A few Firsts...

Well, Nathan and I have officially crossed the parenthood threshold.  We are now the proud new owners of a MINIVAN!!  We love it! It's a used Toyota Sienna, but it looks practically brand new.  The plan was to head to Ipswitch on Saturday to pick up the new van, however when the big storm hit, our plans changed a bit.  We lost power on Thursday night, which was interesting... dealing with babies in the middle of the night under candlelight.

We had a wonderful day at home with no power all day, sitting in front of the fire, holding babies and chit chatting.  My auntie Ellen was in town from Denver to help out with the kids (Thank you, Ellen!!) and Daphne (Thank you, Daphne!) came to check in on us as well. It was quite a nice relaxing day with no power! By the end of the day and still no power, we decided to head to Newburyport a day early.  A night with no heat, no lights and three babies just did not sound like much fun.  Lucky for us, RiRi and Pop-Pop were thrilled to watch the girls and Nathan and I got to go out to a fabulous dinner in Newburyport.  We got to pick up the van Saturday afternoon and we came home.  We finished the weekend with a long sunday in front of the fire and a nice walk outside with the girls.

Another big first, after our first power outage and first van purchase, was the girls first night in their own room!!  It was kind of sad for me at first, but it turned out to be just fine and they did indeed sleep better... and so did I.  After an earlier bedtime and a good bedtime routine, we all had a pretty good sleep. Not perfect by anyone's standards, but we are getting there. We hope each night will get better and better.

A personal first for Miss Reese.  During Tummy Time yesterday, she rolled over! Such a big girl.  And that's no joke. She weighed in at 10lb 5oz this morning.  Maizie is keeping up at 10lb 4oz and little Miss Charlotte is holding strong at 8lb 10oz!  She is such a little peanut!!!

Well, that's it for now.  The countdown to me going back to work has started. Five weeks from today. BOO!!  I am soaking in every little second I have with them because I know how hard it will be for me to leave them all day.

A quick second to thank the ladies from St. Alban's Church.  They have been providing food every Friday to keep us fed over the weekend and have provided a helper nearly every week day for the afternoon feeding. It has been such a joy to get to know all of you ladies and it will certainly be fun to have you all be part of their lives for years to come.  Thank you doesn't do our gratitude justice.

Ooh! And I forgot to mention our lovely visit with all my Fox aunties and cousin. Thank you Hon, Hopie and Cici for making the trek down to Portland. We had such a great time and I love the pics!

Until next time!!

Quick Update!!

Hello Everyone! I am going to try to be better about posting more regularly. No promises, but I will try.  We had a pretty big break-through this week! We were able to drop one night feeding! So, instead of getting up at 1a and 5a, we feed at 9p and then don't feed again until 3a and then not again until 9a.  We actually can get 4-5 hours of continuous sleep!!  I never knew how excited I would be to say that!

The girls are gaining weight still, but have slowed down a bit.  Maizie is up to 9lb8oz, Reese at 9lb7oz, and Charlie, our little peanut, is at 8lb3oz.  We have a pediatricians appointment today. The girls have to get their first vaccines.  :(   

We are definitely starting to see smiles on all three of the girls.  They are so darn cute!!  I never liked to play with dolls when I was a little girl, but you should see me now!! I get to play dress-up every day! Some of the pictures in this post prove that.  The pics are as follows... the girls napping in bed;  Reese, looking about as happy in a dress as I would be; Maizie and Charlotte sporting their animal slippers with Maizie in a sweater that was knit by my Moonie when I was a tiny little baby; mom with one of the girls out for a walk; the girls dressed up for an outing in their fancy Patagonia vests (don't they look like knomes?)

So, that's it for now. I'll try my best to keep it up!!

Two months old!!

Happy two month birthday, girls!!! I really am sorry that I haven't been posting more, as I know a lot of you count on this for updates, but as you can imagine it's pretty hard to get more than 2 minutes at a time in front of the computer. I should be able to handle once a month though!!

Anyway... enough about me... our girlies are doing so great! I can hardly believe how fast time is going by and how fast they are growing and changing. Everyone always tells you to cherish every day because they will be teenagers before we know it and it really is true!

As you can see from the photos, the girls are growing like weeds. Yesterday they weighed in at 9lb 3oz(Reese), 9lb 1oz(Maizie) and 8lb 3oz(Charlie). Yes, our little Charlie is not quite the grower that her sisters are. She is still growing at an acceptable rate per our pediatrician, she just isn't growing at the ridiculously high rate that her sisters are. This is mostly due to the fact that she has a bit of a spit-up and vomiting issue that causes her to lose some of each meal. We had been using rice cereal in her formula but now are transitioning to a new formula that is specifically made for kids like herself. Joy came up with a new nickname for her, which is Helen... in reference to Mount St. Helen. Nathan has had a few doozies with Charlie's alter ego, Helen. Picture this... middle of the night, Nathan in his pj bottoms but no shirt, Charlie on his shoulder getting burped and then BOOM, he is covered. Entire meal. I almost wet my pants laughing. Luckily Nathan was laughing too. :)

