Gratitude!

Well it has been a long time between posts and believe it or not I have had a lot on my plate!  I have been a bit stressed out of late and I have been worrying a lot but while I have been doing that I have been forgetting to be grateful.  This picture popped up in my newsfeed which reinforced to me what I had been thinking along the lines of anyway.

Don't get me wrong I know I have so many things to be grateful for, and I am but the worries have had me more preoccupied of late.  I'm hoping that writing more of these things down I will be able to not think so much about it as well.  So this year I am aiming to blog hopefully each week a few of the things that I am grateful for, and a few pictures to go with it too...

Today I am grateful for my peaceful midday run and that I have the motivation to make sure I do it most days.  

I will still attempt to blog about my life with the children, I just find it a bit harder now that we are not made up of the 'traditional' family that I have always valued so highly. 

I will touch on it just briefly now but the triplets are now 18 months old (or 16 months corrected) they walk, they run, they climb and they fall.  They are generally a lot of fun albeit a lot of work!  Oliver is also doing well and is looking forward to starting kindy in a few weeks time.  We had a lovely Christmas with family and our house now resembles a toy store even more so.  I'm also taking the kids on our first ever family holiday.  A part of me thinks I must be crazy but the rest of me is looking forward to spending the time away just the kids and I.  Take care all and I aim to be back soon! 

Sorry it's been a while...

Hi! My name's Kylie.  Do you remember me?

The reason I originally started this blog was so I had a place to organise my thoughts, be honest about my feelings and emotions and I guess as a journal I could always keep to remember the good along with the bad.  So unfortunately the last few months have been tough, very tough.  I wasn't quite ready to share what has been happening in my life, nor did I want to share if I was unable to be honest.  So here it goes.

Unfortunately after 9 years of marriage Mr Tan moved out of the family home in May and since then I have been rebuilding my life and adjusting to my new role as a single mother of four little people.  Naturally I would much prefer to be in a loving relationship with the man that I loved, but things were not meant to be.  I have been very fortunate to have a handful of amazing support around me at this time, for which I am eternally grateful.  

On the plus side I feel much better and happier within myself.  I have been taking the time to be healthy, excercise regularly and have taken up yoga again.  The most exciting development is I now have every second weekend to myself so I am enjoying exploring again and trying new things.  I have even developed myself a little bucket list of sorts.  

So this may not be a lifestyle that I would have chosen for myself or my children, it is one that I have learnt to embrace and for the most part I am incredibly happy.  

Apart from that everyone is well.  Oliver turns 4 tomorrow and has grown for the most part into an amazing big brother who adores his siblings.  Spencer and Hudson have both started walking within the past few weeks and Addison is standing unassisted.  So busy and fun times ahead.  Bye for now...

13 months on

 

Well where do I start?  Firstly I must apologise as I do not seem to find the time, or the energy to update or write as often as I would like.  When I first started this blog is was to be like a public journal, an insight into what is going in on my mind so I could keep a record of all the goings on in our busy lives.  I had hoped to update at least once a week, yet here we are and a month has gone by...

Like most people I tend to like to keep myself busy and certainly don't have any problems with that between keeping up with the day to day chores, volunteering and having fun with my small children.  Amongst all of this I have also taken up running, and I have learnt to knit thanks to lovely mothers group that I attend called MOPS.  I even finished the scarf that I started.  Also in the past few months I have decided that I have found my calling and am hoping to start study next year... GULP!!!

It has now been just over a month since Addison, Spencer and Hudson turned one and the party was a huge success.  We hired the local school gym and there was plenty of food and cake for everyone, we were even fortunate enough to have a coffee machine there.  I requested on the invites that there were to be no presents and in lieu of gifts people were able to make a donation to the Women's and Children's hospital.  I had spoken to the multiple birth coordinator previously and she said what she needed most was for more breast pumps as multiple birth babies tend to be born that little bit earlier and often needing to stay in the hospital Neonatal units that bit longer.  So I am pleased to say that we raised just over $800 that has now been donated to the hospital. 

I must admit normally I am a throw it all together party person, but this birthday party needed to be a celebration, not just for us but for all the people that had helped us to survive the first year.  This was also the first time I had a 'proper theme'.  Unfortunately I can't take any credit for the ideas just scouring Pinterest and I found this beautiful blog here.  I will upload a few photos, (a dear friend also took some professionally so I will try to upload those perhaps tomorrow.) 

