Three Years Old

When we found out we were pregnant with triplets, one of my first thoughts was, “How will we survive the terrible twos?!” I knew the baby stage would be a challenge in living with a lack of sleep, but I knew age two would be a challenge in patience. Patience is not my strongest quality as I tend to get frustrated easily and I want things to go my way. Well, here we are three years into parenthood and we have survived the “terrible twos.” But since becoming a parent I have learned that it’s not actually the terrible twos that are the real challenge, it’s the terrible threes! Two-year-olds definitely come with some frustrations, but three-year-olds know how to argue, negotiate, bargain, manipulate, and they can be bossy. I guess we will be able to determine whether 2-year-olds or 3-year-olds are more challenging for us as we celebrated our trio's 3rd birthday this past Tuesday, so we officially have three 3-year-olds in our family.

Three-Year-Old Stats

WEIGHT

Alexis: 26 lbs 3 oz (gained 3 lbs 9 oz in last year)

Jack: 24 lbs 10 oz (gained 3 lbs 2 0z in last year) 

Faith: 26 lbs 3 oz (gained 3 lbs 14 oz in last year)

HEIGHT

Alexis: 37.25 (+2.75 inches in last year)

Faith: 37.5 (+3 inches in last year)

Jack: 35 (+2.5 inches in last year)

Teeth: Woohoo, all of their baby teeth are in! We are so glad to have teething behind us!

Size clothes: The girls are mostly in 3T tops and bottoms, although some of the bottoms still fit from last year even though they are 2T since the length doesn't matter. Jack still fits pretty well in 2T, but he is also wearing some 3T (I didn't realize how little he would still be this summer so I got rid of some of his 2T clothes already!).

Eating: Our kids continue to be picky eaters, although Jack is the pickiest as he mostly eats fig bars, PB&J, and animal crackers. He will eat most fruit, he likes yogurt and cheese most of the time, and he likes some meat like chicken nuggets and meatballs. It’s almost impossible to get him to eat veggies. The girls will try most things but they don’t necessarily eat very much of it. Most meals Jack only sits for a few minutes and then he loses interest, although we try our best to get him to sit and eat, but the girls are willing to sit and eat their food. We still rely on sippy cups most of the time mainly because they are “spill proof,” but all three kids are completely able to drink from open cups and straw cups.

Naps: Naps are completely unpredictable, so I've started to call it "quiet time." This has helped me since I have accepted the fact that at least one child probably won't nap, and I'm happy if I get 45 minutes to myself. Jack naps about 95% percent of the time for about 1.5-2 hours. Faith and Alexis seem to take turns not napping, and some days both don't sleep. About once every 2 weeks all three nap, which is amazing when it happens. I usually don't let them sleep past 3:00 (or 3:30 if they lay down late) as it ruins bedtime if they nap too long.

Bedtime: Big changes have happened over here and it has been good for everyone. The girls were having a really hard time settling down and going to sleep since they were sharing a room and they were in toddler beds, so they weren't contained (imagine two toddlers running around screaming and giggling in the dark...one night it ended in a black eye). So a couple of months ago we officially moved Alexis' bed to the guest room and we have all been sleeping so much better. Not only do the girls fall asleep much more quickly than they did before, they also tend to sleep longer in the morning! Most days everyone sleeps until 7:00, but some mornings one or two kids sleep until 8:00. This is a big difference in our schedule as in the past the girls were up by 6:00 or 6:30 at the latest and Jack was up at 7:00. Now if only we could get to bed on time to maximize our sleep!

