First Halloween

Introducing Tigger, Pooh, and Piglet (Mali found these costumes at a thrift store - aren't they great??)


Each year UVa holds a trick-or-treating event on the Lawn (our version of a quad). Thousands of parents and kids attend and go trick-or-treating at the dorm rooms that form the borders of the Lawn. We decided to take the babies, even though we knew it was a risk since it was going to be crowded and didn't start till late afternoon. Overall it was a good trip, but there was some fussiness, and we barely made it back before dinner and bedtime, and it took them longer to fall asleep due to all the excitement.

About to head up to the Lawn


It was definitely crowded, but fun! We saw lots of people we knew and lots of funny costumes (our favorites - superhero families with even mom and dad dressed up as superheroes, a group of kids dressed as the characters from Scooby Doo, and parents dressed up as bananas, carrying their baby dressed as a monkey).

Apparently people really liked seeing us too - the triplets got a lot of attention. Several random strangers took pictures of them, which was a little weird. What are they going to do with those pictures, exactly? And Lucas really doesn't like having a lot of people in his face, so the crowds plus the hot costume (who knew it would be close to 70 degrees on Halloween??) made him a little cranky. He felt better once we took off his costume and carried him close to us.

the Rotunda and the crowds in the background


Mali joined us and helped take the babies trick-or-treating

Mali and Pooh


Mali and Piglet


Dad and Tigger


Mom and Tigger


The happy family (notice the Lucas spit-up in progress?)


Pooh, the spit-up king


Abby was the happiest to be there - she didn't get fussy or scared, and she practiced making happy squealing sounds like a pig.

Happy Piglet


Sleepy Tigger


Finally headed home (see all the people in the background? It was crowded!)

"I'm impressed you made it out of the house"

We hear this sentence a lot when we take the babies places (so does Mali, our nanny), and we are a little perplexed by it. Yes, it is probably unbelievable to some people that we are able to get places on time with 3 babies. And yes, it does take a lot of effort and planning to do so. But really, what's our alternative?? Stay locked in the house with 3 babies all the time? We had enough of that this summer when it was 95+ degrees out. Now that the weather is nice we're trying to take the babies lots of places, including parks, daytime parties at friends' farms, the outdoor pedestrian mall, the indoor shopping mall, etc. Here's a little rundown of what it usually takes to get everyone out the door:

First, we pack the diaper bag. We keep it pretty well stocked most of the time so all we usually need to add is bottles. Here's an example of what usually goes in the diaper bag. [hint: as soon as we get home from an outing, we try to re-stock the bag so it's ready for the next outing. We also keep an emergency mini diaper bag in the car at all times in case we forget the big one]



Then, we make sure all the babies are dressed and have clean diapers.



Finally, we load them up in their carseats and haul them out to the car, making sure they each have a toy for the ride. We are not looking forward to the day when they switch to the convertible carseats and we have to figure out how to get 3 increasingly mobile babies to the car safely. We don't have a garage, so this could really be a challenge in inclement weather.



oh - we also make sure we have the right stroller/carrier for the occasion. Sometimes we take the triple-wide, sometimes the triple-long, and sometimes we still use the double snap n'go and wear the 3rd baby. The triple strollers are really heavy and hard to get in and out of the car.

So there you have it. That's how we get out of the house with 3 babies. I imagine it's not that different than the process for getting out of the house with 1 baby - it just takes a little longer.

Adventures in Dining

Abby getting messy


High five!

7 months old

The babies are 7 months old today! They are working hard on their milestones and enjoying trying new foods, playing with toys, and giggling at the dog.

Warm and cozy after their baths...looking all grown up in their robes


The babies celebrated their 7 month birthday by "sharing" toys...


and by rolling around on top of each other.




Abby enjoying her new favorite pastime - trying to touch her tongue to her chin


Zoey sitting pretty


Lucas has been rolling all over the place. This is him under the piano bench.


My 3 little ducklings

Sitting

Another milestone is gradually happening. The babies are practicing their sitting skills. Zoey can sit without any support for at least a minute before toppling over, and the other two can sit propped up by boppy pillows. They can't get into a sitting position on their own yet but I'm sure that will come. It's fun to see them do something new! Here are some videos of the sitting action.

(ok, they're in bumbos in this one, but there is some hilarious toy stealing)


A boy and his dog


Abby sitting


Zoey sitting - this one is long because she sits unassisted for over a minute before toppling

We slept!

Last night was a momentous occasion - everyone slept through the night! No screaming, no extra meals - just a couple of mild cries that were solved with pacifiers. The babies went to bed at their usual 6:30ish time, Zoey and Lucas had snacks around 8-9pm, and then everyone woke up for the day at 6:30am. I think I may have actually gotten 8-9 hours of sleep. Please send positive vibes that this continues to happen!

Sleep

So, we're still working on the whole sleep thing. We are trying to get the babies to drop their middle of the night feeding, because really they shouldn't need it at this age. They understandably do not agree with this plan. We are slowly seeing progress, especially with Zoey, who used to wake more than once at night. Now she just wakes once. They are all stretching the time between feedings, and occasionally sleeping all the way through.



It's hard for me to let them cry, but if I go to them to soothe them too much, they just get more mad that I'm not actually feeding them. Here I am at 3am, pumping and listening to them cry, and hoping they go back to sleep soon. Of course, at first it was just Lucas crying, but he woke the others up. Now Lucas is almost asleep again but the girls are all worked up. I need to separate them once they get like this.



The pediatrician wanted us to go cold turkey with eliminating the night feedings, but I couldn't do it. However, the longer this goes on, the more willing I become to do whatever it takes. I've now gone almost 7 months without a full night's sleep and would really like to see some change in a positive direction.

Hmmm...all is quiet all of a sudden...could it be??
Here's a rundown of the last hour:
2:12 Lucas started crying (or at least, that's when I started hearing him cry)
2:20ish - went in to try to soothe him - just made him madder. Decided to wash bottles to keep myself busy.
2:30ish - girls are awake too - decided to change their diapers - Zoey had peed through her jammies and needed a total change
2:40ish - more soothing attempts - pacifier replacement, turn on crib soothers, etc. Woke Jason for consultation and assistance.
3:00ish - moved Lucas to pack-n-play in another room
3:11 - all is quiet
3:16 - shoot - Abby is crying again

sigh.

A couple of videos

More cuteness.

Cuteness Overload

Lots of cute pictures from the last few days...

Zoey looks gorgeous in lavendar - really brings out her eyes.

White fuzzy jammies day!

Trying to crawl but scooching backwards under the coffee table instead

The sweet potato incident (note to self: don't leave bowl within Lucas' reach)

Casey enjoying the floor time blanket and boppy

Bibs are yummy

Hello, my name is adorable

Stripes!

Morning cuddles

Bathtime fun

Abby is pretty laid-back most of the time, but put her in the bathtub and she goes crazy! Here's an example of the fun she has splashing around.

Nap boycott

It's not all sunshine and roses around here, folks. The last couple of days the babies have been more fussy and have been napping less during the day. I don't know if it's teething, rainy weather, or some unknown illness, but they have been cranky!

Here's a video of a recent nap boycott. Zoey had actually been sleeping for awhile, but was woken up by Abby. Eventually Abby and Lucas fell asleep but Zoey refused to finish her nap.

Hats!

The first meeting of the boppy council will now come to order. Topic of discussion: the importance of practicing our sitting skills.

Our first road trip!

We took our first road trip with the babies this past weekend, and it went pretty well! We visited Jason's aunt Darlene & uncle Jon at their lake house in NC, which is about 3 hours away from us. Their kids and grandkids were also there, so there were a total of 7 children age 2 years and younger. ON Friday night the babies had a little bit of a tough time adjusting to sleeping in pack n'plays in a strange place, but by midday Saturday they were used to the chaos and being totally adorable.

Darlene holding Lucas, Kelly holding Kamryn, and me holding Abby and Zoey. The weather was beautiful all weekend!


Lucas relaxing and watching football with Brian. They were all in their Michigan gear since there was a game on Saturday.


