Olivia and I are waiting to see the Dr.. She is dialated and just sleeping. It is very busy here today. Will have update later.

Bath time.............

Olivia

Ethan

Evan

Waiting for our bath time.

Olivia with her new stuffed lamb.....

Olivia with her new stuffed animal. She got this for her surgery on her eyes. Mom thought dad bought too big.

Our 1st Christmas............

Our 1st Christmas with Dad and Mom.

New updated look....................

The old look was getting a little old, so we have upgraded to a new look for the new year. Everyone is doing quite well here. Olivia has her follow up appointment tomorrow for her eyes. Hopefully she will get a good report and not need any further laser treatments.

I will be uploading new photos later tonight. Check back soon!!!!!

Unhappy babies....................

Today has been a challenging day with the trio. Evan and Olivia have been very unhappy babies today. We suspect they may be catching a little something. They have really kept the two of us moving today. Hopefully they are just having off days and will be better tomorrow.

Ethan is due at the pulmonoligist at 3 pm tomorrow. I am not sure he will make the appointment with all the snow we are getting. I have to work tomorrow and Nicole is suppose to take him. She is not happy about going to Toledo in the first place, let alone compound it with snow. She just now got a message that the sitter who was going to watch the other two has been quite ill all day today. So now it really looks like the appointment is getting moved. The office we have to go to has a strict policy about cancellations. If you do not show up to your appointment the only way back in is with a personal call from your physician. I guess I am going to have to use some of that Harold fast talk on them.

I know I said I would have more pictures today but it has been a long day and I haven't uploaded them into the computer.

Olivia's surgery................

Olivia had her eye surgery this morning. We arrived back at the NICU at 9am this morning and waited for the Dr to arrive. The Dr. arrived around 10:30 am and completed the laser treatment on the retina's of both eyes. We had to stay an additional four hours for observation. It was a good time for Nicole and I to take naps. At least I took a nap. Every time Nicole would be about asleep, either the nurse would come back or Olivia would let out a little cry. She did fine with the surgery and didn't hardly cry at all. They were surprised how well she did. We were sort of disappointed that the usual nurses we had while there were not on duty. We wanted to show how far she had come in the five weeks since leaving. She left at 3 lbs something and came back at over 7 lbs.

Will have some more Christmas photos up tomorrow probably. Keep checking back.

Christmas Eve 2009.....................

These little reindeer crash landed in our living room.
Olivia dreaming of dancing sugar plums.

Ethan is looking for Christmas cookies under the tree.

When can I open these presents?

We sure are glad it is Christmas. We are looking forward to Santa Claus coming to visit us.

Update...............

Ethan does in fact have an inguinal hernia and will require surgery in the future. At this time we are watching it because it is relatively asymptomatic. Olivia will get surgery on her eyes on Saturday. She has blood vessels growing inward instead of along the wall of the eye. They look for her to have a full recovery and could possibly need glasses in the future, but she is already predisposed for that.

A time for prayer.............

The babies were dedicated on Sunday. The service was very nice and they received personalized bibles from our church. The Pastor that married Nicole and I performed part of the service. It was nice to have him join us again for such a special occasion.

The babies went to Toledo today for their retina checks. The appointment didn't go as well as hoped. The boys are fine, but Olivia has some blood vessels growing inward off her retina. The Dr wants us to go back tomorrow to see another Dr. It may require surgery, but we are not sure at this point. Be praying for little Olivia. Retinopathy of the retina can be quite debilitating if not treated correctly and quick enough.

The trio goes to the family doc in the morning for a check up. Ethan is top priority for the morning appointment. It appears the lad is suffering from a hernia. We have to confirm it with the Dr, but all signs are pointing to that in my opinion. The poor little guy is suffering.

Nicole went to see Dr. Schroeder today, good report. He was happy to see that everything turned out with the delivery and all. He set a goal to get Nicole to 32 weeks and helped achieve that.

We thought things were going really well and then all of a sudden it seems like the walls came tumbling down. So please be praying for us at this time. It is late and has been an exhausting week already. Will have update tomorrow on every one's status.

Photo after the dedication................

Home Alone Part 2..............

I was home alone with the kids today. Nicole went shopping and got everything completed. We didn't do much, just eat and sleep. The nurse was here the other day and gave another dose of synagis. This is the medication that protects against RSV. They were weighed and are at, Ethan 7 lbs 11 oz, Evan 8 lbs 3 oz, and Olivia is 6 lbs 6oz.

Tomorrow is the our big debut in Church. The babies are being dedicated tomorrow. The Pastor that married Nicole and I is going to help with the dedication. Pastor Robinson had been part of a revival at our church in the spring and had prophesied that we would be blessed with children. Not long after that we found out we were having triplets. God works in mysterious ways.

It is getting late and we have a big day tomorrow, will update soon.

Alone with babies................

I am home alone with the babies tonight. Nicole is out getting the Christmas shopping done. I just finished feedings. Ethan got a bath tonight. Olivia still needs one, but I have not decided to do it yet. Evan got his bath a day early due to a "blowout". We are having a good time hanging out watching The Sing Off on NBC.

I had forgot to mention a BIG THANKS to Uncle Tony and Aunt Linda for watching the trips last Friday. They had a really good time spending time with them. Nicole and I are grateful for the generosity that Linda and Tony have exhibited to us. We really appreciate it.

