Babies in Pumpkins

It's not fall until you put babies in pumpkins right?! Ok maybe I made that up. But it should be a real thing. 

So several of my triplet mommy friends on Facebook have posted pics of their trio in pumpkins over the last few weeks and they're adorable! (Sorry can't share other peoples pics. But just know that their babies are super cute too!) Anyways, I didn't think we could do it because the boys can't really sit. Actually they can't sit at all. James can sit in a bumbo seat. Mason and Logan can only keep their heads up for about 30 seconds before they get tired and lose control of their heads (maybe a little longer I haven't timed them). But I found out that, guess what?! They don't have to be able to hold their heads up to sit in pumpkins. Yay! So needless to say I was pretty excited! This was my one goal for the weekend. (I also cleaned bathrooms, did laundry, went running, and other productive things). 

So Addison and I went to Kroger for pumpkins yesterday. Of course they were almost out. But not quite! They had just a few left at the bottom of the pumpkin box. I almost fell in trying to get them out! Sorry no pictures! But here's some help for your mental picture - they keep the pumpkins in this big cardboard box that sits on pallets. Sounds nice, but the box is about 4 feet tall. So I had to lean my entire body over the side to reach the pumpkins at the bottom. And they weren't small pumpkins either.

Then the fun part! We got to make the pumpkins! And Brian got to use power tools! I think he used more than 1 power tool. (See, arts and crafts are fun for men too!)

And Addison helped scoop out the pumpkin guts!

Then of course I wrote on the pumpkins. With the fanciest crafting tool ever. A sharpie. 

And finally . . . Picture time!!! This went waaaayyyy better than I expected! Only 1 baby cried (Mason) and no one fell out of his pumpkin. Also no one got stuck IN the pumpkin (although Logan's pumpkin was a little snug). I call that a success! I posted the best one at the top. Here's a few outtakes. 

I'm pretty happy with the picture! I hope you like it too!

Oh and I'll leave you with one sad pup in his Halloween costume. He's been wearing it all day. And he's not happy with me at all!

So So So Busy!

Well the boys are 5.5 months old and we're finally getting back to normal. Normalish. We've been really really busy. Of course! But I'm loving it! (Except 2:30 am. I don't love 2:30 am. But I do love sleepy 2:30 am babies). Sorry it's been a few weeks since I've had time to post on the blog! Here's a brief update on how we're doing!

We went to the high risk newborn clinic on Friday and saw Dr. Peeples for a NICU follow up. Everyone is doing great! Here's updated stats on all 3:

Mason  

Weight: 10 lbs. 14 oz. (5th percentile)

Length: 22 inches 

Logan

Weight: 9 lbs. 13 oz. (under 2nd percentile) 

Length: 21.5 inches 

James

Weight: 10 lbs. 9 oz. (2nd percentile)

Length: 21.5 inches 

So they're all tiny. The percentiles above are actually based off their adjusted age not their actual age! For those of you who haven't ever had a preemie, adjusted age is a baby's age if he had been born on his due date. So our adjusted she is basically 3 months now (starting at July 23). I asked if they will always be at the bottom of the growth chart. Dr. Peeples said maybe. Someone has to be at the bottom! But all 3 of our little guys have been at the bottom all along so they're staying on track. The main thing we're watching is that they stay on their growth curve. And so far they are doing what they should be doing! 

I'm going to keep this short because if not I'll never finish this post! (I actually started writing this 3 days ago. And I started thinking about writing it 3 days before that!) 

Here's our schedule these days:

The boys are still on a 3 hour schedule during the day. We get up at 6, then they eat every 3 hours until 9 pm. I'm still breastfeeding Mason and Logan. They each breastfeed once at night (Mason at 6; Logan at 9) and we rotate 6 am during the week (and we do Logan at 6 am, Mason at 9 am on the weekends). I was planning to go 4-6 months but I'm thinking I may keep going now that we're almost to 6 months. I hate pumping (only do that 3 times a day now) but I love the bonding with breastfeeding so I think I'll keep it up. And I love how good it is for them, especially during flu and RSV season.

