Threes Company: March 2012

Well, its been three or so weeks sense I've posted anything on the blog. While I do feel sorry that I haven't updated as often as I would have liked it hasn't been because I haven't wanted to. March has been one of the tougher if not toughest months for us. On the family front March brought upon the first true family sickness that we have had to deal with. It started with a stomach virus I got somehow the 2nd week of the month. It hit me pretty hard. For the first time in years I actually had a fever. At one point it was around 101.5 degrees. For two days I didn't eat or get out of the bed. Thank God Katie didn't get it at the same time. (Speaking of Katie, she was absolutely brilliant the entire month. I'll get to that in a moment) About the time I started feeling better Maggie got it. Out of the three kiddos Maggie by far has the most sensitive stomach so it seemed to affect her the most. It was so hard to see her in so much pain and discomfort. At one point she had 103 fever and seemed to be burning alive. I remember being a kid and getting sick and how awful it felt and that was all I could think of. Now I know the kids aren't conscious of life yet but they can still feel and feeling sick stinks. Maggie was sick basically from Friday to Sunday. Just as she was beginning to feel better Kade came down with it. Yep, you guessed it. This virus decided to run through the entire family picking off one member at a time. Now Kade's stomach isn't as delicate as Maggie's so he wasn't quite as fussy but he was still one sick lil fella. If I remember correctly, everything is a blur these days, he too had a temp over 102.9 or so. Kade was sick from Sunday to Wend which was the time that Larkin got the virus. I think God was trying to help us by only having 1 sick baby at a time but it was still very tough. All the while, Katie wasn't feeling great either and was pretty much doing all the nights by herself. I'm come to the realization that mom knows best and when her babies are sick, even if I tell her I'll stay up it doesn't matter. Her senses go into overdrive and she can hear even the smallest little cry. It is also because of this that Katie literally may have slept 3-4 hours a night for two weeks. On top of that she was working three days a week at the hospital. To say she was exhausted wouldn't do justice to her. By the end of the two weeks Katie physically and mentally had nothing left to give. She told me several times that she didn't think she could keep it up. Everyday when I got home from work I could see the strain all the work was taking on her. I tried my best to help out where I could but at times I literally felt frozen. I am completely unfamiliar with how to take care of babies when they are sick. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I was just sitting there making her do all the work. When you have triplets it doesn't work that way. From the early mornings to the late nights we are always doing something to address one of their needs. I don't want to sound negative because while it can be tough it can also be just as rewarding. However, I have no idea where she finds the strength that she does down deep to provide for our kids. Katie would go to bed around 8 or 9 after the were asleep only to get up in the middle of the night to take care of each child as the awoke and cried out. Following the virus each one got a nasty cold. In fact, the cold was probably worse than the virus because all the mucus and congestion made it impossible for the lil guys to sleep more that about 3 hours at a time. When I say for about 6 or 7 days in a row there was probably a baby up 21hours of the day I am probably underestimating it. And you know what. Katie was right there with them. If there is another woman on this planet that was able to do what she did for our kids and me over that two week period I'd pay $10,000 to meet her. Heck, make it a Million. You know why? Because you won't be able to find one. God has only made one and I happy to say her name is Katie Fordham

March has also been a month of Transition for the kids and their motor skills. As you can see from the video posted a few weeks ago Kade is off and running. Well, maybe not running quite yet but he is definitely a mobile soldier. In fact, I went to get him yesterday morning and he had pulled himself up in his crib. He wasn't quite standing yet but he was close. Then, when I got home from work yesterday afternoon Grace, our nanny, showed me a couple pictures she had taken on her phone of him when she went to get him from his nap and whatda ya know. The little booger is standing up in his crib!!! OMG - he is growing up so freaking fast. My bet is that he will be walking before we get to Destin, FL in May. So, not only can he crawl, stand up in his crib but he is also able to sit up now. Its been a real treat to watch him progress. While he is still ahead of the other guys in his motor skills they are getting better as well. Maggie can sit up on her own and is starting to get up on all fours when she is on her stomach. It will only be a few more weeks before she can start to crawl. Larkin rolls around on the floor like a top, can get on all fours and wouldn't surprise me if he starts his army crawls any day now. He is physically so much bigger than his brother and sister that it may take a little longer for him to walk though. That said, no one really knows though. All we can say right now is that it is nothing but pure joy to watch them develop into such beautiful little people.

I can't help but say that we are a truly blessed family. Everything has been great. Work is great. The kids are great. Katie is great. Life is great. I'm excited about this summer and all the swimming at the pool that we will be doing. Ray and Becky better get their pool ready b/c the Fordham 5 will be there every week!

Till next time, enjoy the pics and the videos.

Rhett