Blessings, Reflux, and More...

Gosh, another week has gone by and I couldn't tell you what happened to it. It has been SO nice this past week because we have had four adults around to help with the trio. We've all been able to get a bit more sleep because someone always seems to be up to bounce from baby to baby.

While Clark's Dad was in town for Thanksgiving we decided to take the babies to church and bless them. Of course we arrived late and left early (still on RSV restriction) but it was fun getting the kids dressed up and showing them off to our church family who has been a huge support these past months. Three baby blessings all in a row was definitely comical and could've been overwhelming for Clark, but he did great! The babies behaved (we fed two while there) and didn't really make a peep the whole time. After an hour of church, we all came home and were exhausted! :) Any outing really takes it out of us, hence the reason we don't take any. We wish my parents could have attended but with conflicting schedules and the babies having only one more RSV shot, we figured right now was probably the best time. Caleb wore the blessing outfit Clark was blessed in (something old), Leah wore a dress of a friend in the ward (something borrowed), and Zachary wore some new strapping blue slacks and dress shirt (something new and blue). I know that's a wedding thing but it just ended up fitting this also!



Well, the trios first Thanksgiving feast was pretty uneventful. Considering they are on an all-liquid diet, they didn't enjoy the turkey very much. We certainly did though! Along with red hot pear jello, sweet potato casserole, and yummy pies. We had about 30 minutes of quiet to eat so we said what we were thankful for and dug in to all the goodness. Thanks to mom for making a delicious dinner! Of course we watched Little Women that night as tradition holds. The trio loved meeting the March sisters.

Other than feasting and blessing the babies, things are pretty much the same around the clock here. We are starting to bathe the babies each night as they are probably starting to recognize bedtime routines. We also give them their medications and vitamins and turn the lights down so they know the feeding is different. Some nights they will sleep for a five hour interval, other nights less. We're hoping we'll see that time lengthen. After however many hours of sleep (we don't wake them up), I give Caleb 1/2 ounce less of formula every three days. Apparently that's supposed to eliminate him waking for food so we'll see. He's only gone six days so far. I'll do that with Leah when she can tolerate a little more formula each feeding. Zachary has gone back and forth from three hours around the clock to just four hours at night. He still projectile vomits which bums us all out so we try to be very patient and careful with him. So we're not trying to many things with him as far as sleeping is concerned.

We have made a better effort to put them in their cribs when it's time to sleep. Because of the reflux issues, however, we've inclined the crib mattresses. So sometimes we come in and they are turned all sorts of ways or clear at the bottom of the crib. Pretty funny. And sad. Point is, we are approaching the six week mark (adjusted age) and will be trying to get them sleeping a little longer at night. It's been so nice having my mom here then Clark's mom because otherwise I don't know when I would've gotten any sleep in the past couple months. Their help has been so appreciated. It's been some good teamwork around here trying to keep up with the babies differing schedules. Thanks Moms!

The babies still don't tolerate more than two hours of awake time. Usually it's around 1.5 hours. During that awake time we put them under the rain forest although sometimes they aren't into it. Their friend Hazel come to visit and for some reason all four of them laid under that thing for like an hour....no crying. They obviously liked having their heads so close together so they could think up ways to keep their parents up at night.

Which baby isn't ours???


Miss Leah is definitely more high maintenance than our boys. She LOVES to be held and will cry and cry until you pick her up. Then she is as happy as ever. We try not to give in much just because if we start getting into that, taking care of two others becomes much harder. However, when she gives you a cute smile you can't help but melt a little. She loved her Grandpa being here and rocking her.


The babies are getting to a point where they are a little too big to fit in the boppy together or many other things. Figured I better get these pictures while I can. Leah and Caleb played together in the bouncer just watching the mobile for their daytime entertainment. Usually it's the wreath or the fan so that day they decided to add a little variety.


While those two were in a mobile trance, Zachary was having a stare down with the giraffe. Clark thinks it's so funny that babies don't hardly blink. Zachary actually went a pretty long time without blinking. At one point we thought he might win. But alas, the giraffe prevailed and Zachary ended up blinking. Poor guy. He didn't take the loss very well.

Life As We Know It...

