Andrew has entered the building!!

Hello friends and family!  Yesterday was a big day in the Messerle household, Andrew was cut loose from the hospital and we brought him home last night!  Katie and I had to attend a NICU discharge class which included infant CPR, child choking training and just some general tips on bringing these little tykes home.  After we did that, he grabbed some food, they completed the paperwork, he jumped in the backseat and we were off to Lantana!

He is doing GREAT!  We have him on his schedule, he is eating like a champ and sleeping just great.  He rarely cries or causes a stir, just hangs out and relaxes!  Katie and I took turns last night on the feedings and we are quickly learning what is going work in the house and what isn't.  Having him come home solo is a great training exercise for us!  Drew has his first appointment with the Pediatrician on Friday morning for a check up.  Here he is in his "take home" outfit!

Claire and Matt continue to do well in the NICU as well.  Matt has really been good on the "Brady's" episodes the past couple of days, they have taken him off the caffeine now and he is just on Prevacid for reflux.  Claire has had a couple "Brady's", which stinks because she was doing so well, but she is putting on weight and really growing like a weed.  I can really see the progress in her growth over the past 5 days or so, her cheeks are really filling out and she is getting some of that cute baby fat.  They think she will be in the crib with Matt either tomorrow or Friday at the latest.   Great news!

The doctor's are prepping us for their discharge in 7-10 days if everything continues to progress as it currently is, they think both Matt and Claire will be released together.  Then the madness begins!!  Woo hoo!  We both know that it will not be easy but we'll make it, if others can do it, so can we.  We have tons of great friends and family that will help and we will certainly lean on them to assist us when they can!  Here is a quick shot of Matt that I got the other day.  Pictures of Claire are somewhat difficult since she is still in the isolette, once she gets into the bed with Matt, I'll be able to fill up my hard drive with pictures of her, she is so cute... :)

I am heading down to San Antonio on Sunday morning for Mercedes' memorial service.  Heather, Katie's sister is coming up from Ft. Worth to stay with her Sunday night while I am gone.  Thank you for the thoughts and prayers regarding Mercedes, she was a great friend to Katie and I and we are going to miss her a lot.

Katie and I are also up and running on Skype, so if anyone is on Skype and wants to chat via video, let us know.  Time permitting, we'd love to chat!

Thank you for the thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement, we appreciate each one of them!  Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Claire, Matt and Drew!

As one life fades, three others begin to shine...

Unfortunately yesterday the terrible disease of cancer took the life of my father's wife Mercedes.  Her last moments were peaceful, on her terms and with my dad at her side.  She now has the ultimate pleasure to be with Jesus and God in Heaven, for that, we are all grateful!  As she told my dad after the babies were born, "one life fades and three other beautiful lives begin to shine and the cycle continues."  God is indeed great!

I am very, very happy to report that the babies and Katie continue to be doing wonderful!  So wonderful actually that if everything continues to go as planned, Drew will be coming home on Tuesday!!  HOLY SMOKES!  He is putting on weight, having no Brady's episodes and just eating like a madman.  All this qualifies him for a one way ticket to Lantana!  Katie and I are very excited.  Here is a great picture of the Drew-miester!  I think he is happy, I told him today he was close to getting sprung!!  :)

Matt continues to have the Brady's episodes, he had 7 yesterday alone.  They are beginning to think that some of it may be caused by reflux because there is a pattern of having them shortly after his feedings.  There is a possibility that he might go on some reflux medicine tomorrow to see if that helps some.  They are also going to bring back his bottle feedings a bit, thinking that he was doing too much in a day eating out of the bottle, etc. and that was really tuckering him out.  He would really struggle to get down the whole bottle at a feeding, he would just konk out and fall asleep when he was eating.  Other than that his is doing great, no other issues.  Here is a close up of his little face!  I just LOVE kissing his cheeks!

Claire is doing much better too, the caffeine has helped her Brady's, she is now having very few of them.  Today she took her whole bottle in one 30 minute timeframe which is the goal.  She is gaining weight she is now 3lbs, 4 oz and gaining everyday.  When she is awake and up she is so active and so aware of everything going on around her.  She still has a ways to go but she is doing very well too.  We are so proud of her and love her so much!  Here she is today with her brother Drew!  

