Father Friday - I Love That Maximom Carrier

What Is Wrong With This Story?

This scares me.

A father and mother were arrested in Raleigh, NC for child abuse. The charge was based on a roll of film they had developed at an Eckerd. A photo showed the father kissing his naked son on the belly button. The father was charged with sexually assaulting his son and the mother was charged with taking sexually explicit photos. Here's the story. The charges were dropped after the father spent six months in prison.

Is it just me or is society overly sensitive about everything?

I Can Eat Freely Now

It's nice to be able to eat more things now. Things like more chocolate, caffeinated drinks, soft Mexican cheeses...

I was careful during the pregnancy about what I was eating. I haven't gone crazy now either because I'm still nursing, but it's nice to have a little more freedom when it comes to food choices.

Need Some Help? Yes, Please.

I just have to say again that we wouldn't have been able to make it so far without the help we have received. Different people from church have provided us with meals. That makes such a difference when you really don't have the time to prepare a meal. Sometimes you don't even feel like you have the time to eat a meal.

In addition, we've had a people there to help watch the babies while we make an unexpected trip to the doctor or just take a few minutes and get a nap. My mom has also been able to temporarily move in with us. She's been able to help keep things going with all three. It makes a big difference.

The Minivan Cometh

In an attempt to use the cars we have to the fullest, we've been loading all 3 babies into the back seat of our Toyota Camry and putting the stroller in the truck. It works, but it isn't the ideal situation. We had hoped to put off the minivan purchase longer, but it's really a hassle to try and load everything into the Camry. It's time to start shopping and get a vehicle large enough for 5 and all the accessories. Hey, at least we made it a month with our current cars.

Oh the Things You'll Hear - Being a Family of Multiples

These sound familar to us.

New Photos Added

Father Friday # 3 - Big Brother Is Watching Your Baby

How well would this work for triplets when they become more mobile? An apparel maker is creating children's sleepwear with RFID. When the children are wearing it, they can be located easily. They say the product is made to made to protect children from abductors. I think the clothing would be even handier when the triplets become teenagers.

Father Friday - Double Feature

Here are two posts I've been saving up. One funny. One serious.

Honey, I Jinxed The Baby

If you look at the photos we have posted on flickr, you'll see that each baby has a nickname. Squeaker got her nickname because when she came home, she would get the hiccups a lot. When she did, they didn't sound like hiccups. They sounded like the "yippy" squeak-like sound a small dog makes when it's barking. I can only think that it's my fault.

When the ultrasounds were made to determine the sex of the babies, she was the one that a guess. At that time, we thought she was a girl, but we weren't 100% sure. I used to jokingly tell people we were having a boy, girl and a puppy. I think she must have heard me say that.

I'm a Victim of Postpartum Something

Postpartum depression has been in the news a lot lately - mainly because of Tom Cruise. He certainly has a right to his opinion, but something happened when we started bringing the babies home. I think I was a victim of postpartum depression that affects dads.

Lots of men gain weight or have sympathy pains during the pregnancy. I experienced none of that. Nothing notable occurred until the babies were born.

In my mind, I had this idea that the mother would come home without any problems and that the babies would come home in a few days from the NICU. We would hit the ground running with the new family. What a shock it was to me when the mother started having some problems from the c-section. Not only that, but the babies were coming home a bit slower than I had anticipated. It suddenly occurred to me that I still had to deal with the slow healing of the mother, care for three babies that were scattered between home and the hospital and balance the needs of home and the workplace. It was too much.

For about five days, I was in a haze. I had no idea how to handle everything. The depression and stress were taking their toll. I started having chest pain and I realized I had to get a grip on things or I was going to start having health problems. Thankfully this was temporary and as the mother started healing and all the babies came home, the stress level decreased. I now take everything in stride and have a healthy balance between everything.

So what's the point of this? Having a baby, or babies, is really stressful and can affect everyone. It takes some time to adjust to the changes. Don't forget to laugh and keep in mind that the hard times are only temporary. And if you really think you have postpartum depression, don't ignore it.

Thank You Cards and Phone Calls - Time Isn't On My Side

Once again, I'm behind on sending thank you cards and returning phone calls. I have a list of people I want to call and another list of people that I need to send a thank you card to. If you are one of them and you are reading this, please know I haven't forgotten you and your generosity. I just haven't found the time to properly contact you yet.

Day Planning

Who knew it would be so difficult to accomplish so little during the day? No matter how much or how little we plan to do during the day, we seem to run out of time before we gets things completed. Today we had two appointments - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It seemed like one appointment ran into the other and we had to rush from one to the other. You always have to pack the diaper bag for such circumstances. Lots of clothes, blankets, diapers, wipes and bottles. We've learned quickly there is no such thing as being overprepared when you have triplets.