Well, the night nanny has served her time. Six weeks went pretty fast and I already miss the nights of sleeping 10:30pm to 6:30am. I admit that the first couple times she cared for the triplets it was a little weird going to bed and having her do all the work herself. She didn't seem overwhelmed by the task and happily wished us goodnight. Fine by me! She was a nice lady though and heaven bless her for wanting to stay up all night.


Right now while the babies aren't on any sort of schedule, we give them a bath on Wednesdays and Sundays. This was how often they were bathed in the NICU and I didn't feel the need to do it any more frequently at home. When we start trying to get them sleeping longer at night and into a schedule, we'll do more of a nightly regime of baths and reading. For now, a couple baths a week seems sufficient. They don't seem to mind and actually enjoy collecting lint in between their fingers. Here's Dad on Saturday bath day with Caleb! Caleb is definitely out growing the sink.


I don't care what anyone says, babies like to be swaddled and wrapped nice and tight. Most of the time they struggle to break free for a couple minutes then realize they are safe and warm and calm right down. I feel bad wrapping them up most of the day and night but for now when they are sleeping a lot, it definitely helps. Here's all our burritos watching the ceiling fan for entertainment. Never fails to catch their attention!


Of course anyone who knows us knows that Christmas starts early in our house. We just love the season and music and lights. We hope our kids love it just as much as we do! So the first week of November our tree went up. The boys sat by excitedly and pondered the true meaning of Christmas.


Surprisingly, doing laundry for triplets hasn't been that bad. Not bathing everyday probably helps and I really don't go through many outfits during the day. We've started making an effort to put them into pajamas each night whereas before we didn't. What makes up the bulk of our laundry is burp clothes! We go through A LOT everyday and luckily a friend from church graciously gave us enough to last a couple days without laundering. We probably have 50 or 60. Zachary knew that Mom needed some help with laundry and jumped right in to help!


Caleb is our big eater. He is always frantic around eating time and gulps down around four ounces in ten minutes. Sometimes I think he eats so fast he doesn't realize he is full and cries for more. He eats just six times a day now because he can tolerate a larger amount at each feeding so that has been nice. We think he's still growing just fine! A couple days ago we gave him a 1/2 ounce more on top of his four ounces because he was still acting so hungry. Afterward.....he regretted it.



Right now we go through almost one can of formula a day. We are still using the formula they were on in the hospital so it's about $15/can. Adds up real quick when you need about 25 cans to get through a month. When the babies were born I sent out letters about their birth to companies to see what fun schwag we could get. Enfamil responded and sent us 54 cans of free formula! Add what we've received from our pediatrician, we've banked around $1000 worth of free formula! The Pedi office filled out a request for Enfamil to send us some more so hopefully we get 50-70 more cans. Score for having triplets! :)

Speaking of the pediatrician, the babies all had their two-month appointment last week for immunizations. They were all very well behaved beforehand and loved rolling around on the paper as usual. First things first, they were weighed and had measurements taken. They were measured on a regular growth chart rather than a preemie one! However, their numbers would've looked really good on a preemie chart.

Leah:
Height-20 inches (less than 3rd percentile)
Head circumference-14 1/2 inches (10th percentile)
Weight-8 lbs 7 ounces (7th percentile)

Zachary:
Height-20 inches (less than 3rd percentile)
Head circumference-14 (less than 3rd percentile)
Weight-7 lbs 6 ounces (less than 3rd percentile)

Caleb:
Height-21 1/4 inches (less than 3rd percentile)
Head circumference-15 1/2 inches (45th percentile)
Weight-10 lbs 11 ounces (25th percentile)


They are all still pretty small but seem nice and fat to us compared to their birth weights! After all the weights and vitals were taken, the doctor asked who wanted to go first for their shots...


Sweet Zachary. He volunteered and was brave for brother and sister. They each got five shots....so sad. All only cried for about 20 seconds and forgot what just happened.


On all the information sheets for the shots, they say that side effects from the shots (diarrhea, vomiting, sore legs, irritability, difficulty sleeping, difficulty eating, fussiness, fever) occur in 1 of 3 children. The odds were not with us. That night was a hard one. We could tell all the babies didn't feel well. Unfortunately for the night nanny (fortunately for us), they had a rough night of sleeping and eating. The next day they seemed to be back to their old selves. Not looking forward to the four-month checkup.

