Tour De Woolsey House August 27, 2008

I was just about ready to step into the bath to have a little relaxing “me” time and rejuvenate for Wednesday when I stopped dead in my tracks and realized that it has already been six months with the babies and I hate to see them growing up so fast. I told Chris the other day that I don’t know if they will ever be so sweet and cuddly and good again in their lives and I have to savor each and every day with them.

I have reflected on what I thought this experience would be like, filled with a lot of fears, and I realize that everything I have been frightened about in raising Ava and the triplets so far has not been a big deal afterall. From little things like how I would consantly carry three babies up the stairs to sleep all the time, to bigger things like Ava waking the babies up from sleep or visa versa (sleep is an important commodity in my life). My future fears are feeding the triplets real food vs. the bottles and what I am going to do when I have three toddlers running around the house.

I also looked around my bedroom absolutely filled with baby paraphernalia and finally felt fully accepting of the fact that baby stuff has taken over my entire house. This led me to a fun visual exercise. I am going to take inventory of all my baby stuff around the house at this very moment so I can always remember what it was like during this first year, and friends and family who haven’t visited will be able to visualize what my daily world looks like.

Master Bedroom:
1 pack n play
1 diaper pail
1 big basket loaded with diapers
1 small basket of binkies
1 small basket of washcloths
1 huge stack of burp cloths
1 huge stack of bibs
2 drawers full of baby clothes
1 exersaucer
1 glider

Dining Room:
3 car seats
Baby book on the table

Playroom:
heck, it’s a playroom so the entire room is filled with kid stuff

Entryway:
Box of Pampers diapers

Family room:
2 exersaucers
2 activity play mats
1Bumbo seat
2 baskets of toys
A jumpy toy they sit in
1 glider
1 mat for babies to roll on and puke on as they please

Kitchen:
2 bumbo seats
1 swing
1 papasan seat

Hallway:
1 exersaucer

Then of course upstairs there is the nursery which is full of baby stuff and the guest bedroom has another pack n play set up so Elsa can take her naps in there and not wake the other babies up when she wakes up.

So the babies had their 6 month checkup and here are the stats:
Elsa Marin: 12 pounds, 24 1/2 inches
Violet June: 12 pounds 7 ounces, 24 1/2 inches
Preston Jame: 12 pounds, 11 ounces, 24 5/8 inches and extra large head

The babies got half of their needed shots at the appointment yesterday and they will get the other half next week. I dosed them up with Tylenol before we left and then the rest of the day and they were happy little triplets. They weren’t happy, however, when that big needle pierced their miniature legs. I was quite proud of myself because I took all the babies by myself to the doctor. I ran in and grabbed a nurse to help me carry them in the office. The appointment took a full 2 hours as it usually does with three babies and they were such good little babies the entire time. I rotated them out of their car seat for a little mommy love and they were content. Dr. Dyer said his usual “well, keep doing what you are doing because they are looking great,” which is always nice to hear. They are on the small size for their age but are developmentally reaching all of their goals, which are really only a total of three: rolling over, passing a toy from one hand the the other and babbling. They have been doing all those things for about 2 months now. They may be small but they are smart – ha.

Well, my week sans Chris has been okay, because of the great help of my family and friends. Thanks to all of you, you know who you are, who have stepped in and helped me out while Chris is in Chicago. You have all made a potentially difficult and overwhelming week a pleasant one. And a big thanks to Nanny Laura who helps me keep my sanity each day and who helps keep my house clean and running smoothly and loves my babies and takes such great care of them.

We look forward to having daddy back on Friday because we miss him, and I know he misses us.

Until next time, the mothership is signing off.

Celebrating My Birthday with the Triplets August 25, 2008

Birthdays just aren’t what they used to be. I remember a time in the not so distant past when I would spend the day at the spa for my birthday, being lathered with massage oil and spackled with face mask. My birthday today was a few notches below that level of luxury. As I sit here writing this I can’t stand my own stench. I have been puked on all night by Elsa and Preston – repeatedly. At this point I have layers of drool mixed with formula that had clearly already mixed with digestive juices on my arms and legs. I need a bath worse than the babies.

Chris left for Chicago for an entire week this morning. That began my birthday festivities. Okay, in all fairness I did get to go out for dinner with my family last night and had a great time. But to be left alone all day with three needy babies on my birthday did bring on an element of depression. Angela called and I complained. I whined. She said, what can I do. I said, nothing because I am happy feeling sorry for myself. But being the great friend she is she brought me over Thai food, a big birthday cake and good ‘ol Dr. Pepper for lunch, and as luck would have it, the babies were all asleep and we got to eat sans babies.

