8-17-02  Day 1  everyone doing as well as expected  the girls are on and off oxygen to keep their saturation levels up. All are expected to go on photo therapy tomorrow for jaundice. Anna & I were able to hold Ellie & Liam tonight they are so small but were content in our arms. They were planning on moving them to the step down nursery tonight but decide against it when they figured there was not enough space in that room with all the equipment & the photo therapy lights they will need tomorrow.
   

Liam & Mom            Ellie & Mama          Darby

8-18-02 Day 2 Again everyone is doing good, Darby is now off oxygen so that only leaves Ellie who has a nasal cannula. Everyone started feeding thru a feeding tube and have done well with that. The whole group is also getting Picc lines( basically semi permanent IV's), they were able to get Ellie's line in but had a hard time with Liam & Darby's so they will try theirs another day. These will help with blood draws and medications. The sun lamps are on now so the babes are wearing their sunglasses.
       
        Liam                  Ellie                   Darby              Triplets room

8-19-02 Day 3  another good day, all received caffeine this helps trigger their little brains to keep breathing. Darby had a great day and only had a few dips, she seems to be doing the best at this point. Liam's jaundice level is a bit higher than the girls and Ellie had a heart sonogram that detected a heart problem common in preemies called PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) basically there is an extra vessel while a baby is in Mommy that bi-passes the blood pumped to the lungs since the baby doesn't need to use their lungs. Once a baby is born that vessel starts to close and within a few days it should be closed. In Ellie, along with a lot of preemies and some full term newborns her vessel is still open so they are giving her a round of indomethacin to try and get it closed. if two rounds of the medications don't work they will have to surgically go in and tie it off. Anna was released from the hospital so now starts the travel back and forth from home, we could stay in the babies room there is a couch and chairs they lay flat to sleep on but at this point I think Anna needs to get better sleep and recover herself.

8-20-02 Day 4 Still everyone doing good. The girls were taken off the Bili lights. Ellie's heart is sounding better but the murmur sound caused by the PDA is still there. They all had their heads scanned for brain bleeds a common problem in preemie's and they all passed with flying colors. Liam is up to 9cc of breast milk.

8-21-02 Day 5  Liam is off the bili lights and Ellie is back on the C-Pap just to ease her breathing. The Dr. told us today that there had been a mistake with Darby's weight at birth it seems at first they got the weight of 1lb 13oz then later on when they checked again she jumped to 2lbs 3oz so they checked a few more times and sure enough she weighed 2lb 3oz......at this weight you take all you can get!!! Ellie's heart sounds good they will keep checking but at this point the vessel sounds like it closed. 
                                                

Liam's favorite position              Ellie's C-Pap                                  Darby

8-22-02 Day 6 Everyone doing fine Liam was having several apnea spells today. All can go on kangaroo care which means we can hold them to our bare skin for about 3 hrs at a time.  Sadly Anna has been banned from the NICU because she has developed a fever blister on her lip, we sure don't want the babies sick but it makes Anna sad she can't be with them. Hopefully this will only be for a few days until it scabs over.

8-24-02 Day 8 Anna was given the ok to return as long as she wears a mask and doesn't touch the babies, she is just thrilled to be there! Ellie was taken off the C-PAP and put on a nasal cannula today. They also heard her PDA murmur so they had another ultrasound done, they see that it is opening and closing with the beating of the heart, so it MAY be opening or it could just be on it's way to closing, they will keep a close eye on it. It is not uncommon for them to do two rounds of medication before it fully closes. Darby and Liam are doing well and doing great on feeds, today I was able to do Kangaroo care on them, it was so nice to be able to hold them.

                                   
Leslie & Darby                Leslie & Liam               Nurse Kathy tucking Darby in

 

8-25-02 Day 9  Well today was a big switch Ellie & Darby had a wonderful day but poor Mr. Liam has an infection and started having respiratory difficulties, so they decided to place him on the ventilator to help him breath. He is on antibiotics so hopefully this will all pass soon. We can not say enough for the nurses, Shellie worked her buns off today and of course we thank her for it!!!
                                  

Leslie & Darby        Nurse Shellie & Ellie          Leslie & Ellie                  Ellie

 

8-26-02 Day 10  Liam is doing a bit better and they have started to wean him off the ventilator. The girls are doing good but have to go back under the bili-lights for a few days. They started Ellie's second round of the indomethacin  to try and get the PDA closed...keep your fingers crossed that it works this time.
       

