin went back on the CPAP today. He was working very hard to breathe on his own. He seems to be pretty peaceful now. The gals are doing well and are both off of CPAP. They are also both on the UV light. Both of us were able to do kangaroo care (hold them skin to skin for a time period) with Anniston today. She was even starting her sucking reflex when she was on Kristy. A little later she took a pacifier and sucked on it for a while!

All the kids are on continuous feeds as well as getting some milk in their tummies every 3 hours. Their continuous feeds seem to be increasing daily. Kristy is working on pumping and is doing well.

Thanks for your continued prayers, visits, calls and posts.

JKABC

End of Day 1!

2008-01-05T19:32:00.000-05:00

Update time again. The girls are still on their CPAPs. Collin is off of everything breathing related. Both Collin and Bailey are taking feeds in their tummies. Anniston has had a rough day. She has been uncomfortable but doing OK. She has cried a fair amount. Hopefully she will be able to get some good sleep tonight. I got to spend several minutes with both Collin and Anniston while they were awake and looking at me. What a blessing! It is so awesome to see them open their eyes and just stare. You have to wonder just what their little minds are thinking at this point. Our nurse Cathy has helped us get our blankets under Collin and Anniston. We will work on sneaking one under Bailey a little later hopefully. Kristy went off the mag at around noon today. She spent a lot of the afternoon in some significant pain. She was able to get some pain meds and some needed rest. She is feeling much better this evening. We've enjoyed visits many visits today! Hopefully tomorrow Kristy will be feeling better and be able to be up and around a lot more. Thanks for your prayers, visits, calls and blog comments!

Enjoy the baby photos. Sorry about the rotation issue with two of them. Post me a fix if you know how I can rotate these on the blogsite.

JKABC

The Day After

2008-01-05T12:42:00.001-05:00

Hello all. Mom and babies are doing well. Kristy went off the magnesium today at around noon. We went up to visit the babies right after she went off the mag and Kristy realized how challenging getting up and around is going to be. She's currently resting in our new room. If you plan on visiting, come up to the 3rd floor, room 354 (it is just around the corner on the left). We said goodbye to our old standby room 247. The nurses are putting new lines in the girls' arms. They had even mentioned that the girls MIGHT get off the CPAP today. We'll see. In awe of God's miracle of life.

Jason

Update on babies

2008-01-04T23:30:00.000-05:00

Greetings! We praise the Lord for our healthy little ones! Vitals: Bailey is 3 pounds, Anniston is 3 pounds 1 ounce, and Collin is 3 pounds 15 ounces. They are all right around 16" long. Collin started the day on the vent on some oxygen. He is currently having his vent removed and having the CPAP installed (great progress)! All the babies look good. I have changed all of their diapers at least once. So far only Anniston has tried to pee on me. Kristy and I are both pretty tired and ready for some rest. I'm going to go check on Collin to make sure that the CPAP installation went smoothly. Thank you so much for your visits and prayers. They have meant (and continue to mean) so much to us. We feel greatly loved! We praise our Lord for the miracle of life!

Jason

The Babies are Here

2008-01-04T16:40:00.000-05:00

The Bumgardner triplets are here!

Collin Michael, Anniston Nicole and Bailey Michele were born this afternoon, in that order. All of the babies are doing well. The girls weighed in at about three pounds and are both on CPAP, receiving a little help breathing. The girls both have lots of hair! Collin is a little under four pounds. He's in need of a little more assistance so he's currently on a ventilator. All things considered, they're doing well.

Kristy is back in her room recovering and Jason is with her. They're treating her for the preeclampsia and she's expected to be just fine.

This is sure to be a busy and emotional time for the family. Jason and Kristy will update this blog with information about what is best regarding visits, how the babies are doing and how Kristy is recovering as things settle down a bit.

They certainly covet your prayers. They're proud parents of three beautiful babies!

Today is the day

2008-01-04T09:02:00.001-05:00

Good morning. We were informed that today is the day for our babies to be born! We are excited and a little apprehensive. Kristy is progressing into severe preeclampsia. Her blood pressure is elevated and her kidneys are not functioning as well as the doctors would like. Having the babies should stop this condition though. We are scheduled for a noon delivery. Please pray for Kristy and babies. I will update this site with all the specifics after delivery.

