It's Picture Time

Mems took this picture of the trio when she and Bill babysat for us earlier this month. Abby has been making the funniest faces lately. She looks like a little old lady without her dentures when she smiles now.

Abby has a boyfriend. Mems had a baby "viewing party," where she invited her friends to come by and check out the trips. This little guy took a liking to Abby right away. I asked him if he liked her, and his response was, "I like girls."

Here is everyone in Marmie's bed. They had a sleepover on Valentine's day/night so that Billy and I could go out and enjoy the evening together and get some sleep. I guess Abby had an accident in her pajamas and ended up in boy jammies. She does look like a baby boy in the blue. I have to get her ears pierced!
Will is with a friend of the Zeigler fam at the viewing party. Of course, he's all about being held by the pretty ladies.
Marmie took this picture as she packed up Marie to bring her home when they spent a weekend together. Mems swears that Marie is always looking forward to returning home, and she said that in this picture, she's waving good-bye.
Marie is back in the comfort of her own home in this picture. She's just lounging on the big chair with a blanket.
This is Abby when we were getting her all ready for the viewing party. The hat was cracking me up.

Poop in my purse

This stomach virus that has spread through our household has me half crazy. I was already partially nuts before this, and now, I've totally lost it. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I don't know if it's from even more lack of sleep, or the diarrhea fumes that have taken over our home, or the vomit that is all over the place.

Abby started with the diarrhea last Tuesday, and it was BAD. She progressed to vomiting on Thursday, and she literally barfed a river of baby food and breastmilk. It was all over her clothes and the chair in which she was sitting. I peeled all her clothes off and threw them on the floor as I tried to get her cleaned up. At that point, Winnie entered the room and took away her puke-covered shirt. She was gone for a while licking off every morsel and returned for the the pants. When she returned, she cleaned up the chair for me. Who needs a washing machine?

I had to take her to doctor on Thursday and Friday for the usual "look at her." We were instructed to do Pedialyte, small frequent feedings, etc. I think I'm basically a nurse now. It's always the same crap. Friday, they were a little more concerned because her poop became mucousy. That's some pleasant stuff. We were instructed to collect a stool sample over the weekend and bring it back to them on Monday.

In addition, we had to set up an appointment with a radiologist for an abdominal x-ray. The doctor was worried because she keeps having alternating periods of constipation and diarrhea. She also seems to have a lot of gas and abdominal pain. I took her to Children's today and got this knocked out. We should have the results in 24-48 hours.

We also have to take her to a cardiologist because her hands and feet are literally purple all the time and freezing. The doctor is concerned that there might be a circulation issue. That appointment is tomorrow.

Okay, so back to the stool sample. On Saturday in the early morning, Abby blew out her diaper twice. The first time, I changed her and ended up with poop all over my hands, under my nails, etc. It was so gross. I didn't get a sample then because it was too runny and ended up within the netting of the diaper, and I was not about to go cutting it open to scoop out poop bits.

The second time around, Billy had the pleasure of being the diaper changer, and I thought he was going to die. He said it smelled like something died inside of her and then she crapped it out covered in poop. Billy had to pull his shirt over his mouth and nose to change the diaper, and he shoved a dryer sheet in his shirt to just smell that, instead of Abby's rotten butt.

I then had to collect the samples from there. It was actually 4 samples. The first three had these little plastic "scrakes" (cross between a scoop and a rake-I invented that word, I think). I had to get the poopy out of the diaper with the scrakes and place it in a preservative fluid. With the 4th sample, I had to scoop out the poop with a popsicle stick and then break off the stick in the little plastic container. That one had to go in our fridge. That really stimulates your appetite.

On Monday morning, I pulled out the bag with the preservative filled containers and asked Billy to drop them off at the doctor's office. I then went off to work. Billy called later that day to ask where the poop was, and I figured it was around the table where I thought I left it for him in the morning. However, he later told me he found it in my purse that was by the table. Can you believe I did that? I threw poop samples in my purse!

