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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Growing Bigger & Bigger

Hello all - I am officially a blog slacker. I just don't seem to get the time anymore to get on the computer and actually type a blog, but going to give it a shot today. The babies are at Miss Melissa's house along with Mason and Grandma is out shopping. I am enjoying a few hours of total peace and quiet to myself on my last Wednesday off before I am back to work 5 days a week!! Okay for a baby update. The babies are doing GREAT!! They are getting so big and seem to be changing everyday. They are now all smiling and they have started cooing a few days ago which is so neat!! It's the greatest feeling in the world to come home after work to 3 smily babies who seem so pleased to see Mommy!! Also - they have been starting to sleep longer at night. They eat around 10PM and then get up anywhere between 3AM and 4:30AM to eat again. 4:30 only happened once, but that was 2 days ago so we are hopeful they will sleep that long again ;-) Last night though at 3AM all 3 woke up at the exact same time which made it quite interesting. 3 screaming hungry babies is not very fun and proves to be challenging to warm bottles and try and keep them semi-quiet so the rest of the house doesn't wake up! I think I fed, changed, and pumped though in world record time last night. They woke up at 3 and everyone including myself was back in bed by 3:45!! Triplets really teach a person how to multi-task. The babies are a lot of work, but I have to say it is totally worth it to see them grow and change each and every day. The most challenging thing for me is dividing up my time between all my kids and finding time to get other stuff done around the house. Thank goodness for Grandma - she has been awesome and keeps the house nice & tidy so Dave & I can spend as much time as possible wih the kids when we get home from work. As for Mason - he is doing pretty well. He has times where he is a bit moody and definitely can have an attitude, but for the most part he had adjusted well having 2 sisters and a brother. He really loves the babies and before he goes to bed and throughout the day he gives them lots of kisses and hugs. He also covers them with blankets and if they are crying tries to give them their paci's. It's pretty cute! We try to take Mason somewhere fun each weekend though so he still feels special and important. Today we have new bunk beds arriving for Mason so we are hoping that keeps him in his bed all night. Since the babies have been born most nights he ends up in our bed somewhere around 4AM. It isn't the worst thing in the world, but we don't want it to be a habit forever. The Dr. says he probably does it though because we are his "security blanket" with all the babies and that's his time to get some attention and snuggle time. And in all honesty, most nights we are too tired to care or argue and try to get him back in his bed. But - good thing we got our king size bed this summer so there is plenty of room for him :-) Well that's about it for now. We are busy preparing for Christmas and Mason's 3rd birthday. He is very excited about both!! Speaking of Christmas I have to run now and address the rest of my cards so I have some hope of mailing them and having them arrive before Christmas :-) Posted below are a few pictures.









Wednesday, November 18, 2009

2 month appt

Well the triplets are now 10 weeks old!! Today we had our appt with our pediatrician and am happy to report we have some very healthy babies! They are all doing great and are actually able to be measured on the regular growth chart instead of the preemie growth chart!! Ally was 8 lbs 11oz, Jasmine 9 lbs 5oz, and Tanner 9lbs 12oz. I was very happy with the weights and that they could be measured on the same chart as full term babies. The girls were in about the 10th percentile and Tanner in the 25th percentile! The worst part of the visit was shots. They all got 4 pokes which was very hard to watch!! Poor little babies :( But I know it's for their own good to have the vaccinations so it made it a little better.

I am not able to go very close to the babies right now though because I came down with a nice cold....Mason was sick and I think he gave me his cold. He was in the Drs. office on Monday with an ear infection and he's on antibiotics now and is starting to feel a bit better. Let's hope my cold goes away quickly!! I can't afford to be sick.

