Preemie Photo Contest

Hi! So I've entered the babies into a Preemie contest where they can win a ton of great prizes just for being so spectacular! If you would please take a moment and vote for them, I'd be very appreciative. You can vote once per day and it ends on Nov. 11th. Thank you so much!

http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/65899/voteable_entries/9896705?ogn=website&order=recency

It's a girl!

Sugar and spice and everything nice? Well maybe not to Mr. Slade:) But we are so excited to welcome another frilly fancy princess into our family! She is in perfect health and measuring right on track!

Surprise!

Well, life has gotten busy so I haven't gotten to post those birthday pics yet...one day! Brian ran to get supper so I only have a few minutes for an update. Over the last two months when I didn't post we've had quite a few milestones. Slade can now crawl and pull to standing, Ella can walk, and as of yesterday Claire took about 8 steps alone as well. Its weird having three babies at all different stages but its neat to watch the progression as well. In addition, Claire can blow kisses, point to her nose and dance...or what we like to call dancing anyways. When given a pen, Ella immediately bends down to "draw" which is a big step being that her siblings suck on it immediately instead. Slade blows bubbles on everything and has turned into a fabulous eater so hopefully he'll catch up in weight to his sisters too. Finally all three are now turning the pages of board books and really enjoy the kinds with different textures. OK, so for most people reading this I'm sure this is super boring. However, I haven't updated the baby books in awhile so this is to serve as my bookmark of events. Ella has 5 teeth, Claire 3 and Slade 2. Boring I know.

So the fun part...the surprise. Well it turns out I'm pregnant. I'm actually teetering on being 18 weeks pregnant. This was a surprise however we did plan on having more kids so we like to think of it as early gift. My c-section will be late January although it will be scheduled 3 weeks early due to the amount of scarring I have due to the trio. Being pregnant with one it turns out though is awfully easy...compared to three that is. I had no idea how hard I had it the first time around. I can still almost sleep on my stomach where at this time with the trio I was already on bed rest and measuring around 30 weeks. However, nausea still comes and go's which is a pain. We were definitely shocked to find out the news as I'm sure many of you are as well, but with the help of our wonderful family and friends I'm sure we'll survive. We are excited and can't wait to see what this new little one looks and acts like!

So with that being said, we were quite nervous about our recent trip to Seattle with the babies and me pregnant. But it went so well. They did great on the plane as well as on the train, bus and ferry. We went hiking, took a ferry through the San Juan Islands, ate fresh crab, and got to play in the grass with no fire ants or bugs! One day I'll post those pics as well!!!

Ok Brian's home, I'll try and not wait so long between posts but no promises!

Happy Birthday Babies!!!

On July 19th our tiny little babies turned 1 year old. Its so amazing how far they've come from their under 2lb little bodies. They are crawling, pulling up, babbling, and eating toast for breakfast. We are just so thankful for the doctors and nurses who helped our little trio grow and thrive into the perfect little creatures they are today. Each weekend of the month, we took and individual baby out to lunch for a little alone birthday celebration with mom and dad (and grandpa's). Thank you to Heather, Dustin, Holly, Matt and Darcy for watching the other two so we could make this possible. Each baby enjoyed their alone time and we had fun getting to go out as well! Their birthday was just a small celebration as they will get to have a big party next weekend. The only downside was it was the only time for the babies to have their 1 year checkup, so they had to start their new year with vaccinations. However they handled it well and now all three are on the charts for their weights! What a great year it has been, although its been absolutely ridiculously hard, I still believe that its all been worth it! Pictures to come...

1 year weights
Ella - 18lbs 11oz (13 percentile)
Claire - 16lbs 9oz (1 percentile)
Slade - 16lbs (.05 percentile)

Gymboree

Last week we went to Gymboree while my sister was in town and the triplets loved it! Slade especially loved the bubbles and parachute games. However, it was a trial run and there is no way we are signing up. For 1xweek (45min class) it costs 72$...for one child. So basically to sign all three up it would be about the same as a small car payment. However, I learned some fun ideas and will try and create my own Gymboree classes at home for now!

