First Christmas past...

We survived!

What were we thinking?!? Christmas dinner in our house? Four grandparents, three newborns, a sister and an uncle? While not complete pandemonium, it was intensely busy. Mom helped me get a turkey prepped for the oven, Dad helped here and there getting things ready. The beans were so very cooperative, napping well and not reacting too negatively to the upheaval of their familiar surroundings. Furniture was rearranged, there were more people in the house than they'd ever seen and they took it all in stride. Noah even took the opportunity to show off the vocal abilities he's been concealing from us. he decided Christmas was the day to reveal that he could chatter as well as big sis. Sydney is still having attachment issues (don't walk away from her!), but she dealt pretty well all day being passed from parent to grandparent and back.

They all got to try Christmas dinner thanks to a baby food grinder we got at the shower. Noah was not a fan of turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans... Sydney and Emily seemed to do OK with it.

I've uploaded some of the new pictures, but I'm really tired and I'm going to bed now. I'll finish up the red-eye reduction on the last group and get them added soon.

Oh, and Sydney *FINALLY* pushed out her second tooth!!! Maybe that's why she was fussy last night between 2:30 and 3:30... Anyway, like I said, really tired and I'm going to bed.

Goodnight all, thank you to those who sent things for the beans or for us. We have books to read to them, toys for them to play with (and us, too!), new clothes for them... Just so much stuff! We are not only blessed with our wonderful children but with kind and generous families who help and support us as we get through this.

-John

It all happens so fast...

I know my sibs, my friends, my extended family by blood or heart that have experienced new parenthood stand by and watch with what must be the quiet amusement of someone who knows how the story goes but they don't want to spoil it for me. I make what posts I can (or just upload another batch of pictures trying to keep up with what my wife posts...), marvelling at my amazing children, boasting of their accomplishments and all the while, you know this. You've been there. Our parents, without whose help I don't know how we could have made it this far, are still teaching us. Showing us how to do things, how to respond to them, maybe at some level we're seeing how *we* were cared for before we were old enough to remember it.

Amy did SO much work getting Christmas cards together, getting prints ready to tuck them into the envelopes... I had one simple little job, print up labels for the backs of the pictures... I apologize now to my youngest daughter for goofing up a batch and spelling her name incorrectly. Sorry Syn... oops! Sydney!

Sydney's been a little moody lately, we think she's about to push her second tooth out into the world. Poor girl... She's changed so much in the last few weeks, visibly putting on weight. Her cheeks are so round now when she throws her little pout.

Emily's proud pair of bottom choppers are all she has at the moment, but she loves to show them off whether it's a huge smile for whoever she's looking at or during her vocal practices. She's stringing more syllables together all the time. Her latest achievement, however, is so much fun to watch. She sits up unsupported on the floor and plays. Her wobbles are decreasing and she catches herself more often than not.

Sydney and Noah can sit up for brief stints, but they haven't quite got the balancing right and they'll tip over pretty easily.

Noah is an absolute eating machine. He knows the schedule, and he does NOT like to eat late. He still gets the Sensitive Formula and the daily doses of Zantac and Prilosec, but he hasn't had any major reflux problems for a while. His biggest problem with his baby food is if the person with the spoon is moving too slow.

They nap well (most days), they eat well (most days), they're no too fussy (most days... seeing a pattern?)... I say it a lot to most people who ask about them, but they are absolutely three individual little people. Noah and Sydney love to play together, Emily loves to be the center of attention (sometimes pushing one of her sibs away from the center, but we have time to work on that...).

I can't describe what it feels like to have a little face light up when it looks at you, let alone two or three little faces. They hug us, they kiss us (watch out for Noah, he'll slobber all over you), they respond to their names. They love to look at the Christmas tree when it's all lit up, they love the ornaments that have little bells.

This may be the best Christmas ever.

-John

First Photo With Santa

Santa was a hit with Emily, Noah & Sydney. He looked so authentic with his real beard and chubby cheeks. All 3 sat on his lap for individual photos and then we had a group shot taken with all three. They all smiled and Sydney even cuddled with Santa. I wish you all could have witnessed that moment. She snuggled against his beard and stared into his eyes. We decided to purchase CD's of the pictures so we can send copies to our families and friends.

I forgot to mention that Sydney now has 1 tooth and another one starting to come in. Noah is now rolling and is doing well sitting on his own. All three can sit up unassisted, but not for long. We just need some more practice

We have some new snapshots to share. I'll try to get John to add them to our album tomorrow.

Love to All,

Amy

Family Photo

We had our family Christmas photo shoot today and it went terrific. First, the babies looked so cute. The photographer, Mary, commented several times on how pleasureable they were to work with. All three were so happy and smiley! No fussing at all! It was a great experience for all of us. Look for a photo soon. Afterwards, we visited a gal who John formerly worked with. She was smitten. This was her second time seeing the triplets. On our way home from downtown Indy, we stopped at Olive Garden for lunch. We were the main attraction.

Tommorow morning we are headed to the Indianapolis Children's Museum for a visit with Santa. The event is for infants up to 24 months. Emily, Noah & Sydney will be wearing their "Baby's 1st Christmas" outfits for the occasion. I hope they'll be happy about the bearded, jolly Santa.

