DECEMBER 31 UPDATE

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2017 (7 weeks)
34 WEEKS

The Miracle Babies are progressing well.  Fortunately Mckayla did not end up having to have her breathing tube reinserted.  She was given a blood transfusion after all the tests they did to determine why she was having so many bradys  (to stop breathing which then causes the heart rate to go under 80 beats per minute and continue to lower until breathing restarts). It is thought she had a reaction to the eye drops that were given to her for her eye test.   Her blood gases were low and her skin color not quite as pink as her sisters, so they gave her another blood transfusion.  She has endured several of these since her birth.  Her pneumonia collapsed a lung and she now has scar tissue in her lungs which is making it more difficult to get her breathing smoothly.   Mckayla now weighs three pounds, four ounces. She will probably be the last to go home as she struggles the most with all the milestones she needs to reach.

Madilynn is now on CPAP which is a wonderful progression towards breathing on her own.  She was very wide eyed and alert yesterday.  Her little eyes were bright and looking all over.  She and Mackenzie got to wear clothes today since they are both on CPAP.   Madilynn steadily improved every day this week.  Madilynn now weighs three pounds, fourteen ounces.

Mackenzie is being weaned off her CPAP in progression to breathe entirely on her own.  She is the calmest baby of the trio.  It is amazing to already be able to see their individual personalities emerging at such a young age.  Mackenzie rarely has alarms now.  She may be the first to be able to go home in six more weeks or so.    Mackenzie now weighs three pounds, seven ounces. 

Mommy has been able to hold Madilynn and Mackenzie together several times since their isolottes are close to each other and can accommodate all the wires the babies are attached to.  Michael held Madilynn and Mackenzie together for the first time yesterday.  

Mommy has been told that it is quite likely that the babies will not all come home together.  It will depend on when each of them  meet the necessary requirements.  Their due date of February 9 is six weeks away.  They have been in the hospital seven weeks.  We have less time to their due date than they have been in the hospital!!!

Please continue to pray that the babies' lungs will continue to mature and they will all be able to breathe on their own soon.  Pray that the twins' bradys will decrease in number.  Pray that the babies' will learn not to gag but to suck so they will be able to take a bottle once they are each breathing on their own.

Thank you for your prayers and have a wonderful and blessed New Year! 

    

DECEMBER 27 UPDATE

Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.  His faithful love endures forever.  

Psalm 136:4

 DECEMBER 27, 2017 (six weeks, three days)

33 WEEKS

The verses that I have posted on each update were the verses we read when we prayed for Baby A to survive and thrive.  This is the last one in the group.  God graciously gave us Baby A.  We do not know what is ahead for the triplets health wise.  Being born so very early comes with its own set of potential health complications, but we are so grateful that God has blessed us with three miracle babies.  Miracles in conception, miracles in development,  and miracles in keeping Baby A alive and Baby B not being comprised, miracles that they passed the five point test repeatedly in the womb with flying colors and miracles  that each one was able to breathe at birth. They are so very tiny and just an amazing miracle to watch and see how perfectly formed these babies were at just 27 weeks from conception. 

  

McKayla had a rough night and morning.  She had 28 bradys just this morning.  The doctor thinks she is having a reaction to the eye drops they used in testing her eyes yesterday since all her blood work came back fine.  They may need to reintubate her with a breathing tube.  She is growing and staying up with her sisters.    Her alarms still go off often.  The scariest one is for when she stops breathing.  Michael was able to hold her for about a half hour yesterday but then she had an episode of not breathing and her heart rate went down to 9.  Unfortunately, they had to put her back in her isolette to stabilize her.  On Christmas Eve she was three pounds one ounce.  Christmas Eve was milestone day as all babies have reached three pounds!!

Madilynn had her breathing tube removed.  She is on the cannula, being weaned to be ready for the CPAP.  She too has alarms go off frequently.  The breathing issue is the most often sounded alarm.  Breathing is centered in the brain and they just are not at the development age yet where breathing occurs naturally.  She is the feistiest one of the three and moves and stretches a lot. Mommy held her and Mackenzie together and the girls held hands!   She weighed three pounds, seven ounces on Christmas Eve.

Mackenzie is doing  well on CPAP.  They are slowly weaning her off that little by little.  She will be transitioned to a crib soon if all continues well.  Her alarms still go off frequently.  Her mommy got  to hold her Christmas Eve but it takes about half hour to get her from the isolette to her mommy, adjusting wires and getting her comfortable on mommy.  Finally she was able rest comfortably on mommy.  Mommy gave her pacifier to her and dripped breast milk in her mouth with a syringe while she sucked to equate sucking with nursing.  Mackenzie put her thumb in her pacifier and it looked like she was sucking her thumb.  Her sucking reflex is amazing and we could hear her sucking and watch her pacifier moving with the suction.  She is the most laid back of the three babies.  She has her daddy's personality!   Her weight on Christmas Eve was three pounds, one ounce also.  She is the most mature with development. 

