Routine

Wow, the babies are growing so fast. Over the last couple weeks the babies have started eating more (~ 7oz per feeding) and we were able to drop another feeding (down to five feedings). Horray!

Check out the boys in their 'big boy' camo pants (to the right).

As they approach their 4th month birthday and I return to work, we are working on getting them on a 'by the clock' schedule, rather than starting each day at a different time. They now have a regular bedtime at almost 6:30pm and morning wake up time around 7:30am. It is nice to finally have a consistent routine. I think it is also good for the babies to know what to expect.

We also started our night time ritual: bath/pjs, botttle, book, bed. Of course they only have 'real' baths a couple times a week. I'm looking forward to the day that we can put everyone in the tub together. It will either be really fun or really crazy or more likely both.

Their favorite book is Pajama Time. It is so much fun, they are really engaged and love to look at the colorful drawings. Evan was helping me 'turn' the pages yesterday! He is still singing along with the ooh yeahs, saying ooh oooh :)

Here is the routine we try to follow these days (more or less):

Morning
7:15 AM Quiet Awake
7:30 AM Feeding and diaper change, open shades and play music
8:00 AM Awake Time (read books, play music, sing songs, etc)
9:00 AM Morning nap time (~1hr 45 min)

Afternoon
10:45 AM Feeding and diaper change, play music
11:15 AM Awake Time
12:15 PM Afternoon nap time (~1 hr 45 min)

Late Afternoon
2:00 PM Feeding and diaper change, play music
2:30 PM Awake Time
3:30 PM Late afternoon nap Time (~1hr)
4:30 PM Awake Time (good time for walk/jog w/ babies)

Early Evening
5:00 PM Bath/PJs
5:20 PM Feeding and diaper change, play relaxing music, lights low
6:30 PM Bedtime

Middle of Night
3:00 AM Feeding, diaper change

Nights are getting easier and easier. Babies all sleep soundly from 6:30ish until at least 1:30am. I'm often up to give Evan or Lily a paci at this time but they go back to sleep until the middle of the night feeding. But occasionally, I won't hear a peep from anyone until after 3am. Will is still a champion sleeper, seems like I'm always having to wake him up at night to eat. We consider ourselves very lucky that everyone is sleeping so well. And I'm starting to get used to going to bed earlier myself.

We still have a night nanny once a week to ensure that we have a least one solid night of sleep. This week we had Marah two nights because Daddy was in Las Vegas for CES. Grandma is also getting more comfortable with taking the night shift and has been able to help out a few nights.

Back to Work

This is my second week back at work. It is tough to leave in the morning. Mornings are the best time, everyone is rested and happy, talking and smiling. It's good to know that they are in great hands with their nanny Mayela. Also, both grandmas have been helping nanny out so everyone is still getting lots of good cuddling time and attention.

Work has been fun so far, I'm managing online marketing campaigns and only working MTW. So far it seems like it will be a good balance of work and still lots of family time.

Emerging Personalities

It is extraordinary to see Will, Evan and Lily's personalities emerge. They are each already so unique.

Will has a laid back smile, it slowly unwraps like you are sharing a special secret with him. He has just started to chuckle which is a lot of fun. Will's favorite sound is growling. We discovered a couple of weeks ago that if we growled, he will growl back. He got big smiles and laughs and now he growls all the time. When I walk in his room in the morning and get him out of bed, first thing he greats me with a growl and a big smile.

Evan is very vocal and has been making lots of coo and ah gee sounds for the past month. He seems to carry on full conversations and seems very happy to be communicating. When we read pajammy time at bedtime there is a part of the song that goes - oh yeah. Evan will respond oooh, oooh. It is so darn cute. In the morning he howls happy ooohs - my cute little hound dog. Evan is such a happy baby but screams when we put him in the tub. I've been trying to figure out a way to make him more comfortable with bathtime.

Lily has a spectacular grin with a cute curved upper lip. It makes you feel like a million bucks. She also loves to coo and her eyes sparkle when she talks to you. She is a sweetie but when she wants her milk she will really let you know. She is going to be a little firecracker. She seems so tiny next to the boys. It will be interesting to see how she is growing at her 4 mo. appointment next Friday.

Babies First Christmas

Merry Christmas with three times the blessings! What a great Christmas present, three happy healthy babies. We are looking forward to many fun holidays to come and starting our own family traditions.