Jason

Waiting on Babies

2008-01-03T11:54:00.000-05:00

Hello again. It has been some time since our last post. I am happy to say we made it through the holidays without going to the hospital! Yesterday (Wednesday), though, the doctors told us that Kristy needed to come to the hospital. They had observed her blood pressure increasing and protein in her urine--all signs of preeclampsia. They told us that Kristy will be staying at the hospital until the babies are born. We didn't have any issues with contractions this time. Kristy is in pretty good shape at this point other than the normal uncomfortableness associated with three babies in her belly. The doctors have administered steroids to help develop the lungs of the babies. The doctors aren't sure when the babies will come--it could be today, it could be several weeks. They are watching several indicators right now. If any of those exceed certain limits then we could be having babies pretty quickly. The doctors are very confident that if the babies come (even today) that mom and babies would stand excellent chances of survival and healthiness. Right now it is a balancing act of health of mother and health of babies. Hopefully, the preeclampsia will hold off for a while and we can wait a bit (we are currently at 30 weeks, 6 days). Please pray for our family as we go through this crucial stage leading up to birth. We're excited to meet our little ones! --JKABC

Christmas

2007-12-25T20:45:00.000-05:00

It is almost 9pm tonight and it saddens me to know that Christmas Day is almost over. All that you have worked hard to shop for and wrap is now ripped open and set aside. For the night I guess that is. All of the hustle & bustle and Christmas spirit at the malls is now over and done. The family gatherings of laughing, playing games, enjoying yummy food & delicious treats have now ended. The branches on the Christmas tree seem to droop. Their are no presents under the tree anymore and though that is not what Christmas is all about, somehow it seems so completed. Fortunately for us Christians we know that there is more to Christmas and it doesn't end here. Praise God.

Our Christmas this year was a special one. We know that not long from now we will welcome 3 little ones that we have been anxiously awaiting for so long. Our journey has reached even beyond the last 7 months of pregnancy. We waited long before that to even expect one little one and now we are blessed with three. We look forward to the day when we can see them for the first time.

The triplets made out with lots of gifts this year. They got some outfits (including the girls getting an ISU t-shirt in support of their mommy and little Collin received a little Rose Hulman onesie that reads "RHIT's littlest fan" supporting his daddy). They also received a CD player that attaches to the crib and some lullaby CDs & some books that daddy still reads to them every night. They now have a few more to choose from. I also should mention that Collin received a boppy that his daddy picked out with rockets, asteroids, etc.... Mommy & Daddy also received lots of great gifts. It has been a good Christmas in so many ways and I hope your Christmas was the same.

I also wanted to fill you in on an appointment we went to today (the day after Christmas). We are so proud of our little Anniston, Bailey & Collin. They were all little all-stars this week. We had biophysical profiles done on each one of them today. This is where each baby gets 30 minutes and gets 2 points in each category. They were all three done within about 10 minutes which is amazing. The ultrasound tech said that it was the fastest biophysical profile she has ever done on triplets which is great. One of the categories is them practicing their breathing which is obviously very important.

My contractions are still staying well below the threshhold (6 contractions an hour). I have had 4 an hour at the most which is pretty good at this point. The babies are still growing well. We didn't get weights this week. The docs only get those every three weeks and we just received weights last week and they all weighed around 2lbs 12ozs give or take. I am now measuring about 44 weeks. I am getting more and more uncomfortable as each day passes. However, I have still been able to sleep well and have only had to use just one extra pillow. I am sure the closer it gets to time, the more uncomfortable it will get but right now I am considering myself lucky. The docs have also detected protein in my samples I have given and I have shown a few higher readings on my blood pressures so they are trying to keep a close eye on that but aren't too concerned at this point. They sent some tests off today and we'll receive the results in a couple of days.

Jason & I also enjoyed an evening at the Plainfield Aquatic Center floating and enjoying the pool which was suggested by our doctor. We had a good time. It was sort of a little safe date night out for Jason & I.

