Happy Due Date!!!

It's July 31st, the boys' technical due date!!! To think, they should have been in here (up until today):

And instead, here we are with three happy, healthy near 6 week old bundles of joy!

(OK- maybe not always happy, but thankfully they're healthy!)

Here's some behind-the-scenes action from their photo shoot tonight:

Ultrasound/Current Picture Comparisons

I caught Will sucking his thumb a couple nights ago, which reminded me that we have an ultrasound picture of him doing the same thing in utero. At least I'm pretty sure we have a picture of him doing it. As I mentioned before, we were never told how they pulled the boys out during the c-section, but we're fairly confident they came out Crackle (Will), Pop (Griffin), and then Snap (Cooper). I put their ultrasound pics next to recent photos of them- and I definitely think we have the boys labeled correctly. Their profile pictures seem to match up! 

Snap/Cooper

Crackle/Will

Pop/Griffin

And here's the picture of Will sucking his thumb-

Lucky number 7!

These little cuties had a quick weight check in at the doctor's office on Monday!

Can you believe all 3 of our babies now weigh over 7 pounds each?!

Will has taken over as the front runner at 7 lbs, 6 oz. Griffin is right behind him at 7 lbs, 4 oz, and our "mini" Cooper is not so mini anymore! He gained a whopping 2 pounds over the past 2 weeks and is now 7 lbs, 3 oz! 

You can tell in these pictures that they are really starting to even out in terms of size, but Cooper still feels so much smaller than his brothers! Guess it's just a mental thing for us now as he's always been the smallest of our guys. 

Dr. Mace is really happy with how well they're gaining weight so we don't have to go back for another check up until their 2 month appointment. So that's great news. Bad news? All three have a diaper rash that has turned into a yeast infection (Cooper having the worst case- poor baby!  No wonder he's been fussy!) so we have a new diaper routine that involves not one, but two butt pastes- a prescription paste for the yeast infection followed by desitin for an extra barrier. And a mountain of wash cloths to thoroughly dry their bums before applying all the pastes. This new changing routine leaves them "exposed" longer than we'd prefer- we've had quite a few extra wardrobe changes thanks to overactive bladders and being out in the open for too long. We're trying out different techniques to be quick on the draw and avoid having to change their outfits (and our own shirts!) too often. If any other boy moms have ideas about how to stop/fend off this shower problem- I'm all ears!

All three are relatively patient with the longer diaper changes and you can tell that their bums are clearing up already, just 24 hours later. Cooper especially seems to be in better spirits, which is a relief. The poor baby had to be in pain as his bum was raw despite our best efforts to keep it clean and desitin-ed. We've upped his feeds to 3 oz since he's such a big boy now and his bum is healing so he's been much more mellow and has actually slept for long stretches at night! That's a win for all of us! 

Jokester

Hi, my name is Cooper, and I have many talents already! I'm a great eater, I'm super adorable, and I rock at tummy time. But one of my best talents so far is my impeccable comedic timing. I like pretending to sleep at night. Then I somehow magically know the exact minute that Mom and Dad think I'm going to actually sleep for a 3 hour stretch in the middle of the night, and are foolish enough to settle into bed for a nap. Silly parents! I choose that time to wake up and start screaming! And I don't stop crying until they hold me!

Ahahahaha!!!!! Isn't that funny? So now they take turns staying up with me all night long and I get lots and lots of one-on-one time with them. I'm actually a pretty smart cookie when it comes to having them to myself with two other brothers around. Mom and Dad say it's a good thing I'm so cute!!

This is the look of a baby who has his parents right where he wants them...

Video Dump

I just started my own YouTube channel so I can share videos of the boys more easily. While I was uploading all the videos from my phone I came across a few that we took while we were in the hospital with them and thought I'd share them here. They've already changed so much since these videos were taken just a few weeks ago!

Meeting Griffin in the delivery room:

Meeting Cooper for the first time:

Griffin in the NICU:

Will in the NICU:

Holding Will for the first time:

Kangaroo care with Cooper:

After dinner "chat" with Griffin:

Will rolls over!

It seems that every time I leave the house for a quick errand, I get a text from Will that baby Will has rolled over from front to back. I have yet to see him do it in person, but Will caught it on video for me tonight. Way to go baby boy!

First Walk!

We finally had a chance to take the boys on a walk this evening thanks to cooler temperatures- their first outing outside the house that didn't involve the doctor's office! Will and I enjoyed getting out of the house for a bit of exercise and fresh air, and the boys did great in the strollers. 

