Six Months

When I approach a child He inspires in me two sentiments:

Tenderness for what he is, And respect for what he may become. Louis Pasteur

This week the babies had a birthday:
Half a Year
Six Months
26 Weeks
182 Days on this earth.

The week they turned five months, almost as if turning on a switch, they began grasping objects and then soon picking up objects. They can now--cue Handel's Hallelujah chorus--pick up their pacifiers and put them in their mouths. Although, of course now they are not as interested in their pacifiers as when they were younger. They are turning over with ease and agility. They push up well. Another thing they are just starting to do is sit up. For instance, if they are in a swing or in our laps they can pull themselves up so that they are not leaning against anything. It is interesting how some of their milestones they all three reach simultaneously and others they achieve at their own paces.

I love that Lucia, Elliott, and Mazie are triplets but that they look different and have their own unique personalities. They are all happy babies, most of the time. Lucia is very patient; Elliott likes to have fun; Mazie is very adoring. They can all get mad though and pitch the biggest fit you've ever heard. Even Lucia, who you think is Miss Little-lady-of-patience will scream so hard she stops breathing and turns purple. Mazie will scream so strongly that her eyes start bugging out of her head. Elliott can go from silent to concert-level decibels in no time flat. Luckily these episodes are not a daily occurrence. They have many similarities but also are unique little individuals even at this young age. I know they will continue to differentiate as they develop.

One specific difference between Elliott and the girls is his musculature. He is so much more solid than they are. He is strong; if we held him steady, I believe he'd stand all day long. But, because of his strength, he is not as flexible as Lucia and Mazie. They can easily hold their feet and pull them up to their mouths. I've tried to help him out with this and he is just too tough to get those feet up to his face. He would rather stick both thumbs in his mouth.

Elliott is ready for steak, or at least for butternut squash and carrots, and I feel the girls are right there behind him. He watches our fork so intently as we eat meals. H is so excited to feed the babies solids that I think she just may bust. I am trying to get her to wait until we go to Georgia next weekend. I don't want to deal with taking the babies on their first overnight trip along with their little systems processing solid food for the first time on top of that. We will see what happens.

The photo at the top of this post is of Elliott and Mazie. When I left them to put in a load of laundry, Elliott was on the green mat on his back. When I came back, he was under the swing as the photo shows. Mazie wouldn't tell me what happened, but I have a great suspicion that Elliott may have crawled. Happy six months to him. The photos below are of Lucia, Elliott, and Mazie, respectively.

RedBird

Mazie does not have much hair. Although she has some coming in, it isn't easy to see. She has big pretty eyes with mile-long eyelashes. We are not sure what color her eyes are going to be yet. They can sometimes look blue, but more often than not they have a green or hazel tone to them. Her cheeks are full and her lips are distinctly defined. Our favorite facial feature of hers right now is her pair of eyebrows. They are darker than the other two's, making us think she will have brown hair. Her eyebrows are so expressive, conveying everything from joy to frustration to curiosity.
We call Mazie our red bird because her skin was so red the first few months of her life; she had no body fat to conceal the blood just under her skin. She has since fattened up but we still think of her as our little red bird, partly because she is delicate like a bird. At six months she is now twelve pounds. She doesn't look significantly smaller than her siblings, but she feels much lighter when you pick her up. Physically though, she does not lag behind. She is exhibiting signs of crawling: bending her knee up and inching toward toys. She can easily pick things up and put them in her mouth.

Mazie has a sweet spirit. She will hold onto my hand and softly rub it for ten or fifteen minutes. She studies us and watches the moves we make. I call her my big cheeser sometimes because of her different smile. Her smile is big like Lucia's and Elliott's, but while their smiles are broad across their faces, when Mazie smiles it is like she is scrunching up her whole face in the smile. She loves to look adoringly at Elliott and Lucia and at us too.

While she is very sweet, Mazie is comfortable making her needs known. She will cry so loudly over a wet diaper sometimes that you think maybe she has been hurt in some way. We will rack our brains over what might be wrong, only to finally solve the problem with an easy diaper change. She definitely uses volume to make sure she is not ignored.

