In a whirlwind of quick preparation, we decided to grab life by the horns and take the kids on a back-country Alaska excursion over the past weekend. With our fishing trip to Kasilof such a success, we optimistically decided the girls could handle a little more of an Alaskan edge to traveling. What do I mean by that? Well, why not try going somewhere with no power or water, somewhere tucked back in the remote wilderness and only accessible by four wheelers…THAT kind of adventure! Quite a bit different than our cozy, two bed, two bath with laundry and kitchenette stay last month, but regardless, it went pretty well overall! We are very thankful for friends who share their fun places to stay with our family, even when it’s definitely not easy to spend the weekend with three, three-year-olds!
One has to pack far lighter when all the gear must be hauled in, not one of my best traits since I like to over prepare. With one bag filled to the brim with my clothes and the girls, we managed to get the gear, food, extra coats and boots and such, and other toddler necessities like stuffed animals and car seats, down to two trips back!
Adventuring with Grandma Sue is far easier, as she is the “in-flight entertainment” for the girls on the way and back. This trip we split everyone up in the car so one sat in back and the other two had no seat between them. We also hooked the iPad up to one of the front chairs so everyone could watch a movie as we drove out and back, about 3 hours each way. Movies and a million snacks worked out pretty well; amazingly on the drive home no one napped, but were rather quiet overall.
It was my first time driving and pulling a trailer and it went pretty well overall. Maybe that is good training for a future RV to pull…one can dream. Craig completed all the hard, manual labor of setting up the four wheeler on and off the trailer, strapping car seats and gear on it, and toting the kids in (most of the way with all three to their joy). I wrangled everyone as we geared up, everyone used the portable potty chair (that we bring everywhere) and became smothered in bug spray, and excitedly tried to “help” by climbing all over the four wheelers
The girls did wonderful on the trek back to the cabin; I was impressed at the great condition of the trail. We slowly moseyed our way back and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and scenery. Mount Denali came out both days and was absolutely gorgeous. While we probably should have packed a few more things to entertain, they did pretty good not completely destroying our host’s cabin. It was highly entertaining to explain that the TV in the corner didn’t work (we didn’t turn on the generator the whole trip) and what a VHS player was. At the end of the trip all three television remotes were missing and where did the girls shove them? Into the VHS player hole. Who knew one could fit THREE remotes in there? Well now we know.
The gang
Pretty views
Harper & Reagan
Denali!
The girls also did a full rearrange of the VHS/DVD shelf- they built towers with them on the tables and were entertained for a good thirty minutes before starting to fight. We four wheeled and occasionally walked down to the open water area that boasted all the views of Denali and the girls threw rocks in the water, muddied their boots and picked blueberries (which are super early to be out and very sour!).
In addition to the fun of the trip, I would be lying if I said there was constant toddler fighting, whining and arguing over entering and exiting the backdoor continuously!! Relaxation is not a word used to describe the weekend, something I look forward to achieving once the girls are older and more self-sufficient. We did manage to get everyone to sleep by about 9 PM that night, after a day with no nap and a lot of excitement, and everyone slept quite well with Craig in the bedroom’s king bed, waking up about 7:30 the next morning. We enjoyed sleeping out in the main living area and I extremely enjoyed the sporadic rainfall hitting the metal roof above us. How I’ve missed that!
Harper
Emerie
Reagan
I’m glad we spontaneously decided to go, something we haven’t done since the girls joined our family. We left the cabin and trekked back to the car the next day with minimal bug bites, lots of dirt, a lot fewer snacks to pack and another beautiful sunny morning. We made a brief stop in Talkeenta on the return trip for lunch, which the girls didn’t really eat, and once the grumpiness was too much to handle, we drove home. All in all, so glad we went. Getting out into nature is essential to being an Alaskan and we hope to instill that mentality in our kids as they grow up.
In the past year we’ve unexpectedly lost our daycare situation TWICE and had six months working from home whilst watching three toddlers.
How did we do it? I feel that I’ve been asked that question about 20 times in the past week and yet I’m not entirely sure of the answer.
