Cali Trip-part 2 (San Jose)

I'm probably related to about half the people that live in Mazatlan Mx but here in the states I have but just a few family members. Quality and not quantity is the recipe here, we were sure glad to see all the family we are closest to. We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect in the Silicon Valley so we got to spend a lot of time outside!

I didn't have to change a single poopy diaper in 5 whole days, my longest stretch yet, thanks to my mom and sister : ) We had the baby monitor set up so we could hear when the boys woke up from their naps. I tell you, a baby would cry and I'd have one butt cheek up when I'd realize that my mom was already half way there! It was great.

The boys got to meet their only surviving great grand parent, at a whopping 84 years old she was more than excited to do a triple hold, she even suggested it herself! Might I dare to say this is the oldest triple hold on record? I'll contact the Guinness Book of World Records after I finish writing this post.

Since the fam in SJ didn't get to come to any of the three baby showers we had in Portland, my mom decided to throw us a delayed baby shower. It ended up being a fiesta of epic proportions: bouncy house, cotton candy machine, party favors, cake, that white jello with fruit (delish!), and of course to top it off a pinata. The boys got some good loot too, winter clothes (for next winter tho), lots of age appropriate toys (much needed), and cute stuffed dogs that are actually sleeping bags!

Despite the boys being run down with colds we ventured out to the Flea Market for a dose of some culture. This place is a Mecca, it's enormous with carnival rides, live music, and anything you can think of to buy, especially if it's bootlegged. We bought some super cute shirts for the boys but they probably won't be able to wear them for a couple of years : (

Our last day there we went to a 50% off sale at this thrift store that for some reason I always find awesome stuff at. I scoured the store and found some cool new threads. To end the night we went out to Chinese food and the boys behaved terribly. That was the second time in a row, two strikes and you're out boys! That's it, no more restaurants for these guys, not unless they have a huge play area.

Here is a movie Phil and I put together, enjoy....

Cali Trip-part 1 (Davis)

Who do you NOT see in this picture...ME : )

The Road Trip Down

I tried to make it as painless as possible and try to keep the boys usual routine. The plan was to leave at 3am and drive till 8am, the boys pretty much slept most of that time. Our first stop was at a grocery store, I nursed all the boys in the car and Phil and I took a bathroom/coffee break at the store. We drove to a nearby park to feed the boys their breakfast and let them burn off some energery. Unfortunantly I didn't think to bring a blanket and the grass was all wet from watering (of course it's 8am!). Thankfully their were some bucket swings and we were able to swing the boys long enough for the grass to dry some. The boys got good and tired, they all nursed once again and back in the car it was for another 3hrs drive. We stopped at a Starbucks were I nursed the babies and fed them their lunch. Since we were only 2.5hrs away from our destination and it was over 100 degrees outside we decided to make it a quick stop and keep going. The boys did great for most of the trip, Thomas was kind of loosing it the last 1.5hrs but was not too bad. Caleb did well and slept most of the time he was in the car. Eli I think is made to travel since I never heard a peep out of him and he was awake a lot of the time.

Davis, CA

It's hard to get all the Pittsenbarger side of the family together considering one brother is in China, one sister is in Australia, the other sister in Utah, and the Pitts trips are in the PacNorthWest. We got close but no cigar. When we arrived all of Phil's brothers and sisters (families included) were there to greet us, except Garret which was not able to make the trip out from China were he is currently teaching English (so jealous). Immediately everyone crowded around the triplets still in their car seats. This would have scared most babies but these guys have absolutely zero stranger anxiety and I think they welcome the attention. After hugs and kisses all around the boys were put down to play and they went absolutely wild. It's not everyday they get a new landscape to play in. So many new toys and things to explore. We had a blast and we pretty much stayed at Phil's parents house and visited with family and friends as they came by. We had a family dinner party were the boys got to meet the extended family as well. It was also going to be a dual baby shower for Phil's cousin Gabrielle but she went into labor two weeks early and had the baby the night before. She was dead set on making it to the party but thankfully her doctor did not allow it. Especially since half the family caught a bug that was going around triplets and mom included! We are no strangers to sickness since even through much precaution the boys have pretty much gotten something every other month since they came home. The boys got their first fever and dose of Tylenol ever in Cali : (

First Steps in Cali

They came crawling and they left walking! I looked over at Thomas and he was standing with two toys, one in each hand. He wanted to get to a chair that was approximately one step away. I saw him look at his toys, then the ground, then the chair. What to do what to do? I could tell he really didn't want to let go of his toys so he just went for it. One big step toward the chair! A couple days later we went to Brit and Jehan's (Brihan, whom we went camping with earlier this summer) house for dinner. With a little encouragement Eli took a couple of steps towards Jehan's sister Jade. Then Caleb took a couple of steps toward Jehan.

We are a little insane about pictures but we never feel like we take enough. With over a 1000 pictures its too many to choose from so Phil and I put together this movie....enjoy!

Triplets in Cal_Davis from Janet Pittsenbarger on Vimeo.

Multiples' Interactions

This cartoon was sent to me by the boys' uncle Garret, it has nothing to do with this post but it was too funny not to include!

