July 28th-WOW it's been a while!

Saturday, July 3, 2010 11:33 PM by Serena-Mom of 4 boys 0 comments
Isaac






Jeremiah





















Samuel


Wow it has been a while since I have updated this blog. Between vacations and Samuel's final surgery it's been a whirl wind. I am so bad at this blogging thing. I am still trying though since I don't have time to get to the boys baby book I need to record their milestones somewhere. They are growing so super fast. So much has happened since my last post but I will try to just touch on the biggies. We also just got back from Utah and Yosemite for a getaway. The boys saw their first sunrise and it was over the Grand Canyon, not bad! They also went swimming in the pool for the 1st time in Utah. Went on their first bear run (not to be confused with beer run). The boys will be 8 months next week.

Lil Vic-Vic is now out of the 5th grade and enjoying summer. He is absolutely such a huge help with the boys and really is just wonderful with them. The boys recognize him now and love to hang out in his room. He makes bottles, changes diapers, and plays with them. I do try to make sure that he still gets his alone and away time since it wouldn't be fair to him to just have him watch babies all day. However he really does love and enjoy them. He also mowed the lawn for the first time. Now Vic is starting to act like a pre-teen with the attitude so we are just checking that before it gets out of control. Other than that he is a great kid! He has changed soccer teams and is back with Arsenal and it's nice to see some old faces. Oh no 6th grade here we come!

Isaac- My cuddly bear is still thriving. He is such a chunk and a sweetheart. He is always laughing. I mean always. He is such a happy baby. He is rolling all over the place and has began to crawl and sits up all by himself. He began to crawl on July 16th and sit up by himself on my birthday, July 23rd. He still continues to sleep through the night! Yea for that. Most parents probably are over joyed when their lil ones reach that milestone but the thought of having 3 babies mobile is terrifiying me. At his 6 month check-up he weighed 19 lbs 1 oz.
Jeremiah-My active tiger is just that. ACTIVE! He is rolling all over the place and is also crawling. He began crawling on July 16th and by the end of the day Isaac joined him. I guess he didn't want to be shone up by his little brother, by 1 minute. Jeremiah also sits up by himself as of July 25th. Oh no, now we're in for it. I was hoping he wouldn't be crawling by the time we left for Yosemite but he decided to do it the day before we left. Lucky us. Now he is our charmer but is also the most head strong. He fights his sleep and love to be the last one awake, every night. He also has a bad habit of wanting to wake up at night to eat. Yes it's only once but come on, you were sleeping through the night, Don't stop now. At Jeremiah's 6 month check-up he weighed 16 lbs 7 oz.

Samuel- So our lil fighter is doing well! He had his last surgery on June 8th which took away his colostomy bag. It is definitely easier to bathe the boys and he has just thrived once it came off. Son't get me wrong the 2 weeks after the surgery were very hard but it'a been uphill since them. Samuel is a very very good baby. He is still an ease to take care of except now he knows arms and loves them. He also knows how to get people to pick him up by giving them a sad face. At his 6 month check-up he weighed 14 lbs 1 oz. He had lost a full pound, down from 15 pounds from the last surgery but he is a great eater and will regain that in no time.




























Thought of the day: You just do it!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 10:58 AM by Serena-Mom of 4 boys 1 comments
I love this pic, it is how I feel most days!


Ok so I had a thought of the day. I have many thoughts many days but none I can remember 10 minutes later or none significant enough that I feel compelled to right down. Although this post may take me all day it is something that I want to remember.


