Plug a hole

We have a new game to play when the babies get fussy. All you need is three fussy babies, one couch and three pacifiers. You know the whack a mole game at Chuck E Cheese? Well, the game is to see how fast one person can fill all three mouths with pacifiers. The kids do a great job of spitting them out every few seconds so there is a continuous random rotation of filling the holes. I'll try to video the next time conditions permit. However, this is one case where I am not necessarily looking forward to those conditions.

We have had lots of visitors lately and are thrilled to hand them some babies the moment they come in the door. Holly, Christie & Guy, Julie W, Julie Morrison, Jack and Debby, Wylie & Hans, Esther, Kelly, Jonathon and Rebecca, and of course Grandparents.

My parents are here for the weekend giving a much needed break for Rebecca's parents who have spent the last two weekends with the kids while I was on a church leadership retreat and Rebecca and I both went to a wedding in Napa. We are very thankful to have family that is so willing and able to help. We also continue to be amazed at the generosity of friends. On Monday this week, it was a rough day. Rebecca mentioned that two of them taking care of the babies, at times, was not enough. We started calling and emailing and in no time help was arranged for nearly the duration of the week. What a blessing! If you want to be placed on the "last minute helper" list email Rebecca. If you come, don't worry. We won't give you all three at once. We reserve piling three babies in one lap to professionals. :)

Meal Alert!

Fellow Baby Helpers:

By now most of you have met the Jardine triplets in person. Cute, huh? As they become more active, Mom and Dad have less time for everything, including taking care of themselves and meals. Please see the schedule on the right; if you can contribute a meal on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, please email me at skostal@mac.com.

Thanks much!

Susan

Take your Triples to work day

Yesterday was my Birthday and I got my birthday wish. Rebecca and my Mom brought the kids into the office to meet the team. As you can see, Alana, in particular, was snoozing through her first experience behind a desk. I can just imagine her fleeing from the corporate culture to fight for social justice in Africa. Come 2030, this crew could be a pretty amazing team! Note, Joe's shirt says, "Good looks run in the family." He clearly has his Mom's beauty.

Pumpkin Heads

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My mom bought the babies these really cute pumpkin onesies and had a little photo shoot the weekend we came to stay at their house. Eric had a board retreat with our church and so the kiddos and I packed up and headed for Nani & Papa's house for the weekend. It was lots of fun and the kids seemed to be quite relaxed, which is good because they will likely be spending quite a lot of time at their house over the next several years.
I also included some pictures of Josiah, including him and his favorite friend...Froggy! We definitely don't leave home without him!

Trio letting off steam!

Eric & I keep telling everyone how "good" our babies are. They hardly ever cry and rarely are all 3 fussy at the same time. However, last night we experienced the trio ganging up on us. I am not sure if it was the full moon or what, but all 3 of them were quite fussy at the same time. We decided the best thing to do was to pile them all in the car and go for a drive. They always seem to fall asleep in the car, so it was worth a try. Sure enough...after driving around for quite a while they all 3 finally fell asleep. When we were putting them in their carseats we pulled out the video camera and caught them all in the act! It's quite funny!

Recent Pics

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These are some recent pictures that we liked. The one with Eric's mom holding all 3 of the babies is from her trip last month...check out Josiah's smile! :)
Kyle and Stephanie came to visit this past weekend and we managed to pile all 3 babies on their laps. They may look frightened but they ended up being quite the skilled baby holders. I think Kyle even had some bonding time with Lil Joe! And I just couldn't resist the picture with Eric holding Joe...like father like son! Check out that hair!

Big Burps & Diving In

So, we have decided we like big burps. Rebecca commented the other night that Joe burps like a man and we started working on the modified lyrics for the epic Sir Mixalot song. This will eventually be one epic performance for a talent show someday.

I like big burps and I can not lie
You other babies can't deny
That when a kid walks in with a bloated belly
And a belch in your face
You get rung, wanna hold out that tongue
'Cause you notice that burp was stuffed
Deep in the lungs she's yearning
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring
Oh baby, I wanna hear ya
And take your picture
My homeboys tried to warn me
But with that burp you got makes me feel so gassy

On another night I was reminded of a Steven Curtis Chapman song called Dive. The lyrics to the chorus are below but it really describes where we are. In over our head but that is where we want to be.

I'm diving in, I'm going deep, in over my head I want to be
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head I want togo
The river's deep, the river's wide, the river's water is alive
So sink or swim, I'm diving in

Between the tsunami that is the equity market at work and the hurricane at home I am in way over my head. Good news though is that God has provided grace for each day and while exhausted, I do realize that he is carrying me much more than I will ever know right now.

