Beach Day 3 & 4

Saturday & Sunday at the beach brought lots more fun! On Saturday, Elizabeth had some extended family come for a visit so she offered to keep the babies in the condo while Dad, Kurt, & I hit the beach. Later my mom (who is also down here on her own vacation) and 2 friends came over to watch the babies while we went out to dinner. After dealing with some very frustrating traffic we finally all made it to Captain Jack's for the best crab legs anywhere! Woohoo!

Sunday (today) we decided to try something new and rented some scooters. We took turns driving the scooters all around PCB. It was a blast! At night we tried a new restaurant called Saltwater Grill. The food was great but the jerk playing piano refused to tone it down any and we were seated right next to him. The babies were not too fond of his terrible renditions of the Police and Chris Issack. So we had a quick meal. After dinner we strolled the kids to the beach for some pics.

Tomorrow morning we head home. This vacation has definitely been unique. Having the triplets with us has been a joy yet made things much more complex. But they are still so precious!

Beach Day 2

Another gorgeous day at the beach! Although a lot has changed. No more throw on a suit and stumble down to a beach chair for hours and hours of sun worshipping. I have been here 2 days and haven't even made it to the beach yet. We decided it would be best to introduce the kiddos to the pool first. When we first took them in the pool they cried a little but then they loved it!Today we try the beach. Yesterday evening we set out to one of our favorite restaurants Hamiltons only to find out it closed! Booooo! Now with the Treasure Ship (another favorite) burned down and closed, we are on the hunt for some new favorites. We tried a new place Pier 77 and it was fantastic! It looked like kind of a dive from the outside but the food was great- especially the she-crab soup and the key lime pie. We'll definitely go back next year to that place. Well, if it's still there. I snapped a couple pics of Jake and Sarah. Luke was too fidgety. Enjoy!

The triplets first vacation- Day 1

It's nearly 8am on our first full day in Florida and the babies are still sleeping away. They needed a good night's rest. We had a very busy day yesterday. At 7am we set sail from Newnan toward the beach. We stopped just 1 time to eat breakfast and feed the babies. Other than that, they rode the whole way with barely a peep. So awesome! We got down here around lunch time and got everything settled into our condo. Sometime around 3pm though the babies did have a mini-meltdown and it took lots of soothing to calm them down. I think they were totally exhausted because they were off schedule. We went to dinner at one of our favorite spots Pompano's and the babies did good there too. Sarah needed a little attention toward the end of the meal. Jake was mesmerized by the ceiling fans and only fussed a time or two. Luke slept the entire time. We got some groceries at Walmart then it was back to the condo for baths, bottles, and bed. The babies thankfully slept through the night even though we are in a strange place. Now it's time to get out there and introduce the triplets to the beach!

4 Month Checkup

Today we headed back to our pediatrician for the triplets' 4 month checkup. We are a couple weeks past due but it takes a while to get an appointment for all 3 babies. Each of the babies had to get an injection of Prevnar (pneumonia, meningitis, etc.) and Pentacel (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, etc.) which was not fun but they did great! The doctor was very pleased with their individual developmental progress. Here are their stats:

Sarah: weight is 13lbs 12ozs (27th percentile) and height is 23.5 inches (7th percentile)
Jake: weight is 16lbs 6ozs (53rd percentile) and height is 24.5 inches (11th percentile)
Luke: weight is 14lbs 7ozs (17th percentile) and height is 24.5 inches (11th percentile)

All of their percentiles are non-adjusted meaning they are based on other babies their same birth age (not the age they were supposed to be born). Each of their stats are better than they were at their 2 month checkup so they are getting better by the day. Great job little ones!

My Amazing Body

Today as I was getting out of the shower and toweling off, I began to check out my "post-baby" body. As I examined the pink stretch marks and jiggly belly, I thought to myself "I have an amazing body!". Now from first glance this plus-sized, surgery-scarred, cellulite-dimpled body may not look like much. But to me, it's a work of art. I asked something of my body no body should ever have to do. For nearly 8 months, I grew 3 little perfect babies in that body. My body was stretched and compressed to the limit. My hips still crack when I move the right way. It had to deal with high blood pressure, stressed kidneys & liver, increased sugar, dropping platelets, and more. I quite literally pushed my body to its absolute breaking point. It took the abuse and came back for more. It carried me through the fire and brought both me and those precious little babies through to the other side healthy and happy. I have a whole new appreciation for my body. Now instead of seeing all the imperfections, I see what my body CAN do. And I am amazed. Now, do I wish I had a perfect "supermodel" body? Of course. But my body is pretty amazing just like it is.

Sarah and Daddy Time

Sometimes I look over at the father my amazing husband has become and I just smile. He loves spending time with his children. He even loves sharing his favorite pass-time (video games) with them. This is a great example!

