Keeping up with the Bragassas: September 2012

Some of you may now find this blog a little crazy and uninteresting but I still feel the need to keep blogging regardless... It's therapeutic in a way! Last time I posted, the babies were still in the hospital doing what they needed to do to get home! Boy oh boy how times have changed since that last post! I'll catch everyone up by taking a trip down our fun memory lane!

Back in the beginning of July, the babies were all moved down to the level 2 nursery at MUSC. Once they reached this point, it was only a matter of time before they were allowed to come home so we were on baby alert all the time! Unfortunately, we had a few false alarms as a nurse would call us and tell us to expect a baby (or two or three) to be coming home the next day and for us to get ready, and them of course it wouldn't happen for some reason or another. Of course all of those reasons were completely justifiable and ok with us as we did not want to be taking home a baby who didn't need to be going home yet! Finally, we got a call on the morning of the 15th asking if we could come on and "room-in" with all three babies. Now I understand that all parents don't really have to do this because number one, most people only have one baby and spend the night with their baby in the hospital anyway, and number two, most people don't have three babies going home on apnea monitors. That's right... All three of them had to be hooked up to apnea monitors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until we were told otherwise! Anyway, back to the part about bunking up in the hospital... We received that call and decided we would go the next night... Little did we know we would go in as 2 people and come out with 5!! The night went well although exhausting... I'm still not convinced that I slept at all while we were there although it was nice to finally be able to hold our babies for the first time without nurses around and without the constant sounds of the nursery! We finally kind of felt like they were really our babies:). The next morning, the nurse came in and told us that not just one or two babies would be going home, but that all three would be discharged!! Let me tell you about crazy!! This entire time someone had been at our house to help out except for now and of course the doctors decide that all three could go home! It was just going to be me and Brian...at this point we realized that we were going to be outnumbered by our children for the rest of our lives!! A few minutes after the nurse told us this exciting news, the neonatologist stopped by and said "this never happens!", in reference to sending all three babies home on the same day. Not too long after lunch, I signed a million papers while Brian went and packed up the car and pulled it around front. It was finally time to bring the babies home and I think I almost peed in my pants when the nurses started to load them into their carseats. It was such a surreal feeling to be bringing home three babies!!! Not to mention the fact that the babies were still tiny (all right around 5 pounds) and they were only 35.5 weeks old! Oh well... Better for the babies to be at home away from infection and germs:).

At last we were ready to take the scariest ride of our life, both literally and figuratively. The babies were loaded in the car, crazy apnea monitors an all, and we were ready to say goodbye to the nurses one last time! The car ride home was uneventful, but things kinda fell apart the minute we for home. Let me preface this by saying that since that day we've learned a lot and knowing what we know now, the mayhem wouldn't have ensued. Oh well... I guess hindsight is always 20/20. Let me paint you a pictures of what happened when we pulled in the garage...

Ok so first things first, let's get the babies out of the car and successfully into the house... That was our first goal. What we didn't realize was at times like these being outnumbered by infants really can cause problems. The issue at hand was how were we going to get all three babies in the house without ultimately leaving one baby unattended for a few seconds. Why we thought it was awful to leave a baby unattended in the car in the garage for 20 seconds I have no idea but we were hung up on the fact that we couldn't! We also couldn't leave a baby unattended in the house in fear that our sweet dog Vida might turn into a ravenous beast and attack the babies (everyone kept telling us that you just never know with dogs although deep down I knew Vida would be fine!). Under these preconceived notions, we literally couldn't figure out what to do... It was like solving a real life riddle and I'm not even sure how all three made it into the house alive. What I do know, is when we finally got them in the house and back to their room, Brian decided that things in the baby room were not organized in a functional manner, so he took it upon himself to "de-clutter" all the unnecessary items (while I was unloading all the baby stuff in the car) by throwing them into the hallway, thus blocking the hallway and making a mess. In the end, all three babies made it safely to their crib and were fed and happy:)

Since those first days home, we've been barfed on, peed on, pooped on, cried on and loved on...you know...just the normal baby things. All three babies are growing like weeds (Bryce is 9lbs4oz, Ava and Emma both weighed in at 9lbs8oz) and all three are fabulous babies. Although they are good babies, taking care of three babies is no easy feat. They cry when they are supposed to...like when they are hungry or tired, but when there is just one or two people taking care of them, it gets frustrating letting that 3rd one cry. We're slowly starting to feed two at a time, but since they are still considered newborns, it's hard for them to support their own heads and to swallow without choking. There are great times though too when all three take a nap for a while...like right now, which is why I'm able to do this when I should be folding laundry or something else. Our daily routine consists of feeding babies around the clock, at 1, 5 and 9...if you do the math, that's six times a day, 18 bottles and boatloads of dishes. It takes two people about 1.5 hours to feed all three by the time you change their diaper, feed them, burp them, and then hold them upright for a few minutes to try to prevent the babies from tasting their food a second time around. I'm still a cow and am pumping enough milk for 4 of their 6 feedings (sorry if that's TMI, it's nature people!). We go through at least 18 diapers a day if not more and within the first month at home went through about 900 wipes!!! The babies are starting to smile a little bit...although they may be passing gas but I'd like to think it's a smile:) One of the craziest things is looking back at their teeny, tiny preemie outfits! I can hardly imagine them being that small now that they are wearing 0-3 months and are in the 50th(ish) percentiles for their gestational age! Even though it can get crazy at times, we can't imagine it any other way! In order to cope with the craziness, we have had someone here to help almost everyday since the babies have been born and we couldn't have done it without them. In all honesty, I don't know how someone can tackle three newborns alone, without help, day in and day out. We are so thankful to have such wonderful and supportive families and friends! Here are some tidbits about each baby and myself followed by some pictures over the past 2 months!

Ava: pretty laid back, super loud, smiles sometimes. She also has a red mark on her face called a hemangioma which is expected to go away soon.

Emma: At first, we thought she would be the crazy baby, but she's turned out to be very easy going, happy, and easy to please. Has a hemangioma on her leg which will go away soon too! She loves to be awake and she opens her eyes like she's seen a ghost sometimes! It's hilarious!

Bryce: He's the quietest of the three, not very fussy, loves his binky and to snuggle.

Vida (yes she counts too!): She's adapting well to the babies and goes to check on them when they are crying. She hasn't been getting her normal walks but she seems to be adjusting well:)

Me: I feel good and have recovered well from the C-section, although things look a little different than they did before I was pregnant. I did get stretch marks after all, and my belly button is still herniated because my abdominal muscles are still about 1.5-2 inches separated. We're hoping that goes back on its own so it doesn't have to be surgically fixed down the road. I'm finally starting to look like I'm not pregnant and am about 12-14 pounds over my normal weight! I'm in that awkward state where my old clothes almost fit but not really, and my pregnancy clothes are way too big so I live in leggings and spandex:)