Many Faces of Gemma :)

Who ME??

Seriously I didn’t do anything?

Ughhh Really I really didn’t do anything! lol

wooooo what’s that... got milk?

Wait where are you going?

Forget it... i’m gonna rest! :)

Mnmmmm thanks for the binki! Is it christmas time... I think there’s mistletoe in that stocking... where’s my kiss!

Was that a frog... it wasn’t me.. I didn’t toot

just being cute

seriously it comes that easy for me watch...

Cheeze :)

Ok, i’m exhausted... Night Night. :)

1st Christmas with the Girlz (NICU Style)

Merry Christmas from the Isola Family!

Siena Lisa

Santa in the NICU w/Siena

Gemma Mia Bella

Santa in the Nicu w/Gemma

Jaden Kapri

Thank you Aunt Phyllis for the Christmas Blankets (...Bibs)!!

Santa in the Nicu w/Jaden

Siena found her thumb!!

Gemma’s blowing kisses!!

Daddy holds Siena for 1st time!

Gemma on the “High Flow” oxygen!! :)

Jaden on the “High Flow” oxygen!!! :)

and Little Siena on the “High Flow” oxygen!!!:)

the rest of the images are of Daddy holding little Siena for the first time!!! :)

December 20th marks a Great Day!!! Johnny got to hold Siena for the first time!!! I held her once a few weeks ago but then she got so sick that we werent able to hold her. She's doing alot better and Daddy jumped at the chance!!

Infact today is also the first day ever that all three girls are on the nasal canula "high flow" for oxygen!!! Which is great!! They are all doing well and just need to gain weight (they are all around 2lbs 9oz), be able to regulate their own body temperature, and learn how to eat (suck/swallow & breathe all at the same time), before they can come home. We're still looking at february before they come home but they are doing well!!

The girls will all get eye exams this wednesday, and i'm hoping that the exam goes well!

My DTM! And Some CUTE Pics! 6 weeks old!

Sweet Siena is in the first pic!!

Second is Jaden’s First KISS :).

Next is Daddy giving Jaden her Binki.

Then Daddy Fussin’ over his little Jaden.

And the last two pics are of our little Gemma Mia Bella! She loves it when her breathing mask is off and she’s often seen posing with her hands on her face! :)

Siena has been so sick these past two weeks. The other night she just wasn’t breathing on her own. Her oxygen was up to 100% and she was still struggling. It was extremely scary. She is doing a little better now (at 40% oxygen) since they administered another round of steroids, but it’s definitely not over. It’s still a roller coaster and as long as we continue to have the “up’s” along with the “down’s” then we’ll be ok.

On a positive note, Gemma and Jaden are doing well. Jaden is back needing a little more help with oxygen but they are both up to 22ml’s of breast milk every 3 hours. As then nurses get to know the girls it’s interesting to hear their opinions on their little personalities. Roxanne, a nurse who’s had all three girls now has commented that Jaden will be the one in her room reading, Siena is the Feisty one and that Gemma will be the little trouble maker, stirring the pot and getting into everything.

It will definitely test you as a person to go through having babies in the NICU. I always knew my husband was strong not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well but to go through these past several weeks and watch him I’m amazed. He has such a HUGE heart and is so very strong. I feel so blessed to have him as my partner and father to our incredible girls. He’s already proven what an awesome dad he is the way he loves and cares for the girls. Even the nurses in the NICU have commented,…”wow, we don’t often have dad’s volunteer to change diapers” lol. But he’s there always volunteering, checking on them, telling them how he loves them and can’t wait to take them home.

Even with me in the past several weeks… to say that I’ve been emotional is an understatement. lol Johnny has been so awesome encouraging me and “being there” as my rock to steady me and remind me that everything will be ok as we walk through this TOGETHER as a FAMILY. I love him so much and am so blessed that God put him in my life. He’s my dtm…(Dream Team Mate).

I love you sweetheart!

Roller Coaster

Roller Coaster of the NICU

Siena – she got really sick with a staff infection and pneumonia. She’s still on antibiotics and fell back to being on the Vent and the Jet to help her breath. She’s been stable then up then down. The nurses said it’s the epitome of the roller coaster ride of the NICU. Our hope and prayer is that she is able to kick it soon. The longer she stays on the vent & Jet it provides more opportunity for infection because of the intubation tube. It also increases the likelihood of damage to her eyes because of the additional oxygen. She’s gained weight and is up to 2lbs 6oz but is really puffy. So has a lot of extra fluid there so it’s not true weight gain. But still she’s getting’ there!

