When people hear our story there are a number of questions that are asked so we thought we would answer a few of the more common ones.
When did you find out you were having triplets?
I toddled off for my 18 week scan and got the shock of my life!
What was your reaction to the news?
I started to laugh hysterically. It was either that, or cry. I realised I was going to end up with four boys under the age of twenty-one months. Yikes!
Did you have a natural birth?
Gimme a break. No way. C section for me please.
Do triplets run in your family?
They do now. We do have a lot of twins in both Martin and my families. Both our mothers have (had) identical twin brothers, my Grandfather was a twin, Martin's sister has twins, my niece has twins, the list goes on and on.
Were the babies premature?
The boys were born at 36 weeks, which my doctor said was 'full term' for triplets. The babies were little, but all healthy when they were born. They needed extra help keeping warm in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). They also had some tube feeding as they were too weak to suck. After only two weeks, the babies were ready to come home.
Did you breastfeed?
I sure did! It was a mammoth effort doing 3 hourly feeds around the clock initially. I fed two boys at once 'twin-style' and the third baby was given EBM (expressed breast milk) from a bottle by one of my helpers. The babies were 'rotated' at each feed. A large whiteboard kept track of who was due for a breast or bottle feed. I breastfed for four months. After that, I called it quits as I was physically exhausted. I felt I had given the boys a very good start to life.