So after having a lovely afternoon we got home got everyone ready for bed and then collapsed on the couch.  It was here that I realised I had forgotten to give the birthday kids their first sample of cake.  They were  more than impressed with it when they did sample cake the following day.  In a true testament to their individual personalities Hudson shovelled his in with both hands, Addison carefully examined it for 5 minutes before discovering she could eat it and liked it, and Spencer threw his on the floor.

My Mum made the fabulous cake.

Our oldest had fun with the playdough, as did many other parents and kids alike.

Just a small sample of some food we had.

 

Our darling cuddly Spencer Pie.

 

Hudson looking happy as always in a tutu

Addison chasing after a balloon.  I do seem to have a lot of trouble taking pictures lately as they all look blurry.  Can't keep them still long enough ;)


Some cupcakes that Mum made too.

I shall sign off for now and hope to give you all more of an update when I put some of the professional pics up xxxx

Reflecting

A lot has happened over the last 12 months, there have been many highs and a number of lows.  But most importantly I am continually reminded just how lucky we are. 

This time 12 months ago I was being wheeled into the labour ward and very vividly recall telling every one not to get too excited as I was not having our babies anytime soon and that I was there for at least 2 weeks of bed rest.  I am not sure whether it was denial and believe it or not 12 months later and I am still surprised.  If you haven't seen the birth story you can read it here 

In my final few weeks of pregnancy I vividly recall not being able to eat much, struggling to keep food down, I couldn't sleep, was incredibly tired, very uncomfortable and I had terrible tachycardia (my resting heart rate hovered around the 130bpm mark) to name but a few struggles that I was having. 

I remember being told that 32 weeks was an awesome milestone to meet and then the babies would be safe enough to deliver.  From the very beginning I prayed every night that we would make it to 32 weeks and we would have three healthy babies, but towards the end I changed my goals and revised it to 30 weeks, which I succeeded in doing.  Amazing!

All though ours days are sometimes long and always busy I am forever thankful of our amazing blessings that are Addison, Spencer and Hudson.  Never in a million years would I have suspected that this is what the universe had planned for me, nor did I imagine how fulfilled I would be. 

I am no 'super mum' just keeping on top of things and I do admit that super powers would be great when everyone is sick like they were earlier in the week.

Everyday I love watching the interaction between my four children and watching their bond grow.  The joy and laughter they bring to each other is the most amazing interaction to watch. 

So the preparations are complete and I am very much looking forward to sharing tomorrow with some very special family and friends to celebrate the mayhem, the craziness and the joy that three precious souls bring to our lives.  But far out we did it!  We have survived our first year of multiple madness and can still laugh about the craziness.  And we couldn't have done it without any of you xxx

Addison Rose

Hello, it has been a little while and as always life is never dull around our house.  For the past 5 months or so I have been meaning to do a post dedicated to each of our children to give you a little bit of insight into their personalities.  Tonight I have decided if I never start this process or I will never finish so here it goes...

Addison Rose the first of our trio to see the bright lights of this amazing world is certainly our little diva.  Up until a few weeks ago I had nicknamed her ice maiden, as it was hard work to get her to crack a smile, but thankfully she is a little grinner now.  Her father is completely smitten and that love is returned and her face lights up every time he enters the room.  She watches her big brother with joy and somewhat uncertainty as to what he will do next.

She is still our smallest little pixie weighing in 2 kilos less than the boys, at about 7 kilos at nearly 8 months corrected age.  Addison was the last one to roll but once the boys started she was quick to get going, however she is the first one to sit unaided and has been doing so for about a week now.  Addison doesn't tend to move unless required and once she has reached what she is after will stay there or roll back on to her back.  Her most favourite toy at the moment is this funny little soft toy pig that grunts and her little face lights up the moment she sees it.

When Addison is hungry and you pop her down to heat up her bottle she cracks it, big time!  Her little bottom lip sticks out and then she cries.  A lot.... She is still not a real fan of solids especially the savoury or meaty foods, but give her sweeter foods like banana ,or other fruits, or custard and she gets stroppy if you are too slow. 

