Newborn Photo Shoot

I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures from our free photo shoot.  A friend of the family came to our house to photograph our beautiful babies.  At three weeks old, they spent most of the two hours sleeping.  Here is the 8x10 collage I made for Jesse to take to work:

From bottom to top and left to right: James, Amelia, Madeline

1 Month Old

Keep in mind, most of this information is no longer current now that the babies are almost six weeks old.  This is a reflection of their routines at 1 month old.

sleeping habits:
The babies are pretty easy to get to sleep and have settled into a routine of eating every 3 hours.  After eating, changing, and swaddling around 9 p.m. the babies wake again around midnight, 3, 6, and 9.  Sometimes there is an extra feeding in the mix.  James and Amelia sleep in their crib in the nursery.  Generally speaking, all three are able to fall asleep on their own immediately after eating and being swaddled.  If one of them has a hard time going back to sleep after a middle of the night feeding, we put them in the swing until the next feed.  Madeline has been sleeping in the pack-n-play in our bedroom because she is a bit more needy with her reflux, wakes more frequently, and takes longer to eat. 

eating habits:
I've gone back and forth about feedings but have decided that exclusive pumping works best for us right now.  Each baby consistently eats 3 ounces of expressed breastmilk every 2-3 hours.  I have supplemented with formula (Enfamil AR), but no baby has taken more than 2 ounces of formula on any given day.  Some days all three have to take one bottle of formula before bed.  Most days we don't need to use any formula at all.

milestones:
James-Follow voices and toys (mobiles, hanging toys). 
Amelia-Lift head and upper body up occasionally during tummy time, shimmy across the floor.
Madeline-Cuddle with her siblings and other family members, sleep through anything! 

challenges:
-Nursing has been frustrating as the babies like to snack throughout the day rather than eat at one setting until they are full.  Pumping and feeding 3 ounce bottles has ensured that the babies are getting enough and are able to be satisfied for 2-3 hours until the next feed.
-Madeline still spits up multiple times a day, despite an increase in her dosage of Zantac.
-Getting out of the house!  So far we have gone to the doctor's office, family members homes, and church.  We are getting faster, but it is quite the ordeal to make sure everyone is fed and changed, diaper bag is restocked, and babies are loaded in carseats in the van.

victories:
All three surpassed their birth weights within 3 weeks. 
They are each mild-mannered.  All three babies tend to cry only if they are hungry, gassy, or need a diaper change.

special notes:
People have come out of the woodworks to visit the babies.  Of the past 31 days, we have had at least one visitor on all but two days.  While I am proud to show off the babies, I'm not a fan of people coming to "help" when I just want to spend time with my family. 

So Much to Do, So Little Time

Okay, so foolish, naïve me thought I'd have all the time in the world to blog, get caught up on the DVR, nap.  Jackson can play independently and the babies just sleep all day...right?  Jesse's officially back to work this week and I have the house to myself.  What else do I have to do?

HAHAHAHA!

What a joke.  It's quite a juggling act balancing three babies and a toddler while maintaining a clean home and making sure everyone is happy and fed. What was I thinking???  As soon as one is content, the other needs something.  ALL DAY LONG! 

For the record, in no way did I expect it to be easy, but I definitely assumed there would be a little bit of downtime in between feedings, changings, etc.  Not so much...

Some blog posts I promise to publish this week:
Big Brother
1 Month Triplet Update
Newborn Photo Shoot
Life as a Stay at Home Mom

1 Month Postpartum

I guess the belly hang is to be expected when you rapidly deflate an 18+ lb baby belly.

Symptoms: I am happy to report that all heartburn, pelvic pain, difficulty breathing, carpal tunnel, swelling, etc. completely disappeared within a week after delivery.  Postpartum "symptoms" are direct results from C-section and breastfeeding.  They include back ache, numbness in the incision area, frequent headaches, and sore nipples. 

Energy: After those last few weeks of the pregnancy, I feel like I could run a marathon now.  The first week after the C-section was rough, but all energy and mobility has returned completely now.  Thanks to all of the naps, I really don't feel drained. 