Hip Hip Hooray!

So today we got the go ahead from the pedi to stop our night feeds, HOOOOORAAAAYYY! We have to gradually decrease it but by Tuesday night, we should be getting a shot at 8 hours at least. Slade & Claire are still in the 0% for any age above 6 months but she is confident that they will make up the calories during the day now that they eat 2 meals of solids a day as well. So yipppeee for us, now lets just hope they agree with the new situation!

Here is a picture of the trio with Grandma & Granpa at their new house!

Segway

So a little non-baby info for today. My dad and I decided to take a Segway tour of downtown and it was GREAT! I know what your thinking, bicycle helmet, super dork, right? Well I thought so too but I was so wrong. It was so fun and such a weird experience for your body to gain the right equilibrium to drive one of these things. At first I was terrible at it and very wobbly but by the end I was zooming down hills at 12mph.


On another note, Ella has a tooth! Good for eating...bad for the arms of her brother and sister!

Spaghetti and Pools

So this week we have had a lot of fun already! On the few sunny days we made a couple trips to the local pools to the joy of the babies. Well, only Ella actually LOVED it, but the other two enjoyed the outings as well! On the rainy days we tried to find fun indoor activities and the highlight was our spaghetti bonanza! Not only did they work their motor skills by playing and transferring it from hand to hand, but they also got to eat some as well. It entertained them for a full 1/2 hour, which for us is wonderful!

The girls are ready to head out!

Ella is ready for the pool...or Hollywood...

Claire enjoys a splash with Grandma

Ella & Slade explore in their floaties

Ella didn't quite make it to her crib afterwards...

"Hmmm do I like this or not?"

Oh yes, I do!

Rolling in it is fun too!

Mom's best shot at a panoramic view

Lurking Night Monsters

So, I broke my children. I turned them into lurking night monsters who thought that at any peep they should wake up and begin crying. Since I thought that a baby should never cry, I rocked them over and over again for 8-10 hours at night, because I thought it would get better with time. It got worse. I started to find myself with no more than 30 min. at a time at night with silence...all night. Thirty min. of rocking turned into about an hour of sleep per baby. I slept a few hours around 7pm before Brian went to bed and then for a couple more when my mom came in the morning, but overall it still didn't amount to much. Then last Sunday night I finally broke. After hours of quick rocks I found myself rocking Claire in the living room and listening to Ella cry in the bedroom. When Claire was finally asleep I moved her in the playpen and then went and rocked Ella in the bedroom. When she was just about asleep, I began hearing Claire cry in the living room. So I repeated the process only to have Slade wake up to eat. With both girls asleep, I fed him. But then I heard Ella again. So I put Slade in the swing and got Ella. Oh but Claire didn't want to miss out so she began to cry as well. So I put her in the large pen to play while I rocked Ella. Yet, no one liked this arrangement. So hear around 4am I found all three babies crying and I gave in as well. What is wrong with these kids? They are 10 months, even 7 months adjusted and refuse to sleep more than 1-2 hours at a time. That's when I realized that we were the problem, not them. We catered to every need at every second and with three babies, that is exhausting. So I decided that they were old enough now to try out some sleep methods and hoped that one would work. So I put the girls in their cribs and began researching. I liked the no-cry methods but they seemed impossible with three babies, plus isn't that what I've been doing for the last 7 months? But I hated to just let them "cry it out."

So I found a happy medium with what is called "The Ferber Method." Yes this is very controversial and I understand. But until you go 7 months with 25 old week triplets crying all night, I hope people will refrain from judgement. So I bought the book. Basically, you put your kids on a strict bedtime and nap schedule and stick to it. You lay your babies in their cribs asleep drowsy but not asleep and leave the room. They cry. You wait about 3 min. and then go and rub their backs, tell them you love them and leave the room within 60 sec. Then you wait 5 min. and repeat. Every night you increase the visiting intervals. In the middle of the night if they wake you do the same process. I will admit, it sucks. It sucks to hear your babies cry because all they want is to be rocked. But I said I would try this for a week. The first few days we ended up with usually about 30min of crying before all three were asleep. We had about 3 wake ups at night but they never hit 4 min. After about day 4, while we still had about 25min of crying at bedtime, we barely heard a peep from any of them except when we wake them up to eat at 10 and 2. At this point they easily fall back to sleep.