Addison's dresses take up all the hanging space in their shared wardrobe and then some, thanks to some lovely friends who have passed on some clothes.  So we all have fun dressing her up...  She still has a gummy smile and her hair is so fluffy that it stands up.  She loves a good cuddle and would be a perfect singleton baby, actually they would all be easy babies on their own.  Addie loves a good cuddle and has recently discovered the joys of jewellery whether you are wearing a watch, earrings or a necklace she loves it all and will spend a long time examining it. 

So I will leave that there and that is what makes Addison Rose unique...

Hudson Ray

Well this darling little boy lights up the room.  Hudson has the largest personality and such a cheeky smile.  Our youngest son has such twinkle in his eye and loves to interact with people.  He is always touching faces, including his siblings and has an infectious giggle.  He was the first to get 2 little teeth

Hudson has quickly mastered the commando crawl and now will beat Spencer when we decide to race them.  He is often found rummaging through handbags in the hall way or trying to escape through the front door.

Happy Hud as he is affectionately known as lurves his food, in fact if you take too long to feed him his solids he grunts at you until once again the spoon is headed in his direction. Hudson has always seemed like an old soul to me. Quite often whilst he was in hospital or even as a sleepy newborn he would be wide awake looking around. He was also the first to smile at us when he was about 3 weeks old corrected.
Hudson has always been the heaviest on the three and also the loudest. Whenever he cries (which unfortunately used to be quite a bit). It was ear piercing! Thankfully now he doesn't cry as much but his laughter is just as loud. He has this crazy leg kicking that he does which at bathtime that gets everyone soaked and I think his brother and sister swallow a tiny bit of water too.

This funny, generally happy boy apparently resembles his father as a baby. His hair is quite fair in comparison so I imagine it will darken up one day. Addison and Hudson seem to have a funny relationship with each other and are often sitting just smiling or laughing at each other, so cute! Well I think this will do for now I am sure I will add more soon as I think of it

All about Spencer Graham :)

Well where do I start with my sweet little Spencer Pie... 

My beautiful third born has such a sweet, gentle, little personality.  Spencer is such a cuddly sweet boy and is more than happy to snuggle.  He loves to suck his thumb when he goes off to sleep, when he wakes up and in between if he is feeling low.  This darling boy loves to suck his thumb so much his left thumb is often red raw.

Spencer is our first proper mover, and was the first to roll.  In the past few weeks he has begun commando crawling and loves chasing things across the floor or climbing over his siblings.  This darling boy loves to examine things and spends a lot of his time exploring the wooden floorboards and is always chasing the remote controls or the iphone.  In fact if Oliver is watching television and we are trying to get his attention all we need to say is "Spencer has the remote" and we have his attention in a flash.  Since I first started writing this post Spence has also added sitting to his list of skills.  His smile is no longer 'gummy' as both of his bottom teeth poked through together. 

Much to my delight in the last two weeks both Spencer and Hudson have begun holding their own bottles.  Hallelujah!  Spencer loves his food, and always opens his mouth for more.  He somehow manages to make a big mess though, I think partly because he is always moving and seems to have a small mouth. 

In many ways Spencer will always be my little baby Ollie as he looks so similar to him so brings back many memories.  This beautiful boy has a lovely sweet smile which is almost a little lopsided that we find completely endearing.  He also has this weird thing that he does when he is happy or sad that is like a pelvic thrust kind of motion.  This seems to happen a lot in the bath and then water splashes over the others, in fact bath time is messy period.

Spencer also seems to have crazy thick dark hair on top.  I think the reason it is so thick on top is because one of the crazy nurses who gave them their first rubbed the tops of the boys heads so hard all the hair on top came out.  I imagine Spencers hair battles will continue for much of his life as the dear boy has a double crown and a double cowlick.

So that will do with Spencer for now.

Breast Feeding :)

Okay I will admit it I am pro breast feeding... As I am preparing to hang up the breast pump for the last time I have been reflecting on my breast feeding journey and how different my experiences have been.

Firstly just let me explain why I am pro breast feeding.  Apart from the many nutritional benefits it is free!  Unlike formula which I have learned recently isn't cheap, we go through approximately one tin every second day and whilst we are waiting for an account to be set up this is about $18 per tin. 

