Flashback Friday~our identical boys

Here is a special Flashback! 

I haven't posted one in awhile...this doesn't mean that we don't have them.  

Everyday I think of just how tiny our three once were.    

Carlos and Marcos are identical twins, they shared a placenta, while Ms. Sofie had her very own and an individual sac.

Sharing a placenta put them at a very high risk for Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome.

Very early in the pregnancy, I underwent a procedure called Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) to rule out chromosomal abnormalities.  At the time, ultrasounds showed a concern for Baby B's (Marcos) bladder, it was enlarged.  We were so worried at the time and had no idea that the test will also confirm their sex.

I remember being asked on the phone if I wanted to know their sex and of course I said yes!

...my first thought? What will I do if there is three boys?!

So here they are...

First of many pics together...

The pics were taken by a special someone who wanted to make mama smile once she got home from the NICU.

What do I see in these pictures?
The NG-tube...Carlos's (left) thru his mouth and Marcos's thru his nose.
This allowed them to drink mama's milk every 3 hours.  Carlitos was our sickest of the three and was on TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) the longest.  He took what seemed forever to work his way up to full feeds. He patiently waited to receive breast milk, nurse and drink from a bottle. Perhaps that is why our identical boys have always had a weight difference.

What else do I see? Nothing on their face!! Our wonderful nurses were allowing them a little break from oxygen support.  This photo shoot took about 20 seconds and required a team of four, including RT (respiratory therapist)
And they are wearing clothes! A huge NICU milestone...

The pictures were taken on July 22, 2011.

They came home about a month later.

Happy Friday!
And Happy 10 years to us!
TEN years ago I married the most wonderful man, husband and father.
We just wanted one more...
and God blessed us with three and after getting through a high risk pregnancy, an almost 3 1/2 month NICU stay, sleep deprivation and exhaustion, we are stronger than ever!

This past week

Oh lil blog how I miss you.
Life has been keeping us busy.
I am down to pumping three times a day and usually while the babies are awake meaning very little computer time. 

A recap of our week....our week got off to a great start...

On Monday, FOUR NICU nurses came for a visit while I went and got an hour massage! I was in heaven and so grateful of their time and love for the trio. I even got a cup of coffee all by myself, this meant, I actually sat down and enjoyed SILENCE.  Tuesday, Carlos had his hearing test which showed fluid in one ear. Since this is the first time it has shown this, his pedi is requesting another test in a month or two hoping it resolves itself. It also looks like the doctors would like to move forward with tubes for Marcos and I'm hoping the ENT doctor and I stop playing phone tag this week. Carlitos also got his blood drawn and I hated every minute of it. I am not looking forward to taking the other two. I put it off as much as I could. Our doctor has been asking since before our 9 month check up.  This is the real thing.  I had to hold my little Carlos on my lap.  I was so nervous.  Of course I had to ask if the tech person had experience drawing blood on little guys.  "I am from the hospital.  I do this all the time."  I warned him that my little kiddo had very little veins.  Not happy to say that he did NOT seem to know what he was doing.  Carlos screamed the whole time.  I had to hold his little arms.  He needed to get 2 other techs to help.   They seemed so surprised at his strength.  I should have warned them.  They had to use both arms and then they say, "Not sure we got enough blood but we'll send it off and let you know if we need more."  Umm, no thank you!!
Wednesday, the babies and I ventured out and did some walking at the outlets. We met another mom there who also has triplets. It's so nice to have a friend nearby who gets the craziness we go through! Thursday-our home visitors from the early learning institute continue to be impressed with the trios progress. They walked in to find Sofia sitting unassisted. Her and Marcos are lasting a long time, and I couldn't be more proud. Carlos is also progressing. Isabella  had a dentist appointment that afternoon. The trio stayed behind while we took care of business and did some speedy Target shopping.  We were ecstatic to know she (again) has no cavities!!! Yay, Daddy!!!  We were a bit shocked to be honest.  In between caring for the trio and many sleepless nights, teeth brushing is the last thing on our minds.  I was also happy to talk to our dentist about the babies' teeth.  She seemed very knowledgeable on preemie teeth and all the problems they can have.  Our plan is to take them in as soon as the first tooth comes in.
Friday was physical therapy morning.  I love the individual sessions they each get but I do have to adjust one or 2 of the babies' schedule resulting in a little bit more work.  But I know it is so worth it.   We also had a very nice visit from a mom I recently met who is expecting three little ones.  We are so excited to have so many triplets near us and praying that she has a very long pregnancy.