Gotta go, it's time for bottles & bed.

Lots of Love,

Amy & family

Sydney Rolls

Yeah, Sydney has now joined her sister in rolling over. I saw it with my own two eyes. She rolled from her back to tummy twice. Noah's next in line. I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake for him once he leaves his fingers/hand out of his mouth!

Next update should be longer.

Amy

The Triplets are 7 Months Old Today

7 months...it's hard to believe! Emily has 2 lower teeth, Sydney's getting chubby, and Noah sure responds to hearing "Mama."

Emily (aka Nosey Rosey) loves to smile and look at everything that's going on around her. She loves jumping in the Jumparoo.

Noah is a kisser. They are wet but I love them. I'm convinced he'll say the first word. He really loves hearing our voices, even my singing!

Sydney is starting to experience separation anxiety. She starts crying when we walk away from her. It breaks my heart. She's such a sweet baby.

Check out our album for new pictures. They looked so cute in their Halloween costumes. Emily as piglet, Noah as Tigger, and Sydney as Eeyore.

More later as we approach our 1st Christmas and pictures with Santa!

Love, Amy

Ok, so we're a little behind on our updates. Well, more than a little!

Let me start by saying "yikes"! Life is sure hectic for this Ayres family. While John and I are working fulltime outside of the home, our parents are working fulltime in our home. The grandparents are taking exceptional care of Emily, Noah and Sydney. The babies are healthy and very happy. Most of the time, Emily and Noah have huge smiles on their faces. Sydney is more conservative with her smiles. She has such an Angelic face and has her Daddy wrapped around her finger (not her thumb--it's reserved for sucking). Yes, that's right, Sydney has begun sucking her thumb. It's so adoreable! Emily has mastered rolling from back to tummy and vice versa. Noah (my Hey Goodlookin') can sure make noise. His squeals are sure to crack our mirrors. They certainly have individual personalities and can sure crack us up!

We visited the pediatrician today for their 6 month well child visit. All 3 are sure growing. Noah weighs 14lb, 11oz; Sydney weighs 15lb, 2oz; Emily weighs 15lb, 15oz. The received their 6 month vaccinations and behaved like trooopers. Noah still has some reflux issues, but they have definitely improved since starting Zantac & Priloac. All 3 are eating baby food once daily. We alternate veggies and fruits.

We'll try to add new pictures to the album this weekend. I must stop typing now. I'm falling asleep!

Amy

...and that's when he noticed that a month had gone by...

I know, I know... I don't know how many people I've told on the phone "I'll try to get something posted in the next couple days..." I know how many people have checked faithfully, hoping for news, updates and yes, NEW PICTURES! (Hint: They went up first)

Life has a way of recalibrating your schedule when there are three babies in play.

To put this as delicately as possible, there's a condition that occasionally occurs in women after their child(ren) have arrived. It happened here and it's being treated. That's all I'll say, out of respect for the situation, other than to say everyone in the house is fine.

HUGE thanks must go out to the grandparents! My parents at first and until they return, Amy's parents. They are holding down the fort and caring for the babies while we go to work. I don't like to think how much more complicated our lives would've become without the amazing help and support of our parents, stepping in to see to it that their newest grandbabies are cared for in their own home by their own family. Our children are surrounded by love all the time, and what could be better for them than that?

Speaking of the children:

EMILY-

In her recent photos, that I noticed while uploading them today, her appearance has changed so much lately! She's putting on weight, as evidenced by the double chin, chubby arms and legs, and those big cheeks! At her last Dr. appointment a few weeks ago, she was 7 lb 8 oz, still the biggest. She is most likely well over 8 lb now, possibly even 9lb! She is noticeably heavier to me when I pick her up. She will still howl the loudest and the hardest when she feels it necessary (like bath time), but she can also be so quiet and sweet and wide-eyed and curious. She is beginning to take note of her surroundings and interact with them a little here and there.

NOAH-

Noah is filling out nicely, but he still needs to take as much of his bottle as we can get into him. That has been complicated lately by some acid reflux problems, causing him to burp crud into his throat (very painful from the cries he makes) and/or spit up. His doctor has put him on Zantac for it, and it's been getting better but we're not out of the woods yet. A quarter teaspoon of Mylanta helps soothe him when he's in pain after feeding from time to time. He was 7 lb 3 oz the last time we checked, and I hope he's gaining well. I must say I worry about him most now.

SYDNEY-

Poor Sydney... Being third in line has taught her patience so far, since she usually has to wait for whoever fed Emily to get her finished up before starting on Sydney. She will squawk at you in her very distinctive yelping cry, but it's not the roaring howl of Emily or the pained screech of Noah. She may not wait quietly all the time, but she will wait... and we appreciate it so much. She still crosses her eyes, most times now with her tongue hanging out for good measure. She is an entertainer. She was 7 lb 2 oz at last check, so it's officially a battle for second place between her and Noah.

It's very late, and I have more to go through, but I'll close this for now. I promise I won't make you wait another month for another update!

