pregnancy, triplets

The Big Triplet Belly

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I wrote this post about my big triplet belly while still pregnant. I didn’t publish it at the time, because I didn’t want people feeling like I was pin pointing any individual (which I am not doing at all) and I didn’t want people thinking I was upset with anyone in particular.

Since being pregnant with my triplets, I’m so self conscious about my belly.

The day before the triplets were born.

As is a lot of my emotions with this pregnancy, it’s quite contrary to how I usually feel. My previous two pregnancies I loved my belly. I was proud of it, and was happy for it to be on display.

I still feel those emotions when I’m walking around and people don’t know I have triplets. I am one of those ladies who does not mind being pregnant. (Although, if I could cross out a few pregnancy symptoms like the need to pee every three minutes and heartburn. That would make it a whole heap better…)

I have some friends that get rather large in pregnancy and practically go into hiding during the last weeks. Up until now I’ve never been able to get it. I thought their bumps were still beautiful, but could understand their discomfort and anticipation to return to a normal size once the baby was born.

This time, I have to rest so much, and I have to admit, I’m kind of glad for my enforced seclusion from the public eye.

The thing is, I love my triplet belly. I love that it’s growing and is an outward testament of the miracle that is happening beneath the surface. I love running my hand across it and feeling my babies. When I lie on my back, (for like 10 seconds these days, before it starts to hurt!), I am amused by the little mini mountain that is my own skin in front of me. I love that I’ve been given the rare gift of carrying three lives at the one time.

Moments before giving birth.

I’m also quite proud to show it off to my close friends and family.

I just don’t like being gawked at. I don’t like that people look at my eyes for all of one second and than they stare at my stomach in fascination. I don’t like that people want to come and ‘see my belly’ as though it’s a tourist destination. Yes, some of these people probably still think that my belly is beautiful and marvel at the wonder of new life. But there are very few people that do it in a way that doesn’t make me feel like a freak show.

One Sunday I was deep in conversation with another woman at church, when a 2 females I didn’t know walked past. One whispered to the other and nodded in my direction. Before I knew it, they had literally walked backwards, and one bent over so her head was in line with my stomach and just stared. Of course this was annoying since it interrupted a very interesting conversation and was quite awkward. She finally asked if I was having triplets, which I replied in the affirmative, made some remark about how she doesn’t know how they fit there and continued on her merry way leaving my friend and I flabbergasted. (Brief defense of the location: it’s actually one of the only times I have felt uncomfortable about being pregnant at church.)

31 Weeks Pregnant

Here are some tips if you have an encounter with a belly full of multiples, or just a belly full of stuff that makes it larger than normal.

1. When you say hello, spend the first minute or so talking to your friend looking at their eyes. Then direct your attention to the belly, and talk about it rather than just looking. If you really can’t help it, have a quick glance, but re-establish eye contact before beginning the belly talk!
2.  Express delight at the belly, sympathise if it looks like the mother is having a hard time with pregnancy related symptoms. There is no need to commiserate someone for having a multiple pregnancy. Most of us cherish the lives that are within us. And since we have real little lives about to be born, we don’t begrudge any of them that opportunity.
3. Everyone wonders how three babies can fit in there. It is an amazing thing to contemplate. Just remember, they are not the size of a newborn baby until the last weeks. They are quite small, that’s how they fit in – naturally it’s a bit more squashy than a singleton’s uterine residence.
4. Don’t touch! If you are a good friend, you may ask first then touch only if permission is granted! (This applies to any pregnant woman.)
5. If you are a stranger, please don’t stop and stare at a big belly. It really makes the belly’s owner feel awkward. After you have finished staring, there is nothing you can say that will redeem yourself.
6. It doesn’t make the mother feel better if you say that you were that big with one baby. Chances are you weren’t, you just can’t remember what you size you were in that exact week. Also, if the woman is smaller, this is normally because she is a smaller person, so she will in fact be a lot bigger than what she would be if there is was only one inside. Also there is a significant increase of discomfort compared to a single pregnancy.
7. If you are a child under 8, you can get away with staring and making random comments. It’s part of the benefits of being really cute and little.

Once again, I know many times people aren’t trying to be rude. I’ve had requests for photos to be published on social media and this blog, which makes me feel like I’m an exhibition. I know the people are curious and some love to see pregnant bellies. There is a good chance that if I had not been having this experience, I may have done any one of the things above. I think I have asked to see pictures of friends or families bellies before. I love pregnant bellies.

