Brinlee, Kimball and Sawyer have discovered one another, and they are completely smitten! They love being together and actually get upset when the others aren’t around. Yesterday Sawyer woke up half an hour early from his nap and was fine at first, but after a few minutes he started to cry. He was inconsolable even though I was holding him and rocking him. After 30 minutes Brinlee woke up and when I brought her down, he was all smiles and giggles the rest of the afternoon. If one of them is unhappy, I can put them next to one of the other babies in the jumpers, and they are happy. They like to look and grin and giggle and try to touch. Even when they aren’t interacting, they are happy just to be side-by-side. It is so cute, and it makes us so happy!
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/We have all three of the jumpers/exersaucer in a triangle grouping now. They are happiest when they are together. A lot of the time they are interacting, but other times it’s tandem play. What is so cute is when they are focusing on their own toy, they get so intense and look like they are working on splitting the atom or something. Sawyer discovered the mirror on one of the jumpers the other day and was flirting with himself. He usually can’t wait for one of us to pick him up, but I had a hard time tearing him away from himself. It might be love.
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/The kids had their first cold, but it hasn’t been too bad, mostly just snotty noses. It made it hard to eat and breathe at the same time, but I think it bothered me more than it bothered them. I don’t love it when they drag a snotty nose across my shirt, and they don’t love it when I put saline in their noses and suction. In fact, Sawyer gets very mad and it takes him a while to forgive me. I’ve tried to explain the whole good-for-you concept, but he doesn’t buy it.
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/Kimball had his weigh in, and he passed. Phew! I did as the doctor asked and added a little water to each bottle, making it the normal calorie count of formula, instead of the boosted preemie calories. I also changed his diaper just before the weigh-in, and held off on his bottle. The last time he had just had a 7-ounce bottle, which I think skewed the results. Anyway, Kimball isn’t obese anymore. He’s just an adorably chubby, healthy little baby (which is what we thought he was all along). I was right in my suspicion that he might have been packing it on in preparation for a height spurt. They all grew 2.5 inches in a month! Whoa!
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/We made our first road trip for Memorial Day weekend. We drove three hours to visit my family. I decided that the best approach would be to feed them their 7 pm bottle, strap them in and go so they would sleep all the way. They all woke up at random times, probably in part because of the headlights flashing from passing traffic. Their car seat shades didn’t cover enough. Brinlee fussed the last half hour. When we arrived, they were all wide awake and giggling. They giggled and stared and wiggled for over an hour while we were trying to get them back to sleep. It is not as adorable at midnight as it is at noon.
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/Coming back we left just after 7 pm again. They all looked out the windows for about half an hour before falling asleep. This time we covered them better to protect them from headlights, and they slept like a dream….for a while. We hit the halfway point and I commented how well it was going. What a mistake! Right on cue, Brinlee started to fuss. We talked to her and held her hand, but it continued off and on for an hour before she lost it. She was completely hysterical. I’ve only heard her like that a few times, and that was usually when she was in pain. Adam pulled over on the interstate because there wasn’t an exit nearby. He climbed in the back, unstrapped her and held her for about twenty minutes. We turned on the interior lights to help calm her. She did burp a few times, but that could have been a product of the screaming. We have no idea why she freaked out. Stopping the car woke the boys. When we were finally back on the road, they all stayed awake until we got home, which was about 30 minutes. This time they went down pretty easily. Kimball took the longest at about 20 minutes. The trip there and back was not optimal, but we had a nice time otherwise. We got to visit with my parents and two of my brothers and their families. They met most of their cousins. We’re really glad we made the trip, and we’re even more glad that it’s their turn to visit us next time! 🙂
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/We made an attempt at family pictures while at my parents’ house. I haven’t ventured into a photography studio yet because by the time we feed, diaper, dress and travel, their happy time is OVER, and I don’t think it will go well. My brother did a good job taking the pictures, but his subjects were not very cooperative. We got a few OK pictures, but nothing great. They were ready for a nap. Plus, our kids shrivel like vampires when we take them outside. You would think I sprayed them with holy water or something. Now that the weather is so nice, we have taken them outside more and more, so they are getting much better. At first they wouldn’t even open their eyes, but now they at least squint.
