Thanksgiving

We had a busy week of family and activities!  Aunt Neenee (Steph) was here all week and was a huge help.  It's always easier with three people in the evenings and two during the day.  She knows more than anyone how things work and how we do things, it's a great relief.  Also, since she was close by we chose this week to transition to the crib.  It went pretty well!  They slept great from 10:30/11:00 until 3 or 4 in the morning (for the most part), and then until 6:30 or 7.  Every night we pulled at least one of them into bed with us at some point, but that's ok... we're not ready to give up cuddling yet!

Nano and my Aunt Mary also came into town, and our friends Jim and Linda Burke also joined us all at my parents for dinner.  The babies had lots of laps to sit in for their first Thanksgiving!  After dinner number 1 we went to dinner number 2 at Sean's parents house.  This was the babies first trip to either grandparent's house and I think both went well, though our time frame is always dictated by feedings.

Evan, Collin, Ryan

Sean with Evan

Bear with Collin

Nano with Ryan

Sean and I (baby free for the moment)

Kathleen with Collin, Susan with Evan

Friday we started the day with the second round of Synagis injections.  They are antibodies for RSV that last one month.  The nurse weighed and measured the babies, here are their stats:

Evan weighed 10# 5.8oz, his head measured 38.5cm, and he was 21.5" long
Ryan weighed 10# 10oz, his head was 39cm, and he was 22" long
Collin weighed 10# 9.3oz, his head was 38.5cm, and he was 22.25" long

They are getting soooo big!  I can't believe it!  We've been in 0-3 clothes for a week or so now and size 1-2 diapers.  Then we took Christmas pictures and had a visit from Steph's friend Maggie.  Then we watched Nebraska beat Colorado.  Friday night Sean, Steph and I left the babies with Nano, Mary, and Marmee and went with Bear (my dad) to the OKC Thunder game.  It was a great game, but a late night.  Fortunately we came home to the babies sound asleep in their crib.  We are in love with our video monitor... it enables us to watch them sleep on a handheld receiver or on our tv :)

Saturday Sean and I escaped to the OU/OSU Bedlam game.  During the first quarter I was convinced we would have to leave at halftime because the game was horrible, sloppy, and taking forever.  OU finally got it together though and it was actually a fun game.  We still left in the fourth quarter though.  One of many ways these babies have changed my life... I used to NEVER leave a game early, EVER.  Those people were bad fans.  I'm now a bad fan.  I think about the babies the whole time we are gone and can't wait to get home to them.  We ended the day playing bridge with Steph, Nano, and Marmee (my mom) while holding and cuddling babies and watching football.

Sunday we have more plans... sadly Steph has to drive back to Houston :(  We'll miss her, and the babies will too, but she'll be back in 3 weeks.  And tomorrow we start a new week, during which I go back to work 1/2 day.  I'm looking forward to it but also nervous about how it will all go.  Has to happen sometime though!  And I'm lucky that I have a job that I love and employers that allow this much flexibility.

More cute pics from our photo shoot...

Thankful

With Thanksgiving approaching I have been thinking about all the things I am thankful for, and there is nothing like reading a blog like this one to put things in perspective.

I am thankful, in no particular order...

for 3 healthy babies to snuggle and cuddle and feel their babysoft skin
for a healthy extended family who loves us and supports us have enabled us to survive the last few weeks
for a church family who has prayed for us
for a roof over our heads, even though it feels small these days
for a job that I love and for the flexibility I've been given
for friends I can talk to about anything, near and far
for the generosity of friends and family for helping to provide for these babies
for my husband, who through good and bad is my best friend and partner on this crazy adventure

On a less serious note, I am thankful for a few things that make my life easier and more enjoyable these days...
pacifiers
online shopping
triple stroller
digital camera
vibrating chairs and swings
chocolate
working on those baby smiles that seem to be right around the corner
Sean getting home from work!

the boys on their two-month birthday

Big, big babies!

We had our two month check-up on Wednesday.  We have big, growing babies!  They are all right on average for the preemie growth chart and look perfect.  Ryan has a small hemangioma on his back, which I suspected, and we're just monitoring it for now.  It should go away on it's own by around a year.  We've noticed it for the last month or so and it has gotten a little bigger as he has.  So here are their stats...

