Frantic heart poundings...

Oh.My.Gosh!! I'm so excited!!!

The nurse just called with Walter's discharge information. And let us know Gordon will be coming home with us today, too.

So, after dinner some time, we will have TWO babies home. Little Adele is still on her countdown, but fingers crossed, she is right behind her brothers. She is just on her own schedule -- a warning sign of the future, I'm sure.

Oh, so close!

I woke up this morning and decided to try on a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans this morning. They fit! Whoop! I couldn't believe it, but it was really nice to put on a not-sweatpant pair of pants for going out in public.

At the hospital, I did another tandem feeding with Walter and Gordon. Walter got right to eating, but Gordon was much more interested in his brother. He kept reaching across my chest to try and poke his brother in the eye or grab for his hand. It was adorable!

Walter has now been off his feeding tube for over two days and taking full feeds by bottle and breast. Today the neo-natologist Dr Scott stopped by and said he's about ready to go home! She's having us bring in his car seat so they can test his breathing for 90 minutes. They also verified that he's on the list (as is Gordon) for circumcision.

So.... I can't say exactly what day and, of course, Walter could regress and delay his homecoming or we could have a baby home in a day or two!! Whoop!!

Halloween and spooooky babies

We arrived today to find that Gordon and Walter had both pulled out their feeding tubes. So the doctor decided to see if the boys would take all their feeds by bottle. *Fingers Crossed* But I have a feeling when we go back tomorrow at least one of them will have the feeding tube back in.

Today the March of Dimes had us bring in Halloween costumes to dress the babies for photos. I found some cute Halloween bibs and my dear friend "Aunt" Margo sent some adorable socks. The nurse in charge of photos set up a nice crib and we got all the babies together for their photo shoot. Adele settled right in, snuggling against her brothers. Walter is on the left, Gordon is in the middle and Adele is on the right.

We turned them on their sides and they all snuggled close and calmed way down. Isn't it cute how Adele put her hand on Gordon's back and Gordon put his on Walter's?
Jeff got this photo with Walter's wide open eyes. It is a super cool photo!
Here's the video from the photo shoot.



Later we caught Walter sucking his fingers. This is a big developmental milestone for self-soothing when they get upset.
This photo from the other day shows proof that Adele does open her eyes occasionally.

A day of firsts (Really a few days)

My mom arrived in town today to see her grandbabies for the first time. She was able to hold Walter and then help feed Gordon his bottle. Her plan tomorrow is to go straight for Adele.

Over the weekend, I was able to breastfeed for the first time. All three babies latched like pros and on Monday and today (Wed), we did tandem breastfeeding -- two babies at once. Again, they acted like little professionals!! This is me breastfeeding for the first time with Gordon. It was quite the emotional moment.
Jeff gave his first bath this week, too. Our nurse, Mandy, badgered him into it. So he bathed Adele.
And here's sweet Walter!! I have a few photos of him from the tandem breastfeeding, but those show a little too much boob for me to be comfortable posting them on the blog. *smile* This is from over the weekend, just after a feeding. He loves being in his daddy's arms.

Movin' on up!

Yesterday, Oct 21st, was a very big day for the Berube babies. They moved out of their big, bulky warming-pan beds into bassinet style cribs. We still have (practically) a whole side of one bay to ourselves, but the amount of space they take up is so much less.

As of yesterday, the babies were taking anywhere from 1/2 to all of their feeds by bottle! And their weights are all up. I forgot to write them down, so I may be off by an ounce or two.

Walter was about 4lb 5ozs
Gordon was about 5lb 4 ozs
Adele was about 4lbs 14 ozs

Anyway, here is Adele in her new crib and a very cute outfit!
The next two pics of Gordon and Walter are when they were still in the warming beds, but I wanted to get photos of them in the adorable sleepers.
Here's Gordon:
And Walter, my little, monkey with his monkey feet.
Here's Daddy feeding Gordon. He's so patient when feeding the kiddos. Much more patient than Mommy. LOL!
And here's me snuggling/burping Walter post-feeding.
The next steps for the babies is to take their full feeds from bottles, which should happen soon (possibly within the week, though it could be longer). Once they are taking full feeds from bottles, they must do this for 3 consecutive days and the docs will remove the feeding tubes. Once the feeding tubes are removed, the babies must continue to eat full feeds for 2-3 more days while putting on weight every day. Then the staff will do a car seat breathing test and the babies get sent home. Usually they'll come home separately because different babies will hit the milestones at different times. And, of course, other things can go on to slow their progress, but this is the path they have to follow in general.

