Friday, December 16, 2011

Feeding Frenzy!

I think I remember our pediatrician telling me that babies have a growth spurt at 3 weeks! Well, I'm here to tell you that that couldn't be more true! The babes turned a month old yesterday and they just can't seem to eat frequently enough. Bronson is doing really well holding down his bottles and Bella and Bentley are piggies as usual. They had an appt at the pediatrician yesterday and everything is looking good. Their official weights are:
Bentley: 6#3 oz
Bronson: 5#10 oz (Falling behind due to surgery)
Bella: 7#3 oz!!! Needless to say I don't think she needs the high calorie formula anymore!

Merry Christmas to all of you. We are so blessed with such wonderful family and friends.
God Bless!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Bronson's Belly

  Poor baby Bronson... my sweet little boy unexpectedly started having large amounts of vomiting after his feedings on Wednesday night. He would eat without any problem and would suddenly have projectile vomiting. We initially suspected reflux, but after trying everything we could think of to improve the situation, we took him to the pediatrician on Friday morning.
  After discussing Bronson's symptoms, Dr. Debois decided to send us to Children's Hospital Radiology for an Ultrasound to determine if Bronson had a blockage. We received amazing service once arriving at the hospital and quickly learned that Bronson had pyloric stenosis. Basically the valve between the stomach and the intestines has a muscle around it that is enlarged and is not allowing anything to enter the intestines forcing him to throw up whatever he takes in. Despite not eating for 5 hrs, they said his stomach appeared to be full. We were admitted and scheduled for surgery on Saturday. The worst part was watching him get the IV which took 5 attempts:( After being bumped 3 times due to other emergencies, Bronson finally went into surgery Saturday afternoon where they cut the muscle to relieve the pressure on the valve.
  Fortunately, the surgery went very well and Bronson had no complications. We are now slowly giving him feedings and praying that he is able to retain them. He has currently taken in 2 feedings with only a small amount of spitting and seems to be resting peacefully without any pain. He has one incision in his belly button and 2 very small ones on his upper abdomen.  He looks really good and is just being so sweet. Please pray that his little belly adjusts to eating again and that he doesn't get sick so we can all go home and be together again soon.

Breakfast with Santa

 

Baby Days

  The babies are 3 weeks old now and everyone is doing great. It's amazing how big they are getting already. Arabella continues to thrive and grow at a faster pace than her brothers. Bronson is doing well and is the second biggest. He isn't as good of an eater, but he is as cute as a button and a very happy baby. Bentley is right on his brother's heals in the weight department. He is a little piggy and is changing so much. His thin little face is filling out and has eyes that look right into mommy's soul. We are loving life with triplets and a two year old! So far, I think Craig and I agree that things are going even better than we would have expected at this point.
  The babies weights as of Dec 3 are Bentley 5#3, Bronson 5#5, and Arabella 6#5!!!!!

Bentley



  We had baby dedication at our church just a week after the babies were born. It was a very special day as we committed to dedicate our children to Christ and vowed to raise them in a christian home. The babies also had their first real bath. One of my favorite times in their first days home. We've been doing more tummy time and cuddle time with the babies all lying together. They seem to love being close. Adalyn likes to crawl up next to them as well. It's so much fun having all our kids together!

Maternity Pictures

  A friend of mine, Stephanie Deffinger convinced me just days before my delivery to let her take some maternity pictures. Looking at them now, I just can't believe how big my belly really was! I thought I'd share a few since I didn't get a chance to prior to delivery. 

Happy Thanksgiving

  How fast time goes! Boy do I really have some catching up to do! What a wonderful journey we are on. The triplets are doing great and Adalyn is adjusting very well. She loves her babies and is a big "helper" to mommy and daddy. We have had more people in our home in the last 2 weeks than we have in the previous 6 years of our married life! We are so blessed and grateful for all of the precious people who have prepared a meal for us, dropped off diapers, come to rock babies, and even spent the night to help our family through those long sleepless nights. The babies are actually sleeping between 3.5-4 hrs at a time overnight, so I really have no room to complain considering they are only a couple weeks old!
 Thanksgiving was wonderful. It is such a special time in the life of our family and such a perfect time of year to share our new arrivals with our family and friends. We were able to make it to both sides of the family and although we didn't stay long, we were glad to get out of the house, eat a good meal, and enjoy the love of our families.
All 24 Bertsch Grandkids in one place!