And here we are today, Saturday...usual baby stuff.  We were successfully able to go down to four bottles a day, three solid meals and two naps.  Babies are still coughing, and Sofia's wheezing is back.  I was so bummed but praying that we will outgrow this soon.  She went 10 days symptom free.  We are spending about 2 1/2 hours per day doing nebulizer treatments of albuterol and pulmacort.  Not fun but I've become to accept this as part of our daily routine.  We have an even busier week ahead of us, lots to do for the party.  Yes, we are a week away from the big birthday bash.  Not really sure what I was thinking and when and how things will get done, but we are celebrating the crazy year we have had.  We are so excited.  Emotional days for sure.  A year ago today, I was hospitalized for preterm labor. Lots of painless contractions.  Medicines and steroids for the babies' lungs...Thanking God for the five additional days the babies had in mommy's belly.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Dealing with Chronic Lung Disease

It's been a crazy week at the Sanchez household.  Feeling again like I am drowning in sickness.  The kiddos have been coughing (nothing new) but a week ago, it started interrupting Marco's sleep again.  So there we were again, pulling out the nebulizer and doing late night/early morning treatments.  We finally made it to the doctor on Tuesday morning, and sure enough wheezing, and now his 2nd (or 3rd) round of prednisolone.  He was a little bit happier in the middle of the week but still having lots of wakings at night. He has been sleeping in the swing for part of the night and then ends up on daddy's chest or our bed.  He has also discovered how good it feels to sleep on his tummy, making me very nervous to let him do this in his own room.  He has been very congested as well and just plain mad at times, and lots of crying in his sleep.

On Thursday, we drove an hour to Oakland for Sofia's ENT appointment.  Our pediatrician and pulmonologist both agreed that it was the next step since she does not always respond to steroids and albuterol and continues to wheeze all the time.  She had a laryngoscopy done to check for upper airway blockages.  Not fun to watch at all.  She was swaddled on this board and then had a thin tube (camera) down her nose.  The whole procedure took a little over a minute but I was a nervous wreck and she hated it.  She gave everyone dirty looks afterwards.  The good thing is that everything was normal, and her chronic wheeze continues to be attributed to chronic lung disease from being born at 25 weeks and being on the ventilator for 6 weeks.  That evening I could tell her wheeze and cough were getting a little worse and sure enough on Friday morning her respiratory rate was pretty high.  She threw up the first bottle of the day.  I did albuterol every three hours, she responded in the morning and was able to keep her mid morning bottle down.  She threw up again around 1:30pm and then took a long nap.  Around four o'clock, I had to wake her.  She ate and threw up again.  At that point, I began to panic a little bit.  Her respiratory rate was in the 80's and she was not herself.  All she wanted to do was sleep.  She had a fever of 102 which ibuprofen quickly brought down but after talking to the advise nurse and the on-call pediatrician, we were advised to take her to the ER.  This is ER visit # 2 with Sofia after her admittance in January for RSV.

I stayed home with the boys and Isabella while Daddy and Sofie headed to the hospital.  She was observed for a few hours and her chest x-ray showed early stages of pneumonia.  We are so glad we took her in and caught it early.  She got a shot of steroids (again) and an antibiotic.  She was released and seen again on Saturday.  She improved a bit but still requiring albuterol, and just as her rash was beginning to heal from antibiotics a couple of weeks ago, a new rash is well underway.  The probiotics aren't helping that much and it breaks my heart to have her go through so much.

Marcos and Carlos continue to cough and I won't be surprised if we find ourselves back at the doctors office sometime before their Thursday appointment for their Synagis shot.

Not really sure how we are getting thru each day on such very little sleep, but we are.  It feels like Isabella has been eating pop tarts, pizza and fast food all week.  Somehow she has made it to school every day.  Each night, we hope for a good night, but when you have three with a chronic cough, chances are one or two, or three will be up coughing and wheezing.  We continue to pray for good health, new lung tissue and mostly strength.   I will admit that sometimes I close my eyes and ask God for at least 4 hours of consecutive sleep.  Hopefully tonight is the night, and if not...I know God will continue to watch over me when taking care of the kiddos tomorrow.

