5 Months Old!

I'm only late by one day this time so i think that's pretty good! We have had a couple of rough weeks. The babies are all full blown teething. No teeth yet but they should come through any day now since we can kind of see them. Other than that they are doing great! They are at such a fun age and we are really loving it. I think I say that every month. They are very happy babies for the most part and are really smiling and babbling a lot now. They are getting very active and are always moving. These last 5 months have flown by. I'm sort of in denial. I can't wait to spend the holidays with them and start our own family traditions. Alright now on to the details of being 5 month olds!

Weights and Lengths: We didn't have an appointment this week but we tried to weigh them ourselves. I don't know how accurate it was but we got them all around 15 pounds! I have no idea what their lengths are but they are definitely longer than last month!

Eating: I am still nursing on demand so it varies but they are mostly eating every 3-4 hours. Lately it has been a little more frequent because of the teething but for the most part it's 3-4 hours. They eat for about 20-25 minutes still and longer with the one before bed.

Sleep: They are still sleeping through the night! For the most part at least. We have had a few times where they would wake and just need to be soothed I think because of their teeth. We have moved their bedtime up because hey were starting to get really cranky. We now are putting then down around 8 pm. They still are sleeping until 6:30 am so I think they needed the sleep! It's harder on us since we have to fit our routine into less time but then we get a little more time at night and can get to bed sooner ourselves.

Clothes Sizes: They are fitting really well into 6 month size but can still wear some 3-6.

Diaper Size: They are all into the one size (and our few sized) stash!

Favorite Diapers: Bottom Bumpers, Tots Bots and Blueberry Simplex are still our favorites. We are also loving our Bububebe fitted diapers for nighttime. They are so absorbant!

Least Favorite Diapers: We still are loving them all, but my least favorite would probably be our bum genius. They take the longest to dr and have a pretty wide crotch still. I think they will get better as the babies get bigger. But we still like them and use them a lot.

Favorite Things: Bath time is still one of their favorites. Since switching into the big tub they love it even more because they can splash around together. They also love being upright, so they are loving their exersaucers and we got them johnny jump ups which they are loving! They also love going on walks and playing at the park. they love swinging and playing in the sand. They also love being outside. It's been cold here lately so we aren't outside much but when we are they are so happy.

Least Favorite Things: We still need to work on patience but they are getting better. This month is hard because they have been clingy with the teething. They don't like diaper changed or getting their clothes changed. They also have developed a hate for getting in their car seats. Once they are strapped in though they are usually better. Im probably going to switch them over to the Foonfs sooner than I thought because we aren't really carrying them in the infant seats anymore.

Milestones: They are all rolling from tummy to back well and have all rolled from back to tummy a few times. They can sit up well with a little support (like a boppy) and I think will be sitting up unassisted in the next few weeks. They are all giggling and babbling non stop. Owen is also getting close to scooting. Im a little worried (but still encouraging) about that one! I am not ready to have 3 mobile babies!!

Pictures:

Declan

Owen

Evelyn

Bath Time

I mentioned earlier that we have changed our bath time routine. What was working when they were newborns was not working anymore.

We originally had the puj tub and it was awesome. We would bring all the babies into our bathroom and do a assembly line of sorts. One of us would wash while the other dried and dressed. When they were tiny and not wanting to play, this was a very efficient system.

But recently it had become a hassel. The babies are bigger so bathing them in the sink was harder. They still fit fine but it wasn't as easy to wash them.

Another problem was that they were getting much more active and wanted to play and splash with their siblings. They LOVE being in water and it was getting hard and time consuming to bathe them separately.

I wanted to somehow be able to bathe them all at the same time and give them a little more time to play together in the water.

I looked online to see if i could find anything to use in the bath since they can't sit on their own yet, but everything I found I wasn't impressed with. Either they were really bulky, didn't have a high enough weight limit or had bad reviews. I almost wanted to get the angelcare supports but we decided they weren't that great and were pretty bulky to have 3 and only use them for 2 months.

Then I found some videos on youtube of people using their bumbos in the bath! I thought this was a great idea since they did love sitting in them. I just was a little worried about washing them in it and keeping them in the water.

