Three Peerys in a Pod: March 2014

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

7 Months Old

The boys are 7 months old today and their adjusted age is 4 months old. I'm discovering that this is a really fun age. They've started babbling some and do a lot of smiling and laughing. They don't play with toys much yet, but I've put them in exersaucers and continue to try to introduce toys to them and I think they will become interested pretty soon. Here's an update with specifics about each of the babies.

My sweet triplet babies at 7 months old

Stokes
Stokes is still such a happy and smiley baby. He loves attention and sometimes gets upset when someone isn't paying him the attention that he wants. He has gotten very squirmy and is constantly kicking his legs, grabbing things (mostly his bib or the shirt of whomever is holding him), and shimmying around. When I put him in his Boppy pillow he squirms out of it and keeps traveling across the floor. It is so funny. When he is on his play mat he grabs the toys that are hanging down and holds on for dear life while he constantly kicks those legs. He still has a shrill cry that is unmistakable. He has taken to "talking" and will sporadically wake up at night with his talking rants which eventually morph into crying. Stokes has really started sucking on his thumb a lot. He wears a size 1 diaper and is in 3 month clothes. He is only a good eater when he wants to be and once he decides he's done with his bottle he will just alternate between smiling and pushing the bottle out of his mouth with his tongue. So far I've fed him peas and carrots and he doesn't seem to really love either one. I'm hoping they will grow on him! He eats his vegetables fairly well but will sometimes spray them out. He is still so funny and has a great laugh. When Stokes smiles, his whole face lights up. I am starting to notice some little dimples on him. Adorable! He is Mr. Charming and I predict he will have tons of friends.

Ryan
Ryan is so dear and sweet. His demeanor is just precious. He loves to open his eyes wide and he looks all around. He is still pretty calm and laid back unless his reflux is acting up. His hair is starting to come in a little more and is still much lighter in color than either of his brothers. Ryan has really started laughing a lot more now and it is the sweetest sound! It actually sounds a little bit like some of his whimpers, but you can tell he's laughing by his adorable smile. He crinkles up his nose and his eyes look so happy when he's smiling and laughing. He loves being kissed! Ryan sleeps great and is a good napper as well. I read somewhere that brain development happens while the baby sleeps, so I am all for him getting as much sleep as he needs and wants! He wears a size 1 diaper and is in 3 month clothes. He drinks his bottle really well a majority of the time, but every now and then he will fight it and cry and it's just pitiful. I think it's a reflux thing and am keeping an eye on it. He has tried peas and carrots and does a great job eating his vegetables. I don't have to sneak the spoon in; he will open his mouth for me and most of his food is swallowed instead of coming back out on his cheeks and chin. Ryan is doing really well and keeps making developmental steps forward. I am so very of him!

William
William is the snuggliest (is that even a word?!?!) thing! He is my chunky monkey and has rolls from here to eternity. I just love them! He has gotten so big and chubby and who doesn't love a chubby baby?! He has turned such a corner from when he used to cry a lot. Now he is content and happy almost all the time. He loves to put his hands and fingers in his mouth and will self soothe. He talks more now and sounds like he's saying, "Hi" or "Hey"! He will also babble. He has a beautiful smile and looks like the happiest baby on earth. It may be a little early to predict but he seems like a Mama's boy and will look for me when I'm in the room. His laugh is so adorable and melts my heart. Sometimes he'll just squeal and get so excited! He's the least active with movements but when he gets going his arms will flail and he has a great time. A lot of people say he is really starting to look a lot like his Dad and I agree. His eyes are so warm, friendly and sparkly and they draw me in, just like his Dad's eyes. William is wearing a size 2 diaper and is in 6 month clothes. He's typically a great eater with his bottle and almost always finishes whatever is in there but has slowed down recently. We have to stay on him to keep drinking. He has tried peas and carrots and hasn't taken to either one of them just yet. Once I get the spoon in his mouth, he will push the veggies out with his tongue and they'll dribble down his chin. He definitely gets the second swipe of the spoon around his mouth a lot! William is just a happy go lucky baby who doesn't fuss much and is pretty low maintenance. He's so much fun!

