Happiness

Happiness is sharing a piece of freshly baked bread with my daughter as we do the shopping
Happiness is getting a hug from my son and realising he doesn't want to let go to quickly
Happiness is watching my husband walk through the door with a smile on his face every afternoon
Happiness is eye contact with Ailah and receiving a huge first smile
Happiness is having healthy children - 5 of them!
Happiness is watching family smother my children with love
Happiness is taking Amali for a trail ride on her pony for the first time in months
Happiness is Dylan turning his head when he hears his Daddy's voice
Happiness is watching a woman tenderly help her elderly father into the car
Happiness is having wonderful friends
Happiness is dipping freshly made cookies into a cup of tea
Happiness is hearing your children play with each other
Happiness is realising Isaac did not feed through the night, but slept til 4am
Happiness is seeing the look on Amali's face when her little sister smiled at her
Happiness is watching father and son hoon around on a motorbike
Happiness is listening to Daddy tell his daughter he'll take her clothes shopping
Happiness is having the gift of fertility, easily
Happiness is watching Daddy and the older children making themselves dinner together
Happiness is gazing at 3 sleeping babies, all facing the same way
Happiness is being told by my daughter that she loves me. Every day
Happiness is watching my peacock sit at the nursery door
Happiness is having a daytime nap, snuggled up with one, or more, of my babies
Happiness is going for a walk while my daughter rides happily beside me
Happiness is playing with my little filly for the first time in 9 months

Happiness is feeling content.

40 Weeks!

Happy due date to me
Happy due date to me!
Happy due date to meeeeee,
Happy due date to me!

October 12th. 40 weeks. Looking at the babies now, all together they've put on about 1kg, I reckon I could have carried another kilo. Hehehehehehe!

I thought I'd share lots of pics of myself, Daniel, Jordan and Amali as babies, as well as the triplets. You can see a huge resemblance between us and some remarkable likeness in some!

 Here is me aged around 7 weeks, and Daniel around 3 months.

 Jordan and Amali

I never realised how much alike they looked until I put these two photos side by side.

 Ailah and Amali

Ok, so she doesn't have the roundness yet, but you get the general idea!

 

Isaac and Jordan

He has Jordan's huge eyes.

 

And Isaac's scan at 19 weeks. 

 

Amali and two shots of Dylan

You can tell he got her chubby cheeks!

 

 And this is just to show that Amali and Ailah have more than looks in common. Little wrigglers!

This is Amali the first time she slept in her pram. Needless to say I did her up from then on.

Something funny occurred to me over the last week. I look at Dylan and think 'gosh you're huge!'. In actual fact, he's 3.2kg now. Amali was 3.8kg born. Jordan was 4.2kg born. Puts it into perspective doesn't it?

1 Month Old (a little late)

Can you believe it? I can't! My bubbas are 1 month! It seems like only yesterday I was sitting in the Special Care Unit gazing down at my newborn triplets. I wonder how many years I'll say that for.....

So, it's still pretty easy. I won't lie, there are hard times. About 6-8pm. Witching hour (or 2). They are a little unsettled and really want to just be held at this time. Which is not possible. It may sound harsh, but until you've had more than 1 new born, you probably won't understand! And I mean that in the nicest way!

 How I spend witching hour when it gets really bad - note the two sleeping babies? Cheeky buggers.

You just can't hold them and cuddle them to sleep (apart from the above photo, this does not happen!). I only have 2 arms, and usually one is doing something with the other children or making dinner. I let me babies cry. I don't really do 'cry it out', but I am getting them to self settle. Dylan does it himself 80% of the time, Ailah about 50% of the time and Isaac about 20% of the time - that's without dummies.

Ahhhh, dummies. The most wonderful creation and also the worst. They are a complete Catch 22. Jordan had one until 6 months old when he got his first cold, had a blocked nose and that was it. Dummy gone. I gave Amali one when she was about 5 weeks old, and she turned into a possessed baby so I promptly got rid of it. Now, 3.5 years later she still sucks her fingers.........hmmmmm.

 Ailah having mummy snuggles

I do use dummies with the trio. Dylan has only just started liking one, which I'm not sure I like! Isaac is quite dummy dependent and Ailah usually only when she is unsettled. I'm in two minds. I will keep you updated on that one!

Jordan having some quality time with Dylan and Ailah

Gandi having her first triplet cuddle on her birthday. Isaac is on the left, Dylan on the right.

