Q. How does being in a wheelchair affect daily tasks of mothering a trio?
A. Using a wheelchair does pose its challenges, but we've all adapted. Things like the Baby Bjorn have been a life saver! We love to ride with mommy on her lap in the carrier! We use mini cribs because they are easy for mommy to reach everyone. Because there are 3 babies, neither Mommy or Daddy have ever really been "alone" with us for long periods of time, except when we didn't have a nanny, Daddy had to do it alone!
Q. Are the triplets identical?
A. No, we are all fraternal. We are 2 girls and 1 boy. We, the girls, don't really look a like and well Ethan is a boy so he isn't identical to us :)
Q. How are you managing to keep up with three little ones that are all mobile & inevitably going three different directions?
A. Mommy and Daddy are blessed with a lot of help with us! We get to see our Grandmas 4 days a week and we have a wonderful nanny who helps during the week as well. During the weekends it is our family time when Mommy and Daddy take us out on adventures, just our little family of 5! We aren't going in 3 different directions most of the time. We really love playing with each other and being together!
Q. How did your time visiting the NICU change while the babies were there?
A. The NICU was a scary place at times for all of us including our Mommy and Daddy. They visited us everyday (except a few). Each visit had it's challenges and it was always a new journey as we grew and got stronger. Mommy and Daddy relied on God, family and friends to support them through this time. They also made some really special new friends during this time, that helped them through this "roller coaster" with us. Several times through the journey we had to move rooms so that we could stay together which was hard on our parents, but we didn't mind too much as long as we got to be together. It makes a world of difference to be with each other. The NICU is a sobering place and we watched many friends in the NICU come and go. Check out our flashback Fridays to read more about our journey in the NICU!
Q. How long did you have to wait to hold them?
A. Mommy and Daddy got to hold Ethan really soon after we were born. We were only a couple days old when Mommy could sit up in a wheelchair and come visit us without having to be wheeled on a stretcher! Mommy got to hold Melissa the day mommy was discharged from the hospital in a hold called Kangaroo care. It was very special for Melissa and Mommy to get to do that. I was on the oscillator for 2 weeks after I was born so I had to wait a while before Mommy and Daddy could hold me! When Mommy and Daddy held me for the first time in Kangaroo Care, I was so tiny, but I loved it!
Q.Were there official visiting hours?
A. The NICU allowed Mommy and Daddy to come and be with us any time day or night! Just before we were born, parents used to have to leave during change of shift, but when we were there Mommy and Daddy got to be there and participate so they could see who would take care of us at every shift change! This helped Mommy and Daddy feel comfortable leaving us at night when they had to go home and sleep! Sometimes the NICU would call and tell Mommy and Daddy that we were hungry and running out of milk so Mommy would bring it to us in the middle of the night. Those were special times where the NICU was very quiet and peaceful and we could just spend quality time together. On weekends it was quiet too!
Q. How soon did you return to work after they were born? What was it like?
A. Daddy returned to work a few days after they were born and took several more weeks off during the summer to be with us. He returned to nearly full time work by the end of summer. Mommy returned to work in September 2011. Nobody really liked it much. At that time we didn't have a nanny and Mommy and Daddy were very tired! Mommy had to take a lot of time off in the beginning because Melissa wasn't home from the hospital yet! She had been transferred to Children's Hospital for her hernia repair and feeding issues! Melissa finally joined us on September 3rd, but she still had a lot of appointments the first month home! It was a stressful time until our nanny started in October. It was a little easier for mommy and daddy to go to work after we got adjusted to being home! Mommy is off during the summer and during Christmas and Spring vacations so that makes it better for everyone too!Daddy has some vacation time in the summer as well and he is taking the week of Christmas off to be with us too!
Q. Are you going to have more children?
A. We wouldn't mind a baby brother or sister someday, but Mommy and Daddy say we have to leave that up to God! They really aren't planning on more siblings for us! We are lucky we have each other and we get to grow up Triplet! Right now Mommy and Daddy want to focus on us and making sure they provide us with the best quality of life possible!
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| Growing up Triplet (Here we are 4 months-14 months) |
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