Then my mom and dad came over and made me dinner and helped me put the babies to sleep. So, it turned out to be an okay day. No day at the spa, but come on Megan – get real. Wake up and smell the triplets. . . on your arms and in your hair. This is life and it is not about me it is about them. And these four kids are most important and on this birthday I will celebrate that I carried 3 babies almost 34 weeks and they are now 6 months old and they are healthy and happy and bring Chris, Ava and I so much joy. But next year I am going to the spa and while I am soaking in the hot tub I will reflect upon that sentiment.

Ava started Montessori preschool last week and is not sure that she likes it yet but I know once she is over the intimidation factor of being at a new school she will love it there. Ava continues to be the best big sister ever. Really she is. She has loved those babies so unconditionally since we have brought them home from the hospital. It is amazing.
Your Ava-ism for the day, brought to you by Chris:
Chris ran into a deli to pick up sandwiches and Ava was sleeping in the car. When he came back out to the car Ava was awake and crying. Chris said, “I’m sorry Ava – I just ran in really quickly to grab the sandwiches and when I left you were asleep.” Ava replied, “Daddy, you were holding me hostage in here.”

At 6 months, the babies are:
scooting across the floor
rolling both ways
grabbing anything and putting it in their mouth
recognizing people and smile at them
babbling and laughing
putting binkies back in their mouth
holding their bottles for a short period of time (yeah!)
sleeping through the night
playing in their exersaucers and grabbing at all the attached toys
taking 6 ounces in their bottles
starting oatmeal consistently as of tomorrow
Standing on their legs
reaching for their mommy (my boy did that today!)
as cute as can be.

Until next time, the mothership is signing off.

Preston Speaks! August 19, 2008

On Friday Brenda took our family pictures and it was stressful and chaotic and wonderful of her to block out her entire afternoon to get our family in. Elsa and Preston were having a puke-fest and Violet was grumpy and then happy and then grumpy and then happy. I do think we managed to get some great photos. Ava had been forewarned about the behavior we expected of her at the photo shoot and she was a real trooper through the entire 3 hour process. I can’t wait to see the pictures. At the beginning of the photo shoot we told Brenda that Violet, although totally adorable in person, is not overly photogenic. At the end of the shoot Brenda held up her camera and asked if this was the baby we said wasn’t photogenic, showing us the cutest pictures of Violet by herself. Brenda worked her magic and got Violet in her photogenic moments. I needed about three shots of vodka after the shoot so we stopped at a bar and I just ran in really quickly. Just kidding. I really am.

So my boy found his voice yesterday (Sunday). It is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. It was in the afternoon and I heard a baby making all this loud enthusiastic noise from the family room and I went to check it out and was amazed to see it was Preston in his exersaucer so pleased with the world around him. Up until now he really hasn’t had anything to say. He has three sisters and he is a bit overshadowed and possibly intimidated. Elsa is very talkative and a bit whiny sometimes with her communication. Violet has always been a fairly loud talker but these days she just loves to smile at everyone all day long. Ava is just plain loud all the time. Preston has burst onto the scene as quite a jovial fellow with some opinions of his own. I love his new voice.

Our learning lesson of the day: we can no longer feel safe in leaving the babies in their boppie pillows on the bed. Chris put Preston on one today while he was changing Elsa and he turned around and Preston had rolled over and his legs were hanging off the edge of the bed. I am happy to have learned this lesson through a non-injury situation rather than the big lesson once Preston had fallen off the bed and broken his arm.

Today was a good day. Ava woke up at 6:30am for the second day in a row and she was in a great mood. She was happy and refreshingly upbeat, she listened and hardly whined or complained the entire day. Who was this charming girl? Today I did not want to send her off to boarding school. She made Violet laugh for about 5 minutes straight today and determined on her own that Preston doesn’t like her very much. I felt bad for her. I said, “of course Preston likes you, he’s just hungry.” A white lie. Ava starts preschool tomorrow at Blue Oak Montessori (Gigi’s school) and she is so excited. She already gave the teacher a new middle name, Abby, which she may or may not call her by tomorrow.