Words: All three kids talk in full sentences and sometimes they tell stories. For the most part the girls talk more often and are a little more clear than Jack, but I think that comes down to a boy / girl difference more than language skills. They use new words all of the time, and they like to ask us to name things for them if they don’t know what it’s called. Here are some things they have said recently:

Faith:

• “Mommy I like you, but I miss Daddy.” (One random weekday when Micah was at work)
• “What happened to that beetle, [Hand on my arm] did it have an accident?” (After I smashed a very large beetle that walked into our house twice in 10 minutes)
• “No one is saying hi to me.” (When I was pushing the triple cart around Target. The kids are used to getting a lot of attention when we are out.)
• “Do you put juice in it? Do you put apple juice in it?” (While eating super juicy watermelon)
• “Jackie’s like, ‘where my people?’”(When the girls and I were driving back to the hospital in the morning when Jack spent the night for his treatment)

Jack:

• “I'm going to be a mommy because I'm going to drive a car and I like your purse” (He wants to grow up quickly)
• “Some day, I'm going to be big and you're going to be little and I'm going to mow and you're going to watch.” (After watching me mow the backyard and wishing he was doing it himself)
• “Some day I'm going to drive a Jeep, you're going to drive a Jeep [to grandpa], and Daddy's going to drive a Jeep.” (When at breakfast with Grandpa Howard and Micah)
• “I like your phone [keys, purse, car, etc.]” (He tells us he likes our things as he hopes we will give it to him)
• “I'm making a garden for you mom. I'm a man [while touching his chest].” (Playing in the backyard and pretending to garden)

Alexis:

• “No, I'm not cute, I'm beautiful!” (In response to me telling her she was cute)
• “You're not the best reader.” (To Micah when she was trying to get me to read instead of him)
• “Are we there yet?” (About 5 minutes into our 4 hour road trip and every 10 minutes after that) 
• “Did you know Daddy is a genius of the world...tall, tall, tall.” (I’m not sure what she thinks genius means…)
• “I don't have to hold your hand, I'm big and strong and healthy.” (When walking down the stairs at our house)
• “Daddy is my father and you are my child.” (Random comment when I was tucking her in at night)

New Things: 

• They insist on climbing into their car seats, which takes a lot of patience from us as they don’t always move quickly and we are usually in a hurry.
• They can walk in and out of stores, church, or anywhere we need to go without using the wagon even if I’m the only adult.
• They love to play pretending games with each other on a daily basis. I enjoy being a spectator and listening to the ideas they come up with. Many of their games are inspired by “Daniel Tiger” episodes, and I’m not sure if this is good or bad, but their imaginations take off from there and their games last longer than an episode from the show.
• They like to know their “choices” for meals and snacks, and they pick from there. This is something I dreamed of when they were younger as it gets tiring deciding on everything a person eats when you don’t know if they really want to eat it.
• They are good at consoling each other when someone is sad or scared. They will say reassuring words, give hugs, and they show empathy.
• They love attention and they seem to get into “attention competitions” when other adults are around. They’ll take turns saying, “Watch this!” and then one of them will do something to get praise, such as a dance move, a jump, etc.
• Everything we do seems to require a timer being set. Whether it’s taking turns with a special toy, leaving a park, or going upstairs for quiet time, everyone is much more cooperative if there is an alarm going off. I’m glad this is working as it’s less work for me and the kids seem to understand that when the timer goes off it’s not negotiable. Most of the time they ask me to set the timer, which is handy since I don’t always think of it.

Current Schedule:

In some ways I feel like I’m becoming less efficient and maybe a bit lazy as our kids get older. I used to have to adhere to a strict schedule so that all three babes were relatively happy and so that I could get everything done during a day. Now there isn’t quite as much physical work to get done, but there is a lot more time spent convincing the kids to do things such as get dressed, eat a meal, get in the car, etc., so I still feel exhausted. Our schedule has become so simple as opposed to the early days with triplet babies. And we are so much more flexible as the kids are able to handle changes in the schedule, plus there is simply less than needs to get done in a day. Our general schedule is as follows, but it can change quite a bit from day-to-day:

7:00-8:00 Kids wake up

8:00 Breakfast

8:30 Clean up the kitchen and help the kids get dressed

9:00 Kids watch a show while I shower and get ready

9:30 Leave our house

9:45-11:45 Botanic Garden, Zoo, Park, or errands (morning snack while out)

12:00 Lunch

1:00-3:00 Quiet Time / Nap (I clean up the kitchen, pick up toys, check my email, and try to get something done off of my To Do list, but most of the time a child is downstairs with me since they didn’t fall asleep so this is a challenge)

3:00 Kids watch a show while they wake up from a nap as they tend to be cranky after sleeping

3:30 Play outside or go to a park (afternoon snack)

5:00 I make dinner

5:30 Eat dinner (as soon as Micah gets home)

6:00 Play at home

7:00 Change into PJ’s, snack, read

7:45 Brush teeth

8:00 All in their rooms ready to be tucked in. We now go around to each room to tuck in each kid individually as it became too chaotic to do this with the other kids in tow. They seem to enjoy waiting for us to come in while looking at books or playing with toys in their room.

