Alana has a future as an activist for Social Justice

I was snapping some photos of Alana in the cute outfit that my sister Renee mailed to us and caught her in a perfect pose. Should I be scared that the girls are going to take over? Joe, come home soon, I am gonna need you!

Wow! Thanks!

FOAAJ:

Thanks to everyone who signed up to bring a meal to the Jardine 5! You can check the calendar to the right to see what days are available. We're good up until Oct. 20.

If anyone wants to help for an hour or two with the babies, please email me or Rebecca to let me know your availability. The need is pretty constant, and the family will be sticking close to home.

Thanks again,

Susan

Put it in the "Happy File"

Something that I learned from Simon at Baker Avenue is to create a "happy file" to put good emails or to document good days to look back at in future times when things are a bit tougher.

Saturday was a "happy file day". It started with a deep sleep. I awoke at 5 am for my shift of watching the girls. I had just slept for 7 straight hours!! I slept better than I have in months. Rebecca & Glenda (Rebecca's Mom) took care of their late night feedings. After feeding Alexa and watching the two angelic girls for a few hours, I got to go surfing! First time out in a long time & conditions were perfect!! I came home and got to spend about an hour with just me and the girls, while Rebecca and Glenda went for a walk in the park during the Peace concert. The girls slept and smiled most of the time and were a joy to watch. Rebecca and I then went to the hospital to hang with little Joe. We miss him and think that he misses us. But, he was all smiles when we finally left. Finally, we came home to a BBQ tri tip dinner that Bill (Rebecca's Dad) cooked. After dinner, I was playing with Alana and she gave me the biggest tongue out smile that I have ever seen.

Good sleep, surf, beautiful weather and a BBQ with interwoven time watching, feeding and burping all three kids with Rebecca and family. There is no way that this kind of day could happen if Rebecca and I were at this alone. Thankfully, we have the support of friends and family to help the days be happy.

Officially filed under happy:-)

WANTED: Help!

Dear FOAAJ:
(Friends of Alexa, Alana & Josiah)

Now that some of the babies are home, we can finally love on Eric & Rebecca the way we've all wanted to--by feeding them! We are setting up two different schedules; one for meals to be delivered to them, ideally on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and a separate schedule for baby helpers. These are kind-hearted folks with an hour to spare during the day or evening to help with all the chores (feeding, diapering, etc.) that go along with triplets. Email me at skostal@mac.com to get your name on either list.

Thanks!

Susan

The Girls are Home!!!

Today, Eric & I leaped out of bed because we were so excited that this day was finally here! We are so excited to finally bring the girls home! We did, however, underestimate how difficult it would be to leave with the girls and have to leave Josiah at the hospital. Fortunately, he has always been the nurses favorite (don't tell the girls) and I know he will be well pampered, especially now that he is flying solo for a bit. The doctors have already lowered his oxygen and if he does well he may be able to come home in a week or so. So, keep praying!
We have been home for 5 hours and so far the girls are quite the little angels! We survived our first feeding with flying colors. All they seem to do is eat, sleep, and poop. They really are mellow babies! Thank you, Lord! I am sure at 2am I'll be feeling a bit different, but for now they are great!

The Girls are Coming Home!

The doctor told us yesterday that if everything goes well, we should be able to take both Alana and Alexa home on Thursday! Whoohoo! We are so excited! A little nervous...but, super excited! Josiah will need to stay probably another week or two because of the oxygen. But, the doctor's are hopeful that they can wean him off of the oxygen before he comes home. So, keep praying! You can do it, Joe!
We are ecstatic to finally bring the babies home! We know all of you are anxious to come and meet the famous trio! Something to keep in mind...the babies are still very premature and their immune systems are not very strong. So, if you have a cold/flu, think you may be coming down with a cold/flu, or have even just been around someone who has been sick...please don't come over! We are going to be a little over-protective for a few months until the babies are all well enough to fight off any infections or viruses. So, please don't take it personally. Also, be prepared to wash your hands and apply anti-bacterially hand lotion just before Eric hoses you off in the backyard (okay, just kidding on the last part!).
So, we did the math and realized that the babies have been in the hospital for 9 weeks today...that's 63 days in a row that we have been at the hospital! Holy cow! By the time Josiah comes home it'll be even higher. We have gotten to know so many of the staff and other moms & dads in the NICU. We were laughing because we can't even walk down the hall without saying HI to a bunch on people we know. It hasn't been ideal, but I think we've tried to make the most of it. But, we definitely won't miss going back and forth to the hospital once or twice a day for 3-6 hours a day! Anyway, Eric did a little photo shoot of the girls last night laying on a pillow on his lap. Alana is on the left and Alexa is on the right. I think they both are very excited to see their new home! :)

