Triplet Supply List, the essentials

As I have been packing away the baby stuff to make room for three mobile little girls, I have been reflecting on how we managed to minimize the amount of "gear" we needed. There are almost no items that weren't used, and used a lot. It's quite amazing how little babies really need in the first few months, even when you have three of them.

For what it's worth, my list of essential items for triplets:

A local support group. Seriously, even if you are not the support group type, the advice and understanding (not to mention the used clothes and baby items) that you will get from veteran parents of multiples is invaluable. There are also lots of triplet blogs with different approaches and experiences.

Help. My mother-in-law lived with us for the first six months. Having her here allowed us to be the parents we wanted to be: every baby got held for every feeding and rarely did anyone have to cry while waiting for a sister to be fed/changed/bathed/soothed. Believe me, there was still plenty of crying, but everyone's needs got met in a gentle and loving way.

Diapers, wipes, some kind of diaper cream. I couldn't talk my husband into using cloth diapers but know other triplet families who did.

A dozen big flannel or muslin receiving blankets for swaddling. Our girls loved being swaddled until they could actually bust out and get their arms free at about 6 months.

A fuzzy blanket each for wrapping the baby in to take places and throwing over the car seat.

Sleepers and the little diaper shirts (we didn't use onsies because they just got dirty and were a pain to get on/off when the girls were small. If you do laundry every 2-3 days, you can easily manage with a dozen of each. My girls didn't wear "real clothes" for weeks.

Triplet moms to be: don't let anyone talk you out of nursing/pumping! I nursed two babies for six months and pumped for all three until they were ten months. I had a great milk supply (~75% of what they needed) and found it very manageable. That said, I don't know any triplet mom who was able to exclusively nurse all three from day one. You may be able to get there eventually (I wasn't), but you will likely work towards it over the the period of weeks or even months. Rent a hospital grade pump, it makes a huge difference.

A few different types of bottles and nipples to see what the babies like. I thought I would use glass bottles but didn't like them at all and am so happy I bought three and not three dozen.

Co-sleeper for having the babies sleep in your room. We got one that converts to a pack and play. Our girls didn't sleep in a crib until they were ~3 months old and that was only because they grew out of the co-sleeper. The girls didn't move into separate cribs (in the same room) until they were moving around and disturbing each other, around 4 months or so.

Stroller that the infant car seats can snap into. We bought a used Triple Decker and a single and double Snap and Go and used all three for different situations. When we moved up to a stroller that the babies actually sits in I tried out a bunch to find what I liked (and bought used). By that time you know other people with babies the same age and can benefit from their product testing before you spend your own money :)

For winter babies, the Bundle Me zipped covers or something similar for the infant car seats would have been awesome. By the time I realized how helpful they would have been it was nearly spring, so I didn't buy any.

I bought two slings, a Moby wrap and a Maya wrap and someone gave us a Baby Bjorn. The Moby was easier for me to carry two babies in but it was always a little awkward. I had visions of wearing one or two babies while wrangling the third but it didn't really work for me. I found that it wasn't possible for me to bend and lift a baby while making sure the other two remained correctly positioned in the sling (i.e. necks in neutral position and able to breathe). I did use the Baby Bjorn a lot as I walked our refluxy baby for hours (and weeks) around the neighborhood in the evenings.

Boppy pillows. Love the Boppy; great for nursing, bottle feeding two babies (one on either side of you) while nursing the third. They definitely helped me keep all three babies close during feeding times and when I didn't have a free hand.

Bouncy seats - the papasan style ones are great for newborns and up and our girls lived in these for months. So, so helpful for keeping one or two babies nearby and happy while feeding the third, or safely immobilized while giving one a bath or changing a diaper. We were given some like these from another triplet family.

Cradle swing - we had one baby who had reflux and wore ours out. It was this one and I bought it used from a nearby triplet family one desperate afternoon.

A doorway jumper. We have two that we put in doorways that are at right angles to each other and use them every day. They love to jump and laugh at each other and even the non-jumping baby gets in on the fun by crawling around the feet of the two jumpers.

I didn't buy high chairs until we were ready to start solid food at 6 months and then found ones that stack so we could fit them in our tiny kitchen.

Once the girls became more aware of their surroundings we started adding books, rattles, soft toys and two play mats/gyms but even the mats have been packed away (not the books and toys, of course).

Really, that's all we "needed" for the newborn/infant months. They really did go by in a flash. Who are these little people living in my house and where did my babies go?

Perfect Thrifting Karma

I found this awesome needlework the other day. I had a Chai in one hand and 9 minutes left on the meter but decided to pop into a thrift store I hadn't noticed before next to the post office. It's everything I like about Christmas decor, I love it so. According to the tag, this beauty had been there since 2007 and had been marked down to 75 cents. A dollar bought it along with half a roll of red and white striped wrapping paper. Score!

