4.29.10 ~ 10 months

Another month down. We went on a hike to Heybrook Lookout near Index last weekend and we're starting to take the girls on more outings. We're almost out of our 'quarantine' as illnesses in the community continues to decline. Our favorite 'date' right now is to go to Starbuck's and feed the girls breakfast while we enjoy our coffee. There's also a new coffee shop near our house that we can walk to and enjoy breakfast. As the weather has been getting nicer the girls have spent more time in the yard. I'm happy to say that Avery is no longer afraid of grass :)  We've even had a few friends over for mini play dates. With our increased socializing, we did get our first colds this month. All the girls got runny noses for about 2 weeks, were healthy for a week, and have a second round of runny noses again. They were nice enough to share with Mom and Dad, too. They've been pretty good through all of it, but we had to suck out their noses all the time and they didn't care so much for that.

Milestones:
~sitting: everyone sits now, yay! Camille is even able to get herself from her tummy into a sitting position (at least once on 4/25).
~crawling: not yet, but Camille's close
~talking: Avery signs 'all done' and 'up' and is learning 'eat'. Brelynn signs 'all done' and 'up' sometimes. Camille is content doing what she's doing, but I think I saw an 'all done' sign the other day :)  They all babble and say 'dada', 'mama', 'nana', and 'gaga' but I don't think they know what they mean yet.
~socializing: everyone is smiling and laughing all the time. Brelynn will clap her hands for pat-a-cake, Avery still loves peek-a-boo. The girls like to play with each other, which looks more like stealing toys, poking eyes, and pulling hair. There have been many times where I'll be doing something in one room and I can hear them start laughing at each other in another room. Very cute. Of course when I get the video camera they all stop. Oh, and the're starting to waive 'hi' now, too.
~eating: everyone feeds themselves finger foods. They love anything they can feed themself. Current snacks are banana, pears, peaches, peas, crackers, cheerios, and sweet potatoes.  With their newfound self-feeding ability, their willingness to eat off a spoon is rapidly declining (causing mom a lot of stress). I haven't let them use a spoon themselves yet because I'm afraid of the mess they'll make. And if you've seen my house you know that I'm no stranger to a mess...they're really messy!
~teething: still only 4 teeth, two for Avery and two for Brelynn but many more are coming for all of them. 
~growth: we had a 10 month doctor's appointment for our final dose of Synagis (immunization against RSV) on 4/27 and the girls stats were (for 10 month olds):
     Avery: 16 lbs, 2 oz (4%ile), 27" (15%ile)
     Brelynn: 18 lbs, 1 oz (25%ile), 28" (50%ile)
     Camille: 14 lbs, 10 oz (<3%ile), 26.5" (9%ile)

and your reward for reading all of this...a picture from Haybrook Lookout :)

Interesting facts

In my last post I announced we would be walking to help the March of Dimes raise money to prevent premature births and treat preemies. Today I came across some interesting information about the March of Dimes (thanks to Helen of Three Times the Giggles).

Even if you don't have a preemie, you and your family have benefited from the March of Dimes (MOD).
~The MOD's first goal was to beat Polio, and it was successful
~The APGAR scoring system for infants became standard practice around the world thanks to Dr. Virginia Apgar's work with the MOD.
~The MOD funded the very first bone marrow transplant to correct a birth defect (1968)
~The MOD discovered that alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes birthd efects (1973)
~The MOD funds first in utero treatment of a birthd efect (1973)
~The MOD launched the national campain urging women to take Folic Acid during pregnancy (1995)
~The MOD led the effort to have newborn screening (heel prick) for at least 21 of 29 life threatening, but treatable disorders.

As of right now, Sweet Baby Rays has three walkers and has raised $125. Thanks to those who have already donated. Can we get more walkers or more donations???  The walk is less than one month away, May 15th...

4.15.10 ~ March for Babies

The March of Dimes has a fundraising walk in Seattle on May 15th called the March for Preemies and we`re walking this year with our girls. Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small, and often very sick. We were fortunate to make it to 32 weeks with the girls and although we spent a long time in the NICU, they were relatively healthy. Still, that was a long nine weeks!

We're hoping to raise money to support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. Would you consider joining us at the walk (it's free) or making a donation to the March of Dimes?  You can do both on our team page at http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1379561.  Thank you for helping us give all babies a healthy start!

