I am 21 weeks pregnant with GGB trips and have a 3yo daughter... I am still having alot of reservations about how to care for triplets and honestly I am scared out of my mind. I have not posted on here before because I am afraid of the horror stories about how hard triplets are.... I was wondering if anyone could give some words of encouragement and tell me some of their best tips or tricks that helped you get through babyhood with 3 babies.

HI! you should post this on the main board you will get a lot more replies! my Trio is 14months and although it's rough it's VERY doable and 6 months was a turning point for us where we came out of that sleep deprived survival mode fog and really started to enjoy the babies! I am home alone with the babies while my husband works and it really is all about a schedule schedule schedule! Try and relax and keep cooking those babies as long as you can! again the main board will probably give you a lot more feedback and support so keep us posted and WELCOME to triplet connection!

~*Sarah*~
GGB triplets born @ 32 weeks on 2-24-08
Ashlyn Karen 3lbs 4oz
Avery Grace 3lbs 11oz
Tyler John 3lbs 15oz
http://www.frenznickfive.blogspot.com

You will figure it out, plain and simple. You will get to know each of your babies individually, and figure out what they need, and meet their needs.

A firm schedule helps, but everyone tweaks their own schedule for what works for them.

Be flexible, be open minded, be prepared for extreme exhaustion... and a lot of love.

I was suprised that I didn't feel as "joyful" for the first few months as I thought I would. I think that is pretty normal. You are just too busy getting everything done. But, you CAN get it all done.

Sheila, mom to Lulu, Livvy and Aidan 10/29/06 (33 weeks)

When people ask me how I do it, I say "I don't know, I just do it" and it's the truth. The beginning was so hard but you get through it. The best advice I could give would be to be as organized as possible. Our friends and family thought I was crazy because I wanted everything a certain way, but that is what made our life easier and don't worry about what your house looks like. We now have a crib and a changing table in our living room becaus it made out life sooo much easier. It may not look pretty but who cares, it makes me saner! I'm sure it will be harder for you since you already had one and know what one is like, but there are so many people on this board that have done it and survived it. As hard as it is, it is so worth it. When I look at the three of them now smiling at me and laughing, I could not imagine my life without them. I agree with pp you will get a lot more feedback on the main board especially from people who had a child at home when they were preg with trips. Hang in there, you can do it!

JILL MOM TO
KOURTNEY 3 LBS 1 OZ
KEEGAN 2 LBS 1 OZ
KARVER 1 LB 10 OZ
10/4/08 @ 29 weeks

I had triplets 9 months ago at 31 weeks. Two of them stayed in the NICU for 7 weeks. During that time I got as much sleep as possible. I got up every 3 hours to pump 24/7. I kept all the babies in the same crib until this past week. When 1 baby wakes I wake them all and feed all at the same time. Boppies are a lifesaver. I also had a 3 year old little boy and he had a hard time adjusting that mom and dad can't give him there full attention. We scheduled a time that we took turns spending alone time with him. I also have a time sheet on our refrigerator to say the last time the babies were changed, feed, and medicine was given so things can not get messed up. I say relax and accept help if people have offered. That was the hardest for me accepting the help. Good luck and lots of rest now.

Think of it this way - you already know how to care for a baby. LOL I had no idea, these were my first (and only).

Mine are 4+ months old now & wow have things changed. They're big and squirmy now! I care for them all day alone & I've figured out bottle props, feeding schedules, etc. Sometimes I like two to be together to get fed & the other maybe an hour later. But then that usually goes out the window at some point, the later one cries like hell and the early one is sleeping... I just go with the flow. At this point it is just lots of stuff to occupy their time - exersaucers, play mats, etc. It's nearly never ending and I wish for yours to nap well & together (unlike my wacky sleepers)!


Lisa ~
Mom to GGB take-home triplets
Born 12/26/08 @ 34 weeks
3 lb 14 oz
3 lb 12 oz
3 lb 5 oz

Your triplets are exactly where mine are at. They were born 1/4/09 – also GGB. We are just starting with playmats, exersaucers etc. It took me a while to realize they were bored with their bouncy seats and swings. Anyway… mine are really wacky sleepers too. I wonder if it is just normal for this age. I am lucky because they do all go down together at the same time at night, but napping is a whole other story. I cannot get them to nap at the same time and it drives me crazy. Like I said…I am hoping it is just their current age. They have to get it sooner or later – hopefully sooner.

