Wanted to give a brief update, then ask a question.

All the girls are in open cribs, taking some bottle feeds (not all, more on that below)and holding their temps well.
Lily is 4lbs 5.5oz, Emma 3lbs 10.9oz and Abby is 3lbs 9.9oz.

All things considered, they are doing fantastic. No set backs at all, the only thing that's even remotely on the radar is that they occaisionally hear a slight murmur on Lily...so slight that they aren't really sure they are hearing it...current thinking is that if it is a whole it's so small and unintrusive that it will take care of itself.

The question is on bottle/breast feeds. They hit 34 weeks yesterday and take some of their feeds by bottle for the last several days. Sometimes they finish the whole thing and sometimes they have to do the remainder through the tube. Looks like the issue with not finishing is fatigue as they often crash with about 1/3 of their bottle left. This seems to be very common, but I was wondering from your experiences how long did it take to build the stamina up to finish all their feeds? This appears to be the last thing with them before coming home.

Ryan & Megan
GGG Born 8/9/10 28 weeks 5 days
Lily Ann 2lbs 12oz. 54 days in NICU
Emma Grace 2lbs 6oz. 55 days in NICU
Abigail Rose 2lbs 7oz. 55 days in NICU
http://thesmithfamilytriplets.blogspot.com/

I am so glad to hear that they are doing well, that's awesome. Our littlest one had a PDA and a very very slight murmur, nothing that needed any intervention. He just had his one-year checkup with the cardiologist and both are gone. So I hope it's the same for yours.
As for the bottle feeds, mine were released at 35w2d and 36w3d, once they took all feedings by bottle for 4 or 5 days in a row. It sounds like your girls are getting really close. They will probably be there within a week. For having been born quite a lot earlier than mine, they are doing phantastic!
Petra
DS 08/02
DD 05/04
BBG 05/09 32.1 weeks

My girls were both initially supposed to come home at 36 weeks (one ended up having to stay for two additional weeks for NEC watch), and they pulled out their NG tubes about three days before that. They started bottle feeding at around 34 weeks, so your babes sound like they're right on track! I think once mine got a better handle on the suck/swallow/breathe thing, they started doing better at finishing.

As for the PDA, the doctors would go back and forth with one of my girls as to whether they heard a murmur or not. They ended up doing a chest ultrasound when she was about 33 or 34 weeks, and the doctor said the PDA would close up on its own. A week or so later, mentions of a murmur stopped showing up in her reports. That's probably what is happening with Lily's as well, and if they release her without any further testing or whatnot, it'll be something your pediatrician will be listening for, so were it to get worse or not close on its own, she should catch it.

Amy

Mom to Julia, ^Caitlin^ & Gabrielle



http://onealaskanmom.wordpress.com

Wonderful that they're doing so well. One of mine had a PDA with a slight murmur that our ped. detected on the follow up visit and had us into the cardiologist immediately (it was our first visit so within 48 hours of release). It closed on its own within 6 mo. with no meds. My girls came home around 34w5d, so I would think you're getting close. My DS had a similar type issue with coordination and was there another week or so.

My girls probably took two weeks before they were really good at taking their bottles. E kept falling asleep in the middle of her bottle and would take a 10 minute nap in the middle of every feeding. M was very enthusiastic about eating from the very beginning. J, our son, was a typical boy. He was completely capable of taking his entire bottle but just didn't feel like it.

My three all had PDA's but only M had to have a follow-up echo after coming home but the hole had closed by itself. E had a round of ibuprofen in the NICU for her PDA.

In addition to getting better at eating, they'll also have to pass a car seat test before coming home.

Mom to GBG born in July 2009 at 30w6d: 3#10oz, 3#12oz, 3#2oz

Congrats! Sounds like they are doing well. The point you are at is right when I started getting inpatient. I think it took mine a couple of weeks to get there. They'd have good days and then a set back. One of mine had a brady right at the very end, and that alone kept her there longer than the other 2. I couldn't believe it. Hang in there. You are really close.

Susanne

gbg @ 31.6
5/2006

I'm definitely becoming impatient. I'm starting to get frustrated changing diapers with all the leads on, in those snuggly thingies. If there was more room I'd bring in a proper changing table. And with those plastic cribs it's like trying to change a diaper in a bucket. Arg.

The protocols are also killing me. Use the gel between babies but the we often hold two at once so what good is that protocol?

Ok I'm done venting.

Ryan & Megan
GGG Born 8/9/10 28 weeks 5 days
Lily Ann 2lbs 12oz. 54 days in NICU
Emma Grace 2lbs 6oz. 55 days in NICU
Abigail Rose 2lbs 7oz. 55 days in NICU
http://thesmithfamilytriplets.blogspot.com/

Jack had a PDA with a murmur, closed on his own but we still the cardio 1x a year. Feeding will be a bear for a couple of months. Charlotte was our worst feeder, it would take her an hour to eat when she was brand new, didnt get better till we switched her to a faster flowing nipple but you are way off from that!

So glad that everything has gone so well, you are all so blessed!

BBG 6/21/06

Yeah feeding is another challenge. It's weird to get some by the breast and switching to a bottle and trying to guess how much they got.

I'm thinking pumping and bottles will be our best bet. We didn't want to supplement with formula until we started running out of milk but it looks like the Dr. will be prescribing a 24cal formula in addition to the milk.

Ryan & Megan
GGG Born 8/9/10 28 weeks 5 days
Lily Ann 2lbs 12oz. 54 days in NICU
Emma Grace 2lbs 6oz. 55 days in NICU
Abigail Rose 2lbs 7oz. 55 days in NICU
http://thesmithfamilytriplets.blogspot.com/

Its a bit hazy since it has been 4+ years but I think that is the same reason I pumped and btl fed mostly but my only good nurser was Ry, the other 2 were just too lazy and I was simply too exhausted to force the issue. Mine were on the 24cal for a 5-6mo. Make sure to get your paperwork into the formula reps, you can get free forumla sent to your house from Similac and Enfamil and dont be shy about asking for samples from the Drs office. We had an amazing dr that would load us up at every appt, we barely bought any with Bf, Similac and Enfamil and the Dr, HUGE blessing!

BBG 6/21/06