So we hear many comments when we are out and about with the triplets. One we hear all the time is, "How do you do it?" My simple response is, "You just do it!" Just like anything in life. Has anyone ever wondered how you work full time and attend school. How you have a family and go back to get your Masters, or how you deal with 3 or 4 kids on a daily basis. Well you just do it! We all have our mountains to climb, our marathons to run, this is ours. A year ago this week I was given 2 eggs in my womb and just prayed that one would survive to create a baby that we have prayed for, for 9 years. Now we never could have thought that both would take and one would split but that's what heappened. Tomorrow is National Prayer Day and it is on this day last year that I was given these 3 sweet babies. Was I shocked and scared, absolutely. Have I been over whelmed at times, oh yea! Have my prayers been answered, no doubt! Many of us pray for things all the time. Now I can't say that God gave me exactly what I prayed for because truth be told, I never prayed for triplets. I would say he gave me more, lots more. Every morning I get up and walk over to each one of them as they are waking up and as they look up, smile and giggle my heart melts. When I'm washing dishes and then realize it's quiet so I look over to the babies and notice that I have 6 eyes all staring at me, I just laugh. Now did I grow up telling myself all I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a mama. No, I actually wanted to be Murphy Brown. I wanted to travel around the world interviewing great leaders. A journalist. Of course I no longer want to be Murphy Brown I just want to be the best Serena that I can. A huge part of me is now I am a mama to 4 boys but I'm not just a mom, or a MOST (mom of supertwins), I like to think I'm much more. One of my own personal fears was the thought of losing myself and how I saw myself before the triplets were here. What I have come to realize is that it is actually the opposite. One position in life does not define you. Throughout life we all change and how we perceive ourselves changes as well. I do not want to be defined by one thing. So no matter how many hats I wear I just always tell myself that although it's crazy and hectic, and most days I'm sure I'll hear mom more than my actual name, it's always worth it. Like I said before and with anything challenging, you just do it!

May 1st- We're 5 months old!

Monday, May 3, 2010 2:55 PM by Serena-Mom of 4 boys 0 comments










Well the boys turned 5 months old this past Saturday on the 1st. Time is really flying by and they are all doing so well. Vic and I are really starting to get out and about with them and it is getting easier to leave the house. We have decided that they actually do quite well when we're out and they probably prefer it to being stuck in the house all day, I know I do. We are still blessed with them sleeping through the night. This began about the beginning of March, so the boys were about 3 months old then. Each one has a very distinct personality already. Here are their updates:

Victor- Now our 1st born trys to pull the whoa is me card, everyone makes a big deal out of the babies, what about me card once in a while. LOL! We just joke with him and that usually gets him laughing. Overall he is pretty well adjusted, we had to expect something, it was all about him for 10 years. He just had his 11th birthday and had another boys sleep-over. It was pretty low key just family since it is tougher for me to entertain. We are now on the hunt for a soccer team for him. Yes, it's that time of year again. It's open season. I can't wait for that to be over with. He is also getting to the end of another baseball season. It was a little tougher for him this year since it is first year in major's and the youngest. He probably could have benefited from 1 more year in minors. He also just finished track and did well at his 2 track meets. That kid loves to run. He didn't get that from me.

Isaac-My cuddly bear is a huge sweetheart. He is usually always happy and smiling. He is the oldest of my trio and is the leader of the pack with everything. He rolled first, is the biggest, laughed first, and is a whopping 2 lbs bigger than his identical Jeremiah. He was weighing in at 15 lbs 7 oz at their 4 month check-up. Isaac always wakes up happy and just has an overall happy disposition. The only time he seems to whine is in the car. He doesn't seem to always enjoy car rides. I think it's because he is always hot and gets hot right away. In fact a few nights when it was a little hot he wouldn't let me put pj's on him. He would cry until I took them off and actually looked like he sighed once he was just in his diaper.

Jeremiah-My active tiger is such fun! He never stops moving and loves attention. Although he and Isaac do resemble eachother I don't think they look identical. Jeremiah is a petite baby. Although he is healthy he is just so much smaller than Isaac. Now Jeremiah is also very happy most of the time but he has his moments. At least that's what I call them. About once a week he has to have a moment (fit). Jeremiah is the most aware of strangers. Chances are if he doesn't know you and you pick him up, he'll put his bottom lip out and start crying. Although Isaac rolled first, Jeremiah rolls the most. Jeremiah also loves to stand and has very strong legs. At Jeremiah's 4 month check-up he was weighing in at 13 lbs 7 oz.

