Is it only Friday!? Parts of the week have gone by fast, however I would have to say that the end of this week have been sooooo sloooow!!! Jack and I were so grateful to have family helping us this week. Mimi was here the beginning of the week, then my Mom and Rick, Aunt Sally and cousin Shelly.

Overall the babies are staying on their schedule and eating really well. We increased each of their food intake and Abigail and Wyatt are doing great with it. There were a few set backs with Jessy Grace today so I am going to go back down 5 cc's and see how she does this weekend. It was a full moon on Wednesday night and it was the first night the babies all cried and got up through the night. Poor Aunt Sally! It was a long night and I was so glad she had the special touch to get them settled.

Cousin Shelly had a great time hanging out with her "cousinettes" as Jill calls them. She was a great help as well.

People ask how I get things done....well, I guess here is proof. I am holding a baby, eating a snack and probably updating my blog or emailing consultants or customers. It's all about multi-tasking, and I get some sick satisfaction by doing multiple things at once. Hmmmm...I wonder if that is a problem!?

And finally, here is another funny picture. So we have the babies swaddled in these great swaddle blankets. Whoever invented these blankets was a genius, and is a rich person too! However, our babies wiggle their way down their sleep positioners and occasionally work their way out of the swaddle. Now these swaddles are pretty tight, so we are not sure how this happens....but here is proof of our chatter box Abigail.

I laugh everyday at this trio!

3 Weeks Old

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks! Dang it, now I totally understand when parents say "you are growing so fast." It has been amazing how the triplets have changed just in the past week, and I have loved every second of it! Wyatt for sure has been the biggest change as he has really filled out and gotten so much bigger.

Yesterday my Mom was here and we had a great time with all of them! I had to change sheets and wash sleep positioners, so after the afternoon feeding we put the babies in bassinets and swings. They said they loved the change of scenery! I also got a CD player for the nursery and I think they really enjoy listening to music.

Abigail

WyattJessy Grace

This morning we had to go to the doctors office just to get the babies weights checked, and they have all gained!
Abigail, 4 pounds 13.5
Wyatt, 5 pounds 10 ounces
Jessy Grace, 4 pounds 13 ounces

God is SO good and I am the happiest Mommy in the entire world!

Double Take.

Ha, we had so much fun with these pictures and these outfits. Here's is the funny part....we got Abigail and Jessy Grace mixed up again!!!! 1/3 was supposed to be Abigail and 3/3 was to be Jessy Grace....all day we called Abigail, Jessy Grace and Jessy Grace, Abigail...until that evening when I went to change their diaper...and noticed the RED fingernail!! I felt like a horrible mom!! There really are differences in the 2, but they are so similar at the same time. Of course getting them all to look at the camera at the same time is impossible, so this is as good as it gets.
From left to right, Jessy Grace, Wyatt and Abigail

Cute little feet!

The babies are growing so big. Wyatt is really changing by the day and practically feels like a newborn. Him and Jessy Grace are starting to try to hold up their head and I keep telling them they are TOO little for that, stop it ;) They are all eating 55 cc's now and are regulating their temperature well. They are doing great at night! Abigail is a little talker....she grunts and moans, and practically carries on conversations by herself. Occasionally her brother will chime in, but he doesn't get involved too often.

Tomorrow we head to the doctor to check their weight again, and to celebrate their 3 week birthday!

1st Weekend Home

What a beautiful weekend this was to have family come visit and help with the babies. Jack and I had a great time out for our anniversary. We enjoyed dinner at Iron Chef, a hibachi sushi grill, and listened to a live band at a pub in Rockwall on the way home. Thank you for all the anniversary wishes ;)

This weekend has been fun filled with family. My Dad and Denise were here the first part of the weekend and then Jacks Dad and April came on Saturday. Dillon, Jamie and Erin got to see the babies and Mimi and Papa came Sunday afternoon. The triplets were loved on that is for sure!

I told you Wyatt, Mommy was going to take pictures of you too. And you look so handsome in your dinosoar outfit. I'm sure when you see this when you are in high school you will be so mad a me, but...oh well, I'm over it ;)

I have told many of you this, but wanted to share it with everyone in case you wanted to do this with your blog or know someone who might. One of my main motivations for keeping up the entries on a regular basis, is not only to fill in family and friends, but to also eventually get the blog made into a book for the triplets. There is a website, http://www.blurb.com/,where you can make your own photo book or journal book with pictures included just like the entries are here from your blog. One of my KD sisters told me about it, and I thought that would be a great keepsake for the children as they grow and would possible eliminate putting all the pictures in a scrapbook, I don't have tons of time for that :)

April...Need I Say More...

