Tille Family

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Yea, 1 Month Old!!!

Happy Birthday Kids!!! That’s right; today they turned 1 month old. Man time really flies. I don’t really know how to express all the feelings that we’ve experienced over the past month. We’ve dealt with fear and worry that something may go horribly wrong. We’ve felt the incredible job that brings you to tears. I’ve never felt exhaustion like I did the night following the birth. I collapsed that night on an air mattress in Angela’s empty hospital room into a slumber that would make a bear in hibernation jealous. The constant pressure and worry of providing for a very large family (I’m a bit fearful that that emotion isn’t gonna go away for a while). More recently, the pressures of trying to prepare for what we have coming while still trying to do my job at the same time. Nothing ever stands still here, or at least it hasn’t for a very long time. With all that said, I think we’re starting to get used to it (just a tiny bit).

This weekend we had some more visitors. My mother, two of my brothers and their “better halves” made the trip to River Falls on Friday night. Robert and Gwen left their daughter behind to stop by to see the kids for the second time. Eric and his girlfriend Jessica made their first trip up to see the kids. They brought some things with them which allowed us to get a start on getting the house in order for the kids to come home. We now have 3 cribs out in the garage. We’re expecting two more in the near future from some friends. My goal is to get the nursery painted up in the next couple weeks and all of the stuff brought in the house from the garage. Our garage has basically been a storage shed for a month now. My mom also brought a couple more rocking chairs. That brings that total up to 4 plus a couch up in “baby land.” The room is really starting to take shape and I’d say that we’re pretty well set on the major furniture needs for the room. They also brought along a variety of donations from a variety of supporters from the Rock Rapids area. Thank you all so much!

On Saturday morning we went in to see the kids. They’re growing so much, but still so small. The most recent pictures online are a week or two old, but they really don’t give you a good feeling for how small they still are. As an example, Emma’s arm is the same size as my ring finger. I have not tried, but I’m convinced that I could slide my wedding ring up to her shoulder without any obstruction. Their ears are about the size of my thumbnail. With that said, they’re still doing really well. Some things have really changed since my last post so I’ll give some general updates that took place for everyone and then I’ll go around the room.

Everyone is doing well with his/her feedings, but the feedings have changed a bit. In the past, they were on a continuous drip through a feeding tube that goes through their noses into their bellies. Now, they’re all on a 3-hour feeding schedule. They’re getting all of their food over the course of about 30 minutes and then not getting any more for a few hours. A 3-hour feeding schedule is normal for regular babies. The next step is to get them to feed with a bottle, which might happen sometime this week. The reason that they’re not bottle feeding yet is because the brain isn’t developed enough at this age to be able to suck and breathe at the same time. As you might imagine, that could be a bit of a problem.

Brooklyn weighed in today 3 lbs, 14 oz. She, like all of them, is getting about an ounce per feeding. She’s doing really well with her breathing without any assistance. Brooklyn had a little highlight this week as her mother gave her a bath.

Lauren is also doing well. Like Brooklyn, she’s getting an ounce per feeding and breathing remarkably well without any assistance. She weighed in today at 3 lbs, 8 oz and got to do a little kangaroo care with her mother AND brother. That’s an awesome segway as we go to Alex.

The biggest change this week took place with Alex. Alex was removed from his isolette to a crib this week. That’s right, just an open crib. Alex is still wearing his nasal canual, but growing like a weed. He weighed in today at 4 lbs, 3 oz.

Emma is still the smallest, but doing really well. She is at the same pace with her siblings with her feedings. The big highlight this week for Emma is that she is now part of the “3-Pounder Club.” She weighed in at 3 lbs, 1.5 oz. Like Alex, she’s also on a nasal canual, but doing exceptionally well otherwise.

Lastly, Madeline is growing at the fastest pace. She joined the “4-Pound Club” as she weighed in at 4 lbs even today. She is still on a canula, but is doing well. They took her off it last night and into today for 12 hours. She was starting to get tired so they put it back on her this afternoon. Madeline, like Alex, was also moved into a new bed this week. Her new isolette has a removable top and they took that off today for a while.

As you can tell, they’ve obviously made some huge strides over just the past week. I almost forgot and I can’t remember whether or not I’ve written about this or not, but they all passed their vision test. The test basically told us that there are no issues present, but their eyes are still considered premature so the risk is not gone yet. They also had a second brain ultrasound that came back clear. It’s so amazing how far they’ve come. We’ve truly been blessed.

Until next time…