Twelve months...adjusted

Today is the 15th month birthday for the boys, which also means that they're finally 1 year old (adjusted for prematurity). Yesterday was actually their full term due date birthday.

I want to apologize for my short break from the blog. It wasn't intentional, but we've been busy! Thanks for checking the blog and sorry for no new posts for a while. In addition to being busy, we spent a week at my Mother-in-law's house (MaSha), so stay tuned for a post about that.

There are lots of new things going on around here!

Now that the boys are over a year old, I'm not doing my monthly updates and keeping track of all the little things that are happening. Here's a brief overview.

Updates for my 15 month olds...

Stokes - TOOK HIS FIRST STEP YESTERDAY! Ahhhh! It was just one step. Then he chickened out and sat down. I knew it was coming, but I couldn't believe it. Thomas unfortunately missed it and Stokes wouldn't do it again last night...or today, for that matter...but I'm sure he's going to start walking soon and not stop. He's super ticklish and has the funniest little laugh. He's a wild man and is constantly on the move...and he moves FAST! He pulls himself up on everything and can stand independently. Speaking of pulling himself up, he loves to stand on top of things. He will stand on top of his seahorse toy in his crib and will find anything and everything to stand on inside his play yard so that he can be taller and see over the top.

Ryan - doing great with his therapies. We are going to have him evaluated for speech therapy soon and so he'll probably begin that in the near future as well. He has begun making more sounds though. He's not saying words or using consonants, but he's definitely vocally communicating. He's getting stronger and stronger each day and has the best, most easy-going, sweet-natured personality you've ever seen! His therapists love him and although they don't technically say it, I get the feeling that he is the favorite client of each of them! His hair has gotten so curly after we give him a bath. You can't tell after it dries, but it's full of curls when it's wet.

William - is such a people person. He wants to be held a lot and loves coming over to climb up in my lap whenever I'm sitting down in the floor. He's very perceptive and loves to learn new things. He recently started holding his arms up and doing the touchdown pose whenever we say "Touchdown!". He immediately starts clapping after that because as soon as he does "touchdown", we always say, "YAYYYY!" He's crawling a lot now, but still moves at his own speed. He can't quite keep up with Stokes from a speed standpoint. William LOVES books and will forego other toys to grab a book and page through it.

As of yesterday, I've done away with the bottles. For the most part anyways! Ryan's not quite ready for a sippy cup full time, so he's still on his bottles. He's getting a mixture of formula and whole milk. Stokes and William, on the other hand, are FINISHED with their bottles and formula. They've moved on, and so have I! I am excited about only having 4 bottles to wash each day vs. 12.

The boys go for the 15 month well check with the pediatrician tomorrow so I'll have an update for you about that. I just feel like I have so much new info to share with you, but I don't want to put it all in one post. So I'm going to spread it out and build suspense. Hee hee!

Return to the Neurologist

We had an appointment today with Ryan's neurologist, Dr. Taft. Don't worry, nothing's wrong! It was a pre-scheduled follow-up appointment to touch base. Dr. Taft was pleased with Ryan and his progress. It's clear that he is still significantly developmentally delayed, but we're seeing good things from him and Dr. Taft pointed out a lot of positives - he's very clearly engaged with his surroundings and will follow you with his eyes. He's come a long way with his head control and is getting much stronger over all. There is some concern about his eating. He doesn't do very well with solids and I'm still mostly feeding him pureed baby food. I'll sneak in a little bit of the food that his brothers are eating and sometimes he'll eat it and sometimes he won't. He also doesn't have a huge appetite, which is a side effect of his anti-seizure medicine, Topamax. He doesn't drink from a sippy cup much, but I still offer it to him at each meal. I'm sure he'll get it at some point. Dr. Taft suggested that I get some feeding help from his therapists and possibly get a specialist to help out at some point as needed.

We'll have another follow-up appointment in about 3 months and Ryan will have another EEG at that time. Dr. Taft also said he wants to get another MRI sometime next spring or summer to see what's going on with Ryan's brain. He will be able to compare it to the 2 MRIs that Ryan's already had and hopefully get some more information for us.

My handsome boy in the waiting room

Selfie with Mama while waiting on the Dr.

Happy homecoming annivesary, William

It's been exactly one year since William came home from the NICU after spending the first 74 days of his life there. Here's his discharge post.