We also have a little "bonus picture" on this update!  Are you ready for this?  We were lucky to get a quick picture of Matt, Claire and Drew all laying next to each other all swaddled up laying in the crib!  I just love it!  They just look so cute and peaceful sleeping and hanging out with each other.

We are so blessed.  Everyone is doing so good and we're bringing a baby home next week! 

Please keep my father, Dale in your prayers as he deals with the loss of Mercedes.  We continue to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for our family.  We hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Drew, Matt and Claire 

Two's Company!

Yesterday Katie and I were greeted with a great surprise when we went to the NICU.  Matt was first moved out of his isolette and into a crib!  Not long after that Tara got approval for Drew to move into the crib and now we have "cribmates"!!  They are both just snug as a bug in that crib, so far they are behaving themselves and not pulling or poking each other.  They are both so cute laying and sleeping side by side.  Matt now weighs 4 lbs and Drew weighs 3 lbs 14 oz.

They are both right next door to Claire's isolette.  It is nice to have them so close to each other, Drew was on the other side of the aisle when they were in their isolettes, now they are all within a few feet of each other.  This next picture gives you an idea on the size of their crib and the set up at their station.  They have everything they need right there.

Claire is doing just great too, she is putting on weight and is now over 3 lbs.  They continue to do bottle trials to see how well she does taking feedings from the bottle, she's getting real close.  She is just so sleepy and a tired little girl growing.  She has such a "little girl" personality and demeanor, it is just precious.  

 

We are still dealing with some Brady's episode's, especially out of Matt.  He still seems to have several a day even with the caffeine treatments.  Drew doesn't have them really at all and I think Claire had one yesterday.  They are all doing very well keeping their own temperature and not letting it get too low or too high.  We're both just thrilled with their progress so far!

Adrien, Katie's best friend from Chicago is coming in tomorrow for a couple of days so we are excited about seeing her, it has been a while and thrilled to have her meet our new additions!  It is going to be great to have her stay with us.

I also updated our YouTube video site with a video of Matt and Drew in their crib and another video of Claire!  www.youtube.com, search for Messerletrips and you will see our videos!

Thank you for the continued thoughts, prayers and offers of assistance.  Katie and I are doing great right now but once the babies come home I am sure that we will be calling on our wonderful friends and family for help!  Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the week!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Claire, Matt and Drew

Time flies when your growing babies!

Wow, almost two weeks old!  We might have to have another birthday party this Thursday!  The babies are doing great.  I think I am going to do this update talking about each baby individually now that they all have different things going on.

Let's start with Claire!  She is growing and putting on weight!  She was born at 2lbs 14oz and she now weighs 3lbs 1 oz, she has gained all her weight back and then some.  Good girl!  She is struggling eating out of the bottle, she is still so small, she doesn't quite have the suckling program down too well yet.  They tried again today to get her to eat out of the bottle and she took very little so they are going to continue to feed her through the tube for now till she gets a little stronger.  

Claire and Matt are also struggling a bit with what they call "Brady's" which is simply where their little brain forgets to tell their lungs to breathe and pump air.  When they don't breathe their heartrate drops and it is generally not a good thing, although very common in preemie babies.  The treatment for this is a dose of caffeine actually that they give once a day that helps stimulate the brain to continue to tell the lungs to GO!  They ween them off the caffeine slowly and there are no long term side effects.  Here is the Wikipedia definition...

Infantile bradycardia

For infants, bradycardia is defined as a heart rate of less than 100 beats per minute. (Normal is around 120-160 beats per minute.) Premature babies are more likely than full-term babies to have apnea and bradycardia spells; their cause is not clearly understood. Some researchers think the spells are related to centers inside the brain that regulate breathing and that may not be fully developed. Touching the baby gently or rocking the incubator slightly will almost always get the baby to start breathing again, which increases the heart rate. Medications (theophylline or caffeine) can be used to treat these spells in babies if necessary. NICU standard practice is to electronically monitor the heart and lungs for this reason.

Here is a cute little picture of Claire from our visit today.