We have…because we had to. This same answer applies to a lot of things you HAVE to do to raise triplets and really, just to raise any number of kids in general. My mom visited once for a few weeks to help and Craig’s mom gave us two long trips to keep us sane, allow me to get through spring grant season and Craig to get in meetings.
Without the escape of going to work and having kid free time for a full day, which is what I’ve considered my relaxation time for the past three years, it’s been really hard. I’m thankful the girls are much better about going places now and whenever routine gets off a bit, it’s not the end of the world like it was when they were smaller. They’ve learned many new skills this spring and are in the midst of an age where learning and excelling are an every day thing.
So I am very happy to report we just claimed three spots in one of the daycares we were waitlisted on for a handful of months. The three-year-old classroom is called the Ladybugs and one of the teacher helpers worked at the prior daycare- something that definitely helps the transition.
First day!
Exciting sensory bin
Good girls get lollipops!
First day drop off produced no tears (from kids or parents) and at half day pickup the teacher noted they did great and were very well behaved. Now that COVID restrictions are more relaxed, no masks are required for walking in and parents can once again accompany their children into their classrooms. We didn’t get this option at all at the last place and I’m thrilled we won’t have to stand outside in the cold and wait. It is also wonderful to have more of a normal experience, since we never had a taste of it with the girls cared for at home prior to the pandemic.
Another big win of the first day is something easily overlooked. All three put their coats on and walked back to the car with me- no running away, no chase routine across the parking lot, no scolding- they climbed straight into the car. After this NEVER happening at the last place, six months of maturing and going out more really helps. It sounds small but man! It’s such a difference on my sanity. A second detail worth noting…we’ve had a handful of nights with complete overnight sleeping, without any fussing or intervening! We broke the current record of nights in a row, which I didn’t actually count but am aware happened… and I seem to wake up stiff in the morning from sleeping so much harder than the past three years. It’s glorious I tell you. A third big win of the first week- Emerie’s eye patching. We’ve done a decent job at it over the past six months but recognize that she does even better with it at daycare. We are reaching to six hours a day instead of the two or three hours throughout this spring and it’s fantastic! Her eyelid is slowly becoming less droopy (as expected) and her complaints more-or-less are fewer and far between. This is yet another daily routine win for us.
Drop off the next few days proved more as expected. Craig noted the second day all three were in full, crying tears when he left and Emerie chased him out to the car one morning. Toward the end of the week this was much improved, but I’m guessing we will have a few more tearful days until they get used to the new routine. Reagan, more so than the other two, states she doesn’t want to go to school and wants to stay home with you. In fact, she’s continuing to repeat this sentiment every day and not just as we get ready in the morning. It’s very sweet but hopefully her teachers and the fun activities will eventually win her over. As we start week two, she already shares the tears before even leaving the driveway while the other two remain in good spirits.
The first, full day proved a good one. I’m concerned how well the napping/quiet time in the afternoon will go after a lot of issues at the prior place, both attributed to kids’ attitudes AND facility accommodation, and day one went off without a hitch. Reagan and Emerie eventually settled down and fell asleep; no shut-eye for Harper but she was well behaved and quiet throughout, which we take as a win. And after all, we are now on the tail end of napping anyway- where the girls still benefit from it but are more resistant to cooperate for it. The loss of the binkies greatly impacted this success.
Eccentric smiles and happy hollers are accompanied with every afternoon pickup; they are excited to see me, go home and see Daddy and of course have a little lollipop on the car ride home for a good day. On Friday everyone had a scoop of ice cream from Coldstone as a reward for a good first week. It was the first time in half their lives that they were able to go in and choose preferred colors (flavors); Harper chose a marble one and Emerie and Reagan both wanted the blue cotton candy. Uncle Will joined us and everyone happily sucked down the afternoon treat.
Now that we are in the three-year-old class, and mostly post pandemic rules, that means occasional field trips! The girls’ first trip out to Campbell Creek trail was a success. The teacher noted to me that afternoon that no one attempted to run off and they were very behaved, staying in line and listening to instruction. What a relief!! Let’s hope this trend continues.