We are still dealing with some constipation issues with Reese and Maizie, but that seems to be much better with prune juice and added water to their bottles. We are also dealing with some sleep issues. There really is no telling these girls when they should sleep and when they should be awake. We are getting used to an after lunch nap, but still haven't mastered sleeping at night. I think they have a little pow-wow before bedtime and decide who is going to be the baby who keeps mom up for hours at night. Sometimes it seems like it might be gas pain, but mostly it just seems that they are awake and making noise. I look forward to the day when they get on a better sleeping schedule. I know we have to consider their adjusted age, which is only two weeks old at this point since my due date was two weeks ago, but I am hoping things will start to happen soon. I am amazed at how little sleep I am able to function on. The body is an amazing thing.

On a brighter note, all three of the girls are starting to sprout their own personalities. Charlie is our quiet little girl(for the most part). She our sensitive little flower. Unlike her sisters, she can lie in bed awake without making a fuss about it. I often find her lying in her crib, eyes wide open, looking around at her surroundings, happy as a clam. If Reese or Maizie are awake, they let you know about it. Don't get me wrong, Charlie does her share of crying, but it seems that she really only does so when she needs something, not just to hear herself cry... like two other girls I know. She is our best sleeper as well. I am amazed at how she can sleep soundly while her two sisters are squawking on either side of her. God bless her. She has found her thumb a few times, but not on a regular basis. She also has the the most gorgeous eye lashes! Watch out boys!

Reese is probably going to be the leader of the pack. Not sure why I say that, it's just a hunch I have. She is the most alert of the three. She makes the funniest, wide-eyed faces and loves to sit on your knee and stare into your eyes. She is our best eater and is the chubbiest kid(only an ounce in front of Maizie). I love those thighs!! She is a pretty good sleeper, although when she does wake up and make noise she almost always sets off Maizie who then can take the baton and stay awake for hours. Reese is probably the closest to cracking a smile. She definitely reacts in a positive way when I snuggle with her and give zurberts on her neck. I can't wait to see that smile in full force!!

Maizie... dear Maizie. She, like her sister, likes to be awake and interact face to face. The down side, is that she likes to be awake IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!! My goodness. Last night I thought we had it in the bag. We went upstairs at about 10p, after a nice quiet feeding, and she and Reese went right to sleep (of course it was the one night that Charlie decided she wasn't ready for bed yet). They slept until the 2a feed, then it was all over. Maizie was wide awake and squawking until nearly 4:30a. Unreal. I sure hope that gets better with time! She is a great little eater and like Reese is really close to cracking a smile. She probably has the best head control of the three and pushes herself right up during tummy time.

As for Nathan and I, we are doing great. Life with three babies is obviously pretty hectic, but I think we are both handling ourselves really well. Every day is a learning process and these girls are just so much fun... even with the sleep deprivation, endless vomit stains, and lack of alone time. Speaking of alone time, Nathan and I actually got to get out of the house together on Valentine's Day, thanks to Joy who watched the girls so we could go out to dinner. We had such a nice time, and even though we had our first moments away from the kids together since their arrival, all we did is talk about them and how happy we are as a new family.

I am realizing that I really have to post more often, because there is just so much that has happened in the last month and I can't even remember most of it! I may just log on and make random little snipits here and there when fun things happen so I don't forget. Let's see... we have taken the girls for walks, both in strollers and in our Moby wraps. We took our first road trip to see Nathan's mom who is temporarily unable to make the drive up here to see the girls. I was a little nervous about the trip, but it went really really well. The girls were perfectly behaved. In fact, they slept better that night than they ever have! We got to stop to see my mom on the way home too, so it was a great weekend all around.

So, that is the update for now. I know there is more I could write, but I have run out of my allotted time frame to do this. I hope you are all well, and I promise to TRY and be better about updating. Lots of love to you all and thanks to all of you whose help we could not do this without. You know who you are.

love, Nellie

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Our little Valentine's wanted to wish you all a happy day. I know it's been FAR too long since I have written and I apologize for that. I am not going to write a lot now, but am planning on catching everyone up on the girls progress in the next few days. They turn two months old on the 16th!!!! For now, just a few pics to hold you over. Top to bottom... Reese, Maizie, and Charlie

More pics...

Ok- So I know all you want to see is more pictures, so here you go!
The three sleeping beauties all in a row.

Miss Maizie during Tummy Time

Miss Charlie

Merrill and Charlie, having a nap

Chubby Cheeks Reese

Reese and Maizie

One Month Old!

A little late, as usual, but... the girls are one month old (as of a week ago)!! Can you believe it?!?! They are all doing so well. We are currently dealing with some night time sleep issues... in that they think it's ok to be awake and chatty/cranky at 1am and keep their tired parents awake for hours at a time. I mean really, they sleep like the living dead during their daytime naps. Oh well, nobody said this was going to be a breeze. It's all very manageable, just requiring cat naps and/or passing out on the couch at 8p. We really can't complain because they have really been good babies and they seem to get better at it every night.

