Family Time

We took the girls to the Pearland Town Center to have some ice cream after taking them to dinner at Don Picos. It was their first outting at a restaurant and they did great.

Mommy & Reagan. She is already holding her bottle! She is little but mighty. It only happened once.
Sarah and...hmmmm not too sure. It is very tough having identicals! You can't tell who is who in pictures!

Uncle Ronnie and Kara (I think), but it could be Paige.


Uncle Robert and Kara or Paige

Marble Slab! Mommy, Daddy, Brooke the triplets and Bubba (grandmom).

Daddy just relaxing and feeding a baby.

Gramps (Great-Grandpa Holub) came to babysit when our nanny was gone. He and Kara had a good nap. Thanks Gramps, we love you!

GG (Great Grandma Holub) is our angel. She has done so many night shifts, day shifts and comes over anytime we need her with her assistant, Uncle Jimmy. She has been our savior so many times. We love you so much! Thank you GG!

GG and Gramps came to babysit the girls so we could go to church! That is the best kind of babysitting. I have missed going to church so much and love any chance I get to go. I watched the services every Sunday on line while on bedrest for six months, but it is great to be able to be back in person. I can't actually volunteer in person, but have joined the prayer ministry so I can pray for people at home.

Uncle Robert & Aunt Alaina came over for church and dinner. They look like naturals!

Brooke is decorating some princess cookies.

Aunt Sandra came over with cookie dough, cookie cutters and decorations. They had a great time!

Brooke really enjoyed spending time with Aunt Sandra and wanted to know when she was coming back.

Waterballoon Fight!

We had a huge water balloon fight with our neighbors. The kids filled up big coolers with water balloons. It was a lot of fun, but I think they adults had more fun than the kids. They played capture the flag and then just threw the balloons at each other.

The neighbors

Brooke & Claudia having a great time.


The adults vs the kids. The adults were acting like kids again. It was great!

Brooke got out the big guns for the fight.

One month & many thanks!

I want to say THANK YOU!!!!!! We have gotten so much help for food and feedings through the carecalendar that it is wonderful. I started off when I was on bed rest sending thank you notes, then I would send an email or call and now I feel like time just slips away from me each day between feedings, preparing for feedings and Brooke. There is no down time, so I lie awake at night thinking of people I forgot to thank that day and feeling horrible. I want everyone to know how much we appreciate everything that you have helped with! We really could not do this without help or at least be sane. The food is just fabulous and we probably wouldn't eat if we didn't have it and we always have the leftovers for lunch. We really want to thank those of you who have helped feeding the girls, especially the 12am and 3am feedings. Sleep is so precious and it makes life manageable during the day. We don't get any naps during the day with Brooke home so if we get to sleep at night it is so wonderful. Even for those who come over and help at 9pm it is great because we can put Brooke to bed and give her some one-on-one time. We love you all and are truly blessed to have you be part of our girls lives. You are welcome to come feed anytime. We are home all the time and all weekends. They still eat at 9, 12, 3, 6, etc. Give us a call or sign up for night feedings on the care calendar. People seem to actually have fun doing it when they sign up with a friend. We also have comfy couches:)

www.carecalendar.org

Id -13435

Password 7272

The girls are now one month! I can not believe it has already been a month since I delivered. A month on bed rest was like an eternity. I am so happy they are here and so happy not to be on bed rest anymore. We are very busy, but it is wonderful. I can kiss on them, walk around, breathe and even go check the mail. I also can do fun things with Brooke and missed that so much. It is great to get my body back. It is slow, but coming along. My uterus is still huge, so I look pregnant, but it is now a "cute" belly pregnant. My bells palsy is going away. I still am a little Popeye-ish, but it is much better. I can wear my contacts now for a few hours a day before they drive me crazy from being dry. I am still taking my blood pressure medicine, but it is better. I also don't have time to obsess about it. When I first got home from the hospital I checked it about ten times a day, but now I am lucky if I check it once. I hope to get off the medicine next month when I go back to the neurologist.
Paige, Reagan and Kara (with their monitor cords hanging out)
The monitors are a pain at times carrying them with each baby and they always come loose which is like a fire alarm going off, but it gives us peace of mind when the girls are sleeping. I can remember checking to see if Brooke was still breathing every five minutes. They will go off if a baby stops breathing for 20 seconds or if their heart rate goes too low. They have gone off a few times, but the babies have been okay. They should have them for three months.

Sisters!

The twins (Paige & Kara). We finally had to take the ankle id band from the hospital off of Paige because it was too tight. We can tell them apart because they are hooked to their monitors with their names on them, but we don't know what we'll do after that. I guess a tatoo is out of the question. I'm not up for piercing one of their ears, so I guess we'll have to paint a toe nail on one of them.