-John

New pictures are up!

First baths, the nursery, nice group shots and some stroller action, too!

Week 4: Is Daddy slipping?

I know, I know... I'm taking too long with the updates.

There are pictures to be added, all three have had their first baths (Noah jumped ahead in line due to his tendency to... um... spray). All three did well, although Emily was the fussiest of the bunch. Noah and Sydney sailed through the experience like it was no big deal, unless you consider them relieving themselves in the tub an editorial on bathing...

Emily... Oh, Emily. For someone who started out with breathing issues, she has taken her lung development seriously since coming home. She cries louder and harder than the other two by far. If we're lucky, a pacifier and some gentle stroking of her head combined with soothing talk will calm her. If... we... are... lucky... Once you get her calmed down, she appears to be almost angelic. She'll cuddle up against you, smile at you, make happy little noises and so on... until you try to put her down.

Noah is a sound effects machine in a diaper. He makes the most interesting array of grunts and noises on a regular basis. It's unusual for him to be quiet, although most of the time, he's not crying much. He is still quite the escape artist, escaping his swaddling blanket with astonishing ease. Before you're done wrapping him, he's likely to have a few fingers-- if not an entire hand-- out and moving around. He tries to grab his pacifier to hold onto it, but most often sends it flying.

Sydney is not always quiet, but her cries are more like squawks. She doesn't get wound up and howl like Emily or turn red and scream like Noah, but she gets decent volume and can get her point across fairly well. Other than that, you can just hold her and watch the show. She makes so many faces combined with her crossed eyes, she's just pure entertainment.

They're a couple weeks away from their next Dr. appointment, but we're reasonably sure they're all above 5 lbs. Their Mommy has already begun phasing out the "preemie" size clothing as it fits a little too snugly now. They're growing out of things! It's wonderful and exciting right now, although I'm sure I'll be less thrilled with them growing out of things as they get older.

We got our first package from the makers of Similac today! We filled out information cards at the hospital and again at the Dr.'s office and they are sending us formula for the beans! We are very thankful for any breaks we can get on expenses, and formula will be a big one.

The biggest news in the past week by far has to do with childcare for the beans, especially as Amy's maternity leave draws to a close. Amy and I happily accepted the offer from my parents to stay with us long-term and help us care for them so we wouldn't hire a stranger (nanny or au pair) or send them to a daycare center (didn't appeal to us anyway). The third option would have involved me resigning from my job and becoming a stay-at-home Dad. Thankfully, between my parents and Amy's family coming down from Muncie to help, we should have it covered at least until the end of the year. it's a huge help and we can't thank them enough. The support we have gotten from our family continues to demonstrate to us why it's important to have families.

-John

P.S. The beans send their thanks to Aunt Cecilia for their perfectly matched clock in the nursery and the rain gear she has sent them.

----
To the SSPOM visitor who brought some food and a cake, thank you, we can't wait to try it!

Day... Oh to heck with it... Three WEEKS of the beans!

No, nothing is wrong, other than severe sleep deprivation.

Now don't get me wrong, we LOVE the beans, but could they sleep... just a little? Please?

Big sister Emily appears to be developing colic. Several nights of heart-breaking cries from her and some phone calls to the pediatrician's office, internet research (well, I *am* the house geek...) and even some old-school things called "books" were consulted. Pretty much nothing we can do except try to comfort her and ride it out. Poor thing sounds so awful crying, it's just heart-breaking to hear.

Noah seems to be growing like a weed. He looks like he's filling out his skin much better and looking less like a shar-pei dog. And the lungs on that boy! When he wants to eat, he will let you know at top volume.

Sydney's blocked tear duct looks much better now, she isn't waking up with her eyelids all but glued shut, and that's such an improvement for her! She is still sweet and quiet (mostly), and thankfully she usually goes right to sleep giving us time to focus on the other two who like to stay awake and fuss. Sydney got her very first bath tonight, Complete with grandparents, video camera, snapshots, the whole media event. She got through it with no fussing, no crying, just took it all in stride. Thank you Sydney for making that first bath so easy! As soon as Daddy gets your pictures sorted through, he'll add them to what was uploaded tonight.

I'm sorry it took a while to get to this, but with everything going on around here, it gets tough to make time to sit at a computer doing this instead of helping out with the babies. At least this time I didn't fall asleep on it...

-John

Day um... what is it now? (16)

Hey John, what happened to Friday night's post?

Well, you see, when tired Daddy tries to multi-task by posting from bed right before he goes to sleep... Sometimes it just doesn't quite work out and sleep wins.

Friday was a very big day for the beans, too. Their first ride all together in the back of the SUV. Their first pediatrician visit. Their first trip to Babies R Us. They got a lot done Friday.

Dr. Fox is wonderful, I hadn't met her, but Amy met with her before choosing her. She's very nice and has a very good way with the babies. She's very impressed by their progress so far, too.

Emily is weighing in at 5lb 4oz, and has been self-pacing her feeding very well. But Daddy still nervously watches her face while she eats to make sure she doesn't turn any funny colors on him.

