Sunday, November 29, 2009

Let the excitement begin....we are bringing the triplets home today!!! We have had Cooper at home for the last week which has been wonderful spending time and getting to know him even better. We are scheduled to go pick Carter and Chloe up later on this afternoon...hooray!!!

Marvin has taken this next week off to be with us, which couldn't have been planned any better. Of course, we have enrolled the help of Vovo (my mom) to help with feeding until we figure out a good feeding schedule (if there is such a thing). This week will be busy with doctors appts for the babies as they will see their pediatrician and have a follow up for their premature eyes with the pediatric opthamologist.

We feel as ready as we can be. We have completed our Christmas shopping, wrapped presents, and decorated the house for Christmas. Who knows, maybe we'll have our decorations up until June:-) We look forward to having our triplets in our arms at home.

Love,

The Snyders

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

We have been in the NICU for 5 weeks as of today, the good news is things are progressing nicely. We received excellent news regarding Cooper's repeat head ultrasound, his grade 1 head bleed has fully resolved....Hooray! Cooper is working on coming home very soon. He is taking his bottles around the clock and if he continues for the next 16 hours, he will have his feeding tube removed. If he continues to progress as planned he should be discharged within the next 4-5 days. Carter and Chloe are progressing at the same pace and finish bottles when they so desire. I'm afraid at this rate they will not be discharged prior to Thanksgiving, but who knows they might figure it out when Cooper leaves:-) The boys are scheduled to have their circumcision done in the morning, followed by all three receiving there Hepatitis B shots and Synagis shots. The Synagis is to prevent them from developing breathing problems in the future related to a respiratory virus that can be very dangerous for premature babies.

Carter weighs 5 pounds 11 oz

Chloe weighs 5 pounds 13 oz

Cooper weighs 6 pounds 13 oz

I added more photos today, one including Dr. Brown, the physician who has been caring for them while in the NICU. We feel so fortunate to have received such excellent care over these past 5 weeks. The triplets are lucky to have their Oma and Opa visiting from Ohio so we included a group photo of them. We hope you enjoy them. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and prayers, we greatly appreciate them.

Denise

Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Snyder Triplets turned one month old yesterday!!! I feel we have started making progress with their bottle/breast feeding. Carter and Cooper have been successful at finishing their bottles when given. They are getting rest periods when they are getting their tube feeding, so they don't have to tucker out completely. Surprisingly, Chloe has been the slowest to catch on with the feeding. She just doesn't want to work as hard as the boys. I am counting down the days until they can come home, I am keeping our fingers crossed that they will be home by Thanksgiving. You can see by their weights that we have three little turkeys:-)

Carter weighs 5 pounds 7 oz

Chloe weighs 5 pounds 8 oz

Cooper weighs 6 pounds 8 oz

Today, we took Jackson to the hospital to see his babies. He had a great time helping feed them and taking pictures with them. After our hospital visit we took Jackson to Hollywood Studios to spend some quality time with him. We had a blast, but needless to say, I am exhausted from our adventure today.

Denise

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Well, we will keep this short and sweet. The triplets are still working on their bottle/breast feeding. At times they do great with their bottles and finish in no time at all, however the next time around they are wiped out and cannot finish a bottle. Premature babies often have problems with bottle feeding, so it just takes time for them to mature and figure it all out. A good note, the triplets had their eye exam completed this morning and all passed. They should have their hearing tested in the next 1-2 weeks. They all continue to gain a lot of weight - they actually have little rolls now on their arms and legs.

Carter weighs 5 pounds

Chloe weighs 5 pounds 1 oz

Cooper weighs 6 pounds

I added some more photos of our family - I can't believe there are 6 people in our family now!!! This past Sunday, we took our first family portrait. What a workout that was to get us all arranged for the photo, but it was worth it for all the memories. Enjoy!

Love,

Denise

Friday, November 6, 2009

Well the countdown begins...the Snyder triplets would be 34 weeks gestation today (if I was still pregnant). We plan on being home between 36-37 weeks gestation (which is a prediction from Dr. Brown). All three babies had their caffeine medication discontinued as they have had improvements in their heart rates and breathing. Now, is the test to see how they do without that medication - if they go 5-7 days without their heart rate dropping they will be discharged without a heart/apnea monitor. Carter would have been able to get off the oxygen (apnea) monitor today, however he has to go 48 hours without a dip in his heartrate...he decided to have a dip in his heart rate today at the 47th hour. I guess he likes all the extra monitoring:-) Otherwise, all three continue to gain weight and are getting so big!!! Jackie, the nurse from the antepartum floor came to visit today...she is one of the nurses that cared for me in the hospital while I was on bedrest. I attribute her care to helping me get 2 more weeks out of my pregnancy.

Carter weighs 4 pounds 10 oz

Chloe weighs 4 pounds 11 oz

Cooper weighs 5 pounds 7 oz

When I picked Jackson up from school today, his teacher Ms. Gisela told me she hears all about the babies. He told her about their tubes in their noses, which I think is so sweet that he talks about them when we're not there. Our sweet little angel did act up this week at school...he actually bit someone in the reading corner. Needless to say we had a nice long talk with him and since then he tells me every morning..."mom, I won't hit or bite anybody today". Other than that, our life has become quite the routine of going to school then spending the day at the hospital with our babies.

Denise

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Our babies are getting so BIG!!! Carter now weighs 4 pounds 7 oz, Chloe 4 pounds 8 oz, and Cooper 5 pounds 4 oz. We continue to work on them eating well from a bottle and I started to breastfeed all three these past few days. I even attempted to breastfeed Carter and Chloe at the same time...but I'm not that talented yet....I needed a lot of assistance with that endeavor:-) I finally took a picture while holding all three of them - thanks to my great NICU nurse, Kathleen. Jackson is very excited as his Oma from Ohio has arrived today. Marvin took her straight to the hospital to see her new grandchildren.

Enjoy the photos!!!

Denise

Sunday, November 1, 2009

We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend. Jackson's school had a pumpkin patch party...he dressed up as Buzz Lightyear....to infinity and beyond:-) He had a great time at his party and we were blessed that we could be there to support him and make sure he felt special. He thoroughly enjoyed trick or treating, except the first house we went to had a scary man answer the door, and I never saw my son run so fast to get away. While at the hospital on Saturday, I dressed Carter and Cooper as little lions, and Chloe was a princess. They were absolutely adorable - thanks Vovo for the outfits!!! They continue to work on their feeding from a bottle a few times each day. They each have their good times and bad times during bottle feeding, we just have to wait for them to become more mature to figure it all out. We all went to the hospital today for a visit. Jackson was able to hold his brothers and sister and he was so proud...I will always remember the smile he had as he held each one of them. They were weighed during our visit this evening. Carter is now 4 pounds 4 oz, Chloe is 4 pounds 5 oz, and Cooper is 5 pounds!!! We hope you enjoy all the photos.

Love,

The Snyders