Evan 8# 9oz, 21.25"
Ryan 8# 15oz!!, 21.75"
Collin 8# 8oz, 20.75"

They got their first round of vaccines, hate those.  No more vaccines until January, but two Synagis injections before then.  We also found out the 5 ounces they've been getting at a feeding is two much, which I suspected, and probably contributing to the spit-up and reflux we've had.  They are good, good babies, not fussy except for one to two times a day when they get reflux and get fussy and scream and spit-up.  So we started rice cereal, and that through a wrench in our routine.  We had everything going so well.  Now it seems we are starting all over trying to find a quantity of formula and cereal that works and our schedule isn't quite so regular.  We also had to switch nipples for the formula/cereal combo, very stressful the night we figured out the formula wouldn't flow!

Right now we are working toward sleeping in the crib, a strategy the babies may have discovered and seem to be trying to thwart.  We had been sleeping fabulously at night except for the occasional bout of reflux that resulted in brief uncontrollable screaming and spit-ups (our babies don't like their faces to lay in their spit-up, it bothers them horribly).  We had been napping wonderfully in the crib during the day.  That has all changed.  Now I can't seem to get them all to nap in the crib, someone and more often two someones are invariably fussy and want their pacis but keep dropping them.  Soooo frustrating.  The plan is still to try sleeping in the crib at night next week when Auntie Steph is close by (the nursery is across the house).  I desperately want my bedroom and bathroom back... the babies have taken over the whole house and I want one room back!  We have a whole changing table set-up in our bathroom, and Evan had an explosive poo incident that caused it to go everywhere.  Plus our comforter has spit-up spots all over, we can't wash it often enough.  And we have baby clothes in the nursery, baby clothes in the bedroom, laundry all over.  I'm trying to move the stuff out of the room before the babies, because even though I tell myself I'm ready, I'm not sure that I am.  I think this is the time though, they need to get used to it sooner rather than later.  We'll let you know how it goes...

So far we're still acting more like newborns than 2 month olds, a little developmentally delayed.  They are looking at things and can track things with their eyes a little.  No smiles or coos yet :(  Hopefully soon!  We are really, really cute right now though, I'll try to post pictures soon :)

Squirmy Wormies!

Babies' First Halloween!  We got adorable costumes and sat them out on the porch for all the neighborhood folks to meet :)  They were so good, and the weather was fantastic.  Weirdly, lots of the kids and even some adults asked if they were real...

Collin, Evan, and Ryan

The babies are becoming much more alert, they focus and are starting to look at objects.  They smile, though I'm not convinced it is at anything in particular yet.  When that day comes, look out!  We washed all our 0-3 month clothes today, most of the newborn things are getting snug.  It's crazy how fast they grow!  Seems like yesterday the Newborn things started to fit.  The Preemie clothes had a VERY short lifespan, some much shorter than others, and some even started too small since our kiddos were so long.

We had our first shot on Friday, the Synagis injection for RSV.  The babies are only getting 3 injections based on insurance, because of their age and size (which were good) but bad since they only get 3 months of added protection.  We used the DumDum sucker trick, but they still screamed.  And Evan stopped breathing!  He wailed and used all the reserves in his lungs, then forgot to reload!  He did again really quick, but not until after I told him to breathe twice!  His face got really red, and his lips a little purple.  But we made it.  There will be a lot of shots in the next few months though, the next two Synagis doses and their 2 month vaccines.  The nurse that gave the injections weighed and measured the babies, here are their stats...

Evan 7# 4.5oz, 20.8"
Ryan 7# 10oz, 20.4"
Collin 7# 9oz, 20.2"

They are pretty similar to the measurements from earlier in the week, probably since those were right after eating, and these were right before eating.  These chunky monkeys are still chow hounds!  They now get at least 5 oz at each feeding, my breastmilk stores are going to get devoured quickly and it is harder and harder to even keep up with 50% of their meals.  We're stopping pumping soon anyway though.  They have dropped another feeding though, we're stretching them through the night so we really only have about 6 feedings per day (today it is 7, 10:30, 1:45, 5, and probably 8/8:30 and 11).  And we've had help, both of my parents on Saturday and my sister this weekend, and an old friend from grade school who is expecting came on Friday.  We are always happy to have our babies held and to have help changing and feeding them!

I know I say this all the time, but I can't believe how much they change on a daily basis and how they will get big before I know it...