Noah is just shy of the 5lb goal (for the nice car seats) at 4lb 14oz. Of course, that was two days ago, he might be over 5lb by now. He is eating very well. Not always sleeping very well, but he does eat.

Sydney is close to her big sister at 5lb 2oz, but she's eating like she wants to top it. The doctor said she can go on the same formula as her siblings, which makes our life easier as we only need mix one pitcher versus two now.

Saturday, the beans made their first tour of the neighborhood. Mommy and Daddy strapped them into the seats and snapped them in place on the strollers (a double and a single) and took them out. The canopies shaded them nicely (we don't need Noah getting any redder than he already is...) and even though Sydney complained VERY loudly at first, by the end of the driveway, she had quieted down and they slept for most of the trip. They attracted some attention, but not too much. I guess we'll have to get used to being something of a spectacle.

Saturday night, Daddy was up until 3-ish trying to calm Noah down. Mommy came down and relieved me and I went up to sleep for a good stretch before coming down and letting her go up to rest. Grandma Ayres was a big help with the Cheesman/Johnson contingent back in Muncie for a couple days. We sort of drifted through Sunday but were paid a nice visit by friends Melissa and her boyfriend Greg. They're moving North soon and wanted to see the babies and visit before they left. Good luck on the new jobs, Mel and Greg! Good luck with all of it! Thanks for the very nice candies, they are popular with the caretakers of the beans.

So here it is, Sunday night, I'm catching up on this while Grandma and Grandpa Cheesman feed the beans upstairs. (Thanks for coming back!) I'll close here because I need to get some sleep before the 5:30/6:00/6:30 AM feedings and then off to work for me.

The beans are very active these days. They stretch and flex their limbs, they're raising their heads more (especially when you're trying to burp them... hold still!) and generally showing a lot of interest in their surroundings. They have each had a turn now on their swing and they seem to like it very well. It kept them quiet enough that we might need another one of those things... Maybe two...

-John

More pics coming tomorrow!

More pictures!

The slew of pictures we've taken to date have been added to the album. Including shots from the beans first outing today to the doctor's office. Details in tonight's post.

-John

Day 13: All present and accounted for!

Emily is home! We have the full set!

Except for a short trip to meet with the Southside Parents of Multiples for the first time (but not the last...), we devoted our evening to getting a feel for the feeding rotation with a third player.

I just don't have words to adequately express what I felt to see all three of my children, in our home, no tubes/wires/monitors... Us getting used to them, them getting used to us... Emily and Sydney sharing a nap in a pack-n-play... the first time they were all asleep at the same time, like they are now... It's this kind of emotion that sustains me through the fear and doubt.

Looking forward to the networking that the SSPOM will provide. Already saw a couple friendly faces and Amy and I were recognized from the pictures on this blog. We met some very nice people who were very warm and welcoming (will I always be the only guy there???). Amy and I both have a sister that carried twins, both sets naturally-occurring. My sister strongly suggested we look into an organization like SSPOM, so here we are.

I need sleep now.

-John

Day 12: Almost home

Yay Emily! She's doing great and looks like everything is on track for her to finally join her sibs in keeping her parents busy.

We visited her for what we hope is the last time in the NICU tonight. She ate well, got a new outfit and nodded off to sleep.

Since I know the NICU nurses will read this, let me express again what I said early on. Our three children were initially cared for by a wonderful staff of truly professional people who define the term "caregivers". They could not have been more helpful or patient with two new parents who were struggling to figure out how to suddenly care for three tiny little babies. I remember thinking how small and fragile they looked and being more than a little afraid of accidentally doing something wrong or inadvertently hurting them. They got us past the initial fears and worries, told us it'd be OK and helped us do as much as we could to care for them. I know they will miss having the Ayres triplets around to care for, but it looked tonight like they had plenty to keep them busy. I'm glad they had some time with our children, I know Amy and I appreciate everything they did for us and the beans.

When we got home from the NICU we decided to stay up for Noah and Sydney's midnight feeding. Now that they're taken care of, Amy and I are going to sleep and wait impatiently for the time tomorrow when we can bring our first-born home at last.

...now the fun *really* begins...

-John

Day 11: Where did Day 10 go?

It'll come as no surprise to those who already have children, but I can't stop myself from saying "Wow, kids are a lot of work!"

I know... "Duh!"

Two at once may not be fully twice the work, but there's no volume discount. Emily isn't even here yet!

Emily update: She's still in the NICU. She had a "desat" (her oxygen level dropped below the happy number) the other night during a feeding and the neonatologist wanted to keep her a bit longer just to be sure she's stable and to give me and Amy some time to learn how to pace her feeding. We have to stop her from pulling too much on the bottle, lest she "forget to breathe". I tried it for the first time today, and I was surprised at the GRIP she had on that nipple in her mouth! If she has no further incidents, she could be ready to come home on Thursday. Another option is to send her home with a monitor which we'd prefer not to do, especially since it won't be used during feeding, only while she's sleeping. To be a parent is to worry. Triplets, 4 weeks premature and one has potential breathing problems... It's getting to be an awfully big stack. Our firstborn looks good, she's gaining weight, and there's a chance she might crack the 5 lb mark by Thursday! (4lb, 14oz today) It was so hard for Amy and me to leave her there when we had our hearts set on taking her home, but if the experts say they want to keep an eye on her, it's very hard to disagree with them. We've done so well and come so far. Hang in there Emily! We're coming for you!

