Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Family of Five

On May 2 Linus graduated out of the CVICU and downstairs on the cardiac floor. While down there, he started teething and went on a bottle strike. Suddenly he went from eating so fast he vomited, to seeing the bottle and crying and arching his back to get away from it. Luckily he was still progressing with the other aspects of his recovery. Physical therapy was going well & his head and trunk strength was improving. The doctors started weaning him onto a protocol he could come home on. After a few scary bumps and adjustments, he started thriving. On Mother's Day he popped both of his lower front teeth. We hoped teething pain was causing his oral aversion and that he would start eating again. No such luck. The doctors decided that feeding issues would not keep him in the hospital and just focused on his meds. He was almost released on Wed, May 11, but he was sweaty, breathing 100/min, grumpy and agitated. These are symptoms of both withdrawal and unmanaged heart failure so tests had to be done to figure out which it was. "Luckily" it was determined to be withdrawals. They tweaked his meds and he was discharged the next day. After 2 open heart surgeries and 74 days in the hospital, our boy is finally home where he belongs.

Life has been pretty crazy around here. Luckily we were able to transfer Linus from a 3hr schedule to a 4 hour schedule without any major hassle so it meshes better with the big boys. Now he has a 2 hour tube feed every 4 hours instead of an hour and a half feed every 3 hrs. Still doesn't give us a ton of time in between, but it helps. He's down to only 6 meds and 2 of those, Methadone & Ativan, are slowly being weaned. Since he's been home, he's had a pediatrician's appointment and a cardiology follow up. Both went very well. He's 16lbs6oz and 26.25" long. His lungs are clear and his liver is less enlarged. Here's hoping he gets to stay home for a long long time.


Linus is not going to be fun to sleep with when he's older. Look at how this kid spreads out!
This naughty boy is chewing on his PICC line. He's lucky he's so cute.
I nearly had a heart attack when his alarms started going off saying he had a crazy fast and irregular heart rate. When I jumped up I saw he had pulled one of his EKG leads off and put it in his mouth. Brat.
My sweet little oxygen-free cherub.
Less wires and more energy meant it was time to reintroduce the jumper. He had a blast for about 5 minutes. Then he took a loooong nap.
The big boys and I decided it was high time to visit Linus and Mommy at the hospital. Linus was super grumpy and could've cared less that they were there, so they just amused themselves on a pallet.
Linus decided he would much rather wear cute clothes like his brothers instead of this creepy clown hospital gown.
So the next day he got his act together and came home .

Last night after a 2 week feeding strike, Linus not only drank from a bottle, he also held it by himself! We had literally talked the night before and decided he just wasn't going to drink from a bottle ever again and hoped he would take solids when the time was right.
Dex holding his bottle like a big boy.
Simon glaring at me for interrupting his soothing dinner time with stupid camera flashes.
Scenes like this prompted us to figure out a way to contain the babies. Why does he want to break the only 2 teeth he has by chewing metal?
The baby cage was then constructed.
Yay, for containment!
My happy boys. I freaking LOVE these kids!
Seeing them play together warms my heart. There were too many times when I truly believed this would never happen.
Dexter: "Um, I don't wanna chew on this giraffe, lets trade!"
Dexter: "Here, you take this one and you get this one...perfect!"
Simon recently found his toes.
Dexter found his, too.
Linus's tummy-time looks a lot like nap time. Poor kid can't lift his head even one millimeter off the mat. Practice makes perfect, though, so we'll just keep working at it.
See? He's not sleeping, I swear. :)
Linus thinks that baby in the mirror is mighty handsome.
After baby food we're giving the big boys a few sips of water from a little cup. They love it!
I'd say about half of Simon's drools out, but he still has a good time with it.
Dexter is really good at it and smiles so big when he's finished.
Linus got his first taste of avacado today. We can only put a teeny smear in his mouth since he has zero oral coordination. We're just so glad he's taking anything by mouth. I can't tell you what a huge accomplishment that is for him.
I love this kid's smile. He has the sweetest face!
He decided getting onto his knees is kinda fun after all. He's even done some rocking.
Not to be outdone, Simon has started getting on his hands and tip toes.

The other day I put Simon down on his belly and when I went back to him, he was sitting on his butt. We missed it the first few times, but I finally caught him in action.



Look at that proud face.

53 comments:

abmayfield said...

Thank you so much for sharing! I'm so glad that you finally have your boys together under one roof. This post actually brought me to tears...bless you all.

Anonymous said...

So pleased that you're all home together finally, that is awesome that he is doing so much better. I bet Simon and Dexter were pleased to see him too - love love love seeing them all together again!

Anonymous said...

i love seeing three brothers playing together!

Sara D said...

Such great news! So glad to hear you guys are all together again.

paradykes said...

Beautiful! Seeing all 3 boys together at home is amazing. Thank you so much for letting us all follow along with your journey. I've had you family in my prayers for so long now. Thank god for her miracles!

Kelly said...

Oh my gosh, I love that he chews on the picc!! That kid is hilarious! We're so happy for you all! I'm sure it feels good to get into the groove of your new normal. <3

Lucy said...

Holy crap! Adorable!!!!!

Michaela said...

Aaawww, this post made me all teary eyed. SO GREAT to see all of you home.

Clare said...

Sos o so pleased for you guys, I've got the boggest grin on my face this morning. I'm just so happy for your family of 5 - just how it should be and long may it continue!!

Allison said...

Beautiful!

How wonderful it must feel to have all your boys home! And they look so pleased to be together. Just seeing the three of them made me smile. They are gorgeous!!

moi + toi PHOTOGRAPHIE said...

wow. they are growing so fast.. I am SO happy that he is home and you are all together in one roof. Thanks for the update! enjoy those beautiful smiles

A+K said...