Paige is almost 7lbs and a great eater! She is a sweetie pie.

Reagan seems to be the most laid back of the bunch. She is eating so much better now and is almost six pounds. I forgot how much of a struggle we had just getting her to swallow when we first brought her home and it's only been two weeks. She has now passed up Brooke eating!

Kara is so sweet and eats the best. She now has a big round belly and a couple of chins. She doesn't like to sleep like her big sister Brooke, so Kara has been getting lots of attention and gets held the most. I guess she is our high maintenance girl :)

I gave all three girls their first real bath by myself on Saturday. I was so proud. I had to decide if I was going to switch the water out each time and if not who would get the "dirty" water. I decided to wait to see if the first one pottied in the water. She didn't so two baths were taken with the same water. You have to do what you can with triplets. I gave two girls a bath after the 12pm feeding and Kara had her bath after the 3pm feeding. I can remember what an ordeal the first bath was for Troy and I with Brooke. Now we think that having one baby was so easy. My how things have changed!

Brooke and Daddy at feeding time. Daddy is my hero, he is such a great helper. Brooke is adjusting well for the most part. She hasn't been getting to be early enough, so that causes her to be a bit whiny in the evenings.

We took the girls (and their monitors) on a walk in their stretch limo.
We got many looks from people driving by.

We dressed them alike before going to the doctor. It was so funny and they were little rolly pollies trying to take a picture. We have to go to the doctor often for weight checks and it is quite an adventure. Troy, myself and Bonnie (our nanny) bring the girls and their monitors on the excursion. If they are just getting weighed we have to take them out of their car seats, undress them, unhook them from the monitors take them to the scale and them get them dressed, hooked up, and back into their car seat. Whew!!

A day in the life of triplets...feed, poop, sleep, (repeat).

We made it home!

We have survived the first five nights with triplets! Many people have asked how they can help and we need extra hands, especially at night to help feed. Weekends are open as well. You can sign up now on our care calendar to help feed or give us an email. Just makes sure you haven't been sick and we can't have any kids over yet. We have lots of antibacterial soap and Purel to have clean hands. We especially need help for the 12am and 3am feedings, but any help is wonderful. We have a comfy couch you can nap on in between! We are just so tired and our nanny has been even helping with the 12am feedings along with all day. They eat at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, 12am, 3am, 6am, etc. We had so much food, but were either too tired or too busy to eat. Today I had an opportunity to eat lunch or lie down and I picked lying down. You can sign up to help at www.carecalendar.org

ID 13435C

PW 7272

The girls went to the doctor today for a weight check and all three are doing great, even Reagan. Kara is now 6lbs, Paige is 5lbs 12.5oz and Reagan is 5lbs 3.5oz All three got prescriptions today. Reagan for a diaper rash, Paige has a yeast infection and Kara has an infected finger nail from a hangnail.

Brooke and one of her BFF, Maci, at her VBS cook out. We could of picked up the triplets on Thursday, but we would have missed Brooke's special event. We didn't want to start off the babies coming home with disappointment for her.
Our babies were the last three in the entire NICU. It took the whole day to get them because their neonatalogist had a couple of emergencies. We were supposed to pick them up at noon, but we didn't end up getting home until 8:30pm. Since our nanny was sick she stayed the weekend with family. Troy and I thought we could do it ourselves until we saw how crazy it was just trying to get them out of the NICU. I sent an SOS text to my running friend Valerie for help and she and Shawna met us at home.

The car ride home! Reagan couldn't wait to get out of the NICU and see her house. Only one monitor went off in the car and it was a little tough to try to climb over the seat to figure out whose it was and how to turn it off. Brooke now rides in the third row seat which she loves because she thinks it is for big sisters and brothers. We used to have a huge car until we filled it up with so many little girls.

This is their set up downstairs in Nursery #2. Troy had to set up the crib quickly. We thought that they would be upstairs, so the poor dears don't have a bumper or bed skirt yet.

Daddy burping Reagan. He is such a great Daddy! Reagan is our slow eater, but is getting better.

Reagan getting her first "bath". We did all three girls in the same night!

Brooke has been growing caterpillars and this is her first butterfly. It has been very fun to watch them go from a tiny egg to a caterpillar to a cocoon and then a butterfly in just about a month.

Shawna to the rescue!!! Shawna and Valerie stayed the whole first night to help us and what a huge help they were. We didn't know what we were doing and Kara's monitor cable went out so it kept going off. A guy had to come out at 1am to bring a new cable. They have since been back to take on extra shifts feeding the girls. We love you!!!