Drew is doing great, he has very FEW "Brady's" and is NOT on the caffeine.  He is taking three bottle feedings a day and they continue to increase the intake to all three babies it seems like everyday.  Drew is a little zombie, man that kid can saw some logs!  He is so laid back and chilled out, its often hard sometimes to keep him awake to eat out of the bottle!  He is so cute and makes the craziest facial expressions!  Here is a typical Drew picture, out like a light with the little wrinkles on his forehead.

Matt is just a cutie patootie!  He has got this cute little round face and he is getting to be a big boy.  He is now on bottle feedings every other time he feeds and they are loading them all up calories bigtime to fatten them up!  Both Matt and Drew have gained weight too.  He LOVES hanging with his daddy and sleeping on his chest.  He really does NOT like the flash on the camera but I do my best to shield it away from his face.  Is he just begging to have those cheeks kissed or what!?

Katie is doing very well recovering from the C-Section, she is driving and getting around like a champ.  She still has to take it easy and not get too tired out but all in all she is doing fantastic!  We are both making a trip a day up to see the kiddo's so we can hold them when we are there.  The nurses in the NICU are awesome about making sure that they know when we are coming so that they can save their outside feeding times for when we are there.  Everyone has gotten just phenomenal care at Lewisville Medical Center, we have been so blessed to have the BEST doc's and nurses, there is no way to repay these people for the care that they give you and your children.  Seriously.

We continue to thank God for the beautiful blessings in our life and also pray for the other small babies that are in the NICU struggling.  This whole experience start to finish has been such a miracle and testimony of God's love for us, wow.  Katie, the babies and I, hope that this message finds everyone healthy, happy and well!

Love, 

Todd, Katie, Matt, Drew and Claire

Misc. New News!

The babies looked a tad worn out today after our big one week birthday party yesterday, I can't confirm a hangover but it sure looked like they had one today!  Katie and I spent the afternoon with them during their touch time and they were very calm and relaxed the entire time we were there.  Katie fed Drew and I fed Matt.  Matt has an appetite like his old man!  He just sucked that feeding down like nobody's business, wow!  

The babies are doing great!  They all got their IV's out today and Claire got the PIK line in her leg taken out today so all any of them have right now is the feeding tube going into their stomach.  Drew is getting two bottle feedings a day and Matt is getting one.  Claire is still eating from the tube, but they are going to try again this weekend to see if her suckling has gotten any better so that she can take bottle feedings.

They all had their brain ultrasounds yesterday morning.  The doctors look for brain bleeds in these preemies through the ultrasound, we are happy to report that all the ultrasounds looked normal and there are no brain bleeds or issues!  Woo hoo!

One thing that is really cool that I have not shared is the "Love Blankets" that we received last week from the NICU.  There is a Girl Scout troop that makes these "Love Blankets" out of a nice piece of cloth and attached to the blanket is a beautiful poem.  Its not a real big blanket, but the material is similar to a receiving blanket.  We got a pink one for Claire, a white one for Drew and a blue one for Matt.  What we were told to do with these blankets was to basically sleep with them and keep them close to our skin for an extended period of time so that our scent and smell got onto the blankets.  Katie slept with Matt's and Claire's and I slept with Drew's for a couple of nights.  We took the blankets back to the NICU and these blankets are then placed close to each baby in the isolete so they can smell our scent and get used to that.   The last picture in my last blog update yesterday shows Claire's little head laying on the "Love Blanket" that Katie slept with.  I thought this was such a great deal and a wonderful project for a Girl Scout troop!  Very cool!

OK, I am experimenting with going "HIGH TECH"!  I do have more pictures of the babies posted on our Smugmug website.  Its pretty unedited at this point but I pretty much have about all the good pictures posted on there that we have taken.  The address to the site is:  http://messerle.smugmug.com , go to the FAMILY section and I have a page made for Drew and Matt and a page for Claire.  If you want to see all our pics and not just the ones on the blog check out our Smugmug site!

