Just a quick update to let everyone know that George is out of surgery. It went very well. He is still "out" right now and will be for pretty much the entire day. He is on an oscillator right now, which is a step higher than a ventilator. It keeps his lungs pretty much fully inflated, since he is a little too sick to breathe right now and his vent settings were pretty high. So hopefully he will only be on that a couple of days. The doctor said he should be like a new baby in about 48 hours. Thank you for all the prayers for us and our little angels. It is so appreciated!
I will update tomorrow after Lainey's cranial ultrasound too. Now, off to take a nap...neither one of us got much sleep last night!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
More Prayers, Please
Our babies all had cranial ultrasounds today, well I guess it was yesterday since it is 1am now! Anyway, George's and Emery's both came back normal. Elaina's showed Intraventricular Hemorrhage or IVH. IVH has 4 grades, Grade I being the least severe and Grade IV being the most severe. Her doctor said hers is uncomplicated Grade II, which means there is a small amount of bleeding on the brain without hydrocephalus. The information we received says that Grade I and Uncomplicated Grade II IVH are usually not at any greater risk of brain injury than premature infants who do not develop IVH. The bleeding is usually reabsorbed by the body. She will have another cranial ultrasound on February 3. Please keep our little girl in your prayers (along with her brother and his surgery on Monday) that the IVH does not worsen and that the repeat ultrasound shows the blood is being or has been reabsorbed.
We have had an emotional day. I knew there would be ups and downs with 3 babies in the NICU, but there isn't anything that can be said or that you can read on other peoples blogs that can really prepare you for it. I know my friends, old and new, that have been in this position have a lot of words of encouragement. Hearing about their experiences and seeing the beautiful faces of their little ones on the other side of all of this is so inspirational. I hope to be able to "pay it forward" when our family is on "the outside" and all of this is a memory.
We have had an emotional day. I knew there would be ups and downs with 3 babies in the NICU, but there isn't anything that can be said or that you can read on other peoples blogs that can really prepare you for it. I know my friends, old and new, that have been in this position have a lot of words of encouragement. Hearing about their experiences and seeing the beautiful faces of their little ones on the other side of all of this is so inspirational. I hope to be able to "pay it forward" when our family is on "the outside" and all of this is a memory.
Updates
Our little boy, so handsome! George has had some struggles since his arrival. Mainly a condition called PDA or Patent Ductus Arteriosus (google it if you want more info). The short version of this is that he has a vessel near his heart that in full term babies closes up on it's own with the first breaths/cries. George's PDA has not closed after 2 rounds of medication. After a repeat ultrasound, we found out today that our little guy has to have surgery to close it. The surgery will most likely be on Monday early morning. They will do a repeat echo on Sunday just to see if by some miracle, the vessel is closing on it's own. The surgery is routine, but I think the word "routine" goes out the window when it is on your own little boy, especially when that little boy doesn't even weigh 3 pounds (though he is very close!). Hopefully after he recovers he can get rid of that ventilator and he will grow big and strong!
Don't let her little size fool you! She was the first baby off the ventilator, graduated to a CPAP and now finally a nasal canula and has been holding steady! She is the first one we were able to hold. I think she is going to be our cuddler too! Her cry is very soft and sounds like a little kitty cat...her daddy calls her "kitten"! He finally has a kitten he isn't allergic to! She continues to get stronger every day!
Our biggest and first born! She started all of this when she broke my water! She too is a strong little girl...first to go off the CPAP to a nasal canula. However, our little blondie was having some breathing "episodes" quite frequently so she earned her CPAP back. The great news is she has only had a couple of episodes since going back on CPAP. Basically, she was "forgetting" to breath from time to time and sometimes she'd recover on her own and sometimes she needed to be reminded by a nurse or us. Her little cry sounds like a billy goat, but don't worry...no nicknames of billy or goat! haha! Though she did look a little like Benjamin Button the other day...that nickname won't stick either. Probably blondie, if she has a nickname at all. Her daddy never imagined he would have a blonde baby! As for us, we are hanging in there! Our days basically consist of going to the hospital in the morning for a few hours, coming home to rest, eat & pump (well me at least!) and then going back up to the hospital for a few hours in the evening. We thank God every day for our precious little miracles. Sometimes it still doesn't seem real. Last night I was thinking, "are they gonna really let us take you all home someday?!" It is the most amazing feeling in the world...it makes all the heartache that it took to get here just melt away. We both feel so full of love, like we never imagined! Thank you everyone for all your kind words and support. I'd love to be able to respond to all the comments individually, but there isn't much time right now...just know we are so appreciative!
