Blitzkrieg

We awoke to a funny scene in our home this morning. Our little apartment currently looks like an interesting cross between a daycare and war zone. We employed a baby-feeding tactic last night that we refer to as, "The Blitzkrieg."

We normally each take one feeding shift in the middle of the night so that each of us gets a five hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep. The sleep is nice, but the solo shift is pretty rough. So the idea of the blitz is that we both get up for every shift and get it done as quickly as possible. This way, we reason, we will have some company at three a.m., and will be able to get all of the feedings done faster. It's a logical plan, right?

Well, it worked pretty well for us last night until three. I actually don't remember very much of that shift, except that my stomach hurt. And at the time it seemed to me that the best cure would be to eat some (read: most) of our friend Vicki's pumpkin bread. Right out of the tin she brought it to us in. I know that I fed one of the babies, but I can't remember which one. Tom very graciously fed the other two.

So our apartment this morning is littered with empty bottles and dirty burp cloths. We have some cleaning to do. But instead of getting to work we spent the morning dancing around the living room with the babies to Chris Brown. And finishing off Vicki's pumpkin bread. Right out of the tin.

Nap time

Avery at nap time today. Or at least it was supposed to be nap time. :)

Sunday Morning

Some fun shots from this morning. The 9:00AM feeding wrapped up and we decided to take some pictures of the triplets together before we put them back to bed. They seemed completely comfortable snuggled up next to each other and could've slept like this for hours if we hadn't taken them back to their cribs :)

From closest to furthest away: Grayson, Avery, and Graham. (10/23/11)

They loved this! As always, Avery made sure her arms were anywhere but by her side :) (10/23/11)

Fun outfits! (10/23/11)

All Home

Tomorrow marks two full weeks that we've been home as a family! What a special time it's been for us, and what an amazing and encouraging story God has made of our challenging journey to parenthood. There were many times that we wondered if we would ever have one baby, much less three at the same time!

When we think back over the past three years we’re taken aback at God’s kindness to us. We’ve seen how God works through people to provide encouragement and refreshment in the times when we’ve needed it most. Through friends who cried with us and supported us through the heartache of infertility. Through our church family who provided perspective and much-needed guidance for us as we made seemingly impossible decisions. Through loved ones who provided practical help (like making peanut butter sandwiches) for us during a difficult pregnancy. And through acquaintances who have taken a personal interest in our growing family, and who have surprised and overwhelmed us with their generosity.

A passage from the Bible really sums up our feelings about our experience: “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy (Psalm 126:3).” We really have experienced so much joy through this process, and we thank God for his kindness to us. We look forward to walking with Him, as a family, in this next chapter of our lives.

Graham Paul. (10/19/11)

Avery Mae. (10/19/11)

Grayson David. (10/19/11)

Three for Three

After 45 days in the NICU and nearly doubling in weight, Graham was released from the hospital yesterday! Graham's release marks the end to our three-month stay in Pasadena, and the beginning of our time together as a family.

Shannon and I are ecstatic to have our kids, all together, at home and we thank God for seeing our little ones through this.

We'll have more updates and pictures soon!

Graham buckled in and ready to rock! (10/9/11)

Going Home

Today is a good day.

Double Baby Bath Time

Here's a video of the babies' morning bath, starring: Two Angry Babies and Two Inexperienced Parents. Gray isn't a fan of baths. Ave peed.

Caution: This video may cause motion sickness. I'm a horrible videographer. :)

Two Peas in a Pod

Yesterday Shan and I took Grayson and Avery to their first pediatrician's appointment. They did a great job, and they didn't fuss at all in the car-seats or stroller. More importantly, we learned that both babies are very healthy and gaining weight. Avery is now 5lb 6oz, and Gray weighed in at 6lb 6oz!

Graham is still in the hospital, but he's also doing very well. He's eating from a bottle every other feeding and weighs 4lb 12oz! It's hard to believe that this little guy weighed less than 3lbs just six weeks ago. We're hoping we get to bring him home soon.

Grayson and Avery keeping each other company as we waited for the doctor. (10/3/11)

Shannon holding Graham. As always, he's very alert! (10/4/11)

Avery's Free!

The Gerstheimer family is two-for-two! Yesterday evening Avery was released from the hospital! She's right around 5lbs, eating well, and growing steadily. We're so happy to have her with us - now we're just waiting for Graham!

Shannon standing next to Avery Mae on her first outing from the hospital. Grayson is closest to the camera - it doesn't look like he enjoyed this picture too much :) (10/1/11)