Things I have Learned

The girls have been home now for a month and I came up with a list of things I have learned during that time. Here they are:

* All three have distinct cries. I can tell who is crying from another room
* Anna's cry is a girlie scream, Kate's starts off with a grunt and Elizabeth's cry is a sad cry, with short bursts.
* Anna has the most gas, although Elizabeth is a close second. Elizabeth has man burps, but Kate is a close second behind her.
* Elizabeth will cry if she has a dirty diaper, which happens quite frequently during the day--almost with every diaper change
* Anna recently stopped with the pooping every diaper change and is now only going once every few days. This makes for one messy diaper.
* Kate is still the most laid back. She waits patiently for diaper changes and food.
* Anna seems to know if someone is eating before her. She will wake up as soon as I start feeding one of her sisters. It's like she knows she wasn't first to eat.
* Anna's eyes are the lightest blue. Kate has the darkest blue eyes and Elizabeth's are somewhere in between
* They have all gone long stretches sleeping at night, just not on the same nights. Elizabeth has slept from 10p to 630am. Though not consistent, at least we know what they can do!
* It is hard for Anna to settle without being bundled and having her pacifier. The other two will settle bundled and unbundled.
* I am afraid to admit, all three girls are loving their bouncy chairs vs. cribs. This will be a problem in the near future, but we are in survival mode right now. We rarely turn on the vibrations, but we use the chairs because they can be placed next to the couch at night where I am sleeping so I can get to them quickly to replace pacifiers and they are in a sitting up position and we can rig their pacifiers partially under the blanket bundle to help them keep them in their mouths. Hey, we are desperate.
* Kate keeps her pacifier in her mouth for long stretches and even while she is sleeping. Anna is the worst at keeping hers in her mouth and she seems to need it the most.
* Elizabeth likes to sit in her bouncy chair and look around.
* Kate does the best with tummy time
* Kate and Anna are strong. Elizabeth reminds me of Jack! She hates tummy time and isn't as strong as her sisters.
* Anna will sit in the bumbo, the other two are not quite there yet.
* All three don't really enjoy baths- which we have been doing in the kitchen sink. Kate tolerates them the best.
* John still cannot smell dirty diapers, nor can he tell when one of the girls has pooped through their clothes and blanket and he is holding them. (However, John is a big help to me when he is home)
* Jack, at almost 3, has finally learned how to keep a pacifier in his mouth and enjoy tummy time. He will go and get his own blanket to do his tummy time while the girls are doing theirs. He will also fake a cry when he spits out his pacifier--because the girls cry when they spit out theirs. FYI, he never took the pacifier as an infant, but likes to pretend he takes one know!
* Jack loves his sisters, but craves attention. He is adjusting well, however.
* The girls love to eat and don't care if the feeding is coming from a bottle or from me. They are eating enough now that I can't keep up with pumped breast milk, I have resorted to my freezer supply for their daily feedings.
* Whoever thinks it is possible to exclusively nurse triplets is out of their mind.
* Whoever said 'there is no use crying over spilled milk' has never spent 20 minutes at 2 am pumping 4 oz of milk and then knocked it over.
* Kate spits up frequently, always right after a feeding and sometimes hours later. She has done this a lot more frequently lately. Elizabeth and Anna will spit up here and there.
* All three will roll from front to back while on tummy time. Although not consistent, they will do this on different days and more than once. I am convinced they don't know what they are doing and this will stop shortly, but it hasn't yet!
* It is easiest to keep blanket, pacifiers and burp cloths straight by keeping the girls in the same bouncy chair each day.
* No one has smiled yet, but they are becoming more alert and looking at faces.
* It is hard to stimulate all three babies by myself. I wish I could spend more one-on-one time with each baby.
* Sometimes one baby has to cry while I am feeding the other two and I don't have any help--this has only happened once thank goodness, but I am afraid it may happen again.
* All three will make grunting noises before they wake up. Kate is the worst with these noises.
* It is possible to feed two babies at once. This could mean nursing two, or nursing one and bottle feeding another, or bottle feeding two at once.
* Schedules are hard to keep, especially at night, but are a must!
* Writing everything down helps me to remember everything
* Singing to Kate and Anna will calm them down. This usually works for Elizabeth, too, depending on her mood.
* No one likes to have her diaper changed or clothes changed.
* The swing sometimes works, but most of the time doesn't. Jack used to take naps in the swing for hours. These girls do not.
* The front carrier works well to carry one baby and still get things done
* All three girls are cranky in the evening.
* Carter is at the bottom of the totem pole, poor thing!
* There isn't enough time in the day. I have to get some things done during the night ;)
* Washing bottles is annoying.
* 4 kids equal 2 loads of laundry every day.
* I have to stay organized to maintain some sort of sanity.
* Children grow up too fast! And you can't spend enough time with them.
* Our children are perfect--they continue to steal our hearts every day!