Dr. Jeeeol

What a weekend

2009-04-13T12:47:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

We had the triplets' Baptism this weekend. It was our first travel experience with them. I learned that anything more than an hour and a half away is pushing it. Everything fit in the SUV on the way there, just not on the way back so we had to use space in Rob & Lisa's car. Everything went well and Charlie's first tooth even began to show this weekend. We also sold our house (and hopefully will have one to move into since we have 26 days to get out......

For those who asked what types of things to pack when traveling with triplets/babies/infants, here is the reminder list I made:

Diapers
Sterilizer
Bottles & drop ins
lids for bottles
formula
wipes
binkies
diaper bag
plastic bags
burp clothes for the car/stroller
strollers
car seats
hand sanitizer
bibs
camera & battery charger
boppies
blankies
toys (books, rattles, etc)
clothing
baptism outfits
socks
hats?
baby Tylenol
baby vitamins
Charlies reflux med
portable cribs?
Jumparoo?
water for bottles
pre-made travel bottles
Baptism forms
Church directions
Check
cell phone chargers
bedding
bottled waters
stuff to clean the car
baby monitor
thermometer
various outfits
socks
comb
Feeding schedule chart
GPS
food water for dogs!

The joyous time of mounds of laundry and putting gifts away & writingthank you letters is my plan for later today.
;)

The insanity.

2009-04-09T09:05:00.001-04:00

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So get this. As you know, we are trying to sell our house. When you have a house showing, lots of meticulous work goes into it. There is at least an hour routine of cleaning, hiding things, and maybe even baking cookies. So we get a call that we have a showing for after my luncheon. Normally, not a problem. I just have to take time off of work. I get home and the pool is making weird sounds. Are you kidding me with this? So I am frantically filling it with more water & tinkering with it after scooping the poop outside (I start outside and work my way in just in case I track dirt in- there is a system to the madness). Anyways- it fixed the problem. Phew.
To make it more fun, all THREE babies have a cold. And for those of you who are around, you also know that the witching hour of when all THREE babies have their meltdowns is between 4:30 to 6. When is the showing you ask? 4:30 to 6:30 was the window. No biggie tho. So lets make it more interesting. when we have a showing, we have to hide all the cool baby paraphenalia. That means the sanity saving jumparoo and activity mats as well. Plus Chaz was at a meeting from 4 to 6 and Looraine had softball. Son of a gun. So after exhausting house clean up and cookie baking, I am on the couch alone with three sick babies.
The people show up and were out front for like 10 minutes (takin pics, too). It was a 2nd showing. It was a caravan of 2 minivans. First a couple get out. Then a baby. Then another kid, then another, then another, then another realtor, and like 2 more people. It was like a clown car or something. So they come in, take a long time, do their thing. And then. they want to see the garage. WHAAAT?!?!? Are you kiddin me? I have THREE babies (one blowing snot bubbles the entire time that I was able to hide) and they want me to show them the garage where the dogs and a mess like no other are. Crap. Miraculously, the kids all behaved. I let the dogs out after I kicked all their kids out. They saw the garage, thought it was cool. And now we wait. Again. Of course, as soon as they left the meltdowns commenced but at least they waited for everyone to leave which was nice.

Can you be any cuter?

2009-04-07T14:42:00.001-04:00

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Ridiculous- they are so cute yu just want to eat them up.

Cool luncheon

2009-04-07T14:40:00.001-04:00

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Today's luncheon was with the new Director of Kennedy Space Center/NASA. He is a retired mrine pilot who also did the naval academy. He spoke about the 4000 lay offs coming up when the shuttle program ends in 2010. He is hoping to have U.S. humans on the moon in 2020. Other cool points of interest:
*Orville Wright's 1st flight was the length of the current shuttle.
*In the shade, the shuttle is in temps of neg 100 degrees. Near the sun, it gets to over 300 degrees.
*It takes 2 to 3 days to get to the moon but 6 months to get to mars.
*There are height/weight requirements but they also measure things ike the length from your hip to knee
*Not the softest landings- his Russian buddy had the crystals in his watch fall off on landing
*You are strapped to millions of pounds of hydrogen and when they start up the engines, it hisses and shakes.
*We hear the sonic boom across the state but they don't really on board b/c it is behind them.
*Bread really goes bad in space. Turns to crutons so fast. Fruit also doesnt keep well at all up there.
*He got to watch meteorites enter the atmosphere underneath him while thinking how glad he was they didn't hit him.
*He said watching the lightning storms over Africa was super cool.
*His most important tools on board are scissors to open food and a spoon.
*No microwave on board- they use up too much power.

He had a ton of space stories, I could go on and on. He was a top fav.

cool

2009-03-16T09:09:00.001-04:00

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It's Will, Bill, & Jill ;)

Katie

2009-03-16T09:08:00.003-04:00

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Katie just screams "oie vey!"

That's my girl

2009-03-16T09:08:00.001-04:00

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Too funny.

Nothing says 5 year wedding anniversary like....

2009-03-12T08:43:00.001-04:00

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shoving sharp metal objects thru the belly button!
I had all my belly rings and didn't want to waste them so I got my belly redone :)

This is just hot....

2009-03-12T08:42:00.001-04:00

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Seriously. It is. Katie looks so sweet, Charlie so calm, Will so chill, and Chaz just darn hot.

One of the most popular questions

2009-03-12T08:40:00.001-04:00

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How do you fit all 3 car seats into your car?
Here is your answer!

The gang

2009-03-12T08:37:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Went to the pulmonologist yesterday with Ma. They don't do the most accurate weights there (we will know on Tuesday from the pediatrician) but the weights were:
Charlie: 15
Katie: 11
Will: 14

Why having your house on the market bites.

2009-03-09T13:31:00.000-04:00

This is the crazy check list of what goes on be each house showing, hence why I hate having the house on the market (I am sure I will forget a few things):

*vacuum entire house
*take out the garbage
*Fabreeze if necessary
*hide dogs in garage (that is a task in itself)- hope to have dog bones
*turn on all of the special lighting in each room
*clean bathroom including counter tops, mirrors, dog food container, towells
*light candles in bathroom around tub
*Open bathroom blinds
*Maybe have laundry going so laundry room smells like Bounce
*Scoop the poop in the back yard
*hide dog beds under the bed
*turn on lamp, open blinds, light candle in master bedroom
*make sure bed is made, hide Kleenex box under pillows, clean off night stand
*Go to kitchen & clean granite, then use granite polisher
*clean appliances w/ stainless steel polisher, hide towells & anything on counter tops
*Polish/Pledge wood furniture/ dust
*Open all doors to rooms, check lighting
*hide all baby bottles, nipples, paci's sterilizers, etc in garage (ugh)
*make sure all dishes are done
*if not doing a crock pot, bake cookies & turn on fancy stove/microwave mood lighting
*open kitchen nook windows
*take bar stools off couches (to keep dogs off them at night)
*light candles on kitchen counter
*turn radio on for outside music
*make sure pool is on
*turn fans on
*hide any mess in the laundry room
*hide diaper pail
*Hide jumparoo, safety fence, all the activity centers, balloon, toys, and anything big baby related from the living room (ugh)
*Play classical baby music in background
*Open blinds in dining room, light candle in there, and open blinds around door and in living room
*Check front door for appearance (bring in garbage cans) and pull any algae out from the front pond
*Check trees'hedges for pruning
*Chances are it will land over a feeding time so feed some babies (and hide the dirty diapers!)

*Greet the people, tell them the dogs are in the garage (which is great b/c our garage is trashed w/ extra furniture- we wouldn't want them to go in there!). Offer to take them to the river out back.

*As soon as they leave, hit all the lights off, blow out all of the candles, put ALL of the baby stuff back in the living room and kitchen, close the windows, let the dogs out, put the bar stools back on the couch, take the dog beds back out from under the bed, shut all the blinds, turn off the radio outside, turn the toilet back on if it was making noise, put away the cookies

and we do it over and over and over again. It esp sucks when you rush home midday from work to do this and then the people show up late. It is exhausting! We had 4 showings over the weekend, two of which I think were very interested but they didnt like the subdivision (neither do we!). Will keep you posted.

Today's luncheon

2009-02-27T14:42:00.001-05:00

Just had a luncheon with my favorite judge again. This guy is so cool. He was in the marines, Was a cop. Then went to law school. Then did the Navy thing. Then was a secret serviceman. Then he was under cover for a year as a Pagan motorcycle gang member where he busted all the drug dealers. Then he ran for judge and didnt get it so he chartered a 36 foot Spponer boat, than ran again and became a judge on 96 and puts people away and sentences some to the death penalty. He is at the same court house where the Casey Anthony trial is at. Such a personable fun guy!

What?!?

2009-02-27T12:17:00.001-05:00

Seriously?!?!?

So 365 days in a year. So I was thinking to myself that Day Light Savings must be coming up soon. So I go to check the calendar and guess what day it is on? Our flippin anniversary night where we are going to a hotel to sleep for 12 hours. Make that 11 hours. :( What a kick in the pants!

The latest routine

2009-02-26T10:49:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

I noticed with the triplets, I get used to a certain schedule/routine but then change it about every 3 weeks. It's one of the most common questions so for those peeps, here you go:

7:30am-4:30pm Nanny

4pm I leave work, run into the house, shower for the next day, slip into sweat pants, do the garbage if it is garbage day, fill the dog bins if they are empty, try to vacuum, do the laundry, restock the diapers, clean and fill bottles & put vitamins in specific ones & reflux meds if we need it, get the can of Enfamil for the evening and restock the drop-ins for the bottles, and maybe scoop the poop, then relieve the nanny by 4:30pm

4:30 to either 5:30 or 6 watch and feed the kids till Chaz gets home (bottles, diapers, straighten up, etc) and take a bazillion pics of the babies

6pm Usually either Chaz or I cook something. Get dinner going. Try to sneak away a minute to download the pics to flickr so I can tag them at night! Do the kid thing.

At 9pm I am supposed to go to bed. It stinks when people are over and all having fun and watching good TV,

midnight or 12:30 wake up and relieve Charles unless he gets tag teamed before I wake up.

midnight-ish to 7am is my shift with the babies. At 7am I do the bottles, diapers, clean up, ideally throw stuff in the crock pot and feed a baby or two between 7-7:30.

About 7:45am get ready for work and ideally leave for work at 7:55 and get there at 8.

Personality updates

2009-02-16T13:41:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Charlie has curly red hair, Kaitlyn has wavy brown hair, and Will has straight blonde hair. Charlie sleeps on his belly, Katie on her side, and Will on his back. Charlie is the emotional one who wants to snuggle, Katie is big on interactive smiles right now, and Will loves to chill in the jumparoo. Their outtie belly buttons have turned into innies. Will pretty much always sleeps thru the night. Charlie & Katie did once on Thursday I believe after playing with Carissa and Julia.

Heart melter

2009-01-31T01:51:00.001-05:00

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OMG is this the cutest look while reading a book!

For Ma & Pa

2009-01-30T20:20:00.001-05:00

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Can you tell his grandma and grandpa were both librarians?!

In a fit of rage

2009-01-30T18:56:00.001-05:00

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Baby Girl got so mad that she rolled over from her belly onto her back Twice!! Her outfit also has a lady bug on the butt. Too cute.

Good bye sleep

2009-01-29T23:01:00.001-05:00

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So my original plan was to go back to work in Jan. Scratch that. That idea was stupid. So then I said Feb. Well Feb is next week. Here is my concern. My actual 'sleep time' is 8am to noon max. So for me to go to work, that means I need to give up that 8 to 12. Crap. If the kids slepts thru the night, this would be easy, but with three....not gonna home soon. Granted, a sensible person would say 'why don't you sleep from 6 to midnight. Well, b/c that stinks. That would mean I never see my husband. The answer will come to me. Otherwise, I will sleep on weekends. Sort of.

Inappropriate pictures make me happy

2009-01-29T22:43:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

These kinds of pics crack me up. I just wanted to swing by and say hi. I prefer doing the updates in Flickr under each pic but some people want both so here you go.

