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Friday, May 2, 2008

First-Time-Mommy Boot Camp


That is the reason I haven't been able to update at all. This week has been Mommy Boot Camp week. Todd went back to work on Monday & we have been adjusting to the new schedule. We have had help from his parents & mine to get through the week. Let me give you a snippit of how it goes starting w/ the 5pm feeding. That is when Todd gets home.

5pm ~ Todd & I feed the babies. Sometimes his mom is around to help. At some point after this feeding, we get to eat dinner on most days. I have had a couple of late night dinners by myself while making bottles though.

8pm ~ Todd & I feed the babies. He goes directly to bed & I stay up most nights until the 11pm feeding.

11pm ~ Todd & I feed the babies. Originally I was doing this one alone but w/ pumping, it makes it virtually impossible to do under an hour & 45 minutes. I was getting so tired that I was an emotional mess the next day. Not worth it so Todd started jumping in & it has gone well.

2am ~ Todd's dad arrives (yep, he is awake at that time so he drives over) & helps me w/ the feeding. It is so much better having a 2nd person there so I can pump & feed someone at the same time rather than doing it all on my own. After this feeding, I am off duty until 7:30am so I get to go to bed!

5am ~ Todd does this feeding either alone or w/ his dad. This is right before he goes to work so it works out nicely b/c he has had a block of sleep.

8am ~ Todd's dad has been around all week for this feeding also. God bless him! We do the feedings while I pump & are finished up by 9am. After they finish up, I put them in the Triple Decker stroller & we go for a 30-45 minute walk. It depends on how many times we are stopped during the walk. As soon as we get back, I have breakfast.

11am ~ Todd's mom comes in for the day & helps me w/ this feeding as well as washing bottles, doing laundry & any other little household chores. I also normally run out to do any errands right after this feeding. I have been able to get my returns done to Target & Babies R Us although I did forget 3 big things to return to BRU. Go figure but when you are in a hurry, you are bound to leave things behind!

2pm ~ I get back about an hour before this feeding & normally have to make bottles. Then Donna & I feed the babies. After this feeding, I get to do things around the house although time goes quickly. Sometimes Donna leaves at this point, other times she stays to help w/ the 5pm feeding.

5pm ~ We start the cycle all over again!

I do have the opportunity to shower at least once a day. Sometimes I jump in there a 2nd time to help let down my milk before I pump in the evening. It also gives me some much needed alone time to relax after a full day. Also, Todd has been able to nap between the 5pm & 8pm feedings a couple of times this week. He needs that sleep to be functional at work. Of course, we miss him here at home. I wish he could just stay home w/ me. We have so much fun together. He is an amazing father. Makes me fall in love w/ him all over again!

We made a big decision & moved the trio to their nursery. There was no point in keeping them in our room b/c we weren't sleeping in there. It has been an adjustment but now that they are in there, it is better. Todd & I actually get to sleep together for a couple of hours! It was weird at first to not have them in there but w/ all the little sounds they make, it is very difficult to get any kind of sleep. We were finding ourselves leaving the room to get an hour of uninterrupted sleep. Not fun! Ok, not only that but the nursery is so darn cute now that the cribs are in there that it is perfect & super cute!

Other than that, life is being lived in 3 hr increments. It is going by quickly. The trips will be 5 weeks old on Monday & their original due date is May 13th which is right around the corner. The girls are close to 7 lbs each & Ian is right around 6 lbs. They are growing quickly. It is still hard to believe that just over a month ago I was on bed rest & waiting for these babies to be born. WOW!

Here is a picture of about how many bottles we go through in a day. Yep, there are about 30 there & w/ the Dr. Brown bottles, there are all those parts too. I have to say that if you haven't dealt w/ any other bottles, the extra pieces are no big deal. Honestly, it is only 2 more than a regular bottle. Not only that but we tried Ian on some Evenflo glass bottles & his gas went out of control. We put him back on the Dr. Brown's & WAAAA-LAAAA! His gas has gone down considerably.


Oh, one last thing, Sofia was dx w/ acid reflux & is now taking meds to help her. Thank God for drs! She has become so much less fussy & is eating better. WOOOHOOO!!! Ok, time to relax. Bye!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

God love you. I stumbled upon your blog and am remembering your pain, to a degree. We have 5 year old twins, but have good friends with 5 year old triplets. You WILL survive. :) All too soon, they no longer need you in the middle of the night. It seems like it will never end... and then they go to kindergarten. :) Hang in there!
--Stephanie, TN
-ps- always say YES when someone asks if they can help! :)

Shasta said...

Awww! They look so cute snuggled on your chest. I'm so glad you have your in-laws to help you out!

Anonymous said...

Hey woman, it's Shannon. I'm de-lurking.

That pic of you with all 3 babies is amazing.

Yup, your days sound very full, I'm glad you've got family to help you guys out.

loren said...

That's so wonderful that you have so much help! Family can be an amazing (and inexpensive) asset if they're willing to help out. I laughed at the shower comment because I remember times when I wouldn't get a shower for three four five days! Oy.

Plus, the first three months were the hardest for us, so if you can get through that, it'll be smooth sailing.

Congrats on the healthy babies!

Anonymous said...

Holy crap-a-rooskies! That is a lot of bottles!