Zero to Three in 40 Weeks: Aunt Mary

Easter morning 2012. What a beautiful day it was. To be honest, most years, there's probably an equal chance that it could've been snowing, but not this Easter. Waking up, we knew that we had one heck of a day in front of us. Basically, our entire day was planned around making it over to Meg's aunt's Easter dinner.

This was a big deal for us. For the most part, almost every activity, walk, etc. has been able to be planned around naps and feedings. That's just the way it goes when mom has done the world's greatest job getting these girls on a schedule. For everyone who's had kids, especially multiples, you know what I'm talking about. Our girls take two naps a day, pretty much on cue, know when to expect their bottles, and sleep almost 11-12 hours each night, the latter due to Meg's persistence in pushing everyone through sleep training, including me.

Well, today, something was going to have to give. There was no way that the girls were going to get a full, or even remotely restful, nap today. It just wasn't going to happen. I was dreading this. If you're ever bored and looking to experiment with three normally happy and giggly babies, cut their nap really short. What will emerge is a whole lotta crabby pants! It's not a pretty sight.

But let's rewind a little. Knowing that today was all about getting out of the house on someone else's schedule, we had the forethought to take the girls' photos in their Easter dresses ahead of time. We chose a time when we had help and when their faces were scratched up the least. If you're wondering about that last statement, no, they don't battle with the cat. Even though we cut their nails, which I think actually makes them sharper by the way (even when we attempt filing), they somehow find ways to mark up their face from time to time. "What about mittens?" you say. Sophia would have those off in under two seconds and would probably use them as an appetizer before she moved on to gnaw on Sophie the Giraffe.

Somehow, we managed to get everyone's photo without them ruining (ie. spitting up on or ripping) their dresses. So, by the time Easter Sunday rolled around, their uniforms du jour were still intact and ready for a couple of family photos with mom, dad, and grandma. All of the photos for each of the girls, the family shots, and from the party are at the bottom of the post. But before I get there, I want to make sure you all don't think I'm Mr. Crabby Pants. Aside from some unnecessary crying and a lot of eye rubbing, the girls did an outstanding job. Any part of their behavior was adult-induced. They looked beautiful in their dresses and there were plenty of ladies at the party who were just itching to hold a baby (yeah, break for dad!). Besides packing up nearly half of our house to take with us so we had everything we thought we'd possibly need, the day was a success and we proved to ourselves that getting out of the house and breaking routines wouldn't cause the world to come to an abrupt halt. HOWEVER, I would say that if you're thinking about breaking routines, don't! Though, if you do, life will go on. I hope you had a happy Easter and enjoy the photos!

Miss Isabelle

Miss Madelyn

Miss Sophia

The Fam

The Party

Ania and Maddy spending some quality time together

Kelly and Izzy enjoying their Easter together

Mom, trying to soothe a crabby Sophie

Ania, Kelly, and Steve

Izzy, obviously more interested in something on the floor than with her dad

Almost the entire group, less the kids

The kids

Keegan, Kaden, and Kylie

Look at those eyelashes!

Sophia, trying to steal a couple of z's away from the loudness of the house

Wow! I can't believe it's only been a week since we've written. -Scratch that...another week has gone by now. We didn't get a chance to edit pictures so here we are a week later still trying to publish this post! It feels like an eternity in some ways and it feels like just yesterday in others. It's weird how that happens!

Well let's start with the most important thing first: We made it! (Through a week and a half with no live-in grandma help.) Not by ourselves that's for sure! We have had a lot of support this week from friends and family near and far. We received a large food delivery from a church group which was set up by a fellow triplet mom. Then our dear friend Sarah and the wonderful Hubbard family set up a food delivery program online. Sarah had been asking me for a list of people to send it to and I hesitated for a long time because I didn't think anyone would want to send us food. And I sometimes feel very guilty accepting all this support. I don't exactly know how to explain it. I feel very, very appreciative, but also very guilty. Anyway, the other night we had a surprise delivery at our door. Pizza from our friend Tara at Mt. Eagle. I can't say I've ever been that big of a fan of pizza. We usually order it once every few months. But that pizza was amazing. The time it saved not having to make a plate and warm something up. And, the best part is I could easily hold a baby while eating with the other hand. I think pizza might be our new favorite food! :) Then yesterday Jeremy got on the site and saw all the people who are sending us food. I couldn't believe it. If some of you are reading this, thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts! I never knew how difficult it would be to find time to grocery shop and make something to eat. It is such a blessing to have food just show up at the door. We are truly grateful!

As many of you know, this week was particularly rough because we were on our own without moms (grandmas) staying with us helping around the clock for the first time since Sophia came home on October 14th. We had a lot of local family members come over to help us make the transition. Shallee (my cousin) and her daughter Kylie actually came to stay for a few nights to help with the dreaded night shift. Once they left we had to cover all night on our own. As you can guess, this was not a week of much sleep for us. I actually fell asleep while I was NG feeding Isabelle and spilled the syringe of breast milk all over! That was a rude awakening! Thank you Shallee, Kylie, Aunt Mary, and Kelly for chipping in and helping us take care of these sweet girls! Thankfully we have finally hired a nanny to help. I thought since I was staying home we wouldn't need a nanny, but as you see below I was in for a rude awakening.

