Bjorn... Baby Bjorn

We (Rose's mom, Rose and I) went on a hike today with all three babies. We put the boys in Baby Bjorns and Mercedes got to ride in the baby sling. We all went to Graeter's for ice cream. We didn't let the triplets have any. Unfortunately, neosure was not a flavor on the menu... maybe next time.

I started taking the babies for walks last night when both Reese and Mercedes started getting fussy. I used the baby sling last night because I thought it would keep mosquitoes away from the babies. Both babies fell instantly asleep. The problem was that I could only take them one at a time.

Rose's friend Kristina came over today and did yard work with her daughters... it was much appreciated. I have become more and more derelict in my duties.

I really appreciate weekends now more than ever. I definitely needed a recharge after my first week back to work. It is nice to take a nap or two during the day... Strangely, though, my work frowns upon napping so I have to catch up on the weekend.

Growth spurt

We fed Mercedes some magical beans. Apparently they really were magical... who could have guessed?

Dance party

Orlando: We shouldn't have made fun of mom's dancing...

Reese: Yeah... Yeah...

Orlando: She made us wear these propaganda clothes...

Reese: Yeah... Yeah...

Orlando: Maybe if we dance like her, she will let us wear real clothes.

Reese: Right arms up... Left arm up... Repeat... Repeat... Man, this is lame!!!

Orlando: How long do we have to keep this up?

Reese: Until dad gets home, I guess...

Orlando: DADDY!!!

Grumpa!!!

Grumpa Larry and Great Grandma Hoelzle stopped by today. The boys got snuggle with Grumpa, and Mercedes got to spend some quality time with her great grandma... Don't they look so relaxed?

Rose's friend Becky came over today after school and helped Grandma Judy take care of the triplets, so Rose and I got to escape for a short bit of time, which was very nice.

I am looking forward to this weekend. I need the sleep. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be catching up on sleep... maybe I can sleep in a couple years.

Do you see what I see?

Orlando: Is mom dancing???

Reese: Yeah... Yeah...

Orlando: She should stop.

Reese: Yeah... Yeah...

Orlando: What should we do?

Reese: I don't know, but I hope she stops soon...

Orlando: Do you think dancing skills are inherited?

Reese: Ahh, man... you just made me poop myself.

TOGA!!! TOGA!!!

The boys threw a toga party today while I was at work... play that funky music!

What the...

While the boys got to try on togas today, Mercedes got to wear a codpiece...

Are you lookin' at me?

What did you say, punk? I may be wearing a toga... I may be less than two months old... but I'll take you out!!! These fists should be registered as deadly weapons.

Bottle propping and nipple nipping

Rose has been experimenting with ways of feeding the babies faster. After several feedings which took more than an hour to complete, we decided that something needed to be done. After consultations with "Triplet Kelly," we have speed up the feedings drastically. First, we are using receiving blankets to prop the bottles so that all three babies can be fed at once by one person. Second, we are experimenting with different bottle nipples. Rose bought some fast-flow nipples, and I performed delicate surgery on our slow flow nipples, i.e. I used a pair of scissors to widen the openings. This has cut feeding times nearly in half and we are getting better all the time. THANK YOU KELLY!

Help, Dad! Help us!

I got a call today from Orlando. As he is the oldest, I gave him a cell phone to use in emergencies. Apparently, his mom forced he and his brother to wear dresses. To exacerbate their embarrassing gender-bender clothing, she also put a pair of pants on Mercedes. Needless to say, the boys were angry. Mercedes didn't seem to mind the hot pink, stripy pants, but as you can see from the picture the boys were not pleased...

Poor Orlando... I told him to imagine that they were wizard's robes. He didn't buy it.

Hands up boys!!!

We surrender! We swear, we didn't do it... It was Mercedes.

You better...

I returned to work today for the first time in two weeks. This was the first two-week vacation that I have had since I started my current job in 2004. Despite this irregularly long hiatus, I returned to work today more tired than I have ever felt even after an entire week of working. This is despite the fact that Rose let me skip all of the night feedings so that I could try to catch up on some sleep before having to return to the real world.

In addition to allowing me to skip the night feedings, Rose's mom also skipped them. Rose wanted to see if she could handle them by herself. She did manage to feed, diaper and burp all three babies on her own. However, when I said "goodbye, I love you," this morning, her response was a curt "you better..." Like any sane husband, I quickly retreated without seeking further explanation. In a marriage, I feel that you generally due better in a fight or flight situation by choosing the latter.

Apparently, the children were taking so long to feed that Rose was only able to get about an hour of sleep between feedings... that might make Gandhi irritable. Our solution was to switch nipples (much less sexy than it sounds) from the natural flow nipples that came with the bottles to the easy flow nipples used by the NICU. The feeding time has been cut by more than half. The spit up has more than doubled, but I think that it is a good trade off.

