When we received the news that there were 3 little people growing in my uterus, we were as shocked as you might imagine. We laughed, then we cried, then we laughed & cried. It literally took weeks for the shock to wear off...and we still didn't REALLY "get it" that we suddenly had 3 children until they were close to a year old.
I had never met anyone with triplets or more and had absolutely no idea what to expect. Now it feels so incredibly normal, that I am often confused by the interest we generate when out in public.
So today I thought I'd capture some of the unique facts about our last 2 years that don't seem that unusual to me, but are not necessarily normal to people who do this one baby at a time.
You might be a parent of triplets if...
1. You used to use a crock pot as your bottle warmer because you could do 3 bottles simultaneously.
2. You have ever mixed formula in a pitcher (and it only lasted 24 hours).
3. You have a mini fridge in your nursery.
4. You have ever taken a U-haul on vacation behind your Yukon XL in order to transport all the baby supplies you'll need for 1 week. (and you used everything your brought)
5. You have ever bought school supplies at Sam's Club.
6. You know more than a dozen other people with triplets or quadruplets.
7. You own 5 different strollers. (double, single, triple, triple jogger, triple wagon)
8. You can change 3 diapers faster than most people can change one.
9. You have an arrangement to purchase diapers wholesale because you buy in such bulk.
10. You have ever had to renovate in order to fit 3 cribs in one room.
11. You know all the obscure airline rules on how many lap babies you can travel with and what seats they must sit in to fulfill the oxygen mask requirements. (often better than the booking agent knows them)
12. You are able to hold 2 or 3 children at a time.
13. You have ever bottle fed more than one baby at a time.
14. You know how many highchairs are in each restaurant in town. (You'd be suprised how many have 3 or less)
15. You know what the acronyms HOM, EDD, BBG, BBB, GGB and GGG mean.
16. You think a 4 lb baby is a great weight.
17. "Full term" to you is 36 weeks.
18. Pregnancy = bedrest
19. You go through a gallon of milk every 28 hours.
20. You have ever had 6 babygates up in your house at once, and contemplated adding more.
21. Mothers of one small child seriously look at you like they are fearful that having multiples might be contagious if they get too close.
22. You don't even bat an eyelash to the following comments from complete strangers.: "Your hands are full." "Are they triplets?" "Are they twins?" "Did you have them yourself?" "Did you do those drugs?" "Are they real?" "Are they natural?" or my personal 2 favorites: "Were you trying to have triplets? " and "What do you call those, twintuplets?"
I could go on & on, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately. Funny thing is, I cannot imagine my life ANY OTHER way!
27 comments:
I have no idea what those acronyms mean, and I'm totally intimidated by all the strollers and the UHaul on the back of the Yukon - but OH, what sweet memories your three will have. They are just as cute as they can be...
That was so creative, Jen. I must say that with my 4 so close together, I can sympathize with quite a few of them. Like changing 3 diapers faster than most can change 1. People are baffled when I'm in and out with a fresh diaper on the younger 3's bum. I definitely cannot imagine the crockpot bottle warmer or pitcher serving formula though. I'm sure you know all the tricks and short cuts.
I think it is awesome. Iam fascinated by multiple Births. My mom had two sets of twins @ 10 months apart both sets were boy girl. She always said it was like having quads.It was by an early marriage so I never knew them. I believe one of my kids will have twins one day. I know it must be hectic but I also know it must be AWESOME. Isnt it funny how I mentioned in my post I didnt know how you would school shop for 3, and you did at Sams the very day???? How funny!! I wish you would have taken pics of that!!
You are wonderful Jenmom!
I forgot a good one. So, here is #23. You record every BM, wet diaper and oz. of milk consumed for the first 6 months of your children's lives in a 3 ring binder--so that when the Dr. asks you can remember which baby is doing what. One of my children (to remain anonymous) even had such terrible constipation that we would rate their BMs with a star system as to whether it was a "good one" or not....Seriously! Ahh, motherhood!
I love the part about knowing a dozen others with triplets or quads! I have family that doesn't understand why so many of my friends have triplets, too. Also, I had never realized that I own FIVE strollers! Was it your own experience with the Yukon with a Uhaul? Too funny! This was a great post!
Yes, all 23 are my own experiences. It was our first beach trip when the kids were 11 months old. The highchairs, pack & plays, cans of formula, strollers, bouncy seats were all too much for us to lso manage to pack clothing...so we took a Uhaul and pronounced ourselves the Grizzwolds!
This was so fun to read. You really sound like you are so organized... you'd have to be I guess:) The Lord sure knew what He was doing when he blessed you with 3 at once! You are doing great!
That is some good reading there!! I can't imagine the questions that you must get out in public with 3...just with my 2 it's SO annoying.
By the way, even with my singleton daughter I kept track of every BM and wet diaper b/c she was so constipated too. It's like my life revolved around her bodily functions. It actually DID for about 3 1/2 years until she finally "regulated" herself.