I had to snap a picture while he was trying to eat his hands

Of course I talk about how all of them smile so much but when I try to take their monthly pictures I can't get them to smile much! Fifi helped me get a few smiley pictures of them all together.

Ryan's sweet baby feet

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Peas, please!

The boys are in their 7th month of life and that means their palate can begin its road to sophistication. Our pediatrician said we can go ahead and start food in addition to their bottles. I was a little nervous to start feeding them baby food. I think it was a fear of the unknown. Obviously as a first time mom, all this baby stuff is new to me. I'm sure you realize this, but I have a secret....I don't really know what I'm doing!!!

Anyway, I worked up my courage (why am I so weird about this stuff?!?!) and gave the boys some baby food this week. I introduced them to...PEAS! I chose peas because I hear you should start with vegetables before fruits and the first time I fed them was on Monday, which happened to be St. Patrick's Day and I needed to give them a GREEN food. I'm such a nerd because no one would have known if I gave them carrots or sweet potatoes or something not green instead. :)

I put the little guys in their Bumbo chairs. They haven't quite mastered sitting up in the Bumbos, but I think it's good practice for them. I took turns going down the line and spooning itty, bitty bites of peas into their mouths. I got the biggest kick out of it. Ryan did the best and would open his mouth for me and actually seemed to like them. William and Stokes were another story. Stokes made a face similar to the face he makes when we give him his reflux medicine which is apparently bitter and nasty. William would basically push them out or let them dribble out of his mouth. He was not into it!

I just gave them a couple of bites. This is not an actual "meal" for them yet. I am just giving them some practice, introducing them to a spoon and baby food, and testing the waters. Plus I need practice myself! I am trying to get the hang of doing the 2nd swipe of the spoon across their mouths (and cheeks!) to catch everything that doesn't go into their mouth the first time around. Keep in mind that in the pictures below, I was trying to feed them with my left hand so I could take pictures with my right hand and I'm right-handed. Not coordinated with the spoon...at all. Feeding them peas is pretty messy right now even with my right hand...but each day we are all getting a little better!

Stokes

This is the hilarious face I'm talking about!

William

Ryan

He's like, "Mom, please don't make me do this!"

After eating some peas I put them all in exersaucers. Just trying some new things!!! They aren't quite big enough to really comfortably sit in them or play with them much, but it sure was cute.

Baby Nurse

One of the things that made life a little more manageable when the boys first came home from their stay in the NICU was having a baby nurse come and help us at night. If you talk to any mom of a newborn baby, you will hear horror stories of no sleep, a crying baby, middle of the night feeds, exhaustion, stress...now multiply that times three. In the beginning the feeds took longer, we were feeding every 3 hours and I was pumping after each feeding. I would literally get about 45 minutes of sleep at a time before my alarm went off to start all over again. It was tough. I mean really tough. I made it through...thank God...but it helped tremendously that we had a night nurse a few times a week for a while.

Our baby nurse is a lady named Laura who owns her own company, Needs For New Moms. On the nights Laura would come, I only had to get up to pump once or twice a night and Thomas got to sleep through. She would come around 11 pm and stay until 7 am. When she was here, neither Thomas or I had one worry about the boys. She was great with them! She had 20+ years of experience working in Mom/Baby at the hospital and she also worked for a midwife for a while before starting her company. She knows all about newborn babies and she knows what new moms need to function. Not only did she take great care of the boys, she was a sounding board and an advisor for me. I would ask her all sorts of questions about the boys, about pumping, about everything! She even helped me get organized with the baby stations about the house and provided the insight about the milk shelf and keeping the breastmilk organized in the fridge (see Feeding Triplets post!). She is the sweetest woman and really became a friend of mine over the course of time with our nighttime conversations. On top of all the help with the babies and me, she would wash all the dirty bottles, make new bottles and even do all the baby laundry. I would wake up to a clean kitchen, baby laundry clean and folded, and bottles ready to go for the day. Awesome!

Needless to say, she was a vital part of our life at home with triplets for the first few months. Thomas and I would look forward to the nights when we knew she was coming. I would highly recommend her to anyone that wants a little extra help to adjust to having a newborn (or newborns) at home and wants an opportunity to get some sleep.