We got the safety fence installed around the pool. We feel like we are fastly out growing this house despite loving this house. We want to put an offer on the house down the street but they are $125,000 OVER what is realistic. Our realtor is going to talk with them. That would e an easy move- just toss stuff in a dolly and wheel barrel and go down the sidewalk.

Oh- guess who was the first to roll over? Katie! Granted, she was in an angry fit but she did it twice in a row. I also set up the jumparoo which Will thinks is esp cool.

Cool!

2009-01-15T23:02:00.001-05:00

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I love when they leave a cool surprise toy in the box! Yup, this is what I do to amuse myself.

Updates

2009-01-15T23:00:00.001-05:00

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Went to eye doc yesterday. Changes docs was the best decision of the year. He was 100 times better than the other one- ridiculosly so! Wow. They don't have to go back till the end of April. He only does morning appointments which kick my butt. It is an all day event.

Today we went to the pediatrician. OMG our doc is like our long lost buddy. We were there for at least 3 hours. We grilled him & chatted. He rocks. He has the same hair style as Katie ;)
The weights are
Charlie: 12.7
Katie 8.9
Will: 12

They are all doing fantastic. They got their shots. I even got a flu shot. Boy did we get swarmed when we pulled the strollers into the office (I have to admit tho- it is kinda fun- but if people try to touch the babies I will snap their RSV carrying fingers off! :)

personalities

2009-01-02T06:13:00.001-05:00

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My mom always asks me for updates on the kids personalities so here you go.

Charlie: We called him Chubs but Will may soon steal that title. His hair has turned red so now he looks so Irish. I like to call him O'Charley.
He is the emotional one. He wants to be held and snuggled constantly. He hates diaper changes. When he gets upset he makes the cutest sad faces ever.

Katie: She is our brunette and is a spitfire. Good golly when she wants attention she will let you know. She sounds like Celine Deon and she is very opionionated and knows what she wants or doesn't want.Stunning eyes on her. She can hold her own.

Will: Will is a delight- he is still easy baby. He has gained wait and now looks like a German boy who always wants more strudal. He is the blond one. He is independent but doesn't mine snuggle time. He like to flick people off, it's his hello.

I'll be surprised if they all don't end up with blue eyes. They all have different hair color, skin tones, and facial features. I am The 1% Queen!

OMG

2009-01-02T02:43:00.001-05:00

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Baby Girl is almost smiling in this pic!

BabyJill

2009-01-02T02:40:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Yup, that's me.
So now can someone tell me how I can ook up the statistical odds of having triplets that are blond, brunett and a red head? I am sleep deprived and am having no luck.When I do searches, it is bringing up inappropriate stuff!

Night shift

2009-01-02T02:26:00.002-05:00

Well we are still working out the kinks but here is our latest plan that we will try.
I will take the midnight to 8am shift, the nanny will take 8-5 and Chaz will take 5 to 12. Ofcourse, we can help each other out when we overlap.
I am still trying to work out the details of my shifts. I used to be able to upload pics in the bedroom where the computer stuff is but now the babies and I are out of there so Chaz can sleep so uploading pics has become way harder. Boo. Even the dogs sleep durin my shift. Boo. And none of my friends are online or awake on my shift. And my shift is in the dark. Okay- my shift is lame! Oh well. I have never seen more sunrises before tho....Oh- and TV is lame during my shift. And I can't vacuum during my shift. It is isolating and dark but its what needs to be done to make this work b/c I eventually have to go back to work. I was hoping to transition in part time from 10-2 when my luncheons are. Only problem with that is - it is my sleeping time. So I have to give up sleep? Dang. Or I could sleep from 6pm-12 but then I would never see my husband.
Any of you triplet working moms out there- please send me advice! I am open to suggestions.

Q & A

2009-01-02T01:40:00.003-05:00

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Birthed a gang of babies

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope. They are seeming to bunch together for spring 09.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Chaz grandma did

5. What countries did you visit?
None, although I did go to Winnie Palmer more often than some of its employees.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Sleep. Food, date nights. And walking, talking, children.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? September. Hands down.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting to September!

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not making it to Dec. for delivery I guess.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, just an emergency c-section. It was actually pretty cool tho.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Baby swing. What will we do when they grow out of those! Baby clothes with buttons straight down the center. Elastic pants. Back up binkies.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My dogs for putting up with being placed lower on the todem pole.....and Chaz b/c he rocks.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The babies when they tag me individually at different but consecutive hours. And mine for letting it frustrate me.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The babies. Oh, and to battery manufacturers, Enfamil, Pampers, and all of the various bottles we have tried.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
When my baby pooped after being constipated. I even took a pic.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
The stupid Subway jingle ($5 footlong song). Damn catchy jingle.
90210 theme song since Iwatched them all during the pregnancy. And The Price is Right.....

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier except when I am having a frustrating lack of sleep baby moment
b) thinner or fatter? thinner
c) richer or poorer? poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Arm exercises but I wasn't allowed to excerise. Child prrof the house but Chaz thinks I am crazy for wanting to do it early! Learn more ASL.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Paying too much for gas!

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With family at the house

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
With my babies and with the Sandman.....

22. What was your favorite TV program?
90210, Price is Right, The Closer, Lost, House, Jon & Kate Plus 8, CSI, Nip Tuck, America's Next Top Model, various reality shows I am too asahmed to mention

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Those who controlled the gas prices and raised them to the highest point ever when i had to drive to the hospital twice daily for weeks...

24. What was the best book you read?
I enjoyed sTori Telling by Tori Spelling

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I like the mobiles for the babies. However, Will makes the cutest most soothing noises when he sleeps (minus the toots)

26. What did you want and get?
Babies

27. What did you want and not get?
To keep my belly ring

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
the batman movie was good. i am not a big movie buff...

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
32 and I brought home the 3rd and final baby

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Finding out winning the lottery after a good night sleep and a spudmania from Jungle Jims.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Jammies. Elastic is so in....for me ;)

32. What kept you sane?
I am not.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Julian McMahon, Pierce Bronson and the guy trainer from Biggest Loser even tho he is gay.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Gay marriage. You should be able to marry who you love.

35. Who did you miss?
Everyone.Having the night shift for the babies is very isolating. I try to socialize but that leads to exhaustion since that is technically my sleep time. And my dogs who sleep during my shift...

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I think I’d have to say the triplet moms (even if just on line), and the NICU staff

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Always cover up the pee-pee with a washcloth when changing a baby boy’s diaper. Sleep when the babies sleep. Keep on top of the baby laundry & bottles- it makles you feel somewhat accomplished. Huggies diapers suck. Baby poop can launch just as equally as pee. Girl diaper changes are way easier than boys but girls are way louder. Breast pumping is something that should be used to torment prisoners/terrorists. Best weight loss plan is triplets. There is nothing good on TV from 1am to 8am. Woolite stain remover rocks on furniture.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I make up my own baby songs. For instance "Eat and poop. Poop and eat. Eat and poop, Poop and eat. Don't eat poop."

the gang

2008-12-17T13:05:00.001-05:00

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We went for a stroll for a whole 5 minutes. Then the school bus pulled up next to us at 2:45 so we sped home.

eye exam

2008-12-17T12:57:00.001-05:00

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Going to the eye doc is an all day event. Absolutely exhausting. It didnt help that we didnt like our eye doc so today we switched and will see the new doc in Jan.
The eye appt takes hours.

Now our drama is that one of the babies has been constipated. Ugh. I have become the master of pulling ginormous boogies out with the bulb thing. Yup, that's hot.....

On the weekends I sleep in the bedroom and the rest of the week I vary from either the nursery or the couch. All is going well though.

Activity Center time

2008-12-17T12:53:00.001-05:00

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I love when activity center time wears them down ;) Katie is up front, Charlie in the middle and Will is in the back.

cow

2008-12-13T07:55:00.001-05:00

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I have new found respect for poor cows. After being hooked up to similar devices, my heart goes out to the cows. This is probably why I don't like milk.

Nanny interviews

2008-12-08T00:47:00.002-05:00

It's official. We hired a nanny. She will start later this week. We did interviews all week long & we chose the 1st one we interviewed. I knew after we interviewed her. She is the same age as us and she will be a live in.

Chaz has a tough week at work so I have banished him to the back room to sleep & I will attempt to feed all 3 babies myself at 3am.
Thats the scoop.

zombie

2008-11-27T07:25:00.002-05:00

Oh man what a rough night.
After yesterdays fun fiasco of the power going out & the delightful trauma of the eye exam, I was spent. So that last feed at night, while feeding Katie, her alarm goes off. As if I wasn't frazzled enough. And her canula won't stay in right. We are lucky if 1 nostril part stays in. To the designer of the canula- your design bites. It especially bites between 12-7am. So after that attempted fix and minor heart attack on me, I went to check on Katie. Right when I did, she had arched puke. Some call it 'spit up.' That description does not do it justice. So we had to fix her up (it came out her nose even- real fun with a canula....). Redo the bed, her clothes, etc. That was the start of a long night. We didn't get a single solid hour of sleep. I am hurting today. Luckily the grandparents are here & we can nap once I detach from the torture device called breast pump.

Todays topic: Trauma of the momma

2008-11-26T21:19:00.003-05:00

Today was exhausting.
First trauma was at the house. We were getting ready for the day and suddenly the power goes out. Normally no big deal. However (insert panic here)- my baby girl is hooked up to medical equipment powered by electricity (also, the milk in the fridge!). So things start beeping. My first thought is take Katie to the car (granted, she is fine when we take her off the equipment for bathing and truly doesn't need it. My car has actual plug outlets in it. Of course, you can't be in a garage with the car on so I would have had to hit the garage door opener button (no power remember). If I would have made it that far, I probably would have just driven thru the garage door. But alas, Charles was here and fixed it so our garage door was spared.Yes, I know, totally irritational of me but I blame it on the lack of sleep.

The next trauma of the day for me was the eye exam. We took all 3 (our 1st time!) to the eye doc in Winter Park. Our appt was at 11:30 & we left at 2:15. Looong day. First they have to put drops in their eyes every 15 min or so. Then we asked to be taken out of the regular waiting room since it is RSV season (strangers wanted to help feed the babies. Sweet, but back off! I don't know where those peeps have been!). So they moved us into their storage room (hence the eyeball pics on my flickr acct). We were in there forever. I wish we could have napped! We had to feed the kids on this trip too. So then they call us into the room. I had to sit on the exam chair & hold (aka 'refrain') each kid in my lap while they stuck this object that looked like to wire forks mangled together into each of my babies eye sockets (no valium for the babies or me!). Holy crap that was so not cool. They had numbing drops but ack! They screamed. So then we go to leave & have to pay. Its a $25 co pay which isn't bad. Till you times it by 3. Plus we have to go back in 3 weeks. Then I checked the waiting room to see if it was clear. There were like THIRTY kids in their, during RSV season. Nooooooo! Not cool. So I ask for the back door and it leads to stairs :( so we had to rush out the normal exit.
And that my friends was this momma's trauma of the day.

Quick hello

2008-11-23T17:09:00.002-05:00

I got to administer my 1st suppository yesterday. Those things work. Yup- that was the excitement of the night.
Little Katie's alarm went off while I was feeding her & I am proud to say I did not have the knee jerk response of tossing her or the bottle up in the air. :)

Chaz' mom was here this weekend which rocked. His Dad came up today. They let us sleep in & they fed all 3 babies. Heaven sent! I also got to go in to work for a few hours. I felt so bad- I saw my cool co-workers at work & I wanted to catch up so bad but I only had two hours to get all the budget stuff done :( Boo.

Late night

2008-11-21T23:46:00.001-05:00

IMG_5097
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

What a cutie. I had to post this!

math

2008-11-21T23:23:00.002-05:00

When I feed the triplets with Charles, it can take anywhere from 45 min to 1.5 hours. By myself it is 2 hours.

Hypothetically, lets do some math:

Kids eat every 3 to 4 hours so lets gingerally go with the later (2 hours x 6 feedings) = 12 HOURS.

