Tuesday, September 25, 2007

quick few pictures

I wish I had the energy to make a real post with more actual content, but I don't. Suffice it to say, I'm still mooing, and it's astounding how much energy that takes. Yesterday I produced over a pint of milk and I continued to be disproportionately proud of this accomplishment. I am ridiculously fascinated with my breasts these days, which is slightly embarrassing, but hey, everyone else seems fascinated by them too, so I may as well have some fun, right? The best part is that I've even gotten to actually nurse all three babies since Sunday (actually I didn't start with Abby until Monday), and they're little champs doing really well. I only nurse them once a day, but when I do, my production goes way up afterward, which only adds fuel to the fire of my fascination. Moo, I say proudly. Moo. Anyway, all that pumping and feeding and such keeps me mighty exhausted. And hungry. Like seriously starving. I've never been so hungry in my entire life. After six months of not being able to keep any food down, this is a fascinating (and liberating) turn of events.

The babies are doing great. Ellie is off her TPN and doesn't even have her IV anymore. Little Mr. Smiley will be soon. And even Abby should be off hers by the end of the week. They are all perfect little fighters. There's lots more to say, but like I said, I'm exhausted beyond belief, so I'll leave you with a couple quick pictures. Oh, and to the anonymous commenter who doesn't even have the nerve to identify herself with so much as initials... I'm finding your insight endlessly amusing and my husband finds it to be entirely entertaining, so bring it on. It won't change anything, and I don't know why it should have come as a shock to you or anything. I've never hidden the fact that I'm a sheitel-wearing, halacha-observing, frum, traditional, though admittedly on the modern side, Orthodox Jew. But still, I find your quixotic enthusiasm cute and well, I could use a laugh right now. It helps keep me awake for the endless pumping in the middle of the night. Like I said, Moo.

On to pictures:

This was me two days post-partum, cuddling my beautiful Ellie-bellie. She's such a beauty, even if she does cross her eyes a lot. I find this absolutely endearing, even though I know it's just something preemies do a lot... I crossed my eyes as a kid (and in fact still see double) and had four eye surgeries to correct the muscle disparity between my eyes. While I don't wish that on my child, her crossed eyes still make me smile.



Here's our beautiful Abby-saurus. When she was born she had a ridge in her skull which has already smoothed out, but it was adorable and made her look like a little dinosaur, hence the name, Abby-saurus. Here's Abby snoozing in her father's hands. She's so tiny and delicate. She definitely lives up to her name... her father's joy and comfort. He may not realize it, but my husband is especially protective of her, and I suspect it's entirely subconscious based solely on the fact that she's so tiny. He adores all three and pays lots of attention to all of them, but you can see the way he curls his hands around her that he feels the need to protect her from the world just a tiny bit more. It's neat to watch.




Here are our handsome little man and Ellie together in my lap. They are beautiful, aren't they? And I get that I'm biased, but nurses in the NICU who aren't assigned to our babies make a point to pull us aside just to tell us how beautiful our babies are. I love how our little man can just sleep absolutely anywhere. Nothing was going to disturb his nap that night!



Last, but definitely not least, here's our trio together, for the first time since the OR. They are amazing. It was thrilling to hold all three at once! I can't believe they are ALL MINE! What fun!

49 comments:

Cindy said...

Oh how wonderful! MOO MOO MOO!!! Go YOU, with that milk production! :)
And your precious babies are just beautiful - you look great too mama!!

olivia said...

wow. i showed them to my mom. they are all yours!

Casey's trio said...

Those babies are gorgeous and so are you! Triplet motherhood plus one becomes you:)

illahee said...

i am so glad i found your blog because i absolutely love it!! beautiful, beautiful babies. can't wait to find out your son's name!! big hugs from a virtual stranger to all you babies!!

Rachel Inbar said...

Karen - you sound amazing :-) Your babies are adorable and it's clear that you already know how to get the most nachat out of a situation! I am so happy for you!!!

Jody said...

WOW, your milk production is amazing! I'm so pleased for you -- it's hard enough learning to nurse preemies times three, it's THRILLING that production isn't an early problem. Way to go, Mama Moo!

Thanks for the gorgeous photos, too. You DO have beautiful children. (Also, I'm so very very VERY happy that you're getting to see and hold them together right from the beginning. Co-sleeping in the NICU should be the standard, I hope you get it as soon as they're all ready.)

Congratulations again, I'm so happy for you guys! (Let us know how J is handling things when you get some time -- oh, say, in December. LOL)

Anonymous said...

I am in love.

And you look TINY!

I am just in absolute awe.

Jody said...

I went to read the anonymous comments, and am glad you're laughing, too. My husband is circ'd and I've never heard him complain about the "bed sex." Ah well, it takes all kinds.

pam said...

ow! they are painfully gorgeous babies! and i love their names - ellie is my nieces name, but i promise i won't play favorites with her over abby or their brother. :)

Caba said...

You look fantastic and the babies are beautiful! I think it's wonderful that you are breastfeeding and pumping, I had twins and didn't even try! You are a wonderful overachiever!

Congrats on your amazing family!

Catherine said...

Wow, absolutely positively gorgeous (both you and the babies)! I'm jealous you have a picture of them all together already. I couldn't do that until they were all home from the hospital at 2 weeks old).

Shelby said...

Fabulous milk production!! Keep up the mooing! ;)
The kiddos are absolutely gorgeous!! Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

ms. c said...

The babies look phenominal. And you look fantastic too. I am so happy that you are continuing to blog, I love reading your posts.
Keep mooing, Karen! I can totally understand your fascination.

Kristin said...

Karen...they are stunningly beautiful babies. Congrats on your awesome milk production. And, you looked awesome.

Anonymous said...

You look amazing and those babies are SO adorbale! I'm glad your milk production is going well and that everything else is too.

LJ said...

They are adorable! You are such a beautiful momela, you know that, right?
Now I am intrigued and have to go read the anonymous poster - I could use a good chuckle.

megan said...

you all look simply fantastic. i'm so happy for you all. i can't believe that you can actually find the time to blog...but glad that you can because i love seeing those babies!

In Search of Morning Sickness said...

I LOVELOVELOVE the pictures! You look like a radiant and happy momma! And your kids... WOW! Esepcially that last one together, they are just so precious, brings tears to my eyes.

I am SO PROUD of a woman with triplets to be so diligent on breastfeeding! YOU GO GIRL!

Anonymous said...

You have every reason to be proud! How wonderful it is that you've been able to actually nurse the babies.

Thank you for not leaving us hanging too long without an update. The photos are great. You look absolutely beautiful! What a lovely, serene smile. I recall you had been fearing tiny premature babies with wires and tubing in the NICU; I'm so glad you all are doing well.

That commenter is giving anonymous commenters a bad (lack of?) name. I am relieved you are amused, because I had become furious about the bullying tactics and other ridiculousness. It's no surprise that you are more than able to hold your own. I suppose I don't need to get upset over comments that display such a lack of common sense.

Chag sukkot sameach! (How will you get back and forth over Yom Tov and Shabbat?)

Erin said...

Moo with pride--that's amazing! They are so gorgeous, and every bit as beautiful as they do. I'm so impressed that they're already nursing!

Chris said...

Your babies are indeed gorgeous! I'm terribly impressed with all of your mooing - you should be proud of yourself.

More The Merrier said...

such beautiful babies ... enjoy every minute. it is amazing how fast they will grow. truly, you'll look back at these pictures soon and be astonished at how tiny they are!!

way to go on the milk production. now, you need to post a pic with you in your new hands free pump bra!!! Aw, just kidding!!! :)

Anonymous said...

(sorry - that's Jen @ amazing trips above - I keep forgetting to change my account name. That's a blog I'm setting up for our triplet group.)

hadjare said...

You and all the babies look great! I can't wait to see if my boobies work too. ;) I think I will be equally fascinated.

Jamie said...

They really are beautiful!! I am so happy for your family and I can't wait for more updates as they continue to get stronger!!

