9 month + 4 month update

Again...I find that much time has passed since my last update. I really want to continue blogging and not just about my little trios updates, but about infertility, life before and life after. Sadly, time has not allowed. At least yet.

So...that being said. Life is crazy busy! These little munchkins keep me on my toes and I rarely stop for a moment to breathe. So those of you I typically communicate with via email and text...this is why you hear from me so infrequently. If I'm not working...and not tending to my little family...you can bet your butt I'm sleeping!

I always thought when friends with children took DAYS to respond to a simple text message, that it was odd. I mean, it doesn't take that long to text for goodness sakes. Whelp. I stand corrected.

Busy we are. Tired we are. And above all...Happy. We are grateful for every single tired moment.

We went through a LONG period of colds and ear infections and are finally seemingly over all of that. Casey has two teeth, Britton we think, is close. During this time, Casey became quite the fan of co-sleeping. And I have to admit, I loved every minute of it. Not just did he like to sleep with us, but he liked to literally bear hug me with his little body and sleep that way. We have spent the last week, trying our best to break that habit. It breaks my heart in two because I think I loved it as much as he did. But with two other babies, co-sleeping with one, doesn't seem wise.

Breastfeeding continues to surprise me. I mentioned before, I wasn't sure I'd like it and be able to make it to 3 months...now, almost 5 months in, I can't imagine not breastfeeding. I love that she's never had an ounce of formula. And considering my stash only continues to increase vs. decrease now that I'm back at work, I truly think we can get to a year or beyond. My biggest concern is a work trip I have coming up at the end of July that's for 4.5 days. Though multiple people online have said that we're well established at this point, that it shouldn't be an issue. I just want her to still WANT to nurse when I come home. It would break my heart if she didn't.

Updates:

Liddy's 4 month appointment

She was 13 pounds and 8 ounces. In the 50th percentile for height and weight (but 90th percentile for head...no wonder she wouldn't come out). She started rolling over when she was 3 months and is now essentially a pro at it and is working on sitting up. It amazes me how quickly she's doing things compared to the boys. I have to remember that they were almost two months premature. Though her determination at pretty much everything she does makes me believe they will quickly be on an even playing field and really will seem like triplets. She laughs and coos at us. She literally wakes up and falls asleep smiling. She's the happiest baby I've ever met. I always thought the boys were good babies, but she takes it to another level. With three infants, I feel so blessed that they have had such laid back and happy temperaments. It's certainly helped that the moments of having 3 with meltdowns are few and far between. The pediatrician has pushed us to get her out of our bedroom since her 2 month appointment and to start her on baby food at her 4 month appointment. Neither of which I'm in any hurry to do. Being exclusively breastfed, I don't plan on introducing solids until at least 6 months. And she's quite content and shows no signs that she's ready or wanting anything more. As far as sleeping, she has slept through the night, but typically wakes up and wants to nurse. I like having her close by. I do believe some of what she does is comfort nursing during the night because she usually doesn't nurse long and prefers to be in bed with me so she can kind of latch and unlatch. I let her. Wrong or not, I'm not sure. But that's what we do. :)

Here's our girl. 

Nicknames: Liddy Girl, Petunia, Princess Petunia

Britton & Casey's 9 month appointment

These guys are just growing up at staggering speeds. Britton is almost crawling and Casey is FINALLY starting to roll over and get on his hands and knees. Britton even pulled himself up to standing recently. Unlike their sister, they are ready for solid foods and are polishing off anything we give them. Well, most anything. Britton prefers to be a vegetarian. They are getting 3 meals a day plus a snack. They say a lot of "ma ma ma ma ma ma" and "ba ba ba ba ba ba ba". Though not directed at anything or anyone in general. They are starting to know when things are taken away from them and show their displeasure and are constantly fighting over toys. Britton likes to try and alligator roll while getting his diaper changed. So that's a challenge! They also seem to notice when Trevor and I leave and when we come back. Their little gleeful faces and they way they laugh and jump when they see is literally melts my heart every day. At last weeks appointment Britton was 21 pounds 12 ounces and Casey was 22 pounds 8 ounces. Pretty close to 95th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. Can definitely tell that Britton is slimming up since he's so much more mobile that Casey. Casey's head is smaller and he's shorter...but he weighs a pound more. Evident by the cute squeezable, pinchable cheeks he's rocking. Casey got his first hair cut last week, but only nipped a bit to keep it manageable. 

