Not so smug

This’ll teach me…

Yesterday, I was reading a blog post about a puking baby. This baby puked, oh, three or four times. Maybe more. A real Pukey McVomiter.

I thought smugly to myself, “my boys never puke. We are so lucky we haven’t had to deal with that. Puke is gross.”

Of course, of course I was confronted with the sour stench of vomit this morning when I went into the boys’ room. Of course.

Poor little Miles had thrown up sometime in the night. And apparently he’d rolled around in it. Lovely. Poor little guy. He’s home with Daddy right now. Hopefully it was a one-time thing.

Here’s Pukey and Daddy yesterday. All together now…”awwww!”

Birthday and weekend

Had a lovely birthday and weekend. George got me a camera bag that I’ve been lusting after, and my mom came over on Friday night so we could go see a movie. Oh yeah, and I also got cake. And I had popcorn at the movie. And a daiquiri. And Teresa gave me movie candy. Good god, that all sounds so gluttonous. And taht is why I had a fantastic birthday. And why I’m starting a new weight loss plan on Wednesday. Heh. More on that later.

We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Partly because it was filmed in New Orleans. It was very good, but I did take issue with the use of Katrina. It seemed gratuitous, but I’m sure there was some artsy-fartsy reason for it. I don’t care, I hate artsy-fartsy, so to me, it was just exploitative. I’m sure people in other parts of the country barely noticed or didn’t even care, though.

On Saturday, my mom and I took the boys shopping. I got a book about the aforementioned weight loss plan and some bookshelves for the boys’ playroom. I wish I had the energy to think about painting the playroom, but alas, I do not. It’s purple. Purple’s fun, right? I am going to paint half of one of the walls with chalkboard paint, though. That’s gonna be fun. And possibly part of that with magnetic paint. Since they don’t have access to the fridge, they need somewhere to play with those magnetic toys that my sister gave them for their birthday. I have to wonder, though, if the paint is strong enough to hold them. I kind of doubt it. I may have to think of another way to do that.

So anyway. On Sunday, I took the boys to the Children’s Museum to meet up with some friends and their kids. That was really fun. I can’t wait until they’re older (my boys, not my friends) and get to experience the other exhibits at the museum. Right now we just hang out in the infant area, which is just a pit of mats and foam blocks and board books and wooden puzzles.

Milestones for the weekend (possibly in my imagination):
– Linus took a step
– Oliver waved and said “bye” to my mom
– Oliver said “hi”
– Miles saw a dog on TV and said “dog”

(But, Linus maybe just tripped, and “buh”, “hi”, and “duh” are kind of, you know, just syllables.)

Will post some pictures later from the weekend…

New post

I do need to post, it’s been a few days. I just don’t feel like I have a lot to say right now. So I’ll use bullets.

– Yesterday, I took the boys to the ENT for their follow-up after their tubes. All is well!

– Oooh, this is exciting…I got a ticket to go visit my brother and SIL and niece Ellie in Los Angeles in March. I am very much hoping we’ll get to meet Cindy and Brian and their triplets. (They’re just a few days younger than my boys!) I’m bringing Linus with me, because he is my brother and SIL’s godson. That’s fair, right?

– Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 34. Please gasp in amazement, for I barely look 24, right? RIGHT? My mom’s coming to watch the boys so we can go to a movie. Yay!

Enough talking, how about some pictures from this weekend?
Here’s what happens when I leave the playroom…

Linus and Oliver:

Oliver:

Linus:

Linus again:

Babies playing peacefully (?):

13 months old!

13 months

My baby boys were 13 months old yesterday! Good lord.
What can I say about my sweet little guys?