The Schedule

Okay, so I'm a bit of a control freak. By "bit" I mean I'm totally a control freak. I like things done my way. I have been able to release some of that when it comes to the babies, but I still like to plan. The latest thing I have compiled for all parties that babysit my children is a schedule of their daily activities. I thought you all might be interested in that:

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. (although sometimes it's closer to 6:30)
Wake up and eat!
All babies will wake up by now. If they are not up by 8, wake them up. Upon awakening, they should get a bottle. They will take between 4 and 6 ounces of formula/breast milk during this time. It varies from day to day and baby to baby. Abby usually has eaten all night, and she only wants 4 ounces. Marie, however, usually sleeps 12 hours and may want 6 ounces.
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Play time
The babies can sit in chairs and play, have tummy time, or whatever else. Just keep them busy with toys.
9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Breakfast
Mix formula/breast milk with oatmeal cereal. Each baby usually has about 3 ounces of milk with cereal in it. The consistency should be slightly thicker than soup, but it should not be thick like oatmeal. You can add mashed up ripe banana to it or fruit flavored baby food (Level 1 or 2). They usually have baby prunes after oatmeal to keep them regular. Each baby will have about ½ of the prune container, or they can all split one.
9:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Get ready to face the day
Clean up the babies with a warm washcloth and get them out of their pajamas and dressed in day clothes. If you have breast milk, put it in warm water during this time to have it ready.
10:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Bottles and off to dreamland
The babies should be getting drowsy (i.e., cranky) by now. Feed whoever you have a 6 oz bottle. The baby will probably fall asleep in the middle of this feeding. Save the rest of the milk for when he/she wakes up. Abby tends to fall asleep later-closer to 11.
Note: Will likes to nap on his belly. Marie needs to be on her back to find her thumb. She may cry a little to fall asleep. If it continues more than 5 minutes, pick her up, give her more bottle, and try again. Abby is tough. She’ll probably fall asleep taking her bottle. If she falls asleep over your shoulder, put her in the crib on her belly. If she falls asleep being fed, place her on her right side very close to the crib bumper.
10:30 a.m. – noon
Babies sleep (if you are lucky)
Will typically sleeps 1 ½ - 2 hours for his nap. The other two’s naps vary a great deal. If Abby wakes up right away, try to rock her back to sleep. Marie is somewhat of a cat napper and might fall asleep between naps, but only for about 15-20 minutes at a time.
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch time
If the baby has leftovers from the last bottle, feed it when they wake up. For lunch, they will have 1 vegetable and 1 fruit each. If there is leftover fruit from lunch, you can use it as the fruit for this meal. If after eating baby food at this meal, the baby is still frantic, feed more bottle.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Play time again
More fun time-tummy time, chairs, play mats, exercersaucer, etc. Sometimes we go out for a walk during this time if the weather is nice.
2:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Bottles and sleep again
Same procedure as the morning nap. Usually, if they did not sleep well in the morning, they will do better in the afternoon. They may also get tired earlier if the morning nap was crummy.
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Nap
This nap is usually shorter than the morning one, which is fine because we want them tired at night. If they have leftovers from their before nap bottles, you can feed it to them when they wake up. If they don’t have any leftovers and are hungry, give them a 6 oz bottle.
Note: If a baby does not fall asleep for this nap, do not let him/her fall asleep after 5 p.m. This makes getting them down at bedtime a nightmare. Just keep him/her up. He/she will be cranky, but it’s well worth it when 7 p.m. rolls around.
4 – 5:00 p.m.
Play time
5 – 6:00 p.m.
Baths and pajamas
Babies should take a bath during this time and get changed into their pajamas.
6 – 6:30 p.m.
Dinner
It’s time for baby food again. They should have the same as lunch-1 vegetable and 1 fruit.
7 p.m.
Bottles and good-night!
Prepare a 6 ounce bottle for each baby and follow the same nap procedures.
Overnight
-Abby typically wakes up about every 3 hours. She will cry her brains out immediately upon awaking, and she will need a bottle. Prepare 3-4 overnight bottles for her, each with 4 ounces. She likes sleeping on her tummy. If she will no go down in her crib, she may need to go to your bed. She loves snuggles. She’ll sleep forehead to forehead with you or will roll onto her belly but will be right up against you all night.
-Marie should give you a solid 10-12 hours of sleep. She moves around a lot in the crib and stirs, but she rarely wakes up. If she does awaken, feed her, and she’ll go right back to sleep.
-Will is a wildcard. Lately, he has been waking up around 11 p.m. and again around 2 a.m. He takes a bottle and goes back to sleep. Sometimes he wants to go back to sleep on his belly, but he may pee through his diaper in this position so make sure you check him after he sleeps on his belly. Sometimes he makes a little grunting/groaning noise at night. Don’t get him unless he starts crying. He sometimes groans to get himself back to sleep.
-I don’t usually change anyone’s diaper until after 5 a.m. because it wakes them up too much. The only exceptions are if they have peed through their diaper/pajamas and/or if they poop.