Grow, babies, grow!

Together again!

My little babies are growing up so fast!! Yesterday (the 18th) I dressed them in their first outfits. No more nakey-baby.

Here's Walter:

Here's Gordon:
And here's Adele:
Today, we put them together for the first time since birth. It was very cute! I admit that I got a little misty-eyed. It didn't take long for them to start intertwining legs and arms, just like in utero. From left to right -- Walter, Gordon, and Adele.
And our first photo as a whole family! From left to right - Adele, Gordon, and Walter

And a little video of the photo session.

An update and a birth-day

The babies are all progressing nicely in the NICU. The doctors recently took them off their caffeine supplement, which was helping with their breathing and maintaining their heartrate. Hopefully the kiddos will be able to keep up on their own, without the caffeine.

They are still spitting up quite a bit and need to start practicing taking food (vs. via the feeding tube), but overall they are putting on weight and look fantastic.

First, I thought I should post a few images from the day of delivery that I never posted.

Here's Jeff all dressed up and ready for my surgery. Obviously, they weren't thinking of him with this one-size-fits-all outfit.

The babies all came out crying, so the nurses stopped by to give me a quick glimpse of each baby before they whisked them off for cleaning and assessment in the room next door. Here's my first view of Adele.
And here are Jeff and I just moments after Adele (our youngest) was born. Do we look overwhelmed already?
After Walter was cleaned up, they brought him to see me before whisking him up to the NICU. They also brought Adele and Gordon to me, but those two were in a covered layette, so I only got to touch them through the little openings. Walter, I actually got to snuggle for just a moment.
And that is one of the last things I remember. Not long after this, I had a quick blood pressure drop off, so they gave me some meds, finished up, and sent me off to recovery where they started the magnesium drip that I had to live with for 24 hours. I don't really remember too much from that next day except a lot of discomfort and wishing I could get out of bed to go see my babies. But all that is past and here we are now!

Here's Adele from the other day, wearing a cute pink hat made by a hospital volunteer.
Here's Gordon, so happy to be in his Daddy's arms that he just sprawls out.
And here's the cutest photo of Walt yet, with a big smile on his face. Who knows if he is really smiling or not, but really, when it is this adorable, who cares?

Just a few pics...

I don't have any real updates. The babies are feeding, growing, and puking. Their weights this morning were:
Gordon -- 4lb 10oz (my little piggie!!)
Adele - 4lb 2 oz (she's almost back up to her birth weight)
Walter - 3lb 11oz (he's still trying to grow into his skin)

They spit up a lot. The poor nurses! Of course, soon it will be poor me and poor Jeff. *smile*

They all kick and stretch now that they have the room, but Adele is the most active. We say she likes to get in her daily aerobics.

Gordon is definitely the strongest. He can lay on this tummy and pull himself up the bassinet and also lift his head.

Walter still gets the hiccups a lot -- just like in utero. Today he got some comforting from Daddy.

And Walter really enjoys his daddy's big, warm hands.



I thought I'd show how the bay was set up. We have (almost) one whole side of the room to ourselves. As you walk in, you see first Walter, then Gordon's bed.

Then you have Adele to the right of Gordon
That's all for now!

Another big day

I usually don't post two days in a row, but we usually don't have two big days in a row like this. We arrived early at the NICU this morning to find our babies were almost wireless. They had removed all 3 babies' canulas and they are now breathing room air. Walter and Adele are up to full feeds and Gordon will be on full feeds by tomorrow. The Berube babies are kicking butt!

Meet wireless Gordon!
And here's a moving, grooving wireless Adele.



