No time to blog.

Too many babies and only one mommy (sometimes all they want is me, which is sweetly annoying, especially with all the helping hands.)

Christmas was exhausting, but memorable.

We are so glad daddy finally joined us.

Catch up post containing adorable pictures later on will cover all happenings. If I ever get around to that. HA!

Some Christmas Miracles.

*Three napping babies (for an hour and a half without holding at all! I even took a shower, blow-dried/styled my hair, did my make-up and am now blogging in that time. I can't wait for consistent nap times.)

*A wonderful night's sleep for mom and babes. They were angels (except the poor dears all have the dreaded green nose-drip making their breathing a little labored, but still. . .) They all woke up for their feedings and ate well sans a reflux episode, and went back to sleep. I did have to cuddle Bennett on the couch, but I didn't mind dozing off and waking up to his angelic face.

*I've been getting better sleep, and getting out of the house more than I have in the last two months. My friends and family don't even know the feelings of gratitude I have for them right now. People keep filling up the schedule that we have, and I can't describe how humbled I am by such willingness.

Oh I love these babies and their sweet faces. Here's to more Christmas Miracles! And KC is coming on Thursday!

Why is it. . .

that when you are up most of the night with the kids, all you can think about is sleeping? And then, when they are finally, miraculously all asleep, your eyes are stuck wide open. It just figures. I gotta hand it to my brothers, their wives, and my parents for helping us through a very difficult night. Reflux is no fun. Crying before, after, and during feedings can really drive a person crazy. Do I see a dairy-less diet in my future? For better sleep, I'll try anything.

Smiles, sinuses, spit-up, siblings, and some sleep.

So, we made it across the country with a crew of four adults and three babies and made it intact. That was my mom, dad, sister Elise, and me. KC is staying to work until Christmas Eve, and then he is joining the fun. Though he did help us as far as he could go. It was exhausting, with the little sleep we got the night before, and all the falderall it takes to travel with children. They were great little travelers with the exception of Bennett's projectile vomiting all over me and him (which he continues to do about once a day). And of course I brought extra clothes for him, but not for me. I managed with the stink on me for the rest of the flight, and when we made it home we were greeted at my parents home with several of my lovely siblings and a lunch for us. And, they fed the hungry babies for me. Nice.

So since then we have had many kind friends and family come to see these little lovelies, and help out so much. Family members have also been so kind to take on some of the night shifts. I got seven glorious hours of sleep in a row the other night thanks to Jeff and Lili, mom and dad, and Matt and Courtney taking over that night shift. The best Christmas present there is!! It was especially nice because I have had a cold since last Sunday. I seriously can't go on a trip to Utah without something ailing me. I made my traditional trip to the urgent care in case it was turning into a sinus infection, as my colds often do. Add sleep deprivation with sinuses, raw throat, and itchy eyes, and it's great fun. So the extra help is greatly appreciated.

We've hit some major milestones with their first REAL smiles. It was so wonderful to see them look right into my eyes and smile at me for the very first time. And the most amazing thing was that they all accomplished this within the same 24 hours. Ruby first, then Alex the next day, then Bennett a couple hours after that. We were able to catch some pictures, though we had to act fast so they aren't so great. KC is missing them like crazy (even the crying-he must be pretty lonely), but I assured him that when he sees the smiles for the first time it will be just as adorable as the first time I saw them. We can't wait for daddy to come join the fun, being all rested and ready to hold babies. Maybe mommy will get a little break!

Seeing their little wonderful smiles for those few seconds somehow made all the hard times worth it. It reminded me that they will progress to other stages of life and won't stay in this newborn phase forever, though it feels like it sometimes since they have been like this for so much longer than they should be. They are about a month past their due date, so I am hoping to see some changes in their behavior in the next couple of months, fingers crossed.

Here they are:

Alex

Bennett (He's been the hardest the take a picture of. This will have to do for now.)
And here's the star Ruby. She hands them out more than anyone else. I just love seeing that open-mouth grim.

