Welcome Home Braden!

Braden is home from the hospital! We got a call from the NICU doctor on Sunday morning, and she told us that Braden had gained weight for four straight days, which was his final task before he could be discharged. That was the most exciting call we had gotten yet from the doctors. We brought Braden home and he was finally able to meet Aunt Erin, Uncle Caleb & Uncle Brian. And that night Braden introduced us to the nights of very little sleep. We are thankful that Julie had a week to recover before the babies came home, and though it was difficult to bring one home and leave the other two behind at the hospital, it is nice to get our feet wet with one before jumping into the pool with all three.

Kayla & Daniel are doing great. Both of them have made great progress in the last few days. Both have been taken out of their incubators, and both of them have had their feeding tubes taken out. This means that they only need to demonstrate weight gain for four straight days before they are released as well. It could be any day now that they come home too!

Here are some pictures of Braden's first night home.


Braden meeting Aunt Erin, Uncle Caleb & Uncle Brian


Grandmas & Grandpas were there to welcome him home as well.


Braden was always the center of attention that night.


So tiny in his bouncy seat.


Lets not forget about Kayla & Daniel...

Grandma gets to hold Kayla for the first time.


Kayla & Daniel were out of their incubators and in these big boy/girl beds

Daniel spending some time with Grandpa

New Year's Eve with the Babies

Happy New Year everyone. With this new year comes more good news from the NICU. The best news is that Julie is now able to nurse all three of the babies. Kayla was the surprise. She is a few days behind her brothers in progress, but she was able to nurse as well, and ate more that the nurses thought she would.

Braden is showing signs of being a true Hess, and is eating everything he can get in his mouth. For his last few feedings, he took all his food through a bottle, and didn't have to use the feeding tube, which is great news. Braden's other big news is that he is officially out of the incubator, and into what they call the "Big Boy Crib". They said he was able to keep his temperature regulated by himself that first night in the crib. That, combined with him being able to eat completely from a bottle means that he is just about ready to come home (the nurses are saying possibly Monday or Tuesday!).

Kayla is eating much better than she has been. Now that she is off the oxygen, they have started feeding her through the bottle, and she is adapting slow, but is making progress every day.

Daniel is right behind his brother. He still hasn't taken 100% of a feeding through a bottle yet, but he is getting close. The nurses said that he is also showing signs of being able to regulate his body temperature, and they might try him in the Big Boy Crib soon as well.

Those are the updates, and here are the pictures:


Here is Braden in his new Big Boy Crib


Daniel trying to hold his own bottle


Kayla peeking out of her incubator window

One Week Old

The babies are officially one week old, and we got some great news from the Doctor today. Kayla officially no longer needs oxygen. She has demonstrated that she is fully capable of breathing on her own. And one of the benefits for us is that we can now see her face without all the tubes. Here is our beautiful daughter without her breathing mask.



The other good news we have is that both boys are eating well enough that Julie is able to start nursing them. Both have done well with this, but Braden seems to be leading the pack. He is almost to the point where he is taking all his food without having to use the feeding tube. We were also told today that they were going to take him out of the incubator tonight to see how well he can regulate his own temperature. It seems like he might be getting close to being able to come home!

Here are some pictures over the last few days.


Kayla, Braden, & Daniel just one week old


Kayla & Daniel caught smiling


And finally, one very tired Daniel


-Rich

First Family Picture

The babies are now 5 days old, and they are doing great. Kayla is making good progress, and is right about where they expect her to be for her size. The boys on the other hand are exceeding the doctors expectations. We couldn't be prouder of the progress our three little ones are making.

On Christmas in the NICU, the nurses gave us the best present we could have asked for. Since the boys were doing so well, the nurses were able to take them off of their monitors for a few minutes, and bring them over by their sister so we could take our first family picture. And as a bonus, the nurses walked the boys over to the window in the door of the NICU, and Aunt Erin, Uncle Caleb, & Uncle Brian were able to see their nephews for the first time.

Braden is on the Left, Kayla is in the middle, and Daniel is on the right.

Here they are all together up close.

Here are some other shots of the babies in the last few days...


Here we are holding our two boys.

Kayla, Braden, & Daniel with their eyes open.

Peeking through the windows of their incubators.

And of course lots more Grandma & Grandpa time.


Julie is now home from the Hospital, which is bitter-sweet. We are thankful that she was well enough to leave, but it is sad that we are no longer a short elevator trip from seeing the babies. Thank you all for your prayers and support. And who knows, maybe the next post will include a video...

-Rich

2 Days Old

Well, the babies are now 2 days old, and they are doing great. Both boys are now off of the oxygen, and are getting close to being able to come off their feeding tubes & IVs. Kayla is a little behind the boys, but she is doing very well. She is on oxygen, and is being fed through the feeding tube & the IV, but she is still ahead of where most babies are when they are born her size. And the doctor told us that if these breathing issues are all we have to deal with, then we should consider ourselves lucky. Julie is also doing well. She was able to get up and walk around for a while today, and has much more of an appitite than she did yesterday.