Additional Instructions:
-Before naps and bedtime, make sure you go to a quiet place to give the babies their bottles. They can be rocked or just held and snuggled with during this time, but keep distractions down to minimum. They like some background music and a dark room.
-Diaper changes as needed throughout the day
-Even if you get them off schedule at night, please try to get them back on the next day. This saves us a lot of trouble when they get home.
-Will likes to have his little green binky to sleep with during naps and at night. He chews on it at first and then will rub his face against it.
-You can use teething tablets if you think their little gums are hurting. Take each little pill and hold it under their tongues until they dissolve. They can do 3 at a time.
-Baby Tylenol dosage for them is now .8 mg/cc.
-Baby Benadryl dosage is ¼ tsp
-Abby takes 5 drops of Bio Gaia in one of her bottles every day
-Marie and Will currently need to be nebulized with just Xopenex 2-3/day

Sound the Brown Siren

In my family, we have what we refer to as the "brown siren." Here's the deal...When you are heading home from a restaurant, and you have the urge to hit the toilets, you need to throw the brown siren on top of your car to alert others drivers that you are needing to get to a bathroom stat, and you are willing to drive with reckless abandon to get there just a few seconds faster. Alice and I use the brown siren after almost every time we visit a Mexican restaurant.

Today, Abby woke up with the brown siren over her crib. She had diarrhea all day long. I had to change her outfit 3 times in 5 minutes. First she barfed on herself, and after that, she crapped through 2 outfits. At one point, I had poop all over my hands from a diaper that had leaked all over the place. Throughout the day I probably changed 10 diarrhea diapers from Abby alone. Mommyhood is so glamorous sometimes!

Marie joined her after breakfast with her own brown siren. She probably had about 6 or 7 'rhea diapers, and Will only had a couple.

Abby not only had diarrhea, but she also had the smelliest gas ever. I'm talking worse than Billy. She would fart, and the smell would hang like a stinky cloud all around her for several minutes. It was beyond gross.

We don't know if it's a bug or something they ate, but we are hoping it passes quickly. They have to drink Pedialyte (baby Gatorade), stick to breastmilk (not formula), and their diet is limited to rice cereal, bananas, and carrots.

Did I write that I'm making my own baby food these days? Yep, I'm crazy and decided that in my "free time," I would make food for the kiddos. So far, I've made apples, pears, nectarines, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, bananas, avocados, and carrots. It's a huge cost savings. Ready made baby food is a total rip off!

I guess I better get ready for bed. I hope I'm not up all night changing diarrhea diapers. I also hope I don't wake up with the brown siren hanging over my bed!

Feb Pics

It was a cold day so Abby was wearing her little knit hat. This picture was taken with her in the car seat. She has those pink "wings" to keep her head from tilting to the side she favors. Her physical therapy and exercises are working wonders, and she's getting much better!

Here's Will sitting at the triplet feeding table. We say he looks like a pissed off executive in the Board Room. He's slapping his hand against the table saying, "These quarterly reports look terrible! I hope we get some bailout money!"

Will has his 2 bottom teeth, and 2 are busting out of the top. He's going to look hilarious with those little top rabbit teeth.

Marie's cheeks just keeping fatter. She's got her two little bottom teeth still, and I think there's something happening on the top too. Her gums are pretty swollen.

Abby and Marie are just hanging out in their feeding table. They had some play time in there, but they aren't quite ready to eat in there still. They lean too far forward. Once they are able to sit up better, the table will work perfectly.

This picture was taken in Papa's yard. Will makes the funniest faces sometimes.

Time to cry it out?

So everyone has been telling me that it's time to let Abby cry it out at nights now. I know I really should, but it's so hard to think about just letting her cry. It breaks my heart!


I think she heard Billy and I talking about it the other night because last night, she decided to be really good. She fell asleep around 7:30 and didn't wake up until 1 a.m. She whined a little a couple of times, but Billy went in and patted her back, and she went right back to sleep until 1. At that point, she took a couple of ounces of milk and passed out again. She slept again until 5:30 a.m.


