We survived the one year pediatrician well baby visit!

I had been dreading this appointment for six months. When Bob and I brought the girls in for their 6 month well baby visit, it was nothing short of a disaster. We were still pretty darn sleep deprived and the appointment was during their morning nap. At the end of that visit when the girls got their shots, they were inconsolable. As new parents to three babies, we were pretty stressed and overwhelmed with the fact that we were left to get three screaming babies dressed and back in their car seats on our own. It was just a nightmare. Our 2 week, 2 month, and 4 month appointments were MUCH easier than the 6 month.

So I was just really nervous that this visit was going to be a repeat of the 6 month visit. This time??? WAS SO MUCH BETTER! Whew!

The appointment was at 9:30 so that meant that we had to start getting ready at 7am in order to leave on time. Feeding three toddlers (wow, it still hurts to say toddlers and not babies) their milk, followed by breakfast, followed by a diaper change and getting dressed, getting ourselves ready, getting the stroller and three little ones loaded into the van.... thankfully, I packed the diaper bag the night before.... But you can see why it takes so long just to leave the house on time. I was really proud of us for being out the door 5 minutes before we needed to.

This was the first time we took them to the doctor with the triple stroller. I was nervous about how we'd fit all of us and the stroller into the patient room. I even brought our smallest triple stroller (the Norfolk) since I knew it would be a tight fit as it is. The medical assistant who called us back looked at me, looked at the stroller and then said, " You're going to have to leave that stroller in the hall." I kind of laughed and said... "Uh, they don't walk yet. They don't stand on their own and we are only two people. She realized that yeah... we needed the stroller to contain them. So she ended up moving the 2 chairs for the parents out of the room and I backed the girls and their bus in. It was tight, but we managed.

The girls, overall, are doing really well. They are all tall. 31 1/2 inches each. Their weights were pretty good too. All above the 24th percentile which is a BIG step up from all being 10th percentile or even less with Rachel's 4th percentile at 6 months. Sophia is still in the lead at 21 lbs, 12 oz. Morgan is second at 20 lbs, 8 oz, and Rachel is just under that at 19 pounds, 15 oz. I'm really proud of our girls. I have been worried that they weren't eating enough, but according to Dr. A, the girls are really thriving and doing really well. He said it was hard to believe they were 3, 4, and 5 pounds at birth.

We may end up doing some physical therapy for Sophia. She still has trouble sitting on her bottom with her legs out. We know she can do it. We're almost convinced that she just chooses not to. She will sit for 30 seconds or less before falling over backwards. We don't think she falls over backwards because of losing her balance. We think its because she always rolls to her back and then gets to the crawling position that way. She doesn't go from sitting to leaning forward to crawl. Dr. A sent a referral over to physical therapy and we'll hear from them if they feel they need to see her. Otherwise, we are giving her more time since she has reached every other developmental milestone.

Also good news.... Rachel's clogged tear duct has completely cleared up. It dawned on me the other the day I hadn't had to clean her eye lately and it hasn't been watering or sealing shut with mucus. I'm such a busy mom, I just sort of forgot that she had the issue. I realized it probably about a month ago that her eye is perfectly fine now. I remember being so worried that she'd need surgery for it. Eye problems are very common with babies that were born as small as she was. (3 lbs, 7 oz)

Morgan still has horribly dry skin. Poor baby is always trying to scratch. Dr. A gave us some prescription cream to try and help and told us to start oatmeal baths for her. We're hoping it helps!

Of course they all cried during their shots. The difference this time was that we had their favorite Elmo book and Cheerios with us! Elmo and Cheerios make everything better in this house. So once they got the shots, I snuggled them and stuffed some Cheerios in their mouths and it quickly made them happy! Great habit to start right? hahaha... Oh you're upset? EAT! So yeah, this is a habit we won't be using at home!

Overall, I was happy that everything went so smoothly. I am very thankful that Daddy got to come with us on this one. I couldn't have done it alone! Also....as a bonus... the waiting room was practically deserted when we got there so we weren't even stalked by any paparazzi! That always makes for a better time!

I think we're getting the hang of this.... "parents to triplets" thing!