Well that's it for now - I'm waiting for Jordan to come at 7 to watch the kids and I'll be going to bed with mason at 8:30 to try and get rid of this cold!! Poor Grandma will have to get up for the 2AM feeding so I don't get the babies sick. She's heading back to Wisconsin tomorrow for Thanksgiving and will be back December 2nd - so I picked the wrong week to get sick. But this weekend Melissa will be helping me out since Daddy is hunting in WI. Hopefully he'll shoot a nice big deer!!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Out comes the BUS



Well today we finally took out the "bus" Our triple stroller finally came in this week and we put it together today - which was pretty easy as we only needed to connect the wheels :-) Mason was very excited to take his brother & sisters for a walk. But before we went on our walk we took our first trip out with the triplets today and we went out for lunch to Applebees. The babies were GREAT and slept the entire time so it was actually a nice relaxing lunch. And of course we had our fair share of people come up to us and ask about the triplets. Funny thing was 2 people asked if they were twins.....I said ummmm count the carseats again. I guess people don't think of triplets and just noticed the two carseats. After lunch we went for a walk and had to take a few pictures of the "bus" It actually is a very nice stroller though and worked out well - very easy to push and the kids liked it!! I am sure it will get lots of use.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Fun day at the Farm

Sorry I haven't been posting as much - I've been busy as you probably can figure out :-) The babies are doing great and growing like weeds! They have a doctors appt on wednesday so we'll get to see how much they have grown over the past month. They are still eating every 4 hours around the clock which isn't too bad but we do wish they would sleep a little longer at night - but at least it's not every 2 hours :-)

I did have to go back to work last Monday so I've worked my first week and have survived. I am only working 4 days a week for awhile so I can at least have one extra day with the babies. So currently, Wednesday is my day off. The babies have not started day care yet though they stay with Grandma during the day and it works out very well. They will start day care around January 1st.

Today was a fun day. LPOM (Lakeland Parents of Multiples) held a fall event at Granma & Grandpa's Hug N Farm in Zephyr Hills. we did not take the triplets because the stroller just came in yesterday and we need to build it yet, but we took Mason and he had a BLAST. They place was really neat, they had horses, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, chicks, rabbits, swings, etc. Grandpa took all the kids on a pony ride and a hay ride. It was very laid back and the kids could run around and play and just have a good time. Below are a few pictures from the farm!











Monday, November 2, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Just a quick post and some Halloween pictures to share. We had a fun few weeks leading up to Halloween night. Mason went to the pumpkin patch with his day care friends and Mommy chaperoned to keep all the kids in check J We had a fun time; we went to the pumpkin patch, then across the road to feed the ducks by the lake, and then to Lake Parker Park for a picnic lunch and a some playtime on the jungle gym. The kids had a great time. Last Saturday we went to a Halloween party and also had a good time. Mason especially liked digging in the haystack for Halloween treasures J Last night we took Mason trick or treating but left the triplets at home. We are still waiting for the triplet stroller to come in, but either way I didn’t want to take them out with all the germs right now. So instead they just dressed up at home and we took a few pictures. They were 3 little ghosts. Dave said Mason should have dressed up as pacman, but we thought of that a little too late. Mason had fun trick or treating for about ½ the time, then decided it was easier to ride in the wagon and have everyone else just get his candy for him. He went trick or treating with Lydia – she was so cute dressed as a cowgirl.
Other than Halloween we are keeping busy here. The victory of the week is the triplets are still sleeping in their crib. It is so much easier than having them in our bedroom - we heard every little grunt & groan and it kept us awake.

That’s about it for now enjoy the pictures. I'm going to try to sleep for an hour or so before the 2AM feeding - wish me luck it's already 12:25AM......with that being said maybe I'll just skip the hour of sleep and wait for the feeding at 2 and them sleep after. Good thing I got a nap in today !!
Pumpkin Patch Time
Arrived at the Pumpkin Patch

3 little Ghosts - Tanner was punching his sisters so we had to turn him around :-)

Awww - so cute !

Tigger & the Trips :-)


Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ally joins the crew and all 3 are together again!

Well last week Wednesday we went to the hospital at 8PM to get Miss Allison and finally bring her home. We were very excited to finally bring all 3 home. We arrived, got all her stuff together, changed her clothes, fed her, and went to hook her up to her apnea monitor and head out. Well we ran into a bit of a snag and the apnea monitor didn’t work. So we had to call the monitor company and they had to bring a new cable from Tampa and it was going to take a few hours. So we had to leave the hospital with no Allison. But – I went up the next morning and brought her home by 11AM.