– They are all clapping like crazy.
– Miles and Linus are fond of shaking their head “no.”
– Yesterday, Miles starting nodding “yes”.
– They said their first word, “cracker” on Jan 1.
– They all had ear tubes put in and their adenoids removed on 12/31, and so far, they seem to be healing well.
– No walking yet, but Miles took one step on Jan 1. None since then, though.
– Sleep has been weird. Two nights (one pre-surgery, one post-surgery, so I don’t know if this is ear-related) they’ve woken up around midnight, screaming. Almost like they were having nightmares. The first time was at my mom’s new house, so maybe that was due to the new surroundings? But then it happened the other night at home, too. Let’s hope that doesn’t continue!
– Eating is fine. They’re all beginning to show some signs of pickiness, but I’m choosing to ignore it right now. Linus will spit out chunks of things that are mixed in (say, bananas mixed with yogurt or peas in mashed potatoes.) Oliver will inexplicably like something one day, hate it the next, then go back to loving it. Miles will almost eat anything. Milk is going well, I think. They’re getting about 16-18 oz of milk a day, plus cheese and yogurt. Some of their favorites are grilled cheese, deli turkey or ham, CRACKERS CRACKERS CRACKERS, yogurt with fruit, chicken, and fat french fries.
– They’re still wearing some 6-9 month pants but most 12 month pants still fit. Tops are 12 month and 18 month, but more toward 18 month. Diapers are size 4. Their big Flintstone feet have outgrown their 6-12 month Robeez, so we moved up to 12-18 month in those.
– They all still have 6 teeth. Four on the top, two on the bottom. I don’t see or feel any more teeth coming in right now.
– They have started fighting a bit. Hair pulling (esp Oliver), pushing, stealing toys, and high-pitched screaming at each other. Fun times! We don’t intercede too much at this point, unless someone’s getting violent. But they’re also making each other laugh, which is awesome.
– They’re doing more interactive play with us, too. Peek-a-boo and things like that. More mimicking.
– We dropped bottles and formula a week after their first birthday, and they’ve only had milk and sippies since then. I don’t give them juice, but sometimes water. You should have seen them after their surgery, when they got juice in bottles. It was a double-whammy of excitement!

I think their first haircut is due soon. Maybe next weekend. Miles is starting to get a bit of a mullet.

2008 in pictures + some excitement

One picture of all of the babies from each month this year. I know, you could also do this by looking at their monthly pictures on the right. But that takes the fun out of this exercise!

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

And today, the boys’ official First Word! Here it is, demonstrated by Miles, though all three are saying it.

Ear tubes recap

And now, a detailed recap of the day…

4:30 am – woke up, ate breakfast, took a shower.
5:10 am – woke up Miles, changed his diaper. Put him in the car, drove to the hospital. George’s parents had Oliver and Linus, so I imagine they were doing similar things on their side of town. (I had to work this week and daycare was closed, which is why they had L & O. I had Miles because he had a doctor’s appt yesterday. Just to clear that up.)

5:50 am – arrive at hospital. Look at the fish.

6:00 am – take Miles to the Short Stay unit to sign in.

6:15 am –  Over the next 45 minutes, we get checked in, the boys get weighed and measured, and we are shown to our room with three hospital cribs.

7:15 am – Linus gets his dose of Versed (a sedative to relax the baby before surgery.) He is druuuuuunk! It’s hilarious. Also, babies are v cute in hospital gowns.

Apparently, the cribs are yum:

I swear I didn’t doctor this photo. This is Linus after the sedative. He looks hammered!

7:45 am – George and I bring Linus downstairs to the pre-surgery area and wait for him to be wheeled back.

8:00 am – He’s wheeled back. The doctor says it won’t be more than 30 minutes. I go upstairs to see how Oliver’s doing. He has been given his dose of Versed, so I wait for the nurse to come get him to bring him down to the OR. George is in the surgery waiting area at this point, so when we are bringing Oliver to the pre-surgery area, we swing by and get George. So now we’re back in the pre-surgery area with a baby who looks just like the one who was just wheeled back into surgery. There are confused looks on the faces of the other families in the area.

8:45 am – We’re starting to panic, wondering what’s taking Linus’s surgery so long. The doctor finally comes out and says they didn’t get to go back to the OR immediately because of another patient, but that Linus did well. His adenoids were covered in pus (mmm, thanks) and his ears were full of thick fluid. Yum.

Finally, we see Linus get wheeled back into recovery. We have to wait 30 minutes after he’s wheeled back before we can see him, but while we’re waiting, Oliver gets taken back into surgery. We go back up to the room to wait for Miles to be brought down for his surgery, and enjoy his baby drunkenness.

