September

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

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!

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

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!!!!!

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!

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

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