13 months 19 days

This morning we fed them at the dining room table and put them to bed for their morning nap after. Sammy fell asleep right away, and Emmy was tired enough to fall asleep with me stroking his head. In fact, I was standing between his and Tammy's bed and was stroking her head with my left hand and his head with my right hand. Tammy does not fall asleep as easily, and once Emmy was sleeping, I picked her up and lay down with her where she fell asleep on my chest. Emmy doesn't sleep very long in his bed, as he does not go back to sleep when he wakes up, unless he is on me. The girl slept well and was the last one to wake up. I took her downstairs to join the others, put the food in the warmer, and lay back down for a little bit. A little bit later we fed them downstairs, and I went to the kitchen to cook for the adults.

Today we received an IKEA delivery, a gift from a friend - three high chairs! I opened the box, and Randy put the chairs together - with the help of the babies. Sammy read the instructions, and Emmy and Tammy helped Daddy put it together. Daddy also gave them the big box to play with, but they weren't that interested.

We had some fun playing together and were both present to watch Emmy take 14 steps on his own! Well done! He's now ahead of his sister who was ahead with all the previous milestones. Another time he took 10 steps.

Around 2 pm our friend Anna arrived to help, which we were thankful for. Only minutes later it was time for their afternoon meal, and we decided to try out the new chairs. They worked really well!

Then it was nap time. Normally Sammy just falls asleep, but not this afternoon. He just cried and never slept. Emmy was very tired as he had not slept long in the morning, and so he fell asleep pretty fast with me stroking his head. Tammy was waiting for her turn with Anna downstairs, and after Emmy was asleep I got her and lay down with her. It took her longer than usual to settle down and fall asleep.

It was already nearly 3 pm at that point, the time that the Mobile Therapy Support lady was gonna come. And Randy's plan was to go to IKEA to pick up an item. He waited for her arrival and then left. As I was lying down with Tammy, Anna and the therapist were alone with Sammy. Sammy hadn't slept and was just crying. I was hoping Randy was still here and could comfort him, but he wasn't. And Emmy woke up when Randy made some noise as he left. He was crying as well and had to cry for a while before Anna came to get him. I didn't like being tied down with Tammy sleeping on me and not being able to help. And then knowing the two ladies were down there with the boys, and neither parent present with them. The rule is no sleeping after 4 pm, but I already got up 10 minutes earlier as I could not stay away any longer, and we went downstairs to join them.

Sammy had calmed down after his initial crying, but once he saw me, he just wanted to be with me. So I had him for most of the rest of the time, and tried to keep him happy. That wasn't that easy, as he was obviously pretty tired, I had him lying on the couch and played with his legs, which he enjoys. Emmy was having fun with the therapist, and Tammy was still glued to me, having just woken up. As you can see on the picture, we all have to wear masks when the therapist is here.

She left at 4:30 pm, which was also the time for me to go to the kitchen to get their food ready. They were all cranky and tired, and poor Anna had three crying babies as I went upstairs. I was hoping Randy would be back soon, at the latest for dinner time at 5. They were crying so much that I suggested to Anna she'd bring them upstairs. That helped, as they could crawl around and be near me. Emmy and mostly Tammy were holding on to my dress for much of the time, asking me to pick them up, but I was cutting up their food. It was hard moving around having a baby or two holding your dress/leg!

Finally everything was ready, and with no Daddy in sight, Anna had to feed both Tammy and Emmy, while I fed Sammy. We used the new high chair for Emmy, and it worked really well. He is sitting a lot better in it, not as low and not as leaned back, and he was not fussing at all like he did in the other chair. Also, I got new plates for them, with suction cups, as they're supposed to pick up food and put it into their mouths themselves. I never saw him do that, though he might have done it. I was too buys feeding Sammy, who is not easy to feed. I didn't get very much food into him. Usually Daddy feeds Sammy.

I gave up, cleaned up Sammy, and gave him his bottle. He was so tired he was falling asleep while drinking. While I was feeding him, Anna was still trying to feed the other two, who were roaming around free by then. I put Sammy to bed, and then went through the routine with Emmy, and then Tammy.

Just after I had put down Tammy, Randy finally returned, after nearly 3 hours away! He had gone to the wrong place first, so he lost a lot of time there. I was still trying to get Emmy and Tammy to sleep, and Emmy has had a rough night already. Tammy fell asleep first, but every time I'd walk away, Emmy was up and crying again. It took me a long time tonight before I could finally walk away and take care of the kitchen. And then it wasn't long before he was awake and crying again, and that has happened a couple of times since. He always wants me to stay with him until he falls asleep. It's 1:30 am now, and he just cried, half an hour after eating. I didn't move, and thankfully he didn't cry for long. They all had their second night milk earlier tonight, so let's hope they still sleep until the morning.