Meeting our new best friend & being on our own!

I was lucky to be pregnant at the same time as my best friend, Leslie. She & I were due only 3 days apart. Being pregnant together had always been a dream of ours. My only wish is that she had been in Texas rather than New Jersey. Well, she finally came down for a visit this past week & we got to meet each other's baby/ies. It was the best experience. We went from drinkin' wine & staying up late to pumping together in the middle of the night, LOL!

The kids seemed to enjoy each other well enough. In the picture, they are in order from left to right...Sofi, Ryan, Gabi, Ian.

Ryan & Ian sharing the bouncy chair. Aren't they cute?

In other triplet related news, we are back to rice cereal b/c BM & formula is just not holding them over much anymore. They have far exceded my capacity to keep up w/ them so we are back to 1 bottle of formula a day of the 5. I was a bit disappointed but I promised myself that I WOULD NOT beat myself up if I couldn't keep up w/ them. I have a feeling once we starting introducing more solids, they will return to about 24 oz of BM a day which is what I am producing per baby, actually a bit more. This time around, they don't seem really interested in the cereal. We are also giving a bit of prune juice to keep them from getting constipated. Let me tell you, IT WORKS! Hopefully they will take to eating it. OHHHHHH...Ian can actually grab his spoon & guide it to his mouth. It is so darn cute! I'm going to have to take a picture tonight. It is amazing!

We are all on our own again. My 13 yr old mother's helper quit on me w/o even a phone call. Not good but it is ok. Being on our own is nice in many ways. First, I don't have to worry about telling someone what to do & how to do it. Another thing is having someone in my house all the time which is fine in some respects but I like it w/ just the 4 of us. Don't get me wrong, my MIL is going to be coming over & I look forward to that as is my grandmother. Visits a couple of times a week are good & totally different than the same person being w/ you day in & day out. I have come to appreciate our solo moments together.

SOOOOO...how does a mommy do it on her own during the day? It isn't the most thrilling schedule but I make it work. Our feedings are methodical. B/c I am alone & Gabi is the best bottle eater, Ian is the one breastfed at the 9am & 1pm. I put Gabi between me & the back of the couch, prop a bottle & let her get down to business. Then I put her back in her bouncy chair, get Sofi & put her in the same place that Gabi was in. I prop her bottle but she doesn't make it the whole way w/o me having to hold it, especially towards the end. They have gotten to the point where they don't really need to be burped. So long as they get sat up straight, they manage to get the burps out on their own. Mind you, the whole time I am feeding the girls, Ian is on the breast. Sounds tricky but it isn't that bad at all.

Another situation that I had trouble w/ at 1st was how to manage pumping w/ 3 babies that were awake. Well, the 1st pump of the morning I put the babies in the bouncy chairs & let them play there. For the 2nd session, right before the 1pm feeding, I put them on the playmat & let them go as long as they can. Yep, that means I have to sometimes stop the pump, unhook & get a baby b/c they get tired of being under there BUT at least I don't feel guilty that they don't get enough play time. It stretches out the pumping session but I'm ok w/ that.

We have the same schedule, day in & day out. It does vary when I have visitors in the sense that the babies get more time w/ someone to play w/ them. Their nap times stay the same. We nap at 10am & that is also when I get my shower. Then they nap again at 2pm. These past few days, our naps & our night sleeping haven't been very smooth. I'm thinking that these little guys are starting to teeth. I can feel the ridge of Gabi's teeth on the bottom already. I think we are going to try Tylenol tonight to see if it helps get them back on their good sleeping schedule. I can handle interrupted naps.

Here are a few more pics of the kids...

This is Ian holding his bottle all on his own. Notice my hands are not to be found!

This is Sofi in the exersaucer, something we have just started using. I have to stuff 2 blankets in there w/ them b/c it is still a bit big BUT they really enjoy being in it.

All 3 babies on the playmat together while I am pumping.

The follow pics are my attempt at being a photographer...HAHAHA!
Gabi w/ her signature BIG smile!


Sofi w/ a little bit of a smile.

The girls together...who said they were identical? Seriously, I found out that they don't have to look alike to be monozygotic (from the same egg/sperm).

Here is Ianchito & his killer smile! I've been trying to catch it on camera for a while!