Early Intervention

The babies get the opportunity to work with an Early Interventionist (EI) weekly. During their appointments, the EI will help them with developmental milestones that are appropriate for their age and where they are on the developmental spectrum. It's a good way to stay on top of what the boys are doing, what they should be doing, where they are excelling and where they are behind. We are focusing on their adjusted age but are working towards getting them caught up to their actual age. We qualified to work with this program based on the triplets' gestational age at birth and their birth weight.

Our EI is named April and she comes to the house once a week. The boys love her and really enjoy their sessions with her. She gets lots of smiles and recently lots of talking from them. So far, they are all doing really well. April is so sweet and always makes sure to comment on positives that she notices. The current goals we are working towards are tracking with their eyes, reaching for toys and rolling over. Once they master those, we will update our goals. While April is here, she will also go ahead and help them with other things such as sitting up. At the end of the appointment April will write up a summary for each of the boys of what they did during the session and will give me some "homework" for the week. My homework has been things like using a blanket to help the babies with the motion of rolling over or using a mirror to practice tracking.

April and I have both noticed that Ryan seems to be a little behind his brothers. I really try hard not to compare them, but they're the same age and the same gender so it's very difficult not to make those types of comparisons...especially since I am worried about Ryan's brain due to his cranial hemorrhage. This week April asked me what I thought about her doing a physical therapy referral for Ryan. My first reaction was to feel discouraged and a little upset, but I agreed that it would be a good idea. It took me a few seconds, but I spun it around and decided to think of it as an opportunity instead of a setback. Doing PT with Ryan will give us a chance to really confirm any areas where he's delayed and specifically address those areas. April said she didn't think it was completely necessary at this point but she noticed that he doesn't put much weight on his legs and feet when you hold him in a standing position and based on that and a few other areas where he's behind his brothers, she thought it could be beneficial to start PT. I agreed and decided that it couldn't hurt; if anything it will help! So instead of waiting to determine whether the PT is necessary, we're going to start early, face it head on and address whatever may come up. If we were to wait, and it was determined later on that he did need PT, he might be further behind on the learning curve than where he is right now. Like April, the physical therapist will come to the house, which is so appreciated! April is going to make the referral next week so we will probably start a week or two after that.

Here are a few pictures of our most recent appointment with April.

William

Stokes

Ryan

Besties and babies

This weekend was pretty great for several reasons. One thing is that the weather was absolutely amaaaaaazing. It was mid-70s, sunny and had a gentle breeze. Perfection. Luckily I was able to get outside some. Another reason that the weekend rocked was that several of my best and oldest friends came into town to hang out. They came from Auburn, AL; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC and Charleston. Pretty cool that Greenville is right in the middle of all these places so they come to me. :)

Friday night was low-key. Thomas and I just took care of babies and hung out at home. We watched a movie and it was nice and uneventful.

On Saturday the fun with friends began. Thomas agreed to watch the babies so I could have some girl time with my best friends. He is such a terrific and caring father. It doesn't phase him at all to take care of all three boys. How many men do you know that can say that?!?! I don't worry about the triplets at all when they're with their dad. So the girls and I let up for pedicures starting at 10. It was nice and relaxing and a great opportunity to get some of our general catching up done. We had about 3 different conversations going on at any one time. Mayhem....but fun mayhem.

After our pedis, we ran over to Diane's house to meet her little girl, Grace. Grace and my boys coincidentally had the exact same due date. Thankfully Grace went full term and is now right around 3 months old. I hadn't met her yet and was so excited to see her. She is beautiful and looks just like her Mom. She was such a sweet baby. It's so fun to meet and see babies now that I have some and are no longer scared of them.

Colby, Jacqui & Grace, Diane, Nator and me 

After hanging out at Diane's for a little while, we had lunch at a great local restaurant, Chicora Alley. I know the owners and absolutely love eating there. The food is fantastic! We got a table outside and enjoyed lunch, margaritas, sunshine and laughter. We stayed for a while because it felt so good outside and we were just having a great time. I didn't get a picture of our lunch unfortunately. We were having too much fun to worry about pictures!

