The Hedgepeth's...Party of Two to Five in less than 2 minutes!

The babies arrived safe and sound Friday afternoon between 12:32 (Abby and Claire) and 12:33 (Brayden). Everything happened so quickly...I don't even know if I could explain how it happened. I woke up feeling a little "funny," the doc checked me, I was 5 cm, they sent me downstairs for monitoring, doc checked again, 6 cm, decided it was time to deliver and before I knew what was happening the room was full of family and friends, Joseph got there, away for a c-section we go. Several minutes after all the babies were here and checked out our family was complete...










Things continue to go so well...as of right now ALL babies are breathing on their own, they are not on any oxygen and they are eating 10 cc's (2 whooping teaspoons) every 3 hours.

There was a time when Claire was on a nasal cannula, but she has come off of that and seems to be doing a lot better and is a lot more comfortable. She still has a tube in her nose in case she has trouble taking a bottle, but that has not been an issue since the nasal cannula was removed. Tonight I got to give her a bath and that baby has some lungs on her. I am so impressed with how well she continues to do. At one point yesterday I would have said she is the weakest of the three...but now I would say they are all pretty even. Anyway...introducing Claire Elizabeth...










Brayden was also struggling with his feeds a little bit Saturday so they put in a tube for feedings for him, which he has NOT used since. He continues to defy the odds if you will...boys are notorious for struggling more in the NICU, but not my Brayden. He is doing everything on his own and comes in a close second at feeding time for getting the bottle down and burping. He has remained the most stable so far and is just amazing...I love my baby boy! Introducing Brayden Jae...










Abby, the runt if you will, continues to amaze me and seems the strongest of the 3...she is Joseph's daughter that is for sure, she eats a bottle and burps in about 3 minutes flat! I always secretly worried about Abby and everyone told me the smallest is usually the strongest and well, she is proving all of those people right! She did decide to see if we were paying attention once or twice by forgetting to breath, and they threatened to put her on the nasal cannula but that has not been an issue since Saturday morning. She is going to be one strong willed little girl! Introducing Abby Love...










Sunday had to be one of the greatest days of my life. Joseph and I got to do "Kangaroo Kare" which is skin to skin contact with the babies. This helps them in so many ways and it helps me with the milk issue (which is going so-so). Below are a few pictures from our session, which lasted from about 8:00 to 10:30...the best 2.5 hours of my life so far...and I am sure there are many more great times like these to come!

Here is Joseph with the girls. It takes a real man to whip off his shirt in public and hold his baby girls. I think the girls were excited to be together again, what do you think?










Here is Mommy with Baby Boy. They just slipped him right under my shirt. He got nice and comfy and enjoyed the time with Mom...










Here is a picture of all three babies together again...it's a lotta work to get them together, but the nurses have been wonderful and very helpful in any way that we ask. The order is Brayden, Claire then Abby...










And finally, the most recent picture of our new, completed, five member family...











So...that's the latest with the world's cutest triplets ever! My new goal in life is to spend time with them and get them home, but also to work on giving an update at least a few times a week. I can not thank y'all enough for being part of our journey and I hope you continue to be part of our journey. I love all of y'all. Until next time, as always, Please Remember Jackson!

Nichole (whose working on a new signature...)