Our Three Sons
& Babies r'us Our Living Room Emerson & Max bonding & fighting
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Week 7
Max shuns the papparazzi
The Deitzman Clan
Alexander
Max on his way to the DoctorsWeek 7
OUR FAMILY IS COMPLETE!!!THEY'RE ALL HOME!!!!!! That's right, as of last Monday all three of our babies are home. Max is doing fantastic, he is home on a heart monitor strictly as a precaution, and we are happy to report he has not had any spells at all. It was so hard waiting for him to be released but we now know that it was the best thing for him. He was able to get a little extra attention from the nurses and a little more rest before joining his brothers....the little trouble makers!!! AS soon as he came home it was like we where never separated.
We have settled into a nice routine. The boys get changed and eat every three hours than there is a two hour stretch where they sleep or sit in their bouncers or swings before the whole routine starts again. They are all so spoiled already. No one likes to sleep in their own bed. Both Alex and Emerson would rather be on Mommy or Daddy when the lights go down. Max will not sleep in his bed during the day, instead he would much rather be on his daddy or Mommy's hip. It's amazing how quickly everything changed after leaving the hospital. It seems like the days fly by and I really have no recollection of the day most of the time.
The boys are growing like weeds. Max was 7lbs 6oz at his last doctors visit. Alex is 6lbs 14oz and Emerson is 6lbs 9oz. They are all over 19 inches long and look like full term babies. Their original due date was October 13th so the fact that they are all home and doing well is such a blessing. We thank God everyday for what we have, four healthy happy children. The boys are all reaching some great milestones. They have started to coo and even have their own grunting language, It's amazing to hear them grunt at one another....it's like a bitchfest. I can just imagine them saying "she's taking her sweet time with that baba", or "if we work as a team, we can escape these bouncy chairs". All the boys are starting to recognise the people around them and they seem to like their hanging toys. They are all still breastfeeding but we have stared to supplement with formula at night in order to bulk up on calories.
Austin is doing great. He seems to have little interest in his brothers right now. He is just enjoying all the company that is stopping by. He gets a little jealous but after a while calms down and enjoys all the family interaction.
We thank everyone who has stopped by and has helped us out. We also want to thank everyone who has been patient about seeing the boys. We just wanted to have the boys get acclimated to their surroundings before exposing them to a lot of people. We are still limiting the visitors because cold and flu season has started, but give us a call if you want to see the boys. Just please use your discretion if you are sick in any way shape or form because the common cold can be fatal in premature infants.
We thank everyone who is really faithful in reading the blog. We will try and update it every couple of weeks. But as you can imagine with three newborns and a 4 year old, we are terribly busy.
We have settled into a nice routine. The boys get changed and eat every three hours than there is a two hour stretch where they sleep or sit in their bouncers or swings before the whole routine starts again. They are all so spoiled already. No one likes to sleep in their own bed. Both Alex and Emerson would rather be on Mommy or Daddy when the lights go down. Max will not sleep in his bed during the day, instead he would much rather be on his daddy or Mommy's hip. It's amazing how quickly everything changed after leaving the hospital. It seems like the days fly by and I really have no recollection of the day most of the time.
The boys are growing like weeds. Max was 7lbs 6oz at his last doctors visit. Alex is 6lbs 14oz and Emerson is 6lbs 9oz. They are all over 19 inches long and look like full term babies. Their original due date was October 13th so the fact that they are all home and doing well is such a blessing. We thank God everyday for what we have, four healthy happy children. The boys are all reaching some great milestones. They have started to coo and even have their own grunting language, It's amazing to hear them grunt at one another....it's like a bitchfest. I can just imagine them saying "she's taking her sweet time with that baba", or "if we work as a team, we can escape these bouncy chairs". All the boys are starting to recognise the people around them and they seem to like their hanging toys. They are all still breastfeeding but we have stared to supplement with formula at night in order to bulk up on calories.
Austin is doing great. He seems to have little interest in his brothers right now. He is just enjoying all the company that is stopping by. He gets a little jealous but after a while calms down and enjoys all the family interaction.