Lose Weight Now - Ask Me How

Lose Weight The Triplet Way!!!

I'm amazed at the amount of weight I've lost. After the triplets were born, I was 41 pounds lighter. I went to the doctor yesterday and was even more amazed to learn I'm within 5 pounds of my weight at 7 weeks pregnant. A lot of weight was lost when the babies were delivered, but I guess more has been lost because I'm breastfeeding, I seem to be awake the majority of the day and I've lost lots of fluid I accumulated during the pregnancy.

The Final Belly Measurement - 34 Weeks

The Price of Baby Formula

In addition to the breast milk the babies are getting, they are eating a baby formula made especially for preemies. It's a higher calorie formulation designed to "pack the pounds" on their little bodies. We've been amazed at the price. Even searching on the internet, we can't find it for a lower price than we can purchase it at local stores. We've contacted the local stores to see if we can purchase unopened cases at a discounted price, but they have been unwilling to go along with that. I can't help but believe the prices could be lower. You know it's really bad when you find baby formula coupons for auction on eBay or read stories about stores locking up formula because people are stealing it and returning it for a large cash refund.

Sleep - Who Needs It?

We have learned over the past 2 1/2 weeks just how far you can go on very little sleep. The babies eat every 3 hours. It takes about 1 hour to feed, burp and change all 3. That's if all 3 are cooperating. With that schedule, we have about 2 hours to sleep between each routine with the babies. This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer tries to use the Da Vinci sleep schedule to give himself 22 hours of awake time each day. We should probably work on using that schedule too.

Homecoming

We finally have all 3 babies at home. What a nice feeling to have the family together.

Finally Some Photos

We've added some photos here. Not all of them have captions. We just get a little finished each day.

Preemies - They Do Come With Instructions

When the two babies were discharged from the hospital, we were given information about how to care for them - feeding, bathing, taking temperatures, etc. When the last one is discharged, we'll be given the same information. One thing we had failed to consider was the restrictions placed on them because they are premature. We have to do our best to protect the babies from any possible illness they could encounter. We have to continually wash our hands or use hand sanitizer. Any visitors have to follow the same restrictions. We have to keep them away from any children that are in daycare. We were told we shouldn't take them to church because of possible illnesses they could encounter there. All of these restrictions are in place until they reach their actual birth date - August 9.

Father Friday - Emotional Rollercoaster

This past week has been more emotional than I could have ever imagined. I was so elated because of the birth of the babies. I can't describe the happiness I felt. We had been praying for children for so long and the day finally arrived. The only thing that darkened the week was coming home with one baby and leaving 2 at the hospital. It was so heartbreaking. When the second baby came home, it wasn't any easier. Everytime we visit the remaining baby at the hospital and then have to leave, it seems to tear me apart dealing with the separation. As difficult as it will be at home with three babies, I'll be so much happier when our family is together.

The Birth Announcements

Last Wednesday, June 29, we reported to the hospital for the scheduled C-section. It was a relatively smooth day and the babies were born at the scheduled time. The babies actually were born in the order they had been monitored in my belly - A, B and then C. Baby A, codename "Little Man", was born at 11:30am with a weight of 4 lbs 9.8 oz and a length of 19 inches. Baby B, codename "Squeaky", was born at 11:31am with a weight of 4 lbs 5.4 oz and a length of 18 inches. Baby C, codename "Blondie", was born at 11:32am with a weight of 3 lbs 14.5 oz and a length of 16 1/2 inches.

For four days, I stayed in the hospital recovering from my C-section. On Sunday, we came home with Squeaky. On Tuesday, Little Man was discharged and came home with us. We're still waiting on Blondie to come home. She is currently scheduled to come home with us this Tuesday. We're just trying to wait patiently on her arrival. Because she was the smallest baby, she has had some problems maintaining her body weight and has had a few episodes with her heartrate and oxygen levels decreasing. At this point, she is doing better, and if that continues she'll be home with us soon.

Return To Reality

Where have we been? What's been happening? It's all been a blur for over a week now. Two babies at home at home, one in NICU. Taking care of the two at home and trying to visit the one remaining in the NICU while trying to maintain sanity with a three hour feeding schedule. We can only imagine (or maybe we can't) what it's going to be like when all 3 are at home. We think it will be easier because we won't have to divide our time between two locations. I guess we'll see.

No Posts Yet - Sorry For The Delay

We're doing a poor job of keeping this site updated now. We're trying to sleep, take care of the 2 babies at home and visit the one still in NICU. We hope to add more stories and photos soon.

2 Photos - More Details and Photos to Follow

Have we really spent 4 days at the hospital? It doesn't seem like it. We haven't had access to a computer or the internet, so it has been impossible to update everyone. This is just a quick posting with a couple of photos. More details and photos will follow later.