Rough days and nights

We have been having some rough days and nights around here.  The babies have been sick on and off since late December, early January and its been really hard on me emotionally and physically.  Sofia never fully recovered from RSV or has gotten hit hard with virus after virus after virus.  On Saturday, I took her to the ER.  She was having projectile vomiting and it seemed as she was having a little bit of difficulty breathing.  Luckily she was not admitted.  She was observed for a few hours, had another chest x-ray, was given some nausea medication, and started her 4th round of prednisolone this year.  At first, we thought it was more tummy related.  Maybe a reaction to the bananas she had in the morning.   But basically her coughing is so bad that she has a hard time keeping her milk down.  We took her to her pediatrician today for her follow up and she found another ear infection, her 3rd or 4th one this year, antibiotics again which usually give her diarrhea.  She was swabbed for a few viruses, including whooping cough.  Her constant cough and wheeze are chronic lung disease to its fullest.  She takes so much medication on a regular basis (pulmacort, albuterol, zantac).  Today the doctor gave her a shot of steroids since she is having difficulty keeping the oral medication down.  The boys also have a cough, not as bad, but enough to be on albuterol every 4 hours during the day and enough to disturb their sleep at night.  The kiddos had started sleeping through the night.  We were blessed with about 2 weeks of it.  But we are now waking up to them coughing so much that they all need a breathing treatment.  Then of course they realize they are hungry and are a bit excited from the albuterol making those late night/early morning wakings way too long.  We visited a pulmonologist a couple of weeks ago who increased the dosage of the pulmacort hoping it would help.  It hasn't and I'm being told there is not much else that can be done.  They need to grow new lung tissue and that will happen with time.  It might take a couple of years. In the mean time this might just be the way our life is and I'm having a hard time dealing with it. It pretty much sucks and it is a constant reminder they were born 3 1/2 months too early.  The doctor tried to put things in perspective today.  She said its pretty amazing that all three can keep up their oxygen saturation because most babies with chronic lung disease struggle.  So yes we are lucky and we are blessed but sometimes I just need to let myself have a pity party and complain about how hard this is.  

Raising triplets = hard

Raising triplets who were extremely premature and a five year old = super hard

I have been having many moments of helplessness and pure exhaustion.  Moments I am not proud of, often feeling like I am failing in the mommy hood department, especially with Isabella.  Lately I have been wishing my life had a bit more normalcy that didn't include breathing treatments, doctor appointments, soo many poopie diapers and throw up. 

Until then, I'll keep reminding myself that this too shall pass.

10 month update

On March 17, the babies turned 10 months (adjusted age: 6 months, 2 weeks and 4 days to be exact!! I was cuddling a baby that morning at around the time they were born (4am) just thinking about the day they were born...

Weight Check
Carlos-13 lbs. 9 oz
Marcos-14 lbs. 14 oz
Sofia-14 lbs. 4 oz

All three are smiling and laughing and are quite ticklish.  All three are thriving and all of their doctors are so happy with their progress.  We had our first developmental follow up appointment on February 25 with our NICU and it went great.  I was a bit nervous but was happy to hear all their positive comments.
I realized that they can do more than I give them credit for.  I guess that comes with the multiples territory. My forgetfulness and/or lack of individualized attention and time.
All three are reaching for things, tracking big and small objects, holding toys, starting to transfer from one hand to the other....All three can roll from their tummy to their back, and with a lot of encouragement they can roll from their back to their tummy.  It doesn't happen too often but I know that they can do it. They are still figuring out what to do with their arms and tolerating tummy time more and more each day.  Sofia is able to move her arms and legs while on her tummy.  She is very curious and wants to touch everything.  Everything is so exciting to watch.  They can be entertained for a few minutes with different toys and they are starting to sit on their own for a few seconds at a time. We have lots cooing and some babbling, they definitely let us know when they don't like something.  They are getting better at solids each day.  Sofia is definitely more alert than the boys and wants to grab everything in sight.  They are receiving physical therapy once a week and our PT is very optimistic about their development and progress.  She is happy with their muscle tone and movement so far.  As of today, she has no major concerns and is very helpful in explaining that micro preemies often have their own timeline and how they often do not follow developmental milestones in order.

