Merry Christmas!

I've been so busy w/ baby Camryn and the kids going to school, I've been neglecting my blog. Shame on me.

Anyways I just thought since I have a quick moment that I would post some more pics of the kiddos.

Some Christmas pics:

Some of Camryn:

Welcome Baby Camryn!!

On Monday I was SO sick... I had some 24 hour stomach bug. Tuesday I woke up and felt SO much better in the puking/pooping department and I had what was to be my last OB appointment, u/s, and NST. I started to have pains in my lower abdomen but just thought it was nothing or a UTI (I never felt contractions before). So I make it to my appointment, made it through the NST and I thought there weren't any contractions (come to find out later in the appt that they were contractions). Next I had a BPP to see how big she was and that was HORRIBLE! She wasn't moving very much on the NST, so I had to lay an extra long time to make sure she was ok. The u/s tech was pushing on my belly and it hurt so effin bad. After like 30 minutes of that she moved enough and then I had my appt in the room with the OB. I waited for like 20 minutes and she finally walks in (I was dying at this point). She checks me and says "OH my...you're dilated to 4 and are 90% effaced!". I was like WHA????? Wow. She asked me if today would be a bad day to have a baby and I was like NOPE! Since I was so sick the day before I hadn't eaten since Sunday so I ran home, met DH there (my mom was already watching the kids) and we went to the hospital where they checked me again at 12:30 pm and I was dilated to a 5 and was 100% effaced!

Waiting for all the prep work for the c/s was miserable! I was so dehydrated from the 24 stomach bug, they had to call in anesthesia to do my IV and couldn't give me any pain meds until I had at least THREE bags of fluid! It was so painful!!

At 1:30 I finally had 3 bags of fluid rushed in and was ready to go to the OR. They took me back, did my spinal (which I didn't have last time b/c it was an emergency). The spinal was a piece of cake compared to the contractions! I laid down and they started the c/s. DH came in shortly after and he sat my my head. I was freezing so they brought me a warm blanket and wrapped it around my head.

At 2:16 pm Camryn Paige was born! She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 19 in. long! She came out crying and it was the best noise I have ever heard in my life. I didn't get to see/hear any of the triplets being born, so this was wonderful. She did great and got all 9's on her Apgars and then they tested her sugar and it was low so she had to go to the nursery after a while (my surgery took about 2 hours). I started to feel pain after a while b/c I had my tubes tied and the OB was fixing an adhesion that formed after my last c/s. She said she was glad that I didn't try for a VBAC b/c my ute was so thin where the last incision was it would have burst open for sure They gave me 2 rounds of demerol and I started to feel a little better, but very dizzy. Finally around 4 something they were done and I got stiched up.

I was wheeled back to my room w/o Camryn and after a little while they brought her in. DH fed her a bottle to get her sugar up and my family and the kids came in. Justin fell in love with her instantly. He wanted to hold her and feed her and kept calling her "My baby Camryn". It was SO cute. The girls are a little indifferent to her but that's ok. She ate just enough to where her sugars went up and she didn't have to go the NICU. They have been fine ever since.

My sugars are still high, so I am still on the blood sugar pill--not the insulin. Recovery was pretty good. They let me go home yesterday I've been doing ok...

I came home to both of the big girls being sick (probably my 24 hour stomach bug ) and my mom stayed around to help which was SO nice since I couldn't lift anyone. Justin is still not sick (knock on wood).

Here are a few pics!!

We will miss you Ashley!

Since the triplets were 3 months old they have had the most wonderful physical therapist. Her name is Ashley and she has been the greatest thing that ever happened for my kiddos. Today was her last day for therapy through First Steps since the kids will be turning 3 next week and transitioning to the school district.

Words cannot express how grateful I am to have had a nice, caring, gentle, loving and knowledgeable therapist for my babies.

Thank you so much Ashley. We will always be thankful for you.

Halloween 2010

Here are a few pics of the kids at their Halloween Parade at school.

Ayva

Anna

Justin

All three pirates....Arg!

Justin and his BFF from school

They had a great time. On Halloween we went to the mall to trick or treat instead of going door to door. That was MUCH easier for mommy and the kids...they got a TON of candy (which I will be saving some to eat myself ;)). Both the grandma's went and lots of fun was had! :)

Small update!