Under the subheading 'Multiples' Interactions' the book Mothering Multiples says, "A toddler multiple actually plays with a fellow multiple, not merely alongside another as two single-born toddlers tend to do in parallel play. Parents of multiples report social behaviors between, or among, their toddlers that child development books generally list as more typical for preschool children.
Multiples often treat other children as they treat one another, and they expect these children to understand the interactive cues they have developed for the set."

I often get the question, "do they play with each other?" My usual answer is I'm not sure but they do fight with each other! Since they were capable they have pulled hair, taken toys, and pushed each other. I'm not sure when this happened but for quite some time now they have been fully aware of one another.

Well last night Philip witnessed and I caught the tail end of one of the cutest things ever! Caleb and Eli were playing peek-a-boo with each other. One was on the side of the couch and the other was in front of it. They would take turns peeking at each other and both would laugh and giggle when making eye contact. This was also followed by some chasing. TOO CUTE!!! I'm sure this is not the first interactive play that has happened but this is the first time us slow witted adults have actually noticed it.

This is the begining of a very special relationship and one of the most precious moments parents of multiples live for. This is what makes all the hard work of raising two or more at once worth while. Knowing your children, especially those that are identical, will share such a close and special bond with another human being that us 'singletons' will never understand. They will always have a best friend and person(s) who understand them better than anyone else, they were after all literally the same person at one point.

If you have an hour to kill check out this episode of Primetime Nightline it's so cool and freaky!

Twin Tuition Primetime Nightline

Caleb Walks!

Our California trip is winding down and we'll be back home soon. Seeing as how we took over 1000 pictures, I have a lot to sort through and it may take me a bit before I can post about our latest adventures.

In the mean time check out my sisters blog, she's battled infertility for a long time and is about to go through IVF. I go and get pregnant with too many babies and she can't get pregnant at all, what's wrong with this world! Anyways, send good thouhts and wishes her way!

My IVF Journey

11 months!

This picture and the two month shot have been the hardest to get...so wiggly! I wanted their California themed shirts to show up better, Caleb's is obvious, Eli has 'sunset beach' and Thomas has 'Monterey bay.'

Mr T playing the double marackas
this is how I spend my days, at the bottom of their doggy pile, afraid to move since I might knock someone over

Thomas took his first real bonafide step just a day shy of turning 11 months old!!!

Baby Food Making Operation

The growing season has been pretty rotten here. The rest of the country is boiling but the west coast has had a cold summer, just a few days over 90 degrees here! I like the heat : ) So everything that has come out of my garden, which hasn't been much, goes to the babies. In addition I buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies from the grocery store and make all sorts of different combinations of baby food. I keep it interesting for the babies by building up their repertoire of spices like basil, dill, cinnamon, cumin, rosemary just to name a few. Although I had to cut back on the amount of garlic I give them cause they started having really bad breath. I don't make really big batches of food just enough for two meals. One gets eaten fresh and the other I freeze. I don't like the idea of freezing a bunch because I want the boys to eat as much fresh food as possible and if it's been frozen for weeks it's not really fresh any more.

I kind of got inpatient with the four day wait rule to introduce something new so now I do a two day wait rule. I figure if they are going to have a bad allergy to something it'll probably show up within a day of eating it. So I spent about a week and a half getting everyone up to date with some ingredients so that the boys could have Tom-Kah, a delicious Thai soup that I make (I dabble in Thai cooking). But I'm wondering at what point do parents throw caution to the wind? It's gonna take a million years if I do a two wait rule on all new foods, I call for 2 years.

I guess I'm just not cut out for growing carrots

Breastfeeding Operation

I'm still keeping it up, everyone nurses and the last one also gets a bottle of formula. Although Eli still refuses to drink any formula which I offer it to him every so often just to see if he's changed his mind. Eli is just being ridiculous because he has no problem eating rice cereal made with formula. The biggest challenge lately is just eating enough to keep with the demands of three very active little boys. During the day I nurse each boy 5 times and on a normal night I nurse twice, on a bad one 4 times. So that is 17-19 times a day that I nurse babies! As we are approaching the boys first birthday I'm excited about patting myself on the back for providing the majority of milk my boys have drank for one whole year! It has been one of the biggest challenges of my life, I pumped exclusively until the boys were old enough to nurse on there own and then continued to pump another two months in hopes that I could stimulate my body to produce enough for everyone. And might I add I was all alone with the babies for a good chunk of that time, it is very hard to hold a baby while pumping! I prayed that no one would get too upset while I pumped. Once they turn one, I am giving myself a break. I still want to nurse them as long as they want but not too much past two, cause then it's just creepy (for me, I'm not judging anyone else here). I'm hoping Eli will drink non-formula milk so that I can do a nice rotation of nurse two babies and hand the third one a bottle/sippy cup, which they've proven capable of doing but don't want to as of yet. As they get older I'd like to drop a nursing session here and there and just have them drink regular milk.

How do they sleep?

