Beckett Gets Banded

So today was the day. Beckett got his cranial band, or helmet as we call it.
As I've talked about before, Beckett has something called plagiocephaly where there is flattening on one side of the skull. This can be caused by a number of things such as torticollis (which he has) and crowding of the baby in uterus. It is a miracle only one of my babies needed the helmet.
First of all, let me say that this is probably going to be harder on me than on Beckett. When they walked in with the helmet, I felt sick. I feel just terrible that he has to wear it and I'm just sick that he might be uncomfortable.
But, the first time they put it on, he didn't even make a peep. Just kept playing with his teething rattle. They had to keep taking it off and on to cut away at areas that were rubbing and by the end, I think he figured out that it was not so much fun.
The good news is that we slowly increase the number of hours he wears it from 1 hour off, 1 hour on to eventually 23 hours on and 1 hour off for his bath and so I can clean the helmet. Part of the reasoning for that is so that is to give his body time to figure out how to change his thermoregulation. I don't know if I said that right but basically, the helmet is hot and it introducing it slowly gives his body time to figure out how to deal with that. Just 1 hour and his head is dripping with sweat. By the time we get to 23 hours, I can just imagine the little boy head stink.
Unfortunately, he sweats like his daddy.

So here is the close up of my brave little boy.


Okay so a comment about 2 things. First of all, I think I had the helmet on a little sideways because it is pushing down on his eye and when I took it off he had a big red mark on his forehead. I'll do better tomorrow.
Secondly, I ordered the helmet in navy blue. But, of course to add insult to injury to our little Beckett, the helmet looks purple in person. Thank goodness it photographs blue. Rich was not happy, especially since I said I was now going to have to dress him to match his helmet. Rich thinks that means purple outfits.

We will miss you Jenny!!

Our nanny's daughter, Jenny, has been visiting from Honduras since November. Luckily for us, Jenny almost daily has been coming with her mom to our house to help take care of the babies. Our babies have been the recipients of such love and care from both of wonderful ladies. Every morning their faces light up and they scream with delight and laugh when they see Jenny and Maria. Eloise in particular. She loves to sit on Jenny's lap and play and chatter like she is one of the girls.

Sadly, Jenny is going back to Honduras on Saturday and today was her last day with the triplets. It is sad for the babies but good for the rest of her family, husband and students who are anxiously awaiting her return! I'm so glad the babies are too little to understand because I know Eloise would just be heartbroken.

We will miss her terribly!

New Toys

We have had some new toys to keep us entertained at home in the cold weather at the height of RSV season.

FEEDING TABLE
The new triplet feeding table has added lots of daily entertainment, frustration and baby shuffling. The girls really like to sit in it and watch the kitchen activity. For some reason they love to watch me wash bottles. They also love to watch the pugs and routinely throw them toys to eat which just adds to my workload of sanitizing and washing things.
Eloise thinks she is such a big girl sitting in the kitchen at the table. Half the time she doesn't even play with toys and just looks around and smiles.

Beckett doesn't love the table as much as the girls because he can't sit up as well and his head started to fall to one side. He still can be a bit of a bobblehead so are still working on his head strength and he is still getting physical therapy to help with the tortacollis.

TEETHING BISCUITS
Addy loves to sit at the table and gum on teething biscuits which will usually entertain her for about 15 minutes. Check out the beefy arms.

We are still teeth free around here but I don't know how much longer. Today her cheeks are bright pink meaning that she is either teething or allergic to broccoli.

SIPPY CUPS
The sippy cups are another great form of entertainment not to mention very beneficial for speech development, or so I've heard. Sometimes Beckett will drink his formula from a sippy cup but mostly they drink 4 parts water to one part peach juice. You would think at some point they would get used to the peach juice but they always seemed surprised at the first sip.

I'm trying to get all 3 babies used to the 3 different kinds of sippy cups that we have but for now, the Dr. Browns sippy cups seem to be the most universally accepted.

ICE CUBES
I'm sure this is the oldest, not to mention cheapest, trick in the book. I sometimes will give them ice cubes to push around on the table. I try to only do this in the morning while they are still in their pajamas because it give them very cold hands and very wet sleeves.


