Last weekend, Papa Gene came to visit!! It was his third visit to see his grandbabies and the best by far. His first visit, they were still in the nicu and we weren’t letting anyone hold them yet. His second visit was the weekend of Samuel’s emergency hernia surgery. But this time the visit was full of baby snuggles x 3.

Bath time was the best!

Amaya!

Steven

Samuel

Plus a random shot of Jason loving on Steven.

Gene got this photo of us during tummy time. Jason and I are cheering the babies on as they work that upper body strength and head control!

Soooooooo, Jason and I had Steven fitted for a helmet. You know, those helmets you sometimes see babies wear? He was our Baby A and he was down low, smushed against my pelvis with his brother and sister on top of him. We’re pretty sure he was born with his head misaligned (though I do wonder if his positioning in the nicu contributed to it because he could only see out if he looked in one specific direction). It’s purely cosmetic but we decided there’s no reason for him to have a lopsided head if there’s something we can do about it. Frankly, I’m not excited about the additional layer of attention/questions OR the maintenance OR the helmet itself but, as I understand it, the babies adapt really quickly so I’m going to get over it. I keep reminding myself that I’d have wanted my parents to do this for me and, if we don’t do it, there’s no going back later.

Here’s Steven looking like a little old lady out in the rain. Babushka! Those dots were sensors used to model his head for the helmet. We’ll have it in a week or two and he’ll wear it for 4- 6 months. Look at those cheeks!!

This weekend we had more visitors! Rachel, my oldest college friend (20 YEARS NOW) came to visit. It was so special to have her here. As a bonus (sprinkles on top), she did a baby photo shoot while she was here! The photos are AMAZING. I can’t wait to share them!

Sammy is really excited about the new photos, too!

After Rachel left today, Jason’s stepbrother, David, came by for the afternoon with his kids, Cecily and Sullivan. They’re in the area before heading up north. (Kit, also Jason’s stepbrother, was supposed to join us, as well, but he didn’t make it in from CA in time. 🙁 Next time!) It was a wonderful time with fantastic conversation and helpful baby wrangling! Plus, you’ve never met such smart, insightful, generous kids in your life.

And, finally, some photos of Steven, Amaya and Samuel from earlier in the week.

Steven, Samuel and Amaya are five months old! They’re incredible.

I shared this in my triplet group. Even though it feels very personal and this blog is semi-public, the blog is about our journey as a family and today is incredibly sentimental.

I’m going to cry just typing this. (I’ve been tearing up all morning thinking about it.) One year ago today was my IUI. I popped into the RE’s office, got it taken care of, and then headed straight to the airport for an 8 night business trip to Vegas and LA. After lots of disappointment and unexplained infertility, I honestly didn’t think there was a chance I’d get pregnant with our first try at stims + IUI and was shocked when my pregnancy test was positive two weeks later. Then double shocked at twins at our first ultrasound. And triple shocked at my trio a week and a half later! What an amazing journey. I feel so blessed to be mom to Steven, Amaya and Samuel.

Steven, Samuel and Amaya have the most caring, engaged, wonderful daddy. I’m so lucky we’re co-pilots on this journey. <3 Happy First Father’s Day, Jason!

Yesterday, we had our first play date. Parker’s mom, Meghan, brought him to visit! He’s a bit older than Steven, Samuel and Amaya but, soon, there will be no meaningful difference and they’ll actually be able to play together. So much fun! Plus it gave me a taste of what it’s like to have a sitter/crawler. Or three. (We’re not ready!!)

A few more photos from the week.

Samuel charming me during tummy time.

He found his hand and his shirt. Exciting stuff when you’re his age!

Steven hanging out in tummy time village.

He fell asleep during tummy time earlier in the week. I think he looks like such a big boy here!

And with daddy after bath time.

Amaya found her hands. Again, exciting stuff!

2 more highlights from the week.

1) After a canceled flight on Friday night my mom finally made it to Michigan today. Hooray! It had been almost 4 weeks which is the longest she’d gone since they were born. We had an adventure in Northville this afternoon when we went out for a late lunch/early dinner and ended up with 2 screaming babies. It could have been worse. There could have been three screaming babies! And now I know we can survive those situations.

2) Megan, Steven, Samuel and Amaya came to visit me at work for lunch on Thursday. We’re on our way to making this a weekly routine! After the babies ate, we took them up to my office. We were using the triple jogger, not the triple decker, and it’s so wide that we had to use the freight elevator to get upstairs. It was fun but enough of a hassle that we’ll probably stick to lunch in the park most weeks.