No more carrying three babes up and down the stairs multiple times a day for naps. No more crazy feeding schedule to make sure all three get enough calories. No more scheduled diaper changes since 2 of the 3 are mostly potty trained. When our kids were tiny I dreamed of a simple schedule like this one, and now it is here.

Hello Preschoolers:

During this next year the kids will, hopefully, all be 100% potty trained. They will start preschool two mornings a week in the fall, which will be strange for me since I currently spend most of my time with them. And they will learn many new skills throughout the year. We are truly saying good-bye to the baby days and hello to our preschool days as our kids enter their fourth year of life.

Faith Elizabeth is turning 3

From the beginning, Faith has been our most strong-willed child. It's funny to think that she was in the NICU the longest, because since then she hasn't allowed herself to be last at anything. When we go for family "walks" around the neighborhood, Faith insists on being in front and running the whole time. If she stops and someone else takes the leads, she mopes, pouts, and sits down on the sidewalk until everyone stops and waits for her to take the lead again. She definitely knows how to get her way. 

Like Alexis, Faith tends to be a bit dramatic, but she has a quieter way of doing it. If she is really sad about something she usually just slumps her shoulders, puts her head down, sighs, and waits for someone to console her. This has proved to be quite effective for her, although sometimes it's hard for us not laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

Faith is the "little mommy" of our trio and she seems to have developed some empathy. She wants to make everyone else feel happy, so if a sibling is upset she she'll grab a favorite stuffed animal or try to come up with an idea that would stop the crying ("I know, maybe she needs a snack!"). Everyone likes to help us with stuff, but Faith seems to be the most willing to do tasks or help a sibling when in need. The other day I got a little upset when she spilled her smoothie three times in 5 minutes, and then in the afternoon when I asked her for a hug she told me that she was sorry for spilling her smoothie in the morning. I'm continuously surprised by how well Faith reads emotions.

Faith has almost always been the first to meet developmental milestones, and this trend has continued. Although all three are very close developmentally, Faith seems to catch on a little more quickly. For example, she knows her colors pretty well while Jack and Alexis are still working on it. She seems to think of herself as the oldest sibling and she is very independent, and sometimes it seems we think of her that way too, even though she is technically the youngest. She is also a bit of a tattle-tale as she loves to tell me when Jack is sucking his thumb (we don't want him to suck his thumb unless he's in bed) or when another child is doing something wrong. 

Although all three kids enjoy getting attention, Faith especially seems to enjoy being in the spotlight. A few weeks ago we were at Target and Faith said to me, "Nobody is saying hi to me!" The kids are so used to people commenting on how cute they are and asking if they are triplets, so Faith was annoyed that nobody was admiring her that day. All I could do was laugh.

The girls seem to take turns not napping, so I always have someone awake at nap time, but when Faith does sleep about half the time she falls asleep in the most random places in her bedroom. It's as if she literally plays until she falls asleep and then she's so tired that it doesn't matter that she's using a Magna Doodle as a pillow.

Like Alexis and Jack, many of the personality traits I described for Faith's 2-year-old blog post remain true today. She tends to be the most social with other children and adults. She is the first to interact with other children at the park and make "friends." She tends to be more of a daddy's girl than a mommy's girl. She is very attached to her stuffed husky doggy, and Alexis is very attached to her Snoopy, and we rarely leave the house without their doggies even though they stay in the car when we go places. She still doesn't like messes and is always asking for a napkin when she eats. She is also sensitive about her clothing. Last year it was just shoes, but now it's everything as she won't wear many of her clothes because they don't feel right (I know I was this way as a child too, so I can't blame her). 

