GRRRRRR!

Happy Halloween from our friendly tiger! Not to be confused with "Tigger" as his costume states. We couldn't find a tiger costume, so this had to do. I asked him one day if he was "Tigger" and he replied, as if I should have known better, "No, mom I'm a TIGER."

The babies dressed up in Halloween sleepers with Halloween hats. Aleah was a mummy, Cayley was an owl and Bryce was a pumpkin. Here are pictures of how we found them sleeping, all in the same positions.

Do you know who is who??





(in order, Cayley, Bryce and Aleah)

Cayden's First Girlfriend

We went to a wedding the other week and we had a blast. Before we went to the wedding, Cayden informed me that I was his girlfriend. However, all of that changed when we got to the dinner and dance. There he met another 3 year old named Ellie (not sure on the spelling). These two were almost inseparable the whole night.

Triplet Stats

The babies went in for their 2 month well baby check up. Here's their latest information:

Aleah (in the middle)
Height: 20 1/4 in. (3rd percentile)
Weight: 10 lbs 3 oz (25th percentile)
Head Circumference: 38 1/2 cm (25th percentile)

Bryce (on the left)
Height: 20 in. (3rd percentile)
Weight: 10 lbs 11 oz (25th percentile)
Head Circumference: 39 cm (25th percentile)

Cayley (on the right)
Height: 21 1/2 in. (10th-25th percentile)
Weight: 10 lbs 7 oz (25th percentile)
Head Circumference: 37.5 cm (10th percentile)
(The only way I know which baby is which in this picture is based on their assigned pacifiers. Bryce likes the one he used in the hospital, Aleah gets the pink one, and Cayley has the white one).

The doctor's appointment went well. They did have to have 4 shots each, 2 in each leg. It's hard enough to have one baby have shots, let alone 3 babies. I have never seen Bryce's face turn so red, he was not a happy camper.

Panic!!

Things got a little hectic later that night after their shots. I had 3 screaming babies, and Scott was giving Cayden a bath. The babies were fine when Scott and Cayden went into the bathroom, and then everything went crazy. I couldn't open the Tylenol bottles quick enough (didn't know what I was thinking when I didn't plan ahead for this). However, the babies finally calmed down after their dosages of Tylenol, and we all got some needed rest.

Pumpkin Patch Birthday Party

We went to visit cousin Addy for her 5th birthday. It's hard to believe that she is already 5. We went to a pumpkin patch for her birthday party and it was so fun. Before picking out pumpkins, we got to go on a wagon ride to the "Lost Forest". Luckily we didn't get lost! We really had fun going up and down hills, screaming every time. I'm not sure what the tractor driver, Farmer Matt, thought of all of the screaming.


Then it was off to a corn maze. We were supposed to find 4 different treasures, but we mainly just had fun running through the cornfield.

Finally we got to pick a pumpkin. I had my mom follow me all over the place looking for the perfect pumpkin. There were so many to chose from. My mom kept asking "how about this one?" But they were all too big. Then Auntie Lisa said we only had 2 more minutes before it was time to go and I found the perfect pumpkin.


The farm had some cool displays with pumpkin people. This pick-up was pretty cool because we could climb up and look in the pick-up truck.

Identical or not?

That is the big question about the girls... Are they identical? And the other question we get is, How do we tell them apart?

Are the girls identical?

Well, we do not know if the girls are identical, but many people think that they might be. Here's some of the reasons why:
1). The girls look alike to many people (including us!) The nurses in the NICU really thought they might be identical based on their looks.
2). One nurse said that they might be identical since Cayley came out second (behind Aleah), and Cayley should have come out third. It had something to do with the possible location of the girls' placentas maybe being close together. The girls were in separate amniotic sacs, which would normally indicate fraternal twins, not identical. However, if the egg split early enough in the pregnancy, they would have their own amniotic sacs and still be identical.
3). The girls have the same blood type, O+, which another nurse said could be an indication that they are identical. Bryce has B+ blood type.
4). When I asked my doctor if the girls are identical, he said that there really is no way to know for sure unless we do DNA testing (which we aren't going to do). But my doctor said when I am getting after one when they are older and I don't know who I'm getting after, then they are probably identical.

How do we tell the girls apart?
Normally, we dress the girls differently. Aleah is our pink girl and Cayley is our purple girl. Not sure how they ended up with their colors, but that's how it is. One time before we established this "rule" for them, Scott had Cayley in pink and Aleah in purple, and I was so confused for the day. So it was made official after that that Aleah is in pink, Cayley in purple. So somehow they usually wear these colors, whether it is the sleeper that they are wearing, or the onesies that they wear under their sleepers. In the picture below they do have their coordinating onesies on, but you can't tell in the picture.

The main identifying feature of the girls can be seen on Cayley's arm. She has a bright red "birthmark" on her left arm. (Although it wasn't on her at birth). You can see the birthmark in the above picture. Their pediatrician said that the mark will probably fade when she is older (he said around 2-4 years old).

