Triplets! 2 Months Later...

Hello from the Tellinghuisen Family!  So much to post about (so little time?!).  Please excuse the lack of a 'theme' to this blog, and any future blogs.  My writing will probably be a jumbled mess as my mind runs amock these days!

First off - Cole is now 2 MONTHS OLD (officially on Tuesday 29th)!  How does this happen?!  How does time fly by so fast...  I guess it is just a sign that we are Having Fun - SO thrilled to watch Cole grow, to see all these amazing things that he does, to watch him change every single day!  He entertains us in ways we never thought possible!

Cole 5 Weeks Old

Secondly, Aidan and Ty are now officially SWIMMERS!  We have always put them into water every chance we could get - whether it be in our makeshift pool at home, my parents whirlpool, or the closest outdoor pool...

Summer 2010

Now they are officially in an adaptive aquatic therapy class!  This is something I have always wanted for the boys - I have been waiting until they were a little bigger.  We are so excited to start this for them!  (And for those of you who have contributed to the boys' fundraisers, you have helped us achieve this goal!).

The boys have only had one class so far, but they seem to really enjoy it.  Aidan was all smiles.  Ty fell asleep (which means he was relaxed!).  We want the boys to experience a different enviroment.  It is so important to us that they have different encounters with their senses.  We also want this to be a place where they can relax, where they can move their body in a way they can't outside of the water.  Swimming is great for their tone and their joints!

(Don't worry, folks.  Aidan won't have that huge contraption on next time - he will be wearing his usual neck ring from now on!  That yellow one actually bruised his ears?!  But he was still all smiles as usual!)

We will see how the next few classes go.  This is all still very new.  I hope it continues to go well!  And as we approach summer I know they will be swimming even more outdoors - and maybe even their little buddy Cole will join them, too!

Thirdly, the topic of sleep.  Or lack thereof.  The first month with our newest peanut blew by quickly, and I was surprised at how easy it had been.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be - raising and caring for three little boys.  Then Cole hit 1 month old.  Suddenly the hours between 10 pm and 1 am became a battlezone - and it was Mommy vs. Cole (with Cole almost always winning).  Our quiet, inquistive & playful little guy would become a screaming machine!  Nothing would console him - he didn't want to eat, he didn't want to play, he didn't want music or massage.  He wanted nothing to do with the swing he SO loves - and the bouncy chair had long ago lost it's appeal (IF he does sit in it, it has to be vibrating AND I have to push on it to bounce him up and down).

Well, I shouldn't say nothing would console him... the rocker recliner was, and continues to be, my only saving grace.

At 2 months old now, he continues this pattern somewhat - but he no longer cries during those hours.  He just fusses.  He still LOVES the rocker recliner.  So... he has managed to rope this Mommy into rocking him for sometimes almost THREE straight hours!  He will sleep while I rock him in the dark, but if I try to sneak us to bed he immediately starts to wail - THUS waking up the rest of the house.  So you can see why I may book it back to the recliner, fast!  Thankfully, this is getting better everyday.  Last night he actually went to sleep at 10 o'clock!!  He slept til 5:30 a.m.  Dare I say that was his official 1st time of sleeping through the night?!   But really though, as I sit and rock him, I can't really complain.  I know these days will someday be gone - someday he will be too big to be rocked, or too busy to be rocked.  So I am actually soaking up all the hours in which he is small enough to be cradled in my arms while we silently rock, rock, rock...

As I type this, Cole is sitting next to me in the rocking chair!!  Let me tell you, typing and rocking is really giving my left brain/right brain a work out!!!  Aidan and Ty are at my feet in their chairs - and I use my feet to nudge them every now and then to let them know I'm near.  If I had a way to take a picture of this scene... Multitasking at it's best!  (I just read an article that said "righties" are better at multi-tasking than "lefties"... I'm a rightie!)

Then there is Aidan.  Sweet, sweet Aidan - whose bedtime has some how shifted from 8 pm to MIDNIGHT!  The kid will not go to sleep before the clock strikes 12.  Why this huge jump?  I have no clue.  The time change did not help either.  And guess what time he wakes up?!  The lovely hour of 3 am!  How he goes on SO little sleep baffles me... I know a huge part of it is his brain condition - both Aidan and Ty have a very hard time with sleep (the seizures every few minutes don't help?!).  The brain doesn't regulate the sleep hormone properly.  I do, and have, tried everything to help them - if I listed all the ways it would put YOU to sleep ha!

