Still Here, Just a Little Busier These Days...

This is going to be quick because I'm tired and I'm a little cranky...really tired, more than a little cranky. Here goes:

- Babies: awesome, totally, completely, incredibly, awesome and perfect in every single way!!
- Britton: started to take her feeds really well, thought she was coming home today, first heart rate drop in 15 days on Saturday has her on lockdown until the end of the week... We miss her terribly because it is next to impossible to get back to the NICU these days. We've been there twice in the last week...not cool... :(
- Jack: Big Boy continues to dominate the bottle and spend his hours in chill mode...loves the TV, even when facing away from it, he does back bends to try to see it...just wait 'til college football starts, my boy, just wait!!
- Lila: Competing with Bright Eyes Britton for the brightest eyes and social butterfly title...too incredibly cute!
- Ryan: Total trouble maker! Likes to be held...a lot...also doesn't like to wait her turn to get the bottle...already living up to the baby of the family role she earned by being born last. Gets cuter by the moment, however!!
- Brooklyn: might be taking over as the ultimate girlie-girl...her cry is so sweet I actually want her to cry so I can hear it again and again...she sleeps, fusses, falls back to sleep, fusses, falls back to sleep...flipping adoreable!
- Volunteers: totally ROCK! All have been incredible - thoughtful, respectful, good with the babies...huge relief, answer to prayers...AMAZING!!!
- Night Time Volunteers: Really hard to come by...Tricia, The Velvet Hammer, is a ROCK STAR!
- Feeding Schedule: Difficult...feeding takes two hours, babies eat every three...do the math...zzzzzzzzzzzz...
- Casey Ann: AMAZING!!! Nuf said...oh, wait...BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
- Grandma Stevie and Nana: Rock solid...thank you, thank you, thank you!!
- Sleep: next to none, contemplating night nurse, but muy, muy expensive...something must be done, however. That bullet is going to hurt when we finally convince ourselves to take the bite...
- School: Timing - bad, Baylor - fantastic, current class (finance) - very interesting, light at the end of this semester's tunnel - pretty bright...
- Noteworthy About Today's Blog: no pictures...this time it's the lack of pictures that speak a thousand words. Casey was born with a camera in her hand...hard to take pictures when your camera hands are full of baby...
- Future: Never better...

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

Four Down, One to Go...Welcome Home, Ryan Elizabeth!!!!

We have quads today, and probably no more than that for the next few days at least. The baby of the family, the last born, Baby E, Ryan Elizabeth, came home today...yeah!!!! Her final NICU weight was six pounds, two ounces; not bad considering she is supposed to have been born two days from now. That leaves only our little social butterfly, Baby Bright Eyes Britton, still to make the journey home. She is doing well, but hasn't yet mastered the bottle...we just hope she makes it home in time to celebrate her first Christmas with the family... ;-)

Oh yes, one more thing...Eliot has decided on nicknames for three of the four. We've not got Lila Bear, Prince Jack, and Ryan the Lion. I guess she's still working on Britton's and Brooklyn's names, but she's off to a great start!

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net

JonesLife Nights...Good Times!!!

This is absolutely hilarious so I had to share. One of our good friends, Tricia Harrison, aka The Velvet Hammer - JonesLife coordinator, Casey's bedrest hairdresser, brownie baker, lasagna maker, and frequent volunteer - took the first night shift last night. As she reports, she had a pretty wild night with the triplets - Jack, Lila, and Brooklyn - and is ready to come back for more good times. Here is how the night went in her words...

"Good Morning Ethan and Casey!!!!! I thought I would share my experiences with the triplets last night before I catch some zzzzzzzzzz's for the day."

"While you both were catching up on some much needed shut eye, I had an eventful night. Thank you for letting me invade your house last night, and take care of the triplets all by myself. Oh, by no means was it simple, but I thoroughly enjoyed it."

