Pictures!

When the babies turned 2 months Samantha Bender of SB Photography came to our house and took all the kids pictures. I haven't seen all of them yet but she does have some of them posted on her blog and they are absolutely wonderful. Especially the ones of Olivia! So cute! I have to admit I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out and was afraid that they would look like pictures that I would take since they were at the house, but she did a great job and as you can see I obviously couldn't take those.

If you want to see the cutest kids on the block click on her blog and check them out! www.sbphotoblog.com

And on another note we hired a nanny! Yes, I wasn't sure we really needed one. But after a few days on my own and a little convincing from Adam I was ready. Luckily we found someone right away. Her name is Nicole and she is going to Coe College for Early Education. She just started Friday and I'm already grateful for her. She comes in the mornings at 7:30 and stays all day until 6:30 pm. She is great with the kids and helps out a lot around the house. What a blessing! I have found that one mother can take care of 3 two month olds and 1 one and a half year old by herself if she absolutely has to. But it runs a lot smoother if you have an extra set of hands. And if you are so blessed to have a third person you can get a lot of things done and you might even get out of the house for an hour!

So, all is going well here. Liv is doing great, she is a wonderful big sister, and the babies are busy being babies...crying, eating, sleeping, and pooping (usually in that order too!). As for Adam and I, we are still trying to make it through the night feedings. :)

Oh, and I also want to thank everyone that has been helping us out. Whether you have donated your time, money, and/or food we greatly appreciate it. We really do need all the help we can get at this point. I'm sure you all know the phrase, "it takes a village to raise a child." well, we know that now more then ever! Adam and I are so grateful for all of you!

Long Overdue Update

We sincerely apologize to all of you loyal followers of the blog for the long gap in between updates. Obviously we have had our hands full with our three new additions to the Sadler family. We have had all three of the kids home for for 3 1/2 weeks now. Hayden got to come home first, two whole weeks before her other sister and brother. The doctors at the U of I were not ready to send Jonathan and Hannah home with them still having breathing spells. So Hayden got all kinds of special attention for two weeks before the others came home.

They are doing pretty well at home, not sleeping, but doing well. We have them on a schedule where they are eating every 3-5 hours. So we usually are only getting up twice during the night to do feedings around 1:30 or 2:00am and then again around 5:30 or 6:00am. Sometimes one, two or all three will not settle down after a feeding, which will make for a long night. Overall, they are doing excellent.

Olivia is handling the new babies very well and likes to love on them, cover them with blankets and rock their bouncers (sometimes she doesn't know her own strength). Sue Ann is supermom, but still needs help while I am at work. Audrey's Care Pages had truly been a blessing with many people signing up to help with the babies, clean, bring meals or just give us a night out. I probably stress out the most when things get a little crazy, but I will adjust to the madness. I probably picked a bad time to quit chewing (tobacco); maybe that is why I am all stressed out. It will be four weeks tobacco free on Friday!!

Anyways thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers and all the volunteering of your time to help our family. We cannot express how much it has meant to us. Thank you.

Adam

Diaper Shower!

On April 18th the most wonderful people that we had never even met before held a diaper shower for us! It was hosted by MOPS and the West Union Young Married Sunday School Class. Jocelyn, my sister-in-law, and her family are members of the West Union Mennonite Church and when another member, Lori Whitthoft, found out about us they wanted to do something to help. So they came up with a diaper shower! I couldn't believe it! I was so touched!
They ended up collecting over 1600 newborn, size 1, and size 2 diapers. And so far we have used 102 of those diapers in the last five days!
What a blessing these wonderful people have been to us! It has been so nice not having to worry about diapers, and they have saved us hundreds of dollars!
If you happen to be one of those people reading this. Thank you so much. You have truly been a blessing to our family!

7 Weeks Old!

The babies are now 7 weeks old and are all doing very well. The girls are weighing over 6 lbs now and Jonathan is weighing in at a whopping 8.5 lbs! Almost double their birth weights! So that is wonderful. Jonathan and Hannah are still here because they continue to have spells. But they are less frequent. So until they go those very long seven days without one they will continue to remain here. It seems to get harder and harder on me every time they have a spell and the count starts over. I see them growing so well and doing so good and then all the sudden they have a spell and it seems like such a set back, especially when they get to day five and then have one!

Olivia has been adjusting very well to having Hayden at home. Every night when Hayden and I come home she comes up to her and says "Hello baby" or sometimes its "Hello Hayen!" One of the cutest things I have seen her do so far is when Hayden was starting to fuss a little in her bouncy seat, Olivia came over reached out her arms like she was going to try to pick her up out of it and said in her best mommy voice, "oh, come here, come here." It was so cute! Liv is really starting to put her words together now, so I'm sure it won't be long before she is telling everyone what to do!

Adam is still working hard to pay the bills, and continues to be Mr. Mom while I'm gone. He is also getting back into the routine of sleepless nights!

As for me, I'm hanging in there. I have just recently given up breast feeding. At times I feel guilty about it, but when you realize that you would have to pump over two quarts of milk a day to just keep up with them you don't feel so bad anymore. They got the most important part of it and I lasted 6 weeks so I am proud of that!

Hayden Comes Home!

Things have been pretty crazy this last week. The babies turned one month old, and Hayden got to come home on the sixth! Since she has been released I've been driving back and forth with her to the hospital everyday so that I can spend the days with Hannah and Jonathan and the nights with Adam and Olivia. Hannah and Jonathan are continuing to have "spells" (were their heart rates and oxygen levels drop way below normal), but Hayden has been doing very well at home.