Liam on vent           Liam's equipment

8-27-02 Day 11 Liam is doing ok. The Dr.'s checked his blood count and he is hovering on the edge so they have decided to give him a transfusion. The reason his count is low is because of all the tests they have had to do for the infection. Tonight they are going to try and do another PICC line on him, last time they were not able to get it in so this time they are calling in a nurse who is the queen of PICC's! (wish her luck) Ellie's murmur is still loud but they are hoping it is closing, they will take a ultrasound tomorrow. Darby is the champ she is up to 21cc feedings and gaining little by little.
          
Liam on vent              Ellie           Leslie & Darby napping        

8-28-02 Day 12  Ellie & Darby doing fine Liam still having trouble getting off the vent

even though he is fighting having the tube in. The folks at Leslie's work threw a very nice shower and the babies really raked in some good stuff. A BIG THANKS to everyone at EvCC for their support of our family!!! 
                           
Darby all dressed up                      Ellie's face

 

8-29-02 Day 13 Received a call at 4am Ellie had to go on the ventilator. Her ultrasound came back yesterday as still a significant PDA so surgery to tie it off is likely the next course. She had been doing well with her breathing but in the night she started having A's & B's (apnea's and brady's)  So the placed her on the vent and did blood draws to check for infection. Liam is doing fine he has WWBS (wimpy white boy syndrome) he is breathing room air with just a bit of pressure while on the vent BUT when they turn the pressure down he wimps out and cant keep his oxygen saturation levels up. Why breath for yourself when someone can do it for you!!! Darby is Darby just plugging along!!

8-30-02 Day 14 (am report)  Liam was taken off the vent at 10:30 last night and is doing fine with the C-PAP. We are still unsure when Ellie (or if) will go to Seattle Children's hospital for surgery, so stay tuned. (pm report) Ellie has a staph infection so no Children's Hospital for her. They have her on antibiotics and she is doing fine on the ventilator. Liam came off the C-PAP and is doing great! Leslie was able to hold him for about a half hour tonight. Darby is still the champ and is up to 2lbs 7oz!!!

Liam off vent

8-31-02 Day15 Liam still doing great off the vent, Darby still doing fine and  Ellie is doing good on the vent, the infection is being monitored and as soon as she has two clear blood cultures she will be sent to Children's. She must be feeling better because she is moving, moving, moving even though they are giving her morphine to keep her still.
          

Liam awake      Anna holding again    Smile Liam      Darby sleeping    Ellie's vent

9-01-02 Day16 Liam & Darby still doing great, Ellie also doing good on the vent she is at room air (21% O2) and the infection is now clearing itself so sometime this week she should be sent to Children's for surgery. We have been told the surgery takes about 15-20 minutes once they start the cut, then they will keep her for a few days before sending her back to Evergreen Hospital.   
                                               

Anna & Liam Kangarooing       Liam                      Darby big yawn for a little girl

9-2-02 Day17 Ellie has been transferred to Seattle's Children's Hospital and surgery is scheduled for Tuesday (9-3-02) We will be staying there with her, so my updates may take a few days, but I will keep you posted as quick as I can. Ellie did great during the transport and after she arrived at Children's so we are hopeful this will be a smooth process.  
                                                   
Transport team being updated                 Ellie in her mobile home        
                                                      
Ellie's mobile home                                                Following the ambulance

9-5-02 Day 20   What a long few days!!! Ellie had her surgery done on Tuesday and sailed thru it. It only took a 1/2 hour to do. They heard another murmur on Wednesday and did an echocardiogram and found what they call PPS  a common murmur in baby's that is usually out grown in a few months. I will try and explain it more when I get better information. As of yesterday they were planning on transferring Ellie back to Evergreen today. It will be so nice to have all the kids in one place!

9-6-02 Day 21 Finally everyone is together. Ellie returned last night at 9pm. She did very well. Today she is still a bit sore  and a little grumpy but otherwise doing great. Liam's belly is distended (blown up like a balloon) so he has a tube down to his stomach to release the gas that is causing this. Often when a person is on antibiotics the medication kills the good bacteria that is in the stomach making digesting food impossible and the belly to fill up with air. Darby of course is Darby and doing great she is up to 3lbs!!!

9-7-02 Day 22 Grandma's here from New Orleans! Liam is better and should be back on feeds in a few days. Ellie is doing fine she still is grumpy and seems to do better when she is being held (grandma likes that!) and as always Darby is the champ!   

