By the way this is Cadi again and thanks to my sister for updating in my absence. I'm sure you all appreciate getting to see and hear about the babies sooner than now. This is the best photo I can post right now. It was taken quickly while the nurse was snapping the ones for the cradle roll. Gabriella was crying and we had to keep giving her her binky and then taking it away right before the camera flashed. Ryan looks mad but it passed. At one point he and Brooke were holding hands.
I just wanted to post a little and update you on their progress. It is pretty late, at 1:27 am, but apparently giving birth didn't help my sleeping issues. Guess that will help out when we enter the teenage years. I was released from the hospital today at about 2:00 in the afternoon. I am feeling a little better but still have a long way to go. I lost a lot of blood after the delivery, which the Dr. said is very typical of multiple births due to the uterus being so stretched and then having to return to it's original size. It was scary for a couple of hours and I was just praying I wouldn't have to go back to surgery. But things got better after the first day and now I just have to get my hemoglobin back up where is should be. Normal range for a female is 12-16 and mine was down to 7. I almost had to have a blood transfusion but instead they put me on some huge iron pills. It is coming back up slowly now. The only effects I am feeling now are extreme fatigue. Simple things like showering and getting dressed, wipe me out enough that I feel like I can't get my breath. So I decided to boycott showering for a while. Just kidding, I will just consider it exercise and I am well on my way to getting back into my bikini by bathing suit season. That was another joke. I promise I won't post a photo of my post birth belly. Just don't be surprised when you still see me wearing maternity clothes and sweat pants next summer. Right now I still look about 6 months pregnant. Plus I have that washed out china doll look that everyone wants now days. Lets just say my eyes and hair have never looked so dark next to my pasty white skin. Everyone at the hospital kept saying, "you look so much better than yesterday". I just can't imagine how awful I must have looked because I think I look like crap. An added bonus of the blood loss was all the fluids they pumped into me. If anyone saw how huge my legs and feet were before giving birth, you should see them now. I have been referring to them as my "pillow feet", and "elephant feet". I can barely wear socks, and shoes are out of the question. Unless I can find some in the clown shoe department. So anyway after being discharged we made the difficult decision to come home for one night so I could try and get some rest and recover a little bit. See how well I am at resting? Lance is going back to work tomorrow until Wednesday (he just wants to show off pictures of the babies) and my mom and I are going back to Sioux Falls tomorrow after we get some things organized. It was very hard leaving the babies but they are in good hands and so far don't even know we are gone. We called to check on them this evening and they were just as we left them.
So on to the good stuff:
Gabriella is still the best eater and the most vocal. We refer to her as the cry baby, which I'm sure will win her a ticket to therapy some day. Her favorite things in life right now seem to be eating and her binky. She also likes to snuggle. She was 5 lbs 9 oz. yesterday and the staff is already warning us that she may go home sooner than the others. She has been doing so well with her feedings that she hasn't had to have any tube feedings since yesterday, which was only once. Yah Gabriella!! None of the staff will even attempt to try and tell us when any of them will come home. I actually would rather they not try and predict a date because I know, working in health care, that it never turns out the way they guess it will.
Ryan is still under the bili lights. His numbers are coming back down and he seems to be feeling better. At first he seemed to really like the lights and would stretch out like he was tanning on the beach. It was even more authentic with his purple foam sunglasses on. He has been a lot more active now and seems to be fighting to get out and get some clothes on. He has been taking less from the bottle and more from the feeding tube lately. They always try the bottle first and then whatever he doesn't eat he gets through his tube. We have also been experimenting with breastfeeding and he seems to do well with that except that he falls asleep more lately. All three babies have at least had breast milk through the bottle, breast, or tube in addition to the formula. Gabriella shows the most interest while Brooke shows the least. They are still pretty little though and hopefully things will pick up soon. Ryan's weight was 4 lbs 6 oz. (I think) today. We still think he looks like daddy and will maybe have blond hair and blue eyes. He seems to have lighter hair all over and his eyes definitely are shaped most like Lance.
Brooke is also lagging in her feeding skills but seems to be improving. She did take half of her feeding through the bottle today at one point. She weighed 5 lbs 2 oz today. She is so funny to watch because she is the most quiet of the three and when she's awake she studies everything. She will sit and stare at everyone and everything for the longest time. I said yesterday she is probably amazed at what the world looks like because she spent the better part of the last few months with her face buried in my hip. I am also very relieved to tell you all that after her little ordeal the other morning she is just fine and doesn't seem to have any lasting results. Everyone has been watching her closer and they cut back on her feedings to try and get her to stop spitting up. I also want to tell everyone that it was the nurse who saved the day, not me. I was only jiggling her and calling her name, trying to find out what was wrong with her. Lance ran and got the nurse and she whacked her on the back which caused her to cough up the formula and start breathing again. Thank God that she is ok and hopefully we won't see something like that happen again. I can't even think about what might have happened if Lance and I hadn't stopped in one last time to tell her goodbye. Obviously it was meant to happen that way and God spared us the agony of losing our little girl. Lets change the subject shall we.
Ashlyn has been such a good girl this past week. She has been staying with Grandma Vicky and visited us at the hospital for a few days. She hasn't even gotten to see her new brother and sisters yet because she isn't allowed in the NICU but she has seen lots of pictures and is starting to learn their names. It will be interesting to see her reaction when she sees the real thing. At the hospital she knew right where my room was and learned real fast that the bassinets being wheeled by from the nursery had babies (these were the full term babies from the OB floor, not ours) in them. Sioux Valley does a great job having lots of play areas for kids and I think she thought we were on vacation.
Well I think it's time to go back to bed. I will regret this tomorrow, I'm sure. Thanks again to all of you that have sent gifts and visited, or even thought about us and prayed for us. I am constantly reminded how great God is when I see the faces of all 4 of my children. I will try and keep you updated but it will get harder especially when they all come home. We keep saying reality is setting in when we think about not being able to say to the nurses "well we are going to bed now, see you in the morning". I've tried to bribe a few to come home with us but the pay isn't nearly as good. Everyone at the hospital says how well the babies are doing and they are impressed that we were able to carry them so long. I officially take back every complaint I had about this pregnancy. Every minute was worth it when I see how healthy they are.
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