3 of a kind

We had to document the rare moment where all 3 boys were content (and wearing matching outfits). And look - they all have their eyes open!

L-R: Wesley, Charlie, and Win




Charlie wanted to see what Wes tasted like. They often end up facing the same direction when left to their own devices.


Right after these photos were taken, we enjoyed a surprise visit from Carl and Casey, complete with a homemade, fresh from the oven apple pie. The last time he was over was the day the boys got their shots and screamed the entire night, so this was a nice change. At 1am, we were like a pack of ravenous wolves descending on that pie - it was delicious!

Family portrait

Everyone is Great

The boys met their Great Grandma, Great Aunt Jane and Great Uncle John over the weekend. They drove to Boston from Ohio to meet the little bunnions. As always, it was great to see them!


Great Grandma and Win


Four generations of Warners


Great Grandma, Ginger, Grammy and the boys
Win is checking out his Great Grandma, Charlie is smiling and Wes is sound asleep all cuddled up with Grammy.

That will be $54,000 please

The boys just had their 2 month pediatrician appointment, filled with a weigh-in, shots, etc. They are now:

Winston
9lbs 7oz, 21 inches
Wesley
9lbs 6.5oz, 21 inches
Charlie
9lbs 9oz, 21.5 inches

So as you can see, their reflux isn't getting in the way of their eating. The dr was a bit shocked by their growth. Apparently most babies double their weight by 6 months. These boys more than doubled their weight by 2 months. And this means they are now on the growth charts for "normal" babies! Granted that means that they are in the single digit percentile, but they are on the chart. She was confident that they would quickly make up ground at this rate. And speaking of their reflux, their Zantac prescription was increased to match their weight gain. Quadrupled, to be exact. She said that with the old amount, it was as if we were giving them water. Fantastic. No wonder they have been so fussy!

Win and Wes also have terrible bacterial infections in their bums. Before you go thinking we're horrible parents that don't change their diapers, they apparently have something called a "superbug" that made it's way into exposed skin of a slight diaper rash. And then just took over. It's so bad, Rob has dubbed it "anal leprosy". We now have a prescription that will hopefully help this because the previously suggested Neosporin has not made a dent. Superbug. I love these medical terms.

When the dr was explaining the different shots, we asked if they were given the RSV vaccine. (RSV is a respiratory virus that we've been warned about due to their prematurity.) She mentioned that they would not get it just yet because they would have to work with our insurance company to make sure its covered. Rob mentioned to her that even if its not, we'd be willing to pay for the shot because it is so important. The sweet dr just smiled and said, "It's $3,000 per shot. Per child. And they need one shot a month from October to April." So, we're just going to wait and see if the insurance company will cover it...

Speaking of ridiculous medical costs, our running total for medical costs for the triplets (pregnancy, birth, etc) is $278,000. And counting... Thank you insurance!

Outtakes

Outtakes...

I suppose it shouldn't come to much surprise, but the boys slept very well after all this activity! We should do this every night, if that is the case.










Other favorites...

2 Months!

Winston, Wesley and Charlie graced us with their presence two months ago today. In an attempt to document their growth, here are their two month photos. They will be weighed at the pediatrician's tomorrow, but it's fun to know they were in preemie diapers for the NICU photo, size newborn for the 1 month, and now size 1 for the 2 months. The boys are growing! Below are the 1 month and NICU photos as well for comparison.

2 months (we couldn't pick just one...)




1 month


4 days (NICU)

SURPRISE!

Much to the surprise of Nana, Poppa Bunn arrived on Tuesday. She has been such a help and hard worker, we hated the thought that they would be apart for an entire month. So we have the pleasure of Poppa's company until Saturday, and then again in October when he'll return for nearly two weeks. He has already jumped right into the routine!

Hanging out with Winston and Charlie


Napping with Wesley

A teachable moment

Win decided that he didn't want to keep his formula in his belly at last night's feeding. Apparently he wanted to share it with me and my shirt. So after the boys went down, Rob and I were discussing how much Win spit up. My guess was 60ml since that was the difference from what was left in the bottle. My sweet husband didn't agree (by the looks of spit up on my shirt), so he decided to measure out 60ml of water and dump in on his shirt. What Mr. Smartypants didn't think through was the amount that would end up on the floor. And that now he'd be soaked. And it was 1am. He said he couldn't pass up the "teachable moment". But after much laughing (mostly me at...I mean with him), I'm not sure who was taught what.

And to think we've been trusted with the care of triplets.

A day with Grammy, Poppy and Nana

Grammy and Poppy are here today (Sunday) to help add extra hands and enjoy some family time. As with anyone who walks in the door, they were quickly handed babies and put to work. Grammy, Poppy and Nana handled feeding the boys so Rob could get some school work completed and I could sneak in a shower.

Grammy with Wesley

Poppy with Wesley and Winston, getting ready for their big walk

Nana and Winston
(We swear Charlie was fed even though he's not pictured!)


We have a beautiful fall day on our hands, so we decided to talk a jaunt outside. Each grandparent got to carry a baby, while I walked Julep. Halfway through the walk, we were cutting through a small side road off of a very busy street, and what did we see ahead of us on the sidewalk? A turkey, of course. There was a huge wild turkey wandering the streets of Boston. Thankfully, Julep, who apparently forgot to bring her hunting instinct on the trip, was oblivious to the whole thing. As were the boys. So we passed the turkey, thinking that would be the only oddity of the walk, only to find ourselves in a swarm of people in the middle of a breast cancer charity walk. Had we known, we would have gathered pledges to raise money for the charity!

