Daddy Returns to Work

Derek returns to work today.  I had to fight back the tears as he told me good-bye.  I have caught myself looking for him in the house throughout the day only to remind myself he is not here.   I truly enjoyed spending the last seven weeks with him at home taking care of our family.  I am so blessed that he was able and willing to take off seven weeks from his job to stay home and help.  He was willing to step away from developing a new office for his accounting firm to take care of his family.  I am also thankful for his colleagues, who kept the ball rolling at work while he was away and let him keep his focus on his family.  We continue to transition into our new normal here at the Daniel's Den.  Luckily, my mom came back this week to stay with us and help out.

Volunteers Needed

Many you of have asked how you can help and we hope this post will answer that question.  First, I want to thank everyone who has offered a helping hand.  We really, really appreciate it.  Triplet newborns are a full time job for more than one person. The hardest part of the day is feeding time.  I simply do not have enough hands to feed three hungry babies at the same time.  If you are interested in assisting with feeding see the list of times below.  I would like to have consistent help to simplify things as much as possible, but I also do not expect you to be able to come every week.  Please let me know if you are interested in during one of these times.

Monday 11:00 am
Monday 2:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am
Tuesday 2:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am
Wednesday 2:00 pm

On Sunday nights we meet with our Bible Study group.  We are looking for volunteers who would like to come care for the triplets during this time from 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm.  We would love to have two people to come and help at the same time.  We will start meeting on September 9 and we meet for three weeks in a row and then we take a week off.

If you are interested in helping, please contact me by email at jenniferdan24@gmail.com or call/text me.  Our family thanks you in advance!

A Simple Update

Just wanted to take a minute to give a simple update of the Daniel's Den.  We love being the parents of a toddler and newborn triplets, but it might just be the hardest thing we have ever done in our lives.  Derek and I are exhausted to say the least.  Neither of us have slept more than 2 hours at a time for the last 6 weeks.  This week it seemed to catch up with us both since we were on our own.

The triplets are growing and thriving.  They are becoming more alert every day.  Their cheeks are starting to get chubby.  I can't believe how much they have already grown and changed since they were born.  They are on a good schedule and usually sleep at the same time, except for the occasional fussy one.  They eat every three hours during the day and every 4 at night.  When one wakes up to eat, we wake up and feed all three.  Derek and I have the night feedings down to a science.  We can get all three changed, fed, and asleep in about an hour.  We have become very innovative in figuring out how to care for three at the same time.  We can not wait for the day when they extend their night feeding and eventually sleep through the night.

Ben is a wonderful big brother.  He comes and loves on them and wants to hold them.  He gets very excited when they are awake.  He has adjusted to our "new normal" very well.  He seems to be happy that I can now take care of him again.  Ben started back to mother's morning out 5 days a week from 9-1.  He absolutely loves it!  He is so glad to be back with his friends from last year and he loves his teachers.  It's amazing how much he has changed since I took him to school last year for the first time.  He loves to come home and tell me about his day and his friends.

All is well in the Daniel's Den!

Ben's New Pet

Meet Chipper Jones the newest member of the Daniel's Den.  This is Ben's new fish.  The cutest thing about it is hearing Ben say his name.  This fish was allowed in my house under one stipulation: mommy is not responsible for feeding or cleaning up after it because I already have enough boys to clean up after.  I should have insisted on a girl fish...I am so outnumbered here.

Chipper Jones

A Day in the Life of the Daniel's Den

Ever wonder what your day would be like if you had newborn triplets and a 2 year old?  This video shows a glimpse of what it is like.  Everyday is filled with 7 feedings times 3, 21 bottles, loading and unloading the dishwasher two times a day, making formula and preparing bottles, approximately 25 diaper changes, laundry, laundry, and more laundry. But, we wouldn't trade it for the world....

One Month

Can it be that my babies are already a month old?  I hate how children seem to grow up so quickly.  I want to keep them as little as long as possible.  We have enjoyed the last month, even with the lack of sleep and amount of work it takes to care for our children. It has been an adventure and I'm sure it will continue to be....

Each month we will be post their pictures to show how they have grown.  Their individual pictures are taken with the stuffed animals that big brother Ben gave them the first time he met each one. 



Chase, Ryan, Tyler

 Baby A- Chase: The serious, thinker. Calm and laid-back. Loves to stretch out (always has).Weight: 7 lbs 2 oz

Chase

 Baby B- Ryan: The fiesty one. Let's us know when he's not happy.  Weight: 6 lbs 5 oz

Ryan

 Baby C- Tyler:  The talker. Loves to coo! Most likely to use the bathroom on you while changing his diaper.  Weight 6 lbs 12 oz

Tyler

Just the 6 of Us...

Saturday was the first day our family had been at home, just the six of us, with no outside help.  We misssed the extra help, but enjoyed having the special family time and our house to ourselves.  It was a beautiful day and we took advantage of the weather and spent the day outside.  The babies especially seemed to enjoy the weather.  While Ben was taking a nap, Derek and I took the opportunity to take pictures of the babies outside.  It was a lot of fun!  Below are some of the pictures we took.

Sweet Babies! Ryan, Chase, Tyler.

Chase

Ryan



Tyler

Ryan's faces make us laugh.



Tyler

Tyler, sleeping through his feeding.

Ryan cuddling with mommy.



Chase, the thinker....