Our doggies

Yep, our dogs deserve some props so tonight's the night for them. As I was growing exponentially at the beginning of last year I convinced my husband the dogs had to get off the bed. Remember, the are part pug, which I now believe puggle stands for snuggle. And they snuggle with me. When they do snuggle with John he never gets a good night sleep. Really honey? You're preaching to the choir!

Anywho...we were successful. We trained Sophie to sleep in her crate and Oliver to sleep in her (Sophie's) dog bed. Of course, when you heard the doggie nails on the floor after switching the light out you'd have to say "Oliver, go back to bed!". Then you'd hear the doggie nails going back from whence they came. ;) I cannot explain the freedom I enjoyed! Freedom to move my legs! Freedom to fully stretch out! Did I mention they like to curl up about 1/3 of the way up my side, leaving me 2/3 the length of the bed on a good night? Needless to say, as much as I love my pups I LOVED not having them on the bed.

Then I went to Anchorage for bed rest. Did I mention the dogs were trained to sleep on the bed b/c my hubby is a sucker? Yep! As a puppy Oliver was crate trained at night until John started letting him sleep on the bed "just for tonight". Four years later....
So, while in Anchorage I periodically inquired about the dogs sleeping on the bed. I'd say it was within the first month the guilt started seeping into John's voice. I told him as long as he trained them again before I got home I couldn't stop him. Boy was I wishful thinking!

Picking the story back up about a month ago ...I started angling for the dogs to get off the bed again. We bought Oliver a new, bigger dog bed and started over. The first few nights we only had the one big dog bed in the bedroom, so doggie jealousy kept anyone from sleeping in it overnight. "If Sophie can be on the bed, so can I!" so then both dog beds came upstairs and we were successful!!
Joy in the Slette household once again!

Tonight while skyping with mom she asked how it was going with them sleeping not on the bed. Here are the nightly events as I relayed them...
We come up to bed and Sophie gets in Oliver's dog bed.
So Oliver gets on our bed.
John gets Sophie to get in her own bed, Oliver gets down and gets in his bed.
Sophie then moves into his bed as well. This is fine until Oliver gets up/moves in the middle of the night.
Inevitably he gets out of the dog bed, so Sophie makes herself comfy.
Which means Oliver now won't get back in his bed. *side note, he used to snag her bed all the time, but no longer, his is bigger and bigger is better in Ollie-land* so he now paces and whines until I (shhhh..either let him on our bed or) wake John to get Sophie out of his bed.
Sophie then moves over and Oliver is free to claim his bed again.
And one minute later Sophie then joins him again. LOL
Lucky for us this only happens once an evening. I thought about getting a second big dog bed, but Sophie just wants to sleep with him I'm sure. When we kennel them with friends, she has said that they both come out of the same crate most mornings. I guarantee you it's not Oliver joining Sophie.

So those are our dogs. We love them. They love us. Oliver still wishes Sophie would get lost on a walk I'm sure, but I know he'd be the one lost without her.

This is how I caught Sophie sleeping the other afternoon:



How they normally spend the day, when not licking on the littles:



A rare moment hanging in the bathroom (??? don't ask, I can't remember):



My original monkey see, monkey do-ers:




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a bit behind

I'm simple always a bit behind. Hence, the Valentine's Day pictures being posted late. Grammy sent us Valentine's Day bibs that arrived just in time! We did get dressed up so daddy would think we were pretty/handsome and to prove we do get dressed most days...ok, well, some days at least.




I think this pic is too adorable. Addie is smiling and Zach seems so sweet leaning into her. Of course, much like riding the Sizzler, all peeps tend to lean which makes Addie say Hey Now!






so in her defense, once we propped everyone back in their own space, she claimed some extra. That's all I can think when I see her legs spread so wide. She's trying to keep her sibs out of her space. lol of course, it didn't work, but she was still a good sport.



and eventually she chose to show Katie what she felt like...




