My Wife - My Hero!!

The sacrifices Holly has made to ensure the health of our babies is more than any man could ask of his wife. Not only did she carry THREE babies for six months enduring the aches and pains of pregnancy, but when her body threatened to deliver all three at 22 weeks (a guaranteed death sentence for any baby) Holly laid completely still in her hospital bed for 5 week giving our babies a fighting chance. Then for the next three and a half months Holly spent every day at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit enduring the stress of having three sick babies in the hospital (and all that comes with it - nurses, doctors, etc.) so that they could feel their mothers nurturing touch. And as if that wasn't enough, Holly has pumped every three hours around the clock since our babies were born so that they could be fed only on mommy's breast milk. Because of Holly's hard work we now have three beautiful, healthy babies. I am so proud of her.

Thank you sweetie for all of your sacrifices. You are truly my hero.

Where Holly stayed for 5 weeks.

I don't believe a man can witness a labor or a c-section and not be amazed at the strength of a woman.

Mommy working her magic.

Cute Babies!

Cuddle time

On the way to the doctor's office for a well baby check up!

View from the backseat of our car

Bathtime for Grace!

Gracie girl

Oliver... or Grandpa Gene???

Oliver lounging in the recliner

Sisters

My little strawberry shortcake

Oliver livin' on the edge

Oliver says, "Hey, where's my food, man?"

My sweet baby Audrey

Audrey's cute feet

Mr. Oliver - so adorable!

Audrey is so curious and loves watching things!

Babies are Home!

Our first family portrait as a family of FIVE!

Bringing our third baby (Audrey) through the front door

Audrey waking up from her ride home

Mommy and Grace the day we brought her home

Two babies home (8/27)

Gracie eating lunch

Audrey's first ride in the Moby wrap

As of August 29th, all three Bennington babies are home and doing great! Oliver came home on August 15th, Grace followed on the 27th, and Audrey finally got to come home yesterday, August 29th. And mom and dad made it through the first night pretty well; we only got about 3 hours of sleep, but maybe that's a lot for having triplets??? Let's just say there aren't enough hours in the day to sleep and take care of three babies: by the time you change and feed all three, it's nearly time to start over again! But as exhausted as we are (and will be for the next 18 years!), we're so thankful that our three little babies are healthy and home.

Birthday Party and Oliver Comes Home!!!

Grace, Oliver, and Audrey in their birthday hats!

Last weekend was a big weekend for the babies! Oliver had surgery on his inguinal hernia on the 14th, was circumcised and got to come home on the 15th, and the babies hit 40 weeks gestation (full term) on August 14th (my original due date)! The nurses knew it was the babies' intended "birth-day" and so while Oliver was recovering from surgery in his own room, they secretly got the girls ready for a party with cake, hats, and all! It was quite a surprise, and a lot of fun:)

Oliver at home doing what he does best!

Dad carrying his little boy around in our Moby wrap.

Oliver snoozin' in the Moby

Oliver in his cradle at home (in our room)

Oliver suckin' on his bink

Hanging out in the boppy on our bed.

Oliver cuddling with Audrey in her crib at the NICU -

he doesn't have a bed there anymore, so I threw him in with his sister and they loved it!

Buddies

Robert and I absolutely love having our little man at home! We're exhausted, but enjoying every minute. However, it has made our trips back and forth to the NICU even harder, not just from being so tired, but from wanting the girls home, and from just feeling really "done" with that place. As of yesterday, the babies have been in the NICU for 100 days... we were admitted to the hospital on April 10th, and it's now almost September. We are so tired of being there and just want to be home spending time with all three of our babies and establishing some sort of normal routine.

We are optimistic that the girls will be home within another week... Grace has been taking most of her feeds by mouth and Audrey is improving too. Grace is now 7lbs and Audrey is almost 10!!! All of a sudden our tiny little babies aren't so tiny anymore!

But amidst all of the progress and health, we are continually reminded by the neonatologists of our babies ongoing fragility and risks. About 80% of "micro-preemies" (born before 28 weeks gestation) end up being re-admitted to the hospital within their first year of life. Common colds and bacteria that barely phase most babies can wipe out preemies and cause them major problems including having to be put back on breathing machines. Even though our babies look so big and healthy now, their immune systems, lungs, and blood chemistry is just different than babies born at full-term. So, as much as we would like to take our babies out and share them with everyone, we must continue to be super cautious with them and continue the NICU hygiene and hand-washing in our home. Please continue to pray that our babies will stay healthy and infection-free!

3 Months / Due Date

Audrey

Grace

Play time for Gracie!

Audrey wearing the cute booties made for her

by the very talented Donna Lawson

Sleepy Audrey

Hey, is that a mirror???

Oliver and his cute little booties

The boys

Sisters

This Friday, August 14th, was our babies' official "due date" which means they will be 40 weeks gestationally, and also three months old! We thought for sure we would at least have one baby home by now, but it hasn't worked out that way. About two weeks ago Oliver started having really severe reflux which was causing him to clamp down on his airway and stop breathing. Robert and I were there to witness several of his "episodes" which included watching him turn blue, watching his heart rate slow dramatically, and watching three nurses rush to his side to give him breaths until he resumed breathing on his own. The doctors decided to thicken his feeds in hopes of weighting his food down so it wouldn't slosh around so much, and it seems to be working; Oliver hasn't had an episode for 4 whole days!

Other progress this week has included the girls taking more and more feeds by mouth (rather than through the tube in their noses), and Audrey coming off of oxygen! Robert has been spending quite a bit of time helping the girls learn how to eat, and even the nurses are jealous at how successful he has been! Audrey is turning out to be quite the "daddy's girl" and won't take a bottle from anyone but him! And mommy is hoping that now that they're getting stronger, they'll start nursing soon, too!