Secondly it is the ultimate convenience food any where, any time.  If you are lazy like me it also means you don't have to take as much with you, a few nappies in the handbag, some wipes and your out the door.  Whereas the alternative means bottles, formula and if you have fussy babies like me a method to heat the bottles.  That isn't even taking into account the 5 minutes you are meant to boil the water for before you use it. 

I am sure there I was going to say but that will do for now.  But going back to my first experience with breast feeding.  Within minutes of Oliver being born just over 3 years ago he attached to the breast within minutes from birth and was exclusively breast fed for his first 5 months of life before we slowly started introducing other foods and he was weaned just before his first birthday, mainly because I had had enough.  We had an easy breast feeding journey and looking back it was for the most part a great relationship.

Now my feeding journey with the trio has been quite different... As you may recall they were born by emergency cesarean 10 weeks early and there was none of that gooey baby straight on your chest moments like I had experienced with our first born.  Instead they were whisked away (understandably) with the NICU teams with their father on their tail while I was sewn back on and eventually taken into to see them on my stretcher in the NICU on my way back to my room.  A few hours later I woke groggy to a persistent midwife squeezing my breasts as my precious babies needed colostrum now!  So that is what started at least a month of expressing 3 hourly around the clock until my supply was well established then I dropped down to just once over night.  Then were the daily milk runs and by the time they were about 4 weeks old (or 34 weeks) I did tried them all on the breast unfortunately they were never all that great at it and Spencer was the only one who ever fed well, so  by the time they came home 8 weeks later I had decided I would express what I could for them and top up with formula.  Which has worked very well for us until recently when I decided it was time to stop.

I am very much at peace with that decision now and looking forward to attempting to take up running after my big birthday next week.  30 eeeek!!! As someone kindly pointed out to me recently 9 months is a huge achievement and much longer than I ever thought I would last for. 

While I am pro feeding I am also a realist and know and understand for whatever reason sometimes breastfeeding just doesn't work out and that is fine too.  After all our babes have been on supplemented feeds for a while now and that's okay :)

One thing I have recently been privileged to be a part of is milk sharing.  While I am still lactating on a much smaller scale at the moment and no longer need to give my babies the milk I have discovered a wonderful community of mothers who either need milk for their babes or like me, they have milk to share.  I have been fortunate enough to have been able to assist two families in need and I am so grateful for being able to have had this experience.  Will have to cut this one short now as all three babies are awake and wanting some tucker...

Times are a changin!

There have been lots of things happening here the past few weeks and there are going to be a few changes.

Firstly, and probably what will have the biggest impact on us all is we have no more help. So from next week my mum will be here one day a week and hopefully we will be able to employ help at least one other day a week so I can have a breather. Our beautiful nanny has been with us for 6 months now and has become a wonderful friend and a part of our family. If it wasn't for help the past six months I am sure I wouldn't be in such a good head space now.

So with that I have made the decision to stop expressing. I have been expressing now for 8 months which is incredible on its own but I will struggle to find the two hours a day now to continue and have really struggled with my energy levels the past few months. I have also struggled on days out because of being so uncomfortable so hopefully now will feel more comfortable and able to stay out for longer periods of time. I knew this day would come eventually and I am so pleased that I was able to continue as long as I did with the support of my friends and family. I do feel as though my hand is being forced somewhat by no longer having the support during the day but feel it is time to move on. So lets just hope our little ones accept the change without to much disruption.

So what else has been happening in our lives? Mr TAN has decided to start back at uni this semester, he is just doing one unit to start with to see how things go. A few weeks ago when i was at the doctor I got a funny looking mole removed, turns out that it was a melanoma and I need to go for day surgery next week to get more skin removed. Luckily it was only a stage 1 and caught early so please be vigilant with checking your skin!

Apart from that not much else is new but will try to update more next week...

More to say

Perhaps what I was trying to say last night didn't come across the way I thought too clouded by fatigue.  But after a good nights sleep and a bit of reflection I have more that I wanted to add...

I always knew that it wouldn't be easy having three babies at once and I knew it would have an impact on my life with both the good and the not so good.  I didn't think that my babies were going to be difficult to feed, I had wrongly assumed that they would prop feed easily (but they don't at all), I didn't think it would be this tricky to get out and about with them.

