6 Months!

Wow. 6 months ago we had identical triplet boys at 32weeks 2days. It still seems SO crazy!! We have been through more than we ever could have imagined during the last year and I am sure we have much more in store for us....let's just hope it is more positive and doesn't contain any life threatening illnesses! We have gotten the boys on a pretty good schedule which has helped tremendously. At six months our days go something like this:

3am-6:45am: boys wake up sporadically and fuss, we give them their paci back and they go back to sleep (this wouldn't be so bad except for when they each decide to wake up 15 minutes apart!)

7am: one of the boys (or more) is usually jabbering or whining sometime around 7am, this starts the day. I get up one at a time and change their diaper and give them their prevacid. I can usually turn on the news (their not picky) and place them in a chair to relax while I get the next 2 up and bottles heated. I get all the boys eating at the same time with propping the bottles.

7:30-8:45am: playtime on the floor. They are really happy and content during this time and it's so much fun. We laugh and giggle lots. Brody usually rolls out of bed during this time and comes out and joins us, with a high-pitched "Hi, my baby brooothhherrss!!" It's too cute, he loves them so much and really does help me out when I'm in a pinch or being ganged up on by 3 babes! Auntie B often comes down and snags a babe and/or Brody to come upstairs for a bit, they entertain Uncle T before he leaves for work many days :)

8:45amish-10amish: I get all 3 down for a morning snooze! I am able to shower while Brody watches a cartoon or plays upstairs with whoever is around at the time (he loves having family around!)

10am-11am- diaper changes and entertainment. The boys are getting hungry and I try to tide them over until 11am by different play spots or a bath or their new favorite: the Giggle Bellies (thanks Linda!!)

11am- another round of 8oz bottles

11:20-12:30pmish- more play time

12:30pm-2/3pm: afternoon nap time

3pm- another round of 8oz bottles

3:20pmish-6:30pm- playtime and cat-naps, really anything goes during this time period. The more hands available, the better! We were fortunate to find a GREAT nanny who has helped us out big time during our transition here and has allowed us to devote time to the flooded house. We are very grateful for this.

6:45pm: last 8oz bottle of the day and most recently (last 2 days) followed by a few practice bites of rice cereal mixed with formula. There are a lot of opinions of starting solids at 6 months actual or 6 months adjusted (they are 4 months adjusted now). Our new pedi said to go ahead and introduce it if they seem ready. When Evan (the brutus) started sucking his bottle dry we thought it was a good time to try. We started with Evan and Riley thinking that Payton wasn't ready and they both did as expected- just ok. Tonight I offered some to Payton for the heck of it and he has done the best so far! Crazy boy, I should never underestimate him :)

7:10-7:30pm: work on getting the boys to sleep. This has become much more difficult since our move but it is getting better now that Ben and I moved our bed out of the bedroom and put all the boys in the bedroom with a door that closes instead of out in the hallway. They do fight it at first but when we try and rock them they fight that also so we are ok with letting them fuss a bit and then go in and try and soothe- it takes a few times of this until all are settled and by that point we are pretty much exhausted!

Evan: Our fighter :) He has bounced back from his horrible necrotizing enterocolitis illness and surgeries and has regained his title of the "big boy". He is a great cuddler and gives the best smiles. His new laugh is hilarious and I can't wait to catch it on video to share. Evan has not quite mastered rolling over by himself just yet, but he is really close. He sits in his bumpo and stands in the jumperoo, he is really strong! Evan will be the classic big brother to P and R, protecting R when needed (more to come about that later). We think he will be a big teddy bear with the kindest heart and gentle soul. We love you Evan!!

Payton: Thank goodness for Payton, has been our words lately :) He is soooo laid back! When I am swaddling all of the boys to lay down for nap time I wrap him up first and let him lay there....when I finish getting the other 2 settled (doesn't take long- they love nap time!) P is already sleeping and I just have to move him to his bed. Payton has always been a couple weeks behind his bro's due to his rough start at birth, but he is catching up a lot lately and I need to start giving him more credit. His brothers even have hair envy as P's is coming in the fastest so far. We have pegged Payton as the mellow dude that will probably just shake his head at his bothers when their older ;) Payton hasn't rolled over yet either but he gets around by arching his back and stretching out again. We are working on him loosening his tight grip and feeling different textures. His reflux has improved so much, it is so great to see him eat not in pain! We are so in love with this sweet little cutie-pa-tootie it melts our hearts!!

Riley: Yep, still Rowdy Riley! This little man is so spunky :) I can't believe he was born the smallest at 3lb4oz and has proven to be so strong. He was the 1st to leave the NICU and has continued to be the 1st at most things: smiling, cooing, sitting assisted, and now rolling over. We would have our hands full if he was a singleton let alone one of three! He keeps us on our toes and we love it. We joke that he will be the one causing trouble and running his mouth as a teenager and Evan will have to be there to "protect him" (and P will be back shaking his head ;) ) Riley likes to be heard and his brothers listen. Evan and Payton only get their words in after they have listened to Riley ramble. I haven't been reading all of the books on baby milestones this time around but I don't think these boys are too far behind there singleton counterparts. Riley is a love bug at heart and we can't get enough of his antics. Love you so much Riley!!

Other happenings...or just more rambling ;) The humidity has kept us indoors a lot lately but we are looking forward to cooler weather and venturing out more as time permits. We are still trying to get our lives in order after moving across the country and into chaos- it's so tiring!! The boys are about busting at the seams of their 1-2 size diapers, I haven't opened up any 2's yet, but I am sure they could even sport a size 3! I love my little chubby bubbies, I am lucky that (we) make big boys. It is definitely hard keeping all the extra rolls and creases clean- I have found some pretty smelly parts lately, yikes!

Brody came down with impetigo :( This has forced me to re-learn a non-HMO health system, ugh. I definitely became "Kaiser-ized" in Portland and this Blue Cross and Trinity Health System is really throwing me for a loop! We really like our new pediatrician, we ultimately made the decision to chose Dr. C because he is also a neonatologist and we thought that would be good for the trips. The urgent Dr visit really made me miss Dr. McPhee and her Sunset crew though :( She is a special lady who we will be visiting for sure someday! We luckily caught his infection early this time and is already doing so much better after a day of antibiotics and ointments. I won't even get into the difference in cost of our new health care coverage, that's a multi blogpost for sure!

Here are some more pics of our beautiful boys:

 Payton

 Evan

 Riley

 Evan

 Payton

 Riley

Brody with a fresh new hair cut!

xoxo, B