                                     

Ellie & Grandma Margaret                  Darby with Grandma

9-8-02 Day 23 Everyone doing great! The big news is Ms. Darby has moved to a big girl crib this is not usually an event 3lb babies get so we are very proud of her. She has been able to maintain her temp for sometime now so hopefully it will continue and she can remain in the open air crib. Ellie had a good day no more fussing so maybe the pain of surgery is passing. Liam had his tube removed from his stomach that released the extra air and gunk as his stomach is back to normal, maybe tomorrow or the next day he can eat again.        
                                                            
   Grandma & Liam                       Nurse Shellie & Darby's new bed    
                                                            

  Darby all tucked in                                      Darby- now I lay me down to sleep

9-9-02 Day 24 Another good day, Darby is doing great in her crib.  Liam is back on feeds and Ellie may be moved to a crib soon.  Everyone was weighed in today on the same scale and Liam is 3lbs 10 oz; Ellie is 3lbs 8oz and Darby 3lbs 3oz. The last few days Liam was weighing in less than Darby (and she is so small compared to him) so we knew the scale in the beds couldn't be right. So they weighed them all on the same scale and surprise surprise he is bigger!
                  
Anna & the girls          Liam trying to bottle feed

9-10-02 Day 25 Big news!!! The girls are together again, Ellie was moved last night to a crib with Darby and they are doing great. Liam is close to joining his sisters maybe in a day or so. The Dr.'s are talking about starting bottle feeding soon.
                 

The girls crib           Darby in purple, Ellie in pink

9-11-02 Day 26 Everyone doing great, they were moved today to the special care nursery, and they are all back together for the first time. Ellie & Liam are nearing the 4lb mark!     
                      

     Liam Darby & Ellie               Liam, Darby & Ellie

9-12-02 Day 27 Liam has had another set back, his blood count was low today so he is getting a transfusion. With the count low he is weak so he is having a lot of A's & B's  (apnea's and brady's) and had a fair amount of residual from prior feedings so now he is off feeds until this gets resolved. He has been moved to his own room and put back in an isolate. As they say it's one step forward two steps back.

 

9-13-02 Day 28 (Friday the 13th!!!)  (AM) The girls are doing well. Liam on the other hand is working on another pot belly! So down went the tube to his stomach to siphon off the gas. He has also been having a lot of A's & B's but with decompressing the stomach and getting an extra dose of caffeine (his level was very low) he should be doing better later tonight. (PM) Liam had a lower GI done and they found a narrowing in the intestines area. The Dr. will consult with a Children's Hospital surgeon on Saturday....I guess we will be making another trip to Children's!!! Other than that he is back in stable condition and his A's & B's are much better.  
                                              
Nurse Diane standing guard             Beer gut                    OK LIAM BREATH!!!

                                              

                                Mom & Darby                       Ellie girl

9-14-02 Day 29 Liam was sent to Seattle Children's hospital and they did a scan on him there and decided to go ahead today and do the surgery to removed the blockage from his bowels. The blockage was caused by a preemie illness called NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis) where the bowel develops a narrowing and the passage becomes obstructed. This could have been what was going on with his infection awhile back. He has been given a temporary colostomy until he is a few months older and withstand another surgery to reconnect. As with Ellie's surgery we will be away from the computer for a few days, but will update as soon as we can.  

                                       Nurses loading Liam    Liam ready to roll     Liam's motor home    Liam after surgery

 

9-16-02 Day 31  1 Month Old  Liam is doing fine since his surgery, they were thinking about taking him off the vent today and this afternoon he decided he had enough and pulled the tube out himself!!! Needless to say I think he gave his nurse Kim a heart attack! He did fine though only needing a few puffs of oxygen now and then. He did all this while we were visiting his sisters at Evergreen.....could we be having some attention seeking behavior already?  Ellie was placed back in the isolette yesterday as she was just working way to hard to keep her temperature up. They have increased both the girls feeds, and yesterday Darby & Ellie both took a full bottle!!!     
                     

Liam getting cuddle time last night while on the vent

9-17-02 Day 32 Liam is doing good they are planning on feeding him tomorrow. He already has out put into his colostomy bag so we are confident he will do fine now with his feeds. Ellie is doing great in her isolette and they have been able to turn down the temp in there so she may be back out in the crib before we know it. Darby is the champ and took 2 whole bottles and 3/4 of another today!
                 
Leslie & the girls                                      Liam post vent

9-18-02 Day 33 Everyone doing great Liam started feeds he gets a whole 3cc every 3 hours! So far what is going in is coming out....and as Martha would say "That's a good thing!" Ellie finally made 4lbs with Darby close on her tail at 3lb 15oz.