I also feel fortunate. I’m not as big as I thought I would be. I had visions of my stomach reaching the end of my knees. (Someone said so on a blog…) Stretch marks everywhere. And being unable to walk because my stomach was so big. Thankfully this hasn’t happened.


So, that’s the way I think about the public’s perception of my belly. (Even if it’s my perception of the public’s perception..!) Feelings are feelings, blame it on the hormones or whatever. This is just the way I feel this time around. Just thought I’d share.


So … What do you think about pregnant bellies? Do you want to/or do stare/touch/feel? If you have had your own preggers belly are you proud and put it on display, or do you try to avoid the spotlight?

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friends, newborn triplets, pregnancy

The Triplet's Mate

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Remember in the 32nd Week of my pregnancy I shared this belly to belly photo with my friend?

My wonderful friend Mummy T was 38 weeks pregnant in this picture while I was 32 weeks.

When I went into hospital, Mummy T and I were texting like crazy, trying to co-ordinate our babies being born at the same time. Of course the babies had other ideas, mine were born first. Four days later Baby J was born.

I was in the special care nursery feeding my triplets when I received the text from Mummy T saying Baby J had arrived. I was so excited and was telling all the midwives when the midwife who had delivered the baby came in. Mummy T was still in the labour ward, just around the corner, so I was able to sneak in and say hello. Mummy T looked amazing and was sitting up with her precious bundle on her lap.

It was so special seeing a little human for the first time only minutes after he had arrived. He was absolutely gorgeous – but oh my goodness! HUGE!!! Baby J was a whopping 9lb 9oz

After feeding my little 4+lb babe, my reaction was probably incorrect.  “Wow! He’s a monster!” I exclaimed. I didn’t mean it in the horrible monster way at all, you know, like those cute little monsters, like Elmo and Abbey Cadabbey from Seasame St. But I probably won’t refer to newborns as monsters again, luckily Mummy T didn’t seem upset by my monster comment. (Sorry if you were Mummy T!)

Mummy T and Baby J came to visit us the other day. Neither of us would like to do a tummy to tummy photo again, however we would love to show off our beautiful babies. (One of mine is missing.) As you can see, I might have had the bigger tummy, but now Baby J is by far the biggest! My babies currently weigh: Joey 2.8kg, Chook 3kg, Missy 3.1kg. Baby J is 6kg!

Baby J, Joey and Missy chillaxin’
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pregnancy, triplet pregnancy journal, triplet pregnancy week by week, triplets

Week 30 – Triplet Pregnancy Journal

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Week 30
Week 30 began with me being stressed out, which resulted in experiencing my first contractions in the morning while trying to get ready. We had the In Home Care Co-ordinator coming for an inspection. The In Home Care was officially scheduled to begin next day, so I was stressed that we get everything right so it could all start smoothly.
The weekend before the boys left for Cairns, I got The Accountant to start drilling locks into doors etc. It was a lot of fiddling around and he got some done, but not all. Plus we discovered we needed to buy some more for various areas. It’s a bit hard buying the locks because you don’t know which ones will work, and which ones won’t. So, once he had returned I was giving reminders to get it done, but then this thing and that popped up and before we know it we’re rushing around frantically late the night before, and the morning of, trying to get all the last minute things done. The biggest problem was that locks weren’t sticking on and were falling off all over the place. I was also changing things in cupboards so I wouldn’t need to put locks on and ruin the paintwork (My office cupboard now holds a startling array of kitchen, first aid and other various ‘dangerous’ items now. It’s all a bit bizarre.) I was printing out emergency contact lists to put near the phone, trying to find places to hang keys near doors, have paperwork sorted, and run through the house checking that there were no scissors, plastic bags, etc lying around.  I knew the co-ordinator is a really lovely lady, and good to work with, I just wanted to get everything right.
As it turned out we had done everything we needed, the locks managed to stay in place long enough and conveniently fell off after she left. (I think we’ve replaced them all now…) The co-ordinator was surprised that I’d filled all the sheets in and read all the documentation! Apparently most people don’t! Hooray to me for being a star student! And I was able to sort out a whole heap of issues that the In Home Carer had raised so that some of the more ridiculous red tape and fine print could be as flexible as possible to work in with our household.
Not that I am able to eliminate the red tape, of course. The classic issue this week was that I was told that regular visitors to the house (while the In Home Carer is working) would need Blue Cards  –  including my own mother! What a joke! Luckily we have talked to the governmental department and discovered that this is not a requirement at all for family members. Sometimes I wonder whether this is going to be worth the effort. I’m sure it will once the triplets arrive, but in the meantime, it’s stressing me out! After the inspection, I spent the rest of the day in bed, which helped settle down the contractions.
One of the most unfortunate part of the whole dilemma was that I still was feeling very tight in the stomach that evening, so I had to miss my beloved book club!
The rest of the week progressed fairly smoothly. The Accountant is being such a big help with the kids. I know it’s exhausting him having them all through the weekends without a break, but he really is such a wonderful Daddy, and the kids just love all the time he’s spending with them. He is also a champion coming home from work and getting stuck straight into final dinner preparations. Friends and family have been regularly supplying us with meals now, which makes things a lot easier,He’ll help with cleaning up and bathing the boys and putting them to bed. I try to help as much as possible, but I’m really not able to do too much anymore, I immediately start cramping. He’s such a devoted husband and father – I love him dearly and feel very much loved by all that he does for us.
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pregnancy, triplets

