You WANTED triplets?

I forgot I was going to do a post about someone that wanted to have triplets. Since LB is sleeping and I don't want to kick him out of his own room so I can work out - I'll do the post now.

I'm on Face Book (who's not?). On FB I have a lot of multiples 'friends'. I love to see the updates and posts from these moms because it keeps me up to date on some things that I would not otherwise know about. It's also nice to know that I'm not alone in the world raising 3 babies at the same time. Yes - people have multiple children - I'm one of 5. But having multiples is completely different. It's a whole new world.

Recently on FB there was a 'multiples' impostor. You see - someone claimed to be a mother of triplets and a singleton step-son. She posted pictures, videos and updates. She even had conversations with other moms via the chat and through email. The other day there was some postings about how she's NOT who she says she is and this 'family' isn't even hers. She stole the pics, videos and so on - from the 'real' triplet moms FB page and claimed it as her own. When she was discovered as a fraud - the real mom contacted the police and FB and both pages were deleted. (the real one and the impostor). But before they were deleted the impostor had this to say: "I always wanted to have triplets". She then went on to say how she lives in the same town as this mom of multiples, sees her and the kids around town and how sorry she was that she did this to her and her family. Really? You WANTED to have triplets? And on the triplet blogs this comes up more frequently than I had imagined. People claim to be a mom of multiples when they're not.

I've had people say it to me before. "Oh - I always wanted triplets." or "Oh I wanted twins or triplets - I thought it would be so cool!" And I reply the same: "No you don't." Triplets are not an accessory. They are just as much human as you and I. They need the same if not more attention than a singleton baby and they require more work since there are 3 of them.

Here's what you see when you see my family and I out in public:
3 adorable little girls behaving like angels
3 cute little outfits
a choo choo wagon that people are paying upwards of $800 for on ebay because they're so nifty
3 cute hair do's
3 little soft voices saying 'bye byeeeee' or 'peas' or 'este no!' or 'mama' (my favorite of course)
You see us gather them up and put them in the van or maybe struggle to put their jackets on after having a meal somewhere.
You see 3 healthy, beautiful little girls.

And maybe you think it's always been that way but I assure you - they weren't born like that.

Here's what you didn't see:

You didn't hold my 2lb baby in your arms and pray that God would let her make it through one more night.
You didn't leave your triplets in the NICU for 6 weeks when it was time for you to go home after having them.
You didn't look for doll clothes just to find an outfit that would fit your baby girls.
You didn't look into the faces of the nurses and doctors and beg for your child's life.
You didn't hit your knees every night and beg with God to let you keep what He gave you.
Trust me - desperation brings out the best and worst in people - and you haven't been there.
You didn't see the days spent pumping breast milk just so your 2lb baby could eat since she couldn't digest anything else and she had lost 6 ounces since birth.
You weren't there for the head scans, kidney scans, IV's, ultraviolet lights, feeding tubes and numerous other medical procedures required. No - you didn't see that when you looked at my girls in the grocery store did you?

When you wished for triplets - did you also know that you would be wishing for their eyesight, hearing and brains to all be normal as well?
Because you didn't see the appointments that were made after leaving the NICU. The appointments to check their eyesight to make sure they're not blind. The appointments to check their hearing to make sure they're not deaf.
The brain scans, kidney scans, ultrasounds - you didn't see that when my girls were squealing to pull away from having to put their jackets on. Did you?

You wished for triplets. Did you wish also to quit your job? Did you wish for sleepless nights, weekly doctors visits and a home care nurse to do biweekly weight checks?

When you saw my girls - you didn't see me in the background cringing at every little thing they touch. You didn't see me checking the ingredients of everything they eat because they're so small that we need to make sure they're eating properly. You didn't see me scrubbing down every surface I think they'll come in contact with because germs aren't just one more thing in our house - they could be imminent death. All because they're triplets. All because they were born premature.

So when you wish for triplets - know what you're wishing for. NO ONE asks for this. I've had soooo many people say to me 'You got what you asked for.' And no - we didn't ask for triplets.

Pete and I are blessed. WE now have 3 healthy, beautiful little girls. We also didn't know that we would make it this far with all 3 of them. Every day was and still is a gift from God. We still have to watch what they eat, where they go, who they're with, where we take them...

We still worry with every sneeze and every cough. A simple runny nose could put them in the PICU. A cold in our house lasts months with each one of them...not days or weeks. That's not something people wish for. And it's not something people ask for.

As far as having triplets goes - for us it has been wonderful. For some families - it has brought tragedy, heartache, sickness and death.

We struggle to give our girls attention. We struggle to keep up with their individual needs. We struggle to keep them on an individual single unit rather than as a group. Did you know you would wish for those same struggles when you wished for triplets?

We didn't ask for triplets but that's what God gave us. When people say we're lucky I say "We're blessed". When people say I have my hands full I say "as well as my heart".