(I’m getting a bit confused about the timeline, as I’m sure you are. So bear with me.)

Linus gets released from recovery. He’s v cranky and has an IV. I carry him upstairs to the room. George’s dad holds him and gives him the juice he has to keep down. Linus sleeps the rest of the time in Grandpa’s arms.

We go down with Miles to the pre-surgery area, where a nurse finally inquires why this one baby keeps being taken into surgery. Hee hee!

Oliver is wheeled out of surgery. Like Linus, he had pus-y adenoids and thick fluid in his ears. Miles is taken back. It’s about 9:50 at this point, and we’re starving, so we go grab something to eat. The hospital cafeteria, though, is closed from 9:30 – 11! Ugh. So we get some crap out of the vending machines and sit outside in the cold. Nice.

When we get back, we only have to wait a bit before Oliver is released to go upstairs. I go bring him upstairs and George holds him while he sleeps. It’s v v cute, the way he manages to suck his thumb in spite of the IV.

I go downstairs to wait for Miles to be released from recovery. This is all beginning to feel very much like Groundhog Day. I bring him upstairs, give him his bottle, and he sleeps a bit. Then we wait and wait and wait (he has to stay for an hour after he finishes his bottle of juice) and finally, at around 1 pm, we get released.

Hurrah! Only 7 hours total. Only. I’m exhausted!

The boys have slept most of the day. We gave them some yogurt and applesauce for lunch, then some scrambled eggs and string cheese and yogurt for dinner. They don’t seem too hungry. Their cries are so hoarse! It’s sad. Oliver was pretty much completely recovered by the time we left the hospital. He was in good spirits, just like normal. Linus and Miles were a bit groggy and sleepy and cranky, though.

Fingers crossed they sleep all night tonight and feel much better in the morning. And that their days of ear infections are behind them!

2008 in review

I got this list of questions from one of my favorite blogs ever…looks like fun, yes? And an easy way to get an entry done. Heh.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Good lord. Is raising triplets too obvious of an answer?

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn’t make any last year. I was too tired. I think I will for 2009, though.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Well, my friend Anne had her son Whitman on Jan 1, and my friend Kettie had Henry at the end of July. To name a couple.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No

5. What countries did you visit?

Canada! I can’t believe I actually got to answer this question.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

A Wii and a Wii Fit. Heh. And walking, talking, children.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

December 4, 2008 – the boys’ first birthday.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Getting to that first birthday.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not losing the baby weight.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No, nothing major. Just residual crap from the boys’ birth.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Too bad we bought the minivan at the end of 2007.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Well, Linus, Oliver, and Miles’s, of course!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Well, Linus, Oliver, and Miles’s, of course!

14. Where did most of your money go?

Well, Linus, Oliver, and Miles, of course!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Well, Linus, Oliver, and Miles, of course!

Okay, I’ll stop. The election. That made me very happy too.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

Any of the ones from the Fisher-Price line of toys, particularly the Laugh and Learn Table thingy.

“One, two-three, four-five-six-seven-eight
Then, there’s nine!
Counting’s really great
With numbers,
When you have numbers,
Then you can count!
…And count agAIN!”

Man, I love that song.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? marginally thinner
c) richer or poorer? poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercise

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Eat

20. How did you spend Christmas?

In the Emergency Room with Miles and George

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

I did. By the time 2008 rolled around, I was emerging from the haze of newborn triplets, and actually starting to love them. It wasn’t instantaneous like they want you to believe.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

30 Rock

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nah

24. What was the best book you read?

The new David Sedaris book, probably.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

See question #16

26. What did you want and get?

My wedding band and engagement ring to fit again!

27. What did you want and not get?

My pre-pregnancy clothes to fit again.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Did I see a movie this year? I’m sure I did. But I can’t remember right now.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 33. George and I went to dinner at a Belgian restaurant. I was still very itchy (post-pregnancy issue) and tired. The boys were 5 weeks old.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Winning the lottery.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Slovenly.