Now that the kiddos are becoming more mobile our evenings are fun. We both agree the 5:30-7 timer period is pretty tough on both of us, but the kids LOVE that time. I think partly because they have both our attention and partly because their bellies are full from real food. Luckily, that night's craziness was no different. Like many nights we had a "Kate,...how...why...uh, what are you doing there?" moment...



followed by a good laugh at Addie's expense. All of the littles love when their clothes are pulled over their heads. Luckily for me, the jumpers the girls wore were a little tighter to pull over, so you can imagine these next pics. Our own little flying nun.







So, their first Valentine's didn't have any stuffed animals, no candy, heck...I even forgot cards for my own husband let alone the trio. But it was a night so filled with love, laughter, and joy none of the other stuff matters.

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Cans o'formula

Do we really go through a can a day? Yep! I recorded it for posterity stake...er proof I mean. now I believe in full disclosure we are only using the 12oz cans because Enfamil is phasing them out, going to a 12.? oz can instead, so the case of six is $30 off.


I'm sure the extra however many ounces will bring a hefty price tag...so thank you to Sam's Club for carrying it.

We begin the night running the dishwasher immediately after the 7pm feeding. Then about 9-10pm we get prepared...



John thought it would be quicker to use a bigger measuring device, so we discovered that a half cup is six scoops. (I've since gone back to just counting scoops).




I make 40 oz at a time which requires three measuring cups plus two scoops. That makes about 47 oz, which in turn makes all of Addie's 7oz bottles and three plus of the eight 8 oz bottles we need. I make two of these batches. Which creates this....empty can...




And that empty can, plus a touch from another can - maybe two scoops, created this...



That's 12 bottles plus an extra to use for mixing cereal, avocado, or what have you. Right now it is just these bottles and one meal of solids. I'm hoping to add another meal of solids soon, but I don't think it will cut the formula at all. Until the age of one they get their nutrients from the milk and the food is really just a learning experience.

For those that were with us at the beginning you know this is quite a change. We used to hand wash all bottles and parts. We used to make formula multiple times per day. The littles used to not always finish their bottles. That has all changed now. Things really do get easier with triplets. :)


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Photobomb!

I know the last posts have been photo lacking, so this post is just a photobomb. Enjoy!

The rare Katie smile on film



I think the girls are conspiring



After her first temper tantrum. She didn't want to take a nap. She lost.



Such cuties!



Daddy and Addie. :)



I don't think this pillow is meant for you Katie. Like she cares.



Addie says "Good morning!"



Zach hanging with his bestie.



Katie! This is not how I left you...and not how we watch the Super Bowl.



Think A's bib is big enough?



We brought out more, bigger bibs. This one has sentimental value. We love our Grandpa!!



And in honor of the 2 dogs:
Guess who we bought the dog bed for....hint, It's not the dog actually in the bed.



I know, seems like a lot of Katie. Just the way it worked out. Hope you enjoyed!
Loves from all 7 of us!


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How many schedules can one family try?

I said I would post about schedules today...and I am! Woo ME!! :) Now, it needs to be known that I can make this blog post in more than a half awake state due to the new, yet another, schedule we are on. Lets start from the beginning...back in those easy-peasy NICU days.

When the littles were in the NICU for their 23 day respite they ate like clockwork. Initially because the food was being poured into their stomachs via their nose and esophagus, then because the nurse nazi's we (mostly) loved were avid schedulers. 9-12-3-6-9-12-3-6. Their last night in schedule lockdown we went out to dinner, a nice dinner, a dinner we have not seen the likes of since that night...but I digress...after the great Simon's dinner we visited our trio. The nurses were feeding them and were very pleased that all were now taking enough formula to be placed on a four hour schedule. Wow! we thought - it's that easy? Hahaha, silly, naive us.

