Afternoon Fuss Fest

The boys get very fussy in the afternoons. This picture sums up our general attitude today.

Actually, I've been okay. They won't tell me why they are so ticked off. Pssshhh.

We're getting through it. They are both (mostly) asleep in my lap now. Which means I'm not getting a thing done. But there is silence, so I'll take that. My friend came over today to watch them for about 15 minutes so I could get a shower. And I brushed my teeth today. So I guess I got something done.

Good times! More soon.

Ash

Life imitating 'art'

I noticed the boys were holding hands after I nursed them tonight, so I took a quick picture from my phone. While editing it, I noticed that their profiles reminded me of the ultrasound pictures, so I did a mash-up. Enjoy!

We are doing fairly well around here. Casey had surgery last week to ensure that there will not be any more Hetrick children in our family, so it's been a long weekend for both of us. He's recovering, but not as quickly as he'd like. Rowan got circumcised today at the hospital...no fun. He's been pretty fussy this afternoon, as can be expected. My boys are in recovery mode. Hopefully they will be back to normal asap!

The weather is starting to warm up! The Hetricks are flying in tomorrow for an extended weekend so they can help with the basement. Always thankful for the help. I know Casey is a lot less stressed when things get accomplished. I'm happy to have a few extra sets of hands with the boys...I am killing my back carrying them around, lifting things, etc.. I'm also glad Keaton will have more attention. I'm not balancing things as well as I would like...I'm glad there's a learning curve on my side.

That's all for now. I'm not posting as much as I thought I would. Will try to work on that, troop. Right now my free time is spent just trying to stay afloat! We'll get there eventually.

Until next time....

Ash

Short milestone post

This will be quick as it is 1 a.m. and I'm exhausted. Yesterday, Nik almost rolled over (because he was arching his back during tummy time thanks to terrible reflux). Great Grandma Hetrick was here and saw it, too. That kid sure can move. Both boys are very strong and can already lift their heads up and turn them both directions (it took Keaton awhile as a baby because he had a big ol' noggin). I'm not sure how behind they might be as far as milestones go, but so far I don't see a thing indicating they are delayed...they are just tiny.

Also, Keaton was laying on the floor with them and Rowan smiled at him. Very quick, but very cute.  :-D They have been smiling in their sleep a lot. Nik smiled at me the other day while he was wide awake. (We've seen gas-related smiles when they sleep before that.)

They've been cluster-feeding this weekend which indicates another growth spurt. I hope they start spacing out feedings and sleeping better at night! Casey and I are like zombies right now.

Today will be my first full day with all three boys to myself. Pray for me please.  Keaton is coming off a crummy weekend and he really tried pushing his limits most of the time while Great Grandma & Grandpa Hetrick were visiting. I hope he sleeps in today and cuts me some slack, although I could cut him some, too. Three is TOUGH!!!

More soon.

Ash

Seven weeks old, & Keatonisms

I'm overdue on a few things. First off, the boys had their Ped check up Tuesday morning: Nik is 5 lbs 15.5 oz, 18.5 inches long. Rowan is 5 lbs 8.5 oz and 18.25 inches long. Ro needs a bit of a calorie boost again, it would appear, but is otherwise doing well. They both had three vaccinations, and were very fussy all afternoon. I spent most of the afternoon on the couch holding them because they would scream if I didn't. Not a productive day, but we made it work.

Last night we had a parent teacher conference for Keaton that went well. His teacher, Ms. Nelly, said that he is very smart and strong. She called his vocabulary "amazing". And to Casey's delight, she informed us that he likes math and numbers. I'm proud of him and am excited to do some fun things with him at home to encourage his learning.

I haven't written Keatonisms in awhile: here are some recent ones (stolen from Facebook posts):

To me, of course..."I need you not to move or talk. I'm going to fix you."

After watching an episode of Curious George for the 500th time about "Toots", a germ that goes inside George, he says, "I had a strange dream. About Toots. He was in my body. He was heading for the stomach!" (The tone in his voice made this hysterical!)

Keaton Alexander, weatherman: "It is warm and cold and the sun is out." About as accurate as the real ones.

"I wanna look in your ear. Oh! A purple bird! I see a blue bird. You have to go to the hospital doctor. I will take you there."

"Can I see the roller coasters?" (Talking about drink coasters)

"Can I brush your hair? Because it's bad." It was.

Talking about the day a deer ran in front of Casey's car, "Ohhhhhhhh no! That was a bad day."  

Walking around Sam's Club Saturday when Keaton yells out, "Mommy, I like wine!" and a little later, "I drink beer! Daddy, do we need more beer?" Ohhhh my goodness. I'm waiting for Child Services to knock on the door.

*****

More soon!!

-Ash

I Think I Can

Is it sad that I always have to go back and reread the last post to see what's happened since then? And then I normally completely space out on what's been going on here? Yeah, I think it's sad. My brain is full of holes. But for the most part, it's been a pretty successful week.

