7 Months Old Already

It truly seems that these boys discover something new everyday. A new move, a new sound, a new expression... It is amazing to be able to watch 3 little beings learn, discover & grow everyday. I don't know how I got to be so lucky.

So what are the boys doing now? Lets see...

Caden & Kellan are trying to crawl, it's funny to watch, they look like they could be really good swimmers, lol. They are all starting to sit up, they can each sit up supporting themselves with their hands for a minute or so before toppling over. They all LOVE their jumpers/exersaucers. They entertain themselves for a while in those things. They all chatter away most of the day, they squeal & scream just for the fun of it. Garren was making this motorboat noise constantly for a couple weeks, I wanted to get it on video but, he suddenly stopped & hasn't done it now for about a week. My dad got to hear him do it through our entire phone conversation one day.

It has been a month now since I quit pumping. While I am sad to leave that phase behind, it has been a huge relief not to have to squeeze that into our ever evolving routine & with the boys eating food twice a day now, I just don't know how I would have done it. I had some frozen breast milk left from the boys NICU days, so I continued to give them that until it ran out...

We are getting a pretty good routine down now. It kind of looks like this...

7:45am; wake up, change diapers, bottle, eat cereal

9am; play, change diapers

10am; nap

12pm; wake up, change diapers, bottle

12:30/1pm-ish; play

1:30/2pm-ish; nap

3pm; wake up, change diapers, bottle

4pm; play

5:30pm; catnap 

6pm; bottle, eat veggies

7pm-ish; baths, change for bed, relax in swings

7:30/8pm; bedtime

Peas = Ehhh...

Well peas didn't go over as well as we had thought. I figured being a little sweet they would really like them. They ate them but with resistance all 4 nights.

In between each new vegetable I go back to the previous veggies for 1 night each. So tonight they had green beans again & tomorrow they will get broccoli again before moving on to zucchini. The change back to green beans tonight seemed a little surprising to them. It took a few spoonfuls before they ate them with ease again. I think so far broccoli has been their favorite... we will see tomorrow if that's still the case.

First Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for... 
My amazing baby boys to start, the incredible medical care I had during my pregnancy & the amazing doctors & nurses who took care on the boys in the NICU. 
My wonderful family who has traveled to NC to be with Donna & I throughout the year. 
Our great friends who supported us throughout our journey & everyone that helped us prepare for the boys arrival. 
The medical team that took care of my father & got rid of his cancer.
And I am thankful for Donna for her unconditional love & support. 


HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!


I couldn't decide which photo to use, one with a really cute smile or one with all 3 almost looking at the camera...

Garren, Kellan, Caden

Broccoli = Yummm

My second batch of baby food was a success too. I made broccoli this time & the boys seem to like it. The first time they tried it, they ate with reservation. You can see them thinking about what it is as they are eating. Cute!!! They're eating it without a problem now. I don't think food is really going to be an issue with these boys. Well maybe having enough of it when they are teenagers, lol...

Just in case you are wondering about the boys helmets... they are still wearing them. The elastic & velcro on the helmets is hard enough to keep clean. Our boys like to put their hands in their mouths with their food while they eat so their cereal & veggies end up all over their faces, hands, bibs, clothes & high chairs. So we take the helmets off to eat.

Caden

Garren

Garren

Kellan

Kellan

Caden

Caden

Garren

Garren

Kellan

Tidbits...

I carried the boys for 29 weeks 4 days, 

today the boys are 29 weeks & 4 days old.

It is amazing how much they grow & change in such a short period of time.

This month is full of interesting little dates 

(and this is mostly for my own memory - later)

November 1st, 2010 beta #1 confirmed my pregnancy

November 3rd, beta #2 confirmed healthy growing pregnancy :)

November 19th, first ultrasound = twins, lol...

November 29th, second ultrasound = TRIPLETS!!!

November 2010 changed our lives

more than we would have ever known!!!

Like I said on Halloween, 

who would have thought 1 short year later 

we would have 3 beautiful, healthy 6 month old boys?!?

Here are some photos from this November...

Caden, Kellan & Garren

top Garren, left Caden & right Kellan 

Garren... isn't that just the sweetest face!?!

Green Beans = Yummy!!!

This week we started the boys on a second daily "meal." We started with the standard green beans and the boys LOVE them!!! I am making their baby food, which is kind of interesting. I think it will be more fun when I can start mixing foods. We have to try everything individually first & for several days to make sure they don't have any allergies. The pediatrician suggested we start with just green vegetables before introducing the sweeter veggies & fruits. So right now the menu consists of green beans, zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, lima beans, peas, I still have to find out if brussel sprouts are ok & I'm undecided on pureed bell pepper even though it is suggested (on the website I was reading anyways)

Here are a few photos of their first taste of green beans...

Caden

Kellan

Garren

Please feel free to leave comments on their expressions!!!

peas ☺ green beans ☺ zucchini or courgette ☺ bell pepper

THEN ☺ broccoli ☺ eggplant ☺ cauliflower ☺ beets/beetroot ☺ lentils/dried

beans ☺ onions ☺ asparagus ☺ turnips

World Prematurity Day

The Empire State Building in purple
to show their support

Today is World Prematurity Day, a day to bring awareness to the incredible number of babies born too soon around the world and to celebrate the miracles who are still with us and those who we wish were here. One in Eight babies are born prematurely in the United States, and 13 million are born prematurely worldwide every year. Three of them are mine, and I’m grateful there are organizations like the March of Dimes that make it possible for babies to get the NICU care they need to survive.

I'm thankful that the 6+ weeks our boys were in the NICU were for the most part drama free & that the boys had no major medical issues, but it was still a difficult & scary time in our lives. No mother imagines the birth of their baby & having them whisked away to be hooked up to monitors & breathing apparatuses, or of waiting hours to see the little life they created and then only seeing them for a couple of hours at a time. Its a hard road, but it is made easier knowing that your babies are in the incredible care of doctors and nurses who know how to take care of them.

Caden

Born at 29 weeks 4 days

3 pounds 10 ounces & 18 inches long

Today he is 6 1/2 months old & 18 pounds

Kellan
Also born at 29 weeks 4 days

3 pounds 5 ounces & 16 inches long

Today he is 6 1/2 months old & 17 pounds

Garren
Also born at 29 weeks 4 days

3 pounds 3 ounces & 16 inches long

Today he is 6 1/2 months old & 16 pounds

Please pray for all the premature babies currently in the NICU & support the March of Dimes when possible. 

Amazing Quilts!!!

We still receive gifts for the boys occasionally. We are so thankful for our friends, family, & friends of friends & family.

When my mom was here this past weekend she brought a few gifts from some of her friends & clients. Among the gifts were jogging suits, books, clothes, the most adorable ceramic shoes with the boys birth info painted on them and these amazing quilts. My mom's friend Virginia made them & I have never seen anything quite like them!!! She used some of the same fabric we used in the boys nursery, added some other fabrics, embroidered some more of the animals on, embroidered their initials, & did some special quilting stitching. Check out the details...

Kellan's quilt

The tiger is embroidered

Letter K is embroidered 

She embroidered their birth info.

Tiger paw prints stitched into the quilt

Garren's quilt

Giraffes, zebras, & trees stitched into the quilt

Caden's quilt

Elephants stitched into the quilt