Meal Baby

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One of things about being pregnant with triplets is that because you get tired a lot quicker, are big and uncomfortable, have a high risk pregnancy where doing too much can land you in hospital or even worse, cause premature birth, so you learn to rely on other people. And I have to say, my family, friends and church family are WONDERFUL! So many people have been helping me doing things like cleaning, cooking meals taking care of my older children and giving me things. Last week I even appreciated one lovely lady tidying up my pantry! It looks so much more orderly now!

My wonderful mother has been co-ordinating the host of volunteers and will continue to do so after the triplets are born, because we are going to need so much more help then, since there will also be three little babies that need attention, and there’s only one of me during the day, and even when The Accountant arrives home in the evening the babies will outnumber the parents!

I thought I’d share with you a great little site that is helping with receiving meals. My friend Lacey discovered it and passed the link on. It’s called Meal Baby. Basically if you would like to organise something to help a friend out with providing meals, whether it be a mother of newborn(s), someone who is sick, or just someone who is really busy and you know could benefit from some help, you can use this site to get people to sign up for providing a meal. If you are from the US, you don’t even need to make a meal if you are a useless cook, you can even sign up to provide a gift voucher to a restaurant!

There is a calendar with all the days where a meal is required marked on it. It’s then as simple as clicking on a date and nominating what meal you are going to bring. (This is a great feature, as it allows the family to receive a nice variety of meals.) There’s also a section where you can list an pertinant information such as food dislikes, likes, allergies, etc.

It has been such a blessing at the end of the day if my belly is sore, I have a screaming toddler and a tired grumpy pre-schooler to not have to force myself to make dinner grimacing through the pain and hoping contractions don’t start. Thanks to everyone who is supplied us with dinner – every dish has been deeeelicious and we really appreciate your efforts!

In fact, there was one night where dinner wasn’t provided and J-Boy asked who had made the meal. When I said that I had, he immediately became concerned, “Are you sure that didn’t hurt your tummy too much Mummy? Do you really think you should do that?” (Suppose he didn’t realise that frozen fish fillets and chips weren’t too taxing!) He’s also loved trying out the new dishes. On Saturday night, after a few bites of a chicken and pineapple stir fry, he declared, “This is incredible!” and then requested we kept the leftover apple pie until his next birthday. I assured him that I’m sure we could supply him with a brand new pie for his birthday in July!

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pregnancy, triplet pregnancy journal, triplets

