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.

Olivia Goes to Aunt Crystal's

My sister Crystal generously offered to have Olivia come and stay with them this week. It was very hard for me to let her go, but since I need help caring for her anyways right now, and I knew that she would probably have lots of fun, I thought I would take her up on her offer.

As you can see she seems to be having a great time playing with her cousins!

Olivia and Jaxen (or as Liv says, "Jaxy") holding Ella (or as Jaxen says, "Eller")

Stacking blocks TOGETHER!

Jaxen giving Liv a little ride on his bike.

Ahhh....Hugs!

So it looks like and sounds like they are all having a great time and playing very good together.

Olivia is 19 months old
Jaxen is 2 years 4 months old
Ella is 5 months on the 13th

A Look Back At Their First Week!

Wow, what a week! I guess I should start by thanking everyone who thought about us and prayed for us over the last 7 months, because God couldn't have blessed us with anything better then He did. First we were blessed with Olivia, and now He has blessed us again times three! We are so thankful but continue to pray for them because we know that this is only the beginning. They are all doing so well right now, but we know that it is still early and they have a long ways to go.

The babies are still in Iowa City and will remain there until they are doing well enough that they can go home. The good news is that they have all graduated into NICU Bay 3 and share one big long room. The originally started of in NICU Bay 1 and each had their own separate rooms. That made for a lot of running back and forth.

I have posted a blog about each one's first week of life below. Sorry it has taken so long but I swear I have been working on it the last three days!

We are learning a lot of new terminology so if you have any questions just post a comment and I will try to answer it.

Thanks again for all of your love and support!

Hannah Alexis Sadler

Where do I even start with Hannah! All throughout the pregnancy Hannah has always been the one we worried about. She was the little one. And now she is doing about the best out of all of them!

In Hannah's first week of life she has gone from 3lbs 2.2oz down to 2lbs 15oz, and then back up to 3lbs 2.7oz! She started her feedings of breast milk at 4cc's every 6 hours and by the end of her first week she was getting 16cc's (that is about a half an ounce) every 4 hours. When it comes to breathing Hannah has gone from having a tube run down her nose, to having a nasal cannula, to finally being able to breath good old room air. She has also been on and off photo therapy twice for jaundice. But overall Hannah is doing remarkably well.

I know that in the pictures they look so big, but when you compare the size of Hannah's foot to my thumb you can see how really small they are. (And I have long fingers!)

Here is Hannah just about 1 day old.
She always looks so relaxed.

Hannah, 5 days old.

In this picture she has her little eye mask on to keep the bright light out from the lamps that they use to help with the jaundice. (One of the nurses drew some cute eyelashes on them.)

Hannah, 1 week old.

They took the lamps off her today!

Now we can see her sweet little face. She loves to sleep with her arms up by her head.