6.5 Months (and lots of pictures)

Well hello again! It's been a while since I've posted. Ok it's only been 2 weeks but that's a long time for me! And I feel like so much has happened in the last 2 weeks! I planned on posting after our November newborn clinic appointment. That was 2 Fridays ago! I'm not even sure where to start at this point! How about pictures, then an update on appointments, etc.? Ok so it's mostly pictures! That's what everyone comes here for though right?

We finally fit into our Arkansas onesies! We wore them the last 2 Saturdays. And the Hogs won. I know it's because of us. We'll wear them again this weekend. WPS (Woo Pig Sooie for you non-Arkansans)

Mason

Logan

Logan not quite sitting up on his own yet!

James

We also got to wear our awesome hats for the first time! I bought these on a triplet resale page and I LOVE them! 

Mason

Logan

James

Bonus picture of James because it's so cute!

We also tried out our jumper finally! They all like it but they're not quite big enough yet! I have to stack magazines so their feet touch! Logan and James actually will jump a little. Mason basically just sits there and chews on the seat (but he will jump once or twice each time I put him in it!)

Mason

Logan

James

And now for an update on the babies! We went to the Newborn Clinic for a follow up with Dr. Peeples 2 Fridays ago (Nov. 14) and they boys are doing great! Here's their updated stats for 6.5 months (these are Nov. 14 stats. I have newer ones but I'll post those with the 7 month post)!

Mason:

Weight 12 lbs. 5 oz.

Length 22.43 inches

Logan:

Weight 11 lbs. 3 oz.

Length 22.23 inches

James:

Weight 11 lbs. 14 oz.

Length 22.23 inches

Mason didn't really have an appointment so no changes for him! He just got measurements and a flu shot (yuck!)

Logan got to go down to 1/4 liter on his oxygen. Yay! He's doing great! He has an appointment with a pulmonologist in January to follow up on his chronic lung disease (his sick preemie lungs basically). Dr. Peeples was going to wait to see him until after that but I convinced her to see him back in December. I'm hopeful that he can stop the oxygen in December! Fingers crossed! He's doing great on 1/4 liter, which is good news because he has discovered his cannula and likes to take it out of his nose and chew on it!

James had an appointment also to check his weight gain and his reflux. He's gaining weight in the normal range so that's great! His reflux seems under control too so we tried weaning his Prilosec. That was a bad idea! We went right back to the previous amount after 24 hours! 

Here's a picture of the boys at their newborn clinic appointment:

Mason

Logan

James

Then they got sleepy and passed out!

Logan (left) and James. Mason was being held by Dad!

James had another appointment last Friday with the hypertension clinic. That's right. My baby has hypertension. Apparently this is pretty common in preemies. They get it because of the umbilical lines put in at birth. Somehow a clot goes to the kidneys and stays there, causing high blood pressure. James is on meds for the high blood pressure but other than that this does not affect anything and should go away on its own. His blood pressure was great on Friday. The plan is to hopefully keep his meds at the same dose until the dose is insignificant based on his weight, then we'll just stop it.

Here's James before his appointment:

And after:

Other than appointments we've been staying really busy! I had a really busy week last week at work with 2 huge hearings. And Brian has been under the weather too on top of everything else. Just to make sure that the babies don't get sick, Brian has quarantined himself downstairs and has been wearing a mask around the babies. Luckily he's doing much much better! I learned a lot from Brian being sick though! First I learned that Brian does A LOT to help out! I mean I knew he does a lot already but it really shows just how much when he's down. And I also learned that I can do it all if I have to. But I would prefer to have Brian's help! Believe it or not, I do like to sit down occasionally (and that does happen most days too). But raising triplets and a 10 year old is a team sport! Here's a picture of our bottles for just 1 day!

Brian does way more than just make bottles! I'm so glad he helps out like he does! It helps keep me sane (if that's even possible)!

