Maldonado Triplets

Well our baby boys are now 2 weeks old. What a 2 weeks it's been. For anyone who has ever had a baby in the NICU I say bless your courage and strength. There are no words that can prepare you for the ups and downs and emotional rollercoaster that you will be put on. Well our ups have out weighed our downs however when it's your child a down is still a down. We do however feel very blessed that our boys are in such great hands and we know that this is just a time that they have to get through and they will be stronger for it.

Well Isaac is doing wonderful. He had a minor set back last week where they had to stop his feeding for 1 day but he is back on track and eating 27 ml. He is now weighing 4 lbs 6 oz. Now one thing to know is that all babies lose weight in the beginning so they had to work their way back. Now compared to his brothers Isaac looks so big, even though he isn't. Dr. Newhide (his doctor in the NICU) says he's determined to get out of there. I think so too. He is a good baby, he eats and sleeps and is wasting no time to grow.

Well Jeremiah has had a few set backs. He had some blood in his tummy and although this freaked me out the doctors and nurses seemed like this is just something that happens. So they had to stop Jeremiah's feeding for a couple days. He has just started his feedings again and since they are taking it slow not to irritate his stomach he is back down to 5 ml. Although he was up to 21 ml at one time, we have to start over again. Hopefully he wil be up there again soon. He is now weighing 3 lbs 8 oz. Now when I talk about the boys feedings this is of course through a NG tube. Non of them are able to bottle feed yet. I stress yet because they will get there.

Now our lil guy Samuel has had some setbacks as well but has also had many strides. Samuel lost the most weight in the beginning since he had his operation and couldn't eat for much longer than his brothers. He dropped down to under 3 lbs and it was noticeable. He is now eating and doing very well. He is now eating more than Jeremiah at 12 ml. He is also now weighing 3 lbs 1 oz, just shy of his birth weight but looking much better everyday. Now yesterday was a little scary as I walked into the NICU and saw a nurse giving Samuel an ultrasound and looking at his heart. Also he was having a hard time with his breathing so they had to put him back on the nasal oxygen to help him. They were checking his heart (echo) but no official results yet. The tech didn't think she saw anything but did tell us we would have to wait for the official results from the doctor. So we are hopeful it's nothing and that he just needs a little more time for his lungs to develop. He also may have an infection in his eye since he was getting some gunk in it so they sent out for a culture and we will see what the result are today.

I also had my 2 weeks check-up yesterday, all looks great physically with me and then the doctor I guess was checking for postpartum depression asked if I was depressed. LOL! Are you kidding me? I told her I don't have postpartum depression but I am depressed at times because I have 3 babies in the NICU that I have to leave daily. She looked at me and said yea that's understandable. I don't think there is any medication for that.

Now all 3 babies are more alert and starting to have their eyes open more often. They are all changing so much too. Now Isaac and Jeremiah don't look alike to me but I'm not sure if that's because Isaac is much bigger. Isaac's hair also looks darker. We will have to wait and see when they get bigger. Now Samuel looks like himself and starting to fill out too.

Now just a quick update on Lil Vic. He is doing good. He says he still feels like an only child. He also had a bit of jealousy the other day but we sat down and spoke to him and he is ok. I think it's just hard for him to have a connection with the babies since he's not allowed to see them. The rules at the hospital are making it very difficult for him to bond with his brothers. I know once they come home he will feel a connection and love them with all his heart.