We tried it out and it worked pretty well. The babies did love being able to kick around and it went smoother than before since we had them all in at the same time, but it was a bit difficult washing them. We ended up just pulling them out to wash and then put them back in. The other problem was that really only their feet were in the water.

So it was on to a new plan. We decided to just try laying them in the tub. I put down a thick towel so they wouldn't slip around much. They loved it! They were able to splash around play in the water and we were able clean them really easily. We filled the water just about an inch or less and since its a big jacuzzi tub they weren't too close where they were hitting and splashing each other.

It was a little nerve racking having them all in together since there is only two of us but it was easy, and so much smoother. They were all much happier and could actually enjoy it.

We may go back to using the bumbos a little later since they liked that too. And we might put them in laying down to wash them and then put the bumbos in after for them to play together. I think the bumbos may get better once they can sit up a little better but before we want all three to be sitting in there on their own. We are still testing things out!

Veteran's Day Weekend

We had a great holiday weekend with awesome weather and family.

On Saturday we got up early to get ready and head to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! It's about a 2 hour drive so I was slightly worried about that but it turned out to be easy. The babies were great and slept most of the way. I fed them all and then we changed them and headed in. We went with most of Patrick and I's family and all together had 23 people! It was really fun and a perfect day for it. The babies are starting to be really interested in looking around and observing, so they loved it! They were mesmerized by all the fish and animals. I haven't been there since before we got married and there are a lot of new things! The adults loved it just as much as the kids I think!

We brought our valco baby stroller and had two of the babies sitting in the stroller and then had the third in the ergo. Patrick and I both took turns wearing one of them and it worked out really well. The babies loved being able to look around in the stroller. Only a couple more months until we can use the joey seat! But, I do love getting a little cuddle time with the babies so i'll probably still wear sometimes too.

After walking around for a while we stopped to have lunch. Its getting a lot easier to feed them in public now since they are very efficient and finish a lot faster. I actually fed them one at a time since I was trying to eat too and needed at least one hand free! After we ate we went back in for a bit and the babies fell asleep after about 30 minutes.

After we had our aquarium fill, we headed to the beach to enjoy the sun. The babies woke after a bit of a short nap when we transfered them to the car but they were in great moods and loved the sand! We didn't take them to the water since its pretty cold but they loved having their feet in the sand and enjoying watching their cousins. I fed them again before we headed out and they passed out and slept the whole way home.

I had a pot roast in the crock pot for when we got home and they babies actually slept through our dinner! Once they woke, I fed them and we did some play time with daddy and then gave them baths. We have switched up our routine so ill have to do a post on that soon.

Sunday we had a lazy day. We went to church and then came home to just have some family time. We watched football and hung out a lot outside since the weather was so nice.

On Monday, Patrick had the day off so we had some more family time. We were going to go to the parade but decided not to and just watch it on tv. It wasn't going to work with the babies schedule to go. Monday night we headed to my parents house for dinner.

It was a fun family filled weekend! I can't wait for the babies to get a bit older and really be able to play and do fun things but for now this age is really fun!

We Made It!

Yay! We got through out first ear infections! And hopefully we wont have anymore for a long while. The morning after Halloween both of the boys fevers broke but they were still quite cranky and in pain. I let them nurse whenever they wanted since they weren't eating much at once and it was helping soothe them. Thankfully we had a lot of help because I was basically either feeding at least one of the babies or holding one for 2 full days. By the third they were starting to feel a bit better I thought but weren't quite themselves. It wasn't until Tuesday that they were really back to their normally smiley selves.

Our schedule got way out of whack since I was feeding them whenever and they were not sleeping through the night. Last night the boys slept for 6 hours and before they were only maybe going 2. So im hoping tonight they sleep the whole way. Fingers crossed!

On a side note, I can't believe it's November!! It's starting to get colder (in california terms) and I love this season. I am already starting to get ready for Christmas, I know it's early, but it's my favorite time of year and I can't wait to share it with the babies!! It's going to be so much fun!

Halloween!

Well, our halloween did NOT go as planned.

We were really excited for the babies first halloween and we had our costumes picked out and the house decorated for tick or treating. The family was going to come over and we all would walk around the neighborhood.

