Erin was in the Level 2 side because she wasn’t doing as well as the boys at first. Charles & Andrew were in the intermediate area but on different sides of the room.

Erin and Andrew needed more oxygen so they had a big tube on their noses called a CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure). Charles never needed oxygen. They all had jaundice so they were under the biliruben lights and were required to wear blinders over their eyes. There were IV’s and wires everywhere. All of them were on a 7 day course of IVs for antibiotics and a separate one for nourishment until they were able to feed from a bottle or nurse exclusively.

My first experience to actually go visit the kids was the next day. Since I had a c-section, I had to wait till I got the catheter out before I could get out of bed and walk around. (I still had an IV in for something). So after I took a shower, Charles took me to see the babies. We saw Erin first since she was all by herself. Her nurses told us that our little girl was very temperamental. She did not like to be bothered, touched or moved. It was hard to see her through the blinders and the big oxygen tube over her nose. All I could see was her mouth – it was so tiny but perfectly shaped. I did notice her hair and it made me smile. She actually had some! It looked all fuzzy. She had preemie size binkies and would suck it for comfort sometimes. She was so tiny, I was afraid to touch her. She had heart monitors on and it would go off when her heart rate would get too low. Each time the alarm would go off would be called a “B’ for Bradycardia. I looked around the room and saw other babies a lot worse off than Erin but I just looked at our very tiny baby girl and prayed. I knew she would eventually be okay but I was so overwhelmed at her size and the equipment it was hard to get through the first few visits.

Next we went to see the boys in the intermediate area. It wasn’t as traumatic as Erin’s area but there were still the same types of monitors. Tubes and wires seemed to be attached everywhere. Andrew had the same CPAP that Erin had but he was doing a little better. Andrew was having some “B” episodes too. He had the whitest hair I ever saw. He was under the bili lights too. I was able to put my hand through a little hole in his incubator and touch his skin. He was on his belly too and was sound asleep.

We changed sides of the room to see Charles and I saw that he only had the blinders on. He didn’t need any oxygen and he didn’t have any heart problems that we see yet. That made me feel a little better. I was able to touch him through the hole in the incubator too. I noticed he had my nose but he looked a lot like daddy. His hair was light but not as white as Andrew. They all look so small but were actually good size for being 6 week early.

Later that night, it was about 2am and I couldn’t sleep so I asked to be wheeled down to the NICU to see the kids (by myself). I saw Erin first. It was so quiet. She was on her belly sleeping. I still couldn’t see her except for her mouth. Her hands had IVs in them so I didn’t want to touch them. She had the smallest feet I ever saw. She had a small “B” while I was there. The nurse assured me it was okay and she came out of it herself. I talked quietly to her until she started to get agitated and cry. I wanted to cry too, so I said goodnight and went to see the boys.

I saw Charles first. He was on his belly too and had his blinders on. He seemed to be doing well. I talked to him for a minute or two then I went to see Andrew. I was alarmed to see an IV in his head and his little hands were all bruised. He still had the CPAP and blinders on so I couldn’t see too much of him. They told me that the head has the best veins and they fell out of his hands. It’s normal and nothing to be alarmed about.

I was so overwhelmed and scared, I left. I didn’t wait for the nurse to come get me and pushed the wheelchair back to my room and cried myself to sleep. I wanted to hold my babies and couldn’t. I wanted to nurse them and couldn’t. I didn’t want them to be sick at all. I really felt as if I failed them.

Having them all in different areas was hard. We couldn’t see them all at the same time and it was hard to decide where to go first or who would be where. Once the boys went on the same side of the room it was nice but worse too because Erin was clear down the hall in another part of the NICU. We could be with the boys but we really missed her and felt we were missing out on so much with her.

Elizabeth came to see them and although she is a mature 4 ½ year old she didn’t understand much. She really wanted to hold them and touch them but was not allowed until they came home. The rules were such that only parents and grandparents were allowed to hold the babies. Not aunts/uncles or siblings were allowed. She always wanted the “middle” baby to be hers. That would have been Andrew. But since Andrew was the “big” one, she decided that Charles would be her baby instead. She just got to stand beside us and lightly touch a hand or cheek as we held one. She did very well with them, all things considered. She didn’t like coming to the hospital after the 2nd visit. So once, daddy took her to see the dinosaur bones at the Pittsburgh Museum while mommy visited with the babies.

The day I was discharged was very sad. I was told by so many people who when through the NICU experience what to expect but leaving without a baby was really hard on me. I wanted to be there every day to see them until they came home. They nurses helped by telling me that it is okay if I’m not able to come in every day, just call and they’ll give me information over the phone. Luckily they weren’t in too much longer after I was discharged. And they were all home by the 21st of December.

Time moved so slowly and those first couple weeks seemed endless. But in retrospect, that time was a blessing in disguise. If they were born a week or two later and were healthy enough to come home with me, we’d have gone nuts trying to care for 3 small newborns with no help or direction. Nursing would have been near impossible since it was new to me and I didn’t even know how to pump the right way. But luckily, the kids came home in stages. The boys first, then Erin 5 days later. By that time, they were use to us and I was instructed on how to pump the right way. I was also able to visit a lactation consultant (VERY SMART MOVE), the kids were kind of on a schedule and I was able to get some much needed sleep that I wasn’t able to get while pregnant. Boy are we blessed!

After 13 days in the NICU for the boys and 17 for Erin, they were are all home and doing fantastic before Christmas! Our first outing as a group was for our church’s Christmas program on Sunday (Christmas Eve day). It was only two days after Erin came home. We had our first photos taken with all the kids and us together. It took forever to get ready for church. We ended up being 15 minutes late but we had tons of help when we got there. They were about 3 weeks old then and it was still 3 weeks away from their actual due date.

They were baptized on January 14. (4 days before the actual due date).