47. First colds, pen building and dinner.
Daddy's little helper.
Our garden is about as far from child safe as you can imagine. We have a big, wrap around garden which is on a few levels with lots of stone steps and rockery areas. There is a pond in one corner which Jane's fenced off last year, and we plan to fill it in this year. We also have a very steep drop from the garden down to the brook. There are flowerbeds and hedges blocking most of it, but it's not ideal. It's not been a problem so far as we stay with Jack whenever we are outside, but I wouldn't take Jack into the garden on my own when I was pregnant incase he ran towards danger. Soon we will have 3 more to keep our eyes on, probably all running in different directions! All it will take is a kick of a ball.
Last week the 6 of us were outside and I asked James what he thought about fencing off a chunk of the garden so Jack can have a bit more freedom. All he wants to do is be outside and we are endlessly telling him he has to wait until babies are fed, food has been cooked, etc.
James is incredibly proud of his immaculate lawn and spends a LOT of time keeping it perfect, so I didn't think he would entertain the idea of putting up a fence. I wasn't keen because the garden is gorgeous and the views are stunning, and I didn't want a big wooden fence to spoil it.
Anyway, we had a chat about it, came up with a plan, and now it's up! And Jack was absolutely brilliant! James bought the wood on Tuesday and started to put the posts in and the bits of wood between, with Jack. I was watching them through the window and it was adorable. James would ask Jack to get his drill and Jack would run off and grab it. Then he would hold the wood in place and hand daddy the screws. What a brilliant little man!
Bonkers
Life with triplets feels so normal for us now, and we seem to be ploughing through days like they are going out of fashion. I sometimes find myself looking at the babies and reminding myself that this is actually totally nuts!
Puking water
The babies have always been a bit pukey during feeds, and regularly afterwards. Normal baby behaviour. We do all the standard things. Keep them upright after the feed before lying them down, feed them slightly upright, and slowly, etc. We even tilted the bed to try and eleviate wind and vomit. One of the things they have done consistently is throw up water around 2 hours after their feed. They spray it out of their noses as they are asleep and it usually disturbs them.
Last week they really upped their puking levels and I was getting frustrated with having to endlessly change them and the bed. Changing a baby is not the easiest job, especially when you are trying to keep them as still as possible to avoid more puke. Then there's 2 more to change! I even raised the top of the changing mat to try that, but they just slid down too much and made it even more tricky.
We had mentioned the vomit to a couple of doctors and health visitors and they offered infant gaviscon. The issue is that it can cause constipation. We opted out, until now!
We haven't given them their full doses, but things have slowed down considerably! I do vaguely remember Jack having a pukey period of about a week then it stopping. I'm hanging on to this hope so we don't need to continue with the meds.
It was fun and games visiting the doctor though, I went on my own and got stuck in the vestibule because the pram wouldn't fit through the inside door! I had to dismantle it and hand two babies to the receptionist while I broke it down enough to get out of the way and turn it into a twin pram.
Little faces lighting up
The babies have been trying to smile for a couple of weeks now and every now and then they nail it and their whole face lights up. These moments are becoming more and more regular and they often smile when I approach them or tickle their cheek. I was changing Will the other day and I commented on the fact that he has put so much weight on that he now has moobs like his brothers. I ticked him and he smiled his perfect little smile, more than once! They all melt my heart when they smile at me. They melt my heart all the time!
Sad Jack
Jack broke my heart the other day. Diane told me that he had suddenly taken himself away and was looking sad. He asked him what was wrong and he burst into tears. When he settled he told her he was hungry.
When we were at home playing, I asked him about it and he told me he got sad and cried. I asked him what had made him sad and he said "you were at home with the babies". Oh my god!!! My heart shattered! I asked him if he likes going to "Di Di's" and he said yes. I told him that he is always coming home to us and that all I was doing at home with the babies is feeding them, so don't be sad. I have checked a few times since that he likes Di Di's. And he does! He spends his days playing outside, getting messy and with his friends. They do so many brilliant activities with the kids and we get loads of photos throughout the day. They even do baby yoga and he loves to show us his moves!
Baby dreams
I don't get many dreams of the babies in bed with me any more thankfully. However, I woke up with a dead arm yesterday and I thought it was a baby! For goodness sake!
First cold
We have done it. We have dealt with our first triple bug. A snotty cold. It started with Robin loosing his voice. It was hilarious, he just squeaked for a couple of days! He eventually got a snotty nose and was very clingy with me, but he still slept and fed well, so it was fine for us..... until the other two started!
It just so happened to fall on my first day on my own with all 4 boys. Jack was perfect! Sam was incredibly unsettled after the mid morning feed and got gradually worse as I was starting Jack's bedtime routine. We take our time with him because we read books and have a long chat about our day and what we will do later or tomorrow. We were reading books in bed and I was up and down the stairs putting dummies in, and I eventually brought Sam up because he wasn't for settling. He was crying but wouldn't stop, so poor Jack was listening to me read while I had crying Sam on my other arm. I messaged my neighbour to see if she facied cuddling a crying baby for 20 minutes. She came and I was able to get Jack to bed alone which was great. For the rest of the day there was always an unsettled baby, so my arms or carrier were always full. My friend Emily (the NICU doctor) came over with her little girl, so she really helped to save my arms and back for an hour or two, and allowed me time to play with Jack and Lucy. At tea time, James was doing the tooing and froing to settle the babies and I sat down to eat for the first time and it hit me how exhausted I was! Wow! I haven't stopped all week and we have barely touched the ground, but the endless carrying and settling babies has been a lot more exhausting than I had anticipated.
A whole day out.
We have had our first full day out and it's been a total success. A bit if a cheat as we spent a chunk of it at my mums, but still. We went to a twin and multiples meet up in Bolton, then went to mums for lunch. Jack had a really long nap, so we stayed longer than we had expected. During his nap, mum asked if Jack would want to stay for the night. I did a nappy check and had enough for the night, so from us it was a yes! He was more than happy to be spoiled rotten for the afternoon and evening. James and I decided to meet my godmother for a drink and a bite to eat on our way home, seeing as we weren't on a time scale any more, and it was lovely! The restaurant felt like they had every little space filled with tables and chairs, so maneuvering the pram through was like driving a bus through a crowd! But we did it! We had our meal then fed the babies before driving home, and it was SO lovely to do something 'normal' again!
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