Noah and Sydney update: They do so much! Wriggle, twist, flail their little arms and legs, shake their heads back and forth, and that's just when we try to feed them! Noah is becoming less terrified of diaper changes, so I hope that means his pain is subsiding some. A good portion of the time I would've used to post last night was probably spent staring down at a child in my arms. Sleeping, feeding or just holding them and looking at the expressions they make up at me. I could do it for hours... Not sure what their weights are, but I can tell you they *are* gaining weight. They are filling out and looking healthier by the day. Noah's very red skin tone is fading down to a more normal shade. Sydney's very narrow face is rounding out and she is resembling her sister more and more. We may yet have trouble telling them apart!

Yesterday Amy's mother and sister came down to stay a few days and help. Added to my mother up from Texas for an extended stay, the workload is at least manageable. This is when the importance of family shows through. Amy and I going through this alone would've been all but impossible! Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that. We have family. We are family. Emily, Noah and Sydney will know how important family has been in getting them into this world and caring for them when they needed it most. Amy and I will make sure they know. We can never thank our family members enough for their help. And the family members too far away to help in person, you are not left out of this. We were supported long before the beans arrived by gestures of support, care packages, caring phone calls and too many other things to count. Amy's family helped us move into this nice new house. We couldn't have done any of this without family.

It's almost time for me to wrap this up. I ran a little long, but I needed to make up for yesterday. I'll work on getting the latest pics posted as soon as I can, we have some shots of Noah and Sydney coming home, adjusting to their new surroundings and a couple from today of Emily in a nice change of clothes after her feeding.

-John

Day 9: Stress testing

We have survived the first night. Amy and I handled the middle of the night feedings/diaperings, and were thankfully relieved at 7 AM by the grandparents. So very thankful they're here to help us!

Poor Noah is having pain from his procedure yesterday, and he's reminded of it at every diaper change. It is a heart-wrenching sound, his pain cry. I know it too well now. I think it hurts Amy just as much to hear it as it does him feeling it. Hang in there, son. (no pun intended)

Sydney had some pretty bad congestion so Daddy had to come after her with the dreaded bulb. She HATES that thing! She didn't start off feeding very well, either.

Come morning, several clothes-changes for Noah and the blanket from our bed in the laundry from one well-aimed formula launch by Noah, we're OK, I think. They're back up to feeding at good levels, they're sleeping well between feedings, Noah's even a little less uncomfortable at diaper changes.

Amy slept less than I did, so I'm trying to get her to rest some today, but we also want to go visit Emily. As much work as it's going to add having her here, we want her home. Come on Tuesday!

-John

Day 8: Change of venue

They're home (Noah and Sydney).

They're fussy.

We're busy.

As they nod off for a few hours, we're going to eat and try to rest.

...and so it begins.

-John

Wow!

Got a call from the NICU today...

Noah and Sydney are coming home... TODAY!

We're at the hospital right now waiting for Noah to get his little boy surgery and hepatitis shot. Sydney still needs her hearing tested (Noah's had his already), then we're ready to roll.

Emily is still off her cannula and doing well. If she stays on track, she'll be coming home on Tuesday.

They are all above their birth weights, Noah at 4lbs 7oz, and the girls both at 4lbs 10oz. Not quite big enough for the car seats we bought, but fortunately the NICU had seats that they fit in.

I'll post later tonight about the homecoming!

-John

P.S.

Don't know what happened to the captions in the photo album... I'll have to try to reconstruct them.

Day 7: The beans have their best week ever!

What a week!

Closing it out with a bang is Grandma and Grandpa Cheesman getting to hold their new grandchildren for the first time (pictures are already added)!

It's been a big day for the beans, in so many ways!

First off, let's hear it for Emily! When we went to visit at 6:00 she was missing her cannula! Hopefully it doesn't need to go back on, but they're going to see how she does tonight and go from there. Keep up the good work, Emily!

Not to be outdone, Noah and Sydney BOTH have been moved out of the warmers and into regular cribs!

I'll have to double check the exact numbers, but all three beans are at or a little above their birth weights!

If Emily does well with her cannula out, she'll "graduate" to a regular crib as well!

At this rate (I hate to jinx it, but...), it could be a very different house we live in next weekend! One with three children sleeping in the nursery, and two parents... not sleeping at all.

Also loaded to the photo album is a new picture of Noah and Sydney's new sleeping quarters. They were in them when we arrived, snoozing like they always do, not a care in the world.

Diaper changing took on a whole new dynamic, too. Holding Noah and then... "you smell something?" He loaded one up for me... Yeesh! And it had a distinctly unpleasant odor to it. But he loaded one up even bigger for Mommy not 20 minutes later. So who am I to complain?
Two loaded diapers in less than a half hour? Please tell me it doesn't go that fast all the time...

Please?


-John

Day 6: All about focus

A short post for a long day.

