Parent Stories
The Mighty Three, as we call them – Maggie, Max, and Miller – were born on May 15, 2017, at 24 weeks and 1 day gestation. All three babies were born at exactly 1:28 p.m., which means none of them can ever boast they are the oldest! Our sweet Maggie Gail was born weighing 1 lb 6 oz, and the boys, Maxwell Christopher and Miller James, were each born weighing 1 lb 9 oz.
We knew our experience in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was going to be challenging. You often hear NICU parents compare their experience to a roller coaster, but I quickly learned that it wasn’t a roller coaster at all. You can choose to ride a roller coaster. You can see its twists and turns ahead, and you know, no matter how much terror you feel along the way, that it will end. No parent ever chooses to be in the NICU. You can never accurately predict what’s ahead, and the ending is never certain.
Each of our babies had different struggles while they fought to stay alive. Please know that these are just a few of the medical complications they struggled with during their NICU stay.
Being the smallest of the three, Maggie’s biggest hurdles were her tiny size and bradycardia, a low heart rate. During her first month of life, she also suffered from an Escherichia coli (E.coli) infection in her bloodstream.
Miller had patent ductus arteriosus, which luckily responded to medication. He had two bloodstream infections. Both infections caused him to be on and off enteral feeds for weeks. Miller’s lungs were very weak, and he required a lot of care. He also underwent laser surgery for retinopathy of prematurity to prevent the spread of abnormal blood vessels in his eyes. Miller struggled with bottle feeding, and it took him 10 weeks to master it!
Max suffered from a pneumothorax, which caused him to have a collapsed lung and a grade 3 brain bleed. Three chest tubes were inserted to help drain the air from his lungs and allow them to re-expand. During this time, Max gained 1 lb of fluid. The doctors explained to us they had done all they could do. The only thing left was wait to see if he recovered. For 28 days Max fought hard. And on the 28th day of his life, I got to hold him for the first time. Max continued to struggle with oxygen and growth, but with lots of time he began to get stronger and stronger. Max is truly a miracle.
We were lucky enough be at a hospital that offered donor milk. I made sure to consent to the use of donor milk right when the babies were born because I wasn’t certain my milk would come in. I was very dedicated to pumping and was able to provide breast milk for The Mighty Three for the first 4 1/2 months! You’d think my breast milk would have been enough, but our babies were micropreemies and were struggling to gain weight. Unlike term babies, their bodies required more energy, protein, and fat to thrive, more than my breast milk alone could provide. So the hospital staff added a fortifier to my breast milk to give them 28 calories per fl oz. The fortifier was Prolact+ H2MF®, the only fortifier made from 100% human milk. Once the fortifier was added to my breast milk, the babies began to grow quickly. They were given Prolacta fortifier for 4 months, until they reached what would’ve have been 40 weeks gestation. I truly believe it helped save their lives.
Maggie graduated from the NICU on day 142, and Max and Miller graduated on day 158. Maggie came home weighing 8 lb 2 oz, Max weighed 8 lb 7 oz, and Miller weighed 9 lb 11 oz. They all came home off oxygen, off monitors, and off feeding support. It’s truly amazing that this was possible, and it’s all because of the fabulous doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapist who worked tirelessly to give each of our babies what they needed. Our hospital had taken our 24-week gestational age triplets and had grown them into healthy babies with the help of Prolacta fortifiers!
The one thing I was thankful I did while my babies were in the NICU was to keep a daily journal so that I could record everything that happened during the course of the day. I also had the nurses, the respiratory therapist, and the doctors write in the journal to help provide me insight into their timelines. My best advice for parents who find themselves in the NICU is that it’s okay. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to scream. It’s okay to laugh. It’s okay to feel scared to hold them. It’s okay to stay by their side all day, but it’s also okay if you want to leave. My faith sustained me throughout this journey and showed me I could handle more than I ever thought possible. Our God is able, every single time.