I have also posted of Claire on YouTube!  It is my first attempt at editing videos and posting them up on YouTube, it worked great!  I couldn't believe how easy it was.  Check it out when you get a chance.  I took this video last Sunday when she was 4 days old!  Here is the link to the YouTube video.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HF3eZ_bP3Y

We plan on spending a great weekend with the babies! We hope that everyone has a wonderful

weekend!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Claire, Drew and Matt

We had a birthday party!!!

Three little babies turned 1 week old today and we had a birthday party this afternoon!  Woo Hoo!  No cake or ice cream just breast milk and formula, all you can eat!!  The only takers we had were Claire, Drew and Matt and they LOVED it!

Tara got the babies out of the isolette and Katie, Judy and I got to hold them for a really long time.  It was great!  Katie had Matt, Judy had Drew and I got Claire.  They all got fed and then it was time for pictures!  Check out the picture of Mommy, Mimi and Daddy holding the babies!

We then got them all hooked together and Katie and I were able to hold all three at once!  What an awesome treat.  I was so cool to see Katie holding her babies.   She did such a great job growing them, its hard to imagine they were all inside of her!  Is this one proud Mommy or what!?!?!?

Then it was daddy's turn!  Having both of those boys cradled in my arms was so awesome, then Tara put that little girl on me!  So cool!

This little girl is just an angel.  Goodness she is spoiled rotten already and she is only a week old!!  Claire looks so cute in and around all the pink stuff.  She is so dainty!

The babies are making great progress every day.  Matt has his IV out of him now and Drew only has a feeding tube in him now.  The doctors continue to just pile on and add to each feeding for all the babies.  They are all at least at or past their birth weight now.  We're just praying that they get their breathing down and do not have any bad breathing episodes in the future.

Katie is doing great.  She is getting along real well and slowly getting off the pain medicine.  The pumping is going good too, she is doing a great job keeping up with the pretty intense schedule that it takes to provide enough milk for these three!!

Thank you for the continued thoughts and prayers for our family!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Drew, Matt and Claire

Hello!  Drew, Matt and Claire continue to grow and thrive at just under a week old!  Katie got to feed each one via bottle yesterday.  Matt just hogged it down, Drew did OK, a little slower going down than Matt but still good and little Claire struggled at little bit.  She doesn't quite have the strongest sucking power yet so they are going to hold off on the bottle feeding with her for a little bit till she gets bigger.  Katie and Judy spent the afternoon today at the hospital with the babies, they got to feed and hold them, they are just doing great!  I have been going to see them during my lunch hour, which is a treat, its just me and them and I don't have to share them with anyone!  I just go back and forth between baby and talk and touch them.  Amazing...

All of the babies are now off the nasal canula and breathing on their own and on room air!  Way to go guys and little girl!  Tomorrow the hospital will do a brain ultrasound to check for brain bleeds and any other issues upstairs, we're all praying that everything is OK.  They are really just going through normal preemie/NICU issues and the normal feed and grow pattern.

We are so blessed to have WONDERFUL nurses at the NICU that treat our babies like our own.  These women are just awesome.  Tara, Cassie, Jennifer, just the whole crew really they are so great.  The babies have one nurse for them only for the most part.  They have one nurse watching over them during the day shift and and another nurse looking over them on the night shift.  What great care they are getting!  These folks know their stuff and there are no words that can describe how great it feels for our babies to be in the hands of such consummate professionals!  Tara a nurse that just loves to take care of them made these wonderful name signs for each of the babies, they are hanging right up next to their isolette.  Check them out, they are SO COOL!!  Check out the footprints!  Tara is the bomb!

OK, are you ready to see this little cute dude!?  This picture is of Cassie feeding Drew this afternoon his bottle, he is just wide awake and loving the bottle!  He's my boy!

Here is a picture of Katie feeding Matt this afternoon!  He doesn't like the flash on the camera so he keeps his eyes closed.  It is somewhat dark in the NICU and you really have to have the flash on to have the pictures turn out.  Matt is on two bottles a day and Drew is on just one.  He is a good little boy!

Katie got to hold Claire for a little bit this afternoon too.  She is still feeding via the feeding tube that you see in her mouth.  They really don't seem to mind it from what I can tell.  She just sat in mommy's arm and stared at her.  She is just a little precious thing!

