My little rock star!

Sophia had her second physical therapy session this afternoon. At first I was impressed with the fact that she wasn't afraid of Erin (the therapist) this time. She smiled at her instead of crying like last time. I was relieved and hopeful that I could learn more about the exercises I should be doing with my sweetie.

So I sat Sophia down on her bottom to show Erin how much better she is doing at sitting up. Erin placed a shape sorter toy in front of Sophia to keep her interested and watch her play. After a couple of minutes, Sophia was still sitting up on her own. She was having such a fun time taking the shapes our of the bin and then putting them back in.....over and over. Then Erin would move the little bin to her right side and then her left to see what she would do. She stayed sitting up and kept putting the shapes in and out. She did this for 8 minutes before falling backward. I was absolutely amazed and so was Erin. Her evaluation last week just didn't go well at all. This was total progress! 8 minutes!!!!!

Erin was also able to better evaluate her standing position. We think that she was just uncomfortable last week and that is why she was standing on her tippy toes so much. I had never noticed that before so I have been paying close attention this past week. Standing on her tippy toes isn't something she does often enough to worry. She didn't do it one time during today's session. So for now, no need to go out and spend $42 on Stride Rite shoes that she would wear for one month!

We went over all the stretches that I was uncertain about, and I learned some new exercises to do to help Sophia strengthen her muscles. I left the appointment in tears again, but this time they were tears of joy. Because she made such wonderful progress in just one week, we don't have to go back again for a week and a half. If she continues this progress, she will just go in once every 2 weeks to a month depending on how she is doing.

Erin mentioned that she wants to follow Sophia until she is walking to make sure she does that normally. Also, she did suggest buying chairs for the girls to sit in for practice. Right now, I'm just using their booster seats, but will shop for chairs soon. Might be a good reason to go play at Ikea one of these days!

I couldn't feel better about her progress. It hasn't been easy making the time to work with her, but I've been doing the best I can. I've only done about half the hours that were suggested, but she is doing so well that it's fine. I have three toddlers and meals to cook and clean up and all.... But I've been managing!

One thing I realized today was that I need to give the girls more time to play without being interrupted by each other. I truly believe that is why Sophia was able to just sit and play for so long. Usually, one of her sisters will come up and steal a toy or just interrupt her. She does the same thing to them. I need to figure out a way to separate them for some play time alone. Not sure how I'm going to do that yet, but I'll work it out somehow. I really think it will be good for them.

So.... Whew... I feel like I can breathe a big sigh of relief!

Random Thoughts....yet again.

I'm feeling better about Sophia's need for therapy. I am surprised that I was so upset about it. After watching her and working with her over the weekend, I realized it's not so bad. I'm glad that she is getting the help she needs now rather than later when it could have been too late. I did take the first step with the county program so we'll see if that leads us anywhere. :)

Did you know that milk is nasty? Seriously... We have 24 bottles. We have so many because when the girls were first born, they ate 8 times a day! Anyway, I no longer need to wash bottles every single day. Although, I should!!! I've started to at least rinse them out. On the days I don't rinse them out, they are a nasty gloppy milk curdling mess! Makes me miss formula just a little bit.

Morgan is standing on her own and is so close to taking her first step. Whenever I say, "stand up," to her, she crawls over to me, pulls up to standing and then lets go. She is so proud of herself. I will usually back up a little bit from her to try to get her to take a step. I can see she wants to, but is still a bit afraid. She's so cute.

We've been working on sign language with the girls. Morgan can sign milk, eat, and more. Sophia and Rachel understand the signs, but haven't done them back to me yet. Well, Sophia has signed "more" but I think that is because she was copying what I was doing.

The other day Daddy got home from work and Sophia got so excited. She hurried to the side of the gate and started saying, "Daaaada, Daaada...." while she waited for him to come and pick her up. Morgan likes to wave hi and bye bye to Daddy when he goes to work. Rachel says hiiiiiiiii, hiiiiiiiiii.

We have successfully transitioned to one nap per day. We are on week 2. The time change last week really helped us with the adjustment. They've been much happier in the mornings this week. I hope it stays like that because I want to get back to the mall with them soon. The weather is going to heat up in just a couple of months and it would be great to go walk around an air conditioned building.

