Changes

So first I should update on Ellie. All her test results except one came back ok. Her ovaries are enlarged but they are just going to keep a watch on them for awhile. We consulted with a gynecologist and surgeon at Akron Childrens Hospital and this was their advice. We will get repeat ultrasounds but do not need to start medication at this time. Of course this is after we had already purchased the extremely expensive medicine. We feel very relieved that things should be fine after all!



I know I alluded to the fact that we were going to make some changes in our lives and now that we have finalized most of our plans, I can share with all of you.



My husband has decided to go back to school (he is a firefighter/ paramedic right now) to become a doctor. He is starting classes next week at Kent State and then he will go to NEOUCOM. I am so proud of him because this will take so much hard work on his part but he wants to do this for our family and himself.

I am going back to work (Lots and lots of tears so far). I am getting super anxious about leaving the girls and Colin. I know it will be fine but I haven't been away from them longer than 5 hours yet and at the end of that 5 hours I am dying to get back to them. I have really gotten use to being a stay at home mom. Don't get me wrong it has been much harder than working ever has but it truly has been the most rewarding experience.

We are moving!! My new job and Joe's school are about an hour from here so we are leaving Ashland which has been home for the last 5 years.

I am nervous and excited. So many changes all at once is a bit overwhelming but I swear if we made it through the first 5 months with tripets and teens and no sleep we can do anything.

Right now I am 25 minutes from my family and have never been farther away from them. Although I don't see them as often as I would like anymore (except my mom I see her several times a week) it is nice to know they are close if I really need them or they need me.

Joe's family will be minutes away from us when we move. I am really happy about that because they are extremely family oriented and that is exactly what we and the girls need with all these changes.

I am still kidnapping my Mom and making her come at least once a week overnight (or two).

We are actively looking for a house to rent for the next four or five years until Joe is done with school. I have packed almost everything we don't absolutely have to have. We may even move in to my inlaws for a month until we can find something. I actually really feel bad for them since we will be practically invading their home with the 6 of us plus Jake our dog. Thank God it's summer and the fact they have a beautiful pool we can spend most of our time in!! Maybe they will get so use to us they'll never want us to leave. :) :) Just kidding, Dad Coseno. His bedroom is directly across the hall from where we are putting the girls so I am sure he will be shooing us out the door.

I have also been accepted to Kent State and hoping this Fall to start classes.

Brittni has finished up her freshman year at college. She will be turning 19 this summer. Gawd, what does that make me????? Old!!!!

Like I said this will definitely be a year of changes for us all. Isn't that what our life is about? With my whole heart I believe we have this one life here to live and I want to experience life and all it has to offer. I don't want to do the same old thing every day because it's safe. I also want my children to embrace change because who knows what or who is behind that door if you don't open it.

We took the girls and Colin to the zoo and had a great time. I was worried it may be a disaster but the day was perfect.

Colin is in the Bahama's with his Dad. Silly, but I miss him and he has only been gone since Friday night. He will be home the 14th, even with three babies and all their noise this house is quiet without him.

Today was fun, Joe is at the fire dept. so it was just me and the girls all day. They were so ornery all day. I still use the boppy's to feed them all at once. They are starting to hold their bottles but we still prop for most of the feeding. Gabriella and Carmina have learned how to flip over the back of the Boppy. Today Gabriella figured out she could flip backwards and land on her knees and hands. She did this about ten times and giggled after every flip. Took forever to feed her the bottle. She also sat on her own for the first time about 10 seconds. I think she will be sitting by the end of the week.

Ellie learned a new trick also, while I was constantly trying to get Gabriella back in place to drink her bottle I hear Ellie giggling. She had taken off her diaper and was holding it in her hand chewing on it. She thought it was very funny and as soon as I put it back on she reached down and undid the tab on one side. Not sure how much I like this new trick.

We went to a graduation party today for our neighbor so I loaded the girls up in the stroller and pushed them over. As soon as we got there Gabriella (no surprise) wanted to be held. I let someone she doesn't know at all hold her and I am surprised she did fine. She actually played and then fell asleep for someone else. She has become the one that wants to be held all the time and usually only mommy will do. What I was surprise about is Ellie got very upset that Gabriella was being held by someone and kept reaching for Gabriella and making the most sad pitiful whining. She only stopped when I held Gabriella. I am thinking I need to expose them to more people. She really has taken on the big sister roll.