We thank you for your prayers and wish a Blessed and Bountiful New Year! 

DECEMBER 22 UPDATE

Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise, his faith grew stronger and in this he brought glory to God.  Romans 4:20

When we were told that Baby A (McKayla) would not survive without a miracle and doctors had very little hope for her survival and the subsequent negative impact it would have on Baby B (Madilynn) we prayed for a miracle and asked that it would be for the Glory of God.  It is only through God's amazing gracious mercy that we have three beautiful little girls who are doing well despite daily setbacks. 

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2017 ( 5 weeks, 5 days)
33 WEEKS

Mckayla is doing well. She is breathing with the nose prongs in her nose now instead of with a breathing tube.  She is a feisty little girl and moves around and lifts her little hiney up.  She opens her eyes more often.  She seems to know when her twin is in distress because her heart rate increases and makes her alarm go off too, but once her twin is calmed down she also calms down.  Mommy got to hold her and Madilynn at the same time. It was the first time Christine was able to hold more than one baby at a time.  Mckayla weighs two pounds, twelve ounces.

Madilynn had her breathing tube removed this week.   She also has the oxygen assisted prongs in the nose.  She has an issue with her throat which the doctors think may be irritation and rawness from the breathing tube.  They are waiting to see if it clears up on its own before taking an x-ray to see what it going on.  Suctioning is not helping the rattle when she breathes.  She is also an active little girl. She weighs three pounds, two ounces.

After holding Mackenzie and Madilynn for about twenty minutes, Madilynn's alarm went off and she had six bradys in a row.  Her eyes closed, she turned white.  The nurse vigorously rubbed her and pulled the feeding tube out to get her to breathe again.  As you can imagine it was a very distressing time for Mommy and baby.  Finally her color returned and her feeding tube was replaced.  When Madilynn was in distress, Mckayla's heart rate increased to 210.  The nurses think it is the twin syndrome when one twin knows what is going on with the other twin.    After all was resolved with the babies, Mommy was able to hold them for an hour and a half.

Mackenzie is on the CPAP which means she is breathing on her own and only has pressure  to keep her lungs from collapsing since they are so immature.  She is as low as she can go on that.  If she continues to do well with the CPAP they will wean her off that and she will be breathing entirely on her own.  At 34 weeks they will transition Mackenzie to a crib if all continues well with her.  She only had one vomit in a 24 hour time frame so that is also a great improvement.  Mackenzie weighs  two pounds, fourteen ounces. 

MIRACLE BABIES CHRISTMAS PICTURES

Jackson and his three sisters :)

 

         Three precious little miracles from heaven!

 








THE MIRACLE BABIES ONE MONTH PICTURES



Mckayla Grace, two pounds,  eight ounces, 13.6 inches



Madilynn Elizabeth, two pounds eleven ounces, 14.7 inches



Mackenzie Karen, two pounds, three ounces, 14.2 inches

DECEMBER 17 UPDATE

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.  James 1:12

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 (5 weeks old)
32 WEEKS

I apologize for having such a long delay in updating.  Life has been a bit crazy.  The miracle babies are doing wondrously well.  They have each had two blood transfusions now. 

Mckayla is doing quite well. Today she weighed two pounds, eight ounces.    She is no longer intubated and is actually learning to use a pacifier.  This will help her learn to suck.  She is breathing on her own and she is opening her eyes more often. They keep increasing her dosage  of mother's milk every twelve hours.  Her pneumonia is clear. 

Madilynn is still having help with her breathing and is not yet able to use the pacifier.  Today she weighed three pounds.   A milestone to have made it to three pounds.  She has passed up her sisters.   She has had a few strawberry birthmarks pop out on her back.  So they will be able to identify which twin is which!  She too opens her eyes more often.   She was on an IV since she had a respiratory infection and was taking antibiotics.  Now she will be getting her mother's milk that will also be increased every twelve hours. 

MACKENZIE KAREN

Mackenzie has FINALLY gained weight!!  Today she weighed two pounds, nine ounces.  Truly an answer to prayer.  They did keep her on her mother's milk.  They are supplementing her with a high  caloric IV.  The doctors were hoping Mackenzie would be able to build her blood back up on her own, but she wasn't quite able to, so she had a transfusion on Thursday. She  too is no longer intubated and is also using a pacifier.  She has had a good sucking reflex for a few weeks already. 

