Going to the Derm…

We took Emerie to her first solo doctor appointment in early October. First off, I want to note it was a whole different ballgame to have two parents and only one baby at an appointment, and no shots! It was eerily calm and quiet and far less stressful than normal.

In the waiting room, looking at the art!

Anyway, at the six month checkup for the girls, we asked the doctor about two lumps on Emerie, one on her back and one under her armpit. They don’t bother her when I poke and prod, but they are definitely worth checking out, especially due to my medical history. I think my heart briefly dove into my throat as the doctor was examining her, because, of course, your mind always jumps to the worst conclusions possible, and it’s definitely a different fear when it is your kid as opposed to yourself. The pediatrician didn’t seem to think it was something big (or bad), but likely a vascular issue that we would just monitor going forward.

Emerie was so well behaved during the ultrasound and didn’t fuss at all (the ride home was a different story!). The tech was wonderful and mildly shocked when we told her Emerie was one of three.

It took several days before we received the ultrasound results, with our pediatrician suggesting we go to a pediatric dermatologist.

Later in the month we went to the dermatologist, after receiving the ultrasound results that state there isn’t likely reason for concern, but better to be safe for sure! The dermatologist looked at Emerie’s back and arm and proceeded to tell us the spots are another form of hemangioma, like the one on her head and Harper’s back, and that it was likely there since birth but only visible after some time as it rose closer to the surface of her skin.

One funny thing, the doctor noted that it is more common for babies to have hemangiomas if they are girls, part of a multiple set, AND identical…so we hit the “trifecta” (haha) on that. We will have to wait and see if anything pops up on Reagan, and Harper already has her one on her lower back.

Prayers definitely answered that things are not concerning. We will keep monitoring the spots and likely go back for a checkup at a year of age. The hemangiomas will continue to grow until then, and afterwards should start shrinking back down until they are gone. This includes the one on her forehead…which means at some point people won’t be able to use that to determine who is who!

Nov 01

Halloween: Behind the Scenes

Behind the scenes of the Halloween photo op. Dressing everyone up was fun!

Little kittens

I have taken a lot of triple photos over the past seven months, but what you don’t see are the epic battles that get us to that one, cute photo that has all three still and smiling at the same time.

Photo op improvising

For the girl’s first Halloween we dressed them as little deer, complete with headbands, frills, and pumpkins. They were far more interested in chewing on their dresses or kicking the pumpkins than anything else, but we made it work. Surprisingly they didn’t mind the headbands on their heads.

Definitely had some giggles as well. Overall they were good sports. In the evening we put them in warmer cat suits I originally bought for this holiday, and they didn’t mind them at all. In fact, the little hoodies and tails fit perfectly.

First Halloween as kittens

Now we just have to convince our neighborhood not to ring our doorbell tonight, as trick or treating is definitely past the girls bedtime.

Oct 30

Food Fun and Restaurants

At about seven months of age, food brings lots of entertainment for all. We are still introducing it, and it doesn’t count as actual feedings yet since they are younger developmentally, but it’s rather fun to try.

Several times Harper has decided I am inadequately feeding her and stole the spoon to do it herself. Emerie has also tried that and licked it dry.

Their reactions to new flavors are pretty cute too. This is Harper discovering corn and green beans, which she doesn’t seem to like, but you can decide that for yourself!

Emerie is by far the best at maneuvering the spoon and actually attaining food into her belly. She’s like a baby bird, mouth open, leaning forward, squealing for more between each bite.

Reagan still tolerates the feedings but doesn’t seem to be a big fan of the concept yet. She would much rather chew on the teethers than on food, but does like bananas for the most part.

We are still propping at meal time quite often; in fact, the girls eat far better in a quiet, less exciting atmosphere such as their bedroom. They are starting to outgrow the arm chair length wise, but for the moment it is still doable. Whoever ends up in the middle usually has to share some of their space.

One usual ends up kicking the other or pushing their back with a foot, something I might as well get used to now!

We tried butternut squash tonight in honor of Halloween Eve and Emerie LOVED it, Harper and Reagan tolerated as usual. We tried on a costume for tomorrow as well 🙂

This past weekend we had a great visit from Craig’s brother Chris and his Dad. Chris hadn’t met the babies yet and they are pretty much obsessed with him.

We attempted going out to eat (twice!) with everyone in tow, and it went surprisingly well. The server at Olive Garden could not quite comprehend that we had three infants, let alone that we left the house with them and attempted to eat a meal.

Sunday morning we went to breakfast at one of our favorite spots in south side Anchorage, after being told by the owner of the family owned business a few weeks prior that we should definitely bring the babies in!!

It went well and everyone behaved. It was nice to sit at a restaurant with visiting family and sip on some coffee, all while watching the first snow of the season fall. Emerie hung out with Uncle Chris for the entire meal while Harper sat with me and Papa Cliff and Reagan with Dad.

The girls enjoyed the attention for sure. We look forward to more successful meals out, but recognize we probably got lucky this weekend with such good behavior; that or just timed everything really well. Here’s to more opportunities for food!

Oct 27

A New Meaning to Nighttime Adventures

It’s one thing to consistently wake up at night by a shrieking or fidgety baby, it’s something else to wake up to a crazy racket happening downstairs at two AM.

First thought- that might wake the babies!

Second thought, the dog and the cat are trying to kill each other…I better go check!

I went downstairs, and there are bags and recycling stuff all over the dining room, and a very offended dog (Kalli, our greyhound) making a bunch of noise and running back and forth.

It turns out that since it was stormy and windy out, one of the wandering neighbor cats noticed our doggie door and decided to come inside. Our “guard dog” did not take it well, but couldn’t actually get it back outside.

Craig helped me hold the dog back so I could scoot our little visitor back outside, which it happily did.

But seriously, first I have a live mouse visitor thanks to my cat, and now another animal comes in!

And none of this includes actually getting up FOR THE BABIES! Which we do….a lot.

Oct 23

Bare, Hair, or Barely There?

One of the bigger surprises (other than 3!!) for me was the fact that everyone was born with some hair on their heads. Granted, not a lot, but not bald either.

We learned at one of the last belly NSTs in week 31 or 32 that Baby A (Harper) had hair that was visible through the ultrasound.

Now that we are about 30 weeks out of the womb, we’ve been watching the girls’ hair start to grow in more places than on their birth day. They still have a solid bald spot in the middle of the back of their heads, but other than that it’s starting to grow!

Emerie had a bald spot over her right ear for a couple months. We thought it was due to a birthmark, but luckily that doesn’t seem to be the case now and hair is starting to grow in the same spot.

Everyone has a “five o’clock shadow” and I think by Christmas we will see a lot more!

Oh and the color!

I was positive during pregnancy that everyone would be born bald and eventually grow into little toe headed blondes. That doesn’t seem to be the case; in fact, we are certainly going to have redheads of some kind! In the sun, the girls hair definitely shines reddish, not blonde.

I am so very excited to see the color!!

The Douglets

Triplets in Alaska

triplets