Every time I'm the one posting I try to tell it truthfully. Whether it's scary outcomes that could result from Izzy's surgery or worst and best case scenarios. So, I do want to just share for a moment how hard this really is...what life is really like for us with triplet infants. I have to really make an effort to get myself into the shower every 3-4 days. Many days it gets to the late afternoon and I realize I haven't brushed my teeth. I haven't left the house in three weeks accept for doctor appointments. There is always a baby who is fussing and needs to be held. None of my time is my own to watch a show, or return a call to a friend, or go to the bathroom, or exercise. I'm sure having a baby is an adjustment for any first-time parents, but having three, and one with special needs, is a monumental life overhaul. I have to say I did have a little bit of an adjustment period when I needed some time to accept that. Now that I have, I'm enjoying every minute (Wait a minute! That's not true...I'm enjoying many moments, but there are rough times too.) Every day I am in awe of their growth and so sad it's another day I'll never get back again. At the same time I wish they would just hold their bottles already so I could feed more than one at a time! Time is so fleeting with infants who seem to change every moment. We are so lucky!

Let me fill you in about our day starting in the evening.

6:30-7:30 pm - Feed Izzy
7:30-8:00 pm - Give Maddy meds and feed Sophia
8:00-8:45 pm - Feed Maddy (She needs to be held for at least 30 minutes after eating, but sometimes she needs to be held for hours. It just depends on the feeding.)
8:45 pm - All kids are down in bed and sleeping
9:00 pm - Give Izzy her meds
9:30 pm - Hook up Izzy's NG feeding.
9:30-11:30 pm - The rush is on...I rush to get pumping and ready for bed so I can sleep a little bit. Usually by the time I tidy up, get ready for bed, and pump it's between 10 and 11. Jeremy rushes downstairs to get bottles ready for the next day, washes bottles from that day, tidies up a bit more and then comes up to bed. He tries to get a bit of sleep.
12:00-12:45 am - Jeremy feeds Maddy and adds more milk and resets Izzy's pump.
2:00-6:00 am - There is no break until morning. The pump goes off, the monitor alarms (usually for no reason!), Sophia cries for her pacifier, Maddy spits up and screams her head off until you come in and hold her for a while, Izzy cries because she needs a diaper change, Sophia cries because she needs a diaper change, Izzy pulls out her NG tube, Maddy's crying because she's constipated, Sophia needs to be re-swaddled, the reasons are endless!
3:15-3:50 am - I wake up and pump.
4:00-4:45 am - Feed Maddy and reset Izzy's pump
5:00-6:30 am - Each morning I think today will be the day they'll let me go back to sleep. I lay down and start to fall asleep and the second that happens someone starts crying. I've timed it...it's usually about every 10 to 20 minutes someone needs me so at some point I give up and hang out on FB on the iPad in the nursery, helping as needed.
7:00 am - Bring each girl downstairs as they wake, put them in the swing and hope they'll be content and quiet while you run upstairs to get the others and try to scarf down a bowl of cereal.
7:30-8:00 am - Give Maddy meds and feed Sophia.
8:00-8:45 am - Feed Maddy
9:00 am - Give Izzy meds
9:30-10:30 am - Feed Izzy
10:30-11:00 am - Pump
11:30-12:00 pm - Feeding frenzy starts again! Get meds for Maddy and feed Sophie.
12:00-12:45 pm - Feed Maddy
12:30-1:30 pm - Feed Izzy
1:30-2:00 pm - Pump
2:00-3:15 pm - get s#*t done
3:30-4:30 pm - Feed Izzy
3:30-4:00 pm - Feed Sophia
4:00-4:45 pm - Feed Maddy
5:00-6:00 pm - Try to feed ourselves and bounce around helping/holding fussy babies
6:30-7:30 pm - Feed Izzy.
7:30-8:00 pm - Meds for Maddy and feed Sophia
8:00-8:45 pm - Feed Maddy and we're back up to bed.

Do you see all the overlap?!!! Izzy's on an every three hour schedule while the other two eat every four. So, no matter how we arrange the schedule there are some feedings where there is a lot of overlap and some where they're eating every hour for three hours straight. Maddy's reflux is horrible and makes her a very high-maintenance baby. Each feeding with her takes at least 45 minutes and sometimes she needs to be held most of the three hours in between each feeding. Then there's sweet Izzy. She usually takes about an hour to feed. We start off with the bottle and then NG whatever is left. She's a very slow bottle feeder and she cries and spits up if the NG goes to quickly. Thankfully Sophia takes 10-15 minutes to feed and can burp and go down to her bouncy five minutes later if we need her to. We're so thankful for one easy baby, but we have major feelings of guilt because we spend so much more time with the other two. Hopefully as the others grow we'll be able to equal out the attention a bit more!

In the few hours of down time, there are so many tasks to fit into the day: washing bottles, making bottles, bathing babies, showering ourselves, eating, laundry, folding and putting away laundry, going to the doctor, calling doctors' offices and Early Intervention for appointments, sifting through the obscene amounts of paperwork that we get from bills, to insurance explanation of benefits, write a blog post, return calls to friends and family, grocery shopping, diaper and other necessity shopping, sleep, feed our poor neglected kitty, kitty litter, breast pumping. If we have fussy babies all of these things get put on hold until we can find a free moment.

Needless to say, while it may be possible for one person to take care of three babies, it is not possible for one person to take care of these three babies. Thank goodness we finally hired a nanny! I have sad feelings about this too. I really want to do this myself, soaking up every second of their lives and not sharing it with anyone but Jeremy and close friends and family. For now though, I need to accept the fact that I need help. Hopefully, as they grow, that will change or at least lessen as time goes on.

We've taken some great pics this week. We'll leave you with them. Sorry some of them have been revealed on FB already. I couldn't wait to share!

Happy New Year everyone!

Meghan

Izzy's meds before bed