A Lesson in Letting Go

I admit, since having the babies I have been a little uptight. If the babies start the day off schedule, I feel like my day is chaos. I worry if they don't finish their bottles; lately I have been known to lay awake at night thinking, "great, since their bellies aren't full they are probably going to get up at 2 AM instead of 3, then they will get up again at 6 AM instead of 7 AM, they won't be able to stay up till 8:15 AM which is morning nap time and the whole day is going to be off!" I become flustered if their 5 PM catnap is too short and worry about their constant excessive spit-up, normal for reflux babies. In short, I have become a tight-ass.

I knew things had gotten bad when I could no longer get back to sleep at night after getting up to tend to the babies. I knew I needed a break when I was counting down the days to my dentist appointment, looking forward to the 1 hour of peace and quiet away from the kids. I knew I desperately needed to get away when the dentist said "it looks like you may have a cavity, we should go ahead and take care of it now but it probably would be ok till your next appointment in 6 months" and I thought this was great news, happily making the appointment for the following week.

So, Max and I booked a night away at the Umstead Hotel in Cary while Grammy G and Aunt Cid graciously watched the babies. I was nervous to leave the kids for 2 days. Before we left I was constantly worrying. "What if the kids refuse to nap, what if they forget to swaddle them when they try to put them down for naps, what if they don't eat well, how will they find time to get the bottles done...they don't know how much planning it takes me to fit everything into the day. Plus, what if they rock them to sleep and then the kids expect to always be rocked to sleep, there may be permanent damage to the routine." I left them a detailed schedule with instructions galore, I must have told Max a hundred times before we left, "I sure hope they stick to the schedule." I was eager to get away but ancy as we walked out the door.

We started the weekend with a 4 mile run in Umstead Park. It was the perfect way to get my mind refocused for the weekend. After our run we checked into the Umstead Hotel and spent the day getting treatments and basking in the glorious spa. Around lunchtime I realized I was no longer antsy about the babies. In fact, I wasn't worried about them at all. I felt light and completely in the present moment. I realized I had let go! My babies were in great hands and this weekend was about Max and I. Alleluia I was completely baby free!

The hotel was gorgeous and the experience left me refreshed and recharged. I woke up a few times Saturday night but immediately realized I had no reason to get up so went right back to sleep. I think I slept 10 hours. We enjoyed time by the pool (I love NC, there are days you can enjoy the beautiful fall colors and bask in your bathing suit by the pool at the same time), drank wine, enjoyed the 5 star food, and drank more wine :) We didn't even call to check on the babies until right before we left on Sunday.

A walk around the lake

The hotel grounds

By the pool

When we walked through the door Grammy G gave me a huge hug and said "you are an amazing women, I bow down to you." "Hmmm, things must have gone well" I thought. The truth was the kids were great on Saturday but Sunday they did get a little off schedule and the day was a little choatic. But, all the babies were happy and well and no permanent damage to the schedule was done :) In fact, they all only got up once during the night and slept great, no one needed rocking :) This morning I am back to reality. Marcus does not want to nap and I'm behind on my routine already. BUT, I am present and relaxed. So what if Marcus doesn't sleep great this morning, he is bound to catch up this afternoon. I realize that these moments are too fleeting to constantly be worrying about schedules, patterns and amounts. This past weekend came at the precise moment when I really needed to just let go.

We had an amazing time this weekend, thanks Grammy G and Aunt Cid! You guys did a great job with the kids. They miss you already! We are already looking at places for our next getaway. Grammy G and Aunt Cid can tell you what a breeze watching the kids was (wink, wink), any takers?

To Roanoke We Go

We packed up the van again last week and headed to Roanoke to visit the granparent's Roanoke home and all our family friends. Max was out of town so Grammy P. jumped right in and lent a hand with the babies. The kids slept on the 3 hour ride and managed to stay on schedule during the stay...crucial for all our sanity! It was a gorgeous evening so we got to take some great fall photos. My parent's neighbor, Stephanie (who has twins herself), tracked down a few baby items such as a swing (unfortunately Marcus cannot live without a swing but that is whole other post), a boppy (another triplet essential) and a floor gym so we had less to pack. Thanks Stephanie for all your help and for taking such great fall photos!

My awesome childhood friend Carly, got the babies one of the best presents ever, DIAPERS! I just had to take a picture of the babies with her gift:


We are desperately waiting for our babies to sleep through the night. Yes, I said "waiting". Is that funny? They still get up two times during the night to eat. I tried shushing them back to sleep once instead of feeding them, it was so much work for just an extra hour. I forsee "sleep training " being a very grueling process. For now, these babies are my excuse for going to bed at 8 PM :)

A few more pictures

Short and sweet today, just a few pictures to share:

Josie - our spirited child, Mia - our princess, Marcus - our flirt


I still can't believe we are a family of 5!

We have turned a corner folks....

They say that 6 weeks is the peak of fussiness. Alleluia, they were right! Things around our house are very different then they were 1 month ago. Our babies celebrated their 3 month birthday Sept. 29th but the BIG news is they are now 7 weeks adjusted and things around the Gravitt household have just gotten much happier. We are surrounded by smiles and giggles and the BEST news yet...the babies almost always go right to sleep not only in the evenings but also for their morning and afternoon nap! In fact, last night was my first night alone with the trips and it went wonderfully. Now I never felt depressed but I have to admit, I had some rough days....I am a mom of triplets after all. However, these smiles and healthy sleep habits have to better than any anti-depressant medicine out there :) Ok, I have to admit I have found a secret weapon to get us through the witching hour, the hardest part of the day...


I am relishing the next few months, I hear teething can be a b@#&!

We recently had a photographer come to our house to take some photos. I know I said the kids were all smiles but after an 1.5 hour photo shoot, things are bound to get messy. I absolutely love this pic of Marcus with the girls!


This picture makes me laugh. Mia is our precious princess. A pretty pink dress fits her personality perfectly. Josie on the other hand is slightly out of place in a frilly dress. Here she is a little disheveled. Her dress doesn't sit quite as dainty as Mia's and her bow looks a little more like a sweatband. Gotta love it!


Our photographer did an amazing job and we will be sure to post some of her outstanding pictures (of three happy babies) very soon!