Hi friends! To follow our fundraising progress please like "Team Kamps3 -March for Babies 2014" on Facebook. This will have the most up to date information on our fundraising totals, announcements of team sponsors and fundraising events planned. Help us spread the word, be sure to share with your friends. Thanks! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Kamps3-March-for-Babies-2014/326119430769564

Our story...

March for Babies 2014...Team Kamps wants you!

Here we are again...March for Babies season is upon us.  This time each year, as Brad and I are writing this entry we think, "Wow, we seriously didn't blog all year, we should start that up again."  We quickly remember "Oh yeah, we have triplets...we don't have time for that!"  I applaud all  you parents that do maintain a blog while parenting!

 We are now starting our 4th year of fundraising for the March of Dimes, March for Babies campaign.  This event is always exciting and we look forward to it each year.  Our first year, it was literally our first major outing with the girls, they were 9 months old and the cold/flu season quarantine was over.  Many of our friends met them for the first time that day.  While I paced the NICU floor those first 5 months, I would dream of spring time and if we could just make it to then, this bad dream we had been living would be over.  It was a wonderful day but it became apparent that all the effects from their prematurity would not be over.

Case in point, March for Babies 2012, our second year of fundraising. 2012 was not exactly a calm year medically speaking.  In January, Lucy underwent kidney surgery at the U of I to repair a constriction. We knew this surgery was coming and we made it through, hoping that was the worst of it.  February 8th, 2012 is a day I will never forget.  Brenna had a seizure.  It was scary, it was unimaginable, it was absolutely terrifying. The follow-up medical tests from the seizure revealed that Brenna's shunt was failing, and that she had a large cyst in her brain that needed to be removed.  Surgery 2 in 2012, a shunt revision and cyst removal...a very intricate and tedious brain surgery.  This happened in April and we once again had high hopes that if we just got through this that all would settle down.  We made it through, but 8 days later...another shunt failure.  We were transported to the U of I for yet another brain surgery for our sweet Bren.  She is one tough cookie.  After 6 days in the PICU, we were released...just 12 hours before the March for Babies walk! It was again, a wonderful day for our family and Brenna was able to enjoy the outdoors for a brief time after being in the hospital.

 In 2013, we had the great privilege of being the March for Babies Ambassador Family.  Our friends and family came out and supported us as they always have.  It was wonderful...a little windy....but wonderful. I think the most wonderful part of it all was seeing the girls reaction to our families work.  They were old enough for us to explain what we were doing and why we wanted to help. We were starting a tradition, a legacy of giving for our family and something I hope they continue to strive for the rest of their lives.  Since last year's walk, Anna often asks when we can "March for the babies" again, and then will suggest a time, like  "how about Tuesday."  I know our work has already made a positive impression on her and that makes me smile.

 That brings us to this year, our fourth year with the March of Dimes.  So far, in the past 3 years, Team Kamps has raised over $49,000 for this wonderful organization.  We know what we have done is nothing compared to what the March of Dimes has done for us.  They kept our dreams alive and for that we are forever indebted to this charity.  We once again have high hopes for this year.  Together, as a team, we strive to raise another $25,000.  It is a lofty goal and something that cannot be done without teamwork.  Team Kampers...we hope you will join us again this year and help us to reach our goals. We also would love to welcome new members to our team, so if you haven't joined in on the fun yet, now is the time.  Thanks to all of you following our journey and we hope you consider walking with us on May 10th, 2014 at the DMACC campus in Ankeny.  To join our team or donate, please visit

http://www.marchforbabies.org/KampsAR

Love, Angie, Brad, Anna, Brenna & Lucy

March of Dimes 2013

I'm dusting off the keyboard for a short blog post. As many of you know, we have been asked to serve as the 2013 March for Babies Ambassador family. This year marks the 75th year for the March of Dimes, and we are extremely honored to have been asked to fill this role. 

We are beginning to ramp up our fundraising efforts for the year. With the help of the March of Dimes, we have put together a short video showing why we do what we do. Please watch and enjoy, and share with your friends. 

We plan on updating the blog more frequently with our fundraising progress as well as upcoming events and opportunities to help Team Kamps reach it's goal in 2013, so stay tuned!!!

We are two!

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A Night at the Pizza Ranch...

Finally, the blog has come back to the internets!!! Sorry, that was dramatic. It was the best I could come up with after not doing a post for two months.

As you all may know, the March for Babies is coming up next month, and we have been going all out with our fundraising efforts. Monday, we held one of this year’s larger events at the Pizza Ranch in Ames. What a wonderful opportunity Pizza Ranch provided us!  We would like to say thank you to everyone who came out to have some good pizza and support Team Kamps³. Angie and I tried very hard to visit with all who attended but inevitably missed some of you.  The event went well, and we raised over $1000 for the March of Dimes! A big thanks to Aaron and Blakely Mortvedt for doing the legwork to get the event set up. Also many thanks to Susie, Craig, Elizabeth, and Grandma Janet for bussing tables all night and earning those tips!