Now go milk yourself! :)

Poppy said...

Your littles ones are adorable. I love the girls' names and am excited to hear Mr. Smileys as well.

Glad you and the children are doing so well.

Take care and keep the pictures coming :)

andie said...

I just ran across your blog and had to stop and say that the babies are just beautiful. So precious. Mine were all huge so I'm always in awe of delicate little things :)

We have an Ellie, too (Eleanor).

Blessings to your family.

decemberbaby said...

mooo! I agree, breasts are so fascinating when they decide to produce something... I'm already thrilled with the three drops of colostrum I can get, can't imagine how engrossed I will be when I can get a whole pint!

You look wonderful, and I love those babies (in a non-creepy non-stalkerish way). Chag Sameach!

littleangelkisses said...

They are precious! I'm glad you are holding up and way to go on the pumping/BF! I pumped for a LONG time and you learn to blog/surf/knit and read while doing so...LOL! I miss that time sometimes (NOT!)

Jeannie said...

They are beautiful! Congratulations!

In and Out of Luck said...

Oh, Karen, they're beautiful. I'm so happy for all of you - and I just read the names, those are gorgeous names.

nickoletta100 said...

Ha ha!! mooo!

the pics are adorable and I am glad you included one of yourself! You look so happy and content!!

Anna said...

Okay, congrats, and they seriously ARE beautiful!

And I KNOW you don't have time for this, but I found you through a triplet site, and I wonder if you might take a moment (if you HAVE one!) to offer some advice for a friend of mine expecting triplets?

She doesn't have a blog, so asked me to post on my site, but I don't think I have any readers that are moms of multiples, and I wanted her to get some really good advice!

Anonymous said...

Found you through a random chain of blogs and even though I don't know you, thought I'd leave a comment...
Congratulations on your beautiful children and on your success with milk production!

I had trouble meeting the demands of twins, but stuck with nursing for more than a year and loved it. The very best thing when they are ready to actually nurse is the EZ 2 Nurse Twins pillow (doubleblessings.com has them). I don't know what you do with the third baby :), but you can use this "super boppy" and truly nurse 2 at a time, leaving your hands free (well, once they are a little bigger, not right away) to do other things. I

Changing Expectations said...

How exciting. Wonderful pictures.

Go with the pumping. Awesome.

You have waited so long for this day and I am so happy for you! Enjoy every minute.

Lea Bee said...

they are gorgeous! congratulations.

Laura McIntyre said...

Im not sure i have left a comment yet but i have been reading for a few months now, congrats on the birth of your children and im so amazed your breastfeeding them, i remember expressing for my first when she was in hospital so i know what its like to be attatched to the pump all the time and that was just for ONE.

And i do agree that all three are completly adorable, small and perfectly formed . im looking forward to more pictures

Kelly said...

Your babies are gorgeous, and so are you. I'm incredibly jealous of your milk production, and super duper jealous that you are BFing all three. Keep up the good work. You are amazing!

Natalie said...

Oh my god, so freakin cool!

Sunny said...

BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Anonymous said...

Such a wonderful miracle. Thanks for making my day.

Anonymous said...

Had to laugh when I saw your "Ellie bellie" nickname, my Ellie is 4 months old and I joke that she won't know her real name since I call her that as well as Ellie Bean. The babes are precious, congrats!

es said...

The babies are gorgeous, and reading about their names brought tears to my eyes.

Michelle said...

De-lurking to say: Congratulations!!!

Such beautiful babies, cherish every moment! Good luck with the nursing, just take it one day at a time.

Lollipop Goldstein said...

Gorgeous! I just showed my kids the pictures and my daughter is screaming, "more pictures!"

Summer said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! THey are beautiful!!

Anonymous said...

Seems that "Mrs. Anonymous" has a bad sex life and is blaming it on her husband's circumcision. No one I know has ever complained. Sorry for her!!!!

Your children are beautiful!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Your precious babies are so beautiful. How blessed you are.

I hope they've continued to thrive over the past week. Cant wait to hear another update.

mother in israel said...

Just heard the news!! Mazal tov!