Quick Update

And boy do I mean QUICK! (It cant really be any other way theses days.)

We brought Cooper home on Thursday and were able to bring Greyson and Bode home on Saturday afternoon. Cooper was able to come home earlier because he didn't need an Apnea monitor and the other two did. We had to wait on the monitors and get "schooled" on them before they released the other two boys.

It has been a pretty wild couple of days but we are ALL doing pretty well so far. Thank the Lord for my wonderful Mom and our sweet friend Lynn for all the help. I'm not sure we could have survived the last couple of days without them.

The boys are doing awesome! All are eating well; 2+ ounces at a time. (Not that I ever questioned if they were to be good eaters coming from this family.) Bode is the best sleeper. I guess that's the McCarrell in him. Cooper makes the biggest smiles when he sleeps and Greyson loooves to whine. Ahhh, what a blessing they are, crying, dirty diapers and all!

This is the hardest part to say...I know everyone is very anxious to see the boys, however, we have to be very careful with illness and our babies, so if you have been sick or exposed to anything please don't come over. We also can't have a lot of children over in the beginning just as a precaution. Especially kiddos who attend school or day care and are exposed to illness, etc. (Per the Dr and nurses advice.) Please, give us a call first if you want to come over to give us a heads up in case we are sleeping, etc. I have even decided to keep Peyton out of "school" for the month of May to keep him away from anything. We are still on the very end of RSV season but we should be safe with Summer just around the corner.

With all this said, I wish I had a spare minute to upload some pictures for you but I don't. Soon though, I promise! Even several minutes to just shower, etc are few and far between these days. (But all worth it!)

Please continue to keep the boys in your prayers.

Cooper West comes home!

We "roomed in" with Cooper on Wednesday night and were able to take him home on Thursday, It was a really weird feeling leaving the two behind we know we only have a few more days until we can bring home Greyson and Bode too.

Cooper & Daddy

Kisses from Big Brother Peyton

Ride home (Just had eye exam so he had to wear a protector from the sun.)

Finally, in bed at Grans!

Sitting with Mom & Peyton

Chuck E Cheese

We promised Peyton a trip to ChuckECheese before the babies came home. We thought we had a couple of weeks but they called this morning and said Cooper could come home tomorrow. So off to CC we went. Peyton had a blast! BTW: they can ONLY be known for their fun games; the pizza...ICK!!

Four Generations

The boys got to meet their Great Grandmother, (aka Maw) and their Great Aunt Carol today. Maw and Carol were so excited...the nurses let them come in and rock the boys. They never imagined they would be able to hold them.

Three Weeks Old

Today marks the boys THREE WEEK "Birthday" and I just realized that I have not updated since their birth. It's been pretty busy around here and they haven't even been released from the hospital yet. Jason spends most of his days working on the house...trying to get finished up before the boys come home. I have been trying to pump as much as possible and making daily trips to Victoria to check on the boys and make my "milk delivery."

This has been a roller coaster of a ride. (As far as the day to day health.) We get daily updates on the boys...sometimes I call first and talk to a nurse or the Dr. calls me after making rounds. For the most part, the boys have overcome the lung issues. Bode has been off of oxygen for over a week and a half. The other two have been off and on. Right now, they are both getting a little extra help..maybe 22-23% (room air is 21%.) All boys are getting over 30ml feedings every 3 hours. This week they have started bottle feeds and I nursed Greyson on Tuesday. They have done awesome with the feedings. They have to learn to suck, swallow and breath all at the same time. They have pretty much mastered that...they just need to work at it a little more. It really poops them out; it's so much harder than just laying there and getting fed thru the tube. All three have hit the 4 pound mark and have graduated from the isolates to their own "cribs." They are holding a good body temp and all are getting to wear clothes now. Yay!

There is no firm date on when the boys come home but the Dr. says it's looking like another two weeks. That will put them at 35-36 weeks (gestation age) and that is about when she estimated originally that they may come home. It is hard to believe that they will be over a month old when I actually get to bring them home. But hey..whatever it takes to get them healthy!

Big Brother Peyton has not been too sure of the boys. He has only been able to look at them thru the windows and for the most part, they have been covered in wires, etc. This week though, Bode was being weighed and he was wire free so the nurse brought him right up to the window to give Peyton a better view. Bode was bright eyed and bushy-tailed at the time. You should have seen the grin on Peyton's face...PRICELESS! The next morning, he woke "Gran" saying, "I want to go see my Brothers." So cute!