One way that Mazie is different from her siblings is that she still truly, unabashedly loves her swing. Elliott and Lucia like them fine, but Mazie loves to get in. She waits for us to crank that swing up to high, then she tilts her head to one side and splays her arms out to the sides and revels in the relaxing monotony.
Like her brother and sister, we enjoy our treasure Mazie everyday.

Our Little E

We have no Wimpy White Boys in this family. Elliott continues to lead the way in physical development. He has rolled over first, taken steps first (while we hold out his hands), picked up objects like rattles and rubber ducks first. His favorite new thing to do is to scratch things with his fingers to feel their textures. Fabric is his favorite, but he also loves to feel our faces. He is beginning the move toward crawling--bending his knee for leverage or raising his bum to inch like a worm toward his desired object. He has also started grabbing onto his bumper pad to pull his face up so he can see what is going on outside his crib.


He has a smile that overtakes his whole face, and he freely gives it to whomever pays him attention. He is a happy baby, usually only fussing when he gets hungry; let him get hungry and he will loudly let you know.

Elliott is named for my father and H's father. While H's father has not been here for 20 years now, so many of his wonderful qualities live on in her: a few of which are patience, seeing the best in others, entrepreneurship, and unconditional love. I know many of these qualities will transfer to our precious son. My dad will be one of Elliott's most important male role models as he grows into a man. Some of the qualities my dad has that I hope Elliott will emulate are a strong work ethic, being a straight-shooter, maintaining long-term relationships with family and friends, and unconditional love.

As Elliott approaches half a year on this Earth he gives us more joy and happiness each day.

Happilu

Despite her ever runny nose, Lucia has been a happy camper this week. She loves to give you a big smile, showing off her precious dimple. Her favorite thing to do as of late is to hold her feet. For about two weeks she only knew that she had a left foot. She held on to it all the time. Then earlier this week--great joy--she discovered her right foot. She has also taken to tasting her sweet little toes. In these two photos below, I love the sock that she has flung up on her shoulder. She is a difficult one to keep socks on.

Now Lucia happily spends her time holding both feet and smiling at anyone and everyone. She has also mastered the rolling over skills that she couldn't be bothered with just a few weeks ago, and she consistently puts weight on her legs. Lucia is the only baby with any hair to speak of. She is a joy to be with.

Aunt Patti

We have so many people who are always doing nice things for us. Aunt Patti is one of them. Our Aunt Patti is available to babysit and she brings our moms food to eat and she also loves to love us. She hems and alters clothes that are too big for us. She also made these onsies for us. She used a French country scene for Lucia and me, and a cowboy scene for Elliott. We love to wear our new onsies. Thank you Aunt Patti. We love you, Mazie.


P.S. Mama has learned if she wants a photo of us in certain outfits, she needs to take the photo as soon as we get dressed. Elliott has spit up on his onsie and mine had to come off and is currently soaking in a scoop of OxyClean.

P.P.S. Also, our mama loves this photo, because the entire time she was getting us dressed and taking our picture, we were holding hands.

Knock Knock

I fear we are knocking at the door of the house of sick. So far I think only Lucia has stepped through the doorway.

Here are the facts:
Everyone seems to feel fine; they are all eating well.
No one is running a fever.
Since Thursday or Friday the three have been coughing.
These aren't ugly coughs.
Since Saturday, Lucia's nose has been red.
Since Saturday I've had to aspirate Lucia several times a day as she has had copious amounts of stuff in her nose. (She hates this.)
Since Saturday Lucia cries out when she is lying flat because she can't breathe comfortably.
Monday morning her left eye is swollen and a little red.

I have been dreading our first experience with illness, and I am still not sure this will really count. We are two weeks shy of six months old; I really wanted to make it six months without them catching anything. But, "they" say getting sick is what helps children build their immune systems. As with anything in life, there are positives and negatives to what ever situation you are in. Hopefully this will just be a short visit to the house of sick.

We hope you are feeling well.

Three Times Three

Nine ways to know that you have triplets in the house:

9) You just cut a foot of length off your hair.

8) You have lost all your pregnancy weight but still have to wear maternity clothes.

7) You eat cereal for supper three times a week.