I think I have covered everything for now. We will continue to keep you updated as things arise. We have another appointment next Thursday. Hopefully things will stay quiet until then.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and continue support.

JKABC

Saturday in the House

2007-12-22T22:59:00.000-05:00

Not too much to report today. The triple stroller is assembled and functional. The camcorder is purchased and ready to go (thank you Eli Lilly). That marks the last of the big items. No contractions this evening. Yeah! I think all our Christmas shopping is done. The presents for Kristy's family were transferred for her family's Christmas celebration tonight (thanks Voelker family for being our delivery service). 29 weeks complete, working on week 30. We posted a few more ultrasound photos from our last checkup. We're hoping to hunker down here at home for the Christmas holiday. We have strict orders from Dr. Sumners for Kristy to still be pregnant after he comes back from vacation. Hope all are having a Merry Christmas season.

JKABC

2007-12-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their last day of work before your long weekend starts. Jason started his vacation a couple of days ago and has finally been able to get out to finish up some last minute shopping. He has definitely been busy at home with me, along with household chores, & other small projects that need to be done before the babies come. We are so looking forward to that day and it seems to be just around the corner. I still can't believe we will be parents of three. It will become more real when we are able to see them being held by the doctors in front of us on the day of the surgery. I can only imagine how overwhelming that moment will be (definitely in a good way) and I look forward to taking it all in and sharing that moment with my husband and, soon after, with friends & family.

I just wanted to give you all an update since we have been home from the hospital. The contractions have subsided. It seems as though, so far, the adjustments to my terbutaline pump have proven helpful in the evenings when I usually have my flare ups. With Jason at home, it has made a world of difference for me. I love having him home. He has been very patient and very helpful.

We had an appointment this morning. They just did a biophysical profile on all of them just like the one they did last week. All of them have never failed to amaze us. Anniston seemed to be the star performer today. She received all of her points within about 10 minutes (each baby is given 30 minutes). Collin was next in line. We had to wait on him to show us that he was working on his breathing. He came through. Bailey, on the other hand, was a sleeping head this morning and was content to just let her mama do her breathing for her. No need to practice at that moment and that is fine. She was still tired from being the star performer from the last biophysical profile. I have had a bit of a runny nose the last couple of days so last night I decided to take a benedryl to help me sleep through the night. I think it may have had a little bit of an effect on Bailey today. Maybe not but she is still doing great and it isn't a concern right now. It has still been early to do the biophysical profiles so for them to be scoring as well as they have is a great thing. We will have another BPP this coming Wednesday. We will let you know how they do and we'll keep you updated on things as they come.

Thanks for all of your prayers and also for all of they meals, encouragement, etc....

Have a great Christmas holiday.

Kristy, Jason, Collin, Bailey & Anniston

Home

2007-12-20T08:57:00.000-05:00

We are back home again! Mom & dad brought Kristy home on Tuesday. So far things have been very good with regard to the contractions. The docs adjusted the terbutaline pump to give more medicine in the evening when the contractions normally flare up. I completed my last day of work yesterday (Wednesday). I'm done working for 2007! I'm looking forward to spending some time with Kristy and the babies. We did have a checkup on Monday. The babies are doing well and are all about 2.75 pounds. Today is 28 weeks, 6 days. Praise the Lord for bringing us this far. Thank you FISH, family and friends for the meals, prayers and encouragement. Continue to pray for Kristy as she is beyond full term (for a single pregnancy) and seems to get tired a whole lot easier.