Carmina (her official nickname is now Turtle) is constantly entertaining us. She has become a happy baby again. She was very grumpy for quite awhile. She is just full of herself in everything she does. She has this twinkle in her eye that is always there. She sticks her neck out (like a turtle) and just gives us this most ornery, amazingly cute smile and we melt. She and Gabriella can get up on their hands and knees and rock back and forth. She is doing better with wearing her shoes. She doesn't cry as much but by that I mean she cries 40 out of the 60 minutes. Such a hard thing to listen to all day and we feel so horrible.

I promise to update more often. Check back tomorrow for pictures. It is midnight and I have turned into a pumpkin. Off to bed.

Update on Ellie

Ellie in the bath today ( her right eye is often smaller than her left but everytime we go to the dr it isn't of course). Going to have to take the pictures in I think.

Rash Ellie has been getting lately she wakes up with it then it is gone within a couple hours. I can't figure it out either. She just wants to keep me on my toes I think.

We don't have a lot of news yet. We went for an ultrasound yesterday. When we left the indication was that there was a mass on her liver and or spine. They made us come back this morning to recheck it. They took measurements and I guess now think that her ovaries are enlarged and or a mass on her ovaries. They were confused because of the size of her ovaries. I really do not know what that means or what we do next. We are suppose to receive a call from the Dr. this afternoon when he receives the report.

She was a riot during the test though and everyone fell in love with her. She insisted on holding the radiologists hand thru the entire procedure. She has a favorite book that sings and he sang along with it to her. They were so nice to us and it definitely made us feel more comfortable.

Right now she is sleeping on my chest because she has been a bit clingy lately. I think she knows now when mommy or daddy isn't the one that has her. Great feeling to be loved so much but hard to manage when there are three babies doing the same thing. Like right now they all are crying, I think I might have to go wake up daddy from his nap! For some reason he can't hear them even though the monitor is right beside his head.

We will update more soon as we know anything.

Keep her in your prayers please.

Ellie

Today was the girls 6 month old check up with their pediatrician. I want to start with the bad news first and then give the good news.
Before examining Ellie he asked me if she had been eating well and I told him about her refusing her bottle lately. She will eat solids with no problem but she just plays with her bottle and has been spitting up a lot more. This is so unlike Ellie because she loves to eat. She also hasn't gained any weight either. She still weighs 15 lbs. I think they said she even lost a few oz. He then did her exam and found a 2cm x 3cm mass on the right side of her stomach. He sent us for an x ray hoping to find hard stool that wasn't passing. Unfortunately that isn't the case and now we have to have an ultrasound and a ct scan. He seemed pretty concerned which of course is making us nervous. I don't know when they are doing the tests either tomorrow or Monday. I will update when I find out more info. I am sharing because I am asking for your prayers for Ellie. I am keeping a positive attitude and trying my best to not worry to much because it may be absolutely nothing.
We also have to take Gabriella to a pediatric plastic surgeon next week to have a very tiny black spot on her belly removed. It appeared about 6 to 8 weeks ago. Because it is so black they want to remove it and test it. I guess we need prayers all around.

The good news is that the girls are right on target for 6 month old. They are doing everything they should be and he was very impressed that they aren't showing signs of being premature. Yeah!! This apt. was a little harder because all the girls wanted to roll all over on the table and with only two of us to keep a hold of them made it very challenging. They also got their shots today and have already started to run fevers. Loads of fun I am sure for the weekend.

Gabriella weighed 12lb 12oz. and Carmina weighed 11lb 14 oz. Little Carmina has really started looking more like Gabriella, she is actually getting a few little rolls. They all have rolled now and we can't keep Gabriella in one place. Last night she kept me up for a few hours because she kept rolling on her belly but was too tire to roll back over and screamed every time.
Carmina discovered spit bubbles yesterday. Hysterical. She is obsessed now and is such a slobbery mess. She is constantly working on them. I am trying to figure out how to get some videos on my computer they are just so fun to watch.