Then I have to pump and clean the pump & replenish the bottles so min of 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours = 3 to 4 HOURS

Now lets talk diapers. I'll LOW ball this one. Lets say the diaper gets changed after every meal (6 to 8 meals a day x 3 kids) = min of 54 diapers a day. Each diaper change takes about 5 min including outfir change if neccesary...That's about 4.5 HOURS.

On to laundry. At least one load a day and putting it away. I'll just go with 20 MINUTES. I'll skip the garbage (by the way- the Diaper Champ is awesome!).

Bottles. After each feeding and pumping, I have to wash/sterilze them to reuse them. Thats about a min of 5 min each time if hurried so I'll just say 45 MIN.

We will skip bath time since that isn't daily. Then there is clean up time but that varies.
Uhm....we are at about 21 hours in a 24 hour day. Hmmmm. I shouldnt be this sane. Oh- & for each doc appt, you have to do the paperwork 3 times. It was like writing a novel!

So it sounds crazy but it is really, really doable. The worst part is pumping but that is my time for blogs, email, uploading pics. I also work a few hours from home.Anywho, so far so good. I still shower. I have cut out the daily scooping of the dog poo, vacuuming (ugh that urks me), & my daily yard work routine. I still get to watch all my shows I have recorded when feeding the kids. I still get snuggle time in with the kids. The secret is routine, organization, & cleanliness. I notice the frustrations rise when mess starts up. Lack of sleep occassionally is the toughest. Next week we will start interviewing help.I have a dozen apps so far to review & asked for them to all be in by next Friday.

What a learning experience

2008-11-15T16:56:00.002-05:00

Well, our NICU experince is coming to a close. Kaitlyn comes home on Monday- my birthday.
It has been an experience like no other.I can't tell you how much we learned. I now know about things such as apneias, bradycardias, CPAP. PDA, etc. Peoplewould often say to us us "oh it must be so hard to have to go to the NICU." The hardest part is the 25 min drive.People- let me tell you= the NICU flippin rocks. Of course the unfamiliar beeps are scary at 1st but the bonuses of it are amazing. For instance, I have had a dozen NICU nurses tell me all of their tips, show us their techniques for bathing, massage, burping, swaddling, etc. Then their are the free classes. They hook you up with the bottles for pumping. They have lactation consutants their all the time.You get to go home and heal from delivery. You have an awesome doctor call you daily with updates and to answer your questions (he should so have his own reality show). Surprisingly, it is going to be hard to not go their anymore. The most amazing part was the people. You see certain nurses each day and become really, really good friends with them. The people at the main desk know us so well- they ask about each kid by name, they know my birthday, I know their grandparents names. Also, each day you get to see the people in the lobby leave with new babies, come in about to have a baby, or come down stairs to tell the families. Some have had babies in the valet area even. Then in the NICUyou meet other parents and hear the stories of heartbreak and ones of happiness. I am just an awe over the whole experience.

Today we had training on how to operate the oxygen tank and monitor that Katie will come home on. It is precautionary stuff. She will probably be on ot for a month. It is another blessing in disguise. Granted, it seems scary to most but parents can sleep better with it b/c it will alert us to any problems. However, it sounds like the Titanic's horn. No joke. I think the neighbors will know if we have a problem even!

We survived taking both boys to the pediatrician. YOu will have to pardon me if you don't see me for awhile. The pediatrician told us not to have lots of people over, esp kids 4 and under (RSV season). The babies technically arn't even supposed to be born yet (Dec. 8) so he wants us to avoidexposure and all.

We have had the boys home for about a week now. It is going well. The hardest part is lack of sleep. I pump every 3 hours.If you look at a breakdown:
*Pumping takes 1/2 hour so thats about 4 hours of your day right there. More if you include washing the parts.
*Feeding the boys takes up to 45 minutes every 3 to 4 hours now so That's about 8 hours.
*Diaper changes. I'm a freak, I like the diaper changes (except if I have to wake p to do them- that's rough). Not to mentionthe outfit change that usually accompanies any oopsies. Then factor in the ointments you have to put on the babies.
*Then you have to factor in the picture taking and uploading to keep the grandparents happy!
That alone is 12 hours or 1/2 my day
It would be sooo easy if we didn't require sleep, if only we required a regeneration chamber like 7 of 9...
So far it is all about organization and schedules.
I am rambling. xoxoxo

Monkies don't fling poo- babies do!

2008-11-12T12:18:00.002-05:00

Today was a good lesson.After a long night with Charlie, we were ready to brave the day. I know little boys can soak you with their gunso I am extra careful about that (now....).I plan ahead tho. I have a sheet saver under the baby, etc. So I am changing Charlie who by the way, hates to be changed, & sweet Daddy walks in. He asks if he poo'd & I say no, he just tinkled. I lovingly lather on some butt paste (to the baby, not me) and then the unholiness breaks out!I am holding his lil legs up and BAM- his booty shoots yellow, seedy poo out of the co sleeper- it arched for pete's sake and had distance :o It made it all over to my beds dust ruffle.
And that boys and girls is todays lesson.
Man that was funny.

Oh and now for a gripe. It is funny how people become so moronic when they hear the word triplets. They get this 'look' and they VERBALLY say thinngs like "Oh my God" (but not in a good way) or they say "yikes"- and to those people, I just want you to know that YES, most mom's of multiples are non-verbally thinking you are a moron. Congratulations.
What are some of my other favorites? Oh yes, there is the "Wow, you will have your hands full" Seriously? Do people not realize we hear that 100s of times a day. Can the world not think of a better line?
Oh, another favorite= Are they all identical? Um seriously- how will I EVER tell Katie and the boys apart! No fool- they are not identical!I also get "Do twins run in your family?" or my ultimate favorite "Did you do IVF?" Now people I do not even know ask me that. That is personal stuff. Do I go around asking them if they conceived their child via intercourse!?
It's all rather funny actually.
Our top responses are (This one is Chaz')when he sees twins, he likes to say to the parents "Man, you have got it eeeeeeasy!" The looks they give him is hysterical. For me, if asked how we got triplets, my favorite is 'multiple orgasms.'

:)

Happy November!

2008-11-04T09:26:00.003-05:00

My November has gotten off to a shaly start.
My camera that I took with me everywhere broke :( Hence, the slacking on the pictures. I will have to switch to one of Charles' cameras.
Then my cell phone broke yesterday. I know when people are calling and they can hear me, but I can't hear them. I dropped that phone hundreds of times on cement but yesterday it landed on a rug and that is what did it in :( So soon I will get a new phone. So text or email me if you are looking for me.
Now my VPN access from home to my work computer won't connect. And last night my wallet fell out of my pocket (luckily just into the depths of the chair I was sitting in when holding Will...I was back for my 2nd visit 3 hours later so phew!).
So blah to that stuff! Geeez.

On to the bigger news:
Will has his canula out now like Charlie.
The weights are:
Charlie 5 lbs 7 oz
Katie 4 lbs 1 oz
Will 4 lbs 11 oz

And Charlie comes home this Monday!!! In celebration, my school is having a parade this weekend (okay, it is the Homecoming parade but I will say it is for Charlie).We will get one more tailgate in.
Charlie will have a looong week tho- he has to do the car seat test, he gets his 2nd eye exam tomorrow, his immunization shots, and circumsized.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-10-31T18:12:00.001-04:00

IMG_4410
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

UPdate on the babies

2008-10-23T16:30:00.001-04:00

IMG_4231
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

The babies moved in to a regular crib today.
Yesterday they had their eye exam and all 3 passed.
Charlie is 4 lbs 11 oz, Katie is 3 lbs 4 oz and Will is 3 lbs 6 1/2 oz as of last night. All 3 have been bottle fed now. We will move to nother pod again maybe this weekend. I can even bring in a bouncer seat if we choose. All 3 have very distinct personalities already!

Eye openers

2008-10-15T09:28:00.002-04:00

One thing is for sure. I have been meeting some amazing and interesting people this past month. One thing that puts it ALL in perspective are other peoples stories.
I met one woman in the breast pumping room who has a 23 weeker (I didn't know they were viable before 24 weeks- they have a 25% chance). Then last night this woman came in to see me (I remember her from the multiples meetings). She was on bedrest for 20 weeks, delivered at 27 weeks and all the babies were a little over a pound, and after 4 days, one of her triplets had died. Holy cow. She delivered in July and was bringing home the 2nd baby today.

On a brighter note, the latest update is that Charlie weighs 4 pounds 2 oz, Kaitlyn weighs 3 pounds and Will weighs 3 pounds 2 oz. Kaitie and Will seem to really like the co-bedding. We were there late last night and then went preemie clothes shopping afterwards.

We moved

2008-10-14T17:08:00.001-04:00

IMG_4062
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Last night all 3 kids got a new pad. We moved a hallway down to a private room- we even kicked out the resident on the other side of the room. So now Will and Kate are cobedding and Charlie has the other side of the room all to himself in his bassinet. It's like our own private suite. Sweet! The doc today referred to our room as the "Non-issue Norburn newborn NICU nursery/suite."

Got milk?

2008-10-14T17:05:00.001-04:00

IMG_4056
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

When the lactation consultant originally told me I would need 15 of these bottles a day for triplets, I was mortified. I was lucky if I got 12. But now- count them- 17 baby!!! Woo hoo.

wait- there is more! Another 1st!

2008-10-12T01:15:00.001-04:00

IMG_4023
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Yesterday they put Kaitlyn & Will in the same isolette to co-bed them. Now that is cute!

and another 1st

2008-10-12T01:13:00.003-04:00

IMG_4043
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Here we are with all THREE babies!

another 1st

2008-10-12T01:13:00.001-04:00

IMG_4044
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

I got to hold two babies at once today!

The brothers see each other

2008-10-11T16:31:00.001-04:00

IMG_0662
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

This pic is the 1st time Charlie & Will got to see and touch each other since the womb!

1st family pic...sort of!

2008-10-11T16:30:00.001-04:00

IMG_0671
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Here is our official first family pic that has us and all three babies...sort of!

All 3 babies

2008-10-11T16:29:00.001-04:00

IMG_4010
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

The fabulous NICU nurse Liz took the 1st pic of all 3 babie together! Cuteness!

The Birthing Story

2008-10-02T08:10:00.002-04:00

I told people I would write about the actual birth experience so here it goes.

The entire pregnancy was going smooth. No morning sickness even! I had triple the energy the entire time. On Thursday the 11th I went to the high risk specialist to get the steroid shot at 28 weeks and she said that she would prefer not to do it- she rather wait closer to the birth and that I was like Fort Knox and going to make it to 37 weeks.That in a nutshell was my only regret- I wish I wouldn't have listened and insisted on the shot- that's what we went in for that day in the first place. I shouldn't dwell though I guess.

So here is how it went down. It was Sunday the 14th. We went to go get take out with Rob & Lisa. The 3 of us ordered Taco Bell and Charles ordered KFC next door. He warned me of Taco Bell. So we got our food, came over to the house, ate and watched TV. They left just before 8pm. Charles & I went into the garage so that I could supervise the organization process. I even did a little happy dance as Rob & Lisa drove away since I was so excited we were getting stuff more organized. Five minutes later, I told Charles I wasn't feeling good and that we should do this later (me turning down organization time is unheard of!). So I went in and blamed the ill feeling on Taco Bell.

So starting at 8pm, I was feeling blah. I tried to nap it off. I hung out in the bathroom. I drank lots of water. Each hour I felt more blah. Darn that Taco Bell, right?.... So I figured maybe a bath would help. So Charles hooked me up with a bubble bath and I got in it for about an hour. He even gave me a massage. Still feeling bad. Now it is bed time. We go to sleep. Still not feeling good. At about midnight I am still wide awake. I try to walk it off and pace around the house that is lit up by moonlight through the skylights. I even grab the Multiples book and look up contractions. These can't be contractions. They hurt like hell but they they said your whole belly hardens and you feel it across the entire belly- mine was confined to extreme pains in a triangular spot just located around my front pelvis area. Plus I was JUST at the high risk specialist this week and she basically sent me home. Has to be Taco Bell, right?

