Pretty sneaky Sis...

Notice the sly grin on Lily's face...Could she be up to something???"Quick... He's not looking, maybe if I slide it this way real slow..."

"What the...?"

"Ha, Ha...Mom gave me another one!"

Dad and Jack enjoying a little tummy time at the end of the day'

Jack trying his hardest to show Bennie how it's done. Unfortunately Bennie has immediately face planted into the cushion and can't see. Typical.

Now does she look sneaky at all? Looks can be deceiving!

Happy Easter!

It just isn't possible for them to get any cuter!

Well, Easter didn't turn out quite as we had planned. This was to be our first outing to somewhere besides the pediatricians office. We were going to Nonnie and Poppie's house! Everyone was quite excited and looking forward to it. I was, of course, worried we would forget some very important piece of baby junk. It was not meant to be, however. Poor Poppie got sick so we decided not to risk it. Brian threw together an impromptu Easter dinner of pork ribs (yum!), we dressed up the babies anyway, and took lots of pics.

Pretty Lily in her girly-girl dress.

Jack posing for the picture.
Bennie and his double chins.
Thanks to my Mom and Dad for spending the night and spending Easter with is. These pics are from my Mom, I'm too lazy to download my pics. Poppie-we missed you so much, and hope you get well fast. To everyone else...we will be planning another outing soon.

Oh yes...News from the Doc.

We went to see Dr. Hopkins on Friday and he was so happy with how well the babies are doing. Here are the current weights/heights:

Lily

24 1/2 inches long and 14 lbs 6 oz. She's in the 50-75th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for weight!!! Go Lily!

Jack

25 inches long and 14 lbs 6 oz. He's in the 50-75th percentile for height and the 25-50th percentile for weight. Better watch out, Jack, their catching up to you!

Ben

Here's the BIG surprise. Ben has taken the lead. That's right...He weighs the most! Only by one ounce...but still the biggest!

24 1/2 inches long and 14 lbs 7 oz. He's apparently a tad short so he's only in the 5-10th percentile for his height but he's in the 25-50th percentile for weight. He has been working really hard to catch up.

In case any of you are wondering what the percentiles mean, here's a refresher. Percentiles are the most commonly used way to compare the size and growth patterns of children. They rank the position of one child by comparing them to other children their age. So, when they are in the 25th percentile for weight this means that they weigh the same or more than 25 percent of other kids their age and weighs less than 75 percent. Obviously that means that the higher the percentile the better. So, they are doing great considering they were born almost 7 weeks early and they are being compared to other babies their age who were born full-term. Yeah!

I wanted to leave ya'll with two more pics. I've had more than one person say to me that poor Lily will have to put up with two boys picking on her for the rest of her life. As you can see below she is doing a fine job taking care of herself. Notice how sweet and cute she looks in the first picture. Then notice what she's doing in the next pic. Pretty sneaky sis. (please disregard my bad hair, I decided to sleep longer instead of fixing my hair...)

Updates...Updates...

Here's a run-down of the current situation around the Rogers' household.

Well, since they pretty much only eat, play, and sleep...(get it?)...we'll touch on each topic.

Eating:

Fantastic...Easy cheesy...Right on track! I think that pretty much sums it up. They love, love, love to eat thank goodness. About 6-8 weeks ago they just turned a corner. Eating was no longer hard. Gone are the days of leaky mouths, sleeping through meals, spitting out, and refusing.

Would you believe that Ben is now eating up to 6 1/2 oz each feeding? My littlest guy is now my very best eater. He is working so hard to catch up to his brother in weight. Lily eats around 5 1/2 to 6 oz each meal and Jack is hanging out at a good solid 5 to 5 1/2 oz each time. I can't believe they came home from the hospital eating 40 ml. That's just a tad over an ounce. They have just made such great progress...it is amazing to think about it. There were times that feeding was a struggle but now it is just a breeze. It's completely possible to feed all three at once by propping their bottles up and burping them at the end.

We made the switch to the Born Free glass bottles a couple of months ago. The main reason was because of all of the fuss in the news about a chemical in some plastic bottles that could possibly lead to developmental delays and neurological impairments. Who knows if this is even possible, but we made the switch anyway just for peace of mind. There are a million things out there that could go wrong, huh? It wasn't that big of a deal to change so we did...and the babies really like the bottles. The switch was so easy, which was unbelievable considering all of the problems we had early on. We were using Avent and Playtex Ventaire bottles which both contained the chemical. Besides, my friend Caroline is very proud of us for being ecologically friendly now. Good for us!

AND, they just continue to grow, grow, grow! We go for their 4 month check-up next Friday and I can't wait to see how much they weigh. My best guess is between 14-15 lbs. They have graduated to size 2 diapers! It's really funny to look at their preemie diapers compared to their big kid diapers. They are now wearing size 3 month clothes!