I can honestly say I believe we tried the four hour schedule at first, but quickly reverted back to what we knew, which was the three hour. The four hour schedule was nothing we experienced since we were released the next day. However, I could be completely wrong. I would have to consult the baby books to know for sure. I can tell you when mom and Kim were here we were enforcing a four hour schedule. Like my choice of words? Enforcing...because that is what we were doing. Nobody but them, John, Helayne, and myself can understand the pure agony it was dealing with little man at that time. He simply could NOT handle a four hour schedule. At about hour three, three and a half he would lose it. We were just placating as long as we could possibly stay sane doing so.

During Helayne's stay with us she saw what we were doing and said..."he's hungry, why not just feed him?" Don't ask me why at 5am it seemed the most logical thing in the world to realize this was just not working. So we changed it. Then and there. We fed him, fed the girls, and fed everyone again three hours later. That was mid-September. We have been doing the same ever since. Don't get me wrong, Zach didn't become the happy fun-loving boy he is now overnight. His fussiness stuck for a bit longer still...but was continually getting better. We were also seeing three littles who were sleeping during the day. Naps! Something we were not getting consistently on the four hour schedule. Helayne and I had a few moments to ourselves. That was a new experience. In late October we visited Anchorage. We arrived at 11pm believing our trio would never sleep that night. How wrong we were...to our amazement! They went to sleep by maybe 1am and slept and slept and slept. For the first time (I believe) we did not wake them like clockwork. During that visit we realized if left to sleep on their own they would sleep from midnight until 5am and then again until 9am. I truly hate to say this, but the parent of a single child cannot understand the pure and simple joy that is for the parent of multiples.

From that weekend on we would feed every three hours until midnight, let them sleep as long as they could, and generally start the three hour cycle again around 6-7 am. As the weeks passed we were noticing the littles getting tired a bit earlier in the evening. We eventually moved the last feeding up to 10pm, then 9pm, etc. We also began having to adjust our last feeding to be two hours after instead of three. We eventually got to the point that our last feeding was at 7-7:30 and off to bed we went. Well, the girls anywho. Zach oftentimes stayed up later with mommy and daddy for some alone time. He usually would need an extra bottle as well. Remember in yesterday's post where I said I was noticing he needed more...this was the more.

Then we called the dr. asking to add solids.
Then we added solids.
Then we talked to the dr. again at their well baby checkup about our adding of solids.
Then we got confused... the day after talking to the dr. and feeling completely confident in our adding of solids.
Then we consulted BabyWise again.
Then we started over. On the four hour schedule. Again. At almost 7 months. Our schedule now looks something like this...7am bottle, 9am nap, 11am bottle, 12/1 nap, 3pm bottle, 4pm nap, 5pm solids, 7pm bottle then straight to bed. It took a couple days to get into this groove, but we did. Little man kept us company the first few nights again, demanding his fifth bottle...not ready to give it up yet. I even commented to John that we are gluttons for punishment. We finally got everyone on a good schedule, Zach was going to bed at a reasonable time...and we change it up! However, I will now say, after 6 days of this schedule it is HEAVEN!! We are finally, for the first time ever, beginning to see something of a nap schedule that includes actual naps. Hour long naps, not 20 minute catnaps. Naps that actually involve cribs, not bouncy chairs. ALL THREE littles are going to bed straight after the last bottle, even Zach. And last night he didn't even wake for his extra! We poured it down the drain (because it cannot be kept for more than 24 hours).

Looking back it seems every day was a new schedule. We are finally on a schedule with little wiggle room. Yes, if someone is starving at the three hour forty-five minute mark, we will feed them (really, let's be honest here...we will feed him). Yes, if Addie wakes up 30 minutes into her nap and really cries I will go get her. Yes, I'm still somewhat flexible. I'm also very, very happy that we are finally in a groove. Many parents don't understand my need for such a strict schedule, or really, a schedule at all. If you visited us for anything longer than a day, you would. I don't schedule out of punishment or a strong need for order. I schedule out of a need to make it through the day sane. I need to know what the next hour or two holds. Three littles are exhausting enough; in this area, I like my consistency.

Now if we could just figure out why Zach wakes at 5am and is unable to get himself back to sleep....


