Dear all;
Yet again the time between these updates grows. And yet the amount of changes that go on doesn't shrink. We'll need to figure out what to do about that. ;-)
In our last episode, for those of you who haven't seen them, I was talking about community baths, walking with assistance, and unconsumed formula going down the drain.
Now, they still take community baths (but neither of us have tried to take them out and dry them all off without help), but are walking all over the place, and we don't pour any formula down the drain.
Now the reason we don't pour formula down the drain is that they have all been switched to milk! Hooray! I never thought I'd be so happy to be spending $50 a month on milk (about four gallons a week), but after $200 a month on formula, plus the wild goose chases trying to find the quantity we needed at a decent price, I'm feeling way ahead in the game.
Another side benefit of the kids being on milk, is that they have now given up the remaining reflux medicine (Zantac), which means no more washing and loading of syringes. It's already been a few months since we stopped the Zantac, but at first it was very strange to lose that chore. And the kids were a little confused, too. They were used to their little appetizer.
Right after my last update, Michelle went and had her wrists looked at by a specialist, who diagnosed her with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). She got braces to wear at night, and whenever she could during the day (which worked out to be not at all), but they provided no relief. She had surgery on her right wrist, which put her out of commission (as far as baby care) for close to two weeks. The pain no longer wakes her up at night, and she was back to herself shortly after the bandages came off (eleven days). Full strength takes about six months, and by then it looks like she'll need to go in for the left one to be done as well.
Holly's top, front teeth are FINALLY coming in, months after James and CarrieAnna's, and months after her own "fangs" on the top. We're currently in a little biting stage with both Holly and James (ugh). She seems quite a bit heavier than her brother and sister, especially over the last week or so. My guess is she's over 20 pounds, and we can turn her car seat to face forward. The other two probably have a little bit to go yet. I just need to schedule some time with one of our friends to jump up and down on the car seat as I try to get it installed tight enough.
Holly also seems attached to me ("Da da?"), and apparently is teaching James and CarrieAnna similar tricks. Michelle has to be sure Holly gets a morning nap before going to play with the baby group, or she screams the whole time (Holly screams, not Michelle...well...at least Michelle doesn't scream the WHOLE time ;-).
James is showing how he is definitely the boy. He wants to climb over or onto everything, go where he's not supposed to, and whine when he doesn't get his way. We also took away his pacifier, which took a little getting used to. He only had it at night, but the first few nights he cried for 20 minutes until he passed out. It had dropped to only about five minutes after a few weeks (yes, weeks) and now it seems like he just cries only as much as the others who don't really want to go to bed.
CarrieAnna still smiles the most, but loses control when she's really hungry. They can all go up stairs, but she took a long time to be able to come down by herself. She also seems to have low muscle tone in her hips, so she falls more. She's also very flexible, which is frequently a side effect of the low muscle tone.
They each say a few words regularly, like Da-da, and ball. really hungry. They can all go up stairs, but she took a long time to be able to come down by herself. She also seems to have low muscle tone in her hips, so she falls more. She's also very flexible, which is frequently a side effect of the low muscle tone.
They each say a few words regularly, like Da-da, and ball. CarrieAnna will pop out a word once, and then not again for a long time ("pretty" and even "CarrieAnna"). The rest is babbling and screaming.
Here are the weights and heights from April 21:
Holly 18lbs, 15oz 29.5 inches James 17lbs, 3oz 29 inches CarrieAnna 17lbs, 10oz, 29.5 inches
We signed up to attend the Triplet Convention this year, since it will be fairly close by in Williamsburg, VA (about a four hour drive). We'll be taking our friend Peggy to baby-sit while we go to a couple of the talks. Should be exciting.
In other news, Michelle has a lot of spare time (ha, ha) so she's started a new business venture as a coordinator for the Weekender's line of women's clothes. Any women in the immediate area can feel free to contact us (phone or email) for a description or information.
She's holding a preview tonight, so I've gotta finish this up and get home to eat beforehand.
I expect all of you to reply to this email so I know you're getting it! :-)
Chipp
Still out of date website (sorry):
http://geocities.datacellar.net/Heartland/Ranch/7550
or
http://chipp.kuldell.com