Speaking of walking around.... I think our days might over with their little Norfolk triple stroller. It breaks my heart. I LOVE that stroller. It's so easy to push and steer and it has a cup holder for me. It's just that the girls are too squished it in and they tend to kick each other's seats and pull pony tails. It's time to move on to the Peg Triple and possibly even the choo choo wagon that is collecting dust in our garage.

I was in sticker shock this past weekend. I am looking for some 18-24 month light cotton zip up sleepers for the girls. I used to be able to buy them in packages of 3 for $10. Now it's $10 for one stinkin sleeper. I was hoping to pay closer to $5-7. It made me realize that we're going to be spending a bundle on clothes for these kiddos. We really haven't had to buy many clothes so far since so many people gave them to us. I'm looking forward to my mother's of multiples clothing sale that is coming. I'm too cheap to spend a lot of money for something they wear for a few months. And yikes.... I need to get them some shoes stat to match their Easter dresses! (I wasn't going to buy matching dresses, but since the girls got the cutest little dresses for their birthday..... hehehehe...)

I have been feeling like a fat cow named Bessy these days! I've been (semi) on a diet since January, but I kept cheating. I'm doing better now. I'm down 10 pounds and if you combine that with the 4 pounds I lost and have kept off since October... I'm not doing terrible. I just do NOT want to be fat this Summer. I did take the girls out for a nice long walk this morning. I even jogged part of the time. Then I don't know what came over me after the girls' lunch. I was doing floor exercises while I was in their play room with them. They had so much fun trying to poke my eyes out while I was down at their level. :) They make good 20 pound weights to lift though!

Last year at this time.... the girls were between 7-8 weeks old. We were so sleep deprived and we were constantly feeding babies. We weren't able to prop bottles and feed them at the same time until they were 7 weeks old. It's crazy to look back on that time. My mom was living with us and she and Bob would stay up until 1am taking care of the girls. I would go to bed around 7pm and get up at 1am and stay up all night with the girls and feed them. Before we fed them at the same time, I used to sit up and feed one baby after another. When I was done with the third baby, I'd have about 30 minutes before I'd have to start all over again. That time of our lives is such a blur to me. I'm thankful to be where we are today, but I do miss those teeny tiny babies!

Not enough to ever want to get pregnant again though...... HAHA!

Well, Morgan is awake from nap. Bummer... She only slept for about 90 minutes. I usually get 2 hours out of her. But it is nice to have some one on one time with my little stinker.

Dinner at Grandma's house

When the girls woke up from their nap yesterday, I decided to load them up and head to my mom's house for dinner. I want to try and get them out more often. I've always been afraid of feeding them somewhere other than our house. It's just a big hassle that usually makes me nervous. I think I'm finally at a point that I can handle it. The worst that could happen is they all meltdown and don't eat much. In the grand scheme of things, that really isn't a big deal! (haha..see, I'm trying to let go of some of my hang ups!)

I wish I had brought my camera because they were cuter than ever. When we got to Grandma's house, I set up some gates to give them a play area in her living room. They loved it. Rachel and Morgan just took off exploring the new area. As usual, Sophia sat back with me for the first several minutes before she decided it was okay to play. The cutest part was their reaction to my mom's little dog, Tippy. Morgan would follow Tippy wherever she would go. They would all laugh anytime Tippy walked around. They thought she was hilarious for some reason. Even funnier, Tippy.......was afraid of the girls and didn't know what to think. She was trying to hide from them. It was fun to see how the girls reacted to her. I think we might be ready for a trip to the zoo! I think they might like the animals.

I brought the girls' booster seats so we could feed them dinner. They ate pretty good. Of course they threw a large amount of food on the floor as always. The difference? My mom didn't need to sweep it up. Tippy ate it all! Makes me almost want a puppy. (Yeah right!.)

Overall, we had a good time. We'll definitely do it again soon. I know it sounds strange that they haven't been to Grandma's house many times. It's just a lot to get them and all their gear over there! My mom usually just comes to our house. But I think we will start to get over there more often. The change of scenery was good for all of us.

I did have to pack up the house to get them there though. We brought 3 booster seats with trays, 8 panels of the super yard gates, a change of clothes for all just in case, food for them since we still do some baby foods, sippy cups, the small triple stroller...... the diaper bag..bibs... the list goes on! But it was totally worth it. We had such a good time. Plus, my mom has a pool so we'll be swimming a lot this Summer.