The Grandmas have had a changing of the guard. Judy returned on Saturday. My mom went back to take care of baby Tommy (my dad) on Sunday. This meant that Rose and I had two grandma helpers on Saturday. We used the opportunity to go to the movies... It was a lot of fun until the little thirteen-year-olds behind us decided to give a running commentary of the movie. I not so politely asked them to be quiet, and they not so politely told me to do something to myself that I don't think is humanly possible... I can't wait for us to have three teenagers in the house!!!

It is amazing to see how much the triplets have grown. You can tell with our litte banshee, Mercedes, the most. She has a little double chin now that she has started to chunk up. It is wonderful to see them all getting a little chubby.

I can't believe that we still haven't made it to Rose's due date. I think she would have exploded before she made it to full term.

In any case, I love my wife... I better.

Plotting a Scheme

Orlando: Okay, this is the plan. As soon as the parents go to bed, Mercedes, you give a good banshee scream, and Reese, you poop your pants.

Reese: Are you sure we won't get in trouble?

Mercedes: Ugh... boys. When are we going to get some girls in this nursery???

Baby Models

Please, let us turn so you can get the picture of our good side...

The Boys

Look out, ladies... the Lounsbury boys are on the loose (although the dad is spoken for...)

We're Mobile!

Today the triplets hit the town in their fancy schmancy triple stroller. Orlando was not happy about it at first, perhaps because he was stuck in the middle seat without a view. Mercedes slept through the whole thing and Reese enjoyed checking out the scenery from the coveted front seat. Once we got moving all the babies seemed lulled by the stroll and fell asleep, much to the enjoyment of their parents, who may use the stroller to calm fussy babies in the future.

The babies have also enjoyed their visitors. Julie and Emily stopped by to hold them yesterday and today Jon and Sarah came over. Anyone else seeking "baby training" is welcome to stop by for free lessons. Orlando, Reese, and Mercedes are great teachers, especially at 3 a.m.

Varmint Hunter

In addition to his duties as baby changer and calmer of Mercedes' banshee screams, the triplet daddy has been hunting varmints in the backyard. The pesky rodents have been eating his tomato plant and he has spent the past week baiting them with a peanut butter-loaded live trap. His persistence paid off, as he caught himself a live squirrel yesterday. Being the good hunter that he is, he mercifully released the critter to freedom in a city park on the other side of town. Is his PETA membership in the mail??? We shall see... ;)

Three Cribs

Baby Land continues to be a happening place. Reese has now secured his own crib. No more sharing with Orlando. Reese voiced his approval of his new quarters by thoroughly soiling his diaper. Orlando seconded the sentiment by doing the same.

Grandma Gin continues to be indispensable as baby changer, laundry washer, frozen casserole heater, and early morning feeder of babies. Grandpa Tom is supposedly reverting to a rather primitive state up in Michigan without her. Anyone with working knowledge of a vacuum cleaner or understanding of an oven is encouraged to stop by and check on him.

The babies also enjoyed their first bit of "tummy time" yesterday. Tummy time is supposed to help them develop their neck and back muscles. All the babies managed to lift and turn their heads at least once during the time. As the nurses in the NICU said, these babies are indeed geniuses. :)

One Month Old!

The triplets are one month old today! It is hard to believe that only one month ago I was going into labor (obviously this is Rose updating the blog today, not Josh). So much has changed and it has been so wonderful.

We've decided to take a picture on the 15th of each month to document the triplets' growth, so here is the first one. Poor Mercedes is squished between those brothers again... I think she better get used to it!

In other news, Josh and I finally had to tell the garage band next door to pipe down yesterday. They started rockin' as soon as I was about to settle down for a nap. To their credit, they were very gracious and immediately ceased playing. The weird thing is, telling the kids next door to cut out that dang racket makes me feel older than having three babies... I guess I have truly entered adulthood.

Banshee SCREAM!!!

Actually, you need to turn up the volume about 5 fold to get the true effect, but I didn't want to wait until Mercedes reached maximum boiling point.

Don't worry, she had a bottle in her mouth just seconds after filming, and her anger was appeased... for now.

Highlights

Here are some highlights since my last entry.

My parents came to visit. My mom has taken Judy's (Rose's mom) place as our in-house helper. It is much appreciated.

Mercedes has developed a banshee scream. The military has contacted us. They would like to develop the scream as a new weapon. After a couple minutes of the banshee scream, any sane person will surrender.

Grandpa Tom (my dad) bought all three triplets their first hunting clothes. Mercedes is camouflage. The boys received red flannel underwear, including the all important button-up butt flap for easy pooping. Only babies could make this look cute.