Unfortunately the heat is supposed to return tomorrow so we're likely going to be housebound again for the next week or so- all the more reason we're happy to have had the chance to get outside this evening!

Our little Pigpen

This kid- his face is ALWAYS in a dirty state. We wipe his face constantly and minutes later? Dirty again.  I'm not sure how he manages to be so much messier than his brothers!  He's still adorable, even when his face is covered in old milk and spit up.   

One Month Olds!

Our babies are a month old today!! Whoa! It's still so strange to think that technically they shouldn't even be born yet, but they are all thriving here at home!

Some updates on each baby:
Will:

Will is, for the most part, a laid back little guy. He gets fussy when he's hungry, but other than that he's pretty content most of the time. He is our big eater- we never have to worry about whether he will finish his bottle or not. He is not a fan of being burped before his bottle is done and will try like crazy to move his head back to the bottle until we put it back in his mouth. He is also the one we have to be most wary of during diaper changes. If you don't move fast enough, you'll be cleaning up more than just his diaper!  He tolerates tummy time but doesn't love it. Daddy watched Will roll over from his stomach to his back during tummy time yesterday! He likes to shuffle around in his crib, too. We will put him down in the middle of his crib, and when we go back to check on him, he'll be toward the bottom.

Griffin:

Griffin is our mover- he is constantly waving his arms and legs around. We love watching him in his crib from our Drop cam- it looks like he's directing traffic or conducting a symphony. He is a very slow eater. He always finishes his bottle, but he takes at least twice as long as his brothers. Luckily he's a patient, relaxed baby because his slow bottle feeds means he's often the last to eat during feeding time. He doesn't get upset too often...but when he's mad- watch out! He has a set of pipes on him! His cry is very gravelly sounding with high-pitched squeals interspersed. Even though he doesn't cry very often, we hear Griffin a lot as he is often grunting. Griffin is the laziest about tummy time. He quickly learned that he can sleep comfortably on his tummy, and has no problem dozing while his brothers squirm. He's our little Pig Pen- his face is ALWAYS dirty, even within minutes after bath time. And he's our night owl who usually is wide awake beginning around 10:00 pm.

Cooper:

Our little mini Cooper has arguably the largest personality of the group so far. He is not shy about letting us know when he is unhappy. Unfortunately he's most often unhappy between the hours of 10:00 pm and 5:00 am, which means we spend a lot of the overnight hours trying to get him to sleep. He's completely content as long as he's being held...which has led Will to start calling him Coddled Cooper. He is a great eater, and has recently started being more vocal during his feeds, just like his brothers. Cooper seems to have the hardest time digesting his meals- he spits up a lot and you can tell when he's having gas pain from his uncomfortable cries. We have him on gas drops with each feeding to try and help work some of those issues out. He continues to be the best at tummy time, even if he's often mad that we're making him do it. He doesn't quite grunt in the same way that Griffin does, but he makes lots of little squeaks while he's hanging out in his crib.

At one month old, we are:

• Feeding them about every 3 hours- sometimes they go longer between feeds, sometimes they go shorter. Will and Griffin take 80 mLs at each feed, while Cooper takes between 70 and 75 mLs...so roughly 2 1/2 ounces per baby per feed.
• Pumping every 3-5 hours, depending on the time of day. I'm pumping on average about double what we need for each feeding, so we're building up quite a stockpile of frozen milk for when I return to work.
• Going through one canister of formula a week. We are supplementing my breast milk with formula for 2 feedings a day to help the boys get additional nutrients and calories.
• Attempting to breastfeed all three of them at least once a day
• Going through roughly 30 diapers a day and a pack of wipes every couple days
• Bathing them twice a week
• Doing at least one load of laundry a day. Fortunately we have a large capacity washing machine and baby clothes are small so we can fit a lot in one load!
• Trying to do tummy time every day
• Loving our time with these cuties!

Meeting the family

The boys have held quite a few meet and greets in their short almost 4 weeks here. Thought I'd share some pics of them meeting their relatives!

Aunt Sue hanging with Cooper while he was in the NICU- her first time holding one of the babies:

Grandma Marie holding Will for the first time while he was in the NICU:

Aunt Cari helping with Griffin's care in the NICU and then snuggling with Cooper at home:

Will hung out with both his Papas in the past few days- 

He learned quickly that Papa Wingard makes a cozy nap spot:

And had a nice post-lunch chat with Papa Mason:

Grandma Kelly already mastered the double baby hold with Griffin and Cooper:

They also "met" Uncle Andy and Aunt Sandy in California via FaceTime!:

Aunt Molly was the newest member of the family to spend time with the boys. She had her hands full with all three before she left:

We still need to meet Uncle Shaughn- hopefully soon! And we look forward to meeting all our cousins in a couple months once we're older and have stronger immune systems! They will have a lot of fun growing up with older cousins to play with! We're lucky to have so many family members who are already doing a great job of spoiling our little guys! There's no shortage of love for these baby boys!

