Sleep! A glorious thing

Littles do sleep at night! Last night they went about 8 hours between feedings. Woohoo! Of course, I wasn't smart enough to sleep all that time. At night I piddled around, then woke at 4am amazed they were still sleeping so I did the mom check. Then I was awake waiting for them to wake up ... 2 hours later! I know, I know, it's just who I am though.
After the feeding I had one back to sleeper, another about 15 minutes later and z-man is fidgeting around. He'll be to sleep soon (he was sleeping in my arms while burping, but then I put him down).

We are all growing up. Moms big advancement, turning off the light in their room. All of my visitors can attest, the little lamp is left on 24/7. It just gives enough light that I can see them good and I could change in the middle of the night if needed. It's a small lamp set on the floor behind the table. (update, we have three sleepers). Well last weekend while in Anchorage they slept in a dark room and that's when they started sleeping longer, so last night off went the lamp. (yes, I did turn it off while we were gone). Of course, the lamp was off but the bathroom light was on. Haha. The lamp is nice though b/c it's pitch black in that room. So, we'll see how long I keep that up. Oh, I did turn it back on about 5am. :)

Zach's big advancement is jabbering. He is our true ah-goo baby. It's too funny! That is literally what he says. He is also an awesome raspberry blower. Rolling over, not so much. He's a little weighty ya know. The first time I rolled him over he just laid there on his belly with the I-could-go-to-sleep look on his face. His smiles are precious but still reserved for special occasions only.

Addie however, little miss may be the first to roll over. Maybe b/c she's so light, but she just flips right over. Of course, I think she will sleep much better on her tum anyway. I won't, but she will. :) Her favorite game is kick the sock off. She knows when she did and just laughs at you, smiling a sly smile as you put it back on. We've been leaving socks on in their sleep sacks, so that is a big challenge for her.

My Katie bug. I adore her (as well as the others....). She is miss smiley girl. The funniest is when she wants her paci but is smiling too big to keep it in her mouth. She also squeals. Last night Zach was ah-gooing, she's squealing and laughing in delight, and Addie's kicking away trying to get her socks off. So fabulous! She's our best head-holder-upper. You try to burp her and she's just straight backed looking all around. She's good at holding it up while on her belly too, the opposite of z-man. Tummy time on a boppy, watch out! She kicks her legs so much she pushes right over the top. I watched her do it the other day. She's proud of herself, but also frustrated b/c she ends up on her head. lol

So, those are my kiddos. We're all growing up some. Makes me happy and sad. But...they sleep, so I must too.


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Location:my cozy couch

Life is all smiles...and some stretches

The kiddos are so happy when they wake up in the morning.


A:

















K:









K waving hi to me






Z stretching it out






But so happy













And growing up WAY to fast! K is my little miss "I got it mom, thanks!"






As tough as it can be sometimes, those smiles are all worth it! I love my littles to the moon and back.

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Great giraffe

We loooove the new little giraffe mom bought when she went to Fairbanks!

We hug it








We sleep with it



And we let Sophie enjoy it with us



But Katie, maybe not so much





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Perseverance

And a tough night was had by all. It started so well. John came home about 4:15; early enough I double checked "are you home for good?". lol. He had gone in at 6am and ate lunch on the go, so left after his last mtg of the day. Woowoo I thought, until he mentioned how quick he was gonna fall asleep. Ummm, 5pm feeding? As the natives were getting restless one eye opened from the snoring zombie on the couch "can you get this one?" it croaked. Sure honey. I know he works just as hard as I do. So take note, I do love him to pieces and I am nice to him. :). Later in the evening we discussed me going to bed and him covering the 11pm feeding in return. A great plan right? We both take a turn AND mom gets some good sleep in.

Then Zach happened.

Let's just say between the two of us we hit our limit twenty thousand times over. For what we think are a multitude of reasons he started fussing after the 5pm feeding and didn't stop until about midnight. The fussing varied between the annoying whine to the blood curlting scream. Over and over. Back and forth. We did persevere! It took lots of supporting each other, maybe some tear-filled eyes, and lots of taking a deep breath and remembering how dearly we do love him. (ok, that part was after handing him off or in the five minutes of "is he gonna stay asleep? ...nope").

Unfortunately, at the end of the day we don't have any better game plan. I think we both think it's a combination of reflux pain, he was spitting up off and on and I'm sure the acid is painful, exhaustion, stubbornness, exhaustion, etc. Our difficulty is in not wanting to start him on a medicine regimen at such a young age. Reflux is common in babies, preterm especially. I believe the hope is they grow out of it. I'm not really one who wants to start a medicine at such a young age, especially if that's not really the problem. It's merely our speculation at this point. Ugh. It stinks not knowing the right thing to do. I will be discussing this with the dr at our next appointment. It's just a few weeks away.

Until then, we have proven we CAN do this on our own. Oops, forgot to mention things were going good for a while and I did crawl in bed about 10:15-10:30. John had the 11pm feeding done and all asleep, I was in dreamland, then the screaming started again. So, the plan was almost successful (for an hour anyway). I hope we try again b/c for me to get a few good hours of sleep would be life changing. (notice the time I'm posting...)