Perhaps what I am suffering from is singleton envy... Now correct me if I am wrong for those of you that have had one baby at a time.  I had always thought that although one more baby adds a bit more complexity and busyness that you just put the baby in a carrier and away you go without too much interruption to your life's or your other children.  Your other children can walk to the car and are a bit more independent, as opposed to having to make 3 trips.  As time gets on I am aware that it will get easier in some aspects although I may need to find a way to chase toddlers in three different directions.  We are very lucky to have support here during the week while Mr Tan is working and to be honest I don't know what we would do without it.  Our help has become a wonderful friend and companion.

What I also forgot to mention last night was that we had another check up with the neonatologist this week and he is really happy with everybody.  Addison's umbilical hernia is shrinking away, they are all following their curves on the percentile chart and they can stop taking their vitamins.  We also don't need to go back for another 3 months. 

One year on.....

This week marks that it has one year since we found out we had triplets on board.  I vaguely went into the ultrasound room hoping to see a heartbeat, never in a million years did I expect to see three. 

What a whirlwind the last 12 months has been from being told all these dreadful statistics and risks, deciding to wing it and not go down the selective reduction path, growing and delivering 3 HEALTHY babies, going through the NICU and premature birth experience and now managing a crazy busy life with a toddler and 3 infants.

To say that the last 12 months have been emotionally and physically draining would be an understatement.  It has tested our beliefs, our relationships, our patience and most of all our strength.

Now we are blessed to have 4 beautiful children who are all growing beautifully.  The bubs are now close to 7 months old (or 5 corrected.)  We have started solids which is messy!  Addison isn't all that keen on most food, but the boys just love it.  Spence and Hudson are both rolling however it is not being used as a mode of transport, yet.  They are continuing to sleep through the night and are up at 6 just like their big brother.  They are all full of smiles and laughter and are really starting to interact with each other whether it be sucking each others toes, holding hands or even weeing on each other. 

There was a period a few months ago where Oliver was going through a real patch and was taking it out on his siblings.  I am pleased to report that this has now eased and has been replaced with blowing 'blueberries' on their tummies and kisses.  I can also now say that after a few days of hard work, lots of smartie rewards and a few extra cloths in the wash we now only have 3 children in nappies full time. 

I am now starting to have trouble sleeping myself which doesn't seem fair.  I am really struggling to 'switch off' and am such a terribly light sleeper it really doesn't take much to wake me.  I also thing that now that we have been home for nearly 6 months I am really starting to feel trapped.  I am struggling to get out with the kids both on my own or as a family.  I find it tricky as the bubs don't really feed all that well and if I am out for any length of time I still need to express which can be awkward when out and about.  I am also starting to feel isolated from my friends particularly at the moment I think because of school holidays and a lot of our normal activities have had a break, but as a whole I have found I am not seeing my friends as much as I would like.  So not sure whether it is because it is assumed that I am too busy or perhaps they are busy with families of their own. 

I have reached a stage where I would be happy to give it up expressing and am amazed at how long I have persisted for but at the same time it gives me a wonderful reason to sit and read a book etc for 20 minutes a few times a day.  If I were to stop then I would have no excuse to put my feet up a few times a day.  So for now I am happy to continue.

On that note I am going to take myself of to bed while there is still peace and quiet and enjoy an early night...

Hudson loves his tucker, I guess that is why he is the biggest!

Spencer loves his too!

Addison isn't real sure which is why she is still the littlest by about 2 kilos!

Bath time with all my babes!

 

 

My last few blog entries :)

Well I will keep this short and very sweet but it appears as if our darling Oliver has worked out how to post blogs here from my phone!  I have now deleted them but I have kept the post that where he managed to post 4 photos from my iphone, this is something that even I struggle with...

So there is a post with 4 photos on it, and I am just eternally grateful that they are not the photos he took when he followed me into the bathroom, especially considering it took me nearly a week to discover these little entries.

Apart from that all well here and will update in my detail in the not too distant future...

We survived 6 months!

Yesterday marked our fabulous trio's 6 month birthday, it was also one year to the day that we found out we were expecting a new addition to the family.  Yesterday afternoon was a stinking hot day and as is our annual tradition on the 23rd of December each year our town has a very cute Christmas pageant in the evening.  So the family gathered here for a barbecue before heading down the street for the celebrations.  Oliver was very excited as he got to ride on one of the fire trucks with Mr TAN and had a lovely time riding the fire truck and waving to all his friends that he knew, although by the end he was exhausted.  The rest of us watched on and the trio were very well behaved.

