Welcome back and many apologies for the delay in the long awaited update. Below is a smattering of activities from Carys’ discharge to date. The Terrific Trio head back to the QMH this week for a check-up and that is when we’ll have a better idea of their present medical condition. To start, though, we provide a summary of each one. Despite the rather doomy/gloomy nature of what we write, the Terrific Trio are all acting like normal, healthy babies with the exception of Jasper's breathing. Enjoy the update.

JASPER: We estimate weighs about 11 lbs. Eating 100 mls 6X/day and 120 mls @ midnight. Has the most laboured breathing of the three indicating he could be retaining fluids in his lungs. Started wheezing a week ago and when he does we administer O2 for 20 minutes. Wheezing goes away. Has terrible tummy problems during the witching hour – so did Sebastian. At last ROP exam his retina was still unchanged and “not fully developed” according to the doctor. Can still track movement at a distance but not so good up close… therefore, could be farsighted. 

Jasper

Fairly easy going disposition as long as he’s cosy and comfy. Very sweet little grunts and squeals. Starting to smile and be more interactive. Rarely throws up but known for spitting up his burps. Strong as all get out! Able to hold his head upright unassisted. Loves to be held and is known for crying until someone picks him up, and then crying when placed down again. 

As for looks…he is our ginger boy, blonde-ish ginger hair, wide blue-grey eyes, a bit of a pug nose, and a barely discernable jaw-line. How can a Caldwell have a barely discernable jaw line? When you have the extra padding Jax does, that’s when. He has an endearing look of surprise, and squeals or emits strange exclamations for no known reason whatsoever. His body is dimpled and his legs and arms are well-creased. His thighs are massive. His back is covered in down. Overall, he is absolutely adorable in a well-fed, sweet way!

SELA: We estimate weighs about 9 lbs. Eating 100 mls 6X/day and 120 mls @ midnight. No difficulty breathing. Fighting conjunctivitis the last few days and recently started having tummy problems. Known for projectile vomiting. Even with every precaution usually loses two feeds per day and has to be re-fed at least half her meal. 

Sela

Doctors watching her for a potential thyroid problem. Had a Grade 1 Brain Bleed in the NICU the long term effects of which could reveal themselves with motor skill development issues within the year. 

The most interactive at this point, Sela LOVES being held. If someone attends to Jasper or Carys in their crib, Sela lays there tentatively watching and waiting for her turn to be picked up. Very strong. Able to turn herself 90 degrees on her back in no time. Able to hold her head upright unassisted.

Sela has a great complexion: very English. Skin is smooth as milky silk. Her grey eyes are deep-set and black lashed. Her eyebrows are coming in brown, and her hair is brown-ish red, or at least it is at this point. Makes all sorts of sweet little sounds and smiles, but has a nasty, angry cry when she doesn’t get what she wants. Her cries are often of the “please pay attention to me” variety. Very plaintive. When angry can raise the rooftops.

CARYS: We estimate weighs about 7.5 lbs. Eating 75 mls 6X/day and 90 mls @ midnight. No difficulty breathing. Known for projectile vomiting. Even with every precaution usually loses two feeds per day. May or may not be re-fed.

Carys

At last ROP exam the doctor reported her ROP improving. Carys is excellent at tracking and loves studying things and people. Very high maintenance when she first came home, Carys has settled down the last few weeks. Had a Grade 2 Brain Bleed in the NICU the long term effects of which could reveal themselves with motor skill development issues within the year. Upon discharge doctors said we should be more worried about other premature baby developmental issues such as Cerebral Palsy, which any one or more of the babies could have. Carys is quite strong and able to hold her head upright unassisted.

Carys has stork bites on her eyelids and the back of her neck. Her eyebrows are gingery, as is her hair. Her cries are tentative and hoarse, difficult to hear sometimes. She sounds so bewildered when she cries!  Her bone structure seems to be very fine, and that plus what appears to be a rather distinctive nose makes us think she resembles “Glamma”…aka: Mo. There are no creases on this body, Carys is still very thin and fine. She is thoughtful and very task oriented. And so sweet. When she stops crying in your arms you feel so proud. 

Tess continues mothering the Terrific Trio with the same grace and conviction she commanded the first time she saw the Terrific Trio in the NICU on February 25th. Tess has a plan of where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. When the Terrific Trio resisted wakening for their 3 AM feeds, Tess announced they were ready to sleep through the night. Sure enough, within a few days the 3 AM feed disappeared. There were a few rude awakenings, but within seven days the Terrific Trio could be counted on to sleep from midnight to 6 AM. That happened at three weeks corrected age! Now we’re tampering with the midnight feed to slide it up to 11:30 pm, then 11:00 pm and so on. 

At the same time, Tess explained to Sebastian that in the near future he and the triplets would be able to sleep in the same room just like all his friends and their siblings. Sebastian looked at Tess skeptically, but we’re sure he’ll catch on. 

Always attentive to the things most of us would forget and wish we’d have done in hindsight, Tess organized a professional photographer (Alice Bache) to take family photos in late June. 

Alice generously allowed me to snap a few digital pics that can be found here. (Thank you, Alice!)

Meanwhile, local media twice wrote about the Terrific Trio. Each time Tess willingly scheduled visits with the journalists and photographers. 

There’s no doubt we’re battling a degree of fatigue but Tess watches out for all of us. When presented with a massage gift certificate at Mother’s Day, Tess used it in record time, too!  A wonderful, loving mother &  wife – we’re all fortunate to have Tess in our lives. Thank you, Tess!

Sebastian adores his younger brother and sisters, expressing his love in the most unique and dear ways. Every night he rushes into their room to say good night. During the day he willingly plies them with kisses and hugs. Sebastian is amazingly fair, too. He seems to understand when the triplets require attention instead of him. At the same time, he is unafraid of letting us know when he needs attention. This usually happens with Sebastian juxtapositioning himself between baby and adult while exclaiming “Nooooooo!” We're quite proud of Sebastian's ability to express his needs, preferring that over pouting in the corner any day!

Having recently left diapers behind and graduated to underwear, Sebastian takes great interest in The Changing of the Nappies. 

He carefully examines the contents of each diaper (this is tricky and an adult’s arm is usually nearby to insure he doesn’t dive in!) then yells out the contents to the world. “What did Sela do, Sebastian?” we’ll ask to which Sebastian will shriek, “WEE WEE!” The ever-helpful Sebastian will even take used diapers to the garbage.

As one can see from the attached pictures, Sebastian is even willing to try his hand at feeding. This usually lasts for a few minutes then requires an adult to assist. The following story will give people a sense of the bond developing between Sebastian and triplets… the other day Sebastian was dutifully feeding Jasper. After a few minutes the watchful Mila cautiously stepped in. Indignant Sebastian tried to push Mila away while declaring, “No, MY baby!”

Click the picture above to read the captions!

Funniest moment: a few days ago while Sebastian sat at the dining room table enjoying his lunch, the Terrific Trio were at various stages of finishing their noon feed. One by one each baby started to cry. Now, when triplets cry, sometimes it’s impossible to immediately rush to their side. Caregivers quickly get into the groove of explaining from across the room, “Now Carys, you’ll just have to wait until I have finished changing Jasper’s diaper.”  And so the crying continued.  Sebastian comically watched this scene unfold, listened to the babies crying and then belted out, “BABY! BABY! BABY” with an outstretched pointed finger waving in the Terrific Trio’s vicinity...

Just as the Terrific Trio Care Team looked up to investigate the commotion, Sebastian pulled back his arms and covered both ears with his hands. Our phrase for that is “earmuffs.”

Sweetest moments: while we've witnessed numerous intimate and tender moments between Sebastian and the Terrific Trio, such as Sebastian blowing kisses from across the room while on his way for a nap, nothing takes the cake more than Sebastian sharing his toys. Sebastian loves sharing his small toys with his brother and sisters. On more than one occasion we’ve found a small car or Thomas the Tank Engine item carefully placed atop a triplets’ blanket, as they slept in one of the numerous bouncers we’ve collected. Each little toy waits to be played with by it’s beneficiary, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but sometime in the months to come. These little moments clearly tell us that Sebastian loves the Terrific Trio. 

In the NICU the triplets slept almost all the time – very common for premature babies. But now as they grow older the usual amenities are being picked up along the way… such as colicky tummies, gas, etc. We call it The Witching Hour when almost nothing settles the triplets - 

Here is a silver lining in a dark cloud for everyone to ponder. The Terrific Trio are only five weeks old corrected age. But since they were born over four months ago, they are remarkably strong at times given that they’ve been using their muscles three months longer than their five-week-old counterparts. We’ve noticed in particular that the TT all have very strong necks. We plan for wake time after each feeding, which we achieve with mixed results as you’ll see from these pictures. Sometimes the Terrific Trio are just too tired to play and other times they’re wide awake… just like your average babies!

Across the top: picture on the left Sela (bottom) and Carys nap on their play mat. Middle, Sela napping and at right Carys napping. Bottom of this column: Sela practises some tummy time while in the middel column Jasper chars with Sela.

Well, we have a big surprise for you… did you count four babies? Surprise – we had quads! No, just kidding, the fourth baby (bottom right) is Charlie Bissinella, born a week after the Terrific Trio. We suspect Charlie and Jasper will be good friends.

An amazing aspect of tripletdome is ascertaining if there is or isn’t some sort of unique bond between the three. Here Sela (left in immediate picture at right) and Jasper mirror each other as they sleep.