Nicole

This has been the best year of my life and I would do it again!!!
The first 3-4 months were tough but I was still living on love and my hubby helped A LOT, even though he had a full time job.
Months 4-5 got a little better as they started only needing 1 middle of the night feeding. By 5 months they were sleeping through the night and that was a huge light at the end of the tunnel. Propping bottles helped up a lot. Now at 10 months my bottle holding hold out is holding her own bottle (the first two did it at 6 mo and 9 mo old). Honestly (knock on wood) having triplets has been easier than we thought it would be. You can do it!

Our Blog http://tripmomma.blogspot.com/

YOU CAN DO IT!! I agree with post that said people ask how I do it and I say I just do. It is so true!! My kids are going to be 2 in July and the time flies. Ours were born at 33w,4D and spent 10, 11 and 12 days in special care to learn to eat, grow etc. They were on a 3 hour feeding schedule in special care. When they came home and we kept them on that. Addison came home first so the other 2 followed her schedule. We were very strict about it and I know some moms don't agree with that but if we fed on demand we would have gone insane!! We would give nuks, play etc but no one EVER got a bottle early. I should also mention we did not have any help. When I was pregnant everyone kept saying you better line up help and I thought I would wait and see and sure enough we could do it with just me and my husband. Another thing we were very conscious of was doing our best not to use walking them around as a means to calm (because have you ever tried to calm 3 preemie newborns by walking them at the same time? IMPOSSIBLE!) We would rub their backs, use bouncies, swings, and hold them while sitting. For us it was just always remembering WHAT we were doing and if that was not possible to do x3 we would NOT do it. Again you can do and having triplets is AMAZING! I would not trade it for anything, even on the worst day!

Alison
7/8/07
Addison Renae 4lbs 2Oz
Eli 4 lbs 10oz
Morgan 4lbs 8.5 oz
33weeks, 4 days
www.hanlinfamily.blogspot.com

YOU CAN DO IT!! I assure you you will survive this!! My son was two anda half when the trio came home. I did have my mom to help for a few hours during the day for the first month, then I was on my own. Here are a few things that helped me. We put a changing table in the tv room along wiht a pack n play. We had diapers in just about every room of the house in baskets, so we never had to lug the kids into another room to change them, this was a life saver!! before they were born we stocked up on things like paper plates, toilet paper, shampoo...so we wouldn't have to worry about runnng out to the store. Forget about what your house looks like, just do what you ahve to do. The laundry, we didn't even fold and put the kids away, we just sorted it into baskets and pulled from there what we needed. We did this for the first 2 years!! I put a picture on each basket for each kid, then had a jammie basket. Believe it or not you can get your 3 year old to put his laundry away, it won't be neat, but he will be excited to do something a big boy can do!!! Talk everything up as you can do this because you are big!!! It goes a long way. Make your bottles once a day, then you won't have towrry about it. I made mine beofre bed. Boppy pillows and blankets to prop feed, don't feel guilty about it either!! When we had the babies in the NICU an dwe took big bro to see them, we put a little gift in with each baby for big brother, he loved this!! And wehn we were home and big bro was frustrated with the babies crying or taking up our time we were honest with him in saying that "yes having three babies was hard and frunstating and we understand, but we are the luckiest family in the world becaus egod gave us 3 babies. Now with big bro 5 and someone stops us he will tell whoever it is "were the luckiest becuse we have 3 babies, he is so proud. COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE or pepsi, but you will need caffine!!! At around the 6/8 month mark things got a lot easier and we started to get more sleep. You can do this, it will not be easy, but it will be so worth it, I promise!!!!!

Zayn 3/6/04
Pari 8/30/06
Trevor 8/30/06
Larkin 8/30/06

Live for today, dream of tomarrow, remember all your yesterdays

Hi, I am new to this too. I have 6 month old triplet girls and two older sons at home. You can do this! I am neither organized nor a great schedule keeper so if I can do it anyone can! I think one of the best things to do is put your babies to bed awake. This will help them sleep through the night much faster. When the babies sleep through the night and you get caught up on sleep it will get easier. I would not say having triplets is a horror story at all - I love it - and I'm overwhelmed with how beautiful and awesome each of the girls are. It has been wonderful even from the beginning. (I was groggy, but happy). Hope this helps.