We are ecstatic to have survived the first 6 months as parents of Higher Order Multiples and although our lives have changed very dramatically for the better I now couldn't imagine it any other way.  Our lives have been busier, and we probably don't venture out of the house as much I would probably like but when you see the smiles on those 3 little gorgeous faces it is all well worth it. 

Last night was another major achievement Addison, Spencer and Hudson to celebrate decided to sleep through the night without a peep until 6am.  So with any luck it will become a regular occurrence.  Hudson has now started rolling and Spencer and Addison are not far behind. 

I am also very happy to have reached a huge milestone in that I have now been expressing milk for them for 6 months.  This is such a huge achievement for me, as my original goal had been for the duration of their hospital stay I have well and truly surpassed that now.  One of the benefits I have recently discovered apart from all the health and financial benefits is I get at least 20 minutes of time to sit and do nothing 6 times a day.  So in this time I often make phone calls, Facebook, emails etc but recently I have discovered it is also a great time to read.  In the last 2 weeks I have started (and finished) the first two twilight books and straight after I finish this I will get to start the third. 

Oliver is very excited to be celebrating Christmas this year and is really getting into the spirit of Christmas and we managed to get down for a Santa photo.  So this Christmas is very exciting for us and really has renewed our spirit. 

So on that note on this beautiful Christmas 'silent night' I am going to pour Santa a glass of bubbly and get ready for the next feed. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all

3+++ months (or 5+ corrected)

Hi everyone!  It has been a while between posts as life has been busy and this is my third attempt in as many days as my entries keep disappearing into cyber space. 

My days have been filled with feeding, expressing, household chores, feeding, expressing, playing with Ollie, sterilising etc, etc.  The trio are still feeding mostly 3 hourly during the day which still takes an hour plus a bit longer now that they are starting to spend a bit more time awake.  Then I spend 30ish minutes expressing it doesn't leave much time in between.  The trio are going through nearly half a litre of milk each and every feed so they do get a bit of formula too.  We were very fortunate to have some extra help approved so I now have someone here to help me 8 hours a day 5 days a week, which is brilliant on those days when I need to catch up on some much needed sleep.

We are still feeding through the night sadly although we have started not getting them all up once one wakes now, which unfortunately means I/we are up three times as much.  Addison has proven to be a true champion and will often go through to 5 or 6 am, the boys on the other hand love their food and don't seem as convinced that eating over night isn't necessary.  Mum has still been staying to help me with some of the night feeds during the week which is a massive help.

Our darling son has since turned 3 since my last entry and sadly has started to drop his day time sleep.  I would dearly love for him to toilet train but he is just not ready and has told me it is too hard.  He adores his brothers and sister although we do struggle with how rough he is with them.  We do struggle to keep him entertained whilst we are feeding hence the lack of social outings, which I am missing a great deal.

Addison is such an easy baby and I am sure if all babies were like her, there would be many more babies in the world.  She is very quiet and placid and only cries when she is hungry if she is put down.  The little darling even got forgotten about the other night and eventually fell asleep quietly in her bouncer.  Before we came out and found her and she hadn't made a peep.  She is just now growing into her 000 clothes and is just over the 5 kilo mark now.  So still a lot smaller than her brothers by about 1.5 kilos.

Spencer is a relatively easy baby and is often caught lying in his cot quietly looking around.  He does big goofy gummy smiles and is quite a spunk.  Spencer is quite a rascal to feed and prefers his milk warm and to be walked around the house to drink, which is getting tricky now that he is getting heavier.  Some of the boys 000 clothes they are now growing out of and Spencer has jumped from the 50th to the 60th percentile in recent weeks.

Hudson is still the biggest (just) and half of the time he is a lovely smily, happy, talking, baby and he will often give you a funny wink when he smiles.  Such a flirt!  The other half of the time he will scream like a banshee this awful high pitched scream that goes right through you.  Which he seems to do for a few hours on a nightly basis.  So hopefully he gets over that soon as it is getting kind of tiring, especially when I am after an early night.  Hudson is now somewhere above 6.5 kilos and is somewhere near the 70th percentile.