I also do routines. I use that word carefully. I am still flexible, but I keep and eye on the clock somewhat. Here is our daily routine:

5-7am wake, changed and fed, settled back to sleep
9-10am wake, changed, 'play', fed and settled back to sleep
12-1pm wake, changed, 'play', fed and settled back to sleep
3-4pm wake, changed, 'play', fed and settled back to sleep
6-7pm wake, changed, 'play', fed and settled back to sleep - this one usually takes a LONG time
8:30-10pm, wake, 'play', bath, fed and settled down for the night
They then wake between 1-2am are fed and put back to sleep, I only change them if they have a poo
And then we do it all over again!

And I'm sure this is about to change. As it will many times over. But it works for me. Lots of people ask me about feeding. If one wakes and another looks to be stirring, I wake that one as well and feed both together. Then the 3rd. If one wakes and no one else is stirring, I feed that one by itself and then wake the 2nd and 3rd. If all wake - I may put one in the swing or lie them next to me with a dummy firmly held in their mouth!
Yes, sometimes all three cry. Can't be helped. It's going to happen and there isn't always going to be someone else around to pick them up.

This is how they look when I put them down for a sleep.

This is how they look at the end of a sleep. I had no idea a 4 week old baby could move this much. That is Ailah.

And no, I'm not super mum. I get cranky at them. I've had a few teary moments. It IS hard sometimes. But I get over it. I have to. 90% of the time they are fantastic and easy. And I move on, life's too short to stress over things.

I have learnt that this past week in a big way. One of the pregnant triplet mums from Australia lost 2 of her girls to TTTS (Triplet to Triplet Syndrome) at 18 weeks. A terrible tragedy for her. And then the HOM (Higher Order Multiples) community was rocked again with the death of beautiful April. A beautiful 12 week old girl, who leaves behind her brother and sister triplets. She died in her sleep, SIDS. She was perfectly healthy. My heart stopped when I found out. I know it's naive, but you just expect after going through a high risk pregnancy, premature newborns and NICU time that it's enough. You know? Then this poor family gets hit it the most heartbreaking way. April, and many others who are now angel babies will be remembered by us on October 15th - Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Light a candle, let a balloon go, anything, even a moments thought. If you know someone who has experienced loss, don't be afraid to talk to them about it. Say their child's name. Acknowledge their baby. Acknowledge their grief and let them know you are there for them.

Ailah

Dylan

Isaac

 I'll also be sending love across the oceans so my beautiful American friend to remember her angel babies.

3 times the love.

The First Few Weeks

I have decided to share with you all the 3 images of our babies entering the world. Taken by Emily Black, they are very tasteful and I don't think they will offend anyone. However, I have put them at the end of this post, so if you think you will be offended, don't scroll all the way down!

So it has taken me ages to find the time to write this! Even as I do begin to type, I have Ailah in my arms hiccuping like mad. But don't get me started on hiccups! That's a whole other post! Honestly though, things have been great. I've been going out with them (and the older 2) and it's pretty easy. They sleep so well (except for today) and it just takes longer to get them all in/our of the car.

My first outing by myself with the older kids in tow.

 

Chilling at the park

They are all feeding roughly every 3-4 hours still and pretty much go straight to sleep afterwards. I've just noticed them having more awake time in the last few days, it's nice to see little eyes open wide, beginning to explore the world. Albeit a fuzzy world! We have a great night time routine. They wake from their last nap at about 8:30, I bath the first two (separately), dress them, wrap them then it is boob time and bed. Then repeated for the third bubba. Usually they are all out by 10pm and I jump straight into bed. They then wake about 1-2am and then 5-6am. It takes about an hour to feed all three and they usually go straight back to sleep without any fuss.

Ailah is still the smallest, I have been giving her top up feeds of expressed breast milk 2-3 times a day if she doesn't feed very well. She's not putting on as much weight as the boys so hopefully this will help her. She has the longest lashes and super cute lips. I can't wait to see if her hair will be curly like Amali's! She manages to wriggle out of her wrap and even nappies. I'd say she'll be the first to crawl and walk if that's anything to go by! Isaac and her are currently fighting for the 'most annoying' triplet trophy!

Isaac is by far the loudest baby I have heard. He has an ear piercing scream that goes straight through you! If I had 3 Isaac's I'd be in trouble! But, he has the biggest eyes and is generally the most awake. He likes sleeping on his side, but only during the day. He loves his dummy. Grrrrr, don't get me started on dummies either!

