Alex

We found out this week that Alex has a condition called Laryngomalacia. We had been noticing for the past few weeks that he seems to be struggling to breathe and breathes very noisily. He had been diagnosed with reflux so we thought it might be something from that. We tried a bunch of different things to try to make it better and when it did not get any better, we called the doctor this week because it was getting really painful to listen to him and see him struggle to breathe and eat. Luckily, my mom is well connected with the doctors in town and one of the doctors she works with agreed to come out the house to look at Alex so we would not have to take him into the office. He is the same doctor that was my pediatrician when I was a baby :)

Alex's problem is that his larynx has not developed completely so that when he breathes in, his airway collapses a little which causes the noisy breathing. The cartilage in his throat has not hardened like it should to keep the airway open when he breathes. He will eventually outgrow it as the larynx fully matures and this should not cause any long lasting problems. The biggest danger right now is that it could be interfering with his ability to eat. It could also get a lot worse if he gets sick and the airway further narrows. For a much better explanation of this condition, check out http://childrensspecialists.com/body.cfm?id=464

We have an appointment on Tuesday to see a speech pathologist who will take a closer look at Alex's breathing and eating. Then probably later next week we will head to Akron to the children's hospital for further testing. While it is nice to finally have a diagnosis, it is hard to think about what he is going through when he breathes and eats. I hope he outgrows it soon. In the meantime, we are looking forward to having the specialists look at him and see if there is anything else we can do. He is basically doing fine though although not eating really great. We'll keep you posted on how the tests go!

On the road....

"I'm not sure what this huge vibrating thing is, but I think I like it!" - Alex

Our trusty navigator, Jan (left) and my mom.

Our fearless captain, Ron.

Me next to Ella (I'm wearing the warmest sweater I own - and it is actually Cecil's!

Grandma with Helen and Alex

Ella all bundled up

Alex

Helen a/k/a "socks on hands" - it got so cold out that we were able to keep them bundled up except for their hands. Helen hates to have her arms restricted so we could not keep them under the blankets. We resorted to putting socks on their hands for mittens :)

We made it to Ohio! Thankfully the trip was blessedly uneventful. Ron and Jan arrived at our house on Saturday afternoon and we promptly started loading up the RV. Kudos to our dear friend Freddy who came over and helped us load it up (and by "help," I mean he did it all himself -- in the pouring rain). The poor guy was soaked by the end but I don't know what we would have done without him. Thank you Freddy! We'll add this to the long list of things we owe you for. When the kids are older, I'll send them over to work for you for a few days to make up for this.

Needless to say, there was an extraordinary amount of stuff that we brought with us to Ohio. I think I became convinced that there were no stores in Ohio and that if I did not bring it with me, we would not be able to find it here. Thankfully, it all fit and we were loaded up and ready to go.

Sunday morning around 7 AM we departed. It was crazy cold for Florida, around 30 degrees. I guess it was preparing me for what was to come. The temps just kept dropping as we got further north. We were a little worried about the weather because it had been snowing in Atlanta and north of there. But we had dry roads and sunshine the whole way. Once we got going, the babies all fell asleep and pretty much stayed asleep the whole time we were moving. We fed them in their car seats so we did not even need to stop for feedings. We drove for about 14 hours on Sunday and stopped in Kentucky for the night. Ron drove the RV the whole time and my dad drove my car with the dogs in it. Did I mention that not only did I bring my 3 babies but my two dogs as well??

When we got to Kentucky, the temperatures were in the single digits. It took some serious coaxing to convince the dogs to get out of the car. We cranked up the heat in the hotel room and scurried the dogs and babies inside. I slept in one room with the babies and the dogs. On a good note, the babies slept in the car and made the trip uneventful. The downside is that they were wide awake when we finally stopped! I did not get much sleep that night but I was able to sleep in the RV the next day.

We arrived in Mansfield around 1 PM on Monday. We got everything unloaded and settled pretty quickly. Then I was off to bed so that I could get up and handle the night shift. We have not found a night nanny for here yet but I'm working on it. We have been very blessed to have so many friends coming over to help out during the day so that I can nap and get other things done. The dogs finally seem to be adjusting to the cold and the babies are settling in too. We are getting into our routine and trying to stay inside as much as possible. Of course, my mom's house looks like a daycare but she says she does not mind!! In honor of our arrival, we are having some of the coldest weather they have had all year - and it has snowed almost every day since we got here. I figure it is preparing me to only get better from here!!!

Week 7

Here's Ella, Alex, and Helen in thier matching outfits
Bath day is always a good excuse to put on cute outfits and take pictures!
Alex, Helen, and Ella

Ella, Helen, and Alex

How precious is Helen?

This is the last time Alex will be able to wear this outfit - another one that he's outgrown. He is about 7 and a half pounds here.

New zip code for Cecil

Cecil has a new zip code for his address now. It is:



Cecil Cauley

2/203 ETT (PMT-P)

PRT Sharana

FOB Rushmore

APO, AE 09311



And from what I have been hearing, it sounds like there is a whole coffee shop worth of Starbucks coffee on its way to him! I told him to be careful what he wishes for :) Thank you to everyone who has started sending him stuff. I think he will be set on coffee for the next year or ten, so he asked to please focus on sending stuff for the kids instead. And he promised to let me know if there was anything else that he needs. Other than some warmer weather, I think he is set for now. He also mentioned that the kids could use some balls - soccer balls, basketballs, anything they could play with. But if you send balls or anything like that, Cecil said to be sure to send pumps and needles for the pumps too. They don't have much so anything you send, please be sure to send as well anything needed to maintain it.