On a completely different note, It was such a beautiful day and around 80 degrees I think so I wanted to wear shorts or capri's today. I pulled out my 1 pair of capri's I own from last year and my 2 pairs of shorts. None of them fit really not even close to buttoning. Why do I have that few pairs of shorts you ask because last year I had gained so much I didn't want to buy a bigger size so I only bought a few. Promising myself I would lose the weight. Not a chance, up 1 more size. Grrrrr...... Big wake up call for me. Tomorrow morning I will begin to lose the 20lbs I have gained over the last 2 years. The thing I find funny is lately people that don't know I didn't carry the girls have said "You look good for having triplets". You should see their face when I say I didn't carry them. Pretty quick back pedaling!

Thanks again for praying for the girls and we will update when we know anything!

Pondering

Ellie in her Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
This is how I feed all the girls when I am doing it alone.

Carmina's new shoes to correct her feet.

Grandma & Grandpa Coseno with the girls

Aunt Jodie with the Easter Bunnies

Carmina on Easter

Our BIG dogs Bella & Jake. We had a scare the other day with Bella she stepped on the baby so she is now looking for a new home. She is an amazingly good dog but it is too hard for me to keep a constant eye on her and the girls and I can't chance her accidentally laying or standing on one of them. She is our baby so she is going to have to go to an inside home where she will be loved as much as she is now.

Grandpa and Carmina boxing, she loved playing with grandpa

Colin as the Easter Bunny

Unfortunately we couldn't all be together on Easter so here is our partial family picture

We have been quite busy the last couple weeks.

Brittni is wrapping up her first year at college. She is still dating Spenser and we really like him! Brittni is joining the Air Guard Reserves. BIG BIG heartache and lots of tears from me but I fully support her in what she wants to do, as her mother it kills me to think of my baby in the service far away from the safety of home. She is staying at college over summer break to work and I am sure to be nearer to Spenser. It truly is hard to see her grow up and have parts of her own life that is not at all a part of mine. I miss that little girl so much sometimes but I am so proud of this beautiful woman she has become.

Today is Colin's 14th Birthday. WooHoo!!! We went to the Japanese steak house and celebrated with our family. Lots of fun. Colin is finishing his last year of junior high. He is going to be a freshman next year. I still can't believe it and wonder where the time has gone. He shaved for the first time. I had to get pictures that he was not at all into posing for. He has found this new teenager attitude that I am not at all that fond of. Somehow overnight he knows everything and I know nothing. Argues every single thing, really everything. Grrrrrr.......... I am trying to find that fine line of letting him become a man but yet letting him know the boundaries he still must stay within to be a respectful part of this family.

The baby girls are doing excellent. We passed the 6 month mark. Gabriella and Ellie are rolling over now. Carmina is almost there. They insist on sitting up most of the day. This is quite the challenge since I only have one set of arms. Carmina loves her bumbo seat the other two not so much. We read everyday and just yesterday Ellie started touching the pages and cried when I stopped reading. YEAH!!!! I think I have a bookworm like her mommy! For the first time ever we left the girls to go out of town for Colins Birthday. My sister Keli, her husband Dan, and Great Grandma Elizabeth watched the girls for us. Keli has a little boy Aiden that is 5 and 1/2 weeks older than the girls. They took all 4 of them for a walk I bet that was a fun sight. It was nice to get away and relax but within 2 hours I was ready to get home to them.

We try to walk everyday now and the girls love it. Ellie falls asleep everytime but the other two hold out the entire time. Usually our walks are the only time I step out of the house the entire week. Somedays I wonder if a world out there really exists. :)

I am starting classes and I am so excited. Online of course. No way I could find anyone crazy enough to watch all the girls that regularly. I am still a little bit nervous about finding time to do the homework because as it is now I never have time to do anything but barely maintain the house, eat, sleep, play with the kiddos....... You get the idea. Somehow I will get it done and darn it I am determined to keep my GPA up above a 3.7. Wish me lots and lots of luck.

Joe has been working lots and has started working out like a mad man. He is down 11lbs. He runs twice a day, works out, goes to the fight club (don't even ask.... some type of cage fighting,kickboxing, muay thai thingy, I really don't have a clue about except that he is so so so happy about doing it). He has been very dedicated about his diet, such willpower, I have to admit I am kind of jealous when he walks out the door several times a day to concentrate on himself. I SO want to be able to do that. Then I feel bad because I am blessed to be able to stay home and not work while the girls are little. Still, the freedom feels like it's taunting me every single time.

For the big news........... Well the big news is that we can't really tell anyone the big news yet!!! How fun is that! I have a secret that I can't tell yet because we are still in the decision making process of which way we are going but I can say that we are making some huge life changing decisions right now.