Can't wait!

Yowza $$$$$$$$

Sophia's therapist recommended this cube chair to help her develop her muscles and teach her to sit upright. She used it during therapy today and loved it. I just looked online to possibly order the chair. You have got to be kidding me. It's $50 for a piece of PLASTIC! I was going to buy 3 of them because I know they'd all want to sit in it.....at the same time of course! Grrrrr..... I'm sure I can find a similar chair somewhere cheaper that can be used for the same purpose. There is no way I'm spending $150 on a few pieces of PLASTIC!

I'm also supposed to get Sophia some shoes with hard soles. Apparently, the preferred shoes are Stride Rite shoes. Am I the only one who thinks it's ridiculous to spend that much for a shoe that your kid will grow out of in a matter of weeks?

Man... if ever there was a time to jump! Get out your wallet honey! Mama's going shopping! HAHA!

Sophia

Today was Sophia's physical development evaluation. The verdict? She needs physical therapy once a week. As you can probably guess, I am kicking myself for not getting her help sooner when I first had the instinct. I really thought she'd start to sit like Rachel did.

We thought she just skipped a step and preferred not to sit up. Today we learned that her right side is tight and she doesn't use those muscles as she should. We're not sure why it happened, but we can work on it. Her right foot also points inward a bit and when she pulls up to stand, she stands on her toes a lot. It's not comfortable for her to sit on her bottom with her legs out because her back and leg muscles on the right are just too tight. I never noticed it. Her therapist told me not to kick myself because parents just don't notice these details. I'm not a physical therapist! I'm just thankful that we have her in treatment now and can help her.

It's not going to be easy. She doesn't like to be corrected when she sits the way she wants to sit.....which is the dreaded "W" position. I'm somehow supposed to correct her every time she sits like this. There are also several stretches and exercises I learned how to do and am supposed to do them every day a few times a day. She will also be seen by the therapist once a week for treatment and to monitor how she is doing.

It was hard for me to take. I went to the appointment fully expecting to be told that she will need a little help. I just didn't realize that it wasn't minor like I thought. Like I said, we thought she just skipped a step. Well, that's not the case. I didn't think I'd take it as hard as I did. I ended up in tears wondering how I am going to fit all of these exercises in our already busy day. I already feel like I don't have enough one on one time for the girls. Now I need to get her to appointments once a week too. I know I will work all of this out. My initial reaction was just fear. It's all setting in, and now I'm just on a mission to make all of this work and get my baby the help she needs. Everything will work out!

I am looking into option #2 though. I am a member of a local network of triplet moms, and most of them have been through some sort of therapy for at least one of their kiddos. They've mentioned a free county program that is available if your child is referred to therapy. They would come to our home for treatment instead of having to take Sophia somewhere. I'm going to see if we will qualify for that program instead. It would be a huge blessing if I can get someone to come here.

As upsetting as this news was, I am very optimistic about her therapy. I now know how to help her and what we can do. I also got a chance to talk about the fact that Rachel doesn't pull up to standing yet. Rachel also sits in the "W" position, but she sits on her bottom most of the time. Because she sits up just fine, the therapist isn't concerned about Rachel. Of course I am not going to let her sit in the "W" position anymore, but I'm just glad to know that she is doing well. I'm always worried about how far behind my girls are than other toddlers I know their age. The therapist told me that it's completely normal for premature triplets to be behind. In fact, she said mine will likely be 2-3 months behind until around their 2nd birthday. They were 3, 4, and 5 pound triplets. I need to stop comparing them to other toddlers. It's comforting to know that we will catch up. It may not be as soon as I want it to be, but I'm now more comfortable with where they are!

Snack time

Here's Sophia, Rachel, and Morgan enjoying some goldfish crackers and string cheese. They eat the food faster than I can put it on their trays. My cute little sweeties! They wake up from their nap pretty hungry so when they see me with their booster seats, they get so excited. Morgan will even try to climb into the seat on her own. I love that they are really starting to show me that they know what's going on. I just couldn't resist sharing this picture!

