Friday, August 16, 2013

We Made It!!

Now time for some relaxation and good 'ole family time :)

The car ride wasn't too bad, we stopped three times, once to change diapers, once to nurse and change more diapers, and once to grap some quick food and more diapers! They spent most of the driving time sleeping except for a few incidents but nothing too crazy. It took us about 5 hours and 45 minutes total. The last 20-30 minutes were rough since the babies were getting hungry again but we just wanted to make it. We are now all unloaded and the babies are eating so all is right in the world again! Haha

We can't wait to enjoy these couple weeks!!

Road Trip!

First family road trip and vacation! We are just about to leave to head up to Lake Tahoe with our families for 2 weeks! We are so excited to get to take the babies!

Patrick just got home from work and he is finishing packing the last few things while I feed the babies. Im sure we are bringing way too much stuff but oh well!

The drive is about 4 hours if there isn't much traffic but since it's friday it will probably be closer to 4 and a half. We are planning to stop a couple times but hopefully the babies will only need to eat once and the rest can be quick stops.

We are hoping to get there around 8:30 but we will see! Wish us luck!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Midweek Randoms!

I am linking up again with Megan at In This Wonderful Life for Midweek Randoms!

I am finding this is probably the easiest (and only) way to blog and let you all know whats going on! Our life very busy!

1. The babies were baptized this past weekend! It was amazing and they did very well. Owen did spit his paci into the baptismal font though. I guess it's very holy now! :) We had a party at our house afterwards to celebrate and it was so much fun. It was the first time throwing something big since before they were born and even though we had a lot of help, it wasn't too bad! We definitely will be doing more in the future.

2. I am scrambling around trying to figure out how to pack for our trip. I didn't think much of it but it's really hard! We are going for 2 weeks and we have so much baby stuff!! I am definitely stressing on how to get it all done.

3. But, I am so excited to bring the babies to the lake!! It is going to be so much fun and I think they will love it.

4. Yesterday I took all the babies by myself in the car to my friends house who has twins just 3 weeks older than them! It was really fun and crazy with 5 babies! But besides taking a long time to get out the door and in the car and then back in the car and home, it was pretty easy! I'm excited to start venturing out more on my own when I don't have help around.

5. All the babies have been sleeping more at night! They are averaging about 4-4.5 hours!! But they also are up during the day more and are eating for longer stretches. I think we are going to start introducing more of a sleep schedule soon with actual nap times.

6. We introduced bottles last week! It went ok. The babies took them, but they definitely need to learn how to use them better. I dont really know if we will do them very much because to be honest they are more difficult. Especially since I still have to pump when they eat. But I guess it's helpful for if I'm ever not home and when they get older.

Friday, August 9, 2013

A Day In The Life: 1 Month Old Triplets

I have decided to try to do these every month. We will see if that happens though since they are already 6 weeks... They are changing so much and it will be really fun to look back on!

I started writing this last week so it is modeled after our day last Friday, August 2nd.

The babies have a bit more of a routine and are starting to sleep more at night. Which is awesome!! They also are awake more often so we do a bit of playing. Which is also awesome and so fun for me :)

7:00am- Owen and Evelyn are awake and Patrick and I get up to change them. By the time we finish Declan wakes and needs to be changed as well.

7:15am- Patrick goes to shower and I get set up to nurse the babies. I start with Owen and Declan.

7:28am- Burp and switch

7:40am- Burp and switch. Patrick heads downstairs to make breakfast.

7:55am- I bring the babies down (yes, I carry all three!) I put Owen in the Ergo because he needs a little attention. Evelyn and Declan go in their swings to hang out.

8:00am- Patrick serves me breakfast (an omelet) and goes to play with the babies a bit.

8:10am- Patrick leaves (late as usual) and I take over with the babies. I usually try to get some tummy time in now since they are the most awake in the morning.

8:30am- The babies are ready for a nap. I change them all, swaddle them, and put them in their rock-n-plays.

8:45am- I go to do the first load of diaper laundry.

8:55am- Evelyn is fussy so I put her in the ergo to do some chores and work.