Looking back at the past six months, while it was busy, difficult and very mentally and physically tiring for both Craig and I, it went pretty well overall. We incorporated new activities into our routine, with lots of park visits, playground playing, jump park bouncing, public outings and play dates to get out and about; I’m unsure we could have juggled all that two years back and been successful, especially with past sleep deprivation. We were also around to see the girls age and learn new things, something we would have missed working from the office all day.
All in all, glad to report things are going well!
Fourth of July Fun
After a full week of new daycare success, we were off for a long, holiday weekend playing with friends and spending time outside. It also meant our first Fourth of July parade with the kiddos. The weather cooperated and with the sun out, everyone stayed warm in their cute red, white and blue dresses and fancy hair clips. While most of the holiday activities weren’t slated toward toddler age, the girls did win a small, stuffed narwhal, were given flags to wave and enjoyed seeing all the trucks driving in the parade. After a lunch with friends and a good, solid afternoon nap, everyone spent the remainder of the day playing on the Little Tikes double water slide in the backyard.
I’ll have you know my little Alaska babies are not yet cooperative on water temperature. My age group grew up playing in the freezing cold hose water and glacial creeks and lakes for years; these girls? Not a chance. The warm water spicket installed on the back of the house this spring is now greatly appreciated by three little girls- three little girls who won’t use the water slide unless the water is warm and comfortable. As soon as the hot water tank is depleted, everyone immediately retreats to towels and complaining that the water is so cold.
Another successful weekend, albeit a very LONG one, with some adventure and fun play dates. I’ve already forgotten how we survive weekends in the winter and continue to enjoy spending as much time outside as possible with the three littles.
As the girls continue to grow we are starting to see more kid (versus toddler) behavior show. Things like morning greetings either fully excited and ready to release from the. Rib in a blast of excitement (toddler) or rolling over and pulling the pillow over their heads at the sight of light (kid). Harper now likes to roll over and put the pillow over her head when she doesn’t want to get up and not move until you make demands that you’ll leave her there while her sisters are up and rolling. Reagan usually stands up and wants to snuggle immediately while Emerie will pull her blanket up over her and snuggle in more to her bed for a few more minutes, asking me to close the blinds because it’s too bright.
Favorite colors are continuing to emerge and it’s notable that at age three the girls are already venturing from their preordained NICU colors of pink, purple, teal. We assigned them at random so it’s not highly surprising. Emerie is on a blue kick and constantly asks for blue nail polish. Her new glasses have blue frames instead of last year’s purple and yellow tipped ones. Reagan is still a fan of purple and trends toward that color on many things; of course this doesn’t change her belief that all things green and blue should be hers. And Harper, my sweet Harper…is still on her black kick! She recently enthusiastically chose a new black swimsuit and was so excited to wear it. She maintains her love of the black marker and black hat, but definitely not the black jelly beans (licorice flavor). And for some reason all three girls dislike the color yellow (referred to as lullo still to my joy!).
My favorite toddler pronunciations include randoms words like marshmallow (sounds like “farshfallow”), four wheeler (“four-lala”), ballerina (“balla-leena)”) and a few others I haven’t remembered to write down. We are also into the toddler story-telling times. Reagan told me a whole story the other day about planting a seed in her water bucket, watching it grow into a tree, and that it became soooo beautiful! There are plenty of moments where all three will elaborate on a story at the same time and that is a LOT of information to process at once! Emerie enjoys telling everyone her first, middle and last name and it’s adorable. If asked she will tell people her sisters names as well; Reagan also repeats the names of people she knows at random- it goes from immediate family to naming off cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends. Reagan also calls the missing, light up peacock in the neighbor’s yard (it was a snow decoration) a moo-cock. Harper is now repeating some of the “less desirable” words that come out of our mouths as we struggle to raise triplets in the day to day. I will leave that to your imagination, since we are trying to break her of it…
The past few months I’ve paid attention to the girls new phrases and cute words. They get a few common phrases backwards and while they say them correctly in a sentence, they opposite intention is intended. For example, slamming a gate in front of someone, when they are on the other side, always comes with a I lock you in! This same sentiment is used when slamming the front or back door and yelling they locked you in, versus out. In the car when someone is sitting in the very back row, they will comment grandma is sitting in front of me or when Craig is driving a I don’t want to sit in front of daddy instead of behind. Music requests are also backwards, with turn it up meaning it’s too loud and turn it down demands to increase that volume. For now these cute things are endearing!
