Three Peerys in a Pod: 9 Months Old

On Sunday, 5/25, the babies turned 9 months old and they're 6 months adjusted. This month has been a big one for us. Everyone is eating great and we have (hopefully) turned a corner on reflux...with the exception of Ryan, who seems to be refluxing more again this week. In their 9th month of life, the boys got baptized, had 2 teeth come in, spent their first night apart from their parents, went to Clemson for the first time and got to hang out with a few kids. Here they are modeling their new summer shades for you!

Here's a specific update on each of our sweet triplets.

Stokes
Stokes is just plain hilarious. He loves to laugh and make other people laugh. He's always making funny faces and it's easy to make him smile. He loves life and takes the bull by the horns. He seems fearless, which kind of scares me, and loves to play with his brothers. "Playing" can include grabbing an arm/leg/onesie/hair, putting his finger or toes inside his brother's mouth, or rolling on top of someone. Y'all, he is wide open and we call him our wild man. He is off and on with sleeping through the night. Sometimes he does great, but other nights he will wake up several times and want to be held. He still has just 1 tooth but it's getting bigger and more noticeable. He is fun to hug and love on because he loves to grab stuff and will put his arms around you and hold your neck or your shoulders (or hair!) so it feels like he's hugging you back. He does not love solid food...yet...but will eat OK for us sometimes, other times he clamps that mouth shut and you can't get a spoon in there! Stokes is very active and is always kicking, rolling, looking around, grabbing (and eating) his feet and oh yeah, he's trying to stand up all the time. As soon as he grabs onto your finger, he locks those knees and stands. He has pretty good balance, too. He is definitely able to sit on his own. I wonder how much longer it will be until he's crawling and walking! He still has a shrill, pterodactyl-like scream/cry. It's unmistakeable. Stokes is still in a size 2 diaper and 6 month clothes.

Ryan
Ryan got diagnosed with Infantile Spasms in his 9th month and is thankfully responding well to his medicine, ACTH. We don't know yet what the future will hold or how affected he will be by this diagnosis but we're just trying to stay positive. He's had very few of the negative side effects from the ACTH, but has gotten some puffy cheeks and just recently broke out with a little acne. Ryan definitely regressed developmentally when he was having spasms and is working hard to catch back up. He is smiling and laughing a little now and is showing some better head/neck strength. He has mild torticollis, which means he tilts his head to one side - in his case, he tilts it to his right. We are focusing on stretching his neck and helping to increase his neck strength so he can hold his head steadier. We also stretch his back and legs so he doesn't become too tight. He does not love all the stretching but does love being bounced! He will start giggling for me when I bounce him. His ACTH steroid medicine has been decreased over the last several weeks and this week he began taking Topamax, anti-seizure medicine, as well. I think we will be able to quit the ACTH all together within the next week or 2. Ryan sees the Neurologist each Wednesday, a Physical Therapist each Friday and will begin with an Occupational Therapist on Thursdays starting in a week and a half. In addition, he sees the Early Interventionist with both of his brothers each Tuesday. He has been coughing for the last few days so I am going to get an appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow to see what's going on with him. I am extra paranoid and cautious for anything when it comes to my Ryan. As I mentioned above, he seems like he's refluxing again. This is a bummer because he had been doing so well with all his feeds for a few weeks and wasn't spitting up at all! This is yet another question for the pediatrician. I think Ryan weighs around 17 lbs. now and is wearing a size 3 diaper and 6 month and 9 month clothes.

William
William is such a doll. He is pretty much calm and relaxed most of the time. He's easy to pass around in social settings because he doesn't get upset much and he goes with the flow. He seems so observant and loves looking around and taking everything in. He's just so fluffy and loveable and very, very fun to squeeze. He has an adorable laugh! He bears a slight sound resemblance to Woody the Woodpecker when he's laughing. When he gets going with his laugh, it's contagious. He is still babbling a lot and loves to blow raspberries. When he does this, his whole face and front of his outfit will be covered in little dots of spit - it's very cute. Probably only a Mom would think spit dots are cute! He still just has one small tooth that's hard to see, but I think I see another one that is about to come in. William loves his bedtime story and will attentively sit there and just watch and listen. He doesn't make a peep and it's very rewarding to think he is paying attention! He's my best eater and seems to like all the food I give him. When he gets really excited, William will flap his arms up and down. He's getting strong and has some force behind his flapping and will actually punch himself in the stomach when his arms come down. He is un-phased by it though! William is in a size 3 diaper and in 9 month and 12 month clothes.