Then I came back home to relieve Thomas from baby duty and start working on dinner prep.  Shortly after, Jacqui and Nator (aka Steph) joined me. After getting the dinner stuff ready, we hung out with the babies. It was Nator's first time meeting them. We took them out on the deck under an umbrella so that we could soak in the sunshine and we could all get some fresh air.

The babies and me

Jacqui with Stokes

William was being a gentleman and holding the umbrella for us

Nator feeding Stokes. I was so proud of her...she was a pro!

Jacqui feeding William...just before he spit up on her! ;)

It didn't take long for the rest of the crew - Adam, Colby, Amy and Diane - to come on over. This group has been best friends for 16 years since we were sophomores in high school, and we added Nator a few years later while we were in college. My oldest friends are some of the people that know me best and are such an invaluable part of my life. We've been together and there for each other through dates, break-ups, spring breaks, heartbreaks, showers, bachelorette parties and weddings, babies, family loss, moves, job changes and just about everything in between.

Random note - Adam, my best guy friend ever, is a BBB triplet. He was one of the first people I called when we started spreading our baby news last spring. He and his brothers moved from the top spot of being my favorite triplets into second place when my babies made their appearance. Ha! I can't wait until I can get all three of them with my three boys. It will make for a super awesome triplet picture!

We ate dinner and spent the rest of the night talking and reminiscing. We had some guest visitors including Jon (one of Adam's brothers), Jacqui's mom, Colby's mom and my dad. I want to thank my best friends for coming to town, meeting my sweet boys and hanging out. My heart is so full. 

Overall the babies did great with everyone at the house. They were pretty laid back for most of the evening, but did get a little fussy when we were trying to eat. That's pretty typical for their "witching hour". Apart from that though they smiled, got passed around, posed for pictures with us and in general just acted cute! It was a lot of stimulation for them to have so many people around but it didn't bother them a bit. Everyone was remarking about what great babies they are. It made me feel so proud of my sweet little trio! 

Adam holding Ryan, Jon holding Stokes and Colby holding William

The whole gang! L to R: Jacqui, me & William, Amy & Stokes, Diane, Colby & Ryan, Adam and Nator

 

Saturday night/Sunday early morning was daylight savings time this year. I hate losing an hour of sleep on Spring Forward, but I love that it will stay light later. As you probably realize, we are on a fairly strict schedule at our house and weren't sure how to handle the time change. We ended up doing our night feed 30 minutes earlier than usual and the first morning feed 30 minutes late by the clock but 30 minutes earlier than what we were used to...if that makes any sense at all. Then we caught back up to the regular schedule by the second feeding of the day. Isn't it funny that we had to put some actual thought and planning into our schedule adjustment based in the time change? My, how things have changed since having kids!

Sunday turned out to be a low maintenance day. We just hung out at home and relaxed. We did go out to the hammock in our backyard with the little guys. We rocked them and allowed them to enjoy the great outdoors again. 

Stokes, Ryan and William on the hammock

The boys and me 

Thomas and I loved the weather so much that we fit in a late afternoon walk as well. The day seemed to go by really quickly. 

Sunday is still a bath night so the evening included triplet bathtime. We had our first "code brown" in the infant bathtub. I won't tell you who the culprit was, but his name starts with a W. It's pretty crazy how little you mind about that kind of stuff once you become a mom. I cleaned it up like a champ and didn't think twice about it. Thomas and I got a big laugh out of the whole situation.

I hope you had a great weekend, too!

 

 

Cutie pies

I don't really have a topic for this post but I just had some super adorable pictures of the boys I thought I would share. I know I am biased but these little guys are  the CUTEST babies in the world. Period. 

Ryan 

See??? He DOES smile...every now and then ;)

With Nana

Stokes

Sleeping

Happy!

A series of crib shots - he was supposed to be napping haha!

William

In jail, I mean his crib!

A series of cute smiley shots...