BATH RINGS
It was getting a little much to give 3 individual baths every night so we got bath rings so we can bathe them together. Right now I only put the girls in them until Beckett is better at sitting up.



They all love their baths so much. When they hear the water running and I take them in the bathroom and start undressing them they all scream and laugh. Eloise really gets wild around bath time or maybe she just has the loudest scream.




PREVIEW of NEXT WEEK
Beckett did the fitting for his cranial band this week and we will pick it up next week. He had to be shirtless with a sock on his head for pictures and to go through the scanner. I thought the sock was unnecessary since it was meant to hold down his hair. What hair?

Luckily we didn't have to do a plaster mold and they are making his helmet (as I like to call it) from the scanned image. We pick it up on Friday so I'm sure I will have some pictures of a mad little boy this weekend!

Addy finally figured it out

No, she is not sleeping through the night. But, as of the middle of the night, Addy has figured out how to rollover on a consistent basis. She woke up screaming at 4:00 am because she was stuck on her belly. Then at 6:00 this morning she was stuck again. I thought maybe because her mattress is at an angle that she was able to roll in her crib but she proved me wrong. Here she is, right after rolling from her back to her belly first thing this morning.

She must have been going after her sippy cup. This girl sure has expensive taste. The formula she needed for months was 3x the cost of the other two and now the only sippy cup she will use is 3x the cost of the other sippy cups. My fault for buying it in the first place.

The problem is that she is so interested in rolling now that she gets stuck or runs into problems with the other two. All she did all day was kick her legs and roll to her belly and cause trouble.
Beckett wasn't too happy with getting kicked so he decided to lick her leg. Sweet boy is too nice to try and bite her, umm I mean gum her leg.


She got stuck on Eloise.


You can see Eloise on her belly looking in the mirror which can entertain her for about 30 minutes. She coos, bats her eyelashes, giggles and generally flirts with the beautiful baby in the mirror.

(Is Rich getting smacked in the face by Beckett?)

The best time of day is in the morning until about 9:00 and then again from 6:30 to 8:00 at night. It must be some ingenious plan to start the end the day in a glorious fashion as to forget the chaos in between. The babies squeal and laugh and play and are so deliriously happy during this time that is is contagious. This is also bath time which is so much fun now that they figured out how to play with toys, suck on washcloths, and splash. I still bathe them individually which gets pretty insane when I'm doing it by myself but totally worth it.

Addy really likes to suck on washcloths which I generally discourage by giving her different toys.


Bath time is particularly good for Eloise because she still has some high tone in her muscles from being a preemie so kicking and splashing and stretching in the tub is very good for her. Think she likes it?


And finally my modest little frogman.

I've said this before, but I know women who would kill for skinny long legs like that. Thank your daddy for those genes.

Battle to Add to the Bulge

I haven't talked too much about this but the introduction of solid food has made a huge impact in our daily routine and daily schedule both good and bad. I'm struggling to figure out how to introduce food at a time when they are not starving yet still hungry enough to eat from a spoon. The other issue is that it really has changed how much formula they drink. Since at this age, formula (or ideally breastmilk) should still be their main source of calories, I offer them the same amount of formula and sometimes they drink it and sometimes not. It is making me sick to dump down the uneaten formula down the drain because we spend SOOOOO much money on formula each month (like flushing money) but I don't know a better solution. They still need to gain weight plus make up for their slow start so it is an uphill battle. But the good news is that they are finally full. And full babies are happy babies!
But we have some new tools to fight with these days, the biggest and best being the arrival last night. I stayed up last night assembling, rearranging, sanitizing and cleaning to get it ready for mealtime today.

A TRIPLET FEEDING TABLE!!!

No more eating in the bouncy seats, no more eating in a carpeted room, and no more white tile floors in my kitchen- that's for sure.

They loved it! They played with toys, ate their food, watched me wash bottles, looked at the pugs and figured out a new game- throwing toys to the floor. FUN.


Mealtime can be hit or miss for Eloise. One day she loves butternut squash, the next day it makes her projectile vomit. Believe it or not, this was not a vomit day. That is what is looks like when she keeps it in her mouth.