Baby Camryn is doing well so far. Back in September I failed my 1 and 3 hour glucose tolerance test and they diagnosed me with Gestational Diabetes. It's been ok...just rough for me b/c I LOVE me some chocolate! :) Anyways, a week after I got diagnosed they started me on Glyburide, a pill for diabetes, and it's worked ok.... I was having some lows the first few days after they increased my dosage from one pill at night to 2 in the morning and 2 at night and just yesterday I started to get back up to the higher numbers...maybe it's wearing off...? I have another appointment tomorrow for a Non-Stress Test and to go over my numbers. Then I have another appointment on Friday (they are making me come twice a week now) for another Non-Stress Test and a Growth Scan. Babies can tend to be bigger when the mom has GD, so they will measure her and I will just get to see her again :).

The trips are all doing fine! We are going through testing for the school district transition right now, and it's keeping me BUSY! I REALLY love the school that they are at right now, the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired, but I don't think our school district will want to pay to send them there :( I think it would be best for them to be at a school addressing their visual needs first and foremost in the learning process and CCVI knows how to do that better than the school district w/ one vision teacher. I've already decided that I will see how it goes and if I don't like the end result, I don't have to send them anywhere....I mean, they are only just about to turn 3 for heaven's sake!

Also Ayva got a new chair and I will post a video of her in it when I get a chance! It's awesome!

Chiefs Charity Game for CCVI

Tonight is the Chiefs pre-season game for the kids' school, the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired!

Here are some pics I took of the kiddos in their shirts- We are supporting even though we can't go to the game!

Anna

Ayva

Justin

All three

Ayva's EEG results!

Dr. A finally called me today to tell me how Ayva's EEG looked (She had it on Tuesday). He said.... drum roll please........

SHE ISN'T HAVING HYPPSARRYTHMIA!!

She hasn't had it (knock on wood) for 5 months now!!! Since the seizures started, she has never been with out seizures for this long. I know I remember another time, not too long ago, where she almost died in the pursuit of seizure freedom.... you can start reading here if you're a new reader or forgot...(I know I tend to block out bad things).

She is still having another small type of seizure--so she's not entirely SF, but we will take no Infantile Spasms for now ;) He did say that it looked better than the last time so she will stay on her current regime of meds/Keto diet.

Yay! :)

Blogger Award!!

Isaac's Mom at Issac's Big Adventure gave me a blog award!!!! And I almost didn't see it in my comments because of a whole bunch of Chinese Spam comments!!

Thank you so much!

I guess I have to share 7 things about myself as the rules say....

1) I am more exhausted during this pregnancy than with triplets and going to work combined!

2) Ice cream is my most fav thing in the world!!

3) I could eat Mexican food every day for the rest of my life! (and yes, Taco Bell counts!)

4) I am deathly afraid of flying :(

5) I am so proud of my kiddos for being such brave little fighters! They are my inspiration everyday!

6) My fav music group is The Fray. I love me some Fray!!

7) I actually enjoy cooking for everyone but would enjoy it more if I had more TIME!

So now I am going to pass the award on to 2 great blogs. The first is one I read often- another Infantile Spasms buddy at Happy Being Trevy . Danielle is a great writer and she is much better explaining how things really are in this crazy world we live in (much better than me!).

The second person I pass this award to is to Megan at Multiple Baby Pileup . She is an awesome MoM and I am a better person for having read her blog and being able to know her on my MoM chat board. She is an amazing person--so everyone should go check out her blog!

Baby Camryn

Today I got another ultrasound and here are a few pics of our newest addition, Camryn Paige! I am 23 weeks and 2 days!

She is growing great and we cant' wait to meet her!

Please Vote for Us!

Please take a minute to vote for us to win the a gift basket for a special needs momma. This is especially awesome timing since having 2 special needs kiddos is stressful and that's not talking about Justin OR me being pregnant.

So, if you have a minute, please oh please vote for us! All you have to do is go to this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mindful-Mama/109104709107402?ref=ts&v=wall

Once you're there, just like the page so that it will allow you to comment, click on the Just Others tab, and scroll down until you find the nomination for Sarah, posted by Jody or Michele. All you have to do is either comment on it or like it and you will have voted for us! I know that it takes a minute or two, but I'd really, really appreciate it if anyone out there would add their votes. I never EVER win anything, but if I could start now, boy could we use this stuff!

Update...

So, not much going on around here.

Ayva is doing very well. She is gaining strength back in her head/neck and is beginning to lift it off the ground now :) :) Here is a quick video of her showing her stuff:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

She is happier since being off the Depakote but also a little more needy of me :/ Which is ok for now since the girls are on summer break from school--I'm hoping that we can kind of get that resolved before August 23rd-the first day of school.

