Naps, Naps, Naps....

Over the past month, as I have complained about before, the girls' naps are a pretty much off schedule. We all know I hate not having a schedule. I don't think any triplet mom could function without one.

Last week, Sophia and Rachel didn't take a morning nap at least 4 out of 7 days. Morgan's morning nap was about 20 minutes long. It became all too clear to me that it was time to make the switch to one nap. I think I have resisted as long as possible, but it's time now.

We started yesterday. I was determined to make nap time 12:30pm. Bob and I decided to get the girls out of the house after breakfast to keep them entertained, so we took them to Home Depot. We picked out new flooring for the kitchen, checked out some paint samples, and bought a chain saw. (Bob is cutting down the fruit trees so our backyard will be more kid friendly.) The girls did pretty good until we got home around 11am. Morgan started melting down. Rachel and Sophia were okay at that point. I fed them lunch..... then all three of them started the meltdowns. I turned to our trusty friends, "The Wiggles," and let the girls watch TV for a while before I gave them their bottle. At 12:30, it was time for nap and they were all asleep within 5 minutes. They slept almost THREE HOURS, which is like a miracle for naps in this house!

Today....so far, so good. I took them for a walk this morning and then we came home and played until lunch time. When I put them down....5 minutes..and bam....they were OUT! They've been sleeping for an hour and a half now. I think this schedule is going to be good for us. We can start doing more outings in the mornings. Before, I was always limited to only going out between 12-1:30. Now we have a few hours in the morning to do whatever.

I could really get used to these long afternoon naps. We just need to get through the next week or so while we adjust!

Play Date

A couple of days ago, the girls enjoyed their first play date outside of our home. A friend of mine has boy/girl twins just 6 days younger than the girls. We've had a couple of play dates with them at our house, but this was the first time we had a play date at their house.

We had such a good time. Morgan wasn't shy and just jumped right into their toys. Rachel took a few minutes before she was all over the room. Sophia took a bit longer. She hung out (meaning ON) with me for quite some time. Then she would crawl a few feet away and then come back to me, each time going just a little further away from me. They did so great until just after lunch. Rachel and Sophia didn't take their morning nap that day, so after eating, they were just DONE. I was sad to have to leave early but the girls really needed to sleep.

Overall, I would call it a success. Plus, could those five babies be any cuter???

(Oh and I totally ripped this photo off of my friend's blog. What can I say? She's a fabulous photographer!)

Morgan's first oatmeal bath

Morgan has horribly dry skin. Poor baby. I have to be careful to keep her nails as short as possible. I also have to make sure whatever I dress her in can't be easily pulled up so she can scratch her legs. Most of the time, I keep her in the zipper sleep and plays so she can't scratch those legs. At her one year well baby check up, her doctor suggested oatmeal baths and to switch to soap free wash like Aveeno. I'm frustrated with myself that I didn't do this sooner. I have tried just about every product out there to keep those little legs hydrated, just not Aveeno (grrr). With Aveeno bath wash, the oatmeal baths, and the Aveeno hydrating lotion, Morgan's dry skin is really improving (Wow, I sound like an Aveeno spokesperson don't I? lol). Here she is enjoying her first oatmeal bath. She is really loving her baths now, she doesn't have to share with her sisters anymore since we are using different soaps for Morgan! I love how it turns the bath water a nice shade brown-ish.

One more thing about baths... I just realized that the girls are year old now and not once has one of them pooped while taking a bath. hahahaha...And no I don't think they will start pooping just because I said it...Hey, but you never know right? I know they usually pee in the tub. When they were smaller, they were famous for it. As soon as I'd get one of them in the infant tub, they would pee. I found myself constantly emptying and refilling the water every time one of them peed. Sometimes I'd end up filling that stinkin little tub 6 times just to get 3 baths done. When we switched to the big tub upstairs, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see them pee anymore. So I let go of my uh... hang ups about it and decided... Eh.. What's a little pee between sisters?

In other news, one of our helpers was my hero yesterday. It wasn't because she has been faithfully coming to help us for the past year. It wasn't because she played with the girls and fed them lunch so I could get some things done. Why was she my hero you ask?

Because she killed a big black hairy spider for me!