Addy is a garbage disposal like her Daddy. She loves everything, particularly root vegetables mixed with goat butter (another one of my new tricks to help them gain weight).


The leftovers ON the table and UNDER the table that Bella found. Look at that smile on Addy. That girl loves to eat.


The other two were done and upstairs with Rich. Eloise was just sitting there smiling, talking, and laughing while I was washing dishes. She is having an after dinner drink.


We've also introduced teething biscuits. This is really more of a mess than it is worth but fun nonetheless. Rich eats all of the leftovers and crumbs so that is fun to watch. Surprisingly, it looks like Beckett is getting this one close to his mouth, he usually tried to shove it up his nose which makes him scream.


Addy is really the only one who will eat the whole biscuit. Sorry Rich.


Addy can hold her bottle for a period of time. Not that she wants to, she'd rather have me hold it but I just found out that she CAN if push comes to shove.


She also can hold and drink from a sippy cup. It took a few tries but this is the only kind that she likes. In fact she LOVES it.


She'll drink and drink. (no tummy time for her)


And drink and drink. Who cares that her sister figured out how to sit up next to her?


Beckett also drinks from a sippy cup but I don't have pictures of it because I have to hold it for him. In fact, he has become very particular about his bottle and sippy cup. At the present time, he prefers to drink about half of his bottle then kick and scream and then take the rest of his formula from a sippy cup that I hold for him. He will usually finish his whole bottle if I give it to him in a sippy cup while the girls waste much of theirs. I'm happy that he is getting the calories but it means double amount of dishes.

But I guess it is doing the trick. Beckett went to the doctor today simply to get weighed because they are concerned about his slow weight gain. And to everyone's surprise, Beckett has gained 2 lbs in 6 weeks. He now weighs 13 lbs and 10 oz which was a huge jump for him. I guess the sippy cup is the trick.
That and the goat butter which I would only recommend if the person changing the diapers has an stomach of steel.

Today the triplets are 7 months old. This is just an unbelievably fun age. They are so interactive, still relatively contained and able to entertain themselves. Also, they are still very easily carried around. It is even more fun because for the first time ever, last night all 3 babies slept through the night. I used to think that sleeping through the night meant sleeping 12 hours- 8 pm to 8 am. I have adjusted my attitude and now I think sleeping through the night means 10+ hours. If I don't have to get up for a crying baby until after 6 am, it is a successful night.



They got their 4th set of Synagis shots on Thursdays so that means we had a weigh in.

Addy- 13 lbs, 6 oz

Beckett- 13 lbs, 2 oz

Eloise- 12 lbs, 9 oz


It is really hard to believe that Beckett weighs so much more than Eloise. If you look at them, she looks like a little chunk with those huge cheeks and big belly. When you pick them up she feels like this compact little ball of muscle.



Beckett feels a little more fragile and you can still feel his ribs but he is so much longer than her. He has these crazy long legs that he kicks like a madman in the bathtub. In fact, this kids kicks non-stop. This morning I was making their bottles and all three were on the playroom floor and all of the sudden I heard all of this screaming from Addy. When I investigated I found Addy had moved next to Beckett's legs and he was kicking the snot out of her. Well, that's what she thought anyway.


They made up later.

On their birthday the girls wore their Paris dresses from Grandma so we finished off the day reading what we are going to see when we go to Paris with Grandma- someday.


The girls are going to Paris while Beckett and Rich head to the south to watch the mountain stages of the Tour de France- again, someday. They were picking out bikes today in anticipation.


Good night sweet babies. Happy Birthday.


(Beckett now sleeps in a velour frog sleeper with claw feet)

The latest antics of almost 7 month old triplets

Well Beckett appears to be the winner of the 2nd all night sleeper award. This past week he has been sleeping 12 hours, 8 pm to 8 am. Unfortunately Eloise has stopped sleeping 12 hours. She used to sleep 8 to 8 as well but the past several days she has been getting up at 6:30 am. I can usually get her to go back to sleep if I give her a little bottle but by the time she goes back to sleep, Addy is up.
Speaking of my little Addy-cakes, she still gets up one to two times a night. I'm not sure when she is going to be sleeping through the night if ever. The funny thing is that when she wakes up she cries until you pick her up and then she is happy to be carried and look around while you make the bottle like it is in middle of the day. Happy as a clam as long as she is being held.

