My wife and are expecting triplets in Q-1 of 2003 with no other children, I'd prefer to keep the rest of the details to myself for now.

1) Is there a link to all the abbreviations used in these forums (DH, DW, ...)?

2) My wife is as anti-minivan as you get, if we were having only 1 or 2 an SUV would probably work but I think it would be more practical to go the minivan route. Any thoughts on how to "softly" convince her of this, as I've avoided the subject up to this point?

3) She doesn't eat a lot of meat (steak, chicken, burger, ...), though she has increased her intake a bit. She has started eating eggs most mornings and drinks tons of milk and eats PB&J for lunch a few times a week. Should I be concerned about the lack of protein and are protein powders safe?

4) Once we get through the pregnancy, how much help will we need at home? She will be a stay at home mom, and both of our folks live in the area. I assume she will need someone helping her during the week for at least 4-6 hours a day, right?

Thanks all in advance, and apologies for my anonymity.

Welcome sports_nut,

Your discussion of van versus suv is interesting. Usually the DW (darling wife) is the one trying to convince the DH (darling husband) that a minivan is the way to go. There are advantages to both. Some of it depends on where you live, what activities you participate in, how often you will drive with other people, etc... Gas mileage is better in a van. Cargo space - for diapers now and sports equipment later - is better in most suvs. I live on a dirt road and must have a suv. I also have two other kids, a dog and an exchange student so a 7 or 8 seater mini-van is not enough.

Protein is very important. More so if there is any talk of increased risk of twin-to-twin transfusion during pregnancy. My DW drank the high protein versions of Boost and Ensure several times a day. Milk is great but she may get sick of it. The protein powders are safe but you should have her use them to supplement not replace meals of real food. As she gets big her stomach will be pressed and she will feel full when she isn't. The powdered protein becomes more useful then so don't start them early and have her become bored with them too soon. Does she like cheese? Avocados are good. Be wary of some supposed high-protein items that aren't, like imitation crab meat.

Good assumption on the help. With both sets of parents in the area you should stagger their help. Are you a member of a church? Ours sent a team of volunteers to cover mon-fri 9-5 for the first four months. We added an exchange student to take care of our toddler and older daughter. It has worked but we still sometimes feel overwhelmed. And we have more help than many others. Part of the task of coordinating help will be deciding what time to have help. If we did it all over again we would elect to have much more night-time help.



David

David

1. I am sure there is a link somewhere. Here are some common ones though:
DW - Dear Wife
DH - Dear Husband
BTW - By The Way
ROFLMAO - (lots of variatios) Rolling On Floor Laughing My A$$ Off
IMO - In My Opinion
BF - Breast Feed

2. We drive a 4-door car...can't help here. We love it and get by great. Our kids are almost 2 years old.

3. Don't know the answer to this one. Ask the dr.

4. It is great your families are near-by. We did not have hired help. We did all the night stuff together. and wife had volunteers from church/friends to come over during the day to help feed. It was helpful, but DW usually ended up finishing feeding each child b/c no one could quite get them to drink enough.

Tripdaddy
Father of Sam, Rob, & Trey

Thanks tripdaddy, i assumed the "D" was for something else based on the tone in the main forum.

That depends on the mood I guess

Tripdaddy
Father of Sam, Rob, & Trey

Glad to see you here too. I received your email from webmaster at TC but couldn't respond. But it appears you've found your answer as I saw you on the other forum.

1. When you've finished reading this message, click on the heading "conferences" then look for the FAQ button at the top of the page. That should help.

2. Search the archives for info on SUV vs. Minivan. There is a ton of great information and opinions. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other. Both will work but each has drawbacks.

3. Check with your Doc for the final say on this one, but also ask on the main forum. There are many knowledgeable parents who can offer opinions and have done some research on their own.

4. It depends. We had help lined up and DW chose to go it alone during the day. Having people in the home was too obtrusive. But there are many parents that simply can not keep up and have lots of help. If we had to do it over again and could aford it, we'd have someone come in at night at least one or two days a week just so we could get a full nights sleep.

Jonathan
Dad to Al 18), Dan(16)
and Aidan, Zachary, and Jillian (9-01)

Dads - Ask me about the new father's forum!

Jonathan
Dad to Ally(25), Dan(23),
and Aidan, Zachary, and Jillian (8)

1. DS (dear son), DD (dear daughter), FIL/MIL (Father/Mother-In-Law), TTC (trying to conceive), and my mind has gone blank on all the others.

2. There is always a suburban. Like a previous poster said, you can search the archives as there have been volumes on this topic. It just depends on what is most important to you and how much space you need.

3. My wife ate meat and I also made a high protein shake for her every morning. If you do use a protein powder make sure it is a natural protein like soy.

4. It's great that all of your parents live in the area. It will benefit your wife greatly to have someone to help with cleaning. There are many moms that do not have help during the day and manage just fine. However, since help is available - take it!

PS. Congratulations!

Justin
Husband to Susan
Dad to Kimball, Karissa, Kelsey 11/22/00 34wks.

Justin
Husband to Susan
Dad to Kimball, Karissa, Kelsey 11/22/00 34wks
Emily - 11/8/2005

Congrats!

I've also heard "dh" used as "designated hitter"

The new minivans drive more like cars these days...the bigger SUV's still drive like trucks, tho much nicer than the '60 Dodge pick up I learn to drive in. Minivans also park a bit easier than the bigger SUVs. So ask you dw what she would prefer to drive...a car or a truck. A large 4-door sedan would also work, but once they get older (12+ months), it sure is nice to be able to get some space between the kids...unless one likes to listen to "Stop touching me!" for mile after mile! My three boys are 6 yrs old...when even looking at each other can cause a verbal fight.

Protein -- have your dw stay away from a lot of soy. It contains a chemical (that mimics a hormone) that is known to cause birth defects -- I have forgotten the name of the defect, but basically it effects boys...their penis is mal-formed (the hole is not where it is suppose to be). Use the Triplet Connection prego info packs for dietary info...great resource.

Vaughn and the ABC Boys

Vaughn and the ABC Boys
Alex, Bryce, & Calder
The 14 year olds!

1) I'm about as much in the dark as you.\
2) I wish we had gone to a conversion van instead of mini-van, the extra room would be nice.
3) Yes, she should be eating as much protein as possible along with the calcium. How about fish, peanut butter and bean-related items?
4) We had help come in during the day to help with feedings and took turns doing it ourselves at night so that the spouse could sleep through a feeding and get some extra sleep that way. My wife is stay-at-home also and when I went back to work (after 2 months) she decided to go it alone after about 3 days of having help. I don't want to brag but our kids all have calm, mild-mannered personalities so they make it easier for one for care for them alone. My job makes it great for me to spend much time at home and allow her to break free and even I can care for them myself. It IS a LOT of work, but well worth it.

Good luck.

Barry Cron
proud Father of Anastacia, William and Sophia

Barry Cron
proud Father of Anastacia, William and Sophia