What did you say?!?

One thing Micah and I have had to adjust to with having triplets is the amount of attention that we draw when we go anywhere with Alexis, Jack, and Faith. Micah and I are not attention seekers so sometimes this is hard for us, but we are getting used to fielding questions and smiling back at stares especially as we go out more often now that the sick season is over. Micah and I went to school with triplets so I don't think we would have gone crazy if we saw triplets out and about as it seemed somewhat normal to us, but some people are downright obsessed with multiples and the comments they make and questions they ask are quite surprising to me. We often get the comments "you are blessed," "you have your hands full," and quite a few people telling us that they are twins themselves. We also get a lot of rude questions such as "are they natural," "do multiples run in your family," and other things that are basically asking whether or not we did fertility treatments. But here are a list of questions and comments that in my opinion are downright ridiculous!

• "Do you get any sleep?".... Do I really look that awful? Sometimes I'm sure I look pretty tired since I'm running around taking care of three babies all day, but they are 10 months old not newborns, so yes we get sleep.

• "Are they identical?".... I just told you I have two girls and a boy, so how would that even be anatomically possible?  

• "The boy looks smaller. Is the boy younger?".... I just told you they were triplets so I don't understand how that would be possible. 

• "Can I take a picture?".... These are our children not our pets and I don't know you, so NO. I honestly cannot believe people ask us this like we are an exhibit at a zoo.

• "I don't know what I would do if I had triplets.".... Some people act like this is the worst thing that could have happened to me and they are downright wrong. Our children are amazing and although having three babies at once has its challenges, we love each of them.

• "You don't look like you carried triplets.".... What does someone that carried triplets look like? I didn't know there was a specific look or body type. I guess this is a compliment saying I have lost the weight, but I feel like it's a really strange thing to say to someone.

• "I thought twins was bad.".... Having triplets is not a curse and it's not "bad." Honestly.

• "I'm jealous." .... This is just as strange as saying it's a bad thing to have multiples as this person obviously isn't thinking about all of the challenges of not only carrying three babies in utero but also taking care of three babies at the same time.

• "I feel bad for the boy." .... People say this ALL of the time and I definitely don't get it. Because he has two sisters? Because he doesn't look like Alexis and Faith since they're identical? Because his automatic playmates are girls? Triplets are just like any other siblings. They are individuals who may or may not play together through the years and I'm sure he will be a great husband someday since he will most likely understand girls in general better than most guys do.

• "Do you take care of them yourself?!" .... Why is this so hard to believe? Micah comes home after work and helps out, but other than that and family visits I think I do just fine alone most days. 

• "I can't wait until they have hair." .... Okay, only one person has actually said this to me but I still don't get it. She was a random customer at Costco so I doubt we'll ever see her again. And aren't they just as cute with their short, blond hair? I certainly think they are!

So if you ever see someone out with triplets just smile or say the babies are beautiful. You might be curious about how a mom takes care of them alone or whether or not the triplets were spontaneous, but no one would ask a mom with a single baby these questions so just accept the fact that every mom is doing her best and the path the parents took to get their beautiful baby (or babies) is not important.

Colorado Trip

I've heard many people say that vacation with an infant is not a vacation since you still have to take care of the baby, but once again I am happy to say that was not true for us. This past weekend we drove to the Denver area to visit Micah's sister's family and Micah's parents (who drove up from southern Colorado for the weekend) and I can happily report that I did not wash a single bottle piece all weekend which was a welcome relief to my dry, cracked fingers. Plus, Micah and I went out for a drink Friday night by ourselves and Saturday night with Micah's sister and her husband, and on Saturday afternoon the two of us went to an outlet mall alone since his parents were very willing to babysit. All of these things plus general help with the baby duties definitely made me feel like I was on vacation!

Traveling with infants, on the other hand, proved to be more difficult this time since Alexis, Jack, and Faith are much more mobile than they were in December when we did the six hour drive to Ouray, CO. The drive to Micah's sister's house should take 6.5 hours, but with our babes it took us 8.5 hours on the way there and 9.5 on the way back. So when I say it felt like a vacation I am only referring to Friday and Saturday since we didn't travel on those days, but the drive was worth it to see family and have a bit of a break.

We left Thursday around 1:00 and drove 3.5 hours to Trinidad, CO. We planned our drive around the afternoon nap in hopes that all three would sleep extra long (usually they sleep for about two hours in the afternoon), but only Faith slept well. Jack was awake but content and Alexis was having a bit of a rough time during the last hour.

