Every October the NICU at the hospital puts on a reunion to see all the kiddos that started out life needing a little help and now are growing and thriving after being given the opportunity to!
We ventured over to the event today, through the very rainy day we were having. It finally looks crummy and cold out and more like the Alaska fall weather we are used to. That being said, we broke out the long sleeves and booties so the girls stayed warm.
The event was really cute and we saw some of our original nurses and doctors. Emerie had some snuggle time with our favorite doctor (Mary Alice) and we had the chance to catch up with a few folks.
A professional photographer took photos of all the kiddos and I’m really excited to see how those turn out. The girls did great and were in good moods and we even fed them while we were there and they did fine with the noise and activity.
And so, just like that, we survived our first night of teething with only ONE baby so far.
This weekend had some of the usual baby crankiness, with Sunday being a little more dramatic than normal but nothing we haven’t survived before. We attempted to go grocery shopping the entire day and never actually left the house.
This is what teething looks like!
Everyone had a decent mid afternoon nap, with Emerie down for 1.5 hours to tie her all time longest, but the late afternoon nap was an epic battle that ended with Reagan napping in her crib, Harper hanging out with Mom and Emerie screaming her lungs out while Craig coaxed her angrily to sleep.
We did, however, discover they like watching Disney princess sing alongs while bouncing in their bouncers (well not Reagan but she likes the videos). Harper and Emerie made it 45 minutes! Reagan giggled at the music and enjoyed the colors.
We learned why yesterday was so cranky…while Emerie was hollering this afternoon I discovered the first tooth that is starting to cut in. Calm down, I did not get a picture…I could barely get a peep at it without her trying to kill me. But it’s definitely there, on the bottom, in all it’s first tooth glory. She is not taking it well. Lots of random screaming and she still takes the binkie out of her mouth but can’t quite coax it back in…
No this is happy Emerie, not teething Emerie.
She has also decided this life event is detrimental enough to stop sleeping, at least for last night. After an unplanned ten PM feed for 3 screaming infants, I’m pretty sure I was up every 30-45 minutes until I finally just got up at 4:15. Here’s to tonight going better…
How do you install a ceiling fan after becoming a parent? Well first you wait a number of days after purchasing said fan…try to survive nights without one…and finally give it a try during naptime, which was interrupted by the neighbor lawn mowing. So then you install it with an audience and a little baby shark…
They are not fans of the automatic drill, but they are on board with Dad installing a new master bedroom fan since ours broke!
Little did I know, a year ago today, my world was about to get flipped upside down and shaken up a little…or a lot. My first doctor’s appointment was this afternoon, just a basic baby check, nothing crazy (or so I thought) other than full acknowledgement that there indeed was a viable, healthy baby growing.
Funny how last September we were out four wheeling and now we are out towing 3 minions
Since my morning sickness was already in full swing for about 2 weeks by this point, Craig and I joked that maybe there were twins in there. That wouldn’t be a ridiculous notion, especially considering there are a few sets of twins on either side of our family lines (although now I know that the girls being identical is me, and not a genetic occurrence).
Nothing could have prepared me for the news that day. It was exciting, terrifying, and altogether shocking. The midwife at my appointment had never seen triplets in her time at the hospital, and of course, neither had I!
Want to know the first 3 things that popped into my mind after finding three heartbeats?
You’ve got to be kidding me (PG version lol)
How do I get three babies into a car?!
Does a third boob grow in??
Well…I now know the answers are Mother Nature has a sense of humor as Craig wanted twins and I wanted one so we both got our wish, three babies will fit across a car, and NO, I am still waiting on the third boob six months in.
At my choosing I went to the appointment solo, so after three hours of silence on my end, Craig was wondering what was going on. Of course, that’s not the type of news you can text someone. “Oh, by the way honey, it’s triplets. What’s for dinner?” That wouldn’t go over so well. So I ignored all correspondence with him until I got home. And then, like any good wife, figured he might pass out from the thought of three tiny humans at once, and made him lay down before I handed him an ultrasound with Baby A and Baby B written out.
He got very excited about the prospect of twins with a “I knew it!”