6) After walking past you and your babies, people frequently turn to their companion and ask, "'Did you see Jon and Kate Plus 8' the other night?"

5) You've been peed on, poohed on, and puked on all in the same day.

4) You find yourself saying, "Call me/Come by, I'll be home the next five years."

3) You used to memorize Mary Oliver poems
...I don't know exactly what a prayer is
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

And now you memorize Sandra Boynton books
A cow says Moo
A sheep says Baah
The three singing pigs
Say LaLaLa
No, No you say
That isn't right
The pigs say Oink
All day and night...

2) Someone has called your house and said to you, "I don't know your name, but I was wondering if I could come see your babies."

1) Your 1000 square foot house contains more cribs, diapers, rattles, joy, and love than you ever would have dreamt possible.

Sleeping Positions

My favorite sleeping position is on my stomach with one knee bent and cocked out to the side. Ahhh, I will always remember the first time after the babies were born that I was able to roll onto my stomach and bring that left knee up and sleep the night away. That night did not come until we had been home for about a month. Measuring 51 weeks pregnant the night before I delivered, my sleep positions had become very limited. The last few weeks I could not roll over and had to get out of bed to change sides. I could not sleep on my back by then. As large and limited as I was, I never had a sleepless night while pregnant. I realize this is another one of the many miracles that occurred during my pregnancy, and I am grateful for it.

The babies are beginning to show their favorite sleep positions. I was so excited when I went in to check on them during naptime last week and Mazie was on her stomach with her left knee bent up. Here are their favorites:

Lucia loves to put her feet against the crib. She is the reason we went out and bought these breathable bumper pads as she got her leg caught between the crib slats in the middle of the night a few times (thanks for the rec Tia Karen).
Elliott loves to curl his knees up under his belly and stick his bum in the air. He sleeps like this almost all the time. In the morning he has red circles on his knees.

Mazie has several different ways she sleeps. As is mentioned above, one of her favorites is on her stomach with her knee bent out to the side.
We hope you have a restful night of sleep tonight.

Babies Inc.

I can still hear my mother saying, "Karen has loved babies ever since she was a baby." My sister, the neonatal nurse practitioner, knew she wanted to go into neonatology since she was in the second grade. People would ask me as I was approaching the end of high school "what do you want to do?" After I would shrug "I don't know," my sister, approaching the end of elementary school, would pipe up, " I am going to be a neonatologist."
There is a reason I chose to teach middle school. What do you do with a baby? I can't discuss To Kill A Mockingbird or "Thank you M'am" with a baby or ask him what he thought of that NPR segment on the history of the banana. What do you do with a baby? With three babies?


Enter Rachael: Rachael, Summer, and Seth came to visit us for Presidents' Day weekend. Rachael and my sister are similar in that Rachael has always loved babies and young children too. She has been teaching nursery school since she was in first grade, I believe. She gave me new activities to try with the babies. For that I am grateful, but not as grateful as the babies. I constantly read and sing with them. We play body part and color and alphabet games; we even have puppet shows. However, I have been getting the feeling lately that they are growing rather bored with me. They sometimes look at me with eyes that seem to be saying "Spice it up, Mama." So, now that Rachael has come, we now have bouncing games, object permanence amusements, and lots of tummy time fun. We even made a batch of baby food to freeze until the babies start solids next month--butternut squash. Yum.


Of course, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with Seth and Summer too. We have missed seeing our good friends. We had lots of good discussion and fellowship, as we always do. Summer and Rachael were both kind in fielding many of our questions about what is coming next in the baby development world. We even managed to discuss a little literature and politics.
Seth is a great baby. He has a head of wild hair and a sweet disposition. It was nice to have another baby in the mix. We were even witness to Seth cutting his first tooth.

Come back soon, friends.

Photos: The top photo is of Summer and H with Seth and Lucia after our walk to the barn. The middle one is of Rachael who seems to have worn poor Mazie completely out. The bottom photo is of Elliott and Seth hanging out in the Bumbo chairs.

Mazie Talk

Here is a video from the first of the month showing Mazie's progressing verbal skills. She has become very quick to let you know what she thinks. I am sure she'll be calling you on the phone to chat in the next few weeks.