This is what Colin thinks of this post... too much blather and too few pictures! YaaaaawwwwnnnMany people have expressed an interest in our daily schedule... what is it *really* like living with triplets? Well, we might be masochistic, but every day is a joy. I do get to cuddle each one of them, they are held, sung to, read to and kissed only about a thousand times a day. So my initial fears of not being able to spend one-on-one time with them have yet to materialize. They have been adored, fed and snuggled by their grandparents, great-aunt, the doula, our friends, neighbours, and soon, their aunties. It is taking a cast of many to ensure they get the love and care they need and that we get to keep a tiny shred of our sanity.
The schedule below reflects our daily life without any assistance - just the two of us... obviously, with more hands on deck, we can feed, burp, change and cuddle the babies in a shorter amount of time. With one person feeding them (the 1am and 4am feeds), it takes about an hour and a half. With two people, about an hour; and with 3, forty-five minutes. We have had people shopping for us, bringing us food, clothes, doing bottle prep and assembling baby paraphenalia as well. We are so very grateful for everyone's help, and we truly couldn't do it without you.
Without further ado:
1 - 2:30am: Edward feeds babies
3am: babies usually fuss an hour before/after their next feed - LIKE CLOCKWORK. Up to soothe.
3:45am: babies are hungry and let you know it! Bottles are heated up.
4:00 - 5:30am: I feed babies
6:00am: fussy, fussy!
6:45am: bottles to warm
7:00 - 8:00am: Edward and I feed babies
8:00 - 9:00am: I usually go back to bed for an hour; Edward gets the dog up and has breakfast
9:00am: Fuss! First load of laundry
9:45am: Bottles heated
10:00 - 11:00am: Feed babies
11:00 - 12:00pm: Restock nursery, I have breakfast/lunch; I try to pump; dog gets out for a walk; grocery shopping?
12:00pm: Pay attention to ME!
12:45pm: Bottles to warm
1:00 - 2:00pm: Feed babies
2:00 - 3:00pm: Pump; eat; try to get through some correspondence; return phone calls
3:00pm: Upstairs for the 45th lost pacifier expedition... babies fussy; second load of laundry
3:45pm: Warm bottles
4:00 - 5:00pm: Feed babies
5:00 - 6:00pm: Pump; feed/walk dog; dinner prep - sometimes we get to eat it. Start to wash and sterilize bottles
6:00pm: We're hungry... already!
6:45pm: Warm bottles
7:00 - 8:30pm: One baby gets a bath; feed babies; read a bedtime story
8:30-9:00pm: Formula prep
9:00pm: Fussy! Third load of laundry
9:45: Bottles arrive upstairs ready for hungry mouths
10:00 - 11:00pm: Feed babies.
12:00am: We're up and ready to be entertained!
12:45am: Warm bottles
1am: Repeat
This doesn't take into account the trips to the doctors (ie. we have one appointment on Friday, and one on Tuesday), the times where they just won't settle (when it's one, it's usually all three) or time for personal hygiene... :P However, they are so much fun and we do have a lot of help, so there aren't too many days we don't have an extra pair of hands or two.
For our next post: A video of 3 babies crying simultaneously. And the riveting strategies of who you feed first... stay tuned!
I cannot WAIT for the babies crying video.
ReplyDeleteAlso, do you guys sleep AT ALL?!
Hello!!!
ReplyDeleteWe're waiting for the right moment to capture the video-- grabbing the camera at 4am when they're all howling isn't our gut reaction. But never fear, we have plenty of opportunities!
We do sleep... in half an hour increments. However, in theory, we can each get a solid four-five hours during the night if the babies cooperate. We also have our wonderful doula, Maryline, who comes in two nights a week and does the 10pm, 1am and 4am feeds ON HER OWN. She is a brave, brave woman and that allows us to sleeeeep pretty much the whole night. So no one should feel too sorry for us :P
Oh My Goodness Gracious!!!! The only thing that can explain that schedule is unconditional LOVE :)
ReplyDeleteT & J