4 months already

My boys turned 4 months old today. I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown by. I look back at pictures from when they were these itty bitty 4-pound nuggets and then see the whopping 12-pounders they are now and it’s hard to believe they’re getting so big. Time flies when you have three infants. The gang went to the doctor today for their 4 month check up. Oliver is my big boy weighing in at 12 lbs 3 oz. Charlie is a close second at 12 lbs 2 oz. And then there’s my runt (by only 3 oz) Sawyer, coming in at 11 lbs 15.5 oz. While they seem huge to me, they are still only in the first percentile for weight and height. It’s going to take them a while to catch up. If their buns had stayed in the oven, they’d be 2 1/2 months old. So if we compare them to that, they would be in the 25th percentile for weight and height. So still small, but not THIS small. Overall the doctor was very happy with their growth and said they are perfectly healthy little guys. That’s easy to see.

Charlie

Sawyer

Oliver

A couple of milestones they have reached so far – smiles! They smile like crazy! I don’t think there’s anything cuter than when these boys smile. It melts my heart instantly. I remember when Emmy was a baby we’d do everything short of standing on our heads and she wouldn’t even crack a smile. She was not impressed. That has definitely changed. But the boys are definitely little flirts. They even make cute little cooing sounds and sometimes it sounds like they are trying to laugh. But my favorite new development – they are finally sleeping through the night! HALLELUJAH, Praise the Lord!!! They can go about 8-9 hours now. So if we put them down at 9 or 9:30, they will sleep until 6:30 or 7:00! Of course I don’t go to bed at 9:30, so I still don’t get 8 hours, but I’m getting more than 3, so I’ll take it.  It’s amazing how a little extra sleep does wonders for my attitude.

Another thing that makes me happy is the new stroller I bought for the boys. It’s a triple stroller so it allows me to take the boys out by myself. Up until now I had two double strollers so I had a seat for all four kids. The only problem with that scenario was that I always had to have someone with me if I wanted to go somewhere, anywhere, even for a walk down the block. I am a very independent person, and this situation just wasn’t working for me. I felt trapped in the house having to wait for someone to come push a stroller. It was cramping my style. We finally found a triple stroller that would hold infant car seats and voila, we are a one stroller family.  Now at least I can get out and about on my own, but there’s still the challenge of Emmy. I don’t have anywhere for her to sit, so I usually try to carry her. Justin is also working on building a little side car for the stroller – like we don’t get enough attention already! One downside of this device is all the attention it draws. People see you walking around with three babies in a row like that and they literally point and stare. It’s pretty funny.

After four long, hard months, I finally feel like I’m getting the hang of having triplets and a toddler simultaneously.  For a while it felt like I was struggling just to keep my head above water, and I still have those days, but now I feel I can go places without creating chaos. It’s still a bit of a circus in that it takes about 45 minutes to round up everything and everyone and get them all locked and loaded in the Geel Mobile, but the anxiety level is definitely going down. And that is a start. It seems each day gets a little easier, that or I’m just getting used to the chaos, but either way it’s a good thing. Emmerson is turning out to be such an amazing big sister too. When one of the boys starts crying she will run over and pat him on the tummy, and after much practice she even does gently! Then she tries to put a binki in his mouth, this one is going to require a bit more practice. She loves her “brudders” and I love her!

Here’s to the next four months, hoping they are just as great as the first four! Happy four months Charlie, Oliver and Sawyer, I love you like crazy!

She is a great big sister

The Geel Gang