The Triplets will be dedicated this Sunday at Church. We wanted to get it done before the end of the year. God has given us three babies and we feel we should give them back to God.

Ethan is laying on my chest as I am typing this and is lifting his head extremely well. Evan is starting to wake up. I better go and see what is up.

Shopping results...............

The trip went really, really well. The babies slept nearly the enitre time. They woke up once for a feeding and then back to sleep. We went to four stores, but the babies only went into three. The mall was the most interesting of our visits. We were gawked and stared at. I had the double stroller with the boys and Nicole had the single with Olivia. Nicole couldn't help but laugh every time someone would make comments about the Triplets. It was quite amusing. We would be walking down through the mall and you would hear people in the stores say, "Oh those are triplets." The funny part is they really couldn't even see the babies. I was shocked that no one even attempted to get close and touch them. I know some people are probably saying, what are Harold and Nicole thinking. We felt it was OK to take them out this one time. We had decided that we would be firm if people attempted to get closer to them than we felt comfortable with. I know it seems selfish, but we needed an affirmation that, YES we can go somewhere with the kids and be just fine. Are we going to do this often, no. We had faith that they would remain protected.

The babies will get another dose of synagis this week from our visiting nurse. They are continuing to do quite well. Nicole is planning on returning to work on January 11th, 2010. We are continuing to discuss the babysitter issue.

We are planning to get the Christmas photos of the babies this week or early next week. It will be interesting to see how they will do with a photo session. I hope they will do really good. They did really well with the photos in the hospital. They were alert and took excellent photos.

Our 1st trip out with the Trio...............

Today will be out first trip out with them going to a place other than the Dr. We are going to go to the mall and finish up our shopping. There will probably be a lot of staring and glances from people thinking, "Oh my goodness, they have three babies." It will be a challenge taking them out, but we have to do it sometime. Will definitely be giving an update later on how this day was.

The triplets had a lot of fun spending time with Uncle Tony and Aunt Linda Friday night. Nicole and I went to her Work Christmas party. We really appreciate everything they have done for us. They were the 1st sitters that were not immediate family. I think Aunt Linda would have stayed all night if she could have, she enjoyed the little ones so much.

The babies are doing good. Ethan is taking zantac for his reflux issues and it is helping quite a bit. Evan is probably going to have to go on the medicine too. He doesn't reflux as much as Ethan, but when he does it is bad. Poor little guy has it coming out his nose and then wants to hold his breath. Your heart just breaks when it happens. Olivia is a champion at reflux, when it happens you just hear her swallowing it back down and she doesn't really even make a fuss about it.

The boys are right at the threshold of switching to 0/3 months clothes. They are really filling out some of the clothes they have quite nicely right now. Olivia is into newborn, but will probably stay there for a little longer.

We cannot wait for Christmas to be over. The tree takes up a lot of prime real estate in the living room that is desperately needed. The babies need their space. Really the babies need space for all their things.

Whenever we get a visitor in, they always comment on how calm and relaxed it seems at our house. We just laugh and think to ourselve, "Oh if you only knew." Everyone just plans on coming at the most appropriate time. Right after grazing time. They are usually asleep after that. However, it seems like in the past couple of days they will eat and then stay awake for quite awhile afterwards. It is strange how fast they are growing up. We received our hospital pictures in the mail and they have changed in looks a lot. Especially Olivia. She kind of looks like a different baby.

It is nearly 9:30 now and we should probably feed them and hit the road. Will let everyone know how it goes later.

The babies with their animals.....

Here are some darling photos of the babies with their animals. Absolutely adorable.

The babies had a Dr appointment yesterday. Olivia is 5 lb 9 oz, Evan is 7 lb 2 oz, and Ethan is 7 lb. Dr. Freshwater is quite happy with their progress. We go back in two weeks for another check. In two weeks we also go the retina specialist for a check up. All preemies are required to have their eyes checked.

Nicole and I are really tired tonight and we are going to try to get some rest. Yeah right........who are we kidding. We wouldn't trade any of this for anything.

My lateness.................

It has been awhile since my last update. Nicole has been getting a lot of flack for my tardiness. So I returned to work last Monday and the week went slow it seemed like. Returning to work wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I thought I would be totally exhausted during the day, but to my surprise I felt somewhat chipper.

As you can see from our new picture above, the babies are growing like crazy. They don't look like the little babies that came home from the NICU 3 short weeks ago. They are turning in to eating machines. At last weigh in Ethan weighed 6 lb 6 oz, Evan was 6 lb 8 oz, and Olivia was 4 lb 14 oz. With it being a week later I am sure Olivia is well over 5 lb and the boys are hovering around 7 lb.

Nicole had her baby shower yesterday. We received a lot of nice gifts and the turn out was good. There was a scare with the cake, because the gal was half an hour late. I stayed home with the trio. We had a really good morning and afternoon. We ate, slept, and did some chores. Well, we all did the first two and I did the latter alone. After the baby shower and we put most of the stuff away, Nicole's parents came and watched the kids for a couple of hours while we attempted to get some Christmas shopping completed. We bought one person one thing. I wouldn't call this an accomplishment on our part. Now we are trying to figure out the best time for us to get some more shopping complete.