Our stop in Trinidad was actually a lot of fun as we found a grassy spot in the shade to feed bottles and play on a blanket. We then walked a few blocks to a restaurant where we had ordered takeout from and then walked back to our spot for a picnic (we had pizza and the babes had their purees). We were in Trinidad slightly less than two hours and then we hit the road for the last three hour stretch. The second half of the drive proved to be more challenging as the girls could not really get comfortable and sleep so Micah and I both did a lot of singing and I recited a couple of their favorite books a few times to keep the babes content for as long as possible. Although they did fall asleep eventually, every bump in the road seemed to wake Lexi up which she was not happy about. Around 9:30 we made it to our destination.

Stretching out after a 3.5 hour drive to Trinidad (l to r: F, A, J)

Picnic dinner (l to r: F, A)

Although we mostly just hung out at Micah's sister's house with the babes due to nap times and logistics, it was a lot of fun watching them interact with their older cousins (4.5, 2.5, and 16 months). The babes also had a lot of fun playing with their cousin's toys, hanging out with their aunt and uncle, and of course hanging out with Grammy and Grandpa.

Alexis exploring

Faith and Jack exploring

Cole pushed Alexis all the way to the frozen yogurt shop and back!

Cash showing Jack how the car works

Grammy with Faith and Archer

Jack and Alexis playing in the backyard

Jack loved this car!

Faith and Alexis with Micah

Jack, Alexis, and Faith with their Aunt Becca on her birthday

L to R: Cole, Jack, Cash, Faith, Archer, Lexi

It was hard to get them to sit still and smile for a pic. Cash was the most difficult to get to sit still at 16 months so I guess it will be hard to get good pics of our trio soon!

Faith and Lexi with their Uncle James

The one thing I was most worried about going into our trip was how the babes would sleep not only in a different place but also in one room since we currently have them separated during naps and at night. I was thrilled that all three slept great, besides Faith waking up between 3:00 and 5:00 for an extra bottle which is the norm these days so we were ready for that.

Since we did not want to get home super late on Sunday, we decided to leave around 9:00 a.m. for our drive home. As it was the daytime and normally our babes drink bottles, eat solids, and spend quite a bit of time playing on the floor during the day, we knew we would need to stop more frequently on our way home. We ended up stopping three times (twice for bottles and once for solids), and sadly there was quite a bit of crying between the second stop and home, especially from Lexi. But the important part is that we made it safely and overall it was a great trip.

In Pueblo, CO, our first stop (l to r: F, J, A)

In Raton, NM, our second stop (l to r: J, F, A (behind))

J, F, A

J, F, A

In Las Vegas, NM, our third stop (F, A, J)

Happy to be home! L to R: Faith, Alexis, Jack

Now we are getting ready for our trip to Michigan in 11 days! We are hopeful that plane travel will be easier since we will be able to entertain Alexis, Jack, and Faith much more easily since we won't be driving and Micah's mom will be along which will give us a 1:1 adult to baby ratio.

First Easter

We really miss living by our families during a holiday, and yesterday was no exception. Although we Skyped with my family in Michigan for a bit yesterday (including my Grandma who is in her 90's so I can only imagine how incredible Skype seems to her!), sometimes seeing everyone together actually makes me miss being there even more as it is so apparent that we are here in New Mexico alone. We did receive one last minute Easter dinner invitation (thanks for thinking of us Kaytee and Jason!), but we turned it down as it takes a bit of planning for us to get out the door with three babes in good moods. It is definitely possible, but it means we need to manipulate the nap and feeding schedule a bit so we aren't stressed out by three cranky babes in public. Anyway, although we spent the day going to church and then had a quiet day at home, we decided we wouldn't spend the day working around the house which was a nice change since that's pretty much all we've done since we moved in. Micah and I even spent some time in our living room sitting on our new sofa!

I decided against buying new Easter outfits for the babes and making Easter baskets for them as we have so many other things to spend money on right now with a new house and travel plans, and I figured they wouldn't know the difference. We did go to church to celebrate the real reason for Easter which is more important than Easter baskets anyway.

But I did decide to take some pictures of the babes with plastic Easter eggs and we were surprised by how much fun they found the eggs to be! The eggs were actually the perfect size for picking up and banging together (or sucking on in Lexi's case) and everyone was sad when I took the eggs away! Here are some of the photos.

Left to right: Faith, Jack, Lexi

Faith

Jack

Lexi

Our Daily Grind

I wanted to write a post about our daily schedule since it seems to change so often and I don't want to forget what it was like at 10 months (8 adjusted). For the last couple of months we have been down to two naps a day and for the most part Alexis, Jack, and Faith nap at the same time. Of course sometimes one will wake up early (seems to be Jack lately), but this current schedule has made it much easier for me to plan our days and to start doing social activities now that the sick season is coming to an end. Of course I always wish there was more time in a day to get stuff done, but I've been realizing that Alexis, Jack, and Faith are pretty easy babies and we are able to do quite a bit while we also spend a good amount of time playing with them.

