Coming Home: The first week

Has it really only been one week since our boys were born?!

In some ways, it seems like a lifetime already. Our days in the hospital were a whirlwind. Between the three hour around the clock feeding schedule, doctor visits, and healing, sleep became something of the past. The irony of the hospital is that it is supposed to be a place of healing and rest, but it is anything but that.

 So we came home Tuesday afternoon, exhausted.  However, all things considered, everything went  smoothly. As Portland's "Winter Blast 2014" raged on outside, the five of us stayed warm and cozy in our little room.

Tuesday morning we packed up our belongings. We filled out paperwork and the boys had their final doctor checks. The doctor came into our room and informed us that James' body temperature was reading low, thus it was affecting his heart rate a bit. Because he was premature, the doctor wanted to play it safe and keep James overnight for monitoring. He ended up coming home a day later, and it was kind of nice to start out having "just twins." :)

We arrived home late Tuesday afternoon to my mom and Evie waiting anxiously at the door. They made a huge "Welcome Home" sign, and Evie was excited to see "the brothers."

Welcome Home brother!

The past week at home now with triplets and a two year old have been all consuming. The around the clock feedings are draining. I feel like all we do is feed and then wait for the next feeding. Feedings, which happen every three hours, have to be a finally tuned operation with all hands on deck. We need people to change diapers, swaddle, warm bottles, feed babies, burp,  and reswaddle...while this is all going on, I have to nurse them all and pump. Yes, I do feel like a dairy cow.

Moo

 One of the wisest decisions John and I made though was to hire a night doula four nights a week to care and feed the triplets while we sleep. The first night she came, she totally reorganized our house so that we could function efficiently.

One of the hardest parts is watching Evie try to make sense of everything going on.  She seems to get excited about her brothers but at other times, like when we are all feeding the boys, she will sit in the middle of the room and just scream and cry for "my mommy", "my Grandma", "my Daddy." It's heartbreaking and draining all at the same time; but we kind of all look at each other with a baby in our hand and we really don't know what to do for her. Our hands are tied. I know it's all a normal part of an adjustment for a 2 year old, and I do believe that she will eventually get used to her new family. But the process is gradual, and I have to remember to have patience with her.

Taking a snooze

Our relationship has understandably changed as well. She clings to Grandma and Daddy more than ever, and she seems to be a little aloof from me. It makes me sad because it was her and me everyday for 2 years; but I understand that she sees me consumed by other babies and she is probably wondering where she fits in during all of this. My hope is that we can establish a new normal in regards to our relationship. She will always be my little girl, my only girl.

Eating soup while the brothers sleep

We took the boys to their one week doctors appointment, and everyone is doing really well. James' body temperature is still a little lower than they would like it to be, but overall there is nothing permanently wrong with him. James and Levi have gained weight and Caleb's has remained the same.  John was the one who worked really hard strapping the boys into their seats, loading them into the van, unloading them at the hospital, clicking them into the triple stroller and then wheeling them up to their appointment. Let me tell you what a sight we were...everyone who passed by us stared at us, some with awe, some with delight and others with pity. It was truly a sight I will never forget, watching my husband wheel his sons down the hall.

And... as if my husband didn't have enough on his plate, he didn't forget Valentines day. As we sat around feeding and burping babies late on Valentines night, we thought about the previous years of fancy "wining and dining"...one year he took me to an art museum for a wine tasting event, another year he cooked me fancy pasta alfredo with scallops. This year, our Valentine's day was spent feeding and burping our babies. In a weird way, I almost think that this year was the most romantic one of all. Because it's real life. It's our life together at home.