Doctor's Visit....

Good Morning!
Well...after several cancellations due to the snow, we were finally able to get the boys back into the doctor on Saturday.  Because of the snow and the fact we were dealing with triplets, Dewitt Army Hospital was willing to let us bring them in for routine care instead of the normal acute type care they only do on Saturdays.  We thought that was pretty nice of them.

As a whole, the boys are all doing well.  Of course that phrase "As a whole" sort of explains one of the issues you can run into with triplets...that is viewing them as a system of 3 babies instead of treating them each as individuals.  I bring it up because the visit with the doctor (nurse practitioner actually) took a bit longer than I think it needed to because we kept switching our discussions around and she kept getting the boys confused.  I think it starts when she (and every other person we talk to) asks, "How are THEY doing?"  That is a perfectly normal question, but the reality of things is that one being healthy doesn't make the other healthy...and the same thing with being sick.  It is just too easy to get into the mindset that if one feels a certain way...or reacts a specific way to formula, breast milk, etc...that they should ALL be doing the same thing.  I think we are more aware of that as a false mindset now...but it is still a tough habit to get out of.

Anyways...Caleb weighed 6lb 8oz.  He was also 20" long.  His reflux is still there...and sometimes I think his is getting worse over time.  He wasn't initially prescribed the medicine for his reflux, but we started giving it to him a day or so after Gideon & Ezra because he was starting to show the same symptoms.  So the doc prescribed him some of his own now!!  He still has a heart murmur so we'll be making appointments for him and the other two to get checked out by the pediatric cardiologist.  That means another family trip back to Bethesda!!

Gideon weighed in at 6lb 14oz and is 20 1/4'' long.  He is the biggest all around...although Caleb seems to eat the best.  His reflux is still an issue.  He is the most likely to really spit his stuff up pretty good.  Just a note...if you are ever feeding Gideon...don't wear anything you want to keep clean!!  :-)  The nurse noticed he had a heart murmur too.  That was a change from our previous visit when the docs could only hear the murmurs in Caleb and Ezra.

As for Ezra, he weighed 6lb 12oz.  He was also 20" long.  Like his older brothers, the reflux continues to bother him and he will be getting an evaluation for his heart murmur too.

The nurse and the doctors we'd talked to previously about the heart murmurs said it isn't uncommon for heart murmurs at such a young age and they should grow out of them.  They are also all pretty feint so none of them are super concerned.  The appointments with the cardiologist are just to rule out any more serious issues.

In other baby news...we've started introducing their "lovies" to them.  These are those little blankets with stuffed animal heads that rattle on them.  Our friends Mark and Dawn kids loved them when they were little so we've been excited about introducing them.  We wanted to wait until now though to keep the variety of stimuli they are exposed to down to a minimum.  But seeing as how they are one week from when they were due...we decided to show them their lovies gradually.  Right now...they are minimally interested.  Their greatest interest is when they are hungry...and like anything else that goes near their mouths...they try to suck on them!!  But a few times after feedings...I've seen Caleb and Gideon react to their lovies and follow them around.  It will certainly be fun to watch them grow in their reactions and even see them learn to hold them.

That's about it for now.  Thanks for the continued prayers.

God Bless,

Jeff