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/Our kids’ method of eating greatly resembles that of the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. There is a whole lot of frantic action and chewing and yumming, and yet it all somehow winds up on the floor or themselves or each other or all of the above. I have no confirmation that any of these foods have actually been swallowed, but they are at least tasting and trying things.
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/We are making a little progress with our tummy time/crawling efforts. Brinlee scoots backward and in circles on her belly. Not really the direction we were hoping for, but it’s progress. She does use her legs a lot though. She reaches up and grabs the bottle with her feet and rips it from my hands. Kimball will occasionally pull back on his haunches and spring forward ending in a face plant. Sawyer has already outsmarted his dad (they’ve been outsmarting us since birth). Adam put a toy out of reach in hopes that it might inspire some motion, but Sawyer quickly discovered that if he just pulled the blanket, the toy came with it. Note to parents, next time eliminate the blanket.
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/I met a very kind stranger and thought I would share what happened. I was at the library waiting to pick up a book and the man in front of me asked if I was a teacher because I look like one. I told him no, but I would have enjoyed it. He asked what I did and I said I’m a mom. He asked about my baby and I showed him a picture of 3. He said he wanted to do something for them, and though I was a little embarrassed, I said ok (I think it’s rude when people go on and on saying “you don’t need to do that!” Be gracious and say thank you). He handed me $20 and I thanked him. I told him that we try to pass on the generosity we’ve been shown by giving things we are finished with to other triplet families and that his generosity would bless more than one family. He is a teacher (don’t get me started on how underpaid teachers are), and I’m sure he needed that $20 more than we do, but his gesture really touched me.
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/At church last Sunday, our little puke monster, Sawyer, projectile vomited all over the crotch of Adam’s pants, which was quite unpleasant for him (Adam, not Sawyer. Sawyer looked quite pleased). To add insult to injury, as we left, we passed a little girl who was about 6 years old. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she stared open-mouthed at Adam like, “Oooooooooooh, I know what you did! Aren’t you potty trained?”
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/Last week we took the kids for their first visit at Adam’s office. His co-workers had requested a visit, and most of them were around last Friday, so we went around lunch time. We made the rounds, and they were sufficiently ooooohed and aaaahhhhed over. After that we went to lunch (well for the grownups. The kids had their lunch before). They were very good while we ate. Daddy walked us to the car and helped load the kids before we headed home. The kids are doing really well at getting out and about. We have had many successful outings. We try to make sure we create the most optimal conditions, but they really do well.
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/The kids are all on the growth charts now, which is exciting. The boys are pretty much caught up to average-size kids. Brinlee is still on the petite side, but I suspect she always will be. I was always petite, and she probably will be too.
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/Kimball
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/Length = between 50th and 75th percentile
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/Weight = between 25th and 50th percentile
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/Head Circumference = between 10th and 25th percentile
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/Sawyer
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/Length = between 50th and 75th percentile
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/Weight = between 10th and 25th percentile
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/Head Circumference = between 10th and 25th percentile
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/Brinlee
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/Length = between 10th and 25th percentile
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/Weight = between 5th and 10th percentile
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/Head Circumference = between 10th and 25th percentile
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/Sawyer in the bathtub with Daddy. We covered all the bits to preserve modesty.
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/Kimball adoring his daddy during his bath.
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/Brinlee loves bathtime with Daddy!
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/What would Sawyer look like with a green goatee? I’m not a fan. I think it makes him look too mature. We’ll keep the babyface look for now.
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/Enjoying their play mat from a new perspective. We had to get creative about keeping them upright and entertained after they ate at Gran’s house.
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/Cousins Madelin and Joshua strangling holding Brinlee and Sawyer
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/Gran and Grandad with their favorite grandkids (sorry other kids)
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/The family playing in Gran and Granddad’s yard. Bridget got a bubble machine for her first birthday and the cousins were kind enough to help her try it out.
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/Now I know why the Shrek triplets are green, they eat peas!
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/These are the 3 best pictures we got from our efforts.
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/Family picture number 2
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/Family picture number 3