Aidan & Cole (4 weeks old) - Snoozing together!

Ty!  His hair is finally long enough to sport a mohawk ;)

And oh, my little talker Tyler.  He has been falling asleep by about 11 pm, and then is also up by 3 am.  Lately he has been teething something fierce.  He will wake up CRYING in pain.  He hasn't cried for almost 6 months now - so this is "new" to us again.  (The ability to cry has always 'come and gone' for both Aidan and Ty).

The ONE and ONLY night I have ever woke Jason to help me was just the other night.  Cole was screaming his melon off - Ty woke up out of a deep sleep... ear piercing crying... My Mommy juggling was failing me.  My heart was breaking to see Tyler crying, because I knew it was due to pain.  My "new" Mommy instincts were gearing me towards picking up my newborn.  I was wiped out!  Jason helped me rein in the craziness, then shuffled back to bed (I try to let him sleep as much as possible, because who wants a cranky husband on top of cranky babies haha! - but really, he needs the sleep so he can work efficiently.  I try to remind myself that when it's 2 am and I can't see straight!).

Cole (6 weeks old)  Spitting image of his Daddy!

Ever since that night, the rocking chair has been putting in overtime.  Or should I say double time.  There are nights when I have both Ty and Cole in the chair with me. I remember the day I told Jason we HAVE to have a rocking chair.  Best Investment Ever!

But enough about my nights - onto something FUN!  TOYS!

Jason and I have been having a hay day watching Cole discover new toys.  He isn't quite old enough to hold them yet, but he is getting there.  I have unpacked many of the toys that Aidan and Ty had, but couldn't use.  I dusted them off - and of course, while doing that, I flashbacked to the the days when I dreamt that Aidan and Ty would be able to play with them.  That was while they were in my tummy.  I am happy that Cole will be able to play with the ones Aidan and Ty can't quite play with.  Even better yet, Cole with be able to play with them WHILE playing with Aidan and Ty.

For so long now I have cruised past the toy aisle.  We have tons of toys here at home for Aidan and Ty to use, and a lot we use during therapy time.  But the fact of the matter is, they don't really play with toys.  A lot that we use when we play with them are non-conventional "toys".  We use paintbrushes, or soft blankies, or sponges... we have them hold these things.  We graze these different items along their cheeks, down their arms, on their toes.  Anything to perk up their senses!

It's a new experience for me to be "back in the toy aisle" again. 

Cole is now starting to coo.  He likes to "stand up".  He loves play time on the floor.  He flashes us his gorgeous grin when we talk to him.  So many new things everyday.  Not used to this "speedy" development and fast growth!?  In a way I was spoiled with Aidan and Ty because they were itty bitties for so long.  But I am also blessed with Cole because I get to see him do all these new, amazing things everyday!

Cole 6 Weeks Old & looking mighty handsome!

Not only have I unpacked some dusty toys, I have also unpacked some dusty books.  I'm re-reading through What To Expect books and Your Baby This Week/Month articles.  Will I know what milestones to look for?  Will I miss something important?  Am I doing everything right?  Will I know how to engage and play with Cole?  Am I playing with him enough or too much?  I know exactly how to play with Aidan and Ty, and what is too much or too little with them.  With Aidan and Ty we have been so laid back - we learned that we have to let them develop on their own time.  So suffice to say my Baby Development books are being put to good use!  (Not that I am stressing about milestones, it's just that it's all unfamiliar territory for me!)

I apologize if I am going on and on... I feel like I have so much to say (a month's worth of stuff!).  In addition to my rambling blogging I also bought a journal to write down my memories of the boys.  I write to all three of them.  I figure someday I can give it to Cole, and he can read about his brothers... read about what the three of them were like growing up.  As I was at Barnes and Noble, searching for that perfect journal, I came across one that had Jeremiah 29:11 on the cover.  "For I know the plans I have for you.."  Perfect!  It was the last journal I looked at, and it was the one I bought.  That is a verse that I think of often when I think of Aidan and Ty's special journey on this Earth.  And it was a verse that I looked to after we were surprised with our pregnancy with Cole.  All three of our boys are so precious to us, and there are no accidents with God.  In our case, there are only blessings.  Specifically, three little blessings.