"Kangaroo" pictures
One or both of us have finally been able to hold our babies! Ryan has not yet held Elaina, but hopefully, that will change tonight. He did hold George, though only for a moment. Unfortunately George wasn't tollerating going from Mommy to Daddy today and we had to put him back into his isolette. It was just a little too much for him.
Here are some pictures of us with the babies:
Mommy and Elaina:
Mommy and Emery "Kangarooing":
Mommy and Daddy with Emery:
George and Mommy "Kangarooing":
Emery Kangarooing on Daddy:
Here are some pictures of us with the babies:
Mommy and Elaina:
Mommy and Emery "Kangarooing":
Mommy and Daddy with Emery:
George and Mommy "Kangarooing":
Emery Kangarooing on Daddy:
Kangaroo Care is skin to skin with the babies. We haven't been able to Kangaroo with Elaina yet because she has a umbilical line, which is very fragile while her brother and sister have PIC lines. Hopefully Elaina's veins will cooperate and she can get her PIC line soon too so we can Kangaroo with her. It is so good for the babies (and us!)...it is just this closeness you feel that words can't really express. Doesn't get any better than holding these little ones!
First, A Slight Rewind
Since I never got to post these, I figured I would play a little catch-up. These are the last belly pictures we have. Taken on January 18th at 29 weeks...4 days before the babies arrived.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Day 2 Update
After a whirlwind 2 days, everyone is doing just fine.
Elaina- Our first, and biggest baby is doing well, but has had a few issues that are being addressed. she is off the ventilator, but is now wearing a cpap mask to steady her breathing. She has had a few episodes where she forgets to breath, so they are treating her with caffeine to stimulate her. It has been working great. The doctor noticed a heart murmur and it was discovered that she has a vessel still open that should have closed when she was born. this is somewhat common in preemies and they have decided to just observe for 2 days to see if it closes on its own. If not, there is a medicine treatment available with a 2/3 success rate. She's a fighter, so we are hoping for the best. Either way they assured us that it will be corrected one way or another. We are praying for her. She is also under uv light to treat her jaundice. Also very common. she has beautiful blond hair and looks like mommy.
Emery- Our second, and tiniest baby is doing surprisingly well. She was the first off of her vent and also has the cpap apparatus to help her regulate breathing. She is feisty, but looks so sweet and is just tiny. She is also under uv light treatment for jaundice, but otherwise is doing very well. We think she is a little milkshake of mommy and daddy.
George- Our third born is still on his ventilator, but the nurses are working to ween him off... It is common for boys to take a little longer in the breathing department. He's just working a little too hard to come off yet... He pulls at his tubes alot, but seems to like being on his tummy, so that is how he is spending most of his time lately. He is also under uv light treatments for jaundice. He is also a feisty little guy with a strong grip. He has big hands and feet like daddy. Everybody says he is 100% boy. He has little black curly hair, and we think he looks more like daddy, but who knows at this point...
Mommy- Mommy is being a trooper. She has some pretty bad swelling of her extremities, but no complications from surgery. She gets to visit the babies a few times a day, but unfortunatley, they are not ready to be held yet, which is a bit hard to handle. Hopefully we'll get to hold them in the next day or two once they are a bit more stable and adjusted to being in the real world.
Daddy- Daddy is running on adrenaline still. Not much sleep, but hopefully tonight will be better.
We appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers during this emotionally and physically draining time. We've had lots of visitors and enjoy showing off our new family. Mommy will be coming home on Monday, but I'm sure we'll be visiting our little babies often. Our lives have a new purpose, and we wouldn't have it any other way. It's been a long time coming and we plan on giving them our all.
More pictures and updates to come. Stay tuned...