My most successful day, and probably my reason for being in any way confident as a parent of three small boys, was Wednesday. Granted, Casey took care of all things Keaton, but as far as the little dudes go, I'm pretty proud of myself. We had an appointment with Lactation at 10:30, so I somehow got everyone dressed and ready to go, packed into the rental van (which I had never driven before and was nervous about), made it to the appointment ON TIME, and had a successful tandem nursing experience with the boys. (Actually, I always tandem nurse them now. I am still not really sure how we manage to do it, but the boys are so small that I can wrangle them with one arm each and get them to latch, etc. now on my own... the double burping is always interesting, especially with two little men who flip around a lot... it's going to get a lot more difficult as they get bigger!). After the appointment, we stopped by the NICU and I donated most of the boys' preemie clothes to them. I remember that being one of my favorite milestones when the boys were there- coming in one day and seeing them dressed in little pajamas and onesies... it made them seem like the little babies I had longed for and not these tiny, skinny little people hooked up to tons of monitors. I wanted to give that to someone else. It was also nice to see nurses and staff I hadn't seen in a few weeks. The smell of the NICU brought back quite a few memories, which wasn't so easy, but probably easier than many have had it there. I am happy to have given back to a place that gave us so much; two amazing little people. I will always be grateful to them, and plan to go back and visit whenever we are at the hospital.

After that, I was pretty tired, so I decided to eat at the hospital cafeteria. Dr. Covert, our favorite neonatalogist, came out and saw the boys. He was very pleased with how they've done since they left. It was great to see him! I also ran into the chaplain from the NICU, one of my MFM doctors, and a bunch of random people who were apparently baffled that I gave birth to twins. I feel like a parade whenever I go anywhere with them. I love overhearing people in shock that they are my babies... I just laugh. At the cafeteria, one woman asked me where they came from. I told her "outer space". I wouldn't dare say, "My hostile uterus" but I really wanted to! Funny comments aplenty. I always hear the same things... "You've got your hands full!" "You're so tiny, how did you have twins??".... I wish I knew a good comeback for things like that. I DO have my hands full. I am also the size of a FOURTH GRADER and believe me when I tell you, that's not bragging! Everyone is different. I pretty much think that having twins was a miracle for anyone, but maybe even moreso for me. They are a miracle. I'm a lucky Mommy. And we'll leave it at that for now.

After lunch on Wednesday, I got the boys packed up, we came home and rested for a bit, and then I packed them up in the van again to go to my OB appointment. That was quick, and as painless as it can be, but it was fun to see the people at the OB that I hadn't seen since I was sent to the hospital in labor. I also ran into Dr. Josupait, who delivered all of my boys. He said they looked great, and seemed genuinely happy to see us all. It was a confidence boosting day.

Some people tell me I'm "Super Mom". I appreciate that a LOT. But I'm just going day by day, making things work as best as I can. I fail. A lot. I get flustered and I yell when I shouldn't, and I lose my cool sometimes. I am enjoying it all, but I'm also tired as hell. It is not easy, and I'm never trying to brag when I say I did something... in fact, I'm kind of in awe that we made it out alive! Maybe I'll always be in awe of this. I want to humbly say that I am a mother of three small boys... and it's exhausting. But it's also... AWESOME. And I'm going to love it even more when they all get past age 3 in one piece. ;)

More soon....

-Ash

Am I awake? Will I ever sleep again?

It's me again! I promise we are all doing fine. We are sleeping... sometimes. We are eating- not as often as the tiny men are, but still. They are starting to space feedings out to about 4 hours, which has been nice at night because we get a few hours of sleep in a row. It makes a big difference when you need your brain to function somewhat normally. Casey has gotten up with me every time they wake up to cry, so he gets some major Daddy Points. He may not have been fully *awake* for all of them... but I guess I can say that he does know how to change a diaper in his sleep. Literally. :)

My good friend Janine took pictures of the five of us recently, and the ones I have seen so far have been terrific! I'm really excited to see the rest she's taken. It's great to have pictures of the boys (all three!) when they are so small, because they are growing like weeds! They are both over 5 lbs now and will probably be at 6 soon. They are gaining about an ounce each day. They also spit up all the darn time, and have pretty bad reflux, so they are now on Zantac (for babies). It's helped so far, and probably one of the reasons they are spacing out feedings. Good times.

So life is chaotic. Crazy. Fun. Never a dull moment. Juggling children is something we will all have to get used to sooner than later. Today was basically a test run for when Casey goes to work all day. Tomorrow it will be me with the little guys all day while K is at school and Casey is at work. I think we should be fine (and I am excited about my nap at some point during the day!).

Yadda yadda yadda... I'm so tired I can't even think of what else to write, even though I know there is plenty more to update about. Maybe I'll remember that in the early morning hours one of these nights when I'm somewhat coherent. :) Until then...

-Ash