The Face of Mischief

We've been all over the place recently so it's a long one! Enjoy : )

The Face of Mischief aka Thomas, he's highly mobile and into everything!
Notice the protective boppy around the bumbo

Getting into the cd's and videos

Yes they are already fighting over toys. Thomas says, "but all the Thomas the Train stuff is mine, I don't have to share."

The other two are mischievous as well, Caleb stealing papi's informations.

Their new favorite pass time is looking for the tags on their toys and then sucking on them like it was candy.

Thomas' mischief dance (sorry for the creepy voice in the background, I was watching Howard the Duck) and the silly hand gestures he's been doing recently

Just some cute pics of Eli

At our Special Day Assembly

We drove the farthest ever with the boys to our yearly Special Day Assembly (full day of Bible based discourses/lectures/experiences). We left the house at 8:30am and drove an hour to Woodburn. Once there we fed the boys and quickly dispersed them among friends. They behaved exceptionally well as usual. I'd turn every time I'd hear a baby crying to see if it was one of mine and it never was. Everyone asks me all the time "do they ever cry?" The day went smoothly except for Eli screaming and acting really scared whenever I took him to change his diaper. At one point he started shaking with freight so I figured I could change him while he stood and I held him with one hand. I took off his diaper and as I was pulling a diaper out of my bag he started peeing right onto my shirt! I quickly put the clean diaper over his wee wee and he continued to pee all over his socks, the only thing I didn't bring extra of, why would I need extra socks? Well now I know! And of course there was a huge puddle where he stood. Thankfully no one was in the nursing room while I scrambled to clean up the mess all while holding a half naked baby : P Many people didn't realize we had triplets until the very end when we started rounding them up and someone took a picture of them that we didn't even know and without asking! We were home by 5pm and were much relieved we survived!

Our nicest family picture to date, right in front of the baby Moses painting, how appripo!

We caught Caleb in mid play!

At the Rose Gardens (sorry Roses not in bloom yet)

Someone asked to take a picture of all 5 of us and they asked this time : ) We gladly complied...when we go out we usually get told that we've made someones day. Glad my reproductive powers are making the world a happier place, hehehe j/k.

Look at that handsome boy! Thomas exudes such confidence with everything he does, even using his hemangioma as part of his charm : )

Homemade Baby Food

So I've been a lazy baby food cook, I've been relying on jarred food (can you blame me, I even get it for free) and easy fresh stuff like fruit, avocado, sweet potatoes...But the boys weren't eating very much and I didn't want to go to the trouble for such a small amount. Well they are eating a lot now and this was my first crack at homemade baby food. I boiled brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, and crushed rosemary. I blended it up and made enough for two meals. It tasted delicious even to me and the babies gobbled it up.

We also spent a day at a beautiful park getting pictures of the boys and us taken by the same photographer that did their newborn pictures...I don't have them yet so stay tuned!

Thomas says, "that's all for now folks, make sure to admire my cowboy boots on the way out!"

Aunt Candy and Mama Sue Visit!

Getting pizza at the pizza shop around the corner from our house!

That might be the last time for the bear suites, it's getting too warm for them : (

Going to the little Italian place near our house for breakfast, can't bring a clunky stroller in so the double carrier it is! (thanks sis)

In their cute red hats, thank you aunt Alona!

Since I was 23weeks along not a single month has gone by without family visiting and we are well scheduled through the next few months. We are very spoiled. We always look forward to the warm association and some much needed relief from triplet duties. Last week the boys' aunt Candy and mama Sue visited us. We had a great time and they took excellent care of our little-big family. A visit with mama Sue always means that we are rolling in pies, this time we had an apple crisp and pumpkin pie. Philip doesn't really like pumpkin pie but it's my favorite so more for me! I ate enough to make me sick mmmmmm : ) Guilt free too, I need the calories, I'm flirting with going below my pre-preg weight, yikes, not good. These boys are eating me live!

This visit gave me the chance to get most of my seedling into the ground. This is what I've got going so far:
tomatoes (3)
cucumber (2)
green beans (lots, at diff stages for continuous reaping)
jalapeno pepper
carrots- not many, couldn't get them to sprout?
squash (1, orange flesh)
spinach
arugula
lettuce

Not bad, huh? Lets hope for a good growing season despite the bad forecast.

