Judge Family Addition

We're Back...

2006-09-21T22:51:00.000-04:00

No promises on how often we'll post, but wanted to at least put some new photos up on the site. All is well at the Judge asylem. Margaret gave us another scare, this time with a mass in her cheak. After a host of doctors poored over here CT scans the diagnosis is she is going to be fine and we are glad to be getting back to the normal routine. My other 3 babies (Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave) are also doing well. If all goes well seems like life might slow to a managable pace around June 2007.

September #2

2006-09-21T22:48:00.000-04:00

September Photos #1

2006-09-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

August Phots #2

2006-09-21T22:42:00.000-04:00

August Photos #1

2006-09-21T22:39:00.000-04:00

July Photos #2

2006-09-21T22:37:00.000-04:00

July Photos #1

2006-09-21T22:33:00.000-04:00

June photos

2006-09-21T22:29:00.000-04:00

Feeding Time

2006-05-21T19:13:00.000-04:00

more may photos

2006-05-21T19:05:00.000-04:00

May Photos

2006-05-21T18:14:00.000-04:00

I've taken a little heat for not keeping this current so here are some of the better photos of the last month. Everyone is doing well, William is now 15.5 lbs, Thomas 12.5 lbs, Margaret 10.5 lbs. Russell is doing an excellent job of being a big brother, he is quick with a passifier and helps feed when possible. We are greatful for all the help from family and friends and I will do my best to use the limited free time we have to keep this blog up to date.

More April Photos

2006-05-21T18:12:00.000-04:00

April Photos

2006-05-21T18:06:00.000-04:00

March Photos

2006-05-21T17:39:00.000-04:00

A couple of additional photos from March

Another Set of Triplets????

2006-04-13T22:26:00.000-04:00

The first of my other triplets is born... or at least introduced to the public. The Saturn Outlook will be available this fall and takes up most of my time. There is a GMC and Buick model that will also be built at our plant but the Saturn is the first. The 3 rows of seats with good fuel economy is getting here just in time for the Judge family.

3 times the love

2006-04-08T02:44:00.000-04:00

Peg came down last weekend to help us get some sleep. The help of friends and family has been wonderful and it has been fantastic to have the time to catch up. I forget how good a conversation you can have while you are feeding babies.

Trip to Doctor

2006-04-08T02:34:00.000-04:00

Just thought I'd post a photo of the triplets in the car. Trips to the doctor, store, etc... are a logistical event of significant magnitude. It's hard to make it anywhere without it infringing on feeding time so we end up feeding them on the fly, at the hospital, at the doctors etc... Thank god for Kelly's ability to make sure we bring all the right stuff with us everywhere we go.

Little ones

2006-03-27T08:03:00.000-05:00

March 22nd Update

2006-03-22T21:11:00.000-05:00

Quick update on the kids progress. Margaret is now 5lbs 12oz, Thomas is at 7 lbs 11oz, and William is weighing in at a solid 9 lbs even. As a point of reference, if Kelly had gone full term with the pregnancy the kids would be 10 days old today.

Note on the blog

2006-03-20T23:06:00.000-05:00

I am doing my best to keep up with the postings but as you can imagine I don't have the time on the computer that I used to. I am taking pictures as fast as I can (we have hundreds and hundreds), but am only downloading once or twice a week, and trying to update the blog when I do.

oh... and since my team is still alive in college basketball (even if it is only the NIT), GO BLUE!

St Patricks Day Weekend

2006-03-20T22:59:00.000-05:00

Aunt Susie gets a look at the business end of Thomas. Kelly and I are so greatful for the help of our family and friends. The assistance is allowing us to remain with-in striking distance of sane.

More Visitors

2006-03-20T22:52:00.000-05:00

Bob and Colette came to help with the little ones on the 12th. Bath time for munchkins was much easier with twice as many adults here. Bob is doing a good job in the photo of modeling the difficulty of holding two of them at the same time.

