By The Numbers

With the babies' first birthday just a few days away, I was reflecting on the last year and how three babies equals an abundance of everything. Some of these numbers are truly outrageous.

Diapers: 9,260
Ounces of breastmilk/formula: 27,260
Baby teeth: 13
Bottles made and hand-washed: 6,054
Droppers of vitamins: 1,095
Naps taken (not including Dad's): 3,978
Doctor appointments (including Mom's): 71
Pounds gained by the babies: 50
Pictures taken: 6,510

This week's baby news is that Hayden took her first step! She has repeated her effort several times and managed to get two steps in the next day before falling down. Payson and I are still trying to get over the upper respiratory/croup thing and then hopefully we will get a virus break for a while.

Payson is climbing onto and into and out of everything. He climbed out of his exersaucer and hours later climbed into the changing table. Then today I found him on a storage bin trying to cross over onto the IncrediBlock toy. I really need to be one step ahead of his efforts.



















Madison is so proud of herself when she walks with her lion push-toy, and she should be! She laughs and squeals with delight every time. Here's a little video of her in action:

Sick of Being Sick

By Thanksgiving the five of us were finally over our colds. But upon returning home Payson spiked a 102 temperature. We took him to the doctor on Tuesday and it turned out that he never fully recovered and that his cold turned into a bacterial infection. Then on Thursday we returned to the doctor for the babies monthly Synagis (RSV) shot. That evening Hayden was barking like a seal and hardly slept a wink (and you know what that means for us parents and our sleep). I returned to the doctor on Friday for the 3rd time in 4 days and learned that Hayden had Croup (dry viral cough which Madison later got as well). Since I care for the babies by myself all day, I have to wake them all up from naps and load them all up to go to the doctor. No fun when they are all sick and when you have to be obsessive about using antibacterial cleanser after every elevator button, doorknob and pen you touch.

Hayden can now stand without holding on for as long as she wants ("Look mom, no hands!") and is learning to walk while only holding onto you with one hand. Everyone loves walking with walking toys which is usually accompanied by big "I'm so proud of myself" smiles.

A few weeks back Madison laid her head down on me multiple times and later did it to Keith. Each time we would respond with an "aww" because it was just so sweet. She quickly picked up that every time we say "aww" we want her to lay her head down and snuggle. Even when we say it because another baby has fallen down, for example, she still does it from across the room. So cute.

I was making bottles and heard Payson boo-hooing from the other room. When I went in there to check on him I found what may look to you as Madison sitting on her knees.

In actuality she was sitting on Payson and he didn't like it one bit.

Payson was wearing a romper that was apparently too big because he crawled halfway out of it!

Daddy and "coach" just chillin'

Madison blowing raspberries and being silly on daddy

As Keith was about to take Payson and Hayden upstairs for their post-dinner bath they snuck a kiss

Payson found the TV and was pleased to see that football was on

They don't see their cousins much during RSV season but it was Thanksgiving and they were healthy so we made an exception.

I love how Hayden is sharing Aunt Negeen's lap and the book with cousin Addison

Avery

"read" to her baby cousins

Madison's big smile is priceless

The babies got an early Christmas present and they ripped through it! They got a Christmas Story board book about the real meaning of Christmas

Keith and I managed to sneak away for a few hours for his company's fabulous holiday party. (Thanks Aunt Nancy!)

A Change of Scenery

The babies and I were delighted to have a change of scenery for a few days while we were all at Grammy and GP's house over Thanksgiving. The babies did well on the 4-stretched-to-5 hour drive. Moments after we arrived we had already taken over the house - three pack 'n plays in three different rooms for naps, high chairs lined up on the kitchen floor, bottle station taking up a whole counter in the kitchen, refrigerator shelf stocked with formula, bottles and baby food, and the formal living room stripped of it's usual furniture and decorations and turned into baby central. Of course Grammy and GP didn't mind and were very accommodating even giving up access to their master bedroom 4 hours a day for those cherished nap times.

The babies just adored their three cousins and Chloe and Mikayla, 6 and 8 respectively, were wonderful with them. It helps that they were "trained" on their 14-month-old little sister, Emma. We still have to be careful not to expose the kids to RSV. But, we're letting them spend time with their cousins, as long as they're healthy, during the holidays.

We all enjoyed lots of good food, Wii games, outdoor playtime, roasting s'mores and a good ole' round of Nerts. Keith and I also managed to sneak out for a coffee date.

The babies are cruising along furniture really well and are all using push-toys to practice their robot walk. They understand a lot (though they are trying to make me believe they don't understand "no") and perform on demand - clap, kiss, snuggle, come here, bang, snort, shake head, etc. The babies continue to love books more and more and can't get enough of them.















The weather was surprisingly beautiful so we took several walks and were able to play outside a few times. And Payson tried his first bite of dirt (yummy!)






Payson going in for the kill. Just some brotherly and sisterly love of course!

Here are the girls' very first pigtails!

Madison and Hayden playing in the tent

The triplets' very first Thanks-giving dinner which of course included turkey and sweet potatoes!

Grammy and GP with the grandkids

Here's what we looked like trying to get the babies to look toward the camera (smiling was out of the question at this point)

Our failed attempt to get a postcard-worthy picture of the little ones on the little bench

Our turn!

