Sometimes Nana is the Best Medicine

The kids were not in great shape today. Abby is on day three of a pretty bad cold (imagine the pathetic sight of her two nights ago, attempting to "read" Pajama Time, and instead choking out, "Bajabba Time..."), Michael was running a very low-grade fever through the morning and early afternoon (teething problems, perhaps?), and both have been suffering some mild GI issues for the past few days. Mia awoke with enough nasal congestion to warrant a nose-sucking, and otherwise had the same issues as usual: gas, tummy issues, and general fussiness between long stretches of sleeping.

It was therefore quite the miraculous event, in the end, Nana's visit. When she offered to come down a couple of days ago, I thought it would be a nice thing, but considering the long way she had to come, perhaps a little too much to expect. After all, last Tuesday was certainly not easy (it was my first solo day with all three children, as Tom resumed his once-a-week commute into the office), but I came through it just fine.

However, after Tom left this morning, I found myself counting the minutes until her arrival. Abby was cranky and required near-constant nose-wiping, and Michael was in extra need of cuddles, but I was rather tied down by Mia. I did manage to get Michael down for his nap on my own by wearing Mia in a wrap and propping him on one hip for the trip upstairs, and then turning at a rather awkward angle to reach down and get him settled in his crib for some brief back-rubbing before leaving him to sleep. Thankfully, Tom has been working hard to wean him from pre-nap rocking, so though Michael made a small complaint when I first set him down, he tucked himself down rather quickly and easily on his own. I can now officially name him the easiest of the three to get to sleep (for now). Who would ever have thought, given all of the troubles we've had with him?

Nana's descent down the stairs to the basement shortly afterward put Abby in a good mood, and the new books that Nana brought kept her well occupied until lunchtime. And putting Abby down to nap turned out to be a breeze, as well, since I didn't have to leave Michael whining in his booster seat downstairs, or wear Mia up with me as I led Abby to her room. They waited safely and happily downstairs with Nana, instead.

Michael got some nice snuggle time, which he desperately needed, with both Nana and me as we switched back and forth between babies. He was amazingly easy to put down for nap number two when the time finally came, and as I came back downstairs from his room, I realized that I had not just two babies asleep at once, but three, and I wasn't trapped beneath any of them.

Nana took up that honor instead, and Mia had a lovely nap (of  many) in her arms.

When Mia and her siblings awoke, the stars aligned. Not only did I have enough energy to set up her playmat and play goalie with her enthusiastic but rather over-intrusive big brother and sister, she was in a good enough mood to be put down.

She had a great time, lasting about three minutes on her belly and ten on her back.

Best of all, I got a chance to take a picture of her and place it alongside similar shots of her sibs.

Now you can see all three in a row.

I would challenge you to guess who's who, but I've already made it a third easier by posting Amelia's picture just above, so I'll just go ahead and point out that the pictures are in order (left to right) from eldest to youngest. Abby (at one month, four days), then Michael (at one-and-a-half months), then Mia (at one month, three days). Pretty nifty, eh?

Even niftier? Though I never consciously planned it that way, Abby and Michael are wearing the same shirt, and the two girls somehow ended up in almost the exact same pose and position on the mat. And though I've been trying to find a time to get this picture taken for the last couple of days, I couldn't actually remember how old Abby and Michael were in theirs. I managed to get them all pretty close though, in the end.