And speaking of mirroring each other, in the top middle picture Sela and Jasper can be found singing at the top of their lungs.

Sometimes the crib just isn’t comfy enough. Here Jasper sleeps one early June afternoon nestled into the folds of Tess and Charles’ comforter. 

Jasper puts a full tummy to good use… by sleeping! (Late June)

And why would the crib be uncomfortable? Because Sela is practicing for the 22nd season of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice"… 

Another quiet moment with Jasper.

For example in the lower centre picture Sela’s takin’ real estate early one morning from her sister Carys. Above the TT sleep quietly.

Carys crashed out after a Sunday morning brunch (Late June)

The Terrific Trio has mixed reactions to taking a bath. Sela loves it; Carys could take it or leave it; Jasper isn’t too tough to read: HE HATES IT! Jasper hates being naked, he hates being chilly and he hates being wet. Exception: he’ll lie naked in a room with an acceptable temperature on a gorgeous New Zealand sheepskin.

Above right: one of the few times Jasper enjoyed his bath… (you can always count on Dad to make baths fun and enjoyable!) Not for long though… below right, Jasper objects to the entire ordeal despite being wrapped up in a nice comfy towel. 

Question: how do we know this is Sela, above? Hint: it has to do with her tongue! Sela loves sharing her tongue with the world. And when in the bath, she’s quite intrigued. Here Sela hopes to have her tongue tickled by some water droplets.

Carys, above, loves to watch people and study her environment. So when a rubber ducky waltzed on by during her bath, Carys didn’t hesitate a moment to examine the chemical composition of plastics, and delightful nature of her little visitor. 

Charles returns from Vietnam after Carys’ formal discharge, and snaps the first picture of the Terrific Trio sleeping officially independent of the NICU. From left to right: Carys, Sela, Jasper.

Monday Charles and Tess returned to the NICU at noon for Carys’ check-up. No problems whatsoever. However, the doctors didn’t want Carys to be officially discharged until after her ROP eye exam on Wednesday. Charles & Tess left the NICU, knowing that Charles was walking the halls for the last time… the next day Charles headed off to Vietnam on a business trip and Carys was officially discharged on Wednesday evening. During this entire time Tess battled a major cold. 

By the time Charles’ returned from Vietnam the cold had taken hold on him, too. A few days later Mila came down with the bug. 

Lita managed to stay bug free but Sebastian was the culprit who first introduced it to the household and has been sick the longest. In fact, after finally getting excited about Carys’ homecoming outside the NICU, Sebastian promptly coughed all over Carys at least three or four times. 

Miraculously, and praise God for this, none of the babies became ill since coming home other than a little conjunctivitis. This new improved flu bug, however, flattened the rest of us. 

Finally, after 97 days in the NICU, Carys receives a home leave. She joins her two siblings who have already been home for about two weeks. We took these pictures after evening feeds. The Terrific Trio slept peacefully, and as Tess and I watched, we started to finally be present to the miracle that lay before us.

Saturday, May 28 the NICU doctors informed Tess and Charles that Carys could go home on home leave. (This was mainly a function of Tess recovering – or so we thought – from her cold. The NICU waited all week to send Carys home.) Knowing that this could be a slow process, with forms to be signed and drugs to be obtained from the NICU, Charles did all the groundwork early in the day. Late afternoon friends dropped by to see Sela and Jasper. They were also anxious to see Carys but knew she was still in the hospital. Charles snuck out on the premise he was going to feed Carys her 4:30 PM bottle. Lita and Sebastian followed a few minutes later. Charles arrived at the NICU, packed up Carys, had the nurses take one picture and left with Carys. Sebastian waited outside the NICU doors. Upon seeing Charles walk through the doors with Carys in tow, Sebastian immediately dropped to his knees and burst into tears.  A few hugs and some explanationfrom Dad  that this was the last baby and Sebastian snapped out of his tears. 

The night of Carys’ homecoming the three babies lined themselves up in the crib and for the first time Tess and Charles saw the sweetness of the Terrific Trio as they presented themselves as a little (or big!) bundle of joy. The next day, Sunday, the entire family headed out to Bowen Road for a walk. 

Sebastian rode one of his cars for a good part of the walk until finally fatigue caught up with him. This was something Charles & Tess had planned for… his car was hitched onto the back of a double stroller and Sebastian satisfyingly settled himself into the fourth seat of two double strollers. Needless to say, that day curious onlookers stopped us numerous times.

Sela (left in 1st pic) & Jasper in their crib on one of their first nights home from the NICU. 

The next morning, hungry Jasper (right in 2nd pic) nibbles at Sela’s sleeve. At this point the two are only eating 60 mls eight times per day.