The ladies are off their oxygen!

Alana & Alexa no longer have the oxygen tubes! Hooray! It is pretty neat to see their faces with no tubes or tape. They are both looking more alike each day and are starting to show Rebecca's features more and more. Alana was wide awake during my visit on Thursday and so I snapped so many photos I filled up the camera card. Check out that tongue! They have still required a bit of oxygen while they're eating (they seem to forget to breathe while they are chowing down!). But, recently haven't required any oxygen, even during their feedings. The day the girls got their oxygen removed, Josiah decided he wanted his off, too. So, we looked at him and he had yanked off his nasal cannula, including the stickers on his cheeks that hold it in place, and was wearing it around his neck as a necklace! Very funny! He, unfortunately, is not quite ready to have his removed so we had to put it back on. Sorry, lil Joe! But, he definitely wanted it off! He is actually improving quite a bit and has required less oxygen than previously. So, he slowly is weaning off his oxygen, as well. Keep praying that he won't need to come home with any oxygen!
We decided that since the babies are growing so fast, they may not be able to fit into their preemie clothes when they get home (especially chunky monkey, Joe!) So, we brought some clothes to the hospital and played dress up! Quite challenging putting clothes on a baby for the first time. We are obviously quite inexperienced in this whole baby thing, but it sure was fun! So, we did a little photo shoot of them in their new clothes!

No More Feeding Tubes!

Yesterday, I was looking at the babies and thought, "Something's different! I can see more of their face!" I finally realized that their feeding tubes were gone! Yeh! That means that each of them are taking all of their food via the bottle now. Wow! What excellers! I thought for sure it would take them longer to master the fine art of bottle sucking...but, apparently, I was wrong! When food is involved, they find a way! They still alternate with "chugging" down a bottle and "sipping" and falling asleep without finishing. Alexa is the champ! She can actually fall asleep while being burped. It's amazing! I mean totally go into a milk coma and be out for the count! It's pretty funny!
The doctors are hoping the girls may be off their oxygen in the next few days. Once they are off, they have 7 days in which they will be monitored closely. If they have any problems or need any help, the 7 days will start all over again. Once they "pass" they can come home! Whoohoo! Josiah is also, hopefully, going to be brought down on his oxygen a little to see how he does. Please, keep praying that he does well and doesn't need to come home with oxygen!
The top left picture is Alana on the left and Alexa on the right. The bottom pictures of all my little "bugs in a rug" all snuggled together.

Happy Birthday Hot Momma

A little bit late but I wanted to highlight that Rebecca's birthday was a week ago today. She is bouncing full of energy in the last few weeks. Over the weekend, we celebrated a bit by going out to our favorite restaurant, the Pacific Cafe on Geary with Rebecca's parents and Nana. They treated us to a wonderful dinner. We also spent the night downtown at the Hilton with a gift certificate that we got nearly 2 years ago at a Young Life event. We got a free meal at the newly opened Urban Tavern. Three dinners at expensive restaurants and we did not pay for even one of them! It is really a treat to be loved so much.