Between midnight and 2am thogh it got even worse. So I wake up Charles (I hate to wake people up) at 2am. You know something is up when I wake someone up. He starts timing the pains. Oh crap. It went from 8am for a minute every hour, then to about every 15 minutes, then to every 10 minutes....we were at about every 4 minutes or less. Are you kidding me? I am still cursing Taco Bell at this point. So at 3am Charles packs me into the F150 and we bring nothing with us really. We assume we will go to Winnie Palmer and they will say it is gas and dismiss us, or they will give me something to stop contractions. In fact, it was on my calendar for that Monday to pack my hospital bag.

We made the 31 minute drive in 18 minutes. When you are in pain, husbands drive real fast :) The triage part took the longest. We get in and I see a nurse who hooks me up to a machine and you could see the bear of contractions. Then she does the exam and gets quiet and tells us she will be right back. Uh oh. In comes the big guns- Dr. B (thank heavens he was on call that night- I only wanted him or Dr. A who was coming on in a few hours- sweeet). So Dr. B does an exam (both times the exam hurt horribly). He tells us that I will be here for the remainder of my pregnancy. I was thinking 'Holy smokes- I am going to be here for 2 months" so I asked him how long he thinks that would be, in which he responded with half an hour max. :o Whaaaat?! Apparently it hurt like mad b/c I was dilated to 8 cm and Baby A was already crowning. They gave me the steroid shot and sent me off to the ER/OR.

At this point I am in total denial. Maybe they drugged me. I don't recall. The entire time I thought it was an elaborate plot between Charles and Dr. Wang to convince me to stop working. I was expecting Dr. Wang to walk out at any minute (I really thought man- do they really go above and beyond to try to get a point across to me). I thought that up until I was pretty much naked on the Operating Table! In fact- I still made another look for Dr. Wang to come out. Ahhh denial- it is a fun and beautiful thing! It kept me calm.

So here is where it gets crazy. Since it was an emergency C-section, the only way a husband can be in the room is if I am awake during surgery. I heard the doctors (there were 25 people in the room) say they didn't think there was enough time for the epideral to work. Oh heck no. They wanted to knock me out. I was not having that. I didn't want to miss this plus this might be Charles only chance to be in the delivery room and I was not going to take that away from him. They were gonna try the epideral. So Chaz is outside while they prep me. Very weird experience. They even do a catheter- there are no secrets or modesty at moments like that. At least I shaved my legs during that bubble bath. So here is where I admit I am a freak. They do the epideral and ask if I can feel anything. So I lied. Yup, I bold faced lied and said I couldn't feel a thing- crazy but whatever. I have a super high pain tolerance. I would say the epideral was 80% in effect. So Charles got to stay and I got to watch. I couldn't feel the outer cut, but I could feel the inner one- now that is freaky. I'll spare you those details. It didn't matter b/c I was distracting myself by taking in all the sights and what was going on.

I heard all 3 babies cry when they came out- which a lot of preemies don't do. That rocked. They let me kiss each baby on the head too. Very surreal experience. Charles was so cute the entire time. Oh- my coworkers wife Jeannete was in the operating room and recovery room with us! All the right people were workin the night we needed them! We also knew 2 other nurses from the other docs office that were in the room. 25 people were working in the room- wow- they all had masks on but most came by and introduced themselves. Oh- and I had some uncontrollable shakes going on before the surgery started and before the epideral- not sure if it was a case of freak out or I was freezing or both. Usually you get the mommy shakes after the epideral, not before.

Charles only had like a 3 minute window to make the calls. He called his parents. Then he called my sis to make the phone train on my side of the family. Then he called Rob & Lisa (God parents) and then was called back in to the room with me. We didn't even get to use our phone tree to call everyone! No time. I didn't have a bag with me, heck I don't even know if I wore shoes!Charles did all that research on cameras and we didn't have our camera with us! Luckily his cell phone took great pics!

When in recovery, I asked for my cell phone. I think I sent out a mass text message. No idea to who or what it said. I think I wrote that we were having three babies and people assumed I was telling them I was pregnant with 3 babies and they already knew that. Drugs really started kickin in by this point! I even had a button to push to self medicate. Sweet. Oh- and Winnie Palmer has the best square ice chips in the world. For the first 3 days, the nurses would come in and check the wound. They do so by pushing down on it- oh holy hell that part was retchid! I told myself I wanted to heal fast (mind over matter). The more you walk around at first (as much as it sucks), the faster it helps you recover (I was told). So by the 3rd day, I was peeing by myself. Granted, it hurt to walk but it had to be done. I was able to stay at Winnie Palmer for a week. That place rocks. I didn't want to leave! The food was fabulous. Charles also ordered the romantic dinner for 2 in our room.

Once word got out, the visitors started pouring in. I think we had as many people visit as we had at our wedding. Holy smokes.

They gave Charles the gown that has all 3 babies footprints on it and also their weights. Too cute. Charles Edward was born at 5:27am, Kaitlyn Elizabeth was born at 5:28am, and William James was born at 5:29am on Monday.

They said the kids will be there about 8 weeks or so. They will probably be released one at a time. So until then, we go to Winnie Palmer everyday. We post all the pics on Flickr. It is a rollercoaster ride in the NICU. Charlie looks like a clone of his Dad. Will looks more like the Painter side. Kaitlyn has the darkest hair. Oh yeah- the names- Charlie is a family name and has the same name as his grandpa. William is a family name on my side (but James is a grandfather name on Charles side). Kaitlyn Elizabeth is a funny story- we wanted her initials to spell KEN b/b that is how I met Charles. Plus her first two initials (K & E) also stand for Kathy & Eric which is how I met Ken, who introduced me to Charles.

So that is the abbreviated story!

Babies Update 28 weeks

2008-09-11T22:41:00.002-04:00

So here is the deal.
I apparently get stressed out whenever I have a doc appt. Most people get excited and look forward to them. Maybe I'm just a freak but with each appt, I worry that a.) they will find something wrong b.) they will not let me go home and will put me on hospital bed rest for months.

Here are the updates and stories from todays appt at the hospital w/ the high risk specialists (it was cool by the way, so no worries).

I am supposed to monitor my blood pressure so my mom sent me a super cool blood pressure monitor. Normally I am corpse like with 98/60 (the norm is 120/80). They watch for high blood pressure. So last night while thinking about the next days appt my reading was 121 over 71 (astronomically high for me I thought, normal for most people). So of course I'm thinking they will keep me there when I go in.
Then there was the issue of the swollen feet. I drank lots of water (blah) and elevated my feet only to awaken to my feet twice as big. Whaaat!? They retained that water I drank. So surely I am thinking they will keep my. :(
Then there was the issue where at night I think a baby uses my leg nerves in the left leg as a security blanket b/c I can't lift my leg at night (when you have to pee the most of course) so naturally I think the hospital will keep me for that. Needless to say, I could go on and on w/ these small silly worries but you get the jists of it.

Back to the update. We got a tour of the hospitals NICU unit. First of all- it blew the other hospitals NICU out of the water. You have no idea by how much!Imagine Compton v Beverly Hills. We got a 1 on 1 tour and met with the docs and got to see lots of babies. They even showed us babies that were just born at 28 weeks. They were fine. o that was cool. They even gave Chaz the itty bittiest diapers you will ever see. Very good tour.

Then we met w/ my doc. I had my list of questions for her. The babies currently weigh 2 pounds 10 oz; 2 pounds 8 ounces; and the girl is 2 pounds 4 ounces (she burns up the most calories with all of her aerobic activity). So they are all doing better than super. She said the swelling and all the other symptoms were normal. They also checked the cervix which I was worried about since Baby A sleeps on it) and they said it was like Fort Knox. Chaz asked if I need to stop working or even do half days and the high risk specialist said NO- I am doing more than fine :o I asked if there was an indication of a possible due date since the avg delivery is 32-34 weeks and she said NO. I thought we would do the steroid shot today but they prefer to do it when you are closer to delivery and she said I am no where near it. So I'll be. I did all that worrying for nothing. Oh- during the ultrasound all 3 apparently didn't like to woken up to the jelly on the belly and so all three stuck their butts out into separate corners- I so wish I would have taken a pic of my belly! I am starting to get uncomfortable. The kicks have really increased (by all 3) and lets just say Baby A has access to some interesting organs. They also said our babies are long. Next appt is Wednesday!

The realities of pregnancy that they try to keep secret

2008-09-10T13:10:00.001-04:00

IMG_3813
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Ladies- here arethe thingsthey don't tell you about pregnancy.
For me, my feet/legs swell up. Not constantly. Mostly when I am at home. This pick was taken at the worst part. I normally have skinny feet and boney ankles. Where are my ankles? I do not know. I saw them briefly this week. Oh- and when you swell- mosquitos LOVE you and think you are their home. I was told how I simply must by compression hose/socks. It's just like buying pantyhose- you look on the bag and line up your height and weight. Mind you I am still 30 pounds before the next size up and look what the socks did to me! Plus the top of the foot is a lovely shade of red which hurts to the touch when it gets like that. I only wear flip flops now but its FL so thats fine.

Andrew (whose wife works in the NICU where we are delivering at) said his wife gained 40 pounds each time she was pregnant. He said therefore I can gain 120! Technically I can swallow my sister! So far I am right on track w/ 60 pounds (aka a Golden Retriever). No biggie.

Oh- the other thing no one else talks about. So when I am laying down, I think one of the kids rests on some nerve. I can bend my knee just fine but the part where the leg meets the body- I can't lift that at night. You know the brain is specifically telling the leg to move, yet it won't. Weird. That makes it hard to roll over to pee at night.

However, the best part all pun put aside, is the belly. It is flippin awesome to watch people move in your belly in different directions. This will probably be my only chance to take that in and boy do I eat that up. LOVE IT!!! Absolute best part of pregnancy.

Girls really do marry guys just like their Dad

2008-09-09T23:25:00.002-04:00

In any other work setting, this would not fly, but it is a different scenario where I work. Now keep in mind, the people I have worked with are like family. They were there for my interview, my 1st house, the proposal, getting Tiger, the wedding, the 2nd house, pregnancy, and all of the small events in between. These are my peeps.

Now keep in mind, my doc has said nothing about bed rest as of yet and I am fine. Charles (and my Dad!) have been pushing for me to work from home. Sigh. Here is my dealio with that. At work, I know I will stay out of trouble. The staff won't let me do anything I shouldn't. I also love the social aspect of the place. If I am at home, I want to clean, organize. People constantly say I should go relax. My way of relaxing is painting the exterior of the house, in the summer, and then doing yard work. Sitting with my feet propped up is like a prison sentence. Plus it makes my feet feel numb. They say I should swim in the pool to relax. People- its cold. I sink. Now if I am in the pool while doing some gardening around the pool- that's another story. Floating in a pool- BLAH.

So I guess I should get to the story. Charles was pushing hard for me to work from home. I said I'd do 1/2 days soon. He wanted me to start now. On Monday I told him I probably would (keep in mind on Monday after work my student org had an evening mtg that I could have gone to but I left a lil before 4 so technically in my defense it was sort of a half day...!). Long story short, Charles had a talk with my boss. (Again, if I was in corporate this would be mortifying but we tailgate w/ my boss so its different). Needless to say I got called into the Dean's office thos morning :o
That is sooo something my Dad would have done.

My boss is so sweet tho. He and Donna didnt want to mention that Charles contacted them but as soon as I walked in and knew what was going on I told them Chaz was in big trouble. They were so sweet tho. They offered to put a camera in my office so I can still see people; they offered to put in a recliner; they told me I could work whatever hours I want from home. Not many bosses would do that. I realize that. So I guess I will do stupid half days :( I have seperation anxiety. Plus if I go into labor I am home alone instead of on campus where most everyone I know is.
So my IT guys at work are doing the VPN remote desktop access to my laptop so I can do things from home.