Speaking of music, we have a return of Patty Cake as a favorite. They will all sing it together in the back seat and it’s so cute my heart might burst listening to it! Other new requests consist of the Hairbrush Song from Veggie Tales and Five Little Monkeys, with the occasional Shake It Off demand. We also seem to listen to a lot of Mulan and Tangled soundtracks.
Current movie request in the day-to-day have more variety than this time last year, when the only thing watchable (according to those two year olds) was Tangled, Moana or Wreck-It Ralph. Now that we’ve branched out to other exciting things, requests vary from Abominable (Snowman/Yeti), which the girls refer to as the “sad snowman who has an owie,” Curious George, Blippi (most often the vehicles episode), Leap (a major favorite), and Lilo and Stitch. It usually takes a couple nights to finish one and at this point I’m not sure which is whose favorite.
Now that the ground has warmed up and leaves sprouted, our yard work consists of the children demanding we find new earthworms for them to play with and running around with all kinds of buckets and toys. Harper and Reagan will run around with the worms while Emerie is a little less inclined to touch the slime and immediately tosses them away. All other bugs are referred to as spiders, regardless of the accuracy, so many excited spider, look! shrieks occur day-to-day.
The weather in early June increased into the high 60s (finally!) and even pushing 70, so the tiny pool and water table made their summer debuts. Yes, I poured buckets of hot water from the sink into the pool; it’s definitely not hot enough for hose water yet and they did NOT like that frigid water last year. Throw in the monster wind at our house and the warm water keeps them happy longer. Added vocabulary means they now express their dislike for the water temperament. The first day the girls played a solid two hours without much intervention, simply by playing with buckets and scooping water all over the place. The second day was closer to three hours, after a solid nap with a promise of push-pops if they slept. The sprinkler and tiny, sand buckets allowed the girls to play without fighting for a long time. Throw a few more tea cups and pots into the mix for even more water fun. Who knew how exciting scooping water across the backyard and pouring it into cups could be! And it is extremely thrilling when we have moments of everyone getting along, doing their own thing, and NOT FIGHTING. They aren’t super common (yet) but at least we get them every now and then and hope to see an increase in that time this season.
A 99 cent bag of decorative glass beads resulted in grand entertainment as well. I threw all these decorative beads away last summer with the fear the girls might find them and choke; this year is a whole new ballgame and they LOVE to collect them, carry them around in backpacks and containers and boxes, and randomly holler at you when they can’t find one, which is all. the. time. Other than those grumpy moments, the girls really enjoy collecting and toting around.
Craig removed yet another baby gate, the one allowing blockading our main level from downstairs, leaving only two more in the house (one to my office and one to upstairs). We’ve talked about doing this for a while but some evenings it was needed to keep everyone contained downstairs regardless of their desire to be there. Removing it went smoothly and so far no issues destroying the half bathroom when out of sight! The best part is, since it spent more than two years in that location, we are so used to stepping over the bottom bar that we are practically tripping down the half-flight of stairs because it’s no longer there. That muscle memory is strong!
It feels great to open the house up more and get back to a semi prior-to-kids setting. Warm weather allows bigger toys to go outside on the back deck, meaning no play kitchen or Home Depot tool bench resides in the living room for the moment. It feels strange to have both recliners, the couch and our coffee table in the room; that hasn’t happened since before the baby jumpers stage! Cabinet locks are removed from the pantry area and some of the kitchen and either the girls haven’t noticed or don’t see anything interesting to get into.
