Four Month Check-Up

Hi! The four-month visit at the pediatrician went great!

Avery: 22 in. long and 10 pounds
Adam: 21 1/2 in. long and 11-6 pounds
Aaron: 21 1/2 in. long and 11-2 pounds

The babies are getting to be so big!! They had their 2nd round of immunizations along with their RSV shots. It was pretty rough on everyone...Mom and Chelsea included!

Tuesday John and I took all the babies to Cook's. Avery had a follow-up suck/swallow study. She did great! No more Thick-It in her bottles! We also went to the NICU and visited with Ms. Brandy. The babies did so well all day.

They started eating cereal on Wednesday night. It was so funny! John has never fed a baby cereal, so it was a learning adventure for him as well. This morning the babies ate their whole bowls of cereal! They are really getting the hang of it!

Finally...a picture of the babies with Ms. Chelsea! She is so amazing....we are truly blessed to have her! Also, there are pictures of the babies eating cereal. (Adam has the red bib).

Four Months Old!

The babies turned 4 months old on Friday! John and I can't believe how big they have gotten! Everyone is holding up their heads very well, smiling, cooing...their personalities are really starting to shine.

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. My parents came down Wednesday and stayed until Friday. We took the babies to my sister's house in Mansfield for a few hours on Thursday. Then John's mom and niece came down for the weekend and we had Thanksgiving with them on Saturday. It was a great holiday. I also got the Christmas tree up this weeeknd too. The babies love looking at the lights.

Wednesday we go for their 4 month check-up. Of course they will have to get shots...the bad part...but they will also be weighed and measured. It's been a month since we've weighed them, so I'm anxious to see how big they are! We will also be talking to the doctor about adding cereal to their diet. I bet that really lengthens their sleep.

Last night the boys went 9 hours between feeds! We fed them at 7:30 and put them to bed. Avery woke up hungry at 1:30 AM so I fed her, but the boys were out so I just let them sleep. They didn't wake up until 4:30 AM! By that time Avery was ready to eat again, so it worked out great. Keep your fingers crossed that this continues!

Pictures: Me, Joni (my sister), and Tyler (my nephew)...The triplets in their Pods. They love sitting up and watching football!! Seriously...they like football. Yeah!! And a Christmas ornament from my mom.

The Power Family Follies

We fed the babies at 7:00 last night and put them to bed. They were all pretty hungry and tired, so John and I figured it was time for them to wrap up their day.

At 12:15 AM Cletus's wet nose woke me out of a deep sleep. (The babies were still sleeping!) I let Cletus outside to use the bathroom and upon him finishing, snuggled back into bed. About 15 minutes later, Cletus was laying his head on my chest. "Do you need to potty again?" I asked him. He just wagged his tail, so I got up. (The babies were still sleeping!) I walked into the living room to find Bella eating a bag she had found in the trash. "Bella get back to bed!" She looked so guilty, and Cletus was obviously telling on her.

We return to the bedroom and I hear Avery rooting around. I pick her up and hold her for a few minutes thinking she will drift off to sleep. Nope...she was ready to eat. The boys were sacked out, so I took her into the living room and fed her. About the time I finished with her, I could hear the boys waking up. I put Avery in a swing, grabbed Adam and Aaron, and fed them too.

I take Adam back to bed first. I no more lay him down than he starts spitting up. I quickly scoop him up and take him into the nursery to get new clothes. I wipe him down, change his clothes, wrap him in a blanket, and we are off to bed. I put down a waterproof mat over the spit-up so that he doesn't sleep in it...then I can change the sheets in the morning.

Back to the living room to get Aaron, who is asleep in his Boppy. I wrap him in his blanket, and lay him in bed. (Adam is already asleep...whew...) Then, back to the living room to get Avery. I turn on a small light so I can see what I'm doing, and notice that Aaron has spit up. I put Avery in bed and grab Aaron. The spit up was EVERYWHERE! The whole back of his head was covered!

OK...back to the other bathroom. Aaron gets a bath, change of clothes, and a new blanket. I grab another waterproof pad to lay in the crib, and I put him down in bed. I snuggle down in bed, and Aaron starts crying. I realize he's probably hungry, so I get up, make a bottle and feed him again. A good burp and 2 1/2 hours after it all started...I finally get back in bed, have a good laugh, and thank God for our children.

Of course I could have gotten John up, but it was just a series of events one right after the other...thank Goodness it didn't happen all at once!