This Friday Nicole's company is having a dinner for the employees and spouses. My Linda is going to watch the babes for us. She is a good friend of Nicole's and mine. We will see how good the party is going to be. The last couple of years we spent the parties in locations such as Las Vegas and Chicago. Bad economy left us in Findlay this year. Hopefully it will still be as fun as it was those times.

As I close my blog for this evening, it is with much sadness and heartache that I tell you Nicole has lost a very close and dear friend to her. Her Linda died this past week quite unexpectedly. Nicole and Linda thought a lot of one another and both started at the Right Thing at the same time. Please pray and be thinking of the Bunda family as they have lost an important part of their family.

Back to work today.............

Well, it is back to work today for me. I wish I had more time to spend with them. Hopefully the work day will go by quickly. Nicole thinks I will be home by lunch. I told her that isn't going to happen because I am out of vacation hours.

Ethan, Evan, and Olivia just completed their feedings and they are down for another three hours. I can hear them in the bedroom making noises. Preemies make a lot of noises, they refer to it as the preemie grunt. If I didn't know better I would think I was on the farm. The Dr. said it should go away in a couple of months.

Well it is nearly 7 o'clock and I have to leave for work. Will blog later to let everyone know how Nicole's first day alone went.

Evan and Olivia had the hiccups early in the morning. It was so funny, I had to upload it for everyone to see. Enjoy!

After breakfast on Sunday.........

The trio is sleeping after their morning meal.

Thanksgiving.....................

We had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. The babies are eating and growing like crazy. I cannot believe it has been only a month and they are so big. As of our Tuesday this week, they were Ethan 5lb 12oz, Evan 5lb 12 oz and Olivia 4 lb 7 1/2oz. Dr. Freshwater said they are doing very well and that their birth weights were fantastic. They go back in two weeks for another follow-up. I am hoping we will go to an every two month rotation after that.

Thank you, thank you, thank you..........................

First, a big thanks to my Aunt Juanita in Texas. She sent us a large box full of clothes and accessories for the trio. We will use everything in there for them. We continue to get blessed daily. We received a photo frame with the kids names engraved on it from our friend Abbey. Another special gift was a gift card to Kroger.

I went to Meijer tonight to get more formula. We received 3 cans from the hospital gift bags and they have went through two. They are eating really, really good. The visiting nurse came today to get weights and check up on us. Ethan is at 5 lbs 10 oz. Evan is at 5 lbs 7 1/2oz. And last but certainly not least Olivia is at 4 lbs 4 oz. We are not completely sure of Ethan's weight. When she was here Friday he was 5 lbs. I don't think her gained 10 oz in 2 1/2 days. We visit our Dr. tomorrow for our 1 week check-up. We will see what their scales show. Our Dr's office has given us special privelage to get in the office when we get there. They are scheduling our appointments at non-busy times and someone is going to come and help us get the entire clan in the building. Good accommodations!

Tonight was bath night. It is like an assembly line for us. One, two, three then feed, feed, feed. It is funny how life changes. Nine months ago if you would have told us we would have triplets, I would have thought you were bloody insane. Somehow though it is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. Now don't get me wrong, it isn't a walk in the park. But somehow as each day passes with them, it gets easier and easier. We had some visitors today and I think they were shocked we were so calm and the tribe was sleeping. I think they thought it would be like animal house here or something. Wait until they start crawling and walking around, then we may look more like that.

It is getting late and there is always laundry and dishes to do here at our house now. I think I could fold laundry and wash dishes in my sleep at this point. We really do appreciate everything everyone has done for us and given us. It has helped us out in so many ways. Thank you!

Thank you to the J&J team at RTI..................................

Nicole and I want to thank the J&J team for all the wonderful gifts. It is a true blessing for Nicole to work with such generous people. Everything will be put to good use with the trio.

One month Birthday........................

Today is the one month birthday of the trio. We took some photos of them. Hope you all enjoy.

Getting along so far........................

Olivia and Evan are helping each other out. It was getting close to feeding time and they are sucking on each others fingers. What a good brother and sister. They are adjusting to being at home really well.

Everyone is napping right now except for me. Soon it will be feeding time. We are still working out the logistics of caring for three newborns at the same time, but it is coming along nicely.

Ethan is home now......................................

I was released from the hospital today. I wanted to come home all by myself. The house is really warm with the new Eden Pure heater that dad got us. It keeps everything nice and warm. Dad decorated the tree today because he had all the ornaments on the coffee table. It looks ok but I think it needs something else. I cannot wait until I see my Dr and can get rid of this monitor that I am on. I hope to see everyone as soon as I can.

Evan's homecoming.........................................

I like car rides like my sister. Hopefully my brother will get to come home tomorrow or Friday.

The house is nice. Dad even got us an Eden Pure heater to help keep us warm this winter. Mom and Dad are pretty tired and so am I. Olivia is having a hard time getting to sleep tonight. See you all soon.

Didn't work out as hoped for.........................

As you can probably tell, we didn't all get to come home together. Olivia made it first. Evan is being discharged today and Ethan we hope will be tomorrow. We are on our way up to the NICU now. Nicole is taking care of some things with her Dr. Olivia and I are hanging out in the car. She is sleeping of course. That leaves me available to update all of you on our progress.