 I had not seen one of the babies stop breathing until Thursday.  They get so sound asleep that they forget to breathe.  The alarm sounded and the nurse rushed in.  She only got one glove on and picked up Mackenzie and moved her arms and legs and rubbed her and set her up and down.  Her heart rate dropped right off and it was quite a frightening half a minute or so.  Mackenzie then settled back into her breathing again and the nurse apologized for not putting her other glove on, but we sure understood time is of the essence! 

Friday was the last day that they let visitors in under the age of 18.  Flu season has officially started.  The NICU also has the rule that if you have been ill you are not to enter the NICU for seven days.  Michael has a sore throat, sneezing, runny nose so he will not be able to see the babies for several days.  Jackson can no longer go in and see his sisters.  He probably will not see them again until they come home sometime in February. 

Thank you for your continued prayers for our miracle babies.  It is hard to believe that they are already five weeks old, yet still should be in the womb another several weeks.  Your prayers are much appreciated! 

DECEMBER 12 UPDATE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 UPDATE (4 weeks, two days old)
31 WEEKS

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.  Remember the great reward it brings you.  Patient endurance is what you need now...  Hebrews 10:35-36

Today is the miracle babies' one month birthday!

Mckayla weighs 2 pounds, 5 ounces.  She is responding well to the antibiotics to clear her pneumonia. 

Madilynn weighs 2 pounds, 10 ounces.  She is on on antibiotics for her respiratory infection.  She has not had much of a change. 

Mackenzie weighs 2 pounds, 3 ounces.  She had 50 *bradys through the night and may need to be **intubated again. Unfortunately she is still vomiting.  This week's doctor does not want to take her off her mother's milk.  They are going to remove the tube going all the way to her intestine and just let it go to her stomach and cut back on the amount of mother's milk.

Christine got to hold all three girls!! 

*bradycardia-a pause in breathing that causes a drop in oxygen levels
**intubated-place the breathing tube back in to give her oxygen

Thank you for your faithful intercession on the miracle babies' behalf.   We appreciate you all very much!

DECEMBER 11 UPDATE

MONDAY, DECEMBER 11 (4 weeks, one day old)
31 WEEKS

Now to him that is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.  Eph3:20

The ups and downs of  premature babies can change hour to hour.    Things can seem fine and then at a moment's notice change with our miracle babies. 

Mckayla is now fighting pneumonia in one lung.  She is on two different antibiotics.  When I was there Saturday her alarms were going off because her oxygen levels kept dropping. She is on IV plus mother's milk. Their weights fluctuate so much from day to day, I will try to just update you weekly on their weight.  Pray that the pneumonia will clear with no further complications. 

Madilynn is fighting a respiratory issue and is also on antibiotics.  She is on an IV plus mother's milk.  She had a heating pad on where they had removed her IV Saturday because the area was swollen.  She was sleeping peacefully on Saturday.  Pray that her respiratory issues will not turn into pneumonia.

Mackenzie is still having digestive issues and the doctors have decided she is allergic to mother's milk and are going to put her on formula.  She is still throwing up and actually threw up while I was there.  She is not gaining weight well at all.  They did decide to hold off on the transfusion since her body is making its own red blood cells.  Pray that her digestive issues will be resolved and she will start gaining weight. 

These little babies who should still be safe and sound in their mother's womb have to deal with so many issues on a daily basis.  It makes the minor things we deal with seem of little or no consequence in the big picture!

The flu season is about here and that means that Jackson and I will not be allowed to visit the miracle babies.  Once flu season is officially here the NICU is shut down to visitors, especially children.

Please keep our miracle babies in your prayers.  They will be in the NICU until at least the middle of February.  Their due date was February 9 and the doctors said it is usually a week after their due date that the babies are allowed to go home provided all is well with their health. 


Thank you!

DECEMBER 9 UPDATE QUICK UPDATE

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 (3 weeks, 5 days)
31 WEEKS

Madilynn:   I texted a prayer request yesterday afternoon about Madilynn's infection worsening and the doctor wanting to do a spinal tap to check for meningitis.  She did end up having the spinal tap.  It was clear.  They put her on antibiotics and she is doing better.  The infection is caused by all the tubing they have.

 Mckayla:  She is also suffering now from bacterial infection.  They also put her on antibiotics.  Her oxygen levels kept increasing too much yesterday which was indicative of an infection.

Mackenzie:  Her feeding tube is in place and working well.  She has lots of oral secretions from multiple tubes.  That is very frustrating for the babies and they have to wait until the nurse suctions them out. 

We are so thankful that Madilynn did not have meningitis.  We wish she would not have had to endure the spinal tap.  Thank you for those who prayed for her yesterday when I sent out my emergency prayer request.