I am a tad biased but I think the babies look great!  Their color is wonderful and they are just active and alert when you hold them.  WHAT A BLESSING!  Katie and I talk about how there are just so many blessings and wonderful things that have happened with the pregnancy and after they have been born.  Things happen for a reason and we are so grateful for everything, absolutely nothing is taken for granted.  

We hope that this finds everyone well and enjoying the summer!  Our next blog update will be tomorrow.  We'll have a birthday blog message!!  Stay tuned!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Claire, Drew and Matt!

Progress Continues!

Well, we continue to have some great progress on several fronts today!

Katie was released from the hospital this afternoon around 5pm.  She is feeling pretty good, there is still some pain from the surgery but all in all she is really doing well.   Judy came back from Mason this afternoon to spend some time with us and help Katie get to and from the hospital, she is a real blessing!  I am going back to work tomorrow since Judy is here and I am going to save my vacation time for when the babies come home.

The babies are doing wonderful as well.  This morning when we went down to the NICU we were greeted with the surprise of Claire being completely off any breathing mechanisms what so ever!  She is breathing room air with nothing in her nose or mouth just like we do!  All of the babies are off the jaundice lights as their jaundice levels came down last night.  Its really good to see them without their masks and with Claire she has no mask and no oxygen so you can really see her face.  The boys will be off the oxygen and nasal cannula's tomorrow and breathing on their own.  They have also DOUBLED their feeding and food intake since yesterday!  They are already eating like Daddy!! 

Our NICU nurse Tara, who is wonderful said that they were really on the fast track to come home!  The head baby doctor, I can't even begin to spell his name or the "official" job title told us today that he was "more than happy" with their progress so far!  This was such awesome news because this guy has had a little negative streak in him from several other conversations.  If he is "more than happy" they must be doing well and we are happy too!  Tara did tell us that she thought that the boys would be in the NICU about a month and Claire would follow them home shortly after them.  They are getting such great care, we are perfectly fine with whatever it takes to bring them home healthy!

Katie and I went to an afternoon touch time and Tara let us hold the babies for about 30 minutes while they were feeding.  Katie held Matt and I held Claire, it was really great, they both behaved real well, it was really cool just to look at her face and kiss her forehead whenever I wanted.  Below are a couple of pictures from our "holding session"!  I will warn everyone in advance, for some reason in everyone one of these pictures, I look like a total train wreck!  I have no idea what my deal is!  And my wife is the most photogenic person on the face of the earth...go figure!  

We are both so excited about being parents and the progress that the babies are making!  I will continue posting pictures and the progress that the babies are making in the NICU!  Thank you for taking the time to read our story and take a peek at our pictures!  We hope everyone is doing well!  Till tomorrow!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Claire, Drew and Matt

Good morning!  Quick update this morning as I am running a tad late getting up to the hospital.  Katie is coming home today from the hospital, its going to be tough for her, but the babies are in such great hands and they will be just fine.  She'll have plenty of trips to see and be with them!  We are hoping she gets released early this afternoon.

Last night we went down to the NICU just in the middle of all the touch times and Matt was getting a bath from the nurse!  He was all unhooked and Katie got to hold him for a few minutes as the nurse was changing his bedding.  What a treat!  This is the best picture I got of the little guy, right out of the bathtub!  He LOVED the bath!

Then it was Claire's turn!  She didn't jump in the bathtub but she did get out and Katie got to hold her for the first time for about 30 minutes in the glider.  She was just an angel and content listening to mommy "coo" and "ahhh" all over her!  It really was an awesome time and a great site to see her finally in Katie's arms.  WOW!

OK, I gotta throw one in here of the other big guy, Drew!  He loved his bath too and just was zonked out last night.  He is doing great.  They doubled the amount they are feeding them now during each feeding, that is helping with pooping and packing on the weight!  They are digesting each feeding just fine as well.  Here is Drew in the "Yeah, I'm Cool!" position!  Just chillin'!

Time to go, I will update the blog and maybe get some pictures up on the net tonight when I get Katie home and settled!  We hope everyone is doing well!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Claire, Drew and Matt!