It has been one week since all 3 have been home and it’s been a little crazy, but we are definitely getting by and doing well. All 3 babies are doing great and are good eaters. We are lucky and have them on a 4 hour schedule. They eat at 10, 2, & 6. Which makes it much easier than feeding every 3 hours which would be 8 feedings a day instead of 6. Definitely a time saver on a 4 hour schedule, they just eat a little bit more at each feeding. Up until 2 nights ago, the babies were sleeping in our room in the pack n play, but we have transitioned to the crib and they are now sleeping in their own room. They all sleep in one crib for now, it’s just easier and they like to be close to each other.

Other than that, not much else going on. It has been a lifesaver having Grandma Gorka here or I think we may be going insane J Twins would be easy enough to handle, but throwing a 3rd baby in the mix definitely adds a bit of chaos.

We are looking forward to Halloween right now, Mason is so excited. Grandma Miller sent him a very cute Monkey costume, but it may be a little warm to wear it since it’s still in the high 80s here – we are waiting for a cool down!

On Monday I do have to go to get an abdominal ultrasound on Allison. She has numerous hemangiomas “strawberry marks” on her body. They will go away by 12-18 months of age, but they want to be sure she doesn’t have any inside or on her liver so they are doing the ultrasound to just make sure. We are staying positive and hoping everything looks fine.

I will try to post again soon, but for now here are some pictures of the trio.
Ready for Bed


Mason wanted to join the babies

Snuggling

3 Bouncy Chairs

Jasmine & Ally Hanging out

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Jasmine Home

Well Miss Jasmine came home last Wed and we have been busy!! Both babies are doing great though and eat every 3-4 hours....not bad!! Ally will be home tomorrow and the fam will be complete!! Since its 3:30AM and I am pumping and sleepy I can't type much but here are some pictures.

Mason found his swimming tube and insisted on wearing it all morning...ha ha


Proud big brother!!

Jasmine and Tanner hanging out

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Tanner COMES HOME !!

Well on Tuesday night we were finally able to bring home one of our precious babies – little Tanner. Today is Sunday and he is doing GREAT!! The little guy is an awesome baby. Very content and never really cries unless he is incredibly hungry and sometimes when we change his diaper and of course for bath time !! He has been waking up to feed 1-2 times a night. He usually eats around 10PM, again at 2PM and then around 5 or 6AM and then sleeps again until 9 or so. I really can’t ask for more. We are actually getting some sleep. Now….let’s all say prayers that when Ally & Jasmine come home they follow in Tanner’s footsteps! If that is the case – it will be smooth sailing.

Today we took Mason to the pool for awhile at Audubon Oaks (the apartment complex we used to live at) and he had a blast. We are trying to include him as much as possible and do fun things with him so he still remembers that he’s very special to us. Last week before Tanner was home I let Mason stay home from day care and we spent the day together. We decided to go to Chucky Cheese. He hasn’t been there yet and boy did he have fun. It was nice too because it wasn’t busy at all since it was during the week. Just a few people there and that’s it. We played games, ate pizza, and drank lots of orange soda (Mason’s favorite) Mason did have a hard time the first few days Tanner was home, but now is getting used to his little brother and doesn’t really seem to mind the addition. Let’s also hope he gets used to #2 & #3 when they come home.

I am getting ready to head up to the NICU now to see my little girls. It is hard having them in the hospital yet when Tanner is home getting lots of attention. But soon enough they will be here too and it will make life easier without the NICU runs each day. The doctor says they may be released as early as Monday or Tuesday of this week. They just need to stop having random brady’s (where their heart rate drops below 80) They have been having them just occasionally when they are feeding and once and awhile while tey are sleeping. Usually they bring the heart rate back up on their own without stimulation, but sometimes they need a pat on the back to bring them back up. They will be sending both girls home on a heart monitor so if something were to happen we will be alerted by very loud beeps!! It will give us a good piece of mind to know that they will be safe when they are not under our constant watch and sleeping in their rooms.

Other than that, not much else to report here for now. I will try to keep updating at least once a week as long as time allows J Grandma Gorka flies in tomorrow and will be staying with us for awhile to help with the babies – we will be happy to have her and Mason will be thrilled as well, he loves Grandma.