I got to drop off some Mommy juice for the beans this morning so I got to see them first today. Noah and surprisingly, Sydney were awake and exploring their incubators. I reached in and stroked their little heads, said good morning and went on about my work day. If the feeling I get from just that little bit of contact was available as a drug, I'm sure it would be illegal.

I was also mightily pleased with the news the nurse gave me about Emily. No "incidents" overnight! Way to go Emily!

It was nice to see Noah and Sydney just laying there, looking around, not fussing. All is right with the world.

*****

After dinner, Amy and I went to spend some together time with the beans. We each got to spend a good amount of time with each of them, feeding them, changing their clothes, talking to them, just holding them and feeling s-o-o-o-o-o relaxed.

Emily is getting down very low on the air in her cannula, and the nurse thinks she *may* be off it soon if she continues to have no incidents. Attagirl!

Noah didn't slow down until he was 10ccs past his goal. That kid eats like a horse! (OK, a tiny horse, but a horse nonetheless)

And what do you call a bean without a stem? SYDNEY! She has shed her cord, and by shed, I mean she swung her arm during a diaper change and knocked it clean off. Let's hear it for our first cordless bean!

So we have Emily, focused on her breathing, Noah, focused on his eating, and Sydney, focused on getting rid of her cord. Not bad for their sixth day.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for the beans. For the first time they get to meet Grandma and Grandpa Cheesman, up close and personal! Expect pictures and a healthy post!

-John

Once again, Daddy was very thorough with today's update. As he mentioned, leaving the babies behind was hard. I was bawling before exiting the hospital. A complete stranger stopped to offer me help. I just crumbled as I told our story (John just told me she was a hospital chaplain). She gave me some comforting words and even shared her own experience with a preemie child. Anyway, John came out and all was ok again. We both agreed that leaving Emily, Noah & Sydney behind was best for their own well being.

Anyway, tonight's visit was special. Words can't express how I felt when John and I held all 3 at the same time-WOW! To those who have left me messages over the past several days, please forgive me for not returning your calls. Life as I once knew it is long gone. I LOVE YOU GUYS--Rita, Heather & Lisa!

Sorry to cut this short but I need to pump & finish watching Monday night's episode of 24. More to come tomorrow.

Love,

Amy

Day 5: Separation Anxiety

Today was a tough day for Mommy and Daddy. We went home this afternoon without any of our new babies. It was so much harder for me than I thought, and I knew it was going to be VERY hard for Amy. We got through leaving the parking lot and getting on the road home. OK, the tough part's over, now on to the good stuff!

The beans have learned about something new on Day 5... CLOTHING!
(New pictures are up for those who just can't wait)

One of the things I used to help cheer Amy up on the ride home was that she had a chance to pick out some outfits for new pictures. It worked pretty well.

Emily still has a few things to work on. The last day or so they've been working down the air coming in through the cannula. She still had two "incidents" last night where her O2 sat level dropped too low. She's gotten a new, slightly larger cannula and we start over. The LPN who examined her thinks it's possible she is experiencing some reflux (not unusual for preemies) that could be complicated her breathing. That might lead to her getting her feeding tube put back in until they get it back under control. Poor baby girl! I know how much she hates that. No temperature issues for her, at least.

Noah is picking up momentum. He is very happy to have all the unpleasant sticky tape holding tubes and Velcro to his little head long gone. He's becoming so interested in his surroundings, looking around, watching, listening. Almost distracting enough to get his attention off his bottle... *almost*. He's becoming quite popular with the nurses. (That's my boy!)

Sydney has also had all of her various tubes and tapes removed and she just gets prettier every time I look at her. I know I've mentioned her crossed eyes before, and she still does it. She's too adorable for words.

One of the NICU LPNs (the one who spoke to Amy right before the C-section) spoke to us about the beans today, detailing what we're doing about Emily's troubles and she also mentioned that the next step for Noah and Sydney will be weaning them off of the incubators into regular cribs. If they do well with that, then they will be coming home! We'll know it's almost time when they request their car seats to start putting them in a little at a time to get used to them. I can't wait, and I know Amy would love to have them here!

Amy has started getting results from her pumping and hopefully as that is added to their feedings they'll really start to pick up on their progress, especially little Emily. We went back this evening after a quick nap for Amy and a pumping session. Since Emily had already started feeding when we got their, Noah and Sydney got the breast milk added to their feeds. Emily will get some with her next feeding. The beans also met some new people tonight, Grandparents! My parents came for a visit during the feeding time and got to spend some time holding Emily and Noah while Daddy fed Sydney. Emily nodded off to sleep in her Grandfather's care after a bit while Noah fussed at his Grandmother just a little before settling down and going to sleep. Before that, the beans were dressed in new clothes and took pictures sitting together in Mommy's lap and Daddy's lap until Sydney demanded to be fed.

I know this post is getting long, but I just have a couple more bits to go...

After the above-mentioned visit, Amy went to a room they have at the NICU for pumping to try to get some more for the beans. She was successful, and after 45 minutes we were ready to drop off what we had with the nurses and go home. When we went in, one of the nurses looked up and said "You caught him!" It seems Noah had woken up midway through his nap and took another half-feeding worth of formula before he would quiet back down. We found him napping quietly in her arms. (again, that's my boy!)

