Anyone who spends any time with me knows that I am so not a name-brand snob. In fact, I'm a cheap snob. Er, anyway.... I am all about a bargain. If it comes in generic, that is probably the only way I buy it (with very few exceptions, because Blue Bell ice cream has no match, despite it's lofty price).
The trio are starting to get a little rich for my blood, however.
1) Specialty formula - it could be worse; I've seen cans for upwards of $25, and theirs is only $16. Still, no generic substitutions for this crowd, no sirree. And the uber-perfect and FREE mother's milk? Eh, they could take it or leave it, and generally tend to leave it. This is the second time in my life I've been really grateful for WIC.
2) Diapers - I literally have a closet FULL of every brand of diapers (Continued thanks to all who have gifted these as I am using up almost a pack a day). We've used up all the preemie ones and have moved on to Newborn. In the hospital, they used Pampers. Since we've been home, we've used almost exclusively Huggies, with the odd Luvs thrown in. But yesterday I found a pack of Pampers Newborn. Heaven! I didn't think it made much difference but they are vastly different. Now, I will never poo-poo a free diaper (Ha! Ha! I'm clever at this hour of the a.m.), but man, I'm thinking hard about seeing if Wally World will exchange a slew of diapers for me. I don't want to know how much I might lose in price difference though. Ug!
3) Buttpaste (as it is affectionately known in our house) - All of the babies, but Molly especially, have suffered from the most horrendous "diaper rash" I have ever seen. It makes me cry to see it. I first noticed it in the NICU and it has been off and on ever since. It is like open sores on their little behinds. *shudder* We addressed this with the pediatrician the other day. She recommended one of 2 diaper creams because all of the other ones have "extra crap" in them, including alcohols and acids. So, I'm having to throw out the Boudreaux's and the generic Desitin that have always sufficed in exchange for the $7 a tube Aveeno. I have used half a tube in the past 3 days. Yikes! But I love this stuff and it is absolutely working, in combination with the Pampers diapers and Pampers Sensitive wipes, to clear up even Molly's skin.
So, for those of you that have asked what we want and/or need:
Pampers (currently collecting size 1 diapers) - though we honestly will use and be grateful for any brand
Pampers Sensitive wipes refills
Aveeno diaper cream
Bottle liners, 4 oz., Target brand (that fits the Playtex) EDIT: Actually, at the rate that they are increasing the amounts of their feeds, and the number of liners I already have, we need to start stocking up on 8 oz liners instead.
And since I reminded myself about the pedi:
Emily 4 lbs 11 oz
Molly 5 lbs 2 oz
Cooper 5 lbs 12 oz
to the best of my memory. I'll be putting a notebook of some type in the diaper bag to record all of that because I'd forgotten by the time we left the office and got loaded back up on the way home.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Figuring it out
Scott says it's my fault. He says they are "my" children and that they are night owls. But hey, I was going to bed by midnight when I was pregnant with them, so it's not as if they've ever been subject to my up-all-night habits. Staying up until 3 and 4 in the morning is only fun if you are going to get to sleep in, NOT if you're going to get back up in 2 hours.
I'm trying a new tactic. I'm making myself go to bed before 10 so that I can sleep a couple of hours before the fun begins. Sure enough, last night, after the 11 o'clock feeding, at about midnight, Scott laid them all in the bed........and none of them went to sleep. So I got back up and was up pretty steadily until 4. That part wasn't bad; since I'd had a little nap, I was feeling ok. The part that sucked was the short sleep until about 6, after which I was NOT ready to get up. But, after that round of feeding, they like to sleep all morning. So, Yes, evil mother of newborns that I am, I don't wake them to feed them. If they wake, we eat; if not, we sleep. So we've been sleeping all morning, and have become lazy bones who stay in bed until 11 or so. Then we spend the day trying to get back on "schedule".
Whatever works.
I'm trying a new tactic. I'm making myself go to bed before 10 so that I can sleep a couple of hours before the fun begins. Sure enough, last night, after the 11 o'clock feeding, at about midnight, Scott laid them all in the bed........and none of them went to sleep. So I got back up and was up pretty steadily until 4. That part wasn't bad; since I'd had a little nap, I was feeling ok. The part that sucked was the short sleep until about 6, after which I was NOT ready to get up. But, after that round of feeding, they like to sleep all morning. So, Yes, evil mother of newborns that I am, I don't wake them to feed them. If they wake, we eat; if not, we sleep. So we've been sleeping all morning, and have become lazy bones who stay in bed until 11 or so. Then we spend the day trying to get back on "schedule".