Here is our typical day:

7:00 - Wake up to one or more babies crying. If I was smart and went to bed earlier I would set my alarm so that I had a few minutes to myself before the babies started waking up, but I tend to stay up doing things that I want to do at night so getting up earlier than I have to never sounds good.

7:15 - After I get all three babies out of bed and diapers changed (and I have put in my contacts and brushed my teeth), I feed the first round of bottles. These days this means they Faith and Jack are in their Rock n Plays and Alexis is on the floor with pillows, and I prop their bottles.

7:30 - Make three trips downstairs to bring each baby down. I clean up some dishes and bottles and then get their breakfast ready (usually yogurt or fruit and oatmeal). By this time they probably all have a dirty diaper so I change everyone's diaper (yes again as I just did this when they woke up but if I wait to change them until after they get a dirty diaper it will be a mess since their diapers are so wet and heavy from night time). I then put each baby into their booster seat.

8:00 - Feed all three babies, which is either a feeding frenzy or a struggle to get them to open their mouths depending on their moods and if they like the food.

8:30 - Clean each baby's face and hands (there is a little crying from everyone as this is NOT their favorite part of the day). Put everyone on the floor to play while I clean their trays and do more dishes and make formula.

Faith left and Jack right

Faith left and Alexis right

Faith left and Alexis right

9:00 - Eat my breakfast on the floor to be by the babies while they play. Usually this results in Faith army crawling towards me to try to get my food. Right now this is just cute, but once all are mobile I won't be able to eat on the floor anymore. 

9:15 - Get all three babies dressed. This has become a bit of a struggle since everyone likes to roll all over the place!

9:30 - Take three trips back upstairs to put each baby down for a nap. Diapers may have to be changed again.

10:00 - This is my best opportunity to take a shower since it's the morning and all are sleeping, but sometimes I have so much to do that I choose to shower later on. I also use this time for laundry, cleaning, etc.

11:00 - Everyone wakes up (or earlier).

11:15 - Second bottle of the day.

11:30 - Lug everyone back downstairs and let them play in their exersaucers for a bit while they digest their formula and I get their lunch together.

11:45 - Put everyone in their booster seats and feed lunch. We have recently started giving them puffs or yogurt melts to help keep them occupied during meals as it is hard to feed all three at once. We've also been giving them sippy cups to try to drink from, and Alexis has started to get the hang of it.

Lexi

12:15 - Put everyone back on the floor for more playing. Possibly go for a short walk or play on the grass outside. 

L to R: Faith, Lexi, Jack

Faith going through the door and Lexi playing with the key

1:00 - Lug everyone back upstairs for their afternoon naps. During their nap I work on dishes, laundry, cleaning, pick up around the house, make formula, balance the checking account, or do online shopping (diapers, formula, etc.), and I eat a little lunch

3:00 - Babies wake up from their naps.

3:15 - Third round of bottles.

3:30 - Three more trips back down the stairs with babies. Time to spend some time playing, go on a walk, possibly run errands, and maybe even Skype or Facetime with Grandma and Grandpa.

L to R: Faith, Alexis, Jack

Faith venturing into the kitchen

Jack left and Lexi right

6:00 - Micah gets home from work and he usually feeds the babies their puree dinner while I get our dinner prepped. We sit down for dinner and the babies eat finger foods (such as teething wafers, puffs, yogurt melts, or a fruit or veggie in their mesh feeders).

Jack

Alexis

Faith

6:30 - Clean up the babies. If it's bath night (twice a week unless there is an emergency) we do that, otherwise the babies play for a bit with Micah.

6:45 - Change into PJ's and get bottles ready.

7:00 - Fourth bottle of the day. Micah usually monitors this one while I clean up the kitchen from dinner.

7:15 - Babies are put in their cribs. I continue to clean up the mess in the kitchen. 

7:30 - It seems like there is always something to do around here like make formula, do dishes, laundry...you get the idea. On Tuesdays Micah climbs and on Wednesdays I climb. Other nights one of us might run out to do errands like get groceries since that is hard to do with three babies in tow.

9:00 - Micah and I finally sit down to relax for the night and watch an episode of one of our shows (currently either House of Cards, Grey's Anatomy, or Mad Men).

10:30 - Get the girls up for one last bottle in hopes that it helps them sleep through then night. Ever since they started eating solids their formula intake has decreased but the extra bottle at night has seemed to help!

11:00 - Finally go to bed and pray that it's a good night (two or less times getting up with babies) which seems to happen 50% of the time.

Yes, it is very busy but I really do love taking care of Alexis, Jack, and Faith and being a full time mommy! Watching them learn and grow is the best reward for all of the hard work.