And, we know which baby is Bryce for obvious reasons. But by looking at the babies, I think he just looks like a boy. He really is starting to look like Cayden when Cayden was a baby.

Feeding Three Babies

Scott has been back to work for almost a week now. One or both of my parents often come over to help feed babies, but occassionally I do it on my own. I have mastered my own method to feed all three babies at once. The first time I tried this, it was 2:00 am and I was letting Scott sleep in (he normally gets up with me to help feed). I was doing quite well feeding the babies, and then I realized that I had no idea how to burp all three. I called for Scott via the baby monitor and he came to my rescue. However, now they just take turns being burped so I can do it all by myself.

People have often offered to come help, but no one seems to want to take the 2 am or the 6 am feedings. I can't imagine why!

The Trio

It's hard enough to take a picture of one baby and get a great shot, but three feels nearly impossible. One turns his/her head in one picture, then another one will shut their eyes in the next. Here are some of my attempts of the threesome.
(Aleah is in pink, Bryce is in blue and Cayley is in purple).





And check out those chins! The babies seem to have lost their necks!

Many Faces of Cayley

Here are some of the many faces of Cayley (6 weeks old):

Many Faces of Aleah

Here are some of the many faces of Aleah (6 weeks old):

Many Faces of Bryce

Here are some of the many faces of Bryce (6 weeks old):

30 Toes

I thought it would be fun to take a picture of the 30 new toes that are in our lives. After taking this picture, I couldn't believe how chubby the babies' legs have gotten (they were 6 weeks old in this picture). It seems like not so long ago, their legs were just skin and bones. Now they are actually getting some baby fat on their bodies. We attempted to weigh them the other day, and with our rude measurements, each baby weighs between 9 and 10 pounds.

Bottles, Bottles, and more Bottles

Here is a typical days worth of bottles. They cover a 24 hour period before it is time to do dishes. I purposely try to dirty as many dishes as possible just so I don't feel guilty about running the dishwasher just to wash bottles. We usually use at least 2 of the three baskets that are sitting to the left. They hold the nipples and rings for the bottles.

The Babies are HOME!

It's been about 48 hours since the trio have arrived home. Surprisingly, things have gone pretty smoothly for the last 48 hours. Cayden enjoys checking on them and helping feed them. He thinks that they should hold their own bottles, so he tries to get their hands up there and gets excited when it seems that they are holding the bottle. He wishes he could do more, like burp them and get them in and out of their cribs. But he is doing his jobs as a big brother quite well. I couldn't have asked for a better big brother for these three little babes.

I am still in awe that they are home and that they are really our babies. I never imagined that I would have four children, but God works in mysterious ways. Apparently, He had greater plans for our family than I had imagined.

Here are some updated pictures.

After 3 weeks in the NICU, the babies are finally ready to come home:


The proud parents getting ready to leave with the three new little ones:


Car seats galore in our Explorer. Poor Cayden has to ride in the third row seating all by himself as the infant car seats don't fit back there by him when rear facing. Time to find a minivan!


Babies' Room


Aleah in her new bed:


Bryce in his new bed:


Cayley in her new bed:


That's all for now. More pictures to come!

Babies are coming home WHEN????

The babies are scheduled to come home on Wednesday. That is less than 48 hours away. As Cayden would say, "Holy Cow!!" I can't believe that they are ready to come home already. They will be 3 weeks old on Wednesday. We talked with the neonatologist tonight. And he said that once these babies figured out how to suck, they really started to grow and prosper. I'm still in shock! Tomorrow night (Tuesday night), Scott and I will stay at the hospital (I thought I was done with hospital stays for a while). We will have a room there and the babies will stay with us. I guess they want us to do the overnight thing once while the nurses are handy in case we need any help. I was also told that Cayden can finally come up and visit the babies tomorrow night! It will be the first time that he gets to really be up close with them. I'm so excited for that, too. It is all still very overwhelming, but my support system here seems to think that we will all handle this just fine.

We have taken tons of photos of the babes, but I just haven't had time to get them on here. You would think that I would have more time while they are in the hospital, but there is so much to catch up on after being out of commission in the hospital for 9 weeks. Things are slowly getting themselves back in order though. We'll see what the next few weeks/months/years will bring though. I don't think my life will ever be in the same order as I once knew it.

Shayna

Babies have arrived!

The babies are here! The babies are here!

Aleah Madison was born on August 6th, 2008 at 11:16 pm. She weighed 4 pounds 8 ounces and was 17 and 3/4 inches long.




Cayley Marie snuck her way out next (her brother should have come second). She was born at 11:17 pm. She weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces and was 17 and 1/4 inches long.




Bryce Martin was a gentleman and waited his turn. He was born at 11:18 pm. He weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces and was 18 inches long.


We will update with more pictures as we find time.