I was so excited to hang our Christmas stockings this year, we filled up the mantel. Here are Will, Evan and Lily with their new frog dolls that Rick and Susan gave them. They are almost as big as the babies :)

Freas Family Photo

We got together today to take some pics for the Family Calendar that Clare's brother Ben puts together every year. We added four to the family photo this year - our trio and Christy's boyfriend Chris. Mom was the photographer but we managed to get a good one with her as well.

Daddy's Girl

David has turned out to be a terrific father. He has had to help out more than most dads and is a natural at parenting. It is a great feeling to see him interact with the babies. They already have a strong bond.

Dr. Cowan and Team

Here are some photos of Dr. Cowan and his team. They took excellent care of us during the pregancy and delivery and were beyond supportive throughout the entire journey. I couldn't have gone so long with my pregnancy without them. Thanks guys!

Ho Ho Ho!

Photos for our christmas card. Precioso! Evan, Lily and Will in their Baby's first Christmas hats. I like these photos because it really shows their personalities.

Schedule

Here's a peak into our daily routine.

During the Day:
The babies eat every 3 hours during the day just like in the NICU. We try to finish the bottles in 30 mins, but it usually takes 40 mins or more.

In the morning we open the shades, turn on the lights and play music to help let them know it is daytime.

Then we have 'awake time' for ~30 mins. Holding, rocking, singing, activity mat, going for a walk, reading books. It's exciting to see them starting to look at the pages.

Then everyone is back to bed for the last 2 hours. The exeption is walk time where they crash out pretty quickly in their strollers and I walk for much of the nap time.

We have met tons of our neighbors by walking everyday. It has been nice that the weather has been so pleasant.


At night:
We let them sleep until the first one wakes up. If one wakes up a bit before 4 hours I may rock them and try to hold them off for 15-30 mins. Then feed all and back to bed.They are eating about 3-5oz per feeding these days.

Babies are great with the schedule. Staying asleep during nap time is another matter. Most of the time they are great sleepers but other times they take turns crying usually for their paci or they just need another burp or new diaper.

Happy Halloween

Will, Evan and Lily in the pumpkin patch in Terry Town. This was one of our first outings a couple weeks ago. It took Grandma Gloria, Nanny Mayela and Mom to get them packed up and to the patch.

We are looking forward to watching the trick or treaters tonight w/ our little pumpkins.

Outing w/ Triplet Mom

Out at the mall at 6 weeks...it was a fun adventure. Tricia joined me with her 7 week old triplets Hunter, Grace and Caprice. It was my first trip out with out back up support - dad, grandmas, or nanny. Each time we get out of the house it gets a little easier and I gain confidence that I can do it on my own. The babies love their carseats and stroller which is wonderful.

We did experience celebrity-dom in full force - even though it was a realitively quite Tues morning. Everyone wants to talk to you when you have triplets. We caused quite a scene - even if we were not together. Most didn't actually notice that we both had triplets. People are well meaning and gracious in general but we kept find ourselves mobbed by onlookers. It was quite overwhelming. It was nice to have a friend that understood how it felt. We also would help each other out by trading off answering the same old questions. We were barely able to carry on our own conversation. Tricia and I joked about getting t-shirts to help stem the barrage of questions 1) Yes, Triplets 2) 2 boys and a girl 3) Yes, fertility drugs -or- Don't ask me about your sex life and I won't ask you about yours :)

First Photo Shoot

Our first professional photos at home with www.christyivie.com. Will, Evan and Lily are 3 weeks old. The photos are so beautiful. I'm glad we were able to capture this sweet moment in time. We used the below photo for their baby announcements.

Together at Last

Lily, Evan and Will all home cuddling together.

Homecoming

Evan and Lily are doing great. They stayed an extra week in the NICU until they were completing all their meals consistently without the gavage. They had to eat all their meals for at least a day, then 24-48 hours of no tube necessary before getting to go home.

5 lb Longhorn

Will was home for the UT vs. Sam Houston State game. UT won easily. Will was decked out in his UT onsie that Jason gave us. He is 5 lbs now! (with clothes on)

Will comes home!

Even though Will was the smallest, he is the most robust eater and was able to come home first - good practice for mom and dad.

Our Precious Lily

 

NICU visit

We are elated to finally have our family and that everyone is in good health. It is exciting to be a mommy!

