Triplet bathtime

Let me start off by saying that we give the boys a bath twice a week. We used to dread bath nights because the babies hated the bath and would cry the whole time and the entire experience was traumatic for parents and babies! They've started to like the bath a little better though. And by saying they like it a little better, I mean that they don't cry the whole time, maybe only 25% of the time they're in the bath! Haha! Every now and then we get a lucky break and a baby won't cry at all during bath time, just afterwards when he's getting his lotion and pajamas on. So we're not jumping at moving towards every day or every other day for bath nights. Plus, it's a lot of work to bathe 3 babies!

We've chosen to do baths at nighttime prior to giving them their last bottle before going to bed. We had hopes that the bath would calm the boys and get them more ready to have a nice, good sleep, but instead it makes them cry and get all wound up. Oh well! Part of the reason they're crying could be because it's almost time to get another bottle and they're hungry. We can't do it right after a bottle though due to the risk of spit ups. I think they're getting used to the routine though and eventually they will probably like it and look forward to their bath before bed.

We use the guest bedroom and bathroom for baths and although it's probably an inconvenience to our guests that are staying with us, it works out better that way. I wouldn't mind using our bathroom but our master bath has his and hers vanities and neither counter is long enough for us to put the baby bath tub on it. We can't put the baby tub in the bathtub yet because it would hurt our backs to bend down that far for that amount of time. I do think it will be fun when the boys can sit up in the bathtub to get their baths!

We've chosen to do the assembly line method for bathing. I took pictures of each step the other night to give you an idea of what bath time is like. It's a two person job and I'm glad to have Thomas around to help. I could definitely do it by myself but it would take a heck of a lot longer!

Step 1: Get all materials and the triplets laid out on the guest bed. I typically put a towel down underneath the babies in case of spit, poop or pee (all have happened!). Then I get a diaper, diaper cream, onesie, sleeper and towel for each baby and lay them all out. Add in the baby lotion and we're good to go!

All the baby gear laid out on the bed

The babies awaiting their bath

Step 2: Thomas (or other helper) gets baby #1* undressed down to his diaper. At the same time, I get 3 wash cloths, baby wash and the bath tub out and ready. I then put lukewarm water into the bath tub.

*We don't go in any particular order. Baby #1 is just whichever baby is randomly first on the bed. In this post, Stokes is baby #1, Ryan is baby #2 and William is baby #3, which is, coincidentally, their birth order.

Stokes ready for his bath

Step 3: Thomas brings baby #1 to me with diaper on. I take the diaper off at the last minute and put the baby in the bathtub and start his bath. While I am giving baby #1 a bath, Thomas is starting to undress baby #2.

Me bathing Stokes

Stokes' bath time pictures

Ryan getting ready for his bath

Step 4: When I am done bathing baby #1, I let Thomas know and he brings the towel over to the bathtub and I place the baby in the towel. Thomas then takes baby #1 back to the bed and starts drying him. While he is doing this, I pour out the bathwater and refill the tub with clean, lukewarm water.

Thomas bringing Stokes to the bed after his bath

Stokes in his towel

Thomas drying Stokes

Step 5: When I have the bathtub refilled and ready, I go and get baby #2, remove his diaper and put him in the bathtub. Then I give baby #2 a bath. At the same time Thomas is working on baby #1. Once baby #1 is dry, Thomas will put on a new diaper, baby lotion and pajamas.

Ryan ready to go to his bath

Ryan's bath time pictures

 

 

Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 but with baby #2 and baby #3.

 

Ryan in his towel

 

 

William's bath time pictures

Me giving William a bath

William in his towel

 

 

Step 7: Once all 3 babies are bathed, I dump the bath water and rinse out the tub, gather the wash cloths, put the baby wash away and then help Thomas with lotion application, pajama dressing, etc that hasn't been done yet.

