Yesterday was a very special day for our family. Finally after 7 weeks and 6 days Addison, Spencer and Hudson were finally able to join us at home.
Addison ended up having her nasal gastric tube taken out on Tuesday and basically we were just hoping for the best and that we could get her feeding so we could go home. So after Mr TAN and I spending a day and night at the hospital with them we were able to leave. Addison has to have some special fortifier added to her milk to help boost her calorie intake and weight gain. I am still managing (just) to provide them all with expressed breast milk but already feel my time and energy levels are sapped and Addison and Hudson are not so great at breast feeding as otherwise I would try twin feeding. Currently we are racing through about 1.8 litres of milk a day for them and that need is continually increasing so really don't feel that confident.
So we have now been home for about 36 hours and so far so good. They are all waking to feed every 3-4 hours and it takes the two of us just over an hour to get them all fed, changed and back to bed. In between I am busy expressing, sterilising, washing and of course entertaining Oliver. Mr TAN has been fantastic with helping with the feeding of everyone and we have even both managed a rest today thanks to some helpful visitors.
Starting on Monday I do have someone coming to help for 8 hours a day 3 times a week while Mr TAN is at work. I am so grateful for this help that will be provided for the next 13 weeks just to help with all the feeding and to get adjusted with this huge lack of sleep.
Keeping this short as they are just starting to wake for feeds again so here is a few happy snaps.
Addison
Hudson
Spencer
The plan had originally been to aim for today, but, and I kind of expected it we have been delayed. Spencer and Hudson have been on full sucking feeds since Friday and are doing well. They are on demand feeds with a 4 hourly limit and are ready to come home. Spencer is a really good feeder at the breast, but Hudson not so much. Where Hudson lacks with his breast feeding he more than makes up for by the way he chugs down his bottles. The little greedy guts gulps down his bottles so fast he is gasping for air, where Spencer keeps more of a steady pace.
Young Addison seems to be all that is holding us up from coming now. She feeds really slowly and is struggling to finish her bottles on her 4 suck feeds. The other 2 feeds she is still having by a nasal gastric tube. They do prefer that they are on all sucking feeds for 48 hours before they come so if we are aiming for Friday we are running out of time. So it is only a matter of waiting for it all to click together for her.
We are not prepared to bring them home separately as we would not be able to get in to visit Addison as the hospital is just that bit too far away, and the hospital is supportive of us in this decision.
In the last few days we have noticed that all 3 of them are starting to get much better head control and they are also starting to wake up a bit more. While they are looking around they have also started to give us some lovely eye contact too.
We are as ready as ever for our trio to join us at home and everything is as ready as I ever in visage it to be. So now we wait....
Well I must be on a roll tonight but this is something I have been asking myself pretty much for the past few months. How will I do it? How will I feed all 3 babies at the same time, so I am not constantly feeding? How will I settle all these babies, again hopefully at the same time? How will I continue to give Oliver the attention and time that he is accustomed to?
Let's start with the first one. I really have no idea! I love the benefits and lets not forget the convenience of breast feeding, after all there is no washing up but I am missing one boob. Do I twin feed two and somehow prop feed the third with expressed breast milk or formula? Do I just breast feed a different baby every feed and prop feed two babies? The benefit of this is I could still help Oliver read books etc and move about easily if needed. I am hoping I won't need to do too many feeds by myself but the reality also is sometimes I will need to. So really I don't know the answer to this question and will not know until we are living it. So far I am still feeding all three expressed milk but from what i have heard a lot of mothers with triplets are fine while the bubs are in hospital and it falls apart once everyone is home, and that's okay and will not be disappointed if this happens to me as let's be honest I am not Super Woman.
As for settling them, I am not going to have the time or the energy to pat, rock or wear these babies, so yes there is likely to be some screaming from everybody and we will do what we need to do to (hopefully) get everyone for a sleep at the same time. Mr TAN with his work situation is not able to take any extended period of time off of work so although he works from home I will be unable to rely on him for a lot.
Lastly for now Oliver who has our undivided attention for nearly 3 years now. I am hoping that his easy going and loving nature will make this change easy for him and I hope that we still get some of that lovely one on one time that I have been so enjoying these past few months as he has growing into a little boy. Oliver has already told me that Spencer is his favourite and would like to sit next to him in "mum's big bus". He was also quite concerned when we changed Addison's nappy. He looked at me quite complexed and said "Addie's willy gone" after I explained that Addie was a girl like mummy he was quite happy. Then we went on to change Spencer's nappy. Oliver then told me that Spence has a little willy, this soon followed with him telling me that he had a big willy, this followed with "Daddy has a big, big, big willy" needless to say this left my mum, the nurse and I in hysterics. Out of the mouths of babes.....
Well tomorrow our precious miracles will be 6 weeks old. Where has the time gone? The time has been spent racing out of the house by 8am every morning to get to the hospital in time for the 10 and 11am feeds, racing back home again with Oliver in tow, expressing, getting him down for a nap and then spending the afternoon preparing for the trio to come home, expressing, doing all the evening stuff (dinner, bath, books and bed) for Oliver on my own while Mr TAN is at the hospital, expressing, and in between trying to make sure I am well rested and energised for when they come home.
Our trio are 36+3 corrected today and are doing amazingly well. They are now on 4 hourly/ demand feeds and are still being fed exclusively on expressed breast milk. At the moment they are on 3-4 suck feeds per day either at the breast or by bottle, the remaining feeds are gavaged (through the nasal gastric tube). About a week ago they did have a minor setback as they caught a mystery virus which gave them a slight temperature and lots of snot. Spencer went back into an isolette and into the higher care nursery but was reunited with his brother and sister within 24 hours. Hudson came down with it about a day or two after Addison and Spencer but is almost fully recovered now.
Addison is growing well and as of today weighs 2540grams, she is a little bit slower with her bottle feeds and tires easily, but is otherwise doing well. Spencer now weighs 2780 grams and much prefers breast feeds than bottle feeds. Lastly, Hudson who has always been the porkier one today hit the 3kilo mark. So all are now starting to get that chubby look about them.
So when are they coming home? Two days ago I got told it would be a maximum of 2 weeks until Addison, Spencer and Hudson will join us at home. So for the past few days we have been madly preparing all the last minute things and starting to work out our helpers. For the first 12 weeks we will be getting 9 hours of help during the week thanks to the local multiple birth association. Which is a fantastic help, although I have heard that a study shows that it takes 197 hours a week to care for new born triplets when there are only 168 hours in a week. Sadly this doesn't take into account me showering, eating or caring for other children. So the next few months we expect to be hard and we don't know how we will do it but what I do know is we have lots of wonderful family, friends and community and support around us and that we will get through it.
Sorry no pics today but will try and post some soon...