So I need to act all mad at Chaz but shhh- secretly I think it was cute. Oh and don't get me started how he is now like my folks hero.

Family Portrait

2008-08-22T15:32:00.001-04:00

JillChazMonkTiger
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Here is the latest family portrait . Don't the dogs look thrilled?!?!

TS Fay

2008-08-22T15:31:00.001-04:00

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Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Yup, still raining.
No damage (usually tree debris is the most common). However, the rain is incessant. The meteorologist said last night "lets just hope this storm goes some where, anywhere else, and become someone elses problem." Blunt & straight to the point. It's not even a hard rain. We have drained the pool twice b/c it was getting a little high) but now I worry about the river behind our house. If you look closely at this pic, see that water under the trees? It is supposed to be on the OTHER side of the trees. It has a looong way to go but if this keeps up, I will have catfish in the pool.

Fay and other updates

2008-08-20T13:57:00.000-04:00

All is well up here. We have gotten some rain, but really it is more like a drizzle. It is cloudy and slightly windy. Getting Tuesday off was more like getting a vacation day which rocked since Abi is in town at our house. So while avoiding the 'death and destruction' of the Fay drizzle, we did a pregnancy photo shoot. She is touching up the photos and then I will post them. She put a few sneak peak ones on her flickr account.

I have hit the 50 pound weight gain mark and it was no big deal but now- it feels heavy! Esp at night when I was to flip from my right to left side. Major production. Last night I woke up every hour and looked outside to make sure the pool didn't overflow w/ Fay- and to pee of course (drizzling rain = urge to pee). It was fine.

I had my normal monthly doc appt today. We did the glucose sugar test & I guess they will call if their is a concern but I doubt it b/c I don't have high blood pressure, at all. Then I was surprised- the avy triplet birth is at 32-34 weeks. My doc said the specialist thinks we can go to 37. Whaaaat?!?!? 36 maybe but 37?!?!? We shall see. That would be close to Veterans Day or my birthday. Time will tell. All is well though.

24 weeks

2008-08-15T08:39:00.001-04:00

IMG_3571
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Woo hoo! Babies are more than 24 weeks (6 months!!!)

23 1/2 weeks pregnant with triplets

2008-08-13T10:49:00.001-04:00

babies 2.jpg
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Yesterdays ultrasound went fabulous.
Baby A weighs 1.7 pounds, Baby B (the girl) weighs 1.4, Baby C weighs 1.6 pounds. I think Baby B weighs the least b/c she is the most active with continual sommersaults and kick boxing (like her Mom she can't sit still). Baby C is the rib/kidney climber. Baby A is face down with determination to be the 1st one out. The boys are in the 70 something percintile for a SINGLETON at this point and Baby B is at the 50 something percintile for a singleton (um yeah- no real data on what triplet weights should be). Translation- we've got some chunky monkies if they are above average weights for singletons and there are 3 of them :)

My blood pressure was lovely and everyone looked fine. No cleft pallets/foots, etc. The end of this week marks the big goal mark of 6 months which is when a pregnancy is deemed viable. That means they have over a 50% survival rate if delivered. At 28 weeks it jumps to 90-95%. The doc said no need for bedrest this month, I am doing fine (phew). I should be gaining like 10 pounds a month from here on out. That will be easy ;) The birthing goal in my head is 32-34 weeks (October 10 - Oct 25)- I hope not Halloween! However, we will hold out for 36 weeks (which is the avg for twins ((Nov. 7 weekend, aka Homecoming).

That's the scoop.

The scoop

2008-08-11T09:38:00.000-04:00

So people were asking how our multiples class was on Friday. It wasn't my favorite. We covered a little bit on nutrition and then mostly discussed complications, drugs at the hospital and their effects, things to watch for.Nothing warm and fuzzy. Just factual info so there are no surprises. The 3rd couple showed up to the class. They are expecting twins. At the last class in 2 weeks we will get to go to the NICU unit. That will be cool. Not the one at Winnie but the one at FL hospital. I don't have more to report on the class.

On Saturday my old friend Jen L. swung by (w/ her husband). I haven't seen her in like 5 years. She took a pic. Once I get that from her I will post it.

Now the fun part. We got to go to the triplet Nicole moms house. Here's the deal. We were expecting mad chaos and mayhem. The house was gorgeous. They opened the door and we were greeted by their adorable pug. So we go in and it is quiet. I'm thinking the 3 kids are asleep. Nope. They are all sitting hi a high chair each holding a bottle and watching a DVD and give us a look like "Hey, what's up." WOW. Plus they were soooo cute! They are a little over a year old. Charles grilled them with questions. Their nursery taste was just like ours- similar paint color, white cribs, same taste in toys. She makes it look so do-able. They gave us their triple decker stroller which will be such a life saver!The whole visit was just so reassuring. She had to go into the hospital early though for some complications and said she gained 18 pounds in 6 days So far I am up somewhere between 47-50 pounds.

Leaning to the left

2008-08-10T12:46:00.001-04:00

IMG_3535
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

So this is what triplets at 23 weeks prego looks like when they lean to the left (hence, they knew McDonalds was on the left....). I will try to capture a pic of them when they go opposite directions and make my belly look like a butt. Now that cracks me up. Off to lunch- more later!

Triplet Decker Triplet Stroller

2008-08-10T12:44:00.001-04:00

IMG_3549
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

I will have to devote an entry to last nights visit to our triplet friends house when we get back from lunch. Just wanted to show you the pic of the stroller tho. Now that is cool.

Hot

2008-08-10T12:43:00.001-04:00

IMG_3552
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

I snuck this pic of Chaz thru the window while he cleaned the hot tub. He also wrangled a snake from the pool, scooped the poop, saved my earring that I dropped down my sink drain, put my new decal on my car, and sealed the counter tops. Hotness factor of 10+

Ta Da!!!

2008-08-08T09:07:00.001-04:00

IMG_3523
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Our SUV rocks. Chaz put all three car seats in one row and it fit. Technically that means we still have a row for the dogs and the 'trunk' space for stuff. Would we ever travel like that, probably not- but if we had to we could!

The 'birthing transition plan' meeting with the boss man

2008-08-06T15:40:00.001-04:00

So today I had the meeting I have been dreading- The 'birthing transition plan' meeting with the boss man. I do not know one other person on this campus who has had triplets so I felt like I was going in blind. No worries right- the Internet has all the answers. So I did some searches and everything online was such crap (i.e. tell your boss when you expect to leave and for how long...zzzzz so generic). I was hoping to find fabulous check lists and charts to discuss (regarding triplet pregnancies) but apparently those do not exist.

So, I made a lovely "Jill's Transition Plan" and included the stats comparing singleton, twins, triplets, etc; the avg pregnancy lengths; avg time for bed rests for all 3; facts about what to expect so they weren't taken off guard later (such as the NICU); I had future budget stuff done; and the plans for the 15 things that fall under my office. The meeting went lovely. I guess they didn't expect me to bring in facts or an already done transition plan. They asked when I want to work from home (not till I have to- I am more inclined to want to do things around the house and yard if I am there (nesting syndrome x 3), if I am at work, I stay out of trouble- they would all yell at me if I attempt to do something other than sit really!). They were soooo accomodating. The staff here are like extended family really. Most of them were there for my job interview, my 1st house, when we got Tiger, the engagement, the wedding, the doctoral degree, the 2nd house, and now all of the kids. The 'big' milestones. Plus one of my coworkers' wife works in the NICU where I will be delivering. Such a fabulous deal. They also said I can bring the babies in!

Why I dreaded that meeting I do not know. That was silly. I think they also take comfort knowing if anything hits the fan, I am 4 minutes away from the office. So that is the scoop. I have one last thank you card to send off from the shower and I am done.

The nursery

2008-08-06T13:54:00.001-04:00

The nursey is really coming together. I want to keep the wood blinds (I got rid of the curtains so the babies don't pull on them) but I want it darker. Do you think I can squeeze the dark shades behind the wood blinds?.....

We are getting the diapers set up. The diaper cake is too pretty to dismantle so it will remain in tact for awhile.

How my sister finds these cool things I do not know. A triplet organizer/scheduler?!? Sweet!

In terms of cakes, everyone should do the cupcake cake- know cutting required. Sweet!

My hoof

2008-08-06T13:45:00.001-04:00

IMG_3517
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Woo wee- an they say drinking water is good for you. HA! I did and look what happened. I know longer have an ankle and my toes are being consumed by my foot fat. What is that!?!?

updates galore

2008-08-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

So much to blog about!

Marvelous Multiples Parenting Class:
We signed up for the much talked about Marvelous Multiples parenting class. It is 4 Fridays in a row from like 6:30 to 9. I was told that this was THE class to be in so I signed up right away. I was so certain it would be a large class- like 25 other couples, and I would get to meet so many triplet couples. Well we all know what happens when one assumes! It was us and ONE other couple who are expecting twins. Oh well. At least it is a lot of one on one time! The first class was mostly about nutrition, symptoms, the body, etc. We did belly rubs at the end of the class in soft lighting and nice music. The other couple isn't married yet, they are in the process of moving, she just quit her job as a vet opthomologist asst (you interact with weird chemicals a lot) and they don't have benefits or insurance. Ouch. Very nice couple though.

Moms of Multiples Club meeting:
Three months ago I went to my first moms of multiples club meeting. It was pretty far but I met a really cool person there named Nicole. She has BBG triplets and a dog, is also in higher ed, looks like she could be related to me, and has a very similar personality to me. She rocks. Last months meeting was raining cats and dogs so I didn't make the drive. So let me tell you about yesterdays meeting. I am torn.
It took me an HOUR to get there. I brought the GPS but there was so much construction there that all the roads it told me to take - they were GONE! No sign, no road- just gone as of this week. So then I get to the hospital area and it is like a mini city of hospitals with no numbers on any of the buildings. Are you kidding me. Keep in mind my feet are swollen so I am eyeing the valet only to realize I just spent all my cash at babies-R-us. I saw no ATM around so I went to a garage. With the construction, I had no idea where to go so I turned in to a garage that I think was for physicians. Then I worried about what if it is one of those garages where you need a key card to get out! Then it seems like a mile walk from the garage to the hospital, next to train tracks mind you. So not cool. I also had a room name but not a number. So I ask the front desk person and she says it is a basement. Now call me crazy- but most places in FL don't have a basement unless it is by the morgue. Delightful. I stayed at the meeting for an hour but then it took me like 45 minutes to get home. I was spent- traveling by myself in construction w/ no GPS after a full day of work is so not my thing.
There were about 54 ladies at the meeting. I met another triplet mom of all girl trips and one expecting twins. I was talking with triplet mom Nicole and she said how she is working and that really helps keep her sane (wish my Dad was there to hear her say that!). At the meeting they went over everything that was in the agenda. Then one mom who delivered triplets like 2 or 3 weeks ago made an announcement about how one of her triplets died after 4 days (he was a little over a pound). Holy cow- I drove an hour to hear that- now that is stuck in my mind. So I am torn. I meet some really cool people there but the amount of drive time and stress make me not want to go to the meetings. I could drive to Ft. Lauderdale in that amount of time!I am just soooo glad I met Nicole there- she made all of it worthwhile. Speaking of her, she has offered us a triplet stroller :o and we get to go to her house this Saturday and see her and the kids in action! I am thrilled!

BABY SHOWER:
This past Saturday we had the baby shower. Holy cow were we blessed. You should check out my Flickr account to see all of the great stuff. We have all 3 of the Graco car seats, the double and single stroller, all 3 bedding sets, 5 years worth of clothes and toys from my sis and Ben, enough gift cards where I was able to get the mack daddy double Medela breast pump. Geeez. It was such a lovely shower. Nicole P. made this beautiful diaper cake and my sis made these 3 peas in a pod candies and triplets lolipops and put the triplets sign outside. It was all just really cool. I'll let you see via pics.

