Updates!

Okay, so it's been a while since I last posted. What's going on?

We had our first post-babies gathering. We had a cookout earlier in the month for our closest friends and their kids. We had 15 adults, 10 kids, 2 babysitters, a partridge, and a pear tree! It was lots of fun! The smartest thing I ever did was hire babysitters for the night. I really didn't have to worry about my Girls but could love on them when I had time. It was great!

Jessica and I went to Myrtle Beach last weekend. We had a great time! I'd tell more, but "What happens in Myrtle Beach stays in Myrtle Beach!" ;-)

The Girls are all HUGE now. I'm not sure how much they weigh (next Dr. visit is 9/13), but they seem so much bigger. Mary Beth, especially, is looking more like a kid and less like a baby all the time! They're all rolling all over the place and look like they'll crawl any second. They definitely notice each other and are so cute! We caught Mary Beth licking Delaney's head the other night. Before we got to her (we were bathing Samantha at the time), Delaney's head was SOAKED! Luckily, it was a bath night! Everyone is eating solids now. They take after their Mommy and LOVE food! So far the only thing they don't like is rice cereal. We switched to oatmeal, and now everyone is happy. Squash took a while for them to warm up to, but they eventually liked it. They love squash now, as well as sweet potatoes and peas. As I type this, Daddy is giving them their first tastes of green beans. So far so good...

We're all going to our first birthday party today. Our friends Morgan and Kenny's little boy, Duncan is having his first birthday party today. It should be fun! And, with all the babies in our group of friends, we better get used to it!!!

Anyway, I'd better shower while I can!

We enjoy the convenience of eating solid food...

We have a good friend who makes up song lyrics to closely mirror the originals yet speak to what's happening in the moment (a la Weird Al). Some of his favorites include "Why'd you have to go and make Ayden constipated?" ("Complicated" by Avril Lavigne) and the reference above: "We enjoy the convenience of eating solid food..." ("Solitude" by Edwin McCain). The Crowder Girls are beginning the process of solids!

So far we've started with Mary Beth. As the biggest baby, she is the most physical and, therefore, has the most neck control. She gets to be the guinea pig! She's been getting rice cereal twice a day this week. She doesn't really like it and still has a lot of tongue thrusting going on , but we're getting there. We're going to start Sam this Sunday and Delaney the next Sunday, probably. Delaney is still so floppy!

Our friend Carrie recommends oatmeal instead of rice cereal. She's one of those moms: the kind I sometimes aspire to be. She tastes everything that goes into her babies (food, formula, medicine, etc.). She can tell me, firsthand, that rice cereal tastes "iron-y" and that oatmeal is way better. I'm just not feeling the whole tasting baby food thing. I wish I was that...empathetic? It just goes to show that it takes all different kinds of moms and kids to make the world go round! Not better, not worse, just different.

Pa, Carrie, and I are going to a yard sale tomorrow. I'm hoping to pick up high chairs (seems like we're gonna need them soon!), another Exersaucer, and maybe a Jumperoo. Our house keeps getting smaller and smaller as we add all this baby stuff, but we're in a constant search for things that will keep babies entertained and happy. If they also keep them relatively quiet and stationary, all the better!!! I'm just not sure who decided yard sales have to start at 7:00 in the morning. I feel like I have to get there early so I get the best stuff, but WOW! That means I have to leave here at 6:30. I don't even have to get up that early if I'm feeding babies, and tomorrow's my day off! Oh well, I can always take a nap later. Tomorrow night should be fun: Jessica and Scott are coming over for a Games and Ice Cream night! Bobby and I realized we used to play board games almost every night, but haven't played even a quick card game since The Girls were born. So, we're going to actually stay up past The Girls' bedtime and act like adults with lives!!! We can pretend, right?!

All worth it...

The past few days I haven't felt 100%. Call it PMS or migraines or lack of sleep or stress or whatever, but I just don't feel like myself. But, when you wake up and see this...:

...it's all worthwhile. The Girls are getting cuter by the second. It's important for me to remember and to look at pictures like this from time to time. Especially now, when they're all supposed to be taking naps and they're all awake and two of them are crying!

We've planned our first big trip: all the Crowders are going to GG's in Virginia Beach for Thanksgiving! I can get my "Black Friday" shopping fix, and we can see some family and friends! I think GG has already started taking appointments for everyone to meet The Girls.

Before that, though, I've planned my first trip away from The Girls. Jessica and I are going to Myrtle Beach for the weekend in August. I think it will be awesome and can hardly wait. Yes, I'll miss my babies, but it will be nice to have some "Mommy Time," too!

That's about it for updates. We're in the throes of teething (none coming through yet, though!), and will start solids probably in the next few weeks. More later: Sam and Mary Beth are having a screaming competition!!!

WE HATE SHOTS!!!

The older the babies get, the harder it is to see them get shots! They look at you like, "Why are you doing this to me?!"...

Anyway, we all went to the doctor today for the Girls' four-month checkup. Everyone is doing well:

Delaney weighs 10 pounds 9 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. She is still the floppiest of the three and does not want to hold her head up yet. I keep telling her that the sooner she does, the sooner she can eat real food (Yay, peaches and squash!), but she doesn't care yet. Soon...

Mary Beth is our giant baby: She weighs 11 pounds 6 ounces and is 24 inches long! She is also now our best sleeper. We've stopped swaddling all the babies at night. As soon as you put Mary Beth down, she flips over onto her tummy. She sleeps for 4 and 5-hour stretches like that!

Samantha, who used to be the biggest baby, is now the smallest: She weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces and is 23 inches long. We're going to try her on another kind of formula with easier-to-digest proteins. Maybe that will help her eat more...

But, the doctor was pleased, and says we're doing a good job! Yay for validation!

Greetings From the Land of the Rested!

Our new schedule ROCKS! The Girls are still getting used to sleeping for so long, and it may require some tweaking, but it's definitely cool to only have one nighttime feeding! Daddy and I take turns, so the nights I'm not on duty I get as much as 9.5 hours sleep! Samantha doesn't like sleeping so much yet, and she's only slept the whole time once. But, I don't mind getting up so much now!

The Girls are much more vocal now. Samantha, especially, loves to grunt and squeal and make any noise she can! Delaney loves when you imitate the noises she makes. She thinks it's so funny! I really think she's German or French, because most of her noises are very phlegmy-sounding! Mary Beth "talks" the least, but is coming along. She is definitely the most physical of the three. She can roll over both ways, but rarely will roll from front to back. She LOVES to be on her tummy.

We go for the four-month check-up next week. I bet they weigh 12 pounds! (Probably between 10 and 11, but still!) I dread the shots, but love taking The Girls to the doctor. It's reassuring to hear a medical professional tell us we're doing an okay job raising our angels!

Time to find Mommy some lunch before the 11:30 feeding...

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!