Jaden – Mommy & Daddy got to hold her this past week!!! She’s been doing good. Shes on the C-pap (less help breathing than the Si-Pap) and has been rockin’ with her feeding. Shes up to 18cc’s (18ml’s) of breast milk every 3 hours. And has gained weight and is now 2lbs 2oz. Johnny and I were there the other day when her diaper was being changed. The nurse opened up the diaper and found Jaden’s pacifier in it. Lol…Ahh the adventures ahead… How in the world did she do that?

Gemma – She’s been doing really well! She’s up to 22ml’s of milk every 3 hours and now weighs a whopping 2lbs 5oz! She’s on the Si-Pap Machine and been doing really good. She has some breakdown of cartridge under her nose from the C-pap so even though she doesn’t need as much help breathing, she’s staying on that machine because the mask that goes on her nose helps rest the cartridge.

Ok I know I’m the Mom, and I’m supposedly bias,.. but COME ON! The Girls are all looking sooooo beautiful!

The above image and below video is of Johnny ’s first time holding his daughter Gemma!

HOLDING OUR GIRLS!!!

This was the best thanksgiving!!! Yesterday I went to the Nicu for a short visit and to take the girls linen’s up and the nurse “Daniel” asked if I had held Siena yet. I was stunned because i hadn’t held any of them yet! I told her “don’t even play like that! Are you serious? I haven’t held any ofthem. That’s not even funny....Unless you’re serious don’t say that!” Because of course i was about to cry! But she continued on to say that she thought Siena wanted to be held today. I was thrilled! They brought the chair over by her isolette (because she was still hooked up to the nasal canula to help her breathe) and got us situated. It wasAMAZING!!! It was sooawesome to hold her in my arms! The only thing that would have made it better is if Johnny was there. I was so elated & emotional when she first mentioned it that i didn’t think about calling him until she was in my arms. The pictures above... the first is of Siena moments before i found out i was going to be able to hold her... She was so warm. They call it Kangarooing, you hold the baby skin on skin to help regulate their body temperature. The nurse actually put her in my bra. She fitright in there so snug. I was able to lean my head down and kiss her head. She was soooo sweet! I was talking with Daniel (she’s pregnant and was telling me about her husband) I began to tell her of how Johnny and I met and little Siena opened her eyes. I told her “that’s right... you hear mommy talking about daddy don’t you!”

The video below is Siena right after I held her... I was able to capture the first time we heard her cry! She’s so sweet!

Today when we visited the girls Johnny was able to HOLD Gemm

a for the first time! She wasn’t ready to come out of her isolette so he didn’t get to Kangaroo her but he was able to hold her then give her a “Daddy Hand Blanket”.

It was awesome seeing the sheer Joy and delight in his eyes as he held her!!!

Below is a pic of Jaden. She’s still on the Si-Pap Machine. It helps her breathe even more as she needs more help. The helment and thing that goes on her nose kinda smooshes her nose in, so the video you see below you can tell that her nose is scrunched up. Her nurse was changing her and moving her around so we got to see her face without her being hooked up for a minute and even better caught a glimpse of her beautiful eyes! So awesome to see her with her eyes wide open!!! She was checking us out! We are so blessed!!!

1st Thanksgiving (3 weeks old)

Well we sure do have a lot to be thankful for this year!!! Three little blessings in the NICU and a world of Joy. This past week has been good! The steroids have helped the girls quite a bit. Siena our little peanut keeps trucking along and in the past week has gotten off the "Jet", transitioned to the Si-Pap machine and yesterday moved on to the C-Pap machine. She’s a trouper! So still help breathing but dong extremely well! The nurses have comment on how feisty she is... she’s a little fighter :).

