Baby Stupid...

I must admit that with all of the crying and squirming and refluxing, I got a little lazy during the day with the babies' schedules. If they wanted to sleep I let them sleep, if they wanted to eat, I fed them, if they wanted to be held I strapped them on and did the dishes while carrying them in a sling. I was just SO tired of hearing screaming babies that I just let them do whatever they wanted and as a result I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off...really like three chickens with three heads cut off. Now some people will tell you that this was not lazy, it was natural and that they were cue based feeding and sleeping and getting all of their needs met on a natural schedule. I actually agree with this to an extent, but it got so bad and unscheduled that even with two people home (me and a helper or Mike) we were ALWAYS holding or feeding someone. And I mean always. Many hours of the day we had crying babies and I started to feel like I could not meet anyones needs let alone everyones needs. And then there was my needs (I have needs?) which were SO not being met that I was crying every evening before bed because I knew that I was going to have to wake up in 4-5 hours and do it all over again by myself for 19-20 hours the next day.

So, I desperately turned to the world of self help/parenting books and now we are trying to "sleep train" the boys using the Baby Wise system. Needless to say there are times during this process where I feel Baby Stupid. Basically, every baby gets woken up at the same time every day, which- in our case- is 6:30am. They get changed, fed and then I force them to stay awake for 30-45 mins and"play" (and let me tell you - it is a bit of a challenge for one person to keep three babies awake and stimulated when they want to sleep). Then after playtime I swaddle the heck out of them and put them in their bed awake so that the can learn to sleep...or something. Either way they have their pacifiers and they are swaddled and they sleep. When someone wakes up and I can't get them to quiet down with a pacifier, I wake everyone up again and we do the whole thing over.

How does one person feed three babies all at the same time you might wonder? Well I'm afraid that we have strayed far from au naturale and very far from breastfeeding...since I don't really want to prop bottle because I am afraid of choking babies, I have started using Podee feeders - which are basically a nipple at the end of flexible tubing attached to the bottle. I feed one baby in my arms and start out the other two with the Podees and then I finish those two off when I am done with the first baby. Then I rotate which baby gets arm fed first for the next feeding.

Each wake, change, feed, play, sleep cycle is 2.5-3 hours. In the evening, at 7:30 or 8pm, we have the final cycle and then we put the babies down for the night. At 10:30 or 11pm, we "dream feed" the babies by feeding them in the dark, without talking and without really waking them up if possible. Then once they are burped, they go right back down to sleep until they wake up by themselves. We usually feed them all again between 1:30 and 2:30am because so far someone always wakes up at around that time. In theory (I said in theory mind you) they should start sleeping 6-8 hours in a row once their bodies get used to this schedule.

I am still not entirely sold on the whole schedule thing, and if I had one baby I am pretty sure that I would have been an au naturale mommy with breastfeeding and babywearing and co-sleeping galore...but I had three babies....So, like the many other things that I had hoped and imagined having a baby would be like that I have had to just deal with and get over - such as working up until 40 weeks, a drug free pregnancy and labor, a natural birth, seeing my baby right as it is born and immediately after, having my husband cut the cord, holding my baby and putting it to breast, having my baby in the hospital room with me, leaving the hospital and going home with my baby, and so much more- I will just have to get over myself and follow a schedule and feed my babies all ot once however I can manage it. And, so far, I have to admit that the boys are actually crying less in the evening and at times I even get a small break to run around doing dishes or laundry. We have yet to see the imaginary, yearned for 6 hours of sleep, but here's hoping...

Mike having his turn with the Podee

Zachary having his turn with the Podee

Enforcing playtime

woot and oops

Well we went to the doctor with all the boys yesterday, an adventure as always, and the pediatrician agreed that all of the boys are still exhibiting signs of severe reflux. So we actually got some Zantac (woot) prescribed for all of the boys. Fingers crossed that it will help. They are all growing so fast! Zachary gained the most weight (no surprise there, he is our super eater) and he weighs 10lb 14oz up from 8lb 13oz; Michael gained less but still weighs 10lb 6oz up from 8lb 15oz last visit; Konrad gained quite a bit but he is still our little one, he weighs 9lb 3oz up from 7lb 8oz. Zachary's hernia is still there but we are going to watch and wait to see if it closes on his own. We have to give him tylenol for it every once in a while but the doctors think that it should close on its own sometime in the next year (we hope soon). Konrad smiled at Mike this morning making him a very happy daddy and Grandma Carol swears that all three cooed and smiled at her earlier this week. It is so exciting to see them starting to get a bit more interactive with us.