Here are some highlights from the last two days....

I've been giving them sippy cups with water just to play with. Addy figured out pretty quickly that if she does it just right then she is rewarded with a sip of water. She loves playing with the cup- for about 5 minutes, then watch out.

(notice she only has one sock on- I can't keep socks on this girl, she is constantly kicking them off)
After about 5 minutes she gets frustrated. I love the look Beckett is giving her.
"Addy, don't ruin this for me. You better stop crying or Mommy is going to take them away."
-Beckett

I was messing around with Addy and Beckett and the sippy cups and making sure Addy didn't flip herself out the Bumbo and I missed the first time Eloise rolled from her back to her stomach. She was playing on her back and next thing I know is she is on her tummy smiling at me. I don't know if it was intentional and I haven't seen her do it since but boy is she proud of herself. Either that, or she really wanted to read that Andy Warhol book.

Because it has been so cold, I haven't been able to take the babies outside for walks so we all are going a little stir crazy. The time from 4:30 to 6:30 at night is the absolute worst as any parent will tell you. My solution has been to try to stretch out their afternoon feeding until a little later and give them more solid food during this time to hold them until their 6:30 bottle.

I've tried this two days in a row and I'm not sure I'm up for a third. The first day I gave them avocado mixed with cereal and they loved it. They loved it so much that they screamed at the top of their lungs anytime the spoon was not in their mouth. I could have feed 1 fast enough but I can't feed all 3 fast enough so it was screaming torture for all of us. They eventually ate it all and were happy when we were done but it was not really a positive experience for any of us.

Then tonight I tried to feed one at a time (avocados and cereal again). I don't know if I mentioned this but I don't have highchairs yet so I'm feeding them either in their Bumbos or in their bouncy seats in the carpeted playroom. I started with Eloise and she kept crying and spitting it out, coughing and sneezing it out of her nose. I know that is a sign of distress so I stopped feeding her but she was hysterical. Addy was next. She did the same thing and was hysterical as well. Beckett was next and at this point I'm feeding Beckett with one hand and sitting with Addy on my lap while she is screaming and throwing herself backwards.

I don't know if you can see the mess on his face, but I usually end up with 3 looking like this screaming. Poor little guy, he didn't like to eat tonight either. Or maybe he didn't like that he had one of the girl's bibs. Seriously at that point I was just lucky I actually got a bib on him.
I feed them their 6:30 bottles and all was calm for about 5 minutes. Then Eloise threw up.
This girl is pretty much always smiling and laughing. Just happy to roll around in her spit-up and make a mess like a little piggy.

Luckily it was bath time and boy did she need it. Her head and face were covered.

Most of the spit up was still on the blanket but I wasn't too concerned because the other two were on the other side of room and I figured I'd clean everything up in an hour when the babies were sleeping. So then I gave Beckett a bath. Then it was Addy's turn and look where I found here. Right in the same spot Eloise had thrown up. How she got over there, I have no idea.

She is practicing looking innocent and taking off her clothes. Thanks for the help.

Okay, so she got a bath as well and of course she decided to poop in the bathtub. Yep, that's right. Her bath got cut short.

It had been such a disastrous and exhausting night. But when I saw them lined up in their pajamas all clean and ready for bed my heart melted. I decided to take a picture so I could remember that moment rather than the previous chaos.
Nice try.

That was the exact moment Eloise bopped Addy on the head. While I was investigating the latest insult to Addy I figured out that Beckett either got into Eloise's mess or spit up himself.

This was the best I could get. I had to get all new pajamas for Beckett.
So to recap, in a matter of 3.5 hours I changed 6 diapers, feed 3 babies solid food, feed 6 bottles, gave 3 baths, dressed 3 babies (one of them twice), cleaned poop out of the bathtub, cleaned up puke twice and put 3 babies to bed.
And then start over again tomorrow.

"After all...tomorrow is another day."
-Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind (my all time FAVORITE)