We thank everyone who has stopped by and has helped us out. We also want to thank everyone who has been patient about seeing the boys. We just wanted to have the boys get acclimated to their surroundings before exposing them to a lot of people. We are still limiting the visitors because cold and flu season has started, but give us a call if you want to see the boys. Just please use your discretion if you are sick in any way shape or form because the common cold can be fatal in premature infants.
We thank everyone who is really faithful in reading the blog. We will try and update it every couple of weeks. But as you can imagine with three newborns and a 4 year old, we are terribly busy.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Week 6
As I'm sure most of you know....Alex and Emerson are home. They came home on Friday. Unfortunately, Max was unable to join his brothers due to a Bradycardia spell. We feel extremely lucky that Alex and Emerson were able to come home only 5 weeks after their birth...still 3 weeks before when their expected due date of October 13th. Max will be joining his brothers at home shortly. All be it very hard for us to be without Max we realize the best thing for him is to stay at the hospital and continue to mature and gain strength. We would never want to bring him home before he was ready and have something happen to him. We continue to visit Max daily. He is so bright eyed and beautiful. He is noticeably bigger than his brothers and it's shocking how much he looks like David.
As you can imagine both David and myself are a little overwhelmed and sleep deprived. The boys are great sleepers but seem to be a little afraid of the dark. As soon as the lights go out both Alex and Emerson want to sleep on the Mommy and Daddy and not in their bassinets. Max is still doing amazing in the NICU. All the nurses have been so wonderful. They know he is there alone and seem to give him a little more love then usual...Thanks Guys!!!! I am convinced that Max just likes the individual care and wanted to stay a little longer!!!! A huge thanks to some special nurses that where so amazing with our boys: Lisa, Allison, Chris, Pam, Mary, Mary, Stephanie(don't blame yourself) and everyone else. The whole NICU staff...we have been so blessed to have you all in our lives. I will actually be sad to leave you all.
Everyone has asked about Austin and how he is adjusting to his brothers...well...After the first day he asked "Why are they here?" and "Can they go back to the hospital now?". He is actually handling it very well. He knows to wash his hands when he comes in the house and is now able to touch the babies a little more because he has learned to be gentle.
All our boys are continuing to grow and get strong. Max is a whopping 6lbs 11oz. Alexander is 6lbs and Emerson is 5lbs 12oz. We are going to the doctors for the first time on Friday and will know every ones updated weights and lengths.
We are still being very careful about visitors, RSV season is right around the corner. Please continue to be patient. We are just concerned about the health of our babies. I'm sure everyone understands.
As you can imagine both David and myself are a little overwhelmed and sleep deprived. The boys are great sleepers but seem to be a little afraid of the dark. As soon as the lights go out both Alex and Emerson want to sleep on the Mommy and Daddy and not in their bassinets. Max is still doing amazing in the NICU. All the nurses have been so wonderful. They know he is there alone and seem to give him a little more love then usual...Thanks Guys!!!! I am convinced that Max just likes the individual care and wanted to stay a little longer!!!! A huge thanks to some special nurses that where so amazing with our boys: Lisa, Allison, Chris, Pam, Mary, Mary, Stephanie(don't blame yourself) and everyone else. The whole NICU staff...we have been so blessed to have you all in our lives. I will actually be sad to leave you all.
Everyone has asked about Austin and how he is adjusting to his brothers...well...After the first day he asked "Why are they here?" and "Can they go back to the hospital now?". He is actually handling it very well. He knows to wash his hands when he comes in the house and is now able to touch the babies a little more because he has learned to be gentle.
All our boys are continuing to grow and get strong. Max is a whopping 6lbs 11oz. Alexander is 6lbs and Emerson is 5lbs 12oz. We are going to the doctors for the first time on Friday and will know every ones updated weights and lengths.