Here's a video of the babes playing on the tissue paper before the shots happened and the chaos began.

Are We Brothers??

Sometimes I think Zachary asks that question when he sees how many chins Caleb has!



I took Zachary to the pediatrician on Wednesday for possible reflux. While we were there he got to be weighed. I've been curious about his weight because he's not keeping a lot of his food down. Surprisingly he was 7 pounds! He's more than doubled his birth weight at just eight weeks old (one week past original due date). Our little guy still feels VERY little compared to the other two but he's gaining about 1.5 oz a day! So if he is seven pounds, then Caleb must be (and is)...

7 lbs?

No.

8 lbs?

No.

9 lbs?

No.



10 lbs 1 oz!!


No joke. He's now wearing size one diapers and eats almost four ounces every feeding. It's just CRAZY how much difference a few pounds can make because he really does feel like a giant compared to Zachary. We thought that picture was hysterical with just their heads showing and eyes wide open. They were just chillin in the recliner talking sports.

Zachary's been eating 2.5 oz every feeding and projectile vomiting about every other. Usually on the feeding he doesn't vomit all over you he screams and whines through the whole bottle like he's in pain....which he probably is. I put off going to the pediatrician thinking it is just a phase and he's just temperamental. But as the projectiling got worse, I decided to call. We have a 2 month appointment scheduled next week (first round immunizations) so that's why I was hesitant in taking him just a week beforehand. I called and asked the nurse if she thought it was serious enough to bring him in that day and she said, "well you don't want your baby in pain do you?"

Uh ya, lady, I want my baby to suffer. What a dumb question. Anyway, decided to take him in despite her poor advice to see if we could get him to keep his food down better. If he wasn't the littlest of the bunch I may have waited. I'm realizing these small decisions are the hard ones. He now is trialing Zantac twice a day to see if his vomiting will improve. So far I'd like to say I have seen an improvement. Painful feedings are maybe 1-2/day now.

Isn't he just sweet? I just feel terrible when he throws up like that.



So obviously there is no rhyme or reason to these babies sleep habits yet but as I've learned, when the babes are swaddled nice and tight, they sleep better. However, they are getting stronger and squirmier and inevitably get an arm or two out which wakes them up. I've heard of the 'miracle swaddle blankets' and how they truly are miraculous in helping babies to sleep better and fuss less. I went to Buy Buy Baby and said NO WAY to paying $30 per blanket. Maybe if I had just one to buy but not three. I took a look at the blanket though to see what the secret was and went home thinking. We've now devised our makeshift miracle blanket...



The secret of the blanket is that it has an insert inside that wraps around the arms and behind the back to really secure the arms next to the body. I mean, there's no getting out. So we just use a smaller, lighter blanket to do the same thing then proceed to swaddle them normally. Works like a charm for much less than $90!!


The trio had their first outing together on Friday! Let's just say it was a pretty tight fit in the sedan. We took the double stroller and had to carry the third baby. Both strollers can fit into the trunk....but Clark needs to be present to accomplish such a task.




I wish the outing was for something exciting but unfortunately it was for their second dose of Synagis. Don't know what that is? Here's some information I found...

Synagis is the only FDA-approved medication to help protect high-risk babies from severe RSV disease. Even though Synagis is given as a shot by your healthcare provider, it's not a vaccine and it works differently. Each Synagis shot provides a dose of virus-fighting substances called antibodies that help prevent RSV from infecting your baby’s lungs.

Preemies are often born before getting enough antibodies from their mothers to help fight RSV and other viruses. But preemies are also at greater risk for severe RSV disease because their lungs are less developed and their airways are narrower than those of full-term babies. Synagis helps preemies by providing more infection-fighting antibodies to help protect their vulnerable lungs from RSV.

Because the babies were born at 32 weeks and not BEFORE 32 weeks, they only qualify for three of the six shots. This means that during the peak of flu/RSV season, they won't get the shots. As a result, we are taking EXTRA precaution with limiting visitors, outings, and a myriad of other things. The last thing we want is to go BACK to the hospital. Anyone who has come to help care for the babies has received a flu shot also. That includes me...my first flu shot ever. Basically, besides doctors appointments we will be on house arrest until April. Cabin fever anyone? We'll definitely be incorporating daily walks into our schedule if the weather is nice.