Let the Good Times Roll!

Well, we've made it through two and half days and everyone is still in one piece!  Success!  :)

The babies are doing great!  All three were getting feedings through their feeding tube yesterday.  Everyone has successfully "made #2", so digestion is taking place and they are already making a mess of a bunch of diapers in that place!  Claire is taking a little more food than the boys and she is doing great keeping it down and passing it through.  All of the babies are also under the jaundice lights.  They were all had some jaundice levels yesterday morning so they went a head and put them under the lights, they will probably be under them for a couple of days.  Claire's level was a little higher so she has a light underneath her to expose her skin to more of the light to fight the jaundice.  All of babies have little eye shades on as well to protect their eyes from the VERY bright light.  On Claire's protector they drew on eye lashes and on the boys, they have cool "Risky Business" shades.  Below is a picture of Claire, if you look underneath her you can see the blue light.  Is that bow in her hair not the cutest thing!!  (click on the pic to blow it up)

As I said yesterday, it looks like there are a lot of wires and stuff on them, there is, but they are really just hooked up to a TON of monitors.  There are no real tubes except for the feeding one going into them.  Claire just sleeps like an angel and LOVES that pacifier!

Paul, Katie's father calls this picture of Matt "Yeah, I'm cool!  Bring on the chicks!".  I cannot get over all the hair and peach fuzz on the heads of these babies, it is SO SOFT you can't imagine.  Matt being "cool"...

One of the many real fun things the past couple of days has been checking out the features on these babies.  "What did they get of mine?"  Well, I think they all got my ears and maybe my nose, we'll see, but the boys got Katie's feet and toes for sure!  The big, big toe with the little sausage toes, yep, sorry Drew and Matt, you got em!  We got Katie down to the NICU yesterday a couple of times and she was able to change Drew's diaper again and I got some great pictures of her doing it.  This picture here is of Drew with Katie holding his feet!

Because it is Sunday and I feel like showing off my kids a little bit, I'll throw up a bonus picture of my little sweetheart, Claire!  During her afternoon touch time, I got in there and changed her diaper, took her temperature, etc.  We were getting ready to feed her and the nurse (Tara, who is awesome!!) let me hold her up in the isolet.  It was the greatest thing, I can't wait to hold her and have her next to me.  Now, I look like total crap and I was tired as all get out so don't let the picture of me scare you!!  Wow...

Katie is getting released from the hospital tomorrow (Monday) at some point.  Judy is going to be here all week with her, which is just wonderful.  There are going to be a bunch of trips that are going to need to be made to and from the hospital and her help and assistance is a blessing.  
I continue to say it and I don't mean it to sound cliche for a second, but thank you, thank you so much for the thoughts, prayers, emails, voice mails and toasts for our family.  We are so fortunate to be surrounded by such thoughtful, generous and caring people.

Have a wonderful Sunday!  I'll keep the blog updated as much as I can!!

Love,

Todd, Katie, Drew, Matt and Claire

Day Two!

Everything continues to be going real good at the hospital!  The babies are doing great.  All of them are off the ventilator and breathing normal 21% oxygen from a nasal cannula.  Claire is the first to get fed, she got a combination of breast milk and formula yesterday and the boys are hopefully going to begin to get fed today.  All of them are now in these isolette deals that control the air temp and humidity so that their skin stays warm and moist.  They will check today for jaundice issues and might have to go under the light if there is any signs of jaundice.  They are really doing wonderful and the care they are receiving is honestly, amazing!  The nurses in the NICU are so awesome, nice, patient with our questions and our visits in and out of the unit.

Katie and I got to change some diapers yesterday!  Do you believe that!  That was the first diaper I have ever changed in my life!  Thrilling.  I changed Matt's diaper and Katie changed Drew's.  When she was changing Drew's he decided to "make like a fountain" and pee all over the place!  So they had to change his blankets and stuff.  This opened the opportunity for Katie to hold Drew for the first time while they were changing his bed.  (Drew below)

This is the first picture of Katie holding her son.  It was awesome!  He did great and I don't think mom wanted to let him go!  There are ton of lines and tubes going every which way, but honestly they don't look that bad in person and they babies really don't know or mind that they are there.