With Mom and Dad

Growing like weeds

We had our 6 month well visit with the pediatrician yesterday, complete with shots - ouch! The boys did great though! As their MaSha said, they were "stuck" so many times in the NICU they can really handle it like champs! We get a lot of oohs and aahs and questions when we go to appointments, particularly from the other parents in the waiting room or at the check out, but the staff was so complimentary of the boys. I think they probably compliment everyone but they always tell us how adorable and good looking they are. I believe them! ;) The boys were really well behaved yesterday, just calm and laid back. Of course they cried when they got their shots but it didn't last long then they fell asleep. I was very proud of how well they did. Thomas was able to go with me yesterday and he finally got to meet our primary pediatrician, Dr. Bessom. I was really glad to have him there to meet her and to listen to all my questions and the answers and to just hear about the boys in general.

The big guys got great feedback! The doctor said that they are looking good and doing what they're supposed to be doing. She really didn't have any concerns. What a relief!

We got updated weights and lengths. I know I just posted some measurements from the pulmonologist from last week, but I don't think their scale was correct. The weights this week are significantly different from last week and I don't think the boys put on that much weight in one week. The weights we got yesterday seem a little more realistic. So, without further ado...

Stokes - 12.56 lb, 24.25"
Ryan - 12.09 lb, 23.75"
William - 14.78 lb, 24.25"

I don't put too much stock into the lengths because it can vary so much depending on who is taking the measurements and how straight they can get the baby's leg, etc. Want to hear some good news?!?!?! William is on the 6 month growth chart! Woo hoo!  He's the 7th percentile...so he's still little for 6 months, but the important thing is that he's on the chart. Stokes and Ryan have a great upward curve on their growth measurements but they aren't quite on the 6 month chart yet. I bet if we saw their measurements on the 3 month growth chart (their adjusted age) they would be rocking it out!

The appointment went well, we were pleased with how the boys acted and their weights and it felt great to leave without concerns.

On another note, the babies got the opportunity to spend some time with someone very special this past Saturday. My longtime friend, Corey, came by to see the little guys and it was so great to see her! She met the boys once before but this time she got to spend some good, quality time with them. Corey means so much to our family. She, her sister and her mom are like my second family. I love them all to pieces, as does Thomas! They are the kindest, most selfless, not to mention hilarious, people I know. Corey was in town for her sister, Beth's, wedding celebration party. Woo hoo!

I hope that the boys will grow up knowing Corey's daughters, Molly and Kate. They would be great friends and role models for the boys. Here are some pictures of our time together.

Corey holding Ryan

Corey and me with the boys (their hilarious onesies say Baby A, Baby B & Baby C...LOL! From my bestie, Colby)

Letting the boys interact with each other 

Corey with William and Ryan 

I want to give a shout out to Corey's friends in Charlotte that read this blog and pray for us. Corey is always telling me sweet things about y'all and I really appreciate your support! By the way, I've gotten some great clothes and baby gear from y'all...thank you! :)

6 Months Old

Today marks the day that our boys turned 6 months old. They have come such a long way in 6 short months. They are miracles and such incredible little people. I thank God for giving these sweet babies to Thomas and me. I don't know what we did to deserve them, but the good Lord smiled down on us when he gave us these blessings.

The boys are only 3 months adjusted age. Although it is a little confusing, we have to think of them in their adjusted age when it comes to size/weight, development and milestones. So far they are really doing so well. We take the babies to lots of appointments to make sure we stay on top of any issues that arise and keep our finger on the pulse on their development. We try to do a lot of "tummy time" based on the suggestions and homework given at basically all of our appointments. They continue to progress and I truly believe they will "catch up" to babies their age at some point.

The last six months have gone by really quickly, which apparently is a recurring theme when you have children. A dear friend of mine always reminds me to think back 30 days at any given point in time to take a second to realize how far they've come. Each week gets easier and easier as I learn more about how to be a mom and they learn well, pretty much everything. These babies are taking in the world and learning so much. They are so very loved by their parents and all their family members and friends they've met over the last 6 months.