There was a lot of activity at the Pizza Ranch, but there were some very touching moments that really impacted us. We got to catch up with another triplet family we have met since the girls were born. It was good to see their girls, and  meet their little brother. And get this, their mom brought all four of them *by herself!*. Yeah, 4 kids, under three, all the way to Ames from Lohrville. Alone. Shannon Hobbs, I salute you. Your children are delightful and we hope to see you again soon!  We also had a very nice conversation with the manager of Pizza Ranch, who after hearing our story, generously donated out of his own pocket in addition to the business donation of 10% of the evenings sales.  I tell you what, Pizza Ranch truly is a wonderful business that supports its community and charitable organizations.  This is a fundraiser we hope to continue with for years to come.

We were completely blown away by the generosity of one particular customer. As we were approaching the end of our fundraiser, Angie’s aunt walked over and handed me $300 cash. I asked where it came from, and she told me it came from a dad of 9-year-old twins, who were 25 weekers. Angie and I went over to talk to him and learned he was from Minnesota, just passing through town. He’ll probably never see this, but thank you random customer, we can’t express our gratitude.  It is amazing to me how God orchestrated a random encounter that meant so much.  What are the odds that this gentleman would pass throw town of that very night and stop at that very restaurant and have so much in common…wow.  Very, very cool.

There is just under a month left until the walk, and there are still plenty of opportunities to donate to the March of Dimes. There is a bake sale at a vendor show in Nevada on Saturday, April 28^th, as well as team t-shirts to purchase if you haven’t already (deadline is Monday, April 23. Information can be found on our facebook page, or by contacting Angie. There is also the matter of Angie’s facebook fundraising challenge. Her goal is to raise $3000 on her personal page. If she hits that, I will in fact be wearing a tutu the day of the walk. So if you want to see the manliest of men sporting the prettiest of pretties (there will be shorts underneath, nobody wants to see that), please visit her personal page to donate.

Thank you to all our team members that are working hard to raise donations for the March of Dimes!  We greatly appreciate you efforts.  If you have donated, please know we are incredibly grateful for your gift.  If you have yet to do so, there is still time to make a difference in the lives of sweet babies, I urge you to consider a gift.  Having gone through what our family has, every family I can help to avoid premature birth, is worth all the work we put into March of Dimes fundraising.

Things have been busy at our house even without all of the March of Dimes activities. We hit the Easter Egg hunt in Slater at the beginning of the month. I don’t know if the girls quite understood, but they each got a couple of pretty eggs, and were happy. Dad got some candy out of it, so he was happy too. We made it to church for the first time this year on Easter (we have had to miss during cold/flu season), then spent the day with family, hunting Easter eggs and chasing bubbles. Man, do we love bubbles at our house. I think we spent the entire day outside, I’ve never seen them so tired, but they sure did have a good time playing.

We do have some less exciting news. Brenna is going in for surgery on Monday, April 23^rd. We visited our neurosurgeon in February to discuss Brenna and her MRI results. The scan showed two large cysts in the third and fourth ventricles of her brain which are making it difficult for her shunt to drain the extra fluid.  After consulting with several other top children’s hospitals, the surgeon has determined the best course of action is to revise her shunt to allow two catheters, joined by a Y-connector, to drain through her current device. The area of the brain that is being affected by the pressure this extra fluid is causing has a direct link to balance and coordination. The surgeon expects to see improvement in both areas for Brenna once the surgery is done and the shunt settings are tweaked to where they need to be. Hopefully, this will fix the issues Brenny has been having with her balance and gross motor skills. So please keep Brenna in your thoughts and prayers next week for an uneventful procedure and speedy recovery.  To say that we are burnt out on surgeries and complications from the girls’ premature delivery is a massive understatement.  This just goes to show that even once you’ve survived the rollercoaster in the NICU, the effects of premature birth do not go away, it will continue to be a battle we must face throughout their lives…this is what we hope to prevent for other families.

We look forward to getting out more now that RSV/flu season is officially over. Hopefully you can join us on May 12^th for the March for Babies in Des Moines. We are going to try to update the blog a little more regularly this summer, but I emphasize try, and I make no guarantees, unless you want to watch toddlers while I type ;)…

Brad, Angie, Anna, Brenna, and Lucy Kamps

Why March of Dimes?

Two years ago, all we really knew about the March of Dimes was they were the organization who sent us pretty mailing labels around the holidays and asked for a small donation in return. After the last 18 months, we have a whole new appreciation for the March of Dimes and it's mission to ensure stonger, healthier babies. 