Hospitals & Snow

2007-12-15T23:04:00.000-05:00

Hello friends and family! We have found our way to the hospital again. Kristy was having more contractions than normal and the docs wanted us to come in to make sure everything was OK. We got here around 3 am. Things looked OK, but there were still too many contractions. They gave Kristy some endocin and things seemed to calm down in the afternoon. We did get the biophysical profiles done for each of the kids. They all passed with 8 points (out of 8). Two points given for each of the following things: sufficient amniotic fluid in their sac, gross movement, practicing breathing, and one other thing I can't remember. The babies needed to be doing these things at 30 weeks, but they are doing them at 28 weeks (where we are right now) and we (and the docs) are very happy with their progress. We are spending tonight just continuing to monitor Kristy and make sure the contractions are managed. If necessary, Kristy may need a magnesium flush. Not sure if that will happen or not. I'm thinking the earliest we will return home is Monday. Keep Kristy and the babies in your prayers. We would like to get back home if possible. If not, we can manage the rest from here at the hospital. Have fun shoveling snow if you live in the Midwest! Jason, Kristy, Collin, Anniston & Bailey

2007-12-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would give you all a quick update of what has been going on the past week. This past Saturday we made yet another trip to the hospital. I hadn't recalled Bailey moving all of Friday and also Saturday morning. We went to the hospital and were relieved to see that Bailey was just fine. This whole acting on your motherly instinct is so hard. It was about 5:30am and I had to have someone wake my doctor from sleep, drag my husband out of bed on the only day he could sleep in a little, drive all the way up north. Something inside of me just said to go and even though everything turned out okay, I would do it all over again just to know she was okay. Jason was great. I thought he would have been upset but he was amazing and felt that the best thing to do was to go to the hospital. It makes all the difference when you have a husband who is right there with you every step of the way. I don't know what I would do without him.

Jason's mom drove me to my doctor's appointment yesterday. On the way, we picked up a glider/rocker. I can't wait until I can sit and enjoy the baby nursery. Everytime I walk back to my room, I glance in and just picture three little curly heads in there cooing & playing in their cribs.

The appointment went fine. I am now measuring at 40 weeks and am only in my 28th week. It is amazing to see what your body can handle. They did an ultrasound and everything looks good. We have now been officially mooned by Bailey. Her head is toward my back and her little butt is toward my stomach and all we could see was a little baby crack. Anniston is also in an awkward position. She looks like she is doing a forward roll and Collin is laying across the exit. It has been harder and harder trying to make out what we are seeing in the ultrasounds because there are so many pairs of feet & hands.

Next Monday is my glucose test and then we will have another measurement the next week. We are anxious to see how much they will have grown by then.

Please continue to pray for the little ones' growth & strength. Please also pray for my contractions. I am starting to have more contractions in the evening which they say will happen because of all the activity going on in there. My contraction threshhold is still at 4 per hour and I have had as much as 7 per hour. Up to this point, an extra dose of terbutaline has calmed it down quite a bit. Last night when I had seven, the medication calmed it down to 2 per hour. They may up my threshhold to 6 per hour if I am continuing to be over my threshhold and not having any preterm labor symptoms which I haven't been. Just a little cramping which could be due to growth. Please also pray for Jason. I think he is physically exhausted and we still have some small things to get done. He has been quite sleepy the past couple of weeks and I can understand why. Me being over my contraction threshholds concerns him also so that can be emotionally draining also.

Bedrest has been going pretty well also. We have been blessed with such an amazing support group who have been willing to do anything to help and it has been great. Jason's mom has been amazing to come over and help me wrap gifts. She has been my hands and feet when it comes to Christmas shopping along with my sister in law, Sandy. We have decided to make stockings for the babies. They will be cross stitched just like their daddys. I have also decided to make one for myself so that the whole family has one. It has kept me busy. We also are going to make little scrapbooks for each one of the babies so they have something to take when they get older. Jason's parents come over a lot to help out with projects & play cards, etc. which has been very very helpful. My sister in law, Sandy, our fellow Life Group members, and many friends & other family members have come over to fix me lunch or provide dinners. A couple of friends from our Life Group have been amazingly helpful in faithfully coming over and cleaning every other week. That has been great. We just want to thank all of you for everything you have done even if it is just talking on the phone and hearing your enthusiasm has helped us through this journey and has made it so much more joyous than we could ever imagine so THANKS:-) We hope you all are enjoying your Christmas season and your kids too. We love you all and we will continue to keep you updated. I will post some ultrasound pics soon.