PREGNANCY NEWS:
My next appt is on Tuesday but so far so good. I hate drinking water but everyone says drink tons of water so I do now and I retain it all in my feet. I'll post a gross pic of that soon. The weight is also coming on nicely now- I want to make sure I have 3 chunky monkies so me and McDonalds have become BFFs.
I believe Mel & Lori are about 7 weeks behind us with their pregnancy and now Mike & Lynn are about 2 months or so behind us. Pretty cool. More soon- I have to run to my 'transition meeting" with my boss.

Finally!

2008-07-27T16:31:00.002-04:00

So last night I was determined to make sure Chaz felt the babies move. They have been running around all over my belly- you can even watch my belly change shapes. So finally at like 9pmish we were watching TV and he got to feel Baby B (the girl) kick four times. Such a Daddy's little girl. I was certain it would be Baby C he would feel 1st but B took the lead.

We went to Sonnys today (shocker, I know) and I had my 1st stranger come up and ask me how far along I was (granted- most people shouldn't ask this question at Sonnys!). That is my scoop.

July is almost over and I will get my sanity back when my camp stuff and class are both over.
:)

I haven't updated in forever!

2008-07-26T17:58:00.003-04:00

I'll do lots of quick little updates just to catch you all up.

Today was the Closing Ceremony for my comp sci summer camp. I am pooped. I was there late last night after working all day, then I stayed late finalizing the final exam for my class for next week, then I went to the residence hall, then I had to pick up Chaz from Rivals. That wouldn't have been so bad except I was at work at 8am on Saturday to set up for the ceremony. I was there for 6 hours. EEeeiieee. It went fabulous tho. So long story short- I have learned the secret to running a summer camp. This was my 7th year doing it & every other year I would always get parent phone calls (asking why their kid doesn't call, what are they up to, etc). So after the first 2 days, I haven't gotten a single phone call. Freakish. So why no phone calls? The secret is flickr. I uploaded like 100 pics a day so the parents felt like they were at the camp hemselves. Probably impossible for them to keep up w/ the photos too. So there you have it. That is the secret.
My fav thing each year is making the display table out of Reeses:

In other news, I took out my belly ring. My mom should be happy now. She was so worried about someone losing an eye if it popped out or something.

Been doing the doc visits and all is going well. All three babies weigh the same (12 ounces as of Tuesday). Next appt is in August. That is when they do the sugar tests. I have gained the weight that a full term singleton pregnancy would. Here is a pic of the girl.

Also on Tuesday we went to Mike's wedding down at Disney. It was lovely (except getting back at 1am- that was rough). The school mascot was there which rocked. After the appetizers, they dimmer the lights and all the waiters came out carrying trays that had an ice Cinderella slipper w/ a blue led light in it and a ball of sorbet to cleanse your pallet. Daaaaang! Oh and from the wedding site you could see the Disney castle.

Last Sunday we took my summer campers to IOA. I rented a scooter.

Saturday night we hosted the bachelor party for Mike at the house. They played poker and video games. Some went on a fishing excursion that morning and they brought back fish. Unfortunately, they put the guts in a bag and left them on the side of our house w/out telling us so that was lovely to find a few days later when the repair guy for the plumbing was here!

Oh- at the doc office, they always take your blood pressure. Most prego people get high blood pressure. Keep in mind that I am the 1% queen. Normally I am like 98 over 60 or just above that. This week I was 90 over 58. They were like "Are you feeling okay?" In which I had to respond with "should I not be?!?!?" High blood pressure isn't an immediate worry for me to say the least.

Also this week I walked into the house and saw a huge puddle by the fairplace and on the small glass coffee table. First I thought it was a roof leak but nothing there. Then Monkee came running in the room w/ a look like "LOOK what happened to ME" I am assuming he and Tiger chased a lizard and Tiger bumped him into the pool :o The odacity. He went under b/c his ears were wet on the inside & I had to ring out his collar. My poor soaked puppy! He avoids puddles b/c he hates to get his paws wet!

Next week my class is doing their presentations and on Wed is the final. That's the scoop.

Pimp My Ride

2008-07-14T14:43:00.001-04:00

IMG_3098
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

I had to take my summer campers to Epcot but I obviously shouldnt walk 9 hours while pregnant with triplets so I rented this fabulous ride.

Oh- I also found out my summer campers from last year made up a website (BHCSIepedia) that has all the terms/slang used from the summer camp and notes on all those involved: http://wiki.bhcsi.org/
So I checked it out and found out I was in- how funny!: http://wiki.bhcsi.org/index.php/Jill

The Hole in the House

2008-07-09T11:16:00.000-04:00

Well, we got the plumbing issue competely resolved now and added a lovely garbage bag and duct tape decorum to the side of our home. Now we just need a contractor. Chaz & I were taking bets on what it would cost (my guess was 602.97 and his was 802.97 but to our surprise- it was 402.97). Not sure what the contractor will cost. or if we still have the paint from the original owners so we can paint over it when it is done. At least its the side of the house.

My summer camp is going well. The students have been delights- its the parents that I have been dealing with. The stories I could tell. Very amusing. Oh- my lead instructor got jury duty for next Monday- that will be fun to work out....I better brush up on my Java programming skills (j/k).

My class is fine. It is a 6 week class. This is the start of the 3rd week (it meets Monday thru Thursday over in Business). So we have like 15 chapters. Ummm....I just did chapter 13. Daaaang! So the remaining 3 weeks will be easy with making them do projects and having speakers.

I am finally having pregnancy symptoms. Did you know you can get two Charlie Horses simultaneously in each calf? I have gotten that each night this week. No biggie- I just didn't think that was possible. Only happens when I am in bed (another reason why I doubt I will get bed rest). The worst symptom I get is my coccyx. It feels like it is broken. If I sit too long or a certain way, it feels crippling. However, it lasts for like a minute so no big deal. The bottom of the belly feels heavy so I don't walk too fast- that is weird for me. I get what I call wanna be nose bleeds but I blame that on the stupid atmosphere of Vegas- I have had that since then- I wake up, if I blow my nose it is a little bloody/stuffy. Again, no biggie. The weight gain is where it is supposed to be. I can officially kiss my regular clothes good bye this month! I still have triple the energy tho :)

4th of July

2008-07-05T08:24:00.001-04:00

IMG_3030
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

How much does this bite? I went in to work on the 4th of July to do my class stuff since my summer camp starts on Sunday. While I was gone, Charles was doing some yard work and got to the side of the house only to find water gushing OUT of the house. Are you kidding me? You can imagine tyhe joy of having to call a plumber on a holiday. I think this happened a year ago or two as well when the sewer line broke. They stopped it and will fix it on Monday. So I took this teaching job to stay ahead of bills w/ the baby furniture buying and then this happens. That sucks. Total kick in the pants. We will probably need to get a contractor out as well - to fix the whole in our house and all. :(

class and Changing Tables

2008-06-24T08:34:00.000-04:00

I had my first day of my class last night. The system is screwey so I don't have access to a class roster or anything so I had to go in blind. I hate that. I knew I was supposed to have 30 students but I got there & there were 35. And get this- it is like 94% male. What is up with that? 90% of them are from somewhere in South Florida. I have a grad asst and a peer mentor. The grad asst is really cool. It is a student success class. I told them there was no eating allowed during class b/c I will just take their food and eat it. They understood :)That's all the details you get since this is all on the Internet. ;)

After class Chaz & I picked up our dresser. It came fully assembled :) we just have to put the knobs on. Otto stopped by to help Chaz unload it. I love it. Plus the mattresses arrived and fit fabulously. We had a coupon and saved $58 on the dresser. Chaz wants to get a TV in there to watch with sub titles. I am not sure about that one. I will have to put the current bookcase back in the laundry room (by me I mean Chaz...) which is cool b/c then we can store diapers, formula and bottles there. I might ger a smaller one for books.

Oh- the Marvelous Multiples parent class people called and had to move the dates of our classes two weeks early- SWEET!!! The sooner the better I say! So it will be 4 Fridays and we will be done before the fall semester starts. That worked out brilliantly.

This weekend I am going to (Ken) Shawn's bridal shower and on Sunday I am going to Lauren & Mike's shower. That's the scoop.

2008-06-23T08:53:00.003-04:00

We had an oober productive weekend. I got to watch Charles sand and paint the crown molding in the baby room. I wore my little face mask.

Then I watched Chaz change out all the outlets and light switches from almond to white in the baby room.
Oh- and I went to bring him the pool basket to clean out and when I pulled it out of the pool, a snake swam out of the trap flap and into the pool- so Chaz got to wrangle the snake out of the pool w/ the pool net. Hotness. The light switches are supposed to light up- snazzy.

Then I watched Chaz put the remaining two cribs together. We were so impressed w/ the wood quality and pieces for the crib. He did the last crib in 29 minutes. Not too shabby. The drawers work flawlessly. They all fit. We are just waiting for the rest of the furniture before we finalize how we will arrange it.

Last week was the magic week for my weight gain. It's about time!

We watched a really lame movie (Sidney White- but it was filmed here on campus.). We also watched Casino Royal. We had dinner w/ the Roses and also ate out w/ Nicole & Otto. We did the weekend trip to Lowes.

My class starts tonight that I am teaching- too bad it is on the other end of campus (I'll be driving it). I'll keep you posted.

The 1st crib

2008-06-20T08:43:00.001-04:00

IMG_2886
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Last night Charles put together one of the three cribs. It took him 40 minutes. We were so impressed with the quality parts and the drawer. He is putting off doing the other two so he has room to do the touch ups on the crown molding. I am loving it so far! Next project is to switch out the light switch in that room. It has to go! More pics as it all comes together. With that many cribs, it will look like a cute little orphanage :)

cribs

2008-06-19T09:42:00.001-04:00

I drove home from work yesterday in a hurry to beat this looming storm that was rolling in.

Upon my arrival, I see three boxes on my doorstep. Keep in mind, when I ordered the cribs, they told me between June 25- July 8 and that they would call and that someone had to be at the house to help take them off the truck. Needless to say, it isn't even the 20th yet, I got no call, and we didn't help unload!

Well each box weighs 80 pounds (I am not allowed to lift more than 15). That storm was looming and Chaz was still at work so I called him and he came home right away and got them in the house.

So knowing me, I will want to organize the parts tonight and start putting them together!!!

Showing!

2008-06-19T09:41:00.001-04:00

IMG_2872
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Apparently the magic week for really showing for me was 15 1/2 to 16 weeks. Bam- over night. The weight is right on track. For delivery, I am guessing the week of my brothers birthday (mid October). My next appt is Wednesday in Winter Park and then the big appt at the hospital where they will spend one hour per baby and determine genders is the following week on Tuesday...

Are you going to eat that?....

2008-06-17T15:53:00.000-04:00

Let's discuss how difficult 4000 calories a day is. You laugh- but dang!!!!! Today for instance, I went to McDonalds for breakfast and had the ever so delightful sausage, egg & cheese biscuit meal. Apparently that is only like 440 calories. I had an orange Hi-C with that. Then I got to work and ate a bag of combos per usual- that is 240 calories. Then I ate my Welches fruit snack pack- that is 130 calories. Then I went to Bennigans for lunch and had the baked potato soup and turkey sandwich w/ a Sprite. Not sure how many calories were in that. Not more than 500. So then I just went to Smoothie King and got a smoothie- that was 536 calories (score!). So we are not even at 2000 calories!?!?!?!? I have to eat a 2000 calorie meal???? I can hit 3500 but 4000 is harder than you think. I am doing the ice cream each night along with snacks (including bags of chips- whole bags) and so far at most gained like 14 or 15 pounds. I go home and watch TV as to not burn any calories. I've been doing my shopping online.
I see pictures of other people at 15 weeks carrying triplets and everyone is bigger than me (see below). Maybe the height thing really is a serious advantage?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e200/deebug951/Triplets/12weekswithtriplets.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wheelertrio.blogspot.com/2007/04/pregnancy-pics_16.html&h=240&w=320&sz=29&hl=en&start=8&tbnid=V5TcM__7A9R2iM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3D15%2Bweeks%2Bpregnant%2Bwith%2Btriplets%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

AWWWW!!!