32. What kept you sane?

Well, Linus, Oliver, and Miles, of course!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I still love me some Colin Firth.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Just the election in general, I guess.

35. Who did you miss?

I have to say I missed my dad a lot this year. I can only imagine how much fun he’d be having with the boys.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I think I’d have to say the local triplet moms, especially Alicia and Stephanie (who had their quads and triplets at the same time as me, you know what I mean) because I’ve learned so much from them. And made great friendships.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

Always cover up the pee-pee with a washcloth when changing a baby boy’s diaper.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

“One, two-three, four-five-six-seven-eight
Then, there’s nine!
Counting’s really great
With numbers,
When you have numbers,
Then you can count!
…And count agAIN!”

Our Christmas

Well, it’s not Christmas with three boys without a visit to the Emergency Room, is it? I suppose this is my future, eh?

Let me give away the ending first…everyone is FINE.

Okay, now for the story…

Woke up early, put the Monkey Bread I’d assembled last night in the oven. Went to see the boys (they were awake and chattering.) Changed diapers, went and woke up George.

Opened presents. The boys got, from us, Wall-E, a big rubber ball, and a touch and feel board book (they’re really into photos in books right now.) I also put sippy cups, pacifiers, puffs, and socks in their stockings. 🙂

Went downstairs to retrieve the burning Monkey Bread. Damn! Fed the boys breakfast, went upstairs to play before their morning nap. Miles was sleepy (nothing sinister here, it was just naptime, that’s all.) I was laying on the playroom floor on my back, and Miles was laying on my tummy. As I stroked his head, I felt a weird squishy spot. It felt like his soft spot, you know, as big as it was when he was a newborn, but it was on the side of his head, a few inches above his ear. It was very strange. I checked to see if the other boys had a similar spot, nope. I looked at it to see if it was a bruise. Nope. Just a raised area, about 3-4″ in diameter, with a bony ridge around the edges. Weird.

George asked me to call the ped about it, and even though I was sort of reluctant to, I did. I felt awful calling her on Christmas morning, but she didn’t mind. After I described it, she said she’d feel bettter if we took him to the ER at Children’s Hospital to get it looked at. I guess if offices had been open, I would have just taken him there, but seeing as it was Christmas…

We get to the hospital. Thank God it’s not crowded. We get in fairly quickly, but you know how it is. We wait for the doctor. We wait for Radiology. We wait for another doctor to look at the x-rays. We wait for the phlebotomist to take his blood (which he loooooved, let me tell you!) and finally we waited for-everrrrr to get the lab results back on his blood. They wanted to make sure he didn’t have any clotting disorders or anything blood related. That was definitely the hardest wait, since it brought up these whole new scary things to think about…blood disorders? Yikes. Fortunately, all was well with his blood, and it just seems to be a hematoma. A bruise. Of some sort.

Looking back at the pictures I took this morning, you can see the lump, so I don’t know if he knocked his head on his (iron) crib in the middle of the night, or if it happened yesterday, or what. Hmm. Weird. I guess with three little boys, these things are just going to happen more and more. Of course, considering how my sister and I fought growing up, I don’t think it’d be any different if I’d had three little girls. Hmm.

So the boys went and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and George and I went to our friends’ house to eat Christmas dinner and play their Wii. Now George wants one. Woo hoo! Hee hee! I want one baaaaad, so I can get the Wii Fit and then um exercise a lot.

Tonight I’m taking the boys to Baton Rouge to see Grandee and Larry. We haven’t stayed overnight at their new house. Should be fun!

Here’s Lumpy-head: You can see the lump on the right side of his head, above his ear. It’s pretty big!

The boys with their stockings last year:

And this year:


Christmas Eve Eve Eve

I think I might be getting a little bit more into the Christmas spirit. The cold weather helps. Of course, it’s supposed to be in the 70s on on Thursday. Hmmph.

Saturday, I went Christmas shopping once. Once with two kids (and Teresa) and once without (also with Teresa). Can you imagine which time was easier/more enjoyable? Yeah. I still haven’t finished shopping, but that’s what Wednesday is for. Oh, heavenly Wednesday! The day I have off work, and daycare is still open! I can’t wait.