Here are Faith's responses to the questions that I asked each of the kids:

•What is your name?
Faith

•How old are you?
4 in June

•When is your birthday?
Last year

•How old is Daddy?
Bigger and bigger and bigger

•How old is mommy?
4

•What is your favorite color?
Pink!

•What is your favorite food?
Peanut butter and jelly peanut butter and jelly all the time!

•Who is your best friend?
Maggie

•What is your favorite song?
Peanut butter and jelly song

•What is your favorite animal?
Zebra

•What are you scared of?
Koalas

•What makes you happy?
Sad face and happy face [sometimes we play a game where we make a sad face, then we make a happy face, etc.]

•Where is your favorite place to go?
To the park to the other park

•What do you want to be when you grow up?
 A horse and a cheetah

•What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Run

•What is daddy's favorite thing to do?
He likes to run

Here are photos of Faith throughout the past year:

24 months

25 months

26 months

27 months

28 months

29 months

30 months

31 months

32 months

33 months

34 months

34 1/2 months (Faith left, Alexis right...they look so similar here)

almost 36 months

It's hard to imagine life without Faith. She challenges Micah and I in so many ways, both as parents and as individuals, and she is a great sister to Alexis and Jack. We look forward to watching her make new friends and learn new things over the next year.

Double Rainbow

This afternoon was tough. All week I've been dreading Jack's hospitalization for IVIG. In the grand scheme of things I'm glad his body is responding well to IVIG and that he only needs treatment every 4-5 weeks, but it puts a damper on our week. Although he is only in the hospital for less than 24 hours, we pretty much can't go anywhere for a few days between the hospital stay and staying home as he recovers since he has a history of getting really sick 24 hours after the treatment finishes. Plus I get really anxious in the days leading up to the hospital stay as it's not a fun experience for any of us.

Jack is a trooper, but nobody likes getting poked with needles and staying overnight in the hospital, and he does not understand why he has to go through this because he never feels sick from his low platelets. I waited until this morning to tell him about the hospital stay, and of course his reaction was, "I don't want to go" with a super sad face. I feel terrible about bringing him there even though I know it's for his own good.

It didn't work out for my MIL to come to ABQ to help this time and, although I know there are many people that would gladly help with the girls, I decided it would just be easier to bring them to the hospital with us. Nobody napped today since we had to leave so early (although I tried to get them to nap, so they all spent 45 minutes of quiet time in separate rooms). We left our house at 2:00 as the PICU wanted us to check in by 2:30. After we got settled, the girls went to the Child Life play room so that they could have some fun while I focused on Jack during his IV placement.

Last time Jack only had to get one poke and the IV was in, but this time was a different story. Over the course of two hours he was poked 10 times before the IV was placed.  In the end the nurse used an ultrasound machine so that she could see exactly where she was going. It was excruciating for Jack as it hurts and he is terrified, and it's a horrible thing for me to endure as his mommy. Although I try to comfort him, there is absolutely nothing that will stop him from screaming, yelling, and kicking once the nurse gets the needle out. He is a very brave boy, but he gets so angry when he gets poked so many times, and quite frankly I start feeling angry too as it's so unfair to make him go through it.

I loaded everyone in the wagon with Jack's overnight bag on top. We get tons of comments when we go in and out of the hospital like this.

The girls were very entertained by some toys they received from a friend this morning before they went to the playroom. The nurses kept commenting on how cute and well-behaved they were.

Jack had to take an ice cream and TV break between all of his pokes. I'll have to get him more ice cream sandwiches to enjoy once he is back home.

Micah arrived about 30 minutes after the IV was placed with dinner in hand, so we tried to get the kids to eat while the nurse gave Jack medications that he needs before he can get IVIG. Micah and I then ate our dinner while the kids watched part of a movie, and then I left with the girls around 7:15. By the time I left, Jack was completely exhausted. Between missing his nap, crying and fighting on and off for two hours while he got poked, and getting a dose of Benadryl, he was a zombie. I'm hopeful that he sleeps really soundly tonight as he receives his two doses of IVIG.

