Time Flies

It really is amazing to me how fast the past four months have flown by since the triplets were born.  Micah went to Yosemite last fall for a climbing trip and since then he has been preparing for a return trip. We agreed that he could go on the climbing trip if I had friends and family at our house to help with the triplets, so before the babies were even born, plane tickets were purchased for friends and family to come help while he was gone. When the tickets were purchased we could not even imagine what life would be like with three babies at our house and part of me felt like the time would never come.

Well, now that time has come and gone! Micah had successful climbing trips in Zion and Yosemite with his friend Dave, despite the government shutdown and the national parks being closed when they were halfway through their 30 pitch ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite, and Katie, Melissa, and my parents have all come and gone. Thankfully, Alexis, Jack, and Faith are REALLY good babies so taking care of them is not overly exhausting and it was very possible for Micah to get away, especially since I had the help.

Micah between pitches on El Cap

Micah approaching the "Great Roof" on El Cap

I wrote about my time with Katie in my last post, and my time with Melissa was also great! Melissa is a high school friend who I haven't seen much over the years as we have lived in different parts of the country, but it is always fun to see each other and catch up. Since Melissa has two adorable boys, she has experience with babies and it was great to get her input. We are at a new stage now where I am not really feeding them on a schedule since they wake up at a different time each night and we are out and about, so it is harder to feed them exactly every three hours. The lack of schedule is freeing and also disorienting for me as I have to listen to and read the babies cues more, so having a friend around 24 hours a day with baby experience was a plus. Since Melissa has never been to NM we did a little exploring and even went to Santa Fe for the day! I was sad to see Melissa leave, but we are hoping to be more regular in seeing each other in the future.

Melissa with Faith, Alexis, and Jack

Walking around Santa Fe

Jack and me in Santa Fe. We had to buy hats for the babies as they get sunburned so easily! The hats are a bit big, but they'll be great next summer.

It was a lot of fun to have my parents here again as well. The changes in the babies were even more evident to them since they hadn't been to visit in a couple of months, and they really enjoyed how much more social the babies were this time. We were sad to see them leave as well, but my mom is hoping to come back within the next couple of months as she really can't stay away from her grand babies!

My parents with Jack, Alexis, and Faith

My mom with Alexis, Jack, and Faith

My dad with Faith, Jack, and Alexis

Our view of the Balloon Fiesta from a parking lot near the balloon park (this was baby friendly as they stayed in the warm car while we watched the first hour of the Mass Ascension)

Not only has time passed quickly since the babies were born, but I feel like I have changed a lot too. When I was pregnant I thought I would never feel "normal" again, and although I'm not exactly where I was before my pregnancy, I feel really, really good. I'm sure many women feel like their own bodies are foreign during and immediately after a pregnancy, but I gained a lot of weight with the triplets and I wasn't able to do any of my normal activities like running and climbing, so I temporarily felt like I had lost a part of myself and it is encouraging to me that some parts of the old me are coming back! A couple of weeks ago we drove two hours to a climbing area and met our friends Dan and Val and their two kids there. We took turns climbing and watching babies and kids, and it felt great to not only get out of ABQ, since I hadn't left since March, but to also climb outside again!

Faith at the climbing area

Alexis

Jack

Micah on baby duty

Climbing outside again!

When the babies were in the NICU it was hard to believe that they would some day grow up. But now that they have each more than tripled their weight and Jack is about to tip the scale to 10 pounds, I CAN believe that they will continue to grow. Jack and Alexis were both sleeping in Rock n Play Sleepers when we brought them home from the NICU, but within the last couple of weeks Jack started sleeping flat on his back in his crib and I'm sure Alexis and Faith will be doing so soon as well since her reflux is starting to get better (Faith is still in the wedge). It is so sad to put away all of their newborn size clothes, but it is also encouraging as it means everyone is growing and healthy.

Alexis

Alexis

Faith

Jack practicing his head control during his bath

Faith looking at her mommy

Alexis looking at the pretty baby in the mirror

"Dancing" in the Pack n Play. We won't be able to put all three in here at once for much longer!

Holding my "big" babies!

Micah and the girls (Alexis is on his chest)

The girls in matching pj's (thanks Julie!). Faith left and Alexis right.

Jack might turn into a thumb sucker despite being given a pacifier

We have continued to get out and do things. The triplets have been to church a few times, REI (twice), Costco (twice), Flying Star (twice, and three times for Faith when I brought her to book club), Target, Trader Joe's, Sante Fe, Tomasita's in Santa Fe, and various friends houses.  I'm sure they've been more places, but the point is that we are getting used to bringing them places which is not only a bit of work but also draws a lot of attention. Unfortunately, people will always be curious about our trio which means we will probably draw attention for years to come, but I suppose Micah and I will get used to it after awhile.

Sadly, I do feel like we need to start being more cautious about going anywhere with the babies as cold/flu/RSV season is here. Since the triplets were premature their lungs are not as strong as the lungs of full term babies, even though they are not on oxygen, therefore if they get sick it could be very serious and they could end up in the hospital. This is tough as we REALLY want to get out and do things during the winter, but we will just have to be extra careful and ask those who are around the babies to take extra precaution. We aren't sure what this will look like yet, but we might not have others hold them over the next several months if we go to social events just to limit the direct exposure to germs. It is an awkward situation and we want to live as normal as possible, but six months of awkwardness is worth it if it means the babies remain healthy during this first sick season.