Dylan is still huge - but it's funny, looking at him I feel like he is this huge baby but Amali and Jordan were born bigger than what he is now. He is my 'good' baby. He feeds perfectly, then goes straight to sleep. He has wet nappies and pooey nappies and barely needs a burp. If I had 3 Dylan's I'd be one happy mumma!

But jokes aside, sometimes I look at them and realise that I have 3 babies!! It is such a surreal feeling, I suppose only one that other triplet mummies can understand. Things have been so good, I'm literally waiting for it to get harder. I know it will. I'm not that naive, and if today was anything to go by.......!!

As for me, due to it being school holidays I get to have a sleep in every morning so haven't needed too many naps during the day time, but that will all change next week. I'm feeling pretty fantastic, my tummy is going down nicely, I only have back pain if I'm not wearing my support band, and even then it's not too painful. A lot of people have asked about 'down there' - well, I'm pretty good. My pelvic floor has held out pretty good and I feel very 'normal' down there. My nipples are taking the strain very well and only get sore after Ailah has fed really bad and I haven't corrected her. Seeing that this is a 'warts and all' blog, I will keep putting belly shots up from time to time.

The one on the left was taken on Day 4 while still in hospital, the black and white ones were taken at 2 weeks post partum.

The birth pictures are below. Just scroll down if you want to.

I only have the small size for now. I think they are very tastefully edited! Thank you once again Emily. (Thats meconium - baby poo - coming out of Dylan's bum!)

Hospital and Home

So I'll back track just a little......

I cannot  express enough, the gratitude I feel towards the Special Care Nursery and Paediatric team at Nambour Hospital. No, my babies were not very sick, in fact they were wonderfully healthy, so I didn't have any stress about that, but I certainly did have extra attention from the trio's nursing team. They were amazingly supportive, attentive, caring, friendly and of course, professional. Here's a picture of some of the team with our little angels:

Left to Right: Annette, Dr. Henry, Theresa, Kerrin and Gemma. I was lucky enough to have two of these ladies in birth suite with me and the others joined me on the beginning of our journey in the SCN. I snapped these guys (much to their protests!) as they were coming on/off shift. Other wonderful staff that worked with the babies were Deb, Liz, Simone and Dr Claire. I'm terribly sorry if I have missed anyone, but from what I remember, these were the main people!

Here's a run down of our 6 days in hospital:

Day 1 Thursday: babies all having breast feeds but talk of nasal gastric tubes being put in on the next day or so as they drop weight and loose energy. All babies have IV lines is for antibiotics to counter any possible infection and monitors for their breathing and oxygen levels. Visitors included GG and Grandi, the kids, Emily, Danielle, Journalists and our new nanny Desiree

Day 2 Friday: much the same as the previous day, bloods come back negative for any infection but IVs will stay in for now. Visitors included Skye, Mick, Tammin and Blake, the TV crew and Grandi.

Day 3 Saturday: Deb plans out a schedule to help feed the babies as much as possible, nasal gastric tubes go in and my milk comes in fully so top up feeds are done after every breast feed. Some feeds are top up feeds (via nasal gastric tube) only so they don't use up the energy they gain from the milk. Isaac and Ailah have their first bath, Isaac loves it, Ailah hates it! Mummy gets to sleep through the midnight feed - the benefits of nasal gastric tubes!

Day 4 Sunday: IVs come out! Dylan and Ailah come off their big monitors and onto Graesby (sp?) monitors. Far less clutter in our corner now.

Day 5 Monday: Visited by Dr Claire at rounds who doesn't believe me when I say they won't need to stay another week.....Isaac comes off his Graesby monitor, but Dylan's SBR levels to check for Jaundice come back in the 'treatable' category do he goes into a 'billi bed' where the blue lights are encased in a pillowy bed and he can be wrapped in it. All babies are bathed today, and Ailah was much happier than the last time. Isaac starts pooing as I am about to put him in the bath - the nearest thing I could find to catch it was the bin! I go on my first outside trip to Big W with Daniel and Amali since having the babies. Feels strange - and it's so bright! Where's my sunnies?!

Day 6 Tuesday: I wake up to Mr Isaac having pulled his nasal gastric tube out! We deicde to keep it out and go on full breast feeds from now.The 'D' word (discharge) has been mentioned twice today....I'm starting to get excited and a little claustrophobic. Dylan's next SBR levels come back under the 'treatable' line, so he rejoins his brother and sister in the cot.