Yesterday I made some Christmas confections. Homemade Oreos (good, not too hard, but it occurs to me now that why should I bother trying to recreate something that’s so good and cheap? Hmm.) and meringue cookies. At least those are harder to find.

The Faux-reos before they got the filling and sandwiching:

Artsy-fartsy picture of the meringues:

The goodies ready to be given:

Oh yeah, also on Saturday, Ren and I took my boys and her girls to Fulton Street (along with her cousins and their offspring) for the Christmas display. It was…eh. There was faux snow. And lots of flocked trees.

They got their picture taken with Santa, too.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve!

Awesome, fun New Year’s plans

Don’t be jealous. While you’re off sipping champagne or other festive adult beverages, wearing sparkly clothes and enjoying fireworks, George and I will be tending to three sickly children. Fun!

That’s right, they’re all three having their adenoids removed and ear tubes put in, on the 31st. I guess with three kids, you can’t be too choosy about what surgery slot you get. Ah well. I’m pretty excited about it, nevertheless. Could there possibly be an end in sight of the constant ear infections? Oh please, say yes!

One year stats

I just realized I haven’t posted the boys’ one year stats yet. It’s been a tiring week month year. Bear with me.

One year! Here is my official one year post….

Stats:
Linus: 20 lbs, 8.5 oz (10th-25th); 30.25″ long (50th-75th); HC 46″ (25-50th)
Oliver: 20 lbs, 12.5 oz (25th); 30″ long (50th); HC 47″ (50th-75th)
Miles: 19 lbs, 12 oz (10th); 30″ long (50th); HC 46.5″ (50th)

at 10 months, their stats were:
Linus: 18#5.5oz (6th); 28.5″ long (32nd)
Oliver: 18#2.5oz (5th); 28.75″ long (41st)
Miles: 17#3oz (<3rd); 28″ long (17th)

So I’m quite pleased at how much they’ve come up the charts on their weight. Whew!

Now, what are they doing? Well, they’re all
– Pulling to standing
– Mimicking sounds we make
– Drinking milk out of sippy cups
– Dropping things on purpose
– Giving “five” (okay, grabbing your hand when you put it out.)
– Climbing on everything they can (which, admittedly, is not much)
– Wearing 12-18 month tops, but 9 month pants.
– Chasing each other around their playroom. Oh man, this is the best. They just giggle uncontrollably, looking back at whoever’s chasing them. It’s so cute.
– Waving

Linus is:
– Very good at mimicking sounds (more so than the other two, i think)
– My little frat boy. Loves to drop his pants and giggle about it.

Oliver is:
– very fond of giving you things. Very sweet, even when it’s a soggy, half-eaten cracker
– still very much a mama’s boy. Has the worst separation anxiety

Miles is:
– standing on his own! He’s gotten quite good at standing and will do it for several seconds now – maybe 10-15 before he gets bored? I think he has the balance thing down, he’s just trying to figure out what to do next.
– clapping sometimes, if I prompt him.

Okay, maybe I need to pay more attention to my kids. They’re definitely doing more than this, but come on. I’m tired.

The most exciting recent development of all, though, is NO MORE BOTTLES! Yippee! I think they got their last bottle on Thursday night, and since then, it’s been sippy cups of milk only. Yahoo! We have to go to the pediatrician again today so hopefully there hasn’t been any drastic weight loss in the last week or anything. Hmm. And tomorrow is a visit to the ENT for all three. Sigh.

Matchy matchy

Pay attention. This is one of those rare times when you’ll see the boys dressed exactly alike.

stripes1

Well, not exactly. Oliver’s a reindeer, and their shoes are different. And the shirts under their jumpers.  But dang, aren’t these cute? Thanks Aunt Kristie!

121208-025

Oliver does make an adorable reindeer, doesn’t he?

121208-026

Miles stands! And looks quite proud of himself, doesn’t he?

121208-023

This is so you can see the ridiculous cuteness of this jumper thingy. The hoodie part! Oh, it kills me.