Saturday, November 26, 2011

32 diapers a day!

    Life in the Bertsch household is hopping. Lots of diapers, wipes, bottles, and  feedings! We have been so thankful to everyone who has stopped by to lend a helping hand. The babies are thriving! They had reached their birth weight by their 1 week pediatrician appointment and are feeding with ease. The breastfeeding is going so well. We hope to stop the supplemental feedings in the next couple weeks. They are just so precious and are so good. We feel so fortunate. Adalyn is adjusting well and loves her brothers and sister. It has been a fun week getting settled in our home as we adjust to being a family of 6.
 

Our First Week At Home

   I am so embarrassed that this is my first post since the triplets arrived. The last 10 days have just flown by! What an exciting journey it has been. We had a wonderful experience at Good Sam Hospital. My friend Casey Casson was my nurse and I don't know what I would have done without her. She is an amazing person and has been nothing short of a God-send to me and my family. The surgery went off on time and everything went very smoothly. As I laid there on the operating room table I just kept thanking God as one prayer after another was answered. My anesthesia worked great, each baby came out pink and screaming, Craig was able to video tape and couldn't wipe the smile off his face. One of the nurses took some awesome pictures in the OR. My bleeding was controlled and I didn't get sick (Big Relief!!) Everything was perfect!


  My favorite moment was after the surgery when they moved me over to my bed and I opened my eyes just as they were placing each baby against my chest. Craig was right by my side. We had done it... Thank you Jesus... 3 healthy babies all in my arms... what an answered prayer... a blessing. Words just can't describe it.
   Our families were all able to come into the recovery room and welcome our little ones into the world. They each nursed within minutes of being in recovery. It was like the icing on the cake. I never dreamed that all three would be able to breastfeed so well.

   The rest of the hospital stay was fairly uncomplicated. The babies passed every test and screening with flying colors. There just wasn't any other way around it... it was truly amazing to see them thriving despite their early gestation and being triplets! I did have to receive blood due to my blood counts dropping, but it turned out to be a blessing as I felt so much better afterwards. I was finally able to keep my eyes open for a conversation.
     Big sister has been doing really well. As she says, "I'm so excited!" when we ask her if she's happy about the babies. She came to visit each day at the hospital and had a blast with her grandma, grandpa, and cousins while mommy and daddy were gone.

 We left the hospital together on  Saturday 11/19. Craig and I just couldn't help but laugh as we pulled out of the hospital parking lot in our newly bought minivan with our 3 kiddos. We are so thankful. Our families were at our house waiting for us when we arrived. It was a moment we had all been anticipating for so long. This day will always be marked as the beginning of our lives together as a family in our home with our loved ones around us.



 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Bertsch Blessings have Arrived!!

This morning around 11:50 a.m. the triplets were welcomed to the world!  First came Bentley Thomas at 4lbs 7oz, then Bronson Charles at 4lbs 11oz, and Arabella Grace at 5lbs 6oz.  Everything couldn't have gone any smoother.  All the babies are completely healthy, and Jessie is doing great as well.  What a blessing from God!




more pictures to come :)

Monday, November 14, 2011

Final Appointment...

Today was our final appointment before the babies big day tomorrow! Everything went beautifully!
Thank you to each of you for all of your words of encouragement during the course of this pregnancy. We are so blessed! We know many of you will be praying for us tomorrow and we thank you. We are more excited than words can express, but as the night comes to a close, my nerves are starting to take over as well. Please pray that God grants us peace and that our babies will do amazing well.
Hopefully we will get some pictures posted tomorrow night with details about our little ones!
Many blessings to each of you!