All 3 boys together is such a sight to see..thanks so much for posting such an awesome update complete with pictures!! SO SO SO happy for your family to all be reunited again under the same roof!!! Hooray!!!! We hope Linus is enjoying his homecoming!!!!! :)

Anonymous said...

I am astounded! I am so happy to see this. I can't imagine how all this must feel for you guys. High fives for all your little ones!! x

Anonymous said...

So excited for you! I have been following your journey from the beginning and we say a pray for your family every night. I have to know as I don't think it has ever been mentioned, how do the boys sleep? I have two singletons who have each had their own sleep issues and I was just wondering how the boys are. I admire you (in a lot of ways)for always seeming so upbeat. We never hear how rough having triplets are. Hope all continues to go well. Best Wishes

Beth said...

Love all the photos - they are all just so darn handsome!!

We're so very happy Linus is home!!

Cricket said...

They look so great together and I am so happy they are all finally home.

Kirsten said...

Those have got to be the happiest kids I have ever seen! We're so glad Linus is home!

Anonymous said...

I'm just a lurker, traveling through. What a beautiful family! I have to ask, are Simon and Linus identical? They look so much alike!

Edward said...

gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. So nice to see your boys all home!
LOVE the baby containment zone.

Stacey said...

So very happy to see that the boys are all together!!! Wonderful news! They are adorable--love seeing a photo update of all of them together. :)

mollie said...

so happy for all of you! your boys are beautiful. i am a triplet mom too (mine are 5 months old), and i've been following your story for a long time!

Marielle said...

Oh Yay! I'm so glad Linus is finally home where he belongs. Congrats!

Thanks for sharing the pics. All three of your boys are absolutely adorable.

Hope Linus continues to improve and gets to stay home for a very long time.

Heather said...

I am so happy your family is all together again. I hope it is for a long long long long loooooong time!

Kar y Ro said...

OMG They look so beautiful and happy together!

Best wishes to keep Linus as long as possible without going back to the hospital. He looks great drinking his bottle.

I'm glag everything is going better.

jen said...

I'm so, so happy that you have your boys back together again! I've been following Linus' progress on fb and I am so relived that he is home! Your boys look so sweet playing with each other. I can only imagine how your heart swells with love when you see that.

K J and the kids said...

I'm just so happy reading these new posts. How great to see them bonding and playing.

Dexter looks a lot like Trina, no ?

SUCH cute boys.

Unknown said...

I'm so glad to see that Linus is home with you and his brothers :o)

H2 said...

Love the pictures. Yay for having all the boys home. I'm sure Linus will catch up in no time now that he has his brothers to catch up to.

Gust said...

Just amazing :)

anofferingoflove said...

wow, i just LOVE all of the pictures!

i read the title to your post and thought "wow, big family!" before i realized mine is the same size now! lol. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Those boys are too stinking cute!!
Great to see them all together. I am happy for the five of you.

Anonymous said...

This absolutely MADE MY DAY! Congrats, ladies!! They're so SO cute.

Anonymous said...

That's a beautiful sight!!!

Beth W said...

They are adorable and I am so glad the whole family is together at home!! Stay healthy, Linus :)

jessie said...

they are so handsome - i'm glad you're all back together!

Gabriel Beal said...

Such good news. So glad to see your boys all together.
-Shirin

Heidi said...

Glad to see he is home and looking so gorgeous with his brothers.

Stacy said...

Wonderful wonderful wonderful news!! What a joy to see Linus where he belongs...home with his family.

welcome2ourworld said...

This post made me soooo happy for you guys. Those kids can be so lucky to have such wonderful and strong mommies. God bless your family.

jade said...

Hurray! It's impressive to see how "normal" it all looks when they're together, even though they haven't seen each other for so long and Linus has gone through so much "stuff". Well done for holding on and getting through it all - and thank you for sharing. Kind regards from Belgium to the whole family of 5!

Unknown said...

You have three beautiful boys. I am so glad that Linus is home and is thriving. Your family is in my prayers.

EG said...

Wonderful news and wonderful post! Seeing the 3 of them together must fill your heart to overflowing!

Anonymous said...

This is such wonderful news!!!! The boys are so cute or as my nephew used to tell me "Auntie, boys are not cute, we are handsome!" :)

It's so wonderful to see all 3 of them sitting on the floor playing...this will be the scene in your house for years to come...at least when they are not killing each other. :O) I continue to keep your family of five in my thoughts and prayers. Hugs to you all. Leslie

Next in Line said...

Linus looks so good. I am so happy to see you together again.

Lex said...

So awesome to see how they are. You have the most beautiful, strong boys.

Unknown said...

So glad to see all three boys together! They are perfect!

allie :^) said...

fave words in this whole post...i freaking love them! :) i cannot imagine how much work triplets are, but its times three hundred!!! :) everything that is good. so glad this family of five is ALL HOME. together. that is as it should be. :)

Anonymous said...

Those are the cutest boys EVER!!!! CONGRATS ON HAVING ALL THREE HOME!

rickybollinger said...

how cute he was!


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Jaime said...

They are so freaking adorable!!!

Pomegranate said...

i'm a bit behind on reading/commenting, but congratulations! how awesome to finally all be home. the boys, by the way, are just too cute for words.

Shan said...

Good grief those are some beautiful boys! I'm glad everybody's home now.

TheCorbinStory said...

So happy to see all the boys home, together! What cuties! My baby was in the hospital 81 days...I know how frustrating the waiting can be. Love the pictures :D