Check back tonight for Evan's arrival home photo.

The night after Olivia's homecoming..........................

So we didn't get much sleep last night. Our first night went well. Nicole took the first half of the night and I had the last. It was sort of nerve racking for us. We did well though. Olivia rested pretty well most of the night. I am interested to see how it goes when we get the boys home. It will be a whole new ball game then.

I am going to call about the boys to see if they are coming home today. Will have an update later.

Olivia is home................................................

This is me after my first care ride, it really wore me out. I got to come home today. My brothers have to stay an extra day or two. Dad and Mom decided that it was better for me to come home than do the 24 hour care at the hospital. I really like my new house. Dad showed me around. He even had the Christmas tree up already. He hasn't decorated it yet.

I just ate my dinner and it is time for me to sleep now. Good night everyone!!!!!!!!

Homecoming.......................................

We will be staying in the 24 hour room with all the babies tonight. Olivia will be considered discharged as soon as we say. In an order to keep us all together, they have offered us the 24 hour room. It is a special room for parents and their new babies to stay in for 24 hours. The nurse will still check on the babies that haven't been discharged. Tomorrow morning they will probably discharge both Ethan and Evan if they have no alarms during the night.

Ethan will be coming home on a special monitor that looks for apnea and bradycardia episodes. No of the others require this at this time. We had to have a special class for the monitor. How to use it and things along those lines.

Be checking back for the blog that says, "We are home :)"

Winter hibernation...............................

This is a very exciting time for everyone and we know that there is much anticipation for people to come see the babies. However, under the advisement of our doctors and nurses, it is imperative we maintain a strict visitation policy over the winter months. Our babies were premature and are strong but were not as developed as a regular term baby would be. This is RSV season and this virus can make them very very sick.

We appreciate everyones offers of help and while we will need help, we are asking for the first week please allow us to find our groove as a family. Nicole and I will both be home with the babies for the next week and a half. After that she will be home with them and will probably ask people for help. I know this all seems overcautious. However, we have three little ones depending on us to protect them and we feel this will help protect them over the winter.

We hope that no one gets angry or upset with this decision, but we do want everyone to have a chance to meet the triplets and be a part of their lives.

The night before................................

The stage is set and they are coming home. Evan and Olivia will be coming home tomorrow. They were hoping they would all be on the same day, but Ethan is right on their heels and will probably be coming home the day after. We spent today getting prepared for their departure from the hospital. We had videos to watch about caring for your new baby and how to put your baby to sleep. I was reminded of my days in high school.



We are getting ready to take the bulk of our stuff home from Ronald McDonald right now. We will come back tonight and stay. This is our last night here. We are very excited to be at home with our kids. As Dorothy said, "There is no place like home." Tomorrow we will check out of here and off to the hospital.

Coming home............................................

There is a very strong chance that Evan and Olivia may be coming home together tomorrow. Olivia is most likely coming, but not sure about Evan. As long as everything remained the same over the night, they will both be coming home.

Ethan is starting to get the hang of what he needs to do to come home. He is taking his feedings by bottle much more often. We think that he has a little reflux issue going on and this is just taking him longer to get the hang of everything.

We could all be home by the end of this week or early next week. It is a very exciting time and also scary at the same moment. We will no longer have the nurses there for us. So please be thinking about us as we are going to start the next chapter in this book.

Olivia has the hiccups.......................................

The princess in our family has the hiccups.

Update...............

Evan and Olivia are really taking off with their feedings. Evan doesn't have anymore tubes now. he only has the necessary wires to monitor his stats. He will be coming home in the next week most likely. Olivia will probably not be far behind. These two little ones are eating a lot. They have switched to an ad lib feeding schedule. This means they can eat as much as they want when they want. Within reason of course. Ethan is still working on getting it all together. The eat, breath, and suck technique. He has not had as many De-stats. He is very happy, but not grasping everything he has to do all at the same time.

We are not sure how much longer we will actually be staying at Ronald McDonald. If the hospital doesn't allow Evan to come over and visit during the day after his discharge, we will probably be staying home and traveling back and forth. We have a lot of logistics to figure out.

The invitations have went out. Be checking your mailboxes for them. The party is set for December 5th, 2009 at 11:00 am. It will be held at our church in Dunkirk. Dunkirk Assembly of God 457 W. Patterson St. We look forward to seeing everyone at the shower.

Olivia

My dad left the flash on when he took my picture. It really surprised me.

Evan

My dad is constantly taking pictures.

Ethan

Hi everyone. I am in a really good mood today. All my grandparents came to see us today.

We are doing well..........................

We are all doing very well. Evan is taking to bottles very good. He still receives an occasional feeding through his tube, but for the most part he takes them by bottle. I would say he will definately be home by Thanksgiving. Olivia will be close. She is taking bottles, but not as much as Evan. Ethan is struggling with acid reflux and is having a tougher time. He has had some de-stats. Which means for some reason he forgets to breath and his levels drop. It happens more during the night. I think he just gets into a deeper sleep and some neurons in the brain forget to fire. My theory.

We are going to go home this weekend and get some of their stuff in order. With them possibly coming home in the next two weeks, we realized we have a lot of stuff to get done.

