Not as hard as I thought

When I first found out we were expecting triplets, I took to the internet to find blogs or websites from other moms of triplets in order to get an idea of what to expect. That turned out to be quite a mistake as it seems the only moms who blogged were those who had difficult (sometimes tragic) experiences. Either their triplets were born with disabilities, or in at least 1 case one of the babies died soon after birth. For a mom-to-be who already was worried about carrying triplets, this was quite the downer moment.

I determined when my babies were born healthy and strong, I would post something that would encourage other moms who are expecting multiples so they could see it's not all doom and gloom. If you've read my blog, you know the first doctor we saw told us to expect the worst when it came to carrying and delivering multiples. He was adamant that I needed to consider aborting one or two of the babies to minimize the risk. To him I say "Phhhhhhew" (I'm not sure how to spell out a zerbert but you get the idea). So here's a short list of how our babies (and me) are defying the odds:

1. When the babies first came home, they ate every 3 hrs. Since it took about 90 min. to feed them in successive order, this didn't leave a lot of free time between feedings for things like eating and sleeping. Thankfully three things changed to give us time to breathe: my dad took the 11 pm feeding so we could get some sleep, we figured out how to feed the babies simultaneously using bouncy chairs and blankets, and the babies eventually ate every 4 hrs. Since these changes I now how time to clean the house, sleep, blog, write freelance stories, etc. It hasn't been nearly as bad as I had imagined.

2. I am able to take the babies out without much problem. We have a triple-decker stroller that my mother-in-law bought for us. With this handy device I'm able to take the babies and my 3-year-old daughter to the park and stores so that none of us begin to feel too confined to the house.

3. At  9-weeks old my preemie babies are wearing 0-3 mon clothing and eating like horses. Seriously, they don't know they are supposed to be small. My son, in fact, is now wearing size 2 diapers and 3 mos clothing. Geesh!

4. The babies have no health issues. None. They were in the NICU for 2-3 wks simply because they had occasional dips in their heart rate. Since coming home they haven't had so much as a sniffle. Healthy, healthy babies.

5. I gained about 60 lbs during the pregnancy and have lost all but 10 lbs of that. Having triplets is the best weight-loss plan I can recommend :)

By no means do I take credit for even a smidge of our success. We have had friends and family help us with feedings to give us a reprieve, folks bring us meals and babies who seem to defy all the odds. The biggest source of our success, though, truly has been God. He enabled the babies to be born at great weights with strong immune systems, and has continued to grow them beautifully. He also is teaching Mike and I patience with each other, ourselves and the babies. And I've been amazed at our wonderful daughter and how she has become so affectionate and helpful regarding her new siblings.

So there you have it. Triplets are not a death sentence regarding sleep or even fun. We still have hard days when all 3 babies are crying at once and Addie is cowering in a corner covering her ears and screaming for the babies to stop crying. But those days and moments are few and are far outnumbered by the good days.