All the Brothers tip the scales @ 4+ lbs

Here is a pic of Major from Christmas Day. You can see his feeding tube very clearly. I've already asked how we can get one of these for home. It works great - they sleep and eat at the same time and there is no crying.


The new weights are: Cooper & Major 4.5.8
Joshua 4.1.1

We actually had an insurance scare yesterday. The case nurse called and said our insurance was being terminated on Jan 7th. Paige called about 15 people in 22 seconds and it turns out it was just a "glitch" in the system. I am very thankful I did not cause the glitch and I am positive the person who caused the glitch will want to stay anonymous.

Happy Birthday to Bop Bop (Paige's Dad) - he now gets to ride on our Mass Transit system for free.

WPCMJC

Joshua Eating

I held Joshua while he was feeding this evening. You can see the feeding tube used for the feedings and the tape that is used to hold it in place (hence the red cheeks when they take the tape off)

You can also see Cooper in his condo in the background and the Christmas card we put on each of their condos.

We only have the new weights for Cooper & Major. My guess is whom ever weighed Cooper last night made a mistake or he gained 6 ounces in one day.

Cooper - 4.4 oz

Major - 4.5 oz

Joshua - 3.15.8 (oh so close)

Adios,

Winn

btw.... thank you M,S,M for the very kind gift.

All Breathing Solo

Here is a pick of Cooper today. The redness on the cheeks is due to the tape they use to ensure the stomach tube (as mentioned before it is the tube used to take milk directly to the stomach) stays in place and is not pulled out by one of the babies. Major pulled his out once.

Cooper had his little clear hose (nasal cannulae ) that provided additional air removed today. He has now joined his brothers in breathing without any assistance. Joshua started his reflux meds today so once again they are all in sync. We wouldn't want one of these guys to skate through without any issues.

The new weights are in: It looks like Cooper went on the no carb diet as he actually lost a couple of ounces and is now bringing up the rear in the weight dept.

Cooper 3.14 oz

Joshua 3.15 oz

Major 4.4 oz

Roll Tide!

WPCMJC

4 lb'er

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and has recovered from the Texans shocking win over the Colts.

The brothers are continuing to put on weight as well as inches. Here are the new stats on each

Cooper 3.15.7 lbs 17 in
Joshua 3.12.0 lbs 17 in
Major 4.0.6 lbs 17 1\2 in

As I mentioned the other day Cooper had a little fever but in the three days since his temps have all been normal. It looks like Joshua will be added to the reflux meds tomorrow. All three will now be on reflux meds.

We enjoyed our last some what quiet Christmas. From here on they should be loud, messy, and fun.

Take care,

WPCMJC

Christmas Eve

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Caleb & Joshua on Christmas Eve

New weights:

Major 3.14.4

Cooper 3.13

Joshua 3.11.3

All the brothers are doing well. Little spit up here and there but as you can see they are putting on some ounces.

Merry Christmas to all!

WPCCJM

And We Have a New Leader

The new weights are in and we have a new leader ..........

Major - 3.13.7
Cooper - 3.12.1
Joshua - 3.9.3

In one of their pit stops today (they take their temp, change a diaper, move them to a different side) before their feedings they discovered Cooper had a temp of a 100.2. They immediately put him on antibotics as a precautionary measure as we wait on the cultures to see what he may or may not have. All pit stops since his temp has been back to normal.

Two of the brothers (Cooper & Major) have reflux and the Dr will test Joshua in the next day or two for reflux. It is very common in preemies.

One interesting thing to note about this place is everyday is the same. It is a 24\7 shop with no special mention of weekends or holidays. Most everyone works 12 hour shifts. I am not saying Christmas is not special at the hospital. What I mean is everyday they have lots of moms, dads, and babies, it does not slow down, ever! It really is a pretty neat place, but it will be even neater when they all come home.

My early bet for the first released will be Major. It is doubtful they will all come home together.

Tomorrow we are taking Caleb to visit the brothers. Who knows what is in store?

We have started mini-van shopping :-)

Merry Christmas!!!!

WPCCJM

32 Weeks & Counting

The brothers are up to 3.11 for Cooper & Major and 3.8 for Joshua. Major and Joshua are also breathing on their own. That is a huge step for both. Cooper and Major are experiencing reflux and both are now on medication.

I changed a dirty diaper today on Major and while doing so he continued to go. I got a new diaper and he went once again. All told we went through four diapers before he was satisfied. He never cried but I did notice a little smile each time I heard the noise followed by you know what.

We are taking Caleb to visit on Sunday.

Enjoy the little things and appreciate the good things!

Winn

Little More to Hold

The brothers are all gaining weight:

Cooper - 3.10
Joshua 3.7
Major 3.9

They are developing their own little personalities and how they deal with feedings (through the tube), diaper changes etc. Major seems to know when it is time to eat, his eyes open and he starts moving around.

I think I've already mentioned this but just in case - they are fed through a stomach tube and they get pacifiers to stimulate the sucking on a bottle.

All the brothers (including Caleb) and Mom are doing well.

Winn

Temps and Diapers

The "brothers" are increasing their weight almost everyday. Cooper & Major weigh 3.7.7 and Joshua weighs in at 3.2.8. I've already told him he needs to start packing it on some. He does not want to be the smallest of 4.

Mom is spending lots of time at the hospital taking temps and changing diapers. They are still in their "condos" (incubators) so it makes it all the more difficult to change diapers, etc. She can see differences in all them, I can't tell one from the other except for skin color. Well I can tell Cooper from the other two as he has plenty of hair. They are not identical.

I also want to thank everyone who has been bringing food by. I think we should be ok in that department through the holidays. You all have been wonderful.

Please continue to pray!

Winn

Level 3 to Level 2 Changes

The brothers are doing well. Cooper is increasing his feedings and is well on his way to catching the other two. They are all above their birth weights. We are also noticing changes in their appearance.

What I learned about the major differences between level 3 and 2 is breathing and feeding. On level 3 the goal is breathing. Depending on how babies progress in their breathing and other factors they are moved to Level 2.

In Level 2 the focus becomes feeding. They are all increasing the amount of milk they take but the ultimate will be how fast they adapt to taking milk the natural way. It will be several weeks before we start that phase.

Sweet Dreams,

Winn

The first post at 30 weeks 6 days (gestation)

Before we get in to how the "brothers" are doing, one thing you all must know are preemies ages are tracked as though they are still inside the mom (gestational). I've learned all the mom's and babies are very special people and the desire to live is very strong. I have not met many average people in the NICU.

Here is where they are today. I will fill in how we got to to this point another time.

All three were moved to NICU Level 2 which is terrific. You go from level 3 to level 2 when you are removed from the CPAP (breathing apparatus) and are consider stable etc. For the first time since they were born they are all side by side. All three are getting mom's milk via stomach tubes for now. They all have also made it back to their birth weight (normal weight loss is 10 to 15% after birth).


We can not really tell who looks like who just yet though I think they all look pretty similar to me. In case some of you did not know they are fraternal, not identical.

We are thankful for everyday and most gracious for everything we have been given.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Winn & Paige

Names and Details

I do apologize for not getting the news out to everyone. It all happened pretty quickly and early.

December 1st (29 weeks to the day) they were born. Two of them greeted us at 1:26 pm, the last at 1:27 pm.

Here is the starting line up:

Baby A - Cooper Lowe 3.3 lbs & 16 in
Baby B - Joshua Martin 3.0 lbs & 16.5 in
Baby C - Major Jude 2.15.8 lbs & 16.25 in