Valerie feeding Paige. She stayed the first two nights with us and even had her husband come and help. It is such a blessing to get some sleep. Thanks so much Val and Mike!!!

Troy's grandmother and uncle have spent two nights with us helping out. Also, Alana, Sarah and their Uncle Ronnie helped out. Janet came over to learn what to do.

Brooke giving one of her sisters a kiss. The question of the day is, "Who is that?" We can not tell Paige and Kara apart at all. Paige still has her hospital tag on her leg and will until it doesn't fit anymore.

Brooke is such a proud big sister.

Aunt Sally came over to learn the ropes of feeding and is going to stay on Friday to help feed.

April feeding one of the girls and she even brought us Smash Burger for dinner.

The girls are coming home!!!

Tomorrow is the day!!!
All three of our babies are coming home tomorrow. We have to pick them up at noon. You should see our car with all the car seats. It is crazy! They wanted us to take them home today, but Brooke has been in VBS all week and tonight she is having a cook-out and little show. We didn't want her to have to miss it or us going to it. It's our last night with just her and I am going to spend the night in her bed tonight. While I was pregnant we had movie night every Friday and she got to spend the night with me while Troy slept on the couch. She is excited that I can go upstairs now, so I can have a sleep over with her. I know it is going to be a huge adjustment to her when the babies come home. Yesterday she got to go to the hospital and my mom, Troy and I were all feeding the girls and Brooke said, "Everyone has a baby but me." It was so sad. If you do come over or see us out, please acknowledge her first. I know we are going to be a huge spectacle going anywhere with three babies and they will get all the attention. Today we had to bring the car seats and everyone at the hospital seemed to make a comment about having three or pointed and starred.

All three of the girls will come home on apnea monitors. We were trained on them today and I may have to get rushed again by ambulance to the hospital if they go off. Mostly because of how loud they are. I actually had to cover my ears and could not believe they could be so loud. My whole neighborhood is going to know if they go off. It sounds just like a fire alarm and will probably give me a heart attack. They have to keep them on at all times and for about three months. They will be on caffeine for one month to help develop the part of the brain that will help them remember to breathe. Other than that, they are normal little babies. Reagan is still eating very slow, but as long as she is gaining weight it is okay. We'll be in close contact with our pediatrician. Paige and Kara are both 5lbs and Reagan is 4lbs 11oz.

We have our live-in nanny, Bonnie, and she has been great! She is so helpful and is on top of things. Brooke loves having a "nanny". It could be because she loves Mary Poppins or the fact that our neighbors have one. Bonnie is actually sick right now, so she will be staying away this weekend just in case. She has family in Houston that she can stay with. It will just be us figuring things out this weekend and we are actually looking forward to it. We need to learn to take care of the girls first before we can show anyone else how to feed them. It is not as easy as you would think. They (especially Reagan) won't wake up, so we have to do all kinds of tricks that the nurses show us.
We have to be very careful with illness and our babies, so if you have been sick or exposed to any illness please don't come over. We will be washing our hands and Pureling like crazy. We also can't have a lot of children over in the beginning just as a precaution. Please give us a call first if you want to come over. We want to avoid our barking dogs and we can put them outside if we know you will be coming. Also, Sleep is precious around her, so we want to get all that we can. We will be feeding every three hours and it will take an hour or more to get all of them feed. Their feedings times are 6,9, 12, 3, 6, ... You're welcome to help, just give us a call.

My health: I am feeling much better emotionally and physically. Emotionally I was a wreck for a while, but now it's much better. Physically my blood pressure is under control. I am taking medication for it once a day and hopefully I will only have to take it for about three months. I go back to the neurologist at the end of August. I have finished taking the steroid for my face and I have a tiny movement in my cheek today. I pray it goes away soon. This bells palsy is such a pain. It is awful. We had an infant CPR class the other night and I couldn't even blow. I pray that my kids don't need CPR because I can't do it. I just have to laugh about it now. Troy calls me Popeye. I think I will lose my weight fast because it is almost too much trouble to eat. It really feels like I have been to the dentist and am on Novocaine, but with the eye added to it. I can't sip from a straw without drooling down my chin!

Please pray that my bells palsy goes away and that we make it through this weekend. We'll let you know how it goes.

Out of the hospital (again)!