Week 28 – Triplet Pregnancy Journal

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Week 28
I had an awful night’s sleep, only managing about three hours and I’ve been blaming the steroids. The Accountant wryly commented that I must be getting some practise for what life is about to come. No thank you. Let me tell you. You do not need to practise sleep deprivation. I know it will come, and there is no amount of preparation that will make it easier, so in the meantime, I would like maximum sleep possible. The end.
I headed back to the hospital for the second dose of steroids. I need to get them from the labour ward. Yesterday when I went in there, all was quiet as no one was in labour. Today, with two women labouring, it was not so quiet. I have been feeling mildly anxious about having a Caesar, it’s a bit of an unknown for me. I tell you, as I listened to the crying, and groaning and all other noises associated with childbirth, a wave of relief swept over me that at least I will not have to endure that experience again. Mind you, I’m still not keen on the recovery process after a Caesar, but you’ve got to look at the silver lining sometimes.
Had a few more hours sleep the next night after the second injection. I’m getting very hot and not able to relax, aches, pains, waking up with sweats, and feeling extremely nauseous. Combine that with the fact that my nose is continually blocked, voice is going hoarse and I’m suffering ripper headaches, I’m not feeling like the happiest of campers right now. (Oh and should I mention the strange combination or constipation and diarrhoea ?)
Felt awful over the weekend, constantly fighting headaches and bouts of nausea. With The Accountant at home taking care of the boys, I spent most of the time  lying down, but for some reason could never lie in the same place for more than an hour or so. I kept switching between various lounge chairs and the bed. I had been getting stomach cramps, which were steadily getting worse, by the early hours of Monday morning, I was concerned that it could be contractions, even though it did feel more like a tummy bug. I rang the doctor up and went in and saw him Monday morning, just to be on the safe side. I’ve read too many stories of triplet pregnancies where the mother hadn’t realised that contractions were beginning, and labour could have been halted if they had picked up on some warning signals. After Dr. G took my blood pressure, and had a good poke around my stomach, the babies were declared safe and I was instructed to continue with lots of rest. So it appeared that it was just a case of flu and gastro.  Oh, and it seems that blaming the steroids was unjust as Dr. G said that nausea is certainly not a side effect from that particular drug.
I continued to have some improvement, but all week have been feeling a bit yuck, although it comes in waves, and sometimes I’ll feel fine, and next thing a wave of sickness will hit.
Ended the week with an ultrasound to check the triplet’s growth. Once again they have been re-named. This is how they have been labelled thus far.
Dr C.
Dr G.
Qld Xray
ID Triplet L. Side

1
3
A
ID Triplet R. Side
2
2
B
Fraternal Triplet
3
1
C

Once again, the babies are doing well. They are growing, have strong heartbeats and are within all the checklist for their age range. I was initially a little concerned because Triplet B & C are now below the average for their age range. In all scans prior they had been tracking above average and on the average. Triplet A has always been just below the average, but now all three are roughly the same size. They are still well within the ap

propriate weight range. It’s just that I know they will be earlier than a normal baby, so I would prefer it if they were a bit bigger rather than smaller. Absolutely nothing to worry about though.

It is getting harder to clearly see what is what during the scan now. The pictures are quite blurry and often the babies are hard to see since there is normally someone else’s body parts in the way. We only really got one good picture on the day, would you believe of elusive Triplet 2/B? I had told the sonographer that I didn’t have any good photos of this one, so she considered it her personal mission to obtain one. I classify it as the shroud of Turin shot. Most people have to really look to distinguish that there is a face there. T2 is looking straight through my tummy at the camera, but the face is rather squashed against the stomach wall, so it makes it a bit more difficult to distinguish.
The thing that excited and impressed me most during the scan was discovering that Triplet C (Fraternal) has lots of hair! I had no idea that you could find that out during an ultrasound! It seems that A & B have very little hair. My two older boys both had lots of hair, which is a trait inherited from their father’s side of the family. All the babies in my family were baldy. Considering how much J Boy and Toddler T look like their Daddy, this has quietly given me hope that maybe I will have two of my five children that display some of my genetic traits.

Just to prove that the pictures aren’t crash hot, here’s the second best image of the day. This time of Fraternal Triplet. Don’t you just love all that mass of hair? 😉 This is a profile of the head.
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Housework, pregnancy, triplets

Woman, Thou Hast Sinned and Other Tales from the Washing Basket

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I just sinned. I took the clothes off the line. When you’re pregnant with triplets, sin is relative.

The thing is my doctor has said I shouldn’t do the washing anymore. So I’ve (although really, it’s been my Mum mostly) has organised people to put the clothes on the line, and take them off the line. Unfortunately the Tuesday afternoon time slot hasn’t been filled yet. Which was fine today because I saw my neighbour when we were both collecting our mail. I asked her if she might take my clothes off the line. She happily agreed. Problem solved. Until she didn’t come home and the night air was getting damp. So I ducked out and took them off myself. Luckily unlike the last time I took the clothes off the line, there was no stomach pain afterwards…

Now I’m going to have to explain myself to my mother.

Whether you’re 10 and been caught stealing bikkies from the biscuit jar, or, well, 30 something, and pregnant with triplets, it’s never pleasant having to explain yourself to your mother.

I’m going to blame the neighbour. It’s not as good as blaming a sibling, because you know the neighbour’s not going to get roasted over it, but it will do. So long the heat is off me.