Mall Madness

The girls and I are recovering from our week from the dark side. Morgan and Sophia are back to their happy little selves. Rachel is almost there. She is still pretty snot nosed, but her cough is much improved. As for me, I have a leftover cough but am otherwise getting better.

My poor mother came down with our flu today. I was SO hoping she wouldn't catch it. She was so helpful to us when we were all sick. I wish I didn't need her help, but I was useless for a couple of days and in no shape of taking care of three toddlers alone. My mom had planned to come over this morning so we could take the girls out for a walk to the park, but since she came down with our flu, she had to stay home and rest.

I already had the girls dressed when my mom called to say she wasn't coming. I still wanted to get out of the house so I decided to get myself ready too. We've been cooped up for far too long. Not really needing to buy anything specific, I decided to go walk around the mall. I could buy myself a coke and walk around to get a little exercise. The girls usually love to be out and about and the mall is one of the places they love to look around.

Not today!

The first 10 minutes walking around was great. The girls were happy and talking and just looking at everything. I went into JC Penny's to look for some t-shirts and work clothes for Bob. As soon as I stopped the stroller to find Bob's t-shirt size, all shmeckles broke loose! Sophia started to pull on Rachel's pony tail, Rachel started kicking Morgan's seat, and Morgan started trying to escape the front of the stroller. I reached into the diaper bag to grab some cheerios to calm the storm. Within seconds, I had three screaming miserable toddlers and a group of onlookers obviously pitying me. I could either freak out and leave or I could calmly try and soothe the girls (or bribe..) them with food. I handed each one a cheerio or two so I could buy myself a minute to grab some t-shirts. It's not like it is ever easy for me to leave the house so I was going to buy these shirts while I had the chance. I've decided to just get over the fact that people are going to stare. They stare whether the girls are happy or crying so I'm getting used it anyway!

So I grabbed 4 shirts and decided to go buy them. Forget looking at work shirts for now and just buy the t-shirts while I had the chance. So I took them up to the check out and there was an elderly man all pissed off at the clerk for some reason. I waited for about a minute and the girls started their meltdown again. Apparently, I'm not allowed to stop the stroller anymore! Ugh.

When the guy was done with his tantrum..... which was almost louder than my crying kiddos.... I tossed the shirts up on the counter, smiled, and said please go as fast as you can. LOL... I finally got out of the store to walk the mall again, but the girls were only happy for about 5 more minutes. It sucked. I really wanted to walk around for a bit, but they were having none of that!

I was, of course, on the other side of the mall from where I parked. Halfway back to where we came in, they all started the crying again! Rachel was having an all out meltdown screaming fit. I have no idea why other than maybe she was tired. I was walking as fast as I could and getting looks of pity and even some laughter as I'm walking out of the mall. Believe me, I was joining in on some of the laughter. I could have laughed or cried...... so I just laughed! What else was I gonna do?

I got back to the van and started loading the girls back in.

Three. Unhappy. Crying. Toddlers!

What's a mom to do? I started singing and dancing around like an idiot to make them happy again. It pretty much worked. When they were all strapped in, I looked around and there were at least 3 other moms with their kids or babies who were looking at me. Oh well. So I started loading my giant stroller back in the van. I had my keys in my pocket. Somehow, when I lifted the stroller, it pressed on the emergency button on the keypad thingy in my pocket. The alarm on the van started blaring. GREEEAAAATTT! Like I needed MORE attention brought to myself.

I was laughing my butt off at this point. I closed the hatch to the van and then hit the unlock button thinking that would stop the alarm.

Did it?

NOPE!

I didn't know how to stop it so I just kept hitting the unlock button. It wasn't working!

I left the giant stroller behind the van and jumped in the drivers seat to see if starting it up would stop the alarm. FINALLY... that worked!!!. Then I hopped out of the car and went back to load the stroller.....all the while... people were staring at me and watching my every move. When I got the stroller loaded, I wanted to curtsy and wave at everyone for my job well done! After all, I felt like I was putting on a pretty entertaining show!

I was so happy to be able to drive away from my audience! I headed straight to Sonic.... I needed a coke and it was well worth the 3 WW points to drink it!

Next time, I think I'll wear my Kate Gosselin wig I have since I dressed up as her for Halloween last year. I could push the stroller full of unhappy toddlers and yell... Jon, Jon, JONNNNN.... Where are you Jon?