House projects are back in full swing- Craig is busy busy getting things around the house caught up. This includes small projects, paint touch ups and gardening as well as removal of the unused hot tub. The yard feels so much larger without that monstrosity blocking the view from the kitchen window; it also gave more space to add a minor deck addition to better use the space. He removed the custom deck gate that we used so much the past two years to keep kiddos contained and pulled out a railing- not something we could have done in the past two years without it messing with the toddler containment and survival mode.
Warmer weather also means we have entered the “band-aid season” like a hurricane! What is this? Well, if you’d really like to know, it’s that time during the summer when the kids legs look like red, spotted polka dots against tan skin. This isn’t just because you can see said injuries while in shorts, but it’s the time when the toddlers are so busy running amuck, away from you, across playgrounds and into new adventures and wilderness; backwards, upside down, and all over the place that they have tumbles, falls, collisions and general moments of disaster that result in crying, bleeding and demands for more band-aids. Wow, that was a mouthful!
It’s that time of year when toddlers are so busy running amuck, away from you, across playgrounds and to adventure, backwards and upside down that that they have tumbles, falls, collisions and general disaster resulting in crying, bleeding meltdowns.
said every mom ever
Counting those injuries is good practice for the kids, with Harper currently winning with SIXTEEN scrapes/bruises/scratches on her hands and legs! She takes the cake on this because of one main injury over the weekend, falling on a metal grated ramp and producing a good set of bloody scratches on her leg and hands. She now asks Grandma to count her owies. Reagan managed to step backwards and fall over a rock at the conservatory, producing a little ouchie, and Emerie tumbled forward into the gravel and her glasses scratched her nose up to match Harper’s legs! A lot of band-aids and “lotion” seem to fix this for the most part.
Grandma Sue and I visited the wildlife conservatory this week on a sunny, daytime adventure. It’s been a while since I’ve felt like we had a GOOD day with the girls, with things going smoothly and attitudes obedient and happy, but this was definitely one. They did great on both drives, with the way back a decent nap for all three once they settled down. I might also mention we made it through construction (rock blasting) both directions without having to stop at the flagger, which is very rare and much appreciated.
The wind was gusting at least fifty the entire visit and while the animals didn’t seem to mind too much, the girls didn’t appreciate it but remained good sports. We redressed in hoodies, coats and sunglasses to stay warm and keep the kicked up dust out of our eyes and adventured on foot. Emerie’s new glasses have attachable magnetic sunglasses so I finally pulled out the hidden sunglasses for the other two and everyone was excited. The favorite animal of the day was definitely the first one visited, the three-legged porcupine named Kit-Kat. Shock, awe and immediate discussion was held at the sight of him peeing in his water bowl. TMI? Maybe but the girls observed it and out rightly wanted to know why he did it! The only other notable comments from the trip were the exclamation that the fox has a fireplace!, which was more of a electrical box in his cage, and the bison play basketball! because an irrelevant purple ball was out in the field with them. Random observations are likely one of my favorite parts of outdoor excursions.
Everyone insisted on collecting massive sized rocks to lug around the place. We did not discourage this since the goal of sleepy toddlers is always on our mind; by the time we made it halfway across the exhibits the girls backpacks were filled up with a few nice-sized rocks in addition to their juice, snack and dandelions. Harper carried a bouquet of dandelions well over an hour, citing they were for daddy. It is so wonderful not carrying a “house-full” of supplies in a diaper bag or backpack now that everyone is more grown up. That, and they LOVE wearing those backpacks. The wings flopped in the wind the entire time like little angel wings.
Harper Anne
Emerie Faye
Reagan Jean
Summer is off to a good start and now that they are a bit older, I feel like going new places is much more doable. It still contains a major level of stress for me, especially when more than an hour away from home, but is also much more doable than the past two summers and much overdue.
Rather than a visit from the tooth fairy this month, our household was visited by the elusive “binkie fairy!” This fairy came to pick up a single pacifier from each toddler over the course of a few nights.
Obviously this is our creative way to slowly wean off the bedtime binkie obsession the girls have had since birth, something that had to be done prior to Reagan’s tooth pull procedure.
