As we continued to establish some sort of routines placing the boys on a regular feeding, diaper changing and sleeping schedule, Fion and I were very pleased with our progress (or should I say "work-in-progress" instead as this is going to be a process that will continue to evolve / changes as we move on??? haha... my accountant's brain took over again...) Just as everything was going as planned, I suddenly had a thought after our morning feeding: To take our boys out for a Toy-R-Us (Baby-R-Us) shopping trip! The thought of knowing this would be our family's first planned day trip caught Fion's attention immediately. Know what??? It didn't take us long to put the idea into action as we were both very interested to find out whether we could fit this new activity into our newly established schedule! We would also like to take the opportunity to check out some last minute deals on baby supplies and thought it would be a date to remember as we wrapped up year 2014. Below were some of the highlights of our day out.
Getting the boys and our baby day bag ready. What was inside our bag? Technically speaking, there was no major difference in terms of the content of our bag in compared to other parents: Milk, bottles, Diapers, wipes, a set of spare clothes, face cloths, soothies and all of the above x 3. Total time spent in packing the 3 boys and day bag: 45 mins
Just as every day trip, we always started our day with a BIG breakfast! Just as we finished our meals, know what? It's feeding time for the boys! It had been 3 hours since last feeding and the boys were getting a bit fuzzy. We always change the boys' diapers before feedings, knowing this would help wake them up a bit and avoid awaking them up after feed. It's great that we know the owners of the restaurant since we moved to the area 5+ years ago. It has been one of our favorite restaurants around the area. They explicitly told us that they didn't mind us staying for as long as we needed to. Hooray! So, we spent approximately 2.5 hours in the restaurant just for breakfast + feeding the boys!
Arrival at the registry of Baby-R-Us. 2 strollers + 3 carseats... Did you think we can walk around unnoticed by everyone in the store? Yes, we were being stopped, greeted and inquired by "almost" everyone in the store about our triplets' story. Evidently, it was a real buzz to the store and it lasted for at least a good 30 mins before we could begin what we originally set out to do - shopping. We spent about 30 mins shopping then we decided to head home as we were both getting a bit annoyed by the curiosity and the strange eye contents of people around us. :) Well, this is the life with triplets. Don't jealous!
Immediately after we got home, we fed each boy a bottle again. Yes - it had been about 3 hours since we last fed them. Cedric was feeling very energized after feed.
Cedric was still feeling very excited about the trip, but the fact was that he was actually very tired and sleepy.
Cedric feeling awake in bed...
So, I decided to swaddle him up! This was proven to help restoring security and redirecting their focus to bed.
Ethan was not doing too well either...
He didn't want his soothie and kept spiting it out each time I placed it in...
At last, Ethan was swaddled up too... It's bed time!
I couldn't find any pic of Skylar as I was occupied by his two brothers who were having trouble sleeping. Skylar appeared to be a better sleeper in comparison to his brothers. From what I can remember, Skylar remained calm after the trip and didn't suffer the same hyper illness that his brother had suffered.
To conclude, it was a great trip. We had got something accomplished, but most importantly, we also realized some major weaknesses with our planning and thought processes about travelling. You cannot blame execution when you have poor planing. =P...
Here was some takeaways from this trip:
1) Always change the diaper before you head out. Things can be done more efficiently when you are in your element. Everything will take longer to do when you are not.
2) Bring extra baby supplies whenever possible. Just throw a few more pieces of everything to your baby bag will do. No planning necessary. You car / stroller will carry the load, so weight shouldn't be that big of a concern.
3) Always bring a soothie!! I don't know how it works but it works like magic. It can almost always help to soothe a fuzzy baby. We are currently using the Avent soothie. We tried another brand too but they did not seem to like it.
4) Budget your time backwards. Think of your next feeding time and work backward. Remember: You cannot soothe a crying baby when he / she is hungry! Budget your time around their feeding schedule so you will be available and ready to feed them when they are hungry. This is no rocket science.
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