Happy Half-Year

One year ago, your father and I found out we were having triplets. The doctor told us he had no explanation, "it seems there may be some divine intervention going on here" he said.

At the time we did not know what we were in for. We were frightened, stunned and confused. We knew having three babies could be very complicated. We were sent to a special doctor who helped us feel calm and confident. We became excited to be blessed with such an amazing gift.

While carrying you in my tummy, things got scary. We thought you might come 4 months early, the world would have been a very dangerous place for you at that time. But together we held on. Your father and I spent a long time in the hospital so you would have more time in my tummy and less time in a lonely stark hospital bed. It worked. You three angels entered the world at 33 weeks, the average for triplet babies.

It has been a very hard but very fun 6 months. You have taught mommy and daddy a lot of lessons. We have learned to love, laugh, sacrifice and conquer.

Mia - You may look like your daddy but you take a lot after your mommy. You may come across as shy and be a little weary of new situations but once you warm up, you are all smiles and your personality lights up the room. As petite as you may be, you are not underestimated. You often accomplish things well before your brother and sister.



Marcus - Some days I may feel sad but as soon as I look at you, your smile brightens my life. You are my charmer. My sweet and sensitive prince. Already letting your sisters go first and bringing a smile to every lady in the room, you are going to grow up to make someone feel they have hit the jackpot in a husband.


Josie - Oh my dear Josie. How can a child bring a mommy so many headaches in the first 3 months and then turn into such a gentle loving soul? I love how your entire face smiles when you are happy. I am already a little jealous of your strength and strong will. If you want to be held, so be it. If you are ready to get up, we will all start our day at 6 AM. Although you are not quite ready to crawl, you will lay with your face planted into the floor and your butt up high determined to try, try, try.



This past year has been the hardest year of my life. These past 6 months have been some of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I never imagined 3 little souls could make two bigger souls open up and shine so bright. I never imagined parenthood being like this, some downs but always more ups and always a BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you my miracles! Happy 6 month birthday!

Something Amazing Happened

Today Marcus would not go to sleep when I placed him in his trusted swing for his afternoon nap. Usually he is out within seconds of starting his swing. So, I tried something crazy....


Marcus has been sleeping in his crib for afternoon nap for 30 minutes and counting. Is my baby growing up?

The Calm Before the Storm

This is not a post about inappropriate nap locations (i.e. swings, bouncy seats) as the picture may indicate; that is a whole different post I will have to address in the next few months. Rather, this is yet another post about sleeping through the night (STTN).

I have to admit, Josie has probably been capable of STTN for the past few months. If I was regimented enough to follow any of the half a dozen sleep books I own, her and Marcus would both be STTN by now. But, I value my own sleep too much to endure a few nights of torture (constant crying).

As the kids approach 6 months and 15 pounds and 30+ oz. per day (all the "requirements" to make it through the night according to the various books I own), it is time to admit I need to actually try to implement some of these techniques if I am going to continue to complain about them not STTN.

A mentor triplet mom once told me (Mel, I think this was you) that she actually misses the night time feedings. I thought she was insane! Now, I completely understand where she is coming from. Our night feeding routine is actually quite peaceful now (NOT including Marcus's inability to sleep for 8 hours without waking up crying at least once). When Marcus wakes up sometime between 2-3 AM (not when he wakes up at midnight or 4 AM), I feed him. He usually quickly drinks 3-4 ounces and is back asleep within 10 minutes. I then quietly sneak into the girls room and feed them one at a time. Josie rarely opens her eyes for these feedings, she is only drinking 2-4 oz. This is the only time Mia will gulp down 4 oz. without wanting to take a break to play. I cherish these 30 minutes. As a triplet mom, I do not get to hold and cuddle my babies that often. This middle of the night feeding is precious one on one time. Plus, the babies are super sweet while they are half asleep. Their bodies are limp in your arms and their little fingers wrap around your index finger as they eat. After they finish their bottles their warm arms wrap around your neck before you set them in their crib. As soon as they lay down they reach for their lovey and snuggle it to their faces and go back to sleep. Truly, these are precious moments that no camera or words can capture. Getting to witness this three times a night is priceless.

Alas, Josie and Marcus are at the point where they are eating out of habit. They do not need those 3-4 oz. in the middle of the night when they are taking in 30+ oz. plus veggies and cereal during the day. Plus, at some point I need to stop going to bed at 8:30 PM. When Max is home over the holidays we have agreed to try to let Josie and Marcus CIO (cry it out) to get them through the night (Mia is still little and is ravenous at night as she tries to catch up to her brother and sister. She is not interested in solids, we cannot get her to eat enough during the day and she is not ready to STTN). These nights will not be sweet and peaceful. I am not looking forward to it! I am cherishing these last few peaceful nighttime feedings.

FYI, I do not expect wonderful sleep once the kids are not eating at night. Marcus continues to wake up and cry at random times throughout the night. I can only hope it improves after CIOing through nighttime feeds. However, I was talking to a professor of mine yesterday who has twins. He said "There will definitely be a day they STTN. My girl STTN WAY before my boy though. I think my boy finally started STTN around 1 year". Yay, just what I wanted to hear!

Are Boys Harder?