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Food!

Oh my gosh, we've started the food craziness. For a while now I've been thinking Zach isn't full enough. He's aways been a bigger eater, hence his hefty appearance. So, even though we had an appointment coming up, I called the dr. and asked about starting food for him. She gave the green light for all three! So, on a Friday night John brought home "supported-sitters" level oatmeal and rice cereal. We started with the rice.

Tangent...mom will call me out if I don't tell the whole truth about this night. John arrives home with food and we get to our normal me taking a few minutes to myself on the couch while he plays with the kiddos. Next thing you know it's 6:30 (time to feed) and we haven't thought out this food stuff really well. My butt should have been getting bowls and spoons, which the trio received in their stockings. Hmm, where did I put those again? In a box I remember..but which box? Where?? Oh boy. After searching literally high (nursery) and low (basement) I figure I'll just use my own bowl. So I read 1 Tbsp of rice to 4-5 Tbsp of formula. I then think, crap, the formula pitcher is dirty...what can I make 15 oz of formula in (notice the mistake yet?!), so I grab a juice pitcher and get to mixing. As I'm pouring the formula into the rice it really doesn't look right...wait...CRAP! Down the drain my way over-formula-ed cereal goes. As I'm saying a few choice words to myself I'm also yelling to John..."the box Jane sent us! All food stuff was together!!" so off to find that box we go. Good thing I remembered as I had just started thinking wait...we can't use a regular spoon! I remake three bowls of 1 Tbsp of rice to 4 TBSP (not ounces) of formula, we are set. Mind you it's much closer to 6:45-7 now, so the trio are getting a little upset at the slow service in our joint. It all worked out in the end, as it always does. But the chaos was certainly invigorating for a tired mommy and daddy.

In our first attempts it was food then bottle (we've since changed - but I'll talk schedule later). They were a bit skeptical at first, but grew to love it pretty quickly. My silly, mom-brained self probably mixed the rice and oatmeal together too quickly..but luckily no reactions to either. For those not in-the-know you are to wait 4 or so days between starting a new food to make sure there are no reactions to it. Following this method you will know to which food they are having the reaction. I have followed this method once I started introducing more than cereals.

I do have pics of the first night food all-overness, but they are on John's camera which I cannot hook up to the ipad. Tech stuff. I need to email them to myself...will do and post hopefully tomorrow. :)

The following weekend we entered the I-am-supermom-and-must-make-own-food mentality. Luckily over Christmas my friend Gina and Kim set me up! Gina sent me a baby bullet for pureeing food and Kim gave me two baby food cookbooks. Of course, these two items presented conflicting information right off the bat so I was instantly questioning my ability. Kim's cookbook says carrots are a great first puree, the baby bullet cookbook says its a second level food. Ugh! We went with it figuring we can't hurt them too much. We've since learned if you ask 10 people how to start babies on food you will get 10 different answers (trust me on this...we've asked more than 10!) =). I'm glad we went with our gut feeling. Our kiddos LOVE carrots. We have since added avocado. John feels for sure his mom never gave him avocado as a baby and that we are uber chic. I feel special being uber chic! I don't look it, so I can surely feel it right? Actually, avocado is a great baby puree because you just mash it and add some formula. It's also really healthy with good fats and such.

How much do our kids love starting foods? Tonight they ate 3 Tbsp of rice cereal, 1/2 an avocado
with an ounce of formula, and one container of Gerber carrots (i forgot to thaw some of mine) between them! Go littles!! It was a little funny tonight as the bowls are emptying and I'm thinking umm...they are still hungry...wow. Yes, we did pick up two variety packs of Gerber baby food at Sam's club. I know we will have days where I just need to peel open a container (like tonight!), but I also know I'd like to make as much of their food as possible.

So our venture into food has begun. We will be adding sweet potato in a few days and see how they like those. As for schedule...well... I'll post about that tomorrow. And I'll actually do it tomorrow! Until then...
loves from the littles!











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