Hope all is well with everyone and that WI isn’t getting too cold yet!! I’ll share some of our heat, it is still in the 90s which is very unseasonable for this time of year! Let’s hope for a cool down!

I posted a few pics of little Mason at Chucky Cheese below and Tanner’s first bath at home J

Enjoy!











Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Picture Day in the NICU

Picture Day in the NICU

Not too much to report on today, the babies continue to do well. They are really starting to take off bottle feeding and nursing so we are happy about that!! Tanner pretty much takes bottles all day long and Jasmine isn’t far behind. Little Ally makes a great effort and usually takes 3 or 4 of her feedings via a bottle and then gets tuckered out and has to tube feed the rest. She is a very clean eater though, doesn’t spit out much and is well coordinated.

We are hoping to have one of the babies home in a week or so. Probably sometime next week we will take Tanner home, Jasmine will most likely follow, and then Miss Ally. I tell you though, it will break my heart to have 2 of the 3 home and still have her in the hospital, but it will be best for her so I will have to remember that!!

Sunday night was a fun night in the NICU. Jeanne was the nurse and she decided it was picture night!! We took some super cute shots of all 3 of the babies lying on Mommy! They sure like each other and snuggled right up. Ally loves her brother; she kept moving closer & closer.





Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Great day in the NICU

Today was a great day at the NICU. We had a new nurse watching the triplets today and she was really nice – she really seemed to care about the kids and enjoyed her job. LRMC has quite a few great NICU nurses which makes me happy that my kids are well taken care of when I’m not able to be there.

So this morning Jordan (a friend of mine and one of our babysitters) came up for a visit. She couldn’t believe how small the babies really looked compared to pictures. Pictures make them look bigger than they are, but they are still pretty small little peanuts. However, all 3 babies are gaining weight just about every day so we are accomplishing our goal. This morning little Ally was 3lbs 12oz, Jasmine hit the 4lb mark!!!, and Tanner was 4lbs 12oz and they are all doing great. All 3 of the kids are now able to try a bottle twice a day. So far, they are doing pretty well. Babies don’t really know how to suck until about 34 weeks gestational age and they were 34 weeks on Tuesday so anything that they take via a bottle is a great accomplishment. This morning I had the pleasure of feeding Ally one of her first bottles. She did GREAT and took 10 ccs for me. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but in preemie land it’s pretty good. That is about ¼ of her feeding. When you start bottle feeding, you see what they take via the bottle and then give the rest of it to them in the feeding tube. I posted a picture below of little Ally and her big girl bottle.

This afternoon Grandma Sandy came up for a visit before she goes back to Wisconsin for a few weeks until the babies start coming home. She got to hold Ally & Jasmine for quite some time today. They really like Grandma and tried their best to stay awake for her. Jasmine did better than Ally though – little Ally was a bit sleepy this afternoon. While Grandma was holding Ally, Jasmine was WIDE AWAKE so I took advantage and tried to nurse her. Well she was a “CHAMPION,” she did just great! I was so proud of her and so was the nurse. She nursed on and off for about 30 minutes which is amazing for a preemie. The nurse actually cut her feeding in ½ because she did so well and was able to get a fairly decent amount of milk from me. It was a pretty special moment!

Not too much news to report on Mr. Tanner – he was a little sleeper today but Dad & I will give him some extra attention when we head up for our visit tonight.

That’s about it for now – here are a few pictures from our visit today.
Jordan & Ally

Snoozing Tanner

Sleepy Princess Jasmine

Ally & her bottle

Happy Allison





Thursday, September 17, 2009

Holding all 3 BABIES :-)

Yesterday was a great day!!! First I got to hold my 2 girls together and then the nurse was awesome, unhooked Tanner from his monitors so he could join his sisters for some cuddle time. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.


Mommy's little girls

Tanner & Grandma
Such a cute picture of Ally

And we have all 3!!!

Where is Mason going to fit ??

