Three-and-a-half months: Late nights, early mornings and leaving the house!
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So time has passed us by, and an update is long overdue! I have had seven weeks with the company of my mum staying or my husband being off, which has been wonderful, and now I have managed to achieve almost two weeks (by the time I finish this) by myself too! Now, I have to say that is not being totally by myself, as my mother-in-law comes to visit and help with the lunchtime feed most days, and friends and family come and help for an odd feed here and there - all of which are a great help!
So much has happened since my last update. Feeding is still three-hourly in the day time, but most of the time at night the feeding is four-hourly and they are doing great with all of that. Feeding can go from lots of visitors - each baby being fed at once - to just me. If it is just me, I can be lucky that they each wake one after another or that all babies wake at once and want to be fed together. If this happens (often in the middle of the night) then all babies are put into their Maxi-Cosi car seats or bouncy chairs, and I juggle three bottles and three babies....it works, but is not as relaxing! Sometimes it can be very rewarding when they are all fed and content, but sometimes, when there is projectile milk and three crying babies, I am certainly glad when they are all settled and back sleeping again!
The girls are out of tiny baby clothes and into small baby or newborn clothes now. At their last weigh-in, Róisín was 6lb 9oz and Rebecca was 6lb 15oz. They are putting on weight slowly but are very happy and content babies and do not cry much, so fingers crossed all is good. They take bottles between 50-100mls per feed, which is a huge variation. I will certainly relax when they are consistently taking the majority of the bottles. Elliot, however, is in 0-3month clothes and consistently takes his bottles of 130ml - he was 9lb 5oz when he was last weighed. He is growing well and makes noises most of the time, either in his sleep or by calling for food or making content noises. They are all starting to smile and follow voices and people now, which is lovely to see, and they are more alert in the day time, too.
We have managed to leave the house quite a few times. We have had all their English aunties, uncles and cousins visit at weekends which has been lovely, and with them we have managed to get out for a few walks. I have also been out walking from home and to the local shops with my mum and by myself. I have also managed to have a couple of trips out to friends, too. I am very organised, so I get completely ready before a feed and then head straight after the next feed. When you are out for a feed it certainly helps to make you feel a bit more normal, as life has changed so dramatically. Gone are the days of doing what I want, when I want; and going running/to the gym/playing tennis whenever I like. I wouldn't change anything for the world; I feel so privileged to be a triplet mummy, but it is quite amazing how much life has changed.
I am pleased to say that our visitors say how relaxed an environment our house is when they come around - we have three chilled-out babies most of the time....apart from 5-6pm, which is our witching hour most evenings! The babies like to see who can cry the most and make the most noise, so I just turn on the chilled-out music (to drown them out!) and go from one baby to another to put their soothers back in until feeding time at 6pm! Sometimes they can be distracted a bit by playing on the mat with the toys or by being bathed, as they all love their baths.
Bathing them is a routine I really enjoy. They are bathed three times a week and it is a production line. I have the baby bath and changing mat on the kitchen table, and then when they have been bathed I move them to the changing station to be dressed. If I have a helper, then they have the baby to dry and dress whilst I move onto Baby Two. They all get the same water (as long as there is no weeing) and there is normally a different order each time - though they take it in turns to have the fresh water; not that babies of this age can be very dirty, really.
As a mother of triplets, I have been lucky enough to have been given some freebies, and we have also bought some gadgets ourselves to try and make life easier. We were given the Tommee Tippee bottle warmers and I have one in the kitchen and one in the nursery, which are very useful. We were also given lots of the Tommee Tippee bibs with a thick padding around the neck. They are the best invention ever, as it really saves getting their babygros and vests soaked with milk as they dribble and bring back some of the milk. We also bought the Tommee Tippee machine for making bottles; it has a loud beep, but is very useful when you need to make the bottles quickly. Since I am making so many bottles a day, it is easier to boil a kettle for the majority of the bottles, but it is certainly good for the odd set of bottles. I can see why it is a life saver for a single baby.
I am also using my Maxi-Cosi buggy more and more, and I absolutely love it! It is so easy to put up and take down, and it's just great that it fits the car seats and carry cots, as when we go walking the babies can chill out and stretch out in the carry cots. The car seat option will be very useful in the spring and summer, but for now the carry cots provide warmth for the winter and also protection from germs from all the people wanting to see the triplets.
As we come into the winter and look forward to Christmas, we are settling into a routine and have some nice things organised. I will update you on our trips and life again soon.
