On the Upswing

Here are some recent pictures from the fall:

LtoR: Molly, Tess, Madeline

LtoR: Tess, Madeline, Molly

Us with the girls in Binghamton at the Pumkin farm (LtoR: Tess, Madeline, Molly..notice how much hair she has lost)

Hoboken girls (LtoR: Tess, Molly, Madeline)

Teething includes even each other's body parts (LtoR: Tess, Molly, Madeline)

LtoR: Madeline, Molly, Tess

In Central Park

Molly

Madeline

Tess

After a long two weeks of the girls keeping us up all night we may have just turned a corner. Last night both Tess and Molly slept through the night so I only had to feed Madeline during the night. Molly has been going strong with sleeping through the night for over a week now so it was just Tess and Madeline that were the main culprits. It really seemed worse to us then when they were newborns because back then we knew what was in store each night and knew that we we would be feeding them every 4 hours so we could get a stretch of sleep in between each feeding. Lately, the girls are on their own schedule each night so every hour or two a different baby would be waking up. While we don't always feed them each time, we are still getting up to console or give them a pacifier (we'll have to tackle kicking the habit of those next month) and they are just all at different times throughout the night. But, the last two nights we put rice cereal in Tess' bottle as well as Madeline's (who has had that for awhile now to help with her acid reflux) and she slept through the night both nights. Praying for a good night tonight!

We do have to recognize that we are putting them to bed much earlier now so they are actually sleeping very long stretches overall. They are now going to bed by 7:30pm. This has been sooooooo nice because Dennis and I can actually have a night of peace and quiet and can eat dinner earlier and just relax. Also, on the napping front the girls seem to be making progress. They have turned 45 minute naps into hour naps and we do get an occassional 1.5-2 hour nap out of them. It also seems to be getting easier to get them all down and asleep at the same time on a more regular basis. I guess the hard work of sleep training that my mom and I went through is starting to pay off. We do still have the occassional outcry and need to re-enter and assist one of the babies at any given time but like I said, we are making progress.

Oh, and did I mention we had our first bout of colds with all three having them as well as Dennis and I last week? There was a lot of suctioning and dirty tissues around here but they were quick ones (about 3 days). So, it wasn't too bad but the girls were really conjested so this was also contributing to them not sleeping well. In addition, the girls are definitely teething so this may also be contributing to them waking up during the night as well as during naps. They seem to cry out in pain quite frequently and are biting down on everything in sight and drooling a ton.

Feeding them has been a whole new experience that is both fun and also hard work to coordinate and try to fit into the day at a time where they are all in a good mood. But, anything that may contribute to them sleeping better I am all for incorporating. Madeline is a good eater, very consistent and the most clean of the three (if you can call any of it clean). Molly can chow down and just can't wait for the next bite. I think she'd rather have the feeding be just her because she has to wait a few minutes as we go down the line feeding the other two. Tess was very hesitant for the first week and was pushing it out more than the others and would eventually start to cry. So, she wasn't really into it until tonight where she finally started to enjoy the carrots. We've only given them rice cereal and carrots so far and they definitely prefer the carrots.

The girls have gotten so cute with all their smiling and giggling. One night Marco was here and had Molly belly laughing, it was hysterical. They seem to be less fussy and much more content the last couple weeks and we seem to have gotten Madeline's acid reflux under control more now with the increased dosage from the doctor. Hopefully she just outgrows it all together. Molly has taken the reins from Tess and is definitely the most active of the three now, rolling back and forth all day long and even scooting herself around. Tess is the most vocal with all of her funny sounds. Madeline smiles and laughs the most. They are getting so incredibly big and heavy (my back is in rough shape)!

We now have a local college girl named Danielle McGuiness helping out and she has been over 2 afternoons now and came with me to the One Life to Live gig today to help me. She is GREAT with the girls. She loves to entertain and play with them which is just what I was looking for to help me out and to give my mom a break once in a while.

Well, that is all for now. I can't believe they will be 6 months old in a week. We have come a long way and it is going by so quick. I love being home with the girls and just can't get enough of them (except for in the wee hours). Dennis is just smitten with them and we feel so lucky.