I also gave Gordon a bath today, my first! He was squirmy, slippery, soapy baby. And he was such a good boy. He was so-so on the actual sponge bath, but wrapping him afterwards in hot towels was pure ecstasy.



Post Bath Ecstasy


I can't wait to see what they accomplish tomorrow!

Baby Kangaroos

I've now been able to hold all of my babies at least once. The NICU is big on skin-to-skin contact, otherwise known as Kangaroo care (appropriate considering my name). Each baby has enjoyed the contact, but the differences in their personalities have begun to shine through.

The first time, I held Gordon. He kicked up a huge fit when they moved him and messed with his wires. At the time, he was still on the CPAP machine (this is to help with apnea otherwise known as forgetting to breathe). But once he was on my chest and covered with blankets, he settled down, snuggling against my heart.

Jeff was holding Adele at the same time, but unfortunately, we don't have an electronic copy of the photo yet. Dad was beaming at his little girl!

The next time I went up, I was able to hold Walter. He fussed a little as they move him from bassinet to my chest, but the second he was against me, he just melted. He was so relaxed, he kept trying to let his head hang back like a kid sleeping in class. In fact, the nurse and I kept checking his stats to make sure he kept breathing and didn't have any heart rate drops because he was so out of it! I was in heaven.

The next time I went up to the NICU, I finally held my little girl. She's a feisty one! She fussed and fussed as we moved her and even up against my chest, she took a few minutes to settle. Then when she did sleep, she moved and 'talked' the whole time. This is good to know for when they come home. The nurse fed Adele (via feeding tube) while she was in my arms and it took both the nurse and I to settle Adele back down. I told Adele this wasn't a good sign! Oh, and before she fell asleep, Adele had her eyes wide open, looking around and taking in the world.

Meanwhile, Jeff was at the NICU with me and he was able to hold one of his boys. A swaddled Walter settled right into Jeff's arms and fell right asleep. Have you ever seen Jeff look so awed and so proud? He's practically beaming!


I know we have many days ahead of us when we'll wish we could just put the babies down or when changing a diaper becomes the last thing we want to do, but for now, I'm enjoying these 'first moments' which will never come again.

The Berube babies have arrived

Walter, Gordon, and Adele Berube arrived via c-section on Oct 4, 2010. In birth order:

Walter - 1:41pm, 3lb 10oz, 17.52"
Gordon - 1:42pm, 4lb 7oz, 18.31"
Adele - 1:43pm, 4lb 3oz, 17.91"

Walter was pulled out, butt first, and started crying immediately. I couldn't see him yet around the sheet, but the sound brought tears to my eyes. The nurse brought him around for a quick 'hello' to Jeff and I before whisking Walter next door for assessment and cleaning. Gordon quickly followed the same path - out, cry, hello, and next door. Adele was the same, except when she came out, every doctor and nurse in the room "Awwwed".

Walter was brought back into the room as I was being stitched up. He was swaddled tight and I got a quick snuggle with him before he was taken upstairs to the NICU Jeff went next door to watch them work on first Gordon, then Adele, who needed a little more time with the respiratory therapist. Jeff came with the NICU team as they wheeled Gordon & Adele back into the O.R. where I got a quick 'pet' before they were taken upstairs also.

I was then taken to recovery and then back to L&D where I was kept on bedrest for 24 hours so they could pre-emptively treat my preeclampsia/kidney issue with an magnesium drip. It was no fun, but I survived and was finally able to go up and see my babies today, Oct 5 around 3:30pm.

I visited with Walter first where I also met the nurse who was taking care of Walter and Adele. She explained everything they were doing, including the various sensors and monitors. At some point, Walter had his eyes open and was looking around. I started to talk to him and he turned his head to look right at me. My wide-eyed little boy.

Next was Gordon, who was sleeping on his stomach. He responded to touch and you can see how tiny he is compared to my hand.
Finally, I visited my little girl, Adele. She was very reactive to touch and sound. And a complete doll.

.Thank you for your continued prayers. The babies look great now, but they are still very premature and the NICU is a bumpy ride.