I just got back from a trip to NICU feeding and cuddling. They are adorable! I can't wait to get them home. But trying to take advantage of this time to get some rest and relax.

My mom is here as well, she went to the next feeding as I was coming home. It helps to know I have family there spending a little extra time with them. Although the nurses have also been great.

Looks like William may be able to come home soon, but Evan and Lily need to get a little stronger and better at eating. At first I think we were pushing them too much on the bottles, we have relaxed a bit and are letting them gavage feed more. They may as well rest since they already have the tubes in. It seems to have helped them as this last feeding Lily looked pretty strong.

First night home

I'm out of the hospital now. It feels good to be home but I miss my sweet babies. I feel like I'm supposed to be overwhelmingly sad that my babies are left back at the NICU and not home with us but I'm not. I'm thankful that we made it to our planned c-section date and that they were all born so strong and not needing any medical assistance beyond feedings. I'm thankful that I have a bit of time to recover before they are all home and we are completely responsible for their well being. I'm thankful that we have family to pitch in and visit the babies so that they get lots of cuddling time.

Grandma Gigi is already at the first feeding of the day. Dad and I are at home. I'm pumping and David is reading me baby tips from his father's book.

We will go to breakfast, then on to Seton NICU for changing, 11:00, 11:30 and noon feedings, then spend some quality snuggling time with our brood. They need to be eating regularly and gaining weight before they are released.

First Pics

Lily Evan

William

Welcome Trio

It’s a girl… and a boy… and a boy! I am delighted to announce the birth of our three children.

Lillian Clare Freas
Born 9.19.06 at 2:29pm
Wt: 4lbs 11oz
Length: 17 ¼”

Evan Benjamin Freas
Born 9.19.06 at 2:31pm
Wt: 4lbs 9oz
Length: 17 ¾”

William Huxley Freas
Born 9.19.06 at 2:31pm
Wt: 4lbs 7oz
Length: 16 ¾”

All three are in good health. Their mother is recovering extremely well and we hope to have to entire family home sometime this weekend.

Three cheers!

36 week doctor check up

Today we saw Dr. Berry. Erin measured the babies again. They are all still head down and ready to go. Here are their estimates:

Sweet Pea 4 lbs 4 oz (poor sweet pea was smushed under these boys)
Stretch 4 lbs 7 oz (longest legs)
Bruiser 4 lbs 10 oz (chunkiest)

Doctor said it's time for these babies to arrive!

C-Section Date

The doctors gave us a C-section date!

If we don't deliver this weekend, we have surgery scheduled for Tuesday September 19th, 1:30 pm, Seton Hospital. (which will be 36 weeks and 2 days)

Cat Nap

Max has found a new place to nap and Jo enjoys one on one time with David.

Max and Jo are peacefully unaware that things in the Freas bungalow are about to change.

35 Weeks

We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our trio. We are 35 weeks and 2 days, 33 weeks is average for triplets. So we are expecting them any day now.

Nursery

The walls are painted, the curtains are up. Three little white cribs lined up in a row. The nursery is ready for our babies arrival.

Everyone pitched in to help get the nursery ready. My dad and David painted the room, even the ceiling was painted robin's egg blue. My mom, Bill and Clare helped assemble the cribs. Greg and David hung the shelving. Mom made the curtains, pillows and bedskirts. A lot of love went into this little room.

Good Baby Update 30+ Weeks

Good baby update today.

All babies are looking great. Good news is that they are all close in size, which means that we don't have to worry about anyone's growth rate. I was hoping they would be over 3 lbs by now, but they are close and the nurse said that they were in the top 5% weight for the triplets they see.

Sweet Pea 2 lb 14 oz
Bruiser 2 lb 12 oz
Stretch 2 lb 14 oz

Almost 9 lbs of baby!

My blood pressure was low (108/70) and no signs of preterm labor. Doctor thought we were doing great and that we would likely go another month before delivery. I go to the doctor once or twice a week now. If I start to show any PTL signs they will go ahead and give me steriod shots to help the babies lungs mature. He prefers to give the steroids it as close to delivery date as possible. He also mentioned that it is typical to be hospitalized by weeks 30 or 32 w/ triplets.

So, we will have our bags packed and be ready.