9:15am- My mom shows up to help. She goes to do more laundry and clean.

9:30am- I put Evelyn down and go to pack the diaper bag for the day. I pack: 10 aio cloth diapers (I also keep extra flats and covers and clothes in the car), 12 cloth wipes, wet bag, 6 onesies (3 long, 3 short), 3 pants, 3 socks, 3 hats, 3 muslin blankets, 3 WubbaNubs and the other essential things that stay in the bag.

9:45am- I go hop in the shower while my mom is with the babies.

10:00am- The boys are up and ready to eat. My mom and I change them and I start nursing.

10:22am- Burp and switch. Evelyn woke up and is ready to eat now too. My mom goes to dry the diapers and put another load in.

10:38am- Burp and switch

10:55am- My mom and I get the babies changed and dressed for the day. Today we are going to do a bit of shopping and see one of my good friends.

11:15am- We get the babies packed into the car and head out to Target. They always fall asleep in the car.

11:30am- We get to Target and I put Owen and Declan in my cart and my mom takes Evelyn.

12:00pm- We finish shopping at Target and manage to get everything we need. We go back to the car to unload and get the babies back in the car. They all managed to sleep through the trip!

12:20pm- We get home and unload and my mom makes lunch. I put the babies in their swings and hope they keep sleeping.

12:30pm- Declan needs some cuddles so I hold him while we eat.

12:45pm- Owen wakes up too and the boys are hungry and need to be changed.

12:55pm- I start to nurse them and Evelyn wakes too. My mom goes to change her.

1:10pm- Burp and switch- My mom goes to do more laundry.

1:24pm- Burp and switch- I call my friend saying we will be a little late.

1:37pm- The babies are done ad all wide awake. I go get ready to leave while my mom entertains them.

1:45pm- We load the babies into the mountain buggy with bassinet and I head out to meet my friend and her two kids at one of our favorite restaurants in the neighborhood. I give my mom our shopping lists and she heads to Costco and Whole Foods.

1:52pm- I get to the restaurant and meet my friend who has a 2 month old and a 3 year old.

2:45pm- We just about finish lunch and the babies were all pretty good besides all needing to be held at different points. We sat outside and they loved it.

3:00pm- We leave to go to the playground to hangout a bit more and let her 3 year old run around. The ride put the babies to sleep.

3:40pm- Owen starts to get a bit fussy (as well as her little girl) and it seems like the babies are going to want to eat soon so we start to head back.

3:50pm- We get back home and I get all the babies back into the house. I change them all and get start to nurse them.

4:18pm- Burp and switch My mom gets home and unloads/puts away everything.

4:32pm- Burp and switch

4:45pm- I try to do a bit more tummy time with the babies but none of them are having it. We just hangout of the floor.

5:15pm- They are all ready for another nap so we change and swaddle them and put them down. 

5:25pm- My mom starts cooking dinner and I do the rest of the diaper laundry for the day and try to catch a quick nap.

6:00pm- Patrick is finally home!

6:15pm- My mom leaves and Patrick and I sit down for dinner. So far the babies are still sleeping (usually Patrick wakes them up since he gets excited to see them).

6:35pm- Evelyn and Declan wake and need to be changed.

6:45pm-Owen is up and Patrick changes him while I start to feed the others.

7:00pm- Burp and switch

7:17pm- Burp and switch. Patrick goes to put another laundry load in and get everything ready for the bath.

7:30pm- We start bath time. We bring the babies upstairs and get them all undressed. Patrick and I switch who gets to wash and who gets to dress since we both love it. Tonight is his turn to wash. I hand him a baby and entertain the other two. When each is done I dry and get a fresh diaper on. Once they are all out we lotion them and get them in pajamas.

8:30pm- We bring them back downstairs and Patrick and I try to get caught up on our tv shows while we have some serious baby cuddle time.

9:30pm- The babies get changed and are hungry again. This is the time of night that they are the most hungry and eat a lot to get ready for the night.

9:40pm- Patrick goes to get the laundry out and get ready for bed and I start to nurse.