Hayden had to pass the car seat test before letting her come home. She had to sit in it for over 30 minutes while still being monitored, to make sure she wouldn't have any spells.

Olivia welcomes home "Hayen." She loves her new little sissy!

Coming back to the hospital to visit Hannah.

Hayden snuggling with her brother in his tiny bassinet.

One Month Old!

It is hard for me to believe that our babies are already one month old. Thankfully our time in the NICU has gone by fast and hopefully we won't be here too much longer. No, we don't know when they can come home, but it is looking like it could be anywhere from sometime within the week to a couple of weeks. And yes, one or two could come home before another. We get those two questions a lot! Another question we get a lot is, what has to happen before they can come home. The answer to that question is, 1) They have to be spell free for 7 days straight, and 2) they need to be able to eat on demand (no tube feeding) and still be gaining weight. There is no rule that says if they weigh more then so many pounds they get to come home. And speaking of weights. They have all been gaining very nicely. Hannah is 4lbs. 15.9oz, Hayden is 5lbs 9oz, and Jonathan is 6lbs 11oz.

Hannah

Hayden

Jonathan

Who's Who!

Okay, so we were finally able to get all the kiddos together on Tuesday! Can you tell who is who?

Okay, I'll help you out!
In the picture above and below from left to right we have Hannah, Jonathan, and Hayden.

It looks like Hannah and Hayden are already telling secrets!

So after seeing them all together we decided that Jonathan looks nothing like the girls, and that Hannah will probably look a lot like her sister Hayden once she catches up to her in weight.

Week 2!

It's hard to believe that the babies are already two weeks old, and that I have been pretty much away from home that whole time. After having the babies and staying in the Mother Baby Unit for four days I was released from the hospitals care. We then decided that it would probably be best if I moved into the Ronald McDonald House just three blocks away from the hospital. That way I could be close to the babies and wouldn't have to worry about how I was going to get to Iowa City every day to see them. But then this Monday an opening came available at the Helen K. Rossi Guest House right here in the hospital. So now I am staying here for the time being.

I've had a lot of mommy guilt the last month. First it was because I hated being home and not being able to take care of Liv. Now, it's because I feel torn between being here with the babies and being at home with Olivia. I know that being down here is what is best for our family, and that even if I was home I still couldn't care for Olivia like I would want to. I also wouldn't be able to see the babies as much as I would feel that I needed to because I still can't drive and I would have to depend on someone else bringing me here everyday. Adam has to remind me from time to time that I am doing the right thing. I just wish I could do it all.

Speaking of Adam, he has been wonderful this whole time. He has come down after work all but one day to see us. Sometimes even bringing Liv too. I honestly don't think that he has been home for more then 24 hours in the last two weeks. (Not including sleeping time and weekends of course.) We decided that during the babies stay in the NICU he should still go to work, because it is when the babies come home that I am going to need him the most. At least until we all get settled in...I wonder if John would give him a paid leave of absence for the first year?!

Liv has been down a few times to see the babies. She already knows the routine when you have to go in the NICU...wash your hands, check in at the desk. She even remembers what room they are in! But once she has checked on each of them she is pretty much done and wants to run the halls and make all sorts of loud noises. Not exactly what you want your child to do in a place that it suppose to be a quiet, healing place for premature or sick babies! Today, the babies had a present for her when she got there so that entertained her for a few minutes and then we decided we would go see mommy's new room. I still haven't determined whether or not she has figured out what is going on, but she doesn't seem to mind my absence and is having a lot of fun playing with her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas. I think once we all get home she will be a bit jealous at first but then try to be mommy's little helper, or at least that is what I am hoping for. Either way, it should be interesting to say the least!

Now, on to the babies! I know that is what you have all been waiting for!

Hannah in the last week has gone from 3lbs 2.7oz to 3lbs 7.1oz. So she has been slowly gaining some weight. They also increased her feeds from 16cc's every four hours to 36cc's every four. So far she has tolerated that very well. Other big things that happened this last week was her umbilical cord fell, she went back under the lights for some photo therapy, and she got rid of her PICC line. So now besides being hooked up to monitors that watch her heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen levels all she has in is a feeding tube that runs down her nose. Another BIG thing that Hannah has caught on to is nursing! I was so proud of her. They say it can take a long time for preemies to catch on but she figured it out the very first time, which was on Sunday.

Hayden. She has gone from 3lbs 2oz to 3lbs 9.9oz, so she too has gained some weight this last week. They also increased her feeds from 9cc's every three hours to 36cc's every four and seems to be doing well with those. Some big things that happened this last week in her life was that she too had to go back under the lights and they took out her PICC line as well! Hayden has also been working on nursing and is just now starting to catch on, nursing for a few minutes at a time. She is really starting to do so well. She hasn't had any spells since the 14th and has caught up to her sister again with the amount of her feeds.

Jonathan has made a BIG jump this last week. He went from his isolette to a bassinet. He will get put into a crib as soon as one is available, and if he can keep control of his temperature. They still have his isolette in the room just in case he needs it. Weight wise, he is now 4lbs 13.5oz! He also went from getting fed 24cc's every three hours to now getting 44cc's every three hours. Jonathan, like his sisters got his PICC line taken out as well. And like Hannah, his umbilical cord has fallen off too. When it comes to nursing though he hasn't shown too much interest yet. He will latch on, but he hasn't quite got the rest of it figured out.