"It all began soon after you went to bed. I was finishing up feeding Brooklyn, and I heard some strange spitting noises coming from Lila's bed. So Brooklyn and I got up to see what was the matter. Poor sweet little Lila had spit up and was beginning to let me have it!!!!! I put Brooklyn in her bed to attend to Lila. I noticed that she would do much better if she was propped up on the bobby pillow. She wouldn't spit up at all if she was there, and she liked it much better anyway."

"Finally everyone was all snuggled down for at least an hour before feeding started all over again, so I decided to lay down myself. WRONG!!!!!!!! Cute little instigator Brooklyn, which I have nicknamed Squirmy Wormy, decided to stretch and wiggle her way out of her blanket while moaning and groaning...and farting. Then she would get pissed and cry because she wiggled her way out of her blanket and was cold. She would then cry and start the others crying, one by one."

"All I could do was chuckle - it was like a trickle down effect. Brooklyn would moan and groan and then Lila and then Jack. I am totally sure they were trying to tell each other to be quiet because they were tired and wanted to go to sleep. Oh yeah, boy do you have some little tooters on your hands. Lots of unpleasant sounds can come from them...he he :) Who new they could make up a song with little toots."

"Feeding was an experience in itself as well. Lila was first so she would cry and start Jack going because he new he only had to wait just 30 more minutes and it was his turn. But low and behold, Brooklyn was like, "hello, I am starting to get hungry, feed me too!" :-) One time I had to sit on the fireplace to feed Lila and keep putting Brooklyn's pacifier in her mouth so she would stop crying, and walk over and do the same to Jack, all while I was still feeding Lila. Whatever works, right!!!!!! Lila didn't mess around. She was serious about eating, but gets lazy really fast. Jack doesn't waste anytime. That boy can down a bottle in 15 minutes flat!!!!!!! Brooklyn on the other hand would just rather use the bottle for a pacifier instead of eating. She does like to suck on something and hold your hand during feeding time."

"All in all I had a fabulous time, and wanted to just share what you missed out on last night. Thanks a million for allowing me to be a part of it all!!!!!!"

Hugs and good night!!!! :-)
Trish

All that and we've got two more babies coming...oh my gosh!!!!!!! The full time volunteer schedule kicks into high gear this Sunday as we expect to have at least four of the five home with us. It's going to be WILD!!!

Tricia - you rock, girl! Thank you so much for all that you do...we love you, you are a superstar, your treasure pile in Heaven is overflowing!!!!!

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

Three Down, Two to Go...Welcome Home, Brooklyn Faith!!!!

Today, we have triplets. Probably on Wednesday, we'll have quadruplets. Who knows when we'll actually have quintuplets since Britton doesn't seem to want to come home anytime soon!! Brooklyn came home today, weighing in at six pounds, five ounces, and quickly settled into her new home. I think she was happy to see Jack and Lila, don't you? :)

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net

Twins Today, Triplets Tomorrow...Welcome Home, Lila Addison!!!!

Sorry for not updating sooner...we are in major transition in the Jones household, as you might imagine, which means the blog had to take a back seat, unfortunately. Well, as you know, Jack was the big winner and came home on Tuesday, leaving his sisters behind to battle it out for second, third, fourth, and eventually fifth place in our little race. It's been a fun, busy, exciting, stressful, tiring, and sometimes dizzying week as we welcomed our little man to the house and finalized preparations for the final four to find their way home. Jack is doing very, very well as he continues the pattern he established in the NICU - eat, sleep, sleep some more, eat, and sometimes poop. He is on a three hour feeding schedule, round-the-clock, as his sisters are which means we have kissed our nights of restful sleep goodbye for now.

Though he will always be the little king of the castle, Jack's solo flight has come to an end as today we welcomed home Lila Addison...we now have twins under our roof!! Little Lady Lila, weighing in today at 5 pounds, 10 ounces (nearly two pounds smaller than Jack!) arrived around 3:00 this afternoon and has been sleeping ever since. She has been enjoying some cuddle time with Jack in the Boppy on the couch next to me for the last hour or so...I guess they missed each other!

