A New Schedule (never thought I'd be excited about a schedule)

This was a crazy week (hence the lack of posts). On Monday, "we" decided to start the cereal process. I should probably clarify. I say "we", but there isn't really a "we". It was me. I decided to take our comfortable little schedule and throw it out the window. And can I just say that I'd never imagine in a million years that I'd be one of those "scheduled" moms. NEVER! I loved being spontaneous when Zoe & Ty were babies. I loved being flexible and doing "whatever". I can't believe I've become one of those moms that lives and dies by a schedule SHE created! A schedule that isn't even really written down. Sorry. Off subject. I'll get back on track.

This massive change I decided to make...to say the VERY least, I wasn't looking forward to it. I can remember the cereal struggle with Zoe & Ty...teaching them how to eat from a spoon...how to swallow something "solid". The thought of struggling with 3 at once just stressed me out THINKING about it.

But...

Thanks to a great idea from my friend Mary (an awesome Mother of 4) I tried tackling this challenge one triplet at a time! (Leave it to a mother of singletons to come up with this idea!) One baby got cereal for "breakfast" and the others had their typical bottles. At "lunch", another baby got cereal and the others had THEIR typical bottles. Then I did this all over again at "dinner". Before bed, everyone got a bottle.

I have to say, it wasn't all that bad! A bit messy...VERY funny...but not really that bad. Monday was a tad interesting, but by today (Friday) everyone definitely improved.


Here are a few highlights:

Cole was pretty straightforward. He spit out about 50% of whatever I put in his mouth and HAD to have a bottle after his bowl of cereal each day (stay tuned for the 6-month old update post for a good explanation for his eating habits). Can I just say that I love this picture! It's so him. I'm pretty sure he's thinking, "this is not what I ordered!"

Ava was probably the best eater. It took her about 3 spoonfuls to figure out that this cereal gig was SO much easier than sucking down 6 ounces of formula from a bottle. Princess Ava even wiped her own mouth. What a proper little lady.

We did need to make a few adjustments on how to feed her. She didn't really fit in the highchair. She couldn't see over the tray. And the bibs were a little big on her. You might not notice the child UNDER the bib, but I promise she really is there. At one point, she pulled it off by just pulling it over her head. I guess they don't expect little peanuts to need a bib for cereal!

Eli, on the other hand, was somewhat of a nightmare. He screamed something FIERCE when I put the cereal in his mouth.

But eventually found a way to swallow it...

You can imagine how long it took to get through Eli's feedings! Seriously, the first 3 days he had cereal, sucking his thumb was the only way that Eli would swollow. On Monday, when he put his thumb in his mouth, he actually got mad at his thumb. He gagged, took out his thumb, glared at it...and tried the other thumb.