9-19-02 Day 34 Again everyone doing fine Liam is getting fed every three hours and they are increasing the feeds as he tolerates 2cc each feed. The nurse bottle fed him this morning and she had to pull the bottle away because he was sucking it down to fast. The surgeons still want him to get to full feeds 30cc+ before they send him back to Evergreen so hopefully by the first of the week. Of course we think sooner the better but we would sure hate to have to ship him back to Children's if he needed more surgery, so we understand their caution. Darby made the 4 lb mark today and bypassed Ellie by a few tenths of a ounce. All this running has finally caught up to Anna as she now has a cold, so I made her come home for the afternoon.

9-20-02 Day 35  Liam is doing great on his feedings. Darby still is weighing more than Ellie though we can't see where she is hiding it! Ellie was moved back to the crib with Darby so hopefully she can make it in the open world! Liam has been in an open crib for a few days now so he will be able to join them when he gets back. Everyone is taking bottles although Anna & I are starting to wonder if we act as a sleep aid to the girls since they only take a little then fall asleep but when the nurse does it when we are not there they take the whole bottle. Oh well it won't be long and we will be wishing we are sleep aids!!!  
                                             

The many faces of Darby ......note the strawberry mark on her forehead she has a matching one on the back of her neck.

9-21-02 Day 36 All is going well Ellie sure likes being with Darby they are so cute cuddled together. Liam is up to 22cc and the plan is to move him back Monday to Evergreen.....WooHoo!!!

Darby & Ellie

9-22-02 Day 37 Liam is back!!! A BIG THANKS to nurse Kim and all the great staff at Seattle Children's Hospital :-)   We are so glad to have everyone back together and so is the nursing staff at Evergreen (don't tell the girls but they really missed the handsome boy) Liam is up to 28cc feeds and the girls at 40cc (he has catching up to do)

                                       
Nurse Kim loading him up         Darby getting punched by Ellie
      
                                

    Darby, Ellie & Liam                    Darby, Ellie & Liam              

9-23-02 Day 38 Could we have just one more preemie issue!!! All the kids had a head scan to rule out brain bleeds etc. and Liam's came back abnormal. It looks like he has PVL (periventricular lekomealacia ) meaning he has some spots near the vascular areas of the brain that have softened due to lack of blood flow. There is no way to prevent this from happening and they don't know why it happens, in some and not in others. As Liam grows we will be able to determine the extent of this illness, he could have issues ranging from having a hard time with math or reading to full blown cerebral palsy. This is a hard blow for us so far we had the preemie issues that would just be a mild life altering experience for the kids but this could really impact his life, we just pray it will be a mild adjustment.

9-24-02 Day 39  We passed we passed...the eye test! Finally we have passed a preemie test! ROP or retinopathy of prematurity can cause major eye problems or even blindness so we are thrilled we made it thru one test unscathed.

9-25-02 Day 40 Everyone doing fine, Darby is doing great on the bottle, Ellie took a whole bottle with out dropping her oxygen too low (this is a big deal for her!) and Liam is becoming a feeding champ.    
                
Nurse Lori & Darby                  Liam                 Ellie                     Darby
                                                     

Leslie feeding Darby       Darby possessed (eye ointment for infection & milk!)

9-27-02 Day 42  Everyone plugging along! Ellie hit the 5lb mark and Darby is close behind at 4lb 15.8oz. Mr. Liam has some catching up to do!         
                                          

Leslie, Darby, Liam & Ellie        Nurse Meg & Liam          Nurse Linda weighing Ellie

9-29-02 Day 44 Hello!!! How much more can we take here? Last night Ellie's scar from her surgery popped open. A little puss pocket formed under there and it finally gave way. They did several tests to make sure her blood was not infected and it wasn't Thank God! Then this morning the freezer died thawing all the breast milk! You know it is hard enough to keep up supply for one or two but with three! Oh Man....anyway to make a long story short Anna called Sears gave them the what's for to get the guys out here to fix it bright and early tomorrow, salvage the milk and take it to the hospital (it was thawed but still as cold as a refrigerator). Then late tonight I start thinking could the outlet have gone bad? And yes I had already checked the breaker! So when I got home I hung a extension cord and plugged her in and TA DA the D*#@ thing worked!!!  Ok Ok we really didn't think it was THAT funny! On a bright note Darby made 5 lbs yesterday!!!  

