Still In The Deep Freeze

This week has been pretty cold.  Still, we managed to beat cabin fever a few mornings, with a romp and lunch at Nana and Opa's house (always a huge hit), and Toddlertime at the library yesterday.  This morning, we decided to do some "colourings" at the dining room table.  Evelyn insisted on bringing a chair from upstairs - with help from Nana.  Initially, she tried to sit on the chair and colour on the table, but this posed logistical difficulties.  But this works, too.

Hello Moon!

I don't know what it is about toddlers and the moon, but our trio love to find it in the sky.  For the past few afternoons, they've dragged their chairs to the window in the Jeannie Suite to moon watch.  And to see if they can find Roxy, the neighbours' dog.  She and Sprocket have a very complex relationship that I would describe as "hate/hate", with a tiny bit of apathy thrown in to mix things up a little.  The Ducklings find this highly amusing... not sure how the rest of the neighbourhood feels...

Baby Z - 18w Ultrasound

I was hoping to have an ultrasound picture to share, but when it came time to smile for the camera, Baby Z promptly buried its head and played peekaboo.

Today was our big Anatomy Scan - and hopefully, our last u/s with this little one.  The technician spent time finding kidneys (check), a 4 chambered heart (check), the bladder (check), brain (check), the umbilical cord and other essential structures as well as guesstimating weight and gestational size.  Baby Z is tracking slightly ahead in abdomen and head measurements (in the words of my OBGYN, the perfect Hobbit), and is currently tipping the scales at 9oz.  For comparison purposes, at the same ultrasound Keith was 8oz and Evelyn and Colin were 7oz.  

Everything else looked great, too.  My placenta has shifted and is no longer classified as "low lying", and my blood pressure was non-existent in one arm, so the OBGYN had to try the other arm and gave me a passing grade (104/60).  The baby's heart rate was a solid 146 beats per minute, and we got to see it on the ultrasound and hear it on the doppler.  Baby Z was definitely having a mellow day, although for the most part, its making sure I don't get too comfortable - its feet are within striking distance of my bladder, and its head is inching its way into my ribs.  Of course, nothing quite compares to having Evelyn spend my entire previous pregnancy happily ensconced deep in my ribs, merrily kicking away, but I know I'm in for it with this one as well ;)

Good news all around.  We feel deeply grateful.

All Afternoon Baby Bender

We had a very busy morning; rushing out the door after dealing with a fresh 6 inches of snow, the mental and physical exertions of dance class (it's tiring to pointedly ignore Mummy, Nana, Miss Candace and other obediently twirling toddlers for 45 minutes), groceries, playing cowgirls and construction workers, lunch and then finally, nap time.   Edward and I were pretty sure they'd sleep well, and that illusion was reinforced by their sweetly dozy dispositions as I settled them one at a time in their cribs.  

... Except, they were WIRED.  Now, rest assured that as the parents of two year old triplets, Edward and I have experienced every permutation and combination of sleep and non-sleep that anyone can imagine - many, many times over.  We don't faze too easily.  But this was the first time in recent memory that they decided en masse, to party through their nap.  We often listen to them laugh and sing for up to an hour after they go to bed at night, and unless Keith starts to pine for Daddy, or a soother falls to the floor, we're awfully good at ignoring them.  But naptime, well, naptime is sacred.  It's that breath of freedom that we get in the middle of an insanely busy day.  It's our time to recharge, tidy up, have a cup of tea and occasionally, accomplish something useful.

Instead, we were treated to the most rousing chorus of Itsy Bitsy Spider (x 200) we had ever heard.  Squeals, bed bouncing, peals of hysterical laughter, wall thumping - it was the toddler version of a New Year's frat bash with $1 shots.  In a moment of particular euphoria, the boys ripped off their socks and tossed them around the room like confetti.  Edward and I went in twice to encourage them (well, my attempt might have involved some yelling) to s.e.t.t.l.e d.o.w.n.  I was told to "get".  

So, in defeat, I plugged my headphones into the computer and put on something loud.  Edward managed to doze through a portion of the festivities by cranking up a TV program that featured a lot of gunshots and car chases.  And sometime at around 3:30, they finally slept.  They usually nap from around 1:30 to 4:00, so it was with gritty determination that I roused them at 4:30.  We have learned the hard way that messing up the schedule to compensate for earlier transgressions is very unwise.  

Keith was so tired that all he could do was put his head on his mattress and sob.  The evidence of their good time lay in ruins around them... socks on the floor, stuffies in different cribs, cribs skewed in every direction, bedding lying in crumpled heaps.  Edward and I went in reasonably annoyed with them - and definitely unsympathetic - but when we saw just how miserable they were, we couldn't bear to be upset.

As for tonight's bath and bedtime.... I'll spare you a detailed description other to say that it involved a lot of tears and screaming.  Maybe they'll sleep well tonight?  Stay tuned.

The Aftermath

Colin feeling rather blue, and Evelyn patting him on the back saying "It's OK Colin, it's OK".

One sad and tired Keith

Our Week in Pictures

I thought it was Thursday two days ago... it's been a loooong week!  That being said, I did manage to capture a few moments worthy of note:

Monday (and Thursday's) dinner was tourtiere.  This was very much a communal effort:  Edward made the filling and the pastry from scratch, my mother and I constructed the pie and I fiddled with the vents.  It turned out really well, and we will definitely make it again.

I was in the nursery at 4:30 Wednesday morning (a nightly occurrence +) because Colin was asking for help; by the time I got there he was asleep again.  However, I noticed that Keith had his thin fleece blanket wrapped around his neck... so, the next day while they were napping, I went to Ikea and picked up three duvets and covers.  I had wanted to upgrade them to bigger kid bedding for a while, but wow, were they EVER thrilled!   The happy shrieking went on a for a good ten minutes, and they could hardly wait to crawl under the covers ;)  We'll milk that enthusiasm for as long as we can.

All dressed up and wearing Nana's shoes

My bump... 18 weeks on Saturday, ultrasound on Monday afternoon.  I had a little scare two weeks ago due to some pressure and discomfort, and an ultrasound showed a low-lying placenta.  At the moment, no one is too concerned, but I'll be anxious to see on Monday whether it's moved in the right (or wrong) direction.  There is an excellent chance that it will move out of the way as the baby grows.

Reading on the guest bed in the Jeannie Suite

Today was our first Toddlertime at the library since early December, and the Ducklings really enjoyed being back in the groove.  I was impressed, because they were much more participatory than they were last session - they even chose to each sit on a cushion, as opposed to clambouring all over Nana and Mummy's laps.  Small steps for our understandably insular trio.  They simply don't have to strike out on their own too much socially, so they need a little more encouragement in that regard.  

To that end, they also started a Mom & Me dance class on Saturday mornings.  The first class was last week, and Evelyn really got into it; the boys, less so.  Keith spent the last half hour asking to be let out of the room, and Colin shed a few tears over Itsy Bitsy Spider.  However, they've been practicing the moves Miss Candace taught them (knee bends, bunny hops, twirling around, kicks down the room, etc), and I'll be interested to see how they do this week.  If nothing else, I enjoy the class!

Our Little Cowgirl

The Ducklings keep asking to see this picture!  Outfit courtesy of Santa (via Grammy and Grampy), photo courtesy of Uncle Tom and Aunt Sandra.

Glad this does not come with a firearm... our little firecracker doesn't need any encouragement.