Ok now I need to go to bed (and hopefully sleep until 6 am). I'll leave you with a few more random pictures from the last few weeks!

James with all his goodies in his swing

Logan after his synagis shot today. He cried but he was tougher than his brothers!

Mason. Come up with your own caption for this one!

Mason asleep on the floor. Otis is always nearby!

Happy Mason 

Then and now I made for World Prematurity day!

And last but not least, a selfie of me!

In-Out Day

Today's our "in-out" day! You probably have no idea what I'm talking about unless you're a triplet mama or maybe if you have a preemie. I didn't realize this until earlier today when Brian looked at me like I was losing my mind when I told him what today is. While it's true I may be losing my mind, I didn't make this up! "In-out" day is the day the babies have been here the same amount of time mama was pregnant! I guess most people don't celebrate "in-out" day because they stay pregnant for 40 weeks so maybe it's not as special. But for me, it's pretty special! We celebrate everyone's "in-out" day in my triplet mama Facebook group! (BTW best Facebook group ever. You should be jealous). 

So here are my pictures:

27 weeks, 6 days out!

Last preggo picture - 27 weeks in

Mason - 1 day old (with his cotton ball diaper)

Logan - 1 day old

James - 1 day old

It's crazy to think that the boys have been here as long as I was pregnant! Even crazier because I didn't even know that I was pregnant until December! (We got pregnant in October! So just over a year ago!) 

We've been through so much in the past year! We went from a small family of 3 to pregnant with spontaneous triplets to a NICU family with 27 weekers to finally all together as a family of 6 after 5 months in the NICU to now. What's now? Well now is when we're finally settling in to a somewhat normal routine and finally getting used to our new big family of 6!

Here's where we started the last 27 weeks and 6 days:

And now this:

It's hard to believe they started so tiny! (They're still tiny but they seem HUGE to us compared to where they started around 2 lbs.!)

Also, after 27 weeks and 6 days, we finally got our first family photos done today! I can't wait to see them! Our photographer was great and super patient! And I had spit up in my hair like always but I think I'm the only one who noticed!

First Fever, First Wreck and First Trip to the ER

Today is one of those days I wish we had "do overs." Well I wish my poor little Logan could have a do over. He had a rough day! But I'll go ahead and share the ending - we're home and we're good. 

Today started like every other day. Well sort of. We got up around 6:30 (Logan and I were up off and on from 2:30-5:30 too). We fed the boys, they swang, we got ready for work, and we took everyone to school. 

Then the school called. Logan had a fever. First fever. Poor little guy! I was actually surprised they called about Logan. See Mason and James have been snotty for the last few days and we've been sucking snot every few hours. FYI they make this new nose sucker called a Nose Frida where you literally suck the snot out (there's a filter so the boogers don't go in your mouth of course). It's awesome. Whoever bought this for us thank you!

Back to my story. Logan has not been snotty. He has been cranky (see above - he was up off and on half the night). So I was surprised. But I picked him up and took him to work with me. And I called the pediatrician! I know it may seem crazy to call the dr for just a fever but we have ex-27 weekers with chronic lung disease. And Logan is still on oxygen. So we will probably call the dr every time just to be safe. You see, a normal cold can send these little guys back to the hospital. (We ended up there today but not for that reason. Keep reading). 

Logan was so good today. I was able to work a full day and I was productive too. Yay Logan! He didn't feel too great at first  so he just slept in his car seat. 

He played under his play gym then he took a nap. 

So then we headed to the doctor. We didn't make it. I made a left turn at a light and a lady ran the light and hit the Mann Van. First wreck. The light had already turned red and I was still in the intersection because the a-hold in the lane next to me - which was not a turn lane - turned left in front of me. Who does that?! Anyways, she hit the back passenger side and all the airbags went off on that side of the van. And Logan was on that side too. He was startled but otherwise ok. 