Here is a picture from tonight, this is what a lot of my days look like. Feeding two while trying to cuddle with the third! I love it though :)

10:03pm- Burp and switch

10:28pm- Burp and switch

10:50pm- The babies are done and we get them swaddled and back to sleep.

11:15pm- They are all sleeping in the pack-n-play so Patrick and I can get some sleep.

1:05am: Owen gets up first followed my Evelyn. We change them and I start to nurse them. Patrick goes back to sleep.

1:22am- Declan gets up and I change him first before switching.

1:41am- Burp and switch

1:56am- They finish and I swaddle  them and put them back to sleep.

4:45am- The boys wake up and Patrick and I change them.

4:52am- Evelyn wakes and Patricks changes her and goes back to sleep while I start to feed the boys.

5:10am- Burp and switch

5:23am- Burp and switch

5:38am- I swaddle them and get them back to sleep.

5:45am- They are down so I can go back to sleep.

7:00am- Our day starts all over again!

So we have cut a few feeds out since they are stretching to almost 3 hours between feeds during the day and almost 4 once at night. The diaper changes are also getting (a little) less frequent. 

We are planning to introduce bottles in the next couple days so since this day I have started to pump again. It actually worked out really well because of their growth spurt and cluster feeding. They slowed down after 4 days and we are now back to our normal schedule. But after feeding them much more frequently, my supply has gone up a bit so I now pump for a few minutes in the morning or evening after they nurse. We aren't sure if we will do a whole feed on bottles or just rotate who gets one every once in a while. Ill do a much more extensive post on it after we start!

Any tips or advice are welcome!!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Growth Spurts!

The babies must be going through a growth spurt right now! They are all cluster feeding and it's exhausting!! Our schedule is all thrown off so im not always feeding 2 babies at a time. They are eating every 30 to 60 minutes! We are going on 3 days of this so needless to say I haven't really been able to do much else. I have at least one baby attached at the boob all day long. I'm happy to see them growing, but man is it tough!! I can't wait to see how much they have grown at their 2 month check.

I have a few posts im trying to work on in my *spare time* that will hopefully be done soon.

Besides my sleep deprivation, we are all happy and healthy and enjoying every bit! Its a little sad to think that my babies are already 6 weeks, but it's exciting to watch them grow!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

40 Weeks! Original Due Date.

Today is the babies original due date! I can't imagine still being pregnant! I would be 40 weeks today and I thought it would be interesting to do another update similar to my pregnancy updates.

Our next appointment for the babies isn't for another couple weeks but we wanted to try to weigh them just for fun. The numbers may be slightly off but heres what we got...

Declan: 7 pounds 3 ounces
Owen: 7 pounds 6 ounces
Evelyn: 7 pounds 4 ounces

So they have gained a lot in the last week and a half! Can you imagine if they were still in my belly and what I would look like?! Thats a scary thought.

And now they officially aren't measured in "negative" adjusted age! Until at least their first year they will be measured with adjusted ages, which starts from today. So since they were 5 and a half weeks early, say at 2 months actual, their adjusted age will only be 3 and a half weeks.

They are definitely acting more like 1 month olds than newborns. Although they eat a little more frequently than some, they are awake more throughout the day and are hitting a lot of their milestones.

Im excited to see where they are at 2 months!


How far along: 40 weeks!
Size of babies: 3 Large Watermelons!
Total weight gain/loss: 4 pounds! 
Gender: 2 boys and a girl!
Maternity clothes: Almost completely out of the shirts but my yoga pants are too comfortable!
Stretch marks: Yep, but only a couple that are pretty light.
Belly Button: Weird looking and saggy, I need to get back in the gym :)
Sleep: Not any better than 6 weeks ago length-wise, but when I do get to sleep im not uncomfortable like I was.
Symptoms: Nope!
What I miss: Nothing, I am loving it all! But I do kinda miss my big belly.
Cravings: Lots of things, I actually have room and am always hungry!
Aversions: Nothing!
Best Moment: Just hanging out with my babies :)
What im looking forward to: My 6 week check-up and the babies baptism!
And of course a few more pictures :)
Evelyn

Declan

Owen
Oh and I think all of their eyes are turning brown. I guess my genes are winning :) Patrick also thinks the boys hair is turning light brown. Im holding out hoping it stays red!


