We All Want a Story

Every night I have stories about our day for Keith. If we chat mid-day then I may tell him quickly over the phone, but mostly I get to see his cheerful grin or look of compassion in person after a long day of work... for both of us.

Today's top stories are short, simple and all happened in a matter of 60 seconds.

STORY #1: After bath I was noticing how adorable Madison was for lying down and trying to put on her own diaper. They have really started to understand more about diapers and dirties, partly because I show dirties to them occasionally (how else will they know what it looks like?), partly because I have been doing things such as tapping on their bottom when I ask them if they have a dirty (so now sometimes they touch their bottoms too), and partly because we have started to let them see us use the potty ourselves (not that we wouldn't let them before but I had always waited until they are in the gated playroom, napping, etc. to take my breaks).

STORY #2: So I was telling Madison how cute she was as I got her diapered and then reached for Hayden who was naked and squatting as she read a book - a typical toddler position. As soon as I lifted her up I saw that she left a few treats behind on the carpet. So I quickly reach for a wipe and get her diapered as I tell Madison, who is admiring the new carpet bling, and Payson "no touch, dirty" over and over and over.

STORY #3: While still repeating "no touch, dirty" and similar phrases to Madison, and now Hayden, I reach for Payson who decided that he wanted his share in this set of stories too. He kindly left behind a little puddle of pee on the carpet to mark his favorite reading spot.

Honestly! But I guess I can't really complain. After all, this was the first accident of either kind on the carpet and they are 16 months old. But still, why did it have to be when I was all alone and all at once?

I am a little behind on posting so I have a whole group of super-fun pictures to post. The triplets' cousin, Addison, had a petting zoo at her 2nd birthday party and the babies loved absolutely everything about it.

Madison petting a goat.

Hayden fittingly sitting with the bunnies (she loves all things soft and loves stuffed bunnies).

Madison kept walking over to Grandma to touch her hand through the gate - just to say hi - SO sweet!

Hayden pretend petting.

Payson quacking at the duck.


Keith and I darted over to Madison when she picked up this big turtle on her own. Then she proceeded to poke him in the face, poor guy.

The babies admiring the little pig. Madison even imitated his incredibly loud squealing.

This has got to be the sweetest picture.
















QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Young guy: "Wow. Can I have one?"
Me: Fake laugh (I really pulled it off well, though)
Young guy: "They're all the same kind!" (as in "Why not?")

Actually, one is an alien. And, uh, just because they were all born at the same time doesn't mean one is disposable!

Bird Eggs and Easter Eggs

RSV season is finally OVER! We are getting out nearly every day and loving it. The babies' first Easter Egg hunt was our first official outing, and for Easter weekend we took the babies to church and to our family Easter gathering. What fun it is to go beyond these four walls after *6 MONTHS* of RSV lockdown!
Little Easter bunnies

After church the babies got to "open" their Easter baskets. Kinda like opening stockings on Christmas day.

Family Easter Egg hunt with cousins

Grandkids with Pops and Nunie on Easter

Hayden riding cousin Avery's big wheel which is intended for big girls.

The big wheel really was too big for Hayden. She loved riding on it but had some trouble with her dismount. Watch the video below. Can you guess how this story ends?


We have also started going to the playground on a regular basis. At first I went with a friend but then decided it was time to try to take the babies alone. Crazy? Yes. Doable? Yes, for now. I go with the attitude that if they start running off in all different directions or all climbing in unsafe areas at the same time that we will just leave. More often than not we are able to stay a good 20-30 minutes and come back worn out and ready for a solid afternoon nap!


Our family has multiplied! We have a momma bird that has decided to lay her eggs in a flower pot just outside the door on our back patio. Last week, before I saw her, I walked outside and she flew off hitting the fan on her way out. I thought "what was she doing under here?" Then a few days later Keith went outside and she flew off again this time hitting the window! The pot is too high for me to see inside, but he saw the two little reasons for her presence right away. Lying perfectly inside on an ivy leaf were two bright white eggs. We immediately showed the babies, and now we take care to enter her territory calmly and quietly as not to spook her and interrupt her precious nesting.

This is what toddlers look like when they are desperate to be on the other side of the door.

Here's what happens when daddy fixes the girls' hair!