Here are some snap shots of the last few days:



This was Julie & I just one day before the babies were born.

Us at the hospital just minutes after they told us the babies were definitely being born that night. Julie said she wasn't sure how she was able to smile for that picture considering she was in full on labor at the time.

After the babies were born, they gave us three hats, each one with the footprints of one of the babies.

Julie's first trip down to see our new babies.

Our first time getting to hold one of our babies. I got to hold Braden, and Julie got to hold Kayla.

Daddy getting to feed Daniel for the first time, and Kayla grabbing her Daddy's finger.


And of course the Grandmas and Grandpas are loving the time with their new grandchildren.

And here are new pictures of Kayla, Braden, & Daniel only two days old.


Enjoy and stay tuned for more.

-Rich

Babies are here!

The rumors are true... We are officially parents to triplets! Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support. It was a long day yesterday, but we are happy to announce that all three babies are doing extremely well, and Julie is recovering nicely. But enough about the details, I know the real reason you are here is for the pictures! So here are the first three pictures (Warning: They are hooked up to all the monitors and breathing machines, but I figured you would want to see them anyway)...

Here is Kayla Ann

She is our oldest, and was born at 2:47 AM. She was 4 lbs, 2.5 oz, and was 16.9 inches long. The nurses in the NICU are already calling her the little princess of the family.

Please meet Braden Richard

He is our second born, and was born at 2:48 A.M. He was our biggest one weighing 4 lbs, 4.6 oz, and was also 16.9 inches long.

And this is Daniel Bernard

He is our youngest, born a full minute later at 2:49 A.M. He weighed 4 lbs, 3.7 oz, and was our longest at 17.3 inches. I was down in the NICU when they gave him a bath, so I was able to get a picture of him without his breathing machine on.

Stay posted for more pictures. They are coming later today. Thanks everyone for all your support over the past 8 months. Please continue to pray for Julie in her recovery, and for the babies as they get bigger and grow stronger.

-Rich

I can't believe it, 34 weeks!!

Hello all,
So sorry we have taken such a long break from the internet world. Especially at a critical time as we get closer to the big day. But we're finally online again and I wanted to update right away! First of all, we can't believe that as of today, I am 34 weeks pregnant! I never thought I would make it this long and at this point I am thankful for each day that the babies stay in. Of course, I am also EXTREMELY ready physically for their arrival. But the longer they're in, the better off they'll be, so I am praying to make it to December 30th. Not too far away now!

In other baby news, I had an appointment yesterday and all 3 are continuing to grow. At this point, I get checked every week and have an ultrasound. It is very difficult at this point to see in the ultrasounds. The techs are always saying things like, "let's see, whose arm is that?" or "woops, here comes someone elses leg!" It is certainly getting very crowded in there. I'm measuring at 48 cm at this point, which is the equivalent of 48 weeks pregnant so I'm definitely feeling huge at this point! I don't do too much these days. One outing a day is basically all I can take so I'm so thankful for my mom who is here to help take care of me. It is so helpful to have her doing all the laundry and fixing meals...hmmm...I could get used to this!

All three babies are measuring really well right now. Here are the latest stats:

Baby A (girl): 4 lbs, 0 oz

Baby B (boy): 4 lbs, 5 oz

Baby C (boy): 4 lbs, 5 0z

I'm absolutely thrilled that they are over 4 lbs. That has been my goal all along so I feel so blessed that they are doing as well as they are! At this rate, they could be close to 5 by the time I deliver. Wow, that's a lot of weight to carry around too!

In house news, we are loving our new place. It has taken a lot of self discipline to not stress too much about getting everything the way I want it. There are simply too many other things to think about right now so I'm putting all other house projects on hold for now. We did however paint the nursery and get the cribs all set up. We're almost done with it so I'll be sure to take a picture and post it when we're all set!

I also just want to thank all of you who are faithfully praying for us and have been so encouraging in sharing in this exciting time. I can't believe that we're in the homestretch. God is so good and I am amazed at His faithfulness to us during this journey! We'll certainly be updating more now so stay tuned!!!

-P.S. We will reveal names after babies are born. That is the one surprise we're leaving for the very end! :)

Short Update

Hello All! Sorry we have been so out of the loop. We are finally in the new house but still without internet (I'm checking from my in-laws right now). A few quick updates:

1. Babies are doing great! As of 2 weeks ago they were measuring as follows:
Baby A: 3 lbs 3oz

Baby B: 3 lbs 4 oz

Baby C: 3 lbs 5 oz

They will get measured again next week so I'm hoping they will be over 4 by then. I'm still scheduled for a C-section on December 30th. Really hoping to make it that far because we still have so much to do!

2. We love the new house! It's been fun getting settled. My mom arrived right on moving day which has been such a blessing since I'm not capable of much these days. Rich will be painting the nursery tomorrow night and then we hope to set up the cribs and decorate this weekend. I'll feel so relieved when this is all done!

Well, gotta run for now. Hopefully we will get internet set up at home soon so we can put up more pictures. I'm really packing on the weight now as babies continue to grow so we'll definitely post an updated picture of my incredibly growing belly!