Thanks:-)

Kristy

2007-12-04T19:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Jason & I are back home. We were released from the hospital late this afternoon. Everything seems to be under control at this point. The real test will be when we are done with the extra medication (Indocin) I am currently on in addition to the terbutaline pump. They have me on a twelve dose cycle. They increased the amount of terbutaline that I am getting in an hour. Once I get done with the cycle of Indocin will prove whether or not things are really under control. The indocin is a medication to quiet down the uterus but whether or not the contractions will flare up again is still an open question. We are hopeful that these changes will help fix the problem but we will keep you all updated.

The doctor was able to move our scheduled appointment, that should have been on Wednesday, to today so that we didn't have to drive back up again tomorrow. Everything looks good. There has been no cervical changes and the babies are growing very well. Collin is weighing about 2lbs 8ozs, Bailey is weighing about 2lbs 5ozs and Anniston is weighing about 2lbs 3ozs. They are probably still pretty average in the weight category which is great considering there are three of them.

Please continue to pray that, even through these scary contraction flare ups or even anything else that comes up, the doctors are able to get things under control. Ultimately we would ask that it wouldn't happen at all. Please continue to pray for me and the bedrest situation. I no longer have work to keep me busy. I am now officially on leave from work so I have to come up with things to do each day. The good thing about this is that I can get more rest which, at this point in the pregnancy, is key.

Thank you all for being such wonderful friends & family. We are continually grateful for the support group that we have. It has made this journey a great one.

Thanks again for your thoughts & prayers.

Kristy & Jason

2007-12-03T22:38:00.000-05:00

Greetings all. It is late Monday night. We are hanging out at Women's Hospital again tonight. Last night Kristy had 4 contractions during her monitoring session. That is the threshold. She took a little more medicine (which usually reduces the number of contractions) and the number went up to 5. The doc had us come in to monitor Kristy. She continued to have more than the threshold of contractions but no other obvious pregnancy problems. The doc reassured us that this is normal as this pregnancy progresses. We may have to do this several more times. As long as week can keep these babies past 30 weeks, we will be able to handle it. The doc put her on another medicine temporarily and we are watching to see if the contractions calm down. So far so good. If all goes well, we will be released tomorrow morning. We will likely go home with a revised terbutaline dosing regimen. No big deal, we just change the medicine cartridges a little more often. We have a baby checkup on Wednesday to take all the measurements. We did get some good news though. The doc said we can go swimming once or twice a week if we like. Well by swim, I mean float around in the pool. We look forward to using that maternity swimsuit several more times in the next few weeks! Please continue to pray for us! More info to come.

2007-11-30T10:33:00.000-05:00

Quick update: We've had only one instance of being over the contraction threshold in the last several days. A little extra terbutaline and that was under control. Our friend Kelly Carr came over last night and took some pictures of Kristy (and the belly) and I. Hopefully we can move some of those out to this blog this weekend. Today is the last day of week 26. Tomorrow starts week 27! Praise the Lord for bringing us this far!

2007-11-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

Hello all. It's Jason again. I just wanted to give a brief update. The last week or so has been fairly uneventful (as far as scary stuff). The contractions have been kept under control. We have a routine appointment today.
I got to feel little Collin moving for the first time last night. He is positioned lower in Kristy's tummy so it has been a bit more challenging to feel him move. The kids normally get a story read to them each night. No visible responses yet, so I guess they are OK with it.
I did want to convey our gratitude for those who have been bringing meals and helping keep our place clean. If I had to come home and cook a real meal every night, I would be completely frazzled.
With Tim & Kathy's help, we have managed to get the border up in the nursery. The bedding also came in yesterday! On a more mundane note, I was able to finish up the guest bathroom tiling project last night. We now have two operational bathrooms again.
We are in the midst of week 26 and things seem to be going as well as we can hope for right now. Praise God! Thanks for your continued prayers.

2007-11-23T13:27:00.001-05:00

Well Jason usually does the postings but I thought I would fill you in on the latest for once. Jason is in the baby room doing some additional painting as we speak. He has been amazing since I have been on bedrest.