Well as many of you know, April is quite the month for the Self household. We have baby birthdays, my birthday and Jack and I's anniversary. Jack has already said, and I'm holding him to it....that we will just take a vacation during April and knock it all out at once ;).

Happy Anniversary honey! You are a wonderful friend, husband and daddy. I can't believe 5 years ago we joined lives and have already had so many amazing memories. The best is yet to come as we continue to grow stronger in our faith and now been blessed with 3 miracles. I am am very happy woman and am so grateful for you.

Tonight we are going out to celebrate. Dad, Denise and Dillon are here and will take care of the babies while we go out. Thank you!!!

This week has been a great week for the triplets! We are on a schedule much like the military, but hey it works. The routine is change diaper, eat and sleep...it repeats itself 8 times and is like clock work. The babies do a LOT of sleeping and are just not disturbed by any sound. Gaby our housekeeper was vacuuming today, in the nursery and no one moved a muscle. Today we gave everyone a bath...quite hilarious to watch the squirmy bodies, but they did well. They smell SO good too, there is nothing better.

Yesterday we matched the girls and had to take some more glamor shots. I just can't help myself. I'm sorry Mr. Wyatt...mommy will take pictures of just YOU this weekend. The girls were so funny. Of course no one will look at the same time, and at some point the girls crossed arms....SO sweet! Here are the Preemie Princesses posing. Abigail is on the left and Jessy Grace on the right.

We hope everyone has a great weekend! Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help with the babies and/or bring food. We are SO appreciative!

Still Alive!

We have survived almost 72 hours and we are all still alive! My mom was here Monday when we got home and we could not have done it without her help not only during the day, but especially during the night! Denise got here yesterday afternoon and took on most of the night feedings, and then Friday my dad will be here for the weekend. Kathy has also have come this week to help relieve and let someone take a nap.

I can't complain too much, the babies are wonderful and after they eat pretty much sleep most of the time until their next feeding. Now I know this won't last forever, however right now it is working and really the best thing is for them to sleep so they don't burn calories and can put on more weight.

Yesterday morning Jack and I took everyone to the pediatrician. Now that was fun ;) All babies gained weight and Dr. Becker said they looked great! Here we are about to be loaded into the Tahoe.

Here are the babies stats:

Abigail weighs 4 piounds 5,5 ounces

Wyatt weighs 4 pounds 15.5 ounces

Jessy Grace weights 4 pounds 1.5 ounces

They are still little, but since Monday have gained weight and that is the goal. Here is Dr. Becker checking the babies out :)

It has been a great week! I am putting together a schedule for help with feedings and I know so many of you have been so wonderful to contact me and let me know what works for you. If you want to come and help, please just email or call me with a day, date or times that work best for you. We couldn't do it without all the help!

And since I missed Aggie Muster this year, I had to get a good Aggie picture...Abigail was busy, but Wyatt and Jessy Grace wanted to pose...well Jessy Grace sort of wanted to pose ;) Gig'em!

All Together...

Since the last post a lot has changed! Jack and I were about to leave to head to the hospital to get Jessy Grace and have our "overnight" stay, when the nurse practitioner called and said all babies could be released Monday. After freaking out for about 30 minutes, we regrouped and had a new plan. We loaded the other 2 car seats, packed more baby gear and headed to Baylor. The afternoon was filled with bath time, mixing milk with vitamins, and tons of other "skills" we needed to learn with preemies. It was a packed day, and by 6 pm we had all 3 babies in our hospital room and we were on our own. After realizing this was actually happening the Self team got it together and got ready for the 9, 12, 3 and 6 feeding. It was quite a night, however we did a great job and even better all three babies did awesome. It is an assembly line for sure, change diaper, take temperature, swaddle, get warm bottle and feed, burp, hold, then lay down. If you have the baby the finishes their bottle first, then you get the 3rd baby...good times :)

All babies gained weight last night too. I don't have exact weight amounts, information overload....BUT the girls are both 4 pounds exactly, I do remember that! This morning Jack and I took the babies back to the nursery and went to an infant CPR and discharge class. We had lunch and then went back to the nursery to finish paperwork and get the babies all packed and ready to go.