Elaina- Our first, and biggest baby is doing well, but has had a few issues that are being addressed. she is off the ventilator, but is now wearing a cpap mask to steady her breathing. She has had a few episodes where she forgets to breath, so they are treating her with caffeine to stimulate her. It has been working great. The doctor noticed a heart murmur and it was discovered that she has a vessel still open that should have closed when she was born. this is somewhat common in preemies and they have decided to just observe for 2 days to see if it closes on its own. If not, there is a medicine treatment available with a 2/3 success rate. She's a fighter, so we are hoping for the best. Either way they assured us that it will be corrected one way or another. We are praying for her. She is also under uv light to treat her jaundice. Also very common. she has beautiful blond hair and looks like mommy.
Emery- Our second, and tiniest baby is doing surprisingly well. She was the first off of her vent and also has the cpap apparatus to help her regulate breathing. She is feisty, but looks so sweet and is just tiny. She is also under uv light treatment for jaundice, but otherwise is doing very well. We think she is a little milkshake of mommy and daddy.
George- Our third born is still on his ventilator, but the nurses are working to ween him off... It is common for boys to take a little longer in the breathing department. He's just working a little too hard to come off yet... He pulls at his tubes alot, but seems to like being on his tummy, so that is how he is spending most of his time lately. He is also under uv light treatments for jaundice. He is also a feisty little guy with a strong grip. He has big hands and feet like daddy. Everybody says he is 100% boy. He has little black curly hair, and we think he looks more like daddy, but who knows at this point...
Mommy- Mommy is being a trooper. She has some pretty bad swelling of her extremities, but no complications from surgery. She gets to visit the babies a few times a day, but unfortunatley, they are not ready to be held yet, which is a bit hard to handle. Hopefully we'll get to hold them in the next day or two once they are a bit more stable and adjusted to being in the real world.
Daddy- Daddy is running on adrenaline still. Not much sleep, but hopefully tonight will be better.
We appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers during this emotionally and physically draining time. We've had lots of visitors and enjoy showing off our new family. Mommy will be coming home on Monday, but I'm sure we'll be visiting our little babies often. Our lives have a new purpose, and we wouldn't have it any other way. It's been a long time coming and we plan on giving them our all.
More pictures and updates to come. Stay tuned...
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!
George Ryan Kolb- 2lb. 14oz.
Emery Ruth Kolb- 2lb 8oz
Elaina Dee Kolb- 3lbs. 0 oz.
Mommy during delivery- She did great!
Getting ready for surger prep...
Emery Ruth Kolb- 2lb 8oz
Elaina Dee Kolb- 3lbs. 0 oz.
Mommy during delivery- She did great!
Getting ready for surger prep...
On January 22, 2009 we received the 3 most beautiful little miracles. Exactly 12 hrs. before our scheduled routine doctors appointment, at 3:30am, Lisa's water broke. Dr. Bryant told us to go to the birth center for observation. After almost hitting a deer on the way to the hospital (my heart is still skipping beats...) we finally made it in around 4:15am. There were no contractions, so the doctors gave lisa a steroid shot to strengthen the babies lungs just in case they had to be born, but the hope was to keep them in for a couple days, if not longer. Elaina had another idea... Lisa started having contractions and by the time dr. bryant arrived, they got stronger and he noticed that she was dialated to 5cm. Baby Time! At 10:03am, our first little miracle was born. Elaina Dee Kolb weighed exactly 3lbs. At 10:04, Emery Ruth Kolb arrived at 2 lbs 8oz. Also at 10:04, George Ryan Kolb arrived, weighing 2lb. 14oz. There were no complications, but due to the fact that they were only 29 weeks and 4 days along, their little lungs needed help. They were all put on ventilators, but were otherwise healthy and moving around. We had a big crowd in the waiting room including both sets of grandparents, Ryan's brother, sister and sister-in laws and Ryan's aunt faith and uncle dave. After a few hours, I was able to take everyone in to see lisa and also get a quick peek at the tiny little babies. Everyone was in awe over how tiny they are and how perfect they looked. They are truly little miracles. After 3 years of heartache, God has finally blessed us and we are truly humbled.
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