My little men.

Nicknames: Casey - Casey Bear (he's a hugger), Britton - Love bug, "B" and Busy B

After all we went through, I still struggle to look at them and know they are mine. It's so surreal...and they are so much more than I ever imagined. 

My miracles.

Where do I start?

My last blog post was almost exactly 2 months ago. I'm not sure where to begin and where to end this post. There is so much to say.

I'll start with Casey, Britton & Liddy. I mean, my day starts and ends with them, so it seems right that so should this blog.

Casey & Britton were 8 months old last week. I can't even believe where the time has gone. They weight 21 pounds 7 ounces and 21 pound 8 ounces. They are the sweetest, most loving little guys I could ever ask for. Their smiles when they see T or myself melt my heart. For the first time in my life, I know absolute unconditional love from a child. (well, 3) And it truly is the best thing in the world.

Liddy is 3 months old and is going to quickly catch up with her brothers. She does everything faster. I'm sure because they were preemies, and maybe because she sees them? She's already rolling over. But that could be because she hates tummy time that much, that she had a bit of motivation. She's currently 13 pounds 12 ounces. She's such a content baby. So long as someone is in the room with her, she is happy all day long. You'll never hear a peep. When she's hungry, she just starts gnawing her fists.

Our house has been full of snot, coughing and major congestion for the past month. Ear infections galore. It's been pretty miserable for all involved. The boys see an ENT tomorrow because after 2 rounds of antibiotics, the infections are still there and getting worse. My poor, poor boys. Nothing worse than seeing them struggle to breathe because they are so congested or coughing fits that lead to them throwing up their bottle.

Liddy has had a few sniffles, but hasn't gotten it quite like the rest of us. Hopefully that's because she's being breastfed? At least, that's what I'm going to say it is. I never thought I'd love breastfeeding as much as I do. I thought it would be hard, especially with infant twins. But Liddy and I are pretty awesome at it. So yeah, I'm a happy, breastfeeding mama. I have a good supply. I bit of a forceful letdown that we've had to find different positions for, but she's a chunky, happy baby, so we're figuring it out. I did have a yeast infection in my nipples back in January that was almost the death of me. Talk about toe curling pain! Ouch! Thank goodness I was able to muster through all of that (without passing it on to Liddy) and didn't give up.

Yesterday was my first day back to work. Not many have the unique situation of a second maternity leave during their child's first year of life. I feel so grateful for not just the time home with Liddy, but the additional time with my boys. To see them change so much and become so active these past few months was an absolute joy and something I'll always cherish. I wish more than anything that I could just stay home with them. But I know that my working will benefit them now and in the long run. I'll be working out of my house 2 days a week, so really, I'm pretty blessed with a great company that is offering me quite a bit of flexibility.

I have a lot more to say and so many feels going on in my head and my heart, so I promise that's coming very soon. But for now, that's my update on my triple miracle babes.

6 months of joy

It blows my mind that it's been 6 months since these little guys came into the world. To say they are a delight is putting it mildly. They are an absolute joy and bright up my whole world every day. Their little personalities are really starting to shine now.

Casey (aka Twin A)

Casey is my sensitive soul. I simply have to walk in the room and he smiles at me. He's laid back and super chill. Unless he's hungry. My little man loves to eat. Which should be completely evident by looking at those sweet cheeks of his. He is 18 pounds 9 ounces. Preemie NO MORE! He's started eating solids and is a huge fan. He's of the "Get in my belly NOW", mindset. He sleeps 11 hours a night and has since he was 4 months old. He's a wee more serious most of the time, but when you get a laugh out of him, they are of the down deep in the belly kind. It's pretty awesome. He rolled over a few times around Thanksgiving, but then decided he was done with that (or just got to fat) and is now just content to lie on his belly or back. Though he's started doing crunches recently, so I'm guessing he'd like to sit up soon. He wears size 9 month clothes and size 4 diapers. He is without a doubt going to be my little mama's boy. He totally gives the best snuggles I've ever had.