Samuel-My silent thinker is very sensitive and shy. He has been through the most and is very in tune to his external surroundings. Loud noices startle him. Don't get me wrong Samuel also laughs and smiles but he is just more quiet and bashful about it. He does have his moments where he is just talking away but he has to be very comfortable for this to happen. At Samuel's 4 onth check-up he weighed in at 12 lbs 5 oz. Now I haven't spoken about Samuel's 2nd surgery yet but he did have it on March 30th at LA Children's hospital. The surgery went well and it was probably one of the hardest things I had to go through. After the surgery Samuel was on morphine for the pain. A few hours after the surgery I was able to hold Samuel and as the nurse was messing with his minitoring lines he got mad and began crying. As I was holding him I noticed his lips begin to go bluish purple and all of a sudden no noice was coming out of him. He had stopped breathing. He turned bluish purple all over and the nurse grabbed him and started to say breathe Samuel come on baby breathe. At that moment the surgical team was making their rounds and happened to be checking on him. They rushed over and lifted his chin to clear the airway, looked and saw he had a pulse and grabbed the oxygen mask to give him air. after a few seconds, but felt like an eternity to us, I could hear him making noise and the coloring began to come back. During this time all we could was step back and let them do their jobs. In my head all I could think to do was pray. This had to be the single most frightening moment of our lives. For a moment we lost Samuel and our world was crashing in. Thank God that this was not our path and Samuel is still here with us and fighting. Samuel has one more surgery to get rid of the colostomy bag. Although it will be nice to have him completely healed I am not looking forward to another surgery for my baby boy. When ever you know that they are putting him completely out, it is a scary time. We will just deal with that when it comes like every other trial this year that we have had to face. Overall our boys are all doing really well and I couldn't feel more blessed.








April 19th- Manic Monday

Monday, April 19, 2010 2:17 PM by Serena-Mom of 4 boys 2 comments
Family Picture-April 16th-Happy Birthday Lil Vic


Samuel, Isaac, and Jeremiah

Most of my previous postings have been updates on the boys which is great since I haven't gotten around to doing any baby books, I know I'm a horrible mom, but at least I have a record somewhere for them. I also decided today that I am a horrible blogger. My updates are sporatic and I really should also include really what our life is like. If not for anyone to read but for a memory to us as everyday goes by so fast and sometimes I don't even remember what I did yesterday. Yes, I think those boys took some of my brain cells during the pregnancy as well. Don't even get me started how they tore up my body, I'm physically not the same. I have aches and pains that a 31 year old should not have, but that's a story for another day.

Today is what I'll call Manic Monday. It started off great, boys slept well, then I decided to give baths this morning. My bad! Thank goodness my cousin Denise was here to help like every Monday and Wednesday because my Jeremiah was having one of his moments that seems to last a couple hours. So the assembly line began. Of course Samuel's bath time is a bit more involved due to his colostomy bag but I think I've gotten pretty good at it. Don't ask me why bath time seemd so much longer and hectic today. I know Vic will be happy that he doesn't have to help me tonight with baths.

As of now the boys have finally gotten to sleep for their afternoon nap and I feel like my day should be ending, yea right! Well some things that parents I'm sure worry about, is my baby getting enough attention from me, am I doing the right things for their development, and so on and so on. I worry about those things but at times we are so busy just keeping them all fed, changed, bathed, and happy that I have to stop and think, has each one gotten the attention from me today that they deserve. Let's face it, they don't know that they are a triplet and it' not their fault that they need to share us. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of the internal battle that will rage war inside me. I know dramatic but this is my time to vent.

We are starting to get out more with the boys and in fact this weekend took them to one of Lil Vic's soccer games. We had our nephew Andrew with us and as we unloaded our circus on wheels we told him let's take our show on the road. He asked us, what do you mean? We told him, you'll see, and he did. Yes we were swarmed like the circus show we have become. Don't get me wrong there are many nice well meaning people that just want to see the boys and tell us how blessed we are, which if that was all, we would love it. However there are others whose, better you than me comments and of course the oh so popular, wow you got your hands full, as if they were telling us something new, that makes us leary of strangers. To all my friends and family and this is important, please don't ever ask a parent of multiples are they natural? Let's face it, there is no such thing as an artificial triplet and if you really think about it, it is a very personal question. You are asking that person if they had fertility issues. Us M.O.S.T (mothers of super twins) hate this question. At the end of the day if God did not want to bless me with these babies then they wouldn't be. That's all I will say about that. Now the picture above are of the boys the day after Easter, for some unknown reason I didn't get a picture of them on Easter, crazy I know. The family picture is from April 16th, Lil Victor's 11th Birthday. Don't mind how my hair looks, I went for the natural dry look, in all honesty I didn't have time to do it. Yes I have an 11 year old and 4 1/2 month old triplets.