Well, the girls are doing great. They are considered "eaters and growers". Kara & Paige are great eaters. Reagan gets the most food, but she is slow as molasses. If have ever experienced a meal with Brooke she is just the same. We told Brooke she is going to be in charge of feeding Reagan so she can see what we go through. It takes Reagan 30 minutes to have her bottle while the others take only about 10 minutes. Reagan is on a feeding tube and gets the rest of her formula through her tube if she doesn't finish in time. They all have been having apnea (breathing stops for 20 seconds) and bradycardia (heart rate decreases). The neonatologist said this is due to them being born so early and their brain hasn't yet learned to regulate this. He put them on caffeine this week to help stimulate that part of their brain. They will come home on caffeine as well as monitors (for their breathing and heart rate). We have to be prepared that they may come home this week!

I'm the one who is a mess!

I had a pretty low key triplet pregnancy. Never any blood pressure issues even after delivery. I went home from Woman's Hospital on Sunday and was so happy to be able to walk around, sleep and breath! We went to visit the girls in the NICU Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday we were going to go in the evening with Brooke. I took a nap and when I woke up my face felt weird. I knew two people who had Bells Palsy so I was familiar with it (and always so scared I would get it, especially for my wedding). I called the drs office and told the nurse and she wanted me to come in the next morning. Right then our pediatrician called to give me an update about the babies and I told her about it. She told me to go to the emergency room so I could get started on steroids. Troy had gone to HEB with Brooke and our nanny, so my dear friend Rhonda dropped everything and took me to the St. Luke's emergency room in Pearland. When they assessed me, they thought I had had a stroke! My blood pressure was super high, the right side of my face was not working, and I had tingling in my right arm. It was the scariest thing ever! Troy met me at the ER and everything went so fast from there. I had a CAT scan at the ER and then was transported by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital. ahhhh! They said if it was a different time (traffic wise) I would have been life flighted. I think I was in shock. I just lied there on the gurney, not moving, just pretty much freaking out inside and trying to stay calm. My mom, Troy's dad, his grandmother and her pastor were all there when I got to the ICU. I was still trying to keep it together. I was taken down to get a STAT MRI. The MRI took 1 1/2 hours and it was the loudest thing I have ever heard so close to my head. I prayed the entire time. When I got out of the MRI and I was being wheeled by Troy. I just lost it. I was so, so scared. I keep saying, I can't die I have too many children. I cried and cried. The MRI showed nothing, whew! Everything that was done to me was STAT. I had two chest x-rays, tons of blood work, an EKG and ultrasound of my liver, kidneys, and some other organs. All were good. So... I have high blood pressure linked to my pregnancy, Bells Palsy, and the tingling in my arm is pregnancy related (like carpal tunnel). It is mostly in my wrist and fingers when I move a certain way. I stayed one night in the ICU and another night in a regular room for monitoring. My poor husband was going back and forth from one ICU to another visiting me and the babies. FOUR of us in ICU, unbelievable!
I am now on blood pressure medication and have to take a reading of my blood pressure daily. I think today I have taken it six times. It has been good each time. We went to see the babies today and while I was sitting down my legs got really red. It scared me and I went to the nurses station to check my bp again. It was fine. I guess it is a reaction to the medication. Once I elevated them they went back to normal. I am also on a steroid for my face. It feels like I have gone to the dentist and am on Novocaine. It is tough to eat and my right eye gets dry. I can close it though so I don't have to wear a pirate patch. I only have to be on the steroid until Tuesday and I hope that it goes away soon. The side effects of both medications are dizziness and that is not good. Please pray for my blood pressure and face. It can take weeks for the Bells Palsy to go away. We hope the blood pressure is temporary and I will be going back to my OB and neurologist for check ups. My hormones are all out of whack. I just kept crying at the hospital because I could not believe what happened. It was like a nightmare. I just couldn't believe I was in the ICU. St. Luke's is a teaching hospital, so it is like Gray's Anatomy with all the doctors coming in together and I was a blubbering fool. Everything just hit me. I think they were like, "What is wrong with you, you didn't have a stroke." My other diagnosis was anxiety. Well, yes! I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance thinking I had a stroke and just had three children. They did give me medication for my anxiety. So... I am still healing from my c-section, my milk has come in and leaking everywhere (I am not breast feeding), my face is distorted, my blood pressure is high, I still look pregnant and am quite emotional. Other than that, life is good. I didn't have a stroke and my children are doing well and my husband hasn't left me despite how terrible I look. Brooke hasn't noticed my face yet either and kids notice everything! I still have some humor despite it all.
We are trying to get back to normal, a new normal - whatever that may be for us. We are not sure yet, not until the babies get home and I am better.
Please keep our health and our family in your prayers.

They're here!!

Time to meet the Elmore girls!

Brooke got up about 5am to come to the hospital before the surgery. I was so happy to see her. We had a whole waiting room of people at 6:30am who wanted to see the triplets. It was so sweet.