On her actual birthday Rebecca worked out at the Sportsclub LA and got a massage. This was her first workout in months and funny that she was elated to spend 5 hours at the gym/spa on her b-day. A few days ago she started wearing the PPP(Pre Pregnancy Pants)! We followed up the gym with an awesome lunch courtesy of Paula at the Seasons Restaurant at the Four Seasons. I am extremely proud of her for working so hard over the last 9 months. The babies were so big for their term because she worked so hard at providing a good home. True, she liked the bacon but she really worked to have a diet and environment to help the kids develop. Since they have been born, her diligence in pumping is incredible. A record 41oz the other day, almost 3lbs of milk! Her connection with the kids continues to grow. Joe and her were having a conversation of sorts over the weekend. He was oogling responding to Rebecca's words. I could see that he and Mom were bonding like never before.

One final story about Alexa: The other day was grabbing the air. She was in the crib alone and wide awake and every 10 seconds or so she would raise her arm up and grab a little bit of air. It was like she discovered that her arm is connected to her for the first time and that she actually had control of it. It was fun to see her smile with the joy of learning something new about herself. Rebecca and I are learning new things all the time and it is a treat that our kids are teaching us to smile with joy in the process.

Josiah

I apologize, but this is going to be a Josiah post. He was just being super cute on this particular day!

Their weights as of yesterday are :

Josiah 6lbs. 3oz.
Alana 4lbs. 3oz.
Alexa 4lbs. 8oz.

They are all growing and gaining weight. They are taking their bottles very well. Josiah is the "chugger" and is now able to take a bottle every other feeding (4 times a day). The girls are also doing well, but tend to still fall asleep during some of their bottle feedings, and so they are taking a bottle 3 times a day. We are learning the art of "burping"! I never thought I would get so excited to hear a burp! :)
We still need you to keep praying for Josiah to get off the oxygen. The girls are down to very little oxygen and the doctors think they should be off and ready to come home in a couple of weeks. Josiah, however, is still requiring quite a bit more oxygen. The doctors don't want to separate the 3 of them for too long and because everything else is fine, they said that Josiah may be able to come home shortly after the girls but may be sent home with oxygen. The doctors say that it's just a matter of time and that he should outgrow it, eventually. But, the thought of him having to come home with oxygen is a bit scary. So, we are praying that he will turn the corner and start to show huge progress in his breathing in the next week! So, please pray! We know that God can do it! See, even Josiah already knows how to pray (see the bottom picture of our prayer warrior!) :)

Baths and Bottles

This has been quite the exciting week! On Sunday, we got to bottle feed the babies for the first time. They all did well! They tend to fall asleep during the feeding and whatever is left over in the bottle we feed them via the feeding tube. The whole idea of staying awake and having to work for your food is a new concept to these little ones, who've been used to waking up and magically having a full tummy! But, they're all doing well and are on their way to getting all their food from the bottle. We have moved from once a day bottle feeds to every 8 hours. Once they are able to finish a full bottle every 8 hours (with their other feedings via the tube), we will try to move it up to every 3 hours (which is how often they are fed). We also were able to give them all baths yesterday, which happened to also be my birthday! :) One of the good things about having 3 babies is that the nurse said she'd give Josiah a bath while we watched and then we each could give one of the girls a bath. So, all 3 babies got a bath and survived (and so did Eric and I)! Great fun! The top left picture is of Josiah getting his bath from the nurse. The next one is my first time giving Alana a bath and the bottom one is of Eric giving Alexa her bottle.

All we need now are babies!

The nursery is ready and waiting for the babies to come home. When I went to the hospital and had to deliver unexpectedly, I had barely even started getting their room ready. So, I've been slowly getting stuff together and organized. As much as having the babies in the hospital is not ideal, we have at least had plenty of time to get things ready. Not to mention, since my recovery from this whole ordeal has been anything but easy, it definitely has helped to have extra time to rest and recover. However, I am long past ready and am trying to wait patiently to get my 3 little peanuts home! I am ready to get this party started! Every time I go into their room (which happens to also be my "pumping" station) I can't help but get a little anxious and wish my babies were here. They should only have a couple of more weeks (hopefully) before we can bring them home. The doctors have yet to give any specific dates, but based on how well the babies are all doing, we are guessing it'll be the beginning of Sept. (That is only our wishful guess!) Anyway, their room is ready and waiting for them! I can't wait! :)

