Another few weeks gone by. Where to begin. Logan started his new school in the midst of cutting a very painful tooth. He was miserable and up at night like every hour. Not to mention super cranky during the day since he was so tired. I brought him to the school and he would scream and cry. It was horrible. On Tuesday I had to go pick him up because they called to tell me he just wouldn’t calm down. By Thursday he was coughing. New school, new germs I suppose. The weekend did not prove to be any better. He woke up from his nap in a tantrum. He yelled “go away!” every time Bob and I went in the room. He wouldn’t get out of his crib, and was just crying and screaming. Not to mention coughing and practically gagging he was so upset. Finally I asked if he wanted to see if Marty (our neighbor) was mowing. That seemed to be moderately enticing and so he let me take him out of the crib. Of course, he wasn’t mowing so we knocked on our neighbor’s door and thankfully they are the best and asked us in so Logan could see Marty and play with the army trucks they have. Thank God for our neighbors. By the end of the weekend all 3 boys were getting sick and so was I. Monday I kept Logan home from school and Bob had to stay home as well. With all 4 boys we needed the help. Tuesday at school was no better so finally I said that Bob should do drop off for Logan. Seemed like me doing it was almost worse. I would stay for like an hour leaving my parents with the babies. By the end of the week, Logan would cry for only a few minutes at drop off and then have a really good day. So I am hopeful he is finally getting adjusted there. Plus he isn’t really sick and the stupid tooth finally came in! As for the boys, Justin was full blown wheezing by Wednesday and so I was at the Dr’s with him Thursday. His oxygen level was ok but he clearly needed some help breathing. So began the nebulizer treatments. For those of you who never had to give a baby a Neb, be thankful. It is about 10 minutes of screaming and kicking and crying. Although, he seems to have become more accustomed to them and actually smiles sometimes and dozes off. Those are the best treatments. I was at the Dr’s Thurs., Fri, Sat and mon. When they have respiratory issues the dr’s check them daily to make sure they are getting enough oxygen and don’t need to be hospitalized. The Dr thought he might have RSV again. But by yesterday he seemed to be doing much better. He still has a lingering cough but at least we can space out the treatment to every 6 hours instead of every 4. Mason and Noah have slight coughs and mild congestion but are otherwise doing great. Knock wood. I weighed Justin at the dr’s. 13 pounds 10 ounces. Can’t believe it.

Justin is nuts. He is the happiest baby; he smiles and laughs out loud. He is not sensitive to cold and doesn’t mind at all when you change his diaper. But when he cries, wow. His cry is like scratching nails down a chalk board. He is incredibly squirmy too. I think it is the dry skin which he has tons of. I try to lube him down daily with Vaseline as it is the only thing that seems to work. I have a hard time getting him on his belly since he starts wheezing and has trouble breathing. I am quite sure he will end up needing physical therapy because I can’t seem to get his neck muscles to where they should be. He is not so great on walks and is usually the one crying. He can’t seem to hold the pacifier in his mouth and gets all upset when it falls out. But he plays for long stretches by himself on the mat or in the bouncy seat smiling and cooing and batting at the toys. Which is welcomed considering it gives us time to tend to the other 2.

My dad wrote a little about each boy so I wanted to incorporate what he said too:

Dad on Justin—he was the first born, and continues to be first in nearly everything else. Justin has gained over ten pounds since birth and is keeping pace with Mason. What little hair he has is light auburn in color and his eyes lean toward blue. He has one dimple on his left cheek, and he shows it off when he smiles. He’s the most physical of the three, and always seems to be in constant motion while he’s awake. He’s been very vocal lately, cooing and ah-ing, and smiles spontaneously. He can remain by himself for extended stretches; exercising his extremities, and moving his head around focusing on anything and everything. He doesn’t like wet or poopy diapers, and will let you know when he’s uncomfortable or hungry. Justin is congested much of the time. Perhaps he has allergies (peak time in the spring) although he shows no other symptoms. He has actually laughed out loud several times, and enjoys playing “this little piggy”, or “peek-a-boo.”

Mason is solid as a rock and feels like he weighs 20 pounds. He is definitely more serious than the other two. It takes a lot for him to smile. Usually it is only when we play pat-a-cake with him. He looks like he has no neck and has a widow’s peek that makes him look like Eddie Munster! He is adorable though. He eats like a pig but still won’t sleep through the night. He is up more than the other two!! He is very laid back and is the kind of baby that will doze off anywhere. Which makes him the one I always offer to take with me if I am taking 2 kids and leaving 2 home. He is batting at toys now and kicks at them too. He struggles with tummy time also because he doesn’t have much of a neck so it is tough for him to lift his head so he just falls asleep. When he is hungry he screams like you would not believe. And if you take the bottle out of his mouth to burp him he freaks out. He will down 6 and half ounces in 10-15 minutes. It is amazing.

And from my dad…Mason—has always been the biggest, and has always been the most laid back. Mason has dark skin and hair, and his eyes are a definite brown. He sleeps more than his brothers, and can remain cool and calm for long periods of time. But, when Mason is hungry, there is no confusion about what he wants. He will cry loud and long until he gets what he wants—6.5 ounces of formula, or a diaper change (he too is not a fan of wet or poopy diapers). Like his older brother, Mason takes 6.5 ounces of formula, and has even tried solid food, although he didn’t seem to care for it. Mason is easy to burp, and rarely spits up his bottle. He has recently begun to smile and coo like his older brother, but still maintains his easy-going demeanor. Like his brothers, Mason enjoys going out for a stroll, but the recent weather has prevented very many excursions.