From early on in our pregnancy, we knew this was going to be an extraordinary journey; three little heartbeats on the ultrasound screen, a dream come true.  Little did we know at the time, the rollercoaster journey our family was set out to endure.  The pregnancy was difficult physically but there was nothing of special concern until my water broke unexpectedly at 25 weeks.  After 12 hours at Mercy Medical Center monitoring my condition, the labor was unable to be stopped in time and on September 1, 2010, our three little girls were born.  Annaliese Hope, Brenna Renee and Lucy Jane entered this world each weighing 1 pound, 8 ounces and were 12 inches long, they were smaller than a Beanie Baby. We were amazed at how very perfect they were, tiny, but absolutely perfect.  Our sweet little babies, while so very beautiful were also very frail and sick.  Each was in a fight for their life.  In total, the Kamps triplets endured seven surgeries, multiple infections, and too many blood transfusions to even count during their stay in the Mercy NICU.  We had numerous nights where it wasn’t clear they would see the next morning, but our angels are fighters and  Annaliese, Lucy and Brenna were able to come home after 77, 79 and 152 days respectively.  The girls are thriving today and are very active toddlers.  We are so proud of our trio!  We still are dealing with the lasting effects of their premature birth and it is not an easy road, but they are tough little girls!

We became involved with March of Dimes in 2011 to support their cause of prematurity awareness and research and also to celebrate the extraordinary lives of our little miracles. Without the medical research funded by the March of Dimes in recent years and the training and expertise of our wonderful neonatologists and nurses at Mercy, our story could have turned out very differently. Last year, our team consisted of 40+ friends and family members, and together we raised over $6200 for the March of Dimes. We would love to see each and every one of you again this year. Last year was a great year, and we are excited to try and top that this year. 

One of the ways we hope to accomplish our goal is to add some business sponsorships to Team Kamps^3.We are hoping to find numerous business sponsorships and one company to potentially match what we raise, but any contribution would be greatly appreciated.  If your business or company is interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship, please contact us for more information. You may also visit our March of Dimes team page, or visit us on Facebook for more of our story and information on personal donations and to learn more about our company sponsors.  All donations are 100% tax deductible, and will support the March of Dimes mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

The following video was made by Grandma Sheryl for the girls' first birthday, and chronicles our NICU stay. As a family affected by premature birth, we truly feel the research funded by the March of Dimes is the reason we were able to bring all three of our girls home. We look forward to seeing all of you at Principal Park on May 12th for the March of Dimes March for Babies!!! 

Year One.

“Our girls are turning one.” That’s a phrase we’ve been saying a lot lately, many times with a sense of disbelief that it’s been a year since they were born. I’ve been staring at this blog for a week, trying to think of a way to sum up our year. Many of the past entries came naturally; there was something we needed to share, so we shared it. This one is a big deal, how do you put it into words? I don’t know that I can, but I’m going to try.

 We were looking through some early pictures, a lot of them for the first time since they were taken. I didn’t realize how hard it would be. Some of the pictures took us right back to a place that we didn’t want to be. We had prepared ourselves for a short NICU stay, which is pretty common for triplets, but nothing can prepare you for the ride we went on. I think it’s safe to say the pictures of Brenna were the hardest to relive, followed closely by the emergency baptism ones when we didn’t know if they would survive. Those images really reminded us how blessed we were to be able to bring all three girls home.

 

Angie and I talked a lot the first few months about what it would be like when we got the girls home. There were a lot of mixed emotions when Anna and Lucy got to come home. We were thrilled they were doing well enough at 36 weeks to be able to go home, but having to leave Brenna while starting our lives with Anna and Lucy was excruciating.   Splitting time between the hospital and home was a tall order. How would we be able to handle it? The situation, complicated by the fact it was winter, really made those last three months Brenna was in the NICU seem longer than they were.

Brenna came home January 31^st, 2011. It was one of the best days we have experienced as a family. Finally having everybody together, was a fantastic feeling. It was also really strange. Imagine doing something every day for 5 months, then one day, it’s done. For the longest time, whenever I was driving on 235, I had the urge to take exit 8A, because that had been our life for 5 months and Mercy had been our home.

With everybody home, the focus of our conversations started to shift from, “I can’t wait for them to be home” to “I can’t wait for everyone to meet them.” We had always had Easter in the back of our minds as the time we could take them out. We *might* have jumped the gun a little early and gone to church on Palm Sunday, but hey, it was only a week early, right? Being able to get out and go really did a lot for us as a family. We have always said we want to try to make life as normal as we can for our girls. Just because there is three of them doesn’t mean we can’t do things. It might just take us a little longer to get ready. Have you seen how much stuff is required to take triplets anywhere? Short answer: a lot.

We have had a busy spring and summer. One thing that really stands out to me as something we hope to continue is the March of Dimes walk, which took place in May. Angie had mentioned it before the girls came home and we started talking about it more seriously as spring got closer. Angie did an amazing job with it, and for those of you who don’t know, Team Kamps^3 ended up as one of the top fundraising teams this year. It is a tradition we plan on continuing, so thank you to all of you for participating, and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.  Some other high points include the always fun Slater Fourth of July, a short vacation at the Honey Creek Resort, and trip to KC to visit Uncle Ryan.  It’s been a wild summer, but it’s been fun.