Let's see...new things to report. The girls are starting to be awake a little

more these days. We try to have

"tummy time" each day on the living room floor and they are getting really good at lifting up their heads and moving around. It's nice to have them awake and interact with them. It's not often that all three are wide awake at the same time, but when they are, we take advantage and have photo shoots. :)

We have managed to give the girls baths, but it's not nearly as often as I would like. It seems to take a few days longer to do everything! If I say on Monday that the girls MUST get a bath, it's usually Wednesday or Thursday before it actually gets done! It's just amazing how little time there is in a day when you aren't really doing much of anything except eating and sleeping.

A few weeks ago, we got some Moby wraps

which allow us to essentially tie the girls to our bodies. It's great to be able to strap one of them(or two) on and get chores done around the house. It also

allows us to get outside when the weather is nice. We take walks

around the park with Wakefield on weekends and a few weeks ago

even ventured to Willard Beach which was awesome!

Sadly, Nathan had to go back to work this week, after a nice 10 days off after Maizie finally came home. It was so great to have him home to spend some good quality time (QT as Pop would say) with his four girls. We made some great memories. It was hard not to have him home all day with us, but we managed to survive the week in one piece... thanks to all the wonderful friends and

family we have. I want to say a special

thanks to Jennifer and the ladies from St. Alban's (our church) who made such an effort this week. We are so lucky to have

you!

Our visiting nurse came on Wednesday and

checked the girls out. They are doing great and gaining weight really quickly! Reese is now 6lbs 7oz! Maizie and Charlie are weighing in at 6lbs 1.5oz. Charlie has slowed down a bit in her weight gain which I think may be due to two things...one, she is a messy eater and a decent amount of her bottles goes down the side of her face (We got some good hints at preventing this) and two of the three girls she is our spit up queen. She is getting enough to gain weight at an acceptable rate, but if she slows down any more, we may need to add some rice cereal to her bottle to thicken it up a little bit to help keep it down.

We also had the PT nurse come this week. She was here for a few hours yesterday to evaluate the girls and see if they have any developmental deficits from being premature. She was happy to report that they are all doing really well! No problems whatsoever. She will be back in 3 weeks to check in on them again.

I just can't believe what a blessing these three are. I am amazed every day at how healthy, strong and perfect they are! Hope the pics help to quench your thirst for cuteness. :) Sorry for some of the positions of the photos... this blog is annoying to post pictures and it has a mind of it's own, rotating photos when not asked to do so. Anyway, for those of you on Facebook, you can see many more photos of the girls there.

Finally...our Family is complete!

We are happy to report that as of two days ago, Miss Maizie graduated from the CCN and we now have all three girls at home. Maizie, like her sisters, excelled in her progression in the CCN and was home much faster than anyone(except her parents) predicted. It is an amazing feeling to finally be at home with our babies and not have to go to the hospital every day.

Life with three babies is... well... I'm not really sure how to explain it. I can't really say what it's like compared to having only one because other than the first 24 hours when Charlotte was home, I have no idea what it's like to have one baby. We do a lot of bottle

feeding, napping, snuggling, swinging, pumping, and staring at our gorgeous girls! It's amazing how fast the day can go by doing these simple tasks... and as I sit here trying to write this post, it's amazing how tiring these simple tasks can be. If I don't get this done in a matter of a few minutes, I'm going to fall asleep and not get it posted until tomorrow. (This indeed happened and I am finishing this Sunday morning). Below are the highlights of the week...

Mom and Porter came into town just in the nick of time

(the day/night before Maizie came home). Not only did they help with feeding babies

and offer lots of quality nuzzle time with the

girls, they made a project list for around the house and worked their butts off!! Our garage is now spotless and the downstairs "guest room" is fit for a king/queen!! I

can't thank them enough for all their hard work.

We had our first pediatrician appointment Thursday. We really like the girls' doctor. He is young and very laid back. It was cute to

see everyone in the office so excited about our babies. I, of course, was somewhat paranoid and wanted minimal contact with the public. Their doctor found them to be totally healthy, and luckily the girls didn't need any vaccinations on their first visit. Their weights are as follows... Charlie and Reese are both 5 lbs even and Maizie is 4 lbs 12 oz (1/4 lb behind her sisters). They are growing like weeds!!

We finally had tubby time yesterday. That was quite a project, getting them all three in the tub

and cleaned up before the water cooled down. Other than that, I can't think of anything else big that has gone down in the last week.

Oh! Except the fact that after such a short time at home, we have been able to cut out one of the night feedings. These girls are over achievers and like their sleep!! Instead of feeding every three hours during both the day and night, we are now able to feed every three during the day and get a few four hour stretches at night. It's pretty great!

I'm sure that this posting was all over the place and I apologize for that. I know that really you all just want to see pictures. :) We have taken about 10,000 pictures because they are so cute all the time! I picked out a choice few to share with you.

love, Nellie