Tomorrow I face my own hurdle to get over. I'm going back to work after what seems like such a long time, but has really only been five days. As hard as it is for Amy to leave her babies in a hospital it's a double whammy for me. My babies are in the hospital and my wife is at home and I can't help any of them. It's so humbling becoming a father and learning that no matter how small your babies are, they are so much bigger than anything you thought was important before they got here.

I need some ice cream now.

-John

Day 4: Tuesday Evening.

First things first: I'm very happy to hear how popular this has become. It has proven to be more valuable than I thought. I got a call today from Scott and Kris Bass (Scott was one of my groomsmen at the wedding). His job has taken him and his family to live in Germany but when they called to check on us today, I was able to give him the website address and they could see for themselves instantly. The Ayres Triplets are now an international sensation!

Second, since I hear from Jenny that she makes a bee-line for the photo album, I added a link to it on the left there so it'll be easy to get to, no scrolling down to find the post where I added the link the first time.

In local news, Amy was released from the hospital today. St. Francis Hospital has an on-site Inn that we were given a complimentary night's stay in, so we're here until tomorrow. I know I'll miss being this close to the beans, and I hope she'll be OK going home tomorrow without them. She is doing just great in her recovery and is already planning out her visiting times until they are all home with us.

Now on to the kids!

Emily is still being slowly weaned off the cannula. She's feeding well and otherwise progressing beautifully. She's all about forward progress, and her face is getting rounder by the day. her skin is a very fair pink and she has now had her temp sensor removed. She has a tendency to gulp at her bottles, but she's taking at least as much as they want her to get, if not a little more. She no longer has a little feeding tube taped to her face anymore.

Noah had his IV pulled today as well as his temp sensor and feeding tube. His face is filling out some and his nurses tend to load his bottle with as much as 10cc's extra, and most of the time he takes it. He still likes to be wrapped up and held close after his feeding and he'll doze off on your shoulder or in your arms.

Sydney is taking her time feeding. She is off her IV and temp sensor, but she still has a feeding tube because she doesn't always take all the formula they give her. Other than that, she'll happily give you a goofy cross-eyed glance, and nod off in almost any position you hold her in.

Best part of today, other than getting my wife back safely and taking her out for a celebratory lunch at On The Border ( we got a free dessert!), was taking pictures with the beans this morning. Those of you who headed straight to the photo album know this already, but we had the nurses line them up side by side in one bed for group photos. This is the closest they've been to each other in 4 days. Happily, no fights broke out. Head over to the photo album and check them out!

-John

This is my first opportunity to look at what John has been working on. I LOVE IT and it sounds like our family and friends do too!

Thanks to everyone for checking in and leaving such complimentary and encouraging comments. Our lives have been blessed with the arrival of Emily, Noah & Sydney. I still can't believe they belong to John and me. I'm glad we can share our special pictures and moments with all of you. Please check for updates daily. John is having lots of fun showing off our 3 babies!

Love,

Amy

Picture album is up!

Been working on this for a little bit, and I think it's ready to go:

http://picasaweb.google.com/john.ayres/TheBeans

If I have it set up correctly, I can add pictures as we go so keep an eye on it for updates. Depending on how it goes, I'll likely limit pictures posts to this blog and put the majority of the pictures there.

Enjoy!
-John

Day 3 and a half, personalities already?!?

Forget what you've heard about newborns and their poor eyesight, poor coordination, etc. Little Emily already has a reputation with the nurses as being "full of attitude". We don't know if she's gotten it from Mommy, Daddy or her namesake, Great Grandmother Emily. There's no path that will really make it any easier on us... Oh well, good thing she's cute. And as far as poor coordination, well... She's in an incubator now with only four holes in it. This afternoon she found the only open hole and heaved her pacifier out onto the floor... TWICE. She was due for a bottle, coincidence??? I think not.

Noah it seems, has heard and understood that he's been called the "runt", "smallest" and so on. He knows he needs his bottles to get going and growing so when he wakes up, it's time to eat... NOW. He starts making noise and he'll quiet down if you come to him and start to interact with him, within reason. The nurses have a routine where they check temperature, diaper and listen to their bellies before they get their feeding. Noah will give you a minute to do what you have to do, but if he's not moving out of the incubator into feeding position, you'll hear from him. As soon as the bottle gets into his mouth, all is quiet. The nurses have taken to putting extra formula in his bottle because he's power-sucking his bottles.

Sydney had Daddy going with the sweet little angel act. She's quiet and sweet... and scheming. She's not a fan of the tube they're still using to check their bellies and push any formula they don't finish from the bottles into them directly. The tube is taped to her face and she's constantly tugging at it, trying to get it out. Now I hate to accuse my daughter, but I swear the last time I fed her she would open her eyes just a tiny bit to see if Daddy was watching and then her little hand would come snaking out of the blanket and grab the tube! "No, no Sydney, you still need that", I would say and tuck her hand back in and reach to pick the bottle up and there goes her little hand again! Then she opens her eyes wide and looks at me all cross-eyed and I chuckle a little and she goes back to tugging at her tube. What a will on that little girl! Last time Mommy tried to feed her, Sydney wanted nothing to do with the bottle, she just wanted to be held by Mommy. The nurse had to take her and get her finished up in time for shift change.