Claire is just a cutie and she just sleeps and rests and chills out!  They all three have taken to the pacifier real well and really go to town on those things!  Its great to see that they have the sucking reflex down.  This is a pic of Claire from yesterday at 1 day old, she LOVES to be all bundled up.  She is not used to having room to stretch out and it freaks her out a bit when she does so they keep her all bundled tight in these warm blankets and she just saws logs!  I just can't wait to hold her and kiss her little cheeks!!  (Claire below)

Matt is really doing great too.  He is a little feisty dude, always sorta moving around and shuffling his little body.  They cleaned up all of their heads so now there is a ton of peach fuzz going on!  As proof of my first diaper changing experience, I thought I would post this pic.  I had to do it during their "touch time" which are dedicated times during the day that they can be changed and manhandled a little bit.  They sleep about 20-22 hours a day and really do not like to be over stimulated so you do what you have to do during these touch times and leave them alone all other times.  He was wide awake and let me move him around and he didn't even pee on daddy, good boy!!  (Matt below)

We're probably looking at a couple of weeks minimum in the NICU, till one, two or all are able to come home.  It is going to depend on breathing and eating issues, but 2-4 weeks wouldn't be out of the question.  

Katie is doing fine.  She is feeling the effects from the surgery and on pain meds to keep the pain down.  She is up walking around and able to use the bathroom, etc.  We are going to get her a shower this morning too, that will make her feel better.

I am going to continue to post some good pics on the blog and all the other good ones I have I am going to put on our picture website.  Sort of a pain to post a ton in the blog.  When I get those in I will post the website info.  I have some INCREDIBLE shots from the delivery room and of Katie, etc.

OK, gotta roll back up the hospital!  Thank you again for all the thoughts, prayers and comments!  We feel them in our hearts every day.

Love,

Todd, Katie, Claire, Drew and Matt!!

Well, Alrighty Then!!

Well this would be my first post as a father and quite honestly, I still don't think I believe it!  So, here is the run down from yesterday...

We went to Dr. Zaretsky's office to check on the babies and get measurements.  The short story is that Baby A or the girl had not gained any weight since the last measurement over three weeks ago.  What that essentially told us was that by the gestational age of the babies at 33 weeks, she should have gained SOME weight, even just a little, so at that point the Dr. told us that she is at this point better being outside and growing than inside and growing and it was "time to have babies".  This all took place between 3:30pm - 4:00pm on Thursday afternoon.

By 4:00pm we all decided it was better to go ahead and have the babies, and that the hospital would be ready for a 6:00pm delivery!  6:00pm, it was 4:00pm then, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!???  Well it was no joke, trust me.  Katie drove herself to Lewisville Medical Center and I drove home, fed the dogs, changed, grabbed our bags and flew to the hospital.  I got there at 5:45pm, nice, way to cut it close!  And I was running out of gas!!  The stress level was peaking JUST A TAD at that point.  The hospital got Katie all prepped and at 6:10pm they wheeled her into the O.R.  I waited outside till they were ready for me.  I said about 5 prayers (good ones too!) and tried to remain calm and somewhat relaxed; sorta worked...  :)

They said they were ready and I went into the O.R., I counted 20+ doctors and nurses in the room, all had been assigned a baby or Katie.  The emotions were just all over the place for both us, excited, scared, anxious, happy, nervous, we were both a mess!  I kept talking to Katie and she did AWESOME, she is truly amazing.  Then I heard, "first rupture...suction..."

And Claire Louise Messerle was born at 6:36pm, she was 2 lbs, 14 oz, 16 inches long.  She was crying and then wisked away to her little baby station surrounded by 3 nurses.  Then at 6:37pm "rupture...suction" and out came Baby B or now better known as Matthew Paul Messerle, he was 3 lbs 10 oz and 17 inches long, then right way within the same minute "rupture...suction"... Baby C  or now Andrew Dale Messerle was born at 3 lbs, 11 oz and 16 inches long.  All the babies were doing great.  I was able to get up from my stool and walk around and get pictures of each of them crying their little heads off!  Claire and Matthew went off into the NICU, I waited for Andrew and his team to get him ready then I followed them into the NICU.  I was assigned a nurse and she gave me the full run down on what was going on with who.