Cute post. I can relate to 2/3 of your list......... =)
Too funny! You are so right about all of the conversation/looks/and goofy questions. It's like people are trying to figure out how old each child could be and if mathmatically it's possible that there's not at least one set of twins amongst the group. Foster and Elizabeth look so much alike that people often mistake them for twins. I love the "Are they ma-ternal or pa-ternal twins?" question. "Well...they're a little of both," is how I usually answer that one. And don't you love how everyone feels like they need to stop and ask you questions about the kids-especially at the tail end of the grocery store trip when EVERYBODY is has had it anyway? Or when people, bless their hearts :), feel like they want/need to be helpful in public, but all it really does is slow the whole process down. (b/c they then want to know names/ages/I try to get everyone to say hello/they ask about twins/the boys' swords/etc, etc, etc,.) I think you articulated it the best when you said that it's so normal for us, we don't think about having so many kiddos around as odd. Oh-how do you buy diapers wholesale? We don't really need that many anymore, but what a great idea. And I never really counted how many strollers we have either-4 and we've gotten rid of one of them.
Amy
Fun stuff! I love that list.
Here, Here!!!
Great list, I think you've got the majority of it covered ... although, we haven't yet had to pull a U-Haul behind our vehicle. Not a bad idea, though!
We also did formula in pitchers - and were going through 1g of milk a day. It got to the point where we considered buying a cow. It did slow down once we weaned them, but I think milk consumption is on the rise again...!
OMG....twintuplets? LOL I love that. All 3 of mine are so far apart it is almost like having 3 onlines so I can't relate but do think the crockpot idea is supper (my bottle warmers always seemed to be too hot or too cool!). My youngest said a couple of days ago, "I want us to have another baby"...the older two just glared at him. LOL
Jenmom,Thankyou so much for commenting and your leading today. I cannot tell you how much I need that today. It has been such a difficult day for me today and the Lord used you to lead me eaxactly where I need to be. Thankyou for that truely. I read it and emailed shannon. Thankyou so much.
loved the list. my neice has triplets and she had a ton of help for over a year so I know how much work it is.
I must say though, I related to a lot of that list myself and all six of mine have come one at a time. hhmm. what's up with that?
Hubby puts his foot down at the u-haul tho. The double stroller getting gate checked for the plane and then all over Disney about did him in.
11 months and the beach is what amazes me. I took the 1st four all the time as babies, these last two, no way, I just have stayed home until they are bigger.
Love to pop in and read how God has graced you with such beautiful children, patience beyond human understanding, and deep rooted love for motherhood. It always shows in your post!
Hi Jenmom :)
This post is just too funny!!! My friend who has triplets does not have internet, but I have to print this out for her :) she will laugh! I do admire you and your love for you little BLESSINGS!!! I feel I totally understand you cause of my close friend here, her name is Jill. Anyways, I love reading your blog and just wanted to say HI and that this was a fun post to read and smile at. :)
God Bless you and your precious ones!
Liz
"Are they real?"--like, are there fake triplets out there? What on earth??
What does it say about me that I had four strollers and only two children? The more kids I have, the fewer strollers--I'm running out of space, with all the carseats in the car!!
This is a hilarious list:)
that is a great list! my favorite question on 22 is "were you trying to have triplets?!" it is crazy what comes out of people's mouths! my sister has twins (and 2 other children) so i know she can relate to lots of this!
and now you can't imagine life without those 3 little ones...it's just normal to you! and i CANNOT imagine having 3 at one time!!
i am not the mother of multiples, but that is TOO FUNNY! I laughed, and laughed...
you are too funny! i think our children... my youngest and your three have the same bday... may 21??
sometimes i think about abigail's two-ness multiplied by three... whew. i'd probably buy 10 baby gate and never leave the house! ha!
This is FUNNY! Did you know that Dr. Phil's son just married a triplet? See, now I fall into that dumb people category! But really, people do ask really strange things. I am sure you are gracious. I don't know if I would be! :)
Jen,
This is the best ever. I usually pop in on your blog from time to time to see how you guys have been this summer, but this is by far my favorite. I can actually relate to a lot of these just because of my large brood. My favorite that I get is, "are all them your kids?"
Your best was "Are they twintuplets". I love it.
Wendy W.
Just found your blog thru a friend's site. I have twins and this post cracked me up! The twins are almost 2 and their brother is 4. The comments I get are so hilarious/ridiculous/just out there! Gotta love being a multiple Mama. Such a blessing.
I am laughing so hard at the "mini fridge" in your nursery...that is priceless!!
Oh, I also meant to say...a friend sent me this post cause it's similar to our life :). Love your blog!
I have b/g twins (born May 26 also! but in 1998) and my older son was 20 mos old when they were born. For the longest time, when he saw people with a baby, he'd ask them where their *other* baby was. He thought they came in pairs! :)
I'm 20 and the oldest in my family. I have younger siblings that are triplets and they just graduated high school. Now where it gets interesting... There are 2 MORE sets of triplets in their grade at their school! They're all friends, as well!
Ha! #22 was my favorite...so true :)
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