We are still being very careful about visitors, RSV season is right around the corner. Please continue to be patient. We are just concerned about the health of our babies. I'm sure everyone understands.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Week 5
Emersons first bath
Maxims first bath
Alexanders first bath
Austin at Chuck E Cheese (Our last hurra before the brothers come home)
Proud Grandpa with Emerson
Max looking just like his Daddy
Emerson sleeping like an angel
Alex, having a conversation with MommyWeek 5
5lbs and approaching 6lbs quickly!!!!! That's right all boys are now over 5lbs. Emerson is 5lbs 8.5oz, Max is 5lbs 13.5oz and Alex is 5lbs 8.5oz. They are all off their canulas and oxygen and are breathing on their own. It's amazing to see their faces for the first time with no tape or tubes. We now know that Max is Davids "mini me", all he needs is eye glasses and a goatee! Alex looks just like my baby pictures and Emerson is a nice mix of us both! All three are eating so well and gaining like crazy! I personally think it's the breast feeding. All the babies are drinking mainly breast milk that I pump at different times of the day and bring to the hospital. All three are nursing twice a day. Emerson needs to be supplemented with a bottle(of breast milk) and the same with Max but Alexander eats like a champ and prefers to breast fed over anything. It's my favorite time a day. There is nothing like the one on one time I get when nursing my babies.
All three babies had their first bath on Friday night! (Thank you Nurse Lisa!)Emerson was wide awake and loving it. Max looked very serious and Alex slept for the most part. All seemed pretty unfazed by the whole thing. They all smelled great...for about five minutes. What can you do...boys will be boys.
The boys have been cleared to be circumcised. Hopefully that will happen on Monday. This means they are healthy enough to have the procedure without any fear of complication. Most baby boys have it done within the first 24 hours, but our boys where not stable enough until now. We are actually glad that they will be having it done while they are in the hospital. This way they will have a chance to heal before coming home.
They will be having some final tests before they come home. They first have to be eating properly and consistently. They need to be spell free, no bradycardia or apnea. They need their circumcision and they need to pass the car seat challenge. No this is not a contest between newborns to see whose car seat is best! The car seat challenge just means that the boys will need to sit(strapped in), in their car seat for one hour. Hopefully they will not have any spells. They need to maintain their breathing and heart rate. We hope to do this sometime this week and hopefully there will be no major issues.
Austin is doing well. He enjoyed his first full week of school. He is wanting to stay home a little more and is missing his mom and dad so bad. It breaks our heart every time he has to leave with someone. But we now know there is an end in sight.
As far as the ultimate question...when are they coming home? We are not sure we are hoping that within the next two weeks. But at this point it would only be speculation. Hopefully we will know more by the end of the week. If everyone does well on their tests and they are spell free for several consecutive days, they will be home sooner than later. But, as of now...we just don't know! We will keep everyone posted. As we've said so many times before...because our babies are "preemies" they are extremely immune sepressed. So when they do come home we will be limiting the number of guests they will have. At least for the first few months. We need evryone to be patient and eventually everyone will get to see them. Until then we will continue to update this blog and post pictures.
All three babies had their first bath on Friday night! (Thank you Nurse Lisa!)Emerson was wide awake and loving it. Max looked very serious and Alex slept for the most part. All seemed pretty unfazed by the whole thing. They all smelled great...for about five minutes. What can you do...boys will be boys.
The boys have been cleared to be circumcised. Hopefully that will happen on Monday. This means they are healthy enough to have the procedure without any fear of complication. Most baby boys have it done within the first 24 hours, but our boys where not stable enough until now. We are actually glad that they will be having it done while they are in the hospital. This way they will have a chance to heal before coming home.
They will be having some final tests before they come home. They first have to be eating properly and consistently. They need to be spell free, no bradycardia or apnea. They need their circumcision and they need to pass the car seat challenge. No this is not a contest between newborns to see whose car seat is best! The car seat challenge just means that the boys will need to sit(strapped in), in their car seat for one hour. Hopefully they will not have any spells. They need to maintain their breathing and heart rate. We hope to do this sometime this week and hopefully there will be no major issues.
Austin is doing well. He enjoyed his first full week of school. He is wanting to stay home a little more and is missing his mom and dad so bad. It breaks our heart every time he has to leave with someone. But we now know there is an end in sight.
