Say It Aint So!!!

Yep, the boys turned 3 months old yesterday and what an amazing 3 months it has been!!!

We were reminded this week what a blessing having healthy triplets is. We are so fortunate to have made it as far as we did in my pregnancy and with what was really minimal complications. There were some pretty serious risks that we were fortunate enough to never have to discuss.

Well, it's been a pretty busy week here. We have been going out with the boys more and more... We get a lot of lookers and a few people who want to ask a ton of questions. My favorite was the elderly woman at the car dealership who offered to watch them while we looked at cars... HA! NO!!!

Sunday we took the boys for their 3 month pictures. They were well behaved, but had their own ideas for where they wanted to look. They are holding their heads up pretty good now and want to look ALL around, even behind them. Here's my favorite of those photos... (there are more along the right side of this page ~~~>)

Their initials don't show up real good, but they are there & I love
these little shorts!!!

Tuesday we bought a mini van... It has happened... We have become soccer moms, lol... I was very sad to trade my car in, I absolutely LOVED my Pacifica!!! We got a Honda Odyssey and it is pretty nice, it does have quite a bit more room in it and it fits the baby train (stroller) without having to turn it on it's side and putting it in on an angle, which allows us room for luggage and of course our precious pups, Haddie & Eason.

Garren & Eason

Eason trying to get in on some Haddie & Mama time

Well speaking of the van and luggage... Next week we will be setting off on our first road trip with the triplets, YIKES!!! 3 - 3 month olds. We will see what our normally 9 hour drive turns into.

For those of you that don't know, my dad is having surgery next week... It started out 2 weeks ago with my dad falling off a ladder in his garage and being airlifted to ORMC. While in the hospital they scanned him from head to toe. He has a couple small skull fractures and a small brain bleed that will heal on their own. They also found a mass on his right lung. They decided to do a biopsy and it turned out to be what none of us (not even the doctor) expected... lung cancer :( My dad is not a smoker and hasn't worked around any of the known toxins that cause lung cancer. The mass also did not look like typical cancer which is why the doctor was surprised. So for the past two weeks he has been going through a bunch of tests to see if the cancer had spread and to see if his heart and lungs are strong enough for surgery. All tests came back good, so he is scheduled Thurday morning for surgery, they will be removing a third of his right lung and the lymphnodes. My sister, step-sisters, all the grandkids, my aunt & my uncle are all traveling in for his surgery. Please keep my dad and our family in your thoughts and prayers while we all travel and await a positive prognosis.

Back to the babies...
Thursday the boys had their 3 month check-up. They are all doing fantastic!!!
First their specs:

Caden, 12 lbs 13 oz & 22" long (95th percentile for his adjusted age)

Kellan, 12 lbs 2 oz & 21 1/2" long (also 95th percentile)

Garren, 11 lbs & 21 1/2" long (90 - 95th percentile)

front to back:
Garren, Caden, & Kellan

They are all holding their heads up & looking around A LOT. They are making eye contact and following us with their eyes and of course babbling (cooing) These are all on track for their real age (not adjusted age) They are also putting weight on their feet and pushing up with their feet. And they pull to sitting up if you give them your fingers to hold onto. These are not expected until 4 - 6 months for a full term baby :) The next thing they should be doing is reaching and grasping and pushing themselves up when on their tummies. We will start practicing...
The boys are still having reflux which is normal for preemies, so we have started them on some prevacid to see if that helps with their spitting up and discomfort.
They are eating now every 4 hours during the day and they normally will go 5 - 6 hours at night, letting moms get a little more sleep :) I really can't believe how the time is passing and how big they are getting. They really do need to slow down...

Donna & our big boy Caden

12 Weeks Old!!!

WOW!!! Time sure is flying by, I can't believe 12 weeks ago today (yesterday, now it's after midnight) the boys were born. They have come so far since being 29 week preemies. They have outgrown all of their newborn clothes :( I will miss how tiny they once were.

The boys are sleeping better & better in their own room, they go back in their room after their middle of the night feed now too AND (knock on wood) They are only getting up once in the middle of the night to eat :o) They are all getting stronger & better at holding up their heads, Garren really loves to look all around. Caden stares intently at me while he eats, I wonder what he is thinking? They all pull up to sitting when we prop them on the boppies and give them our fingers to hold on to. I can't wait until they start reacting to us more. We play peek-a-boo & this little piggy with them, they don't seem to impressed by it yet. Donna has also been reading them a bedtime story, I need to get them more books, she's been reading the same one to them every night, lol, but they do seem to enjoy it & they go right to sleep afterwards.

Haddie & Eason are still very attached to the babies and they have become very interested in the babies stuff... clothes, pacifiers, & toys. They both love stuffed animals and aren't quite sure about not being able to play with these new things, especially the ones that make noise.

Well here are this weeks photos...

Kellan, Caden, & Garren loving their cloth diapers

Garren looking angelic

Caden

Eason wondering what the pacifier is all about

Haddie trying it out, LOL...

Officially Full Term Babies

As of Sunday July 10th, 2011, the boys were 40 weeks gestation, FULL TERM!!! While we knew I would never make it to 40 weeks with triplets, we definitely didn't think they would be 10 1/2 weeks early. They have been a true blessing and we are very thankful that they are SO healthy!!!

Caden

Garren

Kellan

Days and nights are still sort of a blur... changing, feeding, & burping babies, then pumping for their next bottles... It is so rewarding now though to see a sweet little smile when I say one of their names or to get snuggled with when I pick one of them up.

Eason trying to catch up on some ZZZ...