It’s an odd thing having people do your laundry. There’s all sorts of issues associated with laundry hanging that you may never consider should suddenly lose the privilege of hanging your clothes.

For instance, I normally have a hanging system. It closely resembles my mother’s hanging methods. I can remember grumbling when I was a teenager about mother’s system: hanging the underwear on the insides so people can’t see it, heavy items on the outside, so they have a better chance to dry, shirts are hung by the tails, etc, etc. In response to my grumblings, my mother would tell me that when I have my own house and my own clothesline I can hang it whichever way I like, but until then….

Inevitably, by the time my frontal lobe developed giving me the brain cells I was missing as a teenager, Mum’s way of doing things made remarkable sense, and that’s how I continued to hang clothes.
But everyone has their own way, and now when I look out at all the assorted ways that assorted people hang my washing, I just need to let it go. “It doesn’t matter that the trouser hung by their pant legs instead of their waistline, I tell myself.” I chide myself for my silliness, because after all, I’m very grateful for the help.

Just as well I’m not a complete washing Nazi and insist on colour coding pegs or anything.

Or there’s the delicate subject of the delicates. It’s a tad awkward to know your friends are hanging your undies. Especially when they hang what I classify as my ‘overnight undies’. That’s the underwear which has been a faithful companion for many years, however they have reached the twilight of their elasticised lifespan. I’m not so harsh as to immediately throw away these loyal, constant companions. I continue to don them as my evening wear. There’s nothing more comfy then slipping on your jammies, and your big overstretched undies and settling down for the night.

But, oh dear, what do people think when they hang them on the line? I’ve considered throwing them out, but if there is ever a time where I appreciate mis-shapen panties. It would be now, when almost everything I seem to wear feels considerable tight.

And so, they bask in the sunlight still.

Which can be unfortunate, because not everyone is as clever at hanging as my Mum. I have gone outside and found these unfortunate items of apparel on the outside line, on full display for the neighbourhood to see.

We all know that you lose a certain amount of dignity and decorum when you are pregnant. I just wasn’t prepared for this one!

So, do you have a laundry washing/hanging/folding system/obsession?

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pregnancy, triplet pregnancy journal, triplets

Triplet Pregnancy Journal – Week 27

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Week 27
I started this week by having a friend around and tackling the nursery. This is the picture I sent her when I was pleading for help.

It does emit a certain degree of desperation, no? Since that picture we had moved two more cots in. We were given two cots which is totally awesome and a big money saver. They were in pieces, but The Accountant has now put them together. Although one is a bit old and was missing screws, so he still needs to finalise that. Plus, we also need to purchase two more mattresses yet.

Mrs. Organised girlfriend and I started by clearing out the piles of baby shower goodies and rearranging the cots into the best workable configuration. I think this format will work best.

Still so much stuff to sort through. Plus, we need to share some of the changing space with Toddler T who is still in nappies…

The Accountant was smug when he came home and saw it as it was his suggested layout. I had wanted our sleigh cot to be in pride of place so you saw it when you first entered the room. It’s such a beautiful cot. But alas, it wasn’t to fit. The Accountant had got out the tape measure and had told me that it wouldn’t fit, but I had to test it for myself. Foolish move, mitrusting his numbers. Of course he had calculated correctly.

Then it was a process of sorting through things and finding homes for everything. After spending four hours working in the room, nappies, towels, blankets, wraps, bibs etc. were sorted. The baby’s hospital bag was packed, and the room still looked like pandemonium. Throughout the next few days I folded or hung all the 0000 (0-3 month) clothes (all the 00000 (premmie/newborn) clothes are packed). There’s nothing more satisfying than opening up the cupboard and seeing all the little baby clothes ready and waiting. I can remember savouring this thrill of expectation and anticipation before the boy’s arrival also.
There is still lots of stuff that needs a home, and we do need more storage. It’s getting more difficult now. I always hate this last part of setting up a new area, because it’s so difficult to create the spaces, and decide what to do with the various bits and pieces. I’d also like some (preferably three) bookshelves hung on the wall, so that each triplet can have a shelf for special things, like money boxes, or soft toys, etc.

Since I’ve been banned from shopping, The Accountant has become the purchasing officer now. Even though I will normally outline exactly what I want and The Accountant walks to the shops close to his work most days and grabs a bag or two from Coles or bits and pieces from Kmart. For now it’s working doing our shopping in small increments. Sooner or later I’ll have to put in an online order, but I decided I didn’t like it when I went in and had a look. I’m sure it’s just because it’s the unknown, and in no time I’ll be whizzing around the virtual aisles like a pro. But for now our lunch hours shopping system is working.

