5 1/2 Months and Counting

I'm struggling to come up with a title for this post as I still don't feel like we've hit any major milestones at our house, but we do have a few minor ones to share.

First of all, Jack officially weighs more than our cat! This may sound silly, but months ago when we were sitting in the NICU holding our tiny babies Micah joked that we'd throw a party when the babies weighed more than our cat. For those of you that have seen our cat you probably think this is quite the feat, since most people seem to think she is fat, but she actually only weighs 11 lbs 11 oz (as of last week when we put her on the baby scale). And as of today, Jack weighs 11 lbs 12.5 oz! When all three pass this mark I think I'll bake a cake!

Sadly, we are still struggling with getting the girls to eat enough during the day so Micah has been getting up with them during the night to feed them. We decided a couple of days ago that it was time to attempt to get them to sleep through the night, as long as they successfully increased their intake during their remaining six bottles so they continued to gain weight. We have only tried two nights so far, but we are hopeful it will work this time!

We determined that Faith is not dealing with reflux anymore, so she is now sleeping flat on her back in her crib instead of sleeping on her wedge! Honestly, I don't know if reflux was ever much of an issue for her as she never seemed bothered by it like Lexi did, but the NICU suspected it was the cause of her spells so we added rice cereal to her formula so that she didn't have so many reflux episodes as it is supposed to help keep the food down, and she has been sleeping on a steep slant since coming home. About a month ago I tried laying her flat for nap time but she would not sleep, and she is normally a good sleeper. I suspect that she was so used to being in her harness at night that she felt too free just laying in her crib. So we slowly weened her from the wedge by propping it up with towels and pillows until it was pretty much flat, and then we put her in her crib and she was fine! Having all three babies sleeping flat on their backs in their cribs actually feels like a huge step as no one was doing that for the first couple of months they were home. I remember Micah saying we shouldn't have even bought the cribs as they were sitting there empty, but now they are definitely being used!

One of the last naps Faith took on her wedge. She looks so relaxed!

Faith sleeping flat on her back in her crib!

Lexi sleeping in exactly the same position as Faith at the exact same time

The babies are really starting to "talk" to us, which is so much fun! Of course right now they are just making sounds, but they sound so cute and it feels like a pretty big step considering we had babies for 4+ months that didn't really make any noises in response to us. At the time I thought they were making noises as they would make little babbling sounds when playing, but this is very different and very intentional. It's the best feeling to talk to one of the babies and have him or her get a huge smile and make cute sounds!

My mom came out for a quick trip this past weekend, and it was a lot of fun to have her here. She really enjoyed seeing the babies, and of course they enjoyed hanging out with their grandma! I also realized that I am feeling more and more like myself as we played Scrabble both nights she was here, which is something we always used to do when we visited one another, but during the pregnancy and for a few months after, I was too exhausted to even think about playing. And, I actually beat her one of the nights which doesn't happen very often considering her job involves writing so she has more practice with words. Can't wait for more games when my parents come out for Christmas!

Wearing their new Christmas jammies from Grandpa and Grandma (L to R: Jack, Faith, Alexis)

Trying on the hats. It was hard to get them to hold still!

On Grandma's lap (L to R: Faith, Jack, Lexi)

Sunday was World Prematurity Day, which prompted me to pause and reflect on how far the babies have come. As I said at the beginning of this post, sometimes it doesn't feel like any major milestones have been met with the babies, but when I think back to their time in the NICU and how tiny they were, I realize how far they have come. They may not be rolling over or sitting up yet, but that will all happen sooner than later, and the fact that they are all healthy is a major milestone in and of itself.

Top left: Me and Jack the day after the birth. Top right: first time I held both girls at the same time, a few days after their birth. Bottom: me with the trio this past Friday. I definitely look like I'm feeling better too :).

We took some photos for our Christmas card while my mom was visiting. Here are some that we took but won't be using on the card:

This pose was my idea but I admit it didn't turn out the best for the babies :). It's hard to come up with poses for three babies who can't sit yet!

me and Faith

Me and Lexi

Me and Jack (unfortunately we didn't get a pic of Micah and Jack this time)

Micah and Lexi

Micah and Faith

And some random pics from the past couple of weeks:

Micah's first pic with the trio. Can't believe we didn't do this sooner!

Ready for a walk! These Patagonia buntings work great with our new stroller as blankets just fall off.

Tummy time contest: Lexi vs Faith!

Jack

Lexi

Faith

They still love to scoot together when we lay them near each other. So cute! I've caught them holding hands a few times too, but I never get the camera quick enough. This is Faith and Jack.

Lexi and Jack

Jack's first time using a computer