They are sleeping in one their cribs now. I wasn't so sure about putting them in their own room, I needed them close to me, so I really wasn't comfortable separating them. They are doing great, we swaddle them up and they are right where we left them come morning (or middle of the night feeding time) They all still chatter with each other, it is so cute! Except when they need to go back to sleep at 3 in the morning, lol.

Yesterday  (7/13/11) Caden turned over from his back onto his side. He & Kellan were in the pack & play & Caden wanted to be close to Kellan but Kellan would squeal so I moved Caden to the other end. Somehow he kept wiggling his way back to Kellan. Well the last time Kellan squealed I went back over & Caden had turned onto his side & had his arms & legs stretched forward just touching Kellan, I can already hear... "Mom, he's touching me!"

Caden turned onto his side!!!

Kellan & Garren are both picking up their heads and looking around. They are getting pretty good at holding them up for a couple minutes too.

The boys are still sleeping through tummy time, but the pups really enjoy laying with and watching over them.

Eason & Haddie keeping an eye on the boys during tummy time :)

Eason helping bounce

Haddie babysitting

10 Weeks Old...

Are you suppose to go by weeks or months at this point? How about gestational age? LOL... Well I guess both weeks and months, gestational age is about to come to an end as Sunday July 10th is my due date.

Well this was my first week home by myself with the boys. It went pretty well. I didn't get much done around the house, but the babies stayed fed and in dry diapers, I even managed to dress them most days. Dressing myself was another thing!
We are working out a routine. The boys are doing good as far as eating on a schedule, although I am trying to get a little more time between feeds during the day and at night. During the day they go 3 to 4 hours and (knock on wood) the past couple nights they gave me one 5 hour stint between feeds. It is really hard to wake up in the middle of the night, especially by yourself. At least when Donna was off & getting up with me she could keep me awake with conversation. The boys don't say much with a bottle in their mouth & I find myself dozing.

The boys have reached a pretty cute stage. Now when I pick them up they clench my shirt and pull in close to me. They also watch us when we are talking to them and they are smiling more and more (of course not for the camera) They are starting to reach for their toys that are hanging from their bouncers and on the activity center. We do tummy time everyday, but they just fall asleep, lol, so we don't do it when we want them to stay awake.

Here are a few pics from this week...

Garren & Caden

Kellan, Caden, & Garren

Garren, Eason, Caden, & Kellan
10 Weeks Old

Garren, Kellan, & Caden

Caden, Garren, & Kellan

Busy Week It Was...

As you know from my previous post, the boys turned 2 months old and had their 2 month check-up and vaccines last week.
My mom was also here for the week to help me out when Donna went back to work (last week.) My step-dad drove her up the previous weekend, so he got a visit in with the boys too. Some of my mom's clients and friends sent more gifts for the boys. They got some more clothes, some really great football outfits, cool monogrammed burp cloths & onsies with their first initial, an awesome picture frame, some really cute stuffed animal/nap-time blankies, & some beautiful blankets and buntings from my mom. We had a nice visit and my mom was very helpful with the babies & around the house.

Grandpa with ? I can't tell from the back, lol

We also had another visitor... our dear friend Karin came for the day on Wednesday to meet the boys for the first time. It was so great to see her. We really miss all of our friends & family from back home (Florida.) Haddie hasn't forgotten anyone either, she didn't even give Karin a chance to see the boys before she started demanding the attention she was use to getting from her. Funny how dogs remember :)

Haddie, Karin, & Eason

Karin with Caden

The boys have also discovered some things to play with. They like when we shake a rattle and they are reaching for these chain links we hung in their bouncers.

Caden with a rattle on his arm and his hand through the chain

Kellan with his hand through the chain

Caden again

...Garren slept through this activity.

We are now trying to get the boys to sleep in their own room. We were going to put them in their own cribs, but decided one step at a time. So far they do not like to sleep in their room or in a crib. So now we are putting them in their room for naps or as long as they will sleep in there, trying to get them used to it. We did have them all asleep in there tonight for about 10 minutes, but Kellan started fussing, then screaming so I brought him back out to the living room. As soon as I walked out with Kellan, Caden started to cry. I gave him a few minutes to calm down, but he didn't so now both of them are in their bouncers in the living room. Garren is sleeping like an angle in their room in a crib all by himself. He may be the smallest, but right now he is the bravest :)
These photos were taken as we were putting the 3rd crib back in their room and trying each baby in his crib...

Kellan

Garren

Caden

The cribs are set up so the boys are all right next to each other & we used
breathable bumpers so they can see each other...
once they make it to their own cribs

another view of the crib set-up

They are NOT 2 months old already!?!

But they are...
I can't believe how fast time is going by now & how quickly the boys are growing.

So here are the details from the boys' pediatrician appointment yesterday...
Caden: 9 lbs 2 oz... Thats right, you read correctly 9 POUNDS!!! He is 21" long & his head is 15"
Kellan: 8 lbs 9 oz, 20" long & his head is 14 1/4"
Garren: 8 lbs 2 oz, 20" long & his head is 14 3/4"
All 3 boys are in the 90th to 95th percentile for their "adjusted age" of 38 weeks gestation. The doctor wanted their stats for their real age, but they have a new computer program & she hasn't figured it all out yet. It's automatically set up for their premature age. Anyways, they are doing great! We are cutting back on the fortifier (added to my milk) for Caden & Kellan since they both gained 2 lbs in 2 weeks & we have stopped giving all of them rice cereal during the day (they get a small amount to help with reflux) All of their hemoglobins are up, but we are continuing the iron for another month just to be sure it stays up. They got their 2 month vaccines and they all did great.

Check back for pics, I'm too tired to upload them right now...