It looks like we are going to get the good nurse again tonight. Nicole has had a bad nurse or two over the last week. Very pushy and sort of bossy. I told her to remember they work for us. Not the other way around.

Our 1st family photo........................................

The awaited picture..................................

So we return from the NICU tonight and I asked Nicole, "where is the camera?" She says, "It is in the NICU." I told her I have a lot of people asking where the picture is. She apologizes to everyone and says you will just have to wait one more day. I did not feel like venturing back to the NICU for the camera tonight. Sorry!

Olivia's upgrade................

Olivia has bee upgraded to an open crib. Everyone is continuing to do well.

Will have that special picture later.

We are doing really good..................

Ethan and Evan will not be in their preemie clothes very long. Their legs are too long for the clothes. They are probably going to switch over to newborn in the next few days. They didn't get to wear hardly any of their preemie outfits. Who would of thought they would be so long.

With preemie clothes being too small. We are asking people to not send any preemie or newborn clothes. With the way they are eating and growing there is just no way they will be in any of that for very long. If you want to get us something please do something seasonally appropriate and at a minimum of 0 to 3 months. We do appreciate everything everyone has sent us. I don't know what we would do without everyones generosity.

Thank you to The Right Thing, Nicole's company, they sent us a box of RTI bibs, hats, and outfits. We did not expect to receive this. It is very cute. We are going to let the trio be unpaid spokespeople for the company, afterall it is The Right Thing :)

We also received a generous supply of size 1 diapers from Procter and Gamble. They donated a bunch of items to the health center and we received a good supply. Another item that we are in good supply of.

Everyone is doing very well here. Nicole and I actually went to our house and accomplished a few tasks. We realized how much we need to get done before the kids come home.

Stay tuned will probably have a special photo tomorrow for everyone.

Evan was upgraded to an open bed.......

Evan was upgraded to an open air bed. We went to get a cover for a boppy pillow and when we returned he had a new bed. She said he peeed everywhere. So, they decided to change his bed.

Upgraded to an open bed..........

Ethan was upgraded to an open bed today. Both the boys are off the IVs. Olivia is allowed to be put on a portable monitor so that she can come visit in their room. She has another roommate. They are doing really really well. They all three got put to the nipple today. Not much action, mostly slept. But it is a start.

Olivia

Evan

Ethan

Olivia is off the IV................

Olivia is off of her IV. Next week they will try giving her a bottle and see how she does. The boys will probably be losing the IVs in the next few days and follow the same plan. They are growing up so fast. :)

It has been awhile....................

Olivia is off her nasal cannula and she will be off her IV today or tomorrow. Evan came off his cannula yesterday. They are hoping that the boys will come off their IVs in the next few days. Ethan and Evan are over their birth weights. Olivia is not far away and will probably pass it soon.

They think they will be home by Thanksgiving. Most likely they will come home one at a time. Actually, Olivia is doing so well they suspect that she will be the first to come home.

I have been commuting back and forth between Lima and Toledo. The drive is not too bad. A little boring.

Thank you Courtney for all the soda pop tops. I don't know how you collected so many so quickly. It is really good for the house.

They are planning on a baby shower on December 5th. Everyone please mark your calendars and be looking for your special invitation in the mail.

We appreciate all the gifts, thoughts, and prayers from everyone.

Please check back for more news.

One week birthday..............................

Today will be their one week birthday. It is hard to believe it has only been a week since they were born. It seems a lot longer ago. Everyone is doing well. Nicole and I received some much needed rest. I think the fall back helped with that. We were laughing because Nicole's 28th birthday is today and she has three kids now. It just seems funny to us.

We are getting ready to go up and see the babies. Have an update later.

The latest and greatest..................

Ethan is off of the vent and is only on nasal cannula. Hooray!!!!!!!! They are all doing very well. They are tolerating their feedings very good. Surprisingly Ethan is the best eater so far. Nicole's milk has came in and we are pumping like crazy. That is a full time job in itself.

We did get into the Ronald McDonald house. They provide you with a room and bathroom. Meals, laundry service, Internet, and all the amenities of home are provided free of charge. I encourage everyone to donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Ohio or in your local community. It takes nearly $500,o00 to operate the house yearly. They have taken a burden off of our shoulders. The house is located right next to the hospital and will transport back and forth between. It's a true blessing to have such a service available to parents for children in the hospital. Again, I encourage EVERYONE to donate to this charity. They also collect soda pull tabs, if you prefer save those tabs and send them to Ronald McDonald house.

When all the kids are off the tubes and IVs we are going to put a picture up of all of them together for everyone to see. Hopefully that will happen in the next week.

Olivia Lucille Camper

Evan Charles Camper

Ethan Paul Camper

The latest..............

Ethan is still on the vent. They are hoping to back him off of it sometime tomorrow. Evan and Olivia are continuing to do well. As promised I have pictures. Don't let all the tubes scare you, they are scarier than they really are. I hope you all enjoy the photos.

The latest..............

The babies are doing good. Ethan is still on vent but hopefully will come off today. Evan still continuing to breath room air. Olivia is on nasal cannula. Evan and Olivia are jaundiced and are under special lights. Ethan is slightly jaundiced but doesn't require any treatment at this time.