They will also be receiving their first round of shots next Friday. Yuck. I'm a little nervous. We opted to wait until their adjusted age to get their shots. So because they were almost 7 weeks early we are getting their 2 month shots at four months. I've also requested that we follow an alternative vaccination schedule. I really do believe that it is important to vaccinate children against dangerous diseases, we just want to be a little more cautious because there could be side effects. It's tough when one baby gets vaccinated, but having 3 uncomfortable all at one time might be terrible. So instead of getting 4 vaccinations we will be getting two and then going the following month to get the other two. By only giving two vaccines at a time we hope to decrease the chances of a chemical overload from grouping so many chemicals all together at once. This allows their little bodies to adjust better. It will also only give one live-virus vaccine and one aluminum-containing vaccine each time. This will also make it easier to figure out what vaccine they are reacting to, if a reaction should occur. You can go to http://www.fitpregnancy.com/vaccines_autism_alternative/yourbaby/1205?subsection=baby_health_development to see the list.

Playing:

Fun times for all. Their very favorite pastime is hanging out in their play gym. Everyone is swatting away at toys. They are grasping things you put in their hands. I caught Ben the other day grabbing at his elephant's ear. He was completely amazed that he could do this and it was really funny watching his face.

They have discovered how fantastic hands and fingers are in their mouth. Again, Ben is SO funny to watch. He will have both hands fisted directly in front of his face and will look back and forth at them. I can just hear the commentary running in his head. "Get in my mouth, dammit...Come on, get in there...Ouch...you stupid fist you hit me in the eye...Ouch...that's my cheek...Ouch that hurt...Get in there...yes, yes, closer...YES!!! It's in my mouth...AHHHHH...it fell out...Ouch it hit me again....." I guess you get the point. It's pretty freakin' hilarious. Everyone is also great at grasping their hands together.

Tummy time is going great! Jack is by far the best. He can get all the way up on just his forearms and look around for a long time. Lily is second best because she lacks a little endurance. Ben, not as great...but we are working on it. He likes to give up and just suck on his hand. Oh well, he'll get there. I swear I thought Lily was going to turn over the other day. She had the rocking motion down and kept kicking with one foot. She almost had it. I even got the camera out to record it. However, she got worn out and gave up. Maybe next time...

The two things we absolutely cannot live without: First, the mirror. My children are vain. I can't imagine who they got it from? They love, love, love staring at themselves. Second, the swing. Thank God for that swing. Wake up early from a nap??? Go to the swing! Feeling a little fussy??? That's right...swinging will cure that too. Hungry, but it's not time to eat! Fill up on some swingin'. This is truly a miracle invention. Thank you to all of you people who gave us swings!

The other favorite thing? The bumbos. This is my favorite picture right now. How stinkin' cute are these guys? I mean look at Lily! She's having a blast! My sweet babies. And yes, they are as sweet and fun as they look!

And the smiles... They can light up a room. Every smile is like a wonderful little gift they give us. They are cooing and I swear they chuckle every now and then. One of my favorite things is to peek over the crib at Lily after she wakes up from a nap and say "Lily Bug...Where's my smile?" She gives me this HUGE grin that just melts my heart. This is what it's all about, my friends. This is so worth the 95 lbs, the bedrest, the c-section, the high blood pressure...you name it I would do it all and more.

Sleeping:

I'm happy to say we are doing o.k. in this department. Pause for a second while I find some wood to knock on... Both the babies and Mommy are getting a lot more of the good stuff these days. Here's how it goes down: Brian does the 5:30 a.m. feed by himself while I get off of the couch and move to a bed somewhere. The babies go directly back to bed after this feed and sleep until at least 8:30, sometimes as late as 9:30. This is my best time to sleep. They wake up, eat, play, then go down for a morning nap for about an hour and a half. Wake up at 1:30, eat, play, then nap again. This nap is a little touch and go, for some reason they just don't sleep as well then. This time in particular the swings are mighty handy. Eat again at 5:30, cuddle on the couch, down for bed by 7:30. Up at 10 to feed and right back to bed. We usually have to wake them for this feed and they are usually asleep by the end of it. I go to bed then. O.K., I camp on the couch outside of their room then. I was getting up about 2 or 3 for a "dreamfeed" where I don't wake them, change their diaper, or even burp them. I just fed them a few ounces in the dark and they snooze right through it. Until 3 nights ago when I decided to risk it and let them sleep. It hasn't been completely bump free, but we have had 2 nights now with no middle of the night feed. This is not to say I have been getting any more sleep at all...because that is not the case. There have been a few tears, but they have drifted back off to sleep after a little crying. Jack is my hero. He has completely taken to this and has no problem at all. Ben seems a little frustrated, but if all else fails the good old trusty swing works wonders at 4:30 in the morning. Lily screams bloody murder and it's hard to get her quiet...but I've managed to do it. This all leads to less sleep for me right now, but I'm hoping this will just be for a few days. Brian's back up at around 5:30 to feed them again and the day starts all over again.