2008-06-17T09:55:00.002-04:00

So I just got the coolest phone call. My original doctor's office called. Everytime you go to the waiting room, they have these albums of success letters that every patient there anctually awaits to get 'their letter' in there one day. So of course, last week I finally sent in my letter. I even copy and pasted a pic of the triplet sonogram and of the one with the baby hand waving. So they called to ask if not only they can put in in the album, but if they can frame it in their lobby as well!!! Score! That is so way cooler than just the book. (It has no identifying info on it but I will know it is mine).

I think the dentist ordeal is over

2008-06-16T21:59:00.002-04:00

After two weeks, Chaz finally got that one problem tooth pulled. Now keep in mind, he has never had to have a tooth extracted. This was a first. He has always had a stellar dental history minus the root canal on this one tooth in question back in 04. Looks like the tooth cracked. We went to the specialist dentist this am and he said to yank it so we went to the place across the street from him like he said & they had some ghetto hand written notice on the door saying they will be back on Wednesday. Whaaaat!?!?!? So I recalled that I had my wisdom teeth pulled and didn't recall a lick of it so that means they were fabulous. So we found that place by memory, went in, they took us, was a 3rd of the price originally estimated, and we were done. Hooray! Chaz can finally sleep thru the night w/out pain. The drugs they gave him were great. The nurse wheeled him to my car and he got up and hugged her- he was so happy to be rid of the problem. So now we just switch out the gauze every hour and he is on pain meds. He is a lil swollen but 10 times better. Phew!

Quick update

2008-06-16T08:36:00.001-04:00

Papagayo
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Chaz has been in complete agony for two weeks now over this tooth ordeal. He is at the point where he would let me extract it for him. This weekend the whole side of his jaw swelled up like I beat him :o He does better when he is distracted and the drugs initially kick in but that is for a 2 hour window max. So today I will accompany him for hopefully the final dentist visit for this issue and they will just extract it. I will keep you posted.
To distract him, we went shopping. We ordered the dresser :) and everything should be arriving in abouut 2 weeks. Chaz also agreed to the Papagayo theme which rocks. We learned that we are the 'Discontintinued King and Queen" b/c EVERYTHING we select, everyone stopped carrying. It is ridiiculous.
We also met Chaz folks in Melbourne for lunch yesterday.

My sister was talking to a tennage neighbor and mentioned triplets in which the neighbor said a rather interesting point: "You know what's cool about that? When it's graduation time - when normally each kid would get 5 tickets for family and friends to attend - they will get 15 - and they will all have the same family - so lots of folks will be able to come." Good point!

Other than that, all is well. My energy level is up about 200% but I am not allowed to really do much so I am going stir crazy. Check out the Flickr pics to see the dresser we ordered.
:)

Pic of all three triplets

2008-06-12T12:31:00.001-04:00

baby6
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Here is the pic I was telling you about where they got all 3 babies in one pic. Now that is cool.

Sorelle Nadia White

2008-06-12T10:56:00.001-04:00

SorelleNadiaWhite
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Once it arrives, this is what I believe our cribs will look like

Cribs and what not

2008-06-12T10:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I went for another sonogram. What fun!!! It is a half hour drive to get to but it is worth it. Chaz went with me and we had a lady named Elle do the sonograms. She was able to get a pic of all three in ONE picture. Now that is awesome. I will get them scanned later today. She even got a pic of one putting their hand out and waving to the machine- she took a pic of that and wrote the word 'hi' on it. Cuteness. She spent a lot of time with us too. Then, despite it being too early, she humored us and searched for gender parts. She says that B and C are a boy and a girl and A's umbilical cord was blocking so she couldn't guess but the last place said A was a boy (guessing at this point- no guarantee). So our guess is two boys and a girl. Then we met w/ my fav female doc. She looks like a quiet and reserved woman but when Chaz asked her about which doc at this office will be doing the actual delivery- she enthusiastically shouted "I'm doing it!!!" She even put in the request that she gets called first on our file. That is awesome. She sat down with us and waited for us to come up with questions (I was just there Monday so I didn't have any on Wednesday!). All three heartbeats were nice and healthy, the sizes were fine, head and spine circumference didn't show any signs of Downs/MR, etc.

In other news, let's talk cribs. Holy cow what a nightmare. If you are buying just one, granted- this would be a breeze. But THREE!!!? In order for them to fit, the width has to be 55" or less. Most cribs are 58" and have the ornate curved wood. We wouldn't be able to fit that in there. I want it to look cute but not like and at the same time, I don't want it to look like an orphanage. So finally- I ordered three cribs in white today. We went with the Sorelle Nadia. It is 55" and has a drawer and the mattress adjusts three levels and it was free shipping. It was from a company called SCN (Chaz initials) so it was meant to be. It should arrive between June 25- July 8th. Ideally it will get here before the 4th (holiday) so we have a weekend to put it together before my summer camp starts. I am still in the market for the dresser changing table. Will probably buy mattresses this weekend. I think. Mattress research is rather boring but I have a few in mind. In terms of decor, which I have to painstakingly wait till July 1st to find out the gender, if the babies are not all the same sex, I am pushing for my unisex Papagayo theme:

http://search.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/default.asp?IWStore=&var=stemming&stemming=true&var=num_rows&num_rows=10&var=query.message&error_query=Go%20back%20and%20enter%20some%20words%20to%20search%20for.&RowsPerPage=10&RestartFlow=t&prod_keywords=Papagayo&Query=Papagayo&SUBMIT.x=0&SUBMIT.y=0

My belly

2008-06-09T20:48:00.001-04:00

IMG_2815
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

To quote my mom "take out that awful belly ring before it explodes off." That makes me laugh. ;)
It'll come out. Just not today.

Todays ultrasound

2008-06-09T20:46:00.001-04:00

IMG_2831
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

I went in to the doc today. I had a tightening on my right side so I went in b/c hey, I am great at freaking out- and it is better to be safe than sorry. And I get more ultrasounds- woo hoo! Everything was fine. The kids just keep moving around. Baby A was doing push ups- no seriously- actual push ups the whole time on the screen. Training to be a Navy Seal or something?!?!? I finally got a good pic of Baby C. They are in the upside down triangle postion and each one is an a completely different position.

I had a fab time at the doc office though. My fav nurse Linda was there and she was so excited to see me and she pulled me off to the side and had to show me something special. First she told me how the docs were soooo excited that I wrote them personalized thank you cards that they even scanned them into the computer :o Then she said how they have a special coding system for when people w/ twins show up, they click on some little icon. Well they didn't have one for triplets and had to create a special SuperStar icon for me. Score!

Then I saw Dr. B and holy cow- he was so excited to thank me for the card. It must have been good b/c man am I 'in' at this place. I got an appt on the day I called (again) and then they spend how ever much time I want with them. Definitely happy with them.

Oh- I am signed up for the Marvelous Multiples class but it isnt till the end of August. That's like the parenting class that parents of singletons take- just superfied......

Maybe tomorrow we will get to buy the cribs. We know which one we want, we just need a company to sell it to us already!

Tiger

2008-06-09T17:59:00.001-04:00

I will have to post a picture later on but get this- so yesterday I gave Tiger a hair cut. Let's just say there is not a career for me in the dog grooming business. I think it is cute and refreshing for him in the heat. Charles says all the other dogs will make fun of him.

So we came home for lunch today. Charles had an empty prescription bottle next to the bed. Apparently Tiger grabbed the bottle, opened the childprrof bottle, and then left it on the center of the bed. Ooooooooo. Maybe he was mad about his hair cut...?
Pictures soon.

The Charles dental update

2008-06-09T17:52:00.002-04:00

Many of you know how bad Charles was out of commission this past weekend due to his tooth problem. He went to a dentist on Friday and they told him he would have to see an endodontist on Monday. Ugh. So he had to wait all that time in immense pain. He contemplated going to the ER even. It shoots up the whole side of his face. :( So get this. He goes to the doc office on Monday and it was such an absolute crap experience!!! First off, they hit him in the side of the face like 3 times with the xray machine- you know, the side that hurts. Then in comes the dental specialist guy- who by the way was wearing no gloves and no mask and was a spitter. Charles said he actually had to wipe the docs spiddle off of himself. Are you kidding me?!?!?!? So this consult costs like $80. The doc said he thought it was an infection but by this point Chaz was so done with the guy and left and made an appt for 2pm with someone else. Another $80 consult but at least not w/ a spitter. That doc thought maybe it was a cracked root or something. He is to continue antibiotics for a week to see what that does (he got good pain meds as well). But the 1st doc - we will refer to as Dr. Spitter, said they would have to redo the root canal that he had done in 2004. This 2nd doc, who we will call Dr. Way Cooler, said if there is a crack, it would make redoing the root canal pointless b/c you'd pay the $880 and then have to pay whatever it costs to remove the tooth and replace it. So his next appt is Monday.

The evil crib(s) shopping experience

2008-06-08T08:52:00.002-04:00

So this weekend my goal was to buy the cribs. Oh how I have been looking forward to this!!! Boy was I wrong! I thought it wouyld be easy. We found the cribs we wanted about a month ago. Keep in mind, with 3 cribs and a changing table, rocker and bookcase, we need specific measurements (ideally a width of no more than 54"). We can't get any of the cribs with the ornate curved wordworks that takes up an additional 3-4 inches per crib (by the way- that is like 95% of the cribs out there). We want white cribs (to make the new crown molding really pop). The crib we really want is the Legacy 29001 http://www.albeebaby.com/le29cocr.html which we found at Kids Corner. So we go there and they stopped selling them dut to some madness about the maker sold their company to someone. Oh- I also found it on that attached weblink which is where I was really going to buy it from and they don't have any white ones in stock. I will call them on Monday. As a back up I liked this one http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=3250281&productID=1215&tab=dimensions&CategoryID=&subCatID=87 but it is 57 inches.... We went to every baby store in town. A real interesting experience was at Crib 4 Life. They have a great product but I hated the store experience. I had already seen the video of how everything there works. Granted- it is the coolest stuff out there. But before they even let you in, you have to listen to their schpeel. There are no prices on anything (usually my 1st sign to run). They had specif stuff they wanted us to buy. I saw a crib I liked and asked them about it which their response was "That one is crap, we won't sell that one to anyone." Seriously?!?!? Why is it on their floor then? I told them I want white and they replied with "boys can't do white." Excuse me? Whenever we asked how much a dresser was the response was "oh we will work out a deal for you." I got one quote for a package deal for them and it was like a grand more than everywhere else. They do have really nice stuff and they deliver and assemble super fast but we won't be purchasing from there. We found this one place called Kids Quarters and walked up to the door- from the outside it looked cool- they had the beds with slides and what not and we get to the door and there is a big ole orange Bankruptcy sign on the door. Sigh.

The 1 store had the display model of the crib I want but we need 3. People have suggested that I just buy the really cheap $100 cribs which I understand, but I have always wanted a nursery and with three at once, this might be my only chance. I don't want to walk in there everytime and I wish I bought slightly better stuff, you know? I took a summer job that starts in 2 weeks teaching for 6 weeks which will cover the costs of all the furniture.

So that is my furniture update. I've got nothing!

Nesting

2008-06-05T21:51:00.002-04:00

Yup, it's true. I am nesting. Hardcore.
For instance, yesterday, I redid my closet, removed all of my suits, and made a maternity clothes section. My closet is very pretty right now. But that wasn't enough. So I did all the bathroom cabinets. Even my q-tips are arranged in order. I had Chaz do his sock drawer and I did my drawers.