Yeah, we're nuts.

It's requires a lot of planning, and a lot of stuff to travel with three newborns for three weeks. Utah, here we come!

Mrs. Independent

I consider myself a pretty independent person. Almost border-lining stubbornly independent. Not my best quality, but it's me. Sometimes I feel like I am becoming a little bit too stubborn, and I reevaluate myself. I try to be more open minded, and remember that I don't know everything, and I do need help sometimes. But I like to figure things out for myself using trial and error, and/or a little research. I'm pretty good at getting the information I need for any given situation. If I need a suggestion, or advice, I'm definitely not ashamed or afraid to ask for it, but I have a network of resources that I like to turn to. It's a comfort to know that someone has been where I am before, so if something isn't working for me, I can ask what worked for them. I've found the best solutions to problems by asking family and friends. But unsolicited advice or an out-of-the-blue suggestion about how I'm going about doing things in my life isn't usually very welcome, and can get me a little annoyed. Isn't that pretty normal? I hope that I am never a person that just barges into someone else's daily doings telling them how to do this or that. Usually people have ideas and ways for how things work for them, even though others might disagree. Anyway, I'm a very independent person.

So naturally, infertility, a high risk pregnancy, and now a house full of babies have all been instances that have required a lot of patience. My independence has had to be put aside and I have needed a lot of assistance from others to achieve something that should be very personal. It has been extremely difficult on occasions, but obviously I am being taught a lesson here, and I realized that a long time ago.

I knew having three babies would be a challenge, to say the least. I wasn't naive about it. But I was hoping after a routine was in place, and the babies were on a schedule, I would no longer be so dependent (knowing full well that that was wishful thinking- but still). But of course after a couple weeks of almost no sleep and me still recovering from a very stressful pregnancy with postpartum hormones always about to surface, reinforcements were called in. My sweet friend Molly, who also happens to be my visiting teacher has recently had a baby herself and is well aware of the demands of having ONE newborn at home. So she knew that having three would definitely be an occasion for help from others. And when she called to ask if we needed any, she caught me in a very exhausted and needy state, making it very easy to accept her offer to send a sign-up sheet around church asking for helpers. Now, along with being independent, I absolutely hate inconveniencing people on behalf of myself. I would always rather be the one to help, than to be helped. I was the one with out kids and only a part time job for so long, that I was able to step in when I was needed, and it didn't really take away from anything too important in my life. I didn't ever really need much in the way of help from others, and I liked it that way. I like taking care of myself. So I never thought it would be so easy to accept help from others. The tables have definitely turned. Desperate times call for drastic measures. When I talked to Molly that day, I knew I had to accept, and what a great and humbling decision that has been. Several times a weeks we are blessed with friends, and others I didn't even know that well yet. They bring delicious food, and gifts and dedicate so much of their time to our family. They've been helping me just the way I need. It was hard to get used to it initially, but has turned into a very sweet and growing experience for me. Thank you so much to Molly and the many friends. I will never forget your generosity.

Well, I just heard and felt a giant explosion come from the bottom of my darling Alex (yes, I am typing one handed as I hold a baby) so I better get back to my mommy duties. Another trip to the pediatrician today (man, those co-pays are adding up).

Today, all I want. . .

is a shower,

to do a load of laundry,

and to be able to see the living room floor.

Is that too much to ask?!

Christmas card expectations too high?

Why, oh why, do Christmas cards have to be so difficult? It was hard enough to get a good picture of just the two of us in past years, but add three newborns into the mix, and it's a recipe for disaster. Trying to get one of only the kids just put me in a really bad mood and made me a very upset with my little ones for not cooperating, the poor babies. I guess I better get used to it. It's too bad though, cause they looked pretty cute all lined up in their Christmasy clothes, despite one or two of them crying at any given moment. But they looked ever cuter all lined up quietly in their swings. We probably won't get any cards out this year. The blog will have to be enough. Can you blame me?