I have made the shocking discovery that these babies NEED a bunch of sleep. While they may disagree rather loudly at times naps are not negotiable. If they don't sleep they are bears by the end of the day. This is when quiet time in the swings is priceless. The more sleep they get the happier they are. The secret also seems to be getting them to the bed before they are completely drifting off and sleepy. Who knew? When we figured that out things go easier. They do still cry and protest but it's getting so much better. Of course, this is a new week so they may choose to revolt as soon as I think I have it figured out.

Other news to report:

Jack is no longer a fusspants. Lily now has this title, maybe we should say fusskirt? That girl can wail. Jack will give up after a few minutes, but not Lily. The cry it out method sure doesn't work for her once she gets worked up. Fortunately, we can usually avert this by making sure she gets enough sleep.

Lily is stinky. I'm not sure where it's coming from, she is after all named after a flower? We call her stinky Lily. For reals. They all eat the same stuff, why is it so much stinkier when it comes out the other end? I just don't get it.

Jacks chins now have fat rolls. His little wrists have fat rolls. We call him Jackie Chin. It is adorable on him! He has big round eyes and the sweetest little face! Love it!

Bennie has had quite the belly on him now! He's really plumping up nicely. He's by far the hungriest little guy ever. He loves to eat. The last two nights when we skipped the night feed the first thing he does in the morning is SCREAM as if to say: "You forgot to feed me...how dare you!" I mean he is frantic. It's pretty sad actually.
I guess that's about it. I know it's a lot of news, but when you are a blogging slacker like me you have to try to fit it all in when you can. As for me, I'm settling in fairly well to this staying at home thing. Some days are better than others, but it seems like things are definitely getting better. I have frequent shots of reality that I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I'm doing the best that I can. I try to take a shower every day and I don't think I look too terribly frazzled by the time Brian gets home. I try to get a few projects a week done, but I also try not to put too much on my table. I am finding I have guilt about things I never thought I would, don't care at all about things I thought I would care about, and am finding a new sense of myself through this whole process. Some days seem long but the weeks are just flying by. I am also amazed at how well Brian and I are working together to get all of this done.

I do have a very special thanks to send out. If it weren't for all of our loved ones who chip in a few hours each week to help us out I would have no where near the clarity or sanity to take care of these little guys. Grandmother helped me get my feet back under me for weeks. Nana comes every week and gets the dog hair under control, folds laundry, and has even been known to get stains out of the carpet. Brian's parents are always up for some late night baby duty and my parents love to chip in and spoil the little guys as well. I get out a few days each week, can peruse WalMart and Target at my leisure, and Brian and I usually get out at least once every two weeks for a date. Sure, there have been some rough days, but when you know that you have help tomorrow or over the weekend it makes it a whole lot easier to get through a tough day. All in all we are doing a stellar job, I think. Keep up the good work guys!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

That's right. Another year older and supposedly another year wiser? Not sure about that today, check with me tomorrow. I thought I would dedicate this post to me. That's right...No babies. Just all about glorious me. I'm sure everyone is dying to hear about how I'm doing these days, right?

It's been one heck of a crazy year. This time last year I had just had an awful week. The reproductive endocrinologist had called off a cycle because I had an overreaction to the meds. I remember being heartbroken and really down about this. My whole infertility trip had been one step forward and two steps back. Little did I know that in about six weeks I would be pregnant. I had a terrible week at work. I had failed a student. It was one of the toughest decisions I had made professionally. I had many sleepless nights over this decision, but in the end the decision was made for me. The funny thing is if she had spent half as much time treatment planning, completing assignments, and putting things in charts as she did on revenge she would have been one of the best students I had ever had. Oh well, can't win them all can you?

Then I found out I was pregnant. Then I found out we were having triplets. Such a mix of emotions. I can say my fear outweighed my happiness at times. But we got through it and accepted that this was the path we were meant to take. This was a special thing given to us because we could handle it...and handle it we did. Looking back now I can still feel all of those emotions. Fear of the unknown. I was worried the babies would have complications, I was worried about the logistics of raising 3 kids, I was worried about quitting my job, and I was worried about how my body would handle it all.