The girls have loved their binkies since the green, newborn ones were provided in the NICU and covered half their faces. The first two years of life were spent with single binkies and animal “wubbanubs” littered across the house and often several within grasp. They were so helpful for soothing the littles throughout the first year, especially when three babies need attention and one only has two arms- and I don’t think we would have survived without them. I can’t remember when we pulled them from daily routine, confining them to only nap time and overnights; that adjustment was disliked by all three but especially Reagan.
Tiny binkie babies
Even after confined to their bedrooms, the girls still tried to sneak them out of the cribs and snuggle with them throughout the evening routine, not often successfully but not for lack of trying. Very few days succeeded and those were limited to very hard days, like the whole family throwing up from the stomach flu, after one of Emerie’s surgeries, or when going on a long drive and getting stuck on the wrong side of an avalanche! I’m pretty sure I could have used one to sooth myself.
The first night no one noticed a binkie vanishing, which goes to show how many backups remained in the beds. I kid you not, for months Reagan would sleep with one in her mouth and one in each hand. We introduced stuffed animals a while back, hoping to replace the hand backups with something to snuggle. This somewhat worked and they all have specific lovies that must join in bed every night. Harper loves her red octopus from our last SeaLife Center visit and usually a princess or Moana’s pig Pua, Reagan must have her Panda and green Lambie or she will ask you for them a million times until they appear, and Emerie still loves her purple monkey, now named Monk, her soft, purple hippo, and for the moment her SeaLife Center spotted turtle. Other friends randomly join on different days as well and for the most part they don’t fight over who has what.
Checking out their new necklaces!
The following night the girls gave another binkie up and it went into the baby bottle, accompanied by one “fairy” doll to oversee the transaction. As I flipped off the bedroom light I sneakily handed said doll and binkie bottle off to Grandma Sue, who whisked the objects off to babies in need. When the girls woke up the next morning they discovered that same baby bottle was filled with shiny, beaded necklaces in pink, purple and teal. The fairy was kind enough to even leave the tags on! Everyone wore their necklaces on and off throughout the day.
At nap time there was great discussion regarding the remaining (only) two binkies in their cribs. The girls clearly missed that third one but chatted with each other about them going to other babies. That and how much they only have two binkies!
That night two fairies showed up to take another one. The girls each chose one of their two remaining and placed them into the baby bottle. They checked out the two fairies and discussed losing their beloved possessions, getting a bit sidetracked wanting to go home with the fairies. They stopped asking once they understood fairies live in trees and have to go deliver binkies to crying babies who need them. At least that answer seemed to suffice for the night!
Hi fairies!
Giving one up!
Taking them away to other babies!
The next morning, right on cue, the baby bottle was filled with another goodie, light up squishy lady bugs! These were immediately taken from the plastic bottle and carried around for a bit throughout the morning.
As predicted, the final night giving up the last one was the hardest. It didn’t help that Harper didn’t nap that day and all three had a good amount of afternoon blush from the sun. Anticipating more difficulty we had a night-night nummy (melatonin) to help them become drowsy. Only minimal convincing was needed for each to add their final binkie to the bottle and take a look at all three visiting fairies, their shoes and pretty hair colors. While no one was thrilled at giving them up, everyone agreed the babies needed them. To our astonishment Reagan handled it the best and didn’t even shed a tear, just asked for her ballerina and hugged her panda. Harper, on the other hand, full on cried and didn’t want to lie down with her animals. Emerie did the same but settled after a few more furry friends joined her in the crib.
After lights out everyone flipped. Harper immediately fell asleep, very overtired from the day, and Emerie right behind her. Reagan, on the other hand, stood in her crib and chatted about the “sad snowman” (abominable snowman they watched earlier) and had a hard time settling down. Everyone eventually drifted off to sleep pretty normally and slept most of the night! I popped in and napped for about two hours on the nursery couch; first because Harper was adamant she didn’t want to sleep, I want my binkie! from the confines of her crib and then Emerie followed within the same hour. Otherwise, the night went off without a hitch and I can’t even believe it!
