Photo Updates

As I'm sure you can imagine, life with three babies at home and one at the hospital has been crazy busy - but so rewarding and fun too. Here are a few shots and some quick updates from the last couple weeks.

Henry's first try at the bouncy seat. It didn't last too long, but he did like the looks of that giraffe.


Sammy in a silly hat made by Nana (my mom). The look on his face says it all, doesn't it? :)


Three peas on the activity mat. They had as much fun reaching for (and hitting) each other as they did playing with the toys.


Two of our most favorite helpers: Jen and her mom Lynne. We certainly couldn't have made it through the first couple weeks without their help! For reference: Jen is holding Sam, Lynne has Henry ("the champ") and I've got Joe.


Tim wanted to join the fun on activity mat. I'm not sure how much the boys enjoyed Dad invading their space, but Tim had a blast!


Henry really enjoys taking tubbies. Here he is enjoying his post-bath snuggle in his towel.


Here it is the Fabulous Feeder 2009 or "The Contraption" as I like to call it. (though there have been a number of different names under consideration...not all suitable for print...) Tim made this out of PVC and velcro - pretty clever, if you ask me. The goal: to shave time off our feedings - particularly the night time feedings. So far, we've had good success with it.


Well, I need to run. I'll post updates on each of the boys - particularly on Tom's progress - very soon. Take care!

Love,
Tim, Kristin & the boys

Welcome home Joe!

As many of you know, we welcomed Joey home on Sunday, May 31. And although we are thrilled with his recovery and progress since his abscess, it was bittersweet to bring him home. In fact, I bawled at the NICU before we left with Joe - at the thought of leaving Tom "alone". I know he's in wonderful, caring hands with the staff at the NICU, but I hate that he's there now without his brothers.

Anyway, we've got three healthy boys at home now and we're so very thankful. It's been pretty crazy around here - as I'm sure you can imagine. Mom was here for Joe's first night home and Jen is still here in the trenches with us. I'm not sure how we're going to make it all work (especially the night time feedings) once Jen goes home!

Here are a few highlights from Joe's homecoming:

Joe in his car seat before leaving the NICU: "Wait! Isn't Tommy coming with us?"


Joe and his proud parents (with mom's tears wiped away). Valisa took this photo (since Henry wasn't with us this time). She was Joe's primary nurse and brought him into the NICU from delivery, so it was perfectly appropriate to have her there to wheel him out.


It seems to be Coleman boy tradition to fall asleep in the car seat on the way to or from the hospital. Don't you just want to eat this little peanut up?


Three peas in a pod. And just for the record: It's definitely Sam in the middle, but even their mother can't tell which one is Joe or Henry in this photo...


Lots more photos and a list of things we could use help with (thank you to those that have offered!) to come soon. Also, a big thanks to our neighbors and friends in the bunco group for their generosity in brining meals to us. We've been overwhelmed with all the love, help and support from our extended family here in Indiana. Thank you!!

Lots of love,
Tim, Kristin & the boys

Welcome home Sam!!

Two down, two to go! Sam came home from the NICU on Wednesday, May 27. So far, he and his brother Henry have taken it easy on us and not caused too much trouble. :) We've been fortunate to have the generous help of my mom and best friend Jen (who arrived Thursday from Amsterdam) to get us through the feedings - and to keep us fed!

Here's a shot of Sam and his proud parents just before leaving the NICU. Henry was there with us that day and actually took this shot for us. :) He's very advanced.


Getting all those car seats in and out of the new minivan isn't as easy as one might think...


Sam snoozed on the way home - once he got settled into his car seat.


Our next exciting news is that Joe will be coming home tomorrow (Sunday)! We are thrilled to have three of our boys at home, but will certainly find it difficult to leave Tom at the NICU without the company of his brothers. The nurses, nurse practioners and doctors have assured me that Tom will get plenty of extra TLC in his brothers' absence. And I'm holding them to it!

More homecoming photos to come soon!
Lots of love,
Kristin, Tim and the boys

Welcome Home Henry!!

As many of you may have already heard, we brought Henry home from the hospital on Friday!! We're all adjusting pretty well, though it's still difficult for me to grasp the notion that we're now fully responsible for him! :) He seems happy and to be adjusting well - though I'm sure he misses his brothers. :) We go to see Dr. Rougeau (pediatrician) tomorrow for his baseline check-up. I honestly can't believe the "fun" is offically starting after 9 weeks. He's already made one trip back to see his brothers in the NICU - and will probably make a few more before any of his brothers make their journey home. The nurses have even set up a small crib for Henry to hang out in - right next to the big crib his 3 brothers are sharing. We're still working out the feedings (who's getting up at what time to feed him) and how Henry's schedule will adapt to work for all the boys once they come home. It was certainly helpful to have my mom here this weekend. Three adults to one baby is a great ratio. Too bad we can't maintain that... :) Here are a few photos of Henry's big weekend:

He slept through his car seat test.