Madison grabbed her plate and spoon for a little pretend play under the kitchen table. This is a new development and one that will certainly flourish over the years to come.

Hayden learning how to eat a stick of string cheese.

Multiple Birth Awareness Month

April 2009 is the first ever Multiple Birth Awareness Month. Since I am so plugged into the multiples community in my area and nationally, my first reaction was, "Why do we need an awareness month?"

But after thinking about it a minute I knew the answer. Parents of multiples, especially high order multiples (three or more) have special challenges. Special circumstances and special needs. We live in the world of $1000 strollers, buying everything times three, awkward and personal questions by strangers, trying to produce enough milk for three, going from a family of two to family of five in less than 60 seconds and being left out of simple outings with friends because it is often too difficult or simply not possible to do it without help (such as going to the pool with other moms and their singletons).

I am so thankful for the many local and national organizations that provide me with support, and I think the addition of Multiple Birth Awareness Month will only provide more opportunities for parents of multiples to be plugged in and linked with others who share their same unique needs.

Pictured with Casey and Misty, two of my good friends with quads, at a multiples event.

Here's an article about multiple birth

rates that I found interesting:

Multiple birth rates for 2006 were released in January 2009. Here are some highlights:

Twin Birth Rate
The 2006 twin birth rate was 32.2 per 1,000. This remained unchanged from 2005 and 2004.
The number of live births in twin deliveries rose 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 to 137,085 births. This number has more than doubled since 1980 (from 68,339).
137,085 twins were born in 2006

Higher Order Multiples
The rate of triplet and higher order multiple births (quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets and septuplets) continued to decrease in 2006. The 2006 rate was 153.3 per 100,000 births compared to 161.8 in 2005 and 176.9 in 2004.
In 2006, the number of higher order multiple deliveries were:
6,118 triplets
355 quadruplets
67 quintuplets
0 sextuplets or septuplets

Multiple Birth Death Rates
Twins are five times more likely than singletons to die within a month of birth. Triplets are nearly 15 times more likely to die within a month of birth. (From 2005 data.)

Impact of Fertility Treatments
Assisted reproductive therapies (including in vitro, ovulation-inducing drugs and artificial insemination) account for 17 percent of all twins and 40 percent of all triplets born in 2004.

Maternal Age Factors
Older women are much more likely to give birth to twins or triplets. One of every five births to women 45 years of age and older was born in twin delivery compared with less than two of every 100 births to mothers 20-24 years of age.
20 percent of births to women over age 45 were twins.
Only 2 percent of mothers 20-24 years of age had twins.

Preterm Birth Rates
A trend towards shorter pregnancies with multiples was observed. The percentage of twins delivered preterm (prior to 37 weeks) rose to 60.4% in 2006. This compares to 11.1% for single birth babies.
Less than 40% of twins were born at 37 weeks or later.
More than 12% were born prior to 32 weeks gestation.
36.33% of triplets were born prior to 32 weeks.
About 80% of quads and higher were born before 32 weeks.

First Easter Stampede

The babies had their first Easter hunt, which was more like a stampede, and they loved every minute of it! It was with my local multiples group and there were twins, triplets and quads filling their baskets every which way you looked.

Unfortunately our neighborhood egg hunt was at the same time on the same day so we first made a stop to visit with some members of my playgroup and take a few pictures amongst all of the colorful eggs.














Now at the multiples party, the kids loved playing on the small playground and later enjoyed their first hay ride.

Hayden wasn't going to let the rope hold her back.

Seriously, she wanted those eggs!

And they're off! The babies were more than thrilled to run around in the open grass. I was actually able to catch the girls in the same photo!

Hayden FINALLY able to hunt and open her first egg!

Payson was happy to stay in one place so he could sort, open and group his eggs.

Madison did great at putting the eggs in her basket but didn't want to put this special "Hop" egg down.

It didn't take long for Hayden to spot a dog which immediately became more popular than the egg hunt.

Family fun

We were so lucky that Pops and Nunie joined us so we could better keep track of the kids and have an extra set of hands to take pictures and video. The kids loved sharing their treats with them too.

Madison and Payson were spooked when the pony walked right up to them and stuck his face in theirs. Madison bolted towards me while sobbing and Payson crouched down and bawled big tears.

Hayden just loves animals and she warmed up to the pony quickly even petting him on the nose.