I made it through it all. Quitting my much-loved job. Saying goodbye to the career I had worked so hard for, knowing that this was just a momentary pause and that I would be back someday. I got bigger by the second, I swear. We quickly finished renovations on our current house. We bought a new house. We moved. We had baby showers. It got harder and harder to get around. I became increasingly uncomfortable. Hip pain, ass pain, back pain, side pain, etc. You just can't be pregnant with three babies without experiencing a little discomfort.

Why, yes...that is one hell of a belly.

Then came the fateful day when I landed myself in the hospital. A month on bedrest spent in one bed. I honestly don't know how I did it, looking back. Actually I do, I had a lot of people praying for me. I know in my heart that gave me a peace to just grin and bear it because it really, really, really sucked. They were almost here twice and the process of keeping them in almost killed me. Then they were here...and they were perfect.

Less than an hour before delivery...Looking good! This is what 213 lbs looks like...

I had pregnancy induced hypertension which turned itself into pre-eclampsia. I had high blood pressure and they had to put me on meds. The meds were pretty tough. There wasn't a moment at the end that I didn't hear my heart beating LOUDLY in my ears. I snored. My nose was so stuffed up I had to wear breathe-right strips and stuff Kleenexes of Vick's Vapor Rub up my nose. I watched my feet and legs swell to epic proportions. I had pitting edema. I gained 95 lbs. The day I delivered I weighed a whopping 213 lbs. I weighed more than Brian. I stopped peeing. The babies came because my kidneys just stopped working right. I did not, however, get stretch marks.

The first time I held my little girl...





Then came the NICU stay, the c-section recovery, and we were home bound with 3 babies. I lost 55 lbs just with delivery. I still have 15 to go. We had no idea what to do. I still have no idea how we didn't break them, but we didn't. Today they are happy, fat, healthy little munchkins whose smiles light up the room. I have been blessed beyond my wildest imagination and cannot believe how lucky we are.

I am a Mom now. I am a stay-at-home Mom. I have no idea what I am doing. I'm winging it. I'm a little tired at times and Brian would tell you I get a little grumpy. I feel a little lost as to who I am now because all of this is new. I don't deal well with change, I'm a happy status quo kind of girl. My life has been riddled with nothing but change and I've had to learn how to handle it. Sink or swim. I kind of do a doggy paddle sometimes.

I am all about positive reinforcement. Good jobs, thank-yous, and recognition for my accomplishments. I was successful in school, met my professional goals yearly, and loved to take on lots of added responsibilities. I got raises and promotions. I was respected by my peers.

I'm noticing quickly that these darn babies haven't said thank you once for the fact that I get up in the middle of the night and feed them. The nerve. I'm worried that I see a pattern developing here. They just expect me to do all of these things without getting anything in return? No pats on the back? Wait a minute...this is simply not how I work. I need recognition for all of my good deeds. Huh.

I'm also noticing that my heart is more full of love each day. Just looking at those sweet chubby faces can bring me to tears. They are amazing in every way. They are pure perfection. I am the luckiest person in the world to spend each and every day with them. We play, they smile, I sing, and they look at me like I am the best thing in the whole world. I guess I'll count that as my positive reinforcement!

This is the most important job I will ever have. I REALLY want to be good at this. I want more than anything to raise children who are self-assured, happy, smart, and have a sense of humour. All the while keeping mine...and keeping my sanity. There are about 10,000 different books on how to do that, and I'll probably attempt to read about half during their childhood. Of course, real idiots have raised successful kids. I'm not an idiot. Surely if I go about this as I have other endeavors I will have some moments of clarity and direction along the way. I know I will have a lot of caffeine anyway. Maybe I'll have some sort of stimulant-induced epiphany?

Me and my boys...

So here's to a new chapter. This is so different. I'm a little scared sometimes. I'm sure I'm feeling the same emotions that many Moms have over the years. It's a completely different way to look at myself. Don't worry, I'll get it. I haven't outright failed at anything yet. Oh dear, I guess there's always a first time. I hope Brian has patience with my moodiness. It stems from my attempts to overcome my self-doubts. That's a new feeling for me, you know. I've always been pretty sure about myself. Pretty sure about what I'm doing and why. Not so much now. I hope he doesn't lose faith in me and wonder if I have any idea at all what I'm doing. More than any other time in my life I need him to be the one to give me the thank yous, the pats on the back, and the recognition I need. Don't worry, though...I will be training these kids to tell me how wonderful I am!

Do you think they are discussing a raise?


As I sit here on the eve of my 32nd birthday I've decided to make a few professional goals for myself for the next year. Some goals to set my sites on that don't have anything to do with sleep schedules, weight loss, or crying. Sorry for not sharing right now. In case I don't accomplish them I don't want anyone knowing. Sad but true.

"Help...she has no idea what she's doing!"