We switched to glass bottles this week which is a huge investment and a change for the babies as far as nipples and bottle shape. Our bottles and most other plastic bottles and cups got voluntarily (ans soon madatorily) recalled and pulled from the store shelves in Canada because they have a chemical called bpa in them which is an estrogen that can cause developmental and chemical issues in babies and children. Needless to say I was pissed and worried and so I went and bought all new glass bottles with non-bpa plastic lids. Why do companies do stuff like that? How can they get away with using a chemical that has known side effects or even suspected side effects in their products, especially when their product is a BABY BOTTLE for pete's sake? It just really grinds me. To top it all off, we just found out that the first ingredient in the baby formula we were using to supplement my breast milk is corn syrup, yup corn syrup. I read the ingredients on the regular enfamil formula and it was exactly what you'd expect-milk, but when we switched to the colic formula, gentlease, I didn't even think to look at the label. Again, how can they get away with making corn syrup the FIRST and most prevalent ingredient in a baby formula, those f#@*ers. Needless to say I had to switch formulas now too and I am trying my damnedest to increase my milk supply (my poor boobs) so that we don't have to supplement at all anymore.
SO thats enough of our manufacturer woes, and I figure that I will look on the bright side...even if my beautiful premature fragile children have been getting nasty chemicals and corn syrup from their mother for 4 weeks, at least they still appear to be growing and developing just fine...oops...

dinner...

Mike walked in the door and we had a candid camera moment...yes, yes, I am the supermom extraordinaire...or I just don't like screaming babies while i am trying to make dinner...perhaps both...

Dinner ala Konrad

cranky babies, cranky parents

Thats the name of my current life and maybe someday a parenting help book...omg these children do not sleep. I am trying to be a good parent and an obedient "back to sleep"er but i mean really...all three boys have some serious reflux so when we lay them down, even after they have been upright for 30 minutes to an hour after their feedings they squirm and arch their necks and whimper in their sleep and chew and puke. This is a very stressful (for me to watch them be in pain), messy (for the outfits I have to frequently change), and wakeful (for all the times one or more of them does not sleep more than 15 mins in a row) process. Each individual baby has good patches and bad patches of sleep time but unfortunately they got together and decided to stagger their cranky times so that they could get some good one on one time with mom and dad and as a result we are CONSTANTLY comforting, propping, readjusting, feeding or refeeding someone. This is as you might guess not so good for our overall sleep health...and we weren't getting all that much before this new phase started. Part of it is that the boys are waking up and growing into normal wakeful babies. Although I am giving them playtime during the day, when they are awake, they are AWAKE and they want to be fed or entertained or at least stimulated visually with toys or lights. This can get complicated with three babies at staggered timings. I have tried to schedule them so that they all get playtime at the same time but they aren't quite cooperating. I suppose that I can't blame them, there are times in the day where if you woke me up and said PLAY NOW I might not cooperate and I might try to fall back asleep too. So I am trying really hard to accommodate their individual needs without going crazy at the impact that it is having on my individual needs (am i even allowed to have those now?). I am also thinking that I may have to bribe, coerce, and potentially torture their pediatrician into medicating for reflux. I have walked the line of extremely conservative and I didn't really want to give them meds but I have changed my mind and I am now willing to try just about anything...nice how a our values can change in times of desperation huh. Anyway, our doctor appointment is tomorrow and it is medication or bust for me, laugh!

Konrad having playtime

Mohawk Mikey

Zach's playtime (muwahaha)...14 hours straight...

Sleep...

Something we are not getting much of still...but it will get better. It is hard to imagine that our little guys are 12 weeks old and sometimes hard to remember that developmentally they are only 2 weeks old. I have to remind myself of this when other babies that are younger than our boys can see and smile and laugh at 12 weeks and ours are just starting to notice the world around them and may not laugh or grab things for weeks still. They are getting stronger though, every day it seems, and they are starting to interact with us a bit. The definitely can see something because they like watching the lights on their play mat and on their crib music box. They are getting more used to belly time and their head control is getting a bit better. It is great to see them lifting their heads and looking around, but it can be a bit dangerous for mom and dad because they can get their head up but not always hold it up and we are getting headbutted every so often-their little heads can bring a lot of pain to a nose!
They like going on walks and every once and a while I will venture into town or to the store by myself during the week with them. I was desperate to get out so I took them to Kohls this week and weren't we the spectacle! People coming up to us and asking questions, wanting to touch the babies-I needed security guards just to get to the baby section (not really but I wished I had some). It was intimidating to go out by myself with the three of them at first, but now that I have done it it is getting less daunting. It takes lots of preparation and a bit of luck with baby behavior and people in publics reactions, but it can be done.