Oh! And I got my first nasty comment from a loser. At Babies R Us yesterday, a cashier asked me if it’s “as bad as it looks.” Mind you, I had quiet and/or sleeping babies at the time. I asked him, “what’s bad about it?” and he back pedaled to say that he meant to say “busy, not bad.” I heard that people make stupid comments but this was a first for me. Usually when I’m out people are counting babies or saying innocuous things like, “You’ve got your hands full.” Which I do. I’ll grow a thick skin about it but I hope people never say things like that once my kids can understand them. (And you’d think no one would do that but, sadly, I’ve heard too many stories about it happening.) Of course, Jason & I don’t need the validation of strangers to love and appreciate our amazing, wondrous family.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads in our lives especially Gene, Ron, David, and Todd. And my daddy who is in my heart every day but especially today. <3 <3 <3

This was Steven’s big week! His “snip, snip, look, look, tie, tie”. Like Samuel in April, Steven had his inguinal hernia fixed but he also had an umbilical hernia. Umbilical hernias are super common in preemies – Amaya has one, too. These aren’t usually fixed surgically but the surgeon needed to do a laparoscopic check of his right side so she fixed his umbilical hernia while she was in there. (For the record, until now I didn’t know that a second “a” is in the word laparoscopic.)

He was such a trooper! We had to be at the hospital at 6:45am and Steven was wide eyed and alert the entire morning. He fell asleep just as the resident came to take him to the OR. Perfect timing!

Checking in. Steven and Moo Cow are ready to go.

Almost time!

One last hug for mommy!

I was on my own because Jason had a stomach bug & couldn’t come into the hospital. 🙁 He drove to Ann Arbor and spent the entire surgery sitting in his car so that he’d be close if needed. Poor us. Fortunately, Mott has a great communication system set up which helped ease my nerves. They gave me a beeper that they used to communicate throughout the surgery. There’s also a website set up where Jason and I could submit Steven’s unique identifier and see an up-to-date status report on the surgery. Aaaaaand, there was an electronic board in the lobby with color coded status updates by case. Very well done, Mott!

After surgery, Steven had a bit more discomfort than Samuel. Steven couldn’t get the caudal block that Samuel had due to a dimple on his spine that could create some risks so he had to get narcotics. (The caudal block numbs him from the waist down.) As a result, he was more foggy than Samuel and, I believe, in a bit more pain. Fortunately, they gave him a bit more of the good stuff. You can see the difference.

Before:

After:

Sooooo much better! Once he was in recovery, it was only another 2 hrs before I was able to bring him home. In the meantime, Samuel and Amaya asked Megan to make sure their big brother knew he was missed at home.

And off we went – leaving Mott Land to return to the Land of Cheltenham. Seven and a half hours from the time we left my house until we were back home. Amazing!

Steven is doing great! I worked from home on Wednesday in case he needed me and he was just fine. It was Amaya who decided to catch the stomach virus and Samuel who decided not to eat. And so it goes…

Here are just a few more photos from the week.

Decked out in their Yankees gear. Sadly, it didn’t help the Yankees win but thanks for the thought, Jason!

Steven wants you to know that Samuel isn’t the only one with big eyes! 🙂

And Samuel being Samuel. (The kid is strong.)

Finally, happy SIXTH birthday to my wonderful, wonderful special big guy & nephew, Chase. I love him beyond belief and can’t believe he’s SIX. SIX! And happy literal birth day to Jack Charles, brand new son of Jason and Denise Winograd. June 8th – what a great day!

Hello!! Every week I wonder what could have possibly happened in the past week but, sure enough, stuff happens every week!

First, we got a new triple stroller! I’ll still use the Triple Decker with three in a row because it’s great indoors/in stores but it’s terrible on pavement so I added this BeBeLove Triple Jogger to our stroller assortment (4 and counting). It handles like a dream outside – for a triplet stroller, of course – and makes walks SO much easier. The biggest challenge right now is keeping the babies out of the sun. I’ll be thrilled when they’re finally able to wear sunscreen so I don’t have to worry so much.

In order – Steven, Amaya, Samuel.

Next up are outfits that Jason bought for the kids after a night of gambling at the MGM in Detroit. Super cute. Though I really need to get them some “I <3 NY” onesies, too.

Samuel was 1.5″ longer than Steven, and almost a pound and a half bigger, at their 4 mo appointment. The size difference is pretty obvious here. Steven’s small but mighty!

Outside on our deck today. It’s awesome to just sit outdoors with them! This picture would be extra cute if the boys were both still in their Detroit onesies but someone had to go and wet through his diaper. Pretty soon Steven’s going to make a name for himself. (In Nana’s words – Poopy McPisher.)

Grandma Sunshine is here with us for the weekend! She got some great photos with Steven, Samuel and Amaya! (Amaya kept trying to eat Grandma’s shirt.)

Yesterday I decide to experiment and see if the kids still looked like their respective sex if I dressed the boys in pink and Amaya in blue. Someone else will have to be the judge. I think they’re adorable any ol’ way.

I was holding both boys and they were doing something akin to noticing each other. Steven kept going for Samuel’s hand. Samuel was unsure about the whole thing.

A few cuuuuuuute pictures from playtime.

Brothers tummy time!

And the best part of the week! Megan came down to Detroit so I could feed the babies for their 11:15 bottles! I’ve been dreaming about this since I was pregnant and we’re finally making it happen. Megan is a rock star. She parked in my work parking garage and then showed up in Campus Martius park pushing Steven and Amaya in the double stroller and wearing Samuel. Our goal is to try to do this once/week.

We have a big week this week. Steven’s hernia surgery is on Tuesday. If all goes well it will be outpatient. As I tell him, just a little snip, snip, look, look, tie, tie. Can’t wait until this is behind us!