March 27th- 16 weeks




Well our baby boys are approaching 4 months and how big they are getting. Life for us is getting easier as well. Either that or we have just gotten better at managing it all. Wow we thought we were busy before with one kid, we had no idea. Here are our boys Easter pictures that we took this week. Considering we had 3 infants it actually went rather smooth. Here are the boys updates.


Victor
Well Lil Vic is extra busy this time of year. He is wrapping up another soccer season, which doesn't mean much because he plays year round and it actually never stops, but it's nice to say. Except now he also has baseball and track. He is doing so well with the babies and helps us all the time. His 11th birthday is also coming up on the 16th of April and he is asking for a boys sleep-over. I tried to tell him he has a boys sleep-over every night with his brothers but he didn't buy it. I still have not decided if I will be able to do it but I know I must decide soon. He also made Principal's Honor Roll again for straight A's and student of the month last month. He is a great kid and we are very proud of him.


Isaac
Now at Isaac's last check-up which was about 3 weeks ago he weighed in at 13 lbs. He is probably pretty close to 15 lbs now. He is a big boy. Now Isaac is a pretty good baby and is content in his swing or playmat. I can lay him down for his nap with his eyes wide open and he will actually lay there until he falls asleep without fussing. How awesome is that! Isaac has been smiling and cooing for awhile and is really started to talk. He is wearing size 6-9 months and size 1 diapers soon to graduate into size 2 diapers.









Jeremiah
Now at Jeremiah's last check-up the same day Isaac's was he was 11 lbs 5 oz. He is probably close to 13 lbs now. Now Jeremiah has had some stomach problems but I think we have it under control now. We had to switch him to a gentle ease formula and that has seemed to help. He still fights his sleep and he demands a little more attention than his brothers. He loves his little brown swing and arms. Any arms. He just loves to be carried. Which is not convenient for a mom of triplets but we manage. He is also smiling, cooing and talking. He wears 3-6 months clothing and is fitting just fine in his size 1 diapers.








Samuel
Now at Samuel's last check-up a couple weeks ago he weighed in at 10 lbs 8 oz. He is probably clse to 12 lbs now. Samuel is a very very good baby. He can also be put down for a nap wide awake and will just lay there until he falls asleep like his big brother Isaac. Samuel loves his bouncer chair and has began to smile and coo. He is wearing size 0-3 month clothing and newborn diapers. Now Samuel has a big week coming up. On Tuesday March 30th he will be getting his 2nd surgery. I will be heading out to LA Children's Hospital on Monday morning and they are planning to keep Samuel for 4-6 days. I will be staying there with him and probably coming back during the day to see my other boys. I am of course worried and just praying for my Lil Samuel that he not be in pain and that the Lord is with him during this difficult time. All I can do is pray and know that it is not in my hands.

February 23rd- 12 weeks old















So our boys are 12 weeks as of yesterday. Time is flying by! They are all getting so big already. Its been a while since I posted last so I'll try to summarize. Well it seems like they are starting to sleep a little better at night. I am able to get about 6 hours of sleep, broken up of course but I'll take it. We've had tons of help and couldn't have survived these first 12 weeks without them. First of all my mom has been with us since I went into the hospital on Thanksgiving weekend and I am so thankful for her support and extra hands. She leaves tomorrow and I know we will miss her dearly. Also my in-laws, Martha and Vic, have been awesome. Coming at night after work to help with feedings and even spending the night at times to give us a good nights sleep. During the day Auntie Inez and cousin Denise have been here to help us with am feedings. This gives us time to eat, do laundry, and even shower. Woo hoo! We love all of you so much and couldn't do it without your love and support. We are so blessed to walk this journey and to be walking it with all of you. I thank God everyday for all of our blessings, and we have many of them.
Now on to the boys...

Victor-Well Lil Vic is adjusting well to his brothers and loves to carry them and kiss them. Of course he gets a bit flustered when they keep crying and is very eagar to hand them back to us. He has learned to change diapers and does help with that as well. He is doing awesome in school, wrapping up another soccer season, and starting baseball season. He is very busy and between his schedule and the baby boys we are jam packed.

Isaac- Well Isaac is getting so big and although he hasn't been weighed recently I think he must be at least 11 1/2 lbs. He still can drink his whole bottle without even waking up and overall is a good baby. He love to be held but can also sit and check things out. As of last week he has started to smile and as of 2 weeks ago he has rolled over. Just in the last 2 days he has also began to coo. I think laughing is right around the corner.

Jeremiah- Now Jeremiah probably weighs about 10 1/2 lbs and is quite the stinker at times. He is my cranky baby but I think he just needs more sleep than his brothers and we have began to recognize that and make minor adjustments to his schedule. Since we've done that the last couple days he has been a much happier baby. He also has started smiling and cooing. Also he and his identical twin Isaac are really starting to look alike.

Samuel-Now my Lil Samuel is doing well and is probably around 9 1/2 lbs. He has not begun smiling yet but has started lifting his head. He is such a good baby! I mean he is actually easy. I pick him up at times even when he's not fussing in order to get Samuel and mama time in. Now no set date yet for his upcoming surgeries but I will post as soon as we know. Now fun fact about Samuel is he loves to sit in his boppy! He absolutely loves it!

Now the pics I am posting were taken by my friend Erin Hughes and we just love how they turned out! Awesome job Erin!

January 23rd- Our original due date! (7 1/2 weeks old)





Well today is the date of my original due date. The boys are full term today! A lot has happened in the last 8 weeks. All 3 boys are doing well and we are all adjusting to our new norm. My mom is staying with us until March and is a huge help. I am dreading the day when she leaves. What will we do? Even with the two of us during the day there are times when we don't eat until after 2 pm and days we are in pj's all day not because we're lounging but because we haven't had a chance to change. I think this is going to be a year of survival. People keep telling me that they can't even imagine, they're right, you can't imagine unless you go through it. Although I am worn out everyday, it is a lot of fun and I am amazed how relaxed I am at times. All you can do is laugh at the wonder of it all. I look at them and can't believe I gave life to 3 beautiful boys at once. Wow, what a huge miracle. People also tell me be careful what you ask for. Well I think that God did answer our prayers, 10 fold, and he only gives us what he feels we can handle. For some reason he feels that I can be a good mom and raise 4 boys. So I thank him everyday for his love and belief in me and know that although this will be the hardest thing I have ever done I will not let him or my boys down. I tell Lil Vic that he taught me how to be a mom and to love unconditionally.


Here is an update on each:
Victor- well Lil Vic is going from being an only child to a big brother to 3 little brothers. He is doing beautifully. He is a good kid and adjusting well. He helps us out a little and has developed his dads sense of humor that keeps us laughing and gets us through the day. I can't wait for the boys to get bigger so he can really start playing with them. He does love to hold them and helps us keep them occupied.

Isaac- Well this week Isaac weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz. He is eating well, as always and has learned that he love arms. He loves to be held and seems to find his way into our bed on occasion. He is not very patient and when he's hungry he lets us know so he usually gets fed first. Although people say that he and Jeremiah look exactly alike, I don't see it. I see a similarity but I can tell them apart. I think Isaac looks like a mix between Vic and I. We'll have to wait and see.



Jeremiah- Well Jeremiah has won the good baby award the last 3 days. He sleeps when he is supposed to and has the most patience. He seems very mellow and can just be for a long time without fussing. This week he weighed in at 6 lbs 12 oz. He looks just like his papa, I don't see me at all in him. He's his papa's son.



Samuel- Samuel has been home for a week now and has probably had the hardest time adjusting. He was in the NICU for 47 days and use to not being held as much. He can sit in his boppy for hours. He loves to just sit and look around. He looks just like his big brother Victor with big eyes. He came home with his colostomy bag and will have it for about 6 more months. He will have an x-ray done in about 3 weeks, 1st operation in 6 to 8 weeks and 2nd operation 8 to 10 weeks after that. Me and my mom have gotten pretty good at taking it off and on but can't wait until we don't have to anymore. Samuel has a longer road ahead of him for full recovery but he will get there. I know my heart will break for him a few more times when this is all said and done and I hope it doesn't shape him in any way. I wonder if he doesn't like to be held much because every time someone does they poke at him and hurt him. I pray that my poor baby doesn't remember any of this. On a good note he is getting bigger and weighed in at 5 lbs 9 oz.

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