Three of the four grandparents.
(We miss you Poppa - see you in October! Start your stretches now. This will be you in a few weeks!)


Yesterday, the boys got to meet their Uncle Jamie and Aunt Meg and their adorable 9 month old, Jack. Not only was it great to see them and meet Jack, but the added bonus was to see that there is a light at the end of the infant tunnel. Rob and I kept looking at Jack, saying "He can sit up! He smiles! He laughs! He eats solid food!" I imagine in the blink of an eye, the boys will be at Jack's age and we'll be thinking back to when they were infants. All the more reason that we must live in the present moment and enjoy it to its fullest, as opposed to living in the future or past. Because time flies!

Not so bad...

We're hoping that by serving Nana champagne in crystal, her stay here will be more tolerable. Although this doesn't begin to make up for all the 3am feedings she has helped with!

When it rains, it pours...

We were so excited for our first big (non-hospital) outing on Saturday. Gordon Conwell was holding a clambake (yes, LOBSTER!) for all of the returning seminary students. And all Rob needed to say was that lobster would be served, and he knew I'd be there rain or shine. Or so I thought. We arrived on campus, packed up the triplet stroller and wandered into the crowd to get into the food line. We noticed a few sprinkles while standing in line, then a few more, then really big drops, and then an all out downpour with lightning. Rob and Nana ran the boys into the nearest building, and I, the one obsessed with lobster, stood there. In the downpour. Waiting for lobster. Soon, thankfully, I woke up to the reality of the situation and ran inside with everyone else. We ended up packing the boys back up in the car and driving the hour back home, lobster-less (by choice). But it was for the best, and will definitely not be the last time we have to make a sacrifice for the boys.

In other news, I had my 6 week follow-up with the OB and all looks healed. Our doctor even took the time to explain to me exactly what happened during the c-section and why I need the emergency surgery, complete with drawings of the "uterine extension". He mentioned that we should not be anxious about what would happen if we got pregnant again. I would be considered high-risk and would be monitored closely and would need to have a c-section. I told him that if we were not in Boston, I would fly here for appointments because I don't know that I would trust my care with anyone else. But then, again, I woke up to reality and laughed at the thought of "pregnant again". We enjoyed a reunion tour of the hospital, visting the NICU, Labor & Delivery and post-partum nurses. We could not begin to thank them enough for all of their care.

Some photos of the boys at 6-7 weeks:

Daddy and the boys (from L-R: Winston, Wesley and Charlie)



Activity time (from L-R: Charlie, Wesley and Winston)

Nana

We have greatly enjoyed having Nana (Rob's mom) with us for the month of September. She has been an enormous help not only with the boys, but for us. Rob is slowly getting back into the swing of schoolwork and consulting, which is no small task with triplets in the house. She even tackled feeding two at once. I don't know that I gave her much of a choice, as I quickly handed her a Winston so I could clear Wesley's nose of spit up. But she did a great job! Evidence below...

I think we'll have to somehow forget how to get to the airport when she tries to leave in October.

Happy Due Date!

Today the boys hit their 40 week gestation mark. We had been told that things change when they hit their due date, and man, were they right. The boys welcomed in this milestone with a night of fussiness - each with their own reason, or lack thereof, for not sleeping.

We did manage a few small victories today. We finally figured out how to complete bathtime in less than an hour and without massive back pain (mine) and tears (theirs). The boys wore outfits for the first time (again, small victories). And best of all, we figured out the Maximom triplet carrier. It is designed so that all 3 carriers can be worn by one (crazy) person - 2 in the front, 1 in the back. Nana and I chose to split the carriers between us. The stares are something I'll have to get used to...


Getting ready for assembly
The product even comes with a video that explains how to put the thing together. A video! And even then we had to stop/pause/rewind about 20 times before we understood what to do...

Win

Charlie

Wes

They just keep growing...

The boys will be 6 weeks tomorrow. With preemies, doctors and experts normally track their development according to their adjusted age. With their due date on Sept 6th, I guess that makes them -2 today. So the last 6 weeks haven't really "counted". They have been primarily for growth which is why we had an extended honeymoon period filled with mostly sleeping and eating.

Their amount of awake and alert time has grown dramatically over the last week. Which is great, as long as it's during the day. Their favorite developmental toys and activities so far are: pulling hair, staring at bright lights, enjoying (or hating) a breeze, looking at the baby in the mirror (they must think our house is filled with babies, which to some extent it is...) and trying to rip out their eyeballs.

Charlie making faces


One of these kids is doing his own thing
It's a good thing there isn't a sound track to this photo. You can imagine that Wes was none too pleased with his predicament. And yes, despite all that, we took a photo...


Wesley

Winston

Charlie

Gruncle and the Boys

Unfortunately, Uncle Raymond (Gruncle, to the boys, for Great Uncle) is leaving today in order to resume his life in Virginia (and get some much needed sleep). We cannot thank him enough for his endless help and willingness to jump head first into our routine. On his first day, Charlie decided to initiate him when he was changing his diaper - I believe Charlie went through 4 diapers during that first change. Apparently he saved up everything he had eaten for the last 6 weeks just for Uncle Raymond's first diaper change.

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. (His words, not mine!) As always, his presence will be missed.

Gruncle and Charlie (I mean, Charles RAYMOND)


Getting some shut eye between the 3am and 7am feedings


Feeding Wesley


It's a big day when we can get out for a walk!


Navigating the stroller through the park