Here are our final ultrasound photos! Arabella was being sooo cute! She opened her mouth and then made the cutest pouting face. Can't wait to see them in person!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

5 days and Counting!

We just returned from my doctor's appointment and everything is on target for Tuesday! The babies look great on the ultrasound and the fetal monitoring went well. I saw Dr. Smith today and she was so encouraging. They can hardly believe that we have almost arrived!
I'm finally getting a little more uncomfortable this week which is making me even more anxious to see these little ones. Up to this point, I had told my mom, that unless I started getting more discomfort that I just wasn't going to be ready come Tuesday. I've been so blessed with such a wonderful pregnancy that it's hard to imagine that it is about to come to an end. Like mom says, even though feeling them kick and move inside is absolutely incredible, it doesn't compare to feeling them in your arms.
Praying that they stay strong and healthy in their last few days in my belly and come out screaming on their birthday! Thanks for your continued prayers!

Monday, November 7, 2011

3 Little Piggies!

Only 8 more days! We're now in the single digits! Our visit today went very well. All of the babies passed their biophysical profile and nonstress test without any problem. We also found out that we are having 3 little piggies! Their weights today are: Bentley 5#5, Arabella 5#10, and Bronson 5#7. My waist around is now 47 inches. I'm really hoping this is the only time in my life that this will be the case!

Anticipation continues to build in the Bertsch household as we make final preparations. After trying to get the three carseats into our Buick Enclave, Craig discouragingly came in and announced that we needed to go minivan shopping. Much to our surprise, Sunday we went car shopping and were able to find a Honda Odyssey that will be great for our family. We traded in the Buick with tears in our eyes and now I am officially a minivan mom! It feels pretty good really. I always hoped to have enough kids to fill one up, and now I will!

We've almost made it. Thank you for your continued prayers! My next appointment is Thursday, so hopefully we'll lay low until then and I'll be back with another update.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

The countdown is on!!

   10 more days until baby time! We can hardly believe it! We're spending the weekend doing finishing touches on the nursery and arranging baby swings/bassinets/ and pumpkin seats around the house! Everything went very well at the doctors this week. No cervical changes, only a few contractions, and the babies all look great! It has all gone so fast... I just can't believe my family of 3 is about to double! Adalyn seems very excited and has renamed her stuffed animals Arabella, Bronson, and Bentley.
  We know we have a lot of people praying for our family and we are so grateful for that! There are a few specific things that I'd ask you lift up to the Lord with us in the final days before the little ones arrival:
1.) Please pray that this week their lungs will be complete in their development and that they will not need respiratory support at delivery
2.) Pray that their little brains will be developing in miraculous ways in the next few days.
3.) Pray that Adalyn will adjust well and that she will never doubt our love for her despite getting less attention once the babies are home.
4.) Pray that the surgery goes smoothly and that each move the doctors and nurses make are guided by Gods hands.
5.) Please pray that I don't have any issues with bleeding during or after the c-section. Hemorrhaging is a real risk with my uterus being so big carrying 3 babies.
6.) Please continue to pray for Craig as he has taken on double the responsibilities while I've been on bedrest and he knows theirs only more to come in the next couple weeks!

Thank you for being a prayer warrior for us. We know that it is him and him alone that has blessed us so much with a healthy pregnancy. Many thanks and blessings to you!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween

     What a fun day! Adalyn got to dress up like a cow and go trick or treating with her daddy at our old subdivision. She got lots of good candy to share with her mommy!
     My appointment today went great. We don't get weights on the babies until next Monday, but as far as their well being goes, they are doing fantastic!
     I can't believe how soon these precious gifts are going to be here. Only 15 days left! We've got everybody's bags packed and our house is really starting to look like babies are on the way! Craig has been hard at work on their room and it is really starting to come together! We are getting very anxious but at the same time, hopeful that they are going to hold out until 36 weeks.
      Here are some pictures from a couple Halloween parties this weekend along with trick or treat photos!







Mommy at 34 weeks!