Now for pictures....Chelsea put Avery in the clothes hamper after getting the clothes out of the dryer. She looks so cute! Aaron is "Captain Drool," and Adam is smiling at Chelsea's boyfriend Carl. Also, the boys are tired after yesterday's walk, and Avery is smiling at her daddy.

We are sleeping more!

I'm happy to report that the babies are sleeping more at night. They usually go 4 1/2-5 hours between their last feed of the day and first of the night. Instead of the schedule being 9 PM--12 AM--3AM--6 AM, it now looks more like 7:30 PM--12:30 AM--4:30 AM--7:30 AM. Yeah!!

They are doing so well! Smiling, cooing, holding their heads up...it's so much fun to play with them. They have also discovered the TV. And I'm sorry to report that they have the "Power Stare." (Eyes fixed, mouth open..bombs could be going off and they would never know it). Some things are just genetically imprinted. (Adam is on the left of the group, and in the light blue shirt of the individuals).

Life with Triplets: Warning I wrote a novel!

Hello! I was watching TLC this week about other parents with triplets. It's funny because I see it on TV and think, "Man, those parents have so much work to do." But, we live it, and don't think a thing about it. I guess someone could tape our daily lives-- all the bottles, diapers, and formula, and it would look much worse than it feels. The fact is, three babies is all we've ever known. I felt so naked when I just took Avery to the doctor last Friday--just one baby--it seemed like a breeze! Our babies are very good natured, however, and I know that makes a HUGE difference! I'll take our three babies over one crying, fussy baby any day! Now, don't get me wrong, it is extremely difficult taking care of three babies. But we wouldn't have it any other way!

The babies are all eating so well. The boys are taking almost 4 oz. per feeding, and Avery is up to 100 ml (3 1/2 oz). Since we switched her to the boys' formula, she has been sucking it down like there is no tomorrow. We are going through one can of formula every day. For those math types: $17/can X 7 days a week =$119/week. We are so fortunate from people's generosity, though, because we have not bought one single diaper or wipee since the babies have been home.

My parents came to visit last weekend (I've included pictures). It was great to have them here because John had gone duck hunting. They really helped a ton! John was excited to hunt, but he missed the babies so much. I had to email him after every feed so that he would know how the babies ate and how they were doing. When he got home I bet he kissed on them for two hours straight.

The cutest thing happened yesterday. To understand, you have to know that Adam is our pensive child. He looks at things and studies them very carefully. Because he is always so deep in thought, he smiles the least of the three. Anyway, Chelsea and I were playing with the babies on the floor. She picked up Avery, and after playing with her, started to lay her back down by Adam. When Adam made eye contact with Avery, he got the hugest smile on his face! Chelsea and I looked at each other to make sure we both saw it! Then, last night, John was holding Adam. I put Avery close to him and he did the exact same thing. How sweet!!

Avery has been rolling over from her tummy to her back, and the boys are sitting up while holding my hands. They are all getting so strong and changing so much. Enjoy the pictures! (Geez...I had lots to say today!)

Smiling and Cooing

The boys are now smiling too! And both of them have started cooing! I love their little voices! I've tried for 3 days to get a good picture, but haven't had any luck. I did take this one of their Camo Dinosaur outfits. I thought they looked cute. Aaron is on the left....and Adam was MAD!

Wednesday they had RSV shots (a new shot to help prevent RSV). They will take them every month from October through April during RSV season. RSV is essentially the human cold virus, and it is very dangerous for preemies. That is why we have to be so cautious about taking the babies out to places, and making sure that everyone that comes over washes their hands thoroughly. Before we left the NPCU, Dr. Grubbs warned us that RSV would easily land the babies back into the hospital. When we went for shots the babies were weighed. Aaron is 9 lbs. 10 oz, Adam 9 lbs. 8 oz, and Avery 8 lbs 5 oz. Adam gained 12 ozs last week! They are all doing so well!!

Avery's visit to the cardiologist went great today. She has two small holes in the arteries leading to the lungs (They are called PDAs). It's common in preemies. The cardiologist said that he feels certain the holes will close by the time she is one, and there is no affect on her heart function. She had an EKG and an echocardiogram. She did great during both tests...just smiling at the x-ray tech! We don't have any other doctor's appointments until Nov. 28th! YEAH!!!

Last night the babies went 5 hours between one of their feeds! We fed them at 7:30 because they were acting like they were starving. (Although they ate at 6:00). I decided to try putting them to bed to see what would happen. Well, they didn't wake up until 1:15 this morning! I couldn't believe it! Of course I woke up in a panic when I saw what time it was...I think all moms do that the first time their babies sleep longer. We'll see how tonight goes...

Love to you all!