Back to the schedule. It's all about the schedule! In the mornings after they eat at 6, they all go in their swings and they swing until we're ready to go (or until it's time to eat at 9 on the weekends). After the 9 am bottle they play on the play mat, in the bouncy seat, or wherever they're happy (usually the play mat) until they get cranky, then it's back to the swings. They nap in their beds after the noon bottles. (Logan usually finishes his nap in his swing because he's NOT a good sleeper). Ten we play and swing from 3 to 9. Then they go to bed after they eat at 9 pm. And then, if everything works out (and it's not Brian's night on monitor duty) they sleep until 6! We still have to get up and replace pacis several times. Logan is the worst sleeper. We've actually caved a few times and fed him around 3 or 4. But we're making progress. Most nights at least. 

We take baths every other night. Dad is in charge of baths and he's really good at it! 

And of course Addison has her own busy schedule! Volleyball 3 nights a week, dance 3 nights a week, and her social life. I don't remember being that busy at 10!

The biggest news since my last post - the boys started school today! We had to let our nanny go a few weeks ago. Brian was the nanny the past 2 weeks. He's super dad! But he was really ready for work today! 

Here's a picture of our first first day of school:

I don't have many other updates. Everyone got a good report from Dr. Peeples last week. She ordered a blood gas on Logan and it was great. He did so well that Dr. Peeples came in smiling to share the results! Yay Logan! It's always good when the doctor is smiling! He's going to stay on oxygen a little longer still though. We go back to the newborn clinic next month so we'll know more then. 

Here's some pictures from the last few weeks:

Our first time using the triple decker stroller. And our first walk!

Just hanging out with Nana!

We love, love, love our play mat!

And some pics of each baby:

Mason:

Playing with the best big sister in the world!

Hanging with my Aunt Teresa

Logan:

Zonked out!

Playing with Addison

Happy Halloween!

James:

Happy boy!

We have a thumb sucker! 

Snuggles with Mommy!

5 Months Old!

I think this is my favorite picture so far!

The boys turned 5 months old last Monday! (I know I'm a little late!) And they're finally almost big enough for their legwarmers. (Not really but I can pretend). Yay! We took our pictures a few days late too. But not because we didn't try. The first time I tried I got a few ok pics.  

Then Logan had a meltdown. 

No pictures Mom!

I also learned that they aren't quite big enough for chair pictures. 

Ha! Maybe next month!

Anyways, I can't believe it's been 5 months already! We are loving every minute with our whole family at home! (Well not every minute but most minutes!) I don't even mind all the poop and spit up. Brian might though because the boys seem to target him! Ha! That means they love me more right?! James has peed on me about every other day since he came home though!

The boys are pretty good babies overall. Most importantly, they sleep well at night. Right now, we feed them at 9, then they sleep until around 3. When one wakes up we get all 3 up to eat. Brian and I both get up for MOTN feeding time. One of us feeds Mason and Logan and the other one feeds James. We've gotten pretty good at it and can usually get them changed, fed, and back to bed in 30-45 minutes. Then they sleep until 6-7! Last night no one woke up until 4 am so hopefully they'll make it a few more hours soon! We take turns every night on who gets the monitor for paci duty!

Here's how we can feed all 3 at once:

If I'm by myself I just sit in front of them and keep bottles in, burp, and keep everyone happy. But I usually hold James because he's not a good eater (but he's getting better!) If you look closely, you'll see that James is NOT eating his bottle in this picture!

Here's an update on all 3 boys:

Mason:

In a surprising turn of events, Mason is now our happiest baby. Mason loves to play. Mason especially loves the play gym! He'll stay down there for an hour sometimes. And he's a talker! He babbles non stop! So cute! And he's discovered his hands and loves to put them in his mouth. He is also pretty friendly and he'll let anyone hold him. 

