First Family Road Trip

The babies are rocking on all fours and experimenting with putting one knee forward, straitening a leg, hopping their legs forward, etc. It has come time to babyproof this house because it looks like we will have crawlers before long! And because they are sitting up so well we have moved to using bath seats and bathing them all together. They love getting to sit up and spend all of their time trying to grab the floating toys.

We took our first trip together as a family this last weekend to visit Grammy and G.P. Although the babies didn't love being in their carseats for 4 1/2 hours they did remarkably well. In fact, Keith and I both agree that the drive was even less grueling with three little fun munchkins in tow. We all had a great time and we were so impressed with how well the babies slept and took in their new surroundings.

The trio is now 8 months old. They are also 6 months past their due date which is when the pediatrician suggested starting rice cereal. I have been more than happy to wait until now to begin this time-consuming and messy process but the time had come and I couldn't put it off any longer. Payson was a pro, of course, after having several weeks of eating prunes under his belt. He loves eating and has great form, opening his mouth and "chewing" each bite perfectly. Hayden took to it very quickly. She eagerly opened her mouth for each bite and, to no one's surprise, tried to help hold and guide the spoon. Madison didn't like getting into the high chair, let alone have some foreign object guide some nasty slop into her mouth. After all, she does have two teeth so she must feel she is ready for something not so elementary.

Another big change in the Melker household is that I finally stopped pumping expressed breastmilk after doing so for 3-5 hours/day for the last 8 months. It was extremely difficult for me and I initially thought I would be able to handle pumping just a few times a day but my supply diminished and couldn't handle the change. I really have a love/hate relationship with my pump. I love how it enabled me to provide the babies with the nourishment they needed particularly in those early preemie months but hate how much pain and discomfort it put me through and how it robbed me of so much time, sleep and freedom. Not only did it prevent me from leaving the house for more than a few hours at a time but it kept me confined to the couch when I wanted to be holding my babies or when they needed me to soothe them. In the end we decided that in those moments it was better to get them the best nutrition possible and I can only credit the Lord for giving me the strength to continue pumping for so long. Last week it was time to return the rented pump to the hospital and I'm not sure if I was kissing the pump because of all it did for our little ones or because I was thrilled to be kissing it goodbye but I think it was a little of both.

Recently our neighbor-hood playgroup went "Strollerskating" which was surprisingly a pretty good workout. I'm sure we were quite the scene with my big ole' Babyburban strolling around the rink. Good times. And while away for the weekend we got to go to a baby shower for Keith's high school friends, Matt and Lisa, allowing us to catch up with friends and see all of their new babies.

And here's a little song to leave you with...

Sitting and Stealing

The babies are sitting up by themselves for long periods of time these days but do best with the added support of a boppy pillow which also acts as a buffer to pad their fall. They are very agile now though and if they fall they just roll over or reposition themselves so that they can continue to play on their backs or tummies.

"Circle time" has moved from the babies being on their tummies on their boppies to sitting in their bumbos to sitting on their own in their boppies. And these days there is a lot of toy stealing going on. Although there are a few shared favorites, it's not a particular toy they want it's simply the toy that the other baby has - likely because of the movement and sound it makes when another baby is playing with it.


Hayden can hold her own bottle for longer than half a feeding though it's still a little too heavy to hold it the entire time and for every feeding. She gets excited to see her bottle and reaches for it with a smile. Payson and Madison can hold theirs some too but would much rather sit back and have the blanket prop it for them. They have all found their feet and love to play with them and put them in their mouths. Payson plays with his mostly during feeding time and when he is hanging out in his crib waiting for us to get him.

Payson is also now a pro prune-eater although you wouldn't know it by the picture and video showing the very first time he ate the solid food. We haven't officially started solids yet but ever since I started adding more formula to their bottles he has needed a little help getting things moving. Yes, I am still pumping, but am only doing so a few times a day so they now get more formula than they do breastmilk.


Madison may be our youngest and smallest baby but she is the first one to get a tooth! And not only that, but she got her second tooth just 4 days later! She was in the best mood the two weeks before they came in so I had no real indication that they were about to make their big appearance.

The babies also got their first cold last week. Thankfully it was just a mild summer cold but nothing is mild around here when you multiply it by three. We didn't lose too much sleep and everyone is already feeling better.

In The News

The babies made their first media appearance today in the local newspaper both in print and online (Multiple Blessings). There are more photos in the paper copy but the online version is accompanied by some video footage. It is all very accurate but definitely not as easy as they made it look!

A New Record

We have a new record for the Melker-babies-and-friends couch line-up. Sunday the babies finally met their quad buddies so there were a total of *7* babies with the Melker babies surrounded by Gerwer's on all sides.

(l-r: Trey, Hayden, Cameron, Madison, Reid, Payson & Brady)

We had a great time with Casey and Robbie talking about all of the usual current hot topics of our world: poopies, rolling and other milestones, schedules, RSV season and other major multiple issues - like how hard it is to simply get out of the house!

Casey and I were on hospital bedrest at the same time, different hospitals. Her babies were born exactly 4 weeks after mine and are only 5.5 weeks younger by adjusted age (due date). The helmets in the pictures are cranial bands that her babies will wear for a few months to help correct the shape of their heads - a common preemie issue.

During playtime Payson was doing his usual yell/scream/holla thing while face to face with his new buddy Trey. Trey didn't seem to mind at first but instantly became frightened and burst out into a cry. I can't believe I'm raising a bully! He likes to do the yelling back and forth with Keith and me as well and one time, after several minutes of mimicry, Keith scared Payson into a cry as well. It happens. Playful yelling, even when started by the baby, can be very scary sometimes!

The littlest Melker and Gerwer babies bonded quickly and Madison was eager to give Reid's helmet a try.