I didn't want to have to do this and every night I still hate the part of myself that doesn't rush in their and rock them to sleep even if it means I only get a couple hours per night. But what makes me ok is that now every morning when they get up, they wake up talking, not crying. They smile all morning and stick out their tongues. They are happier babies. We are still working on the naps but in general, they are doing great. Slade is talking and moving around more than ever and the girls laugh all the time and are way less grouchy in the early evening.

So after 1 week on this program, I am happy to say that not only have the babies mastered their nights, I was able to get just about 7 hours of sleep and am a happy and better mom today!

If your kids are lurking night monsters and you have been broken, I highly recommend this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp/0743201639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275395379&sr=1-1

10 month (7 month adjusted) Photos

Finally an update!

Ok, I'm the worst blogger ever since having these babies! So we have had a very fast paced month as both girls are now crawling! Ella started awhile back and Claire began last week. Also Ella frequently pulls to standing and we've seen Claire do it once as well. (correction, as of last night, Ella can make her way around the 6x6 playpen walking but holding on to the edges.) All three babies can sit on their own now but only Ella has figured out how to get in sitting position by herself. Slade is perfectly content playing with his toys and is in no hurry to crawl yet. However, twice last week, Claire had him in a wrestling hold and Ella sat on him, so he better catch up quick or he may end up hurt:) We are so impressed with or little ladies and their crawling being that while their actual age may have been 9 months, they were only approx. 6 months adjusted. A mom can brag right? In addition we are especially pleased at Ella's progress as she is the one that had that severe brain bleed that put her at an elevated risk for developmental delays or CP. But rather it seems she has super hero strength.

What else? Hmmm, they are eating a ton of different food now and we are trying to refine their fine motor skills but offering some table food as well like chopped banana and rice puffs. They grasp them just fine but usually end up feeding their eyes or ears. They all seem to really like the more savory dishes they are getting now like "Creamy Apple Chicken Compote." Fancy eh?

Our outings are getting more frequent and the babies seem to really enjoy them. They've now been to a concert, a soccer game, day camping and several stores and peoples houses all together (separate they've had a ton of journeys). They especially like getting home and playing, its like its a whole new living room after a day out.

Sleep. Oh sweet sleep. I still get pretty much nothing but its at the doctors orders. You see we went to their 9 month check up and since they are still not on the charts yet for weights (Ella is in the 6% but that's nothing) we have to continue feeding them every 4 hours at night. It makes sense as if you had a term baby that was in the 0% or 6% you would probably feed them alot more often as well. So that's fine, the problem is they wake up WAY more frequently than that and it drives me crazy! But we are trying a new method starting today to hopefully decline the amount of wakings. Cross your fingers for us!

Ok, well I better enjoy this naptime and do some cleaning. I'll post videos soon of the crawling, walking, etc!

9 Month Stats
Ella - 16lbs
Slade - 13lbs
Claire - 14lbs

Blog Bites

1. Babies are cuter than ever and are starting to be more fun

2. Ella is beginning to learn to crawl but prefers to do it face down
3. We made our first trip with all three babies to Sams club and then again the next day to the Wildflower center and survived.
4. All three still eat every 3-4 hours at night and not always the same hours but we are working on it. Sometimes I sleep 4 hours, sometimes 30min.
5. I would die without my moms daily help which allows me a two hour nap.
6. They all are liking baby food and prefer pears and greenbeans the most.
7. More to come when they are sleeping more:)

Our feeding set up..

Cousin Scotti taught Slade how to eat his own toes...

Ella, our little lamb...

Who said pool floats were just for the pool, not Claire!