 

Although we typically dress each baby as the next one is getting his bath, on this evening, we left all the babies in their towels with the thought of getting a cute picture of all of them. If you haven't noticed on this blog, it's very difficult to get a picture where all three babies are happy. Usually at least one of them is mad or crying!

 

Pictures of the triplets in their towels

 

 

The babies in their pajamas

 

The whole bath process takes us about 30 minutes. We have actually gotten faster and more efficient over the last 2 months, but it still takes that long. If I had to do it by myself, it would take significantly longer as I wouldn't be able to multitask by dressing and bathing babies at the same time.

 

After the bath, we wind down and feed the babies once again before they go to bed. For this feeding we turn off the overhead light and just use the lamp in an effort to promote nighttime and sleep time.

 

Me feeding Ryan and William

 

Thomas feeding Stokes

 

William ready for bed

Ryan ready for bed

 

 

Stokes ready for bed

 

Night night, babies!



Warding off RSV in the cold

Yesterday the boys had their monthly appointment with Pulmonology to get their Synagis shot. The Synagis shot provides antibodies that will help the babies ward off or fight RSV if they were to get it. Hopefully with the monthly Synagis injections we will be able to avoid RSV all together or if not, maybe it will not require a trip back to the hospital.

The injection the babies get is based on their weight and the needle and amount of Synagis seemed much bigger this month than it did in December. It's a great sign that they've gotten bigger since last time, but it made me a little nervous to see the bigger needle. Overall the little guys were champs and did pretty well. They definitely cried when they got the shot, but were able to be consoled within minutes and slept the whole drive home. The rest of the afternoon went pretty well, and they didn't fuss too much, which is good, but when Ryan had a big spit up right before bed we thought the day's action and the Synagis may have been partially to blame. I will take their temps sometime today to make sure they don't have a fever or a negative reaction to the injection. Last month they were able to get the shot with no issues and I imagine this month will be the same. So far today they are acting just fine.

While we were at the appointment, we got updated weights and measurements on the babies. YAY! I love this part and enjoy getting to see the growth the babies are experiencing. So without further ado...

Stokes - 10 lbs, 6.1 oz and 21 3/4 inches

Ryan - 9 lbs, 15.4 oz and 22 inches

William - 10 lbs, 6.8 oz and 22 1/2 inches

So as you can see, our littlest baby, William, is now our biggest baby! Way to go, William! He has become our best eater and often his bottles have more milk than Stokes and Ryan's bottles. He just seems hungry all the time! Ryan definitely seems smaller and lighter than his brothers, so I was relieved that he was in the same vicinity as the other two.

I should mention that we have having a major cold spell here! We set record lows two days ago (taking the record from 1892 or something - ha!) and it feels brutally cold out there. I am glad not to live in the Northeast right now! Anyway, I was concerned about the boys being cold going to and from the appointment and made a point to bundle them up. They wore a long sleeve onesie, a footed sleeper, a jacket, a hat and had a blanket over them in their car seats. I also pulled the car seat shade over their faces to avoid any wind. They slept right through the transportation to and from the car so I think we accomplished the goal to keep them from getting too cold. The hats that I put on Ryan and Stokes were the CUTEST things I've ever seen. I snapped a picture of Stokes in his hat that I could send to Thomas really quickly, but sadly didn't take a picture of William wearing his hat. Unfortunately, we only had 2 of the super cute hats and poor Ryan just got a regular hat. It's ok because he's adorable anyway and he didn't care which hat he wore!