With Reagan’s tooth procedure at 8 AM, a little fairy game-planning occurred after bedtime. Much to my surprise, they all slept pretty well overnight. We woke everyone up before normal wake up time to ensure all three received their present and Reagan didn’t miss out on that excitement. Nap time went easier than expected too, with everyone snuggling with their animals and drifting off to sleep. Waking up early and the dental procedure probably had something to do with that, and coincidentally the fairies left a gift for everyone when they woke up from their first no-binkie nap!
They keep on growing up!
The next night we received a few questions at bedtime about where the binkies were, but overall discussion was pretty limited. The girls later laid in bed and discussed the vanishing act, with Emerie commenting that thelittle babies need them while Harper insisted the little babies are mean and took my binkies. It is fun to see their understanding of the event and helpful that they are old enough to comprehend giving something away to someone else. While we still have the normal overnight wake ups off and on, I’m happy we are able to settle them even without the use of a pacifier. The third night everyone slept through without a single peep, telling us that in the not too distant future binkies will be all but forgotten and we can continue to move onto the next stage of bedtime (shhh not yet!).
It’s somewhat sad to take away something that gives them comfort, even knowing they are old enough to understand the binkie fairy logic and are more than capable of sleeping without them. Not a single night in three years occurred without them! I keep reminding myself I felt the same way when we stopped using them during the daytime and in the car and we somehow managed those transitions. I felt the same nerves as we transitioned from tight swaddling to arms out to sleep sacks and I’m sure this isn’t the last bedtime change that will give us anxiety and stress! The next step will be big girl beds and I’m definitely not ready to even think about that yet.
After a couple days without them, the fairy dolls showed up one morning for the girls to keep and play with. We still get the occasional question asking where those darn binkies are and that they want them, but only from the comfort of their cribs. All in all, I believe this was a success and went smoother than we anticipated.
For now, if the girls tell you about their fairy visits, you all better praise them for nicely sharing those pacifiers so other babies can use them. Just saying… 🙂
Our day started early, getting the girls up before normal rise and shine to bring Reagan in for her front tooth extraction. As I’ve stated before on here, she chipped her front tooth over a year ago and now it requires removal to not damage the root and future, adult tooth.
Reagan was excited to go see Dr. Winkle, who is not doing the tooth pull, but it’s good to know the whole household enjoys seeing him. Reagan put her lip gloss on prior to heading into the office. She did not like the blood pressure cuff but eventually we were able to get a good reading. When given the option to hold my hand or the hygienist, she chose the hygienist! She was also a good sport for the “stickers” on her chest for her health readings and was wiggly until the Versed kicked in and made her loopy.
Kiddos her age typical get Versed as well as laughing gas to calm them down for the procedure, which is very quick, and keep them from wiggling too much. Even quicker in our case since it’s an accessible front tooth. The biggest warning for us was to try and keep her from biting her numb lip or it will be sore later.
Reagan was excited to learn the doctor would give her presents after, such as stickers and a new toothbrush, and they were nice enough to give us three new brushes so sisters feel special as well.
That excitement clearly ended by the time the procedure occurred and we could hear her screaming down the hall from the waiting room. Poor baby!! So heartbreaking to hear as a parent and similar to how Emerie came out of anesthesia a couple of times. Afterwards the doctor said she was fine right up until they went to pull it and had to strap her hands down.
The whole thing was over in about 15 minutes, with Craig and I sitting in the waiting room. By the end of the appointment, when they wheeled her out in the wheelchair, she had a new blue bunny and was commenting that she wanted to stay with Dr. Barnes. I’d say that’s quite the success that she wanted to go again and the staff was laughing.
Overall we left with a number of new toothbrushes, stickers, and a blue squishy bunny. She did not leave with stitches so when she requested a donut in the car, we went in and let her pick one out at Dino’s, one that of course contained sprinkles. She chowed down on the way home and now we are sitting on the couch relaxing while her light sedation wears off and she becomes less wobbly. She was such a trooper today!
All done!
Donuts!
Almost home
Two kiddo procedures in one month is a LOT. Glad it’s almost June and we can de-stress a bit!
The Douglets 