William was my smallest son at birth and took the longest out of the 3 of them to learn how to take a bottle, which was one of his main obstacles to being discharged from the NICU. He is now the biggest and is the best eater. My, how times have changed!

At the time, Ryan had been home for almost a week and Stokes had been at home for 4 days, so I had gotten into my routine and had come to the reassuring conclusion that I could, indeed, handle 2 newborns. I knew bringing William home would change the game. I knew I would get even less sleep than what I was currently getting. I knew that I would have to do each task one more time than what I was currently doing. I knew it was going to be hard and I would be exhausted. I also knew that it would all be worth it.

Somehow and some way, I wasn't as scared for William to come home. I knew by then that I could keep them all alive, which was my main goal at that time. I'm being completely serious here! I knew we could all survive and so I decided to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and I got my mindset into a "let's do it" mode. I would maybe compare bringing triplets home to ripping off a Band-Aid. It's kind of scary but it has to happen. I didn't want to delay the inevitable, so I thought we should get the (triplet) party started.

William cried. A lot. He was not a very happy newly discharged preemie. We later discovered that he had reflux, which caused his crying and fussiness. At the time when he came home, I had no idea about his reflux. That being said, I was so happy to have him home. I finally felt like my family was complete. I needed all 3 boys at home to make this whole thing feel "real".

MaSha came to help out once all of the boys were home and I was so glad to have her here with me. If I remember correctly, Thomas took a few days off work as well. It was a 3 person job in the beginning!

William, you are so incredibly sweet and loving. You completed us and we all thank you for that! Happy homecoming anniversary to my sweet pea!

November 7, 2013

In his car seat and ready to go

Thomas, William and me.
MaSha was waiting in the car with Ryan
and Stokes.

Home sweet home

Sleeping with his brothers for the first time

Ryan, William and Stokes - my 3 peas in a pod

I think this is our first family picture
all together at home. Look how small the
boys look! They look like little dolls!!!

November 7, 2014...

 

 

Happy homecoming anniversary, Stokes

On this day one year ago, Stokes came home after spending 70 days in the NICU. He came home on an apnea monitor, but otherwise healthy and perfect! Here's my post about him coming home.

I remember very distinctly that I had a breakdown in the NICU when they suggested that Stokes be discharged. At that time, Thomas was at home with Ryan and I was visiting Stokes and William in the safety and comfort of the NICU, where the boys were being very well taken care of by a team of qualified and confident nurses and doctors. I didn't feel ready to have 2 babies at home. I didn't feel adequate. I didn't think I could handle it and take care of both of them. We didn't have any family scheduled to come for a few more days and I was terrified of taking care of 2 newborns. I must have seemed so shaken and unstable about the whole thing that the neonatologist offered to keep Stokes in the NICU for another day or 2 so I could wrap my head around the upcoming change. I had a little breakdown, but decided to suck it up and be a real mom. I told the staff there that I wanted him to come home that day, even though I was very scared. They kept asking me if I was sure. I must have really seemed kind of crazy for them to be so concerned. But I had made my decision and stuck by it.

Thomas and I were really unsure how the first night was going to go down. Both boys slept in our bedroom in a pack n play. Everything went as well as can be expected. I think I needed a smooth night and relatively easy transition so that I didn't completely break down and really lose it. My confidence in being a mother was very shaky and in hindsight, I think God was looking out for me that night.

Stokes, you make every day fun and exciting. You always keep us on our toes and we love you for it. Happy homecoming anniversary!

November 3, 2013

In the car seat and ready to go

Time to head out! Thomas was waiting
outside in the car with Ryan.

Thomas with both boys

Stokes swaddled up

Stokes (left) and Ryan (right)

November 4, 2014....


Handsome boy

Yep, you guessed it - he can STAND now

He's so proud of himself

Happy homecoming anniversary, Ryan

On this day last year, Ryan came home after spending 68 days in the NICU. It was a HUGE day for us. Remember this post?

Although his first birthday has come and gone, today almost feels like his real first birthday for me. This marks one year of me being the main caregiver for Ryan. It's been one year since he became a resident of this home.

