The triplets 1st Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We obviously have lots to be thankful for this year. We spent the holiday with the Turner side of the family. Even though it was a long day for the kids they did have a good time. They got to see both of their aunts & uncles and to play with their cousin. We would like to thank everyone who have and continue to help us. We greatly appreciate all the help and support we have been given. Here are a few pics from the day.
Love, Jen
P.S. I am still planning on getting some pics from October on here...really I am! :)
The kids all dressed up and ready to eat some turkey.
Alex
Liz (the pic with her eyes open she was bawling so this one was better)
Zach
Auntie Jackie is a comfy place for Zach to catch some Z's
Alex smiling while playing

Zach and Liz playing
Alex in his winter jacket all bundled and ready to go to grandma and grandpa's house.
Liz in her classy winter jacket waiting to get loaded into the truck to go to grandma & grandpa's house.
Zach can't wait to get to grandma & grandpa's house.

Something a little funny but cute!!!

Ok, I should be in bed.....it is 11:35pm....Jeremy is still gone hunting...I should be sleeping!! But I was on one of the triplet websites I am part of and found this posted by another member so I had to try it. So I hope you all get a little giggle from it.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9553587008


And now I am headed to bed.....good night.
Love, Jen

I am a widow....

As most of you know...today was opening day for gun deer hunting season. So Jeremy is across the state for the next few days for hunting with some of his family. He left from work on Friday and will be back Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Yep, I am flying solo during this time. Got a call from Jeremy this morning at 8:30...he got an 8 pointer at 7. He was thrilled!!! So maybe he will be home earlier, we'll see. So the kids and I took some self portraits today, hope you enjoy them. :)

Love, Jen

I can't believe they are 9 months old!!!!

Believe it or not, they are 9 months old today!!!! We go to the doctor next month so I do not have a more current weight on them, but can tell you they are growing.....fast. They are all sitting on their own now. No one is crawling yet, but the boys both get into the crawling stance and rock. It will not be long and I will be running after them. We did get them a play yard aka the baby jail, which takes a good chunk of the living room. Yes, we have officially surrendered our living room to them. They like playing in the jail as well as the exersaucers, but the most recent love is their jumperoos. They LOVE them!!!! They are eating solids and have not really disliked anything.....but green beans and peas are on the bottom of their list. I am making their food to help save money, considering how much they eat. Nothing else new here. We hope everyone is doing well.
Love, Jen

Here are the trips after their bath and before the next bottle. (L to R Zach, Liz, Alex)

Not so great news!

We officially found out that Humana, our insurance company, will not cover Synagis, the shot to help fight RSV, for the kids. :( There are guidelines Humana goes by in order to see if they qualify for coverage. Unfortunately, the kids do not fall into these guidelines. Humana looks at this as their second RSV season even though they were in the NICU for the last season. They got discharged in mid and late April which is the end of the season. They did receive one shot prior to discharge, but that does not do anything for them now. Our pediatrician feels that they should have the shots - that them being triplets as well as their low birth weight and being 30 weekers puts them at risk. She could appeal the decision but through her experience feels this would be a waste of time. We completely understand that because of our experience with the appeal process with trying to get my blood transfusions covered ended up with nothing to show for it. Humana is all about the money and not the well being of the babies (like they don't make enough money!!!). They have many hoops to jump through to get anything done, go figure.
So I am sure you are wondering how does this change things. It doesn't change anything. Our requests/plans are the same. The shot does not prevent RSV, just helps fight it. Tammy, the kid's nurse, explained to me what to watch out for regarding RSV. It starts as a regular cold but quickly turns bad. If that should happen we need to take them in to see the pediatrician immediately.
I would like to clear up any confusion that people have with what we are doing for RSV. YES, we still want visitors. All we are asking is that the people that want to come over please be healthy, if you have been sick please be symptom free for 7 days and to not come over even if you just have a scratchy throat or the sniffles. We prefer having only a few visitors over at the same time. Lastly, do not be offended that we ask you to wash your hands and use sanitizer even if you don't plan on touching the kids and to take your shoes and coat off. I hope this helps.
One last thing, I have found some websites regarding RSV. So help youself to the info if you would like.
www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/298_9546.asp
http://www.rsvprotection.com/
www.preemiecare.org/rsv_resourceshtm.htm
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/epr-nsi012906.php
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001564.htm
www.preemiecare.org/LungsTrees03-4.pdf
http://www.synagisinfo.com/
As always if you have any questions let us know.
Love, Jen

I wouldn't change this for the world!!!

Just a quick post from an emotional mommy!!! It is 11:10pm Saturday night. I just got done watching a fellow triplet mom's You Tube video regarding her triplet pregnancy and birth. It made me bawl. There are a whole lot of emotions that it brought back, so I thought I would share of the things.

I think back to what we have all been thru and still can't believe what we have done and made it thru to get to this point: 6 years of fertility treatments/medication/shots/bloodwork/doctor visits/specialists/3 IVF failures/ultrasounds/high risk pregnancy/preterm labor/ bedrest/ steroid injections to help speed up the development of their lungs/week of constantly being checked-monitored/being on 'Mag' to stop contractions/emergency c-section/not being able to see our miracles right away/30 weeker preemies/being discharged and not being able to leave the hospital with my babies/children in the NICU/beeping monitors/ IVs in their little arms/head ultrasounds for brain bleeds/xrays to check lung development/being married to a breast pump/daily phone calls to the NICU/driving 45 minutes to see them for a few minutes to turn back around and drive 45 minutes home/waiting 6 days to hold Alex, 7 days to hold Liz, 16 days to hold Zach for the first time/bringing one home and having to leave the other 2 in the NICU/trying to be a parent when you have no children to show for it/ trying to keep it together at all times pre-babies & post-babies/ and some things I am probably not thinking of right now.

As I watched this video I think of the few things I would change. I would take more belly pictures; I would have stopped working sooner; I would have asked to see the babies as they were pulled from me; I would have like to get more pictures from the O.R. - just so I could see all the people that helped keep our miracles alive; I would love to have recorded those first cries and telling the kids to fight; and I would nurse the kids more.

But all in all I would NOT change this for the world!! It still amazes me that we have triplets!!! I feel so lucky to have our little miracles. I am proud of Jeremy who has stood by me 110%; thru all the ups and downs; never once blaming me for our troubles; for accepting that I did not want to be on the medication anymore and to look into alternative ways to have children; and being my rock. This whole experience has made our relationship even stronger. It has made us stronger individuals as well. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

I look at our kids everyday and those 6 years of hell were well worth it. So everyday I try to do what is best for them because I cannot imagine life without them. I will never take them for granted.

It is now 11:55pm. So this sappy, crying mommy is going to turn off the computer; switch the laundry (there is always laundry to do); take the dog out one last time; put her jammies on and go kiss each one of her little miracles good night as they sleep ever so peacefully.

Love, Jen