As far as the ultimate question...when are they coming home? We are not sure we are hoping that within the next two weeks. But at this point it would only be speculation. Hopefully we will know more by the end of the week. If everyone does well on their tests and they are spell free for several consecutive days, they will be home sooner than later. But, as of now...we just don't know! We will keep everyone posted. As we've said so many times before...because our babies are "preemies" they are extremely immune sepressed. So when they do come home we will be limiting the number of guests they will have. At least for the first few months. We need evryone to be patient and eventually everyone will get to see them. Until then we will continue to update this blog and post pictures.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Week 4
How could you not be in love with these angels?
Maxim Charles
Emerson James
Alexander Julius
Just like in the womb Alex is always on top!
My Beautiful Boys! Alex, Max & Emerson
Mommy & her Boys!
Alex & Max...How he missed his brother!
Hapy Feet!We have had a fantastic week. All three babies are now in open cribs. Which is extremely exciting for us and them. This means all babies are maintaining their own body heat and no longer need the incubators. The babies had the first photo session on Saturday. They finally got to spend some time together! The first time in three weeks since their birth. They loved being together. They posed and cried. They slept and pulled on each others wires. It was wonderful. I finally got to see how much they do and do not look like each other. Just so you know Emerson is the peanut. He has brown hair that is very faint on top. He has the cutest little lips and has the brightest eyes. Max is the Blondie. He looks exactly like David. He has the perfect round head and a full face. Alex is the darkest, his hair is so dark it looks black he has huge eyes and looks just like his Mommas baby pictures. All babies are taking mamas milk for most of their feeds. They are supplemented with formula only when needed.
Maxim is off is cannula and breathing on his own. He is still having some bradycardia spells(lowered heart rate) but he continues to come out of it on his own. He is eating and growing and his weight is now 5lbs 5oz.
Emerson is still on oxygen. He still has the feeding tube in and is taking every other feed by bottle or breast But he is eating well and keeps all his feeds down. He is growing like a weed and now is 4lbs 14 3/4oz.
Alexander is the Mamas boy of the group. He loves to hang out on his Mommy for hours. He is the most stable of all the boys and right now seems to be breastfeeding the best. He had to be put back on a little oxygen today because he was breathing rapidly. Hopefully he will correct himself in a day or two. If so I think he will be the first to come home. Although I think we are still a few weeks away from that happening. He is now 4lbs 15 1/2oz.
Big brother Austin is doing well. He starts school tomorrow and is getting to know his new baby brothers with some short visits. Both him and Momma are praying for the day we can get back into a routine. Good thing for Opa, Oma, Aunt Kathy and Grandma! Thanks guys you've been fantastic.
Again, I would just like to remind everyone that the boys although 3+ weeks old are still 5 weeks away from being full term. So technically they should still be growing in the womb. We have no idea when they will get home. We hope within the next 5 weeks but just can't speculate right now because everyday poses a new challenge.
Also, we would like to clear up something that seems to be causing a bit of confusion for people. Our children were conceived naturally ....NO IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)was used. They are genetically ours. There was nothing artificial about their conception. We did use fertility drugs through the help of a local fertility specialist. I just wanted to clear up this issue for every ones sake.
Maxim is off is cannula and breathing on his own. He is still having some bradycardia spells(lowered heart rate) but he continues to come out of it on his own. He is eating and growing and his weight is now 5lbs 5oz.
Emerson is still on oxygen. He still has the feeding tube in and is taking every other feed by bottle or breast But he is eating well and keeps all his feeds down. He is growing like a weed and now is 4lbs 14 3/4oz.
Alexander is the Mamas boy of the group. He loves to hang out on his Mommy for hours. He is the most stable of all the boys and right now seems to be breastfeeding the best. He had to be put back on a little oxygen today because he was breathing rapidly. Hopefully he will correct himself in a day or two. If so I think he will be the first to come home. Although I think we are still a few weeks away from that happening. He is now 4lbs 15 1/2oz.
Big brother Austin is doing well. He starts school tomorrow and is getting to know his new baby brothers with some short visits. Both him and Momma are praying for the day we can get back into a routine. Good thing for Opa, Oma, Aunt Kathy and Grandma! Thanks guys you've been fantastic.