So I pulled over onto a side street. And while I was moving my van, the lady who hit me fled the scene. That's right. A hit and run. Again who does that?!

Did I say this was my first wreck? Well it was. Well first wreck if you don't count the time we hit a deer last thanksgiving. First ever when I was driving. I was pretty scared! 

Luckily the Mann Van was still drivable once the cop cut the airbags out for me so I could see out the passenger side. 

By this time it was too late to take Logan to the pediatrician. Brian talked to the ped and he said take Logan to the after hours clinic. Well turns out they won't see kids who have been in a wreck. So we had to go to the ER. First trip to the ER. Luckily Brian met me at the boys' school and went too. 

Mason and James went for moral support. (Mason was eating so not in the picture). 

By the time we got to the ER, Logan's fever was gone. And his lungs sounded clear! That was my concern so I was so relieved! They kept us for a few hours for observation due to the airbag deploring right by Logan. Then we got to go home finally! I've never been so happy to be home! I'm sure Logan felt the same way too! 

I'm just glad this day is over. I feel like I've earned a grown up drink. But I'm too tired. Maybe tomorrow.

Note: this is also my first blog post straight from my phone so if the formatting is off or if it's not edited like my  other posts, that's why. (Update - I had to fix the formatting because I'm OCD and it was driving me crazy just thinking about it!)

Our First Halloween

We had a great first Halloween! Mason, Logan, and James dressed up as Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3 from The Cat In The Hat. So cute! Thanks Nana for the costumes! 

The boys wore their costumes to school and they went trick or treating at school too (or so I'm told). They didn't go out Friday night though because it was too cold! They did help hand out candy though. 

And they wore festive pjs too. 

(Side note: Logan has discovered his hands and he thinks they are the BEST THINGS EVER! Always in the mouth!)

Addison had a great Halloween too! She was a zombie!

And her scary poses:

Our neighbors do a group Halloween party so she went to that. Brian and I took turns inside with the babies so we both got to go too! 

And here's a few more Halloween pictures:

Brian was a zombie too!

6 Months Old!

The triplets are 6 months old! That's 1/2 of a year! It's hard to believe they are that old! (I know I say that every month but I mean it!)

Mason, Logan, James

 Mason

Logan

 James

As you can see, we were able to do chair pictures this month! Yay! But not the group picture! That one didn't work out as well!

We've been really busy this month! But in a good way! The boys are really starting to show their personalities (more than before) and we're getting into a good routine. And most importantly . . . we're getting sleep!! Yay!

Here's updated stats on the boys:

Mason: 11 lbs. 10 oz.

Logan: 10 lbs. 1.5 oz. (yay! over 10 lbs. finally!)

James: 10 lbs. 13 oz.

We're all still at the bottom of the growth chart for adjusted age (3 months instead of 6 months) but Mason is starting to catch up! Yay Mason! Logan and James are doing just fine too - they are staying on their growth curves which is what the doctors are watching for.

Our schedule at 6 months:

6:00 a.m.: wake up, breast feed (Mason or Logan)/bottles (James and whoever doesn't breast feed), swing while Mom and Dad get ready

7:30/8:00: get dressed and in carseats to go to school in the Mann Van

8:30/8:45: get to school for the day

8:30 - 5:00: school (bottles at 9, 12, and 3, lots of play time, naps after noon bottles)

5:00: pick up from school, ride home in the Mann Van (someone usually yells at Mom on the way home)

6:00: breast feed (Mason), bottles (Logan and James)

6:30 - 8:30 - play, swing

8:30: baths (every other night)

9:00: breast feed (Logan), bottles (Mason and James), bed 

SLEEP ALL NIGHT!!!

