Doug and Rebecca Walker

The babies will be 9 weeks old July 8th. Tomorrow they have their 2month check-up, so I’ll do my best to put all their weights and lengths up here tomorrow – with, dare I say, some pictures!

There are tons of slots still on the care calendar. For those of you who are local and want to sign up, send me an email and I’ll give you the security code to view the calendar.

Everyone has been battling colds here. It started with Alayna and has hit all 6 of us! Because of this, we’re asking everyone who is under the weather or having any suspicious symptoms to please wait to sign up until they are feeling better. When you do come to help, they’ll be hand sanitizer all over the house, so don’t worry about using too much! We are so thankful that God has kept the babies safe so far. With them being so little and premature, we are so grateful that it wasn’t RSV or pneumonia. Just a little extra fussing and a whole bunch of extra yucky noses!

Again we are grateful for God’s protection through all the storms that have hammered Knoxville this summer. Even when neighbors suffered much damage, we managed to survive relatively unscathed! We had a little siding/roof damage that leaked some water into the kitchen ceiling. And we had our first 8 hour night without power that had me nursing and changing diapers by candelight! Audrey thought the middle of the night huddle in out tiny half-bath with all the babies during a tornado warning was quite an adventure!

Charlie is doing a little better with his reflux now that he is taking Zantac. He is still fairly fussy, but has turned into our first happy responder. It cheers our hearts when he coos and flashes us big smiles. Those moments really help us get through the tough days. Alayna is still bright-eyed and just starting to coo. We think we’ve seen a couple smiles, but we’re waiting to be more impressed! Caleb is channeling all his emotions right now through his eyebrows! Too cute! He has yet to smile or coo, but I can tell they are right around the corner. For now, his eyebrows provide much entertainment.

I’m doing my best to update our website with pictures. www.dougandbec.net Let me tell you, though – it’s hard to find the time! I frequently put quick pictures up on Facebook, so if you aren’t my friend yet, please send me a friend request.

Thank you so much for your gift of diapers. We found the preemie and newborn stash to be very necessary! The babies are in Newborn size still, since they are all around 7lbs. We go through roughly 28 diapers a day. Yes, that’s right! It’s costing about $170 a month. I think if I weren’t so sleep deprived and busy, I should really be getting a job to pay for all these diapers!

Our biggest need right now is prayer. Please pray for our health. Not only for the babies’ health, but Momma’s health. I’m not getting much sleep – 1 to 2 1/2 hours at any one time. I’ve been battling a very painful yeast infection in my breasts that is making nursing very painful and too excruciating at times to even accomplish. It’s also cutting my milk supply down a bit. So far, it’s been resistant to treatment and I’m very discouraged. I’m not sure how I’ll cope if we will have to stop breastfeeding. I’m a die-hard breastfeeding fan. I think it’s best for babies’ health, I enjoy the bonding time with the babies, and I can’t imagine how we will afford formula for 3 babies.

We still find ourselves needing help! It’s very helpful to have ladies come and pitch in with the housework, burping, and diapering of the babies. Also, meals are really helpful. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are good. Maybe even an occasional Saturday or Sunday would even be better. Our yard could be mowed every other week.

Sometimes it is helpful to have you bring your kids with you. Audrey enjoys playmates. Sometimes other children are very helpful to me and their moms and are provided great practical experience with our 3 itty-bitties – opportunities not frequently available. I’ve really enjoyed watching some of the teenage girls so willing to listen and watch their moms as they seek to learn to care for our babies. It really thrills my heart to see the servant’s hearts in the youth and the patient tutelage of the other moms!

Please make sure your kids are ‘appropriate’ helpers as I’m often nursing the babies. It would be good to have you call me ahead of time and let me know if you are needing/wanting to bring your kids with you on the day you signed up for. Also, It’s helpful to give confirmation if you’ll be bringing a meal on the day that you are coming to help. This way, I can plan ahead to make a meal for my family on the nights no one is signed up. Our yard doesn’t need to be mowed too often and not on a strict, regular schedule. If the yard work slot doesn’t work for you on Saturday, call and arrange a different time in the week.

We cannot begin to say thank you enough to all of you. We wonder when we’ll ever have the time to repay everyone for their generosity to our family. Please know, that each night after you all leave our home, our family spends time praying for each of you. We pray that God will bless you richly and that you will be refreshed, just as you have refreshed us!

We hope everyone had an enjoyable July 4th. We had our first venture out of the house – we went to my mom and dad’s! It was nice to have a change of scenery and let the babies see Grandma, Grandpa and Nana’s house. I had to laugh, though, that we were packing up all our junk to go over there and feed babies. With such long feedings that come so frequently, there isn’t much time for anything else. Our neighborhood did have some fireworks right behind our house on Saturday night. Audrey enjoyed the fireworks, but the dog and cat thought otherwise!