Mood: As far as post-partum hormones, I feel so much more stable than I did after having Jackson.  Of course, I was already taking anti-depressants throughout this pregnancy so I'm sure that is the biggest contributing factor.  So far, no baby blues.  I do find myself increasingly impatient with Jackson, but the boy has had some full blown tantrums with all these adjustments.

Cravings: Obviously I don't have any pregnancy cravings, but I have a voracious appetite due to breastfeeding.  I eat and drink a glass of water between nearly every feeding, even the middle of the night ones.  Jesse and I have been blessed to receive regular meals and have not had to cook the entire month.  As always, I love sweets after meals.

 

Sleep: We feed the babies around 8:30 and are normally able to get all four kids in bed by 9 p.m.  Jesse and I sleep hard until 11:30/12 when the babies wake up for their first feeding.  Changing, feeding, burping, and pumping takes a good hour, then I get another two hours of hard sleep.  This routine continues until 7 or 8 a.m. Our whole family also takes a late afternoon nap.  I feel significantly more rested than I did while pregnant. 

Maternity Clothes:  I can wear my pre-pregnancy jeans and t-shirts, but nothing looks especially flattering.  I prefer to wear my long flowing skirts with maternity tops because they're so comfortable and easier to nurse in.

 

What I miss:  Rubbing my giant belly, watching my stomach move as the babies rolled around.

 

Concerns: I am nervous about losing my temper with Jackson when Jesse goes back to work next week.  Jack is quite the Daddy's boy and I tend to lose my patience with him when he's rough with the babies.

OB notes: C-section went smoothly from an OB standpoint, though I thought it was dreadful and the most unnatural way to possibly bring life into this world.  Here are some quick medical stats on my C-section experience and recovery:

Day 1 (day of C-section)

• Stayed with Jesse and babies in recovery room for two hours while spinal wore off
• Bed was rolled to post partum room, was given ice chips and apple juice
• Blood pressure, pulse, temperature, etc were all closely monitored

Day 2

• Catheter, blood pressure cuff, IV, and compression socks were removed
• Ate first meal after fasting for 30 hours (awful oatmeal!)
• Severe back and abdominal pain, took Percocet and Ibuprofen every twelve hours
• Crying episodes, felt such pain every time I got in and out of bed my teeth chattered
• Continued to pass dozens of golf ball sized clots, felt dizzy when standing

Day 3

• Was given shot in buttocks to increase contractions and help stop bleeding
• Walked around L&D floor (very slowly and painfully)
• Blood was drawn to check hemoglobin levels
• Finally showered and dressed in regular clothes (granny panties, nursing bra, yoga pants, maternity shirt)
• Wore belly binder to help stand up straight

Day 4 

• Milk came in
• Discharged from the hospital
• Staples were removed, steri-strips were placed over incision
• Increased Percocet and Ibuprofen to every 6 hours 

Days 5-11

• Weaned myself off of pain-killers
• Steri-strips fell off, (peeled off last few)
• Went for very short walks around mall and neighborhood
• Experienced brief crying episodes

Days 12-20

• Drove to store
• Carried car seat, babies, groceries
• Continued to wear belly binder

Days 21+

• Continued to have postpartum bleeding
• Held/carried Jackson
• Resumed all normal activity

Best Moment this Month:  Coming home from the hospital with three healthy babies!

A Walk in the Park

We not only survived, but really enjoyed our first public outing as a family of six.  As the idiom says, it was literally a walk in the park!  Jesse and I have taken the kids to my sister's house, in-laws, and church multiple times, but we've never gone anywhere just the two of us. 

 

We decided to keep our outing short and sweet.  First, we went to visit Jackson's former school to visit his favorite teacher.  She immediately jumped up from story time, picked him up, and gave him kisses.  Of course, she was thrilled to see the babies, as we had promised her we would bring them by after they were born.  Jackson was strangely shy, but still gave her "fish kisses" and continued to talk about her after we left.

 

The next stop was a quick trip to the park.  The weather was refreshingly cooler with very little humidity.  We left the babies in their carseats, found a bench in a shady spot, and took turns bottle feeding them breastmilk while Jackson played.

