Almost Christmas

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while - you all know how busy it is around Christmas! We have done our best to buy gifts, decorate the house, make cookies, etc. - all the normal Christmasy stuff with 3 babies in tow! We're pretty much ready - I just have to get stuff for Christmas dinner still. John's family is coming up from Tucson, and we'll just have a nice, simple dinner and time with the boys - the best entertainment I can think of!

Speaking of the boys, they're doing a lot of growing lately! Next time I'll post weights - it's been a couple of weeks since we weighed them last, and Zach was 9 lb 9 oz. at that time, so you can only imagine now! Eli is keeping up with him and Luke is gaining a little more slowly, but still at a good pace. They're staying up and being more alert lately, which is fun. They're also starting to smile on purpose a little - I can't claim that we can make them smile yet, but they do it on their own once in a while. It just melts my heart - I can't wait til they're all laughing and smiling more often!

I've attached some pictures (I know, that's the fun part of the blog!) of smiles and Christmas hats. Enjoy! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, that is blessed with the Holy Spirit and not stressed with things not nearly so important. Just think, a Savior is born - how exciting!! Love to all!!

Eli in the favorite place - the bouncy seat next to the Christmas tree

Luke is a good smiler, and pictures don't do him justice - he's a little angel!

Zach is showing his excitement - getting ready to take a walk

My three little elves - Zach, Luke and Eli

First Bath!

Well, another milestone reached - we gave the boys their first bath last Saturday, December 4. John and I were very prepared - we had two bath tubs and enough gear to wash a baby army! We went through everything, weighed the pros and cons of each tub, organized supplies, then finally worked up the nerve to "stop guessin' and start messin'" as they say! The first to go was Zach, and he loved it! I was somewhat surprised at this, since I am definitely a baby washing novice. I realized just at that first moment that I had never given a baby or a little child a bath in a tub before! Luckily the tub we use is very baby friendly and mama-forgiving. He was so good - after the initial "what the heck is this?" moment, he was really fine. Here's a not-too-embarrassing picture of Zach's first bath:

Next was Luke, and first let me say that we had to wake him up, and I think that was the problem. He did not like the bath at all; we have since bathed him again while he was already awake, and he seemed to like it a lot better. I think it was a shock! We didn't take as many pictures of him because it was hard to remember the camera when he was screaming like we had just cut off his little toe, but here's one when he was a little more relaxed:

Last was Eli. Now, as I wrote before, Eli is sensitive - he doesn't seem to take to new things right away, to put it mildly. He needs to try things a couple of times to get used to them, though if that's true, he still isn't "used to" getting his diaper changed. That boy can scream! So after the Luke experience, I was hesitant to bathe Eli - just didn't want to go there. But, I realized that the child would need to be bathed eventually, so better to just bite the bullet. We got a lesson in prejudging our kids, because he did just fine! He really was OK with it! Now, the second time around, not so good, but he did enjoy his first bath. Here are a couple of pictures of him:

This is Eli's happy face!

Nice and warm with his hooded towel!

Well, I hope the boys aren't too mad at me for posting these, but they are so cute! Man, and there is nothing like a clean, good-smelling baby - or three!

Happy Birthday (?!)

Today would have been the amigos birthday if they had been full-term, so it's kind of a birthday for them! It's amazing that they've been with us for five weeks already - the days are flying by. This morning the news said it was Thursday and I thought they misspoke - it couldn't be past Tuesday! But John assured me that the newscasters are more aware of the date than I am!

I meant to post a blog last week for their 1 month pictures, but see my earlier comment. Sorry about that! So on Monday they were 1 month old, and we just can't believe it. They are getting huge - definitely more of a load to carry around two at a time than when they were so tiny. Of course, it's awesome that they're gaining weight and growing so well. We weighed them here at home last week, so here are the new stats:

Luke - 7 lb. 6.5 oz. (up 2 lb. from birth)

Eli - 8 lb. 2 oz. (up 2 lb. 7 oz from birth)

Zach - 8 lb. 12 oz. (up 2 lb. 8 oz from birth)

The only new health news is that we got the results of their newborn screening blood work and they are all normal. We don't know what all they tested for, but whatever it was, they don't have it! We go back to the pediatrician for a 2 month check up on January 4.