 

DECEMBER 7 UPDATE

You can pray for anything and if you have faith you will receive it.  Matthew 21:21

 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7 (3 weeks, 4 days old)

30 WEEKS

MCKAYLA BABY A  is doing well.  She is gaining weight and was up to 2 pounds 7 oz this week. Daddy  got to hold her yesterday. She does forget to breathe especially at night and alarms go off and the nurse needs to help her breathe again.  When they have rough nights then mommy and daddy can't hold them the next day.

MADILYNN BABY B is having some issues.  She had to have that blood transfusion after all.  They test them too frequently for their blood to build  back up.  She also has an infection so they started her on antibiotics.  Her tummy is very distended and they do not know why.  They took an x-ray today to see if they could determine what is going on with that. She also weighed 2 pounds 7 oz. Mommy got to hold her yesterday.

MACKENZIE BABY C was able to be held by her daddy for the first time.  He held her for an hour and a half.  She loves to grab onto her wires and pull them out.  She had an x-ray done today also to see if they replaced her feeding tube correctly. They have put her tube all the way to the intestine instead of just the stomach.  She has been vomiting some.   She is not doing well gaining weight.  She is only at her birth weight of two pounds.    

I held Jack up to see Mckayla and he said in the sweetest sing song voice "I love you".
 

Pray that the babies will have better nights with fewer alarms going off.  Pray that Madilynn's infection will heal quickly and her tummy distention issue will be resolved.  Pray that Mackenzie will be able to keep her milk down and digest it and start gaining weight.

Thank you!

DECEMBER 4 UPDATE

Anything is possible if a person believes.  Mark 9:23

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4 (three weeks and one day old)
30 WEEKS

Mckayla still has her IV in but is increasing her milk intake every twelve hours.  Because her kidneys are immature, carbon dioxide is building up in her body.  This could be causing her breathing issues.  She soon may be able to regulate her body temperature.

Madilynn no longer needs her temperature monitored.  She can regulate her own now.  She is still on the breathing tube and also liquid protein.  The doctors decided not to do a blood transfusion since she is just one percent under where a transfusion is needed.  She may soon have her breathing tube removed.

Mackenzie is having issues with her esophagus.  It appears to be swollen.  They will watch it closely and if necessary will call in an ENT specialist in case there is a developmental issue or something else.  They had difficulty intubating her last night and discovered this problem.  She was not intubated.

All three miracle babies had a rough night and once again Mommy could not hold them today.  She was only able to change their diapers at care time. 

Please pray that Mckayla's kidneys will be able to keep the carbon dioxide from building up in her body and that she will be able to regulate her body temperature soon.  Pray that Madilynn will have her breathing tube removed soon and gain weight.  Pray that the issue with Mackenzie's esophagus will heal soon and not be a serious issue. 

Pray that all three will stabilize very soon and be able to held by mommy and daddy.

Mommy had fun time playing with Jackson outside Sunday morning.  Jack was so glad to spend time with Mommy.  He misses her very much. 



 

COMMENT...COUNT....CONTACT

I have had a few questions about being able to comment, to be notified when I post, and how many have looked at the blog.  To answer all these questions, I added a few gadgets to the right. 

The comment section has been enabled, so you may comment now and please do!  It was so encouraging to all of those many friends I started out texting updates to when you replied. I was wondering why I was not getting any comments when I had so many views and realized I had not added the comment box.  It is there now!!

The counting number is up for those interested in that.  And for those who may be interested, we have readers from Mozambique, Peru, South Korea, Italy, and Australia.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the updates, comment and PRAY.  We are so blessed to have so many praying for our miracle babies around the world.  They are doing marvelously well  and we know it is because we have so many interceding often for their health and well being. 
 

DECEMBER 3 UPDATE

For with God nothing will be impossible.  Luke 1:3

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 (three weeks old)

30 WEEKS

I am back here after being home for a week.  I was able to go with Michael and Christine to see the miracle babies today. 

Mckayla weighed 2 lbs, 1.9 oz  She is still on IV for fluids but is also getting her mothers milk via her feeding tube.  Today she got 8 ml per feeding.    Her nurse made a keepsake bag of the things she has outgrown already that the nurses use to care for her.  She is still on the breathing tube. Her alarms went off a few times while I was there.

Madilynn weighed 2 lbs, 5.5 oz.  She is also on IV for fluids plus 8 ml of her mother's milk at each feeding.   She slept peacefully the entire time I was there. 