Day 7 Wednesday: This morning it was Ailah's turn to pull her nasal gastric tube out, so out comes Dylan's too! Graesby monitors are taken away as well, none of them have had an apnea episode anyway. Annette asks me if by some grace of God they allowed me home today, would I want to? Yes please!! She says 'look, I'll fall on the floor if they say yes, but I really can't see why not....' And what do you know, Dr Claire comes in for rounds, and cannot possibly believe how well they are doing, full breast feeds for 3 days with no or minimal weight loss. Her words 'go, just go, you're free!' I could have hugged her (probably should have), she says it's nothing short of a miracle how well they are doing and that there was no way she believed me on Monday! I look at Annette who was almost in tears (don't deny it!) with a huge smile on my face. We are going home!!!

 

 

So off we went! There was no crying on the way home, just a van, finally full of all the people it should be full of. Driving up our driveway was a wonderful feeling. Firstly, the last time I had driven along it I was having full on contractions, so this was a much comfier ride! Secondly, it was like I was seeing our property for the first time all over again. Nothing beats coming home. You couldn't have wiped the smiles of Daniel's and my faces even if you tried.

The babies were asleep when we pulled up, so we bought them in in their capsules and put them in the lounge room. Turned the cartoons on and away we went. Jordan took lots of photos and Amali wanted to touch, touch, touch!

5 days into being home and for the first night home they woke about every 3-3.5 hours at night and pretty much the same throughout the day. From then on they have been put down at night at 10ish, waking between 1am and 2am, then not til 5:30-6! Very, very lucky! Otherwise they sleep most of the day, it takes about an hour to feed them and change them, then pop them down for another sleep! I noticed today they were spending a little more time awake........

Media Attention

We have certainly made the media! Even if it is mainly local stuff, it was fun! But we have also popped up on a few European and US news websites.

Firstly we had journalists from The Sunshine Coast Daily (our local regional paper) and The Sunday Mail (Queensland paper), who both came on the Thursday afternoon to take pictures and interview us. We made the front page of The Sunshine Coast Daily on the Friday and were expecting to be in The Sunday Mail on the Sunday.....but nope, they obviously saw the Daily's article and thought 'why print again?'.....ummm, maybe to put some GOOD news out there for once! You can see The Sunshine Coast Daily's article here and there is also an interview too. I love it when Amali proudly and very matter of factly says 'Dylan came out backwards'!

 

Then yesterday we got a surprise as our free local paper, The Coolum News, ran a story on us too! They are linked with the Sunshine Coast Daily, so they got the info from them. I went to school with the editors daughter so he has always put my beautiful children's birth announcements in for me.....and not just standard announcements! Usually the photo takes up at least a quarter of the page! Thank you Mike! The story is here.

Friday afternoon we were supposed to have WIN News (Our local Channel 9) and Channel 7 (Queensland Channel) come for a TV interview. WIN turned up first, they were lovely, and even the young journalist got a cuddle! We waited and waited for 7, but they never arrived. We found out later that they go wind that WIN had been there and they had thought they had the 'exclusive' so they didn't bother turning up! I'll embed the video below but it may be quicker going directly to YouTube here.

I've had people contact me with offers of support, yummy lactation cookies, cleaning and photography.

I know many pregnant women around Australia through my October Due Mummies group online, and when they go tho their antenatal appointments, the midwives are talking about me.

Another triplet mum who went to hospital in NSW with threatened labour was told all about me and how the midwives wish more people were like that and had these opportunities.

Friends of other triplet mums sent my links to Emily's Photographs, news paper articles and TV interviews saying 'have you seen this!?'

We filled the first 13 pages of Google.

I'm just a bit chuffed. And proud. But the most important thing for me is getting the message out there. Multiples can be birthed naturally. Now, I'm not saying that all HOMs should go down this track. It was tough at times, and that was with a supportive OB. There is 100% place for Cesarean Sections in multiple births. I just don't think women should be told they have to have one at their first appointment. Birthing naturally is an option, in some cases. I am so glad I fitted the bill!

I will pop a post on about coming home in the next few days, but for now, I can hear a hungry little girl crying.......

Guess What?!

The quickest post ever - we are being released today! They are 6 days old! The Peadiatricians cannot believe how amazingly well they are doing so have sent us on our merry way! I will update with lots of going home photos in the next few days!