My worries have been quelled, Eli has been a really good eater the last few days. He even makes little grunting noises if I take too long to give him the next spoonful. So remember how it was Thomas who could stand well before the other two boys? We had a hard enough time getting him to stop calling his brothers "preemie legs," well here we go again. Mr. T can now roll over both ways like it's nothing, he also can do circles on his belly, a full 360 degrees if he wants. He is close to sitting up on his own although the other two are close behind. I don't know if I'd call it crawling but he does a little push up and then uses his arms to push him self backwards so he's been moving all around the living room. Consequently he's never on the floor-appropriate blanket. I picked him up once off the living room rug and his hands were full of hair (cat and human), gross! I'm a total germ-a-phoebe when it comes to carpet or as I like to call it "filth traps." So this gave me an excuse to finally get rid of it, making us a 100% carpet free household! Yes, I don't even keep a rug in the bath room (double gross). So until they can really crawl I put down a foam mat that can be easily swept, vacuumed or wiped off and it's better padded than carpet so when they roll over hard they won't bonk their heads too bad.

Next on my list is baby proofing, I've put it off somehow believing that the time when it would be needed would never come. When am I gonna find the time to do this? Are electrical sockets really THAT dangerous? (j/k)

As if the babies haven't already taken over my house, here's the new landscape.

Thomas is just as surprised as you are that he's sitting up all by self!

We finally decided on the dates for our California trip this summer. The boys are really excited and want to meet all their fans so check in with mama Sue, mama Elda or ME for the exact dates so we don't miss you (I'd rather not say on the blog in case of weirdo's). Our time will be divided between Davis and San Jose of course. We'd like to make it to one Davis congregation Sunday meeting, we are all so excited yet nervous about the drive down there.


Just when I was thinking "I haven't heard Eli talking in a while?"

1 yr Blog Anniversary!

the rugrats

one of our new fav books, three baby owls that I change the names to Caleb, Eli and Thomas, it's too cute : )



It's been a whole year since I started this blog. I sometimes try to think when I'll stop writing/blogging and can't seem to decide, when they turn one? No, too soon. When the boys learn to walk? No, so many more milestones. So I finally decided that I'll probably stop once life starts becoming wonderfully boring and normal. Why? Well it's the boys that are interesting and I must admit I'm pretty boring. So once the whole 'triplet' novelty wears off I'll stop. Of course I'll keep the blog around and post pictures and videos (maybe every other month or once a month?) because both grandma's would kill me if I didn't.

Phil came up with the idea and got the blog up and running for me. At the time I didn't really know what a blog was or what I was supposed to do with it. I looked back at all my old entries before the boys were born and the first few were so lacking. No details just a few words and my ultrasound pics. So I thought I'd write what should have been my first blog entry while the memories are still fresh in my mind.

April 2010
Identical Triplets?

On 3/30/10 we had an appointment scheduled for an ultrasound at 8.0 weeks pregnant. I was kind of nervous since the three home preg tests I had previously taken were all weakly positive (why was this when my HCG levels were ragingly high, I don't know?!).

In the ultrasound room we looked up at the wall mounted screen and had no idea what we were looking at even though we'd probably looked at hundreds of 8 week ultrasounds on the internet. We nervously asked the technician "do you see a heartbeat?" She paused for a moment and then said "I see three babies," slightly matter of fact and questioning her self. I said "what?!...what do you mean three babies?"
She then turned the screen she was looking at around so we could see the image more up close and pointed to the three little peanuts, each with a beautifully rhythmic beating heart. At that point it became so obvious what we were looking at. She finished up the ultrasound as we chit chatted about how we hadn't used any drugs or treatments and how you could tell if they were identical or not. She left the room and said a doctor would be in to give us more information.

Phil and I sat there for about 45minutes waiting. We looked at each other as we both said and thought "what the heck?!" The first few thoughts in my head were "this is crazy...I'm going to have to quit my job...wow this is kind of cool." Then I said to Phil "what if it's two boys and girl or two girls and a boy? I hope they are not all boys or all girls." Phil says, "I don't know but there better at least be one boy in there!"

The radiologist came in to congratulate us and to inform us that since the babies all shared one placenta that this would be an extra risky triplet pregnancy and that we should schedule an appointment with a perinatologist as soon as possible!

Geez...things just keep getting more complicated we thought. Then we asked "so that means they are identical and we are having either three boys or three girls right?" "Right!" We asked a few more questions but quite honestly we couldn't think straight.

