Sacrifices....

I know I have mentioned before all the help we have gotten from our families but I am not sure everyone is fully aware of the sacrifices my mom and Ryan's parents are making in order for this to be easier for us. They have been alternating weeks at our house for months now and I know it has not been easy on them. Ryan and I can not thank them enough for everything they have done and continue to do for us. I can't explain to all of you in words how much they do for us. They recently agreed to stay with the trio by themselves for 5 days/ 4 nights so that Ryan and I could attend a really good friend's wedding in Hilton Head, SC. They really wanted to give us a break and what a break it us. I can tell you that I now know how hard it is for them to walk in after being away for a week and jump back in to taking care of the babies. It has not been an easy few days for me after being away. I am still getting back into the swing of things so I can only imagine what it is like for them every time it is there week at our house. We feel really blessed having a support system. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think about how lucky we are that they are so willing to be here with us even when they have tons of other things going on in their own lives. I just wanted to publicly say THANKS to my mom, Patty, and Ryan's Parents, Dick & Charlotte, for ALL they have done for us and the babies. This blog was just to say thanks but I know you would all be upset if I didn't post a few pictures considering it has been 2 weeks since our last post....

Miss Emery:





Mr.Grayson:




Mr.Nathan:





Pics from our trip to Hilton Head, SC:

Slowly but surely.....

The babies are starting to really make eye contact, coo and smile. Emery is leading the pack as she is constantly smiling. Ryan has a hard time putting her down as he is so amazed by her reactions to him. I think Emery already has her daddy wrap around her little finger. We went to the doctor's on Friday and found out how much they weigh: Emery is 9lbs 11oz; Grayson is 9lbs 6oz & Nathan is 8lbs 6oz. They are all gaining weight nicely which is a relief. It is amazing to think where we started. During the appointment we also found out that Nathan has a hernia that will need to be surgically fixed. The surgery will not take place until after he is 3 month adjusted age and preferably once he is no longer relying on oxygen. So it looks like the end of summer or early fall before we start considering when to have the surgery.

The last few days have been much better for us. The kiddos have done a 4 hour stretch at least once a night. The first couple of days it happened I wanted to blog about it but I didn't because I thought I may jinx it :) They also seem to be sleeping better. I say that because typically when we put them down at night, we are in and out of their room until the next feeding tending to someone. The last few nights have been totally different, once we put them down they have been quiet until close to the next feeding time. This really does A LOT for me as it allows me to get a few hours of sleep in a stretch verses falling asleep and then having to get up to calm someone down. There were times, and I am sure there still will be, where I would put them down and then be in their room every 15 minutes. I am really hoping they are starting to go longer at night between feeds. Getting some sleep makes all the difference in the world.

My mom was here with me last week. She is such a trooper as she did all the night feeds with me and helped out all day. The next few days Ryan's parents are back in town. We are so lucky to have so much help from our parents. I don't know what we would do without them. They have done so much for us and there is no way we can express how grateful we are.

We finally took some pictures of the trio and thought we would share several of them: