Gifts from God

"I prayed for this child (children in our case!), and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." 1 Samuel 1:27-28

Sunday our gifts were dedicated. We prayed for our kids when they were just specs in our eyes and are thankful to all of you for praying for our miracles and encouraging our family! It was such a special day for us to give thanks for our babies and give them back to God. We have been surrounded by prayers and support from so many and know it takes a village to raise a child (especially multiples!). Each of you have been so instrumental in their lives and we pray you continue! :)

Proud family!

Afterward we went out for family pictures since they were already dolled up! I was really thankful they included Katelyn's bear so well! Here's a few of our favorites.

I can't thank you enough for all you've given to our family! Prayers, cards, encouragement, gifts, babysitting time, meals, EVERYTHING! We have been so blessed and want our children to remember each of you! God, we thank you for giving us these miracles, all 5 of our children! We vow to teach them about you and your love!

What a year!

It's almost been a year since the infamous ultrasound and we have had quite a journey! Oh my goodness! Nich and I were talking the other day about how excited we were to be pregnant, a couple weeks later, shocked to find out HOW pregnant, a few months later to thrilled to meet them, heartbroken to lose Katelyn, such a rollercoaster of emotions during the NICU journey and all within 12 months! Within a year our family has doubled and we now have 3 home! That's enough to send anyone into shock!

The babies are 8 months old now and changing so quickly! I'm updating this from a conference in New York (THANK YOU WONDERFUL HUSBAND!!) so can't post pictures, but wanted to at least give you an update on everyone!

Brennan Nicholas - 11 lbs 6 oz

Brennan is our sweet cuddler! He is very mild mannered and definitly our sanity! Brennan was the first to roll over, but hasn't really gotten very much further. He wiggles all over and we find him doing 180's in his crib. He's never in the same place we left him! He's such a good baby! His eyes are doing a lot better, and he's gaining more control every day! When we lay all the babies down to play and kiss them, Brennan's the one always smiling when he hear's you starting because he can't wait for his turn!

Landon James - 15 lbs 4 oz

It is soo good to have Landon home!! We're seeing such great progess with him hearing and responding to us! I know he can see! His eyes get big when you step in front of him and he turns toward us when we're talking. It seems like he's looking right in your eyes! He's very mild mannered just like Brennan and has been so patient with us! He requires a lot more care than the others, but we're getting a schedule down! Lately he's been breathing hard and fast since he got the cold that everyone else has had. Thankfully it hasn't turned into anything more! We've just increased his breathing treatments. He's taking about 40-50cc of his food by bottle and the other 50-60 goes in his Gtube. He's been eating a lot more by bottle and is really focused while he eats - doing a great job! He's responding to Brennan, Brooklyn and Hailey touching him so much and it's such a sweet moment to see. I love watching them interact with eachother!

Brooklyn Danielle - 11 lbs 5 oz

Brooklyn is still our sweet little spitfire! She's got a set a lungs, but they quiet down into a sweet goofy little girl! When you get her to smile, her whole face turns into this goofy grin! She's rolling over too and showing a little more strength and determination than Brennan. She's on her tummy just moments after laying her down (diaper changes are hard now!) and up on her elbows looking all over! She loves to look out and watch things. She'll cuddle as long as she can see the world too!

They're all doing so well! It's a lot of work, but so fun! They're playing now, talking, squirming - turning into old babies! Hailey's doing really well with them too! She picks out their clothes and helps give baths (she does their body and I do their head). A really sweet big sister! More to come, I'm just SO proud of myself to get this update out! :)

Sibling love

We absolutely love watching the kids interact! Even when they were first born they've had a connection, encouraging each other when one was struggling, cheering each other up. It's so neat to see!
Here's Brennan visiting Landon. Every time Brennan touched him he smiled and his whole face lit up! I LOVE this picture! You can see Nich smiling too! :)

The sweetness continues until....Brooklyn with the sneak attack! She apparently isn't a fan of the brothers bonding or being stuck right in the middle!

Bath time!

Tuesday was bath night in the Pollak household for ALL the kids! It was busy, but by the end our house smelled like lavender baby smell! I love the smell of babies! Nich gave Hailey a bath and I did the babies. They all love bath time and I thought I'd show you! :)

Brennan always goes crazy in the water! And on dr table paper too! He's a silly boy :)

Bath time is one of the few times Brooklyn is calm. Isn't she so cute?!

Landon's just hanging out! He's such a calm sweet baby!

Landon's Homecoming!!!

Praise God! We have been waiting for this day!!

Day of life 1 - 1 lb 7 oz

Day of life 225 - 14 lbs 9 oz

I've overcome...

Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA ligation 10/09)
Hydrocephalus (Rickman Reservoir placed 11/09, removed 1/10, VP Shunt placed 1/10)

Retinapothay of Prematurity (laser eye surgery 1/10)

Anemia of Prematurity Requiring Transfusions

Apnea of Prematurity

Bilateral Grade 4 Intraventricular Hemorrhages (they're gone!!)

