17 months 5 days

Even though I was heading to bed a little earlier, it ended up being closer to 3:30 am again. In the morning, Randy gave some milk to Tammy and Emmy around 5:30, which is unusual, and then they all woke up again at their regular time of just after 8 am. We fed them, cleaned them, dressed them, and let them run around, while Randy was getting breakfast ready, then he took them all downstairs, and I went back to bed. It was already 9:30.

It took me a while to fall asleep, and it's always as hard to get up the second time as it is the first. Thankfully I had a little more time, as they were using up some baby food jars today, and Randy was gonna cook omelets. I wanted to make some green beans in addition for the little ones, but never got to do that. Shortly after I woke up, the boys also woke up, and so I took them downstairs. But suddenly I found myself with three crying babies, not knowing what to do. Sometimes Randy is unavailable at the worst time. Thankfully Sonja arrived and helped out, though they wanted to be with me. Today was a tough day for me, because of situations like that, and because feeding them is so hard right now.

A few minutes later we all went upstairs and sat down to feed them. They liked the jar and all ate it all, just no green beens. Then Tammy went to bed, and the boys went downstairs with Sonja and me, while Randy was cooking omelets.

We were having lots of fun, though Emmy was a little cranky. The sun was out, and it was warmer than usual, so I spontaneously decided to take Emmy outside. So I got some clothes for him, and for me, and we moved the shelf so we could even open the door and go outside. Then I got their favorite tricycle, and off we went. We have a long, straight stretch right outside, so I went up and down with him, and ran at times, which he greatly enjoyed. I also gave him the opportunity to run around a little. He had so much fun, he was really upset when we went back inside, but it was time. Our food was ready. Later in the day, he brought me his clothes and pointed at the tricycle, obviously wanting to go outside again, but dark clouds had come bringing rain, and the temperatures had dropped as well. Not today!

After going back inside, it was time to eat. It was already 1:30, and the boys were tired, and crying, even waking Tammy up, who had slept way to little, at the most an hour. I put the boys to bed, while Tammy went downstairs after I failed to get her to sleep again, but Sammy was crying, while Emmy was talking, so it was not working. Out they came again and went downstairs as well. Frustrating. And my food was untouched and cold by then. The microwave helped out.

We were all downstairs, except for Randy, where I had to juggle trying to eat my food while keeping them away from it. And away from the tea. Tiring. At 2:30 we went upstairs for the afternoon meal. Once again they ate the whole jar, even though it was bigger than usual, plus fresh fruit. Then the boys went to bed, and finally fell asleep after a short time of complaining. However, they only had about half an hour left before it was 4 pm. Sonja was downstairs with Tammy, while Randy was upstairs, taking a break, and I lay down, though I didn't sleep.

At 4 pm I woke them up and took them downstairs, where we now all stayed to play with them. And there was another moment of all three crying, with Randy not there, being overwhelmed. Emmy was pretty cranky, tired, having been woken up. Sonja tried hard to occupy him. She pulled him around on the nursing pillow, and pushed Tammy on the tricycle. Randy had Sammy with him, keeping him busy. Emmy and Tammy often came over to me. Tammy brought me books to read to her, and Emmy was whining - a real Viennese - and I swirled him around to make him happy. I also showed him an animal video at one point.

At 5 pm I went upstairs to get dinner ready. And they came upstairs without me calling them, as they were getting so cranky and restless. And dinner was tough again, with them stopping to eat after barely half their plate. We sure try everything getting them to eat. And I give them a cup and spoon to keep their hands busy. Tammy loves putting food from her plate into the cup, and then getting it back out. But they also throw them down frequently, so it's all pretty tiring, picking up what they throw down, and trying to get them to eat. We finally gave up, put them in the bathtub, and carried their plates to the bathroom to feed them in the bathtub, where they always end up cleaning off their plates. Sammy didn't want to eat with Randy either tonight, so I ended up feeding him in the bathtub, while Sonja fed the other too. My back was really aching, holding him in the water, kneeling by the bathtub, and putting a lot of effort on keeping him above the water, even with all the moving he was doing, while feeding him at the same time. I was glad when he was done and coming out of the water. In fact, Emmy came out first, as he'd had enough, and he ended up being in bed first, the girl second, and Sammy last, so not the typical order. And after a while, with Sammy whining, the boys got some milk, and Tammy drank the leftovers. I had to stay a while, before Tammy fell asleep and I could walk away. What a tough day it was! And I don't forsee it getting better any time soon!

The rest of the evening was cooking, eating, cleaning and office work, as usual. Now it's 2 am, and I'm about ready to go to bed instead of doing more work.