Nicole is being evaluated for a possible blood clot in her leg. They completed a doppler and we are waiting for the results.

I didn't make it home last night to post any pictures. I am going home tonight and will post some pictures.

The latest news about the babies...........

Olivia was extubated and is breathing with a nasal cannula. Evan is breathing on room air only. Ethan was struggling and had to be intubated. They are all receiving outstanding care in the NICU.

Nicole is recovering from the C-section but the bedrest has taken its toll on her body. I think her recovery may take a little longer than anticipated.

Otherwise we are continuing our stay in the hospital. Nicole will be here until at least Wednesday possibly even Thursday. The babies will be here for an undetermined amount of time.

The room number here at the hospital is room 376. The NICU is totally restricted to visitors. Only parents and grandparents with parent supervision. What a role reversal. We are going to try to get set-up with the Ronald McDonald House, which is across the street once Nicole is discharged.

We hope that she will have a speedy recovery and our babies will get to come home soon.

the middle names.................

So I am getting questioned about the middle names, so here they are:

Ethan Paul
Evan Charles
Olivia Lucille

They each received their own personal first name and the middle names are from Nicole and I's grandparents. We wanted to intergrate some family history in the names.

Update............

Everyone is doing fantastic. Nicole is absolutely exhausted. Ethan did not need a vent,he is doing better with the breathing. Olivia will receive more meds for the lungs and possibly will get off the vent later today. Evan is just hanging out over there. I just left from over there and the nurse said Evan was very long but when she seen me she understood.

Everyone here has been fantastic. The Dr's, nurses, and staff have been spectacular.

Will try to get some pics loaded as soon as I can. I am updating from the blackberry.

The arrival.............

The babies were born October 25th, 2009. Ethan was born at 11:50 PM, weighing 4lb 4oz. Evan was born at 11;51 PM, weighing 4lb, 2oz. Olivia was born at 11;52 PM, weighing 3lb 5 oz.

Olivia is on a vent but is doing very well. Evan is on c-pap along with Ethan. Ethan may be going on vent, but won't know until they continue tests.

It has been a long day and I am going to try to get some rest.

Day 6...............

This is day 6 in the hospital. They decided to hold off on the CAT scan, but they are giving the maximum dose of heparin. This will help prevent any clots from forming. Dr. Hnat was in today and said anytime she is ready to start contracting they are ready to deliver. They are doing another rescue dose of the steroids. We were told they don't really know how much rescue doses help at this point but they don't hurt anything either. Nicole has been getting all kinds of injections today. She is now allowed to get up and walk around. She asked if she could go to the mall, but he said no. He offered the gift shop. She is going to walk down there in a little while. Will have another update later.

Day five...........

This is day five of the hospital stay. They completed biophysical profiling this morning. All the babies received all of their points. Nicole has been having some shortness of breath, they are suppose to do a CAT scan to check for blood clots. We have not heard anymore about it.

Update............

This is day four in the hospital. No babies yet. They would like to get her to 34 weeks. The staff here at the hospital have been very good. The Dr's want Nicole's visitors kept to a minimum and when they do come of a short duration.

The latest news about us.................

The latest news about us is Nicole has been admitted to the hospital. She went in Tuesday because she woke up in the early morning with bad back pain. We monitored and she had had five contractions. We waited some time and monitored again with three contractions. The back pain not really leaving up at all. Once the Dr. office opened we called and they suggested monitoring for another hour to see what that showed. We did, and she had ten contractions. They instructed us to go directly to Toledo and get evaluated. She has been evaluated and the contractions have seemed to slow way down. We don't know if she will be there until the end or if she may get to come home. Hopefully we will find out tomorrow. Tomorrow also happens to be week 32. Yet another milestone in our journey.

I would have liked to update you all sooner, but the computer I was using at the hospital wouldn't allow me to log into the blog to put any updates. So there may be a delay in information. I came home tonight because I am going to work tomorrow. Will try to have more information updated when I can.

Endo appt................

Nicole received a good report from the endocrinologist today. I think Dr. Schroeder really likes Nikki. She said he was really cracking her up today. Tomorrow she has an appointment with the Findlay OB. She is monitoring right now. She monitors for contractions twice a day for an hour a piece.

Only three days until 32 weeks. Who would of thought that we would make it this far?

Will give update tomorrow. Good Night!

Contraction monitor............

The contraction monitor died today. We are not sure what happened to it, but it died. I guess the triplets wore the machine out. The gal just dropped off a new one. We are continuing the regimen as prescribed. Nicole is growing more tired day by day. it is really hard for her to move around too much at this point.

We received a nice package from Nicole's Uncle John and Aunt Jean in Minnesota. There were a lot of nice items for the babies. Thank you very much for the gifts. The blankets will keep the babies very warm.

Nicole goes to the endocrinologist tomorrow. Blood sugars have been running very good.

I will try to keep you all updated.

Update...............

Nicole had an appointment with Dr. Perkins Friday. It was for a check-up. She is still mildly pre-eclamptic. The two main criteria for pre-e is increased BP and wacky labs. BP is looking good and labs are all within normal range. They will be completing blood work bi-weekly and have 24 hour urinalysis weekly.