Gemma is doing great also! She got off the “Jet” as well and is now on the Si-Pap machine. The nurses that care for her comment on how she’s all girl, the way she poses herself as if she’s on camera, lol. She also has a mind of her own and as the doc mentioned... “she practically tried to pull the intubation tube out and hand it to me”. So i’m sure she was happy this week when she went down to the Si-Pap machine and got to have the tube removed! She’s up to 1lb 11oz. Almost caught up with her sister Jaden who’s 1lb 14oz. Jaden had surgery this past week. The PDA (Hole in her heart) had opened back up after 2 rounds of medicine and had opened up larger than it was before. This is a common occurrence for premie’s, and a fairly routine surgery for the doc’s to perform, none the less it was scary for mom and dad. No one wants to have their baby cut into! They went in with a small incision on her left side, deflated her lung (went in between the ribs so no breaking or damaging to the bones) clamped the hole and re-inflated the lung. The ended up using 2 clamps because the hole was larger than they had anticipated. I’m so glad they went ahead and did the surgery because the hole was causing problems for her and keeping her from making strides to get off of the ventilators. They closed the small hole up with the skin glue so it leaves a very tiny scar, a faint little line that’s not very noticeable.

Mommy has been doing well except for catching a cold of some sort. It felt like it was developing into strep or something like it so i got some antibiotics and am on day 2. The nurses said i could come back to the NICU after the third day so i’ll get to see the girls again on Saturday. It STINKS not being able to see them but at the same time, the last thing i want to do is give something to the girls. They have a tough enough fight without me bringing an outside virus to them. They need to stay healthy so I can hold them in my arms! ..... Soon!

Not only are we thankful for Gemma, Siena & Jaden this thanksgiving... We are also so very thankful for all of our friends and family that have been there for us day in and day out. Praying for us and the girls and showering us with encouragement.

Thank you soooo much!

Lisa...for The Very Blessed Isola Family.

A Beautiful Smile

I was talking with Johnny last night about our journey.... for so long wondering if we were going to be able to have children, to going through the trials of IVF, to the surprise that we were blessed in having a successful first run, to the shock and exhilaration that we were having triplets, to sitting on the couch as i take his hand and place it on my belly to feel the girls kick, to the scary day I was admitted for severe preeclampsia, to the joy of their birth, to the roller coaster ride were on now called the NICU. What a crazy, scary and exciting adventure.

We are so blessed to have the girls. They are so sweet and it's so cool to see how different their little personalities are even now. As far as their update... They are all stable! They were officially 2 weeks old yesterday. Happy Birthday Girlz! :) They started on a 10 day round of steroids yesterday to help their lungs develop so that they can get off of the ventilators and they are showing improvement within just 24 hours.

Gemma has had a bout with edema the past couple of days but as of tonight is looking a lot better! Our little peanut "Siena" is doing well except for a little upset stomach. All of the girls have been getting 1cc of my milk every 6 hours to help get their stomach's use to working and Siena was doing well with it but tonight has had an issue with it. Siena has been fidgeting a lot lately but the steroids have helped her calm down some. Actually all of the girls haven't been doing well with being touched (a little too much stimulation since they are technically suppose to still be in the womb). So the nurses and docs only touch them every 4 hours when they take their temp, change diapers, and do their tests. The nicu is also fairly quiet and dark to help keep the stimulation down as well. All the girls have now all opened their eyes! It's so awesome when they do because they are showing a response to our voice. Actually last nighty I was talking to Jaden and she opened her eyes looked at me and Smiled!!! I told the nurse "Wow, I think she was smiling at me!" and the nurse saw her and agreed. As i continued to talk to her she smiled 2 more times. It was the most awesome little smile! Oh, man I can't wait to hold them!!!! I know it could be another few weeks but I SOO look forward to when i can hold each one close to my heart and whisper sweet lullabies to them.

Patience...

Changing Diapers! :)

The past couple of days have been good! The girls are behaving as they would expect premie's born at 26 weeks to behave. There will be up's and down's but things have been going well! The hole that premie babies are born with in their hearts is a normal concern... for Siena her hole was so small that at this point we don't have to give her any medicine. Jaden & Gemma were given medicine to close the hole and for Gemma it worked, closing the hole. Gemma will go through another round of meds and at some point tomorrow she will have an echo cardiogram to see if it's closed. So far so good, just hoping Gemma's echo comes back with a closed hole!!

Johnny got to stair in his daughters eyes for the first time!!! Jaden has been opening her eyes and she opened them as Johnny was talking to her and stared straight at him. He was overcome with excitement as it was the first time he got to look into her eyes. Siena has started opening her eyes but we haven't seen her do it yet. Gemma's eyes are still fused so she's not quite there yet.

It was funny going in the nicu last night and seeing Gemma on her stomach. It was the first time i was able to see her back. She was under the lamps and needed to get some exposure to her back and bum lol. She enjoys laying on her stomach like her mommy.

