observations

• We can tell the girls apart, sometimes without checking the hairdos.
• [currently, at least] Their crying does not disturb the others. Sudden or loud noises will cause all to start, so there must be some selective hearing that tunes out sisters' protests. One or two can sleep right through the loud protests of the other(s).
  
• [currently, at least, but this will probably change one day] One can come into the nursery when they're supposed to be sleeping, get seen by whoever is awake, yet have no fuss when you leave the scene. This is a big help.
• The cats, Dusty and Lefty, take a detached interest in their new housemates. They tend to keep their distance. During nighttime feedings Dusty is likely to visit the nursery to check out who is there.
  

hanging out

A relaxing Sunday. Julie is in stripes (Martha Stewart jail togs?), Emma to the right, and Rebecca.

Later Sarah, Greg, and Rebecca went out for some shopping errands. It was Rebecca's first outing solo with her mom & dad.

Among the stops was Babies 'R Us where most shoppers had babies in tow. Sarah & Greg mentioned it was nice to be just another couple with a cute baby rather than ... "wow, triplets".

Friends gave us bibs with the girls' initials embroidered to help the grandparents keep the girls straight.

Thanks Helen, Amy, Bill & Casey.

ahhh, a weekend

We had a good, if short, first week of 2-on-3 daycare, but we were glad to welcome the weekend when the adults would outnumber the young 'uns.

Greg checks out Emma & Julie during some tummy time. The girls sleep on their backs, but they need supervised time on their bellies to work on muscles and give the backs of their heads a rest.

Sarah & Greg slept through the 3 am feeding, but once again we lucked out with Emma sleeping a bit later and accepting second seating for the meal. I zonked out and skipped the dawn feeding. Sleep is a bit short for all of us. Ginnie & I are probably averaging 5-6 hours of sleep most nights. Greg & Sarah get a bit less. We nap whenever we can, but daytime opportunities aren't as frequent as I had hoped. It's hard to get all 3 to doze off at the same time daytimes.

Sarah & Greg sent us out on a date Saturday to get out of the house, see some warm South Carolina weather, etc. We celebrated by shopping - Rite Aid, Lowes, Costco, Publix (supermarket). It was good to get out for a few hours and let the parents and kids have the house to themselves.

All this shopping could have been nap time, however. I felt a little spacey wandering around Costco, and I realized it was fatigue. Luckily they had free samples of coffee.

7:45 pm, fatigue takes its toll. Julie helps Ginnie rest while Rebecca helps me.















For us, evening culminates with the 9 pm feeding, if all goes well. That means the kids get changed, eat, [burp], and start to doze off by about 10. Then we carefully, quietly, carry them to the nursery, wrap them in the swaddlers and hope they continue their night's slumber for 4-5 hours. Then we head to the shower and bed. Sleep fast.

Sarah and Greg usually have a few more things to do before they get to bed.

There are baby monitors in both bedrooms now so we can hear nursery noises better, which we do. This can lead to a trip across the hall to see who's awake and decide how to get her back to sleep.

three days on our own

We had a week to get up to speed before having the girls on our own daytimes after both parents went to work Wednesday. Wednesday went well. We never had all three awake, hungry, and vocal at the same time. They slept quite a bit that day, so when the parents arrived home after work, they got to deal with wake time.

Thursday & Friday went well also, but there was a lot less sleeping during the day, so we were quite busy. Thursday dinner time for the girls -


We have tried to let one parent sleep through one night feeding week nights. Sarah told us we could change our minds later as she thought it might get to be too much. Time will tell.

the routine

What's a typical day (at least the ones we've participated in) like?

So far, there have been at least 3 adults with 3 babies. That will change Wednesday when both parents go to work. Sarah will start back to work Tuesday, but Greg will take vacation that day.

When does the day start? Let's try midnight. The girls are generally on a 3 hour feeding schedule, but night feedings are stretched out a bit if all are willing. Having been fed at 9 pm, they sleep until 1 or 2 am currently. When they wake at that time, one adult goes downstairs to half-fill large glasses with hot tap water. Previously prepared bottles (labeled since there are slight differences in quantity) are plunked in the glasses to warm. They are pretty flexible (parents & kids) regarding bottle temperature.

The babies sleep in swaddlers (new items to us) that wrap them up like sushi (according to Greg). They get peeled out of the swaddlers one at a time starting with whoever is the most awake (or making the loudest protest). That one moves to the changing table for a diaper change, then is escorted off to a comfy chair for feeding. The next candidate gets peeled while the former is on the changing table, then heads to that station for dry/clean pants. Repeat.

We generally try to keep quiet during the night feedings to avoid getting them too wide awake. After a few burp sessions, they nod off, get re-wrapped, and put back in the crib. They are sharing 2 cribs currently. Someone takes the bottles to the kitchen, rinses them and heads back to bed. This takes about an hour.

Greg & Sarah have a baby monitor in their room, so they often hear the girls before we do. Our room is across a hall from the nursery, so we do hear them first sometimes. We often find one baby missing when we go in. In that case, someone was fussing, and was taken to the parents' room where there is a pack 'n play (playpen) set up for sleeping. This means the parents get less sleep than the help does.

About 2-3 hours after finishing that feeding, the natives get restless again. Same drill as above.

The next feeding occurs around 9 am. This can take some delaying tactics, e.g. comforting, popping in a pacifier, whatever to keep the peace until 9.

The 9 am feeding usually happens in the nursery (same drill as above), then they may be put back in the cribs, or if they're active rather than sleepy, they head down to the living room for the day.

The living room has a pack 'n play, a quilt-like mat, a bouncy chair. There are 3 swings, 2 boppy pillows, etc. to keep all occupied and supported through the day.

Noon feeding - as above. Three pm feeding adds vitamins. Six pm, nine pm, dine in the living room, then off to the nursery.

They're on a mix of breast milk and formula which leads to a lot of measuring and mixing.

We usually sneak a bowl of cereal about 10:30 for breakfast. A half sandwich around 2 when they're asleep. Our dinner time is after they are fed. With luck, all are content in some sort of swing or bouncy chair. If not, they're in someone's lap.

Ginnie & I have fed the girls by ourselves three times so far. It can get a bit noisy, but we've lucked out pretty well with someone sleeping through the start.

With 21 feedings a day, the dishwasher runs 2 shifts. Bottles and other feeding supplies add up quickly.

The girls are delightful, and we're enjoying them thoroughly. Sarah & Greg are very relaxed with the babies, like they've been doing this for years. The girls are lucky to have them.

an outing

Monday was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70s and light winds. We all took a walk around the block, although half of us slept most of the time.

Buckled up and ready to ride.

the start

Ginnie & I arrived in the evening on April 14. Sarah's parents were about to head home early the next morning, and we were taking over the role of extended family assisters to three adorable three-month old granddaughters: Emma Grace, Julie Catherine, and Rebecca Caroline.

Let the games begin.

The first night we tried to participate in the overnight feedings, but the job was better left to the experienced, and Sarah's parents wanted as much time with the babies as they could squeeze in before they departed. Sarah's mom had been with her since before the babies were born. Her father had managed to visit a few times as well.

We ended up sleeping (such as it was) in our clothes on top of the bed as we didn't know how the night would play out and what we might be called on to do.

The next day, we got refamiliarized with infant care e.g. feeding, burping, changing, entertaining, etc. We also began learning the differences in personalities and appearances of the trio. Greg had given us a heads-up early on that the hair was different on the three.







Julie has a bit of a spike look on top (although only a few hairs to which I can relate).














Rebecca has the 'buzz' look.















Emma is bigger than the other girls, and she has more hair on the sides and back.