                                                   
Nurse Jan & Liam        Nurse Sheri feeding  "the boy"                Mom & Darby

 

10-1-02 Day 46 Enough already!! Today we left the hospital and found some one had hit our new van and left no note!! We hope your deductible is higher than ours!   The kids are doing fine Liam is doing so well he may get to come home in a few weeks. Darby & Ellie decided they don't like the fortifier that was added to their milk for extra calories. So they have changed their additives and so far this has helped.

                                                              

  Nurse Pam doing the dreaded paperwork               Sleepy Liam                                                  

                               Grandma & Darby waving to Grandpa

10-4-02 Day 49 Everyone doing great! Today they are starting Liam on only bottle feeds so keep your fingers crossed that he masters every feed by bottle. Ellie's infected surgical wound looks great and she is now starting to do better with her feeds. Darby is Darby, a little pig headed she will only take her bottles when SHE wants to! We will be totally blown away if the others both make it home before her.

10-5-02 Day 50 Everyone still doing great, Ellie is finally learning how to pace herself during feedings. Liam is getting closer to breaking free of that joint and Darby is still pig headed, but starting to do better with her feeds. Liam made the 5lb mark WOOHOO!!!

10-07-02 Day 52 We are getting closer and closer to heading out the door with these guys!! Darby has really taken to the bottle and may be Liam home. Liam is doing great on his feeding but has had a few Bradys (were his heart stops for a second) so he has to wait until he is brady free for 5 days. Ellie is also doing good on the bottle but it will take her another week or so to get it mastered fully I think.                                                         

Anna, Liam, Ellie & Darby                      looks like Darby's doing aerobics'

10-08-02 Day 53  Ellie decided she was going to be the best at eating! Liam is still doing good but they wanted to up his calorie intake so they tried him on the HMF(human milk fortifier) again and he just does not like it! So he is back to EMB (expressed breast milk and neosure). Darby is plugging along. They think they all will be home within a week.             
                                                 

 Anna & Ellie like mother like daughter?    Grandma & not so happy Ellie

10-9-02 Day 54 Everyone should be home by the weekend!!! Ellie first then Darby then Liam.               
                                                        
         Dr. Stolz and Liam                  Respiratory therapist Catherine and Liam

10-10-02 Day 55  Ellie is home! She did great on her ride and slept the whole way.

                                           
Buckled and ready to go   Nurse Meg carrying her out    Zoom Zoom Zzzzzzzzzzz           
                                           
     Zoe taking a look           it's Emma's turn            HEY there are bears up there!

10-11-02 Day 56 Darby is home!! She also did great on the ride and was out like a light. Sadly Liam who we thought would be coming home on Saturday had another Brady and has to wait out another 5 days so maybe by mid week he will be home.    

                                                  
Darby ready to go         Nurse Shellie walking her out     Darby left   Ellie right
                                                    

                     Grandma and the girls, Ellie in yellow Darby in pink

10-14-02 Day 59 Liam is doing fine just waiting his turn to come home. The girls had their first Dr. appt. and shots today oh what fun! Of course we are running on little sleep especially Anna who must check on the girls every little whimper, but over all the girls are sleeping 4-5 hours at night, not bad at all!             
    
Liam's god mother Robyn feeding Ellie

10-15-02 Day  60 Liam still doing fine he did have another Brady so the count down has started over. The girls are doing great they sleep from 1am to 6am so we really can't complain. Anna doesn't feel to good today we think she has a case of food poisoning...yuck!

 

10-16-02 Day 61  TWO MONTHS OLD!!!  Now both Anna & I have the nice cold that has been going around. It is killing us but we decided it would be better not to go see Liam today so he doesn't get sick. So far the girls are doing fine but we will keep a close eye on them. Anna has called the hospital a few times and Liam is doing fine so far he has been Brady free since late Sunday night early Monday morning, so keep those fingers crossed. They think the reason he is having Brady's is that he may have reflux but such a mild case does not warrant medication for it.

10-19-02 Day 64    Liam is home! Finally the whole family is together. We have to take a moment and thank EVERYONE at Evergreen Hospital SCN for all their hard work with the kids. We will truly miss these nurses and doctors, especially at 2am! Seriously  we will never be able to find the words to let you know just how much you all have touched our lives!

                         
Shellie & Liam        Ready to go (note the forced smile on Nurse Shellie!)   
                                               
Aunt Pam & Uncle Rick with the girls                    Kiku with Ellie