Mr TAN and I are still amazed at all the love and support we have received from family and friends.  We have been overwhelmed with meals and offers of help, this help has made our journey so much smoother and really cannot thank those people enough for the difference this has made.  Every day I look at my four amazing children and am overwhelmed with love and cannot believe my luck, considering the odds we were given in the start.

I have been connected with an Australian group through Facebook for people with Higher Order Multiples and I am astounded with the odds that most people are given regarding triplet pregnancies and the likelihood of having 3 healthy babies at the end of it.  There was a discusiion recently and it seems most are told they have less than a 30% of having 3 babies at the end of the pregancy.  So I hope those statistics are wrong as there are also so many good outcomes.  So it seems we are very blessed indeed!

From left-righ Addison spencer and Hudson

Home Life

We are now entering our fourth week of being home and where do I start... So far things have been going ok.  Just before we got home I applied for something called Special Child Care Benefit, so because of that I have a nanny for 3 days a week from 9am to 5pm.  This has made a huge difference as she helps with all the feeds, washing, dishes ect and also allows me to have some one on one time with Oliver and even catch a snooze most days.  My mum is helping one full day per week and with some of the night shifts.  Although she is looking to help with a lot more as Mr TAN is not able to help with them much anymore as it is beginning to affect his work. We are also still lucky enough to have lots of supportive friends and having meals dropped off twice a week.  I can not say enough how appreciative we are of this and how much of a difference it makes.

We are going through about 21 plus nappies per day, lots of loads of washing, and even though I am still expressing after each feed we are needing to top up the bottles with formula, and much to my surprise we are more than half way through our second tin in a week. 

They are still feeding 3-4 hourly on demand and when they are feeding 3 hourly it is really hard work!  If there are 2 of us doing the feeds it takes a good hour to get everyone fed, burped, changed and back to bed.  Then following this I express If I attempt this on my own it takes a good hour and a half.  By the time I get back to bed it is only 90 minutes before we start again.  They fed 3 hourly 2 nights in a row over the weekend and tempers were short.  When Oliver is out for the day or asleep it is much easier to manage, when he is home however and I am stuck feeding he tends to destroy the place.  Regardless of how much television or snacks I have available to him.  We have a one up, all up policy for feeds, and I have been trying like mad to master the art of prop feeding (supervised) so I can manage feeds on my own but so far no luck.  Both of the boys have each picked a different 3 hour window to be whinge and unsettled.  For Hudson it is from about 4-7ish and Spencer has chosen the 10pm-1am window,  Thankfully so far Addison is still quite content and is a very placid easy baby.  Although at times they do set each other off and we do have quite a regular chorus happening.

Last week I ventured out with them for their first check up and all is well.  They are all gaining weight steadily and the doctors are happy.   They are all now 2 weeks corrected or nearly 12 weeks old actual age. Won't that get confusing!  Addison and Spencer's umbilical hernias still look fine.  Addison as of a week ago now weighs in at 3380grams, Spencer 3970 grams and Hudson or chubby cheeks as Oliver affectionately calls him is 4170 grams.  The boys have their follow up hearing checks at the end of the month as they both failed the initial one in one ear, from what I hear is quite common to fail initially and can be for a number of reasons. 

On the way to the appointment I had a bright idea of stopping and having lunch in a popular cafe strip.  I can see why seasoned HOM parents soon have a long list of responses to nosey (rude) people's comments.  Yes I do have my hands full, and yes even my heart full.  Lucky I didn't have their big brother with me too.  So if you see someone with a very big pram with her head down to avoid talking to people it is probably me, but I really don't fancy stopping to speak to every single person about how awful it must be to be blessed with 4 lovely children even if I do spend most of the day and night feeding. 

Until next time here is a picture of them taken this morning after their feed.  From L-R is Hudson, Addison and Spencer

Finally home!

Yesterday was a very special day for our family.  Finally after 7 weeks and 6 days Addison, Spencer and Hudson were finally able to join us at home. 

Addison ended up having her nasal gastric tube taken out on Tuesday and basically we were just hoping for the best and that we could get her feeding so we could go home.  So after Mr TAN and I spending a day and night at the hospital with them we were able to leave.  Addison has to have some special fortifier added to her milk to help boost her calorie intake and weight gain.  I am still managing (just) to provide them all with expressed breast milk but already feel my time and energy levels are sapped and Addison and Hudson are not so great at breast feeding as otherwise I would try twin feeding.  Currently we are racing through about 1.8 litres of milk a day for them and that need is continually increasing so really don't feel that confident. 