 

The babies enjoyed eating.

 Jackson enjoyed swinging,

climbing,

hiding,

 

and sliding.

We were stopped by a few very kind strangers and got a fair amount of attention.  (I suspect that will be the norm wherever we go for a while.)  I was proud of how well Jackson listened and played and relieved at how relaxed and pleasant our first outing was. 

Cuddles

People always comment about how precious the babies are cuddled together.  I take the cute factor for granted because I see it a hundred times a day, but I guess the babies are pretty darn sweet cuddled up together.  They generally become intertwined and use one another as pacifiers.

Here are just a few snapshots...

Amelia and James post nursing session

Amelia and James napping

Girl Time

In queue for swaddling

Sweet siblings

Schedules, or Lack Thereof

Every triplet mom goes on and on about the importance of sticking to a schedule.  After talking to dozens of triplet moms online, it appears that maintaining a schedule is the most critical key to sanity. 

Currently, my greatest battle is how I want to go about feeding.  Thus far, we have very rarely offered formula as I've been able to produce enough milk.  However, now that the babies are moving from 2 to 3 ounces, I'm having a harder time keeping up.  I'm down to 5 ounces in the refrigerator, which will probably be exhausted tonight.  Let's do the math folks...3 ounces x 3 babies=9 ounces.  Multiply that times every 2-3 hours.  Let's say the babies eat about 9-10 times per day.  That's somewhere between 80-90 ounces of milk I must produce per day.  I had been simply breastfeeding, but the babies kept falling asleep at the breast, then waking 10 minutes later gnawing at their fists.  It became a feeding frenzy which took over an hour to feed all three of them, not to mention I was basically topless for an hour or more a dozen times a day.  With all the company we've had, it's hard to hide babies under a receiving blanket when you know the people are there to hold your cute infants. 

I tried exclusively pumping for a few days and strictly offering 3 ounce bottles.  While this eliminated the hunger and made actual feeding time much faster, it's not as effective as nursing.  In fact, it seems to have hindered my nursing relationship with Amelia, as she is a lazy latcher anyway.  I found myself spending just as much time feeding the babies, then running to go pump.  Additionally, my supply seems to be dropping because I'm spending less time pumping than I was nursing.  Try to balance being hooked up to a pump with a two year old who cannot be left unsupervised anymore because he likes to pick up and carry the babies around and you'll see the flaws in that routine.  Jackson also enjoys turning the pump on and off or the speed up and down while I'm pumping.  Yeah, that's not stressful!

Triplet moms always talk about their babies being on a 4 hour schedule.  This is obtainable because:
1. Their babies are formula fed. 
2. Their babies have been in the NICU for several weeks and already have a schedule established.  The babies are also accustomed to laying down, rather than being held constantly.
While this seems to be the norm, it certainly is not our routine.  We have more of a two hour schedule, and I'm not sure how I'm going to manage once Jesse goes back to work next week.

The next major battle we are facing is Jackson's nap and bedtime routine.  His schedule was severely disrupted the minute the babies were born, because he spent three nights with different family members and was taken to and from the hospital each day.  When we were all reunited at home, we had a constant flow of visitors all hours and late into the evening.  For about two weeks he didn't take a nap and he threw some of the worst tantrums yet at bedtime.  We've managed to get the naptime a bit more consistent but the bedtime routine still takes an hour or more.  Jackson has to be rocked and demands specific songs, blankets, comfort items, etc.  Tonight we tried just putting him in his room with a childproof doorknob cover.  He cried, screamed, pounded on the door, and gagged himself for 48 minutes before he fell asleep.  (Yes, we went in there periodically, though it seemed to make matters worse.)

Have I mentioned Jesse goes back to work next week???  Oh my, how I wish the roles were reversed.  I nearly had a panic attack in the back-to-school aisles at Wal-Mart the other day.  The classroom is a place where I feel successful and in control.  I fear spending all day alone with three infants and a toddler is just going to drain any confidence I ever had as a mother. 

So...we've got six days to come up with some kind of schedule so I can pretend like I know what the hell I'm doing next week.