Team Kamps^3 March of Dimes 2011

Before Brenna’s last surgery, Angie talked about the term “miracle” and how she doesn’t use it lightly. Statistics show that 50% of 25 weekers don’t come home…we were blessed beyond belief to have all 3 girls stick around. I’ll never forget the mission mile preemie signs along the March of Dimes route that read “surviving triplet”, that was almost our story.  Being able to bring all of them home, despite their trouble, certainly qualifies as a miracle in my book. Our faith was absolutely shaken in the last year, but we are trusting in Him that this is His will for our family. God put some amazing people in our lives to get us through the last year. We would not have made it if it were not for you. Thanks to all of you friends and family who offered your help and support and prayers. You will never know how much it meant to us. And our nurses…I’m sure you’ve heard it time and time again but I don’t think you can even imagine the gratitude we have for you.  You took care of our precious babies and us most times.  You had to tell us some of the worst news of our lives yet you also were our best friends.  We miss you terribly and will always, always consider you part of our family.

Today is September 1^st, 2011. The last year has been the most difficult, most rewarding year of our lives, and we are stronger for having endured it. The girls still have to play catch up due to their extreme prematurity, but we have no doubt they will get there. They are making progress and that is all we can ask for right now. To sum up our year in numbers; 152 days in the hospital, 7 surgeries, 3 babies, 2 minivans, and 1 complete family. We have been blessed with these three little monkeys, and life would just not be the same without them. For now, we have to go. We have a birthday party to plan, our girls are turning one.

Aaaand We're Back...

Aaaaand we’re back. It’s been a while interwebs, we’ve missed you. Things at home have been hectic as ever, and we are eagerly awaiting warmer weather. It’s been a long winter on lock down and we can’t wait to be able to get outside with the girls. I’m sure they’re tired of seeing the same three rooms in our house too.

What can I say about the girls? We are continually shocked at how far they have come. Looking at them now, it’s hard to believe how very very tiny and fragile they were when they were born. I dare to say if you had just met them today, you wouldn’t believe they were born at a pound and a half each. We’re thankful that now it seems like many of the things we struggle with are “baby” problems, and not so much “preemie” problems.

Appointments have finally slowed down now. We’re down to a few home visits a week for now. They’ll pick up again here in a few months, but it’s nice not having to run to the doctor all the time. In our last post, we had mentioned that feeding had been one of our biggest struggles. Things have improved greatly in that aspect. Anna has gone from not wanting much to do with the bottle at all, to our defacto “dinner bell”. When she’s ready to eat, she’s ready, and if she doesn’t like the service, she’ll tell you.  It’s been quite a relief to us knowing that feeding isn’t the battle it used to be. We still have our moments, but nothing like it used to be.

Socially, the girls are really making great progress. They are starting to recognize familiar people, and get excited when they see them. It really makes for a good start to the day when you pop into their room to wake them up for the morning and you’re greeted with a great big smile because they are happy to see you.  They are also becoming quite the little chatter boxes as well. Don’t tell Mom, but we do work on “da da da” quite a bit more than other sounds when she’s not around. It’s really fun to watch them start to become interested in their toys and the things around them. Before we were seeing random movements at objects, but in the last few weeks, the movements have become deliberate, “I want that toy” movements. And of course, everything they can get their hands on goes straight to the mouth. Teeth can’t be that far away as much as their drooling these days. Anna’s new favorite thing is blowing spit bubbles…kinda gross, but super cute.

Sleep had been hard to come by at our house, but thankfully we’ve been able to cut out a feed during the night so we are able to sleep for a solid 5-6 hours now. We get the girls to bed around 9:00 or so, and for the most part, they sleep until about 3:30-4:00am. We still have to get up for pacifiers and swaddles, but at least it’s not the 1.5 hour feeding event. Lucy is going to be the first to get to try cereal, probably here in the next couple of days. We are excited to see how it goes. It could be an adventure with her. We may be packing in our dining room area rug a bit sooner than we expected. The other girls have some work to do on their head control, but they’ll get there soon enough.

I’m sure there is more, but honestly I’m not the best at remembering things these days. Sleep has eluded me for a while, and I’m afraid I’m not as sharp as I used to be, but it’s coming back. I’m going to end today with this. Angie and I, along with many of our friends and family members will be taking part in the March of Dimes March for Babies walk this year. The March of Dimes is an organization that raises money to help us understand and hopefully one day prevent premature births. I don’t have the words to describe the first 7 months of our girls lives. Many 25 weekers never make it home. Ours did, and we thank God every day. Many of you who follow this blog have already made a donation, and we thank you. If you have the desire, please consider visiting our team page (link) and making a donation.  Your dollar could be the dollar that funds a breakthrough that ensures a preemie goes home where they belong. Here is what the March of Dimes has done for us…

Anna

Brenna

Bundled up for a walk

Lucy

Uncle Ryan and the girls

Anna

Lucy and Anna - Staring Contest

Brenna after bath

Lucy

Anna

Lucy nomming rings

Three Little Monkeys

Cutest. Brenna. Bunny. Ever.