Mackenzie has gained weight!!  She weighed 2 lbs, 4 oz.   She is on 14 ml of mother's milk every feeding.  She had her eyes open while I was there.  When we talked to her, her heart rate increased to 185.    She pulled her breathing tube out so they decided to see if she was ready to be on her own with breathing.  Unfortunately she had to be intubated this evening. 

When the babies forget to breathe, the nurses have to intervene by touching them, moving them, or even sitting them up to get them to breathe.  Mackenzie did that this evening and did not breathe and the nurse said she was turning blue, which is why the put they breathing tube back in. 

Christine was able to change all their diapers during care time.  Care time is when they take care of their needs and feed them.  Christine tries to be present at these during the day so she can do whatever she is allowed to do for each baby. Christine has started calling her miracle angel babies the warrior princesses since they are so strong and fighting so bravely through all the obstacle they face!

DECEMBER 1 UPDATE

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him, "I am willing", he said.  "Be healed"  Mark 1:41

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1 (two weeks and five days old)
(30 WEEKS)

Today was a milestone day!  Mckayla the tiniest baby reached two pounds.  All babies are at two pounds.

Mckayla's medicine for her heart seems to have worked. The could not hear the murmur and the sonogram showed the PDA was small enough to close on its own.  She will resume feedings tonight or tomorrow.  Her vent settings went down which is a good thing and means she can be weaned off her breathing tube.

Madilynn's murmur has softened; it is not as harsh sounding.  The PDA is closing with the help of the medicine after two doses.  They will check it again and see if she needs the third dose.  She will also resume feedings.  Her vent settings also went down so she too can be weaned off the breathing tube.

Mackenzie has not gained weight in a week.  She weighs two pounds which was her birth weight.  They have put her on liquid protein to try to get her to gain some weight.  Her vent setting have not decreased so she still needs her breathing tube.

Pray that the PDA's will continue to close. Pray that Mckayla and Madilynn will be weaned off the breathing tube soon.  Pray that Mackenzie will gain weight and that her vent setting will decrease so she can be weaned off the breathing tube.

Thank you!

NOVEMBER 30 UPDATE

    
You are the God who performs miracles and you display your power to the people. 
 Psa 77:14

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 (two weeks, 4 days old)
29 WEEKS

Mckayla

Madilynn

Mackenzie

 McKayla will  be given indomethacin  because of her PDA but because she had a virus they need to make sure she is healthy enough to take the medicine.  She is off her IV after her scary respiratory issue and is back to 2 ml of mother's milk every three hours.  They will keep increasing her intake every feeding.

The doctor decided to give Madilynn medicine for her PDA.  She is getting 3 doses of indomethacin over 24 hours to help that to close up. She is on IV only now as they administer her medicine. She is having some goo in her eyes that the doctors will monitor.

Mackenzie will not need any medicine for her heart issue as it is determined that it was caused by an infection she had earlier and has resolved itself.  She is up to 19 ml per feeding.

Michael and Christine can only hold the babies during care time, which is every three hours when then get fed and changed.  They can take part in that if the babies have not had many alarms going off.  If the babies are at all stressed, they need to stay inside their isolettes with as little contact as possible to help their stress level decrease.

Mckayla weighs 1 pound, 14 oz.

Madilynn weighs 2 pounds, 1/2 oz

Mackenzie weighs 2 pounds

Pray that the medicine for the PDA will close that up successfully.  Pray there are no side effects to the medicine.  Pray that the babies will start to gain weight continuously now.  Pray that their little bodies will not stress out so that mommy and daddy can hold them every day skin to skin.  The skin to skin contact is critical for brain development among many other important developmental areas.

This NICU has 35 preemies in it.  Right after our miracle babies were born we saw a news crew in the room next to ours and Christine discovered that a baby born at 21 weeks was going home.  The baby had been in the NICU for 6 months.  It is phenomenal that these itty bitty babies are surviving and thriving.  These doctors and nurses have extra training to take care of these miracles from heaven and are truly a blessing to so many parents going through early delivery and subsequent complications.

MACKENZIE BABY C AND MCKAYLA BABY A

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:14

Mommy holding Mackenzie while the nurse changes her bedding

McKayla napping

Mackenzie holding daddy's pinkie

MOMMY AND HER ANGEL BABIES

Mommy getting to touch McKayla for the first time

Baby B Madilynn Elizabeth

Baby A Mckayla Grace

 But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.  He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.  Job 5:8-9

Baby C Mackenzie Karen

The teeny tiny diapers for the miracle babies.  Michael and Christine have each
changed a few of these teeny tiny diapers on their teeny tiny bottoms!

THE MIRACLE BABIES ARRIVAL

Pooh Bear is an important part of Jack's family!