Thomas's aunt Fifi is here this week and was able to help me with the appointment. It would be so difficult for me to maneuver all 3 babies in and out, not to mention getting them all undressed and dressed again during the appointment as well as consoling each of them after their shots. I was so glad to have an extra pair of hands there with me helping out. The nurses kept calling Fifi "grandma" and neither of us corrected them. I think Fifi liked being mistaken for the grandma of these sweet angels! Oh yeah, and the nurse practitioner came in and told Fifi that she didn't look like she had just had triplets. She thought Fifi was the Mom initially right when she walked in. What an awesome compliment for Fifi and a testimony to how young and good she looks! ;)

We experienced another milestone yesterday as well. I had William and Stokes on a play mat doing some tummy time (diaperless, so we could let their bottoms get some air and hopefully clear up a little diaper rash we've been fighting). William got a little fired up and was crying and moving all around. When William gets on tummy time, he isn't able to actually "crawl" yet, but that doesn't stop him from getting around! I am constantly repositioning him on the blanket, mat or towel because he can move...and quickly! Anyway, he was a bit mad and was pushing his legs up and flexing all his little muscles and managed to roll over from tummy to back. TWICE. Good job, little....or should I say BIG...buddy! I immediately texted Thomas to let him know the update. So right now we have two babies that can roll over from tummy to back. I'm a proud mama!

Nursery

I have been meaning to post these pictures for a while, but I had to make time to be sure the nursery was clean and picked up, I had my camera (with memory card inserted!) and the babies were taken care of for a few minutes and didn't need my attention. So I finally got all those pieces together a few days ago, and voila - here are nursery pictures!

I am definitely not a decorating guru and actually really struggle with decorating my house. We moved in over two years ago, but it's far from being "complete". But I am very pleased with how the nursery ended up. It doesn't belong in a magazine or anything, but I think it's really cute. I took pictures so that you can see what it looks like as though you're turning around in a circle. I hope that makes sense!

View from the door right when you walk in

 

The door with an adorable wreath my friend Stephanie made! I love that she color-coordinated with my nursery theme.

 

 

Wall with one side of crib #1 and the changing table, which was a gift from my Aunt Alison and Uncle Wells. This thing came from IKEA and has been the PERFECT changing table. The height is great and there is a lot of drawer storage, which is definitely needed for 3 babies! We don't have an IKEA in Greenville so my Aunt Kathy bought it in Atlanta and my Uncle Duncan drove it up here. You may remember this post from a while back when Uncle Duncan and my dad were assembling it. 

 

Crib #1 - this is a hand-me-down from my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Duncan. They had twins about 12 years ago! The crib was originally a natural wood color and they painted it white to match the look I was going for. They're pretty much awesome. :)

Wall with window and rocking chair (in between crib #1 and crib #2). Please notice how adorable the curtains are and how perfectly they match with the bedding! The boys' Aunt Ashley made these curtains. She is so incredibly creative and talented. I absolutely love them (and her)!

Crib #2 - this is where all 3 boys are currently sleeping. It's the only crib that we bought new.

Wall with one side of crib #2 and with crib #3 and our tall chest. There is also a small chest/nightstand on this wall. While the boys were in the NICU, Thomas and MaSha painted the tall chest and the nightstand white in keeping with the matching theme within the nursery. Keep in mind that painting was done in the garage and this was during the heat of the summer so it was a true, sweaty labor of love. Crib #3 was given to us by the boys' Aunt Ashley and Uncle Zack. At least one of their cousins, Taylor or Anna, or possibly both, slept in this crib.

This is a close-up of the diaper cake that sits on the tall chest. The babies' Aunt Tara made this for my baby shower in Virginia. I know I need to use all the awesome things on here (including the diapers!), but it's just so cute that I am having a hard time with the thought of taking it apart. Since this picture was taken, however, I did remove the Wubbanubs for use with the boys. FYI - the Wubbanubs are the pacifiers with a small stuffed animal attached. We thought it might help William keep his paci in his mouth. Well, it didn't, but they're so darn cute so we like it when the babies use them! Haha!

Wall with closet

Inside of closet. Again, thank you to all that have passed along hand-me-down clothes and given us clothes as gifts. We are so fortunate and blessed!

