The Kleins: 8 months old!

The babies turned 8 months old this past Saturday on August 4th. Holy macaroni, where is time going? It's amazing to see how fast these little ones are growing. It seems like every day they are changing and doing something new. Let's see...where do we start? In the last post I mentioned that Mischa was just about ready to crawl and she is officially crawling now, and pretty fast for a little thing! We really have to keep an eye on her or she'll be in the next room in no time. As of this week, Caleb is crawling too. Wow, two crawling babies going in different directions...YIKES! And we still have one baby to go! Madeline hasn't quite started crawling yet, but rather scoots herself forward or backwards when she wants a toy. Since she's the chubbiest, we figured she might be the last to crawl. Madeline is, however, the first to bring herself up to a sitting position from laying down and it's the cutest thing ever. She looks like such a big girl sitting up playing with her toys. Also as of this week, Caleb is saying "mamama" although I don't think it's intentional. He's just babbling but it sure does sound cute and it melts my heart! Seth and I laugh sometimes because Caleb still tends to be the most emotional of the bunch - in other words he still cries the most!

Another change that recently occurred is the babies are much more aware of their surroundings, especially people. Madeline and Mischa both have anxiety towards strangers but Caleb doesn't mind who picks him up, as long as he's being held. All three babies notice when we are not in the room and cry until someone comes back. They notice quickly when they are alone and prefer to have the people they recognize around them. This makes it hard for me when I need to do things around the house like laundry or dishes. It's almost easier to wait until they are asleep to get things done since they tend to cry if I'm not in the room with them. Seth and I have them on a tight daily schedule consisting of 3 solid food feedings, two 2-hour daytime naps, and of course bottle feedings and then bedtime at 8pm. With multiples, having a daily schedule is the biggest lifesaver by far. Once the babies are in bed, we don't know what to do with ourselves....relax, read, watch TV, shower, veg out...the possibilities are endless!

Another recent change that really made us realize how fast our babies are growing is the fact that we had to lower their crib mattresses to the lowest possible setting. Mischa and Caleb are fully capable of pulling themselves up to a standing position. We have caught Mischa especially standing in her crib playing when she is supposed to be napping. So, in order to prevent falls, we knew we had to lower the mattresses last week. Aww, it makes me sad to think how fast these precious babies are growing! Seems like just yesterday the three of them could sleep in the same crib. As busy and hectic as our lives are, we really try to enjoy the moment even though we are so tired and exhausted a lot of the time. It's funny to think how we thought the babies were busy as newborns but nothing compares to them now that they are on the go...jeez, imagine when they are walking! The journey of raising triplets has been a crazy adventure but a wonderful one too.

I am getting ready to approach the one year anniversary of when I stopped working as a nurse practitioner. Last August when I reached 20 weeks in my pregnancy, I was placed on bed rest because of the high rate of premature deliveries with a triplet pregnancy. As of recently, I am getting the itch to return to work, though only for one day a week. As much as I love staying home with the babies, I am looking forward to working one day a week and getting back into the routine of having patients to take care of and being around adults!

Otherwise, not much else going on in our busy household. Here are some recent pictures. Hope you enjoy!