When in over our heads with too much to handle we also find other people carrying us or our babies. We have had numerous visitors, helpers, meals and Costco runners. Thanks to all for your tremendous support. You all are part of that grace for each day and God is using you big time! We won't ever be able to express the gratitude or even name everyone that is offering encouragement. Some names on the long list in no particular order...

Rene & Kathleen, Susan K, Jean S, Barc & Sharon, Emily & Danny, Chetan & Courtney, Elisia, Kristin J(congrats on your healthy baby girl!), Julie Mo, Rachel, Stacey, Zuza, Edwin & Julie, Grace W, Kelly C, Kelly N, Tom and Sarah, Bonnie W, Bellinghams, Liz, Dana, Janet B, Mark & Lisa K, Mary and Tom, Alexus G, Shannon and Randy, Kate, Gorins, Tiffany K, Wylie and Anne Marie, Karen E, BAAM... The list goes on as I am sure that I missing people(email if I am missing you or someone else). From the bottom of our heart, you are being used to help us run this marathon. Your help has made this fun too!

Great Grandma Nana, Vonna, Jamie and of course our parents which we have leaned on more than anyone right now. We would be in deep trouble without their 1 am feedings!

Nani and Bill
Grandma and Grandpa J

Photo Shoot

We've had fun taking pictures of the babies, but realized that it would be great to have some professional pictures taken. A good friend, Corey Lesh (www.leshstudio.com), offered to come and take pictures of us and the babies. He did such a great job and we so greatful and thankful! It was so much fun and as soon as we get the pictures back we'll be sure to post some. The first picture is during the "professional" photo shoot and the others are taken by their proud dad during our Saturday morning snuggle! The last picture is of our sweet boy, Josiah!

Trio taking over the couch...

We took some pictures tonight and wanted to share them. They were all sleeping well tonight after a lively day at home.

Banana Bread, Lasagna and Brownies

It was Monday or Tuesday, I really don't know as the days have all melded together lately but I was taking the trash out and I almost stepped on the loaf of Banana Bread on our doormat. Whomever it was, thank you for your timely gift. Joe was a bit cranky that morning and nobody was able to make breakfast so it was perfect to snack on all morning. Those brownies from Jeanine from SF POM club were incredible! Rebecca makes really awesome brownies and her response was, "these are better than my own." Last night we had some Lasagna that beat out my own. Lisa, where did you get that sausage? Thanks also to everyone stopping by to help. This has not been easy but it has been fun. It would not be fun without all the help.

Another note, Sunday September 21, 2008 was the kids actual due date. The docs now count them as about a week old corrected. Rebecca and I were on a walk on Tuesday and it occured to us just how normal our kids are. They are even a little unnormal in that they have had few freak out moments and seem to self soothe well. What a gracious gift!

This week was Grandma week. My mom was in town for the entire week helping us 24/7. She got up at almost all the 1am feedings. While she will tell you that she loved every minute of spending time with the babies, she will definitely sleep well tonight once she lands back in Vegas. She has a special way of getting Joe to relax gently rocking him to sleep. This is much better than my method of putting him in the swing at the highest speed and hoping for the best.

Finally, I wanted to note how proud of Lexi we are! She pooped two times in two days and is very happy for it. She has been all smiles since and we can understand why!




Pictures: Alexa in her favorite burping position. The trio hanging with mom on the couch with Alana in the middle. Joe sitting in his bouncy chair trying to mimic Alana's sleeping position.

From Jardine Family Updates

Mini Me's!

Our moms have continued to say over and over again how much Josiah looks like Eric when he was a baby and how much the girls look like me when I was a baby. We didn't really believe it until we saw our baby pictures...what do you think?

Carseats, Daytona and What am I doing?

Joe is still working out life as one of three outside the oogling of the nurses at the hospital. He is having to learn that he is not an only child! Hilda our night nanny gave us the update that he was hitting Alana in the middle of the night Friday with his flailing arms. Below is a picture of how I found them this morning. You might have wondered why Joe came home on Friday afternoon vs our original anticipation of Thursday morning. He failed the carseat test, meaning that his oxygen saturation went down when we put him in the carseat on Wednesday afternoon. He did another test on Thursday and passed with flying colors. Why did he have trouble? I am convinced it was because he was circumsized about 30 minutes prior to the test. I can't imagine any boy breathing normal 30 minutes after such a traumatic experience. Good news is that he is home and breathing just fine now!

Yesterday, it was just Rebecca and I for the entire day until my Mom arrived from Las Vegas at 8pm. The odds of having three babies crying is pretty small but it can happen and boy is it an event. We managed well but realized how exhausting it is. We did make a field trip yesterday to Marge's house on our way to the airport. It was pretty special to introduce our kids to her(you might Remember Marge's involvement in the birth story). She has been praying for them all along and we are so thankful for her love of our family.