The guys are still pretty much eating and sleeping, but they're staying up a little longer and interacting with us a little more (a VERY little, in spite of my efforts). We have a fun play mat on the floor with lights and music and all other sorts of extraneous toys that they really don't get yet, but they like the lights and get a little tummy time. For those without kids or who haven't had them in a while, babies are supposed to spend some time on their stomachs to help build neck muscles, since they're not supposed to sleep on their stomachs any more. Well, our guys don't like it very much, so it's good they have something fun to look at while being tortured.

We're starting to really notice their personalities. John and I discussed it last night, and we're pretty much in agreement, with some twists. For instance, John thinks Eli is needy but I call him sensitive! That child can scream! He doesn't like getting his diaper changed AT ALL! He really likes to cuddle - he's so sweet. Zach is really laid back. You can barely wake him up to eat, and then when he does he hardly opes his eyes. He doesn't cry a lot, but when he does, you know it! He has a deep, LOUD bellow - it cracks us up (most of the time!) He's just pretty chilled out. Luke is like a little student. He's awake the most and is always looking around. He makes sweet little faces and is generally in a good mood. They're all awesome and I think it's fun that they're so different, at least now. It's important not to compare multiples against each other too much, because it can lead to unhealthy competition. They're all super cool in their own ways - and super cute too if I do say so myself!

John and I are well - tired, but that's to be expected. John is working from home, which is a huge deal. We had his Mom here last week helping, which was also awesome. We had Thanksgiving dinner here; very nice and laid back. John smoked the turkey - turned out really good. Now we're in the midst of decorating for Christmas, and I'm hoping against hope that I can get shopping done in time for everyone not to get too mad at us! The days are slipping by...

Anyway, hope everyone is well. Here are some new pictures, from one month old.

Left to right - Luke, Eli and Zach - Notice their Mommy outfits!

Eli - his hairline is receding already! Eli again - too sweet to pass up!

Luke looking around

Zach getting some belly time with a smile Zach and Daddy

3 Weeks Old!

We had another busy week with the three little amigos! Last Thursday, they got circumcised. It was WAY worse than I expected, and I found out there's an unwritten rule that people don't tell you how bad it's going to be. The boys didn't cry nearly as much as I did at the pediatrician's office. They made up for it at home though. In reality, it wasn't all that bad on them, but I'm still getting over the trauma! We went today for a follow-up and they are all healing very well, so another hurdle crossed.

This appointment was also the guys' 2 week check-up, even though they were almost 3 weeks old at the time. They are getting huge! Here are their current stats:

Luke - 6 lb. 10 oz and 20 inches (up 1 lb. 6 oz. from birth)

Eli- 7 lb. 1 oz and 20 1/2 inches (up 1 lb. 6 oz. from birth)

Zach - 7 lb. 15 oz and 21 inches (up 1 lb. 11 oz. from birth)

Everything else checked out fine - they're perfectly healthy so far!

Friday we took the guys to have blood work done at the lab. Arizona has mandatory blood testing for certain diseases so you have to get this done. We scheduled the appointment for Friday because we thought they had enough trauma on Thursday, but it was remarkably easy. They hardly even woke up when they got stuck on the heel. The lab tech even had to squeeze their little heels to try to get enough blood, and they barely blinked. We were so proud! (It doesn't take much).

Then on Saturday we had a photo session with the boys. We have a great friend from church who is into amateur photography and so we took a bunch of pictures of the little ones in our living room. They turned out really awesome - again, very proud! Here are some of my favorites...

Luke, Eli and Zach - little angels!

Not angelic behavior - can you spot the little faux pas? Oh Zach!

