5.5 weeks....

Here are some updated photos from this week. Brennan is now almost 6 weeks old!


Tiernan in hew new "tu-tu" Pj's from Carters

Liam in his new "fireman" pj's from Carters....we have created a monster!

My mom (Nannee Thomas) with Brennan today

Tummy time.....

The facial contortionist and look at the Don King/Al Sharpton hair do!

Taking a breathe....

This week my mom came to help out for two weeks. I honestly think it was the first time I have been able to let my guard down and accept some help. I have just been in go-go-go mode for the last month, that it's been nice to be able to have some help around the house.

What I realized too is that I had not left the house BY MYSELF for almost 6 weeks! Now that is sad! So this week I started back to the gym (thank you mom!) and oooohhhhh how I am enjoying a little time to myself! Honestly, the first time I left the house alone, I cried! It has also been good practice in Brennan taking a bottle, and me being ok leaving him. He's in a schedule now, so in general, his feeds are much more predictable. I have been amazed at how easily I have gotten back into my workouts. I am waiting a week to start resistance training again, but am doing cardio and core and although sore, am feeling quite good (ok ok I AM tired!). I can honestly say now that I think working out during pregnancy had some huge advantages and I am seeing those now.

Brennan has also been stretching out his sleep, last night he only woke once and I got almost 6 hours straight of sleep! Someone pinch me! Overall though, things really are sooooo much better. The kids have adjusted well, Brennan is doing great and although tired, we are finding a good routine.

I will post some photos soon. I should be sleeping right now!

Post-partum pilates, OUCH!

Yesterday (after munching down a cookie mind you!) I finally decided to pull out my post-partum Pilate's DVD and see what it was all about. A few minutes into the video I decided to just go ahead and try it so I paused it, put on some work out clothes and got my mat. You should have heard me laughing! The DVD is great, quick but difficult and very focused. But some of the exercises I literally could not even do which i remember being the case after having the twins. I'm hoping to get back to the gym maybe sometime this week, but this will be great for working on my core. Hopefully though I will not look as ridiculous as I did yesterday...Jay kept coming in to see what I was laughing about.

One of many firsts as a family of five....

This year Jay's fire department helped host a community fire works show/community event. When we got there, there were multiple bounce houses, fire trucks (aka "whee-o's"), "treats" and friends galore. We plopped ourselves down in the middle of the field under some tents and the kids went to town on the bounce houses (if the sweat dripping down their faces was any indication of how much fun they had!). I mainly stayed under the tent with Brennan and while we were there we met up with/saw a lot of Jay's co-workers and their families. It's been a real pleasure the past year or so to get to know some other couples better, especially now that we all have kids. Jay said a lot of his friends were surprised I was even there with Brennan. Heck I was even surprised that we attempted this...especially consider we were both completely sleep deprived (Jay had 4 hours of sleep in 3 days and then I am obviously up at night with Brennan still). But I am glad we went, and the kids did SO well. They just had a blast. Every time Liam would see a fire truck he would say "that's Liam in there! That's my fire truck!". So cute!

Dadda with Brennan

Momma with Brennan

"Piggy Tails" as we refer to them in this house.....

When we returned home, we tossed everyone and their filth into the tub, put Brennan to bed and joined our neighbors for fire works in the street (@ 9:30pm mind you, a major feat in the early-bedtime-Vestal household!).....

All in all, a very enjoyable time! The kids are coming into such a fun and cute age. They now remember things, can recount what occur ed at an event and of course have lots of fun embellishing their story:) It's always cute to hear Tiernan toss in rainbows and ponies into all of her stories! I/we are also enjoying Brennan SO much. He is such a good baby and absolutely a great addition to the family. Although I am certainly not wishing this age away at all, I can see how fun events like this will be as they get older.

Excercise, post baby bodies...tummy tucks:)

Now that I am 4 weeks post partum, I am itching to get back into my excercise routine. My body however, is not quiet as enthusiastic as my mind:) The sleep deprivation makes me crash around noon, and then there is the whole recovery process. As I was laying on my bed last night, I put my hand on my stomach and was horrified to literally be able to put my entire fist INTO my stomach! My belly button is now a lost cause and god knows how seperated my stomach muscles are (if it says anything, one of the nurses even commented on it when I was in the hospital, thanks!)

I am eyeing this program called the P90X fitness program that you can do from home. It focuses on muscle confusion, which has always worked very well for me and includes a diet component. It's big on core strength which is my main concern after having twins and then another pregnancy. It's also something I can use from home b/f Brennan can go to the gym, or if the kids get sick. I have never been a big fan of doing the "mom walks" as I see so many moms doing around the area. I don't know the whole "mom I am hot...mom I want a snack...oh no my pooooonnnny fell out!" is just not that relaxing, nor is the baby strapped to my chest that is now dripping in sweat or the gazillion snacks I have to toss at them to keep them satisfied as they sit squished in their jogging stroller. I would much rather they be able to go do play-doh and crafts, while I excercise then force them into a stroller for an hour.

I am excited to get back on the horse and hit it hard this summer so that I can fit back into my size 4's by the fall, lets face it, we do not have the money for me to buy new clothes! Jay and I have tossed around the idea of a tummy tuck, and although we're not even close to considering one anytime soon, I would absolutely not be opposed! (if you saw my stomach you would agree!) Hmmm..maybe that will be my mommy makeover when we finally pay off all the IVF debt? he he....

Quiet time at the Vestal house.....

As we have experienced the last few weeks with a newborn in the house, we quickly realized that by 4:00 the kids are done for the day and really need some serious winding down time. I have also found that although I would like to get out during this time, it's nice to take advantage of that 3rd nap Brennan takes and focus on the twins, perhaps have an iced coffee and make dinner (ok and maybe attempt to watch some Oprah?). So in trying to keep this time relatively calm, I have been pulling out the arts and crafts more. We also got DVR so that I have some good age-appropriate cartoons readily available (Sesame Street, Word World...gotta love PBS).

Jay is on day two of his shift and I actually didn't even get to speak with him yesterday. His station is so busy. So needless to say, these 48's are pretty exhuasting with all three kids...but I do think that will improve immensly once Brennan is sleeping through the night and I can get a break by going to the gym.

So here are a few photos of my monkeys from today. They got such a kick out of getting to wear "Dadda's shirt" and were immediatly naked and ready for their shirts at the first mention! They look relatively clean in these photos, but by the end Liam was covered up to his elbows in green paint:)

4 weeks.....

Look at the dark hair and dark eyes, perhaps someone will look like mama?

Dadda catching some shut eye

Brennan bear has been with us now for almost 4 weeks. It's crazy to think that he will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. It seems like he has been here forever. Adjusting to having three young children has been challenging, as I suspected, but not impossible by any means. I think if anything, having a third child is definitely changing us as people, as a couple and obviously, as a family. Brennan is doing great. He's a great baby and seems to handle the chaos around him fairly well:) With two almost 3 year old toddlers running around, there is never a moment of silence, nor a lack of excitement in this house:)

The current favorite? Dumb-dumbs.....hey sometimes we need some motivation to get things accomplished around here!

My mom comes next week and I am soooo looking forward to it! Just the thought of perhaps getting a nap, help with a meal or even possibly (gasp) maybe going to a movie by myself is so exciting at this stage in the game! Not to mention having Jason's laundry ironed (which sadly, only happens about every 3-6 months when my mom visits! Yes I AM a bad wife:)

Oh and in all his "spare" time, Jay has planted our garden (a tad less aggressively as we did last year, so I think we may actually get produce from it this year!)