Necrotizing Entercolitis (Intra-Abdominal Drain Placement 9/09)

Chronic Lung Disease
Hypoxia and Bradycardia requiring PALS Pediatric Advanced Life Support
Pulmonary Interstitial Emphysema (PIE)

Pneumothorax
Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Extremely Low Birthweight (640 grams or 1lb 7oz)

Respiratory Failure Requiring Mechanical Ventilation

Late Onset Sepsis

Infant Feeding Difficulties requiring Gastrointestinal Tube

Atrial Septal Defect

Hypetension
Right Inguinial Hernia Repair 3/10
Aspiration of Thin liquids requiring thickener
Probable Cortical Blindness
Hypoxic Respiratory Failure from Human Metapneumovirus Infection

Just chillin eating his dinner through the Gtube! Don't you just love him?!

I think Hailey says it all, we were SOOO excited to bring Landon home!

Finally putting this crib to use!

All snug in his bed, right where he belongs!

Some of Landon's morning meds! He also gets 1 med before his feed (already gave that & 2 inhaler puffs)

Reunited with the fam! :)

I've got more to add but wanted to at least get pictures out! (I'll repost with an update) It's taken me 3 days to do this, it's a lot of work! He's such a great baby and we are beyond thrilled to have him home!! What a wonderful Mother's Day!

Wahoo!!!!!!

Today's the day!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE God my miracle baby boy will be home! :)

Brennan and Brooklyn playing peek a boo!

I am sooo addicted to videos, which I'm so sure you don't mind! Just look at their faces! Our babies are growing up! It's so fun to play with them and watch them interact! We've waited so long to play and they love to!

New Pictures!

Lots have been happening with our family lately! The babies are way more active and so much fun! Brooklyn too! :) She's going longer between her crying matches which makes for a much happier family! Brennan is sleeping at least 5 hours at night and Brooklyn slept through the night on Friday night! They're eating about 3 1/2-4 ounces every 3 hours during the day. Unfortunately I can't keep up and we've gone through our frozen stash so Saturday afternoon was their first formula bottle and they did great with it! I was a little sad to have to use formula (don't get me wrong, it's not that I love my pump!) I just wanted them to have breastmilk as long as possible. I made it just over 7 months. I'm still pumping and they're getting the majority breastmilk ( 2 bottles each a day of formula). We figured it out...once they get just formula, 1 can will last us about a day when Landon comes home, all the more reason to keep pumping - formula's expensive! Yep you heard right! Landon's coming home on Friday!! We're a little nervous since he's coming with a lot of luggage, but are absolutely thrilled!! Last Thursday we did his teaching to know how to use his Gtube and inhalers. It's a lot, but we can do it! Well without further adieu...here's pictures of the kids this week! Can't wait to add Landon in! :)

I LOVE this picture of Brennan and Daddy! He is such an incredible man!

Brooklyn is doing great with her head! She is so content when she's on her belly! I think she's proud of herself :)

Hailey loves matching Brooklyn! My big girls! Hailey is such a great big sister! She gets their pacifiers, helps with baths, picks out their clothes and so many other things!

Brennan giving Mommy grins! He's so easy to get to smile and his entire face lights up!

Big girl sitting up in the Bumbo seat! She has such great head control and is so strong!

This past week, Brennan tried the Bumbo seat too! He did really well despite the meltdown. Boy do they ever feed off of each other, good and bad! I know they're upset, but I crack up whenever I see this pic!

Brooklyn talking in one of her happy moods! :)

And some videos to top it off! :) The babies are smiling so much now and I LOVE it!

New Every Morning

I wanted to blog this partly to share my epiphany, and to remind myself...There's something about peace and quiet for me that strengthens me. I've learned (well just really realized today) that 10 minutes less of sleep is actually a good thing! It lets me wake up with me time, peace and quite before the craziness begins. Today I did that. Snuck out of bed, checked on Hailey, went downstairs, peeked in on Brennan and Brooklyn still sleeping and started MY day. It's so calming to watch a child sleep. I got bottles made BEFORE they woke up screaming, pumped, and made breakfast. During that time, everyone else woke up, but I was ahead of the pack. I made bacon, pancakes, eggs and toast - nothing was burnt! I wasn't stressed or rushed. Nich fed the babies and Hailey watched a movie and colored while I made breakfast. After breakfast, Nich headed to work, Hailey kept an eye on the babies and finished her movie and I showered! What, a clean Mommy wearing jeans, not sweatpants?! I took a quick leisurely shower that was relaxing not rushed, short enough that the babies were still sleeping, the movie was still going. I feel so proud of myself, everything I did today (it's only 10!) has been proactive! I feel so much better when I'm ahead and not always behind screaming babies and tantrum throwing toddlers. I have the patience to let Hailey do things herself. I need to remember this when it's hard to get out of bed or when I'm stressed...just breathe and take a little me time!