Will was also scared we might let him cry so he slept from 7:30 until 5 a.m. Marie didn't care so she woke up around midnight and decided she needed to join us in our bed. There is something about sleeping in a big bed with an adult that makes all babies' pains feel better and troubles disappear. Marie would not go back to sleep in her crib. I put her down 3 times in it, and she woke up immediately every time and cried. As soon as I put her down in our bed, she looked at me, smiled, and fell asleep. That was all she wanted. What a brat!


So back to letting Abby cry it out, I'm interested to know when/if you did it with your child(ren). If you have any words of wisdom, please leave me a comment. I don't know how exactly to do it. Should she be able to see me or should I be out of sight? How long do I let her cry? How will I know there's not something really wrong with her? How many nights before she'll get used to it and just sleep? I'm dreading this whole experience.

What is going on?

We had established somewhat of a sleeping routine at night, but the kids decided tonight that they weren't cool with it. They all went to sleep between 7 and 7:30, which is now their usual bedtime-thank God! I proceeded to make dinner, and Billy and I ate around 8:30. Soon after we finished up with dinner, I heard a baby crying. Abby is still up about every 3 hours, and it was her. I figured I would feed her, and she would go right back to sleep. That was not at all how things went.


I fed Abby, but she wouldn't go back to sleep. I kept trying to rock her, pat her back, pace with her, etc. Then, Will woke up, and Billy had to come take care of him. Billy fed him and started rocking him. Will fell asleep, but just as Billy went to put him down, Marie woke up and started screaming bloody murder. At that point, Will woke back up, and he was pissed. I tried putting Abby down, but she freaked out and started crying. So then, we had 3 crying babies at 10 p.m. For the next hour, we struggled to keep 2 babies quiet at a time, and 1 constantly cried. Abby did not cry herself to sleep. She just cried. A lot.


Billy was finally able to get Will to fall back to sleep a little after 11. I had taken the girls downstairs because their crying was keeping Will up. Billy found me asleep with my head between Abby and Marie's boppy pillows downstairs. However, both little ladies were still wide awake. At that point, Billy took Marie, and I took Abby. We tried again to get them to sleep.


Marie kept falling asleep but freaking out whenever she was put in her crib. Abby just didn't want to sleep. She just kept looking around. I finally breastfed her, and she passed out in bed with me. A little while later, I heard Marie crying in the monitor again. Billy had tried to put her in her crib again, and she was upset. I put Abby back in her crib and grabbed Marie. She came to bed with me and fell asleep. Then, a little bit later, I heard Will again. I took Marie to her bed and picked him up. He's currently in bed with Billy being fed. I had to pump-I was dying!


Anyway, if you look at my post time, you'll see what kind of night it's been. From 10 a.m. until 3 a.m., we've been dealing with 1, 2, and sometimes 3 babies. What has gotten in to them? I hope they sleep from now until at least 8 a.m. I'm still fully dressed and haven't brushed my teeth or washed my face. Gross.

Here they all are on their favorite blanket on the floor. They don't stay on it very long, but we were able to get a few pictures. Abby rolls right off, and we find her across the room if we leave. Will and Marie scoot and wiggle around, although Marie just rolled over for the first time on Tuesday. Go Marie! Now Will needs to catch up to the girls, or they are just going to roll all over him. Speaking of Will, he looks so serious in these pictures. Some people have said that he looks like the baby in the e-trade commercials. I guess he has tv star potential!

Marie is in her aquarium swing reaching for one of the little fishies that hangs down. They grab at everything now, and yank the hell out stuff...including mom's hair, earrings, etc. Billy especially hates it when they grab his chest hair. They also get sharp little edges to their nails sometimes and claw him. They are beating up poor mommy and daddy.

Abby loves to stand up in the exersaucer. She turns around, goes back and forth, tries to eat the hanging stuff, etc. Look at Will watching her from the swing. He's thinking, "Why does she get to play with good stuff?"

Here is Will playing with his "My first laptop." This was a Christmas gift from Alice. He's doing great on tummy time. He holds his head up really well. They all do-big developmental milestone!

Billy and I have discussed this several times, and I just wanted to put it out there. Does everyone think their own baby is cute? We, of course, think our children are pretty much the cutest things ever, but is it just because we are their parents, or are they just extraordinarily cute?

I confessed to Billy that when they were born and had that creepy newborn look, I didn't think they were all that cute. I mean, I loved them and all, but I just thought they looked like tiny, wrinkly, old people. After they filled out, though, I did started thinking they were ridiculously cute. Now, they get cuter and cuter everyday to me.