Unfortunately, we have been dealing with lots of sickness since the beginning of the year and Sofia's hospitalization for RSV.  This includes lots of wheezing and coughing disturbing everyone's sleep.  We had gotten to the point where ALL three were sleeping through the night but now that awful cough seems to wake one, two sometimes all three at around 2 or 3 am.  Mommy and Daddy have been trying to juggle everything plus quite a few doctors' appointments, breathing treatments, and inhalers with little sleep.  Marcos also has a bad case of thrush that lasted way too long and Nystatin (medicine prescribed) did nothing.  Just this week we were prescribed Fluconazole and I am praying this gets rid of it for good.  Poor guy screamed each time his cheek was swabbed. Never did I know I would become such an expert in administering medicine.
Ending on a positive note...Grandma and Grandpa got the trio the triplet table and on they tried it out on their 10 month birthday!

We are so proud of Isabella for being such a great big sis.  She has become such a good helper and our official diaper stocker and often does her chore without being reminded!

9 month update

A brief update...

We have all been sick!  Big sis had pneumonia last week and spent five days with an on and off fever, terrible headache, earache, and cough.  She stayed in her room for days.  Thank God she can be entertained by watching movies. All she wanted was some cuddle time.  She was lucky to get five minutes here and there because the trio has also been sick.  Though they did not swab for RSV, the doctor is 99% sure that this is what they have.  Possible that Sofia had not fully recovered from the first time.  Awful cough, lots of wheezing, nebulizer treatments and inhalers for everyone and 2nd round of prednisolone for Sofia.  Daddy was sick, grandparents are sick and of course now it's my turn.

 I've had my moments of weakness and moments of anger.  Why do things have to be so difficult? Why do I have to administer so much medicine to my precious babies? Haven't they been through enough? Why are they sick again? When will this end?  Is this what I have to look forward each winter?  

It is the saddest thing to see a baby cough so much that they end up throwing up.  And even more sad, Carlitos's voice sounds almost gone, meaning when he cries, I can't really hear him.  That sure does not help me sleep at night. Did I mention that Marcos also has a bad case of thrush?  It's almost gone but I've been giving him medicine for over 7 days now, having to swab his cheek four times a day.

RSV has been tough.  We were warned about it and have known that it can be deadly to a micropreemie.   The only place the babies go are doctors' offices.  We wash our hands and sanitize often.  I am doing the best I can.   I really am.  Big sis is constantly washing her hands and she does understand why and everything but she is five!  It's really tough to keep her away from the babies sometimes and having three babies makes it tough.  I can't keep my eyes on her at all times. Thank God for synagis.  According to the doctor, these are mild cases.  All three sat in the high 90's, meaning no hospitalization.  There has been concern for Sofia's rapid breathing.  Her respiratory rate is often  in the 60's and she may need to see a pulmonologist.

Today, the babies had their 9 month check up.  Of course they are developmentally behind...but each time I hear it, it gets to me.  It felt like I answered "no" for every question I was asked.  So to wrap up our long appointment, our doctor said they are lagging behind even for a 4 month old.  She did have some great things to say, they are smiling and laughing and squealing and grabbing and cooing and babbling and tracking...but their gross motor skills need a lot of work.  She didn't even think they should start solids yet until I told her that Sofia watches me eat like she wants some and that Marcos really looks like he enjoys eating his medicines.  Another thing that is worrisome is that Carlitos's weight gain has reached a plateau.  We have been so lucky in the gaining weight department that I'm kind of in denial.  Sofia now weighs more than him.  It's possible we may have to fortify again to add extra calories if he doesn't gain this month.

Their weights

Carlos: 12 lbs. 14 oz

Marcos: 14 lbs. 4 oz

Sofia: 13 lbs. 6 oz

A couple of milestones

Marcos has found his feet and can roll from his back to his tummy. 

Sofia is holding her bottle more and more and starting to sit unassisted for a second or two.  She has also been cluster feeding at night, eating very frequently from 6pm to 9pm, taking about 12 or 13 oz in small increments during those hours.  Tough on mama but she has slept from 9 to 6am two nights in a  row!! Big!!! Now her brothers need to get on that schedule.

We have the trio's first follow up appointment with the NICU clinic next week and I must admit that I am a bit nervous on what they will say but I am looking forward to seeing some of the doctors that were in the delivery room when they arrived.