Haha not quite there buddy…I handed him a second ultrasound with a Baby C written on it (a very small C) and it took him a moment to understand. Triplets?? TRIPLETS!?
Needless to say, he took it better than I did. But, in my defense, he didn’t have to experience the joy of morning (allllll day long) sickness, although he did have to put up with me through it.
That is my reminiscing for today. It has been quite the past 365 days, that’s for sure! And here is one of the only photos we have early on with all 3! Those tiny baby butts already look crowded lol.
I can hardly believe six months have passed as of Thursday afternoon! The saying the days are long but the years are short really is true and I am starting to better understand that meaning.
Six months!!
We are starting a more exciting phase of development, with little personalities continuing to bloom and new traits and skills appearing. This is the “age of the jumper” and with that comes the ability to start moving more.
Everyone is so observant now. I think their love of the bedroom fan is replaced with their love of the front yard tree. It’s bright and yellow and they stare at it constantly.
Snacking on their photo props…
Harper
Weight: 14 pounds, 12 oz. (23%) & 26″ (53%)
How gorgeous is this quilt made by my Mom?!
Favorite Baby Food: Harper tolerates baby food when she’s in the mood for it and is starting to understand how the spoon works to get her food. Like her sisters, she enjoys carrots and really likes sweet potatoes.
The sit me up chairs are awesome
Likes: She really likes the jumper! She has a different rhythm than Emerie does, and pushes up with one foot at a time, back and forth. She almost looks like she is dancing and then she giggles and smiles at you at the same time.
Harper loves the jumper and has rhythm!
Dislikes: Harper is our “chillest” baby. Before she cries about something she will let us know in her stern voice she is not happy. She doesn’t really dislike anything other than being stuck in the middle between her sisters. Apparently she had enough of that in the womb, because she was in the middle!
Development/Traits: Her hands exist and almost her feet. This week she discovered she can watch the dogs as they rough house and she thought it was hysterical- full on giggles. Harper is pretty good at grasping things held in front of her and putting them in her mouth, so we’ve taken to handing her things so she continues to improve.
Emerie
Weight: 13 pounds, 4 oz. (5%) & 24″ (9%)
Emerie on Grandma Anne’s quilt
Favorite Baby Food: She likes everything, but really likes carrots. She’s mastered the spoon before her sisters and will open her mouth so you can shovel food in there. If you are too slow she let’s you know she’s waiting!
Likes: Emerie LOVES the jumper. When I say love, I really mean love. When placed in the jumper, she will go for 30 minutes and bounce and bounce up and down using both feet, all the while smiling and chatting and giggling. It is adorable.
Emerie’s happy place
Dislikes: No change on this one; she still like to be cuddled and demands bedtime snuggles.
Development/Traits: She has figured out her hands exist, but not quite her feet. She is starting to hold onto her bottle and not just knock it over (hallelujah!). This week she also discovered she can watch the dogs as they roam the house and that seems interesting.
What!?
Reagan
Weight: 14 pounds, 12 oz. (23%) & 25.75″ (42%)
Reagan chilling on her quilt.
Favorite Baby Food: She is not a big fan of baby food yet…but we are working on it. She tolerated pears and sweet potatoes, and carrots so far seem to be her favorite when she decides she wants to eat.
Likes: She really likes her toys, especially her corn teether and owl and anything that sounds like tissue paper. She also likes to look at the pictures on the fridge.
Don’t worry she isn’t crawling yet!
Dislikes: The jumper! She is NOT a fan. We’ve put her in several different styles and she literally sits there for a couple minutes, and then fusses. She will look at the toys a bit but refuses to bounce or jump at all.
Development/Traits: Like her sisters, Reagan has figured out her hands exist, but not quite her feet. She is extremely good at grasping things held in front of her and putting them in her mouth. Reagan is our startler; loud or abrupt noises still make her jump more than her sisters do. She also remains the strongest of the three.
Strong legs!
Everyone is still in halo sleep sacks at night; we figure that will continue for another month or two. We are also still tracking their feedings daily and that helps us remember how everyone is doing on things! We now have three jumpers and three sit me up chairs. And we survived six month shots; they are taking it 1000x better than their four month ones.
The Douglets 