MoreThanWeExpected.com

The kids are doing great, already 5 months old (4 months old corrected) now!  Tony and I have been talking about how neat it is to see their personalities as they start to develop because each one is so different.  They are all reaching exciting milestones, just all at different times, so it’s fun to see who can do what first.  For instance, Nora and Holden both jibber-jabber A LOT but Tess does not; Tess and Nora can grab their toes but Holden can not (his limbs are short and stocky); Tess has developed severe stranger anxiety but Nora and Holden could go either way; Tess can blow raspberries and spit bubbles all day while Nora can only do it once in a while and Holden can’t at all; all three of them are laughing, passing toys from hand to hand, reaching, grasping, and trying to crawl (they inch themselves halfway across the room and I don’t even see them do it), but no one can sit up yet.  I have been testing their bottle holding abilities but since we use glass they’re a little heavier and it may be a while longer.  Damn; I’m still waiting for that one!   :-)

I’ve been trying to get them on a napping schedule as they had been cat-napping throughout the day up until last week.  Knowing that Gwen will be staying home with me starting in September, I thought it best to make all major changes to the kids’ schedules prior to.  We are trying a 2 hour nap after breakfast, a 2 hour nap after brunch and a 30-minute to 1 hour nap after lunch (which they are still taking while hanging out in swings after eating).  This will allow me many opportunities: private time for Gwen and I to play, setting up the day’s bottles, working out, showering, eating lunch, feeding Gwen, etc.  Most importantly, it will get the kids used to napping in their cribs for longer periods of time which will result in them napping better now and as they grow up. We’re still in the early stages so the kinks are being worked out (and Tess isn’t taking as well to it as Nora and Holden are) but like everything else, I will stick it out and hopefully it will all fall into place soon.

Another big change we’re working on is switching their formula.  They have been on special preemie formula since birth (which has 22 calories per ounce; standard formula only has 20 calories per ounce) but once they turn 6 months old our insurance will no longer cover it so we have to transition them onto a standard formula.  Also, I have been dying to get them onto Nestle Good Start Supreme Natural Cultures formula before starting solids.  (Recent research has shown that babies who are breast fed are less likely to develop food allergies due to the fact that it is easy to digest and protects the intestinal lining as it matures.  The Nestle Good Start Natural Cultures incorporates probiotics, which we all know have been shown to increase intestinal health and appear naturally in breast milk.  Yes, I sound like a commercial but I swear it works.  Gwen was on the Good Start Supreme after weaning and she never had a problem transitioning.  The Good Start is the closest thing to breast milk, hands down.  The proof is in the diaper: since we started transitioning the triplets onto the Good Start their poops have changed, becoming more like that of a breast fed baby.  Also, since the Good Start is made with partially broken down proteins, it does not stain or stink like other formulas.  I should buy stock in Nestle; I don’t know why more companies don’t take advantage of these scientific advances in their formulas.)  Our pediatrician gave us the OK to start transitioning them as long as we mixed the Good Start rich to incorporate the extra 2 calories per ounce that were being lost by not using the preemie formula.  The mathematical equation I was given was 1 and 3/4 scoops for every 2 ounces of water (typically you would only put one scoop into 2 ounces of water) which I have been using for the last three weeks, but have questioned more than once as it was almost doubling the amount of formula you’re supposed to use.  When I weighed the kids, as I do every few weeks, I found that each of them had gained approximately 2 pounds in 3 weeks, which is a lot!  As I thought it through, all the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place… the kids have decreased their individual formula intake from 30-32 ounces to 21-24 ounces, their poops had become harder and they were peeing less, and they had gained a lot of weight in a small period of time.  I had my mathematician husband do the math and he found that instead of getting 22 calories per ounce they were getting 35!!!  (The equation should have been written as 1 scoop of formula to 1 and 3/4 ounces of water, an honest mistake when you’re seeing four kids in the same room in an hour.)  I quickly called the doctor who said it wouldn’t hurt them that they were getting so many extra calories and that I could just decrease the amount we were mixing in back to 22 calories or, at this point, mix the formula regularly as their weight is no longer a health issue.  So I am spending this week with three very hungry, confused kids as I take their caloric intake down a few pegs each day.  Once they consistently consume 28-32 ounces again we will have to start cereal so I’m hoping I can have them on the Good Start a little while longer before going down that road.  For crying out loud they can’t even sit up, how are they going to eat off a spoon?  LOL  By the way, for those who were curious, Holden weighed 14.14, Nora 14.13, and Tess 14.10.

Here are some new pictures!  Again, I gave a description to each picture to identify who is who.  Enjoy!!!   :-)

For you Gwen groupies…

And a rare glimpse into what our lives have become: