Kiley's video... as promised...

I'll try and get a video of Kara up soon. Kiley is now rolling all over the place. We'll lay her on her back and she'll roll to her tummy, than to her back, than to her tummy. It's pretty entertaining! Won't be long and that gate will be back up over the stairs!

"Help me! Help me!" :o)

8am and Kara and I are 'hanging out' and by that I mean she is hungry and was tired of sleeping. 8am though... that isn't bad. I can hear Abby fussing a bit downstairs and as soon as Kara is done eating I'll either have Tom come and get her or I'll go down myself.

Yesterday Abby helped me vacuum. She pushed it around the living room as I directed her. We vacuumed the living room, the hallway and later the stairs and entryway. It was a good activity, a little therapy and quite a lot of fun for us both. Thankfully the babies slept through it!

K&K's doctor appointments yesterday went good I suppose you could say. I was right about their weights, I knew they were off from the pediatrician. The funny thing is I nailed what they really were, somehow I knew. But they were both 12lb 8oz. Kara was 23 1/2 inches and while they SAID Kiley was 26 inches I think her head slipped during the measurements (oops that was my fault) but it IS hard to do measurements while holding two babies lol. But you ask, what difference do a few ounces on the scale make? Why does it matter if the diapers are clean and the scale is set correctly. Well this is why: at the pediatrician they had K&K on the charts at the 40th percentile in weights.... at the GI doctor they were in the 25th percentile. This doesn't mean there is anything wrong with their weights it just means that this really nice jump the pediatrician saw... isn't there actually. The girls are growing just fine, they are just smaller.... but they started out smaller!

As I suspected the form of the medicine is running out on me, aka it has a short shelf life so is less effective over time. Dr D seemed to like my idea of filling only one prescription at a time so that we went through the bottle faster. He gave me two boxes of the solutabs to use later if this doesnt seem to work. Honestly I hope the solution works because the solutabs are a pain. I hate chopping it in half and trying to mix it! Dr D also wanted me to thicken their milk to see if that helps with the puking... uh... sure. I can't pump every feeding. There is absolutely no possible way I could. I tried last night and got 2 oz. I haven't gotten more than 2oz in a LONG time. I'm afraid my supply would really dry up! So for now I'm going to be extra dilligent on the Prevacid and hope that it takes care of our issues.... and yes. They did puke on us last night... I think they would like it if I just went to formula but I can't and am not ready to do that yet. It's as much an emotional attachment to the girls as a needs fulfilling one. I get so little one on one time with them as it is. So no... I'm not stopping yet.

Abby has another therapy appointment today and then we will finally be done with running around. I hope it goes a lot better than yesterday. One activity that we do (that I came up with) is kinda fun. I sit on the floor and she will come tackle me with a hug and 'knock me over.' Then I lie on my back like a turtle saying 'help me, help me, help me." So she will work to pick me back up and the cycle repeats. Not only can I give her deep pressure hugs (which I think would feel good to anyone) but we get to play and she thinks it is funny. I like it when she lies on her back and says "help me! help me!" The weather has been gorgeous so she loves to go outside and play. There are puddles and most of the time she comes in wet and muddy. I felt a little bad for her yesterday because she could see the kids playing at the park and really wanted to go join them... but I couldn't let her because Kara and Kiley were upset and there were no adults at the park with the kids. She's certainly not old enough to go alone!

Well today there is plenty to do. I'm going to give Kiley another neb treatment because she is starting to really cough and I'd like to help get the junk out of her lungs a bit. I also need to get some coffee going!

Have a great day :)

Yes... this is the right blog.

I had been debating whether to change the name... and finally caved. I decided this blog was about all THREE of my girls... and our journey as a family. So for now... Crayons on the Wall.... and all manner of other joys of being parents of three young girls...

Has Spring Arrived?

Today was significantly better in many ways. It was nice to stay home and just ... stay home. That said I am still exhausted. Abby did NOT take a nap and no nap Abby= overly exhausting Abby. She just gets so naughty when she is tired. It's like she just can't handle it. Even therapies don't seem to help. Of course... she is an almost 2 year old... and no nap will make any 2 year old cranky!!! I tried to get her to sleep for an hour and a half. When I went to check on her at 2:30 she was naked... thankfully I caught her before she had another 'accident' in the crib. AND this time I REALLY used the duck tape! I need a new strategy...

She fell asleep in her highchair during supper today. It was really cute and while I SHOULD have gotten pictures my first reaction was to scoop her up in my arms and just hold her. Do you know how few those opportunities come for me anymore? She is not a cuddler nor has ever been. I really liked how she snuggled up in my arms and slept for 30 minuets... I miss holding her. She woke up hard and it took me awhile to convince her that I was holding her and that I was mommy. After her brief nap she never really recovered and by 9pm it was time for bed.

On a side note... K&K are really puking. Not spitting up, not drooling... puking. I am so tired of being soaked! Their GI appointment tomorrow cannot come soon enough in my opinion! I think they might want to up the dose (hehehe) of Prevacid. I would love it if that helped.

At least the weather was gorgeous! Abby had a blast playing outside today. She of course ended up soaked from all of the water... she was running a low grade temp this evening. Hope the antibiotic will help soon. Poor thing.

Well I hope you enjoyed the new pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. Always something new with this crew! I think they are beautiful though (as always)

Love, a mommy of three beautiful girls...

Another day done...

Ah the adventures of a mother of three young children. Today was a daunting day but as I sit here with one sleeping cuddly baby and I watch my husband cuddle the other I think everything will be alright. Kiley and Kara got their 4 month check up today. I would post their weights and percentiles but I don't trust this office's measurements and they are being seen by their GI doctor on Wednesday so I would rather just wait until then.

The morning started off in a scramble of getting all three kids ready to go and out the door. This is the SECOND morning I have had to get up and get ready while my babies were all sleeping... then wake... *gasp* yes... I said wake sleeping babies. It breaks my heart.

What a chaotic experience taking 3 kids to the doctor is. They ask me these questions about their development and honestly I feel like a bad mom but half the time I'm just guessing as to what they are doing. Of course outside of the big things like rolling over. By the way! Kiley rolled over from her back to front yesterday and Kara is rolling from her front to back. Opposite. So cute though. I'll try and post a video of Kiley laughing and rolling over in the next post. They are both getting so goofy and are starting to enjoy playing games.

Well we survived all of the questions, measurements, exams etc etc and then I made the comment that Abby had been coughing for almost 5 weeks now and didn't seem to be getting any better. She could SEE Abby's miserableness and nose and watery eyes. What does she do? She makes me an appointment for an hour later... with another doctor....

This really wouldn't have been as big of a deal except that I would have to take them all in alone. With an Abby that is cranky, tired and hates doctor's offices... AND two babies that just got their shots and want to be cuddled fed and given love. It had to have been an act of God to get me across that parking lot, with two babies in car seats (that way at least 12 lbs each), up the stairs, into the office and through the appointment. I might have even been ok with that...

But the first thing the doctor did when she came into the room was 'yell/chastise/go after Abby" The babies were screaming, I was feeding Kara trying to keep her from making Kiley upset and Abby was sitting nicely on the doctor stool clicking the mouse. The screen/computer was locked out so I knew she wouldn't hurt anything and she really was just clicking it.... but the doctor comes on and gets upset with her! And she's supposed to be a pediatrician. I just think she could have handled the situation better. To make it better... all she did was look in Abby's ears. Why couldnt they do that AN HOUR EARLIER when we were there? SERIOUSLY. Abby has a double ear infection, but why oh why couldn't they just make my life/day 100x better by treating me with a little human kindness. It's just frustrating. I'm switching clinics Ive had enough

We finally made it home. K&K screaming. Abby needing a nap. I got her changed, sat and cuddled watching Sesame Street then put her down in her crib. After being unsuccessful with the twins I checked to see why Abby was still up. If the smell of poo ever greets you when you walk in the door... it's going to be bad. And oh how bad it was. She had it everywhere... BUT the diaper. I think I need to work on potty training more. She doesn't like sitting in it (who could blame her) But I was stressed out, overwhelmed, exhausted and alone. It was just too much. I put her in the bathtub, called my mom and cried. Then got to work. I got the bed stripped, disinfected, Abby cleaned, put in new clothes, the bed remade and Abs put down for a nap. By the time my mom came up to help all but Kiley were asleep. I was still thankful for her help because then she held Kiley while I laid down for awhile to recover.

Abby's play therapy tonight didn't go as well... but I wasn't expecting it to be great. With double ear infections I doubt I would be in the mood for it either. I have some questions for the OT on Thursday.

Tasty Tidbits:

• Today in the parking lot Abby looked out the window and said "Achy (aw-key) cowpie" ... where did she learn that?
• I couldn't get Kara to sleep until I changed shirts and wrapped her up in my previous one. Apparently she wanted to feel close to me
• Kara arches her back so high she almost flops out of swings/bouncies and her car seat!
• Abby also hates being in her car seat and makes it very hard for me to get her in and keep her in! She wiggles her hands through the straps. I might need to duck tape it so she can't get her arms out.
• Kiley is smiling in her sleep, in my arms... :o)