A Well Deserved update to an update (by Meghan)

As many posts go these days, I wrote this one weeks ago.  So, now I'm re-reading and updating our update. Such is life in the DeBauche household these days! :)

They are growing every day! We just went to the doctor's last Friday.  Izzy weighed 8 lb 4 oz, Maddy weighed 10 lb 15 oz, and Sophie weighed 12 lb 2 oz.  They are all making progress on the growth charts for weight and height.  Sophia just crossed the line to get into the bottom section (between 3% and 10%).  Maddy and Izzy are moving closer and closer with each check in, but they're not on the chart yet.

Our biggest obstacle right now is Maddy's reflux.  We started what seemed to be a wonder drug for her: Reglan.  We had a different baby for a few days.  One who wasn't in torture after every feeding.  Unfortunately, it seems we just traded one problem for another because now her constipation is so extreme she cries all the time and spits up over and over again because she's pushing so hard.  We decided to see if maybe she had a milk allergy so we decided to put her on Izzy's formula (hypoallergenic) for a bit.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be much better. We're going to take her to a GI doc soon so maybe we can get that happy baby back sooner than if we just wait for her to grow out of the reflux. Our pediatrician said she could grow out of it as early as six months adjusted (3.5 months from now), or it could last as long as a year.  She is so tortured by it, I'm really hoping it goes away sooner rather than later.  Even that three and a half months seems unbearable.

All of the girls are smiling more and more every day although Sophie's the smiley-est by far. Izzy and Sophia are starting to bat at their toys. And, on Saturday, Sophia surprised us all.  She rolled over!  We were just hanging out like any other day and all of a sudden she was on her back.  We didn't really see it the first time, but we caught most of the second time on video.  The PT told us they need 60 minutes/day of tummy time.  I'm not sure how that's going to happen if she knows how to get out of it as soon as we get her onto the mat!  Maddy doesn't have much alert time that's not crying, but if she did I think she'd be smiling more and doing some of the things the other two are doing.  For now, we just have to hold her and give her lots of love.  Jeremy took some video of them hanging out together on the mat while Maddy was feeling well and somehow I caught her smiling.  Check it out!

Meghan




Maddy, trying the win the "Who can nap the longest competition?"



Sophia, being Sophia


Is this Sophia or Isabelle?


Sophia, being quite the little narcissist.  She thoroughly enjoys looking at herself in the mirror.  She's been doing this a lot lately and just loves the face she sees looking back at her.




Sophia on Christmas morning.  She was exhausted from staying up late to catch a peek at Santa.


Sophie


Sophie


Maddy




We just got about eight inches of snow late last week.  The day before it snowed, it was 55 degrees.  I packed up the girls and took them for a walk.  It was the first time we did it all together and the first time we got to fill up the Peg Perego Triplette SW.  They were all cuddled in with their Wubbanubs and enjoyed getting out of the family room.

Izzy


Maddy


Sophie



Maddy's been fighting severe constipation and reflux, but lately, she's been smiling a ton more!

Twice the Fun

***Note:  Today, Friday, 11/4/11, was the girls' original due date.  I can't stop smiling when I think about the fact that we've been able to spend almost two and a half extra months with them.  Obviously, I hate the fact that Izzy was born so small and needed to have surgery on her belly, but what an amazing experience we've all shared. ***

This post is a few days late, due to Izzy's big surgery earlier in the week, but I didn't want to miss out on sharing Maddy's check-out day from the Edward NICU.  After spending a whopping 70 days in the NICU, it was time for her to come home.  It was time to make room for other babies in the NICU and time for someone to occupy the space in the crib under the name, "Madelyn."

Picking up a baby for the second time from the NICU almost seemed routine.  It was sort of like, "Oh, you're here to pick up another baby?  Here you go.  Here's your baby."  Relatively, ho-hum if you ask me.  Now, that was what it was like on the surface.  On the inside, we were on the verge of exploding with excitement, knowing that we'd soon have two of our girls home together.

Madelyn left the NICU weighing a hefty 5 lbs 10 oz, a far cry from her original weight of 2 lbs 8 oz.  Also coming home with Maddy, will be prescriptions of both Prevacid and Zantac.  She'll be on very small doses, but it kind of stinks that she still needs prescriptions in the post-NICU era.  They really do help her though.  She has horrible reflux and it's extremely difficult to see her in so much pain after each feeding.  The worst is when the grunting comes with spit up through both the mouth and nose.  It doesn't happen every time, but it's always tough to watch when it happens, knowing that there's nothing you can do.  The nurses tried rice cereal, but its effectiveness wasn't conclusive and one of the docs, who we really trust, told us that recent research shows that it may not make any real difference.

During the last several days at home, she's been doing great!  She spits up from time to time, but she takes her medicine.  We try to keep her still after she eats for at least 30 minutes, and she seems to be thriving.

Maddy, right before she started wailing from being put in the carseat


We decided to try out our new Baby Trend "single" Snap 'n Go. It works great with the car seats we have and provided us with the ability to use the seats we needed for our triplet stroller (Peg Perego Triplette SW), without having to buy the expensive version of the PP individual stroller system.  This Snap 'N Go is pretty much just a frame that fits five or six of the major infant car seat manufacturers.  It's lightweight and is perfect when you have just one baby with you.  We did get the "double" version, too, so we could easily move around if Meg and I didn't want to push around the Peg Perego bus, but wanted to get out together.  These should both be pretty easy to resell on CL, so I kind of think about it like we're paying a rental fee during their use :)



Meg, peeking through the hole in the carrier cover




Buh-Bye NICU!


Our angel, lulled to sleep by the stroller




My aunt Kathy, now a great aunt, came to visit over Halloween weekend. Meg took her to the NICU to see Isabelle and Madelyn over the weekend, then she was able to help out and spend some time with Sophia and Madelyn at home.  "Aunt Kathy, come back whenever you want!"



Sisters - Maddy on the left and Sophie on the right


Meg, with two of her girls on Maddy's first night home