St. Patties Day

The babies got a visit today from a St. Patty Bear. The bear spread lots of love, luck and cheer to the little ones.

Evan James

Charlotte Rae

Ellie DeMore

They also got a visit from the Pedi-eye doctor. This was their first eye exam. They will get them every two weeks while in the hospital. They all got good reports - no signs of any impairments. They have continued to gain weight - we might even have a 3 lb er - by tomorrow!

Lets try some videos - not sure if this is going to work!

These were taken on Sunday (4 weeks old). If this works, I will start adding more.

You might want to turn off or pause the music (bottem left corner)

Ellie is 1st - Since she was 1st born.

Charlotte next - all ladies first Evan.

Now for the Boy! Evan takes center stage.

Diapers...

Not long after finding out we were going to have 3 babies, I contemplated cloth diapering the trips. Several of our friends use them and rave on how "it's not that hard - and you save money - and you save the environment." For a brief moment, I drank the cloth diaper cool aid and was sold. I tried to sell the idea to Jennifer - her response "I am the one going to be dealing with this mess all day - do what ever - just make it easy on me." So she did not say no! I did more research mostly online and reviews from friends. I even went over to a friends house (John and Kathryn Ballard) and got a schooling on the whole deal - "these are pre-folds, these are all-in-ones, these you only wash the inside, these you pull out an insert, and so on." Another good friend (Daniel Smith) was there and he was also chiming in on the in's and out's. We even got baby Maya out for a test spin. Three old college buddies talking diapers - what has the world come too? So we have covered what they are and how to put them on, but what do you do with them after you change them? John points out he poopie diaper pail - then the peepee diaper pail - then off to the laundry room. He shows how to clean them - pulls out some chemistry set of detergents - wash / dry / fold / some stuffing / and your done. At this point, I can only see the financial benefit - it looks real hard and then times it all by three. I come home to Jenn and of course make it sound like a piece of cake. I get on the Internet to research some pricing. Cloth diapers range form 10.00 to 25.00 each. All the websites suggest that I will need enough diapers to get one baby through 2-3 days. Quick math 8 changes per day per baby is 24 a day - x 2 days - 48. I will need 48 diapers just to get through 2 days. Another thing we had to consider was that they will not wear the same size for the next 2 years, I have to figure out about when they might change size and how long they will be in that size. I put together a spreadsheet with scenarios and pricing - study it for several days - we even registered on-line for cloth diapers. So here we go - cloth diapers it is!!!!

I ran it by the mothers in my Sunday School Class - response "Are you crazy - one baby is tough enough - and you got three!"

I ran it by a mother of twins - response "You just don't know how much ciaos multiples can be - go on line find a bulk diaper supplier and get them to ship those disposable diapers straight to your door at least once a week - and stop thinking of cloth - it is too much work!

I guess I better re-think this.

I go back to my spreadsheet and start figuring the same # of changes with disposable diapers. Bottem line - I would be only saving 467.32 the first year and I have not even figured power, water, and detergent expenses. Do I really want to take on this task?

Answer - - -- NO WAY! WE ARE GOING DISPOSABLE!

Disposables are what they use in the NICU. In fact, they have a size that can not be purchased in the store. Here is a comparison to the NICU pre-preemie diaper and a normal preemie diaper. I put my hand in one shot for reference.

You might be wondering why I have decided to talk about diapers. Well it does tie into a current event with the babies. They all have just graduated to the preemie size diaper. I can remember when they were first born the pre-preemie size was too big - and now they are moving into a size that can accually be purchase from wal-mart. The next size is still a little too big but I see it as improvement.

Here's a couple of shot from today

Jenn with Evan

Me with Evan

Jennifer holding Charlotte

Ellie looking up a Me

Where's my rubber ducky?

We knew when we left for shift change tonight that Nurse Jennifer was coming on duty and was assigned to our babies. That means they get a bath tonight! Of course, we don't want to miss this action - so after having dinner with one of Jennifer's college friends (Meredith) we rushed back to help out. Here's a picture of Nurse Jenn.

The nurse had a full load tonight - she not only had the Smith Trips but another new born down the hall. When we arrived she had already freshened Evan up. He was all chilled out ready for his food. As we stated before, they don't enjoy the bath but love the moment right after it is over - all fresh, clean, and ready to eat!!!

What a peaceful little boy!

After a few minutes running around, Nurse Jenn was ready to start with Charlotte. The whole process consist of: BP Check, Temp Check, Diaper Removal (any poop?), measure the belly, weighing, listen to heart, listen to lungs, check feeding tube placement, check for residual food from last feeding, overall look over, then wash the baby. She provides a wash cloth and even lotion (which she brings from home). But no rubber ducky - yet! Here I am washing Charlotte.

Here's the after effect - sucking paci for mommy.

Ellie was not to be left out and was ready to go. When we got to her bed she had already busted out of the snuggy and was moving north - arching, pushing, and pulling herself up the bed. She seemed to enjoy the bath the most. Her sticky pads had to be replaced - so she got the full wash down treatment. She requested her hair done before her picture.

This was the first of many baths we will get to participate in. I just hope they are all this easy!

Mid-Week Update

I guess we have hit a period where changes will be minor and that's a good thing. Stability has been the goal for the past 3 weeks and all three have hit that goal. Stability would be defined as breathing with minor or no assistance, eating, pooping, and gaining weight. The next goal is for them to get fat - baby fat. In order to get fat, they have to eat and that has increased. Ellie gets 21 cc, Evan 23 cc, and Charlotte 22 cc. I think the last time I posted amounts they were all around 12 cc. They are also getting a calorie booster added to the milk to help with the baby fat. Here are their current weights: Ellie - 2lb 7oz, Evan 2lb 11oz, and Charlotte 2lb 10oz. They have nurse Jennifer tonight (not mom Jennifer). We like it when she is on. She gives the babies a bath every night. They hate the bath but when she is done they look happy. She is also very particular with their beds - they have to be perfect. No new pictures today. Maybe tomorrow.