Triple Sensation: Refreshed...Somewhat

As the week comes to a close, Jer and I have been reflecting on how much the babies have changed over these few short months. They are bigger, stronger, healthier and getting more and more fun every day. We have also been reflecting on our own stamina...or lack thereof.

After the last blog posting, we received a lot of feedback about how busy we are/were. It's true, on paper our routine looks daunting and relentless. I can say truthfully that it has been busy but we've been doing really well and keeping ourselves as rested as possible with naps and outings away from Babydom; that said, we have been ready to change it up for a while and have been waiting for the right time to make the shift into a more sanity-preserving routine. Last night was that time. Yesterday morning, Jer and I packed up all of the girls, big and small, and headed off to the doctor's to weigh the babies. I'm happy to report that all are gaining very well and have maintained their required gains between 20-30 grams per day.

Caitlyn -- 11 lbs 14.5 ounces

Emily -- 11 lbs 15 ounces

Heather -- 11 lbs 12 ounces

As all of their weights were good, we took the leap and allowed them to sleep as long as they desired last night. I'm sure that some of you are wondering what took us so long to go this route -- well, really it was a matter of coordination and deciding how best to approach feeding three babies on a "demand" kind of schedule. We consulted some "in-the-know" Moms of triplets who have been through this and gleaned some great advice. With this information in hand, we combined these Moms' tried and true knowledge with some ideas of our own and forged ahead. So...the night went well. The girls slept from 11:30 pm until 4 am, almost 5 hours. After that they slept another 4 hours before asking for some breakfast. Both Jer and I were pleased with the first night trial and are eager to venture in again tonight. Of course, our sleeps were affected as well - hypothetically, we should be getting more sleep. I think I was sleeping with one eye open all night in case I missed their cries of hunger -- okay, not really, but I was aware of their small coos, inevitably waiting for the wail of hunger. Interestingly, this never came.

Another small but very significant change has been that, whenever possible, we are now feeding all of the girls at the same time rather than on the staggered schedule we were doing. This saves us at least one hour every feed. With all this extra time, we're kind of feeling like we've forgotten something, we've got too much spare time....! This too will pass and we'll get used to our new routine.

So, now we wait until our next check-up on September 7th. Hopefully, the girls' weights will reflect that they are continuing to get enough sustenance despite the new feeding routine.

This week, we had the pleasure of seeing (Great) Aunt Betty and (Great) Uncle Gord for a few days. We had a lovely catch-up and they were able to meet Jennifer for the second time, and the babies for the first time. It was great to have them; both were instrumental in helping us with some key appointments. The babies all had their 2-month immunisations last week and Betty was able to accompany Jan to this. Both Betty and Gord helped us out during the recent weigh-in. In addition to that, they were wonderful baby-cuddlers and entertainers for Jennifer. All the girls enjoyed spending time with them, and they will be missed.

Baby-boot camp is never without visitors though and we're now awaiting the arrival of Grandma Marg for a week-long visit.

I've rambled enough now and I'm sure you'd like to see some pictures...one last word though -- thank you all for your ongoing interest and long-distance support of our little family. We are able to keep going much because of all of the wonderful support that keeps holding us up...

Enjoy -