20 Weeks (and 1 Day)

The triplets are now over 20 weeks old, or 142 days. We have been very busy adjusting to having Taylor with us, while the boys remain in the NICU. It has been like taking a newborn home, even though she is technically much older! We have been learning how to take care of a baby 24/7 and dealing with a whole lot less sleep... It still feels surreal that we finally have our baby girl home with us. We can't wait for her brothers to join us one day!

Liam:

Our oldest baby boy has been slow in improvements these last few weeks. His blood sugars have still been periodically too low, yet all the tests have still been negative. The healthcare team decided to also check for an infection again, even though Liam was acting normally "clinically". This test came back positive for a urinary tract infection. Our Liam has had a number of these over the course of his young life! Next week, once the infection has been cleared through the IV antibiotics, Liam will receive a test to make sure his kidneys, bladder, and "plumbing" is all working properly. The main thought is that maybe urine is flowing backwards at times and causing the infections. Another test that Liam will undergo next week, is that if he has another low blood sugar he will receive glucagon. He will be monitored to see if this helps his blood sugar or not, which will help to narrow down the issue for the doctors. 

Liam's High Flow settings have stayed the same for a few weeks now at 8, but just Tuesday he was finally weaned down to a 7. The doctors are hesitant to wean Liam too quickly because of how quickly he regressed the last time he was nearly off his breathing support. The neonatologists working on Liam's team this week told us that he expects another 3-4 weeks before Liam can come off all breathing support. It's hard not to be disappointed considering how close he was just a short while ago..! However, we know that God has a plan for our little man and He continues to hold our Liam in the palm of His hand!

Yesterday, Liam smiled at his mom for the first time! Our little man gives lots of gassy smiles but this one was deliberate with eye contact. We are loving to see all the new developmental things that our sweetheart can do! He is getting really good at focusing on people's faces while they are speaking, turning his head to sound, and getting stronger in his neck.

Listening to Mommy

Planning mischief already

"Who is this in my bed, Mom?"

Taylor:

Our little lady is thriving at home! We love being able to interact with her and love getting smiles out of her! This whole NICU experience has given us a deep appreciation for all the little things we have never gotten to experience before now... the bathtimes, the cuddles whenever we want, picking out her clothes, stroller walks, relaxing in our room with her... it's been amazing! However, we find ourselves medicalizing everything all the time. We are always asking each other: "Do you think this is normal?" We are constantly wondering if her colour is okay, if she is working too hard to breathe, if her temperature is okay, if she has had enough mL of breast milk, etc... It's hard to relax with her after the roller coaster her life has been. 

So far, Taylor has been home 11 days and we have had 3 different follow up appointments, with at least 5 more coming up in the next month or two. It's difficult to take her out to the various appointments also because of potential exposure to germs. Taylor is the most resilient of the triplets but still more vulnerable than other babies. Some doctors have told us as soon as we entered to wait in special waiting rooms away from everyone else in the waiting room. We have not been taking Taylor to the hospital to visit her brothers too often. This is because we need to be very careful about germs going back and forth between the triplets. However, she has enjoyed a few cuddles so far and seemed to enjoy them along with her brothers! 

A nurse recently asked us if having Taylor home was easier or harder for us. Our answer is that it is easier on our hearts (but harder in other ways). It never gets any easier saying goodbye every day to our boys in their hospital beds. Many tears have been shed on the walk out of the NICU and into the elevators! 

Classic Taylor face when she is listening intently

Malachi:

Our sweet Malachi has been scheduled for a tracheostomy. His surgery will be the Lord willing tomorrow (Friday) morning. It has been so hard to come to this point and our hearts are aching for our little man. In the last week, he was unable to stay on his High Flow breathing support and had to go back on CPAP. The team had a hard time stabilizing his carbon dioxide levels in his blood and he was working quite hard to breathe. We know that he would most likely be on CPAP for many months and that this is not ideal for his development. He needs to have developmental opportunities like other babies so that he can build on these developmental milestones. At this point, we aren't sure if Malachi will be able to orally feed with a trach, and so the doctors are putting in a G tube during the trach surgery. This is basically a tube put directly through the stomach to feed him. This way he doesn't need the tube through his nose and down his throat. (Malachi and Liam pull these NG tubes out all the time, which is very unpleasant for them). 

We are still learning what this tracheostomy will mean for Malachi and us as parents. The surgery will take a few hours if all goes well and he will paralyzed for 12-24 hours. For a number of days afterwards he will be sedated so that the trach site can heal properly. We are so scared to see our little guy go through all of this. We also know it will be a few months of learning how to take care of the trach (cleaning, changing, dealing with emergencies, etc.) before we can even think of going home with our youngest. 

Our little all-star

Precious sibling moment

During these last 4 and a half months, we've often asked "Why God?" Why do these little babies have to go through so much suffering? Why does Liam have to get yet another infection? Yet another low blood sugar? And why does Malachi now need such a major intervention? Why can't we take our sweet babes home yet? Why such a long road..? 

We don't know God's plan for our family, and for each of these precious triplets, but we do know that He does have a perfect one. We trust that He is carrying us through this and that He loves us. He loves each triplet even more than we do. A dear sister in Christ texted us a Bible text from Lamentations: "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness..." (Lamentations 3:21-23). Please continue to pray for our little miracles, and specifically for Malachi's surgery!