Sickness x 3!

It's been a crazy few days! Not too much time for anything...Remember this post

Well we are starting week 3 of sickness.  

I was sick.  

Dad was sick.  

Taking care of babies while having to blow your nose is super hard.  And my hands are so dry from all the hand sanitizer.  I think this is how it went...Isabella, Marcos, Carlos and Sofie, Mom, Dad, still Marcos and now Sofie and Carlos again!!

It hasn't been too too bad now that I'm finally feeling better.  I'm thankful that its only been some coughing and some wheezing because I know it can be worse, much worse on their preemie lungs.  Isabella lasted a week, the week of Thanksgiving.  Luckily she was able to go back to school and her cough is completely gone.

Marcos still has it.  My poor guy! And he is such a trooper!  Look at him during his breathing treatment!

 It totally relaxes him! Could he be having NICU flashbacks?

Sofia and Carlos had a little cough around the same time but nothing major.  I thought we actually got away with them not getting it too bad.  I was wrong.  They've been wheezing since Saturday.  Back to the doctor we all went yesterday.  Can I tell you how much work it is to get these three loaded up and out of the house? I only had a couple of hours notice.  Such a process.  Our pedi would rather be safe than sorry so she wanted to see all three again.  My heart pounds when they measure their oxygen level.  All three were in the high 90's.  Thank God.  All these doctor visits are so exhausting, physically and mentally.  My Mr. Big Guy (aka Marcos) is now on prednisolone for a few days.  All three are on pulmacort for the entire winter and for now it's albuterol every 4 hours until the wheezing and coughing is completely gone, thankfully not at night unless they need it. Umm yeah, just a little overwhelmed because now we have to work this in to the somewhat schedule we have.  All of this is resulting in very little time to do anything else.

Here is Sofie Pots also known as Sofie Pants with Tita.  She is the one that fights it the most.

 Funny how things change. Bella was almost 2 when she started having asthma symptoms.  Back then, I thought it was so much to handle.  You can read about it here. Now, it doesn't phase me too much.  As long as it's not a c-pap, si-pap, nasal canula or a tube down their throat, I'll be okay.  How things have changed, or how I have grown....that's it for now!

Our first entry…

The first time I held one of my babies, I was scared out of my mind. Sofia was first. She was five day old. I was afraid to hurt her little body, but I did just fine. Sofia is the smallest but the strongest. At birth, she only weighed 1 lb 2.3 oz. She was the last one to be born but she was the first one I was allowed to hold. At 9 days old, the doctors decided to take her breathing tube out. It was painful to watch. I heard her whimper for the first time. I cried. I wanted to help her but I couldn’t. I felt so helpless. I was afraid she would stop breathing. It’s been over 24 hours and the tube is still out. Today, Sofia is the first one to get some of mama’s milk through a feeding tube. I also took Sofia’s temperature for the first time and changed her diaper.

Marcos was second to be held. Weighing more than his sister, 1 lb 4.8 oz. He did not handle it as well as his sister and the team of nurses had to take him off my chest and put him back in his isolette. I was sad. A few days later we tried again, and it was a bit more successful. He was the next one to be extubated. Deep down, I knew he wasn't ready but his doctors wanted to try. He struggled. I could see his little chest and stomach move up and down. It hurt to watch. During these moments, I cannot stop my thoughts. I failed my little guys. I have asked myself a million times, why? This is not the way it was supposed to be. I was so confident that this would not happen, not this early, but we must accept God's plan.

Today I held Carlos for the first time, 9 days after he was born. Carlos weighed less than his brother, 1 lb 4.1 oz. First to be born, and last to be held. It's getting a little bit easier to have a team of nurses around me disconnecting and reconnecting all the lines and tubes that are on their little bodies. Today I tried so hard to ignore the beeping noises from all the machines surrounding his brother and sister. Today, Carlos and I took our first nap together. I felt stronger.

All three babies have a large PDA. An open heart valve that usually closes during a baby's first few hours of life. All three got 2 rounds of indomethacin, a medication to help close it but it did not work. The boys' PDA is larger than Sofia's and there is a possibility of heart surgery, especially for Carlos. Today I did not cry when I found out Carlos's blood pressure continued to drop and the medication was increased. Today was a good day.