Can't believe its been 2 Weeks!

Wanted to post an update. I can't believe the trio have been here for 2 weeks, especially that Ryan has been home a week already. Here's what been going on in our world:

JP- Joe graduated from pre-kindergarten on Wednesday. They had a real ceremony and the kids wore caps and gowns. JP was chosen to carry the flag in and lead off the Pledge of Allegiance. They also had the kids say what they wanted to be when they grow up. Joe also led off the kids and said "My name is Joseph Crist and when I grow up I want to be a Control Tower Operator". You can tell he's ridden on his share of planes and we live on the former Denver airport!

Ryan- He is doing so well! It is so nice to have at least one of the babies home. It's letting us get back in the swing of things- getting up for middle of the night for feedings, changing diapers, etc. Since he is still a preemie, he mostly only sleeps and eats. I know this will not last for long. We joke that Ryan has been to so many places- graduation, a restaurant, stores. Something his sisters will probably not be able to do once there are 3 all at home. We told him not to tell them! He had his first pediatrician appt on Tues and he weighed 4lbs 13oz. Considering the Friday before he was 4lbs 6oz when he was discharged, everyone was very impressed!!

Caitlin- Still in the NICU with her sister, but doing great as well. The two are now sharing an isolette and it is the cutest thing ever. Caitlin is still beating up on her sister, even outside the womb! Maddi doesn't seem to mind at all though. Caitlin is just learning how to eat from a bottle and get ready for open air living. She weighs 3lbs, 15 oz as of yesterday. It won't be long before she hits Trenton street. Probably close to another week or so yet though.

Madison- She is doing well also. She weighs in at 3lbs, 8 oz and is just starting to take to the bottle more. She doesn't quite have the on/off switch mastered when it comes to bottle feeding yet, but she is practicing everyday and it should just "click" shortly. Maddi also had a couple of "Bradys"- where her heartbeat takes dives down low for a short period of time. This is very common among preemies, and she hadn't had any until yesterday, so we hope this stops. It's an automatic 5 day extension in the NICU until these stop. Other than that, her platelets are going up on their own and she is not set to be poked again for a couple more days to check again. She continues to be the one who is most awake when we go to visit- we love that. I asked the neonatologist this week if any of these problems the girls have had can be long term issues, and she assured me that the will outgrow these minor things and be just fine!

Joe and I are doing well too. We are so grateful my Mom is still here. It's hard to believe its been a month already. Luckily, she feels the same way! I am getting better everyday. Starting to be able to walk more and more and feeling a bit more normal too. I'm so lucky that my Mom and Joe tell me to lay down at least once a day. It's usually only for an hour, but I'm sure its helping toward my overall recovery. We are hoping that the girls will be home soon. We're still hearing another 1-1.5 weeks, but we know they are exactly where they need to be to get stronger, so we will patiently wait to welcome them home.





















JP all smiles after graduation.



















The girls sharing a room- probably the beginning of an 18 year run!

























Caitlin on the left, Madison on the right



















A picture of their "home" in the NICU. The nurses make cute signs with all the babies names on them.



















Anne & Sean getting some practice in before September!

























Ryan with Daddy. Look at that big foot!

























Did anyone order a burrito?

Update on the Girls

Here are some recent pictures of the girls. They are both doing well. Madison's platelet count has been going up on its own the past 2 days, so we hope it's a trend. They are about neck-in-neck weightwise. Two days ago, they were 3lbs 6.4oz & 3lbs 6.7oz. The doctor said yesterday it could still be another 2 weeks, but hopefully sooner. Ryan was discharged at 4lbs 6.1oz, and we are hoping the girls will be around 4 lbs when they come home. We were able to dress Madison in "real clothes" on Saturday and Caitlin on Sunday. We think they are finally starting to look a little alike!



















Holding the girls together for the 1st time.
























JP, Mommy & Madison



















Madison all dressed up in her new outfit.



















Maddi awake for the photo shoot.



















Caitlin, asleep for hers.



















Caitlin, in her new outfit.

























A couple of shots in his big boy outfit.

Week 1 Update & Our 1st Homecoming!

Today was a very busy day at our house. We started off the day at Rose again only this time it was at the surgical center for out-patient surgery. JP got tubes in his ears today. He has had an ear infection since this spring that would just not go away. Aunt Carolyn took him to the ENT specialist appointment for us the morning the babies were delivered, and the doctor said he really needed them. So chalk up another surgery for the Crists this year. He did such a great job. The nurses couldn't believe he woke up so well from the anesthesia (no crying), and as of tonight you wouldn't even know he had anything done, running around and so excited to see his new brother!