Christine was admitted and the babies' hearts were monitored frequently. 
You can see the three heartbeats on the monitor.
Baby A is 151, Baby B is 142 and Baby C is 137

 And thou knowest not the way of the Spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the works of God who made them all.  Ecc 11:5

At 27 weeks these miracle babies were perfectly formed right down to the downy hair on their head and their teeny tiny fingers and toes.

The babies' were removed in A, B, C order.
This is Mckayla, Baby A.  It was a very involved process
delivering these babies.  There were about 25 doctors and nurses present.
All had a specific job and the right time to do it.  

Baby A Mckayla Grace. We told Jack she was waving at him.
He loves to look at pictures of the babies and ooohs and ahhhs over them.

Baby B Madilynn Elizabeth

Baby C Mackenzie Karen

PICTURES FROM THE JOURNEY

Jack is going to be a BIG brother to three sisters!

 The cards Christine made for her scavenger hunt.  She put us on two teams.  One for pink and one for blue.
Then she sent us all over looking for clues.  Then we came back and there were three boxes with three ultrasound pics and three GIRL outfits.  Triplets....shocking to say the least. 

 Baby A

 Baby B

 Baby C

NOVEMBER 28 UPDATE

For  with God nothing is impossible.  Luke 1:37

NOVEMBER 28 (two weeks and two days old)
29 WEEKS

All the babies have their eyes open now.  They each had sonograms done on their hearts and the doctor is not overly concerned since they are still so premature.  They will just wait and watch at this time. Pray that their heart issues will resolve on their own in due time. 

McKayla had another transfusion done today.  The x-ray of her lungs was totally clear.  So she is fine with that issue. Thank you for your prayers.    She had a virus and was on antibiotics. Her white blood cell count was good so she was able to fend it off.  She is still on IV instead of her mother's milk. 

They are all three on breathing tubes now.  All had alarms going off last night so none were able to be held and touched today.  Madilynn had 31 alarms go off last night; four were serious. Pray that the babies will stabilize so they can be held regularly. 

They gave Christine three blankies  to sleep with  so the miracle babies can have their mother's scent in their isolettes with them.

A real blessing:  Michael's boss called him in and told him to go to the hospital to be with his wife and babies.  They are going to work with him at being able to spend more time with his wife and babies.  This will be so helpful to Christine who has been staying at the Ronald McDonald house alone during the week and spending the days with the babies by herself. 

Thank you so much for your faithful intercession on behalf of our miracle babies also known as the angel babies by their momma. 

THREE BEAUTIFUL MIRACLE BABIES

27 WEEKS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12

The  miracle babies were delivered shortly after 3 p.m. on November 12, 2017.  Baby A weighed one pound, ten oz; Baby B weighed one pound, fourteen oz; and Baby C weighed two pounds. Baby A just about caught up to her sisters!   They all came out able to breathe but not quite enough to maintain oxygen levels so A and B have breathing tubes. Baby C is breathing on her own. 

Baby A is named  McKayla Grace, Baby B is Madilynn Elizabeth, and Baby C is Mackenzie Karen.

27 WEEKS (one day old)
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13

Baby A McKayla is off the breathing tube and is using assisted oxygen through her nose.  We need to pray God's protection from a  myriad of things that can go wrong from errors on nurses and doctors part to infections and more. Pray Baby B Madilynn gets off her breathing tube soon.  They truly are miracle babies held in God's hand. 

27 WEEKS (two days old)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14

Baby B Madilynn was diagnosed with a heart murmur today.  Pray that it clears up on her own and won't need meds or surgery.  She is still on the breathing tube.  Baby C Mackenzie assisted oxygen was increased today.  Pray that the miracle babies do not have any brain bleeds.  Tomorrow they will be 72 hours  old and may be held skin to skin.  Christine changed Madilynn's diaper today.  All three are getting 2 ml every three hours of Christine's colostrum in a tube from mouth to stomach.  Phenomenal that they are not on IV.  Thank you prayer warriors. 

27 WEEKS (three days old)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15
\
Christine was discharged today.  First time to go to the new house that Michael moved into while she was hospitalized.  Mckayla and Mackenzie are off the lights for jaundice.  Mackenzie is still under them.  Madilynn may be taken of the breathing tube and McKayla put back on.  Mackenzie did not digest all her milk today.  Pray that their livers start working and their lungs to strengthen and that Mackenzie can tolerate her milk better.  Pray that Christine does not over exert herself.  She is pretty sore.    Thank you!!

