Crawling Sofie, swimming class and more!

Last Thursday, turned out to be a happy and joyous day.  Sofia is crawling!! Now I know all micro preemie mamas can share my excitement! Watching them meet these milestones is truly amazing!  Every day is a miracle but when your baby spends almost 100 days in the hospital, it's hard not to let those negative thoughts in...those scary what if's?
But she is crawling!!!! At 13 months and a few days! Not bad, not bad at all.  Her physical therapist will be so happy.
Here she is.  Keep in mind this is right before bed time, she is trying to get the baby wipes.

I know her brothers are right behind her.

And then...well, I don't even want to think about what our days will be like.

Such a great and blessed day.

It didn't start off so positive. As a matter of fact,  I almost gave myself an anxiety attack.  Big Sis had her scheduled swim class and I had no help lined up. I usually have someone stay with the babies so I can take her or have someone take her for me. Well, things didn't work out yesterday which meant 1) She would miss her class or 2) I take all of them.  Of course I went for number 2.  I seriously was panicking. The attention that we sometimes get in our big triplet stroller is a bit much. I pictured myself maneuvering the stroller, moving lawn chairs and tables and having to hold doors open by myself.  The more I thought about it the more I worried.  What if Big Sis had to go to the bathroom? Not really able to run her in and out with the trio.  I was certain the stroller would fit through the double doors but definitely not thru the bathroom door.  Then there was the issue of their 3:30 bottle.  Class is at 3:30 as well... Do I feed before we go? Or an hour later? Or do it on the go? Luckily I called one of Big Sister's babysitter's to come with us and she was available. RELIEF! Our outing was a success.  Only Carlos took the early bottle. Sofia threw it at me.  And Marcos had no interest.  Our babysitter, I., was so helpful, holding doors, moving chairs and tables and unloading babies.  I was even able to take some video of big sis learning to swim.  Isabella was able to go in the hot tub and the babies happily sat in their stroller. Marcos and Sofie took their bottle at 3:45, they are my schedule babies for sure! We could have done without the wind.  Marcos's eyes get very teary outside, and yesterday Carlos also had some tears.  They both seemed a bit uncomfortable. This reminds me...we had an eye appointment on Monday.  Everything went well.  Their eyes are looking good after having had laser surgery due to ROP.  All are farsighted, which is how babies should be at their age.  I shared with the doctor my concern about Marcos's eye always tearing outside.  He suggested I massage Marcos's tear ducts.  There is a possibility that they are clogged and if this does not resolve itself then it is another procedure for my little guy.  AAAAGGGGGHHHH! Not what I wanted to hear, especially when massaging the corner of his eye is not going so well.  He fights it each time.

But for now here are some pics!

The trio watching sissy swim

 Marcos...have been trying to get a pic of his teeth all week!

 Teething x 3 deserves its own post!

 Carlitos's tooth

A very belated Birthday Post

Finally...The babies turned one on May 17, 2012.  It's already been a month! I will admit that I went back and forth on my decision to have a party for them.  It was a tough thing to decide.  I was really scared of all the emotions that come along with the first birthday.  Reality is the day they were born (at 25 weeks) was not exactly a joyous day.  It was terrifying to say the least.  Luckily I had started skimming the big preemie book.  I knew our odds but here we are, a year later.  I am so happy that we did.  I've come to accept everything we have been through with them and their birthday party turned out to be quite a celebration!  We had a few friends, a few kiddos and their teams of nurses were for sure represented.  

The party was planned for 11:30am and it worked out perfectly.  The babies napped from 9 to almost 11 that morning.  Here is Marcos.  Breathing treatments just part of the daily routine.

Sofia ready for the party and playing with Nurse Monica.

Carlos hanging out with Nurse Jacqui.

One worry about every party is being able to keep kids (and adults) entertained.  I knew I had no energy to do any games so after some brainstorming and a few calls I found someone who teaches drumming classes for kids.  And what do you know... she does birthday parties as well.   She was a hit and the our whole family enjoyed it.  The babies had a blast! 

A few of my favorites...

Soon after our drumming session, the boys had their lunch....

Sofia did not miss it. A month ago, she was just fine with her bottles. 

Almost nap time...I swear sometimes these babies are my clock.

We hurried and sang Happy Birthday!

The boys went for the cake.  Sofia does not like to get dirty! Oh the little princess!

Right before nap time...

I had to bring out their very special name tags from the hospital.  