Just recently Laura came over to babysit for the evening so that Thomas and I could go out on a date. It was great to see her and catch up after several months. It was funny to see her reaction to the boys as well since they've grown and changed quite a bit since she was here helping us at night.

Check out her website - www.needsfornewmoms.com - and keep her in mind if you have a baby!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Luck of the Irish

Thomas confirmed that we have some Irish ancestors so I feel justified in talking about the luck of the Irish! We definitely feel lucky. We were so lucky to get pregnant with triplets (although I didn't initially think we were lucky when we found out!), lucky that they not only survived but thrived in the NICU following a very early delivery, lucky that we have awesome friends and family that have been there for us to help out, lucky that the boys are all healthy, and lucky that they have grown into happy, sweet, sleeping-through-the-night babies. LUCKY.

They are my lucky charms

They are my sweet little leprechauns

They are my pot of gold

They are my ~~4 leaf~~ , I mean 3 leaf clover

They are my boys

This is my family and I am so lucky

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thanks to GranO for these adorable "My first St. Patrick's Day" outfits!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Our schedule

Since the babies came home from the NICU, we've had a few shifts and adjustments in our daily routine. The thing that hasn't changed is the fact that we're on a schedule...at all times...no exceptions! I'm sure some of the people that come over to visit or help think I'm crazy to be so rigid and scheduled, but honestly, it keeps me sane in a crazy triplet world.

At six and a half months old, here's what our current schedule looks like.

7:00 AM - Thomas gets up and gets the first bottles of the day out of the fridge and puts the babies' vitamins (Poly-Vi-Sol with iron) in the bottles. He will bring the bottles upstairs and then he'll start getting ready for work.
7:20 - I get up and brush my teeth and shake off any cobwebs from sleep.
7:30 - I go into the nursery to wake the babies and start the first feeding of the day. Sometimes the triplets are still sleeping, but sometimes they're awake and just hanging out in their cribs. When they are awake, they are typically just looking around and kicking their legs. They don't usually cry. :) I will feed 2 babies at one time and then I'll get the third out of his crib and feed him.*
8:30 - When I finish feeding the babies, it's time to get them ready for the day. One by one I'll get a warm wash cloth and wipe off their faces, ears and necks. I'll change their diapers, put lotion on them and put them in their clothes for the day.
9:15 - Once everyone is changed and clean and I put them on their blankets on the floor to kick around or do some tummy time. During this time I'll go downstairs and eat breakfast and wash a few sets of bottles. If I have time, I might try to squeeze in a shower.
10:00 - I give reflux medicine to all the babies and I'll pull the next set of bottles out of the fridge.
10:30 - Feeding #2 begins. Sometimes I try to feed all three at the same time for this feeding. In this case, I will use a blanket to prop William's bottle and put Stokes and Ryan on Boppy pillows and use each hand to feed them their bottles. The last few days this method hasn't worked because William keeps raising his arms, which knocks his bottle out of his mouth and it falls on the floor behind him. When that happens I stop propping and feed 2 then finish with the third. After the feeding, I change diapers for all 3.
11:15 (or whenever feeding #2 is over) - Naptime. All the babies get put in their cribs for their nap. I turn off the light and put some lullaby music on in their room. When they're napping I have some free time to do whatever I need to do. This may include showering (if I haven't already), eating lunch, doing laundry, unloading the dishwasher, taking out diaper pail trash, general housework, making phone calls, writing notes, prepping for dinner, going through the never-ending pile of mail on my counter, etc. It's quiet and peaceful in my house during naptime!
1:20 pm - I get the babies up from their naps and bring them downstairs one by one for the afternoon.
1:30 - Feeding #3 begins. When we're downstairs I put one baby on the Boppy lounger pillow on the couch and I will sit next to him and put another baby in the crook of my arm. Baby #3 will lay on his play mat on the floor until I'm finished with the first two. After the feeding, all babies get their diapers changed and go back on their play mat to kick around and play. Eventually they fall asleep for an afternoon snooze.
2:30 - If it's nice outside I will try to load the babies up and go for a walk around the neighborhood! If not, we just hang out inside.
4:00 - Stokes gets reflux medicine and I pull out the bottles for the next feeding from the fridge.
4:30 - Feeding #4 begins and is followed by another diaper change. I appreciate this feeding because I know it's the last one I have to do by myself for the day. Afterwards I will wash some more bottles from the day.
6:00 - Thomas gets home from work! Yay!!!!!
6:30 - Thomas and I usually try to eat dinner around this time, which also happens to be the "witching hour" for the boys. It's a lovely chorus of two or three babies crying. We take turns holding babies and eating dinner as necessary.
7:00 - All three get reflux medicine and we'll pull bottles out of the fridge for the next feeding.
7:30 - Feeding #5 starts. Thomas and I take turns for who feeds 2 babies and who gets 1.
8:15 - After the feeding, we take all 3 babies upstairs and change their diapers and put on their pajamas. Then it's storytime followed by bed. We put them in sleep sacks, or in Stokes' case a swaddle, lay them in their cribs and leave the room. The exception is when it's Wednesday or Sunday, which are bath nights. If it's a bath night, we do triplet bath time, then read them a book and put them to bed. They rarely cry or fuss. They will just go to sleep. They're such good boys! I'll grab the monitor to take downstairs with me and we go back downstairs.
9:00 - I wash the rest of the bottles from the day and clean up from dinner while Thomas works on making all the bottles for the next day. The boys are still on high calorie formula so there is a crazy recipe we have to follow to get the calorie content correct in their formula. In case you're wondering, we use approximately 1 can of formula per day!!! After all bottles are made and the kitchen is relatively clean, we can finally relax and watch some TV.
10:30 - We take the monitor and 3 bottles and go back upstairs and get ready for bed. At this point, we're pretty tired and just barely have our eyes open
11:00 - Feeding #6 starts. We wake the boys up for the last feeding of the day. They are in deep sleep and so groggy. William dream feeds, meaning he will keep his eyes closed and just sleep as he's taking his bottle. We keep the lights off for this feeding and just have a lamp on so that we don't allow them to think it's time to party. After the feeding, we change their diapers again and put them back to bed. We've gotten really good at this feeding and we're normally able to get all three babies fed, burped, changed and back to bed in 30-35 minutes. At that point, Thomas and I can call it quits and crawl into bed for a nice sleep. Then it starts all over again the next morning. I am actually getting pretty good sleep and I definitely cannot complain because the boys are sleeping so well for us, but I am still always so tired at 7:30 the next morning. I was just talking about this with some girlfriends and we think there just comes a point in a mom's life that she realizes that she will never get as much sleep as she actually wants...for the next 18 years or so!