NICU milestones that hang on the wall - our nurses in the NICU put these together for the babies. Each time they met a milestone, the nurse would get a cut out of that milestone, put the date on it and add it to their ribbon. Examples of milestones - the first time their Dad and I changed their diaper (please note how small these teeny, tiny diapers are), the first time we kangaroo cared with them, when they hit the 3 lb mark, etc.

Crosses that hang on the wall that were given to them by one of my BFFs, Colby.

 

Close-up of the knobs that are on the changing table and the nightstand. These were given to us by Aunt Ashley - she ordered them on Etsy. :) They match the nurse theme so well and are so cute!

I got put on hospital bed rest unexpectedly and much earlier than I had anticipated going to the hospital. That being said, the nursery was a COMPLETE mess when I was admitted to the hospital. We had just had our baby shower in Virginia 3 days prior and had gifts scattered around everywhere. I also had not gone through any of the clothes and baby items that had been given to us in the months prior and everything was just kind of stacked in the nursery. It looked as if a plastic bin and gift bag hurricane hit the room. When I thought about the nursery while on bed rest, it gave me a headache. I also knew that I would most likely be in the hospital until the boys were born and realized that the nursery would not be "done" right when the boys decided to enter the world. This is another way that my pregnancy was so much different than a typical one. Most pregnant moms get the opportunity (and enjoy!) working on, decorating and putting together the nursery in anticipation of and before having their baby. I realized that my nursery work would be done out of order and it's much harder to work on a nursery once the babies are already born. I mean, who has time for that?!?!? But here is an example of a silver lining for a NICU stay. I also knew I would have some time to work on it before the boys actually came home from the hospital. Not tons of time, mind you, because I felt like I needed to spend most of my time at the NICU while the boys were there, but I could work on it a little here and there before going to the hospital. Anyway, I have such kind in-laws that did put some man hours (well, actually woman hours) into getting the nursery in better shape for me to come home to. My mother-in-law and sisters-in-law spent a lot of time going through clothes, washing and organizing them, putting gifts away and getting them organized, etc. When I came home after my C-section, the room was in much better shape than how I had left it. I appreciated all their work so much and would have been completely overwhelmed had I come home to its original state. But I also felt like I hadn't had anything to do with the nursery at that point. I didn't have any of my "touches" in there. Other than picking out the bedding, I had very little input up to that point. I really felt like I needed to do something so that a piece of me would be in the nursery. I was looking on Etsy for wall art and came across some really cute designs and the thought occurred to me that I could actually paint their wall art and that would give me a feeling of wholeness and inclusion in the nursery. So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some canvas and paint and looked around for other things that I could paint or craft to help decorate the room. Here are close-ups of my "artwork". :)

This was the idea I got from Etsy. Shhh...don't tell that I copied it. I drew the alligators to match those on the bedding. These canvases took some time because I had to get out the ruler to draw the lines. They're definitely not perfect, but I don't mind because they were made with love! These hang on the wall with crib #3.

 

I also painted this South Carolina flag canvas to go over crib #2. The reason I chose the SC flag is because we're proud that the boys are South Carolinians and because I was trying to think of something that would go with our colors (navy, white and lime green) and something that I could realistically paint without messing it up too much. The SC flag met the navy and white criteria and I googled the flag and was able to recreate it.

I needed something to go on the wall above crib #1. I found this cute alligator that was already painted at Hobby Lobby so I got a piece of blank wood and painted it navy. Then I hot glued the alligator on it and added the green ribbon to make it more decorative. The ribbon was leftover from the curtains so that is matchy-matchy, too. Yay!!!

I knew I wanted to put up some white shelves on a wall in the nursery but didn't know what to actually put on the shelves. I found these cardboard numbers at Hobby Lobby and decided to paint them, too. The #2 is supposed to be a chevron pattern....hey, I tried!

 

 

I also reused the wooden P that I used to trace the "P" on the alligator canvas and painted it navy to prop up on a shelf.  

