Here goes nothing!

So, tonight's the night! We're going to attempt to drop a nighttime feeding. So, instead of eating every four hours, we're going to try to get The Girls to go six hours at night. We'll see...

It's naptime right now, so it's quiet time for Mommy to blog, eat lunch, and watch the E! True Hollywood Story of Dirty Dancing! Now I really want to go to Lake Lure and stay at the hotel where it was filmed. Instead, I'll settle for Myrtle Beach for a weekend in August with Jessica. I can't wait! I know I'll miss The Girls (and Daddy, too!), but it will be nice to have a few days to remember who I am besides Mommy and Wifey. I've been criticized by another new mom as of late for going out one night a week and leaving The Girls. Luckily, I have a pretty thick skin and a cool head. I know me and know that those who judge have no idea what I do. I love my days with The Girls, but everyone needs a break eventually. I choose to have my breaks now instead of a breakdown later. I will still have an identity and active interests when The Girls don't need me 24/7. Personally, I feel like it's bad for children to be the center of their parents' universe. A friend once told me she heard a psychologist say you should bring children into your world and let them adapt to it. You shouldn't go into theirs and try to adapt. I agree, obviously. But, every mom is different. I have learned, through this triplet journey I'm taking, that, as long as you love your kids, nothing is really "wrong." You do what works for you and for your child. As much as I wanted and waited for motherhood, I didn't want to be defined as just a mother. Is that wrong? Maybe. But, it works for me!

As a side note, did you ever wonder who "They" are? I wonder all the time. My mommy friends are seemingly constantly saying, "They say you should spend 90 minutes a day playing one-on-one with your child. They say you should never let a child younger than 3 months old cry for more than 30 seconds. They say..." Who is "They?" "They" obviously don't have triplets!

I need a nap! I'm starting to get punchy! But, alas, it won't happen. I have to be awake to entertain another in-law tonight! Better straighten up the living room. (Although, this visitor won't notice. He's only coming to see the girls. Not me, not Daddy, not my dirty house. Maybe I'll watch "The Simple Life" and eat another brownie instead...)

Oops, I did it again!

Whenever I wake up in the middle of the night without planning to, I apparently turn off my alarm. That means that when I woke up at 12:30 because I heard Samantha screaming (She was fine. Daddy had to change her clothes since she decided to pee all over herself!), I turned off my alarm. It also means that I didn't get up for the 4:30 feeding. The good news is that the girls didn't wake up either. I woke up at 5:15, all three were sleeping like little angels. Daddy and I took this to mean that they probably are ready to go longer at night between feedings. Starting Friday night, we're going to let them go 6 hours at night instead of 4. We decided to wait until the weekend in case it gets ugly and we get less sleep! But, I think they'll do fine!

Today has already been exciting: Mary Beth rolled over from her back to her front! She has now rolled over both ways. The other girls show little interest in it, but will soon, I'm sure!

Amoxicillin is still pink!

It turns out Mary Beth did have an ear infection. In both ears! She is a few days into her amoxicillin now and feels much better. I hated to see her have to have antibiotics, but we had to fix her! She was miserable and much more high-strung than usual!

The Girls are taking a nap in their cribs right now. I'm trying to get them used to napping there, rather than on the living room floor. I can do so much more if I know they're safe in their cribs: shower, nap, clean, blog! They don't like it and don't sleep as well, but we're trying. I'm listening on the baby monitor and trying not to go in there unless it sounds like someone's foot is being gnawed off!

When I took Mary Beth to the doctor on Friday we had the added bonus of finding out her weight! She was 9 pounds, 14 ounces! That's almost 10 pounds. Double-digit weights are exciting! I can't believe how fast they're growing and changing. Delaney has started imitating me when I stick my tongue out at her! She thinks it's hilarious! They're adorable! Every time I wish for them to be able to talk and tell me what's wrong or to outgrow spitting up, I try to stop myself and remember that time really does fly and I'll miss all these things sooner than I'd like to admit.

We took the Girls to the hospital Monday to have their hips ultrasounded (is that a word?!). They were checking to make sure, since they were so crowded in Mommy's tummy, that their hips were in their sockets and growing well. I'm happy to report that they are doing just fine! We never fail to attract attention everywhere we go, especially when we have the giant triple stroller. The best part of that is adding to my funny questions list, and this trip was no exception: A man asked us, as we were passing by, "Are they the same?" What do you think he meant by that? I tried to cover all my bases and replied, "They're triplets, all girls, not identical." I just kept walking, but Bobby and I giggled over that one for a while.

Well, there goes Sam! Something must be gnawing on her... :-)

Goodness Gracious!

What a week! Daddy went on his first post-baby business trip to California this week. He was only gone two nights, but it was ROUGH! Nana and Pa came and helped a lot. I don't know what I would have done without them! Still, we missed him bunches!:

The above pictures are a good segue into updates on the Girls:

Samantha (We): Sam sleeps in her car seat all the time now and is doing lots better with her acid reflux issues. She smiles a lot and is a very happy baby, especially when wiggling on her "Princess" blanket. The toy you can see in the picture is her dragonfly, Lulu, that hangs from her car seat handle. She loves to bat at Lulu and babble at her. Even when crying, she'll stop and smile if you talk to her. It's precious!

Mary Beth (Miss): Mary Beth has the world's longest eyelashes and really is cuter than the above picture makes her out to be! She LOVES her swing (only the one that goes from side-to-side, not the front-to-back one!), and was rudely awakened by Mommy for the photo shoot! She goes to the doctor tomorrow morning for our first "illness" appointment (unless you count Delaney's infected tear duct in March, and I don't!). We think she has an ear infection. She's running a low-grade fever, pulls at her ears, and drools a lot. She's fussier than usual and that's bad news! When she feels well, though, she smiles lots more and loves to watch her favorite "show," The Ceiling Fan!!!

Delaney (Daddy): Delaney finally woke up! It seems like she slept through the first two months of her life, and she's trying to catch up! She's the quickest of the three to smile, and will probably laugh any day now. She likes to hide behind her bib and play "Peek-a-Boo" with Mommy. She is typically easygoing and cuddly. Delaney loves to watch TV and sit "like a big girl" on the couch or in her Bumbo seat!

All the girls are getting much better at holding their heads up. It's amazing to watch them grow and change! Everyone was right: the time does fly! I'm trying to cherish this time when they're so dependent on me. It's hard, but I know I'll miss it when they're 13 and are embarrassed by everything I do!

Yay, time to put them in their beds and then put Mommy to bed... until the 4:30 feeding!

Daddy's New Schedule :-(

Today begins Daddy's shift back to his regular work schedule. BOOO!!! His company was awesome and let him work shorter days from the time the Girls were born through May. But, now it's June and back to the 8-5 days. Yuck! It was nice having him home for the 4:30 pm feeding. One good thing about his new schedule is weekends. Daddy was taking one day a week off and working on Saturdays instead. This weekend was his first full weekend home, and it was wonderful to have him here two days in a row. We'll have to see how our first full long week goes.

As a plus, I've hired one of my former students as a "Mother's Helper" two afternoons a week. She starts tomorrow and will be here for the end of the 12:30 feeding and the beginning of the 4:30. I can get some cleaning done, take a shower or a nap, or whatever. I think it's going to be a great sanity-saver!

Oh no! I completely forgot: time for Sam's juice! More later! :-)