Having multiples allows you to see obvious differences in your kids. I think when you have children one at a time, you probably forget some of the more difficult days; otherwise, why would you keep having them? Kidding of course! The kids each excel on different milestones at different times. Marcus is working on fine motor skills like holding objects. He loves reaching for and feeling faces right now. Strong Josie excels at gross motor skills like lifting herself up on her hands. I found her in her crib this morning high on her belly trying to peak over the rail of her crib. Miss Mia dabbles in a little bit of everything, gabbing, rolling, and grabbing.

As a parent of mixed sex multiples you also notice differences in play preferences even when they are playing with the exact same toys. Marcus already is enthralled with balls and likes to try to catch them if you toss them in his lap. Meanwhile tough Josie will just let it hit her in the head, completely ignoring it and fragile Mia will cry (I assure you, it is a soft ball). Marcus also already loves to be tossed and jostled while little Mia hates rough play.

From the beginning, I can't help noticing which kids require more attention and make life a little more challenging. We all know by now Josie can be a tough chick. However, overall she is able to calm herself and her outbursts don't tend to last long. She also has always been a pretty good sleeper, a HUGE help to a tired mom. I have talked to many parents of infant boys and girls and the parents always talked about how their boys were such screamers when they were young and seemed to have more trouble sleeping at night then their girls. Talking to new parents, it does seem like the parents of girls have a little easier time then the parent's of boys (sleeping through the night by 6 weeks, give me a break!)

I have noticed Marcus has required much more attention than the girls this past month. He gets frustrated very easy during tummy time and gets bored of activities quickly. At night, he is waking up every few hours screaming. He is not easy to soothe either. Could it be teething? Maybe but my gut says no. Besides the fussiness, he has no other signs of teeth coming through. He has always been a crier but as the girls grow out of the fussiness and become independent, Marcus seems to still need so much attention. I will find the girls in their crib in the morning playing by themselves, chitchatting to the butterflies on the wall or just munching on their hands staring at the ceiling. Marcus on the other hand, cries as soon as he wakes up and usually has to be put in his swing to keep him happy. We did a modified version of crying it out to help the kids get down to one feed a night. It worked gloriously with the girls. I wake up and feed them around 3 AM and they are right back to sleep. I rarely hear a peep out of them until I walk into their room in the morning. Marcus does not seem to get it. He continues to randomly cry at night. It is not hunger because if I offer a bottle he only eats an ounce or two. Last night it lasted 2 hours (even after giving him infant Tylenol, just in case it is teething).

Is it true what people say? Are boys more difficult as infants than girls? If you ask me, YES! Maybe not for the first few months but they seem to take longer to learn to entertain themselves and self soothe. Also, as a fellow mom once told me "the boys scream so much louder than the girls".

Fellow multiple moms of mixed genders, what do you think? Singleton moms, do you honestly remember the difference between your boys and girls as infants? Veteran moms, is it flip-flopped as teenagers (if so, Mia is going to be a handful at 15!)?

Time Goes On...

I admit, now that I have become one of those "facebook crazies", I don't update my blog as much as I should. Facebook is so easy to use but it doesn't offer the luxury of bragging on my kiddos like this blog which is especially dedicated to them does.


So, kuddos to Josie and Mia for learning to turn from their backs to their tummy's on their 5 month birthday (they have all been turning from tummy to back for months). I know before long, they will be rolling around the room. Kuddos to Marcus for grabbing at EVERYTHING now. All the kids are eating cereal now. It is exciting but a little nostalgic to see these milestones go by. Since these WILL BE OUR ONLY CHILDREN, each milestone reached is the first and last time we will experience the pride that comes along with it.

Along with the nostalgia of milestones come and gone I have been a little envious of the typical new parents who have one baby at a time. There is no denying life with triplets can be a little restricting and take a bit of extra work. Here are a few complications of life with 3 babies:

- Going anywhere takes at least 15 minutes to prepare.
- Forget about running into the store to grab a few quick items
- We rarely travel to anyone's house anymore. If you want to see us, you'll have to come here. Besides that, our babies are preemies so we have to be extra cautious of any illnesses getting passed around.
- Almost a year has gone by since we have seen some of our friends
- Taking our child out to a restaurant...I can't even imagine..
- Hiring a babysitter - It is tough to find someone with the experience to care for 3 infants.
- I take about 20 trips up and down the stairs each day between the 3 kids.
- Craziness of trips away - It is great to go out of town to visit people but it is also complicated. The daily business of triplets does not go away, there are still a ton of bottles to wash, formula to prepare, laundry to do, etc.


Since this is such an honest post, it is only reasonable to share the unbelievable joy of having triplets.

- Being greeted by three smiling faces every morning melts your heart
- Watching siblings share such a close bond is amazing. Mia screamed at the doctor's office the other day after her brother and sister received their shots just as loud as if she had already gotten the shot herself. At the same time, she laughs when Marcus giggles as if she was experiencing the "funny" firsthand.
- The amazement in people's eyes when they see triplets.
- The feeling of accomplishment watching each of my three healthy thriving babies fall asleep each night.
- Being able to compare each of the three VERY different temperaments of our clan.
- Watching our kids grow up together
- Having a complete family in one go.
- Love x 3

Yes, having triplets can be challenging, isolating, and downright tiresome. However, this unique and magical experience is a blessing. We are so grateful for each day.

Truly, our life may seem hard to comprehend to some folks but it seems quite ordinary to us. Love, fun, adventure x 3, yippee!