Christmas Elves

Christmas crafting is in full swing around these here parts, though I'm having to seriously revise my list of critical, must-be-done-in time projects. I did manage to carve out some time to make three little elf dolls as a thank-you gift for another triplet family that has passed on a ton of clothes and other items from their girls who are almost exactly one year older than mine. Let me tell you, triplet moms are awesome. They've all been there, they know what you need and they tell you you're going to be just fine. None of that "OMG, I don't know how you do it" or "I could never manage" nonsense that you hear from every stranger that comes within 50 feet of the triple stroller.

I used the free pattern that Hilary so generously posted a couple of years ago and stitched them up on muslin. For the back I used some retro fabric that I have been hoarding, thinking I would back a quilt with it. They have been tucked into a box and are on their way to three little girls who I hope will love them to pieces.

Grasmere Apple Cake

When Grandma was visiting a few weeks ago, she reminded me about her favorite cake recipe. She's been making it as long as I've been around. It originally was published in our home town newsletter and then reprinted as my contribution to Mrs. Ferraro's third grade class' Mother's Day cookbook circa 1979. Oh, the things I have to look forward to when the girls are in school, like receiving my own recipes in a kid-decorated leaflet as a gift.

We had just gone apple picking and had 25-ish pounds of fresh McIntosh, Cortlands, Empires, Galas and Honeycrisps sitting on the kitchen counter. Mom got right to work cutting the apples and removing the cores in preparation for grating them into the cake. We used Empires, McIntosh and Cortland but you can use your favorites. When I made the cake again a few weeks ago, I was lazy and didn't cut and core the apples first. It was actually easier to hang onto them when they are whole and you end up with a tidy little core at the end. Sorry about that, Mom!

I gathered the rest of the ingredients and started putting the dough together. As always, I used the recipe as written but substituted my favorite gluten-free flour.

It is delicious when still warm, and (according to my husband) even better when chilled. I left off the glaze because I didn't have any lemons and didn't miss it, though it is apparently my mother's favorite part. It's a crumb cake and the gluten-free version is excellent even after several days in the refrigerator.

Grasmere Apple Cake

4 c. flour (I substituted the Gluten-Free Pantry All Purpose Flour)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 lb. butter

2 eggs, beaten

6-9 apples, washed

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter until mealy texture achieved. Add beaten eggs and blend with your fingertips. Divide dough in half, pat into bottom of a 9x13 inch pan (I lined mine with parchment paper). Grate apples over bottom layer. Spring with the sugar and spice mixture and pat remaining dough on top. Bake 325 degrees Farenheit for ~55 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool, then glaze if desired with the following:

1 c. icing sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

Baby Burritos

The week before the girls were born I waddled into my sewing nook and made a dozen large colorful swaddling blankets from Anna Maria's Folksy Flannel. I purchased a yard of each and squared them up with my rotary cutter and finished them with a rolled hem using my trusty serger. The remnants were also hemmed and added to my basket of wash cloths and burp rags so I literally used every square inch of fabric for this project. They were by far the easiest and most useful items I made for the babies. The Folksy Flannel is a wonderful weight for this sort of application and the colors are simply gorgeous; I can't tell you how many compliments I received.

The only thing I would do differently next time is to make them bigger. We swaddled our girls for a long time and once they got to be about 13 pounds they started to bust out of them. I made a few more from 1 1/4 yard pieces and they worked until we stopped needing them at about 6 months old. They are still in great shape (even after many washings) and I'm sure I will be able to re-purpose them at some point in the future. For now I'm keeping them in the bin with the teeny-tiny premie clothes that I can't bear to part with.

Let the Mommy blogging begin

The Bean, the Bear and the Bandit*

So, that pregnancy thing I was working on? It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. It also turned out that having three newborn babies living in your house is a lot of work. Now that we are eight months out and the babies go to bed at 7:30 pm and I am back at my job where I get an actual lunch break, I have time to make stuff again. And, possibly, hopefully, blog about it.

*Not their real names, obviously, but how they will be know here in Blogland. Bean because she was such a teeny tiny bean when she was born, Bear because she's such a squishy sweet Gummy Bear of a baby and Bandit because she had colic and ruled the house for months.

Plus One

Take one adorable couple then add one gorgeous baby boy and what do you get? The plus one baby boy quilt, of course!

I knew I wanted to make Mr. E a baby quilt to welcome him into the world but I struggled with what it would look like. I wanted it to have meaning and not just be useful. Luckily, the internet is jammed packed with inspiration and I found mine at Film in the Fridge.

For me all those plus signs speak not only to the addition of a family member but also the addition of immense amounts of love to your life. It is the addition of a connection between mom, dad, and baby E. It is the addition of the best kind of chaos. The addition of rough and tumble play and scraped knees. It is the addition of memories just waiting to be made.

A new baby is so much more than the seemingly simple addition of one.