Meeting my triplet "nephews!"

Hi!  I just got back from an amazing weekend in South Dakota visiting my friend Heather who just had her triplet boys 8 weeks ago.  It was the BEST weekend!  First of all, I just love how God answered prayers and gave me perfect driving weather IN JANUARY and that my girls and I were all healthy IN JANUARY so that I could even go!  I'm so thankful!!  I left last Weds. afternoon and Jody came over to watch the girls and hang out here while they napped.  Then Ryan had them Thursday and Grandma Kathy had them Friday.  Then Ryan was with them for the weekend and then I came home Sunday night.  The girls seemed to have a great time with everyone and Ryan survived too!  He may or may not have put Hailey's shirt on backwards for church on Sunday but other than that, he did GREAT!  I'm so thankful to have such great help here so that I could go help Heather!!  

Anyway, so Weds night I got to their house and as soon as I saw the babies, I just start crying.  I cannot believe that we BOTH were blessed with three HEALTHY sets of triplets.  It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.  And to see them so perfect and THREE of them at once.  They had been prayed for for so long!  My mind  (and my heart I think) was flooded with memories of my girls in that adorable baby stage.  And that they were Heather's!  I will never believe this.  So after tearing up, I of course had to hold each one and say hello.  I never wanted to put them down!  I could hold babies all day!  So that night I helped Heather with the 11 oclock feeding so Evan could get some sleep....so then I ended up going to bed around 12:45...and then woke up at 4 for the next feeding....and then Evan's cousin was there so her and I did the 4 oclock feeding together so Evan and Heather could sleep.  That lasted til about 5:30....and then I was "on duty" to sleep by the babies and listen for any spit ups (2 of them have reflux)....well my body is still on normal sleep mode so I didn't go back to sleep after my 4 a.m. wake up time.  And I've never been a napper so that was a longer day!!!  But totally doable when it's not every day!!!!  

It's so funny too because I'm like petrified or paranoid about boys and changing their diapers!  I'm just not used to it and I freak out that they are going to pee in my mouth.  :)  So wouldn't you know it...at 4 a.m. ...sweet little Andrew PEES on me!  Thankfully not in my mouth :)  ...but still!  I let out a little scream! :)  So funny though.  :) Here are my fave triplet boys. :)  Micah weighing in at 10 lbs. 7 oz, Derek is a whopping 11 lbs. 8 oz already!  And then sweet Andrew at 8 lbs. something....  They are TOO MUCH!!!

 Micah - Micah is so sweet.  He has reflux pretty bad and looks like he's in pain when he spits up but he hardly complains about it at all.  He just grunts. :) Such a sweetie.

 Andrew was my little snuggler this weekend.  He LOVES to be held and I love that about him.

 Big boy Derek.  Derek is the little comedian of the bunch.  Something about him is just so funny.  Little faces he makes or how he gets soo excited to eat that his mouth goes crazy looking for the bottle.

 Speaking of bottles.....this is only a few of them!!!

 And I can't wait for the day when all of Heather's kids and all of mine can finally meet...but for now, I just put their pictures together....I wonder if they'll get married someday.. :) :) :)  My girls just seem SO big now!!!

 Andrew, Derek, Micah - It's so neat how the babies would be fussing or just uncomfortable and not wanting to settle down no matter what you would do....so then we'd just lay them on the floor right next to each other.  They'd settle right down and just lay there kicking each other and sucking on each other's elbows or heads and all of the sudden be so content.  Multiples will always amaze me.

 One of Derek's funny looks :)

 Heather's FOUR boys under the age of TWO.   Tyler, Micah, Derek, and Andrew.
And all I gotta say is that Heather is an AMAZING mom.  She really does have the patience of a saint and I give her sooo much credit.  Having another kid on TOP of triplets is unbelievably hard.  JUST when the babies would all be sleeping or quiet....you'd want to take a nap...or you'd want to clean up all the bottles or EAT something or whatever....there would be sweet Tyler who would say "I need mommy" or "mommy play downstairs" or "Don't pick up the babies."  He is just at an age that demands a lot of attention...and a lot of energy!  I was in awe at how great Heather was with him...and how she would muster up enough energy to chase him around the basement or read him books or whatever...even when she was EXHAUSTED.  She'd be nursing 2 babies and I'd be feeding the slowpoke Andrew :) ...and then Tyler would wake up...so then because Tyler loves mommy to get him out of bed...Heather would have to stop nursing two, and then go get Tyler who would then need breakfast or want to snuggle or whatever while 2 babies keep crying to finish nursing.  She is a phenomenal mother and her boys are SOOO blessed to have her.

I LOVE them!  (Andrew, Derek, Micah - and Auntie Shell) :)   One night Heather and I did get to go out for dinner together to catch up without distractions so that was super fun.  And, on Saturday, help came over so that I could take Heather to the mall to for real shop for the first time in like a year!  She kept saying it was the best day and she finally felt "normal" again!!  I love you Heather!!  You are DOING IT!!! And you are doing SO well!  (unfortunately Heather and I must have been too busy with babies that we never got to take a pic of US  - or we didn't WANT to take a pic of us because most days we were in our PJ's all day and hadn't showered!) :) :)

 And then I got to meet ANOTHER preemie!!!  My cousin Janelle had her first baby girl Maci at 26 weeks.  She weighed 1 lbs. 6 oz....so she's been in the NICU a LOOOONNGGG time.  I thought Janelle and I would have so much in common since we both had preemies but wow - there is a HUGE difference with your NICU experience when you have a three 3 pounders versus a 1 pounder.  My girls didn't have to go through HALF of the stuff that sweet Maci had to go through.  It's a miracle just looking at her.  She is now 5lbs. 8 oz and doing so much better!  She will probably be a few more weeks or a month til she gets to go home...and even then she might have to go home on a G Tube because she hasn't figured out bottling while sucking, swallowing, adn breathing all at the same time.  So please keep her and Grant and Janelle in your prayers.  This has been a LONG road for them!! She's already been in the NICU for TWELVE weeks!  Wow!

 Maci Grace