I went to work feeling like I was having an out of body experience. Nobody even knows I'm pregnant, yet and here I am pregnant with three babies! I couldn't concentrate and since I didn't have a lot going on at work to distract my mind I left and went home early. Of course Phil goes off to work after the ultrasound and googles everything he can about triplet pregnancies, thoroughly scaring the crap out of himself. So many things can go wrong before and after the babies arrive! TTTS, preterm labor, preeclampsia, etc, etc, etc.
I on the other hand I wasn't getting too roused about anything besides the possibility of resting on the couch, I had already been experiencing major fatigue and a little bit of nausea. I was mostly thinking about practical stuff like finances and how the heck I was supposed to care for three babies ALL BY MYSELF!

When we thought there was only one on the way we had decided not to tell anyone until the second trimester just in case I miscarried. Now that we had three on the way, and were so excited we decided to tell everyone once our next ultrasound showed up fine (in two weeks). A few days went by and we both could NOT sleep! We had to tell someone. "Ok so we'll tell our parents and have them keep it a secret until the next ultrasound " we decided.
On Tuesday we found out about the triplets and on Saturday I called up my mom and told her I was pregnant. Of course she was ecstatic since this would be her first grandchild. I told her to check her email cause I had sent her a picture of the ultrasound. She opens it up and I ask her "how many babies do you see?"

I told my mom not to tell anyone except my sister and brother until the next ultrasound. That lasted all of a couple of hours. My mom cc'd me on a mass email she sent out to all the family and her friends. Oh well....Next Phil called and told his parents. Thankfully they kept it a secret.

What happened next? We were finally able to get a good nights sleep! We had passed on the burden to our parents and were much relieved. We began telling everyone after the next ultrasound checked out great. It was so fun seeing everyone's reaction when we told people we were pregnant and that that wasn't even the exciting part. "Twins?!" they would say, "nope, triplets!" So many different reactions, disbelieve, "you are just joking!," uncontrollable laughter, explosive but happy "WHAT! OMG!" followed by screaming (I think this was Lacretia and a couple other "Irvington-ites" : ).

By the time we had our first Peri appointment Phil had read almost the entire multiples pregnancy bible (see right side bar under "expecting multiples?") and had told me all about it (still too tired to be proactive). We met with our doctor which ended up being the most fantastic doctor ever, we were her 5th triplet pregnancy but we were her first identical triplets. I think she saw how happy and excited we were that she never even brought up the selective reduction/abortion topic. Later we would find out that selective reduction would not have been an option in our case. It was either all or nothing since the babies shared a single placenta. Not that it mattered, the thought never even crossed our minds.



And that's how it was!

7 months!

So is it the "swaying" chair now?

Sorry this comes 1 week late but I've been busy enjoying the sun, well its raining again so here go's. The boys are now past the half year mark, such big boys they are becoming! Although I like to think I get to enjoy babyhood a little longer than parents of full term babies : ) I've always especially liked babies before they can walk and since they seem at least two months away from crawling I'm predicting they'll start walking around 14mo, just a guess though.

The past few weeks have been marked by many little changes. The best one so far is that the pooping has subsided (see 4-25-11 post). The doc said not to worry about it unless it became diarrhea and to not stop the solids because it was probably just their systems adjusting OR that it might also be the new normal! This shook me to the core, the NEW NORMAL!?! I was about to start giving them away if that was the case.

I'm now down to one swing! They slept so well in those stupid things but I got sick of being so dependent on unreliable swings. Also we were spending a small fortune on batteries. And I didn't think it was very healthy for them to sleep in those things all day long.

I finally had to admit they were getting too old for their baby einstein (play mat/activity gym thingy). It wasn't holding their attention like it used to and they were starting to manhandle the thing and I worried they would rip it. I have it on Craigslist now : (

Thomas finally worked his way out of the Bumbo. The first time he looked so happy and accomplished, I thought I could just let him keep doing it. But the second time around he must have bonked his head a little too hard cause he started crying. Now I put a Boppy around it so he's kind of protected although he hasn't done it since. He either learned his lesson or forgot he knows how to do it. Now I'm not sure if I should retire the Bumbo's or just wait till they can get out of them more gracefully???

Caleb and Thomas I think are going through a major growth spurt, they eat everything in sight and are downing their solids like it was milk. I'm trying not to worry too much but Eli is such a wimpy eater. He still only accepts like 4 or 5 baby spoonfuls of solids and is done after that. If they were fraternal brothers I'd think "they are just different" but they are identical and have always kept up with each other quite evenly. On the other hand Eli seems as happy and content as ever so I'm trying not to stress about it.