How can Henry and Joey NOT be the identical twins?! (sorry Valisa!)


Henry and his proud parents upon their departure from the NICU. The nurses all said "goodbye and good luck". We said "thanks! we'll see you tomorrow!" :)


(Henry had a great first night home, but we couldn't keep him out of his dad's beer fridge. (I take no responsibility for this photo.)


Here's a quick recap on the other boys and a few photos too...

On Tuesday, Joe and Sam got their circumcisions. Both of them handled it like champs - though Sam was certainly more vocal about it - no surprise there. On Thursday, Joe, Sam and Henry got their 2-month vaccinations. I'm not sure if Tom has gotten his yet...I need to find out. That evening, all 4 had their bi-weekly eye exams. Their eyes are still "immature", but nearing maturity - and the good news is that there are no indications of any eye issues. The bad news is that they'll all need another eye exam in 2 weeks.

Joe came off oxygen this week - except during feedings - and has been doing very well. Just this morning, they removed his oxygen monitor and will not give him oxygen unless he demonstrates a need for it. He's been eating very well and gaining weight: he's finally joined the FIVE POUND club with his brothers! Here's a shot of Joe getting his bath on Thursday evening - after eye exams.


Tom came off CPAP on Thursday - yippee!! He started out on 7 liters of air flow in his cannula, but is now down to 5 liters. Tom has been getting albuterol treatments all week (just stopped them today) and they definitely seem to be helping. When at rest, he is breathing easier and not working quite so hard - which is a step in the right direction. He took his first bottle yesterday with Dad. We're allowed to bottle feed him once a day, as long as he seems up for it. He took 18 cc's, but we're thrilled to have him truly eating again. This is a sleepy Tom after his eye exam on Thursday - with his CPAP-free face!


The nurses have informed us that Sam is a bed hog! He manages to shimmy closer and closer to Joe - eventually crowding out him and Tom. :) Sam had been hanging on to his 25 cc trickle of oxygen for a while now and we've finally been able to take his oxygen off. Like Joe, they've also removed his oxygen monitor. We'll watch his heart rate and color cues to see if he needs oxygen support. When he and Joe make it 2 days without oxygen help, they'll be able to come home. So right now that could mean Wednesday...we'll keep you posted! (Mom - are you on stand-by for an emergency trip down here mid-week?) Sam, the most expressive of the group, let us know his feelings about being bothered after his eye exam on Thursday:


Just a couple more shots from Henry's first visit back to the NICU on Saturday. I took the first photo in the car on the way to the hospital - so sweet. And the second photo is of Henry's 3 brothers in their shared crib with their pacifiers.




Gotta run! We've got babies to feed in the NICU. I'll be posting another update soon with information/rules for visitors and some options for those of you that have offered to help us out. Stay tuned!

Lots of love and hugs,
Kristin, Tim and the boys

Photos to go with last week's post

I don't know where the time goes, but I can't believe it's already been a week since my last post. Anyway - here are the photos I intended to include with that post:

These are the photos the boys gave to Dad for his desk on his birthday - one of each boy:

Henry getting a bath (okay, this was staged, but he just had a major blow-out and needed some serious cleaning).


Sam testing out his car seat.


A peaceful shot of Tom sleeping (on high flow cannula, between sessions on CPAP).


Joe smiling - as always.



Decorations for Tim's birthday party at the NICU.



Our new digs in the NICU - back out into the main room.


The gang on Mothers Day at Yesterdays, one of our favorite restaurants in the area.


More updates and photos to come... Love, Tim, Kristin and the boys

The Week in Review

Hi everyone! It's been a busy week (okay, 10 days) since I last posted an update. Here are the highlights:

My mom and Tim's parents came to visit for Mothers Day weekend. We all attended CPR training at the NICU and the grandparents got some training on bottle feeding our preemies. Since they'll be helping us quite a bit once the boys come home, they all need to have this important training and information. Plus, it was nice to have our moms here for Mothers Day - and for them to spend time with four of their grandsons.

I met with another pediatrician last week (I've "interviewed" three of them) and have decided to go with Dr. Rougeau. She impressed me right off the bat when she brought a note pad into the room to take notes on each of the boys. :) I think I'll get along very well with her!

The final chapter of the milk saga has been written and gone to print - so to speak. Bronson milk bank pasturized my milk last week and shipped it to me just this morning. We now have 140 bottles of milk in our freezer - plus all the bags that I add to the collection every day. (Thank you again to Uncle Tim & Aunt Sarah for that chest freezer!)

