Breastfeeding Triplets

It can be done.
Granted, there will be many hurdles to jump.

BUT...

it is possible.
Take it from me.
The girls got mommy milk until 13 months old.
Ian went all the way to 20 months.
And he chose by himself to give it up.
I think the peer pressure got to him.

After all, his sisters were getting milk in sippy cups.

*GASP*

That was that.
Fortunately, I was comfortable w/ his decision.
Not that I wasn't sad.
I did cry about a million & a half tears.
Most of it b/c it was the end of our breastfeeding relationship.
The other part b/c I knew I would never have this opportunity again.

I was reminded this evening by a great online friend, Renee,
how important this relationship was to me.
How much I sacrificed for my kids to get the goodies from mommy.
She even wrote a little shpeel about it on her blog.

Most triplet moms don't even think it is possible.
Some run in to supply issues.
Others run in to health issues.

I can speak from experience.
I had mastitis a total of ELEVEN times in 16 months.
Yes, you read correctly.
And if you have had it, you know what I sacrificed to keep going.

This battle was in my heart.
I already gave my children a disadvantage by knowing they would be born premature.
This was my way to give them back a little something.

If you doubt the fight is worth fighting,
I encourage you to find a La Leche League near you.
They are a wonderful support group.
If anything, they will provide a comfortable environment where you can ask questions and receive educated answers.

If in doubt, just know that this triplet momma,
that didn't have a nanny and did days by herself,
could manage to breastfeed and pump over 90 oz of milk
on a daily basis so if you think you can't...

YOU CAN.

Big Dislike for July

I haven't posted much.
The reason being?
Our house is full of ickies.

It started with Gabi and walking pneumonia.
You would think that should be enough.
Well, um...no.

Sofi started running a fever on Tuesday.
And since Gabi had a followup on Wednesday afternoon,
they decided to squeeze in Sofi as well.

No symptoms other than a fever.
Her throat was barely red.
Glands were swollen just a bit.
Nose was red & inflamed.
Dr. N even said it was likely to be viral.
BUT, she did a strep swab just in case.

You can probably guess the outcome.
Yep, strep throat.
She has been running a fever on & off since Tuesday.

Great fun.
Then it got more interesting.
Ian started w/ a cough on Thursday.
It sounded croupy on Friday.

Off to Dr. N we went on Friday morning.
And the boy tested negative for strep.
So, he has a virus.

She even said it was likely that Sofi had the virus on top
of the strep throat.
Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Being couped up inside for all this time is no fun.
No fun for the kids,
and most definitely no fun for momma.

God please let this end soon.

Dance Class

It is hard to find anything affordable for the kids.
Times 3 makes things very expensive.
So, when this new dance studio opened up close to home,
I didn't get my hopes up but called anyway.

Turns out, they do a tiered tuition.
This means the 1st pays normal but every kid after goes down a tier.
I was so excited!
All I had to do was get the hubs on board.

I talked to the owner, she is a great gal.
She is also the teacher.
We talked about all the classes.
The decision was to put them in Creative Movement/Tap.

We go on Wednesdays at 9am.
Our first class was yesterday.
You should have seen the excitement of the kids.
It was the cutest.thing.ever.

They are still talking about it.
And I have to say, they were fairly good in class.
Eh hem...Ian had to proclaim his Buzz Lightyear-ness & do so every 5 minutes by getting up, spreading his "wings"& running around the studio.

I know it will get better in time.
This is such a good activity for them.
I can't wait until their 1st recital.

And don't you think I didn't take photos!

It was hard getting a decent photo before we left.


Out of the car & in to the studio...


Yep, I made the ballet wrap skirts & the tulle ponytail holders.


Checkin' out the studios...


Putting up our backpacks w/ our shoes in them.


I love this shot of my Sofi...


Warming up :)


Let's get the show on the road!


Sofi had to help Ian a bit.
That's my Sofi...aka, Boss Lady.


Ian LOVED the tap portion.
They were marching & making lots of noise!


After all was done, we had to run to the grocery store.
I thought this was a cool photo.
A complete oxymoron of sorts.
The harsh metal cart & my beautiful Gabi.

Bronchitis/Walking Pneumonia

Sorry for my extended absence.
Gabi started running a fever on Sunday.
Never got over 101.
Meds took care of it during the day.
The fever would disappear at night.