This stage in their life I'd describe as "frustrated." They love playing with their toys but they don't sit up yet or crawl, so the minute they drop something or something is out of reach they scream bloody murder. I spend most of their play time re-handing them toys. I really hope they can do either sometime soon so they can become more independent during play time. Which comes first? Sitting up or crawling? Or is there no pattern to it?

Thank you mama Sue!

Bath time is now extra fun for us and easy on mom : )
Shall I venture to try this twice a week instead of once a week?

The best part of these pictures is that you get to see the ugly grout lines on our bathtub and our ridiculous Swedish sauna inspired bathroom (claw foot tub and remodel put off because of triplets).

March of Dimes -The Walk!

5 sets of triplets did the walk! [one is not in the pic : ( ]
Ages 7mo (pitts trips), 13mo, 2.5yrs, almost 3yrs, and 3yrs old

Trying to catch up to the group by feeding the last baby while walking

I don't know what people were more excited about, that they were seeing triplets or that they were wearing their bear suites : )

The stroller gets amazingly more compact if you just turn the seats around and put them all upright. It did great!

3 sets of triplets, oh my!

All tuckered out after the walk, thought we could get away with this and not swaddle them but they only lasted about 20min before they woke up again

The bears on parade

Thank you to all our sponsors! Phil and I were able to raise $279 for Babies. Our "Triplets and More" team raised a combined total of over $1000! We had a great time and the boys really enjoyed it, Thomas even made up a "March for Babies" dance.

Does My Bum Look Too Big?

That would be a most definite YES!

~End Photoshoot~

We'd like to thank everyone who has donated to the trips diaper service. The generosity of soooo many has kept them in diapers for almost 10 months (three months left of prepaid service). The cloth diapering experience is not only cheaper but better for baby's skin than disposables. But I'm not knocking disposables, we'd be using them if we could afford it. We bought enough preemie disposables to last us the first two weeks after bringing the boys home but ever since it's been cloth. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!!

I was almost getting second thoughts about it before the boys were born and after I had invested in the diaper covers and had registered for the service. I had heard many stories of smelly babies, rashes, and blow outs to name a few. But to my relief it has been a very pleasant experience. The service is great because all I have to do is put the dirty diapers on the porch and every week they are taken away and I get fresh clean ones. I swore that I'd never attempt to wash my own but knowing I could save almost $100 a month is too good to pass up. I've asked other M.O.M's who've done it and they only have good things to say. So I might splurge a month or two more after my prepaid runs out in hopes that the boys poops get more solid but then I'll start washing my own.

Which brings me to another topic, about two weeks after starting solids the boys started pooping like crazy. 3-4 times a day for each baby! (they were going once maybe twice a day before) Their poo went from a tomato sauce consistency to more like tomato paste and it makes for some very messy diaper changes. I feel like more is coming out than is going in, is this normal??? Is their G.I. tract adjusting? (I'm emailing their doctor) They only eat like three or four tablespoons of solids once a day. By the time Phil comes home I'm about to scream, I just can't stand to change another dirty diaper! I'm also picking them up more to take them to the changing table and it's killing my back, as if it didn't already hurt! OK enough venting... On a lighter note here are some pro's and con's of cloth:

Con's

-If you only have one baby it's probably not much cheaper to do the service (it's like wholesale the more you buy the cheaper each one is)

-If you wash your own you have to deal with poo...my reality soon enough : (

-There is an upfront investment on diaper covers which are very expensive $8-25 a piece and you need about 6-10 per baby. (thankfully I got my newborn/smalls used and Phil's friend generously gave us a ton of mediums and larges)

-They are a pain to deal with if you leave the house a lot (but perfect for the triplet mom who never leaves her house)

-More frequent diaper changes (I change them every three hours during the day and just double up at night)

-Takes about 5 seconds longer to change them

-Their butts will appear larger than they really are...you should see them at night when we double up!

Pro's

-No chemicals on baby's skin

-Better for the environment (although this may be debatable)

-Less blow outs (I've had more blow outs using disposables and they are hardly ever in them!...but I also buy the cheapest ones I can find)

-A lot cheaper than disposables and almost no cost if you wash your own (ours are 15cents each and if you buy the good disposables they are more like 20+ cents each plus you need to shell out for a bigger trash pick up)

-almost no cost if you wash your own

-almost no cost if you wash your own

-they potty train faster!!!!!!!!!! Boys generally take longer to potty train than girls. I'm looking at 3+ years, so if there is any way to expedite this I'm doing it. Also, the sooner they potty train the sooner I can drop them off at the Ikea play area for some kid free time during the week : )

-Cute diaper covers...see pictures : )