I HATE spiders. They seriously freak me out... Just ask Bob. He hates that every time there is a spider somewhere, I freak out like a little girl and make him kill it. When I'm home alone and see a spider, there is a big scene with a broom, a bottle of hair spray, a shoe....and lots of um..screaming on my part!

So a big thanks to our friend because I didn't have to face that nasty creepy crawler!

My little puppies!

Our girls love this Laugh and Learn playhouse. I do have to say, I love it too. I especially love that I found it used and only paid $20 for it! Every time I want or need something for the girls, it's almost guaranteed that someone in my triplet mom's group has it and is ready to pass it on to another family. What would I do without my fellow MoM's?

Anyway, whenever I give the girls a little snack of Cheerios or Puffs, or whatever... I always put it somewhere in their play area. The best place is at the bottom of the ball chute of their playhouse. They love it. I pour in a snack and they come crawling (or walking on their knees) right over to it and start chowing down! I think its adorable.

So about a week ago, one of our helpers was over, and I did what I always do when the girls need a snack....I poured it right into the little area on their favorite toy. Well, our helper busted out laughing.....(and I still don't know what to call them on this blog...a helper, a friend, or use their name..anyway...) .. So she was laughing so hard. Naturally, I asked her what was so funny. She said that when I poured the Cheerios, it reminded her of little puppies. Their owner pours their food in a dish and the puppy comes running to eat. The girls know where the snack is going when they see Mommy come in with the Cheerios. They follow me and start chowing down as soon as that first Cheerio hits the plastic.

When I realized she was right and it was kinda like feeding your pet...... I started laughing so hard I had some tears! It was hilarious looking at it from her prospective.

Here are a few pics of me "feeding my little pets." Hahahahaha....

Morgan munching away

The girls playing with their food and eating it too!

It was a rainy day out....And yes, sometimes they throw all the food out of the little tray and eat it off the carpet! Hurry call CPS...I let my kids eat Cheerios off of "gasp" the floor!

Morgan loves to crawl through that door. That's Rachel next to her. Usually, Sophia is trying to shut the door when Morgan tries to crawl through. Instead, Sophia is distracted by the rain!

Sophia noticed my camera and the photo session had to be ended for obvious reasons!

So I know you want to know....Do I still feed them their snack like puppies? Haha... Yes, I do!

Mommy will be right back

I realized today that I frequently say, "Mommy will be right back," to the girls. I'm a mother to triplets. Of course I can't lift three babies at the same time or somehow magically get them into their high chairs at the same time. (Oh how I wish for those powers!)

I wish that I could just have them crawl from room to room, but we have a tri-level house. When we looked at this house, the thought of three babies at once was, of course, not on my radar. I SO would have bought a one story. So we have gates all over protecting the girls from the stairs and from themselves. haha..

Today when I was getting the girls into their high chairs for lunch, I had to bring one in at a time. I took Morgan first because if you say the word "eat" around her..... She'll be right there with her mouth open! Of course Sophia and Rachel came to the gate as well. I had three babies who wanted me at once, which is not an unusual occurrence in this house. I of course said... Mommy will be right back. Then came back and grabbed Sophia and upset Rachel...AGAIN...and had to say..Mommy will be right back... I hate it. I have to say it when I'm getting them out of their cribs in the morning, at nap time... oh and when I am putting them IN their cribs. Same thing for when I am loading them into or out of the van on my own. Its awful. Sometimes they won't even notice, but other times, they all want me. It breaks my heart that I have to upset one or two of them while I'm in the process of moving them around the house. UGHHH!

I do look forward to the day when they can safely climb up and down all the stairs or walk to the van with me. Right now, I just have so much guilt that I'm constantly saying.. okay Mommy will be righhhhhhhht back. At least they totally know what "right back" means. lol... But still..

One of these days I can see "right back" as being their first words! HA!

It's raining, it's pouring, I wish I were snoring!

I'm tired. Every time I post something about me getting more sleep, it seems to um... backfire. lol... I can't complain too much. We've been having some pretty good nights over here.