I remember how nervous and scared I was to bring him home. I was so very excited, but so nervous. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to really care for him. I was worried that I wouldn't be a good enough mom. I was worried about not getting sleep and the exhaustion that comes with having a newborn. I was also worried about not being able to go to the NICU to spend time with Stokes and William. Once discharged from the NICU, a child is not able to go back in, with the exception of sibling visiting hours, so I couldn't take Ryan to the NICU with me. I didn't want to abandon his brothers, but they had nurses taking care of them and my main job was to be at home to take care of Ryan. I could only go visit when Thomas was at home from work and could keep Ryan.

I'm still so proud of the fact that he came home first, before either of his brothers. What a stud!

Happy homecoming anniversary to my sweet, darling angel baby, Ryan!

November 1, 2013...


Leaving the hospital in a
wheelchair, just like a new mom
and a newborn baby!!!




Loaded in the car

First night at home!

November 1, 2014...



Happy Halloween!

Well, it's Halloween. Or as we like to call it this year, Hallo-bee-n! So punny. Here are a few more little jokies for you.

Don't worry, bee happy!

What's the buzz?

Hive five!

None of my beeswax? Ouch, that stings.

Everyone needs to bee-hive themselves.

That joke is a-pollen.

Honey, comb your hair before leaving this house.

 

Ok, ok, enough with the bee jokes. Let's bee-gin with the post. Ok, that's all. I promise I'll bee-have! I'm seriously done now.



Before it was costume time, I put the boys in their most Halloween-ish outfits...and tried to get a picture. Y'all, it's getting harder and harder to get a picture of all three of them. Stokes would not sit still and then William wanted to grab the camera. Here is what I could get.

Ryan

Such a happy little fella!

William 

Not impressed

 

Stokes

I seriously could not get one single decent picture of him!

As for costumes, we had 5 Peerys in a beehive this year - our 3 little bumblebees, a queen bee and the bee keeper. Creative genius award goes to Thomas for coming up with our fun theme. Props to him! I loved it and loved being the Queen Bee! ;)

We stopped by MaSha's to start off the Halloween festivities. By the way, MaSha moved to Greenville yesterday! Yayyyy! We're all so glad to have her here with us. We went by there to see her new house and visit with her and Aunt Jane.

The Queen Bee and her bumblebees

I love my sweet boys!

Please notice how well the crown fit me....NOT. It was a child's crown I scored at Wal-Mart for $3. Sweet.

From MaSha's house, we headed up to Thomas's office, where they do a big Halloween day and trick-or-treating. We got to see a lot of Thomas's coworkers and my former coworkers and had so much fun! They know how to do Halloween right!!!

The beekeeper and Ryan-bee

The beekeeper and William-bee

Stokes-bee, Allison, Anna and William-bee

Sweet little Ryan-bee

A swarm of bees!

Ryan-bee and Shea (aka SuperBride!)
Yes, my girl Shea just got ENGAGED! Woo hoo!

Stephanie (aka WonderWoman) with
Stokes-bee and William-bee

Brenda and Ryan-bee

Pressly and Clementine

Right after we left the office, we came to our neighborhood hot dog supper and costume contest. I had all 3 boys by myself for a few minutes before Thomas got there and had my hands completely full (and then some) so I didn't really take any pictures. Bummer.

The ONLY pic I got at the
neighborhood shin-dig

Afterwards, we came back home and attempted to take a few pictures before taking the boys inside for the night.

Stokes-bee and William-bee hanging out in the
choo choo wagon

Queen bee and Ryan-bee

Ok, I hope you find this half as funny as I did. I was trying so hard to get a picture of all 3 boys dressed up, sitting next to the jack-o-lantern. No luck. Here's a few examples of what we were working with. 

We gave up. Clearly, that picture was NOT happening. So we did parent/kiddo pictures instead! Thomas was starting to get stressed because it was past time for the boys to eat and they were hungry and moving around a lot and the trick-or-treaters were starting to come around and I was insisting on taking pictures. I actually found it all a bit funny. He wasn't amused but posed for my pictures anyway. Don't worry, I know he'll thank me later. ;)

After pictures, Thomas got the fire pit set up in the driveway and had the candy out there with him. He took care of all the trick-or-treaters while I fed the boys dinner, gave them their nighttime bottle and put them to bed. After I got everyone to bed, I joined him outside for an adult beverage and a fire on a chilly night. Pretty good stuff.

Next year we may be able to take the boys trick-or-treating, which would be so fun! If you have any good costume theme ideas for us to try, leave me a comment! The bar has been set pretty high.

 

Happy Halloween, everyone!!!!