A Pile of Babies

A couple of days ago, I went to the hospital and asked to hold Alexa. Eric decided to hold Josiah. Shortly after we started holding them, Alana woke up and started to look around in the crib like, "Hey, where'd everybody go?" She's always in the middle and I can imagine how confused she was to wake up without anyone laying next to her. I was sitting only about a foot away from the crib and so I could see her. I noticed that she was wide awake and so I started calling her name and talking to her. As soon as she heard my voice, she started looking towards me but couldn't quite see me. She never fussed or cried, but just wanted to know where in the heck we were. So, I asked the nurse to bring her over and set her on my lap so that she could join us. I was holding Alexa "kangaroo" style and Alana on my lap wrapped like a little burrito. Once she was on my lap, she was quite content and fell back asleep. Eric was sitting right next to me holding Josiah and we said, "Wow! We have a pile of babies!" It was pretty funny, but very true!

Alexa Leona bright eyed on 8/8/08

Watching Rebecca hold more than one baby is like watching the fans at a tennis match. She constantly is switching back and forth between the two kids, trying to soak it all in. Labor day is now the most likely timeframe for the kids to come home from the hospital. They need to get off the oxygen support that they are receiving currently as well as bottle feed. Trying to suck swallow and breathe all at the same time is no easy feat! Also, I wanted to note Rebecca's herculean feat of keeping up a milk supply for all three babies. The other day she pumped more than 38 oz. A quart a day keeps the formula away! I keep telling her that she can keep pumping and we can sell it to the Milk Bank after the babies are on solid foods to subsidize the Jardine3 baby budget(just kidding). The nurses at the ICN are impressed beyond words as no triplet Mom is ever able to fully keep up with the babies tummies. Her sacrifice of pumping every 3-4 hours for our kids shows how much she loves them.

The video below is of Alexa on 8/8/08. As you can see, she looks quite similar to Josiah about a week ago. She is trying her hardest to catch her big bro:-)

Growing fast

The babies are growing so fast already! We took a video of Alexa looking bright-eyed and very alert last week and she looks just like Josiah. Now that the girls are finally getting some meat on their bones, they are starting to look more like their "chunky monkey" brother! I'll try to upload the video soon. The first picture is of Alexa sucking away on her purple pacifier. She is quite the little helper! She likes to hold it herself! She is also the one giving her dad the sweetest smile in the third picture! The second picture is of Josiah and Alexa in the crib. Can you see the huge difference in size between the two? He looks like a giant next to her. He also likes to cover his ears! I think he's already learning how to tune out his sisters! Even in the picture of all 3 of them, Josiah has his hands over his ears. Alana is the one in the middle and she is also the one I am holding in the bottom picture. So sweet!

The trio are finally back together again!

A couple of days ago, the doctors took Josiah off of the high-flow oxygen and put him on the low-flow, which is basically room air with a little extra "puff" every once in awhile. He's been responding really well. Today, when we arrived at the hospital, I saw an extra monitor near Josiah's crib and I thought, "Oh no! They must've put Josiah back on the high-flow oxygen!" I looked into the crib and realized that all 3 babies were in there! The extra monitor was for the girls. Whoohoo! The trio are finally back together again! They are all still on a very small amount of oxygen and they are all now sleeping together in an open-air crib. That means that they are all out of the isolettes and are able to regulate their body temperatures well. Sniff! Sniff! My babies are growing up! :)

As of this morning, their weights are:

Josiah (aka "Chunky Monkey") 5 lbs. 2 oz!
Alana (aka "Peanut") 3 lbs. 5 oz.
Alexa (aka "Chipmunk") 3 lbs. 10 oz.

A quick tally

Rebecca was a real trooper yesterday. After yet another surgery, we got back home from the hospital last night and were exhausted but she continues to have a great attitude which is something I cannot imagine given the last few weeks...