In His Name,

Brad, Angie, Anna, Brenna and Lucy Kamps

Our story, In Photo

Here is a slideshow made by Grandma Sheryl of some of the thousands of pictures we took in the first few months of the girls' lives.  Some of these pictures are still difficult for us to look at because we will never forget the absolute fear and heartache we endured those first months.  At the same time, I look at these pictures and I see the amazing power of our God...he can heal all things.  He loves our babies and through all their pain He never left their sides.  Without our faith in Him and the hope He gave, we never would have made it through.

Long overdue update

I know I know, it has been a long long time since we have written...funny how 3 babies at home keeps you busy. Yes, you heard right, our sweet Brenna is home and doing great!  She has actually been home since Jan 31 (Brad and I thought we had posted that update but obviously we didn't).  Life is hectic but we are loving it.  Thankfully we get lots and lots of help from grandma and grandpa Kamps and grandma and grandpa Mortvedt.  The girls now weigh between 11 and 12 pounds and are starting to wear size 6 months.  I look at these clothes hanging in their closet and I can believe how big they've gotten.  I remember staring at the size preemie clothes in the closet after they were born and thinking, they are never going to be big enough to even wear preemies!  While the girls are significantly bigger than they were at birth they still have a long ways to go to catch up for their age.  Feedings have been somewhat difficult with the girls.  We are feeding the girls every 4 hours (day and night) to get them to keep gaining. In the last few weeks we have really struggled with Anna and Lucy to take their bottles (they would refuse) and Anna ended up losing weight.  So we've added yet another specialist to the list of those following the girls.  We now see a GI doctor.  He thinks Anna's difficulties are a result of reflux and heartburn.  Lucy's could also be reflux but I have a feeling it may have more to do with her personality...she doesn't want to take orders from anyone!  Both girls are now on medications to treat reflux and are doing better.  We still have struggles but overall they are eating more.

Playtime is getting a lot more fun in the Kamps household!  The girls are all so interactive these days.  They all love being talked to and played with.  They love batting the toys on their play mat, grabbing rings, kicking things and standing up (assisted of course).  We are working on tummy time, although none of them really seem to care for it.  Anna and Lucy have both rolled from tummy to back a handful of times and Lucy is really close to rolling from back to tummy!

We are anxiously anticipating springs arrival.  We can't wait to get outdoors for walks and trips to the park.  Also with the warmer weather brings the end of flu/RSV season that has kept us on house arrest since the girls have been home.  The only outings the girls have had since coming home have been dr appointments.  Not a single trip to the store, post office, mall etc. They still haven't met a majority of the family yet.  We look forward to being "normal" again and being able to attend family functions, church, visit friends and even being able to run errands!  We can't wait to introduce these amazing little girls to those that have prayed so hard for them.  They truly are a testament to the power of prayer! 

Well, feeding time is quickly approaching and the girls are starting to stir.  We hope to see you all soon!

Our Little Girl, Our Big Miracle

In general, I do not use the term “Miracle” lightly but I honestly believe Brenna’s life is truly a miracle.  Yesterday she underwent surgery to have a VP shunt installed to drain excess fluid from her head.  This is the 7^th surgery Brad and I have endured on our girls (Brenna’s 5^th) and I can honestly say it never gets easier.  In fact, this one was the most difficult for me yet.  I held her all night before the surgery and tried to prepare myself for the following day but nothing can prepare you for handing off your wide eyed baby girl to the pre-op nurses in the OR and knowing what awaits her.  After about an hour and a half the surgeons came out; the surgery was a success.  The most ideal place for the shunt to drain is the abdominal cavity and thankfully that is where the doctors were able to put it.  Unfortunately, when Brenna’s stomach was opened up it revealed numerous adhesions as a result of her previous perforated bowel which is not good news, but also not surprising.  The end of the shunt must be placed in an area free of adhesions or it will not function, thankfully the surgeons were able to find one pretty big pocket free of adhesions.  However, should the shunt need to be revised in the near future, it will not be an easy task and may not even be able to go to the stomach.  Please rlay that Brenna’s new shunt will hold out long enough for the adhesions to clear. We are told to anticipate at least 5 shunt revisions in her lifetime, we just pray she doesn’t need one anytime soon.  The next few days will determine whether this shunt is functioning as hoped.

Brenna’s surgery started around 8 and by 1 she was off the ventilator.  Soon after she decided she no longer needed her second IV and proceeded to pull it out on her own rather than wait for the nurses to do so.  By the evening she was back in mommy’s arms and playing and talking. Since the first self-performed IV removal was such a rousing success, Brenna decided to attempt to remove her other IV during the night.  While she was successful in removing this as well, it was short lived and another had to be put in for her fluids.  She is still rather fussy dealing with recovery and an empty belly but overall doing amazingly well. 

Brenna

As I said above, I try not to downplay true miracles by using the term on a day to day basis but as I had a lot of time yesterday to reflect on these last few months I can honestly say Brenna is a miracle.  We are so very fortunate that given the circumstances surrounding the triplets’ extremely early birth and the complications that can result that Anna and Lucy have done so very well…this is not the norm.  While they had their issues and will likely face at least a few more, we are thankful for what we have.  It has been said that God never gives you more than you can handle (with His help of course) and I am so thankful for Anna and Lucy’s  paths thus far as we were in for a real rollercoaster with Brenna, one that we are probably not done riding yet. 