We decided to have the babies be farm animals, a chick, a lamb, and a cow, and Patrick and I were going to be farmers.

I spent two weeks putting all the decorations up (yes it took me that long) with plenty of help, and got the house ready for guests.

We went to bed Wednesday night after an uneventful day. The boys both seemed like they might have been a bit congested but I hoped it wasn't anything and they seemed in great spirits all day. That night Declan woke up screaming at about 1 am. He hadn't been up in the middle of the night in at least 2 weeks. I tried to get him back to sleep but nothing would settle him. At 1:30 am Owen also woke and Patrick was up by this point. Thankfully Evelyn stayed asleep and we took the boys downstairs to try not to wake her. We finally decided to take their temperatures and they both were at about 100. So I thought they might be getting a cold or that it was teething. So I decided to breastfeed them to try and soothe and calm them down. They both ate for about 20 minutes off and on but were still fussy. I told Patrick to go back to be since he had to work the next morning and not much could be done. The boys and I hung out downstairs on the couch. They did not want to be put down and we just very fussy. I finally got them to fall asleep at about 4 am. I got them upstairs and back to bed. They woke again around 6 am just as fussy. This time Evelyn woke too so I fed them all a bit early.

When Patrick was ready to leave for work, the boys were still pretty cranky and not themselves and we took their temps. again. They were still about the same. I decided to give the pediatrician a call and ask about baby tylenol but sent Patrick off since my mom would be over soon. The ped said I could go ahead with the tylenol and call in a couple hours if nothing improved. My mom came by 9 am and the boys only got worse from there. They would scream if I put them down and they also only wanted me. Thankfully my mom could take Evelyn but she was acting a bit more clingy too. It was a rough morning.

I took their temps at 11 again and they were still at 100.0 and 100.2 so I called back. She said to bring them in to get checked. I sent my mom to get the diaper bag ready and called Patrick to update him, them started changing the babies. We got them into the car and finally out the door by 12 pm. They screamed the entire car ride. Thank God I had my mom because I could not have handled that on my own. Im used to pretty easy going babies.

Once we got there, the babies did NOT want to be in the stoller and we had to wait about 30-40 minutes before we could be seen. I tried to nurse the boys and it calmed them a bit until we were finally able to get in at 12:45 pm.

Long story short, both the boys had ear infections. Great. Proving to me once again that they have to be identical, with everything!

We decided not to do antibiotics and continue with just baby tylenol and track the fever. They were down to 99.7 and 99.9 at the office.

Once we got back home at 2 pm the babies were starving and so were my mom and I. Once we all ate I tried to get the babies down for a nap. The boys weren't having it so I just held them until they passed out. They slept for 3 hours... on my chest. Family was supposed to arrive at 5:30 but I did not want to wake them. Patrick got back at 5 and he and my mom got the house ready.

Thankfully we were having people bring food so I didn't have to worry about cooking. I was a mess though and had about 4 hours of sleep and no shower yet. Family was showing up but I went to shower and get the babies and I ready.

I got them in their outfits and we made it downstairs to eat. The boys seemed a little bit better but still didn't want to be held by anyone but me or maybe Patrick or my mom for a couple minutes.

Once we all finished eating and got ready to leave the house, we decided to try to take them out. We thought they might like being outside and seeing all the people. We made it one block. The boys didn't want anything to do with it anymore so I walked with them back home. I told Patrick and my mom to stay but they walked back 20 minutes later.

I fed them and took their temps. Still 99.7+ and we decided to bathe them hoping it would help. I gave the boys more tylenol and tried to put them to sleep. I had to lay with them for about an hour before they finally passed out in our bed. Just as our family got back from trick or treating. They stayed for another hour or so and then everyone left.

The boys had another rough night last night, but this morning their fevers broke. They are still super clingy and cranky but hopefully the worst is behind us!

So, not the Halloween I was planning for, but hopefully next year will be better! They were all in such terrible moods and I was so delirious that I didn't even get any pictures! I'll have to dress them back up in a couple days.

Anyone have any teething/ear infection horror stories? Any tricks of the trade?