Growing Up

This week has marked some pretty big steps for the Salvateenies.

First, Mommy decided it was time to start moving toward sleep training the tykes.  The first step is to start upping the amount they're eating and the amount of time between feedings.  So, we jumped from 4 ounces of formula every 2.5/3 hours to 5 ounces every 4 hours.  And guess what - it wasn't that hard a transition.  The book we're following (The Baby Sleep Solution by Suzy Giordano) warns that the first few days may be murder and you'll have to do some tapdancing to stretch the babies to their 4-hour goal (well, she actually says "babY", since it's not geared toward multiples, but at this point I can't imagine what it would be like to have only one baby, so I adapt to plural in my head automatically).  Our babies seem pretty darn happy to play and then nap all the way up to that 4-hour mark and force us to make that hard decision to actually wake them to feed them at the proscribed time.

Already this effort is bearing fruit, as last night they ate between 9 and 10, were asleep between 10:30 and 11, and SLEPT STRAIGHT UNTIL 5:30 IN THE MORNING!  When Max starting yelping for attention, I rolled over to make sure Joe had heard him.  Joe was grumpily waking up, preparing himself to see some truly "middle of the night" time on the clock.  It was amazing how quickly his mood improved when he saw it was actually "morning"!

The advent of sleeping through the night, though has had a corresponding sad consequence.  With the babies at most eating once between 10 and 6, it really didn't make sense to keep our wonderful night doula, Olive, any longer.  (Well, that and the money my very generous parents gave us toward her salary was running out.)  This is sad for many reasons, not least of which is that even just one feeding means an hour or more of being awake when I could be sleeping.  But more importantly, it means there's one fewer person I can look forward to sharing all the babies' exploits with.  I blab about them here, and I tell friends and family.  But, really, who cares how often Daniel is pooping or how well Max has started to burp? Who among you can really appreciate what it means that Caroline has taken to the new "fast" nipple and isn't depositing nearly as much food on her clothes or that all of the babies have been sticking their tongues out.  It wasn't just that Olive knew the babies' tendencies or that she had good advice.  It's that she really, honestly seemed to love the babies almost as much as we do.  And that, more than anything, put our minds at ease when we left the four of them tucked away at the front of the house so we could tuck ourselves away in bed.  On her last night on Saturday, Olive was very nice to let us know we could still call her with questions and that she still wanted to know how the babies were doing.  But it won't be the same as seeing her at 10pm and getting to just chat about whatever was going on.   I encourage you to look her up if you'll be needing night help for your multiples.  She was an amazing help to us and I credit her with a lot of what has kept us calm and helped us to enjoy our babies.

The other big activity this week was today's two-month doctor's visit.  Everyone checked out A-OK.  The doctor thinks she might have heard a tiny heart murmur from Caroline, but it's nothing to worry too much about at this point, just something to watch.  We were given suggestions to cure the "milk neck" Daniel is developing (sort of a yeasty rawness from Mommy not washing him well enough :( ), how to clear up Caroline's newborn rash on her face, and were assured that the little white spots on Max's gums are nothing to worry about.

Caroline checked out at 8 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long, a growth of three and a half pounds and four inches since her last visit at the end of September.  Max is now 9 pounds 6 ounces and 21 3/4 inches long, an increase of 4 pounds and 10 ounces (which is more than he weighed at birth!) and nearly 4 inches.  Daniel is still the biggest at a perfect 10 pounds and 21.5 inches, having gained 4 pounds 14 ounces since the last visit (also more than he initially weighed).

After the well baby check it was the part Joe had been dreading most - immunizations.  We were treated to a LARGE room for the procedure - we could fit all three adults, all three babies, and both strollers in the room.  Caroline went first, to show her big brothers it was no big deal.  She took her time with the oral vaccine, but as soon as that first needle pinched into her she let out a piercing, high pitched scream like we'd never heard before (and, really, hope not to hear again anytime soon).  She repeated the performance for each of the next two shots, but quieted down rather quickly as Daddy took her on a tour of the Winnie the Pooh mural in the next room.

Max stepped up to the plate next, sucking down his liquid vaccine in no time and making little whimpering noises as he got his shots.  These whimpers developed into bigger sobs until Daddy got him calmed down in the hall.  Daniel was last and seemed to handle it all pretty well, a little fussiness and crying, but not as loud or upset-sounding as his siblings.

After all three brave babies were immunized, we were allowed to use an exam room to feed and cuddle them and get them all calmed down.  We tried to feed them again at home, and again at 9pm for their "final daytime feeding", but they seem to have succumbed to the 'possible drowsiness and slight loss of appetite' side effects - highly preferable to the 'possible irritability and fussiness', which we've heard can translate to hours of inconsolable crying.

If we'd gotten THAT side effect, we would be REALLY sorry that Olive wasn't coming tonight!