More pics

Hi everyone! Just a quick update... The boys are all doing well. Luke had a dimple in his back that the pediatrician found, and wanted to have checked out, so Mom and I took him to Phoenix Children's Hospital on Thursday. He had a sonogram of his spine and we found out that everything was completely normal and fine. That was not something we were really worried about, but we are relieved that it's OK. Zach has a little bit of a cold - he's stuffed up, but it's nothing to worry about either. He snores like his Dad now! Overall, everyone is fine - the adults are a little sleep deprived, but we're starting to figure out how to give everyone one shift a night off - at least until Mom leaves on Monday. John's Mom will be coming up for the week to help, so we're looking forward to spending time with her too!

Here are some more pictures - enjoy!

Welcome home!

Zach Eli and Luke

Eli and Zach - minutes old

Eli

Luke

Week 2 of Amigos' Life

Hi everyone! Just a quick update on how the amigos are doing. They and we are doing really great! Admittedly, our existence is kind of limited. We mostly eat, sleep, and go to appointments. We wake the boys up every three hours to eat, then they sleep (most of the time) between feedings. We went to the first pediatrician visit last Friday, and that went well. John and I really like the doctor, but the boys are withholding their opinions until next week, when they'll be circumcised :( Hopefully that won't be too traumatic for anyone involved.

We have had lots of visitors, which is really nice. No one can resist the little cuties, and more than John, Mom or I can! So not too much else to say, so I'll get to the fun part - pictures! We've taken like 500 pictures so far, so this is just a sample of some of the cute ones!

Welcome home Amigos!

Boys sleeping - Luke, Eli and Zach

Cute duckie sleep sacks - Luke, Eli and Zach left to right

The boys cheered the Steelers to victory Monday night in their outfits!

One days' worth of bottles!

Amigos have arrived!

They're here!! We are so excited to announce the birth of the three amigos! Here are the vital statistics, in birth order:

Luke Julian Zeneski - born October 30, 7:22 am - 5 pounds 4 ounces, 17-1/2 inches
(Julian is John's and his Dad's middle name)
Elijah Robert Zeneski - born October 30, 7:23 am - 5 pounds 11 ounces, 18-1/2 inches
(Robert is my Dad and Grandfather's first name)
Zachary Joseph Zeneski - born October 30, 7:25 am - 6 pounds 4 ounces, 19 inches
(Joseph is my Dad and John's brother's middle name)

The whole story of their birth is just too much to write about in a blog, especially after all of the excitement of the last week, but I will try to give some details.

On Friday morning, the results of some blood work I had made it necessary for me to have general anesthetic instead of an epidural. This meant that I couldn't be awake for the surgery. Luckily though, the doctors (very graciously and unexpectedly) allowed John to be in the operating room, and he recorded it all. So I was able to see their glorious entrance in the end anyway!

After I recovered, I got to go to our room where John's mom and step dad and my mom were waiting. We got to have two babies with us, Luke and Eli. Zach was having a little trouble breathing, so he was taken for more observation. Eventually he went to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). He didn't have to stay overnight, but he was transferred to a nursery on the same floor as we were on. Eli also got transferred to the nursery, because he wasn't' eating well enough. These are issues that are very common with premature babies, and were not super scary. It was reassuring that they weren't in the NICU, but just in the nursery.

So from the first day, we only had Luke in our room. Because of the rough time I had recovering, I was only able to hang out mostly with him, while John spent a lot of time with Zach and Eli. That was hard, but it was really important that Eli and Zach got round the clock care. The nurses both in the nursery and on the floor where my room was were totally amazing. They are really adept at working with multiples, and just took such great care of us.

We really didn't have any huge issues with either the babies or me - we are truly blessed! Luke, Eli and I were all discharged from the hospital yesterday (Tuesday). We had a good night - they eat every 3 hours. John is the master feeder - he can get these boys to eat better than any of us! So he participated in all of the feedings, and Mom and I each took one off. Today, we picked up Zach! He is doing really great, and now we are all together at home. It's so awesome! To have all three boys home within the week is just amazing - again, we are so blessed!

Alright, so my energy is still low and I can't write much more tonight, but I'll leave you with a taste of all the pictures yet to come!