Some moments with the triplets.

Just for the record, I am learning and trying to remember to not talk so much while I'm video-taping, and just let the babies speak for themselves. Please try to ignore my baby talk/mommy voice that is present in all these clips. It's almost impossible to overcome.












Some points to whoever can name the movie that we are watching.






I just want to say that this is false advertising when I say this is what they do all day long. They used to do this most of the day, but they know now that being held is much more fun. Hmm...

Scarlett was right

It is remarkable how much your outlook on life can change when you get enough sleep. Needless to say last night went a lot different than the night before. I went to take my first "nap" at about 11:30 pm, anticipating to be woken up at about 1 am to feed them according to how they'd been eating that day. They were pretty fussy, but my mom convinced me to just try to sleep, and since KC didn't have to work today, she had reinforcements if she needed them. So to bed I went, with my earplugs in. Next thing I know it's 4 am, and KC is gently waking me up to help feed. My sweet mom and sweet husband let me skip a whole feeding. That is almost 5 HOURS folks. I haven't slept that many hours in a row for who knows how long. We let my mom go to bed while we fed the babes, and at about 4:30, KC let me go back to bed AGAIN! And they slept until 8:00. That is an hour longer than usual, the little darlings. So after we fed them, KC needed a nap, and I actually didn't. The babies were sleeping really well after that and I was able to do my pilates, take a long shower, have a little me/relax time, write in my journal, eat my breakfast, and have the bottles ready before they were screaming for them. Usually I am dozing until they are starving, so I have to hear the screams as I am preparing bottles. They slept very soundly until their next feeding, and I am a new woman. I even blow-dried my hair, which is quite a luxury these days. It's just more convenient to be rested, and I actually missed the cuddle time that I usually get with them, but not enough to wake them. So we had a good night. Tomorrow might be bad again, or it might not. All I know is that right now, I am a happy mom, and I like this feeling a lot. And we're having the first snow Maryland has seen this winter, and it makes me excited for my babies' first Christmas. It's a great day.

"Tomorrow is another day."

Last night was bad. If Mom, KC, and my kind friend Christina who was graciously helping us last night hadn't convinced me to get some sleep from 10:30 pm until the babies' next feeding (which they decided was about 1 1/2 hours later, the little schedule breakers), I might not have gotten much sleep at all. I'm not really sure if I slept much after that. They were just awake and fussy enough to keep at least two of us busy all night. When one went down, the other(s) decided to come online (KC's terms for when they start waking up by grunting and whimpering and then inevitably scream if we don't act fast), so we'd put the sleeping one down to get the other and the cycle continues. I tried to go sleep in my room between the time when one is asleep until one is awake, but it's just annoying to get comfortable for about 2 minutes before I have to come out again, so I just end up trying to sleep in the living room. At one point I just sat there praying in tears just wondering if this sleepless night would end as I was nursing Ruby, while trying to soothe Bennett (who I thought was Alex all night-oops) with a pacifier that he didn't want, and just waiting for Alex to decide join the fun. I wanted the other adults to sleep since it's better that only one of us is tired beyond all reason, rather than all of us. Of course the babies were adorable as ever with their wide eyes and cute expressions (after they were fed and content, or course) making it hard to be mad at them personally, but at the situation mostly. Eventually, when the daylight was starting to show through the windows, everyone was quiet for about an hour and I tried to doze off a bit until the hunger struck again. We all sat there feeding babies talking about that hard night we just had, and actually being able to laugh about it a little.

One silver lining to a hard night, it usually a very quiet morning, which we've enjoyed. I've even checked to make sure they were breathing a couple time since they were so still and quiet for so long. I even had a long leisurely bubble bath after a nice rest without having to rush out with wet hair to help with crying babies as can happen on occasion.

During nights like that, I try to repeat those words of Scarlett O'Hara from my title in my head, remembering that this is only a fleeting moment and I will be well-rested again some day. Just take it a day at a time, right? Good thing I love these babies so much.