The babies were all very brave during their shots and only cried for less than 20 seconds. That night they all seemed overly fussy so I'm sure their legs were sore. Sadly they'll be heading to the pedi on Tuesday for a series of immunizations. Although they all seemed to like the tissue paper they rolled around on for the Synagis, I'm sure that won't take away the pain of the shots. :(

Right now they all seem to be good self-soothers. I'm sure this just happens naturally with multiples because it is impossible to sooth all of them, all the time. Inevitably while you're holding one, another one needs some love. So that one just has to work it out. I'm hoping this multiples thing will work to our advantage at some point! They are all on the three hour schedule still during the day even though there is such a big weight difference between all three. Just to keep our sanity, we keep the schedule. At night, however, Leah and Caleb stretch to four hours which makes the night feedings a little less stressful. Right now I'm staying up until about 4:30am then Clark's Mom takes over at 5:30am while I sleep until 10:30am or so. I'm a night owl though and she's an early bird so it works for us.

The babies are starting to be more aware of their surroundings. Leah can hardly be burped anymore because she's so interested in the wreath on the wall. We decided to get out the activity mat for the first time...



After about 15 minutes they were done. Too much to take in apparently. Zachary enjoyed the mirror though. Then we realized that was the first time he saw what he looked like! How weird to not know. We think he was pleased with his looks. :)

Babies First Halloween

We got three trick-or-treaters this year. One of the groups was some teenage girls with backpacks. Not even dressed up. I shouldn't have given them candy but oh well. More left for the babies I guess.

Gram Rudd found some cute Halloween onesies last week on one of her outings. I thought I'd be more motivated to find some cute costumes but that fizzled out so I was glad when she showed up with these. Unfortunately we couldn't carry on the Rudd Annual Halloween party we've done for the past four years. Maybe next year. Instead, we took some family pictures in our outfits, watched a couple fun Halloween movies, had a good steak dinner, and anxiously awaited the night nanny to come! :)



Family Photo. Getting a picture with the babies eyes opened seemed to be an impossibility apparently. So Clark tried to put my eyes on Leah's in photo shop which turned out to be super creepy. We had a good laugh though.



Family has asked for some sounds of the babies so here's a short clip.

Zero Day!

What better way to celebrate a zero birthday than in a birthday suit! Grandma Rudd acted as the photographer today and got some pretty good photos!



There's NO WAY I could've carried the babies to this day. The longest I've ever heard of someone carrying triplets was 37 weeks. Even then I was surprised that the doctor went that far. Point is, October 28th was my original due date. Today the trio is 7 weeks and 2 days old.

I definitely won't pretend that feeding and caring for triplets is easy. We've had help since they were born and a night nanny. However, it is so much fun to have three completely different personalities in the house to laugh at and watch change everyday. There hasn't been a triple meltdown at the same time yet so we're considering ourselves lucky. Still just a lot of grunting and groaning. However, last night I felt like I was doing that game where you rub your stomach and pat your head. I was rocking a bouncer with my foot, feeding Zachary, and holding off Leah with a pacifier. Meanwhile we were all watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. They seemed to like that one. :) I let them watch all my chick flicks in the middle of the night.

Leah visited the Ear Nose Throat doctor this week. Of course you walk away paying $40 having a doctor see you for about three minutes but I would rather have that then a major problem. He felt her chin and said he doesn't expect the lump to come back. Still not really sure what it was. Possibly a clogged salivary gland. We will go back in six months though to follow up about her nose and if her stenosis has improved.

She was pooped out when we got back...



Here's a good idea of how the chins keep multiplying on our little man. Not so little anymore!



The boys playing in their monkey outfits.



Dad and the trio after a good meal.



Grandma Nelson went back to Idaho last weekend. She couldn't decide which baby to take...then she decided she didn't want to get up every three hours in the night and left them all with me. :) We sure loved having her here though!

Trick or Treat

The kids got into the candy again.... No wonder Caleb is 8 pounds. Caleb's mad because Zachary just made a move for his licorice.

Under Control...

Well, all my angels are sleeping...and that includes Clark. Poor guy. He is working very long hours right now and barely has time to cuddle all three babies before he hits the pillow and starts all over again.