Fun updates :-)

Triplets Doing GREAT!! Just a quick update today as time seems to run shorter & shorter each day and I don’t even have my baby’s home yet!! We have been busy running back and forth to the hospital to cuddle our little ones, keeping the house semi-clean, trying to give Mason extra attention with all the changes, pumping lots of breast milk, and trying to sleep. Doesn’t sound too crazy, but the days are FLYING by.

Yesterday the triplets were one week old. I can’t believe one week has passed already since the incredible birthday. After 1 week the babies are still doing great! Just a few small road bumps along the way, but nothing to get too excited about. Just normal preemie things that happen, but overall they are progressing well. We do wish Ally would gain a little more weight, she’s only 1oz over her birth weight right now and she should be gaining a bit more, but we’ll give our little peanut some time, she was the smallest J Dr. Ruiz has put all 3 babies on a high calorie preemie formula mixed with my breast milk. So they have ½ formula, ½ breast milk and hopefully they will gain a bit more weight in the upcoming days.

I have done lots of neat things with the babies this week. Instead of just holding them in my arms I have been laying them on my chest and putting the blankets on top. Since they are preemies and don’t have Mommy or Daddy around all day long, we need to be sure each visit and every time we hold them that they can feel the closeness that they need. Putting them on our chest and keeping them close makes them very happy. Today the nurse had me kangaroo Ally & then Tanner. She had me wear a hospital gown and put the babies in just diapers and set them directly on my chest skin to skin. And I have to say they LOVED this. Both of them were sleeping so hard after they got comfortable. It was a really neat moment and helped them feel close to Mommy for awhile which is what preemies need.

Last night Dad & I were visiting and we were there for BATH TIME J The nurse had us give Ally her bath. She told us what we needed to do, unhooked her from her monitors, and let us bathe her by ourselves and didn’t even stand over us. It was nice to have the privacy. However, Ally was like most newborns, and was not a big fan of her bath and she let us know. I didn’t think such a small little baby had such a loud cry! We moved fast and got the bath done quick and as soon as Mommy picked her up all was fine J Dad then was on diaper duty, put a new diaper on her, cleaned her cord spot on her belly button, and then held her for awhile before tucking her into bed for the night.

For now that’s about it for now. Grandma Miller is heading back on Saturday and I’m sure she will miss her new little grandchildren. She has been getting in lots of holding time as well. Today the nurse and I made a card for her to take back to Wisconsin. It was adorable. Nurse Kathy put the baby’s footprints on the card so Grandma & Grandpa can remember how small the feet were for years to come.

Next week Grandma Gorka will be with us and I’m sure she will get lots of holding time in as well J The triplets love Grandmas!!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Just Pictures Today

Mommy & Jasmine
Tanner
Ally and Daddy's Hand

Baby Jasmine



Tanner Sleeping





Sunday, September 13, 2009

Baby Updates

Quick updates on day 6. The babies are doing great!! We had a few little bumps along the road the past few days, especially with our little Jasmine. She was having quite a few apneas and apneas with brady's. This is where they stop breathing for just a moment and you need to stimulate them to make them breath again. It doesn't last very long and it's normal for some preemies to have apneas. Oftentimes it is because the brain isn't developed enough and the babies can forget to breath for just a moment or two. But the good news is, she's been great the past few days. Also - the babies have all had issues at time with residuals. Residuals is when they don't digest all the food in their belly's and they need to get it suctioned out before the next feeding. This is also normal though and not a huge concern. They have been increasing feeds and are doing very well now and are also doing great on the breast milk I have been pumping. Suprisingly I have been able to keep up with the triplets and have been bringing plenty of milk up for them - some is already being frozen. I am very happy about that because the breast milk is so good for them being so little and so much easier to digest.

Well that's about it for now - we are all doing good and I'm healing up well from the C-Section. I feel much better today than I have the past days. I will be back to normal in no time.

Thanks for everyone's support and please keep praying that everything continues to go well for us.

The Gorkas
Dave, Stacey, Mason, Allison, Jasmine & Tanner (WOW that is the first time I wrote that!!)

Pictures of our Precious Angels (6 days old)

Mommy & Jasmine


Tanner

Mommy & Ally

Jasmine

Tanner Snoozing