I agree with the posts that say “you don’t know how you do it but you just do.” My babies are 5 months old and such a joy. As a matter of fact it is 7:45p here and they are all down for the night. Yippee. The key is schedule and organization. What does that mean??? I have no idea but you will figure out what works best for you and the babies and just do it. The beginning is hard...really hard. I had all three alone every night and at times I thought I was going to go crazy. I had all three in my bedroom and would feed and take care of them while watching TV (I kept it on mute with the captions on). I was lucky because we have my in-laws here and they would let me nap a few hours everyday. I am not going to lie...in the 1st few months I was not crazy about motherhood (the triplets are our 1st) and at times found it really hard to enjoy them, but they are older now, I get more sleep and when I see them smile and hear them laugh I know I would do it all over again.

The most important thing you can do right now is take care of yourself and keep those babies cooking for as long as possible. Mine were born @ 32 weeks and stayed in NICU for 4 weeks; if you have a NICU stay take that time to rest and regroup before they come home.

I agree with the last poster...you survive the first few months - it passes quicker than you can imagine...before you know it, you get to wake to 3 smiles everyday, what could be better?

Christina

Sophia June
Emma Grace
Annabelle Kate

1/29/09



http://threelittleseminoles.blogspot.com

I can't sugar coat anything when future triplet parents ask about this. Maybe it's just me but it is freaking hard and it's going to take every ounce of strength you have. You're going to be more tired than you've ever experienced in your life and probably wont remember a lot from the first year. A really great tip someone gave me was to put a "first year calendar" or baby book IN THE BATHROOM with a pen. It's the only time you are ever going to get to sit down, somewhat uninterrupted and write. If I had not done that my kids would have nothing. And it's great because I wrote down so so much of what happened their first year. You think you'll remember things like when they first smiled, got a tooth, crawled, even walked but you wont! Recruit as many helpers as you can and even more importantly give your 3 yr old as much attention as you can or have a helper play with her whenever they can. The bottom line is, you just wake up and do what you have to do everyday. That's it. People still ask me all the time, "how do you do it?" I still don't know. I respond by saying, "I just wake up everyday and there they are." It is definitely going to be hard but we're all still surviving, some of us more than others, but we are!

Crazy mom to:
DS 10
DS 7
& BBB 5!
9/29/06 born @ 32w2d

You are going to be great! My babies are now 4 months old and I think we are doing more than just surviving. There are moments when I still feel overwhelmed, but I think that happens to every mom.

I was able to get over my initial intimidation about caring for triplets when they were in the NICU. I did everything the nurses would let me do for every baby.

It would have been much more difficult for me if I did not have 3 Boppys - I used them for most everything. To help the babies be in a different position to watch their mobile while I changed one ... to help feed ... to save my back while holding them. We still use them every day for tummy time and occassional feeds.

There are things that you will have to do differently with the triplets than you did with your DD and that will be a difficult adjustment. Use whatever help you can get to help you have some time with each child every day. It took me awhile to realize I felt I was just feeding/changing/bathing... and not actually enjoying my newborns.

Search the main board and post often - these people are amazing! No doubt this is an adventure try to relax and enjoy it.

You can do this and you will do this very well. Just like the pp said, 6 months is a huge turning point. My best advice is don't sweat the small stuff, try to see the big picture and when people ask to help, be specific! Looking back the best help was having people clean, cook, or let me take a nap. If there is a particular person who gives you more stress than help when they come (for me it was my MIL!) don't have them come back.
I need to tell you, the fear you are having right now it totally replaced with the love you have when you bond with your babies. It is demanding and challenging and some days are harder than others, but after you get through those first 6 months or so, you will have such a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. Best of luck to you. YOU WILL DO GREAT!!!
Stephanie
GGG 9/19/08 @ 32 weeks
www.lloydfamilyinreallife.blogspot.com

Hi, I just gave birth to my BBG triplets on march 5, 2009 at 29 weeks 1 day. they came home around end of april. the first month was really hard but it would have been worse if my husband hadnt taken it off. then i came across milk maid baby bottle holders and my life changed for the better! i use them to feed the babies even all at the same time and becaus of them, i am able to care for the babies at night by myself too. i find they work best when babies are swaddled and put in a bouncer or car seat so that they dont knock over the holder. i ordered from the following website:
http://www.greatbabyproducts.com/Baby_Bottle_Holder_p/prod-mm220.htm

theyre only $14.99 each! hope this helps