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3 months and going strong

We were 3 months old last weekend!  Knowing mom likes to let people know about us, we decided to take charge of that this go-around.  Mom hates that we are getting so big, she wants us to stay small and cuddly like we are now.  She thinks we are about the perfect size.  We came home so small she was always worried about us.  Now we fit in our bouncy chairs, swing, car seats, and stuff like that perfectly so it really is a good time to stop growing, but we like growing.  Plus, she feeds us practically all the time!  Every time we wake up it seems we are eating again.  How does she expect us to not grow when she keeps feeding us then making us so comfy we fall asleep?  Sorry mom and dad, but we wanna get bigger like you.
Our big moments right now are smiling and playing with toys.  We are all starting to smile more.  It's no longer only related to our "passing gas from down below" as dad says.  Now we smile when we see mom or dad, when they are making funny faces or silly sounds, and sometimes just because.  Everyone seems happy when we smile.  We are also starting to notice our toys more.  They keep putting us on the floor, but it's not so bad when we notice the toys and mirror we have to play with.  Addie likes to hit the zebra with her hand, Zach likes to kick the lower toys, and Kate has noticed the mirror.  It's really fun when we are all together; that's when we each become a toy as well.  Who needs a zebra overhead when you've got a brother or sister's noggin next to you to smack-a-roo?!  This past Friday mom had a day alone and of course she shops for us...so she brought home a new little stuffed giraffe.  Zach LOVES it.  Mom will have to post some pictures she took of him loving on it.  Yes, yes, mom needs to post a lot of pictures.  Don't worry, we tell her all the time! 

Katie-bug.  As the oldest, I get to go first.  Yep, I'll be using that line a LOT during my life.  I'm 3 months old and I weigh 9lbs 12oz.  I think I'm the biggest smiler in the bunch.  Mom is always trying to make me smile and I usually comply.  When I don't have the big alligator tears going that is.  Sometimes I wake up scared and just start crying bad.  Nobody can figure out why, but they do try to soothe me right away, so I guess full on crying does work.  I've even figured out how to get a few alligator tears going.  Not always and they are just starting to spill over a little, but man is it effective!  I'm still the sleeper of the group.  Mom says I'm like her; I love to sleep.  I'm good at just hanging out too.  I like when mom puts me on the floor to play and today she put me on my tummy on a big curved pillow (boppy).  Boy was she surprised when she left the room for a little bit, came back and I had pushed myself over the top of the pillow.  Yep, my legs were hanging out where she had left my chest.  I was pretty proud of myself and I think she was too, she called dad over to look at me.  If I could have talked I would have reminded her to GRAB the CAMERA, WOMAN!  She forgets a lot, but I guess she has a lot on her mind so I forgive her.  I still love to hum and sing, I'm starting to move my head both directions more, and I still stare with my big ol'eyes - even if they aren't as big as my sisters.  That's me..lovable hugable Kater-bug, Katie, Kate, Kater-dater, Katers, Katie-bug...

Hey!  Zach-man here.  I like my nickname.  I tend to look toward whoever calls me that.  My smile breaks hearts everywhere.  I've really grown up a lot in the past three months.  I used to be unhappy with everything, but no more.  Now I'm much more easy going.  In fact, mom is able to put a onesie on me every day, it used to be I was the no-onesie man because I was screaming my head off too much.  But, I've resigned myself now.  I love hanging on the floor play mat and in the bouncy with the play bar attached.  I sometimes hit the toys to make them swing and when on the floor I will even hit the toys with my feet.  I've discovered my fingers and my fist in the past few weeks.  It helps when I'm a little upset and mom or dad can't get to me right away - sucka, sucka, sucka I go.  I'm the leader of the pack when it comes to weight coming in at 10lbs 7oz.  Mom says she can tell I'm heftier when she picks me up after holding Addie.  I still love my music, drooling up a storm, and being held all the time.  I know I'm special and loved by everyone; of course I am, I'm the Zach-man!  (Also known as Zach and Zachers)

I'm Addie.  I'm the littlest when it comes to weight, size, and neediness.  I weigh a whopping 8lbs 15oz.  That's a lot for me, but I am falling behind my brother and sister a bit too much, so lately I've been drinking all of my bottle.  Like my sister, sleep is not an issue for me when I choose to do it.  Except that I'm a light sleeper, like my mom, so I wake up easy and noises startle me.  But I must say, the best thing about sleep is waking up because that is when I get to S-T-R-E-T-C-H!  I love me a good arch the back, make a silly face stretch!  Pretty much I'm the easy going sibling.  I've just recently found my voice, but I don't use it very often.  Of course, that means that when I do I get paid attention to.  I'm an active little girl.  My mom even bought me rattles for my ankles, ok, they are supposed to be for my wrists, but I move my legs so much she puts them on my ankles.  Mom says my new motto is "and miles to go before I sleep."  I don't know what it means, but I'm gonna keep kicking my legs trying to get a move on until I figure it out.  Dad says I watch the world go by.  I like to turn my head and take in everything that is going on when I'm awake.  I've got such a great smile just today dad told mom that they are going to be in trouble with me.  I didn't know what he meant so I just looked at him with my big blue eyes and smiled.  Katie and I have him wrapped around our fingers!  Pretty much, I may be little, but great things come in little packages.  I'm full of personality and my size isn't going to stop me from doing anything, you just watch!  Addie, aka Adders and Addie-girl