A Triplet Insurrection

Sufficient unto the day is one baby. As long as you are in your right mind don't you ever pray for twins. Twins amount to a permanent riot; and there ain't any real difference between triplets and a insurrection.
- Mark Twain, The Babies speech 1879

Quick English lesson:
Insurrection- an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government

***

Of course I always post the fun and cute stuff but we do have hard minutes, hard hours and hard days. We don't usually have many of the hard weeks or months like we had early on but I know there will be more to come.

This week we did have a really hard week, the first in a long time. All five of us are sick with colds, the babies dropped their third nap and are now only taking two naps a day, we've had a total of four new teeth in just six days with a few more set to break through at any moment and, lastly, Keith was out of town.

Dinner is impossible this week because it is exactly at the same time they used to take their third nap. We dropped the nap because Payson and Madison were not really taking it anymore - at least not without lots of protesting - but they can't yet handle being up that long in the late afternoon/early evening. Madison's new thing is to throw little "fits" that consist of turning in circles over and over while crying. She goes from her hands and knees to a seated position and back to her hands and knees - over and over and over making little circles. So funny. Payson crawls around, except for when he's crying so hard that he is frozen in time, and stops and puts his head face down into the ground while tears stream down his face.

You may wonder why babies that are so upset aren't being held. Here are just a few of the things Keith and I do to prepare the babies for bed: make two trips to carry three babies upstairs, prepare bath, undress, bathe squirmy babies, brush teeth, prepare and warm bottles downstairs, carry boppies upstairs, dry, lotion, diaper, and dress babies, comb hair, carry bottles upstairs, turn on music and fan, turn off lights, lay babies down on boppies and, finally, slip bottles into babies' mouths. Then comes prayers, burping and night-night kisses. Now try all of that alone while mommy or daddy is out for the evening. Feel worn out just reading it? Exactly!

Hayden was the only one still happily taking the third nap and she is, surprisingly, doing the best with the schedule change. Well, except for at dinner time when she bats at and refuses to eat baby food, insists on pulling off her bib, screams for more finger food when she stuffs the last bite into her mouth and cries hysterically when you wipe her face. Ever heard triplet chaos? Be sure to turn down your volume first.

(L-R: Madison, Payson, Hayden)

Today the babies are 11-months-old. Just one month away from the big 1st!

Baring It All

It's crazy to think that just a year ago today, I had been on hospital bedrest for 9 days and there I would stay for another 6 weeks. It was such a scary time not knowing if the babies would make it and whether or not they would be healthy if they did. When admitted, I was 23 weeks along and had been having contractions for 4 or so weeks, but more intensely for the week or two prior. My cervical length was shortening and I had a plethora of relentless aches and pains. It was all worth it and I would, of course, do it all over again.

I recently received an email "update" on my "10-month-old's development" and here's what is said:

"For the most part, babies this age parallel play, staying happily engrossed in their own activities alongside one another, but without really interacting. Over time, though, you'll notice your baby stealing glances at fellow babies and perhaps crawling over to try to use the same toy."

Of course, I have very little knowledge about what it's like to have just one baby, but I have a very hard time believing this given how much our babies interact. Saturday night Keith and I were entertained for about 10 minutes as we watched Hayden and Madison chase each other in just their diapers. One would crawl after the other, the first one would stop, look back and giggle hysterically and then turn and start crawling after the original attacker. They were having a ball and were just cracking up at themselves. I don't expect to see this again for a long time and no, we don't have it on video because we were trying to stay out of the way and observe, but it was definitely a night to remember.

We got a new, gently-used jogging stroller this week and it is so smooth and fabulous. It is a beast but is much easier to push. It only works for outdoors and stores with double doors. Thankfully, it fits on our sidewalks which is pretty surprising. Just another reason why I just love our community.

This weekend we took grandma and the babies down to our neighborhood lakes for a picnic. The weather was beautiful and the babies loved exploring in the grass. Well, except for Payson who acts like grass is the grossest thing he has ever touched.

In other news, we feel so blessed that our insurance finally gave their approval for the babies to receive Synagis shots for RSV each month throughout the season. Synagis is the only FDA-approved medication to help protect high-risk babies from severe RSV disease. It's not a vaccine but rather each shot provides a dose of antibodies, virus-fighting substances, that help prevent RSV from infecting the baby’s lungs. We are so relieved that the babies have this extra layer of protection should they get infected.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

The babies had fun dressing up for their first Halloween as The Wizard of Oz's famous Lion, Tiger and Bear, Oh My! We gave them a practice round a month ago and they were much more curious about their costumes this time around. Hayden, the lion, kept throwing her head back trying to get the hood off and pulling at the sides. Payson, the bear, just sat still as he appeared to have felt very confined even though he could crawl but it took more than the usual effort. As always, Madison, the tiger, wasn't fazed at all and was more interested in the other two's strange new look. They all just stared at each other and grabbed one another's hoods and costumes. Of course with 80 degree weather, the fleece and faux-fur costumes didn't last long.












Me as a hippie and Grandma as a tiger
















Jail babies (Payson on far right really does look like a criminal leaning against the rails)