I feel so grateful for how well things have gone so far. Of course this journey will be exhausting, but at the end of the day you look at the most precious angels God ever sent. On the ride home Jack said it best, "I feel like I am in a dream." We are so in love with them!

Here are some pictures from today. There are so many it was hard to choose!

Bath Time and sleepover the first night

Ready to go home!!

Family picture and Genna, Jessy Grace's favorite nurse

Cutest car seats for the angels! And 1 proud daddy!

And finally.....if you are wondering how many bottle triplets go through in 24 hours....it is 24!!!!

We have been so blessed to have so much help and support during the past 8 months. We know everyone is anxious to see the triplets. However, we have to be very careful with illness and our babies, so if you have been sick or exposed to any illness please don't come over. We will be washing our hands and Pureling like crazy. We also can't have a lot of children over in the beginning just as a precaution. Please, give us a call first if you want to come over. Also, sleep is precious, so we want to get all that we can. We will be feeding every three hours and it will take an hour or more to get all of them feed. Their feedings times are 6,9, 12, 3, 6, ... You're welcome to help, just give us a call!!!

Routine!

If you haven't realized already, a huge part of having multiples is having a routine. I am calling it "organized chaos", however the organized is key as well. Today at the NICU was just a tiny glimpse on the organization needed to make a feeding work with 3 babies.

It was an eventful Saturday as Jack and I did a lot realizing it was our last day as a "single" couple. We had a great afternoon and really worked together on the feedings, we turned out to be a good team!! The routine quickly became change diaper and/or clothes, take temperature, feed, burp, feed, burp, hold for a few minutes and then lay down. I nursed 2 babies while Jack bottle fed one, then when that one was done we finished the 2 I had up with a small amount of bottle...he had one baby and I had the other. Overall, it was about an hour and half ordeal, giving me a small understanding of how the day would be like.

If you are wondering, when one baby wakes up you wake them all up...but they have been on the 9, 12, 3 and 6 schedule for over a week that they all three are ready pretty much right on the dot!

After their 2 pm feeding, I had to get them all snuggled. Are they not the cutest thing you have ever seen!?!?!?

Abigail

Wyatt

Jessy Grace

Later in the afternoon Jack got called to do a job for work so my Mom picked me up and we did some shopping! It was the first time I had really done any sort of walking around the store since January...it was on :) We went to Kirklands, Target and Babies R Us. I was able to get a lot of things I needed marked off my list.

That evening my Mom met up with Jack in Rockwall and passed me off. Jack and I had a wonderful dinner together and celebrated so many blessings! It was a perfect date.

Tomorrow we have to be at the hospital at 2 pm to get things ready for Jessy Grace to "room in" with us. She will get a bath tomorrow and we will practice again mixing her vitamins to 1 of her feeds and also adding the supplement to her milk so she can get big and strong faster. (This is a neat fact, breast milk is only 20 calories per cc...the doctor wants the babies to get 24 calories.)

Here's to Sunday!!!

Would be 35 Weeks Today

The triplets are 35 weeks gestational age today. They however, are superstars and are showing out at the NICU. They have been in the NICU for a week and a half and their progression has been amazing. Friday morning all three babies were moved to "South Hall." This is the area babies move when they are getting ready to go home! They graduated and we are so proud. Sweet Kathy picked me up and took me this morning to Baylor. I got there right before their noon feeding and had also gotten there in time to visit with the neonatologist. He was evaluating each baby and much to my surprise, released Jessy Grace to go home MONDAY!!! She has been on nipple feedings for 4 days, and by Monday it will be a week. She is eating plenty and growing every day. Even though she only weighs 3 pounds 13 ounces, she is doing exactly what she needs to do to come home.

It was quite the afternoon! I changed Abigail and fed her a noon, then Wyatt had his food delivered "fast food", that is through his feeding tube. After feeding, the Occupational Therapist came in to talk about bottle choices, tummy time and a few other milestones to watch for. A nurse came in to check each one of the babies hearing. Their nurse Genna reviewed the discharge procedure with Jessy Grace which includes Jack and I coming on Sunday to "stay in" through the night with Jessy Grace in a hospital room. This will give us a chance to do things on our own, however with a nurse near by if we need one. Tomorrow Jack and I will go up to the hospital for 2 or 3 feedings and also try to get the routine down better. We will also take Jessy Grace's car seat for her car seat test, and will learn to give her a bath, put her supplement in her milk to add extra calories and give her vitamins.