Last night, was a rough one. Rachel woke up at around 11pm because she had lost her paci and couldn't find it. My darling husband went up to help her. He couldn't find it so he turned the light on to find it. WHAT? I KNOW!!!! He turned the LIGHT ON! I could have killed him. She did lay right back down when Daddy left the room, but it didn't last very long. Bob went to bed and then Rachel decided it was play time! I'm still blaming the light! Daddy has been BANNED from ever doing that again! I was up with Rachel until 1am ish, which is unusual now. She would go from being little Miss Happy to being little Miss Screamer! Not a good time.

Rachel was finally asleep and I was drifting into lala land when Sophia woke up. She dropped her paci on the floor and was not happy about it. There is usually more than one paci in each crib, but I guess not last night. I think I finally got to sleep around 2am. The girls were nice to me and didn't wake me up until 6:30. Bob got up at 7 and I went back to bed until 8:30. Not terrible, just not the best night! (And I'm seriously wanting to throw out every paci in this house!)

As far as naps... I put the girls down at 9:30 instead of 9am and it seemed to do the trick. They slept until about 10:30 and then went right down for their 2pm nap. So I adjusted the schedule a little, but I'm just not ready to give up the 2 naps per day just yet. I don't know what was going on yesterday. I'm still going to just wait and see what this week brings.

In other news, the physical therapist called yesterday about Sophia. They've decided to do an evaluation to decide whether or not she needs some therapy. One issue I forgot to bring up with her pediatrician is that I think she has some sensory issues. She doesn't like things close to her face and she also scares really easily. I can only vacuum on the weekends and that's because Bob will load the girls up in the van and take them for a drive while I vacuum. Otherwise, Sophia just freaks out. The therapist we are seeing is a pediatric therapist so I'll be bringing this issue up as well.

Tonight is my moms of multiples club night! I look forward to it all month long! It's been wonderful to meet so many new friends that know what having multiples is all about! Now I just need to figure out a way to afford the upcoming Spring Convention. I had so much fun at the Fall Convention, but I'm torn between spending the money on our house projects or going away for a weekend with my friends.

Wow...You are probably snoring from reading this post. I'm boring today! Oh here's something to um shock you... The girls and I did end up making it to the pharmacy yesterday and stopped at Safeway on our way home. I had a woman come up to me and say, "Oh my gawdddd, are those triplets?" So I said yes.. Then she says, " whoa, did they come out your vagina?" Then she corrects herself (as if it could help) and said, "I mean, did you give birth vaginally?" I just shook my head in disbelief and walked away. I wanted to tell her off, but I am really doing my best and taking these comments with a grain of salt! We always get the nice comments of...You're so blessed, or Wow, Congratulations....beautiful family.. So I'm letting the rude comments go.

Time for me to sign off. Nap time is just about over and I must get ready for my night out!

Uncharted Territory...Nap Debate continued...

I ended up getting the girls out of their cribs at 10am. We played in their playroom, said hi to the wild turkeys that sometimes inhabit our front yard, had lunch, watched The Wiggles, then went down for nap at Noon.

Morgan and Sophia were asleep by 12:15, but Rachel didn't fall asleep until 1pm. My hope is that when they wake up we can do milk and a snack, then head out the door to the pharmacy and be home by 4pm when one of my friends is coming over. I have no idea how long they will sleep.

I'm really trying to decide what to do here. This morning wasn't the best morning we've had, but it wasn't terrible. I think we might be ready to make the 2 to 1 nap switch. It might actually be better for us. With their schedule the way it has been, with the two naps, the only time I can leave the house with the girls is around 11:30am after lunch, and then we need to be back home by 1:30 for milk and their nap. If I could get them to be okay with just one nap per day, we could get up, have breakfast.....and have the entire morning for outings, play dates, or whatever we want to do. Then we'd come home, have lunch, and it would be nap time. Rumor has it that when they go to one nap, its a longer nap too.....which would rock my world! haha...

I'm interested in seeing how they sleep tonight. If they go to sleep earlier and wake up at 5am, then I'm not going to count this day a success. 5am would just mean they'd need a morning nap.

This is one of those times, when I think....wow, those mothers of singletons sure have it easy. But then quad moms would be laughing at me saying I have it easy, so I won't go there!

Well, if I'm going to make an afternoon outing, I better go get myself and the diaper bag ready. I have no idea when I turn into a pumpkin again! :)