Tomorrow, our little brood will grow from twins to triplets as Brooklyn is expected to come home with us around noon! And in an interesting twist of scheduling, Casey and I will be on our own tomorrow night with the three...pray for us, brothers and sisters!! Thankfully, help arrives on Tuesday when my mom makes it to town just in time to welcome home Ryan on Wednesday! That just leaves Baby Bright Eyes Britton to finally conquer the bottle and make her way home...hopefully before the others start crawling... ;-)

I have to ask for you all to continue to pray for our family as the transition begins and we start putting the planning into action. Casey and I are excited, yes without a doubt, but we are also pretty stressed these days. The babies are absolutely beautiful and perfect in every single way...but all you parents out there know just how crazy things can be with a little one in the house! We are absolutely focused on making everthing about this experience a positive and uplifting one for our family and we need your help in making that happen! Please pray for peace of mind for Casey and I, understanding and patience for Eliot, health and growth for the babies, and a little sleep for all of us!!

Thank you all again for your support and prayers and for helping to fill the Fab Five's lives with so much love!!!

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net

Welcome Home, Jack Jones!!

And the winner is Jack William, standing alone on the winner's podium!! As late as 9:30 this morning, we thought Radiant Ryan was coming home today with Jack, but a phone call from the NICU quickly dashed those dreams. Ryan had a significant heart rate drop at some point last night which means she won't be coming home for at least five more days. Of course, we were disappointed, but at the same time I must admit that we were pulling for Jack all along. The girls will soon be ruling this roost so it's only fair that our only boy should get some quiet time alone with the three of us before the girls take over!

At this point, however, it's anyone's guess as to who will be next. It appears that Ryan is now at the back of the line with Britton, but who knows? Lila is out until the weekend, at least, because of her heart rate drop just two days ago. And Brooklyn? Well, the little girl who was the biggest on delivery day isn't real fond of the bottle. Until she decides to start working a little harder at eating, she'll be a Seton resident along with her sisters. I can't remember the last time Britton had a heart rate drop, but she's not taking the bottle real well either. So the race for second place will continue...

Despite the setback with Ryan, it was a pretty good day for the Jones family! We picked Jack up around 2:00 at the NICU and headed for the house, picking Eliot up from school along the way. I ran out to get some work done on a remodel project I started yesterday while Casey and Eliot got the little guy settled in. Eliot did AWESOME!! She was little miss helper with anything Jack needed. If Jack was sleeping, she was giving us status updates about every ten minutes or so..."Mama, he's squeaking!!" She helped prepare bottles, she held the bottle a while during one of the feeds, she helped rock him in the swing, and she also held him for a bit. To top it off, she even read him a bedtime story complete with showing him the pictures...too cute!!!!

We're looking forward to getting the girls home - it's going to be a bit challenging to manage the NICU schedule until they do - but we're very happy to have our boy home and all to ourselves for the time being!

God Bless,

Ethan

http://www.joneslife.net/

P.S. Big Bad Jack definitely lived up to his name, coming home at a healthy and hefty, by NICU standards, 6 pounds, 13 ounces!

BABIES COMING HOME TODAY!!!!!

We meet with the doctors at 1 o'clock this afternoon, then we're bringing two of them home!!!! It's still a little up in the air as to which babies are coming home, but it is most definitely two of them!!! Very EXCITED!!!!!!!!

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

The Ride has Arrived

Add this to the list of new experiences - actually two new entries for the list - buying a vehicle site-unseen and having a vehicle delivered to your home...nice!! Kind of crazy buying anything without putting your eyes on it, but our choices were extremely limited. In other words, unless we wanted a cargo van, a Ford Expedition EL was the only option for our family. And having it delivered? That happened because the dealer was kind enough to sympathize with how busy our lives are now and offered to bring it out to us to save us some time! It may take a giant shoe horn and several volunteers to make it happen, but believe it or not, our entire family, car seats and all, will fit into the new ride. So, when we happen to wake up at six am on a Sunday morning, we'll actually get to go to church as a family...yeah!!!

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net

The Home Stretch

Here are a couple of quick notes before we get to the action. The two babies with Casey and I are Ryan and Jack. Can you guess which one is BIG Bad Jack?? The baby getting a bath is Jack - he went straight to the tub after a serious daddy diaper dilemma! And the two cuties who look nearly identical are Ryan and Brooklyn. We think these two look the most alike and Jack looks a lot like them as well. As far as we can tell, Lila and Britton have their own look about them, but it seems to change quite a bit as they put on weight so who knows? Now, let's get down to business...

And here they come, race fans! Around the final bend and into the home stretch, we've got a tight field! All bets are in, the atmosphere is electric, and all eyes are on the Fab Five as they make their final push for the coveted solo ride home from the NICU!!

As we entered the final turn, it looked like Big Bad Jack and Little Lady Lila had this thing sewn up, competing solely with each other for first prize. Hot on their heels, however was Unbridled Brooklyn bounding boldly in this baby battle. But wait a minute, who's that closing in fast?? Is that...no it couldn't be...that must be Radiant Ryan running ragged to reclaim the race!

Where did she come from? How did she get here? Radiant Ryan was almost renamed Written Off Ryan just three days ago. But as the others prepared their podium platitudes (a bit prematurely, don't you think?), Radiant Ryan rightly remembered...the turtle? Yes, the turtle! Slow and steady won the race...and ran the rabbit right into retirement!

The doctors' doubts have subsided so dutifully they've decided, one of these babies simply must go...or will it be two, maybe more? By the end of the week, it could even be four! While Baby Bright Eyes Britton is still biding the by (I hope she makes it home by the end of July!), her brother and sisters are putting on a show and have everyone in JonesLife on the tips of their toes! Who will it be? Who has the right stride? To the victor the spoils and time alone with the pride! Stay tuned folks, for the end is at hand, only two days more 'til the first baby will land!

And then, the real fun begins...

God Bless,

Ethan

http://www.joneslife.net/

Worth a Thousand Words

I'll let these speak for themselves...

Thank you so much to Tracey Taylor of Taylor Made Portrait Studio for these amazing pictures!! www.taylormadeportraitstudios.com

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net

Getting Closer, Getting Prepared, Getting Stressed

Don't let the pictures throw you off - no babies are home yet - but we seem to be getting closer every day to the first of five big homecomings. We do not have a definite date yet for any of the babies. The pictures above are of Jack and Brooklyn having their car seat test. They put the babies in the car seat for an hour with the monitors on to make sure the seat doesn't cause any issues with their breathing and heart rate. All of the babies had this test yesterday and all passed! They have all also cleared their hearing exams!

There is talk of Jack coming home towards the end of next week, possibly along with Lila which would be awesome! But every time we think the course is set, there is a minor setback with one of the babies or one of them decides to make a push to be the first one home. Today's setback - four out of five babies had spontaneous heart rate drops today, all except for Jack, but he continues to have them while feeding. And today's push - Ryan is stepping it up with the feeds and if she continues, she will definitely compete for the first one home. Our hope is that they come home soon, but more importantly that they come home when we are 100% certain that all of their issues are resolved, of course!

Our other hope is that they all make it home as closely together as possible. As it is right now, Casey and I go to the NICU every afternoon together. However, once a baby is discharged from the NICU, they can no longer return. This means that Casey and I will have to start alternating when we go to the NICU so that one of us will be able to stay home with the homebound baby. Since it is certain that the babies will not all be ready to go at the same time, we are hopeful that their individual discharges all happen within about a week's time of each other.

In preparation news, we had the first of two JonesLife Volunteer Orientations this past Saturday at our house. In all, 22 volunteers came to the house so we could meet them all, show them the house and baby care area, and go over all of the general guidelines for how all of this craziness is going to operate. We have organized several infant CPR classes for the volunteers so that most of them have now had some level of training. We are planning one more orientation for two weeks from now and we expect about twice the number of volunteers this time around. This Saturday's group was very engaged in the discussion, came ready with questions, and seemed to be excited about the pending homecoming. Casey and I are very happy with the way things went and were quite impressed with the volunteer group!

In other preparation news, it looks like I'll be trading in my truck this coming week for a Ford Expedition EL (the "EL" stands for Extra Long!). It'll be a sad day to wave goodbye to the truck that has served me well for the last 5+ years, but what must be, must be. I've driven a truck since my sophomore year of college and hope to get back into one sooner than later, but we couldn't make the numbers work this time around. I'll be taking over Casey's Tahoe for the next couple of years and Casey will take the reigns of the mini-bus...once the back up alarm has been installed. Please join me in a brief moment of silence as we say goodbye to my beautiful Betty Ford...

I'd be lying if I said the stress wasn't getting to us...it is. Though it is not overwhelming and we are keeping a positive spirit as we look forward to life with five plus Eliot, please pray for us to continue to keep our heads straight and our focus clear. We are so thankful that the most dramatic life event that we have experienced in our lives to date has been and will continue to be overwhelmingly positive! Yet it doesn't come without its share of questions and doubts about the future. And for those times when our vision is blurred by the weight of it all, we will continue to lean on our faith, our family, our friends, and our new-found extended support system that comes to us daily through blog comments, emails, Facebook posts, cards, and phone calls all offering love, support, and encouragement for the challenges that lie ahead. Thank you to all for pitching in and helping out, no matter what shape or form that help has taken, we are forever grateful!!!!!

God Bless,

Ethan

http://www.joneslife.net/

Jack Pulls Ahead

Ok, race fans, it's time to place your bets! It looks like this chase is coming to a close in the next few days so it's time to commit! Big Bad Jack has pulled out to a late lead, bolstered by his night in with Mom and Dad, and may have this thing about wrapped up. But don't count Little Lady Lila out of the hunt just yet. She continues to dominate the bottle, but her little heart skipped a beat just yesterday...was it nerves, was the bottle getting the best of her, or is she simply holding back so she can bring home victory with flair??

We're still waiting on Unbridled Brooklyn to step up and fight that bottle to the finish...she won't be coming home until she does. Radiant Ryan is taking the slow and steady approach and may have a surprise for us in the end, but time is running out for a daring dash to the finish. Don't place your bets on Little Baby Britton as she has absolutely no chance...I'm pretty sure she's decided that going home will cut into her social life so she's going to hold out as long as she can with eyes wide open!!

As mentioned above, we got a night in with baby boy Jack on Wednesday night. The hospital has a room just down from the NICU for parents of preemies to come up and spend a night with their baby before they come home. This is an important night for many of the parents because their babies are coming home with different issues that may require more than your average baby care. With the baby still hooked up to the regular monitors and nurses just down the hall, the night in is a good practice run for these parents. Since we've been going to the NICU every day for nearly two months now and have been heavily involved with their care in the last couple of weeks, the night served us to just enjoy some alone time with our baby boy. Other than the lack of sleep because one of his sensors decided to be a little sensitive, it was a great time! I think the coolest thing was falling asleep to the sounds of a squeaky baby at our bedside...a sound we will no doubt get our fill of in the coming weeks!

Here are some updated weights on the Fab Five:

Brooklyn Faith - 4 pounds, 14.5 ounces

Britton Grace - 3 pounds, 10.1 ounces

Jack William - 5 pounds, 5.5 ounces

Lila Addison - 3 pounds, 15.2 ounces

Ryan Elizabeth - 4 pounds, 11.4 ounces

We had quite a day at the NICU this afternoon with lots of visitors. First, the group of ladies who knit blankets, caps, and booties for all of the NICU babies made a special trip up to make a special delivery - 5 little blankets with an angel knitted into them. Thought they couldn't come in to see the babies, it was great for us to meet such a loving group of ladies who do so much good for all of the babies in need!

Next, we had Grandpa Bill came in to see the babies and he got to hold Jack for the first time. I think you can tell by the picture how he felt about his grandbaby boy!

Finally, the dean of Baylor's business school, Dr. Gary Carini, came up to check in on his future students. What an awesome gesture from a man who could probably spend his time 1000 other ways, but instead decided to spend it spreading a little Green and Gold love! Thank you again, Gary and the rest of the Baylor group, for the incredible support you have given our family!!

All kidding aside, it looks like Jack will be coming home early next week, possibly with Lila by his side. Brooklyn and Ryan are a very close third and fourth. In other words, it is not outside the realm of possibilities that we'll have four of five home with us next week...AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Reality check is coming soon to the Jones household!!! Um, prayers please!!!!!!!!

God Bless,

Ethan

http://www.joneslife.net/

Down To The Wire

It appears we may have a photo finish as to which of the Fab Five gets to come home first. The lucky winner will enjoy an indeterminate number of days garnering all the attention that this former family of three has to offer!

As you all know, Brooklyn jumped out to an early lead only to have my main man Jack take her over in the 34th week. It appears now, however, that we've got a new challenger in the mix. That's right, one of the Delivery Day Dainties, Lila Addison who weighed in at a daring 2 pounds, 3 ounces on her birthday, has mounted a late charge and threatens to dash Jack's dreams! Oh, the drama!!!

As of yesterday afternoon, Jack was comfortably in the lead with the finish line coming into view. However, he tripped on the home stretch allowing Lila to pull up neck and neck beside him! Poor little guy held destiny in his hands before a spontaneous heart rate drop dropped out of nowhere and opened the door to all challengers. Little Lady Lila, weighing in at a full pound lighter than Big Bad Jack, seized the opportunity by continuing her dominance at the nipple resulting in the removal of her feeding tube! Having escaped the wrath of the dreaded heart rate drop for several days now, she may have snuck away with the title.

But don't place your bet before Unbridled Brooklyn has her last say! She proved herself to be strong out of the gates, but will she have what it takes to finish with flair?? No heart rate drops for her either, but the nipple has been her nemesis! She approaches the bottle work with gusto, but her gale of glee too quickly flees long before the bottle has bowed in submission. The nurses say she could turn it on like a light and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat...and don't we all know better than to nay-say a nurse's knowledge?

Radiant Ryan and Little Baby Britton (with whom all are sure to be smitten) have little chance to challenge for the charmed chariot ride to their new castle, but both have made their mark on the JonesLife marquee! Ryan, the youngest of the crew, is a quiet little charmer who selflessly chose to allow her older sisters and brother fight for the glory...this time. Beautiful Britton, with her big, bright eyes (which seem to always be open, by the way!), still prefers the quiet solitude of her isolette to the bright lights of the big stage. With her tiny, little face, big, bright, beautiful eyes, and melt your heart charm the nurses are certain she'll have more than her fair share of the spotlight.

Who will pull it out? Who will make the final push? Is Big Bad Jack baby boy enough to break free from this estuary of estrogen and stake an early claim to family dominance?? Will Big Sister Brooklyn redeem herself after such a promising start and subsequent fall from grace? Does Lila have enough left in the tank to shock the world? Will Britton ever close those big, bright, beautiful eyes and go to sleep? And what about Ryan - will our sleepy little siren ever wake up long enough to show us what she's made of?? No one can say, but there are sure to be more twists and turns along the way. Tune in to see who comes out of this baby scrap fight with the coveted title - First Home Arrival!!!!!

God Bless,
Ethan
http://www.joneslife.net/