7 Month CheckUp

Well, the girls turned 7 months old on Sunday and it seems like we are rounding a corner on the sleep front (knock on wood). This week they have consistently been sleeping through the night and we have been loving it. They have also continued to take good naps and we are getting use to the hectic days of trying to fit in 3 meals a day plus the 4 milk feedings. We were at the ABC Studios for One Life to Live on Monday and Tuesday. My dad came with us and got to experience it for the first time and it was a good thing because it was a long day there on Monday so we were glad to have the extra help. He got to go on the set to watch them tape a couple scenes so that was good. I've updated the entry below with clips of some recent episodes and here are some pictures of Molly (too bad we don't have more of the other girls):

We had their checkup today and the girls are doing well although we though they would have gained more weight then they had. The doctors office is only a few blocks away so we usually like to walk them over in the stroller but it was raining so hard that I had to go get the car and pull it up (of course we didn't get a spot on our block this time...the joys of city living) and load them in with my mom and then drive to the doctors. This meant having to find a parking spot near the doctor's office after dropping them off and then loading them in the car again afterwards and then finding another parking spot after bringing them back home. As if getting triplets to a doctor's appointment isn't hard enough! We managed to fit a feeding in of bottles and me nursing while we were there in the waiting room and in the actual room somehow so that was good. They received 3 shots today too so that was rough.

So, yes, I am still nursing and a lot of people ask me questions about that so I can address some of them here.

1) How is it possible to breastfeed triplets? answer: I find it easier because when you have screaming hungry babies, it is faster and easier to get them fed rather then preparing a bottle. I also do both nursing and bottles so that 1 baby gets a bottle at each feeding but it is possible to do all three which I do in the morning when they are not all needing to be fed at the exact same time. Plus, it allows you to have a free hand where as with a bottle I feel more tied up and unable to attend to another baby at the same time. Also, in the beginning it allowed me to feed 2 babies at once when needed where it would be much harder to do with bottles when they cannot support themselves.

2) How long are you going to breastfeed? answer: I don't know. My original goal was to get to 3 months, then 6 months and now through the end of the year. The girls are getting ancy at times and they have days where they seem to prefer a bottle so I'm not sure how long this will last. But there are also days where it still seems easier and it works. So, if I get through December my next goal will be 9 months which I would like to do for several reasons including keeping them as healthy as possible through the winter season. Oh, and did I mention it is a great diet? I love being able to eat anything I want and still lose weight. I will miss that!

3) Does nursing tie you down more and make it more difficult to feel "normal" again? I am with my girls 24/7 anyway, so it isn't an issue of having to be available to them. I give them bottles before bed and then pump before I go to bed so if I decide to have something to drink at night, I can always dump what I pump out at night. I really like the one on one time with them also since it is hard to get when you have three.

The girls are just so adorable at this stage right now. They are so fun to watch as they are doing so much now and really starting to interact. It is so cool to watch them watch each other and giggle at each other. They like to touch each other now too so that is cute but also requires a careful eye because they like to grab faces. Tess is finally rolling both ways again (Molly and Madeline were already doing this) and talking up a storm. Madeline is scooting all over the place. Molly is on all fours and rocking back and forth just ready to take off into a crawl any day now. They are all laughing now which is just adorable...they really have such cute little laughs. Molly was the first to have teeth and the first to sit up and will likely be the first to crawl although Madeline is going to give her a run for her money. Tess will probably be the first to say "mama" or "dada" or "hi". She is our social butterfly unless she doesn't know you and you approach her and pick her up without warning. Molly is our little jumping bean as she can not keep her legs still and is constantly pushing off you if you stand her upright or when in her exersaucer. Madeline is our little husky strong athlete with her chubby legs and unbelievable strength and agility.

Here are their 7 month stats:

Molly: 13 pounds, 10 ounces; 25" (I can't believe she is the smallest in terms of weight now)Madeline: 13 pounds, 14 ounces; 24 3/4"

Tess: 13 pounds, 14 ounces; 25"

We got our tree last week and got the place all decorated for Christmas so we have been enjoying it all week. We have Christmas music playing all day long so we are definitely in the Christmas spirit at the Sullivan household. Hope everyone else is having a good month!

P.S. I hate the way this blog does the spacing with paragraphs..it always looks fine until I publish it and then it gets all messed up...can't figure out why.