I am a bit cheeky and sneak out and do little trips every now and again. I only carry a lightweight bag or two, and I only duck in and out, as quickly as possible so I figure that surely this is being careful. For instance, I slipped into a toy store that was having a sale, under the strict supervision of my mother, and to the disapproval of my sister. But I was happy, I almost finished getting the last of birthday and Christmas presents of my nieces and nephews and got a few little stocking stuffers. I also ducked into a local store and returned a maternity skirt that I had bought because it looked nice and stretchy, but alas, when I put it on, it didn’t stretch far enough, and already was cutting into my skin. I replaced it with a dress, which I thought ought to last me until the end since it doesn’t have a waistline.
Another doctor’s appointment to end the week. Three heartbeats still present and accounted for. The triplet’s have moved position, which was rather strange to contemplate, since they have been lying with the identical’s heads together down in my pelvis and the fraternal floating solo up top, for quite some time now. Since about 16 weeks I think. Now Triplet 2 has moved up so it’s head is next to the fraternal triplet. Meanwhile Triplet 3 has buried even deeper down into my pelvis. This one has literally become a pain in the butt. It is such a disconcerting feeling, because T3 keeps waving hands around and tickling my rear. I’m used to feeling this in my stomach, but down there? It’s just not quite right.
After the visiting the doctor, I had followed his instructions and had gone to the Maternity floor to begin receiving steroid injections. This is as a precaution in case the babies come early. I was told it could be quite painful because it’s quite a deep injection, but honestly, I’ve had flu injections that have hurt more.
After receiving the injection, I went to the special care nursery for a little tour. Even if the babies come at 36 weeks, there’s a chance they’ll room in there for a bit, so I thought it would be a good idea to go and familiarise myself with the place in advance. The midwife on duty was really lovely. She gave me lots of information about premmie babies, procedures in the nursery and answered all my questions graciously. There were three 32 week old babies in there, so it was good to see what size they were. There was one poor little midget who had jaundice and looked quite sick. There were also 32 week old twins, who were beautiful and pin

k and looked healthy, just very little and needed to grow. Listening to the midwife talk about the various milestones and how the babies respond to the Special Care after being born at various weeks of age, has made me more determined to that as much I can, I will do everything necessary to ensure that the babies will be born as late as possible.

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Triplet Pregnancy Journal – Week 26

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Week 26
By reaching this week, we have hit a milestone. If the triplets were born now, their survival rate is quite likely. Because they would be very pre-term, there is still an increased risk of long term complications, so we still want them to keep cooking! Also, if I were to start labour that could not be delayed, I would need to be transferred to Brisbane via ambulance, with my own personal midwife, in order to have the advantages of the superior pre-natal care. If the babies were born in Toowoomba, they would need to get to Brisbane in a helicopter. Which would be an impressive first mode of transport. Not impressive enough to make an early entrance, mind you.  (Just in case they are listening.)
I started this week doing a Mummy thing. Probably one of the last of time I will be able to do this with my J Boy for a little while. We went on a kindy excursion. The outing included the half hour trip into town on a bus full of super excited 4 and 5 year olds. J Boy had been more pumped about the bus ride than any other part of the trip.

We stopped firstly at a local park for some morning tea and a play.

This was the most tiring part for me, standing up for any length of time brings on discomfort in my abdomen, so I was as excited as the children were to get back on the bus. Next, onto Toowoomba’s beautiful art deco Empire Theatre to watch “My Grandma lived in Gooligulch”, a lovely Aussie production based on a children’s book.

With their head full of oversized wombat puppets, hairy legged gossiping emu madames and eccentric Grandma’s, the children were packed back on the bus, and back towards kindy. There was a brief stop. Their brave teacher brought the whole class to her home to prove that she did actually have a home. Many of the children thought she lived at kindy. So now they have proof. They even went into her bedroom, and some were most surprised that she even sleeps in a real bed! J Boy was impressed with her large ‘trophy’ she kept in the garden. (It was a white statue of a woman in a garden bed.) Lastly, back to kindy where I kissed my little boy goodbye and went home and slept off the biggest morning I had in a long time! Double motivation for having a sleep was it was my favourite night of the month – Bookclub!