Three toddlers on a hospital bed zoned out watching the iPad

When the girls and I walked back to our car from the hospital I could see that there was a thunderstorm near our house as we live near the foothills so it's easy to see from a distance. As I drove down the highway we were in a complete downpour. When we brought Jack home from the NICU after his 6 week stay Micah and I drove through the worst downpour I've ever experienced in the car, and I was terrified. Jack was tiny and we were nervous to bring our first baby home. He was off of his monitors for the first time in his life, which is scary for NICU parents, so I was freaking out in the backseat when we found ourselves in the middle of a terrible storm. Tonight's rain reminded me of that afternoon almost three years ago, but instead of bringing Jack home I was leaving him at the hospital. It felt very ironic.

When I got off the highway I realized both girls had fallen asleep, which never happens, but it was almost their bedtime, the rain must have sounded like white noise to them, and they were exhausted from a busy day and missing their nap. As I got closer to our house I realized that there was a beautiful double rainbow next to the foothills. I stopped in a parking lot outside of our neighborhood and then again at the park in our neighborhood to take pictures. I was in awe. Although rainbows after storms are very common in ABQ, and we often see glimpses of double rainbows, this time I could see both rainbows from left to right and all the way to the top. I was disappointed that the girls were sleeping and missing this beautiful promise from God, but at the same time their sleeping let me soak it in a little more.

God is good. God promises peace. Jack may be in the hospital tonight, but the treatment is working and his platelets have now been within the normal range for a few weeks. The double rainbow made me feel like God was telling me that Jack will be okay. It was the perfect way to end our day at the hospital.

Both girls passed out in the backseat

And I got a little icing on top of the double rainbow. I decided to bring both girls straight to their beds instead of waking them up for a snack and PJ's. Both requested a drink when I laid them down, and I had to go into Alexis' room a couple of times for various reasons, but other than that they fell back asleep. It was just what this mommy needed after a long, stressful afternoon.

Jack Micah is turning 3

It is crazy to think that a year ago today we had no idea that Jack was facing a major health issue. We had noticed that he had a lot of bruises, but we thought it was because he was a clumsy toddler boy, and our pediatrician agreed. Only three days after his 2nd birthday, though, Jack ended up in the ER with extremely low platelets and our lives have never been the same. Jack has had periods of stability with his platelets, but they have only been in the normal range a couple of times. Thankfully he has mostly been able to lead a normal life as his platelets have only dipped to a dangerously low level a few times, but we have lived most of the last year not knowing when his platelets will drop. During the first 9 months after his diagnosis he was given platelet transfusions when his number dropped, but his platelet count never remained high for very long after a platelet transfusion. Three months ago Jack received his first IVIG treatment, and this has seemed to have a more long lasting effect on his count. Tomorrow Jack will be hospitalized overnight to receive his fourth IVIG treatment, and we pray that this continues to help his body fight his platelet antibody so that his platelet count can normalize.

Throughout the last year Jack has shown tremendous strength, courage, and resilience. Although he does not like getting his blood drawn or having an IV put in, and he cries really hard as soon as the needle appears, he recovers very quickly and he does an amazing job of coping with the situation through his play. He knows all of the steps for a blood draw and often spends time playing "nurse" with his sisters, stuffed animals, one of us, or a grandparent. He gets the most satisfaction when we pretend to cry when we get poked by him as I think this makes him feel like we understand how much it hurts when he gets poked. Although I hate being the one to hold him down for a blood draw or an IV, I feel better knowing that he has found his own way to deal with the trauma of the situation. It is also fun to hear him say that someday he is going to be a nurse, not a doctor. I don't think many 2-year-olds have their future career in mind, but Jack is always thinking about being a grown up.