I'm going to attach the most recent pictures. I couldn't get a good shot of Greyson without getting right up in his face (which caused him to look bug eyed) because he was in a different bed than they other two. I hope to get some better pictures now that they are in "cribs."

Thanks for all the wells wishes. Please continue to pray for their good health and improvement.

Cooper West

Greyson Reid

Bode Frank

Happy Birthday Cooper, Greyson & Bode!

After a long 5 day stay on the hospital, and an unsuccessful attempt to stop the contractions and cervix dilation, the boys made their debut on Friday, April 2, 2010 at 5:12pm & 5:13pm.

Welcome to the world...

COOPER WEST MCCARRELL
Weight: 3lbs 14.6oz
Length: 16 1/4 inches

GREYSON REID
Weight: 3lbs 13oz
Length: 15 1/2 inches

BODE FRANK
Weight: 4lbs 1oz
Length: 16 inches

Yes, they arrived way earlier than I ever planned. In my mind, I was pretty determined to make it to 36 weeks...or at least 34 weeks. But...my body had other plans. I went for my 31 week visit with Dr. Gonzales on Monday, March 29th. She found that I was dilated to 2cm and sent me over to the hospital for observation. I was set up on monitors and found that I was having a few small contractions here and there. The first step was to hook me up to fluids as I was a little bit dehydrated and that was probably causing some contractions. By Wednesday, I was feeling pretty good and was hoping to make it home for at least Easter Sunday. But...Thursday morning I woke up having a little stronger contractions which they stopped with meds. Then, Friday morning I again woke up to contractions, these were painful though. They used meds again to stop contractions but Dr. Gonzalez had decided to start me on magnesium around 1:30 that afternoon to hold my contractions off thru the weekend as she was going to be out of town. By 2pm, I felt pretty good so I asked if we had to start the mag. (only because they warned me that it would be most miserable and I'd be catheterized and bed ridden for several days.) She decided that if there was no cervical change, then we could go without the mag. Buuuut...I was dilated to 4cm so we got set up right away. The process of starting a new IV, putting the catheter in, getting all boys on the monitors was pretty miserable...then I started having (painful & consistent) contractions again. They checked me and I had dialed to 5cm. This is when things got WILD. Within minutes, Jason was dressed in his scrubs, I was being set up with another IV and we were out the door to the OR. There was like 15-20 people in the room; a "team" for each boy, the Neonatal Dr., several nurses for me, the anesthesiologist, and Dr. Hicks assisting Dr. Gonazles. It was crazy!

It only look two minutes to get the boys out and they were rushed to the NICU. All boys were put on machines to help their breathing as they have underdeveloped lungs. (Which is expected for babies born at 31 weeks.)

Cooper has had the most trouble so far. He had small hole in his lung develop on Easter Sunday morning which required a chest tube. They also put him on the ventilator, not out of necessity but to allow him to rest better. As of today (4/8/10,) the tube and vent have been removed because the hole has closed. He is still being monitored closely and will soon start on feedings (of my breastmilk via tube) like his brothers. He is still requirement more help breathing than Greyson and Bode but we suspect that will change with time. The nurses think he will be the dramatic one.

Greyson is trucking right along. He is getting less help from the breathing machines and getting his feedings increased daily. The nurses have tagged him as the "whinny" one. He HATES to have a dirty diaper...even if it's just slightly damp. I can't tell just yet if Cooper and Greyson look identical because they are still a little thin and have all those tubes, etc attached. I am so curious about that!

Bode is the showoff! He is doing awesome so far. He is getting the least amount of help breathing..it gets better daily. (Fingers crossed that it will continue!) We got to hold him first...he's the snuggle bug. The only issue he has is a little sleep apnea and they are using caffeine to correct that. He sometimes gets a little too comfortable and forgets to breath. Eek!

The Doctors estimate that the boys will have to stay in the hospital for at least a month. I can't tell you how hard it was to leave them there when I got discharged on Monday. Ugh...it really is a terrible feeling. I spend my days pumping every 2-3 hours and trying to get some rest. As of right now, I can't drive yet but I try to make it to the hospital at least once a day to visit. I hope to keep this updated on the boys progress. (at least weekly) More pics to follow!!!

Please keep my precious boys in your prayers!

Peyton - Spring 2010