Week 22 with Triplets
Week of November 29, 2021
Calling in the Backups
These triplets have amazing great grandparents who are still active enough to help with watching them. They wouldn’t calling it “helping out” but rather grateful to interact with the babies every chance they get.
It’s not that I can’t care for the kids on my own, but some days I really feel my age so visitors are always welcome. It gives me a chance to sit down for a minute, and a little adult conversation is nice.
This week was unique in that one set of great grandparents was traveling to see their grandchildren, and the other set had to keep their distance due to an illness.
That meant calling on others who had offered to pitch in on an as-needed basis. Just a little help in the afternoons when my batteries start running low.
The Great Aunt Experience
My wife’s sister was one of those who, during the pandemic, gained the ability to periodically work remote. In a supervisory role, she primarily monitors her team and provides support when questions arise.
On her afternoon visit, she planted herself on the floor with a laptop on one side and babies on the other. Her son is in elementary school so much of this is still fresh, which is a perspective I value and appreciate.
The comedy came when she felt confident enough to tackle a poopy diaper change. Apparently her skills were a little rusty and… well let’s just say it resulted in an outfit change for Baby A.
Best Friends Forever
On another day, my wife’s childhood friend carved time out of her day to visit. If you’ve read my post on Colic and the Triplets, she had tremendous success with techniques to calm our sad little Baby A.
Holding a special place in our hearts, she actually provided day care for the triplet’s mom at this same age. Raising four kids of her own, these visits are a special treat for the trio.
My strengths fall on the care side of the day care formula, while nurturing is more of a struggle. On days like this, the babies get someone who knows all the songs and sensory interactions they typically only get at home.
Keeping the Babies on Track
The assignment from mom this week was for more tummy time to build those little muscles.
Baby A has been excelling at rolling, and she’s the champ when it comes to sitting upright with minimal support. The other two have been slacking a little, so it’s time to lay down the blanket to practice those milestone skills.
They’ve all shown the ability to roll at will, but the frequency is lacking. By the end of the week we had Baby C rolling up on his side during play. No more laying there like a sack of potatoes, mister.
Baby B is showing early signs of getting her body organized for crawling. Progress was made in refining body position and building confidence in the idea of self propulsion. Grandpa great predicted we’d have a crawler by New Year’s Day, so at least one is working toward that goal.