That's right, Ryan came home this afternoon! After we made sure JP was doing well, we headed back to Rose (good thing we live close) and visited the kids in the ICN. Ryan has been just about ready for the past few days. The Neonatologist said he could stay until Sat. if we wanted b/c he knew about JP's surgery, but things went so well that we decided to bring Ryan home tonight. He has been doing great so far, mostly sleeping. The funniest thing, was about 10 minutes ago, almost 9pm. Joe is on the 10pm feeding, and Ryan is sleeping on our main floor in a bassinet. All of a sudden Ryan started crying very loudly. I came down from upstairs, with JP following and Nana came from the basement. Ryan had a poop! We all watched as Daddy did his first diaper change in 5 years! JP handing him wipes and excited to take the diaper out to the garage. We all laughed and Joe said "Well, it takes 4 people to change this one, we only need 8 more friends!" I took JP back to bed and he said "I can't wait until Ryan cries again!" We'll see how long this lasts- he sees it as a get out of bed free card!

The girls are doing great also and should be home shortly, in the next 1-1.5 weeks. Both are gaining weight and having no major issues. Tonight they were going to take out their feeding IV's and let them go to town on the bottles and use a feeding tube if they need help. Caitlin is finally off the billirubin lights and we can see her eyes again. We look forward to being able to hold her more and watch her grow. Madison is doing well also. As of yesterday, she actually weighed 2oz. more than her sister. All other issues seem to be resolved except her platelet count. It was starting to go down again, but today it went up which was a relief. All 3 had brain ultrasounds, a standard for preemies, and showed no problems. Maddi also had an abdominal one and all looked good. We will try to get some new shots of them soon without their IV's.

Here are a few of Ryan's homecoming shots:

























Getting dressed to come home

























Loaded for his ride home. I did fix that bended ear before we left!

























On the way.



















JP greeting his little brother

























I love this baby! JP says

A Few More Pictures

Ryan in his lumberjack outfit.

























Do we look alike?



















JP meeting his new brother and sisters. Here's seeing Ryan for the 1st time.



















and Caitlin..
























and Madison.



















Madison under the lights with her "Hollywood eyes"



















Caitlin under the lights.



















Ryan under the lights.




















Little Maddi Ann. Just graduated to no billirubin lights! ...and just about to fall asleep again- she tried to keep her eyes open as long as she could, but they were just too heavy.

Day 3 Update

Today was a big day. For the 1st time, we got to hold the babies. I held Madison and then later Joe got to hold Ryan and then Caitlin! They are all doing well for preemies. Madison is causing the most concern right now, but hopefully she will grow stronger each day as well. Here's updates on all.

Ryan:
He appears to be the laid back one and is doing the best. Yesterday, they actually started him a bottle every other feeding vs. a feeding tube and he seems to love it. They even increased his feeding amounts today as he acted like he wanted more. Joe says he is definitely a Crist! Most people that see him, including me, think he looks like Joe. He just went under the billirubin lights today and shouldn't have to stay there long. He is still in a heated isolette, but doing great!

Caitlin:
The nurses call her the feisty one. If she's not happy about something, she'll let everyone know. She has been under the billirubin lights for the past few days and it looks like she'll have to stay under it a few more. We call them movie stars under the lights because they wear these little masks over their eyes that the nurses have drawn eyes with long lashes on. They think she is ready to go to a feeding tube vs. IV nourishment, but want to wait a few days on both her and Maddi because of the TTTS problems they have had. They want to make sure their other systems are working well before they start their digestive system working on milk. Other than that, she is doing well also.

Maddi:
Our little princess. She has overcome quite a few obstacles, but still has a few more things to deal with. After her rough birth, she was showing she had an enlarged liver and heart. They did an ultrasound and called a cardiologist. He looked at it and said everything appears to be OK. Her heart is anatomically correct and the enlargement could have been somewhat related to her stressful birth. He said that no follow up should be required. As of today, her heart and liver are both doing fine. Our biggest concern right now is her dropping platelet count. It kept steadily dropping and on Friday night she had to have a blood transfusion. It looked as if it was getting better, but then again today the platelets have begun dropping. They think they may have to call a hematologist to look at her. The neonatologist said her neurological development seems to be the same as her siblings, so that is good. She is also under the billirubin lights and hopefully will start with a feeding tube in the next few days.

We haven't taken many pictures since Thursday, but will hopefully get some more soon. I should be discharged tomorrow and then will have to start setting up schedules to visit daily. The initial high of the morphine definitely wore off by Friday morning, but I am getting a little better each day. Thank you to everyone for their congratulations and continued prayers. I have heard the comments section is not easy for people, but we appreciate the emails and well wishes from everyone!

The Birthday Story

I thought I would go back a couple of days and recap on our newest little Crists and how they arrived.

When we went for our appt. Wed 5/14 they picked up some irregular bloodflow dopplers coming in from Madison's placenta. It's called absent-end diastolic flow and we had not seen this for the past 2.5 months. The doctor came in and felt we should deliver everyone that night or the next morning depending on how Madison did on her biophysical profile. It's where they watch her on the ultrasound for some practice breathing. Wouldn't you know it, she slept for the next 1/2 hour and didn't move. We kept poking her to finally wake up, and when she did she started showing us some good practice breathing. Whew! It allowed us to go home and get ready for a Thurs. delivery.

Aunt Carolyn came and took JP Wed night and Joe, Nana and I barely slept. I really hadn't been sleeping much for the past week, so in someway it was a relief to be delivering, but I think any mother of multiples who knows she will have to deliver prematurely always wonders if she could have held out a little longer. I was soon to find out it was definitely time.

We arrived at 9am Thurs morning and they put monitors on all the babies heartbeats as I was being asked questions and meeting doctors and nurses that would be a part of the surgery. Nana got the OK to be in the operating room. My doctor came in and said I was going 15 minutes early, so as soon as Joe and Nana changed into their scrubs, we were off.

The actual c-section went very well. I was 100% alert and able hear what was going on. Even though I could feel tugging on me and all these people around me, I just kept telling myself it would be over soon. Then one by one the babies came out. First, Ryan Patrick at 12:16, the Caitlin Ann at 12:17, followed by Madison Ann at 12:18. I couldn't believe it, but both Joe and my Mom stood up for the entire procedure and saw everything down to the last staple!

The doctor held up the 1st 2 for me to see, but Madison was immediately taken away to the corner isolette to be worked on. Her membrane sack was ruptured (we think when Caitlin came out) and also her umbilical cord was wrapped around her head. She had to be given CPR, but quickly was resuscitated, given an IV with antibiotics and taken to the Intensive Care Nursery (what they call their NICU).

Both Ryan and Caitlin were on room air right away and they were brought over for me to hold. They were then taken to the ICN also while I went into recovery. On my way to my room afterwards, they took my bed through the nursery and I was able to see all 3. Madison was "Maddi" to me as soon as I saw her and I was told she was doing much better. The other 2 were settling into their isolettes and were also doing well. I had been given morphine that was to last 15 hours, so I actually did very well that first night also!

Some interesting things about the big day:
- Both my Dad and my triplet support group Mom picked this to be the day.
- May 15th is also my perinatologist's birthday. His name is Greg Lindsay- he asked if we still needed any names as he could think of 2 good ones in his honor!
- On Wed he told us that he was going to get an a experienced OB/GYN to be in the OR also. It ended up being his wife. Joe thought this was one of the coolest things to see a husband/wife team of doctors work together. "Honey, do you think... "
- Labor & Delivery at Rose Hospital is on floor "3"
- After surgery, my recovery room is "333"

Special Delivery

Just a quick update. Everyone is doing well. Madison is having a few problems, but hopefully we'll see some good improvements soon.

We will try and give a full update soon, but here are some pics in the meantime. Just follow this link to Kodak Gallery.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=11inays5.6w7jkznx&x=0&y=-2whsyf&localeid=en_US

Week 34 - Happy Birthday Madison, Caitlin & Ryan!

We made our goal of 34 weeks, and it looks like its time to welcome the trio!

Today was our 34 week appt. While doing the ultrasound, the sonographer saw some problems with one of the girls blood flow coming in from the placenta. They think a lot of the issue is that her sister is on top, squishing her into my spine. Our doctor felt that it would be better off delivering them now than to wait. He even used the "stillborn" word, which made me quite upset to say the least. I must have had a funny face because he asked my if everything was OK. I said yes, but I wish you hadn't said that word! He told me everything should be just fine. A roller coaster ride from start to finish!

Our c-section is scheduled for 12:00 tomorrow 5/15 at Rose Hospital. Joe will be in the room with me and maybe my mom. The doctor said its up to the anesthesiologist to decide, so we'll see. Everyone keeps asking how I feel. Honestly, its a mixture of emotions, nervous and excited. I just want everything to be OK when they come out. My doctor thinks the girls will be about 3.5 lbs and Ryan closer to 4. He thinks the girls will actually do better than the boy initially. He says they have already been through some stress, so chemically their bodies have been getting ready to come out early. Typically, they should be in the hospital 1-3 weeks at this point, but he thinks it could be closer to 1-2. As for the excited part, I can't wait to finally see these little faces. I have been on bed rest for 3 months now and I can't wait just to even sit outside or go for a walk. I just hope I have some muscle tone left and can recover from the surgery as quick as possible!