Again, I would just like to remind everyone that the boys although 3+ weeks old are still 5 weeks away from being full term. So technically they should still be growing in the womb. We have no idea when they will get home. We hope within the next 5 weeks but just can't speculate right now because everyday poses a new challenge.
Also, we would like to clear up something that seems to be causing a bit of confusion for people. Our children were conceived naturally ....NO IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)was used. They are genetically ours. There was nothing artificial about their conception. We did use fertility drugs through the help of a local fertility specialist. I just wanted to clear up this issue for every ones sake.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Week 3
This week has been filled with great news. The boys are all growing like weeds. Emerson is now over 17" long and weighs 4lbs 2 3/4oz. Maxim is over 17" long and weighs in at a hefty 4lbs 9oz. Alexander is also over 17" long and weighs 4lbs 4 3/4oz. All boys are off the warmers. They are being weened into room temperature beds. They should be out of their isolates(incubators) in a few days. Today the boys got their feeding tubes moved from their mouths to their noses. This means they were able to be bottle and breast fed starting today. Alexander did well with the breast feeding but Emerson did incredible. He latched on and kept hold for several minutes. David was able to bottle feed Max and he did very well. He took in more than 15mls of milk. We are so proud of our little miracle babies.
Big brother Austin is doing fine. He got to hold Alexander for the first time on Saturday. It's going to take some time before he realizes what being a big brother means. But we are sure he will do fine. He is getting ready for school and Mommy can't wait for him to get back into a routine.
We will try and update the blog as much as we can in the coming weeks and we will post as many pictures as we can. We are exhausted and sleep deprived and doing the best we can.
We would like to thank all of the well wishers. You have all been so wonderful. To all of you that have been feeding us....You guys rock! And to all the Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles...Thank you so much for taking care of Austin. We couldn't do any of this without you guys. We love you!
Big brother Austin is doing fine. He got to hold Alexander for the first time on Saturday. It's going to take some time before he realizes what being a big brother means. But we are sure he will do fine. He is getting ready for school and Mommy can't wait for him to get back into a routine.
We will try and update the blog as much as we can in the coming weeks and we will post as many pictures as we can. We are exhausted and sleep deprived and doing the best we can.
We would like to thank all of the well wishers. You have all been so wonderful. To all of you that have been feeding us....You guys rock! And to all the Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles...Thank you so much for taking care of Austin. We couldn't do any of this without you guys. We love you!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Week 2
Well, it's week two for the triplets and they are doing amazing. We had a meeting with the boys Neonatologist earlier in the week and are pleased to report that they are all healthy and thriving. Emerson is growing and thriving in his new environment. He is gaining weight and meeting every goal the Doctors give him with flying colors. He has a great personality. He loves to be held and is very bright eyed when we are around. He smiles so big when we talk to him. He now weighs 3lbs 6 3/4 oz. Maxim is also doing fantastically. He is the serious one. He rarely is awake when we hold him, I think he is just very comfortable with the warmth of Mommy and Daddy. He is having some regurgitation issues, but shows no signs of any serious issues. He now weighs 3lbs 14 oz. This is close to his birth weight but babies gain and loose the first couple of weeks. Alexander is my cooer. He stays completely awake when we hold him and will follow your voice with his eyes and head. He loves to be with his Daddy. If David moves Alex will follow him completely. It's almost as if he is afraid to blink or he might miss something. He now weighs 3lbs 14 3/4oz. We are very proud of all three of our beautiful baby boys.
Today the babies were moved from A-Pod to a private room with just the three of them. This will be great for us to bond better with the babies. They have their own private nurse and the personal care will be so much better for them. The number of visitors is limited at this time. We are limited to immediate family at this point in order to keep their exposure to sickness down to a minimum.
Austin is doing well transitioning to a big brother. He has been having a great time going from all his grandparents and Aunts houses. Hopefully the babies will be home soon so we can get all 4 of our boys into a routine. He has seen his brothers several times and is amazed at how little they are compared to him. He doesn't understand why they can't come home yet. He has been very patient.