Then today I even rushed home from work. Why? Because I was anxiously anticipating cleaning all of my drawers and all of the kitchen cabinets. They are all quiet lovely at the moment. Then I decided all of the loose hair needed to come off the dogs so I used the fabulous Furminator on them. That killed time between laundry. Then I saw Tiger's toy box. Suddenly the urge to wash everyone of his toys and his toy basket hit, so they all sparkle now.
Granted, you must be thinking it is way too early for me to be nesting. However, you must keep in mind that we are on the accelerated track and the notion of being put on bed rest looms in the back of my mind. Therefore, everything needs to get done yesterday :)

Thankfully I am having no problems and am putting on the appropriate amount of weight and feel quiet frankly, fantastic. I have been stockpiling about a billion magazines off to the side just in case I do get bed rest as early as August, but at this rate, I could be working up to an hour before delivery!It was such a long and painful (and pricey!) road to get here that everything else seems like such a breeze. Seriously, I feel like I should have a sense of panic or something going on but that is just not happening. Maybe this organizing is a replacement for other things that I can't do! I guess I will go read up on the 50 books and count the days till July 1st when I find out genders!!!

Winnie Palmer experience

2008-06-04T09:50:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I had my Winnie Palmer appointment. Sticks that we have to pay to park every time we go down there. It is a beautiful facility though. First we met with the genetics counselor. He was freakishly knowledgeable and all but I didn't really like it. You basically sit in the room and answer questions about family history and he goes over the odds of certain risks. I think legally they also have to tell moms of multiples the options for testing such an amnio to screen for certain thinks such as MR but their are risks associated with that such as infection (esp since they have to do the needle three times at least...). I am gonna pass on that one. They can check for that stuff (not as accurately tho) on ultrasounds by measuring the circumference of the neck and spinal cord. We left the genetics counselor more informed I guess and maybe with a little bit more peace of mind but it wasn't a wower. I also have a special ed degree so all of the discussions related to Trisomy 18, Downs, etc was old school to me. However, it was a genetics refresher where they went over charts of genes and DNA. Okay really, I went to public school in the hood so it wasn't a refresher- that part was new! I went in there fine but then I feel like I left with worry. That's not so cool.

From there we went to this other unit for the ultrasound. I think I was expecting a tour (of the NICU and what not) and information on classes and I got none of that. :( Their ultrasound machine was cool. Charles was so excited as they scanned each baby that the nurse had to tell him to settle down! He was able to see each scan before I could. The nurse did the cool scans (pics soon - my IT guy is scanning them for me). Then came in the high risk specialist. His last name is the same as my schools coach. I have been anxiously awaiting to meet a 'high risk' doc and then I met him and wasn't wowed! Man! I'll see if they have someone else there next time. He was more like "cool, there is nothing wrong with you, see you on July 1st." No Q&A session. Nothing. What a jip. The nurse was cooler. She 'suspects' that she might have seen two penises and Baby C was being modest so no guess on that one. They should be able to tell us on July 1st though. In the ultrasounds though- it was crazy!!! One of the babies was on his/her back and then decided to completely flip and lay on the belly. So we got to see that action. All of them were doing fine. The heart rates were way calmer this time (last time they were elevated since I was freaking out). If there is a possibility of bed rest, the earliest odds would be mid-late August but that is worst case scenario. So that is the abridged version of the Winnie Palmer experience. Not what I was hoping for but it was fine.

Then later that evening I had my first moms of multiples meeting. I hate traveling at night by myself down
I-4 but I made it. I was expecting like maybe 15 people but there was 50-65 women there. Majority of them are moms of twins. I did meet three triplet moms (one quad mom was there too). There was one named Nicole who I really, really liked. I hope they match her up as my Big Sister. Either way, we exchanged emails and I already wrote her this morning. Hopefully her husband can be a big brother to Chaz! The 1st hour of the meeting was for new prospective members which was the best part of the meeting. That is where you really learn all of the cool stuff and people bust out their pictures. At first I was worried b/c I was talking with this one group and they mentioned how orange juice, combos pretzel snacks, and pop tarts made them sooo sick. Ummmm, that is my exact first snack! Then they all reminisced about how much weight they lost the 1st trimester b/c they were always sick........um, I had nothing so that caused a few glares! I could go on and on. The one triplet mom made it to 32 weeks and 2 days and the other one was 29 weeks. They recommend I sign up for the marvelous multiples class so I called this morning and it is Aug 20-Sept 10th and they didn't want to take me b/c it is so late in the game. Whaaaaat!?!?!? Would have been nice if someone told me about that 2 months ago! Grrrr. Oh, I did know two people from campus that were at the meeting.
So that is my update in a nutshell. Not as cool as I was expecting but it will have to do. More soon!

baby b

2008-05-30T08:52:00.001-04:00

baby b
Originally uploaded by drjeeeol

Here is the Baby B pic finally! Just noticed they forgot the R in our last name. It's hard to tell in this photo but the hands are chilling behind the head and the legs are crossed as if on the beach relaxing.

2008-05-29T09:29:00.000-04:00

I have to rave about yesterdays doctor. I met with this female doctor yesterday and she was a delight. So I get to work and she calls me, that s right- SHE- not one of her assistants, to ask if I had a Rhogam shot (no) since I am RH- She immediately said how she would make sure I get an appt the following morning. Score! So Chaz and I are at home and my phone rings at 9:15pm but I didn't recognize the number so I didn't answer it. Turns out, it was HER! She called us from her home b/c she was thinking about us and reviewing our folder (at night!) and wanted to make sure I was squared away with my appt for the morning. WHAAAAT!?!?! Now that rocked. She called from her home at night! Love it. Oh she sooo wants us to be her patient!

So I went to my 7:55 am appt at the convenient Oviedo office for the Rhogam shot. I got the cool nurse who has triplet granddaughters & showed us their pics last time. Turns out Rhogam comes straight out of the fridge (32 degrees). It doesn't go in the arm or belly, it goes in the HIP. That was new to me but really no big deal after having to give myself shots! It was a walk in the park. I get another shot in 12 weeks.

Chaz met with the Minolta machine guy while at work and turns out he has triplet grandkids and even gave Chaz their website: http://tripletsandus.com/triplets/index.htm

In other news, my friend Melissa is getting married in June, Callahan's wedding is in July, Ken's is in August and Feli's is in September and I will probably deliver in October (but am holding out for November). That is the news for today.

My first REALLY, REALLY, REALLY big scare

2008-05-28T17:10:00.002-04:00

So this morning was so not cool.
I woke up to pee at 7:09am, mind you, not really awake at this point. Chaz was still sleeping.
I noticed blood. Holy crap was I scared. No, scared isn't even the right word. Let's go with petrified. Suddenly my vocabulary only consisted of 'oh my God' over and over again. I am shaking at this point. My 1st thought was to go straight to the car in my jammies and head to the hospital. I woke up Chaz and he calmed me down and told me to call the doc (I was more ready to stand at their door and bombard them as they arrived to work). I called and they were able to get me in at 9:45 at the Winter Park hospital (a bit of a drive compared to my close one but they have way cooler equipment). Mind you, my Winnie Palmer apt isn't till Tuesday and I havent had a sonogram since well before the Vegas trip. So long, freak out story short, everything is fine. I even got to do our first cool sonogram/ultrasound!!!

The babies are actually stacked condo style, with baby C a little off to the right and on top. The 1st baby (A) was jumping and kicking and basically having a party the whole time we watched on the screen. Baby B was just chilling as if on the beach with the hands behind the head and the legs folded, and Baby C was on top laughing at getting the best spot in the house. We are guessing two boys and a girl, Baby C being the girl. The heart beats were 164, 168, and 170 (the normal range is 120-180). My blood pressure is cool as well. They said my weight is cool and everything is fine. I think I will permanently switch to this office location. I didn't stop shaking until maybe 3pm today. Man was that scary. I had one of our computer guys scan the pics but he scanned one twice so we are missing one. I will post it tomorrow.

I also found out my blood type is B- and that I am Rh negative. I do nothing normal in this world. Like 1% of the population is Rh - No biggie tho- I just get a shot in the morning at the Oviedo office tomorrow. I was also that 1% to have to get my Lasik redone. That minority population with triplets. I'm telling ya- me and the norm, just not happening (which leads me to believe I will be that freak case who carries triplets past the due date...). So that is my abbreviated freak out story minus all of the drama.

Here is Baby C:

Here is Baby A with some kicking action:

And chillin' Baby B is too cool for a photo today and will make you wait for it.
xoxoxo

Morning Sickness?....

2008-05-27T12:53:00.002-04:00

I might have had my first bout of morning sickness the 1st week of my 2nd trimester but I am not sure. The confusion arises b/c Chaz threw up around 4am. Mine was at 10am. Maybe a coincidence? However, I was asking for it. We were going out to breakfast at 10am but I decided I should eat just to eat before hand. I had a glass of fabulous Limeade (probably too citrus/acidy as a base!) followed by these cheese and crackers that were super spicy and weird. Whatever it was, it is now with the porcelin Gods! I ended up going with Chaz to McDonalds just to get the most calorie filled meal. Holy cow- when has gaining weight become so hard? Are you kidding me with this? I will see what is up with that at my June 3rd appointment over at Winnie. They also make us take a genetic counseling session before the ultrasound. Interesting.

Speaking of pregnancies, Lori and Mel are expecting and we are probably more thrilled then they are! It would be even more cool if they have twins. Time will tell. Either way, I am psyched.

I am in search of a good drug/vitamin connection b/c this $90 a month for prenatals and iron seems absurd. I emailed the iron vitamin company and will see if I can get a sympathy discount from them of some sort.

My in-laws were up this weekend and installed crown molding in the back two rooms which I love!!! They also helped with weeding the pool area and then helped us discover a gold mine of fun in the woods of our backyard (see Flickr pics). More soon.

Long weekends are the best

2008-05-25T15:40:00.002-04:00

So far we are having a lovely long weekend. Chaz folks arrived on Saturday and we did dinner at Longhorn and caught the Indiania Jones movie (it was good but the ending was a little...weird but still cool). They have also been working hard on the crown molding in the back two bedrooms.

We also went on a walk through the woods in the backyard and learned there are huge fish and cool areas that we havent ever seen in the three years we have lived here!

Tiger really liked it but his bushy tail managed to sweep up all of the burrs!

We also stumbled across some crazy plant like as well.

Chaz was even able to convince me to let Monkee off the leash (sooo scary for me!).

All is well. I am still trying to gain more weight and for once it is hard! I eat something and the kids burn the fuel instantly!
More soon.

Just a hello

2008-05-22T15:50:00.001-04:00

So we are finally starting to show. It was as if it happened over night. Very entertaining. At the moment, I am a bit annoyed with Winnie Palmer b/c their scheduling department has had 7 days to call me to schedule my next ultrasound and they haven't yet (despite me reminding them). Grrrr.

Looks like the baby shower date will be August 2 (Saturday). The weekend before that is the closing ceremony for my summer camp so scratch that date and the weekend after that didn't work so the 2nd looks fabulous. Watch for the Evites and snail mails to go out later this summer :)

Registering has been interesting. We registered for the basics. We get conflicting recommendations on breast pumps (I will wait till June 3rd when I go to the Great Orlando Moms of Multiples meeting to get the answers!). I also wanted to hear what Winnie Palmer recommends...that is- if I ever get in there! Those baby Bjorns are everywhere, but no store carries a double one so we will get that on line. We did buy the baby monitor. Oh- lets talk about man bags (diaper bags). Granted, the stores carry a bunch, but they suck. There is no way to fit diapers and bottles for three babies into one of those normal diaper bags. So we found some cool ones online for Chaz that we will get. The cosleeper is also a bear- Chaz has this one in mind but we have a hard time finding it. The wall of it goes down so they are right next to you by the bed, and the floor also collapses so it goes from a sleeper to a play pen. That one is all Chaz. I think he is looking at the mini ones and a regular one. Not sure.

I am looking forward to going to my first GOMOTT meeting. I wish they had one for men or a co-ed one. The ladies there have already called me. One talked for an hour straight. She was cool till she said "oh I have a triplet mom friend who went on bed rest at 14 weeks." Why would you even say that to m

This weekend we will be putting up crown molding in the babies room w/ Chaz folks. Okay, really by 'we' I mean them while I watch......man that is hard to get used to!

Looks like we will plan to start Fl Pre-paid in Jan.
All is well though. Just wanted to check in.