Here are some pictures he just sent me as well:

Isn't that sweet how they make them wear all this fake armor and these fake guns? Surely my husband is nowhere that would require him needing the real stuff......right? That is Cecil on top of the Humvee.


Here is Cecil with the Afghani counterparts that he will be working with this year. That's a lot of snow in the background.....

Here is an Afghani boy that is working full time now since his father was killed.

Cecil's address and wish list

If you want to contact Cecil or send him something, his address is:

Cecil Cauley
2/203 ETT (PMT-P)
PRT Sharana
FOB Rushmore
APO, AE 09354

He would love to have cards and letters from home but he is also asking for things for the kids in Afghanistan. They can use:

Hard candy that is individually wrapped (the soldiers throw it out to the kids as they drive by)
School supplies: paper, pencils, crayons, construction paper, coloring books, etc.
For Cecil: Starbucks ground coffee

My first package took about 10 days to get there. However, it can take 2-6 weeks so I would be careful about sending anything perishable. I recommend using the Flate Rate Shipping Boxes from the post office. It is $8.95 to send whatever you can fit in the box no matter how much it weighs.

If their needs change, I will be sure to update the wish list here. But for now, any of these would be very welcome!

Happy Birthday (again!)

Helen looking bright eyed and bushy tailed!

Well, it is another sort of birthday celebration for the triplets this week. Friday, January 11 is their due date if they had gone full term. They are six weeks old this week. It is hard to believe that they should not have even been born yet but they are still doing so well. Their characters develop more and more every day and it is so fun to look in their faces and try to figure out what they are thinking or learning.

Alex looks more like his cousin Andrew every day - definitely a Boeckman!

We call Helen "the Queen" because she does not tolerate waiting one minute more than necessary for her food or for anything else. We don't even think about feeding anyone else before feeding here. Here she is in her "throne."

Ella is looking a little startled at having her feeding interupted

When we went to the doctor this week for the one month check up, we used the opportunity to get everyone dressed up. Truth be told, they have so many clothes (Grandma went a little overboard) that there are many things they will wear only once or not at all. They had not worn any of these outfits yet so we figured the doctor was as good of an excuse as any to get dressed up. Here are the girls - Helen and Ella.

Alex, Helen, and Ella

Mommy and Alex

Mommy and Helen

Mommy and Ella

Grandma with Ella, Helen, and Alex

Alex is in his car seat and is ready to go

Ella is getting ready to get buckled in (we had to adjust the straps to make room for all the weight she has gained since the last time she was in it)

Everyone is all lined up and ready to get loaded into the minivan!

At the doctor's office waiting to be seen

Everything went well at the doctor's. They are all gaining weight like crazy. Helen is now 7 pounds 9 ounces, Alex is 6 pounds 15 ounces, and Ella is 6 pounds 2 ounces. They are all the size of full term babies which makes sense since this is the week they would have been born.

Of course I think my children are going to be geniuses but look at Alex holding his own bottle at 6 weeks old!

Ella is doing her post feeding stretch

Alex is hanging out and waiting his turn to eat

Christmas with the Cauleys

Our good friends Freddy and Allison made the triplets onesies that say "Formerly Known As A, B, or C." So we had to get a picture with them on! The photo shoot did not go as planned but I think we still got some pretty funny pictures out of it.

Alex just wants to know when he can go back to his bouncy seat and go back to sleep

Helen hates it when her hat falls over her eyes and this is guaranteed to make her scream

Ella is trying to figure out how she got into this mess with these two....

Helen has her "ready to run" socks/running shoes on

Ella and Mommy

Grandma with her triple bundle of joy

Christmas was pretty uneventful at the Cauley house. We did what we do every day - feed babies, wash bottles, and do laundry. New Year's was equally uneventful - this was probably the first year that I was actually awake at midnight because I was holding a crying baby. Nothing else I would rather have been doing though - expect maybe rolling over and telling my husband to go hold the crying baby :)

The babies are all still doing really well. Alex has been having some problems with reflux but we got him some medicine which seems to be helping. Ella went to the cardiologist this week for a small heart murmur. It does not look like anything to be concerned about but they are doing some more tests and we go back in a few weeks for a follow up.

The babies are getting so big now! Helen is about 7 pounds, Alex is 6 and a half pounds, and Ella is almost 6 pounds. They are the size of full term babies now and are still not supposed to be born for another week. Helen has outgrown all of her premie clothes and is in regular size baby clothes now. Everyone always says that they grow up so fast and it is hard to believe that they have already gotten so big. Although, since it seems like all we do is feed them non stop I would be worried if they weren't growing.

I have been doing pretty well. I got very attached to my 10 hours of sleep a night when I was pregnant and while I love the newfound freedom that comes with being 50 pounds lighter, adjusting to a lack of sleep is a hard adjustment to make. We have a nanny that comes at night several nights a week and I try to catch up on sleep when she is here but the other nights I try not to count how many hours I am actually sleeping. Otherwise, everything is going great.

Cecil should be reaching his final destination very soon. He is very eager to get there and get settled. Being in transit for two weeks has been rough - not to mention that he is having to adjust to the cold and snow. I've been asking him lots of questions about where he is and trying to picture the kinds of places he has been in. He is hoping to be able to send some pictures home soon. As soon as we confirm his address, I'll also post a wish list for him in case anyone is inclined to send an American goody box to him. I know he would appreciate it!

It looks like Alex is going to have the Boeckman genes - fair skin and a long face

Isabella is her own little person - cute as a button!

Helen is all Cauley - dark hair and a round face