I got clearance from the pediatrician to start feeding the babies real food so I will start that soon. I feel like our schedule is working so well right now, I am a little hesitant to change, even though it will just start as a minor addition to what we're currently doing. That said, I will start slow and just try to spoon feed them something once a day and see how it goes. I will probably fit that in sometime during the afternoon between the 1:30 and 4:30 feedings or maybe right after one of those feedings. I just need to get some baby food when I get out to the store, which will probably be this weekend.

Everything in the schedule gets turned upside down when we have an appointment. I do my best to incorporate the appointment and adjust the remainder of the schedule as little as possible. It's hardest when we are supposed to be somewhere at a feeding time. In that case, I will either start feeding them earlier than usual or I will try to feed them at the doctor's office during the appointment, like while we're in the waiting room or waiting on the doctor to come into our room, or right after the appointment is finished and I'll just stay in the room and feed. It varies each appointment based on the time of the appointment, where the office is and how long our drive will be, what the office is like and how hungry I think the boys will be. So far it's worked out pretty well and the number of appointments we have to go to has slowed down quite a bit.

The days are pretty long, but I can't say enough about what good babies we have. They really aren't very fussy at all and generally have a happy, laidback demeanor. You would think it would be totally chaotic at our house at all times, but it's really not...at least in my opinion. The only time it can get a little stressful is at a feeding if one or more aren't taking their bottles very well or fighting me on it. If their reflux is kicking in, they don't want to eat and will get fussy. That can get a little worrisome for me, but if they're eating well, the day goes very smoothly.

Our day in pictures, Friday, 3/14/14

After our first feeding, still in pjs