28 WEEKS (five days old)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17

We need to put the fervor we prayed for McKayla into the other two now.  McKayla is doing the best.  She may soon be the first to be held.  Madilynn and Mackenzie had alarms going off for low heartbeats and low oxygen.  We need God to heal Madilynn's heart murmur which is a PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) common heart defect in preemies. The vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the descending aorta fails to close. It usually closes within hours or days of birth.     Thank you for interceding on the babies behalf. 

28 WEEKS (six days old)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18

The hospital just called and A Mckayla  and B Madilynn are doing great but C Mackenzie is under 24 hour close surveillance.  She has blood from her mouth and tube to stomach.  She also had a few episodes of choking.  They do not know what it causing this problem.  Please pray blood and choking stop and for doctors to determine what is causing it.

Update:  Mackenzie had no more episodes with bleeding or choking.  She had the best scores on oxygen and carbon dioxide readings today.  She had a good poopy diaper to get that bilirubin out as she is still under the lights.  Christine got to hold her while the nurse changed her bedding.  Christine gave her a lollipop of milk, a long q tip dipped in milk and put in her mouth.  She mouthed it very well. 
Prayers are working.  Thank you!

28 WEEKS (eight days old)
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20

Madilynn still has the PDA.  The doctors will give her one more week before they discuss options.  They did put Mackenzie on the breathing tube now.  She has never been on it.  That has helped her not stress out so much.  Mackenzie has now developed a heart murmur that the doctor thinks is related to the blood and choking episodes.  He says it may have been an infection.  He hopes it will clear up on its own.  Mckayla is doing awesome.  Christine got to hold her for 2 hours and Madilynn for 45 minutes.  Mackenzie had a blood transfusion  today because of all the tests to figure out her bleeding issue.  They all had the lines removed from their belly buttons today and have PICC ( peripherally inserted central catheter) lines in.  Mackenzie's PICC line got infected and they had to move it.  All three had a brain scan done and all is well.  Next brain scan will be at 34 weeks. 

28 WEEKS (nine days old)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21

Christine got to hold Mackenzie today.  McKayla's PICC line got inflamed so they moved it to her hand.  She almost has her eyes open.  Christine is making tons of milk.  Too much for the hospital to store.  They are going to have to purchase a freezer to store it.  A great problem to have!  Babies got their pictures done today courtesy of March of Dimes and Love It Photography.  Christine was able to stay 10 hours with the miracle babies today. 

29 WEEKS (12 days old)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24

Mckayla has now had a blood transfusion and Madilynn will soon which will make that all three.  Through the night the babies get so relaxed alarms go off.  They  will soon have sonograms done on their hearts to determine what is the extent of the problem there.  Mackenzie is back on the breathing tube.  Christine did not get to hold any of them today.  Pray the lungs will continue to mature.  The doctors actually give them caffeine to help with their breathing.  Pray that the heart issues will be easily resolved.  Thank you for all your prayers on behalf of the miracle babies. 

29 WEEKS (13 days old)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25

Mckayla had a terrible episode today.  She had stopped breathing several times through the night.  This morning they really had to work on her to resuscitate her.  They decided to put her breathing tube back in and gave her fentanyl for the pain.  First side effect of fentanyl is respiratory distress and it completely closed off her airway.  She is now on IV, no more mother's milk, no more being touched or held for a few days until she stabilizes.  Please pray she stabilizes quickly so she can be held and fed her mother's milk. 

29 WEEKS (14 days old)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26

McKayla now has either a collapsed lung or pneumonia.  They will do another x ray to determine which.  The other two are stable.  Michael held Madilynn and Christine gave Mackenzie a bird bath.  Pray the McKayla's lung issue will resolve quickly with no further complications.  Thank you!!

IN THE BEGINNING....

Michael and Christine discovered they were going to be having a new little one in June, 2017 with a due date of February 9, 2018.   Jackson was going to be a big brother.  They kept their special news to themselves for a while.  At eleven weeks they had their first ultrasound and all looked well with the baby.  At nineteen weeks, they had a gender reveal ultrasound and planned a big celebration.  The scavenger hunt revealed the baby was going to be a GIRL with TWO  sisters.  There were three babies growing inside that had not showed up at the first ultrasound.  A set of identical twins sharing a placenta but having their own sacs  and a single with her own placenta and sac.  And for those of you who wonder, there were no fertility drugs involved.  One in 8500 chance of conceiving triplets naturally.               

They were referred to a larger hospital in a much larger metropolitan area.  The babies were named Baby A, Baby B, and Baby C.  It was soon discovered that Baby A had reverse flow in her umbilical cord.  The doctors told them that she would not survive without a miracle.  And if she were to pass this would adversely affect the other twin sharing the placenta and could also pass. The doctors discussed selective abortion to guarantee one healthy baby.    Michael and Christine chose to keep all three babies in the safest place for them for as long as possible.  Every week adds a ten percent survival rate.  28 weeks was the magic number for 90 percent chance of survival.

