Day 12...

Today was a short visit to the hospital - Geeta and I visited the little ones for a short while in the morning and then we decided to take a little bit of a break to catch up on a few things. Mommy caught up on some well-deserved sleep and got a few errands out of the way, while daddy got in a little exercise after a really long time (i went skating and slapped a few pucks for the first time this year!! ...I felt inspired by Team Canada's Double Gold in Men's/Women's Hockey!!). We also worked on registering the little ones' birth certificates, SIN cards, applying for child tax benefits, researching their RESPs, and getting a head start on our 2009 taxes...yes -all the fun stuff you get to do when you have kids. The nice part of the day was that we went to see Avatar in IMAX 3D - was amazing! Now Geeta knows why I want to be a 'blue man'. We are both really missing our little guys and gal and will be back first thing tomorrow morning to see them.

Some great news from today's visit to the hospital - Kailen is out of his isolate and into a cot (i.e. he is out of his box or cage as we like to call it, and into a miniature crib). Way to go Kailen! Now we are waiting for Jaiden and Ariya to follow suit.

Picture Below: Kailen in his cot dressed very warmly to help him get used to the 'colder' room temperature (relative to his isolate)

Day 11...

I thought I'd write this one from the hospital - Geeta and I have been here since the morning and 3pm is usually a good break time between their feeding and change schedules. We definitely have a good grasp on their schedules now and I think we have a decent feel of what life will be like when we get home. In essence everything needs to work like clockworks and any deviation to the schedule can throw a real curve ball into a pleasant day in parenthood.

As much as it has been tough to wait for our little ones to come home, it has also allowed us both to spend some quality time with them. I'm lucky enough to have another week off and I'm really looking forward to spending as much time as I can with them.

After 11 days in the NICU, things have become more and more familiar to us. We are at a point where we understand the babies' schedule and don't have to ask the nurses whether it's okay to hold and cuddle our kids. We have also gotten used to the sights and sounds of all the other little ones: behind Jaiden is a little baby that reminds of 'cookie monster' and on the other far side of the room is the 'pavorotti' baby; a baby that sounds like he is singing the opera on a mic when he cries. Our little ones don't cry a lot yet, but sure like to sleep a lot.

In terms of how everyone is doing - mommy continues to heal up but is still in a bit of pain. Jaiden is on a growth spurt while Kailen has been growing slow and steadily. We've been a bit more concerned about Ariya lately; her weight gain has been slower and she continues to have the occasional 'spell'. The doctor has put her on some caffeine to help counter the 'spells' and we are hopeful they will subside, nevertheless mommy and daddy are a bit worried. Apparently, the brain development in weeks 35 and 36 are helpful in regulating the body's operations and hopefully a little time and development will solve the issue.

Kailen

Jaiden

Ariya
Thia Ji (Uncle in hindi) --> Uncle Sumit (Sacha's Brother)

Day 8: Reunited and it Feels so Good!

Yesterday was a fantastic day - our little babies were reunited for a few minutes after spending the last seven days apart in their isolates. It was so cute to see them together and it was such a cool moment for mommy and daddy. The little ones seemed pretty comfortable together, which probably makes a lot of sense since they spent the last seven months squished together in mom's tummy. We can't wait to bring them home!!

The babies are doing well - Jaiden (our little feisty guy) is the first to surpass his birth weight. The other two are very close to doing the same. Ok - We're off to see them...

Kailen (left), Jaiden (centre), Ariya (right)

Happy One Week Birthday!

Jaiden, Ariya, and Kailen are one week old today - amazing how quickly time is passing and I'm so happy to have these two weeks off to spend some quality time with the little ones before work starts up again ;(

Everyone is doing great - the kids are gaining weight and are keeping healthy. We were a bit concerned a couple of days back when both Ariya and Kailen had a 'spell' overnight. A 'spell' occurs when the heart rate drops really low and they stop breathing momentarily; apparently this happens with premature kids occasionally and is nothing to be concerned with as long as it doesn't happen repeatedly. Needless to say, it is scary for us as parents and it's a friendly reminder of how fragile they are. Today, we attended a lunch time course on some tips for getting through those first few months at home. One of the most important things for us to do will be to limit our visitors at home for the first few months to prevent any unnecessary infections. The kids are at a high risk of developing lung-related infections due to their prematurity and we'll have to be very careful.

Today, the kids all received their RSV vaccine - watching our little babies get their first big needle wasn't fun but is necessary. Kailen really shrieked when they stuck the needle in, while Jaiden cried for just a split second. The nurses rewarded the babies with a bit of sugar, which they loved! On a side note, both Mommy and Daddy are getting pretty good at the diaper changes - although we haven't really had any nasty's yet! Daddy will be sure to take cover when that happens :)

Geeta, Nani (Grandma in Hindi - Geeta's mom), and I spend the day today at the hospital cuddling them. We had to really rush this morning to make the morning feed. Geeta had been pumping and storing milk for their feeds to meet their feeding schedule. One of the nurses in the NICU calls Geeta, 'Betsy', as in 'Betsy the milk giving cow' - LOL! (sorry Geeta) I was telling Geeta that it would be funny if she showed up with a bell around her neck.