Whatever works.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Sleepless in Seattle
because...
It is the crying that never ends
It just goes on and on my friends
Somebody started crying it not knowing what it was
And now they just keep crying it on and on just because
It is the crying that never ends....
Our hospital 3 hour, and then much easier, much saner, home 4 hour schedules have gone to shi......er, the dogs. Noone taught them how to tell time apparently. For some God-only-knows reason, Molly wakes up, like clockwork, an hour before feeding time. Now, this would be all fine and good, if she didn't scream like a banshee all night. So I tried holding her off until the next scheduled feeding, except that she started spitting up all the time and the pediatrician says this is because she's getting all worked up and sucking down air with all of that "fretting" so try not to let her "fret". Er, right. Tell her that.
So I decided to try a little demand feeding. Feed the ones that are hungry, then wake the others and make them eat, too, so that they are all on the same schedule, even if that schedule is weird and unpredictable.
How you wanna guess THAT worked out?? I've slept one 2 hour stretch since before midnight. AGAIN. I even woke Scott up to help because it got so out of control. And dangit if Molly AND Emily weren't up after a mere 2 hours! While I was feeding them, Cooper was lying in bed "fretting" so I got him up after the girls were done. And he wouldn't take a drop. Sh.......oot. Now he'll be up in 30 minutes wanting to eat.
I'm a little delirious and hysterical. Of course, now that I've completely given up on sleeping during this calendar day, they're all stone cold out in there.
I give up.
It is the crying that never ends
It just goes on and on my friends
Somebody started crying it not knowing what it was
And now they just keep crying it on and on just because
It is the crying that never ends....
Our hospital 3 hour, and then much easier, much saner, home 4 hour schedules have gone to shi......er, the dogs. Noone taught them how to tell time apparently. For some God-only-knows reason, Molly wakes up, like clockwork, an hour before feeding time. Now, this would be all fine and good, if she didn't scream like a banshee all night. So I tried holding her off until the next scheduled feeding, except that she started spitting up all the time and the pediatrician says this is because she's getting all worked up and sucking down air with all of that "fretting" so try not to let her "fret". Er, right. Tell her that.
So I decided to try a little demand feeding. Feed the ones that are hungry, then wake the others and make them eat, too, so that they are all on the same schedule, even if that schedule is weird and unpredictable.
How you wanna guess THAT worked out?? I've slept one 2 hour stretch since before midnight. AGAIN. I even woke Scott up to help because it got so out of control. And dangit if Molly AND Emily weren't up after a mere 2 hours! While I was feeding them, Cooper was lying in bed "fretting" so I got him up after the girls were done. And he wouldn't take a drop. Sh.......oot. Now he'll be up in 30 minutes wanting to eat.
I'm a little delirious and hysterical. Of course, now that I've completely given up on sleeping during this calendar day, they're all stone cold out in there.
I give up.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Running Tally
In the past 5 days with 3 babies, we have gone through:
5 packs of diapers
4 containers of wipes
2 cans of formula (since I'm BFing and pumping)
3 boxes of bottle liners (I use the Playtex)
6 loads of laundry (I do a daily baby load)
14 faxes and phone calls to the pediatrician and WIC to get more formula
200 text messages and phone calls from Daddy and DiDi with baby updates and calls for help (as well as a few mostly unanswered or unreturned calls from other family and friends)
Whew! What a week :)
And lest you should think that it is all sunshine and roses, I was awake with one to three of them last night from 1:30 to 7:30. I slept 3 half hour stretches between 11 and 7:30. This has happened twice, both times after I mentioned how surprisingly easy it was with 3 babies at home.
And, I learned another little Murphy's Law of babies: If you dress them, they will spit. The other day I changed them all into coordinating outfits before I fed them. And they all spit up half of a bottle worth all over those adorable little clothes.
Oh, and if you are already exhausted and a little hysterical, that will be the night you will lose a binkie, forget to refill the wipe container, and someone will spit up all over the bed so that you have to change the sheets at 5 am.
