Day 23 - 25

It seems to be getting more difficult to write these blogs. The triplets often have similar or reoccurring issues and sometimes it's hard to keep track of each baby. It also often feels like the days are running into the each other to the point that we often forget which day it is!

Liam:
This little sweetheart is still intubated and it seems he will be for at least a little longer. He is not able to come down on any of his settings and stays in the same oxygen requirements as well, which indicates he is not ready for CPAP again. The doctors suspect that a lot of this has to do with his PDA which is again open and again being treated. This is his third treatment and so we are really praying this will work and stick so he can avoid heart surgery. On Monday he will receive another echocardiogram to see if the duct has closed or not. Because he has been swinging in his oxygen needs a bit and having some rougher nights in terms of breathing, we haven't been able to hold him for awhile.
In the meantime, Liam continues to finish his antibiotics but physically seems to be over his infection. He is growing and we can definitely tell by looking at him! His cheeks are starting to get chubbier and we even notice a bit of fat on his little feet! The nurses tell us that this is in part due to the fortifiers they put in his milk.

Taylor:
Our little girl's tests for infection have all come back negative. This includes her blood cultures, her kidney/renal ultrasounds, and her urine sample. However, the doctors were not satisfied with these results as she was showing strong symptoms of an infection. They decided to treat her as though she has one. Early Friday, Taylor spit up some blood mixed with her milk and the doctors decided to do a head ultrasound and a lumbar puncture to check for infection in her cerebral spinal fluid. As of Saturday, we don't yet have results.
In terms of breathing, Taylor is still on CPAP but not doing nearly as well as before she was sick. The doctors warned us multiple times that she may be intubated but so far she has stuck it out. The doctors suspect that her sickness and/or her PDA (which has reopened) may be impacting her breathing. This fits with her chest X-rays that show her lungs have not been able to fully inflate lately. Taylor is on her second round of treatment for her PDA. She continues to have bradycardias, although lately a chin strap to keep her mouth shut has helped a bit. This lets the CPAP get more air and pressure into her lungs via her nose mask. Compared to her brothers who only have two tubes on their faces, she looks so sad with her face mask pulled tight on her tiny face, her feeding tube taped across her chin, her CPAP hat covering her hair, and her chinstrap encircling her head. The face mask really squishes her face because she is so small and it needs to be as air tight as possible.
We also haven't noticed an ounce of fat on our princess yet. She is much smaller than her brothers, especially because she doesn't get fortified milk or full feeds yet due to her being sick. We have been able to hold her twice this week though, which we are very thankful for.

Malachi:

Our youngest sweetheart also remains intubated without being able to be weaned down on his breathing support. He is still being treated for his bladder infection although physically he seems well. Malachi's lumbar puncture did not go as planned since the healthcare professionals did not collect enough fluid. This meant that they were unable to run all the tests they wanted to. The one test they could run was negative but the infection team strongly felt as though this was inconclusive. They told us that all the other signs and blood work indicated that Malachi was much sicker than just a bladder infection and thus decided to treat him for meningitis instead of doing another invasive lumbar puncture which would also take more time to wait for results. Malachi received a new PICC line and will be on antibiotics until the middle of December.
On a lighter note, Malachi is visibly growing like his brother and is also still in fortified milk. Both boys have passed 1000 grams while Taylor is at 860 grams. Malachi's hair is also visibly growing on his head and quite a bit on his arms too! (This is normal for preemie babies). We got to hold him once this week as well.

As parents we are able to more and more become involved in our babies' care and are becoming more comfortable with things like diaper changes. Unfortunately it is cold and flu season, and Nathan picked up a small cold this week which meant he could not see our babies for a number of long days. It's obviously very difficult to be unable to see your own babies and we are praying that we can both stay healthy in the coming months! While we aren't letting in visitors into the NICU besides immediate family, as parents we do enjoy visits from friends and family who do not have any sicknesses or sick family members. We hope you can understand.

We continue to covet your prayers to our Heavenly Father who is the Creator and Sustainer of life!