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)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!!

Love the party socks...

Quote of the Week

The other day I guess Rich thought I was talking too loud so he said,

"Kate, use your household voice."

I think he meant INSIDE voice.

Holiday Week Hanging Out With The Babies

Our nanny is still sick, well she is better but we wanted her to stay away for an extra week because of germs. Anyway, Rich and I have had a blast hanging out with the babies. Here just a couple of pictures of our typical day.

We started on bananas this week. These little monkeys LOVED them. I think the consistency was perfect because they were slurping them off the spoon.


Notice the same bib on Addy as Eloise. I was feeding them one at time and Eloise didn't get it TOO dirty so I used it again. Seriously, I don't need to make extra laundry for myself.


Beckett ate 1/2 of a banana is one sitting.
So far they have had rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, avocado, sweet potatoes, carrots and bananas- in that order. I think next on the agenda is goat yogurt.

This is how they tell me they are done. Either that or clamp their mouths shut. I prefer the latter. Less mess.


Typical play time. Addy has figured out how to move herself around by throwing her legs to the side repeatedly. Like a little ratchet. She can't quite roll from back to stomach but she tries really hard. Check out Beckett and the gorilla.


Beckett will wrestle and talk with the gorilla for an hour at a time. Eloise likes it too. Addy whips it to the side and then kicks it.


Addy can almost prop sit. Sometimes when she falls forward she manages to kick her legs out from under her and end up on her belly for tummy time. She doesn't even care when she falls over.


Before they were fighting was with the hands, mostly scratching, pinching and karate chops. Now they have figured out that taking each other out at the knees is a more effective fighting strategy. I can't believe our once fragile little preemies are now down and dirty street fighters.


Naptime for Eloise and Daddy. I really don't like when they nap outside of the crib but they looked so sweet and they were so tired. (Eloise was playing, Daddy was running in the snow- and I don't make him nap in the crib)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

We had a White First Christmas here in Texas. My brother, Isaac, was supposed to drive here from Austin on Christmas Eve but decided to fly at the last minute because of the bad weather. I'm not sure which was better. He ended up getting here 5-6 hours later than scheduled during a snow/ice storm. I saw two accidents on the way to pick him up at the airport and one guy who I thought should have made an excellent UTube video. His car was skidding sideways (on the highway) and headed towards the guardrail so he opened up the door and tried to use his feet to stop the car. Either that or he was going to bail out of the car. It was a spectacular display of stupidity.
Isaac got here safe and sound and we made it home with no accidents and a fascinating but over my head lecture on the physics behind anti-lock brakes. But we got back too late for me to put the babies to bed on Christmas Eve. Rich left them sleeping in the playroom so I could carry them to bed. It was so sweet.

Before Christmas we practiced sitting in the Bumbos with their new blankets in front of the tree. THANK YOU CLARKE!!

Eloise really had it down pat.

We started off Christmas morning with a new food- steamed and pureed carrots- in honor of the reindeer. Addy and Beckett loved it, Eloise choked and gagged.
Then downstairs to see what Santa brought.

This is a FAVORITE book

Maybe in a couple of years Beckett; these Legos belong to Isaac.

That's more your speed.

Isaac showing Addy how to open presents (thanks Aunt Laura).

Maybe we should save this one for later...


Don't worry Addy, I'll give them back to you in a few years. I promise.

Isaac got Eloise dressed in her Christmas dress. I think it was the first time he dressed a baby. The red little diaper covers threw him off. He called them "bungees." I'm a little suspicious as to why he knows that term for cheerleading breifs.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, one set of triplets...

They sat for so long in the Bumbos under the tree we decided to try for a family picture- minus Bella, she was busy eating wrapping paper.

With our new Bundle-Me for the strollers (Thanks Mom) and their new snowsuits (Thanks Cari) we took the babies for a walk even though it was really cold. They were so warm and snuggly they slept the whole time even when we took them out of the stroller. Beckett even napped in his snowsuit when we got home.

Then he woke up and wanted to dress like a Nutcraker.


I'm happy to report there was no coal at our house this year. These babies must have been ANGELS this year because so many people were so generous to our family. A special thanks to my work, The Heart Hospital, for thinking of our babies and making our holidays even more joyful. Thank you to everyone who thought of us on this holiday and throughout this whole year.

New Christmas Song

This is what I heard Rich singing to the babies to the tune of Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

"I don't know the words but neither do you."

Looking for a winner

Eloise routinely sleeps 12 hours a night (just had to give the itty-bitty critter props right off the bat) but Beckett and Addy have been getting up between 1-2 times a night for the last month. Now when I say getting up that means that I have to give them a bottle between 8 pm and 8 am. I was hoping it was just going to be a matter of time before the other two took a cue from Eloise and this week they figured it out- kind of.
This week, two different times Beckett slept 11 hours without waking up.
Then last night my little grunty girl Addy slept 11 hours as well. When she gets mad or is just about to start crying she grunts and snorts and I didn't hear any of that last night!