The 2nd cleaner started this week, and a family friend has been helping out mid-week for half a morning. Plus Mum was there for her weekly ironing service. So things are quite organised, neat and tidy here right now! (Although there are many piles of mess that still need to be dealt with. I’m gradually knocking over these hotspots.) I really have been following the doctor’s orders and reducing the amount I do during the day, and all this help has really allowed me to do so. I have noticed a difference which is encouraging. I have had more energy this week, and haven’t been nearly as sore.
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Triplet Pregnancy Journal – Week 25

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Week 25
We had the In Home Care Co-ordinator come out for our first interview to get things sorted for receiving in home care once the triplets are here. She really is a lovely lady, and has actually worked herself in the home of triplets for a few years, so I’m she has some nice little helpful tips, which I’m always grateful to receive.
It was exciting to find out that we do not need to wait until the triplets arrive before we start the in home care. We had been told that we couldn’t until the babies are registered with Centrelink. However because I now have limited capabilities, we are able to start it anytime now. All we have to do is wait for Mrs. S to renew her qualifications.
Oh, and get the paperwork, insurance and fulfil all the workplace, health and safety requirements. Yep, that’s right, our home has now become a workplace. It’s the only part of this whole procedure which is annoying. We knew that we had to do it in order to receive this help and be refunded by the government, but as nice as the co-ordinator is, it’s just unpleasant having someone go through your house and place stipulations on your life. I didn’t realise how often there was going to be check-ups either – every 6 weeks! And that is supposed to include unannounced visits. Yikes! I would imagine that while I have newborn babies, or non-crawling babies, I will be forgetting regularly to lock up various cabinets. Suppose I’ll have to be vigilant, although Mrs. S said that in her experience, the check ups aren’t that regular, so that will be a relief if it’s true!
We aren’t big on kiddy locks, preferring to teach the children to stay away from certain areas. We certainly lock down the cupboards with dangerous objects in it, and place toxic products, such as dishwasher detergent up high. We had recognised that with three children out and about, it won’t be so easy to locate where each child is, and therefore it will be easier for them to get up to mischief before they are found, so we were going to increase the amount of childlocks in our home anyway, (once they started crawling). We knew that by doing the in home care we were going to have to have to conform to outside standards also.
As expected there are so many rules and regulations that are just so ridiculous. I think one of the most annoying ones is having to lock my pantry. This is because I have knives in there. (They are on the top shelf which is higher than my head.) We also have old plastic bags in there, that’s a choking hazard, (even though once again, they are hung high and inaccessible to children). How annoying is it going to be unlocking the pantry door everytime I need to use it – especially when our bin is in there? It doesn’t even seem to matter that our 21 month old child can’t even open the pantry door. It must have a lock (thankfully childlocks suffice). Our bottom drawer in the kitchen needs a lock because we store gladwrap in it, and the serrated edge is sharp. If we open a pack of toilet paper, it will need to get locked in a cupboard because the plastic becomes a choking hazard. We can’t leave plastic bags with items in it in a cupboard. Any product that says “Keep out of reach of children” needs to be locked away. Even shampoo and conditioner – which we store on the shower rack, which once again, is so high that our 5 year old can’t reach it. Apparently my expensive spiky cycad that I inherited from my grandfather, which the kids would never touch, on account of it being spiky, is poisonous, so a ‘management plan’ needs to be written for it. Our dog keeps digging holes around one particular spot near the back door and people kept falling into the holes and almost breaking their necks. So we solved the problem by putting wire mesh over the holes. Nope, the mesh is dangerous. Has to go. At least we’ll have domestic insurance if Mrs. S breaks her neck. Too bad for anyone else.
Funnily enough, the cupboards that we were going to lock up upon arrival of the triplets which house crystal and fine china are fine. Seems that Royal Albert is not a workplace issue, I would be the only one weeping if it were lying on the ground in a million pieces. Also our wine rack wasn’t an issue. We have always moved the wines out of reach when we’ve had babies around as they pull the heavy bottles out and hurt themselves. We had also considered getting a child gate and restricting the triplets access to the kitchen anyway, as it can be a challenge trying to do things in there with children underfoot anyway.
But anyway, that’s enough complaining from me. I really am very grateful for the service, and I know once we lock down the place like Fort Knox, we’ll get used to it. It’s a small price to pay for the service we are receiving. It’s just rules and regulations can drive me bonkers sometimes!
On Saturday The Accountant had an all day soccer carnival. The plan was first thing in the morning to take the boys to watch their Daddy play. (I think both Daddy and the boys enjoyed this equally.) And then I was going to drop them off at Nanny’s (A’s Mum’s) and A would pick them up on the way home.
We ended up getting out of the house a lot later than expected. J Boy is just an explosion waiting to blow at the moment. After several little eruptions, I recognised that he just needed some quality time, so we tried to maintain the peace as much as possible, and he and I spent some time building lego. Unfortunately we discovered the last piece to put in place was missing – which happened to be a very cool piece, and therewith all my efforts melted in another eruption. I bundled the boys in the car and off we went to the soccer. The boys loved being outdoors, my Dad and brother came to watch also, so it was good to have some extra set of hands on deck.
J Cam – Our Soccer Dad.

