Three's Company (and a Crowd)

I know that many of you are upset that we have been so delayed in getting a post up about Nadia coming home but hopefully you will forgive us as it has been quite a change here at the Waskey household now that there are three infants to take care of!  We have to admit that after the fairly easy time that we had with Ryan and then with Ryan and Andrew that it was a bit of a shock at how much harder it became once we added Nadia to the mix.  Needless to say we are a bit sleep deprived at this point but we are thankful that all three kids were home for Christmas.  Anyway, here are details on Nadia.

First and foremost we wanted to update you all on Nadia's health.  As anyone who has read this blog since the beginning knows, Nadia has a heart defect that was a strong indicator for Downs Syndrome.  Since we didn't want to do an amnio test we didn't find out until she was born that she does in fact have Downs.  Initially we did not tell the world about the diagnosis because we didn't want anyone to treat us or Nadia any differently.  Julie and I know that God will continue to provide for us in everything we need so even though we are unsure of what the future will hold we are ready to experience it.  However, now that Nadia is home we thought we should share the news with everyone because it is obviously an important part of this crazy adventure.  Also, we want to offer thanks to God that although Nadia will still need surgery to repair her heart, the Doctor's have told us that they are pleased with how relatively minor her issue has been since her birth.  We have an appointment with the cardiologist in the coming weeks and will update everyone when we know more about her surgery.

We really weren't expecting Nadia to come home before Christmas because last Sunday (12/18) when Julie went to visit her in the hospital she was having some feeding issues and they had put her back on a tube for some of her feedings.  Based on the conversations with the nurses it seemed as though Nadia could stay in the hospital for at least another week.  So imagine our surprise when I called Tuesday morning to let them know that I was coming to visit and they told me that it was possible that Nadia would be discharged later in the day. (I have to point out that the care that the kids received at the hospital was top notch but the communication regarding several issues surrounding the kids, including their discharges, was HORRIBLE.)

When I got to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon (12/20) I was told that the Doctor's had just decided that Nadia would go home on Wednesday so long as she gained weight overnight.  When Wednesday rolled around and Nadia had gained as much weight as they wanted, we got the call to come pick her up.  Julie made the trip this time while I stayed home with the boys and by 6pm on Wednesday we had all three of our kids home with us.  For those of you keeping score at home you may have realized that all three kids came home exactly one week after each other.  Ryan came home 2 weeks and 1 day after he was born, Andrew came home one week later and then Nadia came home one week after that.  So only 29 days after they were born, all three kids were home.  Considering that many triplets stay in the hospital for several months we are definitely blessed to have them all home so quickly.

It has been quite an adjustment having all three kids home as we now have to both participate in all 8 feedings each day (and night).  Since the kids eat every 3 hours (and it takes roughly 1 hour to feed them), we now think of our time in 2 hour increments.  It is really amazing what you can get done in 2 hours!  Thankfully we have already received a lot of help from our family, friends and next door neighbor.  We have also had numerous offers to help which we will be starting to take advantage of shortly :)

As Julie and I celebrated only our second Christmas at home by ourselves (the first being the first year we were married), we reflected on how our lives have changed and how we have so many new experiences to look forward to.  We are already looking forward to next Christmas when our trio will most likely be walking and making us yearn for the days like today when all three "cherubs" slept most of the day.  We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the new year!

As always, enjoy the pictures...

Lady in the house...watch out boys!

Seriously mom and dad, can we stop with the pictures?

Such a cute little face!

I know kung fu!

Hi mommy!

Wild child hair

The outfit says it all

Fight the power!

And some more picture of the boys...

Andrew is so peaceful..for now...

A rare moment when both boys are wide awake at the same time (Ryan left, Andrew right)

Everyone look to your left!

Mom with Ryan after a midnight feeding...don't worry he doesn't stay in bed with us..,

Ryan is a cutie pie

Holy crap...we have 3 kids?

Christmas Eve...post car ride to see Christmas lights...

Getting ready to skype with the Smiths

Three peas in a pod...literally

Andrew being cute

Ryan with his first ever Christmas present, a special bib from the Kirby's