William
William went from being the smallest baby to the biggest...by a pretty good margin. It's crazy to hold him after holding one of the others to feel the weight difference. He is sturdy! He's currently wearing 3-6 month clothes and is in size 2 diapers. He is a GREAT eater and finishes his bottle each time and is taking about 5-6 oz per bottle. The more ounces we put in the bottle, the more he drinks. I swear, I think we could put 10 oz in his bottle and he would finish it! He still spits up a good bit, but it doesn't seem to bother him very much, thanks to his reflux medicine. He gets generic Prilosec twice a day. William has found his mouth and loves to suck on his fingers. He makes the sweetest noises when he's sucking on his fingers. It's a soothing thing for him. His hair is getting thicker (especially in the front) and is still so dark. He has such an adorable smile and smiles the most when he's on the changing table. I don't know if that means he likes getting his diaper changed, or whether he just likes the angle of having his Mom or Dad looking down at him! He has the softest skin I've ever felt and I really enjoy putting lotion on him. He will put his hands around my hands when I am feeding him and every now and them he will grab his bottle. He has even held it himself for a little while a few times! He has stopped crying so much and is much calmer than he used to be. He loves to snuggle and it's awesome to hold him and let him nuzzle in my neck.

Stokes
I think Stokes is our little comedian. He is so funny and LOVES to smile and laugh. He is really quite charming as well. Everyone that is around him just falls in love with him. He has these big, intense eyes and will look into the eyes of whoever is holding, feeding or playing with him. His eyelashes are so long and thick and beautiful! It's so easy to get him to smile, which is so rewarding. He is still wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. He typically drinks about 3-4 oz per bottle. He's taking generic Zantac medicine for reflux 3 times a day. He has a very high pitched, shrill cry and some days he really likes to use it! We still call him pterodactyl when he does that. We continue to swaddle Stokes at night, although we've stopped swaddling his brothers. Stokes tends to wake up a few times throughout the night every so often (including the last 3 nights) and the swaddle seems to help. He loves kicking his legs and moving his arms around when he's laying on a blanket. He kicks pretty hard and makes thumping noises when his heels hit the floor and his Dad called him Thumper the other day. His hair is starting to come in a little more and is also pretty dark. I love it so much when he sneezes because 1) it's adorable and 2) the noises he makes are hilarious. He has begun "talking" to is and making sounds. He actually said Mama last week! I had several witnesses that heard it...or at least heard something that sounded like Mama.

Ryan
Ryan is so super sweet. He is quiet and a little more reserved than his brothers. He doesn't smile a whole lot yet but has given us a few grins and they were extremely cute! Ryan looks the most different out of the three and has lighter skin, eyes and hair than his brothers. Speaking of hair, he has a lot less than the others as well. He was struggling with eating for a while but is taking reflux medicine and seems to be doing better. He typically drinks about 4-5 oz per feeding and gets his Prilosec twice a day. He wears 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. He is long and lean and we are still working on getting more rolls on him! I think he just has a different body type than his brothers though. Ryan is so strong and can hold his head up really well. He rolls over often and loves to move. He will bicycle with his legs and wave his arms around when he's playing. I keep thinking he might grow up to be athletic. He naps and sleeps really well and I hate waking him up from his nap to eat each day. He's so groggy when I wake him up but he's so sweet and cute. He has a laid back demeanor and I just adore holding him. I tend to worry more about Ryan and I am very protective of him.

Their Dad and I love each of these boys to the moon and back. They are the best thing that's ever happened to us. They are doing great but still have some hurdles and obstacles that they need to overcome. Please continue to pray for them as we do daily.

Here are some outtakes of our photo shoot from this morning. I love the outtakes too because they make me laugh. :) They are getting too big to really fit in this chair in their nursery so I had to basically lay Ryan on the top of Stokes and William. I don't think he was very comfortable...haha. Sorry, Ryan! They're in A, B,C order: Stokes, Ryan and William.