And Noah, the little professor. He is still the most curious and alert baby I have ever seen. He has the most expressive face. It’s like he wants so much to say something and tell you all these things he is thinking. He smiles and laughs a lot. He also sleeps the longest. Who would have thought? He will go 6-8 hours which is great except the other two don’t so we are still up. He rarely cries anymore. Even when it is time for him to eat he is really patient and waits for his bottle. That is especially helpful when you are trying to feed him and Mason at the same time. Noah will let you get Mason all situated and stop him from screaming and sit there with a smile on his face waiting patiently for his bottle. He will smile while you feed him and it is impossible not to laugh. He is very tiny with a small head and the most piercing blue eyes. I still believe he will be his brother’s keeper.

And Dad says…..Noah—is known as the “little professor”, because he has big wide eyes, and a penetrating stare. Noah is the youngest and the smallest weighing in a full 2 pounds less than his bigger brothers. Yet, he’s the most alert, and seems to be curious about everything. He finds his brothers very interesting, and will watch them for extended periods. He holds the record for the longest nocturnal sleep period, but much to his parent’s dismay has decided to only do that once. Noah has fair skin and dark hair with deep blue eyes. Noah has a small cleft in his chin, and can overwhelm you with his smile. He will definitely break a few hearts in the years to come.
Logan is so great with his brothers. He loves to kiss their heads and their feet and tickles them. When he makes them smile he gets so excited. One night when I had them all on my lap trying calm them he came over and sat with me. I said, “look - Mommy has all her boys with her.” So now whenever I am holding a baby he sits on my lap and says “mommy’s boys.” He is so amazing. He learns new words everyday and is the most loving warmest kid ever.

It has been 2 weeks since I started writing this blog entry and a lot more has happened. Logan likes school although he is still fighting whatever sickness he got there. He had a low fever yesterday and today but seems to feel ok. He talks about his friends at school and all the stuff he does. We took him to the circus where he was in complete awe. He loved it. We did have a small mishap though. He sat on a folding chair and it folded with him in it. It was very scary and he could have been really hurt considering there was a big bolt that could have gone into his head. Fortunately it missed him and once they shot the cannon off he was totally distracted from being scared (it took mommy & daddy a little longer to recover). Bob has been home for 2 days and we are trying to work on getting the babies onto a routine before I go back to work in 2 weeks. I can’t believe it has been that long. I will miss being home so much.

My parents will head back to Florida after Logan’s birthday. I will miss them more than anything. And Logan is going to have a really hard time without them here. It will be good to have some time with just Bob and I and the kids as the past 4 months it seems our house is always packed. But all I can say is how blessed we are to always have a packed house. So many friends and family that help us out. It amazes me everyday how blessed we are to have 4 beautiful healthy boys and such wonderful family and friends. I thank everyone who has been there for us through this entire experience. It has been one crazy ride.

Life has continued to fly by and be totally crazy. I actually fell asleep with my eyes open last week. It is possible. I was feeding Noah and all of a sudden dropped the bottle but my eyes were completely open. Very strange. The babies are doing really well. Getting so big. Mason has decided when he is hungry he is going to let everyone know. He wakes up and screams so loud. Then, if you take the bottle out to burp him he freaks out. Logan used to do the same thing. He is pretty much off the zantac and hasn’t had too much trouble with it. Justin is the antsiest baby ever. He is also the happiest. He lies on the ground cooing and smiling and actually laughing. He has adorable dimples. Noah is still the Professor. So wise beyond his years!
Logan started his new school on Monday. He is doing ok. He is teething really bad right now and has been super whiny and in pain for the past 5 days. He has been up every night every hour crying. It is horrible. He is exhausted, we are exhausted. Today the new school called and I had to go pick him up because he was so upset. I feel horrible that I moved him in the midst of this chaos. He is such an awesome kid and I know he is just not himself. He says he wants to go home all the time and my heart just aches for him. He is talking so much, putting sentences together, using possessives. He is obsessed with being tall and lawnmowers. One night when I was reading to him he would not stop saying mow, mow, Marty mow, Marty mow (that’s my neighbor’s name) Now every night I have to open his blinds and tell him Marty is sleeping.
Monday night we took everyone to dinner at Friday’s. It was great but truly exhausting. The babies were awesome. Only minor fussing. I definitely want to start getting out of the house with them as much as possible even though it is so hard. Plus, during this period they are so unpredictable. Like Noah slept 8and 1/2 hours the other night and then last night he was up twice. I am hoping by the time I head back to work they are all sleeping at least 6-7 hours a night or Bob is going to have a tough time. Did I mention Bob gave his notice? He will stop working the end of May and stay home with the babies. We decided that right now that is what will work best for us. They were really nice to him about it and he certainly didn’t burn any bridges so I feel a little better knowing he could go back if that’s what works better for us. I think he is excited and scared at the same time. It is quite a life change to just quit working and be a stay at home dad. I know it will be great for the babies and he will do a great job.
My parents are still here and help out everyday along with my sister Allison. I love having them here and we are so lucky. My sister Chrisanne came down from New York for my Mom’s birthday which was fun. We took Logan and the babies to Bob’s dad’s house. It is crazy getting everyone out. Packing the bags takes some serious pre planning!! Bob’s mom was over this past weekend and I was able to get some fun time with Logan while she and Bob watched the babies. For Mother’s Day I asked to sleep in. I just want to get up when I feel like it. That’s all. Then spend the day with my family. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.
Logan’s birthday is coming up and I can’t believe he will be 2. It just flies by.
I wish all of you mum’s out there a happy Mother’s day.