Britton (aka Twin B)

Britton is going to be the life of the party, the instigator of all things naughty and will keep us laughing for the rest of our life, I have NO doubt. He wants to be walked around so he can see what's what. His daddy is happy to oblige him and does a lot of baby wearing around the house. Pretty sure it's his favorite. He also likes to squeal, squawk, and holler as loud as he possibly can. It's quite humorous. And maybe one of my top 3 favorite sounds. He laughs with his mouth wide open and is very ticklish! He's rolling from back to belly and belly to back regularly and also working on his core. He also loves to stand up (assisted of course). He's wearing size 9 months and size 4 diapers and is 18 pounds 8 ounces. He'll eat, but it isn't quite as much of a priority as it is with Casey.

I think about our life just over a year ago and how much it's changed. Three infants is not easy. It's exhausting, it's hard and it's chaotic. But it's the best kind of chaos and every thing I dreamed being a mother could be. We had so many hard moments the past 4 years, this is what dreams are made of and make it all worth it.

Liddy Rose...Her Story

She's HERE! I have to apologize for the delay, but it's been a heck of a week and a half.

But...my little girl arrived on December 11th at 8:07 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 21 inches long (I question that length being accurate as she was about 19 inches a few days later). I was 36 weeks and 4 days.

My water broke (at work of all places) on Thursday, December 10th around 3:45 pm. After a tiny bit of mayhem, I made it to L&D only to find out I wasn't dilated. They wanted to see if I would start on my own, but nope! Around midnight I was put on Pitocin. An hour or so later, they administered the epidural.

Now, I always assumed I'd get the drugs for labor and delivery of a baby. And many people on that day said, "don't be a hero, get the drugs". I will tell you right now that is my biggest regret. The epidural made me the most miserable of any other part of my labor. For this reason. I got "wet tapped". Google it. But it basically means that they went to far. They punctured my dura. This meant that they had to give me the meds for the epidural very slowly because of the intense effect it would have. My lower body was complete dead weight. I couldn't feel them at all and even worse, for about 8-10 hours my legs felt asleep. Like the pins and needles asleep feeling. It pretty much drove me insane. To the point that I finally told them to turn the epidural meds way down so I could have feeling back.

By around 5 pm, on Friday, December 11th, I was finally dilated to a 10. We pushed for over 2 hours but she wouldn't budged past my pelvic bone. The doctor didn't think she was going to be able to get past it. She said I could push for another hour, but she just didn't see it working. So c-section it was. 

At 8:07, my beautiful Liddy Rose arrived into this world as perfect as she could be. I will never ever forget those moments. The moment in which we became a perfect family of five. When my family was officially complete.

The next day, my cup runneth over when my boys "strolled" into the room. It was in that moment that I broke down in tears. One, I'd been away from them for 2 full days. Two, I had all my children together, in one place for the first time. 

I wish I could say that things were super easy and smooth sailing from there. They weren't exactly. We were discharged on Monday, December 14th. But on Tuesday, Liddy was looking a wee too yellow and we had her bilirubin checked. It was 19. WAY too high. She was immediately admitted into the NICU and put under lights. That same day, my headaches from the last 2 days intensified. This was something I was told to watch out for from the anesthesiologist. I was told to go to triage (2 floors down from the NICU) and it was confirmed that I was having spinal headaches from the wet tap. So in between feeding Liddy in the NICU, I had to have a blood patch to try and fix the wet tap. Luckily it worked and the headaches went away immediately. But having a second epidural knowing that the same thing could happen again...was NOT fun.

The next two nights. I stayed at the hospital. Walking the halls at night (less than a week after my c-section) every few hours to feed my little girl. Luckily my milk had come in around the same day she was admitted. I like to think that I helped in a small way with getting her out of there and home quickly. On Thursday, December 17th, we finally went home for good.

It was so hard being away from the boys for so long and especially hard knowing I couldn't pick them up. The restrictions from the c-section AND the blood patch were pretty clear on that. It sucked. I won't lie.

The past 5 days have been a bit of a blur. We have 3 babies age 5 months and under. Pretty freaking amazing, but pretty exhausting too. Especially while recovering. But I'm doing great...and so is she. And so are my boys! We're finding a decent little rhythm and luckily have had family in town to help us.

My husband was my hero through all of this. Everything he's done and continues to do makes me realize how lucky I truly am to have him. I look at him and these beautiful children and trust me, I know how blessed we are this very special Christmas.