I get this question a lot. Thomas still sleeps through the night, yay for him! But I should define what sleeping through the night means for me, which is baby wakes up but easily falls back to sleep and does NOT need to eat to fall asleep. So really most nights Thomas needs some light snuggling. Caleb and Eli only wake up once. I haven't layed down the law to stop them but I'm not in a big hurry for them to sleep through the night since I feel pretty well rested the way it is now and I really like to snuggle them. They are only little once and we have till we get sick of it to use alternative methods or maybe they'll just do it on their own like Thomas. On the other hand naps have taken a different turn. Most of the time they would fall asleep nursing or almost and I'd finish the job with a little rocking. It's pretty easy to get them to fall asleep, I've never spent more than 5 minutes if they are actually tired. Ok so lately the minute I put them down they wake up and cry. Since I have the other babies to attend to I'd just say "sorry pal but I've got to get to your brother(s), I'll come back later." Well by the time I get back they are fast asleep. So now most of the time they just put themselvses to sleep!
Eli loves his Ray Allan bear, he's so cute with it. He cuddles it, picks him up, bites his nose, or lays on it : )
it's been HOT!...well just two days really
I love this face

42 min of Peace and Quiet

Watching Eebee's

Thomas, Caleb, Eli

We discovered Eebee's Adventures: Music and Sounds on instant Netflix and the boys are wild over it. It's 42 minutes long and during that time we can count on them being fully entertained and completely unaware of anything else. We play it for them at least once a day usually so Phil and I can eat dinner or if they are getting too cranky before bedtime this buys us some time while we get everyone ready for bed. We've tried other show's like this on Netflix but nothing else compares to Eebee's. I don't want to create tv junkies but let's just call it survival!

A Much Over Due Thank You

Occasionally when I was pregnant and people found out I was expecting triplets they'd say "oh you'll have to hire a nanny" or "oh you'll need a maid." I never knew quite what to say to that since I wasn't sure if they were joking or serious but I think most of the time they were serious. In my mind I'd roll my eyes and think 'yeah right like we can afford that!' Of course, both a maid and nanny are needed, but after three pay cuts, that is not an option. We've never spent a penny in credit card interest and we are not about to now. Thankfully though we have many many wonderful friends and family that have helped us along.

One such friend, Keturah, has cleaned our house every other week since the boys were about two month olds and still does! Another friend, Hava, when the boys were small faithfully came every Wednesday so I could take a nap and make it to meeting that night. Now she comes whenever I need to do errands or go to appointments were I can't take the babies. While Hava is beautiful both inside and out I don't have a flattering picture of her to post but hopefully I'll get one soon!

Our friend Keturah being silly

The boys like watching their friend Oscar play the wii (not pictured here)

The preemie bottles from the NICU are a big hit with the boys. Why are my fav outfits always the silly retro hand-me-downs?

Lamenting

C T E at 4mo old

C E T now

The boys are almost 11 months old and it almost makes me want to cry when I think they won't be babies for much longer. No matter how hard I try to enjoy them, hug them, kiss them, play with them, I just can't get enough of them! Time is slipping away from me and I can't do anything about it. They say there are mom's of 'firsts' and mom's of 'lasts.' Meaning, some mom's can't wait for their kid to experience a new first thing. While other mom's cherish their baby's lasts, like last time in a cute outfit or last time in their crib. I'm definitely a mom of lasts, I discovered that out when at 7lbs I was still squeezing the boys into their preemie clothes.

So I've started thinking about our next stroller options, and I've been eye-ing this pseudo triplet stroller where two sit and one stands. The advantage is that it's the size of a regular double stroller but it accommodates three. I figure when they are bigger I should be able to convince one of them to ride standing. Then it occurred to me that by then they will have outgrown their real triplet stroller, I can't stand the thought of it even though we have a good year before that happens. Even if I wanted to I could never have triplets again or a sweet little preemie to overprotect. I even get a little jealous of expectant M.O.M.'s. It's such a worthwhile exciting adventure and such a unique experience that few ever get to live through. I didn't know it was possible to miss something before it's even over.

On the other hand I do get excited that the boys are learning new things and developing as they should. I just wish it took a little longer.

Update

The boys all free-stand and they can do it without using anything to pull themselves up. They are soooooo close to taking that first step. I just haven't been able to coax them to try it, although Caleb took a mini step were he repositioned one of his legs so he could balance better. I won't count it since he wasn't trying to move forward. Caleb has always had the lead on mobility, he was the first to roll over at a tender 3mo old, so my bets are all on him to be the first to walk.

Sometimes I think the boys have lousy appetites but I don't worry about it since they poop so dang much! I get 150 cloth diapers delivered every week but in reality we use about 120 diapers a week and since the cost is the same we've kept the same order. Well recently on two separate occasions we've actually run out of diapers! Here are some truths:

-There are about 6-9 poopy diapers per day
-Everyone mostly poops in the morning or early afternoon
-Caleb can have a poopy diaper at anytime of the day, that boy can poop!
-Their poop is getting really really smelly : (

Seriously though, they only eat healthy stuff, mostly fruits and vegetables, yogurt, and a little bit of poultry.