While driving to the airport I felt like I accidentally turned onto the Daytona Motor Speedway. The minivan has some pep but my foot had no lead the moment that we got on the 280. Jr passed me on the left while Johnson passed me on the right. To all the parents that I have smoked past back when I had my Audi and in Rebecca's Lexus, I am so so sorry. I have a new respect for those that drive the speed limit! Our precious cargo departed home at 6:15 moments after finishing a feed. We arrived back at home at 8:55, 5 minutes before the next feed. Busy days and even busier nights. Last night, Rebecca woke me up at about 11:30 and asked me to calm down Joe who was grunting up a storm. It was my turn so I went into the baby room completely confused? Was I supposed to feed, change diapers? Heat milk? I had to go back to our room and ask Rebecca, what am I doing? Joe had been grunting for about an hour and needed somebody to tell him that this new home is a good place. Joe and I slept on the chair for about 30 minutes until the next feed.

Back Together Again!

Last night, we finally brought Josiah home from the hospital! Yah! It is so great to have the whole family back together again. So far, less than 18 hours in...its been great! Josiah seems to feel right at home and we are ecstatic to finally have him here. We are having a leisurely Saturday morning enjoying being together again. I better hurry, though, they seem to be getting restless and their next feeding is fast approaching! :)

Joe's Coming Home Tonight!!!

Josiah is set to come home this evening (without oxygen)! Whoohoo! After 11 1/2 weeks the entire family will finally be together again! That's 79 days of going back and forth to the hospital every single day! It is such a miracle that our 3 babies born at 28 weeks are all completely healthy! Praise God! We are excited and nervous, at the same time. We are, however, anxious to meet the challenge of taking care of 3 babies. I am not sure how, but I know it's possible. Thanks to the encouraging words from other triplet parents (Thanks Emily & Danny!), we know we can do it! God is going to give us everything we need. Thanks, in advance, to everyone who has already helped in so many ways, and especially thanks to those who will help in the days to come...we will need and take all the help we can get! Keep those prayers coming that all three of these precious babies will stay happy and healthy! What a blessing! A triple blessing!!!

Joe's off the O's!

On Monday, the doctors decided it was time to take Josiah off the oxygen and see how he did. And so far he has done excellent! So, the countdown is on! If he continues to do well, he may be able to come home this Thursday...that's tomorrow! Whoohoo! So, today is "get ready for Joe day"! We are busy doing the final preparations around the house to add another baby! We are a little nervous imagining a third baby, but we are super excited to finally have the whole famly together! We'll keep you posted! By the way, Josiah has reached 8 lbs! :)

Lots of Fun!

I've had several requests for a blog update so I apologize for the delay. We've been so blessed with help since the girls have come home. My mom has been staying with us and has been a tremendous help. She, however, went home for the weekend which gave us some fun family bonding time between us and the girls. We survived our first night with just Eric & I and it wasn't too bad. However, since Eric has to work during the week, the extra help is wonderful. We are also getting used to having 2 babies and every time we imagine what a 3rd is going to be like we get a little freaked out. But, we are so anxious for Josiah to come home that we welcome the extra work! We are physically and mentally exhausted from going back and forth to the hospital every day. In fact, yesterday, I just kept crying the entire time I was at the hospital because I want him to come home so bad. It's not fair for him to have to be stuck in the hospital! So, anyway, we are hoping that by the end of the week he should, hopefully, be able to come home. Keep praying!!!
The girls are so much fun! When I imagined what life would be like to bring home 2 babies, the word "fun" never crossed my mind. However, it truly has been. They truly are good babies! We have been able to get them on a fairly good schedule. They eat every 3-4 hours and so far have been able to sleep well in between feedings during the night. We are truly blessed! We are anticipating much less sleep once Josiah comes home, just because of the logistics of feeding 3 babies, but we should be able to figure it out. Hopefully, he's just as mellow as the girls...we'll see! :)

Ouch, that hurts!

On Thursday we took the girls for their 2 month vaccine shots. They were real troopers throughout the process. Smiling during the Doc's entire exam. During the three shots, they only let out a loud scream for just a few moments. That being said, it was very tramautic for their parents as the picture below suggests.

Also, we now have a way of telling the girls apart. Just look at the diaper... Alana is very regular with a poop every two hours and Alexa seems to prefer to do her business every 2 days. I am not sure which is better because one wastes lots more diapers and the other stinks much more. Thank goodness we have a clipboard with a spreadsheet to document this. We'd never be able to keep track of it all!

Joe is doing well and could be coming home at the end of next week! He is now a chunky 7.5 lbs. One more week until his normal due day. Just imagine if he was inside during all this time!

Alexa now weighs 5 lbs 14 oz, and Alana weighs 5 lbs 8oz!

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! :)