6 Month Check-up

Well its hard to believe that the babies are now over 6 months old, especially since they look about 3. However, they are doing some things that are pretty advanced for 3 month olds and more in line with the actual age such as rolling over and having pretty decent conversations even though only they know what they are saying. Today Ella and Claire actually "talked" back and forth and laughed at each other which was pretty amusing. They still are only sleeping usually around 4 hours at a time although everybody has had a 6-8 hour stretch within the last two weeks. We are still lucky to get 3 hours per night when we are watching them and I am dreading when our night nanny goes away in two weeks.

At their checkup the doctor said they are all looking really good and she was impressed at how healthy they were and that they have done so well at home with no real sickness or health issues. Ella is now 12lbs 15oz, Slade is 11lbs 9oz's and Claire is catching up at 11lbs. Its getting easier to be alone with them and I impressed myself with doing 11hours with no help one day last week and two half days. Brian attempted a 4 hour stretch this weekend while I went shopping and suffice to say, he really hopes he stays employed for a long time and doesn't have to do it full time. Poor guy had to endure a 3x baby cry, which while rare, is quite impressive when it happens. I also attempted taking all three to the drive threw to get tacos Saturday morning and realized that a car ride an hour before a feed is a bad idea. Ella screamed 3/4 of the way, with a chirp hear and there from Claire and Slade. I tried meditation but it was hard to imagine that the high pitched screams were actually birds flying over the ocean. Maybe we'll try it again in a few weeks.

Last but not least, we found a great stroller on Craig's list and on the nice days have been enjoying a walk the park with the babes. My aunts and uncle are in town from Canada and took them on their first trip in the new stroller without incident. They enjoy the swings but prefer if it was a little less bright outside.

Well, better go enjoy some TV with Brian as this hour at night is precious since its the only one we get alone not doing dishes or making formula....

Our backseat on a good day after a feed...

Our new stroller and three excited babies...

Our wonderful NICU nurse, Tanya, has come to help out a few days!

Professional Photo

I've been meaning to post this picture for awhile but forgot my blogger password:) I will post more updates next week after their 6 month checkup but for now all is well in the Milligan household...

2010 - A great new year!

We are thrilled to begin this new year. We are sure it will be a year full of fun, laughter, new experiences and....lots of poop. The babies are all terrific and everyday get a tiny bit easier to handle. Now by no means can we do this alone yet, but we are working our way there and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our friend Darcy has begun working nights to help us make it through the days and we continue to have friends and family helping out as well. Three days this week, they have all slept the same 3 hours so that is a start!

Ella surprised us a week ago and decided to roll over from her stomach to her back which was neat and surprising. She did it for two days and has now decided that she didn't like being treated like our little performance monkey and has since stopped. In fact, now she gets a little mad if we even try it:) She is the happiest baby on the block for sure though and is full of smiles and laughs. At night she sometimes smiles at the empty air which can be a little unnerving as you can't help to turn a little to see what/who she is looking at at 3:30am that is so funny.

Slade is our serious little man who only hands out smiles to a select few and only if you are extremly funny. He is patient and kind and only gets even slightly angry if he has to wait too long to eat. He has found the TV and thinks it is the coolest thing on earth and will crain his neck to make sure he is watching it at all times even if he is eating... He is loving getting help sitting up when you grab his hands and let him pull. We think we may have seen a dimple on this one but the verdict is still out.

Claire, oh Claire. The red hair may be the fire behind her passion for when is is hot she is hot. You have never seen a baby with more expression including frequently furrowing her brow when there is something she doesn't like and wrinkling her forehead when she is angry. When she is sad she puffs out her bottom lip and can make tears within 30 sec. She also has the biggest smile and rolls on the floor from side to side when she is happy. We figure any day now she will roll over as well. In addition, she may be one of the first 9lb babies that can completely hold her head up. It looks a little strange and has been compared to the dancing baby on the computer.

We can't believe it has almost been 6 months since our tiny 1.5 babies were born. We didn't even know if they were going to live and not a day goes by that I forget how far we have come. On Feb. 11th we have their 6 month check up and I'll post the most recent weights.

My sister her last day as night nanny last week...