I think everyone will be so surprised, maybe even shocked. Hopefully everyone once they get over the shock will be supportive of our dreams. Thats all I can say!! Hope I peaked everyones curiosity.

6 months!!

In one week and 2 days the babies turn 6 months old!!! It crept up on me and now I just can't believe they are going to be 6 months OLD.

The biggest news for us is the girls are officially sleeping ALL night long. It came at the perfect time, we were really worn down with the lack of sleep. Joe and I were getting pretty crabby with each other and we both felt as if we were barely making it thru the day. I asked another triplet mom for advice on how she got her triplet boys to sleep, (Thank you so so much Sarah Cousineau). Worked like a charm and within 3 days they slept all night and have ever since.

When I try to recall the last 6 months a lot of it is pretty hazy. I wish I would have had more time to blog so I would remember it all. I think back to the nights we were up literally the entire night for several nights in a row and I wonder how in the world did we do it. I am so glad I had no idea how tough it was going to be. I am also so proud that when I was on the brink of losing it Joe was there for me.
I remember at first Joe would sleep all night and I would stay up with the babies. I couldn't sleep anyways so I figured at least one of us should get sleep. One night at about 4am all the babies were crying and I was trying to hold them all because I didn't want them to not be comforted and I wasn't making a single one of them happy. Then I tried rotating them about every 3 minutes trying to get them settled down. I started sobbing feeling like the worst mother in the world not being able to make them all happy, it felt as if the world was ending in my sleep deprived state. That was the end of Joe sleeping all night. I woke him up and I am sure he thought I had lost my mind and probably didn't understand one word of my rambling thru the sobbing. That was probably my worst moment and I can honestly say I never ever want to have to go thru the newborn stage again solely because of the lack of sleep.

All the girls are now smiling and giggling. It makes my heart so happy every time I get to hear a giggle.
Ellie says woohoo to her daddy all the time. He said it to her a few times and next thing she was doing it back. SO cute. I am going to try to get it on video this week. She is still a daddy's girl. She lights up so much when she sees him.
She also loves her brother, and he melts when he is near her. It makes me tear up even right now thinking about how incredible he is with the girls. You guys he is amazing. He holds them, he plays with them, he makes them so giddy every time they see him. He never loses his patience with them and has been an enormous help to us. Some day far from now he is going to be such a fantastic daddy. His wife will be so blessed because he has become a pro. Colin had mono and is on the road to recovery. He felt miserable for a few weeks. He starts swim team soon. It is looking like our summer is going to be extremely busy. I thought maybe with having 3 babies we would slow down a bit this summer but NO the calender is filling up quickly!

Brittni has been home a lot and has gotten to spend so much time with the girls. I was worried with her going to college about the same time they were born that they wouldn't get a chance to be close. I was so wrong. We skype so she can see the girls and they get so excited when they see her or hear her voice. She makes a huge effort to keep in touch daily which I find so mature for a freshman in college. She is looking for a nanny job this summer. I wish I could hire her but I think with the fact that the girls are sleeping all night that Joe isn't going to go for that one! If anyone needs a nanny she is incredible and has great references. Email me and I will get your contact info to her. She also is deciding whether to join the Air Guard reserves. I freaked a bit when I heard but she has excellent reasons for wanting to join. What mom wants to think about their child possibly having to go into a combat situation.

Everyone has asked how my mom is doing. She is doing great! You would never know she had a baby let alone 3! She is back to doing everything she did before. I don't know where she gets the energy she has. People say I am high energy but you should see her. She never stops. She spends the night with us when Joe is at work for his 24 hour shifts. She is here usually twice a week. Her, Colin and I have American Idol nights and play cards. Colin is addicted to the card game B*ll Sh*t. I am sure because of the name. So we usually play that. Lots of fun.

