53. Broken shoulders, crawling, weaning and singing

I don't tend to look in the mirror much, but I have noticed, that when I do look in the evening, I look much more dishevelled than I remember doing before the triplets arrived. I couldn't care less, but it surprises me with the state of my hair. 

My back and shoulders are starting to really suffer now. No matter how much I try, I am endlessly hunched over. Picking them up, putting them down, changing bums, playing, washing up, doing laundry,  changing beds, cooking, pushing the pram (with a baby on the back), carrying car seats etc. Even lying down, i need to remind myself to pull my shoulders back. Putting them into the car in their seats is a killer in itself! So my shoulders and upper back are really starting to pay the price. I also think stress tension is a huge issue. My brain never stops thinking about when the next feed is, where we are going or what we need to get done in that gap between feeds. If we are going out, what I need to take for feed, changes, teething etc. Even while I am typing this (having a wee), I am hunched over thinking about what I need to do for dinner and how much time I have until the next feed. Weaning is the new big challenge. I get them out each day, usually for a walk if we don't have plans, but I need to plan it around weaning, simply because of the time it takes to clean up after them!

Smaller, more regular updates?

Up to now, I have been making a few bullet points and spending weeks adding to each blog, and when I'm finally realising each one is getting stupidly long, I spend ages re-reading and wasting time. So I'm going to try and just do a quick post when I think of something, and have a minute or two (usually when I'm having a wee), and just write and post. No proof reading, just waffle!!! Ok, maybe just a little proof reading....

Simply amazing.

I honestly can't put into words, how much they still absolutely amaze me. It's been Halloween, and the triplet page has been going nuts with photos of triplets in fancy dress. Every picture I seen I think "wow, how incredible!" Then I remember that I am the incredibly proud owner, of my very own trio, and I am momentarily stunned again. This happens many times a day. I am often surprised at how un-intimidated I am with the whole situation. I had some mum friends around last week, and I had one of mine in bed, one on the floor and one in a bumbo on the worktop. I looked around at them all and thought "this is bloody nuts!". But then laughed about how normal it is. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm terrified about when they are 2 and 3 (and older), in places like parks, at parties and social gatherings, and keeping an eye on them all. Just having these 3 contained and keeping an eye on Jack stresses me out something rotten! I am so easily distracted by the babies. One cries, or one needs changing and I totally loose focus on what Jack is doing. We have always been in situations when we are out, where there are lots of family members helping to keep an eye on him for me, but I really know how quickly he moves from place to place, or person to person. How on earth will we manage with all 4 of them?

I'm making notes on which parks I will be able to take them to. They will need to be enclosed, but also quite small so I can be close to all three. The dream is that they will stick together, but let's be realistic, one will see the slide, one will see the swing, and one will chase a squirrel.

I think the thing that frightens me the most, is not being able to go anywhere. The boys need to get out each day or they get a bit stir crazy. They get so excited when they see their car seats or pram come out. If they continue to stay in the pram and carrier, it will all be fine, so I have nothing to worry about. They are currently more than happy just watching people and soaking up all the attention they get. Jack was the same. The only reason I stopped using the "jackpack" carrier with Jack, is because I was recovering from the miscarriage and didn't have the strength to carry him, so he started walking a lot more, and it was great! He is a brilliant walker and, as a single child, I could just pick him up and carry him if he was tired or grumpy. This won't be the case with these 3 unfortunately. I want them to be strong walkers so we can go on adventures, but I also need them to be happy in the pram. It's a bit of a catch 22 and I will need to figure out some kind of compromise. I'm hoping the wagon will open up a whole lot of options for us, but only time will tell. 

Crawling..... kind of 

Their mobility is very much in progress. Robin is on the move already. It's not crawling, but he can get to where he wants to be... eventually, with a combination of almost breakdance type moves. It's a not so carefully choreographed sequence which involves every part of all 4 limbs, his face, head and belly. Its very impressive and frankly, exhausting to watch!! 

3 days later and his speed is now rapid. Danger lies ahead!!

Weaning.

I had been making purés for the boys, but the enthusiasm was non existent, from them. I bought some melty sticks which are a bit like wotzits. They melt in their mouths, so they can practice bringing food to their mouths, biting, chewing and swallowing in safety. These have been a huge hit with them and introducing finger food has been met with excitement from Rob and Will. Sam just gips at a lot of it, broccoli especially.

Vocal chords

What can I say? We have 3 more chatterboxes on our hands. Robin says Ga ga ga ga ga in a really conversationalist way. Sam says Ba ba ba ba ba in a cute baby babble way, and Will shreaks at the top of his lungs. He does it endlessly in the evening, almost like he is having a lovely sing song to himself, but every now and then, he will scream to get our attention. Just a "aaaaaaaaaaaaaah" at full volume. Its ace, and hilarious!!