We have had a couple of scary moments in the past couple of weeks. I know it comes with having triplets but when in the midst of these moments, it is terrifying. There has been a couple of times when I have been slightly over my contraction threshhold but, between the doctors and Matria, they have gotten it under control. There was another time early in the morning when I woke up and all the sudden thought my water had broke. That has been the scariest moment. I was just completing my 25th week and I knew if they were born that anything could happen. I couldn't imagine them being born that early. I spoke with the doctor and he said what had happened was normal. Being a first time mom, I don't know what to expect so it makes it even scarier. However, in the midst of all the scary moments, God finds a way to show you that he is there through everything. After we had talked to the doctor, I was getting ready to go to bed and was feeling around for the babies (something I do a lot) and I was able to feel Anniston's little foot up by my ribs. It was an amazing feeling and I felt that God was with me at that moment saying that everything was okay. I was able to caress her little foot for about 5 minutes without her minding at all which was a moment that I will never forget. I still feel around to see if I can find that little foot but haven't been successful again up to this point.

Anyway, we recently went to another appointment and all babies are growing and remain strong. We pray and ask you to pray that they continue to stay strong and healthy as we continue on through this journey of ups and downs. Please pray that I can view this time on bedrest as my sort of purpose in life right now. This is a way that I can take care of the babies right now and the longer they can stay in the womb, the better. Please also continue to pray for Jason. Like I said, he has been absolutely amazing during this time both with me and the babies. He is a true provider and supporter of his family and I am sure that will continue to prove true on throughout their birth and into their homecoming, etc... I couldn't ask for a better husband. He reads to them every night and rejoices in the happy moments when he has been able to feel them move & kick. I know he has been overwhelmed at times with projects, housework, getting things for me, waking up late in the night when I am worried about something that happens or if he just needs to do something for me.

We appreciate all of your prayers and support and will continue to keep you updated on the latest.

Thanks again for everything,

Kristy

2007-11-19T09:35:00.000-05:00

Week #24 complete (on Friday). Starting on week #25. Just a quick update from the weekend. The number of contractions seems to be down. Mama and babies are hanging in there.
We are starting to be suspicious about our children being night owls. In the last couple of weeks, we have noticed them getting active around midnight. It's fun for me to feel them move. It may not be as fun for Kristy if she is trying to get to sleep.
My parents got us some garage shelving and helped us install it this weekend. It is nice to have all the diapers and car seats up out of the way! We could even play pool on the pool table if we wanted to. I'm sure that won't last too long though.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

2007-11-15T07:53:00.000-05:00

Howdy! Just a quick update from yesterday. Based on the contraction monitoring we had seen over the past few days (had more than the threshold amount of 4), it was decided that we should go in early for our checkup. We did that yesterday and everything looked good (babies and cervix). We did end up switching meds for Kristy to the terbutaline pump. We will be watching things the next few days to make sure things are progressing properly (best case=no contractions).
As far as the babies go, we got new measurements for them all. Both Anisston and Collin weighed 1 pound 7 ounces. Bailey weighed in at 1 pound 5 ounces. These weights put them all right around the 50th percentile at this point. We were amazed at this growth because just two weeks ago, they were only 12 ounces.

Continue praying for mama and babies.

2007-11-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

Greetings family and friends. This is the initial post for the Babies Bum blog. Right now we are 23 weeks and counting. We have an doctor's appointment on Thursday where we will be measuring the babies. We expect them to be somewhere around 1 pound each.

Last night before bedtime, I felt Anniston move for the first time! She was very active around 11 pm. So far, daddy has felt Bailey and Anniston move. I'm looking forward to feeling Collin move soon. I am hoping to add some ultrasound pictures for each of the babies soon.

Here are some specific issues for which we need prayer:
Health of Babies Bum (good weight gain and development)
Health of Kristy (tolerate bed rest, no premature labor)
Jason's patience

Thank you so much for all who have blessed our family by attending our baby showers. Your generosity and encouragement has been overwhelming! The nursery is stuffed full of baby stuff and my pool table is loaded with car seats, diapers and baby wipes.