A long over due Baby Gabe (and Mommy) update:

Last Thursday - August 28th - we took Gabe for his 1 week exam. (He was actually 10 days old, but since he had gained weight in the hospital, we were told by Dr. Arca that we could wait a few extra days to come in.)

Since most of my readers are Mommies too, you may already know that most all babies lose weight initially after birth. It's 100% normal, however the baby optimally will be back to his or her birth weight at two weeks of age. So, with Gabe being 7 pounds even at birth, we really wanted him to be getting close to 7 pounds again at this 10 day appointment. Since he was "eating" (gulping) so much, however, I wasn't at all worried, and Jon and I even had our suspicions that he might even be close to 7 1/2 pounds!

Well, much to our surprise, Gabe was 7 pounds and 10 ounces!! I am very proud to report that this has been from breast milk exclusively!! The lactation consultant in the hospital didn't think my supply for Gabe would be a problem since I only stopped nursing two babies 9 months prior. So, needless to say, Gabriel is really thriving!

Next we went to my appointment, where everything is healing along nicely AND we also got some great news! Because I had a c-section, that means I am restricted from lifting anything over 10 pounds for 6 weeks. The problem with that is I have two little guys (still in cribs) who weigh about 30 pounds each - and Jon is going back to work next week! My mom typically comes out one day a week, but what were we going to do with the boys the other 4 weekdays?! Well, Dr. White said that as long as I use good body mechanics (using arms and legs rather than abdominal muscles) and lift them only minimally, I can begin caring for Jacob and Caleb again next week!! What a relief! I seriously was stressed about what we were going to do.

On Friday, we took our first outing as a full family. Of course, it was nothing too exciting - to the hospital for Gabe's second PKU/blood screening - but still good to get out and see that it is definitely possible. All three of the boys did great! We even stopped at Chick-Fil-A on the way home. (We got it to-go rather than eating there; it was getting close to lunch and then nap time - we are brave, but not completely crazy!)

Sunday we made our second big family outing to Joe T. Garcia's for my Granny's 72nd birthday party. It's our family tradition to go there for her birthday every year. Granny was pretty surprised that we made it this year with all three boys in tow, but we were so glad that we did! Again, the boys were great. Jacob and Caleb were way over-stimulated and stuffed with good Tex-Mex and cake by the time we left (they had - literally - about 100 pictures taken of them) and were ready for a nap, but considering all of that, they were angels.

We take our family pictures at Joe T's every year, so this picture is actually there:



And the one from last year to compare:



The boys have matured so much in the past year! They are really about the same size, but look so much older. (As a matter of fact, they are wearing the same size diapers as last year - size 4 - and even mostly the same clothing size - 18 months, although they do wear a lot of size 24 month now too.)

Here's us with the "birthday girl" and Grandpa:



And, lastly, Gabe and Mommy:



I mostly want to show off my cute shirt! I actually got it at the Texas Mothers of Multiples Convention back in April. It is supposed to be triplets, however, I figured nobody outside of that convention or especially anyone without multiples would immediately look at it and think "triplets," but rather three boys. I guessed right, as everyone commented on how cute my "three boys - bling" shirt was!

I have one more post coming tomorrow... :-)