Not-so-professional photo shoot

I have a newfound respect for infant photographers! We tried to do a photo shoot with the boys yesterday in their cute little newborn stat shirts that their Aunt Sue had made for them..epic fail. It is almost impossible to get a 3 1/2 week old baby to cooperate with his mom's photographic visions! I had such grand ideas for adorable photos- sans the pacifiers and sleeping peacefully with slight smiles on their cute little faces. The boys had other ideas. They're still cute, just not as "Pinteresty" as I had hoped! Here are some of the outtakes:

Pre-bedtime hanging out

Some of them seem more OK with their cozy position than others...

Growing boys

On our way home from our pediatrician's appointment and happy to report that all three boys are growing nicely! Cooper gained a whopping 9 ounces over the last week and is now weighing in at 5 lbs, 3 oz, Will is now 5 lbs, 10 oz, and Griffin remains our heavyweight at 6 lbs, 1 oz!

One thing about having triplets is that people remember you. The pediatrician office is in the same place as my OB so several folks stopped us to see the boys as we headed to the doctor. From the door man who helped me up and down the stairs when Will would drop me off during my mega pregnant days, to the front desk staff of the OB office who remembered that the boys' nicknames are Snap, Crackle, and Pop, everyone was very excited to meet the boys! Even one of the MFM docs who saw us once stopped on her way to lunch to get a look at the babies. She saw us from a distance and figured it had to be us when she counted 3 car seats. We were also stopped by non-familiar people, too. Folks are fascinated by triplets! It's kind of fun watching the sight of three babies register with them. It takes a second, but then they just stare. Some people asked is about them, but most people just stare. Admittedly it is slightly uncomfortable to know that we're getting a lot of attention, but then I remind myself that WE'RE not getting a lot of attention, my cute babies are. And that's ok. Thankfully everyone has been respectful and have kept their distance from them- just looking from afar and not trying to touch them! Grateful I haven't had to go mama bear on anyone and yell at them to not touch!

Another treat for us at our appointment today was a quick visit from my colleague Ali, who came bearing gifts of food! Very thankful to my office who signed us up for takethemameal.com. The "meal service" was set to begin today and it worked out that we could save Ali a trip out to our house by meeting her at the doctors office. Score for both of us! She brought meals from both her and another colleague so we're set for the next several days. I really do have such great coworkers! 

And finally, remaining grateful that our boys are good car riders! They haven't eaten in 5 hours but have barely made a peep the whole drive home. I know we're about to have some hungry babies in about 5 minutes!!

Aren't their blankets adorable? One of Will's friends from college sent those to us last week. I love them so much! 

And a quick pic of their awesome outfits- we have some future legends on our hands!! Thanks Aunt Sue and Avery for picking them out for us!! (I was staunchly against the boys being "matchy matchy" while I was pregnant...but darn it if they aren't adorable when they all wear the same thing!)

So fresh and so clean

The boys had their first baths at home today. Will and I weren't particularly excited to give them one since their belly buttons and circumcisions are both still healing. But we decided they couldn't be stinky for forever so we picked today as the day to get them cleaned up.

It was an assembly line, start to finish. Will would get each baby down to their diaper then hand him off to me. I'd put baby in the tub, take off the diaper then get them washed. Then I'd wrap baby up in a towel, hand back off to a Will who would dry him and then do some skin-to-skin time to warm them back up. Then I'd get that baby dressed while Will undressed the next baby and the process began again. We purposefully bathed them right before feeding time since we thought a warm bottle would help warm them back up. All in all our process worked well and we had all three cleaned in a relatively short amount of time. Bonus for me- no shots of urine to my face while I was bathing them! 

They look adorable with their hair all downy and fluffy again. And they smell great now, too. I would say bath time was a success!

Will was first up- he did OK despite what this picture shows:

Post-bath cuteness

Next up was Griffin, who barely made a peep despite mom forgetting to re-warm his bath water:

His hair was SUPER fluffy after his bath

And finally Cooper who also did well- he tried to eat my hand the whole time:

More post-bath cuteness

The whole clean gang (Cooper was the last one to get his bottle, hence the gnawing on Griffin's arm)