She has yet another EEG next week on the 10th to see if the little startles she has when a loud noise scares her is anything or not. Then on the 11th both Anna and Ayva have eye Dr. appointments.

Anna is doing VERY well being off the one medicine she was on--Topamax. She is talking better, comprehending better and moving/balancing a little better!!! I am SUPER proud of her!! You can now ask her a yes or no question and she will either say "yeah" or shake her head "no". I will definitely have to try and get that on video :)

Also she is eating A TON!! The Topamax was a appetite suppressant and she was just maintaining a steady weight of 19 lbs for a long time. Now that she's been off for about a month and a half- SHE IS UP TO 21 LBS!!!!!!! She is eating a ton during each meal and is even requesting snacks (by whining until I feed her). She is walking great (with help still) and wants to follow Justin everywhere. She is very motivated so I think with time she will get it on her own!

Justin is doing great also! Potty training is excellent! He is in big boy underwear all day and only wears a diaper at night--he's a very heavy sleeper! :) He has definitely gotten to the stage of "mine" and doesn't want to share anything-with anyone. Everything is his, "My sit there" "My phone" "My drive the car". I am hoping this phase is short lived though :/

Baby Camryn is doing great also. I will be 23 weeks tomorrow and on Friday I have another ultrasound and hopefully I will have some pictures to show! :) I'm feeling ok, tired and hungry, but otherwise really good :) I can't wait until she is here-and am super excited to see how one baby is different than three at a time!!

Ok and now I will share a few pictures because I can't resist...

Anna

Justin

And I only have one that isn't so good of Ayva recently-

Why, hello!

I've been trying to keep up with the blog (really, I have) but there just isn't much to say these days. The kids are going to school, the girls are getting therapy and things are just the same week after week.

Ayva is doing well. She is off the Depakote now and seems to be doing great off of it (knock on wood). She has another follow up EEG in August- just to see if things are staying the same. She's being so good and sweet (when she's not fussy ;)) and she seems to be happier every day.

Anna is weaning off the Topamax. So far it's going well. She is working SO hard on walking! She is really trying and I'm so proud of her! Her pool PT gave us some bands for her legs to try and help w/ her knees hyper-extending so much.

Justin is.........Justin. His potty training is going GREAT!! He very rarely has accidents. He is talking so much and in big boy sentences! He's learning about EVERYTHING! Like tonight, I told him he either had to pick up his toys or he was going to bed, and he said to me "Go to the corner?" He would have rather sat in the corner than picked up his toys....naughty.

Here are some pics of the kids in their USA parade at school and a few videos of them also!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I do just want to say she is doing REALLY well in her walker, but by the time I got this video they had already gone around the halls once and this was her second time around and got tired. (and yes, that is Ayva asleep)

And here are just a few pics off my phone :)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE! :)

Some stuff...

Here are a few pictures of the kiddos blowing bubbles to sweet JW...

And overall our Memorial weekend was good. We didn't do much, which suited me just fine. We took the kids to Justin's parents to swim in their pool. Anna and Justin warmed up to the pool after a while and ended up really liking it, but Ayva could not be persuaded. I just think the water was too cold for her and she wasn't up for that kind of temperature difference. Hopefully she will like it soon. Yesterday, we just hung out at home and grilled hot dogs and played outside. It was a little hot, but the kiddos really liked being outdoors.

Anna is doing well from the Botox. Days 3-6 are pretty much all the same. SHE CAN STAND WITH HER FEET FLAT ON THE GROUND NOW! You have to help get her feet in that position, but she can actually keep them there now! Her toes still are wanting to curl in still, but hopefully they will relax aslo. Here are some pics (sorry for the quality, they are from my phone)

AND FINALLY I WILL FINISH THIS POST.... I started writing this like 2 weeks ago, but am going to finish it- sorry.

Anyways, Anna is still doing well post botox. She saw the Neurologist last Thursday and since she will be SEIZURE FREE FOR 2 YEARS in August, we are taking her off the only seizure medicine she was ever on, Topamax. It has side effects like loss of coordination, trouble thinking, trouble w/ speaking and loss of appetite. We are all very hopeful that she will be able to do even better off this med and gain some weight!!