And, I'm having another bout of the gallbladder today (at least that is what we are guessing it is) with abdominal pain, nausea, and um, lots of trips to the bathroom.
I look forward to Saturday so Daddy can take over for a couple of hours and I might actually leave the house :o
5 packs of diapers
4 containers of wipes
2 cans of formula (since I'm BFing and pumping)
3 boxes of bottle liners (I use the Playtex)
6 loads of laundry (I do a daily baby load)
14 faxes and phone calls to the pediatrician and WIC to get more formula
200 text messages and phone calls from Daddy and DiDi with baby updates and calls for help (as well as a few mostly unanswered or unreturned calls from other family and friends)
Whew! What a week :)
And lest you should think that it is all sunshine and roses, I was awake with one to three of them last night from 1:30 to 7:30. I slept 3 half hour stretches between 11 and 7:30. This has happened twice, both times after I mentioned how surprisingly easy it was with 3 babies at home.
And, I learned another little Murphy's Law of babies: If you dress them, they will spit. The other day I changed them all into coordinating outfits before I fed them. And they all spit up half of a bottle worth all over those adorable little clothes.
Oh, and if you are already exhausted and a little hysterical, that will be the night you will lose a binkie, forget to refill the wipe container, and someone will spit up all over the bed so that you have to change the sheets at 5 am.
And, I'm having another bout of the gallbladder today (at least that is what we are guessing it is) with abdominal pain, nausea, and um, lots of trips to the bathroom.
I look forward to Saturday so Daddy can take over for a couple of hours and I might actually leave the house :o
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Pictures
I'm finally updating with some pictures.
Here is the last one taken of me before I delivered (except one my mom took with her cell phone that day, which I haven't even seen yet). This is about 9 days before delivery. We went down to the hospital lobby for this little photo shoot.
I call this look "Science Experiment". You're seeing the contraction monitor (toco) and 3 separate fetal heart tones monitors. I actually had 2 huge cabinets with separate computer systems in my room, on either side of the bed, because each monitor only has enough for two babies. This is what I had to endure twice a day, for upwards of an 1 1/2 hours, every day for 2 1/2 months. I was often hooked up only to the contraction monitor which didn't look nearly as strange, lol.
I have some pretty nifty delivery pictures, especially a really great one of Emily just entering the world, but I'll spare you ;)
This is pretty Miss Molly. Isn't she beautiful?! This just makes me tear up; she's so fair and adorable. I had trouble getting everyone to settle down enough to remove the binkies, but it gives you an idea of how tiny they are when seeing them against that humongo paci.
Here is the Divine Miss Em. (I'm mad because my computer is acting up and I can't view half of the pictures, so this is the best of the pictures of her that would show up) She's so dark and petite and sweet and Peanut-y.
Finally is Cooper. I swear we never see that boy's eyes; he's just going to sleep his life away, lol. He's definitely the most laid back; I can't think if I've ever heard him cry. Hmm....
Compliments on my beautiful progeny are welcome ;)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Confusion
Probably the single most common question one gets as the parent of multiples is "are they identical?". I'm always amazed that people don't know that a boy and a girl can not be identical, but most people do not quite have the experience with multiples that I have, lol.
When we found out that the triplets were 2 girls and a boy, we wondered if they girls might be identical and if they looked like it, would we have the genetic testing done to confirm or deny it. Emily and Molly are decidedly NOT identical. Emily has a head full of dark hair and still lots of red tones in her skin; Molly is blond (almost strawberry blond) and very fair skinned. Their facial features are distinctly different as well. (I swear, I will post pictures SOON!)
Molly and Cooper, on the other hand, look very much alike. They have the same amount of hair (though Molly's is a touch lighter) and the same facial features. Apparently, though, I am the only one who thinks so. Everyone keeps telling me how distinctly different they are, though I would often have to look twice while they were in the hospital.
So, last evening Scott came home and was changing the babies in anticipation of their next feeding. I'm in and out of the room and listening to him talk to the babies. I hear him addressing Cooper:
"Hey buddy! What's up. Time to eat.... (etc, etc). Now Cooper, why did your momma put you in pink pants? Huh? What's that about?"