Lucas Smiles

Oh Lucas's smiles are so sweet. I just love them. Who could resist?!

Trying something new

Now that the babies are over 4 months old we are introducing a little rice cereal mixed with breast milk. All three babies took to it right away. Surprisingly though Jake likes eating cereal the least. We think it is because it is too slow for him- he wants his food and he wants it NOW! But they are all really good at eating from a spoon. Here are a few pics from the fun- Sarah, Jake, then Luke!

And just a couple more...

Too cute not to share!

Mother's Day Portraits

For Mother's Day (and for the babies' 3 month pics) we had portraits made. Here are the favorites!

The Nursery

We finally put the finishing touches on the nursery. Here are the before pics when things were a mess:

And here is how it looks now.

Sleep tight babies!

4 months ago today...

we received the greatest blessings of our lives. Happy 4 month birthday my little monkeys! Although they are not so "little" anymore. We don't have the baby scale anymore so we are having to rely on our home scale. As of today Sarah weighs 13lbs. 7ozs. Jake weighs 15lbs. 7ozs. and Luke weighs 13lbs. 13ozs. Sarah has gained nearly 10lbs. since she was born. Jake has gained nearly 11lbs. and Luke more than 9lbs. They are just growing so fast!

Each baby eats around 6 ozs. of breast milk or formula at every feeding. Yes I am still pumping at least 6 times a day to provide the babies with as much of my milk as possible. I am pumping around 40 ozs. of milk per day. Starting this weekend we are planning to start introducing rice cereal during 1 feeding per day. I can't wait to see how they do with that!

Each baby is in 3 month clothing and size 2 diapers. The babies use around 20 diapers per day so we are taking diaper donations if anyone would like to donate a box or two to our cause- lol. We still have quite a few size 1 diapers leftover so I am planning to make a diaper cake for one of my girlfriend's baby showers. I hope she likes it.

The babies are still slightly behind developmentally for 4 months of age but that is to be expected with preemies. They are doing great holding their head/neck steady. They track people and toys. They follow our voices across the room. When you speak to them they smile and coo and make their best attempt at communication. When we get them out of their cribs in the morning they give us a big smile like they are happy to see us. They enjoy looking at their reflection in the mirror. They try to imitate our actions especially sticking out their tongue when we do. And the most important one is they are fully sleeping through the night!!! It is so wonderful! They've been doing it for about 2 weeks now and it is such a gift. We have some really great babies!

Some big things coming up: their 4 month check-up at the pediatrician on the 25th and their first trip to the beach on the 27th. We are super excited about the beach. We really hope the recent oil spill in the Gulf doesn't ruin our plans!

Grandma and Grandpa Koenig in town!

This weekend we had some very special visitors- Kurt's Grandma and Grandpa Koenig! They came over around 11am on Saturday and left around 9pm. But we didn't mind a bit because we hadn't seen them in so long! It was so great to get caught up with them. Kurt's grandparents live in Cincinnati so it's a little tough for them to get down here to Atlanta often. They were super excited to meet the triplets and just wanted to snuggle those babies all day. It was also cool because Kurt got to take a 4 generation picture. Here is the 4 gen. pic and also a group pic that Kurt's brother Karl took.

Coming up this Thursday the babies will be 4 months old. I can't believe it! On Thursday I'll post all the ins and outs of my 4 month old munchkins but I just have to brag on them for a second. For over a week now all 3 babies are totally sleeping through the night! Yes, you heard right. It's a miracle! We give them their nightly bottle around 8:30-9:00pm then put them down for the night. They are sleeping until 7 or 8am. Getting a full night of sleep is such a wonderful thing. More to come on Thursday!

A Very Different Outlook

This evening I was bathing my children and suddenly a warm feeling came over me. No it was not Luke tinkling in the tub (like he is fond of doing) again. I just suddenly had that feeling of being the luckiest person in the whole world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that these 3 amazing blessings are really mine. Sometimes I just can't even believe it. One week from today is Mother's Day 2010. It will be quite a different experience for me from last year's Mother's Day. I was dreading the day. I really didn't want any part of it, not even to celebrate with my own mother. I was still grieving the loss of my little girl Leyna. We had just been through another IVF cycle that had failed. I was sad, hurt, angry, and at about my lowest point. I didn't want to think about other mothers out there enjoying their day. But this year I get to spend the day with all the people I love the most including my Sarah-bear, my Jakers, and my monkey man Luke. Thank you God for these blessings you have bestowed on me. It makes me sad to think of the mothers out there grieving the loss of a child. I hope you are able to find some peace on this day. We've come along way in the past year. And I cannot wait to see what the next 12 months will bring.