JP is staying with Aunt Carolyn for the next 2 nights and hopefully he can at least see his brother and sisters on Friday. We haven't told him the babies are coming tomorrow. In explaining my hospital stay when the babies arrive, he already can't understand why daddy can stay with me overnight but he cannot. He is excited for them to come though. We told him I have a "doctors appt" tomorrow and wouldn't it be great if the doctor said it was OK for them to come out. He agreed and said he would wish for it tonight.

The last thing the doctor said before we left is really what a great job I have done considering the issues we have dealt with and getting to 34 weeks was very good. So that was good to hear. We'll try and keep you posted and update with pictures ASAP!

Week 33

33 weeks and still going strong, well the babies are anyway, and that's the most important thing! We went for an appt. today and started with the NST test. After an hour and 1/2 of trying to get those babies to cooperate the doctor came in and said I could be done. (thank goodness!) She said the reason that they could not get good readings is that the babies just would not stop moving, which is an excellent thing! Actually Ryan did finally pass, but those girls are troublemakers! They explained that just like you or I, when a baby is sick they will not move much. They are thinking we have 3 very healthy babies in there.

Next came my blood pressure, weight, etc. which they are very happy with. I still do not have any swelling. I have now gained 32 lbs and it looks like its going all to the babies. My mom keeps saying "isn't it just amazing that your skin can stretch that much". I just hope it stretches back too! The doctor told me I am a very good incubator and they'll see me next week. The nurse wanted to be in on our birthday poll. She thinks that I will have a scheduled c-section at 35.5 weeks, around the 23rd. She said the only problem with that is I may be leaving the hospital with 3 babies and no time to recover! Kidding of course, but Nana will definitely be extending her stay!! Of course, as with any triplet pregnancy it could change any time. My water could break tonight and that would be that. We're only 4 days from our goal of 34 weeks, so right now I'm focusing on that and will count every additional day as a blessing.

Everyone else is doing well also. JP had a great birthday weekend. He has been having lots of fun with Nana. He just loves all of her old preschool activities (she taught preschool for over 10 years), I think a favorite is making painted toast (if anyone wants to know what that is let me know). Joe so appreciates the help with laundry, meals, and setting up the babies room. He even went to the gym the other day. Something he was having a tough time finding the time to do!

Lastly, we want to wish all the moms out there a very happy Mother's Day, especially Maggi (Grandmom) and Marlene (Nana). We love you so much and are thankful for all you do for us!
I found these 2 videos that I find to be so funny on Motherhood. Many of you have probably seen the 1st one- Momsense, but she added Dadsense which is pretty good too! Have a great weekend!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGoelj7l668&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtNGFh-dCe0

Week 32

We had our 32 week appt. today and it couldn't have gone better! The babies are getting bigger and bigger. Ryan is now 3 lbs 8 oz. and the girls are 2 lbs 15 oz. and 3.0 lbs. Our doctor is very happy about their weight gain. All amniotic fluids look good and they all passed their NST's. We were able to watch one of the girls do her "practice breathing" on the ultrasound too.

I'm doing well also. I'm showing no real signs of pre-term labor yet (even though I swear sometimes they are trying to kick their way out!) It's just such a blessing that I have made it to 32.5 weeks, when 6 weeks ago they thought I would never get this far. The doctor feels I can make it at least 2 more weeks and if I'm still holding on after that we can schedule a c-section sometime in week 35-36. I can't say that I feel as good these days as my appt. indicates, but I intend to hold out as long as I can.

My Mom arrived Tues. and will stay until the babies arrive. I told her she's my lucky charm because when she arrived for JP's birth he decided to hang on until I was finally induced when I passed 41 weeks. We're getting ready for a big birthday weekend as JP turns 5 on Saturday. He has cake at school tomorrow, a Chuck E Cheese's party with friends on Sat, and a family dinner on Sunday. I won't be able to make it to the 1st 2 parties :(, but am so grateful that I will be here on Sun.

We've now started a pool on when the babies will be born. We really haven't decided on a prize for the winner yet, but we'll have to think of something. Here's a few we have so far: May 9-JP, May 12-Nana (it's her birthday), May 17-Grandpop (his Mom's birthday), May 20-Joe (its a full moon), May 23-My sister. Just leave your guess in the comments section below and we'll see who wins!

Added 5/4: We have some additional guesses: May 11- Michelle in St. Louis (Mother's Day), May 15- Pa (my Dad is guessing the same as Christie- my support Mom in my Multiples Group). May 21 Dylan (Both Dylan and Barb have guessed this one!) Keep them coming!

Our next appt. is next Friday, so hopefully I will not have any posts until then! Have a great weekend!!