Raising Cavebabies

New year. New babies. I can't believe how much the girls are changing each day.  I kinda felt like you could see gradual changes on a weekly or monthly basis during their first year, or maybe that's all I can remember.  Now, I feel like they're evolving in to these amazing little toddlers each and every day.  I'm not sure if being one year old officially qualifies you to earn the title "toddler," but that's what we're going with.

What's really noticeable is their behavioral changes.  No more than a month ago, I have slight recollections of coming home to a relatively quiet, albeit busy, house.  Now, I walk through the door and you'd think that Meg had come up a with a pay-per-scream payment agreement whenever they see Dad.  More specifically, whenever they see Dad and then he disappears temporarily.  In short, the girls are getting much more temperamental and have no issues with letting us know what they like and don't like, with Dad disappearing being on the major "don't like" list.

We really started noticing these changes about a month ago.  At first, we thought maybe they were just being a little fussy on a particular day or maybe someone was teething.  When it didn't stop, we realized we had a bigger problem on our hands--we had toddlers!  What do you do when you realize you have toddlers and were just finally feeling prepared to take care of babies?  Well, you ask your friends, you read other people's blogs, or you read a book.

We enjoyed reading The Happiest Baby on the Block, so of course the next logical step was to read The Happiest Toddler on the Block.  Genius!

We're still in the first couple of chapters, but one of the first concepts discussed is how your toddler's brain is developing.  Basically, for the next few years, we'll be raising these cavemen-like creatures--or cavebabies--who are totally right-brained and have no ability to reason or exhibit anything remotely close to patience.  I think I innately knew this about toddlers, but to read it in a book and have it confirmed as a description for the next few years of our lives is something completely different.  All I know is that I'm going to have to adjust my perspective if I'm going to survive, which is something I plan on writing more about as I get through the book.

How do you deal with cavebabies?  What do cavebabies like to do?  Well, they don't like being cooped up inside all day.  So, you get them outside as often as possible.  We were fortunate with the weather here this past weekend.  It was incredible.  We took the girls to the arboretum and the zoo on consecutive days.  To all experienced parents, you're probably saying to yourself, "what's the big deal?"  Well, we've struggled to find a way to get all three girls outside of the house on a regular basis with all of their doctor's appointments and therapy.  When you combine our schedule with the ridiculous heat we've had this summer, the result is a lot of cushy, spoiled, air-conditioned babies.

Besides some grunts and cries of frustration when everyone wanted to stand up at once, their behavior was so different.  Stroller walks count a little bit, but putting down a blanket in the grass and just letting them crawl all around is what they really need.  We're praying for a really long fall and that the winter holds off so we can get them out of the house as much as we possibly can.  Thank goodness for the Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football app on the iPhone!

The girls, getting excited about their trip to the arboretum







For a while, I really didn't think Sophie and Izzy looked too much alike, but now I see it a little bit more.



Maddy, thinking twice about putting her feet down in the stream







"No way Jose!"




What's cuter than baby feet?



Izzy wasn't so sure about this plan.

"No way Jose!"


"Ah, this isn't so bad."




Sophie was pretty fearless.  However, I think she was disappointed we didn't bring her bathing suit.







While the other girls were a little apprehensive, she was ready to dive right in.



"No, don't eat the rocks!"







A little B&W for ya!



All of my lovely ladies.





"Hey dad!  When are you going to get in some of these pictures?"


Consoling the babies


Somehow, the girls all fell over at the same time.





Maddy likes to fly







Sophie can clap on demand.  However, the squishy face is optional.



"How big is Sophie?  Sooooo big!"




Maddy has fun clapping, but she still needs a little guidance to get the job done.



This one's getting printed on canvas and going up on the wall!





Izzy is so ticklish!



She loves to stand up all of the time now.  Even though she can't pull herself up yet, she'll stand for hours.  Ok, minutes.













Not sure we've ever seen Sophie's extra chin on display like this before :)



Next up...the baby toss!

Sophie


Maddy


Izzy


If you like B&W, enjoy!


Now, here's some color to brighten up your day.





If you're wondering what happened to Izzy's oxygen, we decided to take it off.  Her O2 sats have been between 96 and 98 and with as mobile as she's become, we've seen her tubing get wrapped around her neck several times, especially in the middle of the night.  There's still the risk that being off of the oxygen could have an effect on her pulmonary hypertension, but we'll get that check out in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, we decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Check Out These Melons!

You've no doubt seen these oddly shaped bands wrapped around Maddy's and Izzy's heads over the past several weeks.  Most parents of preemie multiples know them well, as do many other parents who followed the "Back to Sleep" plan.  These, my friends, are Cranial Bands.  From circular to trapezoidal, no head is too asymmetrical for these skull-shapers.

When we mix together the fact that we had three times the amount of regularly scheduled babies in Meg's baby on top of the fact that Maddy and Izzy slept and played on their backs for a really long time, we were bound to end up with a flat spot or two.

Izzy's head is relatively symmetrical from a left-to-right perspective, but it's definitely flatter on the back of the head and seems to make her head look a little wider.  The entire right half of Maddy's skull has crept forward.  So, on her forehead, she has a little bump on the right-hand side, while on the back, her right side is pushed a little forward.  If you were to stick a finger in each of her ears and look down on her head from the top, you'd notice that the finger on the right side of her head would be a little more forward.

We found out quickly that insurance doesn't pay for these, as they consider them cosmetic.  So, it was up to us as to whether or not we wanted our gals to have oddly-shaped noggins for the rest of their life, as you only have the ability to change the way the skull is shaped until about 18 months of age.  We figured that if we didn't pay now to fix it, we'd pay out the you know where for custom sports helmets later.  How do I know they'll play sports?  Just a hunch.

So, what do you do with two styrofoam-filled, hard-plastic head wrappers?  You pretty 'em up!

Nothing over the top here.  Just some satin-finished acrylic paint, some stickers, and some Mod-Podge, which works great as a sealant!  I didn't put a primer coat on, just two coats of the acrylic paint.  We (kinda) waited for them to dry all of the way, then added the letters and stickers.  After they dried overnight, we applied about five layers of Mod-Podge.  Honestly, I think these things would hold up in an NFL game.

Izzy's Helmet Masterpiece

The Mod-Podge hadn't fully finished drying around the letters


We almost pulled the long stickers off because they just weren't staying on well


The acrylic paint worked well on the fabric velcro strap


They started taking way too long to make, so we pretty much decorated them the same, just different colors.  Izzy got pink and Maddy got purple.

Maddy's Work of Art



Maddy ended up with "Mommy's Little Princess" and Izzy won the lottery with the "Daddy's Little Princess" sticker.





Before you even look at the next several photos, realize that there is almost no way to make your baby look good in one of these things.  Paint and stickers will help detract from the fact that your baby is where a piece of hard white plastic around their head, but there's nothing that can be done from the occasional cave man forehead it causes when it pushes down your forehead to the bridge of your nose, or how wide it can make your head appear from just about every angle.

While I was taking my first photo, Sophie, not wanting to get left out of the fun, decided to stick her hand on the front of my lens to ensure she was somehow mentioned in this blog post.



WARNING:  Your kid's head will look larger than it is in real life.  Proceed with caution and know that this sentence will only last several months.  In our case, hopefully, about three!

Maddy and Izzy, when you're older and looking at these, please forgive us.  We weren't trying to humiliate you.  You're probably thanking us right now.







On the bright side, they do provide some extra protection when you get lazy and accidentally fall backwards and bonk your head, or when your sister intentionally pulls you or pushes you over just because you happen to be in her way.