Here is a video of Anna walking!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ayva also saw the Neuro last Thursday and said she is doing great. The Keto Diet is working well for her and we are weaning her off her Depakote!! :) If she continues to do well off the Depakote, we will move on to weaning the Tranxene. And if that goes well we will either take her off the Keto Diet or her Topamax and leave one or the other for a while. We are all super excited that she is doing well in the seizure department!! We also talked about Ayva's development....I just wanted to know, that since she was once able to roll over and hold her head up, if she would ever regain skills like that. He was VERY optimistic that Anna AND Ayva would both one day be able to walk and communicate! That was the most wonderful news. Even though both of the girls have CP, doesn't mean they aren't smart and cannot learn to walk and talk. I'm so glad that there is at least that little shred of hope for my sweet girls. They are fighters.

Post Botox days 0-2

Day of Botox:

This is her with her numbing creme on her legs before the shots. She got three in each leg, and hopefully we will see some MAGIC soon!!!

Day 1 post Botox: Everything is pretty much the same. They said it can take up to a week and a half to see results. I will keep posting though :)

Day 2 post Botox: Same as day 1. Although I will say that it seems easier to get her to bend her foot.

Botox it is.

Well, after seeing the Rehab Clinic Dr., Dr. R suggested Anna get Botox shots on her legs. You didn't know there were more uses for Botox other than wrinkles?? Well there is! Some get it for migraines, some for wrinkles and some get it, to put it simply, to put the overactive muscles in her legs (or any muscles but legs in Anna's case) "to sleep" for a while so the muscles that are being overpowered have a chance to get stronger and try to compensate. It works wonderfully...for a while and then the Botox effects slowly goes away. But the hope is that some of the muscles can learn in that time to help counteract the high tone ones. We shall see. Her appointment got moved up to Wednesday from AUGUST!! So I have less time to prepare. I hope it doesn't hurt her too much, I have a feeling she and I will both be crying.

Ayva is doing really well. She is continuing on the Ketogenic Diet nicely and is starting to move her head by herself again!! She can move it forward but isn't strong enough yet to move it back. She is moving her arms with more purpose and now presses buttons and moves a wheel toy! You can tell now that when she looks at you she really SEES you. She smiles more and laughs more! And overall, she is slowly making some good progress!!

Justin is dong well at school (well they all are). He no longer cries when I leave him. He just kisses me and says bye. His teacher says he has a hard time lstening, but I always stay and watch from the secret observation room and I think the teacher just has NO patience!! Which is a terrible attribute to have when working in a special needs school!! She just gets so frustrated so easily. Justin is doing ok with potty training. School kind of messed us up since everyone else there is in diapers. He asks to go to the potty sometimes, so that's a good sign. Otherwise he is doing great and is being a pretty good boy.

Little baby Fields is doing well. Today he or she is 12 weeks 2 days. I've had no real problems, just nausea. Having one baby is kink of boring compared to having three!! Don't get me wrong, I am SO happy to be having one baby. It's just I was spoiled with all the ultrasounds last time and this time I only get two?? And one was just a little dot?? I would like to see what's going on in there! Oh well. My next appointment is June 6th. We are thinking/ hoping it's a boy so Justin has a brother, but either will be fine and we've already came up with a few names we like for each. We will definitly find out if it's a boy or a girl, because I hate surprises!! I can't wait to find out so I can start picking out stuff!! We are so excited!!

Results from Ayva's first EEG since starting the Keto Diet!!!!

NO MORE HYPPSARRYTHMIA!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE SOOOOO EXCITED!!!

Dr. A FINALLY called today after some not-so-nice messages left by me. A quick 30 second phone call was all it took to tell me she isn't having hypps. anymore! BUT, she is having another type of little seizure (he didn't say what kind in our nanosecond conversation). He thinks that continuation on the diet will make those seizures go away also! :) We will stay on all the meds for now (Topamax, Depakote, and Tranxene) since she is having these new "little seizures". I call them "little seizures" because that is what Dr. A called them.

So, we are extremely grateful to everyone who kept her in your thoughts, and prayed for her miracle. We hope this is it.

I leave you with a pic of our little fighter!!!

BIG NEWS!!

Justin and I are expecting our FOURTH baby!!!

I am 7 weeks 5 days along and Due December 1st. We are both really excited it's just one baby this time :)

I'm feeling a little sick, but all is well and we're just SO happy!!

Picture Post

This weekend was GREAT! The weather was nice, we got to hang outside almost ALL weekend. Justin made a super nice play area for the kids. It has a sandbox, a water table and a picnic table! They really like it! Little Justin asks me to take him out to play all the time now :)

So here are a few pics from Easter

And a few from our weekend outside :)