On a final note, I have ventured out onto walks two days in a row with the babies. I load two of them up in their car seats and put them in the snap n’ go and brave the steep driveway with great caution. I take Sage also and tie her to the stroller and she is at the whim of the stroller driver. Yesterday I walked so far that today my legs are sore. Remember, I haven’t exercised in over a year because you don’t exercise when you are pregnant with triplets and you don’t really exercise after triplets either. So I went and we strolled and the babies loved it! They sat and checked out their surroundings and sucked on their binkies for about 45 minutes and then quietly faded away to slumber. When I got home I parked them in the garage since it was such a nice day and got about another hour of freedom to do fun stuff in the house like laundry and washing bottles and making bottles. The walk was refreshing – good for the bod and good for the soul. I will continue to take the babies out as much as I can. When I get the replacement seatbelt I ordered for the Runabout triplet jogging stroller I bought used I will see if I can manage all three down and up the steep driveway. I am guessing I cannot but maybe I am stronger than I imagine. I carried three babies in my body for 9 months afterall.

Until next time, the mothership is signing off.

The Most Terrible Mommy August 15, 2008

Last night Ava said, in a conspiritorial moment with Chris at the dinner table, mommy is terrible isn’t she dad? I was in the bedroom changing one of the babies and waiting for what seemed like a really long time to hear just what Chris’s response to that question would be.

The events that had led up to that comment boiled down to a long day and perhaps mommy was terrible that day. It started bright and early when Nanny Laura’s new lip earring got caught in Ava’s uncontrollable mane of hair and then she refused to sit still while Laura tried to retrieve it. The problem with this is that it is a new lip ring and will close up within an hour and Laura didn’t want to go through the agony of getting a needle forced through her bottom lip twice so Laura, Chris and I were on hands and knees scouring the carpet and every baby item possible to find it. Ava, who caused this whole ordeal, was of no help. She sat in a 10-minute time out for her contributions to the fiasco. We looked high and we looked low, we looked under and we looked around, and alas, there was no lip ring to be found. All the babies were crying during the search. Violet was crying so hard that Chris asked us if we think the lip ring happened to fly out of Laura’s lip, then out of Ava’s afro, only to fly down Violet’s throat. After a hard stare, I had to go with no on that one.

The lip ring incident caused Ava to miss her fun playdate with Nathan and Ryan and instead Laura and Ava took a drive to Placerville to get a new lip ring while the babies and I regrouped.

The day didn’t get much better. By the end of the day I was running around the kitchen like a maniac making Ava’s favorite, Chicken Picatta, complete with fruit salad and green salad. Ava took one bite of the Picatta and deemed it unworthy of her fine pallet. She picked at it and then she said she was full. I was furious. I told her to get out of the kitchen and go upstairs and don’t come down. When she begged for her dinner back I told her no. I was not going to be manipulated by my three year old daughter who would rather sit and pick at her imperfect dinner than go upstairs by herself. It had been a long day. But Chris demanded we give her the dinner back. I got mad and told him he was being manipulated by Ava, threw Ava’s stuffed animal at him and went to the bedroom. That is when I overheard the personal attack. About an hour later at bedtime she wanted me to say goodnight to her and I told her that she was going to have to find a mom who wasn’t so terrible to say goodnight to her. She came down and apologized for calling me terrible and all was better.

Life around the Woolsey household is usually more loving and peaceful, but yesterday it was a hostile environment. I can already look back on yesterday and laugh which means I must be maintaining a sense of humor amidst the madness.

The triplets are doing fabulously. They are happy babies, they are sleeping well, they smile and laugh all day long, the observe curiously, and they are always happy to go out and see the world. Yesterday I took Preston out and today I took Elsa. Ava, Elsa and I met some friends at the park and played and then we went to Target for some shopping. Elsa was so perfectly happy the whole day. Also today I took Preston and Elsa swimming in the pool. They loved it. They were troopers about the cold water and seemed very comfortable. Violet misses out on a lot of things because she is always sleeping.

I also started feeding them some oatmeal and they seem to like it fine. Preston likes it the most. The picture of Preston above tells you how much he likes it.

We have a busy weekend ahead of us starting with Ava’s montessori open house tomorrow morning, then we have a photo shoot with Brenda, and later that evening is my bunco dinner with my friends. Saturday I have Emili’s wedding shower and then my cousin and his family (four kids also) are coming for dinner and some swimming. Sunday we have Kendall’s birthday party. All fun stuff. I must be organized. I have already gathered about 4 outfits for each baby in preparation of the photo shoot. I just don’t know what they should wear.

Ava-ism for the day:
questions asked to mommy while driving in the car – “mommy how did they put your belly back together after it was in pieces,” asks Ava. “Do you mean after they cut it to take the babies out,” asks mommy. “Yes,” says Ava. “Well, they take a needle and a long piece of thread and they sew the skin back together,” explains mommy. “Well, I think they should’ve used glue,” replies Ava.

Until next time, the terrible mothership is signing off. . .