I, of course, know immediately where this little interaction is going.
Scott keeps talking and I hear the sound of diaper tape opening....riiiiiiipppp.
"UH! What the......?!? MOLLY???"
See, I told you they look just alike.
As if I would put my son in pink pants... at least not on purpose. What happens in the dead of night while I'm half asleep is fair game.
When we found out that the triplets were 2 girls and a boy, we wondered if they girls might be identical and if they looked like it, would we have the genetic testing done to confirm or deny it. Emily and Molly are decidedly NOT identical. Emily has a head full of dark hair and still lots of red tones in her skin; Molly is blond (almost strawberry blond) and very fair skinned. Their facial features are distinctly different as well. (I swear, I will post pictures SOON!)
Molly and Cooper, on the other hand, look very much alike. They have the same amount of hair (though Molly's is a touch lighter) and the same facial features. Apparently, though, I am the only one who thinks so. Everyone keeps telling me how distinctly different they are, though I would often have to look twice while they were in the hospital.
So, last evening Scott came home and was changing the babies in anticipation of their next feeding. I'm in and out of the room and listening to him talk to the babies. I hear him addressing Cooper:
"Hey buddy! What's up. Time to eat.... (etc, etc). Now Cooper, why did your momma put you in pink pants? Huh? What's that about?"
I, of course, know immediately where this little interaction is going.
Scott keeps talking and I hear the sound of diaper tape opening....riiiiiiipppp.
"UH! What the......?!? MOLLY???"
See, I told you they look just alike.
As if I would put my son in pink pants... at least not on purpose. What happens in the dead of night while I'm half asleep is fair game.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Notes on the first few days
I want to be able to go back and have some memories of these days recorded. However, my brain has been doped up on pregnancy hormones for the past few months so my thoughts are rarely cohesive. So this may be a bit rambling instead of witty and insightful.
Molly is shaping up to be one high-maintenance baby. Schedule, Schmedule, Who Needs a Schedule is going to be her motto. We're trying to go toward a 4 hour feeding schedule but Miss Molly is Not.Having.It. She did not get the memo that if you are born in a litter, you do not get the option of going your own way; that is reserved for Singletons and Only Children. I'd be happy if she (and hence, the others) were on a 3 hour schedule, but she won't even stay on that; it's more like 3 , then 3 1/2, then 2 1/2, then 4, etc. She is currently fussing after just 2 hours since her last feed and a mere 30 minutes since I finished the whole crew. Um, round the clock demand feeding is not an option, kiddo.
Part of the problem is that she is an inconsistent feeder. Because she does not always eat well, it is nearly impossible to stretch her out to 4 hours between feeds. But if she wakes up fussing and rooting, I try to hold her off at least a bit, until something near The Schedule, and then she's so tired from wiggling and rooting that she doesn't eat. I can't win. But she will learn, I am one stubborn and determined momma and this ain't my first barbecue, so I will prevail!
Did you know that 3 week olds can move? I mean like, "wait a minute, didn't I put you on that side of the crib?" move. Their new trick is to wiggle out from under the covers by scooting around. Seriously, I've been working with kids for 4 or 5 years and I've never seen a newborn that could scoot. This leads to a whole mess of unforeseen problems.
First, they don't stay covered. Now, there are 2 major rules for NICU babies: keep them warm and make them eat. We keep our house pretty cool so I'm vigilant about the individual swaddling, the bundling together, and the extra layer of blankets, but they are simply undoing all of that. Earlier, I had them all on their bellies and I went in to find Cooper half way across the crib and still moving. Unfortunately, he was partially using Emily for leverage.
Which leads to problem #2: They're practically crawling all over each other which makes co-sleeping in a crib in mom and dad's room a short-lived plan. I remember that Hunter and Hannah only co-slept for about 6 weeks so I guess we're on that same course with these three. I'm not looking forward to trooping up and down the stairs all night so I'll be researching a solution to this problem.
Cooper and Molly are snuggle-buddies. I think they must have come to an understanding while making do without Emily for those last few days in the NICU. If those 2 are next to each other, one or both of them will wiggle around until their head is against the other. Cooper will contort himself all kind of ways to get his head up against Molly, so I try to tuck them in pretty close together. I don't always put them in the same position in bed, so currently Emily is in the middle. She started fussing so I went in there to find Molly had scooted up against her and had her head in Emily's back, which Emily was trying to move away from. Seems like Em is going to be like Hannah and decidedly NOT a snuggler.