21 WEEKS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4

Baby A weighs 10 oz and Baby B and C weigh 13 oz.  A and B are the identical twins and A is the one with the reverse flow.  C is the single baby. 

22 WEEKS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11

Baby A's blood flow volume in her body looks good even though the cord does not look like it would be supplying enough.  Her heart looks good.   Baby A weighs 11 oz and  Baby B weighs 17.6 oz  and Baby C weighs 21 oz.   We need another 5.5 weeks to get to 28 weeks.

23 WEEKS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18

Babies A, B, and C are all at a pound or over.  Baby A gained significant weight. Baby A weighs 16 oz, Baby B weighs 17.6 oz, and Baby C weighs 21 oz.    HALLELUJAH!  Her cord is still showing back flow. This could be due to coilage around her neck or a Downs syndrome.  Since the cord is wrapped around her neck, Christine will either be admitted to the hospital for twice daily monitoring or drive three times a week an hour and a half to the hospital for monitoring.   Pray that backflow decreases or stops altogether, the cord unwraps safely, and wisdom in making decisions. 

24 WEEKS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20

Christine will be admitted on Monday.  All three babies scored 6 out of 8 on the biophysical test.  This test scores heart rate, breathing, movement, muscle tone, and amniotic fluid level.  Keep praying for our miracle babies.

24 WEEKS
MONDAY, OCTOBER 23

Doctors want to take babies this week.  Survival is not very high.  Every week makes a huge difference.  Christine is admitted to the hospital and Michael is in the process of moving them from a duplex to a four bedroom house.  Baby A is still not getting enough nutrients even though she is gaining weight.  Pray for Baby A specifically to have enough nutrients to survive and thrive.  Pray they can stay in there as long as possible.

24 WEEKS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24

Doctors gave Christine steroid shots to strengthen babies lungs.  They will monitor them carefully.  Cord insertion of Baby A is till of concern to doctors.  She needs nutrients and blood flow.  They will be doing multiple tests.  Pray for positive outcomes, God's protection and healing, and to stay safe in mama for as long as possible.  They will check Baby A's umbilical cord on Thursday.  Miracles needed.  Three more weeks. 

25 WEEKS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27

Backflow is still continuing in Baby A and now looks like Baby B may have the same issue now.  Christine is very discouraged.  Michael is in the midst of moving and is 1.5 hours from Christine.  A lot of prayers for many concerns.

25 WEEKS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31

Babies keep passing the non-stress tests.  Hearts are beating well.  They move a lot.  Christine can tell which baby is which by location.  The backflow issue now seems to be the placenta is pumping too much blood and thus the backflow.  This can make their hearts work too hard.  Pray for lungs to mature and babies to be healthy and ready to be born in a week or two.

Baby A's heart dropped too low.  They moved Christine to labor and delivery to monitor her.  They are giving her magnesium to help prevent neurological issues if born so early.  Please pray for our miracle babies.  One of the nurses tonight had Romans 12 tattooed on the nape of her neck.

25 WEEKS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Triplets are growing.  NICU wants them over 500 grams before birth.  Today Baby A weighs 609 grams = 21.5 oz, Baby B weighs 729 grams = 25.7 oz, and Baby C weighs 781 grams = 27.5 oz.  Baby A and C showed breathing movement.  Baby B wasn't in a position to see if she was.  26 weeks tomorrow. Keep praying for our miracle babies.  Your intercession is greatly appreciated. 

26 WEEKS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Babies had another biophysical test today.  A and C scored 10 out of 10.  B scored 8 out of 10 because she wouldn't be still enough to see her breathing movement.  The miracle babies are doing miraculously well.  Keep prayers for them.

26 WEEKS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7

Babies passed their biophysical test today with flying colors.  All babies scored 10 our of 10.  Baby B was showing off by breathing and hiccupping at the same time.  Baby A is doing great despite her reverse flow.  Doctors are amazed at how well she is doing.  We are taking it day by day.  Keep up the prayers you wonderful warriors. 

27 WEEKS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10

I was able to observe the ultrasound of the biophysical test today.  Once again they passed with flying colors.  Ii asked the tech how often babies practice their breathing and she said usually not until 30 weeks but these babies are rock stars.  Our miracle babies are continuing to amaze the doctors.  They are 27 weeks today.  Keep praying please.  As long as Baby A is doing ok they will keep them in mama as long as possible. 

27 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12

Baby A's heart rate dropped again.  Then Christine started having contractions. They are prepping her for a C section now. Pray for the miracle babies and Michael and Christine.