Brenna’s troubles started early on (about a week after birth) with her perforated bowel.  We knew things were serious when we received a call to hurry back to the hospital after just leaving one night.  We were told she was very sick and it was very obvious from her appearance that she was not doing well.  We were prepared by the NICU staff that it was possible she would not survive this complication.  Her very first surgery was to repair the perforated bowel.  There were 2 options for surgery that night, one to attempt to fix the problem and repair the bowel, the other a temporary fix to attempt to save her in the short term.  Brenna was in such bad shape that the first surgery wasn’t even an option as she would not have survived it.  So, we had to go with the temporary fix and hope she pulled through and stabilized for a later surgery to repair the problem.  Weeks later the doctors were astounded to discover than her bowel had repaired itself and wouldn’t require further surgery.  The gastro surgeon was so amazed with our girl, he had never seen this great a recovery in his long career as a surgeon.  Only later in talking to our NICU nurses did we truly understand how grim the situation was.  We are so grateful for the prayers raised up for Brenna and we know God answered those prayers.

Brenna is such a little trooper; having now endured 5 surgeries, battled IV infiltrations, infections, and undergone too many sample draws and blood transfusions to count and is still such a sweet lovable little girl.  She has many NICU nurses fighting to care for her because she truly is something special, a gift from God, and unlike any other.  Only after the girls were born and named did I take the time to look up the meaning of the names we chose for them.  Lucy means light and she definitely is the attention grabber with her funny expressions and vocal personality.  Annaliese means grace and she is our mild-mannered joyful little girl.  I was initially disappointed at the meaning of Brenna’s name, after the other two girls’ names having such pretty meanings.  Brenna means hill…how dull is that?  At least that is what I first thought.  143 days after her birth and many complications later, I think she has the most perfect name possible for her.  Since day one she has climbed hill after hill put to her and does so with a determination unmatched by anyone I’ve ever met.  As one wise nurse has said “I’m amazed that such a little person can teach us so much.”  

 Brenna is going to be a powerful warrior for God; an example of HIS undying love and faithfulness even in the most desperate of times.  One look at her and you have to know there is a God with the power to overcome all things and while I wish she never would have had to endure all this in her little life I know she will make the best of what she has been given and I pray I will always do the same.  In preparing for this shunt surgery one of the difficult things I’ve had to face is that this will make Brenna visibly different than “normal” babies for quite some time.  Her shunt will be very visible until she has enough hair to cover it.  It breaks my heart that my little girl may have to endure stares and questions that other kids won’t but what I’ve realized these last few days is if she can handle all she has, a few odd glances and inconsiderate questions will be nothing for her.  Still, I wish they weren’t going to happen but I have the utmost faith that Brenna will be just fine.  

I can’t wait for everyone to meet this little girl.  She is unlike any other and I thank God she was given to us. If all goes well, she should be home with us soon.

In His name,

Angie, Brad, Anna, Lucy and Brenna

Update 1.18.2011



Hello world, it’s been a while. Now that things have calmed down a little after the holidays, we thought it might be time to try to write again. Life has been busy between appointments and trips to the hospital, washing bottles and changing diapers, but we are managing. Who knew babies were so much work? J

The holidays this year were a little difficult for us. We never thought we would be spending our first Christmas as a family in the NICU, but we were determined to be all together on Christmas morning. We packed up and spent the night in Brenna’s room, all five of us. FYI, it takes a lot of stuff to sleep over somewhere with two babies. We did get a couple of “You’re crazy” looks from some of the nursing staff, but it all worked out. We had fun, despite the circumstances we found ourselves in. Not being able to spend time with family was difficult, but it was in the best interest of Anna and Lucy. Cold and flu season is no time to take a micro-preemie out and about, no matter how well they are doing.

Lucy, Brenna and Anna at Christmas

Home life with two babies; where to begin? Anna and Lucy have been home for just about two months now, and they seem to have adjusted very well to it. It’s hard to believe how fast they are growing.  Both girls are pushing 9lbs and their little faces aren’t so little any more. Just this weekend, we noticed that their newborn clothes weren’t fitting so well anymore, so we had to quick pull tags off some 3 month outfits. Didn’t we just buy these outfits, how can they not fit anymore? We must be doing something right.

Since coming home, Anna has been progressing quickly. She was discharged on a ½ liter of supplemental oxygen. She is now down to 1/64^th liter, and will more than likely be off oxygen all together in another couple of weeks. We look forward to upgrading her to the wireless version. No oxygen = no more monitors = no more annoying beeps for no reason. She has also become extremely active during her awake periods, talking, smiling, and tracking objects.  She is definitely a daddy’s girl. It never fails that when she hears Daddy, she’ll squirm, lurch, and crane her neck in every which way to find him. She has her days and nights figured out now, which is nice. When she came home, she was backwards, no doubt in part to some late night play time with some nurses who shall remain nameless.  Anna was also the first to roll over, front to back. She was apparently tired of her tummy at the doctor’s office the other day and rolled over. It caught all of us by surprise, even the doctor. She had been doing her baby pushups for a while, and then BOOM, roll over.  Anna does still have some fluid in her ear canal, so we haven’t been able to check her hearing in her left ear, but we go monthly to see if it has drained yet so we can get her hearing test done to verify everything is ok. But it is a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. She also still has some minor issues with her eyes, but the doctors don’t feel like it’s going to develop into anything they need to act on.