J Cam – Daddy chasing Toddler T (Mummy was glad the match hadn’t started.)
We were watching from the playground area. There was another woman who was also pregnant on playground duty. She looked around the same size as I am, however I soon discovered that she was due to have the baby the following week! By the time I arrived home I was exhausted and spent the rest of the day sleeping.
Sitting in church for 2 hours is proving to be more challenging. It’s just uncomfortable sitting up straight for that long, especially with the identicals placed so low. The Accountant keeps joking that we’ll get a camping recliner chair that is advertised on TV at the moment and just set it up for the service. I have had to decline the offer to recline during church!
Our new housecleaner started on Tuesday which is absolutely awesome. It’s such a relief to receive help with the housework. It had been frustrating me so much not being able to keep up with everything, and I’m still on my long term mission to tidy up all the cupboard areas. Also the bedroom re-locations are not even properly completed. This will free me up to finish off these jobs, and to get more rest.
The last event of the week was a doctor’s visit. All the triplets are doing well. Heartbeats are strong, they are looking a healthy size – although they weren’t measured this week. I am the size of a 38 week full term singleton pregnancy. This means that I have grown less in the last two weeks that what I had been tracking previously. I don’t mind that at all! So long the babies are healthy, it doesn’t concern me if my own size slows down a little!
Dr. G gave the third degree about what I am doing at the house and how much time I look after the children. He then said that I need to be doing less, and that now is the time that I need to start accepting more help. Even though things are going so smoothly at this stage, the ever present risk of pre-term labour is increasing. I really want these babies to remain in the womb according to God’s perfect timing. Also, I don’t want to have enforced rest in hospital until I have to. Therefore, I’ll abide by the good doctor’s instructions to “behave like a lady of leisure”.
I have to admit though, it’s been more difficult than I expected letting people do so much for you. I am so grateful for the help though. Especially my mother, who comes around to our place most days of the week and is constantly taking the boys so I can have a rest. She has been so busy, but is equally determined to meet her newest three grandchildren when they are at their healthiest!
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pregnancy, triplet pregnancy journal, triplets

Triplet Pregnancy Journal – Week 24

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Week 24
On the Saturday, my mother hosted a wonderful “Babies Shower” for me. It was an afternoon where I was truly spoiled with lots of wonderful goodies, great company and yummy food.
We let the baby shower guests in on the secret of what the sexes of the babies are. We know this probably means that the secret is now known to many more than the guests, but I’m sure it will still be a surprise to enough people, which should make The Accountant happy, since he is the one who wants it to be a secret. I insisted on telling baby shower guests. Since these will be our last babies, (I know, famous last words. But this is fully our intention…), I’d prefer not to go gender neutral but to dress them in the appropriate colour. We also let the guests know that the nursery is going to have an owl theme, so we got lots of lovely owlish knick knacks. I can’t wait to set it all up!
As I said, Totally Spoiled!
Continuing to have plenty of rest. The boys are normally gone in the afternoon and I end up having a rest, which normally involves me starting to read a book then falling to sleep. I have to admit that I am bitterly disappointed with bed rest. I had a huge list of things that I wanted to work on while resting in bed. I’ve a huge list of books I want to read, including trying to get book club books read in advance, so if I want to attend any meetings after the triplets arrive I will know my stuff!  I also have crocheting I want to finish, Bella articles and blog posts to write, (I wanted to get a stockpile up so I don’t have any pressure to write after the triplets are born), a training program for an Infertility Support Group I run, I even wanted to get my Christmas cards written! So far I’ve managed to keep up with the prescribed book club books, written blogs (but nothing for the stockpile) and slept. Obviously that’s what I need to do in order to cook these babies, So I’ll just remain content and get done what I can.
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