But, it would always come back.
9ish every morning.
Very frustrating.
Especially since she had NO.OTHER.SYMPTOMS.

Seriously, nothing.
She had been acting completely normal.
Then came the slightest of coughs.
Nothing that would alarm you.
Nothing you would even notice, if there wasn't a fever.

By Wed, when the fever finally decided to go up to 102,
it was time to put in a call to Dr. N.
I said, "We are probably coming in for you to tell us it is a virus."
And the nurse said that's what it sounded like.

So, off we went.
Gabi & I.
Dr. N started listening to her lungs.
Kept asking Gabi to take deep breaths.
And then she looked at me.

"I hear wheezing. Left lung."

Huh?
What?
Excuse me?
Can you please say that again?

She said she definitely had bronchitis.
Probably a touch of walking pneumonia.
Caught early.

Um, thankyouverymuch.

Now on antibiotics & an inhaler,
albuterol, on a regiment, she is on the mend.

She is still acting completely normal.
The only time you know something is wrong is
when she runs for a bit & starts to cough,
trying to catch her breath.

It has been a very, very long week.
Waking up twice a night to fight a 3 year old
to take inhaler puffs, not so much fun.
Fever care, not so much fun.
Restless sleep, not so much fun.

Reminds me of the days when they were itty bitty.

Aye.

Sofi is recovering well!

The procedure took 26 minutes.
I'm not even sure she was asleep for that whole time.
That's just how long we weren't with her.

It was that quick.
And now she has a new belly button.
Yesterday she was very uncomfortable.
She didn't want to walk or straighten out.

We have kept up w/ her pain meds, as suggested.
It seems to keep the discomfort away.
I think by this evening, we will have her on ibuprofen.

She seems to be doing very well with it.
She wasn't even afraid when they took her away.
Todd & I really worked on not making a big deal out of it.
We told her she was going to get a new belly button.

She chose to have a PINK one & made sure Dr. B knew.
Nina, the anesthesiologist, came to explain to Sofi that she
was going to breathe in pixie dust & feel like she was flying.

The mask even smelled like bubble gum.
And had glitter.
AND...was full of stickers!

She thought it was the coolest.thing.ever.
They also gave her a teddy bear & Dora stickers.

This girl was in Heaven.
I'm telling you, she loved the attention!

She was wheeled out to recovery & we were literally back there
within a minute to see our baby girl.
She wasn't crying too much although she was fussy.
Todd cuddled her a bit & then I picked her up & rocked her.

After we felt she was "awake" enough, it was time
to get her in the car and home to rest.
She fell asleep in the car, after some apple juice & a few crackers.

From that point on, it hasn't been too difficult.
Gabi & Ian have been very attentive to their sister.
They understand she can't play.
And because she isn't allowed to climb stairs,
we have an air mattress downstairs that she & I slept on last night.
Daddy was on the couch, not too far away.

Not a bad experience at all.
Thank God!

Surgery for Sofi

This is going to be short.
She has a very small herniated belly button.
Not really anything that is a big deal.
We were hoping it would close on it's own.

It didn't.
Go figure.

After a 2 year wait, we are having it fixed.
Tomorrow at 8am, we will be at the surgery center.

Please say a little prayer for the surgical team,
for my little girl,
& maybe a couple for Mommy & Daddy.

Oh, and how in the HELL am I suppose to keep her from
playing for the next 2 days?
And no climbing?
Or taking the stairs?
GEEZ...someone give me a tranquilizer.

4th of July

What a different it makes when they are this age!
I'm totally serious.
Not only did they have a blast outside most of the day,
they were well behaved.

We had quite a few peeps come over for Todd's famous smoked brisket.
Can I just tell you that my man can cook some meat!?!
Apparently everyone else thought so too.
They kept coming back for 2nds & 3rds!

Luckily, we were able to spare a bit of meat.

Here is the day in photos...

Diva Sofi...stiking the same pose as Minnie


The kids finally have enough balancing skills to get on the hammock together.


Gabi & me playing soccer w/ a volleyball, oops!


Love for the smoker & for Todd cooking the bestest brisket!


The force is strong with this one...





Loads of water fun.




And then the brisket was done...ready to be wrapped!


Our monsters in their 4th of July garb!
The girls' dresses are from Upcycle Me Crazy.
I made Ian's cutie shorts!


We hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July!
Looking forward to next year.