Crayons!

 I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks now.  Thankfully last weekend while Daddy was home, I remembered. and put the crayons in front of them.  Our activity lasted, uuummm, maybe a whole 5 minutes, definitely no more than 10.  Baby steps, baby steps...
The trio is about to turn 18 months old but we are not quite ready for coloring yet.  Opportunity alone and scribbles plus cause and effect will continue to be our focus.

Every six months, the three go through a developmental evaluation to see where they are at in all areas.  Marcos had his last Thursday and here's what is written on his report:

Cognitive & Fine Motor: 12-14 months
Receptive Language: 12-14 months
Expressive Language: 11-13 months
Gross Motor 9-11 months
Fine Motor 10-12 months

At the time of the assessment, his actual age was 17 months (adjusted age = 14 months) so he is doing great in a couple of areas.  His biggest challenges are gross motor (he is not walking yet) and language.  He has always been the least vocal out of the three.  Colds (runny noses) have gotten in the way each time a hearing test is scheduled.  The test after he got ear tubes put in did not show a significant improvement, and the doctor really didn't have an explanation.  The good thing is that usually gross motor usually takes over the brain so once he figures that out, we are hoping for a language explosion.  This is the trend that Sofia (our walker) followed and we are praying that the boys will get there soon.

I would be lying if I said that these numbers don't get to to me.  But only because all this stuff is a reminder of what they have all been through.  I allow myself moments of sadness, worry and concern but then I move on knowing that these three beat the odds.   In the mean time, the waiting game continues. Patience, patience, patience...and everything on their own time.

Did you know that early intervention and medical professionals stop adjusting age at TWO?
That's in six months! I'm thinking it may take much longer for my little ones to catch up and hopefully they will qualify for more services to speed this process up.
And so the journey continues....

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Mommy and Me Monday

This past week I ran across an article  The Mom Stays in the Picture and it reminded me that I have become that mom, the one who purposely avoids the camera.  

I'm always feeling like I never really get ready these days.  

Sometimes a shower is a big deal and all that there is time for 

unless I want to lose 20 minutes (or more) of sleep.

I looked at some pics from last month and here I am...about the only ones I found.

This must have been one of the few "let's put some make up on" kind of day.

This was the same day the boys got their first haircut.  

Since we were already downtown with the big limo, we headed to Lala's Creamery for some ice cream. 

Well, the trio didn't actually have ice cream, they had whole milk yogurt and fruit instead.

I can't wait until all of us can enjoy it, so far they don't like the coldness.

Join in on the fun!

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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!
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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.



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First hour at the park

On Saturday, Isabella had a school field trip to a Rocky Seashore. Mommy stayed behind and took care of the three.  While I was home with them, I got a little bit sad at the fact that we can't all enjoy many outings together just yet.  So on Sunday I was determined to get everyone out of the house for a quick trip out.
We grabbed some lunch, went to the park, and grabbed some ice cream and Starbucks before heading home! We were only gone for 2 hours at the most, but those 2 hours are such a big step and bring so much normalcy to our lives!
After swallowing our food, Sofia goes in the swing for the first time.  Yes, I cleaned it with wipes and I got some funny looks but I wasn't about to let her touch that very gross seat!!

She didn't seem to like it too much and didn't look very comfortable sitting in it.  Maybe in a few weeks.
And now more pictures...

Sofia, Carlos and Marcos

Today also marks the one year anniversary of our blog.  My first entry on Sanchez, Party of Six happened exactly one year ago. I still remember sitting at the computer after a long day at the hospital feeling helpless and alone.  So much has changed.  From three tiny, sick and fragile babies in their isolettes to three happy babies at the park.  God is good.


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Another Monday

Our Monday is almost over and I am exhausted!  Just when I think things are looking up health wise...someone new has a fever!!
It's Isabella's turn! I am praying this is a quick 24 hour thing.  We took her to the doctor and she was swabbed for strep throat but hopefully it's just a virus.  She has been quarantined to her room! Who knows if that will make a difference but we can't have the trio get sick again.  Sofia is sounding really good, almost now wheezing whatsoever.  She has been very active these last few days. Lots of rolling, talking, exploring and observing everything.  The boys are happy babies during the day but congestion and coughing are still waking them up.  This morning there was only one baby in our room, so things are slowly getting easier.

It was a tough Monday! I had this great idea to try and change the babies' schedule to see if we can go from 3 short naps to 2 long ones.  This means more awake time and somehow one bottle gets eliminated.  Major changes!  Needless to say, it was an exhausting day.  I think my plan backfired and having Isabella home threw me off.
Oh well, we'll try again tomorrow and if they are not ready for it, we can always go back to the old routine.
Isabella got a hold of mommy's phone last week and snapped a few pics!

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Mommy and Me Monday

 

Finally a picture with Mommy!

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Lunch with Daddy

Have I mentioned how smart Big Sis is?

Last week, she came up with the idea that we should visit daddy at work before Grandma and Grandpa leave and so we did.  We headed out to Skywalker Ranch on Friday afternoon...we had a nice lunch, just the three of us and she loved every minute of it. Then it was her idea to take some pictures.

 Proudly wearing her Master Yoda shirt

 Mommy and Me pictures finally!!

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