We moved the girls room upstairs and gave Colin the finished basement. He is thrilled he has a huge room now, kinda like his own apt. down there. The girls get to have a bigger room and it is so quiet up there. I can clean and get things done during their naps now. I love it and wonder why we didn't do it earlier.
Someone asked about our daily schedule. I am very strict about keeping to our schedule. If you had three babies and a teen in your home I am sure you would too!
Here is our daily routine;
6:10am -wake up Colin for school, put coffee on, get dressed and brush my teeth. (No, I do not get to shower everyday yet!)
6:30 -throw laundry in, warm bottles, unload the dishwasher, make Colin's breakfast, make breakfast for the girls, pour coffee-take one sip. Joe wakes up about now because I am purposely er I mean accidentally kinda loud making all the breakfasts. Joe lets out the dogs and feeds the dogs.
6:50- remind Colin that he has to leave in 10 minutes and his breakfast is getting cold, yes I have to do this every morning!, Wake up the girls, change diapers, get them dressed for the day.
7:00- Tell Colin to get out the door his ride is waiting, he kisses the girls about a million times, comes back for more kisses from his squishy cheek baby (Ellie). Once again tell him to go to school!! Seriously every morning this is what he does. Joe is upstairs in the girls room helping me by now. We bring them down and start feeding them breakfast and give them their medicine for reflux. This last until about 8am.
8:00 - warm up my coffee and drink the rest quickly. Clean up from the morning, Make breakfast for Joe and I while he entertains the girls. Listening to them is also very entertaining for me! We eat, girls get sleepy over the next hour, they have usually all made "surprises" in their diapers by now so we change diapers again. Play until 9:15
9:15am- Nap time for the girls (I wish for mom & dad but no lots of work to be done) switch laundry, make sure I get things prepared for dinner later, check my calender for the next day, check email, vacuum, pick up the house, get things ready for lunch for the girls, drink another cup of coffee, think of projects for Joe to do(this is what he says I do during this time honestly I do it at night when he has fallen asleep and I can't, because of all the snoring beside of me), Go to the bathroom because usually by now my bladder is bursting.
11:30am- Girls wake up, they now nap over 2 hours and it's awesome! change diapers, get their lunch started quickly before all the meltdowns begin, after lunch we work on rolling over sitting up, exercizes, play games such as patty cake and peek a boo, go for a walk to hopefully get them to nap but it has had the opposite affect, get back,
2:00pm- put them down for the afternoon nap, maybe about half of the days I get to eat lunch, laundry again (does anyone have this much laundry????), load the dishwasher + run it, clean counters and table, change my shirt because by now it has definitley been hit with some expelled formula, brush my teeth about ten times a day probably to counter the lack of daily showers and make me feel as if I am clean, clean up Colins bathroom, clean our bathroom, pick up any stray bottles or diapers, start preparing dinner while I am usually talking to Brittni on the phone, switch laundry, empty dishwasher, fold and usually put the laundry away
3:00- Colin gets home for school, make a snack for Colin, look over homework for the night, Colin teases me he got into trouble at school, makes up some outrageous story (yes he does this also everyday but it is so worth listening to because I am in hysterics by the end of the story, where does he come up with this stuff??) He begs to take a nap and I beg him to stay up and hang out with me because I missed him while he was gone, he chooses the nap... go figure,
4:00- wake up babies, change babies, feed babies ( I think you get the idea by now) clean up from babies, play with babies, by now I need a little adult interaction, call Joe for a little sanity while they are playing if he is at work, think "I wish it was nap time for me" but again it's never naptime for mom, do stuff for dinner, maybe I need to make easier meals!
4:30- wake up Colin, put dinner in oven, darn that laundry again, last kitchen clean up before dinner is done, Colin kinda does homework mostly entertains babies, asks if he can do homework later argue, tell him to get it done (is this a boy thing????) Brittni was no way this hard to get her to do homework, Colin is complaining he is starving and can't think enough to do his homework, somedays I am too tired to argue and give up til after dinner,
5:30- Eat dinner in the family room on the floor even though the table is set because the girls are not cooperating, we at least are all eating together,... right????? Clean up from dinner, Colin finally does his homework for real, We all play with the babies, take a walk if it is nice enough,
8:00- Night time for the babies, clean up again, make all the bottles for the next day, make a pitcher of formula,
9:00- sit down finally, wish I could drink a glass of wine but know I would probably be too tired to wake up if the girls cry so I don't, go over Colins homework, kinda watch whatever Joe and Colin are watching on tv while I am folding the last load of clothes, and think about starting the day again in a few hours
10:00pm- check on babies, we all go to bed!!!

Now I am exhausted just thinking about it. With triplets in the house the schedule seems to evolve almost weekly. Almost certainly something goes awry but this is a peek into what I do all day.