Thursday, August 1, 2013

1 Month Post-Partum

I am finally getting around to writing (finishing) my post-partum update! I'm now actually 5 weeks pp but I started this last week so we will just go with it!

So at 4 weeks post-partum, i'm feeling great! I think i am pretty much fully recovered from the c-section (although its kinda hard to tell through the sleep deprivation) and am back to normal! I am definitely not in as good of shape as I was pre-pregnancy but I'm ok with that. I mean I did just carry triplets for 8 months!

But starting from the beginning, the first few days were hard. As much as I hated not having my babies with me 24/7, having them in the NICU was probably helpful from a recovery stand point. I dont know how I would have managed if they were in the room with me. And knowing myself, I wouldn't want the nurses to do anything if they weren't required to. I have a high pain tolerance and would have just powered through, but it probably would make my recovery longer. So, in the hospital, recovery was pretty smooth. It was hard to walk and pump, but I expected that. I think I was on a baby high the whole time and didn't think about the pain. Once they took my staples out, I (actually) felt much better.

Although I was discharged, we were still in the hospital for the babies which was nice because I still had nurses around who knew me, and we didn't have to take on being new parents to 3 small newborns at home all at once.

When we finally got everyone home, I was already 2 weeks pp so I felt pretty good. It was a lot easier for me to move around and we had a pretty good feel for what we were doing. And to be honest, I dont remember much else when it comes to my recovery after we got them home since I was pretty distracted with caring for them! I don't know if thats good or bad. Let's go with good.

Side note: I bought a Belly Bandit before I had the babies because I read a lot of good things about them and wanted to use something after delivery. It is especially helpful for after pregnancies with multiples because of how much your body stretches. So I brought that with me to the hospital and started using it right away (after about 24 hours). It has helped tremendously! The pressure was awesome for when I was sitting up and moving around.

Ok so now back to the details of being a month out. I normally dont weigh myself and I dont care too much yet about it since I can't even work out yet, and all the gaining was worth it! But, I wanted to see where I stand. My pre-pregnancy weight was 135. Breastfeeding has helped a ton with loosing most of the weight. Throughout the pregnancy I gained 51 pounds. Right before they were delivered I weighed 186. Now at 1 month (and 2 days) post-partum I weigh 139. So I have lost all but 4 pounds. But I am nowhere near where I eventually want to be. I was working out almost everyday prior to getting pregnant so although I am close to the number, I dont have near the same muscle-tone. Since muscle weighs more than fat, I probably have more like 15 pounds to lose. But, again, Im not worried at all and won't think about it until I start to workout again.

The other thing that I was worried* (well I actually could have cared less as long as I had healthy babies) about was the skin. I have read and seen many horror stories about loose skin after so that was my main concern. The belly bandit has helped a lot I think and I don't have much. My belly is still much more loose than it used to be, and I am going to have to work extremely hard to get my abs back, but it's a lot better than I expected. I just have a small pooch around my belly button right now. I did not get many stretch marks so I think that has helped but with the size my belly stretched to there is going to be some left over! haha

I have my 6 week post-partum appointment on Tuesday and i'm excited to hopefully get the all clear for exercising and... um.. life :)! I have no idea where I will work that into my schedule but I am very ready to get back into working out even if it's only a few minutes a day.

So I am not brave enough to take a bare belly shot, but here is my belly at 1 month post- partum compared to my 34 week belly shot. I tried to take the same shot in the same outfit. It's a little weird since im trying to cinch the back tight in order to see the belly. And it makes me look a lot better! But oh well. Its also a little hard to tell since the shirt is now a dress (well actually the dress was a shirt) but you can see the little pooch.

                  34 Weeks With Triplets:            4 Weeks Post-Partum:


(Sorry about small pics, not sure why that is, but you can click to make bigger)

You would think since that was my body for months that I wouldn't be so shocked looking at it, but that picture gets me every time! I will never get used to it!