This was on the way to the operating room. I actually walked there.

I was very nervous the day before the c-section, but on Thursday morning I felt great. I had a huge feeling of relief that it was almost over and I was going to meet my baby girls.


Reagan Faith Elmore
7:04am, 4lbs 6oz, 16 inches
Reagan was the only one who needed some oxygen at birth, but she only needed the little hood you can see for an hour. She has had three apnea episodes, but they said it is normal with preemies. All the girls are in incubators until they can regulate their own temperatures and are hooked up to monitors for their heart rate and oxygen. They also have iv solutions because they are not eating the calories they need. Reagan looks just like Brooke as a baby.


This was either Paige or Kara. I didn't get to hold Reagan because she needed oxygen. Troy was running back and forth because as soon as a baby came out they took them across the hall to get evaluated.

Mommy holding Reagan in the NICU. She is so sweet!

Brooke got to celebrate being a Big Sister with a little party. The hospital sent us a sibling cake and juice. Luckily Ella and Jack were there to join the festivities.

Kara on tv! It was quite an experience having all the tv crews and Chronicle at the hospital taking pictures, videos and asking questions. I realized that you probably shouldn't give an interview while being on pain medication and having the high definition television after giving birth to triplets. It did make an overwhelming experience fun and we were so happy to share it with the other couples. I had been corresponding with Stephanie Lacombe for months and Karen Estrada for a few weeks. It was amazing that we all ended up delivering the same day! We got word from the CEO at Woman's Hospital that CBS morning show wanted to interview all of us. We passed on that because one of the moms wasn't feeling too good. A booking agent for Good Morning America left a message for Troy, but we haven't heard back. So crazy!

Kara Grace Elmore

7:05am, 4lbs 7oz, 17 inches

Kara is the only one who hasn't had any apnea episodes, but it took her and Paige until today to have a bowel movement. They couldn't increase their food intake until they went poop and the nurses were going to give them a suppository today. Whew! They didn't have to. Both Kara and Paige are good eaters and wanted more the the 5ml they were getting to eat, but weren't allowed until now. yeah!

Daddy and Kara

It is very hard to tell them apart without their hats on! We haven't seen them right next to each other to compare all of them. We have to hold the girls right next to their incubators because of all the monitors and ivs they are on. You can't see all the cords because they are in their feet or hands.

Mommy and Reagan

Reagan eats very slow and may have to get a feeding tube to help her out on some of her feeds because she took almost 25 minutes to eat 18ml. After about 30 minutes preemies will end up burning calories sucking because it takes so much out of them. We'll see about the feeding tube in the next few days.

Paige Anne Elmore

7:05am, 4lbs 5oz, 17 inches

Paige and Kara are the identical twins are were born at the same time! Paige has had the most apnea episodes, but hasn't had one since 2pm today. They may have to give her and Reagan caffeine if it continues (not Starbucks, it will be by iv). Apnea is where they stop breathing for 20 seconds. The part of the brain that tells the body to breath is not fully developed yet, so it is normal for them to have trouble. It is still scary to me. They babies can't come home until they go a week with no episodes. Right now the estimated time for them to come home is three weeks. We'll just have to wait and see how they do.

Brooke got to visit the girls today! On Wednesdays and Sundays during certain times siblings can visit the NICU. She was very excited. She is touching Kara's leg in this picture.

I got to come home today! I am in a lot of pain from the c-section. They removed the staples today and I walked a lot more. I am rethinking the tummy tuck because of this pain. I'll have to pray that my skin gets really tight on it's own or I forget about this pain in a year. I don't remember my c-section from Brooke hurting this much. At least now that I am not pregnant I can breathe. It was instant as soon as they took Reagan out. I kept taking deep breaths.

It was so hard to leave the girls today and I have been emotional and crying a lot . It is not sad, but a happy cry. I was so scared to get attached to them while pregnant in case something happened and now I just love them so much. I think it is just the relief that everything went so well and all the girls are doing as good as can be expected.

Troy just called to check on them in the NICU. I can't talk to the nurses because I will start crying. I couldn't sleep this morning and I called to check on them at 3:30am. I found out they still hadn't pooped and cried because I was so worried. Then when Troy got to the hospital today he went to check on them and told me they did poop and I cried because I was so happy. I am just a mess and all over poop!

All the girls got good reports tonight AND they all pooped at 9pm. I didn't cry for this one. None of them had any apnea episodes and Reagan ate her 18ml in only 10 minutes.

We'll keep you updated and thank you for all your continued prayers and support.

Troy and I are over the moon with our four girls.