Both Drs are very happy that we have made it past the 28 week milestone. Each additional week past 30 is another big achievement to reduce NICU time. Think September!

Baby Names

Baby names we like...

Boy Names
William (David's dad's name, Jennifer's mother Gloria brother's name is William).
Evan (David's middle name, David's paternal grandmother's maiden name)
Holden (name Jennifer likes)
Jack (name Jennifer likes, Jose a form of Jonathon (Jack) is Jennifer's paternal grandfather's name)

Girl Names
Berkely (name David likes, city J&D lived in when they got married, where Jennifer went to grad school)
Marin (marin county, favorite place)
Maya (budda's mother's name)
Abby (name we have always liked, means 'joy of the father')
Lillian 'Lily' (Jennifer likes the name, Jennifer's maternal grandmother has a sister named Lilly)

Boy Middle Names
Benjamin (David's maternal grandfather)
Emmett (Jennifer's maternal grandfather)
Joseph (Jennifer's paternal grandfather 'Jo' Julius)
Brady (where Emmett grew up and location of his farms and farmhouse)
Dillon (where we often spend Christmas, David's parent's condo in Colorado)

Girl Middle Names
Clare (David's mother and grandmother's name)
Morgan (David's maternal grandmother's maiden name, David's sister Christy's middle name)

24 Weeks

All babies look good - they are getting crowded but have good amniotic fluid :)

Little Pea is still in the middle, head down with legs kicked up towards Stretch (Dad says she will be a good yogi). Stretch is on my left, with his legs tucked behind Bruiser. Bruiser, on my right, is still head up, legs down.

Testing:
- Cervix looks great, no signs of impending labor
- Glucose test for gestational diabetes - negative! yea!
- Fibronectin test for indication of preterm labor - test is negative, there is a %99.9 chance that I will not deliver in the next two weeks. If positive they would just want to monitor more closely and tell me to take it even easier. should get results by tomorrow (they will retest @ 28 weeks).

Travel/Work:
- No travel for daddy recommended post 26-28 weeks (2-4 weeks from now July 9th/July 23rd).
- No work in the office for momma post 27 weeks (mid July) but should be cutting back on hours in the office now. They thought working at home for last two weeks of July would be fine.

Good Baby Update

Good baby update today. They all weighed in at over the 1 lb milestone and are just about 12 inches long!

Baby A girl - 1 lb
Baby B boy - 1 lb 2 oz
Baby C boy - 1 lb 1 oz

They are all active and look super w/ great amniotic fluid. The sonographer thought they looked perfect and she was pleased w/ how well they were all doing.

18 Weeks: It's a Girl, a Boy and a Boy!

Jennifer and I had a very exciting 2-hr sonogram session yesterday. The most important news is that all three babies are healthy and they are able to rule out any major birth defects through their detailed analysis. They are all about 8 inches long and around 8 ounces, which is right at the ideal size for 18 weeks. In the words of our sonogram expect, “Three perfect babies.”

The second exciting news is that they have identified with 100% confidence the gender of the babies. Baby A: Girl, Baby B: Boy, Baby C: Boy.

Baby Moon

Our last horrah before babies, a fabulous trip to Kauai. We spent each night with our windows open, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.

Looking forward to sharing the beach and ocean with our babies someday.

View of the ocean and pool from our hotel room.

Babies first helicopter ride, the Napali Coast. Dad wants to visit as a family again and kayak to this secluded beach. We both were weighed for the helicoper ride. Turns out David and I both have gained 25 lbs already in this pregnancy! Isn't that sweet of him to gain some sympathy weight? Must be all that icecream.

Amazing sunsets.

Plenty of rest and relaxation for mommy.

Little Bump

Proud of my little belly. We've made it past the first trimester!

I've fully expected my pregnancy to be challeging, triplets means skyrocketing hormone levels which often leads to triple morning sickness. But I have been very fortunate, only enough morning sickness to make me avoid chicken and flock to starchy comfort foods. I did feel extremely lethargic and slept most of the first trimester, but by the second trimester I had my energy back.

Pregnancy cravings...these babies decidedly love Indian food, fruit and mint chocolate ice cream.

And I've decided to whole heartedly give them what they want. I've been given direction to gain 60 lbs, doctors orders!

Dr. Cowan says no more TCBY low fat yogurt, these babies need whole milk Amy's icecream. David and I make ice cream runs almost every night.