Abby and Lucas spending some quality time together


The babies had a great time meeting everybody, but they were happy to get home to their own toys. Here's a fun video of them laughing and playing together. It's a little long, but if you make it at least 45 seconds in you can see some great laughter. They are going to have so much fun together as they grow up!

Zoey - 6 months

Finally it's Zoey's turn for her 6 month post. Zoey is still our little peanut but she is growing steadily. There are days when she eats more than anyone else. Of course most days she also spits up more than anyone else.

Zoey hasn't shown much interest in rolling from back to tummy, but she's an expert at rolling from tummy to back. She's working on sitting up for a few seconds at a time, and she can "stand" with very strong legs. She also loves holding her feet.



Zoey has a sweet smile and laugh, but she is also more serious and observant than the others. She is always watching what's going on and enjoys having babbling "conversations" about current events. She especially enjoys cuddling with her brother and sister.



Zoey also loves to eat and likes trying to hold her own spoon. She finds eating to be pretty exhausting though.

6 month pediatrician visit

Wow, I haven't done a blog post in a week! Guess I've been busy. And tired. Very tired. We really need to get their sleep under control.

Getting ready for a walk on a chilly fall day


The babies had their 6 month well visit yesterday, and they are still growing nicely! Here are their stats:

ABIGAIL



3/25/10 Birth - 5 pounds 3 ounces; 18.5" long; 13" head circumference
2 weeks old - 5 pounds 4 ounces
4/29/10 One month old - 6 pounds 13 ounces; 18.5" long; 13.5" head circumference
6/3/10 Two months old - 9 pounds 8 ounces; 21.5" long; 14.5 head circumference
8/12/10 Four months old - 12 pounds 6 ounces; 24" long; 15.75" head circumference
10/4/10 Six months old - 13 pounds 12 ounces; 25" tall; 16.25" head circumference

Abby's weight fell to the 10th percentile from the 25th, but the pediatrician isn't too concerned since she is still gaining and is healthy. Her other stats are at the 25th percentile.



Abby now consistently sleeps on her tummy, loves to roll from her back to tummy to back again, and is trying really hard to crawl. We've seen her get up on all fours for a few seconds at a time, and she practices every chance she gets. She also loves solid foods and seems excited to try to learn how to use a sippy cup.




LUCAS



3/25/10 Birth - 4 pounds 12 ounces; 18.25" long; 12.5" head circumference
2 weeks old - 5 pounds even
4/29/10 One month old - 6 pounds 14 ounces; 19.5" long; 13.5" head circumference
6/3/10 Two months old - 10 pounds even; 20.75" long; 15" head circumference
8/12/10 Four months old - 14 pounds 6 ounces; 24.5" long; 16.75" head circumference
10/4/10 Six months old - 16 pounds 11 ounces; 26.25" tall; 17.25" head circumference

Lucas is at the 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for the other measurements. He feels like he weighs a lot more than 16 pounds! At least he still has a little time before we have to switch him out of the infant car seat.



Lucas also loves rolling around on the floor and is trying really hard to crawl. He loves it when the dog licks him and giggles at almost everything.

ZOEY



3/25/10 Birth - 3 pounds 15 ounces; 16" long; 11.75" head circumference
2 weeks old - 4 pounds 2 ounces
4/29/10 One month old - 5 pounds 9 ounces; 17.75" long; 13.25" head circumference
6/3/10 Two months old - 7 pounds 13 ounces; 20" long; 14.25" head circumference
8/12/10 Four months old - 10 pounds 12 ounces; 22.25" long; 15.75" head circumference
10/4/10 Six months old - 12 pounds 10 ounces; 24.50" tall; 16.25" head circumference

Zoey is on the charts! Her weight is around the 5th percentile, height is at the 10th, and head is at the 25th. Keep growing Zoey!



Zoey loves rolling from her tummy to back but has not shown much interest in rolling from back to tummy. [Stay tuned for a separate post about Zoey, just like the ones I've done recently about Abby and Lucas. We're just trying to capture some fun Zoey time on video first.]

All the babies can sit for a few seconds on their own, and can sit for longer with a little propping. They love eating pureed foods and are having fun experimenting with the mysteries of sippy cups and spoons. They are smiley and happy most of the time, and we are having so much fun with them!