I'm sure you all want to know when the babies are coming home. Well, so do we. It's very disconcerning to be asked everyday when they are coming home. We want our babies to stay in the hospital as long as it takes for them to completely healthy. Remember this Saturday our babies were at 33 weeks. Most pregnancies are 40 weeks long. So technically they are not done cooking yet. They still have 7 weeks before they are full term. We will have to limit the number of visitors when they come home because it will be cold and flu season. Hopefully everyone will understand. This is nothing personal. Please don't take offense.
Today the babies were moved from A-Pod to a private room with just the three of them. This will be great for us to bond better with the babies. They have their own private nurse and the personal care will be so much better for them. The number of visitors is limited at this time. We are limited to immediate family at this point in order to keep their exposure to sickness down to a minimum.
Austin is doing well transitioning to a big brother. He has been having a great time going from all his grandparents and Aunts houses. Hopefully the babies will be home soon so we can get all 4 of our boys into a routine. He has seen his brothers several times and is amazed at how little they are compared to him. He doesn't understand why they can't come home yet. He has been very patient.
I'm sure you all want to know when the babies are coming home. Well, so do we. It's very disconcerning to be asked everyday when they are coming home. We want our babies to stay in the hospital as long as it takes for them to completely healthy. Remember this Saturday our babies were at 33 weeks. Most pregnancies are 40 weeks long. So technically they are not done cooking yet. They still have 7 weeks before they are full term. We will have to limit the number of visitors when they come home because it will be cold and flu season. Hopefully everyone will understand. This is nothing personal. Please don't take offense.
By popular demand here is the final picture of Mommy before the babies where delivered.
Monday, August 20, 2007
The Triplets
On August 17, 2007, after 32 weeks of pregnancy, we, David & Dawn Stinner became the parents of triplet boys! Bringing our grand total to 4 beautiful boys! Our triplets were born at Sister's of Charity Hospital in Buffalo, New York at 2:25, 2:26 and 2:28 PM Eastern Time. There were 3 teams totaling about 15 people in the crowded Operating Room during the Cesarean section, through which mom was awake. Dad was there and able to see all the activity and immediate care of each team attending to each baby. Mom was in the hospital the final difficult week in active labor. As each day passed it became more evident she was running out of room. Dad has lived in the hospital room, on the chair, with mom for the entire 9 day stay. The great thing is the free Wi-Fi in the hospital, to stay connected and post this blog while still here.Baby A (at the bottom of the belly and first to be delivered) was Emerson James at 3lbs 2.3oz and 16in long. Baby B (in the middle of the belly) was Maxim Charles at 3lbs 14.9oz and 16.5 in long. Baby C (Breech, at the top and last to come out) was Alexander Julius at 3lbs 8 oz and 16.375 in long.
All the babies are doing extremely well. They are in the neonatal intensive care unit or NICU (pronounced "Nickyoo") They have feeding tubes down their throat for food which were installed seconds after birth and currently have a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) which delivers air into your airway through a specially designed nasal mask or pillows. The CPAP uses room air which has 20% Oxygen, and will be removed shortly after their respiratory rates drop to below 50 or 60 times per minute. The first day the rates where above 140. This is all to be expected. They began to drink infant formula and mama's milk on August 20Th. They all have pooped & piddled and do not seem to have a hard time sucking as they all love their pacifiers. The doctors and nurses are shocked that we are all doing so well considering they are 8 weeks premature.
Austin is a beaming big brother who can't wait to get his brothers home.
Mom is already having anxiety over leaving them here. However, we understand this is the best place for them. The best case scenario, they could be home in 3-4 weeks; Worse case, they could be in the NICU as long as 8 weeks. Either way we will all be fine. The nurses here at Sister's are excellent, they have been so amazing. Mom couldn't have gotten through the last 7 days here without them. Mom will be going home on Tuesday August 21st so feel free to call or email her.
We are extremely excited, and greatly blessed to have a big family now.
We will take all the help we can get, so call mom. And please, everyone we know and don't know tells us we will never sleep again, so we don't need to hear that comment again.
We are extremely excited, and greatly blessed to have a big family now.
We will take all the help we can get, so call mom. And please, everyone we know and don't know tells us we will never sleep again, so we don't need to hear that comment again.
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