Hands Full - Hearts Full

Hands Full - Hearts Full

Posted by Unknown

It's hard to believe the babies are 3 months old now, and we are busy, busy, busy. We are definitely on a schedule, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love every minute I have with them, and I'm trying not to think about the fact I will be returning to work soon. 

We celebrated Tommy's first Father's Day in June. I love watching him take care of our babies, and the triplets and I are truly blessed to have him. Tommy and I are outnumbered at our house, but I must admit I think we are doing a really good job as first time parents. Of course, their sweet faces make it easy. 

We have a lot of help from family and friends. Tommy and I were able to sneak away for dinner on our anniversary. The babies have been on one short shopping trip that consisted of two stores. They have been out to eat with us twice. They've even taken a trip to the lake already. All of these outings were successful because we've had a lot of helping hands. 

Our hands are full, but our hearts are more full. Even though it's been a roller coaster ride to get them here, I would not trade anything in the world for Reiker, Holland, or Sutton. The wait was totally worth it. They are similar yet different in so many ways, and they have changed our lives for the better. 

When looking at pictures from the NICU and comparing those to recent ones, I can't believe how far our babies have come. A lot of people played a part in this, from the NICU nurses who monitored them day and night to everyone who constantly prayed for them. God has blessed us in so many ways! 

Here are some recent pics. I know I may be a little biased, but I think everyone will agree these babies are precious! Enjoy!

          ~ Kim 

3 months old

Eating at Chow Baby for Pop's and Uncle Tony's Birthday

At the lake for the 4th of July

Wide eyed and pacified =) 

Every night is a sleepover for these 3! Matching pj's required! 

"We'll be home in 2 Months!"

"We'll be home in 2 Months!"

Posted by Tom

Well, after 55 days in the NICU, all three of the babies made it home. I cannot tell you how relieved Kim and I are to have everyone at home under one roof. No more trips back and forth to the hospital has been great the past two weeks. After going to the hospital everyday for 2 months, we started to forget what it was like to be at home during the evenings.

All three babies are doing great. Everyone is eating well and getting bigger with each passing day. We get to take the babies for their 2 month wellness pediatrician visit and shots next week. Kim and I do not look forward to having three grumpy babies on our hands.

Having triplets has been nothing short of a blessing. Even though all three have a lot of the same characteristics, their different personalities are shining through. Kim and I can now tell who's crying just by listening to their voices.

Holland seems to be the most social of all three right now. She loves to look around and see who's there and what's going on. Reiker seems to be more content as long as he isn't hungry. Sutton sleeps a little more but has her moments of awake time too (usually at night when mom and dad are trying to sleep :-/ ).

The hardest part for Kim and I has been the adjustment to broken sleep during the nights. We do, however, get from 3-4 hours of sleep in two block increments. Keeping the babies on the same feeding/changing schedule has been our saving grace.

I leave you all with a few 2 month pictures of the babies. Enjoy!

Reiker

Holland

Sutton

Cheers!

-tom

What? It's been a month already?!!!

What? It's been a month already?!!!

Posted by Tom

Well, what can we say? This has probably been the fastest month of our lives. The babies are now one month old. All three are doing great. Reiker and Holland have been doing one bottle feed a day for the last few days and today have actually had two bottle feeds. Sutton had her first bottle tonight, and she demolished it. Our "Little Bit" is a spitfire for sure!

All of the babies had an eye exam on Friday, May 2nd. All three passed with no problems or abnormalities that can be seen in preemies. They will have another test in two weeks and then another at gestational week 40. This Sunday (May 4) the babies would have been at gestational week 35 had they not been born.

Hopefully a few more weeks of good growth/progress in the NICU and then the babies will get to come home. It will be a bitter sweet homecoming. We have met some really good people at St. Mary's. They have taken great care of us and our triple miracles. We could not be happier with the care and service that we have received.

The latest measurements for the babies are Sutton is now 3 lbs 12 oz, Holland is 5 lbs 6 oz, and Reiker is    5 lbs 3 oz.

Miss Sutton (aka Little Bit)

Miss Holland (aka Little Meatball)

Mr. Reiker (aka Little Man)

He is Risen! A happy Easter!

He is Risen! A happy Easter!