A quick tally since July 1: In addition to the countless blood draws and checking of vitals,

11 days at the hospital
9 Nights at the hospital
8 Attempts at an IV
5 actual IV's placed
7 prescriptions
6 Hospital Rooms
4 hours being knocked out (sedated)
2 Surgeries

And 3 Beautiful Happy Babies!

After recovery yesterday, we were just going to stop by and see the babies for 5 minutes. The visit turned the trials and toils upside down as we continue to be in awe of how much a blessing Josiah, Alana and Alexa are. We decided that we can't just come and say "Hi" to the babies for 5 mins. and that holding them is the best medicine. Rebecca held Alexa last night which was the best medication or therapy that anyone could prescribe for her. Rebecca is turning into an amazing mother who is able to dig deep for energy for her kids when she is really tapped out. Alexa is now 3lbs 5 oz and it shows! Her face is filling out and and her arms and legs actually have a little chunk to them! Alana has also officially crossed the 3 lb. mark!

Below is a video of Joe about a week ago. He has gained about 12 oz since then!

Back to the Operating room...

Okay folks, I am about as tired of being in the hospital as I ever thought possible. I have never had to be in the hospital before this year but it seems as if I am making up for it. Many of you know that the recovery from this horrific surgery has been anything but easy. Since being hospitalized with a uterine infection a few weeks ago, I've actually been starting to feel better. However, I've still been having quite a lot of painful cramping and heavy bleeding (sorry if that's too much information). I finally decided that "this wasn't normal" and went to see the doctor today. They discovered (after a full day of tests and poking and prodding) that I still have some placental tissue left inside of my uterus. Oh joy! So, unfortunately, the only way to get the tissue out and to stop the bleeding is to go back inside and to physically remove it. Because of previous surgery issues, they want to do the surgery in the operating room under conscious sedation. Yuck! I am so tired of being stuck with needles I could scream! This will be the 4th IV I've had in less than 5 weeks! But, the doctors say that if everything goes well, I should be able to come home a few hours after the surgery. Yah, no more hospital food!!! So, anyway my point in "venting" is to ask for you to please pray for me (and even my poor husband who is also mentally and physically exhausted). The surgery should be sometime tomorrow (Wednesday). Pray that everything goes well during the surgery and that this will finally let my body completely heal! I need to get well so that I can take care of my 3 beautiful babies!

By the way, Eric & I were in the NICU this evening holding our sweet babies. The update from the nurse was pretty simple. They have all gained a little weight and are breathing well(Josiah is about 4.5 lbs). They do have a new prescription of sodium. In a moment of clarity, we realize how blessed we and they are. If all they need is a bit more salt, we are pretty darn lucky. While the surgery is discouraging, all this drama is worth it the moment we get to see them.

One big happy family!

Eric & I will fully admit that the reality of having 3 babies still hasn't quite hit us yet. I know once they come home and we are having to fully take care of them, it will finally become a reality. Even at the hospital, until now we've only been able to hold one baby at a time. However, this past Friday, we became very daring and decided that we wanted to hold all 3 babies at once! Thankfully, they were all very mellow and decided to sleep the whole time! But, it wasn't until we had all 3 of them on our laps that we looked at each other and said, "Oh my gosh! We really do have 3 babies!" We couldn't help but laugh! This is going to be one wild ride! We are so excited to have this amazing opportunity to not only have 1 baby, but to get to have 3! I know that we have no idea of the craziness that lies ahead of us, but we are eager to get this party started! Each one of them already has their own personality and it is going to be so much fun to see how they all interact and develop. We love each one of them so much and we wouldn't trade them for the world!
By the way, I am holding Alexa on my right and Alana on my left. Eric is holding Josiah, the cutest little boy I've ever seen! :)

More Pictures of the Cutest Babies ever!!!

Nani finally got to hold Alana! (top picture) Josiah looking quite comfy! (second and third picture)
Eric holding Alana and Rebecca holding Alexa, looking quite relaxed! (bottom pictures).