Jaiden wearing his little hat that's way too big!

Kailen doing what he loves best!
Another one of Kailen
Nanni feeding Ariya Bella

Ariya

Daddy cuddling Jaiden

Baby Baby Baby - Light My Way

A reflection on Geeta pregnancy and the first week in the lives of Kailen, Ariya, and Jaiden.

Enjoy...

Day 6....

Day 6 was a great day - all three babies have lost their IV tubes!!! It's so nice seeing them having a bit more freedom. It's also amazing to see how fast they are changing - all of them are now gaining weight and are looking healthier by the day. Both Jaiden and Ariya gained almost 100g overnight and Kailen gained about 20 grams. They are all approaching their birth weight.

Geeta and I are now home from the hospital and will begin our routine of visiting the little ones in the NICU daily to bring them mommy's milk and to spend time with them.

Here are some more pics over the last few days:

Anu 'Masi' (aunt in hindi) --> Geeta's eldest sister

Nani (grandma in hindi) --> Geeta's mom

Nani and Masi with Geeta
Puja Masi -> Geeta's youngest sister
Kailen from earlier today --> no more IV!!!
Kangaroo session --> skin to skin with mommy

Day 5...Getting Used to the NICU

Today is day 5 in the life of Kailen, Ariya, and Jaiden and also day 5 of parenthood for Geeta and me. Geeta was asked to stay another day in the hospital to give a bit more time to heal up - we'll likely be home tomorrow evening from the hospital. It will be really tough for us to leave our little ones behind in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), and we'll have to adjust to coming into the hospital every morning and leaving at night. It will especially be tough on Geeta - she tends to wake up every couple of hours in the night to check up on the little ones and of course she won't be able to do that much longer.

The NICU is an acronym that typically becomes synonymous with parents of multiples - all triplet babies start their lives in the NICU and have to work their way out. It can be overwhelming for one to walk in there having never been exposed to that environment - there are many babies in there that are quite premature and ill. Expecting parents of multiples typically learn all about the NICU before the babies are born to ensure that there are no surprises - as you can see from our pictures there are plenty of wires hooked up to our little ones including sensory equipment for their heart rate, breathing, and oxygen levels plus further tubes for feeding (through the nose) and IV (Intravenous) through the hand or foot depending on the day. The IV delivers glucose and water to the babies and it's definitely not easy to watch the nurses change the positioning of the IV tube day in and day out. The wires and tubing that surround our little ones look intimidating but you get used to it. There is no doubt that it gets tough on us sometimes watching our babies in the NICU. As newbies to the NICU we're learning to just look the other way and trust that the staff are doing what's best for our babies even when our babies are getting poked and prodded by instruments and needles. We try our best to leave or emotions behind (although it's not always easy to do so) knowing that we're getting closer and closer to bringing our family home.

So how are our babies doing? Kailen's IV tube was removed this evening - he's first out of the IV tubing and we're so glad to see the progress. We are hopeful that Ariya will follow next followed by Jaiden in the coming days. We are also so pleased to see all three babies gaining weight after having lost some weight after birth (normal). If all goes well the doctors think our little ones will be home in 4 weeks! Having our little ones reunited in their crib will be a big day for us!

Being a new father to triplets is an extraordinary experience, but I definitely have a bit of learning to do. Some of our family members caught that I mixed up a couple of the pictures in our birthing announcements (i.e. Jaiden and Ariya's pics are swapped), and I also misspelled Kailen's name in the original announcement - oops! I'm sure that the lack of sleep is playing a factor! I'm definately starting to learn about each one of them and I can tell that all three of them have unique personalities: Kailen is our friendly and quiet giant (giant relative to his siblings), Ariya is our smarty pants (she is the first to learn to suck/swallow/breathe at the same time - key for breastfeeding premature babies), and Jaiden is our little feisty one (smallest one with the big cry). Yesterday, I got to give Ariya a bath and change her diapers...so amazing.

Below are some pics and a video from today. We'll try to post some more pics of Kailen and Jaiden tomorrow since I got less of a chance to snap pics of them today and had more of a chance with Princess Ariya.

'friendly-giant' Kailen

'smarty-pants' Ariya holding daddy's hand

a wide awake Ariya stretching it out after being squished for so long in Mommy's womb!

'Feisty' Jaiden (although not so much in this pic)

Video of Ariya Bella