Flying Solo

We are halfway through our first day alone and I am happy to say everyone is still alive.  lol.  But seriously...daddy helped us this am by heating the bottles while I was still asleep.  He knew they would be waking up soon and having those bottles ready to go was FABULOUS!  Of course, he did go to bed at 11pm last night (yes, at my urging) and let me do all the overnight feeds by myself, so a good trade off.  We have been able to stay on the three hour schedule pretty good today.  Of course, all are feeding at the same time so the triple bottle prop is becoming my specialty.  The bouncys and swing are being put to great use!

Time to go get my girls on the play mat as they are awake hanging in their chairs.  I'll post another update later for their 3 mo birthday.  It's time for a personality review.  :)

forgot to mention...

check out our cute little stick family at the bottom of the blog. Adorable. 

News of the day (aka: mommy rants on the news of the day)

Boy oh boy, today has been quite the news day.  Amanda Knox = free!  Chris Christie no might mean yes, stay tuned for the ultimate flip flop!  And the most irritating for me, apparently Sheri Sheppard has a different emotional response to a story reported by Whoopi than the same story reported by Barbara!

Good grief I say!  (insert pic of Charlie Brown here)  ;)

Amanda Knox.  That girl needs to get out of Italy NOW.  I didn't know much about this case other than the basics until this past weekend.  I was watching a news show, maybe 60 Minutes, maybe just the nightly news...mommy brain means I can't remember (it was on the channel with GMA though, they talked about GMA updating the story Monday am).  But... the show went into detail on how she was railroaded by a prosecutor who needed to save face.  And the even more abhorrent thing is that this is the SECOND time this person has accused the wrong person and argued it so fiercely!  Disgusting.  There was absolutely NO evidence this girl did anything wrong, yet she spent the last three years in jail.  I'm am very happy she has been set free.  Why do I think she needs to get out of dodge?  Because I also think she is Italy's Casey Anthony - many people there do believe she killed her roommate and are upset at the verdict.  Totally innocent, no - she did accuse somebody else when she should have kept her mouth closed, but who knows the situation she was in when she named him.  Props to the judge for sentencing her to time served so she can go home.  Wonder how soon she'll be visiting Europe again?  Ever??

Chris Christie.  Good lordly loo, give me a break.  The guy has been pretty adamant he does NOT want to run for President....until maybe now.  "Big announcement coming"  puh-lease.  I hope the big announcement is that he is sticking to his word and not running.  First, because he has been so adamant to date.  Second, because I don't appreciate his attitude toward public servant workers.  Yep, the union issue.  Are they (unions) the second coming, no of course not.  However, no school district could survive w/o them because it evens the playing field re: advancement, pay, leave, etc.  Imagine if all of those things were truly run like a regular business where each employee fends for him/herself.  Really?  I don't think school districts are set up to run that way and to get set up would mean more employees at the top.  Loading the administrative office is not the way to improve education.  Removing the ability to negotiate for leave, advancement, etc, is not the way either.  Many times those are more the negotiating point rather than salary.  On a side note, I was watching The View the other day and the heavily NJ audience booed him as governor...if the people of his own state aren't impressed...
The news did report today that he is NOT a shoe-in for re-election.  Maybe that's why he is now changing his mind re: Presidential election.  (Notice, I didn't mention the weight issue at all, I actually think that is petty).

Sheri Sheppard.  GOOD GRIEF!  She is an idiot today!!  During their hot topics Whoopi mentions the current Rick Perry incident about the tagged rock on his dad's hunting grounds.  She openly talks about it using the word tagged on the rock (yep, the "n" word plus "head").  This is discussion...so Barbara also starts to talk about it, again using the word tagged on the rock.  Well, low and behold, Barbara using the EXACT SAME WORD is offensive to Mrs. SS.  Really??  You are an IDIOT!  I cannot say it loud enough.  As Barbara argued to her - it is in the course of reporting/discussing a real life issue.  It was not slang, slander, or just stupid talk.  Mrs SS made herself look even worse to me when she said it was only Barbara's use of the word that was offensive; not Whoopi's.  Look, either the word is offensive or not.  I hate the game of "she can say it, but he can't".  Yes, I think it is an offensive word in general; however, they were reporting a story and were being accurate.  I had no idea what the big deal was with this hunting camp, now I do.  Sheri, get over yourself and save those feelings of insult for much more valid times please.

Yep, those are my rants for the day.  My littles are sleeping not so soundly as it's almost feeding time.  They are awesome and amazing all in one still.  :)