Anna Banana

Lucy has also been making great strides since coming home. She is still our vocal baby, but she talks more, and cries less. She is getting pretty good at focusing on and grabbing objects, and loves the bath tub. Not during bath time, she just likes to sit in the bath tub, but hey, who doesn’t? Lucy also rolled over for the first time last week front to back, and she’s actually almost got back to front down. She’s got the leg kicked over, she just needs to build up the momentum to flip over her shoulder, but it won’t be long. We’ve noticed that Lucy isn’t content lying on the floor any more, she really enjoys sitting up and seeing the world. So curious, so ready to get out there and explore.  Medically, Lucy is pretty much clear of any issues at this point. Her only real concern coming home was her eyes as well, but she has been cleared of any problems, so we are relieved with that outcome.

Lucy mugging for the camera

Now to Brenna; so much has changed with her since our last update. At the time, she had just gotten off a lot of meds and started eating regularly again. We are happy to report that Brenna is doing about as well as she can be at this point.  Her weight is on track with the other girls, almost 9lbs, and she is 22” long. Feeding is going well, most of her feeds are coming via bottle these days. It does seem to wear her out a little, but she’s a little champ and pushes through. Her jaundice is all but gone, and she is off all but a few meds. We did have to deal with a somewhat unexpected surgery to correct an issue with one of her eyes, but she bounced back extremely quickly from that procedure. Thankfully, the procedure corrected the issue, and the doctor’s don’t seem to think it will require anymore medical intervention.

Wireless Brenna before getting tubes changed

Even with all the progress our little Brenna has made, she still has one pretty significant hurdle to clear. Due to some complications of being extremely premature, we have known for a while that Brenna is going to require a shunt to help drain excess fluid from around her brain. With her previous abdominal issues, she hasn’t been medically ready for this procedure until now. Surgery is scheduled for Friday (1/21) morning at 7:30. Assuming all goes well and there are no complications after surgery, the only thing keeping her in the hospital will be learning to eat consistently.

Brenna helping Mommy hold the bottle just right

Daddy and his girls

We have asked for a lot of prayers in the last 4½ months, but this week we are asking again for all you have and maybe a little bit more.  We can finally see the end of the road. There are a lot of unknowns with Brenna, but the one thing we do know is we need her home with us.  Anna and Lucy have thrived at home, and we have no doubt Brenna will do the same, but we have to get her there first. She is our little warrior. We don’t know how she does it, but she does, and we will forever be inspired by her heart and her will. Please keep her in your thoughts this weekend as she takes her last big step towards coming home. Thank you and God bless.

In His name,

Brad, Angie, Anna, Brenna, and Lucy Kamps

Update 12.8.2010

Greetings from the NICU…and home. Life has certainly changed since our last post. Anna and Lucy are adjusting to home with Mommy and Daddy. Brenna is still in the NICU, but is making positive strides.  It’s been difficult to split time between home and the NICU, but we do it because we have to.

Our last post, we detailed some of the trials Brenna had been facing with infections, and possible tummy issues, among other things. Brenna has been looking and acting like a new girl in the last couple of weeks. After several rounds of meds to alleviate swelling and some steroids for an extra little burst, she is off the vent and back on VapoTherm nose prongs. She gets tired easily, but after a month of the vent doing most of the work, it’s understandable. Feeding is going well, she’s getting 45 milliliters of fortified milk every three hours; the most she had previously was 8 milliliters, so needless to say, we are relieved her digestive system seems to be responding.  She’s gaining weight, 6lbs 2oz at last check, and we feel confident it’s legitimate weight, not skewed by fluid retention. All of her IV lines have been removed and all meds are now being administered orally through her feeds. She is a little jaundiced, but food and getting rid of the IV fluids should help.

All in all, she is vastly improved from just a few weeks ago. She is more alert and awake than we have really ever seen her, and we love every minute of it. She looks right at you with her big brown eyes and we can’t help but smile every time. It’s so nice to see her wanting to interact with you and her environment.  We brought her a swing so she can get out of her crib now and again and sit up, and her nurses were nice enough to find a radio, so she has been listening to Christmas music for the last few weeks. Normally, the rule is no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, but Daddy will let it slide for now. We are truly amazed at her progress and we pray she continues to improve so she can join us and her sisters at home. 