After all of that it was time to feed the little girl. We are working to get them all on a 4 hour schedule, so today we spread Jessy Grace's feeding to 1 pm. So the new times we are working toward are 9, 1 and 5, so 9 am, noon, 1 pm, 9 pm, midnight and 5 am. Much better to me than 8, 12, 3 and 6! Jessy Grace nursed for her feeding and did an awesome job. I changed little mans diaper and clothes and by that time was worn out!!!! Whew, God is going to have to give me some more energy!!

Here are the snap shots from today. They are all growing so big and strong.


Abigail

Wyatt

Jessy Grace

So Jessy Grace will come home Monday and the goal will be for the other 2 to come home at the later part of next week. We do not have days yet, but it all depends on how they do with their feedings and keeping up through the week. They are 1/2 way there and are progressing every day. We are so blessed!

NICU Photo Shoot!

Today was SO much fun! The babies can start wearing clothes now and let me tell you it was a blast dressing all three of them. It took quite a while to get everyone situated, but the end result was so worth it. I started getting nervous though when I dressed the girls alike, they are hard to tell apart, oh no...I hope I can tell the difference when Abigail's feeding tube comes out!

There is no change in how wonderful the triplets are doing. They are eating well, sleeping well, and will soon be in open cribs because their temperature is more regulated.

Here are pictures from today...enjoy!!

Happy 1st Week Birthday!

So I feel like the babies have been here SO much longer than a week! So many great milestones have already been met and we are so grateful. Today the babies are 1 week old! I continue to be mind boggled at the healthy progression of the triplets. I am in awe of Gods' awesome grace and the power of prayer.

Abigail is just a sweet little angel. She loves her passy and sucks on it like candy. She is alternating her feeds with bottle feeding and tube feeding every other time she eats. The triplets feeding schedule is 9, 12, 3 and 6. Abigail is a good sleeper and loves her bows and I'm pretty sure dreams of princesses, angels and shopping with mommy! She now weights 3 pounds 15 ounces.

Wyatt is doing great! He got his IV out this morning and is now eating up to 34 cc's alternating bottle feeding and tube feeding every other time as well. He is getting to be such a big boy and know weighs 4 pounds 7 ounces. The nurses took the weight 3 different times because they thought the scale was wrong...but tonight it was confirmed. He is a super handsome and has a way to melt my heart...just look at the face!

Jessy Grace loves to eat!! She is doing awesome and is entirely on bottle feed only, she is such a big girl! She eats anywhere from 35-40 cc's, a little over an ounce. She no longer has her feeding tube, she actually pulled it out and the nurses didn't see a need to put it back in. She weighs 3 pounds 11 ounces today. She is very alert and has the hiccups a lot too...probably because she eats so fast. She has done a great job nursing when I am there as well.

I'm a proud momma!

All three angels are doing wonderful! Each has increased their feeds and have started bottle feeding when they are awake to eat. The girls IV's are out and Wyatt is about 1 to 2 days away. We can start brining clothes up to the NICU and dress them in hopes that will help with their body temperature regulation. When they get cold they burn calories so this we hope will help some so they can get big and strong.

We still do not know when they will come home, but the nurses and pediatrician keep saying how wonderful they are doing and they done not have concerns.

Yesterday the girls were glammed up with these precious bows from their Nanny! These are my "Preemie Donnas!"

Abigail

Jessy Grace

Wyatt loves his puppy bunny and his camo hat the most!

Good Eaters!

It was a great day today!!! Like their mommy and daddy...our babies LOVE food! All three were introduced to 1 bottle and/or breast feed. This morning I was able to nurse Wyatt and Jessy Grace and both did great! The lactation consultant was amazing and said by the time I leave we will have it down on how to nurse all three. Whew, I am glad she has the confidence!! The fact the babies did so well is so important because that is main goal, the can suck, breathe and swallow at the same time. Lots of coordination for these little guys...BUT they did well today!! After the morning feed Jack and I headed back to the room to pack. Man we had basically moved in and it was quite entertaining to see how much we had accumulated! We had lots of family come visit today before we left, my Mom, Mimi & Papa, Alex and Clay, Dad and Kathy and David. We headed to lunch this afternoon and then came back for Abigail's feeding. She did great too and the nurses said if they continue to feed well over the next 24 hours they will more than likely get their IV's removed!! That would be fantastic! Because their feeds are increasing so much they are getting the nutrients they need, so they won't need their IV's.

Here are a few pictures from today: