Get Lia's Heart Fixed... Check.

That was something I was very happy to check off my "to do" list.  All went well with Lia's heart surgery.  We checked in at Primary Children's Medical Center at 6 AM. Lia's surgery was scheduled for 7:30 AM.  We went through all the paperwork and blah, blah, blah. She looked so cute in her miniature hospital gown.  Handing her over to the nurse when it was time for her to go into surgery was seriously one of the hardest things I've had to do.  I was all shaky and teary.  I know these people are professionals and she is in very good hands, but they are strangers to me, and I'm pretty much trusting them with her life. So, about 2 1/2 hours later our pager went off and we went to meet with the doctor.  He said that Lia was very "interesting."  He explained that as they were doing the procedure, he was "tickling" her heart and the hole closed up on it's own.  He said they were all baffled.  They had never seen anything like this before, but he had a colleague who this had happened to once.  They were all scratching their heads and taking pictures of her heart from all different angles, when all of a sudden the hole in Lia's heart opened up even bigger than it was before.  Apparently that's amazing.  They implanted the metal coil device and that was that.  He was like a kid in a candy store talking about how fascinating the surgery was.  They told me Lia would be pretty cranky and upset, but she woke up smiling at the nurses and has just been doing better and better.  I'm so proud of my sweet little Lia.  Luckily, my cute niece Kylee has been staying with us and is a tremendous help.  This 10 year old is better than any nanny we could ever find.  We love you Ky.  Thanks for all your help.

New Pics

These pictures were taken by Alisa Linton. I think she does beautiful work. Maybe I'm biased because she was photographing my kids. These are just a few of my favorites out of almost 200 pictures. Thanks Alisa.

Prayers for Lia, Please.

We found out Friday that Lia will not have her surgery in April, it will be Thursday.  As in 4 days away.  She saw her doctor on Friday who explained her condition like this: "She has started Congestive Heart Failure, which has caused her liver to swell."  Lia is eating a lot less than she used to and breathing looks like it takes her more effort than it should.  The actual procedure that she will have to fix her PDA is very common and has a super high success rate.  The biggest concerns are 1) risk of infection, which is always a concern during surgeries and 2) risks from the anesthesia. I learned about a statistic that really startled me.  1/1000 babies under one year old who are put under anesthesia don't wake up.  I've been wondering why that 1/1oth of one percent chance has been keeping me awake worrying at night, and then I realized why.  I've been known to defy odds in the past, seeing as the chance of having triplets is about 1/8000 births.  I'm confident that everything will go as planned and my little Lady Lia Bug will have a long healthy and happy life. Please say a prayer for my baby. 

Six Months and Still Kickin'

The babies turned 6 months old today. Time flies when you don't have time to look at the clock. Recently we have observed the most amazing miracle of our lives. Claire and Brynn are SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. Not just a wimpy 7 or 8 hours. I'm talking 12 straight hours. It's a beautiful thing. Too bad Lia can't jump on board. We're not going to go hard core with Lia quite yet... I just took her to the Cardiologist again today. She hasn't been eating nearly as well as usual and her breathing seems pretty labored. Long story short... her heart has continued to enlarge to the point that it's pushed her Liver down (?? What???) She is going to get her surgery next month instead of in May. I just want to get it over with.

Here are some random pics of some of the fun stuff going on in the Lloyd home:

Miriam has taken on a new hobby... she's a monkey and climbs all over everything. Mostly furniture, but she also enjoys the backyard with all the rock walls and overgrown weeds. She calls it "The Jungle." Another favorite pass time of hers is holding her baby sisters. She loves them a little too much and has to constantly be reminded to be gentle.

Miriam also really loves watching "Scooby Doo" but gets pretty scared. She needs to hug her stuffed puppy and Daddy for support.
I must say, I heart warm weather. Yesterday it was finally warm enough to take the girls out on the patio. It made me happy.

Apparently it made Brynn happy too.

Child Exploitation

Exploiting our kids started pretty simple. Derek found a list online of companies who have "multiples programs." If you have twins, triplets or more, you send them a letter along with copies of birth certificates and the companies send you free stuff. We've had stuff coming in the mail for months: diapers, formula, toys, sippy cups, onsies and lots of coupons among other things. Yesterday exploiting our kiddos went to a whole new level. I was out for my regular Saturday trip to the grocery store. It had taken a lot longer than I anticipated. Derek called to tell me to hustle because all the girls were hungry and crying. I was about 30 seconds from home when I looked in my rear view mirror. Oh crap.
Police officer: Hi Ma'am. I'm pulling you over for speeding and I'm going to be honest with you. I'm going to give you a citation.
Me: Oh, Really?
Police Officer: Do you know what the speed limit is through here?
Me: 25?
Police Officer: Ya. Did you even see the flashing sign back there telling you how fast you were going?
Me: Umm, no.
Police Officer: I noticed you were on your phone.
Me: Ya. I have baby triplets at home. My husband was calling to tell me to hurry home because they are all hungry and crying.
Police Officer: Triplets? Wow. Well, do you want me to follow you home? You can take care of them and then we can take care of this.
Me: That's alright. It will only take a couple minutes, right?
So he gave me my ticket and I rushed (not sped) home to feed the babies. After I finished feeding them I was putting Miriam down for nap and Derek came in with my cell. This was the voice mail I had:
"Hi Mrs. Lloyd. This is Officer so-and-so. I just pulled you over and gave you a citation. I'm going to go ahead and void that. I think with triplets you have enough stress in you life."
Fabulous. Who knew they could even do that? Good work baby girls. Way to start pulling some of your own financial weight. Keep it up. Next stop: Tax Return. CHA-Ching.