We are only five days away from 32 weeks. According to the Dr's if everything is OK we will be going past 32 weeks. We never thought we would make it this far, but we have. Way back in the beginning we expected to have babies very early. Thanks to all the prayers and good thoughts that didn't occur. God is truly an awesome God. It is through him that we have made it through this ordeal.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as our pregnancy journey is not yet complete. We appreciate all the people that have left comments and sent us cards and such in the mail.

Post Dr. appt...............

Nicole went to the Dr.today. Blood pressure elevated, we are still looking at preeclampsia as the diagnosis. She had more blood work today and it will be monitored very closely. If it begins to progress anymore the only treatment for preeclampsia is delivery. I have a strange feeling that it is going to be next week. I don't know why, but it is the feeling I am having. I had thought we would have two boys and one girl and that was true. So you never know.

The biophysical profiling was a challenge today, they didn't want to wake up and they are getting very crowded for space. However, they passed. We return to see Dr. on Friday, but will probably find out about blood work tomorrow.

Nicole had an experience today, she dropped her phone on the floor and it went under the bed. She somehow managed to get on the floor and get the phone. She said she laid on the floor for awhile before she actually got up.

10 days................

Today is only ten days from 32 weeks. Nicole grows more uncomfortable day by day. The stomach has some fierce stretch marks on it. Pretty gruesome! She is really starting to struggle. She'll make it though, she's tough.

Tomorrow she has two appointments, one to meet with Dr. Schutz and the other for biophysical profiling.

I moved the office out of Olivia's room tonight. Time Warner wanted to charge me nearly $70.00 all together to move the road runner from her room to the living room. I moved it for the cost of the wire, at first I didn't think I could but it worked out. And think of the money I saved. This is beginning to sound like a commercial for car insurance.

I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow. There is pretty much no food in this house. Nicole wanted grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner, but no cheese. She is having hamburger helper now.

Will have another update tomorrow, but it will probably be late before I get to it. I have biochem tomorrow night. Talk to you all soon.

Update...............

It has been awhile since I have last posted. This past week has had its ups and downs. We had an appointment with Dr. Sunderji on October 7th. He thought Nikki was developing preeclampsia due to her increased blood pressure and slightly swollen face. He directly admitted her to Blanchard Valley. She spent a day and a half there. Preeclampsia is not being ruled out completely, we could just be in the early stages. She now has to meet with Dr. Schutz twice a week. They are continuing to do the biophysical profiling weekly.

The babies are doing well. Ethan is 3 lbs 5 0z, Evan 3 lbs 4 oz, and little Olivia is 2 lbs 9 oz. She is still small but is hanging in there.

We are continuing to get things in order for the babies. Christina is continuing to wash and put clothes away. We continue to receive blessings from our family and friends. Our friends Dan and April sent us a wonderful package for the babies. Thank you very much.

Another thanks to Vernon and Doris from our church , who sent home lunch for us today. It was very tasty. I can't tell you how much this helps me out. It takes one worry away from me. I am sure it is a struggle for all of you to decide, "What's for dinner?". I know it is for us.

I will continue to update you all with what is happening with us. I know I fell behind this week. I try to put something up daily.

Belly picture...............

Nikki's belly looks much bigger in person than it does in this photo. I am sure anyone that has seen her in the last couple of weeks would agree. We go to Toledo tomorrow to meet with the specialist. Hopefully she will get lucky again and get to come home.

Finally a photo.................

A quick update before I am off to work, the appointment went well yesterday. All three of the babies received all their points on the profiling. Oh, and here is a picture of the belly. Enjoy, it will probably be the only one you get!

18 days to 32 weeks......

Dr. Sunderji told us that he seen no reason we would not make it to 32 weeks. It will be 32 weeks in 18 days. I thought I wanted this to go past 32 weeks, but I am not sure about that anymore. Nikki's ear infection is back in the right ear. I think I am ready for the babies to be here and for her to have her body return to normal. This entire process has been an experience and I have helped Nikki with tasks that most guys wouldn't even think of. I guess all those years working in the nursing home are paying off. Who would of thought? Tomorrow more biophysical profiling and a follow up appointment with Dr. Freshwater for the ears. Will have another posting tomorrow to let everyone know the status.

29 weeks........

Yesterday marked 29 weeks for us. In 20 days it will be 32 weeks, which is our target goal. Our sister-in-law (Christina) came and organized some clothes for us tonight. She washed, folded, and put away the items. We still have a lot of work to do, but every bit of time someone volunteers really helps us out.

Dr. Appointment Follow Up....

Nikki went to the Dr. yesterday, she is measuring around 43 weeks pregnant. 3 weeks overdue for a singleton. The biophysical profiles were completed again, they didn't all score the maximum. Ethan and Olivia did not move their diaphragms. That is OK though. She goes to Toledo next week and will get profiling done again here next week. We are getting close. The end is just on the horizon.

Dr. Appointment....

Nicole has an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Schutz. They will complete another biophysical profile. Hopefully they will do good like the last time. I will give everyone an update tomorrow. Good night all!

Curtain rods

I found curtain rods on Saturday at K-mart in Lima. I worked a few hours on Saturday and went to K-mart and found exactly what I wanted. Thank you Tina for volunteering to pick them up. I appreciate that.

A great big Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We found this blessing on our front porch this morning. Thank you very much to Jeremy, Courtney, and Logan. This was a wonderful surprise for us. We really appreciate it.

The Baby Shower

I have put a video together of some of the photos from the baby shower our church had back in August for us. I hope everyone enjoys.

Olivia's glider....

The boys glider

Dr. Appointment....

Nikki has experienced less movement with the babies the last two days. She seen Dr. Perkins this morning and she seemed concerned that there was less movement than in the past. We didn't think much of it, as we have read that the babies can turn inward and you will experience less movement. So the biophysical profiling was moved from Friday to this afternoon. Biophysical profiling is a scaling system that rates the babies movements for fine and large motor skills and to see if they are moving their diaphragm's. It is only completed for high risk pregnancies. They all scored very well. We will be getting these profiles completed weekly from here on out. They will be watching them very closely for any changes that may occur. With a multiples pregnancy you never know when things will start to turn the other direction. It is very scary.

I have to brag about the medical professionals that have helped us throughout this process. Cascades Women's Health is phenomenal. Dr's Schutz and Perkins are in our opinions at the top of the heap. Nikki has friends that are pregnant now, and the care they are receiving doesn't seem as good as ours. The staff at Cascades are superb. I call the office and say my name and they know exactly who I am. Dr. Schroeder has been excellent. I don't know what Findlay and the surrounding areas will do when he retires. He is the only endocrinologist in town. It is a true blessing to have such great professionals on our case.

McDonald's Run

Nikki was wanting McDonald's for her snack tonight. Her snack was a Big Mac, fries, and a diet coke. It takes a lot of calories to maintain 4 bodies.

I told her I wish I could take them out and look at them, then put them back in to finish growing. She laughed and said I was nuts. We already know that though. :)

Olivia's glider....

Olivia's glider arrived tonight. I put it together and it looks good in the room. Picture coming soon.

Nicole went to Dr. today, the cervix looks good and she goes on Wednesday again to see Dr. Perkins. Friday we will begin to do biophysical profiles. They look at certain functions on the babies and score them. This will be done weekly to monitor them. If one would begin to do badly, they will repeat the process in a day or two and see what that shows. If at any point they feel one is lagging behind the other, that is the point we will be delivering babies.

This Thursday will mark 28 weeks. Another important date, 95% survival rate if they are born.

Last u/s of the kids

As promised, I have added the last u/s photos of the kids above.

Yet another milestone.........

Yesterday marked yet another milestone for us. It was 27 weeks. Dr. Sunderji said he seen no reason we could not get to 32 weeks. I cannot help but think we may get past 32 weeks. I know Nicole does not want to think about going past 32 weeks, but there is a very good chance that we may.

Not a lot has happened on the baby front the past couple of days. I have been exhausted this week. Those two nights in the hospital just took everything out of me. I don't know how they expect anyone to get any rest in the hospital with people coming in all during the night. Of course it doesn't help when an IV beeps for an hour.

I have the appliques to put up in Olivia's room. A very good person picked them up for me and was very generous to Nikki and I. We have been very blessed throughout this entire process. We have had people give us things, people coming during the daytime to be with her, and lots of prayers and good thoughts have been sent our way.

Not many people know this, but I will share it with you. The pastor that married Nicole and I had performed a revival at our church earlier this year. This was before we knew we were pregnant. He was preaching one evening and stopped and said that Nicole and I had come to his mind. He said that Nicole and I would be blessed with children and that we will have a financial blessing also. At the time we thought it was just going to be an increase in the attendance of our Jr. Church. Nicole and I were doing Jr. Church together at the time. Little did we know that God had another plan. He blessed us with 3 little miracles. God surely does work in mysterious ways.

Hospital stay

Nicole was in the hospital from Monday night til Wednesday afternoon. She had a double ear infection and a bout with the flu. She is home now and is doing much better. She is really glad to be home. I am glad too. I don't think I could have slept on the couch in the hospital for very many more days. Everyone was very nice on the labor and delivery floor. They stayed very busy while we were there.

I picked up the glider for the boys room. It looks good. It's white and has a blue fabric.

The last bed.......

Curtain rods

One would think that finding a curtain rod would be fairly simple. Not true. I am looking for a white wood rod and a cherry wood rod. Wood rods are not so easy to find anymore. Apparently they are not very popular. The stores have all kinds of metal rods, but hardly any wood. I am going to look online and see if I can find any. Wish me luck. The rooms and organization are coming together quite nicely. I picked up some curtains today and I am in the process of getting those up. I need to get those pictures added. Maybe later tonight.

The last bed has arrived......

I picked up the final bed tonight. It is put together and looks good. The bed is very similar to the other one. I will add a picture to the ones that are already up. I am also going to add photos of the u/s from the last appointment. I spent some time tonight washing some of the clothes. It takes awhile to fold all of them.

I appreciate the comments people are starting to leave. We are both very appreciative for all the prayers and good thoughts that have been coming our way.

Pictures

I have posted the pictures of the rooms. We put the border up last night. It looks really good. As you can see, I am still using Olivia's room as my makeshift office. This used to be the office. I need to call Time Warner to have them move the cable for the Internet. They have a special lock on it and I cannot move it. I received an e-mail telling me that the other crib is ready for pick-up. I am picking that up tonight.