Tim's birthday was the 14th and the boys wanted to throw a little birthday party for him. Valisa helped decorate our room at the NICU to celebrate. We put up a photo of each of the boys and a bunch of streamers. The boys gave Tim some photos of them to keep on his desk at work.

The 15th was a big day: We ALL tested negative for MRSA!!! Since this was our second negative result, we're no longer in isolation. No more gowns and gloves!! Yippee!! On Saturday, the nurses offered to move us out of our tiny room and back into the main part of the unit - in the room we started in. So we've got our new digs set up where there's plenty of natural light and space for us to move around. It's so nice to not feel like the local lepers any more! AND - the best part is that I've been able to start nursing again. I'm only doing it once or twice a day, but the boys are doing very well with it.

Jim & Carrie MacCaughan visited the boys on Saturday. It was great to see them and the boys were so happy to finally meet Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Carrie. :) I'm sure our boys seemed so incredibly small to them - since "little" Jimmy Walter is pushing 18 pounds already!

Joey has been doing amazingly well! Since our last post, the flow on his nasal cannula had been reduced gradually. As of Sunday, he is off the high-flow cannula and just getting a trickle of oxygen (25 cc's). We hope to ween (sp?) him off oxygen completely over the next week. He's doing well with his feedings - and has had his feeding tube removed on Sunday as well. That means he's bottle-feeding or nursing for all his feedings now. If he falls asleep during a feeding, he'll wake up hungry the next time around. "Tough love", as Dr. Vitale puts it. :) Joe is weighing in at 4 lbs 12 2/3 oz - my little peanut.

Tom started getting steroids on Mothers Day. His oxygen requirements had been going back up and he seemed to be working harder to breathe. On Tuesday, they put him back on CPAP. That was not a good day for Mom, let me tell you. Its clear to me that Tom is so uncomfortable on CPAP and it's so hard to see him unhappy. But I guess the alternatives are much worse. He received a full dose of steroids on Monday and Tuesday, but has been weening since. I'm not sure Dr. Vitale has seen the results he'd hoped for with the steroids, as Tom is still on CPAP. They've reduced his flow from 6 to 5 and hope to move him back to the high-flow nasal cannula in the next few days. He does continue to gain weight (he's getting all feedings thru his tube, as he can't bottle feed while on CPAP) and is currently 5 lbs 6 1/3 oz.

Sam, like Joe, is at 25 cc's of oxygen - and dangerously close to coming off oxygen all together. On Tim's birthday, Sam's feeding tube was removed - more "tough love". He's doing very well with his feedings and gets just over 2 ounces in his bottles. We've nicknamed Sam the Spokesperson for the group. He's definitely the most vocal and doesn't shy away from telling you exactly how he feels. :) Sam is one of the "big boys" weighing in at 5 pounds 8 2/3 oz.

Henry is HOMEWARD BOUND!! Last Monday Henry was moved to just 50cc's of oxygen, then weened until his oxygen was removed on Sunday. He's doing very well without any oxygen support - and it's so nice to see his face without anything going up his nose or taped to his cheeks. :) He's been eating like a champ: losing his feeding tube and eating 2 ounces just like Sam. Right now we're targeting Friday (yes THIS Friday) for Henry to come home. He's got a busy week ahead of him, so we'll see how he fares. We may need to wait until the weekend to bring him home, depending on how he handles his circumcision (this morning - he did very well), vaccinations (tomorrow) and eye exams (Thursday). (All the boys will get vaccinations and eye exams this week.) We also need to test him in his car seat to make sure he fits and that he can maintain proper oxygenation while seated in that position.

Sam and Joe won't be too far behind Henry - potentially heading home next week. We'll see how well we can ween them off oxygen and how well they do with their feedings.

The toughest part of our journey may be yet to come: dividing our time between Tom at the hospital and the other three at home. Tom is in for the long haul and probably has another 3-4 weeks ahead of him at the NICU. We'll be recruiting all sorts of help to care for the three at home so I can spend ample time with Tom - who will certainly need some TLC in the coming weeks.

I really wanted to post some photos with this update, but I've run out of time. I have to get to the hospital to feed the boys. I've got photos of the boys, our new digs, Tim's birthday party, Mothers Day and more. I'll get them out here soon - I promise! Gotta run. Thanks for all your prayers and support. We couldn't do it without you!

Lots of love,
Tim, Kristin and the boys

Henry's stats

I neglected to include Henry's weight and length in the new post: He's the heaviest of the group, weighing in at a whopping 5 lbs 3 oz. And he's a bit shorter than Sam at 17" long.