Signing Off Until the New Year...

I want to start with a shout out to a very special Dad who had a birthday this month! Since his mom was here she made the traditional 'C' cake that Clark always had growing up. Very fun! You can't see very well because of his shirt and the shadows but the numbers on that cake are a big 2 and 8! Of course we had the annual Spaghetti dinner and all Clark wanted to do that day was lounge around the house. So we did! Lounging is what I do best these days considering pajamas are now part of normal daily wear. Happy birthday Clark!


Next up, we had a very special visitor this past week! The kids were so excited that they hurried and changed into their Christmas gear and lined up in the boppies. Then they patiently waited and wondered who would get to go first....


Yep!! Jolly Old St. Nick himself graced our front door!! Due to RSV/flu season and all the sickness going around right now, the trio was not able to leave the house to visit him. He felt so bad that he made a special trip just for them (friends from church had a Santa suit from the Christmas party). No meltdowns this year since they are still oblivious to what's going on if it doesn't involve eating. Leah kept getting tangled in Santa's beard and Caleb pulled a neck muscle trying to figure out who this big, red stranger was!



The following pictures make me want to sing this song:

"Jolly Old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way...


don't you tell a single soul, what I'm going to say...


Christmas Eve is coming soon, now you dear old man...


whisper what you'll bring to me, tell me if you can." :)

The triplets have all been on their best behavior since September and promised Santa they would be good next year too... (they'll be walking this time next year. yikes!) Here's a better look at their Christmas gear that Gram bought. Thanks Gram for being here! Can't wait to see you again soon!

Merry Christmas!

Pictures

On the day of the blessing, of course the babies were tired and whiny. So we didn't get any decent pictures. We tried again this week and finally had some success! Smiles even! Both the boys wore Clark's blessing suit and looked very handsome. Leah wouldn't give us a good smile but at least she wasn't crying.

Photos courtesy of Gram!

Zachary

Caleb

Leah

These next pictures (including the one at the top of the blog) were taken for their three-month birthday!




I received these outfits at my baby shower and I think they are super cute. However, I've never had the boys next to each other while wearing them. They started to look like jail cellmates thinking up ways to break out of this place!


"I wish my prince charming would come save me from my crazy mom, gram, and brothers." -Miss Leah


Zachary hittin on the ladies already!! Friend Hazel getting nice and snuggly with him.

"Your hair smells really nice." -Zachary


Clark had a bear when he was little named....Beary. Beary has survived years of neglect while Clark grew up and left to college. Now Beary has found new friends and feels loved all over again. Caleb and him cuddled during a nap yesterday so Caleb wouldn't feel so lonely in his crib.

*I know there are not supposed to be any blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, etc... in cribs with babies. This was merely for the picture. :)



So a question I frequently get asked is how we feed all the babies. The one and only book about triplets has a section on breastfeeding triplets and that it can be done.

I'm sure it can. Just not by me. The lactation consultants at the hospital always assumed I would be breastfeeding, not just pumping, once the babies came home. When I would tell them I really wasn't planning on it they acted so surprised and promptly ended what little conversation we were having.

Point is, these babies get bottles with formula. At first when we brought them home we had to pay close attention to each baby while feeding for fear of them choking or not breathing. Now that we are a little past that and they are all better eaters (for the most part), we can feed two at a time. Clark, his mom, and I have all seemed to master the tandem bottle feed. It's always pretty hysterical. Both babies get propped in boppys on each side of you. Then you feed them each with one hand and when it comes to burping, the other one just has to wait patiently. Recently while Caleb is waiting to be burped, he ends up burping himself....which saves us both time and gives us a good laugh. He doesn't have time to wait around! Last night I was really proud because I changed, fed, burped, and wrapped two babies in 30 minutes! YES! Feeding two at a time, I decided, depends on three things:

Burpability of the baby
Ferver with which the baby eats
No hold ups at the diaper change

If all three of those elements are in place, we're looking at a sub 30-minute feeding. Love it. Haven't quite figured out how to get that third baby fed at the same time without bottle propping. I'll have to think on it.