Reminder of what the wall with the shelves looks like, including the "P" and the 1, 2, 3. I saved you some time so you didn't have to scroll back up. You're welcome. :)

All in all, I am very pleased with the nursery. We actually weren't sure if we would be able to fit 3 cribs, a rocker and a changing table in the room. Although it's a decent sized room, that is a lot of furniture! While in the hospital, we "white boarded" it out to determine a good layout. What we thought was a good layout didn't actually work and we had to move stuff around and reconfigure the room a few times until we found something that did work. It's a little crowded and there is no unused wall space, but it works for us and I think it's the best use of the space! I am a little bit wordy about this room, I mean, it's just a nursery, but like I said, I am pleased with how it turned out and pretty proud of myself. The boys totally love their room and have told me several times! ;)

Holiday recap

Happy New Year! 2014 will be a big year and will see a lot of "firsts" for the boys. Our New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful, but we were awake at midnight! That was mainly because it was time to feed the babies - haha! We didn't "see" any fireworks because it was cold and I was tired and didn't want to go outside (wimpy, I know!), but we heard them and could see them in our minds. Thanks for the beautiful fireworks displays!

The boys on their activity mat last night

 

Today we're going to eat the traditional collared greens and black eyed peas. Don't they say those are for health and wealth? We could use both in this upcoming year so cheers to that!

The boys are enjoying the first day if 2014! Plus they look so preppy and adorable in these cute Polo sleepers they got for Christmas from some thoughtful friends of ours that I couldn't help but to get their picture. Thanks for the outfits, Pamela & Barry!

 

Overall the holidays were very happy for our family. Since the boys have come home from the hospital, we've had the good fortune to have lots of sweet and loving family members come stay with us and help with the triplets. It's amazing what a difference it makes to have another set of hands around to feed a baby during feeding time, do laundry, wash bottles, soothe a crying baby, help with household chores, cook dinner, etc! It was also so helpful for me to have someone around to go to doctors appointments with me if I had to take all 3 babies, or to stay home with some of the boys if I had an appointment for just one baby or needed to run some errands. I think I have included pictures of most of the people that have been here helping but here are a few more pictures that I haven't posted yet that include some important family members!

Aunt Fifi, Grandad and GranO

My cousin Meg from NYC

My Aunt Mary Nell (boys will call her Nana 1)*

My Aunt Wanda (boys will call her Nana 2)*

 

*Nanas are named courtesy of my adorable niece, Kaitlyn!
 

In addition to family visitors, lots of friends have come by to meet Stokes, Ryan and William throughout this holiday season. I want to thank you all for being so diligent about washing your hands when you get here, having your flu shot and canceling plans if you were feeling even slightly sick or had any sort of symptoms. We appreciate it so much! We feel your love and concern for the babies' well being. 

Unfortunately I did not take pictures of everyone that has come by, but here are a few! Sorry to our friends I have missed :( 

Matt holding Ryan 

Amy holding all 3

Jacqui hanging out with the babies and me in the nursery

Beth comes by on her days off work and helps me for the majority of the day - AWESOME!!! Love her!

My Mom's friends, Lisa and Terry

Terry holding 2 babies at a time! She's a pro

 

Wendy, Shea and Brenda came over to babysit one night so Thomas and I could go out!

Wendy

Shea

Brenda

Our dear close friend Carole

 

We have a few scheduled times in January for family to be here to help, but I will really be on my own most of the time. For doctors appointments that Thomas can't come to, I will call around to try to get someone to come and help me. I am not ready to try to take all 3 babies somewhere by myself unless I absolutely have to. If you have previously offered some help and assistance, don't be surprised if I call on you! And don't feel bad if you aren't able to do it. I have had lots of offers and should be able to get help when needed. 

We have really enjoyed the 2013 holiday season. It has been so different in so many ways than in previous years and we are trying to take it all in stride and to enjoy and appreciate all the small moments. Here's to a happy and healthy 2014!