Somewhat formal photos

2006-03-20T22:44:00.000-05:00

This was our first attempt at getting a photo of the triplets outside their normal environment. We discovered that no outfit survives more than 10 minutes without a stain, and no 2 children can look at the camera at the same time.

Margaret is home....again

2006-03-07T22:18:00.000-05:00

I picked Margaret up from the hospital this afternoon. She was reunited with her brothers and seems to be happily asleep between them. We are checking her temp 4 times a day to make sure that she doesn't suffer any setbacks... so far so good. Russell is very happy to have all the babies home, he was aware that Margaret was missing and gave her a bunch of kisses when he woke up from his nap and found out she was home. Life here is returning to normal... or as close to normal as having 4 kids under the age of 3 can be.

Silence is over

2006-03-06T22:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the silence but I didn't want to cause too much concern and confusion. All 3 of the triplets came down with RSV about 2 weeks ago. The illness got to Margaret particularly and we took her into the ER on Sunday the 26th. Margaret had both RSV and Strept Pneumonia, she was put on a ventilator to help her breathe and has been in the Pediatric ICU for the past 8 days. She is doing well and will likely come home tomorrow. We brought the boys into the hospital almost immediately after Margaret was stable and they spent 4 days at the hospital getting some extra oxygen, antibiotics, and tender loving care. I cannot overemphasize our gratitude to the folks at Sparrow hospital for keeping our kids alive and kicking. At one point during Margaret's time in the ER I counted 13 doctors and nurses, their skilled care and rapid response have earned my gratitude for life.

1st Weekend

2006-02-20T04:00:00.000-05:00

Mom and Tricia came over on Saturday. I did my best to stay awake as I am currently on taking the 1:30 am - 6:00am shift. Who knew there were so many good songs from the 80's and so many good infomericals about them.

This is the standard configuration. We are going through 24 bottles/day and keeping the kids in one of 4 cribs/pack'n'plays depending on where we are.
The routine is pretty simple:
-Change and feed child, return to bed. (approx 1/2 hour)
- Repeat 2 more times
- Spend 1.5 hours doing laundry, bottle prep, dishes, eating and sleeping
-Repeat

MARGARET IS HOME

2006-02-16T23:36:00.000-05:00

Margaret came home at 10pm Thursday. Her feeding schedule is about the same as the boys, she is now 4lbs 1oz, and it is time to feed her. I'll get photos of the 3 of them together posted as soon as I can take them :)

Doctors Appointment

2006-02-16T16:44:00.000-05:00

Took William and Thomas to the doctor today. Everything is good, William is 5lbs 14oz, Thomas is an even 5 lbs. It was quite an experience trying to get the whole family to the right place at the right time.... should get more interesting when Margaret gets home.

Brotherly Love

2006-02-16T16:39:00.000-05:00

Russell is beginning to adjust to the team of invaders that we keep calling his brothers. Here he is shown helping get the baby to burp. Russell has been very good at getting diapers and other items when we need them, the fact that he always wants to touch the babies when they are sleeping.... not quite as helpful, but totally understandable.

Kids Home.... send help

2006-02-16T16:33:00.000-05:00

Actually we are doing okay with the boys being home. We took William and Thomas home from the Hospital on Tuesday night. It's taken a lot of getting used to but I think we are settling into a routine that might some day be managable.

Everyone at Sparrow was absolutely wonderful and we are looling forward to Margaret rejoining her brothers.

Monday's News

2006-02-14T00:20:00.000-05:00

It looks like William and Thomas will be coming home on Tuesday. Margaret is out of her isolette and into the crib. We're not sure when she will head home.

Current weights:
William 5lbs 7 oz
Thomas 4 lbs 8 oz
Margaret 3 lbs 14 oz

2006-02-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

Kelly and I spent Saturday morning with the triplets. Margaret is now 3lbs 11oz. It's less than her birth weight, but she had dropped down to 3lbs 7oz and has been gaining since.

Thomas is turning out to be the big eater, he is now 4lbs 5oz.
William is a big sleeper and is 5lbs 6oz. Still no word on when everyone will be home. We are planning on doing baths later this afternoon.

Peas in a pod

2006-02-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

Here are Thomas and William. They got moved into the same Crib on Tuesday afternoon to make room for some twins to enter the NICU. Both are able to keep their body temperature up without the help of their "bubbles". Margaret continues to need the help to keep her temp up and hasn't gained any weight in the last few day. Gaining weight is one of the key tests that must be passed in order for us the bring the kids home. Once the boys can show weight gain over a 24 hour period while only feeding from a bottle or breast they will probably come home. (right now they get food from a feeding tube straight to their stomachs) All and all things are going well. Kelly and I have taken our infant CPR class and feel like we are about as ready as we will ever be for the invasion of munchkins.

Superbowl Sunday

2006-02-05T23:34:00.000-05:00

Kelly and I are getting used to visiting the kids and understanding their schedules. They get feed every 3 hours and sleep in between. Gaining weight is one of the key tests they have to pass to come home so we are glad to help feed them. The nurses are great and very helpful. They are doing their best to prepare us for having all 3 newborns at home at once.

Dad gets his chance to deal with the business end of Thomas.

Margaret gets to spend a little time with mom. She was very alert and awake today.

Margaret and dad have their first dance.

Kelly is Home!!!

2006-02-04T00:21:00.000-05:00

We got home from the hospital around 11:30. Above is a photo of Margaret to help give everyone an idea of the size of the triplets, they are so small. Everyone is well. Margaret and Thomas are bottle feeding, William is still getting most of his food via the IV. Kelly and I will be back and forth to the hospital for feedings for the next week or 2 until the babies come home.

Official Full Names and Notes

2006-02-02T00:11:00.000-05:00

Paul William Heyl Judge
Thomas Prichard Judge
Margaret Tichenor Judge

Kelly is at the main Sparrow Hospital in Lansing (until Friday). We are grateful for the flowers and gifts but would ask that you send them to our home address as we are low on space in the hospital room.

Address:
520 Butterfield Dr.
East Lansing, MI
48823

Lastly, many of you have asked what we need in the way of baby supplies. Kelly and I think we are in a decent position (our house looks like a baby super store), but Babies "R" Us/Toys "R" Us gift certificates, Costco gift certificates, Diapers, and Beer are all great ideas.

3rd night close ups

2006-02-02T00:03:00.000-05:00

Margaret - now off of the breathing assistance
Thomas - sound asleep
William - going... going
gone.

I hope they are this good at sleeping once they get home.

Dad and Margaret

2006-02-01T23:55:00.000-05:00

My first feeding of Margaret. She is so little and falls asleep almost immediately when held. I did manage to give her 20ml of food in about 40 minutes.

2nd Night

2006-01-31T23:36:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the Hospital, all is well. Kelly regained her appitite today and I took Russell in for a visit. We can't bring Russell up to the ICU, but he was able to share some mac & cheese with Kelly. It was generally a quiet day for all of us, mostly spent on recovering from yesterday.

First Night

2006-01-30T21:27:00.000-05:00

I am home and everyone is doing well. Kelly is resting and recovering from the C-section. The babies are all doing well. We'll start feeding them on Tuesday. Russell and I have spent some time looking at photos and videos, he is still a long way from understanding what is going on. It sounds like Kelly will be in the hospital for a few days (4-5) and the kids will be in the ICU for 10 days to 2 weeks or so. There is a no-vistor policy in effect on the ICU right now. Kelly and I appricate all your well wishes and we know everyone wants to see the babies, but for now this blog and some photos is the best we can do.

P.S. I think I fixed the blog so that anyone should now be able to post a reply without creating an account.

Happy Birthday

2006-01-30T15:43:00.000-05:00

Introducing:

William
5lbs 5 oz
18.5 inches

Thomas
4lbs
18.1 inches

Margaret
3lbs 13 oz
16.9 inches