Nicknames: It's funny to me how nicknames evolve. Sometimes we think them up and they stick, sometimes they just come out and seem right. Here are the ones I/we are using.
Emily: Peanut (because she's so small), The Divine Miss Em, Em
Emily and Molly: M&Ms
Molly: Molly McButter, Precious, Pumpkin
Cooper: Cooper Pooper, Super Duper, L'il Buddy
That's all I can think of right now. Scott asked me yesterday if the "newness has worn off" and I'm used to having the three of them home, or if I still go to the crib and stare in amazement (which I did for most of the first 24 hours). A little of both I guess. Now I'm wrapped up in getting them incorporated into our lives, but I still stop and stare, too.
Molly is shaping up to be one high-maintenance baby. Schedule, Schmedule, Who Needs a Schedule is going to be her motto. We're trying to go toward a 4 hour feeding schedule but Miss Molly is Not.Having.It. She did not get the memo that if you are born in a litter, you do not get the option of going your own way; that is reserved for Singletons and Only Children. I'd be happy if she (and hence, the others) were on a 3 hour schedule, but she won't even stay on that; it's more like 3 , then 3 1/2, then 2 1/2, then 4, etc. She is currently fussing after just 2 hours since her last feed and a mere 30 minutes since I finished the whole crew. Um, round the clock demand feeding is not an option, kiddo.
Part of the problem is that she is an inconsistent feeder. Because she does not always eat well, it is nearly impossible to stretch her out to 4 hours between feeds. But if she wakes up fussing and rooting, I try to hold her off at least a bit, until something near The Schedule, and then she's so tired from wiggling and rooting that she doesn't eat. I can't win. But she will learn, I am one stubborn and determined momma and this ain't my first barbecue, so I will prevail!
Did you know that 3 week olds can move? I mean like, "wait a minute, didn't I put you on that side of the crib?" move. Their new trick is to wiggle out from under the covers by scooting around. Seriously, I've been working with kids for 4 or 5 years and I've never seen a newborn that could scoot. This leads to a whole mess of unforeseen problems.
First, they don't stay covered. Now, there are 2 major rules for NICU babies: keep them warm and make them eat. We keep our house pretty cool so I'm vigilant about the individual swaddling, the bundling together, and the extra layer of blankets, but they are simply undoing all of that. Earlier, I had them all on their bellies and I went in to find Cooper half way across the crib and still moving. Unfortunately, he was partially using Emily for leverage.
Which leads to problem #2: They're practically crawling all over each other which makes co-sleeping in a crib in mom and dad's room a short-lived plan. I remember that Hunter and Hannah only co-slept for about 6 weeks so I guess we're on that same course with these three. I'm not looking forward to trooping up and down the stairs all night so I'll be researching a solution to this problem.
Cooper and Molly are snuggle-buddies. I think they must have come to an understanding while making do without Emily for those last few days in the NICU. If those 2 are next to each other, one or both of them will wiggle around until their head is against the other. Cooper will contort himself all kind of ways to get his head up against Molly, so I try to tuck them in pretty close together. I don't always put them in the same position in bed, so currently Emily is in the middle. She started fussing so I went in there to find Molly had scooted up against her and had her head in Emily's back, which Emily was trying to move away from. Seems like Em is going to be like Hannah and decidedly NOT a snuggler.
Nicknames: It's funny to me how nicknames evolve. Sometimes we think them up and they stick, sometimes they just come out and seem right. Here are the ones I/we are using.
Emily: Peanut (because she's so small), The Divine Miss Em, Em
Emily and Molly: M&Ms
Molly: Molly McButter, Precious, Pumpkin
Cooper: Cooper Pooper, Super Duper, L'il Buddy
That's all I can think of right now. Scott asked me yesterday if the "newness has worn off" and I'm used to having the three of them home, or if I still go to the crib and stare in amazement (which I did for most of the first 24 hours). A little of both I guess. Now I'm wrapped up in getting them incorporated into our lives, but I still stop and stare, too.
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