************

Right now Amy is resting and I wanted to post another update to this since now I know that it's quickly becoming a popular means of checking up on the beans for all concerned about them. Thank you for all the love and support we've gotten from you all, we feel it and we tell the beans all about the big family they have waiting to meet them. I can't wait to get them healthy, get them home and get them on their way in this world.

We're planning on going down for the 11:30/12:00/12:30 feeding cycle and I'll try to get some current snapshots to put up here, since I know you all want to see how they're doing day-to-day. I'm also working on a web-based photo album that I can just post most all of our baby pictures to and you guys can scroll through them all.

-John

Day 3: More improvements

Emily is getting so much stronger! She's taking a bottle like a champ, eating well and keeping it down. They're weaning her off the cannula, which is just pushing regular air, not oxygen anymore. The physical therapist assessed her today and said she's rating very highly, almost better than her developmental age. What a girl! She responded well to the light therapy and so she's off that now as well as having her IV fluids stopped. All she has to do now is eat, sleep and grow.

Noah has so much fight in his little body. Once he started taking his bottle, he attacks them! It's almost if he knows he has some catching up to do with his sisters. It *is* a competition, my son and you're doing a great job at it! He's almost ready to come off the light therapy and IV, maybe by tomorrow. He was fed by Mommy today and he finished all his formula and got some good cuddle time with before she had to go back up to bed.

Sydney had a session with the physical therapist this morning, too. That left her so tired that when Daddy tried to feed her at 12:30, she just couldn't stay awake. Poor girl was wiped out! The nurse went ahead and set up the tube feeding and I held her until it was all in her. She slept through the whole thing. Much as I wanted to just hold her a while longer, I let them put her back in her incubator so she could get her rest.

Amy and I are going to skip the next feeding cycle and check in on them a little later. We want to make sure the nurses have the time and space they need to take care of the beans.

-John

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I noticed some setting that was restricting who could leave comments and changed it so anyone can leave comments. Amy will be looking at this, maybe even posting when she goes home to recover and I know she'd love to hear from all of you checking in on her children.

Babies' First Easter!

Happy Easter!

My children are just two days old on their first official holiday. Mommy and Daddy (OK, Mommy) got them little stuffed toys with personalized bibs noting their first Easter. Daddy thought it was kind of a silly thing, since they're just not quite aware of that much, but Mommy was undeterred. Daddy has to admit now that's it's pretty darn cute.

Mommy's holding little Noah, and Daddy has his girls (or do they have him?)

Note:

This blog is being created on Easter, so I've backdated the first few posts to match them up with when they happened.

At this point, Emily is still needing a little oxygen to help her breathe, so she has a little tube (cannula) in her nostrils. She likes to tug it out, though... Two days old and feisty already! She hasn't taken a bottle yet, but she's sweet and beautiful and her Daddy loves holding her while she sleeps.

Noah came off the oxygen his first night, and hasn't had any breathing trouble since. He was the smallest when born and also lost the most weight afterwards. Mommy calls him her "little bird-man" since he reminds her of a baby chick. He loves to be held and loves to be wrapped up tight in his blanket.

Sydney may have been the last one out, but she's lining up to be the first for everything! She was first to meet Mommy, first to take a bottle, first to try nursing and at this rate she'll be first to come home!

The neonatologist has examined all of them and declared them to be AMAZINGLY healthy, given how early they were born (first day of the 35th week). He reminded us that they still have a lot of growing and developing to do and will need a lot of care to begin with. He thinks it will be at least a couple weeks before any of them are ready to be released.

They are in the NICU at St. Francis Hospital South in Indianapolis. A wonderful hospital with excellent staff taking great care of our little miracles.

Amy and I are welcome to visit them in the NICU anytime other than their shift change. We can feed them, take their temperature, diaper them (yeech!) and hold them as long as we want. We are DEFINITELY taking advantage of that opportunity as best we can. Amy still needs her rest (she's supposed to be napping while I'm doing this), but when she feels up to it, I take her down to see her children. She's a natural with her children, loving and gentle the way I knew she'd be.

Better pictures after only one day

Looking much nicer now, here are:

Emily-

Noah-

And Sydney!

First Pictures

Here are the first pictures of:

Emily -

Noah-

...and Sydney!

Born!

Welcome to the world, Emily, Noah and Sydney!!!
They were born on Friday, April 6th at 12:29, 12:31 and 12:32.

Emily was 4 lb 8 oz and 19.25" long. She had some trouble breathing at first and needed a CPAP and oxygen to help her.

Noah was 4 lb 5 oz and 18" long. He also needed a little help breathing with some oxygen.

Sydney came out last at 4 lb 6 oz and 18.5" long. She didn't need any help breathing at all, thank you very much!

Mommy is doing fine and Daddy is just trying to hold it together.