They went perfectly with our ZOO theme!

Thank you Nurse Isabel, we will keep them forever!

After everyone left, my friend whom I met in the NICU, stayed and visited.  It was so nice.  Look at these precious babies.  Josie is a 26 weeker and doing exceptionally well!

As for their progress, the babies are now 13 months.  We finally have 3 sitters. Carlitos was the last one to do it and we are so happy he reached this milestone. I am feeling like the babies are much happier sitting up. They had a big developmental assessment at the end of May and case workers, home visitors, and our physical therapist are all very pleased with where they are at. Sofia is very close to crawling!! And she gets into everything!  Marcos has one HUGE tooth on top.  And the bottom ones are coming in.  Everyone is teething.  This often messes with our nap schedule.  As far as foods, all three are eating well 3 x a day,s till taking 3-4 bottles, most nights they sleep 6:45pm to about 6am, and they are all working on their pincer grasp.  They love puff, yogurt melts and mum mums.  Today they tried shredded cheese and like it. All very exciting.

Their doctor is also happy with their weight gain.  For their one year check up on May 24, their weights were:
Carlos 15.11
Marcos 17.6
Sofia  15.8

Now that this is done! I hope to get back to blogging a bit more.  Wish me luck!
Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Sofia meets Tita~Flashback Friday

~Flashback Friday~

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are visiting from AZ for the weekend.  

In Tita's honor, here are some pics of Tita holding Sofia for the first time.  

Pictures taken on July 14, 2011

I have recently found the little notebook that I took with me every morning to rounds.  

Things must have been looking up for Sofia because there are very little notes around this time.

On July 17, 2011, Sofia weighed 1310 grams or 2 lbs. 14 oz!!!!

This was huge, not bad for the ex-25 weeker.

She was getting 26 mls of breast milk every 3 hours.

And was on nasal canula, 2 liters, oxygen between 25-35%.....

Oh NICU memories!

Summer already?

Is it June already?
Our blog has been on hold for days now. I miss it! Life with triplets is getting easier but trying to keep up with pumping (3 x a day), the house, baby food making and laundry means no time to blog.  We have three sitters and three rollers. Sofia is the most mobile (and loudest) of the bunch! She is also known as the little rascal these days!
Isabella is also out of school, she successfully completed kinder and has accomplished so much.  She is a great reader! We are so proud of her.  Having her home means no down time on the days she has no activities planned.  Towards the end of last week I figured out TV time should be during the babies' nap time so I can play catch up with everything else.

Our summer started with a busy week...last Monday, we had an all day play date with Isabella's besties, twins! I got a feel for what life may be like when the trio is that age. Then we had Isabella's dance recital on Tuesday, a home visit from early learning institute for the three on Wednesday, Marcos got tubes in his ears on Thursday, and physical therapy on Friday. Our week ended with a great birthday party for Josie, another miracle baby that the trio roomed with in the NICU.

Miracle babies reunited!

We are loving warm weather and outings as a family (we've even gone to lunch and eaten sitting down!).  We have also been able to wean albuterol giving me so much more "free time".

But today when I grabbed a little notebook to start a grocery list, I found a few notes from last summer. I tried hard to keep Isabella involved while the trio was in the hospital without sharing too much. A few mornings I would leave before she went off to preschool. I would ask her if she had a message for her brothers and sister that I could pass on and read to them. Here are her responses:

June 7, 2011
You must eat your fruit with a fork and eat potato chips with your hands.
June 8, 2011
You must eat your soup with a spoon and eat your sandwich with your hands.
June 9, 2011
You must always, always, always brush your teeth even if you don't want to. You must pee in the toilet and you can draw pictures for your big sissy. Love, Bella
June 10, 2011
You must always take a bath and go potty if you need to in the toilet, unless you have a diaper or pull up.
June 11, 2011
Wake up Wake up Sofia, Marcos and Carlos.  Big sis says be healthy, be healthy, be healthy.  I hope you feel better Sofie, Marcos and Carlos.  I love you.

My heart is melting!
Life is good. I love my family.

Someday I will post pictures of their birthday and birthday celebration...someday soon I hope.



Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Flashback Friday-Marcos

And how do I know its Marcos? Because I loved his tiny hat! One morning I came in and he had it on. One of his primary nurses put it on and he looked adorable. 

The hats are knitted by volunteers and it was the perfect size.

Picture taken 6.2.2011

16 days old