So if you didn't notice, I'm still breastfeeding Mason and Logan. They each get once a day (6 or 9 pm) and then every other day they get a second time (6 am). I'm also still pumping 3 times a day but I'm really considering cutting that down to maybe 1 or 2 times a day. I HATE pumping! I think everyone does. But on top of that, I'm still not good at it so it's getting to the point where it's almost not worth it. My goal was to breastfeed 4 to 6 months originally. Well we are 6 months now. But I'm going to keep at it I think for at least a few more months. I really enjoy it (I didn't think I would! I mean it's supposedly natural but it's still weird to me). It's also so good for them, especially during flu season. Even if it is only 1 or 2 times a day. (Important side note: get your flu shot if you want to be around the babies! I got mine at walgreens at 10 pm the other night. I had an appointment and everything! And it didn't even hurt!)

Here's what we're up to these days!

Mason:

Mason is our biggest little guy. We call him Fat Boy but he's totally NOT fat! He's tiny still really! He's a pretty laid back little guy. He smiles all the time. Just not when I try to take his picture! Ha! Mason has found his hands and he sucks his thumb sometimes. Mostly he just sticks his entire hand in his mouth!

Here's a few pictures of Mason:

Those cheeks! Too much!

Logan:

Logan is our little peanut. Still! I call him Peanut sometimes! He's probably the most laid back of all 3 boys. He's usually content but very alert. He watches us all the time, especially Brian! Logan LOVES his swing still and he can see everything from there! We have noticed that Logan is almost never completely asleep! We catch him peeking all the time! '

Logan is our worst sleeper and the last one to FINALLY sleep through the night. I've been hesitant to say anything about this, but he's slept all night the last 4 nights. I've taken over night duty but I've only had to get up a few times each night, usually just to replace a paci or check his cannula. I can't even describe how happy I feel when my alarm wakes me up in the morning! We had a potential setback with Logan's sleeping earlier this week when he decided to ROLL OVER in his bed! While this makes me proud, it also means that we can't swaddle him with his arms in anymore. I was really scared that we would go backwards on sleeping but he's done great so far! We just use a SleepSack but we wrap him up under his armpits and leave his arms out and it's working! Yay Logan!

Here's a few pictures of Logan:

This is a typical Logan look!

James:

James has become Mr. Personality! He's so funny and he smiles ALL THE TIME! All the kids love James because they can make him smile so easily! And he smiles with his tongue out which is the cutest thing ever! He also smiles with his whole face and his eyes get all squinty! I love it! (My eyes do that too sometimes!) James rolls over too, but not in bed luckily! But he gets his arms free from the swaddle most nights anyways so it wouldn't be as big of a deal with him. He also goes to sleep on his own most nights. James is a big fan of sucking his thumb now! So cute! But only if he stops before he's too old! 

Here's a few pictures of James:

Even though he sucks his thumb now he still loves his giraffe!

We have ventured out with all 3 babies several times now! We've been for a walk (no small feat in our neighborhood because we live at the top of a small mountain). We take the boys to Addison's volleyball games too. My parents didn't miss my games because of my siblings so I am trying to do the same thing for Addison. I have been keeping kids away from the boys unless I KNOW for sure that they aren't sick and haven't had the flu mist recently. In case you don't know, the flu mist is a live virus and can get babies sick! We also have been taking them to mass on Sundays. We go at noon and feed them during  mass. Usually we are the quietest family in the cry room! I know it probably won't stay that way too much longer though! And bonus: this week we got to see Erin, one of our primary nurses from the NICU! We miss our nurses so much!

The most adventurous (and potentially craziest) thing we've done is last weekend we took them to their first restaurant. Senor Tequila of course! Addison got all As on her report card so she earned dinner out! The boys were extremely good. They stayed in their carseats the whole time so we actually got to eat (and drink a margarita too)! That gives me hope that we can go out to eat again! I didn't get any pictures though! Boo!

Stay tuned for pictures from our first Halloween!

Here's a few outtakes from our 6 month photo shoot! (We did these pictures right before the 9 pm feed and bed time so they were cranky!) I'm surprised I got anything I could use!

Logan is the bully out of the 3!