Jack's love of guitars, violins, and all things music has also become apparent in the last year. I remember that right around his 2nd birthday we noticed that he would "strum" the toy tambourine, and soon it became obvious that he was obsessed with guitars. We now have three toy guitars, three ukuleles, and countless other instruments in our house. Although I took piano lessons for four years in elementary school and I played the french horn in middle school, I have never been that musical, and Micah has never played any instruments in his life. I think Jack's love of music is extra special because he hasn't had any influence from us and it's just something he saw and fell in love with at a very young age. He loved the music class we attended over the last year, and we hope to find another music class or enroll him in lessons of some sort in the future.

Like Alexis, many of the traits I described in his 2-year-old blog post remain true today. He continues to be a picky eater, and his staples are now PB&J and fig bars, which is a source of frustration for us as it's hard to make a child eat. He is still the smallest and when I last measured he was 1-2 lbs. lighter than the girls and 3-4 inches shorter. Recently we have been telling him that he needs to eat more so that he grows bigger as he often asks us if he can do grown-up things, such as drive our car. He has taken this to heart and he likes to talk about how he is growing bigger like us because he's eating his food. Hopefully he doesn't get disappointed when this growth takes years, but at least he has some motivation for eating his food right now.

Last year I wrote that Jack loves cars, bikes, motorcycles, and other things that go. This fascination has only grown more intense. Unfortunately we haven't spent much time using the balance bikes that the kids got for their birthday last year since we were worried about Jack getting hurt while his platelets were low, but more recently we have been using the bikes and Jack has taken to it really well. He loves to talk about driving cars and he gets a kick out of sitting in a parked car and pretending to drive.

Jack is really observant we are always surprised by what he knows or remembers. I think he would spend more time studying things and how they work if he wasn't so busy playing with his sisters (they rarely play separately, which has its pluses and minuses). 

Unfortunately, Jack is still sucking his thumb. He was really close to quitting around his birthday last year, but as soon as he was hospitalized I knew it would be comforting to him so I let it slide and it seems that the habit is getting a little worse. He literally cannot remember to keep it out of his mouth for more than a few seconds if he is watching TV or riding in the car. I know firsthand that this will be a hard habit to break as I sucked my thumb until 1st grade, but hopefully we can find a method that works for Jack sooner than later.

Jack is a very caring and loving boy. He randomly gives the girls hugs, and at almost every meal he gets up a few times and gives me a big hug. 

He has also become more of a little boy over the last year. He is super busy and never wants to sit down long for a meal or to read books. It seems that he turns every stick, including his triangle stick from music class, into a sword. He is constantly pretending to be a monster and he loves to come up to us, grab us with both hands, and say "rooaarrr!" Jack also loves to just run around the house making a huge racket for no apparent reason. The boy / girl differences have become very obvious to us over the last year as our kids are at the same developmental stage and they have access to the same toys, but Jack plays very differently than the girls a lot of the time even if they are playing the same game.

Jack continues to be a mommy's boy, but he also loves his grandparents. Although he is more reserved than his sisters in general, he is not reserved with his grandparents which makes it easier for us to leave the kids with them.

Here are Jack's responses to the questions that I asked each of the kids:

•What is your name?

Jack

•How old are you?

3

•When is your birthday?

June

•How old is Daddy?

5

•How old is mommy?

4 to June

•What is your favorite color?

Paint

•What is your favorite food?

Peanut butter jelly

•Who is your best friend?

My Faithy friend and my Lexi friend

•What is your favorite song?

A guitar with a microphone

•What is your favorite animal?

A zebra

•What are you scared of?

A cave

•What makes you happy?

An animal to sing

•Where is your favorite place to go?

To go to grandma and grandpa's house

•What do you want to be when you grow up?

Eat food so I grow up

•What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?

Drive daddy's car

•What is daddy's favorite thing to do?

Daddy's going to ride in the back

Here are photos of Jack throughout the past year:

24 months

25 months

26 months

27 months

28 months

29 months

30 months

31 months

32 months

33 months

34 months

35 months

Our hope and prayer is that Jack is able to go into remission in the near future so that he no longer has to receive monthly treatments for his low platelets. We love Jack and all of his interests and boy stuff, and we feel honored to be the parents of such a strong little boy.