I couldn't resist this picture! Showing how Siena's forearm is smaller than my pinky finger! She's soooo sweet!

Daddy was taking Siena's temperature! They don't handle a lot of stimulation very well so we try to get there at the times they change and adjust them. This was the first time that Johnny got to take her temp :) You put the thermometer under her arm and hold the arm down cause they are squiggly.

I got to change Jaden's diaper for the first time! The nurses have been working with them and changing their diapers but this was the first time Johnny and I got to be involved. It was awesome. I was so apprehensive at first because their little legs are so tiny and skin so sensitive. But Jaden was helpful :)

And lastly a video of Daddy's first time changing Siena's diaper. He did a great job! Go Daddy! :)

Pics from 2 and 3 days old!

1st pic is of Siena, you can see her blond hair. She's under the lights to help her liver. We're hoping that the little hole in her heart closes up on it's own and doesn't need any help.
2nd pic is of Jaden, she was under the lights earlier but they took them off since her levels started looking better. She opened her eyes for daddy today and he got to see her. So awesome to see those little eyes looking back at him!!!

Then we have Siena and Jaden's little feet... Hmmmm can't wait to kiss those toes! Next is Little Baby Gemma with daddy's hand. We can't stroke them but we can touch them and put our hand on their heads. They are use to being in the womb so it helps them feel safe and secure, helps to calm them a bit when we touch them. The next pic is mommy's hand with Gemma's little foot. She's in a smaller little nest that helps keep her confined. She's a little mover and shaker... lol she was kicking from the Jet. When the doc pulled her out of my tummy she was kicking!

And last is a video of Jaden you can see her moving around some. She is so sweet!!!

So they all passed the 72 hour brain scan. No brain bleeds! They will continue to watch them closely for this over the next 2 weeks but the likelihood of them having a severe brain bleed decrease quite dramatically after the first 72 hours.

Gemma & Jaden have been administered the medicine to help the hole in their hearts close. (I'm learning about this too... - by the time a full term baby is born the hole that all babies have has normally closed on it's own. But with Extreme Premie Babies sometimes that hole needs help to close. Siena's hole is so small they are watching and hopefully it will close on it's own. If not she will be administered the medicine also.

Gemma and Jaden will have another echo tomorrow to check and see if the medicine worked. Hopefully it works to close the hole completely. If it helps but doesn't close completely the docs may do another round of the same meds to see if it closes completely. If it doesn't work they will do a surgery where they go in and for lack of other terminology "clamp" the hole closed. The procedure takes about 15 minutes (1hour with prep etc.) and they do it in the nicu.

But we're hoping and praying that the meds work and we don't have to go down that road.

So at this point they are all doing good for their gestational age. Beautiful little angels!

Will post updates more often as I get out of the hospital myself and start getting things back to some kind of normalcy.

lisa

26 Weeks ARRIVAL

Ok, so as many of you know I was admitted to the hospital at 25 weeks (Oct 27th) for severe preeclampsia. My blood pressure was really high, liver enzymes were too high, platelets too low and it was a struggle to keep it all in check for as long as possible. At first the doc said he would be surprised if i made it to the weekend. Thank you to so many people who were lifting me and the girls up in prayer and sending positive and encouraging words! The doc said i beat the odds and made it to 26 weeks! Every additional hour the girls could spend in the womb the better off they were. Doc scheduled me for a c-section wed. Nov 3rd at noon. He ran labs that morning and kept tabs on the girls to make sure they were safe and that morning ended up bumping me up an hour. When he got in my belly I heard him tell Johnny that all that extra fluid was from my liver and he was glad to go in when he did... that he couldn't have waited till noon.

So without further a-due let me introduce you to my daughters!!! Jaden Kapri Isola 1lb 8oz born at 11:20am, Siena Lisa Isola 1lb 1oz born at 11:22, and Gemma Mia Bella Isola 1lb 3oz born at 11:23 on Nov 3rd 2010. :)

The pictures above are ....

1st pic - That's Siena Lisa - she was striking a pose

2nd pic - Gemma's first picture, she was fresh from the womb and had her hands over her head... Daddy was calling this pic "Touchdown Gemma". She's getting into the football spirit early!

3rd pic - Jaden as daddy got to hold her hand for the first time.

And below is a video I took of Gemma this morning. She is our little wiggler lol. Taking everything in stride. She's been doing really well!