Life in the NICU

Immediately after the girls were born, they were whisked off to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). I was sent to the recovery room and then moved to the family care unit. I desperately wanted to see my girls, but I couldn't get up to go see them (spinal block). Robin followed the girls to the NICU and was able to get some great pictures and videos for me to see. He also recorded my entire c-section, which I watched while in the recovery room. That night, Robin spent several hours in the NICU holding Isabella. I was so upset and jealous, but I kept telling myself that it was important for the girls to have skin-to-skin contact. Robin didn't come back to my room until around midnight. The next morning I was finally able to get up and go see my girls.

Katherine:





Margaret:



Isabella:




My first trip to the NICU was overwhelming. Swedish Hospital has private NICU rooms, which is so nice. They even have a special room designed just for triplets (and they have two twin rooms). So, all of my girls were in one room that had two couches and cabinet with a safe just for our stuff. At this point we were only allowed to hold each girl for 30-45 minutes per day. I think I held Katherine first, but honestly, I can't remember (see...I should have been blogging all along!). Because I was carrying triplets, I knew that they would be in the NICU for some period of time. So, the whole NICU experience for me was not traumatic because I expected it, but seeing my girls in the isolets for the first time with three nurses all introducing themselves at the same time was overwhelming...not to mention I had just had major surgery! For at least the first week, each girl had their own nurse.

The girls were remarkably healthy for their gestational age. I felt lucky that my girls were in the NICU because they were born early, not because they had major health problems. Katherine was put on a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure machine) for 4 days. By day 16, she was completely off oxygen. Margaret was also on the CPAP for 4 days, then a high flow nasal cannula for 10 days and lastly a low flow nasal cannula. When Margaret was discharged, so was still on a very small amount of oxygen until the beginning of May. Isabella was put on a ventilator for the first 18 hours. She was then on the CPAP for 4 days, and by day 22 she was completely off oxygen.

It was hard going to the hospital every day. I could only hold each girl for up to 1 hour each day. I had to balance my time holding them with Robin's time to hold them. I was at the hospital twice a day.

We got to know our nurses really well. There were some that we liked better than others. Most of our "primary" nurses were young, and we bonded with them. We even set one of the nurses up on a date with one of Robin's co-workers.

Margaret was the first to go home. She was the smallest at birth, and she was "Baby C" in utero who caused the premature birth. I nicknamed her "Mighty Margaret." She went home on April 15th (59 days), her two month birthday. She was still two weeks shy of her due date. On April 19th (63 days), Isabella came home. Katherine was having issues eating, so she stayed longer. At first it was quite overwhelming to have two babies at home. I know the doctors could sense that, and I think they kept Katherine a few days longer than necessary just to let me adjust. Katherine was discharged on April 26th (70 days), exactly 10 weeks old and one day shy of her official due date. The funny this is, Katherine is now the fastest eater.

In the end, I'm so thankful for the NICU experinece. I learned how so much from the nurses. I would have been so overwhelmed had I just taken them straight home from the hospital. Robin and I had the opportunity to learn so much about parenting babies before we took them home. It made for such a smooth transition. We do not argue or question one another about caring for the girls because we were already on the same page before they came home. I think every parent (not child) could benefit from some time in the NICU.