So we have now been home for about 36 hours and so far so good.  They are all waking to feed every 3-4 hours and it takes the two of us just over an hour to get them all fed, changed and back to bed.  In between I am busy expressing, sterilising, washing and of course entertaining Oliver.  Mr TAN has been fantastic with helping with the feeding of everyone and we have even both managed a rest today thanks to some helpful visitors. 

Starting on Monday I do have someone coming to help for 8 hours a day 3 times a week while Mr TAN is at work.  I am so grateful for this help that will be provided for the next 13 weeks just to help with all the feeding and to get adjusted with this huge lack of sleep.

Keeping this short as they are just starting to wake for feeds again so here is a few happy snaps.

Addison

Hudson

Spencer

When will they be home?

The plan had originally been to aim for today, but, and I kind of expected it we have been delayed.  Spencer and Hudson have been on full sucking feeds since Friday and are doing well.  They are on demand feeds with a 4 hourly limit and are ready to come home.  Spencer is a really good feeder at the breast, but Hudson not so much.  Where Hudson lacks with his breast feeding he more than makes up for by the way he chugs down his bottles.  The little greedy guts gulps down his bottles so fast he is gasping for air, where Spencer keeps more of a steady pace. 

Young Addison seems to be all that is holding us up from coming now.  She feeds really slowly and is struggling to finish her bottles on her 4 suck feeds.  The other 2 feeds she is still having by a nasal gastric tube.  They do prefer that they are on all sucking feeds for 48 hours before they come so if we are aiming for Friday we are running out of time.  So it is only a matter of waiting for it all to click together for her.

We are not prepared to bring them home separately as we would not be able to get in to visit Addison as the hospital is just that bit too far away, and the hospital is supportive of us in this decision.   

In the last few days we have noticed that all 3 of them are starting to get much better head control and they are also starting to wake up a bit more.  While they are looking around they have also started to give us some lovely eye contact too. 

We are as ready as ever for our trio to join us at home and everything is as ready as I ever in visage it to be.  So now we wait....

How Will I Do It?

Well I must be on a roll tonight but this is something I have been asking myself pretty much for the past few months.  How will I do it?  How will I feed all 3 babies at the same time, so I am not constantly feeding?  How will I settle all these babies, again hopefully at the same time?  How will I continue to give Oliver the attention and time that he is accustomed to?

Let's start with the first one.  I really have no idea! I love the benefits and lets not forget the convenience of breast feeding, after all there is no washing up but I am missing one boob.  Do I twin feed two and somehow prop feed the third with expressed breast milk or formula?  Do I just breast feed a different baby every feed and prop feed two babies?  The benefit of this is I could still help Oliver read books etc and move about easily if needed.  I am hoping I won't need to do too many feeds by myself but the reality also is sometimes I will need to.  So really I don't know the answer to this question and will not know until we are living it.  So far I am still feeding all three expressed milk but from what i have heard a lot of mothers with triplets are fine while the bubs are in hospital and it falls apart once everyone is home, and that's okay and will not be disappointed if this happens to me as let's be honest I am not Super Woman. 

As for settling them, I am not going to have the time or the energy to pat, rock or wear these babies, so yes there is likely to be some screaming from everybody and we will do what we need to do to (hopefully) get everyone for a sleep at the same time.  Mr TAN with his work situation is not able to take any extended period of time off of work so although he works from home I will be unable to rely on him for a lot. 

Lastly for now Oliver who has our undivided attention for nearly 3 years now.  I am hoping that his easy going and loving nature will make this change easy for him and I hope that we still get some of that lovely one on one time that I have been so enjoying these past few months as he has growing into a little boy.  Oliver has already told me that Spencer is his favourite and would like to sit next to him in "mum's big bus".  He was also quite concerned when we changed Addison's nappy.  He looked at me quite complexed and said "Addie's willy gone" after I explained that Addie was a girl like mummy he was quite happy.  Then we went on to change Spencer's nappy.  Oliver then told me that Spence has a little willy, this soon followed with him telling me that he had a big willy, this followed with "Daddy has a big, big, big willy" needless to say this left my mum, the nurse and I in hysterics.  Out of the mouths of babes.....