Brenna Bear

Home life… where to begin? We still can’t believe we have two of our girls home with us now. It was a little surreal at first. In the hospital, they were our babies that we got to visit. Now, they are our babies for who we are completely, totally responsible for.  We knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I don’t know if we really knew how much work it was going to be. For the most part, the girls have taken it pretty easy on us. There have only been a handful of sleepless nights so far. Our days are filled with doctor’s appointments, bottles and diapers. Lucy is still loud, Anna is quiet, but she seems to be learning from her sister. She has been a little more vocal about things the last few days, but it’s not nearly as loud and demanding as Lucy. At their last check up, both girls weighed exactly the same, 5lbs 15 oz, so we may have three 6lb babies by the time this gets posted. We can’t believe how far they’ve come since birth.

So overall it’s been a good couple of weeks. Dividing time between home and the hospital is hard, but all three of our girls need us regardless of where they are at, and we’re going to make sure we are there.  We thank God our parents are close, as they have been wonderful babysitters. Without them, we’d be hauling the girls back to the hospital everyday to see Brenna. They have visited, but leaving them at home with grandma and grandpa really give us some quality time to focus on Brenna, and I feel like it has helped her tremendously.

Anna Banana

Lucy Monkey

That is where we stand right now. As always, prayers are appreciated. We see them working every time Brenna peeks at us with those big brown eyes, or Lucy wails for her bottle, or as Anna snuggles in on our chest for a little cat nap. Having Anna and Lucy home has really made us realize how far they have come, and how far they still have to go. We look forward to getting Brenna home and starting life as a family of five together. Have a good holiday. 

In His name,

Brad, Angie, Anna, Brenna, and Lucy Kamps

Update 11.17.2010

Greetings from the NICU. It’s been a while since our last update. We’ve been busy with growing girls who require more and more hands on time from Mommy and Daddy. Weeks 9 and 10 were stressful for us, but week 11 is shaping up to be a high point on this ride. 

Brenna, as always, has been keeping us on our toes. Shortly after our last post it was confirmed she was in fact battling a urinary tract infection, which can cause many issues with preemies. By the end of the week, Brenna had become very swollen, and all the extra fluid she was carrying forced her back to the high frequency vent she was on after birth. X-rays also showed abnormal gas patterns in her abdomen, which was a cause for concern with her prior stomach issues. She was monitored closely and started on a 10 day run of antibiotics to battle the infection. We are happy to report the infection is under control and she is back eating and tolerating her feeds well. Brenna is still holding a bunch of extra fluid, but she seems to be feeling better. She is a bit more active and will open her eyes when Mommy and Daddy talk to her.  She is off the high frequency vent, but still requires a breathing tube. It’s very apparent she is aware of the tube and she does hate it so very much. Her CO2 levels have been improving slowly, so we pray she is able to get off the vent soon. We think she’ll be a happier girl once that happens. We say it every time, but she is our little warrior. She has more heart than any little girl we have ever met and, we thank God for our little Brenna Bear every single day.

Anna and Lucy have had eventful weeks as well, but for different reasons. Both girls have been breast/bottle feeding for the last couple of weeks. Feeding is one of the hardest things to learn for preemies, and both girls have done outstanding. As a result, they have been gaining weight like crazy. Both girls are well over 4lbs, with Lucy at 4lbs 6oz and Anna at 4lbs 12oz. They were moved out of their isolettes two weeks ago and have had no issues adjusting to open air cribs. Lucy is very vocal these days, and she has no problem letting you know when she’s ready for food/diaper change/attention/etc. Anna is starting to make some more noise, but she’s our quiet girl who waits patiently for Mommy and Daddy.

We are continually amazed at how well Anna and Lucy are progressing at 11 weeks old, which brings us to the high point we alluded to earlier: Anna and Lucy are coming home this week! Last week, the discharge coordinator came to talk to us about starting the process of getting them home. It was first brought up last Monday to start preparing and it sounded like it would be a few more weeks. We got a phone call on Thursday that Lucy was ready and she would be going home this week. Anna had just started feeding so we thought we would get Lucy home, and get adjusted, then bring her sister home. But Anna took to the bottle so well, they made the decision that she is coming home too. She will be on oxygen, but that is a small price to pay to have our two of our girls home. Anna was discharged today, and barring any changes, Lucy will be discharged on Friday. Doctor’s orders are to continue to restrict visitors pretty tightly while the girls adjust to a new environment, so even though they are sprung, it might be a little bit longer before you can all meet them. It’s hard for us to say that, but we are absolutely going to err on the side of caution with our precious babies.

As excited as we are to get them home, we are saddened that Brenna will not be able to join them for a while. With winter coming and the other girls home, it will add another dimension to our already upside down lives, but we’ve said before, “It’s never easy”, and we’ll make it work.  Brenna is improving, but she is still a sick little girl. She’ll have her own room, so she can have the quiet, relaxed atmosphere she needs to get herself back on track. She still has a long road in front of her, but we are encouraged by her progress in the last week.

As always, we appreciate the prayers and ask you continue them for our family. We had thought having one home by Christmas would have been great, but having two at home before Thanksgiving is beyond anything we could have imagined. Thank you for all your support and enjoy the upcoming holiday season.

In His Name,

Brad, Angie, Anna, Brenna, and Lucy Kamps