We are going on a walk!

Mikey is a very relaxed, deep sleeper

Konrad likes to sleep all balled up and on his side

Zack sprawls out with his hand and feet in the air

Tired mommy

Daddy is sick :(

Mike is sick and so the Huber household is a little crazy these days. We are all trying to let daddy sleep as much as possible so he gets better fast! The boys are really starting to get strong. They can lift their heads, they look around when they are awake and they watch their hands go past their faces. They are starting to coo and smile back which is very exciting to see. Their due date has come and gone and it will be very exciting to see them develop and begin to be more interactive.

Ava and Spencer meeting Michael

Daddy snuggling Michael (before he was sick of course)

We sure do like our Boppys

Konrad says "Hmmmm..."

Settling in

Things are finally starting to feel settled in the Huber household. The boys are thriving and seem to be growing bigger every day. They are lifting their heads and gaining better head control and they are definitely starting to be able to see people and objects around them. They are still eating every three hours and we can't quite seem to stretch it out yet at night time but we are hoping that sometime soon we might start getting 4-5 hour blocks so that we can get some sleep. I must admit that the days go by in a big blur right now.

My day at home goes something like this...
7:30am-Mike leaves for work and the boys all wake up just about when he closes the door and pulls out of the driveway (or so it seems). It takes about 1.5-2 hours to change, feed, and settle the boys.
9:30am- I want to start doing laundry or dishes or take a shower but instead I have to pump to start stocking up breast milk for the day. If I don't pump every 3-4 hours my milk supply starts shrinking and then we have to give the boys more formula. I pump for a half hour.
10:00am- the boys are starting to stir but I hold them off with their pacifiers and scramble to get some laundry in and grab something to eat and drink. If I forget to drink enough water my body starts making less breast milk and I am pretty much a slave to the breast milk so that my boys can get enough nutrition. By the time I am back upstairs and have finished eating something quick one or more of the boys is really mad and ready to eat.
11:00am- feed and change babies.
1:00pm- if they settle down right after eating then I have enough time to pump again and maybe fold some laundry and start the dishes. If they do not settle down quickly and they are cranky then I sometimes spend the remaining hour or hour and a half trying to do two things at once by switching between pumping and getting them settled down...whichever baby was cranky usually settles just in time for the next feeding session to start for the other two. I try to get out and get some exercise if it is nice out by taking the boys on a walk sometime in the afternoon, I have to stretch their feeding session from 3 to 3.5 hours apart and sometimes they get cranky but I usually need to get out and get some air.
2:30pm get the boys in the house and feed and change babies.
4:00 or 4:30pm- pump again and quickly try to finish either laundry or dishes (but rarely both) before Mike gets home.
5:30 or 6:00pm- Mike comes home, and then we both feed and change babies so it takes a little less time. One of us, usually Mike, makes dinner during this feeding session. Then once babies are fed, I pump and off and on one of us keeps them quiet by running between them and either holding, burping or giving pacifiers while the other person tries to eat dinner and make bottles for the night to come. 9:00pm I pump one last time while Mike starts feeding babies. 9:30pm I go to bed and Mike stays up and feeds and cares for babies until 2:00am.
12:00am - Mike feeds and changes babies. (and keeps them happy until the next feeding session)
2:00am- Mike wakes me up and I pump again. Then once I am done pumping, I take over the feedings and after 4.5 hours sleep my day begins. Mike goes to sleep.
3:00am- I feed and change babies.
7:00am- After 4.5 hours sleep, Mike wakes up and gets ready for work the day starts over again.

And this is the glorious life of a family with triplets...but I cannot tell you more because true to form, Mike has just left for work and there is now a baby crying in the other room. I mean literally, house door closes and Mike's car starts and like magic baby cries...its actually quite impressive...

Please don't wake us up...we are snuggly

What I wish my mornings were like- peaceful babies

What they are usually like...come home daddy, come home!