Camille





Brelynn



Avery



4.4.10 ~ Easter

We had grand plans of taking the girls to church for the first time (well, Avery went once when she was first home then we had to stop because of cold and flu season...too many people), but that didn't happen this year. All five of us are sick with a cold. We had planned to go to church then to Dan's parent's house for a brunch but we figured the girls only had one event in them for the day so we chose brunch. They didn't nap well but were pretty happy with all the excitement of family and dogs. They are finally big enough to fit into the really cute dresses that our friend's mom got for them a long time ago (thanks Betsy!). Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen???

Avery, Brelynn, Camille

Dan with Brelynn, me with Avery and Camille

3.31.10 ~ Six babies!

Since having the girls we've met and been in touch with lots of other triplet families. Honestly, that's how I maintain my sanity most of the time. I like reading other triplet blogs and talking with other moms when we can find some free time. Most of the kids are older than our girls, but there are two sets of triplets that are really close in age. One is the Chandler's kiddos who are about two months older than us. The other is a family we met online that lives in California. They have three girls who are only two weeks older than us. It's been fun hearing about her girls and comparing all six of them. Luckily, they are visiting family in Woodinville of all places so we decided to get together and have a play date. Six baby girls, all nine months old...how fun! It was great to finally meet Kari and her girls. Here are some pictures (I know 4 of the girls for sure, I may have mixed Stella and Fiona, sorry!).

(From L-R) Brelynn jumping, Kari holding Fiona, Stella, Daphne sitting, me holding Camille, Avery sitting

All the girls
Brelynn, Fiona, Stella, Daphne, Avery, Camille

3.29.10 ~ 9 months

The girls are 9 months old today. Here are some quick updates:
~4 teeth (Avery has 2 and Brelynn has 2)
~2 rollers (Avery & Camille)
~1 chatterbox (Brelynn). She babbles up a storm and will 'yell' at us sometimes. She says 'dada' but we're not convinced she knows who dada is yet. I think she said 'ball' the other day, but the speech therapist in me says it's too early for first words. I held up a ball and said 'ball' about 20 times while playing with her and then she said 'ba'. She repeated it several times for Dan, too. I'm so proud!
~3 copy cats. Avery will stick her tongue out and make clicking noises and Brelynn and Camille will smack their lips which I call blowing kisses. Brelynn will shake her head no and has clapped her hands a few times. We're working on waiving bye bye.
~sitters. Avery sits independently for long periods of time. Brelynn sits independently for a few minutes and then topples over. She can sit for a long time with a little support from a boppy. Camille will sit with support for a minute or two and then she wants to get up and jump. This girl can't sit still and jumps every chance she gets.
~feeders. The girls love to feed themselves finger foods like puffs and crackers. They eat like champs and love mashed up pears and bananas. Their all time favorite right now is strawberry yogurt. Camille has learned how to blow raspberries while she's eating (only when it's something she doesn't love...never does it with yogurt, hmm) and it makes me CRAZY!
~crawler? Camille is getting up on all fours and pushing herself backwards across the room. Shouldn't be long until she figures out how to go forward.
~sleepers :) Still doing great and sleeping all night. They usually go to bed by 7:30 and sleep until 6:30. Aahhh!

All in all, we're doing great! They're learning so much everyday...

3.25.10 ~ Spring hiking

We took advantage of the great spring weather last weekend and went for a hike to Wallace Falls. Our great friends, Ryan and Kim, came with us and helped carry the girls and all our stuff up the trail. Thanks guys! We started our morning out with a quick stop at a fake Starbucks (in Fred Meyer) and I fed the girls breakfast while drinking my coffee and Dan was able to go buy some snacks for our hike. Once we were stocked up and fed, we headed to the trail. Three babies were loaded into backpacks and we started out. The girls did great all the way up (2.1 miles to the middle falls) but then started getting a little fussy because they skipped their nap. We headed back and the girls all fell asleep in the backpacks for a little bit. When we got back down we attempted to feed them, but they are all princesses and wouldn't drink cold bottles (I need to get a thermos that actually keeps milk warm!). Then we headed to Zeke's Drive In and had some yummy burgers before heading home. Dan got some great photos of the falls and scenery as well as some fun ones of our hiking party. This is going to be a great summer!

Kim, Brenda, Avery

 

Me with Avery (in the backpack) and Camille



Dan with Camille



Ryan with a sleeping Brelynn