So here they are!

This is Claire (Baby A)!  She is breathing real good, actually better than her brothers.  Since she was down so low and was dealing with the stress of that her body reacted to the stress by strengthening her body and lungs and she is just on a little oxygen help and just cute as a button.  She might get a bath today too!  WTG Claire!

This is Matthew (Baby B)!  He was struggling a little bit with the breathing program so they intibated (sp?) him and gave him some medicine to open up his lungs a little bit.  I guess the lungs on preemie boys are a little stiffer than girls, so they tend to struggle a little bit more in the NICU.  By the time I left him late last night his breathing was already getting better and he was getting to be a feisty little dude!

This is Andrew (Baby C)!  He also needed a little breathing help but he is doing good, rustling around a little bit and stuff.  Drew actually ended up being 1 oz bigger than Matt, we all thought Matt (Baby B) was going to be the big boy.  Depending on their breathing, the boys may be off the high power oxygen today.  We'll see.  All three are pretty close to each other in the NICU, Claire and Matt are on one side and Drew is on the other.  Each one of the babies has their own nurse and they watch over them like HAWKS!  

Katie is doing great, we both had a restless night at the hospital with people coming in and out of that room.  They are already starting to unhook her from all this stuff that she was tied too and get her up so she can go see her babies!  She is really doing great.  She did such an awesome job growing and taking care of those babies and she is going to be one hell of a great mother!  I am so proud of her!

OK, I gotta get in the shower and head back up there to check on the family!  Its been a LONG 18 hours but we're doing great.  Words cannot possibly describe how much all five of us appreciate the thoughts and prayers from everyone over the past months, very overwhelming for us.  We have a long road ahead of us with these little tykes, but we'll make it.  I'll continue to keep the blog updated with pictures over the weekend!  

Love,

Todd and Katie

Hello friends and family! We are 32 weeks 2 days today, what a wild adventure and still doin' great!

Katie made it just fine last weeked through the steriod shots and they are working to help develop the babies lungs. We had another visit yesterday morning with our high risk OBGYN, Dr. Zaretsky. We thought we were going to get some measurements done on the babies but since it had only been 17 days since our last check of their size, the doctor wanted to wait till next weeks visit. We checked cord flow and heartbeats, they were doing just great, no problems at all. We were able to see the "fetal breathing" that the babies do in the womb to practice breathing air when they come out. All three were doing that just great as well.

This is Baby B or our "big boy"!  He was just chilling out laying on his back yesterday and the doctor was able to get some nice shots of him.  His nose is a little smashed down but you can really see his nose, lips, cheeks and his eyes.  Dr. Zaretsky said he looked really great and as his daddy, I would have to agree!  A couple of weeks ago he was measuring 3lbs. 4oz., we're hoping that next week when we get measurements he is over 4lbs., I really think he will be.

Its really hard to believe but we are at the point where we really aren't even messing with the infamous cervix exam! Katie is at the point where if the cervix gives...it gives! They are going to come, they are going to come and there is nothing going to stop 'em! Unfortunately folks it seems like my popular cervix check updates have come to an end. I think it is safe to say that Katie has the "Cervix of Steel" and she should be rewarded with a quart of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream! Well...the prize has been given and it has been consumed, in one sitting! She deserves it!!

Well, where do we stand now?! Basically Katie keeps doing the wonderful job that she is doing keeping the babies in and we wait. Week 35 seems to be discussed quite a bit in our appointments, we are targeting July 22nd at 9am for the C-Section, but this not set in stone.  If Katie gets too uncomfortable and if the benefit to babies staying in there starts to diminish because it is just so cramped, that date could move up or down depending on how things go.  The babies are doing awesome and Katie is doing wonderful, so let's keep this party going!

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, as the time comes closer to bring these babies into the world we are going to need more and more of them. We are so blessed and grateful. We have a nice relaxing 3 day weekend planned. Katie and I hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable 4th of July holiday!

Love,

Todd and Katie