He luckily has been able to find time on the weekends to get out on some good bike rides though! He and a friend rode over 100 miles this past Saturday up to a lake that borders southern Oklahoma. I know, crazy. When they reached the lake they were feeling really good and had made it in about 2.5 hours. Then I didn't hear from him for another 5.5 hours. Those are the times when I start to panic. Apparently they rode against the wind on the way back and stopped at several Sonics to cool off. They made it though! Now he's trying to talk me into a long ride. I just tell him we need to wait until I can at least bend my knees again!





The babies are starting to become more awake and alert which means any free time between feedings is getting shorter and shorter since they are needing more attention. Starting at 8am (and every three hours after), Miss Leah gets fed. Then Zachary at 8:30am and Caleb at 9:00am. By the time everyone is happy and settled, like I mentioned before, we only have about an hour until we start over (If we're lucky and everyone has cooperated). We have to choose our interim activity wisely. Mine usually is mixing milk or showering. Mom's usually is a walk down the street or cleaning. Either way, the trio can't be fed in tandem so it still takes a while. We could feed them in tandem during the day but that would throw off their night feedings when only one person is awake doing it. They still have to be watched closely for choking/breathing/swallowing coordination too so feeding two at a time could be a problem. They are getting better everyday though. Point is, the three-hour schedule comes around quickly.

Went to the pediatrician this week because Caleb had a 'rash' on his upper chest, neck, and shoulders. He also had crusty eye issues and congestion. Doctor said not to worry about any of it and he just had a clogged tear duct and baby acne. I knew both those things already but when I called to ask the nurse about them, she insisted I come in. So whatever. Because we went though, Caleb got to be weighed. I'm happy to say we have an EIGHT-POUND baby! I was shocked! He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz at six weeks old (38 weeks 5 days). He is gaining around 2 oz a day. He feels like a monster compared to the other two but I didn't think he was that big already. No more preemie diapers for him. Here he is trying to escape this crazy place...



There is a wet bar right in the center of our house that we never use. When trying to figure out how we were going to work everything when the babies came, we decided to turn it into a 'baby bar.' The babies sleep in the dining room right off the kitchen and everything they need is in the bar. We turned the counter into a double changing table and have clothes, diapers, bath stuff, etc... in all the drawers and cabinets. Seems to be working good so far. Once they move back into their cribs I'm not sure we'll keep the baby bar going.



Here is my laboratory each night when I prepare the next five bottles for each baby. Lots of measuring and mixing and organizing bottle parts and labeling bottles. Took me almost an hour last night. Thank goodness we have the counter space.



I've started mixing half breastmilk and formula. This went fine for about three feedings then I think they caught on and wouldn't have anything to do with their bottles. Hopefully there aren't other underlying issues going on and they just don't like the taste or something. Next feeding I'm going to do exclusively formula and see if that's the case or if we need to gradually work with them.

Zachary had his eye exam last week. My 'mama bear' came out when I showed up to the office 45 minutes early (his eating time) in order to feed Zachary before the exam. They told me they like them to have empty stomachs so they don't throw up while laying down flat. I was super annoyed that no one told me that because I planned the exam around his feeding and can't get off schedule with two others at home. Obviously I told the receptionist that and how annoyed I was that this wasn't communicated. Everyone in the waiting room was looking at me and probably wondering why I was so mad about postponing his bottle 50 minutes. They said usually they tell the mothers that information but forgot to tell me. Hmmm... We got in right away and I just fed him afterwards which was fine. Usually I don't act like that in public so I was surprised and honestly, I didn't care what anyone at that office thought. I felt inconvenienced by the whole appointment anyway. That's the lack of flexibility coming out in me again. Zachary passed his exam with flying colors. I didn't watch but apparently they pried his eyes open and took a sterile paperclip to look behind them. They were looking to see if his retina was developing properly. I sat in the corner and luckily it only took about a minute. His eyes were all puffy and dilated but here he is with a nice post-bath comb over later that day. Clark refuses to let me comb his hair like that if he's around.



I don't know what it is about laying two babies in a boppy together but it always proves to be entertaining in one way or another.



This last picture is just cute. I'll keep the baby's identity anonymous since he/she wouldn't want a picture of their backside on the blog anyway. :)