The Rugged Outdoors

Okay, so not so rugged for us since we have a 5th wheel but still the outdoors! The Buckley Family of 7 went camping for the first time this past weekend. Although it was exhausting it was a lot of fun and we were relieved to see that we can do it! The babies slept great from all the fresh air so that was wonderful! And the dogs did really good riding in the camper and behaved well, they just weren’t out of the camper as much as I would have liked due to needing to take care of the babies. We definitely learned a few tricks for next time that should make things go smoother! Plus, as the babies transition to fully eating solids and being able to feed themselves it will help a lot!

This week we leave on Thursday for NY for our first visit there. This time we are not taking the camper which will be easier but will be tricky at the rest stops with the dogs and the babies – another learning experience I presume. It will be another tiring weekend but it will be great for everyone to finally be able to meet the babies!

It is amazing to me to think that a year ago at this time I was having my baby showers and in just a few weeks was the first time I was hospitalized for my incompetent cervix. I have had varying emotions like crazy lately!

Last week was a busy week. I ended up going to the Tim McGraw concert with my cousin Renee on Thursday night (which was awesome!) and on Friday I ended up having to take Mady for another helmet appointment. I dreaded making the call to schedule it and for good reason. As usual, the person we usually see wasn’t going to be in on Friday morning so we weren’t going to be able to get her in until today (which would have meant me taking off work again). So I asked if we could see Steve (we’ve seen him once before) and after paging him he said he could fit us in on Friday morning at 9:00. Yeah! Steve is great!! He adjusted it and it appears to be working well again. I honestly have to see that these helmets have been the biggest thorns in my side of all the things we’ve had to deal with. Between them not fitting well for long and not being able to get scheduled very easily, I can’t wait for them to be done with these!! Plus, when they’re not fitting well I worry that the darn things are actually working against them and not shaping their heads correctly. Agh! We go again on the 6th with both babies and I think they’re going to re-measure and possibly re-scan. Johnathan’s head is looking great so hopefully not too much longer for him! And Mady’s is slowly but surely getting better too. I do see that it’s worth it, it’s just a major pain.

Friday afternoon I took Johnathan to audiology for new hearing aid impression and we ran in to a mom of 2 year old triplets (g/g/b just like us!) and come to find out we’re in the same higher order multiples group and had spoken with each other over the web and had even met a long time ago so that was fun catching up! The other women in the waiting room were drooling over being in the midst of two sets of triplets on one day (even though my girls weren’t even there) and one of them was very taken with Johnathan and said that he should be the Gerber baby – of course that made me grin from ear to ear! : )

Friday evening we had our niece Sarah's b-day party and when we got home from that we finished packing for our camping trip.

So new things the babies are doing... Annabel continues to amaze us with how well she is coming around. I really believe in my heart that she is going to be fine, that she is just a little slower than her brother and sister but will eventually get there. She may have a few hiccups and need a little extra help with things but I honestly think she’s going to live a very good life. She has been giving out HUGE smiles lately and talking so much, it’s so wonderful to see! Her latest is blowing raspberries and now when she’s upset she sticks her tongue out and blows too – so cute! In case anyone has wondered, Annabel's belly button has healed up nicely so we should be avoiding any surgeries for that. Annabel and Mady are doing great with solids, eating everything they’re given and starting to reduce bottles. Johnathan is slowly but surely coming around, taking a few spoonfuls at each mealtime - generally just of the fruit and veggie, I think it’s the consistency of the cereal he’s not liking. We are not pushing him, just letting him decide if he wants to eat but making him sit there so he learns what he’s supposed to do in his highchair. I think the girls will get to graduate to meats, yogurt, and possible even crackers soon! Johnathan has been rolling all over the place lately but he still needs to work on lifting his head more on his tummy so he can push up on his elbows to get in to the crawling position. He does do well at standing and jumping and is getting stronger and stronger sitting up – maybe he will skip crawling? Johnathan loves his sisters, he is constantly rolling to them and touching them, talking and giggling with them. It is adorable to see but sometimes he does it and they don’t want it and get so mad at him but he doesn’t care, he just keeps doing it and giggling at them. I think he’s going to be our prankster! Mady looks like she could crawl any day. She is really developing in to her own little personality – a spitfire!! : ) They’ve all been making more and more sounds but I still haven’t gotten any of them to say ma-ma yet. Their current weights are: Annabel – 14lbs 11ozs, Madelyn – 12lbs 5 1/2ozs, and Johnathan – 14lbs 3 1/2ozs.

This week we have Early On PT coming on Wednesday and then on Thursday my Mom and I are taking the babies to Kensington for Early On’s event at the farm and then we leave Thursday night for NY. Next week is Annabel’s MRI on Tuesday – please pray that everything goes well with the test and that the results are positive (we see the neurosurgeon the following Thursday to discuss) and then on Friday is Early On PT and speech and then in the afternoon Johnathan and Mady’s helmet appointment. This is a very long post so I will stop writing. Hope everyone has a good week!