Mason usually has a meltdown between 7-9 pm. Then he's angry. So he joins us for dinner quite often. 

Mason is also our best sleeper. He usually sleeps for the entire nap time. And he's almost never the one who wakes up first in the middle of night. Yay Mason!

Mason still likes to be swaddled like a burrito. Especially during his meltdown time! But he can go to sleep without his hands wrapped up (but I still take his hands away because he sleeps better that way!)

Mason also likes bath time. 

Look at those cheeks! Ha!

Mason does not like tummy time. He almost always rolls over right away! We'll keep working on it though!

Here's a another picture of Mason:

He looks like he's up to no good doesn't he?!

Logan:

Logan is our sweet boy. He's probably the most laid back of all 3 too. He is still on his oxygen all the time. We saw Dr. Peeples about a week and a half ago in the newborn clinic again and we did a swallow study. Logan is not aspirating which made me super happy because that means he can still breast feed and get breast milk bottles. But just to be safe, we're thickening Logan's formula bottles to a nectar consistency (think tomato juice consistency). We also started caffeine and an inhaler to help open up his lungs and hopefully help him take deeper breaths. He hates the inhaler and acts like I'm literally trying to kill him every time we do it (which is twice a day!) I hope it works!

Logan also loves the play gym (not as much as Mason though!) And Logan loves the bouncy seat! 

Logan especially loves the lady bug that you can't see on the back

But Logan's favorite thing in the whole world is his swing! Sometimes he'd rather swing than be held. So he swings. A lot! And he holds onto his Sophie the Giraffe while he swings.

Logan has discovered his hands. He just stares at them. Ha! And he's learned how to stick out his tongue and blow spit bubbles. So he's usually a little drooly! 

Logan does not like bath time! Not at all! He usually screams the whole time! 

Logan also does not really appreciate tummy time. We usually do his tummy time with him laying on one of us. 

The funniest thing that Logan likes: pictures! He gets so happy whenever I start picture time! Ha! 

Logan (left), James (right), Mason (flying on top)

Here's one more picture of Logan:

This is serious Logan. In his skeleton sleeper.

James:

James is loving living at home. Or I think he is! He's just too sweet! He seems to be adjusting really well. He loves the play gym too. Almost as much as Mason! And he really loves the bouncy seat! He doesn't like it quite as much as he liked the mobile at the NICU but it's close.

James loves the bouncy seat!

James doesn't talk much but he does smile quite a bit. Usually when he's playing by himself! And he gave Dr. O'Neill, our pediatrician, a huge grin the other day at his first appointment!

James is also a good sleeper at night time. Not as good at nap time! He does not like to be swaddled with his arms wrapped up. We wrap them up sometimes but he always gets at least one free. He sleeps ok that way though so I'm not too worried. 

James is probably the best about self soothing in his bed (not other places though). He loves to look at the stripes and letters on the wall. He usually lays in bed for a while then goes to sleep on his own. He has his giraffe wubbanub but he doesn't always have to have it in his mouth. Sometimes he just likes to hold it!

James is not a very good eater. I know you can't tell foe the pictures! But he fights us several times a day so we have to really work with him and stay patient to try and get him to take as much as possible at each feeding. He's doing much better the last few days. His reflux combined with the fact that he didn't eat by mouth for so long just make eating harder for Mr. James! But he'll get the hang of it!

James also doesn't like car rides or his carseat some days. Last week I had to take him back to the hospital for an appointment and he cried almost the whole way there. Then he was happy for the doctor. And then he cried from the minute I put him back in his carseat until we almost made it home! I hope he gets over this soon! He's going to be in the car and his car seat quite a bit!

Here's a few pictures of James:

Selfie for Daddy while we waited for the doctor

And a selfie of the best part of being a mommy. Baby snuggles!

Thanks everyone who has helped us get this far! We seriously could not have made it without each and every one of you!