Who is going to be the next 12 hour sleeping star and the recipient of my never ending gratitude?

BECKETT?

ADDY?

I'm really hoping for my sanity that I can announce a winner this week.

One Year Ago

One year ago yesterday, we found out that we were having multiples. I had known that I was pregnant since the beginning of the month and I suspected multiples because my HCG levels were through the roof. But, I never suspected what I was about to find out that morning at the doctors office.

I was scheduled to leave that Friday afternoon for Milwaukee for the holidays. Rich was at work and was going to spend the weekend in Dallas and then join me on Tuesday in Wisconsin. I was having some pain and could not believe that I was showing already.
I'm totally serious. I thought it was really strange that I looked pregnant at 6 weeks.
I called my fertility doctor and they had me come in for a sonogram.

The sonographer said, "Well, you have 4 heartbeats."
Yes that is right, she said 4.

I had this strange calm and panic at the same time. I don't know the exact words but I said something inappropriate like, "That's nice."

When I left the sonography room, the word must have spread because all the staff were pretending not to look at me and smiling.

I met with my doctor and he said that it was so early that really anything could happen at this point but I should be prepared for the possibility of losing 1, 2, 3, or all 4. Or that I would be able to carry all 4 but it was too early to tell. But in the meantime, no traveling or strenuous activity. (I did talk him into allowing me to go to WI for the holidays but I had to cancel my trip to Budapest a month later.)

For some reason, I've always thought that I was going to have twins, but I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be more. I was in total shock.

Hmmm, I wasn't going to see Rich for 5 days so I was going to have to tell him over the phone before I got on the plane. I called him at work and tried to warn him to get to a private place but I guess he didn't believe me because he turned white and almost passed out in front of a few people.

Turns out there was a big snowstorm in the Midwest, my flight was cancelled and I couldn't get on another one for 2 days so Rich and I got to spend the weekend together which was a blessing in disguise.

We didn't tell anyone until I think 6 weeks later. How we managed to keep a secret that whole time, I'll never know. I'm normally a tattletale blabbermouth but this secret was a good one for just us to keep for a while. It's actually a lot of fun to have a really juicy secret.

At 9 weeks, we lost the 4th baby. I knew that the first 12 weeks are very dicey and even more so with high order multiples so those first 12 weeks I was just happy to be pregnant and willing to accept what would happen. You never know what fate has in store for you. For us, it was 3 healthy beautiful babies.

You Better Not Cry, You Better Not Pout

We had a very special visitor on Thursday. Santa took a break from toys making and elf supervision to visit the Newman triplets.
I guess the reindeer were resting up for Christmas Eve because Santa drove a Mustang to our house.

"I would like a tutu to go with my ballet slippers." Eloise


"Christmas time, Santa, and a Pug. Wait, I thought my name was Eloise. Why am I not at the Plaza Hotel?" -Eloise


"Is this a real beard Santa? I better test it out." -Eloise


Look at those sparkling eyes.


"Santa is going to bring me more avocado and sweet potatoes. I'm the luckiest girl alive." Adeline


"Santa, those girls have been very naughty. Just bring coal." Beckett


I know this is a big picture of my behind but this is a cautionary picture to keep an eye on Santa this year. Seems to be unusually frisky.


With Addy eating the beard and Beckett kicking Eloise, this is my favorite picture.


Two minutes after Santa left.



The clock has started ticking for next year girls. Santa can still see you.

Thank you so much Santa for remembering our babies. They only have a first Christmas once and I thought it would be another 2 years before they got to meet you. By the way, even though my friend Jillian has been a tad naughty this year, she deserves an extra item on her list. Thank you.

Week in Pictures

Just a few pictures from this week. Believe me, I have more but here is just a sampling.

Addy Hannibal Newman

I swear this girl only had 10 fingers when she was born, but I do remember counting to 30 at some point...

Bear butt and Beckett. This is actually one of the stuffed animals he wrestles every morning. I give him suggestions for wrestling moves like wet willies and snake bites.

This is the last time the little schoolgirl can wear this denim jumper with the red apple buttons. The buttons are about to pop off because of the belly.

"This is what I think of sweet potato" -Eloise (introduced this morning for the first time, it didn't go over well. Lots of crying, gagging and laughing)

They look so innocent. Who knew they could carry on so much about a little root vegetable.

I'm trying to get those toothless grins while I can. Everyday I'm watching for a tooth to pop out on her- maybe then she will sleep through the night???

I have no words for these pictures of Addy. My mom took them without even looking through the lens of the camera. Just snapped a few pictures.



We had a very special visitor tonight who is normally very busy this time of year but decided to come see the very nice and only a little naughty Newman triplets. Hint- I guess Reindeer are out and Mustangs are in...