Angela has been able to use the peace and quiet to sleep. Whether it be an 8 o'clock bed time she's adopted or the 2 hour nap in the afternoon, she gets her sleep time in. I can't sleep like that. I haven't been able to for 20 years. I have about 6 to 7 hours in me, max. If I choose to go to bed at 8 or take a nap, just deduct that time from the end of my sleep. I do those things, I'm up at 3 AM.
That gives me, a professional worrier, plenty of time to freak out about the future. Or as I call it, research.
Both of us have been trying to find everything we can get our hands on about having triplets. Wide ranging topics from pregnancy to raising the trio. We have web sites and books to use as reference. Friends of friends with triplets are giving us advice and Angela went to her first multiples meeting last night where she got to talk to mothers who have done this before.
I've been focused on two different sources lately the first is a web site, the triplet connection. I've spent quite a bit of time perusing the forums looking for answers and just reading about others experiences. I want to know things like, how do you handle three infant seats? What car works best not only for the seats but for all the gear, strollers, diaper bags, etc? How do you feed three infants at one time?
The information on this site has been great but at the same time it can get frightening at the blink of an eye. There are complete threads on marriages falling part, depression and then the unthinkable, some if not all of the triplets dying. I think it's great that people that go through these things have a place to discuss what is happening and find that they are not alone. It is good that they can see that there are people who can help you through these bad times.
I guess what bothers me is that this does happen. I knew it did, the doctor has been clear with us about the risks but seeing actual stories from actual people can weigh on me quick like. I try not to spend much time in those threads but they draw me in.
My mother-in-law got me this book, I Sleep at Red Lights a few weeks ago. What is amazing is that I'm actually reading. I'm about 1/2 way through it now. I haven't read 1/2 a book in almost 2 years. I'm not much of a reader, in case you couldn't tell.
This book was written by a former writer for Jay Leno and he talks about his experience of having triplets. The kids are about 6 months old at the part of the book I'm at now. Our situation is different from theirs in a lot of aspects but the common denominator between us and them is the triplets. A lot of his stories are funny and I'm sure I could find the humor in similar things like the doctor telling him that he needs to deal with his high strung wife. The doctor was scared of his wife. I can see that happening with us. Or at least I could be scared of her.
Everyone we talk to and everything we read says the key to getting through the first 6 months with the babies will be to get on a schedule, feed and change them every 3 hours. The guy in the book tried that but it didn't work out very well for him. Each feeding and changing session took 2 1/2 hours - that gave them 30 minutes of break.
Holy crap!
I've been telling people about the roller coaster of emotions I've been on the past 12 weeks. I'll go from excited to petrified in mere moments.
I realize that I can only deal with things that happen to us, when they happen. So for now, I'll keep reading everything I can and just deal with what I can control right now. Keeping Angela healthy and preparing us mentally and financially for the changes that are coming our way, quickly.
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