Posted by Tom

It's hard to believe that the 3 weeks have gone by since the babies were born. They have come so far in a short amount of time. Each day they continue to grow a little bigger and stronger. Today, Kim would have been 33 weeks pregnant had they not been born. We're hoping for a few more weeks of good growth and progress, and maybe these little miracles will be released from the hospital but not before their ready.

Holland has grown from 3lbs 7oz at birth to 4lbs 6oz. Reiker has gone from 3lbs 9oz to 4lbs 3oz. Sutton has broken the 3lb mark from her birth at 2lbs 8oz. All three babies are doing extremely well. Holland and Reiker are now in open cribs, and Sutton is still in her isolette. Hopefully she'll be in an open crib soon. All three babies haven't had any major infections or complications. They are as normal as preemies can be. We just have to fatten them up before they can come home.

I leave you all with a few pictures of the past several weeks.

A picture at 2 weeks

Everybody's sleeping!!

Holland

Reiker

Sutton

Holland and Reiker (Check out that smile!)

"You are healed!"

Sutton

Holland

Reiker

"Y'all have a good one. I'll be here brushing my hair." (Sutton)

Cheers!

- tom

A Very Special Delivery

A Very Special Delivery

Posted by Tom

While at the hospital, on Monday, March 31st, our sweet nurse Tonya came in to tell us that it was "go time." They were setting our delivery up to begin at 12:00 noon that day. St. Mary's called in several of the NICU staff, respiratory therapists, and labor nurses. The delivery of triplets is not an ordinary thing and they wanted to make sure that every detail was covered. Including Kim and myself, there were 18 people in the operating room. Needless to say, it was "grand central station" with all of the people and equipment. We could not be more grateful for the service we received from our doctors, nurses, specialists, and staff here at StMH.

At 12:24pm, Holland Belle McCullers was born weighing 3lbs 7oz and 15-3/4" long.

At 12:26pm, Charlie Reiker McCullers was born weighing 3lbs 9oz and 16" long.

At 12:26pm, Sutton Michelle McCullers was born weighing 2lbs 8oz and 14-1/2" long.

Kim and I have been very blessed. God has given us more than we could have ever imagined. The babies and mom are doing great. Kim was released from the hospital on Saturday, April 5th and the babies continue to stay in the NICU. All three are doing great; they just need a little time to grow and get stronger. Each day they continue to improve. The McCullers family has been blessed with three special deliveries.

Our decorated mailbox, thanks to Tabitha (Nonna)

Our decorated door, thanks to Aunt Julie

Nurse Carol (the artist) did a wonderful job decorating the babies' boards.

From left to right - Holland, Reiker, Sutton

Kim holding Holland for the first time.

Kim holding Reiker for the first time.

Kim holding Sutton for the first time.

Cheers!

-tom (dad)

The Wheels fell off, well sortof...

The Wheels fell off, well sortof...

Posted by Tom

Kim has had a great pregnancy thus far. She hasn't had any problems related to blood pressure or health risks that could arise with carrying multiples. During week 29, things started to change slightly. Monday of that week her blood pressure was up. Nothing major, but it just caught our attention. This was her last week of work before she went on bed rest. Wednesday night of that week, her BP was still high. Something was definitely up, but we thought that maybe her body was just getting to the point where rest is the only thing that would do.

Thursday morning, she checked her BP before work and it was up even higher than the night before. After thinking about it, I decided that Kim was done with work and the she needed to rest. Later on that morning she called the high risk doctor and he recommended her to go to her OBGYN to have everything checked out since she hadn't had any problems until now.

At the OBGYN, after checking Kim's BP again and doing a urine test, it was determined that she needed to go to the hospital to have a few more tests ran. During blood work it was found that her platelet level had dropped. Kim was showing signs of preeclampsia.

We were now hour to hour waiting to see if it was time to meet our little ones. Thursday afternoon they gave Kim a steroid shot to help with the development of the babies' lungs. Our goal at this point was to get to Saturday afternoon. The doctor said 48 hours after the initial steroid shot would allow it to work its magic. Friday turned into Saturday and Saturday into Sunday. Kim was having blood work done every 12 hours to see if the preeclampsia had gotten any worse. Her platelet level had remained constant but still low. Her BP had gotten back to normal or within reason of being pregnant. All of this changed Monday morning.

Kim's blood work was done Monday morning and her liver enzymes had elevated to a level where the doctors were no longer comfortable. The HELLP syndrome had kicked in full force and it was "go time."

Our lives were about to be forever changed... for the better!!

Cheers!
-tommy

Nursery = DONE!!

Nursery = DONE!!

Posted by Tom

After several months of working in the nursery, it is finally done!! We are ready for the babies to make their arrival. We still have to add some accessories (pictures, curtains, etc.), but all of that can be done in time. We will be tight at times, but with triplets there is no such thing as extra room anymore.

We painted the room a light gray color with our block accent wall. We're pretty proud of our accent wall.
;-)

Kim's last day of work was March 26th. She made it 29 weeks and 3 days! She's tough!!

Cheers!
-tom

It's starting to get REAL!

It's starting to get REAL!

Posted by Tom

It's starting to get real! We have had three showers and gotten lots of goodies for the babies. We are very thankful for our family, friends, and coworkers that have showered love upon us and our babies.

Our nursery is starting to come together. We have painted and gotten new carpet. We have added a dresser and a chest of drawers. Hopefully we can add the cribs in the next two weeks and that will complete our furniture. After such good showers, the only remaining things we need are accessory items. Once the nursery is complete, we will do a big post with pictures for you all to see. *Stay Tuned*

We went back to the high risk doctor to have our 26 week check up. All three babies are doing great. As time progresses and the babies continue to grow, it makes each ultrasound very difficult to tell what's going on and to see everything. Growing babies means less room for us to see each individual part. However, the doctor was able to see all of their vitals and everyone is still perfectly healthy. Holland is now measuring 2lbs and 4oz, Sutton is measuring 2lbs and 3oz, and Reiker (the big brother) is measuring 2lbs and 5oz. That's over 7lbs of total baby! Kim is starting to get into the "uncomfortable" stage of pregnancy. She is still working but having to sit a lot more. By the end of the day, she is done! Fortunately, the only problem that she is having is her feet are swelling. The more she sits and props the less they swell. She is trying to work until the end of this month. That would put her right at 30 weeks. The high risk doctor has said that our goal is 36 weeks, and he thinks Kim can definitely make it there. Bed rest for the final 6 weeks will hopefully insure that we meet our goal.

Even though the babies are getting harder to see via u/s. We did get two 3D shots of Sutton and Reiker. Holland was not being very photogenic this time.

A little glimpse of Sutton Michelle McCullers

A hidden Charlie Reiker McCullers

Cheers!

-tom

23 weeks and counting...

23 weeks and counting...

Posted by Tom

It has been awhile since we last updated. Things have been going great for Kim and the babies. We had our 22 week check up, and the babies are now measuring at/over one pound. Holland (Baby A) is 1lb 3oz, Reiker (Baby B) is 1lb 2oz, and Sutton (Baby C) is right at 1lb. During the last two visits to the high risk doctor, he checked all three babies' anatomy, and they are perfect. All vitals and parts (head, arms, legs, etc) are measuring spot on for this gestational period. They are growing and starting to crowd the womb. This crowding unfortunately is making it harder to see things on the ultrasound. Our good ultrasound pictures are becoming far and few in between.

Kim is starting to enjoy pregnancy a little more these days. She is beginning to have more of an appetite and seems to be growing every few days. (See "The Growing Belly" page.) She still has the occasional fight with morning sickness, but thankfully that has subsided a good bit. Unfortunately, her feet are starting to swell, and she is having to sit a lot more. I guess when you're pregnant with triplets, things like swelling happen a lot earlier. Some of you mothers can probably relate, but Kim's biggest complaint is heartburn, another symptom that is multiplied due to triplets.

Meanwhile, we have begun working on the nursery and have registered. We have our first shower this coming Sunday. We have a few more things to finish up with the nursery before we purchase furniture, but it's all coming together nicely. (We'll post pictures of the nursery in a future post, so stay tuned!)

I leave you guys with the best pictures from our last ultrasound of Holland and Sutton. Reiker wasn't cooperating for his photo-op, maybe next time.

Cheers!
-tom

Holland (Baby A) - 22 weeks 4 days

Sutton (Baby C) - 22 weeks 4 days